Greetings everyone. It’s good to be back. I was in the San Juan Islands last week and missed a Sunday. Can’t wait to catch up on all the fabulous stories unfolding over at the WWW Hop. Due to awesome timing on my part, I was out of town when my book launch occurred, so my self-promotion has been spotty. So, did you hear? Touch of Salar is now available at a fine ebook vendor near you!
On to the snippet! I’m now posting from my recently finished erotic fantasy, To Catch a Threeve, which is sitting in my editor’s submission pile, so I get to chew my nails over this one for several more weeks.
To Catch a Threeve (We last left Constable Axel Blackwood in the forest, aware that he is being stalked by an unknown presence)
Mint and meadow larkspur, a combination often used by hunters to disguise their presence from animals, stood out against the usual smells of the deep forest, alerting Axel to the nearness of the interloper.
Whoever tracked Axel was good. The only reason the constable had noticed he was being followed was thanks to a protective spell he’d learned from the old witch Talesin. A web of magical energy alerted him when the same presence passed through it more than once. This particular, non-animal presence had crossed the web five times since last night. Tonight was the first time Axel had detected him with his ordinary human senses. He suspected his stalker was getting desperate. Tomorrow, Axel and Drummond would reach the fortress of Lord Thorburn and the opportunity for mischief would be lost.
***
This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from their current work in progress. Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! I heartily invite you to participate as a reader, writer, or both. It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book. Click here or copy & paste this address: http://www.wewriwa.com
Alexis Duran 
Yay!! Salar is available now. Congrats on your release. It’s in my TBR list. The snippet above is so well developed I can almost smell the mint. Very nice.
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Congratulations on the release of a Touch of Salar. It’s on my TB list. Today’s snippet is so vivid I can almost smell the mint. Well done!
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Love the detail–congrats on the release 🙂
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Awesome description — I think this is my first excerpt from To Catch a Threeve and it won’t be my last! 😉
Congrats on the release!
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Aah, so he has a bit of help to augment his senses. I wonder how the spell copes with the constant crossing of regular friends and acquaintances?
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He only uses it when he’s off in the wilderness, as he is now. It would be very annoying in a crowd.
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Very cool bit of magic. Love it. I wonder who’s on his tail…
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Congratulations on Touch of Salar, have it on my kindle TBR. Enjoyed the excerpt today, always love your world building! Can’t wait for more.
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Yay, Happy Book Birthday! I thought I saw it on the Loose Id loop, but I didn’t see you on the interweb so I thought I misread. Congratulations!
And I’m loving this fabulous description and the way the spell works. I am sure your editor will love it as well.
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This definitely piqued my interest 😀 I loved the first line about the mint and larkspur because it pulled me into the story. It’s not often writers incorporate smells into their stories, or at least I don’t, lol. I’m curious about this “unknown force.” Is it supposed to be malevolent? From the 8 lines it seemed like the protagonist was curious and wary about the unknown force, not petrified by fear. I’m hoping he reaches the forest before finding out who or what his stalker is!
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Oops, I meant I hope he reaches the fortress, not forest :$
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Curious and wary is a good way to put it. Thanks for stopping by.
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Nice little piece of magic tossed in there, Alexis! I like the world-building in this snippet. Congrats on the book release! I wish you much success with it! 🙂
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Nice the way the “disguising” scent gives the stalker away.
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Congrats on the release! That’s great 🙂 Love this snippet too, and love how you started with smell. I think that’s a sense a lot of writers overlook, but can be so powerful. Very vivid and clear here, and I like the description of magic. Very well done!
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I feel a little sorry for that stalker (just a smidge). They thought they were being clever, but they weren’t–and now they’re running out of time!
You would think they’d have different disguising scents for different locations, though.
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Congrats on your release! Very magical scene you create here. I can picture it (and smell it) all so clearly! Well done! 🙂
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Ooh. Now I really want to know what the interloper is up to!
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I really enjoyed your snippet. Axel seems very smart and observant–my favorite type of characters. Plus, with the stalker getting desperate promises some future mayhem. Desperation usually always lead to things going wrong. I can’t wait to read your next installment 🙂
Keep smiling,
Yawatta
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