My weekend.

So my weekend was spent editing 3 novels.
I woke up early Saturday morning at 8 and started in Gods and Frogs, oh my.I had to lock myself in my bedroom to keep the puppies off of me. Poor hubby had to watch them for me which was very gracious of him. my dogs are Mommy girls.

I did take a break and go see Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. OMG! I loved it. It is definately a must see if you have seen the other two. Even if you haven't it's nice to see vampire and werewolf on moviescreen. I miss all the good vampire movies they had. The actress that played Sonya was good. I was happy to see they used some of the other actors from the first 2 movies that came back. I like continuality.

So then I had to go home and watch the other 2 Underworlds. But I was also editing.

Today, yeah you guess it. more editing. I finished Gods and Frogs, went on to Tarnished Wings, and then finished with Reborn at the Crossroads. I was done by 6. Today though the dogs were good and haredly bugged me.

I've been contemplating getting the soundtrack to the 3rd Underworld, since I have the first 2. We'll see. So tomorrow its back to work and the goal for the week is to finish Carrion Comfort.

What did you do this weekend?

Celebrating!

It's been a great week!

I got a bonus from work which was much needed since hubby hasn't been working as many hours as before. Of course that will pick up when it's spring time.

I found out the other night that I have a new book contract for my new book called, Reborn at the Crossroads. It is a vampire tale with a few twists.

It will eventually come out in an Anthology later on this year.

I have also learned that the first in my new series will be out in Feb. from Forbidden Publications. The first in the new series is called Tarnished Choices. It is about Cassie who has an angel and a demon warring over her. The tell her she has one choice, but what choice will she make!

I have just finished edits for the third in my Tarnished series called Tarnished Souls. I'm currently working on a new book called Carrion Comfort which is in the same world as Midnight Mocha and A Taste of Darkness (which will be out later this month from Amira Press, Woohoo!) I started a new book. No title with four intriguing characters:

A ghost hunting vampire, who doesn't believe in God, a fallen angel who can only glimpse heaven when she is being whipped and tortured, an evangelistic biker werewolf who ate his last congregation, and a psychic who brings them all together. Yeah that's about as far as I've gotten.

So below is a small read from Reborn at the Crossroads:

“Is everything okay? Do you need me to—?”
He put his finger to her lips. It was cold and soft. A calm sensation moved over her. The phone dropped from her fingers. She continued to gaze into his eyes. Her whole body went limp.

“Everything is fine, Beth. I do not need the assistance of a doctor. All I need is you.” His fingers trailed lightly over her cheekbones. A shudder caught her body. Her eyelids drooped. Traces of warmth remained where his fingers touched. Beth was unsure of why she was letting his touch her, caress her, but she had no control over her body and she wasn’t afraid of him. Deep down the stranger was familiar to her even though she’d never seen him before.

“Why do you want me?” she whispered.

He moved the hair away from her throat. His soft touch ignited her buried desire. The last time her body felt this way was when Alex was still alive. She had been so lonely and wasn’t able find anyone. For some unknown reason, his touch completed something deep inside of her. His hot breath blasted on her flesh. She craned her neck to the side. His lips brushed over her jugular vein.

“I won’t take you by force. You might have tried to hurt me, but I understand you were protecting yourself. Come to me, my Beth.”

He brushed her lips with a kiss. She shivered. He picked up the phone and placed it back on the hook. He let her go and stepped back. Beth blinked. The haze she was in lifted. He stood before her waiting. She wasn’t exactly sure what had happened, but his words lingered in her mind. He was giving her some kind of choice. The impression of his lips burned themselves into her skin. She could still feel them. She studied him and saw the hole in his shirt. Underneath there should have been bleeding skin, but there wasn’t. It was smooth pale flesh. Her fingers touched the place where the gunshot should have been. It was cool. There were no bullet holes. There was no blood. She stared deeper into his eyes and saw they reflected the light when he turned his head. Something registered at that moment. He wasn’t right.

Something felt off about him. He was there and yet he wasn’t there. She hadn’t noticed before because she hadn’t taken a second to stop. He shared the same space with her, but yet he was out of place, out of time almost. Beth backed up into the living room. He followed her slowly still keeping his distance.

“Come to me, Beth,” he voice was low, but reverberated in her ears. There was an echo in his voice this time when she listened. The power of it tried to drag her under his spell once again. It almost captured her, but the sudden sharp pain of hitting the back of her knee on the piano bench roused her.

“What are you going to do to me?”

“Nothing you don’t want me to.” He closed his eyes and sniffed the air. A seductive grin appeared on his face. Her body was drawn to him. “I can smell your desire, Beth. Don’t deny my very presence doesn’t entice you.” He stepped closer. When he smiled, his teeth were growing longer into sharp fangs.

“Oh God!” Beth gripped her chest. “This isn’t real. You’re not real.”

“But I am.”

The Unborn * Spoilers*

Hi guys,
So I got together this afternoon with some friends to go see the Unborn. My friends were fashionably late, but that is okay. They normally show up late anyway. I need to put NOS on their van so they can be superspeed. LOL.

So anyway I'm a good van of horror movies. This one looked good. It was rated PG-13. So many movies are rated PG-13 and I so want them to be rated R. But don't get me started on that rant. I don't think that slasher movies are the only ones are slashers movies. I move blood and guts, but come on the R rating can be out on other movies that need more violence... Okay sorry ranting.

So the movie starts off with the main character dreaming of weird shirt. More weird things happen to her during the movie. Her mother killed herself. The kid she babysits for attacks her. Her eye starts to change colors. She find out she was a twin and the thing that is following her wants to be born that has been following their family since the Gernman concentration camps. Her grandmother killed her twin after he was possesed by this thing.

So her grandmother tells her the tale and to seek out a rabi who can help them. All the while she starts seeing this thing in the mirror. Her friengs believe her and finally so does the rabi. Finally they do an exoricism on her and her boyfriend is possessed and killed. And of course, the only reason it started was becuase she was pregnant with twins. That was the ending.... Please!

Really... so disspointing in my book. End another way. And you assume that she is going to keep the children when you know one of them is going to be the spirit. Come on! Argh!!

The story idea is cool andwell exorisms always are bad news, but argh I hate endings like that.

OKay well that is my rant on it.

Now we are watching one of the football games and going to a friend's house to see another one. The dog is quiet and curled up next to me actually behaving. I started a new book today yeah!

Now to finish the other ones. LOL
























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Say Hi To Bob!

Bob is the man behind the television set is keeping us company for a little while. He is a hitcher we picked up from a friend of ours who is moving across the country.
We also ended up getting a couch and a loveseat. We've had a fouton for 5 years so the upgrade was wonderful. We couldn't get the coffin though. Damn! That is okay one day the coffin will be mine.

If you haven't guessed yet my hubby and I have a different sense of decorating than most people. My other great addition to the house was a new Living Dead Doll so that made 21 of them. Our friend will be gone for at least a year doing a job, which sucks, but that is good for him. We will miss him.

So I have a couple of pages left to write and finish my latest short. After that to work on my newest novel called Carrion Comfort. This weekend we are going to the movies.

Hubby and I are going to the same place, but to see different movies. He wants to see Gran Turino and I am going to see the UnBorn.I'll let everyone know how it is.

So remember to say Hi to Bob.

Coming Soon: A Taste of Darkness

Blurb:

Tricia has lusted after Zander, but he never let’s her get close. Fed up, she walks out of his life for good.

Zander keeps Tricia at bay because the beast within him wants to rip her throat out and paint her bedroom in blood. Finally, he gives into his desires, trying to mend the rift between them. Little does he know, Tricia is falling for her boss, Kevin.

Kevin hates Zander but will do whatever it takes to keep Tricia. Having a relationship with two vampires is harder than Tricia ever imagined. Especially when neither of them are what they seem.

Excerpt

I smiled, showing her my fangs. I leaned in again, capturing her lips with mine. She might have been afraid, but she kissed me with sheer abandon. I gripped one of her breasts kneading it. Through her T-shirt the nipple hardened against my palm. I released her lips. Tricia’s gaze didn’t leave mine. Her breathing intensified. Her heart sounded like a base drum to my sensitive ears. If she wanted to run, she could have. There was an opening. I released her breast scraping my nails down the fabric of her shirt and over her left thigh. I pressed my nails into her flesh working my way up her leg to the boundary of her panties. I licked the side of her throat. Her longing had spiced her flesh and made it taste minty. “You taste so good, Tricia. One bite and I can eat you up. Do you want that?”

Tricia had begun to shake. Lust had her in its grip. My fingers traced the line of her panties. With one swipe, I could release her desire and claim her for my own. She would feel so good. “Please,” she whispered.

I kissed her cheek and took away my other arm. She wouldn’t go anywhere. If she did, I could catch her. Part of me hungered for her to run. If Tricia did, then she’d be wonderful to hunt. “Please what? Isn’t this what you wanted? Didn’t you want to see what I was? Here I am before you.”

A tear rolled down her cheek. “You know it’s not, Zander. Stop toying with me.”

I caught her lip between mine. “But this is what I am, Tricia. This is me. Who says that I’m playing.” My palm crept over the flat terrain of her stomach. I lowered my tongue to her neck. I drew back my lips, reading to strike. Her pulse boiled underneath her skin. “Then what do you want? I can fuck you as you’ve desired. I can suck you. I can do so many things to you. Tell me what you want, Tricia.” I growled.

“I-I don’t know. Not like this.”

“But I can taste your desire. I know you can feel mine.” I caught one of her wrists guiding it to the bulge in my jeans.

I hissed when she began caressing it through the fabric. I brought my teeth down on her neck. Regular human teeth. She cried out and I felt the wetness of her tears. I didn’t draw blood even though it took all my control not to. Her back arched off the wall. There was pleasure laden with fear in her moan. Sucking hard on her flesh, I licked the spot where I would strike. Tricia pressed herself against me. Her friction of her hand rubbing on the fabric across my cock drove me to the edge. I licked her neck again and backed off her. I gripped her windowsill with my back to her. It cracked. I heard the grating of her flesh sliding down on the rough wall. Her heart thundered in my ears shouting at me to drink her dry. The beast in my veins demanded I feed since I had let it out. In my three hundred years, I’d done some horrible things and they had been wonderful. I closed my eyes against the memories of the blood baths blooming behind my eyes and I could easily see Tricia’s walls spattered in crimson speckles.

If only I could write...

So I have two dogs that are both great, but the puppy love to bug her mommy. So I set something up that will keep her busy at least for five minutes.

Now five minutes later she has figured it out and become frustrated with not being able to get one of the ropes so she is now jumping on the back of my chair and wanting me to get it. Oh the children.

A Glimpse into Turning Ash

I wanted to give everyone a glimpse into what I have been working on today. It's finally done. Yeah!


Ashling stared at the pale stranger before her. If she hadn’t seen a picture of him, she never would have believed that Devlin was standing there. She never would have committed to meeting him in person to unless she hadn’t talked to him on the phone first. Before that there were hundreds of text messages and emails. She had spilled her heart to his man. He did not judge her for the choices she made. Moreover, their long talks blossomed into a good friendship. Finally he suggested they should meet.
Devlin leaned against the glass of the empty coffee shop, half shrouded in shadows. His shoulder length hair was caught back in a ponytail. The illumination of the lights made his skin even paler than in his snapshot. A strand, escaping the binding of the elastic, played along his high cheekbones in the gentle breeze. He was even more beautiful in real life than staring at his photograph. Ashling had committing his to memory just in case she woke up and the photo was somehow gone.
She stood on the corner, still in the darkness, feeling the energy of the environment playing on her skin, tickling her. She drew in the strength of the night letting it feed her deep hunger. The energy filled her with warmth. She had to remember this man was like her, a psychic vampire. She licked her lips. Part of her wondered if she blinked is Devlin would disappear. My nerves are getting the better of me. Maybe I shouldn’t do this. There were many stories of women meeting strange men from the Internet and the women were never heard from again. She gripped the sides of her skirt wiping her sweaty palms on the fabric. She sucked on her tongue ring, pushing it up and down inside her mouth, and clinking it against her teeth. Even her toes shook. This is ridiculous. He won’t hurt me. I’ve been talking to him for over a year now. I know him.
“Yeah, but how much do you know him?” Christa’s voice echoed in her mind.
More than I ever knew you before I told you what I was. And that didn’t stop you from hanging around me. Ashling dismissed her friend’s statement and drew in a breath. She pushed up her glasses. Car headlights blinded her. She threw up her hand to protect her eyes from the glare and withdrew farther into the shadows. It was safer there. The velvet darkness concealed her even from Devlin’s eyes. Her eyeteeth tingled. A slow burn unwound in the pit of her stomach. This isn’t good. It meant her hunger was unsatisfied. The energy of the night wasn’t helping. Ashling had fed before she came to meet Devlin. Christa had allowed her to draw in some of her energy before she left. Normally, Ashling liked to feed while she was asleep and dreamwalking, but tonight she needed the energy. Her nerves were burning through the energy. She ran her tongue over her teeth willing the hunger away. At times like this, when her hunger raged it seemed she possessed actual fangs like she was a real vampire. That’s preposterous.
Smoothing the fabric of her skirt one more time, she stepped into the dim light of the café. Devlin wasn’t there. Somehow he had disappeared in the few seconds she blocked her eyes from the oncoming headlights. She turned searching Massachusetts Avenue for him. There were too many shadows for him to hide in, if he was playing with her. Shit. He must have thought I wasn’t going to show and left. Regret consumed Ashling. Her chance of meeting her online friend was blown. He had disappeared into the night. Maybe it was all my imagination. Maybe I didn’t really see him.
A deep laugh erupted next to her ear, a velvet purr she wasn’t sure that came from a human throat. Ashling spun around. Devlin now rested against the telephone pole gazing straight at her. A wide grin spread on his sensuous lips. She stared at him. The smile made him breathtaking than the dark brooding photo he had sent her. A row of silver hoops hung in both of his ears climbing up to the top. His eyes were dark and smoky, surrounded by long onyx lashes. A sprinkling of stubble ran along his chin. In the picture, his face was angled down so she hadn’t seen his eyes that closely.
“Devlin?”
“Ashling.”
Her throat went dry. She struggled to find the right words even in greeting. Here was the guy, her savior sometimes, who had listened to her and helped her through the horrible bouts of hunger she’d had, the depression, and the rejection she’d experienced over the past year. It wasn’t easy being a psychic vampire in the world. Most of the populace thought she was insane for being what she was, but when she did find the small niche to belong to; her whole world had opened up. She had discovered kindred souls among the online communities. There was always the possibility they were yanking her chain, but she was pretty good at reading people. Just as she was the first time she had gotten a personal IM from Devlin.
***
She was browsing some threads on a message board. Her little icon showed she was online and accepting instant messages. Devlin’s popped up. She almost ignored it, but something in the way he phrased his question that was unlike any others she had come across. It intrigued her. His icon on the forum was a smiley face. Most of the logos, like hers, reflected something of their owners’ dark personalities. Hers was a little picture of one her Living Dead dolls, Lilith to be exact. The smiley face should have turned her off, but staring at the blinking cursor while he waited for a response, Ashling studied his introduction question. It read:
“Are you happy, Ashling?”
Was she happy? What a crazy question to ask her? Of course she was happy. Her fingers poised on the keyboard of her laptop ready to make some snide reply, but the question echoed through her thoughts. Was she happy? She had a boyfriend. She was keeping the hunger at bay. She had a job that she liked. Her roommate was great. There were no problems in her life except finding others who were like her and the online community was revealing more psychic vampires every day. Even though she was finding them, a small part of her never felt they were completely like her.
So she typed her response. “Most of the time.”
“What about right at this moment? If you could capture it and freeze it, would you be happy?”
“Yes,” she replied, but doubt lingered in her mind.
There was a pause. She wondered if he was laughing. A low chuckle echoed through her darkened bedroom. I’m hearing things. It’s imagination giving this crazy guy a personality.
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“Why? Can you make me happy?”
“I don’t know. I was only posing the question. I like to make people think.”
Ashling snorted when she read the response. He certainly made her think. “Well, are YOU happy?”
“Of course. I’ve just met you.”
Blood rushed to her cheeks. Why am I blushing when I don’t even know this guy from a hole in the wall? He could have been a depraved serial killer for all she knew. “Well that’s nice of you to say, but you don’t know me.”
“But I want to know you.”
“Well I don’t want to know you.” Ashling closed the lid of her laptop shutting off the contact with the mysterious IMer. For the rest of the day, their small conversation stuck in her head. Even while she was at work pouring drinks, the band on stage couldn’t pull her mind off the conversation. When she arrived home that night, exhausted, smelling like cheap beer and cigarettes, she dared open her laptop. The little white box remained, waiting for her to reply. She shook her head and closed the computer again. If the guy really wanted to talk, then he would have to wait until she had showered and gotten a little shut eye.
***
“Are you daydreaming?”
Ashling blushed. She glanced at Devlin completely tuning him out. She looked away. “Sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. I never took you for someone that daydreamed. You’ve always been so down to earth when we talk.” There was a hint of annoyance in his voice. She didn’t blame him. Devlin lived a few hundred miles away in New York City while she was in Boston. They had arranged the meeting a few weeks ago when they both had a few days off.
She shook her head. “I’m not really. I was thinking about the first time we met. When you IMed me and asked me if I was happy.”
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
He smiled this time. Amusement lit up his smoky eyes. Ashling bit her lip harder, this time tasting blood. She shouldn’t fantasize about Devlin. Evan and she had dated for over a year now. They were good together. He was a normal looking college student, but underneath his Polos and khakis, there was a rocker with some outrageous tattoos. Ashling hadn’t told him about being a psychic vampire yet. He thought she was only interested in vampirism. Evan wasn’t pleased when she told him that Devlin was coming out to meet with her. She explained that she and Devlin were only friends.
“Why don’t we go inside? It’s getting a little chilly out here.”
She nodded and headed toward the café. Ashling reached for the door, but Devlin got it first holding it open for her. Blood seared her cheeks hurting her face from blushing so hard. She’d had butterflies in her stomach on the subway ride over, but those fluttery little insects had morphed into dive bombing hawks, churning her stomach. There was no reason to be anxious around Devlin. She ducked inside glad that the interior of the café was dim. There were plenty of nooks and crannies where she could hide, especially upstairs. They walked to the counter and ordered. She got a hot chocolate with shaved dark chocolate on top of the whipped cream. Devlin ordered peppermint tea. He didn’t seem the type who went with tea. She assumed he was a hardcore kinda guy who drank his coffee black. They said nothing while Devlin followed her up the winding staircase. Her favorite spot, next to the window, was open. It was in the corner where she could look down and watch the pedestrians passing by. Sometimes she wondered what they were rushing to. Tonight she paid the bustling street no mind. She was too enamored with having Devlin here in the flesh. Part of her yearned to reach out and touch him, fling her body against his to feel he was solid. She didn’t. And he hadn’t made any move to touch her either. Devlin slid into the chair across from her careful for not even his boot to bump her knee under the small table.
Ashling poked at the dark chocolate slivers with her spoon not able to meet his eyes yet. She tried to keep her hands steady. What can we talk about? I’ve told him all my secrets. He knows so much about me. Even more than what I’ve told Evan. He even knows about some of the sexual things I’ve done. Devlin could be my best girlfriend. She tried to put down her spoon gently on the rim of the saucer, but with her shaking hands, she dropped the spoon. It clattered and spattered her with hot chocolate droplets.
“Shit,” she muttered. Her right eye started to twitch from the stress of the meeting. Ashling grabbed a napkin, dabbing at the spots on her cheek and then on the table. Devlin’s hand shot out. His fingers landed on the white napkin pinning it to the wooden surface. There was still centimeters between them.
“Ashling, focus.” His voice was controlled. She dared a look into his eyes. They smoldered, reaching into her soul and capturing her. She drew in a breath nearly choking on the air she gulped in. The heat from his fingers brushed against her flesh. His aura bumped against hers enticing the hunger. The temptation to pierce his aura and drain is slowly, savoring it, pressed on her mind. Her teeth ached again. His gaze held her, but she regained control and finally looked away from him.
“Sorry, Devlin. I’m normally not this discombobulated when I meet new people.”
“I don’t bite, Ashling.”
She laughed. “You could if you wanted to.” Devlin was a psychic vampire like her. That was the whole reason she had started talking to him in the first place. He also professed to drinking blood from time to time, but mostly he got by on energy the way she did.
Devlin smiled, flashing his perfect white teeth. His canines were longer than normal giving him natural fangs. “You’re absolutely correct. I could bite if I wanted, but there’s no one appetizing in here at the moment. Except you, of course.”
Ashling snorted. “Now I know you’re lying.”