Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Magic Afoot

June 21, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Happy Summer! Thanks for taking time out of your hopefully glorious Sunday to stop by Weekend Writing Warriors. This week I’m continuing with snippets from the opening chapter of my soon to be released (June 30th!) m/m contemporary fantasy, Betwixt and Between. Hey, it finally dawned on me I haven’t posted a blurb yet, so today you’ll find that after my 1o lines.

I’ve skipped ahead a bit from last week to Ian’s point of view. Unbeknownst to him, he’s about to stroll into a trap set by a svarta, a dark elf.

***

Ian sensed magic afoot and couldn’t pass it up. That was his job, after all—finding and cataloging the magical creatures lurking in Seattle’s shadows. Readers of the tabloid he worked for, The Cosmic Eye, gobbled up his stories, and with every contact, however dubious, he inched a bit closer to unlocking the vast magical mystery that shrouded his life.

A flash there, a ripple here. A haunted rowboat, a flying spoon, a burning book, a talking cat. All these things added up to something. He just didn’t know what yet.

His first impression of the musician in the stairwell was that, yes indeed, he’d stumbled across a magical creature. Shadowed lines resolved into a dark-haired figure in a long, heavy coat and high leather boots. The outfit looked like something a down-and-out musketeer might wear, the coat being old-fashioned, fastened with two rows of brass buttons, and well-worn.

***

The Blurb:

Obsessed with magical creatures since childhood, tabloid reporter Ian Evers never experiences satisfying proof that the magical realm actually exists until he falls into an entrapment spell set by a handsome but dangerous elf. Barely escaping with his soul intact, Ian is able to undo the hex, but he can’t escape the very real infatuation he’s developed for the fierce elf.

Ezekiel Stormshadow is a svarta, a dark elf who serves the queen of the dark realm. The realm of darkness needs the power of light to survive, and while hunting the last few magical beings on earth, Ezekiel discovers Ian, a light elf who’s unaware of his true nature and ripe for the plucking. Their brief encounter awakens a great hunger in Ezekiel, and he’s determined to feast on the light elf’s power and body before the queen intervenes and claims Ian for herself.

Driven apart by an ancient imbalance between the dark and light realms, an evil queen starved for power, and their fear of each other, Ian and Ezekiel are relentlessly drawn together even though their union might destroy them both.

***

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight to ten sentences from a published work or perhaps 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 use the address: http://www.wewriwa.com

Weekend Writing Warriors~ As Good As Caught

June 7, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, a great place to share, discover and enjoy an amazing range of fiction. This week (and the rest of June) I’ll be sharing from my upcoming release, the m/m contemporary fantasy, Betwixt and Between. I hope to have the blurb and cover soon! Release date is June 30th.

This is from the opening chapter. Last week we watched as Ezekiel used his violin to spin a musical trap for an unsuspecting liosa (light elf).

***

Ezekiel pulled some of the liosa’s essence toward him along the strings and conjured a clearer picture. Human male, slim and tasty. Ezekiel’s favorite form. The man had the dark mocha-colored eyes of a High-Wood alfar, but Ezekiel recognized no clan markings, no talismans, no link to the past. This was most excellent. No one would miss him. A fresh, unclaimed source of power, his for the taking. Even the dark queen Ysolde might not be aware of him.

The liosa held a camera and was about to take Ezekiel’s photo. He was as good as caught.

***

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post ten sentences from a published work or perhaps 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 use the address: http://www.wewriwa.com

Weekend Writing Warriors~ Cautious but Curious

May 31, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Greetings! Time for another round of Weekend Writing Warriors, the hop where writers of all stripes and spots share awesome excerpts from their work; in progress or published. This week I’m sharing from my upcoming release, the contemporary m/m fantasy, Betwixt and Between, which somehow in the editing process became number 1 of a series; On the Edge of Night. But don’t worry, Betwixt is a stand-alone story. Release date is June 30th.

Last week I shared the opening ten lines. This continues right where we left off. (Note to those who haven’t read The Practically Complete Compendium of Magical Creatures, a liosa is light/sky elf).

***

The liosa’s thoughts whispered in Ezekiel’s ear. It was cautious but curious. Untrained. Ezekiel detected no significant magical protections, and thanked his lucky stars for this gift.

Don’t lap at the blood before it is spilled, he cautioned himself. Though he sensed his prey was utterly unaware of the trap, he could be spooked if Ezekiel revealed any of his power too soon. And so he played on, risking only a quick peek from beneath his eyelashes.

The liosa had paused a few steps up from the landing, just beyond the wall that blocked the view of the rest of the stairwell. He lingered in the shadows but did not radiate any fear. Ezekiel caught a glimpse of wind-tousled blond hair, large dark eyes, a lumpy coat, and battered hiking boots.

***

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ His Prey Drew Closer

May 17, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. Well, we decided on a title so I finally get to announce my upcoming release! Betwixt and Between, an m/m urban fantasy, will be available on June 30. I’ve shared a few snippets from this story over on My Sexy Saturday, but I think this is the first time I’ve posted an excerpt here, so I might as well start at the beginning.

***

Even as the first haunting chords drifted up the cement stairwell, Ezekiel detected a nibble on his bait. He pressed his bow more firmly to the strings on his violin and drew his elbow back. His prey drew closer.

He’d had his doubts about setting up in midday and in such a busy, public spot, but a tug at his instincts had guided him here. Over the centuries, he’d learned to never ignore that tug. The music echoed nicely, penetrating the dull roar of the Pike Street Market above and the viaduct below. From the open staircase, he had a partial view of the waterfront and Puget Sound beyond.

He’d set up on a landing below street level on the stairs that led from the waterfront to the market. On a rainy Tuesday in February, the market wasn’t the teeming morass of humans it usually was, and Ezekiel easily sensed the motions of the liosa as it descended the stairs.

He threw a little more passion into Smetana’s symphonic poem, Vltava, and the lines cast out by the music shimmered darkly in the dull light.

***

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Keep Trying

May 10, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the hop where writers of all genres share, in ten mere sentences, tantalizing snippets of their work that will leave you itching for more. Or that’s the idea, anyway. Let’s see how it goes.

I’m continuing with my erotic space opera, From Mars, With Love, but this will be the last Mars snippet for a while. I know I’ve said that before, but I’ve got a new release to promote! I’d tell you all about it right now but my editor and I are still working on a title. Seems like my original title “Dark Heart” has been used about a gazillion times. So next week you get to hear all about it. But I digress. Our hero Eli is the prisoner of slavers who’ve stuck him in a stasis pod, but discovered something very unusual about the ring on his finger. I’ve skipped ahead a bit since last week’s snippet.

***

The asteroider turned from the display and leaned over Eli. “You’ve been given a paralyzer, but you can still speak. Tell me, where did you get that ring?”

Eli had to dig deep into his muscle memories in order to send the proper signals to his mouth and tongue. “Mishhh,” he said.

“Keep trying.”

He licked his lips and mumbled, “My mother.”

“Is she altered? Has she ever been to the belt, the Oort or any other unregulated zone?”

Eli had no idea where his mother had been in her short life, but he doubted if she’d ever left Old York.

***

Guardians-Of-The-Galaxy-New-Posters-and-Cameos-Revealed1

Don’t worry, Eli, help is on the way. Though probably not any raccoons.

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ A Long Ride to Titan

May 3, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to another exciting installment of Weekend Writing Warriors. I’m continuing with my erotic m/m space opera, From Mars, With Love. Last week our hero Eli awoke to find himself in a stasis pod. His captors seem to think the ring on his finger is an alien. Preposterous! But then so is the rest of the plot, so maybe they’re right.

***

An asteroider, this one in a grey uniform with epaulets on the shoulders, was busy staring at a neon readout floating between the pod and the wall. They were in a small room with only one pod – maybe quarantine. The asteroider’s skull was mostly chrome, his face fully human with the pale waxy skin of someone who was never exposed to sunlight and didn’t bother with spectrum treatments.

“The burns from the explosion were superficial. Luckily he was doused with repressing foam before much damage was done. He’ll fetch a good price once we remove the al… the object.”

“It’s a long ride to Titan… he could be disciplined and repaired many times before we arrive.” The security crab clicked its pinchers and several long spiky instruments extruded from its extra arms.

***

Iron Man doesn’t need a gun, just a steely gaze.

***

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from a published work or perhaps 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 use the address: http://www.wewriwa.com