As you may know, I have a French background and this year I would like to
celebrate Bastille Day with my readers by offering a one-day BIG promotion on
one of my books.
The discount will be of 50%, but it’ll only last for a day!
And it’s up to you to decide which book you may get at half price on July 14th. Come to my Yahoo newsletter page and vote for one of the 10 possible choices!
Reposting more 100-word drabbles centered on characters from my ebooks. This time – Master vampire Elden from Souls Night.
~*~
Two centuries had passed, and still Elden could never get a full day of sleep. It didn’t matter how tired he was when returning to the lair at sunrise, he always ended up missing the once familiar presence that had anchored his sleep and dreams for so long. Too often, he gave up after a few hours and left that too big, too cold bed to either sit by the fire or train with a sword for an hour or five. Two centuries had passed, and still Elden thought he could breathe in Debra’s scent when he held her pillow.
~*~
Two centuries had passed, and Elden had given up warming his bedroom. Once, large fires had blackened the hearth and cast light on the room he had shared with his first Childe; his favorite Childe. Now, he only used the common room fireplace, and then only to warm water. He had always hated washing in cold water. So had she. He built large fires in the stone fireplace, and sometimes watched them burn for hours. Colors and light. Crackling wood. Smoke that he could taste on his tongue. Warmth. Two centuries had passed, and Elden had never felt so cold.
~*~
Two centuries had passed, and every time Elden saw the table in the common room, something inside him tightened and bled. He could remember the day he had requested that table and those chairs from Riverside’s carpenters. It had been just days after he had sired his fourth Childe. The lair had needed some improvements. He had asked for ten chairs, hoping to make the set last. When the Great Death had come, there had still been two empty chairs. Two centuries had passed, and Elden could still hear each of his Childer’s last heartbeat when he closed his eyes.
~*~
Two centuries had passed, and the weapons on the wall still gleamed. Elden only used a handful of them, depending on his mood and how tired he was of it all. The heavy ax when he wanted fast kills. The long sword when he felt like giving demons a fair chance. The dagger on nights when his loneliness and despair went beyond his better judgment. He cleaned the weapons he didn’t use every few days, caressing hilts and blades with a soft cloth and remembering the hands that had held them. Two centuries had passed, and Elden continued to hunt.
~*~
Two centuries had passed, and no one came to offer blood to Elden anymore. He had once forged Pacts with seven villages, but they seemed to have forgotten him. For a few weeks, after the Great Death, they had continued to come. One by one, the villages had stopped sending offerings. Five had asked him to take new Childer. They hadn’t understood why he wouldn’t; why he couldn’t. They hadn’t seen his clan die as he had. Two centuries had passed, and Elden wasn’t sure he remembered the taste of human blood, but he always remembered the taste of tears.
~*~
Two centuries had passed, and Elden continued to mourn his Childer on Souls Night. Small candles on their tombs, silent words given to each of them, and the continued promise not to fight on this night, the night they had died. Let it be the one time when steel wasn’t drawn and blood wasn’t shed. The one night when he allowed himself to grieve fully for his lost clan. Two centuries had passed, or maybe a little more, when a human child once stumbled on Elden’s private ritual and changed his life. She wasn’t even twenty. Her name was Myrna.
I just posted the audio epilogue to Aria & Will, it’s now available on my podcast page.
I’ve decided to keep up with the recordings. Starting next week, I’ll post a few excerpts of my back catalogue, and then in August I want to start recording another long novel, Baby Steps, which will be released in the fall. That’s a story very close to my heart so I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Also, remember that the contest is still open! Tell me which of the Out of the Box episodes was your favorite and get an advanced copy of ‘First Vision of Destiny‘ before its July release!
I just posted chapter 8 of Beneath the Twin Moons of Haldae, my (monthly) free story. I know I’ve been less than regular in posting it and I apologize. Switching genres was definitely a challenge. I can only hope that you enjoy the story…?
The next to last chapter of the audio version of Aria & Will is now up. I hope you’ll enjoy!
I should be posting the next chapter of my free story some time this week. Stay tuned for it!
And a reminder that there is currently a contest running: What was your favorite part of the Out of the Box series? You have until July 20th to tell me and be entered in the drawing. The prize will be an ARC of “First Vision of Destiny – Alicia”, the first part of my new series coming out in July! There’s already an excerpt up here if you want to get a taste.
More drabbles, this time with the characters from On The Edge.
~*~*~
The colors on the screen are so vivid that Brett could almost believe Lisa is right here rather than down in the club. He can’t help reaching for the image and running a finger along her body. She smiles and throws back her head, giving the illusion that she can feel his touch. In a few hours, it will be more than an illusion.
“Our girl is beautiful, isn’t she?”
The sensual whisper in the shell of his ear sends a shiver down Brett’s spine. He turns to face Leo and grins.
“That she is,” he says, and kisses him.
~*~*~
“Playing with your toy again?” Leo’s voice was teasing as he leaned against Brett’s shoulder to look at Lisa on the screen.
“It’s not a toy.”
Leo laughed. “Really? I don’t see how watching Lisa helps you protect your customers.”
With a few clicks, Brett changed the image to show a video he had recorded earlier.
“You can’t believe she’d—”
Leo fell silent when, on the screen, his image slipped into a privacy booth and pulled the curtains shut. They were too sheer to hide what was happening behind them.
“I can explain.”
“No need. Payback will suffice. Strip.”
~*~*~
Brett is doing his payroll when his cell phone beeps. He welcomes the distraction and reads Leo’s message.
what R u doing?
He texts right back.
deciding how much $ you earned
A few seconds pass. He just waits for the answer.
if I’d known, i’d have given u a blowjob this morning
Chuckling, Brett presses 3 letters.
LOL
Changing his mind, he erases the message and writes a new one.
not done yet. u could still try to get a raise
Not even a minute passes after he sends the message before a grinning Leo strolls into his office.
A drabble is a piece of writing that is exactly 100 words. I wrote the following scenes a while back but they got lost the last time I revamped my website. I thought I’d repost them, and maybe write more. If you want to give me prompts I’ll write drabbles for you for any of my published stories… or maybe inspiration will strike and I’ll write a short story!
~*~*~*~
Anando dreams.
In his mind, the lush forests of his native land whisper age-old tales when the wind caresses the trees’ branches. The familiar sun warms his face, and he needs not to shade his eyes. He holds a spear in his hand, fire-hardened wood polished by the hand of his father before him, and the hand of his father’s father before that. Amongst the trees, his prey hides, waiting to give him and his tribe life.
Anando awakens. Smiles. Tonight, he will hunt for another kind of prey, but it is the same life he will receive from them.
~*~*~*~
Usually, Anando arrives at the club before Virginia does, but not tonight. Rather than joining her, he remains on one of the bridges over the dance floor and watches her. Her dress reveals just enough as she dances to make him crave her. Make him hard. He can already see her lying naked on the satin sheets of his bed, can smell her excitement, can taste her skin and pleasure, can touch the slickness between her thighs and her nipples hardening beneath his fingers, can hear her heartbeat and breath accelerating together. He can’t wait anymore; he goes to her.
~*~*~*~
Anando put the last touch to the meal he had prepared and lowered the fire setting. Virginia wouldn’t be long, now—if she came. There had been a hesitation in her voice when she had promised. But she *had* promised. He hoped she wouldn’t regret it.
With an easiness born of habit, he retrieved a package of blood, heated it, fed from it. He hoped she would offer him dinner as well—she was so delicious, mature and sweet all at once, like fine wine. He didn’t want to take too much—
Two sharp knocks on the door; he smiled.
~*~*~*~
Days pass, and Virginia can’t touch the scarf she took away as a memento without blushing. She can still feel the silk, so strong around her wrists, holding her tight and as securely as the gentlest touch from Anando. She can still feel it over her eyes, blinding her but allowing every stroke to become like fire on her skin. She can still feel it like the caress of the wind, trailed over her burning flesh by Anando’s teasing hands. The satin scarf is cool and silky on her skin; it makes her crave Anando’s hands and lips even more.
Hello all!
Today was released on Alinar the complete Out of the Box series.
To the loyal readers who read all 10 parts of Virginia and Anando’s story as they were released – there is no new material in this book! it is ‘only’ the collected 10 stories, plus the free story Dancing inserted in the timeline. I don’t want you to buy this one thinking you’ll get something new!
I didn’t intend to release the series in one book since at first it was conceived as installments you could read or skip, but the characters did take us into a different kind of story, so it made sense to have it all in one book. It will only be available on Alinar Publishing.
And to celebrate this release, I’ve uploaded a recorded version of the free story Dancing on my podcast. Check it out or the ten different excerpts for the series at http://original.kallysten.net/outofthebox.html
If you’ve read the entire story, here’s the contest! What was your favorite part of the 10 (+ Dancing) installments, and in a few words why? You have until July 20th to participate. The prize will be an ARC of “First Vision of Destiny – Alicia“, the first part of my new series coming out in July! I will pick a winner for every 10 contest entries. (So if 10 readers participate, there will be only 1 prize, but if 50 participate, there will be 5 prizes and so forth!)
There you go. That’s all I have for today – new release, podcast and contest. Your turn to post!
A reader who wants to take the plunge and start writing asked me a question recently about how to get past details when beginning to work on a story. Finding the perfect name for the hero or heroine is important, of course, but so is crafting a tightly plotted story. At the critical point that is the very beginning, getting distracted by details can be crippling, as I know from personal experience.
I’ve dealt with this in a couple of different ways before, and maybe my experience can help someone else.
My first trick is to write an outline and every time I hit a detail, I will insert what I call a placeholder. For example, my outline might look like this: “Heroine goes to City to meet her old friend Hero”. Once I have worked out the entire story, I go back and decide on those names before I start the actual writing.
Another trick I’ve used is to just write using the first name that comes to mind and replace it later when/if something better comes to mind.
As to how I decide on names… Well, there’s the old helper: the baby-names book, although in my case I use naming website so I get information about the meaning and history of names. Anando’s name in Out of the Box, in particular, was chosen purely on its origin and meaning. Anando means “bliss”, which I thought was rather fitting! I also have a couple of good friends who are terrific at helping me find good-sounding names…or at vetoing less than perfect ones!
If you have questions about how I write or deal with specific situations, feel free to ask!
