Sunday Snippet: Six Degrees of Separation

Apparently an awards show aired earlier tonight. LOL I didn't watch the Oscars because I got sucked into Doctor Who and The Walking Dead. I have an episode of Banshee to catch up on then I'm ready to start my new TV viewing week. YAY!

As promised, tonight's post is from Six Degrees of Separation. It follows the events in The Souvenir and delves a little deeper into the fallout when Ramona and Melick realize how they feel for each other.

Here's the tagline:

Melick Traynor and Ramona Peartry, two Academy of Light magicians, have a single passionate encounter after Ramona nearly loses her life to a dragon. But when they navigate their new relationship status, Melick has to step down as Ramona's precept, but neglects to tell her why.

And the preview snippet…

Ramona shifted on her cot. The healing chambers didn't offer much in the way of entertainment. She'd already been banned from practicing spells. Too disruptive to the other four patients or something stupid like that.

Bored and cranky, she had no to blame but herself. It sucked.

Technically, after five days in the infirmary, she should've been back in classes and working on achieving the next level. They'd repaired the more extensive damage to her knee after tangling with the dragon, but not even two binding spells seemed to be enough to get her up and on her feet. She knew the biggest reason had nothing to do with the dull throb that wouldn't quite go away. She might be great at acting tough. But she hated pain. Yet that didn't keep her down for the count.

Nope. The big, bad reason she couldn't seem to get out of bed related to one thing.

Fear.

It terrified her to think she might have permanent damage. Sure. But if she had to be honest—and she kinda didn't have an option since she had nothing to do but think about stuff—she didn't know if she could face Melick on equal footing after the whirlpool tryst.

He'd opened up something, broken through her defenses and changed the rules on her. And yeah, he stopped in to visit her every day but the maddening man hadn't mentioned the hot encounter at all. What, exactly, should she think about that?

Too many different things, dammit.

She had time on her hands and it forced her to run through every scenario. Goods ones. Bad ones. Yesterday she'd almost grabbed him and begged him to explain what he'd been thinking that first night back. If only to get the big asshat to have a reaction. Yet she couldn't bring herself to spit it out.

Usually she had zero problem asking point blank questions, but found when she really gave a damn about the outcome, the words didn't come so easy. And it sorta pissed her off. She could pull off elaborate pranks and jokes, but didn't have the ability to have a very serious conversation?

Mage's bones, what an idiot.

She settled back down in the bed and whipped out a deck of cards. A distraction would do wonders to restore her mood.

Melick needs a good, strong lesson in Communication Skills 101. LOL

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: The Souvenir

February 17, 2013

I have a wonderful secret to share. Watching an all-day marathon of Firefly makes catching up on mountains of laundry more fun than it should be. LOL

Tonight's Snippet is from The Souvenir featuring two of my favorite characters. (Yes, I know. I say that frequently. :D) It has a follow up in the works called Six Degrees of Separation that I'll preview next week. I'm hoping to submit both at the same time.

Here's the tagline:

Melick Traynor and Ramona Peartry, childhood friends and top students in the Academy of Light, compete for prominence in their respective classes. But when Melick throws out a challenge, Ramona takes an insane risk to prove him wrong and winds up tangling with the dragon plaguing campus grounds.

And here's the preview snippet…

Ramona Peartry let out a loud whoop.

The extra practice she'd put in finally paid off. The elusive quadruple somersault followed by a double barrel roll had finally been attained. Showy stuff and usually frowned upon, but she'd set a goal two years ago when she'd entered the Academy of Light so to actually achieve it? Divine Master, she felt infused with warmth and a sense of accomplishment.

She made several giddy flips and dips in celebration and couldn't wait to get back to campus and throw her solid win in Melick's face. She obviously did not lack the stamina and control to pull off the difficult maneuver.

Not anymore.

Her face split in a wide grin. Crowing to him would be the highlight of this semester. Melick Traynor might be her precept, an elder adept who tried to mentor the lower level cadets, but she counted him as a friend, too. She'd become a ward of the Master Sage when her parents died and had grown up alongside Melick.

Now, at the age of twenty, and halfway through her training, her pranks made him insane, but he made her just as mad with his rigid adherence to the rules. And yeah, things had been a little weird lately. She caught Melick looking at her like he'd seen her for the first time. The way she looked at him sometimes. It put a strain on their interactions. Having something to make him proud might nudge them out of the funk they'd been in.

She made a slow, steady bank around the back of the practice field and spun forward to head home. A strangled gasp escaped when she looked up and saw her worst nightmare headed directly toward her.

A huge, gleaming red, dragon…one that spewed fiery flames from its mouth.

Holy underworld.  She'd just flown into big time trouble.

Ramona biting off more than she can chew? Nothing unusual. Getting her out of the scrapes is half the fun of writing for her. :D

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Meddlesome Gods

Watching Skyfall while I write my post and trying to decide if I want to dive into The Walking Dead tonight before bed or wait until it's daylight out to view the zombiefest.

Probably wait for daylight. LOL

Tonight's post is from a short story written for the Pantheon anthology with Ellipses Press. Meddlesome Gods has Cupids of the First Order and interaction with Aphrodite and Ares. Fun times!!

Here's the tagline:

Bree Daniels, a Cupid of the First Order, loves to have a good time and stays foot loose and fancy free. But when she has to face Archer Stewart, the one she pushed away, her feelings get all tangled up. Being immortal has lots of perks, but loneliness isn't one of them.

And now for a preview snippet…

Bree Daniels had a dilemma. Up next for a turn at the matching pool—she'd put it off as long as she could—she'd end up face to face with Archer Stewart. And he would not be happy to see her.

And didn't that just figure? Because she couldn't wait to lay eyes on him. And maybe her hands and other body parts, too. If he didn't try to strangle her before she had the chance.

She didn't really blame him. Her track record with him sucked so far. First, there were the less than stellar circumstances they'd met under. She'd arrived naked from a beach in Belize. The hook-up she'd had took a weird turn and the guy hid her clothes. Already late, she decided not to waste time and popped into the Grotto sans anything but skin…which completely made a bad impression with Arch.

But they'd muddled through that debacle and found some common ground. Enough that they spent some time together. Got to know each other. Spent a glorious week at the Four Corners.

The sex had been incredible.

But Arch wanted more…and Bree didn't feel ready to be tied down.

That didn't go over well.

And then came the curse. Poor Arch couldn't leave the Grotto until Ares removed it. And she'd been the indirect cause.

Gads…when she screwed up, she really did it up right.

She needed some deified intervention. And found herself standing outside Aphrodite's private chambers.

If anyone could help Bree fix the mess she'd made, it would be the goddess of love.

Raising a hand, she rang the chimes and waited to be summoned inside.

Gotta say, getting Bree out of the mess she's made of everything has been wicked fun writing. She's caught up in a trap of her own making and I love writing characters like her.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Hot as Hades

Okay, big game over. Food coma close to happening. But blog post must go up. LOL

Tonight's Sunday Snippet is from another work in progress that got a start a long time ago. Not quite twenty years, but still…the sages have been rather stingy with the story on this one. Cheeky buggers.

Hot as Hades developed out of a brainstorming idea for Ellipses Press and their Pantheon brand. Take a god or goddess of any realm and have them interact with humanity. Let the fun time ensue. J

Here's the tagline:

Roxie St. Clair, an up and coming artist, wants to live and work on her own terms. But when the god of the underworld informs her of the underhanded tactics of her former employer, she decides to turn the tables and fight back.

And the preview snippet…

The god of the underworld paced the confines of his private chamber, muttering curses under his breath. If he said them out loud, his underlings would, no doubt, make certain every last one of them were carried out.

He might be pissed off at Aphrodite…but he also loved her to pieces and didn't really want to see her trussed up and held over an open vat of acid. He just enjoyed venting with a creative flair.

Leave it to her to remember a promise he'd made eons ago. The one she'd tricked him into making. There had to be some kind of loophole to get out of it. He had zero desire to spend a month away from his realm. He liked being melancholy. He didn't need to be surrounded with happiness. Aphrodite just didn't get it.

He snorted. Of course she wouldn't.

But, as she would remind him, a promise equaled a promise. It didn't matter that it had been made in a moment of weakness. Not to her.

So…he would keep it. And venture out into the mortal world to spend a month among the living.

How fun.

Not.

"You have to give it a chance, darling."

Hades no longer wondered how Persephone always seemed to know exactly what his thoughts were. Several lifetimes together might have something to do with it.

"I don't have to do anything." He snapped the words and regretted them as soon as they left his mouth.

Persephone bristled. "No, no you don't." Her voice took on a haughty tone. "But you could choose to not be such an ass and maybe, just maybe, discover something worthwhile in the land of the living." Not bothering to wait for a reply, she walked regally from the room.

Hades sighed. So much she hadn't said. Didn't have to.

Seph spent half a cycle in the land of the living. His reticence to leave his domain and spend any kind of time in her world implied he didn't find her worthwhile. And it always became a bone of contention between them.

And it hurt Seph.

He'd certainly mucked that up.

Hades might not like to interact with humanity, but Roxie ends up getting to him and not in a romantic way. Persephone owns his heart. Hades has just the man in mind to help Roxie thwart her grabby handed former employer. That's when things get interesting. LOL

That's it for this week. Hope you enjoyed.

Cheers!

Skye