Two books nominated! Voting is open @evernightpub Readers' Choice Awards! #paranormal #urbanfantasy

Just a little while ago I learned that under both my pen names my books have been nominated for an Evernight Readers Choice Award! I'm so honored to be among such great talent at Evernight. I'd love it if you could vote for my stories.

Best in Category: Paranormal - 'A Dream Across Time' by C.R. Moss
Best in Category: Urban Fantasy - 'Open World' by Casey Moss

Now it's time to vote for your favorites! Voting is open now and ends December 5th. Winners will be announced December 7th! Vote and enter to win a $25 Evernight GC! CLICK HERE TO VOTE
Thank you so much for your support!
C.R. / Casey

Year 2 of Evernight Readers' Choice Awards @evernightpub #awards #readerscanvote

It's that time of year again! (Where has this year gone anyway? I feel like it flew by!) The second annual readers' choice awards is open for you to make nominations. :) You can nominate books in up to 34 different categories and nominations will stay open through 11/15.
I'd love it if you could give me and my alter ego, Casey Moss, some love and support and nominate me in the following:
Open World (C.O.V.E.N.) by Casey Moss can be nominated in these categories - Contemporary, Suspense, BDSM, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Erotic. And if you want to give me a boost for Cover of the Year, Author of the Year, Book of the Year, I woulnd't be opposed to that either. ;)
Dream Across Time (Raritan Manor Ranch) by C.R. Moss can be nominated in these categories - Paranormal, Erotic, Time Travel. If you'd rather give me a boost here rather than under my Casey name for Cover of the Year, Author of the Year, Book of the Year, that's fine, too. :)
To make your nominations CLICK HERE
I really appreciate your readership and support! Thank you!

Casey

hocus-pocus stuff ~ a Mid Week Tease #urbanfantasy #MWTease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event, sponsored by the wonderful Ms. Sandra Bunino, where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from one of the books in my erotic urban fantasy series, C.O.V.E.N.. It's called Open World. This book follows the world I created in AFK, my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink. Enjoy!

* It surprised him how those he knew became their characters so easily and acted as if the game world was the real world. Their mission for the LAN party was to test out the game in role playing mode. How the whole thing turned into an open world where players could roam freely through the virtual world and were given so much freedom in choosing how or when to approach objectives was beyond him. But then again… It also seemed like someone had tweaked the game to play in sandbox mode. A player with enough know-how to give themselves tools to modify the world themselves and direct how the game is played.
* But who?
* “James? Who in here has the knowledge to change the game’s code from here?”
* “The few who do wouldn’t jeopardize their jobs by messing with it now. Why?”
* “Aside from the hocus-pocus stuff with us literally getting sucked into the game, don’t you find it strange how real everything was? How easy it was to manipulate and be manipulated in there? As for why, I was hoping you might have a guess.”
* “Now that you mention it, yes, I noticed the play.” James shook his head. “But I have no clue why. And the people who I’d call to ask are in this room and locked into the C.O.V.E.N. world.”

Look for buy links to this C.O.V.E.N. story here: Casey Moss Website.

Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

It's a whole other world ~ @evernightpub #urbanfantasy

* Today I'm here to share my story Open World which is now available at Evernight Publishing. The world of C.O.V.E.N. (Clans of Vegas – Endless Night) first appeared in Evernight Publishing’s anthology Keyboards & Kink (available here: Evernight Publishing & at other fine e-tailers) in Casey’s story, AFK. In AFK, we saw a peek into I-D-8 Entertainment’s in-production MMORPG: Clans of Vegas – Endless Night, also known as C.O.V.E.N. when Beth and another gamer got sucked into the game for real. Now, in Open World, the employees have joined together for a LAN party to test the game.

How'd you/your muse come up with this story?
* Like I mentioned above, the world of C.O.V.E.N. was introduced in an anthology. The call for that anth was about on-line relationships and since I'd been into MMORPGs I went that route when creating the story - what if gamers got sucked into a game and hooked up? Open World consists of two novellas that had been previously published, and they'd been repurposed to fit this theme. I'm so excited they found new life and a new home with Evernight Publishing!

Who's your favorite character in the book & why?
* There are multiple characters in the story. The bad guy Cor, the parents, the two couples Den & Hope and Faith & Tavis. There's also the cousin, Cassandra. Beth from the first story along with Rick make an appearance, along with some other new characters one of which is JT. JT will be one of the main characters in the next book. Love my JT. But when it comes to Open World, my favorite character is Cassandra. She, too, will be a featured character in the book that comes after JT's story.

What's your favorite line in the story?
* There are a lot of great lines in the book & I have several favorites. Here's one of them:
* “Hey, if you want to be bit by the CWU that’s coming up on you, feel free to continue standing there with your thumb up your ass.”

A look into the story

~ Blurb ~ * The world has broken out in wars. Las Vegas has been ravaged by chemical warfare and is now home to several clans and creatures.
* Welcome to I-D-8 Entertainment’s newest game: Clans of Vegas—Endless Night.
* Friends and family have gathered for a crunch time playtest of C.O.V.E.N.. When a horrible thunderstorm hits, everyone’s sucked into the game for real. In the MMORPG, Hope Collins is kidnapped by Buzz and forced to submit to his whims. Her boyfriend, Alden, has to delay his quest of defeating a clan’s prince to save her, but time and circumstance don’t seem to be on his side. Faith Collins is bombarded by strange dreams brought on by Buzz. Her boyfriend, Tavis, learns to dream walk, but can he help break the spell she’s under and save her before she’s lost to him?
* C.O.V.E.N. is more than just a game. It’s a whole other world. ~ Excerpt ~ * Her quiet statements almost rattled him. “Not again what?” he inquired with an edge of caution.
* She tried to move a couple strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail to behind her ear. “Might be something. Might be nothing. Don’t mind me. With all the computers, crystals, wires and such around me I get antsy when it comes to power surges and storms.” Beth glanced at the doorway, the monitor, the entrance again. She rubbed the back of her neck and repeated the actions of her darting gaze.
* “Seems like you’re more than just being antsy about a rain storm or Nevada Energy doing a rolling black out. What’s troubling you?”
* Beth drew in a long breath and then let it out in puff. “Well, it’s a bit of a story, but another player and I had some very unusual issues during a smaller test run when there was a storm going on. Very unsettling stuff.”
* Could Beth have been one of the testers online when I’d been on, too, during that storm? Den couldn’t recall anything out of the ordinary happening. Just the normal quirks a game in development had. But then again… Could what happened that night be part of what happened to me today? What I need to figure out? “Who knows about those issues you had?”
* “No one does.” She shifted her stance, looked toward the door again. “Except for a couple of programmers who needed to know. I just made sure to make it like there were lots of bugs that had to be fixed. Hopefully they have been. Maybe I’ll tell you about it all after the party gets started.”
* “That’d be great.” Every piece of information counted if he were to make headway with his issue.

Buy Open World here... Evernight Publishing | Amazon | All Romance eBooks | BookStrand

Casey Moss is touring! There's a unique excerpt at every spot. :)
May 15: C.R. Moss | May 15: Beth D. Carter | May 16: Iyana Jenna | May 17: Ela Stein | May 18: Elodie Parkes | May 19: Nicola Cameron | May 20: Leigh Ellwood | May 26: Carlene Love Flores | May 27: S.J. Maylee | May 28/29: Evie Jayne | May 29: Doris O'Connor | May 30: Jessica Coulter Smith | June 4: Kastil Eavenshade | June 6: London St James

From 'Open World' ~ a Mid Week Tease #urbanfantasy #MWTease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event, sponsored by the wonderful Ms. Sandra Bunino, where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from one of the books in my erotic urban fantasy series, C.O.V.E.N.. It's called Open World. This book follows the world I created in AFK , my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink. Enjoy!

* The rich, deep timbre of his voice reverberated through her core, reminding her of the passion she’d shared with her new dream man. She took a deep, steadying breath. “It’s like a fog edging your body. Not a thick fog because I can still make out some detail behind you, but enough of a haze to be defining. It’s a gorgeous turquoise. It ebbs and flows with your breaths.”
* “Well, my dear, you’re glowing, too. Your hue is a beautiful amber, like that of your energy globes.” He took her hand in his.
* “This is too weird,” she commented as the colors swirled and blended together. “It’s like what happened in my dream. Maybe I need some more sleep.”
* “No, Faith, you don’t need more sleep. You need to find your eyes, look with your soul, then you’ll see the truth and the path which is already before you.” He stepped in toward her and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Your salvation from Mabuz’s world and the ties that bind you there lie in choosing the right course of action, deciding between good and evil.”

Look for my C.O.V.E.N. series of books here: Casey Moss Website.

Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

From 'C.O.V.E.N.: Genesis' ~ a Mid Week Tease #urbanfantasy #MWTease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event, sponsored by the wonderful Ms. Sandra Bunino, where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from one of the next books I'm working on in my erotic urban fantasy series, C.O.V.E.N.. It's called C.O.V.E.N.: Genesis. This book is the prelude to the world I created in AFK , my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink and the with the LAN party in books 1 & 2 Open World & Open World--Continuum. It shows how the MMORPG came to be. Enjoy!

* If looks could kill.
* And just like the woman in her dream upon seeing the crazed hatred in Pearl’s heated gaze, Calissa finally understood beyond a doubt what people meant by that phrase.
* She gazed at the clock and sighed. If she dreamt of anyone, why did she have to see those two women the most when Jonah was part of the cast, too? This particular recurring dream always started with him—beautiful Jonah with eyes the color of a storm-tossed ocean. It was a great beginning, too. He had taken her hand, captured her heart, made her feel rare and treasured. On a secluded patio of a penthouse room overlooking the bright and colorful Las Vegas strip, they had claimed each other, loved each other, stolen each other’s souls. But to her sorrow, like all good dreams that seem to be cut short too soon, he was never in the picture long.

Look for my C.O.V.E.N. series of books here: Casey Moss Website.

Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

From 'C.O.V.E.N.: Genesis' ~ a Mid Week Tease #urbanfantasy #MWTease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event, sponsored by the wonderful Ms. Sandra Bunino, where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from one of the next books I'm working on in my erotic urban fantasy series, C.O.V.E.N.. It's called C.O.V.E.N.: Genesis. This book is the prelude to the world I created in AFK , my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink and the with the LAN party in books 1 & 2 Open World & Open World--Continuum. It shows how the MMORPG came to be. Enjoy!

* Truth be told, her mother did do her best to help and Doctor Wilcox was a great psychologist, but the two of them were too mystical for her scientific brain.
* She suffered from the effects of the dreams, losing sleep nights at a time and dealing with headaches. Those side effects terrified her. Calissa also didn’t want to hear that the dreams were spiritual messages from God, predictions of the future or communications from the past. Her father would have said her recurring dreams and subsequent mental state were all physiological responses to external stresses. She’d have been more apt to agree with him than anyone. No matter what though, they sapped any hope she had of a normal life.
* “Oh, Dad, why did you have to leave,” Calissa whispered, the painful wound of what she called his ‘desertion’ reopening, the hurt still raw. “First mom. Now the business. You could have sent Alec to deal with the financial stuff.”

Look for my C.O.V.E.N. series of books here: Casey Moss Website.

Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

From 'C.O.V.E.N.: Genesis' ~ a Mid Week Tease #urbanfantasy #MWTease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event, sponsored by the wonderful Ms. Sandra Bunino, where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from one of the next books I'm working on in my erotic urban fantasy series, C.O.V.E.N.. It's called C.O.V.E.N.: Genesis. This book is the prelude to the world I created in AFK , my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink and the with the LAN party in books 1 & 2 Open World & Open World--Continuum. It shows how the MMORPG came to be. Enjoy!

* As for remembering, she hoped her mom wouldn’t recall her plans to get all the employees together. Who did her Mom think she was anyway? The CEO?
* As if. She snorted. Her dad had left Alec Sterling in charge of I-D-8 Entertainment Corporation, her and her father’s new company that developed, published and distributed interactive educational software while he traveled the country to meet with financial backers. Their goal was to expand from the small scholastic market into the world-wide gaming market.
* Her hand twitched. The crumpled note pinched the soft flesh of her palm. No use fretting over the situation. If she didn’t bring up the subject, maybe her mom wouldn’t either and the meeting idea would be dropped. She had bigger issues to deal with, like how one of her nightmares once again woke her in the early dawn. For weeks now the dreadful, twisted dreams paraded on her mind’s screen in the wee hours of the morning. Upon their debuts, the visions, as they came to be called by shrink Karen, surfaced only once or twice a month. Now, they occurred nightly.
* She closed her eyes. A picture of a star-filled night sky formed on the backs of her eyelids. Images from the pre-dawn nightmare immediately followed.

Look for my C.O.V.E.N. series of books here: Casey Moss Website.

Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

From 'Open World--Continuum' ~ a Mid Week Tease #urbanfantasy #MWTease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event, sponsored by the wonderful Ms. Sandra Bunino, where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from one of the next books I'm working on in my erotic urban fantasy series, C.O.V.E.N.. It's called Open World--Continuum. This book continues with the world I created in AFK , my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink and the with the LAN party in book 1 Open World. Enjoy!

* Something was different.
* He felt like he’d been walking forever through the arid landscape. Ultra-fine, sandy particles covered his black duster coat. Dried on dirt layered his black military boots, and he was glad he couldn’t see them in the dark. He hated filthy boots.
* Regardless of the muck of travel clinging to him, he continued on, and with each step, the phrase repeated.
* Something was different.
* Though they’d all found themselves on a role playing board where they all had control of situations, there was still a base theme the improvisation worked around. It almost felt like that theme had been tampered with.

Find out more about Open World here: Website.

Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

From 'Open World--Continuum' ~ a Mid Week Tease #urbanfantasy #MWTease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event, sponsored by the wonderful Ms. Sandra Bunino, where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from one of the next books I'm working on in my erotic urban fantasy series, C.O.V.E.N.. It's called Open World--Continuum. This book continues with the world I created in AFK , my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink and the with the LAN party in book 1 Open World. Enjoy!

* Now the last Collins woman remaining to be tapped was that smart mouth bitch, Cassandra, most definitely the strongest, but the least desirable. She was too intelligent, and he was pretty damn sure she had already enlightened, which would make his task of converting her to his ways all the more tough. The one plus was—she didn’t have a protective boyfriend sitting in her corner.
* A thunderous boom, seeming to be right on top of the building, jerked his attention from the screen. The crystals began to glow and pulse again. Around him the atmosphere heightened with a hair raising electrical charge. Laser beams shot out of the pyramids and created connecting lines between them.
* “The incorporation is starting again. Perfect.” Cor clapped his hands and rubbed them together fervently. “I will succeed in claiming what I want and ruling the universe,” he chanted believing in each and every word he’d said.
* Cassandra would submit to him, willingly or not.

Find out more about Open World here: Website.

Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

From 'Open World--Continuum' ~ a Mid Week Tease #urbanfantasy #MWTease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event, sponsored by the wonderful Ms. Sandra Bunino, where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from the next book I'm working on in my erotic urban fantasy series, C.O.V.E.N., called Open World--Continuum. This book continues with the world I created in AFK , my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink and the with the ongoing LAN party in book 1: Open World. Enjoy!

* Corbet Jenkins jolted awake, almost knocking himself out of the chair. He grasped onto the edge of the table to steady himself, blinking several times to gain his bearings. His character on the monitor stood motionless in a regeneration room in his clan’s gathering center. He pounded on the table with his fists and jumped up. The chair tipped and clattered on the floor.
* Everyone else who had gathered for the crunch time testing of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game C.O.V.E.N. remained in their suspended animation states. At least that’s what he called the sleep-like condition they’d all found themselves in. They looked like the characters in that cartoon movie his mother had taken him to see when he was a kid. The one where a princess fell asleep for a long time and so did everyone else. Happy they were all down for the count and not caring why he was the only one up and about, Cor pulled out a small notepad from his pants’ pocket, grabbed a pen from the table and jotted down notes. He’d call in his findings, but he didn’t want to chance someone else popping out of the game and learning what he was up to.
* Sociological ramifications unestablished at this time.
* Extraordinary occurrence—crystal pyramids? Rain storm? Electrical?—caused catatonic event for all players and real incorporation into game. Warrants further study.
* Deferred to secondary mission—manipulation of other characters. Brief success. Due to real incorporation? In spite of? Warrants further attempts.
* If incorporation continues, rethink parameters of experiment. Possible new applications: psychic powers, telepathy, teleportation, auric field manipulation, etc? Assimilate people into game? Large scale functions in real world?

Find out more about Open World here: Website.

Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

From 'Open World' ~ a Mid Week Tease #urbanfantasy #MWTease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from an erotic urban fantasy story I've written and submitted (still waiting to hear back on it - inbox is tired of me stalking it...) called Open World - a C.O.V.E.N. story. This book continues with the world I created in AFK, my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink. Enjoy!

* Cassandra clicked her fingers in front of Hope’s face. “Hope?”
* Snapped out of her trance, Hope threw her arms around her cousin. “Oh my God, I’m so happy to see you. Please tell me you know what’s going on. Where’s Faith? Our boyfriends?”
* Cassandra peeled Hope off of her and cast her gaze at the ground. “I wish I could explain it all. I woke up in my secret location, dressed in the outfit I use for ceremonies, and a note from Morrigan requesting I meet her when I have a chance had been in my messages.”
* “So you don’t know where anyone is?”
* “Nope.” Cassandra shrugged. “Sorry.”
* In a strange world. Family’s missing. Den is nowhere to be seen. Thank God Cass is here. I hate being alone. Hope’s blood ran cold through her veins. She rocked slightly, twisted her hands together as she dealt with the news.

Find out more about AFK here: AFK: Keyboards & Kink

Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

From 'Open World' ~ a Mid Week Tease #urbanfantasy #MWTease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from an erotic urban fantasy story I've written and submitted (inbox stalking has commenced! & I'm keeping my fingers crossed it gets accepted) called Open World - a C.O.V.E.N. story. This book continues with the world I created in AFK, my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink. Enjoy!

* Thinking a shortcut was in order, Hope slipped into a long alleyway. She hurried in the dark shadows, keeping her focus on a flickering street lamp at the end.
* Metal tinged behind her, followed by heavy footsteps.
* Hope picked up her pace, but didn’t run and didn’t look back.
* Ruby warned me. Told me not to go out alone after a shift or go down the alley even though it was a shortcut. She chastised herself for not remembering the woman’s advice, for letting her guard down.
* The footfalls picked up their cadence behind her.
* Hope’s heart fluttered. Fleeting memories ran across her mind—sound of scratching, stench of rotting meat, pointed canines dripping crimson liquid. She racked her mind for information. They’re called… They’re called… CWUs. Dangerous creatures that could change one forever.
* Den. The man she thought of when she met Ruby. Her man. My boyfriend. He’d told me that CWUs were worse than vampires. Which was following her? She had no clue and didn’t want to find out.
* Her friend would have her head if she knew she had put herself in a dangerous situation. She began to trot and her pursuers followed suit.
* All too soon a hand grabbed her hair and yanked her back into a vice like grip. A rough, calloused palm slapped over her mouth. She couldn’t scream and could barely move. Her eyes widened when a second man appeared into view in front of her. His long coat, shirt and pants had tears and long rips. When he leered at her, he had four fangs protruding from both the top and bottom of his jaw. He wasn’t a zombie looking rogue vampire—a main descriptor for CWUs. His mouth appeared illuminated with strange orange and red glowing streams. There was a shroud of shimmering gray around his head and arms.
* Definitely not a CWU. Just a vampire. Guess that’s good, but I’m still in trouble.

Find out more about AFK here: AFK: Keyboards & Kink

Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

From 'Open World' ~ a Mid Week Tease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from an erotic urban fantasy story I'm working on called Open World. This book continues with the world I created in AFK, my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink. Enjoy!

* He glanced over his shoulder. Cor still hung around the family, smiling that used car salesman grin, being all smarmy. Den's flesh twitched and shimmied as if a thousand centipedes crawled and slithered upon him. He didn’t like the guy. More than just Mr. Jenkins being an arrogant asshole, something about Cor raised his bullshit meter, warned him not to trust the dude. He tapped the tongs against the side of the barbeque and narrowed his gaze upon the happy little scene.
* I looked at the guy, then mulled over the storyline and quest I’m doing and put him as the prince? Yeah, like I’d really do that in the game. Definitely something peculiar going on here.
* Perhaps he’d been under too much stress, had too much caffeine, didn’t have enough sleep or information about the guy. More likely a combination of it all. A hodgepodge of shit and no shovel. He didn’t know how much more of all this he could take.

Find out more about AFK here: AFK: Keyboards & Kink

Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

From 'Open World' ~ a Mid Week Tease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from an erotic urban fantasy story I'm working on called Open World. This book continues with the world I created in AFK, my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink. Enjoy!

* I can’t let them see me sweat. If any of them catch wind that I’m not the laid back dude I’ve presented myself as, then everything I’ve worked for will be over. I can’t have that.
* Replaying the events of the past few minutes in his head, he dissected them bit by bit in an attempt to find anything. Just one smidgen of information could give him a clue as to the abnormal sensations he’d been experiencing. A cool breeze brushed his skin, sending goose bumps to dance with the hairs on his arm. He closed his eyes and let his thoughts glide where they wanted. The task of sorting the details sent him into a calm, meditative state. Through the process he used to mull over difficult enigmas, he hoped the answer would reveal itself.
* As if on automatic pilot, he breathed deep of the mesquite scent wafting from the wood chips amongst the coals and slowed his heart of its frantic pace. Concentrate, he told himself.
* Emotions and reactions in check, he willed a protective aura shield around himself.
* Pick up on the man’s thoughts. Sense his purpose.

Find out more about AFK here: AFK: Keyboards & Kink

Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

From 'Open World' ~ a Mid Week Tease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from an erotic urban fantasy story I'm working on called Open World. This book continues with the world I created in AFK, my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink. Enjoy!

* Regardless of the strange obscuration, Hope didn’t deserve to have her light-hearted, joyous nature snuffed out by anyone. Cor shook James’ hand and placed his other on Hope’s shoulder. A low, possessive snarl rolled up the back of Den’s throat.
* Why the hell is that man buddying up to Hope’s dad and trying to charm her? Why is he even here? He’s a bean counter, not one of the game developers, not one of the I-D-8 family.
* Kids on the red seat swings and yellow slide of the play set shouted at each other, jarring him out of his thoughts. He tossed a cursory glance their way, then looked back at the other family he one day wanted to be a part of. Faith, Hope’s fraternal twin, joined them at the table. There was a cousin, too—Cassandra, one of I-D-8’s story writers—who happened to be missing at the moment from the gathering.
* Once more the air shimmered around him. This time a mirage-like heat disturbance gave everything in his line of sight a watery luster. Something weird was going on. He wished he could pinpoint what, since he reacted to it as if he were on a boat—slightly unbalanced and disorientated. He hated feeling that way.

Find out more about AFK here: AFK: Keyboards & Kink

Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

From 'Open World' ~ a Mid Week Tease

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from an erotic urban fantasy story I'm working on called Open World. This book continues with the world I created in AFK, my story in the Evernight Publishing anthology, Keyboards & Kink. Enjoy!

* Under the covered area and in front of the metal picnic tables, a small group dispersed, revealing his girlfriend, Hope Collins, and her family. Smiling, Den waited for her to look in his direction. His heart beat hard and fast in anticipation.
* She turned her head, moved a thick length of brown hair behind her ear and caught his gaze. He loved the way her hazel eyes regarded him with warmth and sparkled when she grinned. A soft breeze brought an exotic, sweet sent to his nose. The floral aroma overrode the barbeque and reminded him of a perfume she’d recently worn. Man, the fragrance had turned him on. “Pheromones on steroids,” he’d said. He told her to be careful with the stuff. Her response? She’d regaled him about the price, the designer, and how a celebrity from some reality show wore it ‘all the time.’
* For once he thought a purchase of hers had been worth the expenditure.
* Sexy relationship. Great job. Bright future. Den tipped the tongs to his forehead then in his girl’s direction. His life and luck sure had changed for the better when he’d met her a year ago.
* A tall, raven-haired man strolled up to Hope’s father and distracted his girl as well. Corbet Jenkins. Liaison between I-D-8 Entertainment and ‘The Money.’ And an asshole. Clenching his teeth, Den cocked his head and trained his gaze on the broker.
* Cor stepped closer to where Hope sat, standing too near her for Den’s liking. The man eclipsed her. A shadow seemed to encase her in a dark cloak where none should be cast.
* Odd.

Find out more about AFK here: AFK: Keyboards & Kink

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From 'In the Cards' ~ a Mid Week Tease ( #erotic #horror )

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from In the Cards, an erotic horror story I'm working on. Figured another peek into it would be the right thing to share with Halloween just around the corner. This part picks up right after where we left off last week. Enjoy!

* A gray mist-like ribbon weaved through the beaded strings without disturbing them. Trailing the mist was the faint trace of a woman’s laughter which hung in the air like the soft scent of perfume of a passerby.
* She blinked, shook her head, questioning if what she’d heard or seen was real or imagination, wondering if she suddenly had lost her mind.
* Being in the back room no longer seemed like such a hot idea.
* Stop it. You’re creeping yourself out.
* Closing her eyes, she breathed deep, keeping in mind she chose her room’s location for its macabre ambiance. She alone decided to give the space its gothic feel and to dress in dark colored, flowing peasant blouses and skirts to play the part. Clients apparently liked that kind of stuff, and it added to the experience of receiving a reading. But right now…
* Tanner slowly opened her eyes, stared at the table and hovered a hand above the artistic cards. The energy emanating from them was intense. The air broiled with a heavy gloom. She likened the sensation to walking into a room where an argument had just occurred. It was the same oppressive feeling she had the last three times the same cards had appeared in her personal reading.

. . .Visit these other wonderful authors for more MWT goodness!

From 'In the Cards' ~ a Mid Week Tease ( #erotic #horror )

Welcome to the middle of the week!
Mid Week Tease is an event where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

My contribution to MWT this week is from In the Cards, an erotic horror story I'm working on. Figured it'd be the right thing to share with Halloween just around the corner. Enjoy!

* Erotic power. Secrets. Shocking truth. Endings. Discontent.
* Fool.
* “Oh dear Lord. Again?”
* Tanner Stone fidgeted in her chair and stared down at the table. The faint yellowed light of a desk lamp cast a weak glow in the small crimson walled room bordered near the ceiling with frilly gold stenciling. A sweet, sensual aroma from some sandalwood incense filled the stuffy air.
* Fourteen tarot cards with intricate, colorful designs created a brilliant cross and fan pattern on the deep purple cloth covering the table.
* Devil. Tower. Hanged Man.
* In a mix of anxiety and disbelief, she gazed at the cards in no particular order while their meanings played on a continuous loop in her mind. Movement. Structures of lies. Puppet master. Suspicions.
* Three of Swords. Four of Cups. Moon. Death.
* The walls seemed to close in on her. She swiped a shaky hand over her face. Her damp palm moistened her nose and lips. Her gaze flitted from the tarot layout to the wood-bead curtained doorway. The crescent moon and stars design formed by the way the cream and black colored orbs hung didn’t waver. The air conditioning had clicked off while she’d been shuffling the cards, she reminded herself. Her older sister, Ember, was still with her client in her room at the front of the boutique. Their cousin and her best friend, Rochelle, manned the checkout counter. That left her alone in the back of the shop at the end of the dark hallway. No air currents wafted from the vents or from people wandering by. The smoke from her sandalwood incense rose in a steady stream.
* Black shadows played in the room’s corners, clinging, crawling, devouring the accent tables and shelves that displayed her crystals, pictures and other divining tools. The silk scarves she’d hung from the ceiling and attached to the walls to give the space character and make it feel more mystical floated like inky, slithering spirits above her head, ready to sweep down at a moment’s notice to claim her. Enslave her like the Devil card suggested. Cold tingles slipped down her spine, branched out and wrapped her in a chilly embrace.

Come back next week for another look into In the Cards!

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From 'AFK' ~ a Mid Week Tease & B-day Info! ( @evernightpub #erom #urbanfantasy )

Welcome to the middle of the week!
. . .Mid Week Tease is an event where authors are spotlighting a few lines or a paragraph or two from their stories. Readers, you get to sample some delicious snippets and be teased, titillated and tantalized into the weekend!

. . .My contribution to MWT this week is from Evernight's anthology Keyboards & Kink & my story in it called AFK. Like I mentioned last week, I'm currently working on the first book in the series (Open World - a C.O.V.E.N. story) that follows what happened in AFK. This segment picks up a little after where last week's left off. Enjoy!

. . . . . .* Bella’s vision intensified, turned telescopic, and narrowed in on the couple. The young girl thrashed in her attacker’s grip to no avail. Her screams echoed off the walls. He plunged his face into the lady’s neckline. The victim, who seemed to rally and find some last threads of strength, placed her hands on his chest and pushed. He jostled backwards. A twisted smile contorted his mouth. Pointed canines dripped crimson liquid.
. . . . . .* Oh, this isn’t good. Bella stepped out of the shadows and advanced towards her prey. She hated witnesses when she fed.
. . . . . .* In a blur of movement, she arrived at the couple, then grabbed and spun the attacker. He faced her and not the frightened girl who’d fallen to her knees in sobbing fits. Bella seized his throat and lifted him off the ground, pinning him to the building.
. . . . . .* “Now you know how it feels, fucker.” Bella loved the rough, husky quality of her voice when she entered fighting mode. “Time to spill your secrets and your blood.”

. . .Find out more about AFK here: Website -- AFK

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. . .And don't forget to check out and enter for prizes during Evernight Publishing's Birthday Bash. Find the info HERE