Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Nefarious

June 4, 2017 by Alexis Duran

Hello and Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. So, it’s June already, the weather is lovely, the flowers are going crazy and it’s only six weeks until the release of my new m/m fantasy, Death by Starlight. I’ve had a long dry stretch between releases, and I’m hoping this marks a turning point in what has been a…challenging…year. The snippet I’m sharing this week picks up right after last week, when Dijeree suggested that Ian could use a sort of opposite mood light to beam dark energy at him while his dark elf lover Zeke is away.

***

“That’s not an entirely bad idea.” Already, with Zeke’s energy coursing into him, Ian felt less uptight. The crippling worry that had been building ever since Zeke left lightened ever so slightly, like mist burning away at the first hint of dawn. As fear retreated, anger crept into its place. Damn inconsiderate svarta.

Ian tried to form a more substantial link, to find out what was happening, but still, Zeke wouldn’t respond. The tiny piece of Zeke that resided in Ian’s heart and never truly went away, like a speck of smoldering ember, flared and warmed Ian from the inside out. Not seeing what was before him, he walked straight into a garbage can. The resulting clang and clatter echoed off the cement bridge above them and drew the attention of some nefarious types lurking between buildings, the tips of their cigarettes glowing in the murky shadows. There were more creatures than nymphs and fairies on the waterfront to be concerned with… humans were every bit as dangerous.

***

Edge of Night 2: Death by Starlight Release date July 18!

Ian and Zeke fought a battle against the queen of the dark realm in order to be together, but just when they think they might settle into as normal a life as elves living among humans might be able to expect, a new enemy threatens to tear them apart. While Zeke helps the shaman Alistair in his hunt for an elusive mermaid, Ian is called to confront a wicked nymph preying on tourists along Seattle’s waterfront. Zeke and Ian soon discover that the defeated Queen Ysolde has spread her evil into the sea realms, and danger lurks beneath every wave, but it is too late to stop an escalating series of confrontations that lead to disappearances, death and the possible end of light in this world.

As Ysolde plots revenge and a mysterious prince seeks to win Ian for himself, the ancient war between light and dark sweeps Ian and Zeke into its maelstrom of hate, testing their trust of each other to the utmost.

Edge of Night: Book 1

Betwixt and Between: Book 1 is available at these retailers: Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble Books2Read

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 ~ Mood Light

May 28, 2017 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. If you’re in the States, I hope you’re enjoying the three-day weekend, and if you’re elsewhere, hope you’re enjoying whatever sort of break you get!

I’m sharing snippets from my soon-to-be-released m/m urban fantasy, Death by Starlight. Last time, Ian and Dijeree were interrupted during their search for a wayward nymph when Ian received a signal that Zeke had returned from the underworld of the dark elves. Ian sensed that something was amiss.

***

“How long has Zeke been MIA?” Dijeree asked.

“Six weeks. He said he’d only be away one.” Ian shouldered the heavy duffel bag and started walking toward Dijeree’s VW bug.

“Seems longer. You’re a bitch when he’s away.”

“I won’t argue with that. He keeps me grounded.”

“Yeah, that whole dark elf, light elf business. What you need is the opposite of one of those mood lights, something that beams dark, gloomy energy at you while Zeke’s away.”

***

What a Dark Mood Light might look like. Image by xX-TaintedTears-Xx from Deviant. art

Edge of Night 2: Death by Starlight Release date July 18!

Edge of Night: Book 1

Betwixt and Between: Book 1 is available at these retailers: Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble Books2Read

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Home Spun Magic

March 19, 2017 by Alexis Duran

Greetings and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors! I’m heading off to Mythic Worlds in Seattle, so I might not be as diligent about visiting everyone’s posts on Sunday, but I will try. Good news: I received the contract for Death by Starlight! Don’t have a release date yet but I’ll let you know asap. To celebrate, I’ll continue sharing from the first chapter, in which Zeke returns from the dark realm and visits the shaman Alistair on his boat in search of some magical assistance. I’m picking up a little bit further along from last week’s snippet.

***

“Here we are!” Alistair removed a glass jar from a shelf cluttered with similar jars, seashells, rocks, liquor bottles of every size and shape and an assortment of whatnots Zeke couldn’t identify. Alistair shook some silver powder into his palm and blew it straight into Zeke’s face.

Zeke jerked his chin to the side and sneezed violently.

“Allergic to home spun magic, are you, svarti?” Alistair cackled.

“I dislike breathing in dirt, you old quack,” Zeke snapped. He made to brush the powder from his sleeve and noticed faint threads trailing from his arm to the walls of the boat, where they disappeared.

“Ah, lookee there. Someone laid a few lines on you.”

“I suspected as much.”

***

Edge of Night 2: Death by Starlight

Edge of Night: Book 1

Available at these retailers: Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble Books2Read

Weekend Writing Warriors ~Test Me

March 5, 2017 by Alexis Duran

Hi! Welcome to my corner of Weekend Writing Warriors. If you’re a regular, you might have noticed that I kind of took the entire month of February off. This was semi-intentional as I was overcome by a plague of jobs. Something had to give, and blog hopping was the thing to go. But during the lull, I completed the sequel to Betwixt and Between, tentatively titled Death by Starlight, and finally hit the submit button yesterday! To celebrate I’m posting that long promised blurb after the 10-sentence excerpt.

This snippet picks up a little bit further along from where I left off last time. Ezekiel, an elf recently returned from the dark realm, is visiting his not-so-friendly acquaintance, Alistair the shaman, in order to remove any tracking spells he might have picked up on his recent journey. FYI, a liosa is a light elf. Zeke is a svarta, a dark elf.

***

“And what would a dark elf need from little ol’ Alistair?” A spark of interest flashed in the old man’s green eyes.

“I need you to check me for binding spells, spywebs or listening lines.”

“And what’s in it for me?”

“I won’t summon the leviathan of your nightmares to devour this boat.”

Alistair flinched. “You can’t do that, can you?”

“Test me and find out.”

“You wouldn’t because Ian would never speak to you again!”

Zeke frowned, thinking how very inconvenient it was to care about what some one else thought of you, especially when that someone was a do-gooding liosa.

***

Edge of Night 2: Death by Starlight

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Mistake

July 19, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to another round of Weekend Writing Warriors. This will be my last snippet from Betwixt and Between for a while. Don’t want to over-share! In previous excerpts Ian has gotten himself entangled with a magical musician busking for change at the Pike Street Market. Today he makes a break for it.

***

Ian spun around and ran up the stairs, taking three at a time. He burst out into a clump of German tourists all singing along to the strains of the Vltava that had reached its climactic conclusion. He sprinted up the sidewalk. The farther he got, the easier it was to move and breathe, and the less the image of the stormy eyes burned into his corneas. He knew damn well he should get to Aunt Cleona’s as fast as possible and beg her to put a counteracting spell in motion.

Third mistake.

But he was late to meet Dijeree, and she’d be pissed if he blew her off again. She had a confirmed Windigo sighting out on the peninsula, and she needed his advice. He stopped running, and as he walked slowly up Pine catching his breath, the intensity of the hex faded to almost nothing. Maybe the violin player had only wanted to scare him off.

***

As characters often do, Ian has gone off on his own and landed an interview with Evelyn Shepard. If you’d like a peek at how he’s coping with dark elves in his life, as well as another chance to win a $10 gift card, check it out here.

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Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Calculating

July 5, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers of all stripes and spots share their work in eight to ten lines. This week I’m continuing with excerpts from the first chapter of my new release, Betwixt and Between, an m/m contemporary fantasy. Our hero Ian has encountered an elf with mischievous intentions busking for coins and souls in a dark stairwell at the Pike Street Market. This is right after last week’s snippet.

***

Though poorer than a church mouse, Ian felt a strong urge to empty his pockets into the violin case. That would be a mistake. Giving a coin to a magical being created a bond that could link you forever to a malevolent spirit. At least he’d learned that much from his Aunt Cleona. At the thought of his aunt, he remembered the protective token she’d given him the last time he’d run afoul of a fairy living in Gas Works Park. He reached for the moonstone necklace he always wore now, and when he touched it, the grip of the music loosened. He hadn’t noticed the tightness in his chest until it was gone.

Further proof he’d been hexed came from the musician’s reaction. The remarkable gaze shot up again, and he focused on Ian’s face for longer than a second. It wasn’t exactly an evil look, but not friendly either – calculating, that was the word.

***

Cover art by April Martinez

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 the 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.

***