Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Whatever Might Fall Out of the Sky

January 8, 2017 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. It’s strange here in Oregon. We’re experience this phenomena called “winter”. There’s been ice and snow, ice and snow. If you stand outside too long, your toes start to hurt. So in other words, perfect writing weather.

I’m continuing to share from my current project, Death by Starlight, the sequel to Betwixt and Between. This picks up right where we left off last week, with Ezekiel the dark elf returning to Seattle from a journey to his homeland.

***

Zeke wasn’t used to giving a second thought to what anyone might think of his comings and goings, but he knew Ian would be worried. Although Zeke’s bond with his lover was strong, Ian’s powers weren’t steady enough yet to track Zeke through the dark realm. Even if they were, Zeke wouldn’t allow Ian to expose himself by keeping open a connection. The dark realm was still full of creatures who wanted nothing more than to destroy Zeke’s half-human, half-liosa lover. Zeke wasn’t too popular himself.

Zeke hunched his shoulders, shrugging off the cool, damp air. The world of humans was colder, brighter, more porous and open to whatever might fall out of the sky. For a moment Zeke was tempted to slip back into the hot, enclosed world he’d just emerged from, but that urge was quickly swept away by an overwhelming need to see Ian, to hold him, touch him, reignite their bond.

He’d dampened his connection with Ian in order to protect him, but now that Zeke was back, his body vibrated with desire. Suddenly the air wasn’t so cold and he opened his long leather jacket, letting the breeze ruffle his silk shirt.

***

Here’s the scoop on book 1 in the Edge of Night series: Betwixt and Between

***

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

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 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):

***

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.

***

The Blurb:

***

Available at these retailers: Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble

Seductive Studs ~ Unfortunate Encounter

September 26, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to Seductive Studs, the hop that celebrates m/m romance in all its many wonderful forms. This week I’m sharing a snippet from my latest release, Gryffon Hall, a fantasy inspired by Beauty and the Beast.

***

Morning arrived on the plodding feet of ill-tempered giants. Glimmerveen Castle ground into a tumultuous, clanging upheaval as the harsh light of day crept over the castle’s outer walls and poured into Wryler’s window with relentless persistence.

He sat in bed with his hands wrapped around a mug of tea, recounting the evils of alcohol and swearing off the foul brew for the rest of his days. Amster snored loudly, stretched out on the settee beneath the window. Wryler had to summon a kitchen maid to bring him his breakfast—hot, spiced tea, dry bread, and a few sad-looking pieces of fruit. He nibbled on the bread and listened to fifty-odd guests loading their carriages, shouting at the servants, and generally making a very pointless racket. He wondered if Lord Rouchet was among those leaving and, with a creeping dread, recalled their unfortunate encounter.

Wryler’s body stirred, and he grimly ordered it to calm down. Thank goodness he hadn’t succumbed to Rouchet’s impetuous advances. It was a small miracle the brute hadn’t taken advantage of Wryler’s obvious drunkenness. He dimly recalled Rouchet threatening to hoist Wryler over his shoulder and carry him off to ravish him, at which point Wryler had said something devastating enough to send the barbarian running off into the night.

To his extreme irritation this muddled memory did nothing to soothe his body. His troublesome cock just kept growing harder and harder no matter how much Wryler conjured terrifying images of being abducted by the lord, manhandled, forced to do… Well, his imagination wasn’t that lurid… Oh dear, yes it was.

He nearly dumped the tea in his lap when someone thumped loudly on his door, and for a second he thought it might be Rouchet come to make good on his threats.

Then the door burst open and his father marched in, followed closely by his first minister, Fenwale Cook. They were both smiling, which made Wryler want to leap from the bed and throw himself out the window. No good ever came from his father smiling.

***

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.

Amazon

ARe

Loose Id

***

Don’t forget to continue the hop at Seductive Studs for more steamy m/m goodness.

My Sexy Saturday ~ A Touch More Monstrous

September 24, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to the 160th Week of My Sexy Saturday. This week’s theme is Sexy Has It’s Way. I don’t know about you, but I keep reading that as Sexy GETS It’s Way. And it usually does, doesn’t it? In this scene from Gryffon Hall, Lord Aeric Rouchet definitely thinks he’s going get his way.

***

“Never mind Formister,” the lord of the manor said as he followed Wryler out. “He was quite the rogue in his day. He only pretends to be offended.”

“But he had every right to be. Really, Lord Rouchet, your behavior is less than decorous.” Shame still writhed in Wryler’s innards. He couldn’t get away from the librarian and his smirks fast enough.

“Ah, we’re back to Lord Rouchet, are we?” Rouchet grabbed Wryler’s arm and stopped him. Wryler didn’t like the mischievous gleam in Rouchet’s eye one bit. “As far as rude behavior goes, you haven’t seen anything yet. I’ll have you on every flat surface in this castle before the year’s out.”

This time Wryler managed to keep his head and jerked free, chin held high. “That’s your right, as my lord, but I have one more day of freedom, and I ask you to respect my person until that time as I have no say in matter.”

“I’m sorry if you feel that our marriage is a prison sentence for you, but I have to say your fiery gaze and your words only enflame my passions. I quite look forward to being your lord and abusing everything our bond entitles me to.” Rouchet grinned, and Wryler had to admit the flash of white teeth made him look quite handsome and a touch more monstrous. Odd that the two things didn’t seem to conflict. But Aunt Otillia was right. Wryler must establish himself as someone to be respected, not only with the servants but the master of the house as well.

“I would kindly request that you keep your distance until we meet at the altar tonight. Until then, I bid you good day.” Wryler bowed stiffly and then marched down the hall, half expecting Rouchet to pounce on him from behind. Instead Rouchet laughed again and called after him.

“Don’t get lost now, Sir Wryler. I can’t bear the thought of delaying our union a single moment.”

***

Check out the great review on Diverse Reader.

Amazon

ARe

Loose Id

***

Don’t forget to continue the hop at My Sexy Saturday for more steamy snippets.

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Not Even a Life

September 18, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where a bunch of really great writers share excerpts from their published work or work-in-progress. As I hope everyone on the vast interweb knows by now, my m/m fantasy Gryffon Hall released on August 30. I’ve been sharing from the scene where Wryler finds out he’s been betrothed to the notorious Lord Rouchet. He’s been left alone to pack and roil in his own worry and misery. I skipped ahead a bit from last week.

***

And the master of Gryffon Hall, Aeric Rouchet, destined to be Wryler’s protector and husband, what of him? Wryler could only think of the man tearing into the greasy flesh on his plate and wonder how he behaved when out of the company of refined men and women.

Wryler forced himself to move. There had to be some way out of this cursed fate. He went to his wardrobe and flung it open. He could run away. But where on earth would he go? As a youth he’d harbored fantasies of returning to his mother’s people, but now a very harsh truth hit him. His mother had been traded off to Wryler’s father just as Wryler was now being traded off to Rouchet. A life in exchange for an advantageous trade agreement, and not even a life, in the eyes of the dealmakers, but a title, a name.

***

Check out the great review on Diverse Reader.

Amazon

ARe

Loose Id

***

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.

***

Check out the great review on Diverse Reader.

Buy on Amazon

ARe

Loose Id

***