Category: teaser tuesday

I’m the one to be truly feared.

[Teaser Tuesday: better late than never, yes?]

MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW! Sorry!! Second books are difficult to tease without spoilers.

“These people …” Coda’s fingers are flying over their keyboards again, likely trying to gain access to whatever tech is beyond the passageway. “They care more about your purple eyes than your rank or, like, the societal standards or whatever normally keep you relatively safe. You don’t have your entourage to protect you, Mirth. Wait for them, then we’ll all look for the boy.”

“I never actually needed anyone to protect me, Coda.” I squeeze Kitty’s hand. “I’m in disguise, you see. The pearls, the perfect smile, the sweet demeanor. The crown. Underneath, slumbering deep, deep down, I’m the one to be truly feared. And there’s only one way to wake me …”

Kitty squeezes my hand back, not the least bit scared of me.

– Mirth, Part Two – fourth draft

Are you new to the Conduit World? Content of note can be found on the individual book pages. The suggested reading order is as follows:

The revelation is overwhelming.

Teaser Tuesday: Mirth, Part 2

Mirth and I were forged from the same pocket of the universe. Everything my mother did to protect me, to care for me, steered me toward the destiny unfolding before me. My path tweaked and prodded according to my mother sight just enough for me to be standing here and now.

The revelation is overwhelming.

Mirth tugs on the bond between us. Just lightly. But it definitely snaps my attention back where it belongs right now. Had she been blocking that connection? Shutting it down along with the immense, intense power that now pours from her?

It doesn’t matter. Because now I know for certain it’s there. Now I know for certain why the burgeoning friendships with my other bond mates are so … unburdened with expectation. Now I know why other relationships were, are, difficult. Why I never really bothered to look for anything more than the most casual of connections.

Why I held Mirth in the garden at Lake Thun.

Why I gave her the peaches.

I can see all the strands of essence between us now, including the power spilling over the edge of the stage, creeping across the floor toward the nearest audience members. I’ve always had a sight for power — a genetic gift from my awry mother — but it’s never been this intense, or exact, before.

The why of that twists through my chest. As if Mirth herself is reaching within to grab hold of my heart. And lungs, because I’m not certain I’m breathing at all.

We strengthen each other, our gifts, just by being in close proximity.

The bond between us thickens, then grows taut.

“Lord Williams,” Mirth pronounces. It’s an outright claim, thrumming with power. “You’re standing on the wrong side of this all.”

Centuries of seeking the missing sections of our souls stretch between us, but only seconds have actually passed.

– Mirth, Part 2, Chapter Ten – fourth draft

Are you new to the Conduit World? Content of note can be found on the individual book pages. The suggested reading order is as follows:

A form of empathy, she called it.

Teaser Tuesday: Mirth, Part 2

Okay! I’m going to try to revive #TeaserTuesday with a longer excerpt on my blog and a shorter excerpt on my socials. It’s a bit tricky because Mirth, Part 2 is filled with massive spoilers.

Side note: I’m also doing #WIPWednesday with Conduit 2 on my socials. 😁

The momentary hush that had fallen over the audience cracks wide open. Toffs start jumping up from their seats, scrambling for their belongings.

Getting in my way.

Mirth’s blazing gaze runs over all of them a second time. They literally freeze in place, mouths agape, and hands clutching at clothing or each other. All that power at their fingertips, all the privilege in the world, and Mirth’s mere presence has them too fearful to even flee. Let alone fight back.

And Mirth isn’t compelling anyone to do anything. Not yet.

A form of empathy, she called it.

I chuckle to myself, elbowing the assholes who’ve stumbled into the aisle out of my way. Empathy. That was the fucking understatement of the fucking century.

– Mirth, Part 2: Christoph POV

Are you new to the Conduit World? Content of note can be found on the individual book pages. The suggested reading order is as follows:

Conduit Series: Illustration and an excerpt: Rath

‘Rath’ Guerra. Shifter. Illustration by Nicole Deal.

I unlock the door as the engines of the vehicles shut off behind me. I don’t have to look back to know that Cayley is climbing out of the car, or that Grinder has returned with Doc Z and Presh’s brother, Rath. Their life force is so robust, I don’t need eyes with which to see them. 

But I feel drawn, even momentarily compelled, to look back. Just once. 

At Rath. 

He’s so huge, easily six and a half feet, that his large bike looks regular-sized as he swings his leg off it. His hair is brown, chopped short. As he removes his helmet, he favors his left shoulder, almost imperceptibly. I can’t see the color of his eyes from this distance, but his features are broad, arresting.

– Awry (Conduit 1), Chapter 6

RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 25, 2024

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Conduit Series: Illustration and an excerpt: Rought

‘Rought’ Guerra. Shifter. Illustration by Nicole Deal.

The engine hasn’t even died before the driver’s-side door is opening, and a male steps out — dark-blond hair, naturally tanned skin, and shoulders so broad I’m surprised that he slips out of the car so agilely. Though he is clearly a shifter.

The moment his booted feet hit the ground and the energy underpinning the property rises to ghost his footsteps, I know that he is a … presence, a power. He’s in black jeans and a light-gray henley. He lays his hand on top of the Camaro, pivoting toward me — not bothering to look at the barn or the property or anything else as he reaches to shut the car door with his other hand.

He meets my gaze. His eyes are light colored, either blue or green, but I can’t tell which at this distance.

He’s still moving, hand running across the top of the car, then down the back window, then fingers only along the trunk.

He fucking caresses the fucking car as he crosses alongside it, then continues steadily toward me. And for a moment of utter insanity, I want it to be my curves under those fingertips.

The passenger-side door thunks closed. I feel Presh’s presence as well. But I can’t tear my gaze away from the golden god in worn black jeans taking long, steady strides toward me. I’m locked in his gaze.

The nearer he gets, the more I see … in his expression, in his body language, in the way his essence entwines with that of the property. 

I’m not lightheaded.

I’m not beguiled or enchanted.

The nearer he gets, the more anchored I feel. 

Not frozen. Not overwhelmed.

I’m in this moment. Breathing it. Savoring it. As if … as if … my very soul has been starved? And he is … he is …

– Awry (Conduit 1), Chapter 10 (slightly edited for spoilers)

RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 25, 2024

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Conduit Series: Illustration and an excerpt: Presh

Precious ‘Presh’ Guerra. Awry. Illustration by Nicole Deal.

“I can’t push you,” I say gently. “Some choices have to be your own. Not everything is determined by fate alone.”

Startled, her eyes flick up to meet mine. “Can you get me home?”

“I’ll die trying,” I say, aware that I’ve uttered my own destiny — a single, short thread of it, at least — as the words fall from my lips. 

I’ve never been great at keeping my mouth shut, even when I’m trying. Or ignoring a knowing even when doing so was in my best interest.

I reach for her.

She steps closer to accept my hand.

The thin threads already connecting us solidify so suddenly and sharply that it’s like a punch to the gut. I lose my breath within the momentary onslaught of sensation. It settles into an unadulterated rightness. More than a simple thread of destiny. 

I’ve never felt the like before. Even accepting my inheritance was less … steady, less resolved. But most essence-wielding is like that. Most essence, most power, grows slowly, and not necessarily steadily.

“What … what was that?” she asks in a whisper.

I meet her gaze, blinking and still feeling a little out of body. “Fate,” I whisper back. “It seems … we are meant to be here, in this moment and beyond.” 

She smiles. It’s tentative, shaky. Her grip on my hand is almost punishing.

“What’s your name, sweetness?”

“Presh …” She exhales hope along with the gift of her name, fortifying the connection between us further. Then she inhales strength — I can see it flooding through her — and gives me more. “Precious Guerra.”

I lean into her, taller by a half-dozen inches. My necklace swings forward, drawing her attention again. “Zaya Gage,” I say. Then I add, teasingly, “Granddaughter of Necessity, Daughter of Darkness and Night.” Even though I’m speaking the utter truth. As I always must when I’m about to walk the path of my own destiny. 

To my death, I had no doubt. 

Presh giggles quietly, as I’d hoped she would. Though depending on how much of the family history I’m willing to accept as pure truth, I’m not lying.

– Awry (Conduit 1), Chapter 1

RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 25, 2024

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Conduit Series: Illustration and an excerpt: Muta

Muta. Illustration by Jade Merien (@jademerien)

Muta.

In his actual form.

Although he looks like a snake — a long gold body with dorsal blotches of dark brown that form inverted triangles, ending in a horny spined tail — Muta is actually an aspect of the divine who was trapped in the body of a snake. As a punishment, perhaps. At least according to family legend. 

So kind of like me, but not really. I have opposable thumbs and a more well-rounded diet. But Muta has the wicked fangs and venom, among other otherworldly tricks.

It’s also possible he’s one of my ancestors. Again, depending on how much of the family mythos can be wholly believed.

– Awry (Conduit 1) Chapter Two

RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 25, 2024

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Conduit Series: Illustration and an excerpt: The Gage Estate

The Gage Estate. Illustration by Kateryna Vitkovska (@vitkovskaya_art)

Instead of unlatching the gate, I climb it. The fencing is about six feet high on this edge of the property. Grasslands allowed to go wild stretch from here up to the house, which is set back from the bluff. A long, sandy beach stretches out as far as the eye can see — with enhanced or normal sight — from either side of that jagged, rocky outcropping. A low-lying beach punctuated by massive rock formations jutting out of the surf runs to the right. To the far south, near the very edge of the property, dunes begin to rise.

Except ‘property’ really isn’t the right word to encompass the mass of land that the Conduit and the Gage family occupy along the coast of Oregon. It’s a territory, really. Hectares upon hectares of land and beach. Even the foreshore is protected from public access, with both legal and essence-enforced boundaries. There’s a no-fly zone above, and a no-boating zone set between us and international waters. No entry without permission.

I can’t currently see that much of the property, of course. Not even while balanced on top of the gate. I can, however, see the conical roof of the turret tower on the main house, offset to the left on the asymmetrical structure. None of the usually ever-present soft glow emanates from its windows.

– Awry (Conduit 1), Chapter Six, Zaya

RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 25, 2024

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Dowser 9: compelled me

 

I asked my beta readers to share favourite quotes (if they came upon any) from their read of Gemstones, Elves, and Other Insidious Magic (Dowser 9). This was one of Theresa’s from Chapter One.

Dowser 9 releases on December 4, 2018. The preorder is now available. Make sure you’re signed up for the New Release mailing list so you get a reminder in your inbox on release day.

Are you new to the Adept Universe? Book one is Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1).

Click here for the reading order of the Adept Universe.

Dowser 9: excerpt: chocolate and misfits

from Chocolate Arts. And, yes, this is the bar that will be in the Swag Boxes. Whoot!

Mory jogged back into the room, sliding through the doorway and past Rochelle on the hardwood floor in her hand-knit striped socks. “I almost forgot,” she cried, thrusting her hand toward me.

She was holding a chocolate bar. A dark-chocolate bar with pistachios and dried cranberries, to be exact. From the ever-delectable, soul-fueling Chocolate Arts, to be even more exact.

“Oh my God,” I whispered reverently, gently prying it from Mory’s grasp. “Where have you been, my beauty?” I was practically cooing.

“In my bag,” Mory said. “I picked it up for you this morning. I have another one.” She looked at Rochelle. “In case things get really bad.”

The oracle stifled a chuckle.

The misfits were totally laughing at me. But, as I carefully slipped the paper wrapper off the bar and lifted the clear sticker sealing the flap, I didn’t care one bit.

Then the full implication of Mory’s words actually sunk in. “Wait!” I cried. “You were holding out on me?”

Mory laughed — apparently unaware that I was not freaking joking.

– Chapter 8, Gemstones, Elves, and Other Insidious Magic (Dowser 9)

DECEMBER 4, 2018

PREORDER NOW AVAILABLE

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Are you new to the Adept Universe? Book one is Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1).

Click here for the reading order of the Adept Universe.