My Turn At Flash Fiction

I'm glad the month is done at my regular job. It's been crazy and busy. Next month may find me in class gaining another skill set. My boss doesn't know for sure yet. Always something more to learn to extend how I can coach more effectively. I've decided to try my hand at flash fiction to see what comes of letting my mind and muse just go for it. The posting below is erotic.

Enjoy!

Solara
_________________________________________________________________

LOVE'S FRENZY

“Isn’t there a time when enough is enough?”

Maxwell Sardon looked up from where he sat on the palace floor. He stopped brushing his shoulder length hair and turned to his youngest sibling. “Why do you ask this? What has you bothered this time?”

Roberto’s bare feet slapped against the cool golden tiles lining their shared bedroom floor. Each step echoed as he paced, bouncing off the high ceiling and walls. Two rows of large windows occupied one end of the room. Roberto’s blurred reflection barely focused on one before he passed by another.

“Little brother, stop and talk to me.” Maxwell stood, tossing his brush atop his dresser. Cinching his robe tighter, he moved with panther like grace to the bed. He sat, catching Roberto’s arm on his next pass. “Sit and speak. Your agitation is clear. Pacing like a caged cat never quells anything.”

Roberto faced him, his agitation clearly visible. He folded his arms tight against his chest and stared. Not at Maxwell, but beyond him as though his thoughts consumed him. Whatever bothered him, it wasn’t simple.

“Luta refuses to respond to me.” Roberto plopped down next to Maxwell. Taking a deep breath, he tried to roll his shoulders and relax. Tension refused to loosen its tight grip from any portion of his body. If his damn cock and balls would cool down, he might regain some composure. Thank Gods and Goddesses no one else had seen the royal heir so upset. Damn, sometimes being an aristocrat sucked. And, not in a good way!

“Luta?” Maxwell’s tone didn’t hide his laughter.

“Yes, King Nevin’s daughter.” Roberto faced his brother. “Father’s decree allowing us to find our second wives ourselves runs out in two days.”

“I’m not worried. All available females from the lesser regions will be at the matrimonial masque tonight. Our first wives will indicate who they prefer as we cull our choices too. Besides, Luta is two-thirds human.” Maxwell’s sneer and cat like stare didn’t faze Roberto. His brother’s snobbish ideals and preferences reminded Roberto of their late mother.

“Andice will choose someone submissive. How you continue to stand her is beyond me?” There he’d spoken one thing bothering him.

Would Maxwell pick up on the importance of their second wives? What things were possible if a love match resulted? More kittens at each birth rather than smaller litters and fewer multiple births? Their lineage maybe cursed, but neither of them needed to strengthen it by making miserable pair bondings. Second mates could help bridge the gap between first mates though both same sexes often ganged up on the lone sex or shut the solitary one out.

“I tolerate her like this.” Maxwell stood, dropping his robe. Working his hands up and down his cock, he massaged pre-cum across the tip and over the head. He reached down to fondle his balls. “Lilly come and service your Lord.”

A small blond haired woman moved from the corner where she’d been standing. Her bowed head caused her waist length hair to hide her face. Slumped shoulders added to her subdued demeanor. Yet, there was something familiar about her gait and stature that puzzled Roberto.

Too Much Of A Good Thing...

Here we are at Friday again.  Yay! 

Any big plans out there for the weekend?

So as I was writing Branwen's thoughts, it dawned on how much I enjoy writing descriptive scenes.  Using a variety of words to make clear the pictures in my mind and letting those words roll over my tongue.

Unfortunately, my enjoyment sometimes overrides the need to use dialogue as well and I have to remind myself regularly to give my characters a voice.

Anyone else run into this problem or maybe the other way around?  Too much dialogue, not enough description.

~~~
Gypsy Wolf cont...

Wisps of wind swept past the rising flap of Branwen’s tent and swirled around the tight enclosure. Its chill bit at her ankles and drew a flicker from her candle flames. A woodsy, male scent mingled with lavender taunting her newly altered sense of smell. Death was about to greet her, though she was unsure if her visitor was the bringer or the receiver.


Whoever he was, he sure smelled good.

“Come in, come in… Let the tigan lupul see you, let her tell you about your future.”

Dark brown hair, shot with sun bleached blond highlights, was the first thing Branwen saw of her guest. His was not the usual over coifed mess of locks her clients normally came in with, nope; his flew free, full like a lion’s mane with the stunningly white tips that lay darn near the bottom of his chin.

In order to step fully into the tent he had to fold his body inward, giving any potential enemies the opening they might need to momentarily overpower him. His clenched fist and softly spoken vulgarity betrayed his frustration.

As he rose, his full height and the breadth of his shoulders pulled the air from her lungs. The bringer of death had boldly strode into her home causing her knees to weaken and her core to clench. He was a killer, for sure, only she wasn’t sure if it was her mortality, or her sexuality, that was in jeopardy.

Holy reptilian boyfriends, Batman!

Hi and welcome to your Wednesday fix of Shapeshifter Seductions! Wow, what a week this has been so far. Yesterday, I had two important releases: my e-novella, ‘The Hawk’s Bride’, was released by Siren-BookStrand and my youngest son was released from the hospital. (The poor monkey had appendicitis.) I will be reviewing ‘Cold Moon Rising’ by C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp. And last but not least, in honor of Ahmad finding a mate, I have a bit of unusual reading for you this week in the form of a woman who claims to have lived with a reptilian shape shifter crocodile.

First off, I present ‘Cold Moon Rising’:

Tony Giodone and his mate, Sue, have had an interesting couple of years as they learn how to live within a Sazi wolf pack and how to live in a human-wolf mixed marriage. Things get a bit complicated though, when Sue develops what looks like an allergy to their mate bond- apparently because of Tony’s Sazi magic. Sue shuts down the mate bond on Tony, leaving him pining, as she tries to figure out what’s going on and how to get around it. Mean while, Tony finds himself being sucked into the mind- present tense- of Ahmad, the nasty if not out-right evil, leader of the Sazi snakes.

Ahmad is worried, though he’s not willing to let anyone know it. He’d killed his own father and taken a good bit of the ancient scourge’s power, but he knows his father would never set a plan into motion that had such an obvious flaw as his death. He invites himself along on a mission to follow up on a lead Tony and Will Kerche, the eagle shifting Texas ranger, are working. He is rewarded for his paranoia when the group stumbles on Nasil and Tuli, two of his father’s most trusted henchmen. If only he knew what side the lovely Tuli was on, because he was definitely remembering the heat the two of them had shared as very young shifters in ancient Egypt. And he really wished that damn wolf would get out of his head…

This book is written partial in first person from Tony’s point-of-view and partially in third person while we follow Ahmad around. Despite it sounding odd, that actually works quite well. We get to see Tony and Sue move from an odd human-wolf mate pairing into a mature, functional married couple and kick-ass team. We also get to see Ahmad, what really makes him tick. Like Jack, the serial killing panther, there’s a lot more than meets the eye. While the “main” romance for this book is Ahmad and Tuli, it wasn’t very engrossing. That’s fine by me since the further development of Tony ans Sue’s romance was very satisfying.

And, since I am not going to go into the big-picture story arch, I will leave the review, instead, with a tribute to Ahmad and Tuli’s unusual mate pairing. Here we have a nice story about Jeanette, who lived with a shape-shifting alligator named Jeff for four-teen years. Apparently the way you keep them from eating you in your sleep or mesmerizing you with mind control is by keeping a hammer with you at all times. This is a series of e-mails and if you can get past the first one of two, it’s highly entertaining and packed full of details of her life with the reptilian housemate.

Murdering Masonic Reptilian Shape-Shifters
http://www.reptilianagenda.com/exp/e022401a.shtml

And with that, I will bid you adieux till next week.

Rebecca L. Gillan
RebeccaLGillan.com

Branded in One Week... and Flashpoint Fangs

Shapeshifter lovers, shapeshifting in a moment or two... after this yippee, yahoo announcement. In just ONE week BRANDED BY THE TEXANS will be sprung free from Siren-BookStrand... yep, on August 2, 2010. Here’s the blurb ~

What can three Texans do to a woman’s body and heart?
Kylie is about to find out.
Beyond her wildest dreams.
On a parallel Earth.

It’s 2009... Kylie is on the run from the law for a crime she didn’t commit. A promising doctoral student, she’s lost everyone and almost everything, except for what she stows in her car. Now, Kylie has to salvage the rest of her life. But, where in this age of GPS tracking, TV’s Most Wanted and cameras everywhere?

It’s 2009... Dillon, Dono and Dash are three brothers desperate for a wife to brand as their own. The Union made women scarce in the Three Star Republic by releasing a bio weapons’ plague during the border wars. These tough-as-leather Texans will do anything to keep the right woman, even if they have to lasso her like a wild filly and love on her until she loves them back.
~~~~~~

Warning! Violence and horror ahead..

The Dream Thief ~ Flashpoint Fangs

I am a hater of lies, injustice and the tyranny way. Who am I? I could be your worst nightmare or your sweetest dream. Your sweetest, most erotic dream if you’re a woman. For the sake of time, I’ll leave further descriptions of myself for later.

Right now, I’m near Elko, Nevada standing atop a large rise of dust-dry ground surrounded by furry-looking cactus. Not my normal habitat I can tell you. Only partly hidden by the shadows from enormous boulders, I scan the vast land before me, using what appear to be expensive binoculars. Of course, they’re much more.

I don’t see them yet. I sense them, the herd of wild horses two of my alien friends have talked me into helping them save. Horses aren’t my thing. Except for Trail, my western-bars carousing buddy, and he doesn’t shift into a horse around me. That human mate of his, Seneca, has a gorgeous tail with no tail, and would be described as delicious devouring flame on my side of the dimension.

So far, my buddy’s mate puts up with me. I make certain to charm her softest heart. If I’m honest with myself, it was the pleading in her eyes that really got me on board. That is, after my best friend, Kytaira, tigress shifter extraordinaire, nipped my ear for several minutes with her husky-sexy convincing words. She’s on her way to D.C., with Zurroc in tow – her ferocious as a warrior dragon, not-to-be-trifled with black tiger. They intend to make a deadly claw-strike for the sake of justice, probably several slashing strikes that are certain to become crimson-red gushers, erupting like Gaia’s blood continues to do in the Gulf.

Forgive my vampiric fantasy, if you will. But, I picture rivers of blood pouring down the stone-gleaming capital steps as the full moon righteously observes from her darkened-sky realm. Lifeblood drains from the bodies of all those who have chosen to sell their soul to BP, to the Beelzebub Princes.

Yeah, I snark to myself... enough vital fluid to feed an army of Black Castle Vampires, but those vids would never make it on CNN. Unless THEY, Earth’s shadow government, could manufacture a cover story fast enough, one that would push their agenda.

Here I stand, baking in the late morning sun for another reason, as well. I can’t abide the cruelty of the BLM thugs who value blood money over their souls. And, I know about souls. A lot. No, I’m not an angel. Nor, am I a demon. Although, there are those who enthusiastically classify me as one of Satan’s select crew.

I watch the cloud of dust in the far distance. Chased by helicopters, the large herd of horses runs frantically. I scent their heart-pounding fear. I feel their panicked desperation as they race to escape their tormentors. They are hungry, having been herded for days with little rest and with no chance to graze. Their thirst gnaws at them like relentless talons.

I turn cold inside with my hatred. My fangs elongate slowly as I wait to play my part in saving them, the wild horses. Even though the sun does nothing for my complexion, I am not an official vampire. Hard to explain that one, especially given the violence I am about to perform on the lead helicopter pilot.

As the curtain of shimmer appears nearby, I know Trail has been successful at what I call dimensional dial-up. For mere moments the running horses will disappear into a parallel Earth, then emerge at a haven he and Seneca have created near their ranch. Yeah, I helped my buddy place light-mirror shields so the herd won’t be spotted on their new range.

Close to exhaustion, the sweat-darkened horses gallop slower and slower, the dust cloud diminishing around them. The BLM bastards don’t care how many of them collapse and die a grisly death on the desert floor. With their labored breathing harsh in my ears, my rage shoots toward the moon.

I drop my pretend binoculars, knowing they will return to my Las Vegas apartment. Time for action. My fangs lengthen to flashpoint, as it’s known in my race’s corner of this multi-layered dimension. White and shiny as porcelain, they flash in the sunlight as I stream my lighter-than-air form toward the first helicopter. The needle-like points are below my chin as I gel myself through the front of the copter.

Think ‘The Abyss’ meets Aladdin’s djinni.

“What the fuck!” The pilot rears back as much as his seat allows. With his features carved by beyond-belief shock, he lets go of the controls. The copter drops, then begins to stabilize.

I smile before I stab my fangs into the throbbing pulse of his neck. Blood spurts while I lock my jaws. Simultaneously, his every dream, his every nightmare downloads into my psyche. I am a dream thief for the sake of my world.

Twisting briefly, I tear his head off, so it hits the side of the helicopter, then bounces onto his lap. The man beside him is frozen against his seat, as if he’s been dumped in the middle of the Arctic.

I gaze at him and slowly grin, displaying my formidable fangs. He silently screams, his face so distorted I doubt his own family would recognize him. His hand searches wildly and finds the door latch. To torment him, I lean closer and glow my eyes in an imitation of a Hollywood werewolf.

His heart nearly stops. I hear the cessation of its beat. With terror moving his limbs, he launches out of the copter. As he falls, his terrified screams slice through the dry air. No, he’s not wearing a parachute.

I sprout sinister-looking dark wings, even as I place my hand on the helicopter and transform it into particles that will reassemble inside my bat cave. Okay, if you must know, I’ve always had a fondness sort of thing for Batman.

Flapping my giant wings like a pterodactyl – Roy, my pterodactyl shifter buddy would be so proud – I wheel toward the nearest copter. The pilot performs a jerky hasty retreat. He speeds up too quickly and the engine gurgles with protest, almost failing.

I streak toward him, his fear fueling my fun. Forming a pair of evil-looking talons, I seize the helicopter’s landing skids. Like a buzzard with a prize bone, I wing upwards dragging the copter toward the Ruby Mountains.

Behind me, I hear supersonic thunder. The above-top-secret jets headed toward me are designed to take on races like mine. Their speed splits the atmosphere, the energy waves already washing over me.

Knowing this paranormal-fright show is over, I toss the helicopter, dashing it against the face of the closest mountain. No, I spared the humans’ lives. This time. Besides, someone has to tell this tale as a warning against such greedy and wicked cruelty.

Because if this tale isn’t told... if this truth is left unsaid, their dreams will cease. Night terrors will possess their sleep... I guaran-hell-tee-it. It is, after all, one of my jobs here.
~~~~~~

~ HAPPY SUMMER SHAPESHIFTING ~

Savanna Kougar

~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~

Author of ~

All Shades of Blue Paradise
Red Lioness Tamed
When a Good Angel Falls ~ In Print
Tangerine Carnal Dreams
Murder by Hair Spray in Gardenia, New Atlantis ~ In Print
Black Cat Beauty
Her Insatiable Dark Heroes ~ In Print
Stallion of Ash and Flame ~ In Print
Branded by the Texans ~ Coming in *August 2, 2010* from Siren-BookStrand
The Tiger’s Masquerade ~ Coming from MojoCastle Press
~~~~~~

Getting Tense

By Pat Cunningham

Since we were having so much fun discussing voice and tense in the comments last week, and since I’m blank for a topic, let’s run an opinion poll. Here are four versions of the same paragraph. Which one best serves the story? Which would you keep reading, and which grate on your sensibilities like a buzzard’s talons on a bone? For brownie points, mix and match your own tenses and voices and show me what you got. (To my knowledge, no romance has ever been written in second person present tense, a la Jay McInerney’s “Bright Lights, Big City.” That voice just doesn’t lend itself to romance. Horror, maybe …)

THIRD PERSON, PAST TENSE
The wolf glared at her out of glowing, sinister eyes. Claire’s breath caught in her throat. It couldn’t be possible, but she recognized those eyes, that expression. “Jordan?” she whispered. “Is that you?”

FIRST PERSON, PAST TENSE
I froze where I stood. The wolf glared at me out of sinister-looking eyes. They almost seemed to glow. My own breath choked me. It couldn’t be possible! I knew those eyes, that all-too-familiar expression. “Jordan?” I whispered, my voice almost nonexistent. “Is that you?”

FIRST PERSON, PRESENT TENSE
The wolf glares at me out of its glowing, almost sinister eyes. I feel my breath catch in my throat. It’s not possible. I recognize those eyes at once, and the expression in them. “Jordan?” My voice leaves my throat in a whisper. “Is that you?”

SECOND PERSON, PRESENT TENSE
The wolf glares at you out of glowing, sinister eyes. You feel your breath catch in your throat. You know it’s not possible, but you also know those eyes and that expression. “Jordan?” you whisper. “Is that you?” (Yeah, knew that one would suck.)

What a Week

I've been so busy with work and home life, I've not gotten much writing done this week. It's hard to believe in another 6-8 weeks and fall season will be upon us. The heat we dish about will soon be a memory we want to recall some of when the snow and colder temperatures come calling. To this end I post a picture entitled Dreams of Summer. What I wouldn't give to be able to skinny dip in the neighbor's pool before tomorrow's heat index hits.

Red Hot received another review from Happy Ever After Reviews:

5 TEACUPS: "This was a fantastic book to read. Being so intuitive with the characters, I found myself laughing and cheering for the perfect couple. Not only did the characters intrigue me, they were assertive to exploring love and romance without boundaries. Solara Gordon crafted a playful and exciting erotic contemporary romance that was a page-turner. There were so many great aspects detailed in the book. First, the humorous dialogue kept me satisfied throughout the book. Second, the creativity and storytelling process dented a lasting impression. And last, the relationship between the characters emphasized an honest sexual intensity for each other upfront, and there was no stopping them. This made the plot so much more enjoyable to read. From the first page, there were incredible sparks between the characters and it followed through to the end."-- Lorien, Happily Ever After Reviews

You can buy Red Hot on Amazon.com in Kindle format or at Mobipocket.com.

Now what you all been waiting for! More on Shape Shifter Blues. I decide that each chapter needs stanza from a song as the header for the chapter. Rather than borrow from that which is already out there---I've been writing my own. Below are the two songs I've gotten done. The band is back stage in our story and Maggie (our heroine has made her entrance into the story). Please note these songs are original pieces by me and no music is written for them. They're not available for reprint at this time.

Take time to read a good book and keep cool! Have a great weekend!

SOLARA

NO MATTER

Girl, I’ve loved you for so long

Time slows when you’re on my mind

I wish I knew why I care like I do

No matter how I try

There’s a vision of you inside

We’ve never met

Yet, I’d know the moment I saw you

You’re the one who has my heart

My mind refuses to accept

You aren’t as real as I’d like

No matter how I try

There’s a vision of you inside

Others try to see what I keep hidden

They don’t understand

Love has chosen you for me

Do you see me in your dreams

Awaiting you each night, to hold you to me

Nothing has ever felt so right

I want you beside me here

Please help me banish these blues

No matter how I try

There’s a vision of you inside

Others try to see what I keep hidden

They don’t understand

Love has chosen you for me

Until our paths cross

I’ll keep you close to my soul

Knowing from the start

You’re the one I want

The girl who stole my heart

© Solara Gordon 2010

LOST AND FOUND

How many pieces of my soul

Have I lost trying to find you

Why must you hide

Eluding my attempts

To bring you home to me

So many roads I’ve traveled

Looking for you

Wondering if you’re lonely too

Can you stop running

And let our heats unite

Found not lost

Girl, I need you here with me

Our hearts entwined

Love around us

Home where the two of us belong

Home is where the heart is

Mine is with you

Please come and find me

Girl, I can’t deny it

I’m lost without you

Found not lost

Girl, I need you here with me

Our hearts entwined

Love around us

Home where the two of us belong

Please come home

Find your way to me

Lost is not where I wanna be

I’m so lonely

Come and stay with me

© Solara Gordon 2010

Gypsy Wolf...continued

Happy Friday fellow readers, writers and arithmetic users....  ;)

Not much new going on here today so I thought I would post another flash of Gypsy Wolf.  This story is proving to be kinda fun to jot down.  I have no idea what's going to happen until I sit down to write.  It really is quite freeing. 

Enjoy the next segment, oh and btw, don't you just love the picture above?  How I would love to turn it into a book cover!  :)

~~~~~

“Your safety is of my utmost concern, Princess Gillia.” Edmund’s teeth clenched so tightly he was amazed any words were passing through them. “It would be irresponsible of me not to warn you of the danger in your actions.”

“What danger, we’re here to talk to a little old lady to see what our future holds. Oooh”

The gaggle of giggles surrounding him ripped down his spine like the claws of a young pup, pointed and wickedly sharp.

“You know Eddy, consider these two words for a moment, hydro-colonic, or go get yourself laid and relax a bit. I know for sure that Hildy would forgo a visit with the gypsy in exchange for a ride on your nasty.”

Edmund looked towards the afore-mentioned girl and grimaced. She was a lovely bit of fluff, but he’d sworn off her type years ago. Now his bed partners had to enjoy the rough and tumble as well as, be able to keep up their end of a conversation.

“Now move out of my way,” Gillia bitched. “I want my reading.”

He was, well and truly stuck. They were going in whether he liked it or not.

“I will go in first to make sure it is safe and you will wait until I give you the okay to enter this tent.” He leaned down into her face and growled. “Do not disregard me in this matter or I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you out to the car, paddling the spoiled ass as your father should have years ago…”

Her eyes grew to resemble the full moon as she nodded her head. Finally, she believed him. Edmund pushed back on the canvas flap and moved into the gypsy’s tent…

Hell hath no wrath like a woman scorned, and blown up, and run out of her home...

Hi and welcome to your Wednesday fix of Shapeshifter Seductions. This week I will be reviewing ‘Timeless Moon’ by C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp. It is book six in their ‘Tales of the Sazi’ series and is readily available in most book stores. But first, I have a cool and somewhat silly tidbit to share:

This (sort of) just in: the werewolves in ‘Twilight” aren’t real werewolves!
http://werewolf-news.com/2009/08/the-werewolves-in-twilight-arent-real-werewolves/

I stumbled across this posting the other day on werewolf-news.com, and the first thought I had was duh! The second thought was that not all werewolf legends come from North America, as the article’s author seems to imply.

Anyway, back to the the book review! I am going to change up how I review this week. The series is getting more and more involved and as to not spoil the series for those who have not read this far, I’m going to just review the love story. So here we go!

Josette is ancient, powerful, and is losing touch with the world around her. Years ago, she lost her husband, Rick, to a horrible accident. Without him to help her keep her frighteningly strong seer powers in check, it has just been easier to live alone, far from the rest of her kind. Add to that is the fact that her old nemesis, Ahmad, likes to send assassins after her every so often. This last batch of assassins, though, doesn’t seem to have been sent by Ahmad. And the man she’d thought she’d lost long ago may not be dead.

Rick, a lone wolf who quit the world after being disillusioned as a Wolven agent, has never forgot the beautiful bobcat who stole his heart centuries ago, but he just couldn’t stand to watch the woman he loved risk herself over and over again by embracing her dangerous powers. The council needs to find Josette, though, and he is the one person they know she will allow near her long enough to talk. Rick has to wonder, though, if she won’t just kill him outright for deserting her and letting her think he was dead.

Ok, so this is going to be a very quick review- Borders is closing pretty soon and since my interwebs at home isn’t working, I have to finish up very quickly.
I love this book; I’d give it an A+ if it wasn’t for the way one secondary character got treated. The dynamics are great. The plot is engaging and fun. This book does have it’s customary Cat Adams dark side, though. There’s a sub plot involving non-shifting family members and other involving South American assassins.

The secondary character who gets the shaft is Raven, the big, sexy werewolf who is second-in-command of Wolven. In book four, we met the woman he loved. In book two (which should have come after book four but before book three), We got to see Emma die horribly at the hands of a spider. What we didn’t know at that time was that Josette, a.k.a. Aspen Monier, met Raven in book two and discovered he was her mate. So what do the authors do after her husband returns from the dead? Make Raven double mated to Josette! Foul, I cry! Foul! I really hope Raven gets his own happily ever after by the end of the series.

That’s just about all the time I have to get this written and reviewed before posting it. That lady over that the coffee bar is starting to glare at me for sitting here swilling iced raspberry mochas and typing. Next week, I’ll review book seven, where we’ll get to see Tony and his mate again- and some very good things happen to Sue! Also, we will get to see Ahmad get jerked around by cupid and his wonderfully vibrant mate. I'll make sure I write next week's blog this weekend. I have my very first novella, "The Hawk's Bride" coming out the 27th, so I'll probably be too rattled to write coherently. LOL! Until next week!

Rebecca
RebeccaLGillan

The Griffon, or is that Gryphon Shapeshifter?

As I pen this late-night post, I’m feeling particularly claw-swiping aggravated. For a number of good reasons. One of those reasons ~ I had planned on continuing the prequel scene, for this blog, between Katta and Zio, my heroine and hero in TANGERINE CARNAL DREAMS.

But, no... oh, no, obviously the universe had other plans for me. Yeah, I got lots of authorly stuff done, but as it turned out there was no time left and no real brain power left for Katta and Zio... so their sexual tension is simmering on high... okay, more likely, it’s about to go nova... at least, unlike in real life, I don’t worry about them still being in the mood when I do finally get back to their scene.

So what to do, what do... there was a lot of tantalizing info about Griffins on the Just Another Paranormal Monday chat loop ~ groups.yahoo.com/group/ParanormalMonday ~ If you’ve never checked out this *fantasy, future and paranormal* and go-bump-in-the-night group for authors and readers, I’d recommend it highly if yer partial to these kinds of stories. About any kind of story, and any level of romance heat is encouraged as long as your book is in the paranormal genre.

Anyway... back to Griffins... sure, wouldn’t they make great shapeshifters? You could create your own hybrid Griffon or Gryphon. Or you could go with the Lion Griffon, the Eagle Griffin... the Lion-Eagle Gryphon. There are Griffin Serpents, Gryphon Dragons and one of my personal faves, the Hippogriff... a horse and griffin hybrid. Though, from what I learned some Griffins like dining on horses. *Shudder*

Yeah, some of you will think of Harry Potter. I didn’t see or read that particular story/movie with the Hippogriff, so I’ll think of them in terms of their ancient Greek origins.

Now, I have written Gryphon characters in a few of my WIPs... I mean what a pet! What a winged ride through the skies... and the gorgeous guy pictured above, I mean, what’s not to love?

Hmmm...

Zhoraxis settled his multi-colored wings against his back before landing on the non-skid rectangular pedestal on top of his mountain-realm castle. His back paws touched down first. His front talons followed slapping against the sun-baked sandstone until he gripped the edge and fully halted himself.

He rolled one eye catching sight of his current nemesis, the Princess Elspetha. She tapped her foot impatiently, rippling the forest green skirt of her gown. Looking like a petulant fairy, the diminutive dark-haired beauty tightened her crossed arms and glared as if he’d intentionally kept her waiting.

Had he known about her presence, Zhoraxis would have continued soaring the friendly skies, found a comfortable tree limb and bedded down for the night. Something had definitely crawled between her pearl-skin thighs and bitten the princess’s too-tiny butt. Perhaps, her latest lover had failed to bite her properly and left her wanting and wanton.

“I have a mission for you,” she all but snarled as she strode toward him. Her marching gait displayed not one ounce of royal decorum.

Zhoraxis stepped from the pedestal and initiated his transformation into human form. With leisurely perfection, he reduced his wings and folded them behind his shoulder blades. Beginning with his hindquarters, he replaced his tail and his beast shape, then changed his hide and feathers into skin.

According to his preference, Zhoraxis retained one taloned hand. Languidly moving to retrieve his heavy robe, he ignored the bad-mannered princess. He took his sweet time and adjusted the densely woven linen to his liking, then belted long robe.

“How may I serve you, princess?”

“My birth jewels have been stolen. You must...”

Interrupting, Zhoraxis neutrally stated, “I have no way to find your birth jewels, as you must know.”

“I will ride upon your back and guide you.”

Annoyed to his wing tips at the princess’s childish spoiled tone, Zhoraxis resisted the urge to toss her into the moat below, and let his alligators deal with her. A bit of sport at her expense would serve their bored mood and entertain him. Regarding her steadily, he un-clamped his jaw enough to speak. “That is not allowed.” Arching a brow, he continued, “Shall I inform your mother and father about this...”

“No, please, please.” The princess fell to her knees.
~~~

Story worthy, or not? You be the judge.
~~~~~~

The Kougar’s news and mews ~

I received the final approval doc for BRANDED BY THE TEXANS and the scheduled release date is August 2... yay! Yippee! Yahoo! So, hopefully everything will proceed smoothly... knock on wood!!!
~~~
I am also blogging Tuesday, the 20th at Lindsay Townsend’s THE PINK BLOG ~ here’s the beginning ~

Short Story ~ The Tiger’s Masquerade

So, how do you write a short story for the fantasy, future and paranormal erotic romance market? There are a lot of opportunities to pen one for an anthology. Because from what I can tell, Halloween anthologies seem to be particularly popular, whether e-book or print.
~~~

~ HAPPY SUMMER SHAPESHIFTING ~

Savanna Kougar

~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~

Author of ~

All Shades of Blue Paradise
Red Lioness Tamed
When a Good Angel Falls ~ In Print
Tangerine Carnal Dreams
Murder by Hair Spray in Gardenia, New Atlantis ~ In Print
Black Cat Beauty
Her Insatiable Dark Heroes ~ In Print
Stallion of Ash and Flame ~ In Print
Branded by the Texans ~ Coming in August 2010 from Siren-BookStrand
The Tiger’s Masquerade ~ Coming from MojoCastle Press
~~~~~~

Ocelot Shapeshifter: Three's a Crowd

By Pat Cunningham

“Hey. Hey, Carmen!” Cal, with the humans now secure and ready for transport, trots up to me. “We done good tonight. Once the paperwork’s out of the way, want to go celebrate? I know this place – “

“You know too many places. All of them scare me.”

“G’wan. Nothing scares you. Anyway, this place is tame. Two, three brawls a night, tops. The band sucks, but you can’t beat the food.”

Mike scowls at us. “Save your social life for your own time, Portnoy. You’re still on the department’s clock.”

“Go bury your bone,” Cal mutters under his breath as Mike, the suitcase clutched under his arm, heads for the van. “Dog needs a she-wolf, pronto. Or a she-something. You, maybe?”

“Not my type. Far too intense.”

“So, you go for the laid-back breed? Outstanding. Now, about this place – “

“She isn’t interested.” I don’t know how he does it, time after time. Once again Henri has slipped up behind me on his huge silent feet without my being aware. He knows I hate it when anyone gets the drop on me. Especially him. “No lady cat would be interested in anything a canine has to offer. Eh, petit?”

It also annoys me when males get presumptuous. I deliberately step closer to Cal. “Save your misplaced chivalry, Bigfoot. I find canines intriguing, and I go where I will, and with whom.”

His green eyes narrow at me. Like the rest of him, they’re far too pale. His skin, his hair, all designed for the snows he’s left behind. When will you learn, foolish lynx? I’m the tropics, you’re the frozen north. My heat and your ice would produce only useless steam. Why won’t you accept that?

“I like the feisty ones,” he says, “but not the foolish ones. Is there a brain in that tiny head, petit?”

“Don’t call me tiny.”

“Don’t call me Bigfoot.”

I stare pointedly downward. “If the shoe doesn’t fit … “

“This is all fascinating,” Cal says, “but maybe Mike’s got a point. We should get those scatheads processed before their lawyers show. Carmen, I’ll see you back at the station. You got a ride, Henry?”

“I hoped perhaps our jungle girl would let me ride with her. And how many times must I tell you? My name is Henri.”

“C’mon. There’s no way I can say that. Too fruity. Work it out quick, kitties, before Mike comes back after us.”

“I didn’t bring my car,” I tell Henri. Hard as I try, I can’t stare him down. “I came here in cat form.”

“You spend too much time in your cat form, when the woman is so much more appealing. Let me show you the advantages of an upright body. Dancing, for instance. If you would – “

“Hey!” Cal yelps. “I was here first!”

Henri waves him off with one enormous hand. In his lynx form one of his paws makes two of mine. Out of nowhere I’m struck by a powerful and unwanted blast of sexual curiosity. How would that paw, so large and soft and silent, feel against my body and my fur? Or his human hand caressing my arm, or my hip, or my breasts? Like all cats, he’s not without physical beauty. The frigid arctic wind calls out to me, promising relief from my rainforest heat.

Cal bristles, and Henri hisses. The stink of testosterone, a far more dangerous drug than Feral, makes my nose wrinkle.

“Stop it!” I snap at both of them. “What do you think I am, a strip of fish to be fought over?”

Henri blinks. He’s honestly confused. “There’s no fight. A lady cat belongs with a he-cat. End of discussion.”

“Carmen, ignore this putz. You can learn a slew of new tricks from us dogs. All it takes is a sense of adventure. Okay, flexibility helps.”

“You filthy-minded – “

“Hey, chill, Dudley Do-right. You’re not in the Great White North any more. This is America, land of opportunity. I’m offering Carmen the opportunity to give interspecies relations a whirl. Face it, once you’ve had a coyote – “

“You find yourself scratching forever. Your kind isn’t worthy of – “

I give up. They’re males. They won’t listen. Snarling, I shrug off the poncho and shift. Both of them stare at me. They’re still staring as I bound away.

“Now look what you did! You got brain freeze, Henry?”

“Me? I’m not the one with the gutter mouth, you – “ I've never heard French sound so ugly.

I race away and leave their argument behind. They’ll snipe at each other all the way to the station, then emerge from the car as friends and partners again. I don’t know how they do it. It must be another male thing.

Cal is interesting, but only a friend. Henri –

No. We must not. I cannot. I must remain apart until my debt is repaid. For you, Marisol, mi hermanita. And you, Esteban. Life later. First, revenge.

*****
And that's it for Ocelot Girl for the time being. This is as much as I got done. However, Liquid Silver Books is looking for paranormals. Deadline is the end of September. Details can be found at www.absolutewrite.com. Look in the Forums under Erotica. It's also posted under either Paying Markets or Networking: Sharing Leads, I can't remember which. Anyway, if I finish the plot I might finish the story, assuming any publisher will take a book written in first person present tense. Maybe I should blog about that next week, or someone else if you've had experience in that area. You've got a week to beat me to it.

Good Girl Goes "Bad"

By Pat Cunningham

("Bad Boys" is now available from Siren Publishing. Boranaz the demon is determined to prove to Solian the angel that women are into the bad boys. The only speed bump to his scheme is that Boranaz wants to be into Solian. Sometimes romance can be hell.)

Let me rephrase that. I’m not as good as I could be. That’s why I write every day, to get better. As far as technique goes, I hope it’s working. As for the plots and ideas …

I didn’t set out to deliberately write a M/M paranormal romantic comedy involving angels and demons. It just sort of happened. Specifically, I was trolling the Internet for markets and discovered one publisher wanted stories involving an angel and/or a demon. Fine, said my twisted brain. We’ll give them both. We’ll make them both male. Then we’ll ditch the chick and put the guys together. I hate my brain sometimes.

I’ve got nothing against same-sex pairings. I like a good slash story as much as the next rabid fangirl. I grew up on Star Trek, after all. As a fan of the X-Men as well, I always had my doubts about the Angel. I mean, c’mon. Blond, blue eyes, inhumanly beautiful, wings growing out of his back, calls himself Angel and he’s straight? Suuuurrrre. I still think he and Sauron would have made a cute couple. Maybe it’s a good thing I never became a comic book writer like I wanted to.

The hardest part about writing M/M? For me, it was pronouns. I had to keep using names because “he” could be either. The most fun? Picturing two smoking-hot guys going at each other. Writing is the best damn job on the planet, no foolin’.

I’ve got one other guy-on-guy tale in the pipeline and then it’s back to het. Or maybe I’ll put together all I’ve learned and write a ménage. In this job you never stop learning, and every day is a brand new adventure. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

****
HOLY CRAP! I added a picture! It worked! It actually WORKED!!!!!! There's no stopping me now!

COMMERCIAL BREAK

A LONDON WEREWOLF IN AMERICA is now available in print from Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com. I know what everybody's getting for Christmas this year.

Catching Up Week

I went back to work this week and talk about being a at dead run! My job as a quality assurance coach isn't difficult, just often time consuming. In order to meet production for the month, I have to evaluate a certain number of recorded company calls per day. Changes went into effect while I was out. By time I waded through emails, more stuff began changing. My boss and I agreed that next time we both decide to take vacation at the same time, we're telling the department no changes till we're back! Not likely to happen but worth dreaming about even for a few moments.

SHAPE SHIFTER BLUES is moving along. Due to the screwy work week, I've not gotten more edited to share. Instead, I'm posting a scene from my contemporary menage, Jet Lag Blues. The heat level is sizzling due the external temperatures outdoors. This will have your internal thermostat off the chart as well. My two heroes (Mason and Darryl) and their lovely heroine (Val) are playing an adult version of strip spin the bottle/truth or dare. Mason is waiting to find out Val's decision on strip or kissing versus answering a daring question truthfully.

EXCERPT:

Val stifled another yawn. He wasn’t too far behind her. The effects of the wine began reaching the rest of him. A sense of relaxed wooziness ebbed and flowed the sleepier he felt. His eyes felt gritty and he wanted to close them.

“So kiss or strip,” Darryl prompted and snickered. “I think Mason’s already decided for you.”

“Huh?” Mason jumped and his eyes flew open. Damn, he’d shut them and practically dozed off.

“Hmm-m-m-m-m” Val twittered. “I think I’ll kiss both of you.”

“Think you’re up to it?” Darryl winked and leaned forward.

Darryl’s leer sent a shiver down Mason’s back. Val’s making a face in response didn’t help either. He’d swear these two had a private challenge going on. How the hell had he ended up in the middle?

“Yes I am. Mason gets the first kiss.” Val held out her hand and faced him.

Mason leaned toward her and offered his cheek.

“No. Face me please.”

His throat went dry. He could feel every beat of his heart. Val inched closer.

“Put your legs out in front of you. I’m gonna sit on your lap.” She scooted tight to him and rose on her knees.

“You sure you’re OK with this?” he asked, eyeing Darryl.

Darryl’s silent nod sent ripples through his jittery stomach and a hiccup rattling up his throat. He tried taking a deep breath hoping to thwart the ensuing result. No such luck. “Hic! Hic!”

Val giggled and cupped his cheek as she moved closer. “Poor Mason. It’s all right. Val’s gonna kiss you and make it all better.”

Make it all better? His cock lept out of deep slumber and stood at attention wanting to get in on the action. Swell, now he had a boner to explain. Leave it to his quirky sense of humor to kick in. His ego chided, “Yeah Val, wanna kiss that and make it better too?” Sometimes he wondered if he had a huge masochistic streak or a sadistic one where he was the brunt of both.

Check out my blog at http://solaragordon.wordpress.com. I'm giving a way a free download of my current release RED HOT to the first person who correctly answers all the questions I posted for the scavenger hut for my blog readers. Post your comment on the last blog entry.
Keep cool! Take time to read a good book!
Have a great weekend!
Solara

The Dreamer in Me

I am spent.

No, not from a lovely morning romp or a wild night of extra-curricular activities. I'm spent from a night of oddly exciting dreams.

Shapeshifting played a huge roll in these dreams it seems. I was a part of them, but only as an invisible observer following the actions of each of the characters. Female mates were being stolen and their macho men were in a fury to find them. Typical.

The exciting part...these were some ultra-fine, alpha males who reeeeeally did not take well to their women being taken from them and that is always hot. ;)

The odd part...I spent the entire dream telling everyone and no one, "Cool idea, but where's the plot?"

LOL... Not hard to tell where my brain is of late!

Have a great weekend!

~~~

Gypsy Wolf cont...

“…mean.”


Branwen grimaced at the sugary sweet voice bellyaching on the other side of her tent’s flap. Great, she was in for another long session of young girls giggling and peppering her with asinine questions about their ridiculous lives and their unrealistic loves. Will I become a supermodel? What are next week’s lotto numbers, and her all time favorite question, will my current boyfriend find out about my other boyfriend?

Why couldn’t they just once ask something with more depth? Will I make an important change in someone’s life? Will I marry and have two point whatever kids, will I be happy?

She found their requests childish, disheartening and they hit far too close to home. She was once like these spoiled girls, more worried about how the world could serve her rather than how she could make the world a better place.

Sadly, it had taken one horrifying night to change that whiney beast into this hidden one.

Zombie driving school and werewolf cops

Hi and welcome to your Wednesday fix of Shapeshifter Seductions. This week I will be reviewing “Moon’s Fury” by C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp. This is book five of the Tales of the Sazi series. It was first released in 2007 and re-released just a few months ago, so you should be able to find it pretty easily.

But before we get to the book, I want to point out what a fantastic job we have all been doing in making the Others feel welcome and at home with the 21st century. A few weeks ago, a vampire ran a car off the road in Fruita, Colorado. A few days later a leprechaun was spotted at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. (If you’ll remember, there’s a Sazi wolf pack up there.) And just this week a car load of zombies was in a car accident trying to get to a party in Portland, Oregon. While some people think this is a sign of young humans acting like dorks, I just know it’s the contribution of us fantasy writers and you loyal readers making the Others feel like they belong.

Just think about it: a vampire was willing to expose himself to ridicule by trying to hitch hike… Well, maybe it isn’t such a good idea for vampires to be trying to hitch rides, but there was nothing wrong at all with a leprechaun going grocery shopping. Seriously! When was the last time you saw a leprechaun willing to part with his hard earned gold long enough to hit the produce sale at Safeway? And, well, I guess the zombies really need to take driving lessons. But maybe now they will be allowed to join a driver’s ed course. Heck, even the responding police officers were caring. One was quoted as saying, “We are just glad nobody died, even the undead.”

And if you don’t believe me, just do a Google search. Honest to god, all three storied made national news!

So, without further ado, I present “Moon’s Fury”:

The Sazi have survived time immemorial by hiding within the ranks of human society. While there aren’t a huge number of them, they do come to the attention of human authority from time to time. Good thing there are Sazi hidden within those ranks, too.

Cara Salinas is Alpha of her pack of Mexican Red Wolves in western Texas, but she’s also the county sheriff. Adam Muller is Second in the Minneapolis pack of timber wolves and also a beat cop in one of the city’s toughest precinct. When the Sazi Council orders the huge pack in Minnesota to reduce pack size, Adam is sent down to Texas to reconnoiter the area, since half a dozen families were to head down there and join Cara’s pack. Too bad no one bothered to tell Cara about the plan.

Cara has her hands full trying to figure out how to make six families of outsiders work in her small, rural community where everyone knows everyone. To make matters worse, she isn’t feeling nearly as offended at having Adam, a wolf dominant enough to be a pack leader in his own right, in her territory. If that wasn’t enough, she has the new leader of Wolven, Lucas Santiago, breathing down her neck and serial killing Sazi birds kidnapping girls and killing human traffickers!

I enjoyed this book- it has a spicy zing that keeps you turning pages. It takes most of the book for Cara and Adam to admit to their intense attraction to each other and find time to actually act on it. I love the way secondary characters are lively and likeable, adding a lot of depth to this story. Of special interest in the secondary cast is Sam, the Wolven agent/Texas Ranger/ancient bald eagle shifter from the Comanche tribe. He gets plenty of character development to make him easy to like and just enough background info to make you yearn to know his secrets- and he seems to have plenty of them.

Ok, to the nuts and bolts of the story plot. I won’t go too in-depth, but this is the first book of the main story arch. Where the first four books seemed to be hinting of bigger things happening, this book comes alive with hidden plots being revealed. We will get to see a new side of Lucas Santiago, and why he was so sad the Jack Simpson had to die the way he did in book four. We will also get to see a new, darker side of the raptors and snakes as we see a master plot for world destruction- not domination- unfold with them at the heart of it. And thought the general tone of this book is dark and hectic, the hero and heroine have a very happy ending, even though it’s a bit bitter sweet for Cara.

Next week, I’ll be reviewing book six of the series, “Timeless Moon,” where we will meet again the mysterious Aspen/Josette Monier and the husband she’d thought she lost. Untill then, have a safe and festive week. And remember, it’s fine to support the “Others” in your community, but don’t pick up any vampire hitch hikers!

Rebecca Gillan
RebeccaLGillan.com

Part Three ~ The Intergalactic Chase... and THOSE Dreams

First, shapeshifter lovers, ever have one of THOSE dreams, or several dreams in a row, that leave a LASTING IMPRESSION, one that doesn't leave once you're fully awake and conscious, even after downing the chocolate and caffeine?
It's been a few days now, but the impact of these particular dreams is still with me, haunting me or more in keeping with this post ~ clawing at the back of my mind.
And, still, the overall *feeling* from these dreams is as powerful as when I was dreaming them. I blogged about it on my personal bloggie, Kougar Kisses ~ Powerful Dreams Around WHEN A GOOD ANGEL FALLS.

Now, for the X-entertainment portion of this post. Yes, X almost marks the spot for my heroine and hero in this *prequel* scene to TANGERINE CARNAL DREAMS.

The Intergalactic Chase ~ Corporal Kattalonia and Prince Zio

Part Three ~

Using her palm to flame the incorrigible stud would cost Katta seconds she couldn’t afford. The inhibitor glowed, ready to fire. She whipped around with it, pointing at the apex of his all-too-handsome thighs.

Even as she shot the bright orange pulses, Katta knew she’d lost this round. Harmlessly, they sparked off his flight breeches. The sable-brown leather not only hugged his legs, but faithfully displayed the outline of his balls... hell’s own moan... larger than some planetoids she’d seen.

Lowering the inhibitor gradually, Katta followed the I-intend-to-take-you monolith that was his crotch. Obviously, the sky horse had protected himself with a sheet of platinum-diamond composite. The expense was galaxies-beyond her pay grade.

“Your welcoming perusal of my passion for you encourages my heart, my future mate.” The man-stallion approached with a smooth gait, despite the large impediment trapped inside his elegantly fashioned breeches.

“Welcoming?” Katta dead-aimed her hand for his heart, given his rakishly styled shirt exposed the deep bronze skin of his chest.

Mere strides away, Zio captured her wrist. Katta smacked her other palm on the impossibly hard muscles of his chest and called forth her fire. But her flame fizzled, betraying her. Her breath caught in her throat as she inhaled his maleness. Damn it to the cosmic wasteland, his virile scent always put her beneath his stud spell.

Their gazes clashed as he backed her against one of the mirror panels. “Katta.” His harsh breaths did terrible and wonderful things to her nether sex parts. So did his long tall cock as he pressed it against her belly. “Kattalonia, beautiful one, you know you belong to me.”

“I belong to no one, but myself, you decadent beast.” Somehow she’d managed to get the words past her embarrassingly quick pants, and even made them sound defiant.

“Decadent beast. I adore how you tease my libido with your lover’s names for me.” His dark amused tone rubbed over her deliciously.

One more time, Katta attempted to flame his chest, but she was hopelessly lost to her desires, a pool of hot yearning plasma. For him. Crap-particles, her usual luck had failed her.

“I am not your lover.” She might as well as have told him they were lovers eternal, given the impassioned flicker in the depth of his eyes. Only for her.

“My woman.” Releasing her wrist, he caressed to her elbow with a slow sensuality that made her gasp in pleasure.

Katta let her eyelids fall shut. “No. You can’t...I swear I’m going to laser-bake those balls of yours.”

His answer was to more firmly nestle his cock against her belly. Despite the leather barrier, the heat of his flesh monolith caused her to smolder all over, but especially between the lips of her pussy. Katta whimpered before she could suppress it.

“Just thinking of you, and now seeing you.” His nose nuzzled up the side of her neck. “Smelling you, Kattalonia, laser-heats my balls. I am ready to mount you. Lunge inside you until I hear your sweet screams of surrender. Your wild moans of bliss.”

“Oh, God of starfire, take me.”

TO BE CONTINUED... (yes, still hoping to finish this scene!)
~~~~~~

~ HAPPY SUMMER SHAPESHIFTING ~

Savanna Kougar

~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~

Author of ~

All Shades of Blue Paradise
Red Lioness Tamed
When a Good Angel Falls ~ In Print
Tangerine Carnal Dreams
Murder by Hair Spray in Gardenia, New Atlantis ~ In Print
Black Cat Beauty
Her Insatiable Dark Heroes ~ In Print
Stallion of Ash and Flame ~ In Print
Branded by the Texans ~ Coming in August 2010 from Siren-BookStrand
The Tiger’s Masquerade ~ Coming from MojoCastle Press
~~~~~~

Ocelot Shapeshifter: Feral Peril

By Pat Cunningham

But first, a word from our sponsor. “Bad Boys” is out and available from Siren Press. What does it take to tempt a hot male demon? A hot male angel. This story guarantees my front-row seat in Hell. I’ve already blogged about it on another site. I was going to recycle that blog here, but decided on the flash instead to keep my blogs on topic. That said, we now return to our regularly scheduled shapeshifters.
*******
Henri and I drag the moaning dead weight of the pusher over to join his despicable fellows. I could manage this task on my own, and tell him so, sharply. He laughs it off. “You’re so tiny, petit, and this ape is so heavy. No gentleman would leave you to shoulder the burden alone.”

Gentleman. Hah! No lynx is a gentleman. Such a state is beyond them. And tiny? At 5’5”, he has no business calling anyone “tiny.” But both his forms are still larger than mine, a fact he never fails to rub my whiskers in. There’s no point in arguing with him; his ego is larger than both of us. I content myself with a ripping growl.

We deliver our captive to Cal. He snaps on the cuffs and shoves Greasy Hair toward his two companions. “You have the right to remain silent. We have the right to chew on any one of your limbs that strikes our fancy. Welcome to Shiftertown.”

The humans don’t hear him. They’re watching Mike. He circles them, his eerie yellow eyes never leaving their faces. A snarl twitches his upper lip. Even in his human form there’s no mistaking the wolf. The wolf is one wrong eyelash-flutter away from lunging at their throats. The humans sense this and wisely hold to silence.

“You have the right to an attorney, yip yip yip. You scats know the drill. C’mon, let’s get ‘em to lockup. Yo, Carmen.” Cal grabs a poncho out of the back of his car and tosses it to me. It has a badge pinned to the front. He nods toward the street, and the rubberneckers crawling by in their cars. “Cover up before you cause an accident.”

Mike’s already wearing his poncho. Henri takes his time donning his. He makes sure I’m watching as he slides the garment over his head. In clothing he appears squat, but his lynx-shifter body is all solid, supple muscle and in perfect proportion when naked. He likes to show off this fact to me whenever opportunity presents itself. I pointedly turn my back on him and slip on my own garment. I hear him chuckle in appreciation of my backside. He would take leering delight in whatever side of me I showed him. Fool of a lynx.

While Cal and Henri load our collars into Mike’s unmarked van, Mike examines the take. He sniffs a baggie. His nose wrinkles and his lips skin back, as if recoiling from the drug’s very existence. “Feral,” he snarls. “Almost pure grade. Six full pounds of it. Lycaon bite those bastards.”

I say nothing, but I know my expression mirrors his. Sadly, it was only a matter of time before drug labs discovered the shifter market, and designed narcotics for weres. Feral wipes away human awareness, leaving only the beast. Its supporters claim it enhances the shapeshifter experience and promotes the purity of the animal state. Churches have sprung up devoted to this fallacy. For everyone else it’s a recreational drug. Just another thrill.

And when the thrill ends? You’re left with a shifter in human form but with an animal’s mind. Most often they kill themselves. Those who can’t go mad. Mike knows this from personal experience. So do I.

What A Crazy Week!!!

I'm on vacation for a few more days. The week has not gone as anticipated. I'd planned on finishing out a book rough first draft. No such luck! No tears over it. It's been pleasant to reconnect with myself and getting things done around the house. The nicest part is spending time with my partner and doing things we might not otherwise do.



Started interviews with my heroine and hero from Shape Shifter Blues. Good stuff coming out from this. I'm posting an excerpt from the first chapter here for you. Remember this is a work in progress. Meanwhile, I'm finishing off another contemporary story to polish up for submission soon. Enjoy the excerpt! Have a great weekend!
Solara

EXCERPT:

Pete moved around the limo to the back driver’s side door, opening it as he yelled. “Thompson, get your sorry ass out of my chips and stop fussing.”

“Who the hell said these were your chips?” A large warm chocolate brown hand thrust an industrial sized bag of potato chips out the door. “Is your name on ‘em?”

A long arm followed by wide muscle bound shoulders and a head full of dread lock hair appeared. Thompson Waller, renowned keyboard player and percussionist, exited the limo. He stood almost six foot eight and spoke with a voice that sent chills down most folks back. His eighteen-carat golden jaguar pin stood out on his brown fedora hat. God help anyone who even thought about stealing or touching it. His feline grace fell more than one person crazy enough to try it. He blinked at the bright spotlight illuminating the alley entrance and stage door area. His eyes flashed gold, then green before dimming.

Jared chuckled at Thompson and Pete’s continued banter.

“Look shrimp,” Thompson began, tossing the bag of chips at Pete. “Your damn munchies are a pain.”

“Just trying to keep up.” Pete caught the bag and grinned. “A growing boy needs his fuel.”

“Growing what?” Thompson’s laughter echoed off the alley walls. “I keep telling you ocelot, you is grown.”

“But you inspire me.” Pete handed the bag to their limo driver, Billy. Thompson shook his head and waved to Jared.

“Guys, can you keep the roar down?” Jared laid his guitar case on the limo’s trunk.

Mac’s low-grade purr sounded beside him. Jared turned. “You scoping out the gals already?”

“Cougars prowl and scan their surroundings.” Mac winked and moved up beside the open door. “Just keeping up with my basic nature.”

“Ha! Baser is more like it.” A squeaky pitched voice piped up.

Jared reached out and grabbed the driver’s shoulder, spinning him around. Jared enveloped him in a huge hug.

“Billy, you’re back!”

“Let me breathe!” Billy yelped. “Yeah, I’m back. But not if you crack my ribs again.”

Thompson’s subdued laughter and quick smile caught Jared off-guard. “What’s so funny?”

“You with hyena boy wrapped up there.” Thompson laughed harder and pointed two fingers at them.