How to drive a writer crazy

That answer is as easy as it is complex. At least with me. Right now, it involves having painters in the house, working on two different areas at once. Not only does that mean half the house will be unavailable but it also means the dog and cats are going to be more neurotic than ever. It also means I won’t have my office or the kitchen. I can’t run away because I need to be here to make sure there are no questions. Oh, and Mom and I will be sharing the den which means I won’t have my music unless I keep earbuds in–not optimal. Better yet, they just started to arrive so I hustled the neurotic dog off to my room and locked him in. Oops, BratCat was already in there. Now they are confined together. That would be all right except BratCat can open doors. So one more thing for me to keep an ear open for.

Add to that the fact it looks like the skies might open at any moment and, well, you probably get the picture. The writer is going crazy and it isn’t even 0830 yet.

The writer needs a vacation.

In the meantime, here’s a very short snippet from Jaguar Bound, currently available for pre-order on Amazon and coming soon to the other storefronts. (This is from the unedited version. All the usual disclaimers apply.)

“Shh, my dear. Shh. Remember, this is for everyone’s good.”

Her eyes bulged and as he slid a long, thin blade between her ribs and into her heart. It went in smoothly and he smiled in satisfaction. It’s amazing how simple it was to do once you knew the right way. His first few times had not been so easy or so bloodless.

He withdrew the blade and pressed a fresh cloth against the wound, holding it with one hand while the other taped it in place. He made no attempt to save her. Instead, did what he could to prevent prying eyes from realizing what they saw until he wanted them to.

Patting her cheek one last time as the light faded from her eyes, he stood and returned to the van. He sat behind the steering wheel long enough to record a few observations before driving off into the night. As he did, he smiled to himself. Lightning flashed across the sky and thunder rolled after it.

Thank you, Mother Nature. You will give me another layer of data to factor into my observations and conclusions.

Nocturnal Origins, the book that started Mackenzie Santos’ story, is offered as a free download on all major outlets.

Also, check out my latest releases, Foil of the Gods (Sword of the Gods 3) and Fire Striker (Tearing the Veil 1). Both are available through all major online retailers. Foil of the Gods will be available on all major online retailers shortly (as soon as it works through the process). Print versions of all my books are being reformatted and will be available next month.

Now, the painters are gathering. My sanity is fleeing. Help me, please.

And someone find my coffee. I’ve lost it and without it there is no hope.

BTW, the header is a quick version of what will be used later for promo work.