I’m writing somewhere ahead of December 9, but by the time you read this, Blood Unleashed, the third book in the Blood Stone series, will be days away from release.
If I’ve got it written in time!
Dropping everything and racing to Australia in August put a bad crimp in my publishing schedule. So far, I’ve managed to hit all my deadlines, some of them by the skin of my teeth.
As I write this post, I still have at least half the book left to write. From where I’m sitting, this one is going to come down to the wire — and the wire is micro-filament, too!
But I’m enjoying how the book is shaping up, and I’m really looking forward to 2014, when ALL my books will be new titles. I have no re-releases left in the locker. While I have enjoyed getting all my titles up and available for you to read, it is often a heavy slog with no fun in it (i.e.; no writing) — lots of editing, formatting, fighting with publishing platforms, software and distribution issues. There’s just as much production work involved in a re-release as there is in a new title.
Here’s a snippet from Unleashed to whet your appetite.
Cheers!
The sun had punched through the light cloud cover when they stepped out of the store and down to the parking area. It warmed their backs, despite the small breeze wafting over the gravel, bringing with it the scent of pine, rain and turned earth.
Marcus unlocked his car and opened the driver’s side. “Get it,” he told her.
“I will drive?” she asked. “Fine.” She slid onto the seat behind the wheel.
“Keep moving. Onto the other seat,” he instructed, as he pressed the safety lock on the armrest of the open door. It would prevent her from unlocking her door and escaping.
She pouted prettily, her full bottom lip pushing out, then lifted herself over the gear shift and dropped down onto the passenger seat. Then she lifted both legs over, but instead of sliding them down under the dash, she crossed her ankles, her knees up against her chest, and rested her boot heels on the edge of the seat. She was small enough that there was plenty of room for her contortions.
Marcus got in and shut the door. “Get your boots off my seat,” he said shortly. “That’s leather you’re punching the heels through.”
She lifted one leg straight up in the air, showing a high degree of suppleness and agility. Then she unzipped the knee-high boot and dropped it to the floor. She returned her foot to the seat and extended the other leg and removed that boot. Then she turned herself sideways on the seat and rested her back against the door. She pressed both feet against the centre console.
Marcus felt a degree of reassurance with her theatrics. She could hardly escape the car and run around in the wilderness in tights. The gravel in the parking area alone would cripple her.
“You wanted to speak, so let’s speak,” she suggested.
Marcus pulled his gaze away from the extended line of her legs, from ankle to the top of her thigh, visible under the raised hem of the skirt. For her height, her legs were proportionately long.
He pushed himself back to business.
With some dedicated and uninterrupted writing time, Blood Unleashed will be released on December 13, as scheduled.
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