Throwback Thursday: Sunshine’s Night of Darkness, Scene 1

So, as some of you may know – if you’ve been hanging with me long enough – I come to novel writing via screenwriting and filmmaking. So, while I do have a rather large backlist, it’s all in screenplay format that I can’t simply throw at an editor, and then get it up and published.

My novella Love Lies Bleeding was originally a screenplay, and I just had a fun idea of sharing some of my other screenplays on the blog – scene by scene – for Throwback Thursday posts.

I’d like to start with my second favourite screenplay of all time, Sunshine’s Night of Darkness. The draft that I’m sharing comes from 2013, but it looks like I’ve got files dating back to 2006. I’d love to bring Sunshine (Etc) to readers in comic book form, but I haven’t even spent a single moment looking into how to do that exactly.

Reading a screenplay is much different than reading novel but I hope you will find it entertaining. The emphasis is on the dialogue, then action, not the description of the scene. I call Sunshine (Etc) one of my bloody comedies, but the literary world would refer to it as an urban fantasy.

Without further ado, scene one of Sunshine’s Night of Darkness.

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SUNSHINE’S NIGHT OF DARKNESS

Synopsis: It’s Sunshine’s first day of work in security at the P.U.R.E Corporation and all she wants to do is make it through orientation, but first she’s got to fill out a name tag requisition form, fit her uniform, meet a cute computer geek … oh, and save her fellow employees from genetically-mutated, blood-lusting vampires.

Notes: (O.S) means off-screen. All work is registered with the WGC & the WGA.

– Scene One –

INT. CHANGE ROOM, P.U.R.E CORPORATION HEADQUARTERS – DAY

A credit card size gold name-tag on a navy uniform shirt reads SUNSHINE in etched black block letters.

SUNSHINE (O.S.)

I don’t actually use Sunshine. I go by Jones.

IRMA (O.S.)

Sunshine was listed on your application.

SUNSHINE (O.S.)

Yes, but I circled Jones to indicate –

IRMA (O.S.)

A circle, to illustrate name preference, is not officially recognized within the protocols and procedures of the P.U.R.E Corporation.

A thumb jabs at the name-tag.

SUNSHINE (O.S.)

(getting testy)

I don’t go by Sunshine.

IRMA (O.S.)

You may request a name-tag requisition form and file it with Human Resources.

SUNSHINE (O.S.)

I get the form, where?

IRMA (O.S.)

From me.

SUNSHINE (O.S.)

(grumbling)

Mentioning that might have been an idea.

A hand reaches up to remove the magnetic name-tag.

IRMA (O.S.)

I, and Human Resources, are here to assist the employees of P.U.R.E, not anticipate … You must wear the identification badge at all times while in the building.

SUNSHINE (O.S.)

You just said –

IRMA (O.S.)

From the time you submit the request, it will take ten working days to requisition a new ID, so you must be Sunshine until then.

The hand falters.

SUNSHINE (O.S.)

Whatever.

IRMA (O.S.)

We read, English, from left to right.

Irma pauses, but Sunshine doesn’t reply.

IRMA (O.S.) (CONT’D)

The ID belongs on your right.

SUNSHINE, 21, her gold coiled hair pulled back in a low bun, grabs the tag and repositions it on the right. She glances over her shoulder to watch IRMA, 27, cross to the exit with a flick of her cascading blonde tresses and a turn of her high heel enhanced, well-toned calf.

IRMA (CONT’D)

Orientation, ten minutes, main foyer.

SUNSHINE

Thanks.

Irma leaves.

SUNSHINE (CONT’D)

For nothing.

Sunshine tightens the laces on her leather-soled, uniform-issued shoes. The remainder of her uniform; a pocketed dress shirt and navy cotton dress pants fit her lithe body like a lycra glove.

————————–

SUNSHINE’S NIGHT OF DARKNESS

SCENE ONE

SCENE TWO

Behind the pages of After The Virus

How about a paperback giveaway and some insight to the story origins of After The Virus?

Okay, so I planned to do my very first vlog (video blog) with this giveaway and then figured out that – being rather obsessive about these sorts of things – it would take me DAYS to shoot a vlog. And chances were I’d never be happy with it, so a written post made much more sense!

I haven’t paid much attention to After The Virus lately. Writing the Dowser Series occupies 90% of my time and Jade and cupcakes and chocolate are so much easier to chat about and share than a post-apocalyptic novel. ATV is a love story, yes (in more ways than one), but – as my father said – it’s rather relentless.

Funny thing is, ATV is STILL my best seller even though it was my first novel. Granted, I’d been writing screenplays for over a decade, and thought I was writing just another screenplay (in a long treatment form) when I realized that ATV was a novel. A novel I’d pretty much sworn I’d never write, because I wasn’t THAT sort of writer. *glances at the row of book covers on the side bar**ahem*

The story for After The Virus – heavily influenced by Stephen King’s The Stand – started with a single scene. A scene I wrote as a short film, and later looked to expand into a full-length screenplay. The scene was about two people meeting in a post-apocalyptic wasteland with nothing left to lose except their hearts (and souls?).

In the novel that short film script turned into chapters five and six (which I was going to read, but will now just copy and paste below). Without this scene, this germ of an idea, I wouldn’t have my best selling novel. I find that supremely interesting and super cool … and hope you do as well!!

———–

After The Virus - chapter five

CHAPTER FIVE

Other than evidence of travelers along the road, she hadn’t seen anyone since Wee Wee a week back, after which she’d changed course twice.

Rhiannon had known something was up the second she entered this middle-of-nowhere town. Except for a few boarded windows, the buildings were… tidy. Even though the place looked deserted, she leashed B.B. The mountains loomed immediately behind them, but here the land was flat and dry.

After she’d found the Beretta, she traveled by day. It was easier to shoot what you could see, and thanks to lots of film prep, she was deadly.

She eyed the almost inviting hotel, but as she approached the general store, she heard the music. Paul Simon, she thought. He’s old then.

She adjusted her hat so it was low, but without compromising her sight lines. She’d been dressing as manly as possible for her slight frame.

As if he’d heard her approach, he stepped around the corner of the store. His rifle was slung over his shoulder. He stopped when he saw them.

B.B. didn’t growl.

He grinned, and she was surprised that she noticed he was oddly beautiful — rough, tanned and manly — not her usual type. He threw his head back and laughed, delighted, and then hunkered back on his heels and held his hand out to B.B. She let B.B. off the leash.

B.B. hesitated. The guy wiggled his fingers, still grinning, and to Rhiannon’s surprise, B.B. wagged the tail she barely had and bounded to him. B.B. nuzzled his hand. Then he let her lick his face, all the while laughing like a kid. She was unjustifiably jealous of B.B.’s affection.

She moved closer and caught the dark look that passed across his face when he saw B.B.’s numerous newly healed wounds. Then he looked up.

He wasn’t old. Maybe younger than her; if she ever admitted her true age. Then, with a thrill, she realized, there was no reason not to.

“It’s been months since I’ve seen a dog,” he said.

Now that she was near, she thought he might be part native, but that didn’t fit her impression of the twang in his accent. A native cowboy? She shouldn’t tease, but she thought it best to know quickly how easily he rattled. So she pulled off her glasses and asked, “And a woman?”

After The Virus - Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

Her sky-blue eyes cut his soul, though he instantly felt stupid for thinking so. He also thought he might know her, but dismissed that.

“About the same,” he drawled, glad, not for the first time, that his sister’s tendency to leap around corners had made him hard to surprise.

He glanced at the gun on her hip, the knife strapped to her leg, as he slowly gained his feet. He didn’t want to stare, but couldn’t help it. She’d looked away to survey Main Street, so he could really only see the line of her jaw. She must be sweltering under all those layers.

“Where are all the bodies?” she asked and he noted that she had no distinguishable accent.

“I cleaned,” he replied, blunt but kind about it.

“Ah,” she breathed, and then actually raised her perfect nose to sniff the air. “Bonfire,” she concluded.

“Seemed best,” he agreed.

She stepped away to look into the store. He’d been restocking the shelves, which, he was aware, might make him seem more than a little crazy.

“You alone?” He called her attention back, but then instantly regretted the tension his aggression evoked as she placed her hand on her gun.

“Just B.B. and me,” she answered, testily. The dog glanced at the woman, opened its mouth in a big grin and lifted its nose for another pat.

“Well, I imagine you’re both hungry,” he offered, and was confused when her jaw clenched and she looked out of town as if planning to leave.

“Just because you didn’t rape me at first sight doesn’t mean I’m your friend,” she finally sneered, and he caught the edge of fear in her.

“I never did make friends easy.” He spoke in a light tone like he would with a wounded animal, which, he didn’t have to guess, she’d been. The woman looked at the dog, B.B., who hadn’t left his side, and then suddenly, he could feel the utter weariness she didn’t let show.

She pulled a glove off and offered him her gun hand. “Rhiannon,” she said. Her skin seared his when he folded his callused hand around hers.

———-

After The Virus paperback

Want to win a signed paperback copy of After The Virus? Just comment below (make sure to fill out your email address in the form). The contest is open INTERNATIONALLY. The winner will be selected by random number generator on Friday, Jan 31 after 12noon PST.

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Trinkets (Etc) – sneak peek – excerpt #3

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

EXCERPT #1

EXCERPT #2

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
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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!

Trinkets (etc) – sneak peek – excerpt #2

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

EXCERPT #1

WARNING: this MAY contain spoilers for the Dowser #1.

—————————————————————————————————————-

I scanned the immediate area. I could feel the vampire nearby, but he had a super annoying ability to somehow contain or cloak his magic, so that I wasn’t sure of direction or proximity. I couldn’t pick up any trace of the green-haired werewolf. Kandy moved way faster than me through the forest, so she’d probably found the end range of my dowser senses. Plus, she had practically inhaled — even while driving — the dozen cupcakes I’d brought for the hike before we’d even parked the SUV at Alice Lake, so she had a lot of fuel to burn.

A shimmer of sunlight caught my eye … no, not sunlight. What was that? I was done with the sulking and on my feet before I even made the decision. Wow, that was me in a nutshell.

The glimmer of magic beckoned from the side of a cedar tree, as if something supernatural had brushed against it at shoulder height. I usually didn’t see such incidental traces, but I was learning to just go with the heightened-powers persona instead of freaking out about it all the time.

“Gotcha,” I murmured, thinking Kandy had inadvertently left me a clue. Though I wasn’t totally clear if I was actually playing hide-and-seek with the werewolf or if she’d just gotten fed up being around the vampire and had taken off. Both scenarios were equally possible.

Except that as I got closer, the glimmer didn’t look exactly like Kandy’s magic … its base color was green, but leafy, not grassy. It was too dim for me to pick up any taste —

“The foremost magical authority …”

I actually jumped as the vampire’s cool voice sounded right next to my ear. God, I hated it when he did that. I spun around but the immediate area was vampire free.

“The foremost magical authority,” Kett prompted again. His voice floated in from the right, but I stopped myself from spinning in that direction. Everything was a test with him, but I couldn’t complain because I’d asked for it. Yep, I had promised to treasure hunt for the vampire if he agreed to fill in some of the holes in my magical education.

There were a lot of holes. And Gran was still spitting mad about bargaining with a vampire. If she’d had her way, Kett would have been ash three months ago. Hell, she probably would have let the untethered magic of Sienna’s pentagram just swallow him.

Ah, Sienna. What was that? A full five minutes without thinking of my foster sister and the black magic that destroyed her? I shoved the ache in my throat back down to its permanent place in my heart, then turned to scan for Kett’s magic.

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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
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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!

Trinkets (etc) – sneak peek – excerpt #1

Update: Jen won this week’s giveaway! YAY, Jen! Please check the giveaway page for more chances to win.

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 the Dowser #1.

—————————————————————————————————————-

Fully aware that the vampire was watching me from somewhere deeper in the woods, I placed my second to last piece of single-origin Madagascar chocolate on my tongue and lovingly sucked on it. The smooth, creamy, dark-roasted cocoa teased my taste buds and I instantly relaxed.

I wasn’t going to freak out about being stranded in the Squamish forest. I wasn’t going to freak out about being damp from my blond curls to my perfectly painted pink toenails. And I really, really wasn’t going to freak out about running out of chocolate in the middle of bloody nowhere while being harassed by a vampire and stalked by a werewolf.

Okay. I was exaggerating, but only a little. My toes, crammed into clunky, very practical — but ultimately ugly — hiking boots were bone dry.

Everything else was the utter truth, from my perspective at least. Except the werewolf would say ‘training,’ not stalking. And the vampire would — if he bothered to explain at all — call harassment ‘education.’

The last of the chocolate melted in my mouth with no hint of bitter aftertaste, and I opened my indigo eyes, ready to move forward. I was good at moving forward — baby steps, at least — because if I really paused to think or take mental stock, I was afraid I wouldn’t ever get going again.

I was sitting on a fallen, moss-covered tree — a cedar, maybe — surrounded by more trees. Though these ones were still upright and thick enough that I wouldn’t be able to wrap my arms around them. You know, if I felt like hugging trees. I was currently somewhere in a valley that cut between multiple mountains and led eventually, I thought, to Whistler ski resort. I could see three snow-covered peaks without turning my head. Whistler, known for its world-class skiing and fantastic restaurants, would be a great location for a second Cake in a Cup bakery. That is, if I ever got out of this forest and felt like working for more than twelve hours a day, six days a week. I was close enough to a river — the Squamish River, I hoped — that I could hear but not see it. No trails cut through the underbrush. The sun, which had just made an appearance, glinted off water droplets caught on fern leaves. My phone declared the time to be 2:23 p.m., but I had no signal.

So, yeah. I was lost.

The vampire wasn’t in a helpful mood, which was usually fine by me, because whenever he was helpful, it creeped me out. Helpful usually meant he was satiated. And what satiated vampires? Blood. Not mine, so far at least. Not that he wouldn’t fang me in a split second, even if he was all detached with his cool peppermint magic and carved-ice features. A girl just knows — with guys or vampires, though other girls, not so much.

Anyway, lost.

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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!

Favourite lines from last week

As of Friday I’m six chapters into the 2nd draft of Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic – aka Dowser #2 – which means the novel is approximately a third done. I wanted to treat you to a bit of Jade by sharing my favourite bits so far. Warning, while these might be deemed as gems by myself, they have not been vetted by the editor, or betas, or proofed at all.

Chapter One:

“I’d known him for three months now and it still freaked me out when he looked at me too closely. Usually I pretended he was wearing some human expression when he did this stare, no talk thing. This time I imagined him frowning — I doodled it in my mind with a black marker over his —”

Chapter Two:

“Great, now with the running. The running always led places I really didn’t want to go. Like into blood and mayhem. Well, I guess I had just walked into the last batch of those …”

“Then I got hit by a bear.”

Chapter Three:

“Still, no trace of Kandy or Kett. No other magical glimmers, either. I was utterly useless. And utterly lost. Thank God my chocolate bar hadn’t completely washed away. Yes, I checked. I’m aware that reflects badly on me.”

“Desmond was absolutely gorgeous and dangerous in cat form. But, as a man, he was hard – almost overly muscled – and exceedingly difficult.

And completely naked.

Okay, Jesus. Of course, he was naked.

And now I was staring.”

Chapter Four:

“I put the SUV in park and loosened my seat belt thinking Desmond would want to drive, but after scowling at me for a beat, he simply crossed around to the door behind me. I checked out his backside in my side view mirror. What? I hadn’t seen him naked from behind.”

Chapter Five:

“I was haunted from within — from everything my sister did, and everything I didn’t stop her from doing.”

“You have remained silent for three minutes, Dowser,” Kett said. “I believe that may be a record of some sort.” Great, the vampire was attempting a joke. I was fairly certain that was one of the signs of the apocalypse.

“I was so going to run out of chocolate before Britannia Beach. No wonder Kandy stayed in wolf form. This way she had a major excuse for not participating in what masqueraded as a conversation, but was really just a sausage swing and measure.”

Chapter Six:

“A necromancer was sitting on my front stoop. Okay, I didn’t have a front stoop. A necromancer was sitting on the front steps of my apartment. A fledgling necromancer to be more exact.”

“Mort sided up to me, placing me between her and Kandy. The werewolf noticed and offered another spine-tingling grin. “Don’t let the blondness fool you, fledgling. The witch stabbed a 900-pound grizzly in the ass today. She just keeps her claws better hidden and painted pink.”

“My cat Lester loved marshmallows, even untoasted,” I said to Mort as I reached out to the magic surrounding the door, walls, and windows of my home. “If you accidentally left the bag out he’d totally molest it.”

“What?”

“Your magic tastes like toasted marshmallows.”

“And, so? Your cat is going to molest me?”

The accidentally snipped chocolate cosmos I’ve been sniffing all morning. Yes, it actually smells like chocolate!!

P.S. You can still win a Cupcakes (Etc) signed paperback through Goodreads this week. 800 people have signed up so far.

Cupcakes (etc) – sneak peek – excerpt #4

Update: The random number generator picked Johnnie-Marie to win this final giveaway – congrats! and I hope you enjoy the read!!

The following is a (approx.) 450 word excerpt from my new release, Cupcakes, Trinkets & Other Deadly Magic. Want to read more? Comment on this post to win an ebook with your email address (e.g. name AT gmail DOT com).

Excerpt #1

Excerpt #2

Excerpt #3

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I let my eyes drift over him like he wasn’t the absolute focus of my attention as I crossed around the baking display case. I murmured greetings to some of my regulars, and, as unhurried as possible, wandered over to the bistro table where my foster sister Sienna sat sipping a latte and nibbling on a mocha butter white cake Thrill in a Cup. I hated it when she paired similar flavors like that, but my sister did what my sister wanted. We both did. We were as similar in that attitude as we were dissimilar in looks.

I cleared my throat as I came around from behind to the front of the table. Sienna didn’t lift her dark eyes from the book of spells she was reading on her Kindle. I was momentarily distracted that such an ebook existed, and wondered where it could be purchased. Sienna seemed to be reading up on binding spells, which made sense given that was her specialty.

A breeze from the door — the unusual heat the day had provided was fading as the sun set — stirred a few of my trinkets and recalled my attention to the vampire.

“Sienna,” I hissed.

“What?” My sister glanced at me over the rim of her coffee. She’d skimmed off all the foam and was left with the creamy espresso underneath; her bored eyes almost matched the color of the liquid. “The coffee beans are burned.”

“The coffee is not burned.”

“Is too.”

“Sienna, there’s a vampire at the door.”

“What?” Sienna laughed and looked over my shoulder toward the door. “Where?”

“Right there! Tall, blond, and fangy.”

“You can’t actually see their fangs, you know. Ahead of time, I mean.”

“Sienna!”

“There is no vampire at the door, Jade.”

I looked over my shoulder. Indeed, the doorway was empty, and closed. The last customer to leave must have politely shut it behind them.

“Imagining things?” Sienna murmured, but her attention had returned to her book of spells. Spells that were above both our magic grades as far as I had seen with a glance. Which is why I rarely bothered to practice magic — it was mostly out of my reach. Sienna always liked to know, however, even if she couldn’t do.

“Right,” I murmured, tracking my eyes from the door along the French-paned windows. I’d had them especially built for the bakery when I opened last year. The mullions were painted white, as was the paneled wooden front door. I had been going for a French provincial look, but with the addition of the slat wood floor and the hodgepodge of trinkets hanging everywhere, I’d achieved more farmhouse than sleek old country.

The vampire was gone.

I was nowhere stupid enough to step out onto the sidewalk to look for him … okay, maybe just a quick peek. The sidewalk and street were empty of vampires, though. The sun was fully set, the last vestiges of reddish orange still tinting the sky to the west. It was suddenly chilly enough to see a puff of my breath. I folded my arms over my T-shirt-clad breasts, and a light breeze lifted my blond curls from my neck. At least it wasn’t raining.

I dropped my hands and smoothed them over my spotless apron. The sidewalk was teeming with after-work shoppers. Strollers competed with teacup pets, the dogs even pricier than the kids. But then, my customers could afford the price tags of both. I held the door open for one mother fresh from yoga and decided that I needed a class before dinner myself.

What the hell was a vampire doing in Vancouver? And why the hell had he wound up at my door?

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Comment below to win an ebook copy of Cupcakes, Trinkets & Other Deadly Magic!!

Cupcakes (etc) – sneak peek – excerpt #3

Update: A bunch of people knocked themselves off the list by buying Cupcakes (Etc) already, but that worked to Catherine’s benefit (somehow, perhaps) because the random number generator just picked her to win an ebook copy!! YAY!

The following is a (approx.) 450 word excerpt from my upcoming release, Cupcakes, Trinkets & Other Deadly Magic. Want to read more? Comment on this post to win a prerelease ebook (eARC) with your email address (e.g. name AT gmail DOT com). A new winner will be randomly selected every Wednesday throughout June. An excerpt and chance to win will be posted every Wednesday in June.

Excerpt #1

Excerpt #2

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I took the customer’s credit card and rang through the order. Customers could run their own cards, but I thought it was better service to do so myself. He was talking to me again. I pulled my gaze from the vampire, who was moving back to the front door, to acknowledge him.

“Sorry? My mind was elsewhere.”

“I said that I own the law firm up the street. We just renovated.”

Oh. Nice. He was the reason I’d been woken before eight in the morning for the entire week. I always attempted to nap after I baked in the mornings.

“Great,” I replied as I handed him his card. “I hope you enjoy the cupcakes.”

His smile faltered. Perhaps I, a lowly baker, was supposed to be more impressed with his lawyer status. Then I felt bad for being uncharitable … it was just that the vampire currently testing the wards on my front door was starting to freak me out.

“Oh. Okay then,” the lawyer guy said. “Till next time.” He grinned, and I took a brief moment to notice he was rather cute. It wasn’t like the vampire was currently slaughtering my customers. I could pause for a moment to exchange smiles with a cute, potentially rich guy — leases on West Fourth Avenue weren’t cheap — who had nice straight teeth and an adorable dimple.

“Till then,” I called after him.

The lawyer didn’t even notice the vampire as he exited the bakery. But then, he was looking back at me. I was accustomed to men — even some women — staring. This time, I was pleased it meant the lawyer didn’t inadvertently make eye contact with the alpha predator in the doorway. The vampire was all but blocking the entrance.

He caught my gaze. I flinched. I couldn’t help it. His magic coated his pale skin with an icy aura. He lifted his hand to press against the invisible ward guarding the door, which stood open despite it being early spring. It had been unseasonably warm all day, but the weather could be temperamental in Vancouver. The runes etched in the doorframe glowed in response to the vampire’s touch. Runes were how Gran anchored her magic, though not every witch used them. I wondered if the vampire could see such things, or if he simply felt the magic blocking him from entering uninvited. I felt the ward magic shiver in response, but the vampire wasn’t trying to break through. He was simply … tasting.

The idea scared the shit out of me.

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No typos yet …

… though that doesn’t mean I’m not adding/changing things, of course. And yes, that is my customized pink ruler. It was a gift many, many years ago, and it is just the perfect length to keep me focused line by line.

So focused I don’t even have time to take a picture and … err. Wait, that’s not right. Maybe the ruler should be named ‘procrastination thy name is writer-facing-final-proof-of-70,000-word-novel’. Except that wouldn’t all fit on a 6in/10cm ruler. Well, not in a readable font size anyway.

Back to work! I have a book to release after all!!

Cupcakes (etc) – sneak peek – excerpt #2

UPDATE: Cindi has won the Cupcakes (etc) eARC from last week – YAY!!

Excerpt #1

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“Sex in a Cup,” the customer across the display counter requested. His voice was laced with as much innuendo as he could muster.

I reached for and automatically boxed this ninth cupcake — more chocolate butter icing with a wallop of cinnamon and cocoa in the batter. I ignored the come-on — with a smile that indicated my delight over his exuberance for my cupcakes, but which thwarted his attempt to start something other than buying them. The customer looked familiar, like maybe he’d been in the bakery a few times before. The vampire, however, was new. What the hell was a full-blood vampire doing in Vancouver anyway?

The vampire wasn’t interested in the child, whose mother had lifted her back onto her stool and directed her attention to the remainder of her cupcake. No one else seemed to notice the striking bloodsucker at the window, but then again, most people couldn’t see magic as well as I could. That was my little bit of talent. Well, that and the trinkets I made from magical bits I happened upon, but they weren’t powerful or useful. Just pretty bits to hang in a window and chime in the breeze.

One Rapture in a Cup, a yellow/chocolate swirl cake with cream cheese chocolate icing; a Buzz in a Cup, a mocha fudge cake with mocha butter icing; and an Ecstasy in a Cup, a double chocolate cake with lemon butter icing, rounded out the customer’s order. He liked chocolate almost as much as I did. Or he had a thing for anything provocatively named.

I crossed to the till, weaving for a second time around Bryn and Todd, who were moving a hell of a lot faster than me to fulfill customer orders. But then, being human, they weren’t distracted by the vampire examining my trinkets through the window.

I didn’t know vampires were attracted by shiny things, or I wouldn’t have hung so many in the front window. I really should pay more attention to Gran’s lessons. Too bad my grandmother was currently surfing in Tofino — yes, at sixty. The vampire might not be so bold confronted by a full-blood witch. I was only half, through my mother. I also had my mother’s eyes, medium blue or indigo, depending on whether a part-time guitar-playing poet was immortalizing them or not. I didn’t know any guitar players. I also didn’t inherit the Godfrey petite stature, pert nose, or magical prowess.

My father was some Australian backpacker, who my mother left — at sixteen — before she even knew she was pregnant. So all I’d inherited from him was my golden locks and sun-kissed skin. It didn’t bother me much, not even knowing my father’s last name or whereabouts. But then, I had Gran, and Gran was better than any other family in the world.

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Comment below to win an exclusive prerelease copy of Cupcakes, Trinkets & Other Deadly Magic!! New winner every Wednesday in June!!