My Writing

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    More free Elemental Assassin short stories …

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    The release date on Web of Lies is drawing ever closer — May 25. To whet readers’ appetites, I’ve written a couple of free Elemental Assassin short stories — Web of Death and Web of Deceit.

    Web of Death takes place in between the events of Spider’s Bite and Web of Lies and focuses on what happens when Gin gets some unexpected visitors one night.

    Web of Deceit is another prequel story about Gin’s first solo job as the Spider when she was a teenager and is told from Fletcher Lane’s point of view.

    There are no major spoilers in either one of the stories, and both of them can be found on the Excerpts page, along with Spider’s Bargain, the first free short story that I wrote. I just thought writing the stories would be something fun and cool that I could do for readers, since I’ve gotten such great response to Spider’s Bite. I hope everyone enjoys the free stories and can check out Web of Lies when it comes out as well.

    Happy reading! 😉

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    Dear Author giveaway and more …

    Spider's Bite finalJane Litte and the rest of the folks over at Dear Author have been nice enough to feature Spider’s Bargain, a free prequel short story to Spider’s Bite, on their site.

    They are also hosting a 10-book giveaway (5 print books and 5 e-books) of Spider’s Bite. So go on over there, follow the directions, and enter for a chance to win a copy of the book.

    Thanks again to all the folks over at Dear Author. Happy reading, everyone! 😉

    And, of course, this is not your only chance to win a free copy of the book. I’m doing a guest blog over at Debuts & Reviews today and giving away a copy of Spider’s Bite there as well. I also want to say thanks to Tia for having me back on her site as well.

    And I’m doing giveaways with several more of the guest blogs/interviews that I have set up, so check the blog here for where the post-of-the-day will be during the next few weeks.

  • ‘Tis done … for now …

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    So I’ve finished my first draft of my young-adult fantasy, Quiver. Word count: 62,241. If I was writing one of the Elemental Assassin books, I’d need about 30,000 more words. But I think 62K is a good start for a YA. I’m thinking the final book will be between 70-75K.

    After about six false starts, I finally think I’ve nailed down how I want the story to go. My main character, Gwen, is sort of a Scarlet Pimpernel meets Robin Hood type. With magic. Here is something resembling a blurb:

    After her father’s murder, Gwen Frost has taken up his legacy as the Hood, an outlaw who haunts the forests around the capitol city of Cadogan. Gwen has a Talent or magic for sight, which has led her to become one of the best archers in all the Thirteen Kingdoms. By day, Gwen robs the corrupt nobles who travel through the forest and gives their money to those who need it. At night, she masquerades as Lady Gwendolyn, a spoiled, wannabe princess who seems to care for nothing but spending her inheritance on her extravagant wardrobe as fast as she can.

    But when Gwen inadvertantly thwarts on assassination attempt on Prince Percy St. John, she finds herself working to stop a scheme that threatens the entire kingdom — and vows to finally bring her father’s killer to justice …

    I don’t know why this draft was so hard for me to write. Maybe because I’ve never written a YA before, so I was unsure about the voice. Maybe because my first plot sucked out loud. Maybe because it’s been winter, and I’ve just felt sluggish and lazy.

    Anyway, here’s the first chapter for your reading enjoyment. (And please excuse the formatting if it is wonky or if there’s a word or two missing. I had to go through and delete all the code, and I just never know what WordPress is going to do to the type until I hit post). Happy reading! :ww:

    QUIVER — CHAPTER ONE

    Read More “‘Tis done … for now …”

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    And the title is …

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    Spider’s Bite: An Elemental Assassin Book.

    Pretty cool, huh? At this point, we’re thinking all the titles will have the word Spider’s in them. Spider’s Web is another title my agent, editor, and I all like – it will probably be used for Book 2 or 3. Anyway, more to come.

    I’m just glad I have a title now! :ww:

    Also, the first chapter of Spider’s Bite has been up on the Web site for a while now, but I thought I would also share it here. Please excuse the formatting. For some reason, the blog doesn’t like me to copy and paste stuff in. So I had to take all the code out. I think I cleaned up everything, but at the very least, you’ll get a sense of what the book is about. Warning: Violence and language follow. The book is about an assassin after all. Happy reading!

    Read More “And the title is …”

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    Quiver samples …

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    To give you guys an idea of what I’m talking about, here are the opening paragraphs for both the new and old versions of Quiver. (A caveat: The formatting is probably going to be wonky. For some reason, WordPress doesn’t like me posting in info from other programs, like Word. Ah, well): 

    NEW VERSION

     I never set out to be an outlaw.

    As Gwendolyn Frost, my days and nights were filled with the duties and responsibilities of any young duchess of my wealth and station.

    I never meant to become a vigilante, a ruffian, a fiend. Cheered by some, cursed by others, hunted by many. I never meant to rescue a hero, take down a tyrant, save a kingdom.

    It just sort of . . . happened.

    And it all started, innocently enough, deep in the forest with a simple bow and a quiver full of arrows . . .

    OLD VERSION“You’re going to miss.”

    The gruff voice sounded close to my left ear. Footsteps smacked on the cobblestones behind me, and a body leaned forward, brushing against my own.

    “And miss badly,” the flat tone continued in my right ear.

    I blocked out the voice. Blocked out the constant scuff of footsteps circling around me, the gloomy words of doom, the warm breath tickling my ears and nose with its sharp flavor of liver and onions. I blocked it all out until there was nothing left but the smooth bow in my hands and the small red smear of the target in the distance.

    I lifted the bow to my shoulder, notched the arrow, and drew back the string with one fluid movement. A comforting motion, as familiar to me as a waltz or reel might be to any other young lady of my station.

    “You’re going to miss,” the voice repeated, but it was a mere murmur now, a buzzing bee in the background of my mind.

    My green eyes narrowed as I studied the target, using the faint cool spark of magic that I possessed to pull it into focus, until the red smear filled my vision with crystal clarity. A breeze gusted through the stone courtyard, barely a whisper against my cheek, but I adjusted my aim accordingly. My fingers rested on the bowstring the way a musician’s might on a cherished violin.

    “You’re going to miss—”

    I let go.

    The arrow sliced through the air, a flashing silver blur, before hitting the target a hundred yards in front of me. Dead center.

    So what do you think? Good, bad, indifferent? Craptastic all the way around? Share in the comments.