ETA: The random number generator picked Karen to win the Trinkets (Etc) ebook (for the 2nd time this month). Lucky lady!!
The following is a (approx.) 450 word excerpt from my upcoming release, Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic. This is not the final proof. Release date: December 27, 2013
WARNING: this MAY contain spoilers for Dowser #1.
Comment on this post to win a prerelease ebook (eARC). An excerpt and chance to win will be posted every Friday in December leading up to the release date. A new winner will be selected by random number generator after 12noon PST every Friday throughout December.
—————————————————————————————————————-
“We went over all that already, vampire,” I said, hoping to get him to talk again. “Like thirty minutes ago.”
“Perhaps I wasn’t happy with your answer.”
There he was — a rapidly fading wash of red in the shadows, three trees to my left.
“Perhaps you fell asleep and forgot, old man,” I teased. Then I took three quick steps only to grab thin air.
He laughed. I could feel his breath on my neck. “Answer, dowser.”
I spun. The taste of cool, clean peppermint with something spicy and dark underneath — not cinnamon or nutmeg; I hadn’t quite figured it out yet — hung ever so briefly in the air, then dissipated.
“The witches Convocation, vampire Conclave, and shapeshifter Assembly are all overseen by the Grand Council,” I said, “which is comprised of members from all the Adept communities, though not all the species.” I hadn’t caught Kett once in the three months we’d been playing this game. At least Kandy wasn’t here to curl her lip at me.
I paused between fir trees to wrap my fingers around the hilt of the invisible knife I always wore across my right hip. Actually, the knife wasn’t invisible. It was hand carved out of jade rock I’d found near Lillooet, and about the length of my forearm and the thickness of my thumb. The sheath — a birthday gift from Gran because such spells were beyond me — was invisible.
“Going to stab me, dowser?” the vampire asked.
“Nope,” I said as I closed my eyes and unzipped my Gore-Tex jacket a few inches. I weaved my fingers through the wedding rings I wore soldered like charms onto a thick gold chain around my neck. The necklace was an accumulation of nearly two years of work. Today, I wore it looped three times around my neck, so that it lay across my collarbone over my T-shirt. The T-shirt proclaimed me a spin-the-bottle champion in faded white lettering.
“The knife is your best offense. Revealing its existence, even a second too soon, could be a fatal mistake.”
“But you can see through such magic, vampire.”
“I’m not teaching you to fight me —”
I pivoted and then lunged between two closely spaced trees to slap the vampire with the flat of my hand right in the middle of his chest. “Tag, you’re it!”
He stared at me, surprised. It was subtle, but it was surprise. His white blond hair, unnaturally pale skin, and ice-blue eyes stood out starkly against the wet green and brown backdrop of the forest. Kett had been human once, hundreds of years ago — though he had yet to actually confirm his age — but he hadn’t retained much natural expression. His eyes were slightly wider than normal, hence surprised. I’d beaten him.
—————————————————————————————————————-
Comment below to win an exclusive prerelease copy of Trinkets, Treasures and Other Bloody Magic!! New winner every Friday in December!!
Wait! You haven’t read Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic yet? You can win that ebook instead, just let me know in your comment.
Bonus entries?? Do the above and add any or all of the following:
- Sign up for my new release mailing list
- Follow me on twitter and tweet giveaway info … such as: Excerpt & Giveaway for the #DowserSeries via @mcdoidge – #win a pre-release eARC#ebook http://wp.me/pP9tA-zf
- Like me on Facebook. I cannot ask you to post a link on your Facebook page because that is against FB’s code of conduct, but if you felt so inclined that would be lovely.
- WordPress user? Like this post.
- Blogger? Post a link to this post via your blog.
- Subscribe to this blog (link on side bar).
Are you already following me on any or all of the above platforms or mailing lists? Thank you!! Just remind me in your comment so I remember to give you the extra entries!
I’m commenting!! I had to check to see what I had on my kindle. I don’t have either of these yet! Would love to win! 🙂
Thanks Marilyn! I thought the comments might not be working!! Good luck!
LOL I am so all over the place on your sites Meghan! I feel like I am magically floating through them all and what I really want to do is get back to my “Cupcakes” and my cinnamon coffee. can’t wait for the Trinkets! Hope I win, since I now know how to download them!! Thank you so much for being an author!!! you are now my favorite!
Ah, Karen, you know exactly how to make my day!! Good luck on winning Trinkets (Etc).
This series sounds awesome. I have had Cupcakes, Trinkets and other Deadly Magic on my wishlist for a while and would love to win Trinkets, Treasures – after all what a perfect excuse to twist the budget gods’ arm to let me get it – everybody knows you have to start with book one 😉 Thank you for sharing this fun snippet and for the giveaway opportunity. I am a follower with WP, new release, FB, and twitter. (Denise Zaky @ZDz59001)
Denise! thanks for entering! If the random number generator picks you, you can request Cupcakes (Etc) and THEN allot some of the budget for Trinkets (Etc)!! Sounds like a plan to me … But then I seem to love giving away books. Happy Holidays!