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Last night I had intentions to write another post about voice this morning-- a more in-depth post.   I'm not feeling it right now though.  Hopefully, I'll find the words for it later today.

Progress is the word of the day. :-)  I'm hoping the base for our kitchen counter will go down followed immediately by our sink and the dishwasher. I'm running thin on tolerance regarding the non-kitchen.

But my book?  Oh, my book!  The world crumbles around me, saws scream and screech through wood, and I keep writing. I've revamped so many scenes and finally have a good grip on my characters and their emotional strains for this story.  Until recently I'd spent most of my time fumbling around with no direction when it came to their emotions.  My oldest daughter stopped by to ask, "Do you think you're ever gonna finish that book?"

:D  Someday, dear.  Someday.

My FB and Twitter break have done miraculous wonders for me, however hard it's been for me not to check in and see what my friends are up to. 

Yesterday my husband stopped by the bedroom doorway to check on me.  I think he left feeling like he'd never understand the strangeness of my mind. See, I was stuck trying to understand a section of lyrics by Kate Voegele. I explained as best as I could to him that the song holds the key to Grayson's emotions and thoughts for a certain scene and unless I get a handle on the first stanza I'll stay confused over whether or not it really is the perfect fit.

I think I'm getting what she's trying to say.  In case you're curious here's the first stanza from "Wish you were here".

Gone away are the golden days
Just a page in my diary
So here I am a Utopian citizen
I'm still convinced
There's no such thing as idealism.

What first caught my eye about the song was the mention of Utopian and idealism, because I had just written a scene where Gray and Laura discussed these two things.  But the more I listened to the song the more I understood where it belonged in my list of inspirations and in my book.  I love it when I write something then find a song later that feeds the scene more and fits it so perfectly. But I had problems trying to hook the lines "I'm still convinced there's no such thing as idealism" into the rest of the lyrics. 

It took me a while to get it, but I do now, which means I can move on with my scene. :-)

Not being selfish, I've embedded the acoustic version of the song, which is a much, much more powerful version than the album version.

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Usually I get in lots of trouble for my steamy kissing scenes. But, I'll live on the edge today. ;-) It's obvious Laura and Gray need to explore their attraction, but don't get all excited thinking it's like romantic piddle. Because it's fueled by Grayson's anger and they have such a long way to go. If they ever make it in the first place.  It's also edited like most of my teasers so important (snort) story stuff doesn't show up.  I guess I'm just extra excited to see so much progress happening with Panthan's Abyss. I have another teaser up on onegrapeshy's blog if you want to check it out. :-)

     “You made a big mistake.”
     “I just wanted to feel something real.”
     He came toward her, a big cat, sleek, full of menace. “Why don’t I tell you the truth and you tell me more lies.” Stopping only a foot from her, he slid his hand down her cheek. “Does that feel real?”
     Her head fell back, her breaths thinning. Before she could answer he went on, “How about this?” He grabbed a handful of her hair, tilting her to face him. His mouth barely brushed hers and he was gone again. “Is that real?” The question came out almost a growl. “Or maybe this—”
     He kissed her again, more urgent, but didn’t stay at her lips, instead trailing along her neck.
     Yes! Yes, this was all them and all real.
     His fingers hooked her shirt collar and yanked it past her shoulder. His lips followed immediately behind.
     One. Two. Breathe. His skin on her skin. No vibrations. No bloodlust. Just this desperate attraction.
     On his return path, he dropped his head in her neck, his shoulders lifting with a deep inhale. “You smell real. You’ve always smelled real.”
     The whole room was full of the most delicious and heady scents. Hers mingled with his. Passion. Hate. Need. Fear.
     He circled around her, his fingers snaking along her shoulder blades. She followed him as far as her head could turn then whipped it around to the other side as he made it to her shoulder. His gaze met hers. Fire shot out at her. Pain pleaded with her. She closed her eyes, unable to look at him.
     It didn’t matter. She could feel his heat as he leaned into her.
     “You can’t have me now. You know that don’t you?”
     She swallowed and nodded slowly.
     “Good,” he said.
     And left.
     The door slammed shut behind him.
     She stood in the middle of the floor with its swirly drunken designs and swayed, dizzy, crushed.

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Of course you're not going to get some love-sick teaser from me today! No, no, no. :-) Actually, I really can't post any kind of kissing scene from PA because that would give away too many things. But, I can bring you relationship building and bloody, dead things. Because that's Laura and Gray for you.

He had a head and he didn’t have a diamond studded knife protruding from his heart. So he couldn’t be dead.

But he was.

A steady drip, drip, drip had been sounding since she knelt beside him. She’d filed the noise under dripping water at first. It hadn't been long since the rain stopped. It sounded thicker to her ears now. Scanning his entire body she caught the pop of the next drop as it hit his boot. When she looked up, she found the cause of the drippy faucet and let out a yelp as she jumped back.

A headless Wōden soldier lay above them, sprawled across the edge of the rock cropping. A headless dripping stump. She gulped in a gasp, her throat burning with the trapped air. Okay. Yeah. Time to go. She scrambled to her feet, her hands slipping through the bloody mud. A hiccup erupted sending a sharp pain through her chest.

Her instincts screamed at her,  “Run!”

She took her first step, her boot sinking deep. She yanked, pulling a muscle in her thigh when it slurped loose. As her heart rate reached the heavens, Gray snatched her, yanking her over to Erin. He turned her to face him and shook her a few times. “Listen,” he said. “I called Micah and they’re on their way.”

“There’s a headless man up there!”

“There’s more than one.”

“There's more than one?”

“Yes. I just need you to watch over Erin while I lead Micah back here. Just keep her warm and protected, okay?”

“There are headless, dripping people up there!”

He shook her again. “Just stop. Freaking out isn’t on your to-do list. I know what’s up there but we have to get Erin healed before we can deal with the dead things. Understand?”

She nodded numbly.

“Keep calm,” he said. “Keep her warm. Keep her safe. That’s all you have to do.”

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I could be considered almost extinct on LJ these days. Not my fault because we're in the middle of a move and a house remodel. Sorry. I'm posting a tiny tot teaser from my latest wip Panthan's Abyss. Enjoy or scroll on by. ;-) This is in Laura's POV and the "he" in question is Gray.

"He glanced at his freshly clotted wrist then back at her. A sharp tug pulled at her lower belly. Her heart sped; her lungs contracted. The moaning wind of the tunnels intensified, bringing with it the delicious smell of her mate: a rich spice of woodlands, the earthy scent of moss. He was her lifeblood and they both knew it. Spell or not he was the beat to her heart and she couldn’t resist its pulse."

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