#AtoZChallenge – V is for Visit

Posted by tmycann on Apr 25th, 2013 in indie, writing | 1 comment

As we’re getting to the end of the alphabet, I find it interesting that chapter 1 of Blood to Fire is titled “Visit”… So you get an excerpt today–the first few paragraphs of book two of the Red Slaves trilogy:

There’s an annoying twinge intruding on my consciousness; I’m happy, tucked away in my stone niche, reading. Someone is looking for me again. I know who it is, but I don’t want him to find me. At least not yet. I didn’t want to be mated, yet I am—to Ivan, the prototypical leader of the pack. Not only that, but I have an entourage. Ivan, Vasily, and Fyodor are nice men. Good men. Good-looking men. But I’m used to being on my own, and the past couple of months have shown me more action than I ever expected to face based on my preference for sedentary pursuits. Life would be perfect in this library-like nook if I just had something to nibble.

Maybe if I sit still and focus harder on the words, the voice will go away.

The words blur together and my vision is overlaid with images of food on our dining room table. I reconsider. I am hungry after all.

Even as I uncurl myself from the velvet-covered bolster that had made the chaise such a comfortable retreat, I mutter about room-mates. “I haven’t had room-mates since I lived at home and had to share with my sister. Why doesn’t anyone understand I need alone time?”

“You’re talking to yourself again.”

I whirl around and find Olga smiling at me. “You! You’re back?” I run toward her, but stop myself from a full-on bear-hug attack. She hugs me instead. “Will you stay longer this time? Save me from an overdose of men?”

She laughs. She really is beautiful, and marriage seems to suit her. I’m thankful my research-partner-in-crime has returned to me. I know she’s been busy setting up a branch office to satisfy my erstwhile boss, Sam Stone, so the latest ancillary to his empire will run efficiently. Not that the stress is apparent in her face. The complexion that had glowed previously is now truly radiant, and the twinkle in her eye is ever-present. “We’re here for two weeks this time, in honor of what our boss likes to call Holiday Shut-down. Andrei is settling our bags into the guest suite. Ivan said you had hidden again but maybe you would come if I asked nicely?”

Intrigued? It’s available in both eBook and paperback formats from Amazon.