I just received a contract offer for both Relic and BoneSong! Absolutely thrilling, but I'm waiting for the contract to arrive before I post the publisher here. Still...
Tempter (I may want to stick this in a book some time): dinosaurs have a higher Encephalization Quotient (dino IQ) than previously thought. If you want to see the comparison with humans, check out Discovery. Hey, it's about dinosaurs. What's not to love?
Save Your World Stuff: these people in Bethesda are cold. They need blankets, either new or good used. If you're clever with your hands, try Project Linus, and craft something special for a traumatized child, who needs a special blanket to cling to.
Author Friends: Liz Jasper is hard at work on her next Underdead mystery... when she's not distracted by the fact that after a two year hiatus, rain is actually falling in Southern California. In her own words, "Here's my short excerpt from my EPPIE nominated cozy vampire mystery UNDERDEAD about middle school science teacher Jo Gartner who is bitten by an inept vampire and becomes almost undead."
An excerpt from Underdead:
Carol twisted around in her chair to get a look at the mystery man for herself. Her eyes widened. And then she sighed. I stared at her. Carol? Happily married, motherly Carol, sighing over another man? Who was this guy? I looked doubtfully at the icy liquid in my glass and wondered if they'd put something in the margaritas.Then I caved.
Pretending I was checking out the band, I shifted around in my chair. "Hot" did not do the man justice. He was the most fabulous-looking man I'd ever seen, and that includes Johnny Depp as a pirate and Brad Pitt in Fight Club. He was leaning against a nearby wall, a still figure in black, as distinct as silence in a crowd. Most of the men in the place were dressed in black, but for them it was a statement, a uniform, a pick-up line. This man belonged in it.
Flickering lights from the dance floor slid over his chiseled features, briefly illuminating strong cheekbones before getting lost in the dark hollows below. He had one of those long, lean bodies, with just the right amount of muscle, and dark, slightly wavy hair that hung to his shoulders in a way that made my stomach lurch.
As if sensing my regard, he suddenly turned his head from the shadows and looked directly at me. I did an embarrassing deer-in-the-headlights thing and our eyes locked. His eyes were the most gorgeous blue I'd ever seen. I mean piercingly blue. Meltingly blue. A sharp desire to be closer to him slammed me like a wave.
With an effort, I turned back around, but I could feel his eyes burning into mine as acutely as if he were still in front of me.
Carol didn't say anything. She just stared at him with a goofy smile on her face, her glasses misting softly. Becky had stopped fanning herself and had settled in for the night of viewing too, planting her elbow on the table and resting her head in her palm. I pushed her elbow out from under her chin and she nearly smacked her chin on the tabletop. She blinked her kohl-lined eyes a few times and grinned sheepishly at me. "Not bad, eh?"
I didn't respond. I couldn't—I hadn't yet regained proper speaking powers.
Thanks, Liz! You can find her MySpace at: www.myspace.com/underdeadauthor
Now, an excerpt from one of mine - Elf, methinks. Enjoy!
The guards were now freeing Mac, and Quist started crawling netting-to-chair-to-crate-to-strapping over to Zander's side to free him. Zander had been yanking and pounding at the armrest, but now he froze.
The reptilian head, which had been so shrilly screaming defiance to the skies, had twisted. The long neck curved around, as the eyes focussed on Ben. The slanted orbs narrowed as the head snaked in, back through the gap into the cargo hold. The claws shifted, to position it better.
A better position to strike...
Ben moved again.
Like bait. Like dangling a bleeding carcass before a hungry shark.
The monster opened its mouth.
And Zander jumped. Frantic now, he put both hands together, braced himself with his good leg, and yanked at the chain. With a groan that was lost amidst all the tumult, the metal gave, and Zander jerked free.
The wind and cant of the plane's rapid descent caught him at once, and he tumbled and rolled. He used it to bring him forward, then kept on crawling, until he was level with Ben. He lay there, warily watching—standing guard over Ben's limp body. With the monster's greedy eyes and drooling mouth aimed his way, he felt more like a sacrifice.
An evening pick-me-up, monster-style.
The icy wind in the cabin was nothing now to the chilling slough that was filling Zander's chest. He was choking again—drowning in the cold; in the ice that ate at his insides and filled his head. Only this time, he didn't fight it. He needed it.
Behind him, the men were yelling and trying to grab at his pants leg, but Zander ignored them. The beast, however, didn't. Their wriggling and grabbing were drawing those golden eyes. The head drew back as it prepared to strike...
Shuddering with the cold, Zander pushed himself to his knees and deliberately lifted his hand. If Ben's slow movements had been baiting the beast before, this taunt was irresistible torture.
And it was all the bait the dragon needed.
Zander opened his mouth, at the same moment the dragon opened his. The shrill banshee wail filled the space, rising higher and higher.
The dragon writhed in pain, jerking its head and snapping its jaws. Its long neck snaked in and rammed against Zander's chest—the rough scales catching at his shirt. It was like being bumped by the toothlike surface of a Great White. Zander fought to hold the note, but that last contact had broken his song. As the glimmer of his blood started trickling through his torn shirt, Zander grasped the dragon's horn and held on.
In the next moment, Zander and the dragon were gone.
There was only the gaping hole, the wind, and the plane that was dropping out of the sky.
Cheers,
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