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.

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“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 Warrior ~ New Year, New Book

January 1, 2017 by Alexis Duran

Happy New Year! Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. I hope 2017 finds you happy, healthy and inspired. 2016 ended on a bit of down beat, for many reasons, but I’m feeling optimistic and reenergized after a rather unproductive December. Sometimes even manic writers have to take a break.

I’m starting off the new year by sharing from my new WIP, which is nearing completion. It’s the second in the Edge of Night series, featuring Ian and Ezekiel, light and dark elves who somehow manage to form an unbreakable bond. Betwixt and Between is the first in the series. If my excerpt does the trick and intrigues you, you can click the link for more info.

These ten lines are from the opening scene of Book 2 (working title Death by Starlight):

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The skyline of Seattle reared up in a blaze of lights, metal and chrome. Overhead, traffic clattered and roared across the Freemont Bridge, headlights and taillights a stream of silver and red. Ezekiel Stormshadow narrowed his eyes to dim the affect. After so long in the dark realm, such a garish display stabbed into his brain, slicing away the last comfortable strands of shadows linking him to his homeland.

Standing on the edge of the Ballard Locks, he breathed in the mix of gasoline fumes, fresh cut grass and a slight hint of salt water blowing in from Puget Sound. A row of houseboats creaked and bobbed in front of him.

By the position of the moon in the partly cloudy sky, he guessed it was nearly midnight. The date was a murkier thing to calculate. He’d roamed the dark realm for several nights, but time passed differently here in the world of humans, and he suspected he’d been gone much longer than a week or two.

A prickle of concern brought a scowl to his face.

***

Here’s the info on Book 1. Next week I’ll put up the blurb for Edge of Night 2:Death by Starlight.

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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 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.

***

Available at these retailers: Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Muddled Misery

September 10, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where a fun and diverse group of writers share excerpts in ten sentences or less from their published works or works-in-progress. I’ve been sharing from my new release, Gryffon Hall, an m/m fantasy inspired by Beauty and The Beast. In this scene, Wryler’s father informs him that he’s been betrothed to the notorious Lord Aeric Rouchet. Last week, Wryler found out that he’s to leave for Gryffon Hall three days hence. His father, who is entirely unsympathetic to Wrylers’ misgivings, is the speaker:

***

“Cheer up, Wryler. I don’t want my last image of you to be the one of muddled misery I see before me now. When you give me that baleful look, I can’t help but think of your mother.” He sighed, momentarily woeful, then rallied, slapping his hands together. “Let’s go, Cook, we’ve still got a house full of guests with aching heads–all ripe for a little lucrative conversation.”

With that, the two intruders departed, slamming the door behind them. Wryler stood motionless, listening to their fading boot stomps and the grating buzz of Amster’s snores.

Sent away into the wilderness, alone, to live out his days with a stranger. A barbarous stranger who battled monsters for a living. For most of Wryler’s life, Gryffon Hall had been held up as an example of power gone awry—a once great seat of power brought down by greed and black magic.

***

Fated to be born the useless fourth son of the Lord of Glimmerveen, Wryler dreams of getting married and escaping the rustic confines of his father’s castle. A wealthy merchant’s son seems to hold the key to Wryler’s safe if somewhat dreary future. However, the arrival of a mysterious stranger on the eve of Wryler’s betrothal sends his plans into disarray and Wryler finds himself traded off in marriage to one of the most notorious rogues in the land.

Is Lord Aeric Rouchet the scoundrel he appears to be, or is he something much worse? Separated from his family and thrust into a strange and dangerous new life at the foreboding Gryffon Hall, Wryler must unravel the secret of his husband’s shadowed life and defeat the curse which threatens not only his growing affection for the barbarian in his bed, but the lives of everyone the Lord of Gryffon Hall is sworn to protect.

Check out the great review on Diverse Reader.

Buy on Amazon

ARe

Loose Id

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My Sexy Saturday ~ This Undeniable Fact

September 10, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to My Sexy Saturday, the blog hop where a host of writers share steamy snippets from their published work or work in progress in either seven words, seven sentences or seven paragraphs.

This week I’m sharing from my new and shiny m/m release, Gryffon Hall. The theme is My Sexy Dilemma and on Wryler’s wedding night, he unexpectedly finds himself right in the middle of one. His groom has become irritatingly respectful all of a sudden, and what happens next is up to Wryler.

***

Wryler rolled onto his side and felt horribly, dreadfully lonely. Dratted wine.

Rouchet’s touch, his kisses, his heat…had been so convincing, so passionate. Rouchet had awakened a fire in Wryler only to douse it with politeness.

How dare Rouchet be so polite all of a sudden? So irritatingly considerate? There was, if one wanted to open one’s heart to further humiliation, the tiniest possibility that what Rouchet had said was actually true. He wanted to give Wryler the choice.

Wryler flopped onto his back again. Perhaps, not only was Rouchet not a monster, but quite human. Maybe he wanted to be wanted just as Wryler did.

“Ridiculous,” Wryler muttered. “You’re only thinking that because you want it to be true.” He sat up and, after a moment, pulled off his boots. Then he tore at the cravat. He nearly choked himself, but got it off and threw it aside. Damn it. Rouchet was supposed to be doing this. Wryler’s husband was supposed to be peeling his clothes off, lavishing him with kisses, groping him with abandon.

“Oh, stop it,” he said to his traitorous cock, which stiffened and swelled, entirely unaware that it had been rejected right along with the rest of Wryler’s body. His breathing grew ragged.

He wanted Rouchet. All Wryler’s arguments against this undeniable fact crumbled to dust.

***

Check out the great review at Diverse Reader. (And check out the blog tour giveaway)

Buy on Amazon

ARe

Loose Id

And finally, don’t forget to continue the hop for more sexy snippets at My Sexy Saturday

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Better Get Packing

September 4, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Greetings and welcome to another round of Weekend Writing Warriors.

I’m forging ahead with a scene from my new release, Gryffon Hall. Wryler has just found out that he’s been betrothed to a stranger, the notorious Lord Aeric Rouchet. The arrangement is very advantageous for Wryler’s father, but that’s cold comfort to Wryler. The “they” in the first sentence is Wryler’s father and a government minister.

***

They both smiled broadly, completely unconcerned with Wryler’s feelings or the terrifying fate they’d bound him to.

Wryler lifted his chin and put back his shoulders. “And when is the ceremony set to occur? Sometime in the summer?” he asked, mind racing. There was still a chance he could talk to Rouchet and explain that Wryler had no interest in marrying him, that he loved—or at least was fond of—another. Maybe MacFarlane would reject the Arsburry offer and Wryler’s father could be persuaded to reconsider—

“Seven days hence at Gryffon Hall. Lord Rouchet has already taken his leave in order to prepare his household. You’re to follow in three days. Better get packing.”

***

Buy on Amazon

ARe

Loose Id

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