Weekend Writing Warriors #19

July 6, 2014 by Alexis Duran

Hello everyone. I hope you had an enjoyable Independence Day, and if you have a freaked-out-by-fireworks dog like I do, I hope it was relatively peaceful and that all your furry friends made it through without too much trauma. My neighborhood was surprisingly quiet this year. I usually do a movie marathon while holding my dog’s paw, but I fell asleep early catching up on the last season of Castle. Have I mentioned how much I love Nathan Fillion? Anyway, it’s a lovely day for a blog hop, so don’t forget to check out all the amazing stories being spun over on the WWW website.

May we all look this hot while writing.

I’m continuing with my recently completed m/m erotic high fantasy fun in the forest magical romp with witches, threeves and hunky guys with swords.

To Catch A Threeve (Constable Axel Blackwood and his deputy, Drummond Alloway, are journeying by horseback through the deep forest)

Axel wasn’t surprised someone discovered his mission. The castle at Breckenride was as thick with gossiping, plotting knaves as any backwoods tavern, and despite the caution taken by Lady Lysette word must have leaked out. He’d warned her transporting the gem would be dangerous and a convoy might be better for the job than one constable and a hired sword, but she’d insisted she wanted to draw no attention to the removal of the gem from the castle.

Attention had been drawn, and Axel had every intention of finding out who in the castle had set a thief after them. He’d take the sneak alive and whip the truth out of him.

The jingle of tack and a stream of curses alerted him to Drummond’s imminent arrival. He hadn’t yet told his deputy about their stalker. He didn’t want anything to alert the would-be thief that his presence was known.

***

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

Weekend Writing Warriors #18

June 29, 2014 by Alexis Duran

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.

***

Starry Nights- SFR Brigade Summer Hop

June 21, 2014 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to the SFR Brigade Starry Night Blog Hop! For my part I’ve decided to share an excerpt from my WIP, an erotic space opera. I hope you enjoy reading it and have fun continuing on the hop.

From Mars, With Love

The man in black put his hand on Eli’s shoulder and pushed him forward. “Shall we transport, or do you like it here?”

Eli shrugged the hand off, or tried to. The man squeezed tighter. Eli glared at him, yanked free and moved through the shuttle bay to a newly blowtorched hole where the marines had latched one of their mobile boarding tunnels. He took the chance to look out the wide portals. Camouflaged the color of night, the marine ship was nearly invisible. He could tell it was huge, about ten times the size of the cruiser. Battleship class. He couldn’t identify the subclass. Something new and secret. Maybe that’s why the man in black was there.

Eli’s gaze drifted beyond the void created by the ship. He froze in place. An audible gasp escaped as his mouth dropped open. He couldn’t help it. Earth hung in the abyss of space, a bluish dot approaching the point where it would become just another star.

He’d resented being called a groundling, but that’s what he was. He’d never left earth, barely ever left the surface and had only seen the stars in cheap lounge holos and vids at the library. Very rarely, when the northeastern winds picked up, he’d spotted a few distant lights in the sky beyond the gleam of the domes and towers of the city. That hadn’t stopped him from dreaming of being a pilot. In fact, the distant allure of those lights had encouraged his fantasies of adventures, far above the trash heaps of home.

This was no dream. The diamond specks of distant suns filled the swoop of space. He’d never believed there were so many. All thoughts dropped away as his reality finally hit him. No ground beneath his feet, only unfathomable distance. He expected the man in black to push him again. Instead he stood behind him. Eli could feel the heat radiating off him, a palpable contrast to the stunning emptiness all around them.

“First time off planet?” the man asked.

Eli snorted derisively. “Hardly.” But he still didn’t move. Not until propelled forward by a hand on his back. The touch was gentle this time. Somewhere in the back of his brain, Eli noted this. He’d think about it when he came down off the high of the stars.

***

My Giveaway:

Because my recently released novel, Touch of Salar, is fantasy, not science fiction, I decided to giveaway a $10.00 gift certificate to my publisher, Loose Id, so that you, dear reader, could select a steamy SF novel or whatever genre of steamy you like. After the hop ends on the 25th I’ll choose a winner by drawing a random name from everyone who comments on this post. Thanks for stopping by!

SFR Contest:

Click here to enter the Grand Prize Drawing!

Continue the Hop!

Hubble Deep Space – enhanced photo from NASA

Weekend Writing Warriors #17 + Cover Reveal!

June 15, 2014 by Alexis Duran

Hello Warriors, Writers, Readers and Random Internet Browsers!

I’m super excited today because I now have the cover for Touch of Salar. Bask in the wonderfulness over there in the sidebar. The cover artist is Fiona Jayde and I think she did a fabulous job of capturing the mood and creating a striking image. (That model is pretty damn cute, I must say). To celebrate I’m sharing another snippet from Touch, this time from the point of view of The Major.

Touch of Salar

Major Jamil Jarka left the temple in a bit of a daze and walked into the heavily floral air of the surrounding gardens. He’d gone into the healing room that morning expecting nothing more than a simple massage accompanied by incense, chants, and more of the mystical folderol these monks excelled in.

He’d barely noted the young monk assigned to him for this stage of his treatment, who was allegedly one of the most gifted at Ka’alar. Jamil had already forgotten his name, but not the intense pleasure nor the pain inflicted. He’d doubted a monk’s touch could do much for him, but he was willing to try anything that would get him cleared for duty. He itched to put his skills to use in the fight against the growing southern rebellion that threatened the survival of Rakkan.

When the monk had begun his work, Jamil was surprised by the power and firmness of the fingers. The shadowy person he’d glimpsed hadn’t radiated strength, only that same damnable calmness and inscrutability required of monks everywhere.

***

In a world ruled by tyrannical kings and fickle gods, the young monk M’lan finds himself at the center of royal intrigue as his healing powers attract the attention of his superiors. When he learns the handsome warrior whose body he’s tending to is not only a noble, but a king’s assassin, any attachment to him might prove fatal. Despite the danger, he can’t stop himself from falling in love. Can he risk the abandon of passion when a slip of the tongue might force his lover to execute him?

Major Jamil Jarka comes to the temple with one intention—heal his wounds so he can return to the fight against the rebellion. When the monk assigned to him turns out to be stunningly attractive, he sees this as a pleasant distraction, no more. But soon he finds himself becoming obsessed with M’lan and is torn between the fear of betrayal and the lure of love.

Sinister forces strive to turn the monk and the warrior against each other—a conflict neither will survive if they cannot trust their lives to love and the healing power of Salar.

****

Weekend Writing Warriors #16

June 8, 2014 by Alexis Duran

Greetings Warriors, Writers and Readers. I’m continuing on from last week with a selection from my recently completed WIP (yeah!). To Catch a Threeve is an erotic m/m fantasy.

To Catch a Threeve

Axel rested one forearm on the pommel, closed his eyes and listened as old Talesin had taught him. Only a few moments passed before the forest creatures adjusted to his presence. A nighthawk shrieked, four-footed scavengers rustled in the low growing shrubs and night feeding swallows cut and darted in the air above him.

I know you’re still there, he thought, and sank deeper into his listening trance. Axel’s deputy, Drummond Alloway, had fallen behind at the last creek crossing, partly because his mount was not as sure of foot as Axel’s, but also because Axel wanted this time alone and had hurried his pace. Drummond’s horse now pounded along the road in the distance.

The far off creek burbled, its mineral scent rising beneath the pungent bite of ironwood pitch and moldering oak leaves. With his senses sharpened, Axel smelled his stalker before he heard him.

***

Weekend Writing Warriors #15

June 1, 2014 by Alexis Duran

And now for something completely different. In celebration of completing my current WIP, I’ve decided to post a few snippets from the first chapter. To Catch A Threeve is high fantasy, with swords, castles, witches, hunky constables, sexy thieves, and oh, yeah, threeves. Stay tuned to find out what the heck a threeve is.

To Catch a Threeve

As the crescent moon sank behind the jagged line of the Lacknor Mountains, shadows merged in the depth of the forest, smothering the last of the light. An oppressive stillness was disturbed only by the thud of hooves on a narrow dirt road. That too ended when the rider reined in his horse and waited, chin lowered to chest.

The man formed a silhouette against the shadows, draped in a black cloak and mounted on a black horse. His boots and hair were also black and his sword sheathed in black leather. If any dared draw close enough, they’d see eyes the shade of storm clouds and a gaze that pierced the dark with an uncanny light.

Constable Axel Blackwood barely breathed as he listened for signs of his stalker. Except for the heavy panting of his horse, the creak of his leather saddle and his own heartbeat, nothing out of place disturbed the quiet.

***