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.

***

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 ~ 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

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ An Alien?

April 26, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where a whole bunch of awesome writers share their work in eight sentence snippets.

I’m continuing on with excerpts from my erotic m/m space opera, From Mars, With Love, because I can’t face abandoning Eli to his fate just yet. Last week he woke up to find his desperate escape attempt had failed and he was in one of the stasis pods of the slave ship. An asteroider and security bot are discussing his ring, which is giving out some odd readings.

***

“That’s an alien living on his finger?”

“Don’t gossip, Dwar, you know how easy it is to get this crew into a panic. Now key up the spectrometer readout.”

An alien? That was crazy, but anything that kept them from cutting off his finger was a good thing, bullshit or not. Eli rolled his head to the other side, noticed they’d removed the last of his clothes and that his skin on the right side looked a little funny.

“The flash burns are nearly healed, I see.” The robotic voice came from a security crab hovering much too close, propulsion jets heating Eli’s exposed flesh.

***

Because gals like to have fun in space with guns too. Let’s just hope Eli’s alien isn’t quite so slimy.

***

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Alterations

April 19, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to another round of Weekend Writing Warriors. I was going to move on to a new story, but I decided that considering where I left off last week, that would just be mean. I’m sure you’re all curious to know how Eli’s escape attempt turned out. This is from my erotic space opera in progress, From Mars, With Love.

***

Reluctantly, Eli opened his eyes. A crushing wave of disappointment washed over him. He was in a pod, or half a pod, anyway. They hadn’t sealed him in yet. He tried to move but found his arms and legs weighed about a thousand kilos each. His left arm was stretched out along a metal plate, his wrist held in a vice and a microscope was trained on his pinky finger. Blue and red scan lines rippled across his mother’s ring.

“Until we discover the nature of the object, no alterations will be made to the host.”

***

So now you know. Sorry. Here is a pretty picture to alleviate your pain.