Wherefore Art Thou?

My muse is currently on vacation.  

At least I hope it's just a vacation.

I don’t know exactly when she left me, but she’s skipped town, left no forwarding address, and isn’t answering my calls.  A couple of weeks ago, she stopped in and gave me outlines to four new stories.  Four new stories!  And then she abandoned me soon after.  I started the first, did well, rolling through the first 27,000 words with ease.

And then she left. 

She got fed up with summer and went in search of autumn.

I've done a few rounds of edits.  Re-subbed my very first novel to be republished (and it has gotten a yes -- WOOT!).  Besides that, I've been dry.

I’ve barely written in two weeks.  I can’t seem to see my way out of this dark place.  The story I’m working on is wonderful and one I’ve been excited to get underway for over a year now.  I couldn’t wait to get to it.  And then..waawaawaaaaaaaaah.  Sigh.

There she is...the whore!

So, for now, I sit here wondering if I should start another story and maybe fake out this little writer’s block.  Shimmy to the left.  Swing to the right.  Pirouette up and over.  I’m a great dancer, so I think I can do it.  

Anywho … for those of you wondering, the next Templar Knights story was NOT among the four outlines I wrote.  That’s just another of the many titles on the backburner that I must attend to.  But one should have such issues – too much to write and not enough time.  It’s a problem I’m content to have, seriously.

Guest Blogger - Angelina Rain

Welcome Angelina Rain to my blog today as she shares details of her new release, Rescued Love.

 

One by one, household dogs disappear only to come back after senseless abuse. Veterinarian Jordan Powell will stop at nothing to ensure her patients' safety. Even if that means seeking help from ex-boyfriend, police officer Nate Thrillson, the man whose heart she once broke.

The last thing Nate wants is a relationship. He has an inoperable cancerous tumor in his brain and his days are numbered. Yet, he couldn't resist Jordan.

It's a race against time to save the dogs and the man who captured her heart. Can the doctor, who made a life out of helping animals, heal a human?

EXCERPT:

"We have to talk." His tone dripped with tension.

She turned to him. "I've had enough bad news for this week. Whatever it is can wait a couple of minutes."

He looked irked and worried, and he avoided her gaze. The moment seemed to stretch forever and Nate ran his hand over the back of his neck. Eventually, he nodded.

She indicated for him to sit at the kitchen table and pulled out the leftover lasagna Petra had brought over that morning. She popped it into the oven.

"I hope you like lasagna," she said in an attempt to start a normal conversation.

"Did you make it?"

"No." She sat across from him. "Petra did."

Why was Nate so tense? She was curious to know what he intended to tell her, but given the pained expression on Nate's face, she was also scared. From the look in his eyes, it wasn't going to be something she wanted to hear.

"So anything new about the case?"

He shook his head. Her attempt at conversation failed.

It wasn't until after dinner as Jordan washed the dishes that Nate spoke. "We have to talk."

Jordan turned to face him, the damp rag from drying the plates hung in her hands. "Can't it wait?"

"No." He stood, and walked closer to her, his stance powerful. He looked dangerous. His eyes were cold, hard, the look in them hollow and heartbroken.

She didn't expect to hear any good news so she braced for the worst. "What is it?"

Nate sighed deeply, as though stalling what he had to say. "I can't see you ever again."

BUY LINKS

BREATHLESS PRESS - http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&products_id=297

ARe - http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-rescuedlove-895195-149.html

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008Q1WEQ8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B008Q1WEQ8&linkCode=as2&tag=wwwbreathless-20

BookStrand - http://www.bookstrand.com/rescued-love

MY LINKS:

Website: www.angelina-rain.com

Blog: www.angelinarain.blogspot.com

Guest Blogger - Alex Bowman

Alex is offering a free PDF copy of Laying Downn the Lawman if you can tell us why a man in uniform is so sexy!  Best answer wins!  A winner will be chosen and announced Friday.

The Soul Collectors, 2
Sheriff Jason McCall has been entrusted by his community to protect and serve.  When dead bodies start littering the morgue, his investigations lead him to a world of creatures he never believed in.  Questioning his own sanity, he closes in on the killers, never expecting to be attracted to one of the things that go bump in the night.

Elia comes to the area when he senses a spike in evil energy, knowing the Hell Demon Horde is behind the rash of deaths.  When he’s nearly arrested by the local sheriff, he’s tempted to let the sexy lawman put him in cuffs and have his wicked way with him.

Bodies collide as they find solace in each other.  Jason’s weary of joining their fight, bound by the oath he gave his neighbors.  So, Elia pulls out all the stops to lay down his lawman.
Be Warned: m/m sex.

Excerpt:
“Hands up where I can see them.”
Elia looked the human over, seeing the uniform of a lawman in the dim light, the moon casting a glint over the tin star on the man’s chest.  Law or not, there was a chance this man was working with Molock, so he needed to tread carefully.  He lifted his hands up and signaled his surrender, which was anything but.  At first chance, he would subdue the male and continue his perusal.
“Come out into the light so I can see you better.  Keep the hands up.”
Elia stepped forward and into the full moon’s illumination, shifting back into his human form before doing so.  Apparently he’d not been quick enough.
“Dammit, you’re one of them, aren’t you?”
Elia couldn’t help but bristle at the term them, or the way the man spit it out.  “One of what, officer?”
“Don’t play me.  If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck.”
Elia couldn’t help but chuckle.  “Quack, quack.”
The gun trained on him never wavered.  Elia stopped laughing as he saw Chastity get out of the car from the corner of his eye.
“Chastity?  What are you doing up here?”  The man never removed his eyes from Elia.  Smart man.
“Aww, Sheriff McCall, whatchu got your gun out for?  This gentleman has been nothing but nice to me.”
“Well, this gentleman seems to have put himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“How’s that, sheriff?  Is there a law against stopping in to see if a friend is home?”
“A friend?”  The sheriff lowered his voice an octave, as if he didn’t want Chastity to hear what he had to say.  “I know what you freaks are doing up here.  There’ll be no more killings in my county.  Is that why you brought her up here, to drain her blood and pitch her body into the river like the others?”
Drain her blood?  Elia’s mind spun as he tried to insert that knowledge into what he already knew.
Was Molock working with vamps? 
Mother-fucker.  He looked the sheriff over one more time, wondering if he should keep playing dumb or if he needed to lay some of his cards out on the table to offer to share a little information.  The officer could potentially help give him more of the intel he would need to take down the demon, to see what they were up to and how wide the net spread.
“Sheriff, you’ve got it all wrong.  You really do.  I’m on your side in this.  I saw all the strange disappearances in Jackson and came here to help.  I’m a demon hunter.”  Elia took a tentative step forward, knowing if he could get close enough, he could tell the sheriff to release him and to forget everything that had just happened.  If he could just get a good look into the man’s eyes.
“Stay the fuck back.”
Elia took another tentative step closer.  “Molock has left a trail of dead bodies in his wake before.  I can help you.”
The gun never moved or shook.  Elia felt an instant of respect for the man behind the weapon.  “I said, stand your ground.  Do not move closer or I will shoot you.”
“Now, sheriff, I’m not trying to hurt anyone. I just came out here to see what Molock was up to and to see how to stop him.”  Elia was only a few feet away now and could finally get a good look at the sheriff’s face.  He was younger than Elia expected, his skin smooth.  The wide brim of his Stetson cast a shadow over half his face, but the wide mouth was expressive, the lips curved and bowed.  The peppering of beard growth just made the male all the more attractive.  A twinkling light came from where his eyes should be.
Elia captured the stare as best he could, staring at where those twinkles were.  “You’ll release me now, and let the woman go.  We were never here.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
Elia grimaced.  Apparently, he’d not gotten a good enough look into the man’s eyes when he’d issued the command.  He’d need to get closer, pop the hat off him.  He took another carefully measured step.
“I will not hesitate to shoot you.  Take one more step and you’re gonna have a hole in you.”
Elia knew he needed to be quick.  He’d have to jump the sheriff and pin him to the ground, get the ridiculous cowboy hat off him and capture his stare.  Once it was all over, the human would never realize what had even happened.  In the blink of an eye, he pounced, but not before the human let off a round from his gun.  Elia was too fast and the bullet didn’t get him in the intended spot, but rather, slipped just past his shoulder, nicking him.
The pain lanced through his arm, but he couldn’t stop until he had gotten the officer to forget him.  Tumbling him to the ground, he soon landed on top of the human and wrestled him for the gun.  The thing went off in their hands, hitting the Mercedes on the side.  Dammit, my car!  He heard Chastity scream and begin running, her feet sounding over the pebbled drive.
Elia somehow knocked the hat from the man and saw him for the first time, Elia not needing as much light to see in the moonlit night.   A strong brow covered the most intense set of green eyes he’d ever seen.  An aquiline nose ended above those firm lips, taut cheeks sloped down to a firm jaw.  The man was absolutely stunning.
He tried to ignore the jade green and how incredibly beautiful those eyes were.  He also tried to ignore how turned on he was getting, too, the strapping man fighting with incredible strength below him.  He tried to ignore how rock hard his cock was already becoming.

Books in THE SOUL COLLECTORS Series:

Losing His Religion
Laying Down the Lawman

Oops! Time to Say Goodbye...Sort of

I accidentally deleted numerous posts when trying to clean up my blog and lost pretty much the entire months of July and August in doing so.

I will work on getting some of the content back up if I can.

But one thing you will note -- Sexy Man Monday and Silver Fox Friday posts are now gone.  History.  Sexy Man Monday will proceed in the future, but with all of the compyright infringement issues -- and the fact I myself have been the victim of pirates -- I cannot continue to post pictures that I have not purchased the rights for.

I will be working on adjusting some of my remaining posts as well. 

Artists -- of all kinds -- deserve to have their work acknowledged and paid for.  By posting pictures I found on the internet, I have done them a disservice.  I only wanted to share their wonderful work.

I will continue to do Sexy Man Monday, but in a new way. 

Thanks for understanding and I look forward to seeing where we can go!

~Alex