The voices in my head have faces!

I tend to be a visual person, so I have this 'inspiration board' on my computer to help me keep a firm grasp on my characters. Some of these are celebrities (I think) and some are just random faces I found on the web. I thought I'd share them, and we can see who agrees or disagrees with me.

Disclaimer: whatever it is that is supposed to be said here about not owning rights to these pics or not intending to step on toes or piss celebrities off, or  not intending to associate a certain person with my characters, etc. etc. etc... Yeah, that.

 

Row 1 (top): Dimitri, Marchand, Cohn, Breannah, Auviannah, Cahtiannah, Dre

Row 2: Gretchen, Daniel, Ryn, Tori, Lea, Dain, Adie

Row 3: Laisa, Mitch, Abel, Mae, Kia, Karak, Cait (don't worry bout her yet)

Row 4: Toni, Shayne, Jaroz, Vivie, Caiden, Kako, "Lucy" (yes, he'll be back)

 

 

Also, a little graphic fun (because I get super board at work and have nothing to do and no internet access)

 



 

 

 

 

That is all. Carry on with the rest of your day!

 

 



Tiny Snippet and News

Book 2 is done! I'm currently in rewrite mode, then will move on to "the land of a thousand edits" and then.... drumroll... publication on September 30th!

Also, I'm coming up on the end of my Amazon-only deal, so book 1 will be available on Barnes & Noble and All Romance the first week of September. If I manage to properly format the manuscript, it will be available on Smashwords as well (we shall see).

And now, your tiny snippet... Don't get too excited, it's just a teaser lol

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

    “Find that phone,” Mae barked, “and destroy it!”

Abel flung himself across her as he searched frantically for the ringing phone. Hard abs pressed against soft stomach. Good morning.

As he reached for the ground where the phone had apparently fallen, he slipped, crashing to the floor on his head.

“Gods, are you hurt?” she cried, sitting up on her knees to check on him. He sat up, rubbing his head and grinning at her, then handed her the phone.

 

 

 

Faetal Illusion - Sept. 30, 2013

Random Snippet: Fear of Heights

    “What happened to you?” Tori asked.

“Stratosphere,” Mae whispered.

Tori laughed loudly. “How can you possibly live on the thirty-sixth floor and have an issue with heights?”

“Because I’m Fae. Buildings are different. I can be up high if it’s enclosed and solid. My balcony is fine because my witchy-bitches made sure that nobody is going to go careening over the edge. The Stratosphere, however, has no such guarantee. And it fucking sways.”

“Don’t give her shit,” Ryn chided, poking Tori in the side. “You hate heights too. How many times have you demanded that we move to the bat cave, as you put it? And you hate flying.”

“Damn right, I hate flying,” Tori barked.

“All Fae do,” Mae added. “If I were meant to fly, I’d be an Angel or a pelican, or if I were super-old, a pterodactyl. I would not be a giant metal cigar with unflappable wings. Because, I promise you, if shit goes wrong, this bitch will be flapping.”

 

 

Faetal Illusion (late 2013)

And now, for a bit of tension....

Sneak Peek! Please keep in mind that this is a VERY rough draft!

~*~*~*~

 

 

 

Hiding her shock, she watched as Abel’s finger moved from his own knee to hers, still making slow circles. What the…?

“So, you can slip from place to place or realm to realm?” His finger never quit moving. She couldn’t look away.

“Yeah,” she breathed. “You gotta be careful where you go, though.” Was he really going to pretend he wasn’t touching her like that? “Tribes can be territorial and scrappy. Think of them as gangs, and their realms as their turf.”

“That makes sense,” he said, running his fingers back and forth over her knee. Why was… why… “I get what you’re saying.”

What was she saying? Mae couldn’t think much beyond the soft caress of his hand and her heart, which was about to explode. His hand left her knee and wandered up her leg. Not far, but enough to make her want to scream and jump him.

“You said mortals were like cattle. What did you mean by that?”

“I…” All her breath was gone, and she wasn’t sure it was ever coming back. Her gaze was locked to his hand, mesmerized by the back and forth motion across her thigh.

“Mae?” She snapped her head up, meeting his gaze. His eyes were dark, his lips slightly parted, and his fingers just kept rubbing her leg. Rubbing and rubbing…

“Mortals,” she managed, her voice too low and breathy. What had happened here? She’d lost control of the situation, and she wasn’t even sure how it had come to this. Actually, nothing much was happening, but inside of her, all hell was breaking loose.

“Mortals?” he prodded, the smile on his face saying he knew exactly how he was affecting her. But, why was he doing it?

“Mortals aren’t cattle,” she finally forced out, “but a lot of Fae see them as that, like I said. They don’t eat them or anything, but they’re kind of like food in an abstract way. We feed off of them, whether it’s their blood, their fear, their lust, their luck, their hate… It’s all energy.”

“You’re like psychic cannibals.” He spoke to her leg, where he watched his skin make contact with hers.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Abel?”

“Yeah?” he said, sounding distracted.

“What are you doing?”

His movements slowed, but didn’t stop. “I honestly don’t know.”

“I see,” she mumbled, staring with him.

After a long stretch of silence, Abel looked up at her. “Sometimes, I really want to kiss you.”

Mae’s brows reached for the sky, and she knew the shock showed on her face. “Abel, I… you…”

His fingers left her leg as he threw his hands in the air. “I know, I know. I have a girlfriend and I’m your student and I really don’t even know why I said that. Just forget I said that. Please.”

How in the hell could she forget he said that?

“No. Yeah, I mean, no… It’s cool. It’s fine. It’s… Yeah, okay.”

Abel jumped to his feet and all but ran for the door. “I should go.”

Mae was still stuck on how to forget that he wanted to kiss her. Kiss her. With his mouth.

 

 

 

Faetal Ilusion - Late 2013

Sneak preview from book 2

A little something from the current book... my sister Laura and I chose this passage to share, because it's a rare glimpse at an emotional Mae. :)

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

The most important achievement of humans, in Mae’s opinion, was coffee. Well, that and the disco ball. And french-fries.

Mae closed her eyes as her latte warmed her throat and tickled her taste buds. “Liquid ambrosia,” she muttered happily.

 

“Excuse me, Miss,” a soft, frail voice said from behind her.

 

Mae turned around to face an elderly, human male with hardly any hair, a million wrinkles, and kind eyes. Familiar eyes.

 

“Yes?” she said, searching those eyes in hopes of sparking some kind of recognition. It was there, at the edge of her mind, but she just couldn’t figure out where she knew him from.

 

“This may sound strange, but are you related to… that is,” he shuffled nervously as he tried to find the right words. Clearing his throat, he started again. “My name is Marcus Allerby.”

 

His wrinkled hand reached out and she took it, shaking it gently. His skin was so soft. As memories of her beloved Marcus rushed back to her, emotion caught in her throat, and Mae had to blink hard to keep the tears away.

 

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Allerby,” she managed. “I’m Mae.”

 

Marcus smiled, and for an instant, it was her Marcus that stood before her. “Mae,” he said softly, “that was her name. You look just like her.” His voice was wistful. “Just like her.”

 

“My grandmother’s name was Mae,” she lied. “They say I look just like she did at my age.”

 

He accepted that, as well as the bits and pieces of her grandmother’s history that she gave him. It was enough to convince Marcus that he had the right granddaughter, and they spent the next hour chatting about the past.

 

She’d met Marcus just after WWII had ended, on his first night home, in fact. He was handsome and charming and the sweetest boy Mae had met in a very long time. The romance had been brief but intense. She’d loved him. With all of her heart. But…

 

He was human, and he wasn’t her anam-cara… but mostly, he was human, so she couldn’t hold on to him. Marcus would eventually grow old and Mae wouldn’t, and unfortunately, only Mae understood that. So, in typical Mae fashion, she’d disappeared.

 

Never had she thought, even in the middle of a Reckoning, that she’d see this man again. But here he was, telling Mae her own memories and shattering her heart with his quiet words and his twinkling eyes. Marcus wasn’t bitter about the past. He didn’t understand Mae’s disappearance, but had decided, as the years went by, to let go of wondering and just hang on to the memories they’d shared.

He'd married a beautiful woman that he truly loved, and had five grown children and a gaggle of grandchildren. As he proudly showed off the pictures of his family, Mae choked down the overwhelming urge to explain everything. Suddenly, it was very important to her that Marcus understand what had happened, though she knew it was impossible to tell him the truth.

He'd had a good life and he had wonderful memories of a lost love. Mae had to leave things as they were, not only for his sake, but for her own.

 

As they said good-bye, Marcus took her hand and kissed it sweetly, wishing her well and thanking her for her time. It was bittersweet for Mae, and a good reminder of why she did not get involved with humans anymore. By the time she reached her apartment door, the tears flowed freely down her cheeks, and she was helpless to stop the memories rolling through her head.

 

Thankfully, the apartment was empty. Mae flopped down on the couch and blew across her palm, allowing the memories to play themselves out. The crying ended as the exhaustion took over, and her heavy eyelids slid closed as Mae and a very young, very handsome Lieutenant Allerby danced the night away in her hand.

 

 

 

Faetal Illusion (late 2013)

Perhaps I have issues I'm not addressing

I used to think it was bad when I talked to myself, and even worse when I answered, but now... now there's a whole lot to be worried about going on in my head....


Mae: Why aren't you writing about me? I thought this was my book.

Me: It is your book, what do you think all those pages are about?

Mae: Yeah, but everybody else is getting up in it...

Me: Mae, there's a lot to tell, but the story is yours.

Mae: How come Tori got her own book and I have to share with everybody?

Me: Things were just getting started in Tori's book. There's a lot more story to tell now.

Mae: Well, why can't I just tell it?

Tori: Shut your yap, Maeday! Just be happy you get a book at all.

Lea: Exactly. You were in Tori's book much more than I was, and you don't see me complaining.

Mae: Yeah, but that's because you weren't important.

Lea: Watch it, Sis... You're coming to my house in a few chapters. You wanna eat while you're there? If so, I suggest you put a lid on it, pronto.

Mae: Fine, whatevs. But why do the bitches have to be in it so much?

Me: Bitches?

Mae: You know, Vee, Kako...

Vivie: Excuse me? Bitches?

Mae: Vee, you know I mean that in a sweet way.

Vivie: If you want to be sweet, don't start with "bitches."

Tori: Would you two shut the hell up already? I'm rockin a nasty headache all of the sudden.

Me: *heavy sigh* Maybe I should write the other story...

Mae, Tori, Lea, Vivie: WHAT???


at least that got their attention... and all is quiet for a while in my head... mostly.

I feel a bit like I'm cheating on myself

So I'm a couple of chapters into book 2 in my series, but I have another story rattling around in my head. I'm not sure what to do about it, because I'm afraid writing two totally different books at the same time will really do a number on my brain. I'd hate for Mae to accidentally end up in the woods of Arkansas... she'd probably be pretty pissed about it too, though it would serve her right (just ask Natalie).

This new story is not really new, but something I've been tossing around for a while now. It's set in the backwoods of Arkansas, and while it's paranormal, it's not romance (sorry, ladies!). I'd really like to keep it stewing on the back burner, at least until I get Mae's story finished, but damn... it won't leave me alone.

I'm going to blame Karina Halle for this... as I'm knee-deep and totally addicted to her Experiment in Terror series, and they just put me in the perfect mood to think super-creepy thoughts. Maybe I should stay away from her books until I'm done writing Mae's.

Yeah, that's not going to happen AT ALL.

For now, I'll keep writing Mae's story, but the time may come when I have to start putting this other story on the page and cheating on Mae. On me? Not sure who I'd actually be cheating on here, but the whole thing feels a little seedy anyway. Whatevs, as Mae would say.

Shut up, Mae!

I'm six pages in on book 2, and Mae is already driving me crazy!

I knew she'd be a challenge to write... she's been puttering around in my head for months now. She's mouthy and opinionated and a little ADD, which makes it difficult to get a coherent and continuous thought out of the woman. And she's argumentative. She wants a different HEA... she just doesn't think this one is a good match, and isn't too shy to tell me that... every damn day.

But I know Mae better than she knows herself, and this guy... this guy is exactly what she needs. So we're riding this one out, despite her protests and threats, and I think she'll thank me for it in the end.

But until the end comes, I really wish she'd just shut the hell up for a minute and let me think!