Sunday Snippet: Halloween Haunt (a Lantern Jack tale)

You know, I love a great fireworks display … but … I don't love almost a full week of random nonstop barrages from different locations where I can't even see them. Because at least I'd be able to enjoy something while my poor doggos are huddled against me shaking and freaking out. In all seriousness, I don't begrudge people having the funds and knowledge to celebrate with fireworks. But I also hate the first week of July for anyone who has pets that can't deal with the show.

It's been a weird week with a toilet repair followed by a washing machine leak that needed fixed. I'm still working on the leak because, seriously, it's never a simple thing when I'm involved. I'm crossing my fingers for not having anything else water-related to deal with this week.

Had another super busy week of work. I'm slogging through a very, very long proofread and I'm almost at the finish line. Completed a copyedit that ended up having some consistency concerns but ended up being such a great story. And it's a holiday book! I love editing holiday manuscripts.

Didn't get a lot of viewing in, mainly because the proofread is difficult subject matter and so long I don't want to risk losing my spot by getting distracted. I definitely don't want to do a lot of repeat work because I lose my place.

I did get to watch an episode of My Life Is Murder. I so enjoy this show. The characters are such a delight.

I also finished up the episode of Elementary that I started last week. I have to admit I'm not quite sure if I'm down with Mycroft possibly being a bad guy. My guess is he's working with someone we've seen before, and I have two people in mind. Stay tuned to see if I'm right.

And that's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Halloween Haunt, a Lantern Jack tale featuring clairvoyant and a vampire.

Here's the miniblurb:

Lantern Jack is back to right another wrong. Hadria Hardcastle is a clairvoyant medium who runs an investigation agency—she solves the unsolvable. Safford Sturgeon is a six-hundred-year-old vampire tired of his undead existence. When a trail of dead bodies leads Hadria to Safford's front door, she has to decide if he's guilty or being framed. Safford won't make her job easy, but meeting Hadria shakes him out of his lethargy and promises to make his life worth living.

And a preview snippet…

Safford Sturgeon closed his laptop and frowned. "The death of my contractor can't be a coincidence." Not within a month of his personal assistant and six months of the manager of his art gallery.

Three people in his trusted, but very limited, inner circle.

Safford curled his fingers into his palm. "Someone wants to turn my life upside down." And they were succeeding.

"You're not wrong. Even when you avoid the rest of the world, it has an uncanny ability to intrude."

Safford eyed the ugly monstrosity sitting on the table in his kitchen. "What the hell are you?" He sniffed the air. "Ugh, you wear the stench of several centuries." He wrinkled his nose.

The pumpkin smirked. Smirked!

It spoke again. "Hi, Pot, I'm Kettle." The gourd paused a moment. "You do understand the reference, don't you?"

Safford snorted. "Of course, Kettle. Why are you here? " Disturbing my inner musing.

The pumpkin sighed. "The name is Jack and I'm here with a warning."

Safford rolled his eyes. "Spare me the doom and gloom. I've seen several lifetimes of it. Why do you think I've limited my contact with outsiders?" Which definitely includes talking vegetation.

Jack scoffed. "Because you're a cranky old man with his boxers in a bunch?"

Safford snarled his response. "No, you moronic gourd. It's because I don't want to be bothered by anyone else."

Jack grunted. "Too bad, bloodsucker." He wobbled to the edge of the table. "Your past is getting ready—if you'll excuse the pun—to bite you on the ass."

Safford narrowed his eyes. "Do you have anything to do with the murders of my friends?" He'd smash the sneering pumpkin to pieces if he did.

Jack tsked. "No, I came to tell you to make a list. One of your enemies is making a move."

As if Safford didn't already know.

Jack moved back to the middle of the surface. "Don't dawdle, Sturgeon. While you're making that list, you're going to learn about what vengeance can do to wreak havoc on the universe."

Safford didn't relish the idea, but he sighed and dragged the notebook he'd already set out forward and started writing.

Jack waited until Safford had one full column before he started his tale of woe. "A long, long time ago I got very angry…"

The Lantern Jack tales are a lot of fun to write. I love letting Jack get his snark on.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye