More Femi and More Easy Bake Coven Now!

I am so excited. The first book in Femi's series is OUT! Yep, that's right. It is here and waiting for you.

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Barnes and Noble

iBooks

Kobo

Smashwords

Also, the sixth book in the Easy Bake Coven series is now up for preorder!! I haven't had so much fun writing a book in a long time. This story is one of my favorites that I have ever written and I can't wait to share it with all of you. 

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iBooks

Smashwords

Ghosts in the Graveyard

It's almost time for Halloween!

This is without a doubt my favorite time of year. So in addition to releasing two brand-spanking new Halloween short stories in two different anthologies (It's a Ghoul Thing has Maggie's story and Spell of the Ball has Femi's story) I am also releasing last year's Halloween story again.

So if you missed it last time, fall back into the Easy Bake Coven world and join the coven on their Halloween adventure in Ghosts in the Graveyard. (Timeline-wise, this falls between Tiddly Jinx and Ollie, Ollie Hex n' Free).

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The Guardian Trilogy AND the Easy Bake Coven Series are now in AUDIO

You read that right. Through Audible, you can now get all the Guardian Trilogy and Easy Bake Coven series (including short stories) in audiobook. You have no idea how happy this makes my heart. :-)

The narrators are so pitch perfect for what Olivia and Holden and Quintus and Selene sound like in my head, I can't help but get goosebumps. 

Here, take a listen. 

Easy Bake Coven

Book 1 Embed: Book 2 Embed: Book 3 Embed: Book 4 Embed: Book 5 Embed:


So visit Audible.com to pick up any of the titles you might want to experience in a new way!! The books also will Whispernet sync which still blows my mind.

The Guardian Trilogy
Secrets: http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Secrets-Audiobook/B00FP1RVCO/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1444933430&sr=1-1

Choices: http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B011LMX8OU&source_code=AUDORWS0710159E6O

Consequences: http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B011MZEX2M&source_code=AUDORWS0710159E6O

Be Light: http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B011LMZ08W&source_code=AUDORWS0710159E6O

Snow and Mistletoe:

http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B011LMZ50U&source_code=AUDORWS0710159E6O


Easy Bake Coven Series:

Easy Bake Coven: http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B0112MEPRS&source_code=AUDORWS0710159E6O

Hungry, Hungry, Hoodoo: http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B01147YF2Q&source_code=AUDORWS0710159E6O

Pickup Styx: http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B011D8WMGC&source_code=AUDORWS0710159E6O

Tiddly Jinx: http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B011D8OC2Y&source_code=AUDORWS0710159E6O

Ollie, Ollie Hex n' Free: http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B011D8S8WY&source_code=AUDORWS0710159E6O

Demons and Djinn Release

Hello all! I am part of a fantastic box set with 13 other AMAZING urban fantasy authors bringing you 13 full length novels about demons and djinn all for .99.

PECIAL 13-BOOK, LIMITED-EDITION BUNDLE!

Immerse yourself in thirteen enthralling fantasy worlds by NYT and USA Today bestselling authors. Demons, djinn, and bad boys of other worlds ignite this set of action-packed urban fantasy and steamy paranormal romance. Thirteen heart-stopping stories with fierce and feisty heroines, diabolic intrigue, romance, adventure, danger, and mystery … Passionate heroes, magic and mayhem abound. Ignite your imagination and your heart, download this collection before it's gone!

Chosen ~ Christine PopeWhen a fatal fever nearly wipes out the entire world's population, the survivors of what became known as "the Dying" believe the worst is in the past. Little do they know….

Three Wishes ~ Debra DunbarA malevolent djinn, a cyber-crime, an angel with a mission, and a demon who just wants to have fun. Be careful what you wish for.

Marked by Temptation ~ Deanna ChaseWhen sex witch Mati Ballintine meets the sexy Vaughn Paxton, their hot one-night stand changes his life forever and threatens hers.

Jinn's Wish ~ Marie HallPaz and Jinni only wanted one thing in life. To find their soulmate. Too bad they found each other on a doomed flight across the Atlantic. Trapped in magically induced coma, there’s only one way for them to return to the land of the living, and that's to trust in a love that defies all logic and reason before the final grain of sand drops and they lose each other forever.

Sacrifice Me: the Complete First Season ~ Sarra CannonOn her twenty-first birthday, Franki Smith receives a dozen black roses and an invitation to a mysterious nightclub. The dark gift leads Franki to the doorway of a strange and glamorous new world, where forbidden romance and dangerous truths await.

I Bring the Fire Part One (A Loki Story) ~ C. GockelAmy Lewis is being pursued by a very bad wolf. Can Loki, God of Mischief and Chaos, save her…or even save himself?

Secrets ~ Liz ShulteWhile Olivia Martin observed life through her camera, a world of demons, angels, jinn, and guardians watched her, waited for her to change everything.

A Spirited Manor ~ Kate DanleyA séance unleashes something sinister in this gothic penny dreadful. Will widow Clara O’Hare and dashing medium Wesley Lowenherz be able to stop it?

Xoe ~ Sara C. RoetheFighting to save her best friend from a psychotic werewolf, Xoe has to make peace with her unique heritage...and resist an alluring vampire.

The Noru ~ Lola StVilA half demon/half angel with a dark past abandons the angel world. When the only girl he has ever loved is hunted by a relentless, powerful new evil, he is forced to return.

Stronger Than Magic ~ Melinda VanLoneTarian Xannon fights demons like the rest of us. This time, the demon just happens to be real.

Beyond the Veil ~ Pippa DaCostaMuse must decide whether to trust a Prince of Hell, or the assassin sent to kill her. Little do they know, she’s more dangerous than both.

Death’s Hand ~ SM ReineElise Kavanagh doesn't want to hunt demons anymore. But when the daughter of a coven member has been possessed, Elise is the only one who can help…and there may be more to this possession than just one witch's life.

Get your copy NOW while you can.

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Demons-Complete-Novels-Featuring-Underworld-ebook/dp/B012Z54DPK/

Kobo

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/demons-djinn-13-complete-novels-featuring-demons-djinn-and-other-bad-boys-of-the-underworld

Nook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/demons-djinn-13-complete-novels-featuring-demons-djinn-and-other-bad-boys-of-the-underworld-christine-pope/1122426846?ean=2940151088107

iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/demons-djinn/id1023483433?mt=11

Google Play

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Christine_Pope_Demons_Djinn_13_Complete_Paranormal?id=WOtGCgAAQBAJ&hl=en

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26010400-demons-djinn

Liz

Badass and the Beast

My two favorite things are writing and animals, so when I was asked to be a part of this anthology, Badass and the Beast, which the proceeds would go to benefit Animal Welfare Institute, I was thrilled to be a part of it. 

Basically, this anthology is made up of some pretty kickass paranormal and fantasy authors to bring you a collection of stories with strong female characters and animal companions and everything we make will go to charity which is pretty awesome too. 

In this book my story is about twin girls who have car trouble and end up in a heap of trouble. This tale is a little paranormal romance, a little Twilight Zone, and hopefully a lot of fun.

So check it out (links below), and while you are reading you can feel good about how you gave back to reduce animal suffering. Also enter to win some awesome stuff. 

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iBooks

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Amazon France

Amazon Germany

Amazon Australia

Amazon UK

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Check out the rest of the tour!

May 5^th           Kory M. Shrum

May 6^th           Angela Roquet

May 7^th           Kathrine Pendleton

May 8^th            Monica LaPorta

May 11^th          Mikel Andrews

May 12^th          Shelly M. Burrows

May 13^th          Liz Schulte

May 14^th          Jason T. Graves

May 15^th          Jasie Gale

What's to Come and Writing Plans

Hello all! I have been getting several comments over on Facebook asking about what is coming up next and if I am really leaving the Abyss world after Ollie, Ollie Hex n’ Free comes out (April 15^th, preorder is available now!).

The short answer is I am absolutely not leaving the Abyss world. I love the Abyss so I’m definitely planning on continuing with that world. So, let me share with you guys my future plans for the Abyss and more.

The Abyss:

EASY BAKE COVEN: Katrina (and probably other coven members, but Kat for sure) will take over the Easy Bake Coven series as the primary narrators. So the series will continue, but Selene and Cheney will take more of a backseat to other story lines.

THE GUARDIAN/JINN TRILOGIES: While I don’t have plans to have another Olivia and Holden book, you will see them in other series. Most notably with be in Charlie’s NA/YA series. I hadn’t planned on writing this, but writing her short story Without a Map was so much fun, I can’t let it pass be by. So basically Charlie will be 18 and Baker will be 14 in this. So obviously O and H will be around, but probably in more of a frustrated parent capacity, which Holden in this role can be little other than hilarious.

THE SEKHMET SERIES: That’s right, Femi is getting her own series. Not only that, but I am not going to put a limit on how long it will run. Each book will stand alone on its own (about a different bounty hunting case), but there will be storylines that carry through. Think Dresden Files.

STANDALONE SINGLE BOOKS OR SHORT STORIES: I promise I will not neglect Quintus forever. I will give him something (I am just not sure what). Corbin will have his own novel and so will Frost. SY will probably have his own story at some point as well, but for now, I want to keep him a bit of a mystery.

Mysteries:

THE ELLA REYNOLDS SERIES: I know it is long overdue, but I am writing the third Ella book. Its title is Dark Obsession. Ella will be investigating a creepy stalker case. Not only that, but I have at least 3 more books in her series planned.

STANDALONE: I have a serial killer book planned called Dead Inside. I am really excited to write this and already have the beginning written. All I am lacking now is time.

HOLTS HORRORS AND HOAXES: I am crazy excited about this project. It will be a novella series about a paranormal investigative television show (Holt’s Horrors and Hoaxes). Each story will be a different “episode” of the show. It will be a little darker and creepier (hopefully) than my other mysteries but it should still be a lot of fun. Think Alfred Hitchcock Presents meets Ghost Hunters. Also I plan to have the entire “season” written by the time I publish the first one because I want to release a story every Thursday until the first season is finished.

Other:

CHICK LIT/ROMANTIC COMEDY: I have been working on this project in my spare time (which there isn’t a lot of), and I love it. I will publish these books under the name Anne Moody (since they are a departure from what I normally write.) The first series is called Puppy Love. Each book will be about a different girl and each girl will be modeled after (personality wise) a different Jane Austen character. Think Clueless and the Jane Austen Book Club meets Must Love Dogs.

Anyway, these are the projects in the forefront. I have others ideas that for now will just have to wait.

Now it’s our turn to tell me what have I missed? What characters would you like me to give you more from?

-Liz

Red Hot Lovers Boxed Set

Hey everyone,

My friend Olivia Hardin is in a new box set. Check out the info below!

COVER REVEAL FOR RED HOT LOVERS

STEAMY ROMANCE BOXED SET

 

Red Hot Lovers: 18 Novels of Love, Passion, and Thrilling Suspense.

RELEASE DATE: March 24, 2015

  ON SALE FOR A LIMITED TIME! Over 3000 pages from your favorite NYT and USAT bestselling authors!

Eighteen NYT, USA Today, and top-selling authors have banded together to bring you 18 beautifully romantic, heart-pounding stories of love, passion, and thrilling suspense.

These 18 sexy, sweet men will go to the ends of the Earth to win their ladies’ hearts, but will these lovers emerge unbroken?

From first kisses to dangerous encounters and second chances at love, we've gathered all 18 wonderful stories in one big box. This heart-pounding collection is filled with confident, sexy, and sweet men you'll fall madly in love with.

EIGHTEEN NOVELS TO CAPTURE YOUR HEART

AND SET YOUR BLOOD ON FIRE!

Their Second Chance by Milly Taiden - Nick lost the woman he loved to the heartbreak of infertility. One locked door will either leave them broken forever or back together.

p style="color: #141923;">Forever Sheltered by Deanna Roy - A doctor with a secret falls for the unorthodox art therapist at the hospital where he works, sparking a love affair that could destroy both their careers.

Kiss of Memory by V. M. Black - Will has spent his adult life locked in a Victorian sanitarium because he suffers from seizures, but a mysterious baroness offers him a bargain he can't refuse.

The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire by Cora Seton - Bella needs money fast, so she enters the reality show, Can You Beat a Billionaire. If she loses, she’ll have to marry him.

What A Girl Wants by Blair Babylon - Rhiannon, brand-new back-up singer in the rock band Killer Valentine, cannot fall in love with any of the band members. Really. She must not. Really.

Beyond Love and Hate by Zoe York - Tall, dark, handsome, and totally infuriating. Beth can't stop thinking about her new colleague. But Finn isn't the guy for her, and they both know it.

Ripped by Olivia Rigal - Lyv wants a life far from her dysfunctional family and their diner. What she gets is an absent rock-star baby daddy and one helluva choice to make.

Ready to Fall by Daisy Prescott - Falling in love is the last thing on John's mind when Diane, a beautiful brunette with her own messy past, moves next door.

My First, My Last by Lacey Silks - Pierced, tattooed and hot as hell, Adrian steps back into Mia's life after 20 years. Mature. More experienced. Intent on reclaiming his first love.

Azure by Chrystalla Thoma - On vacation in Greece, Olivia meets sexy and enigmatic Kai, but Kai belongs to the sea, and the sea won’t let him go, unless Olivia breaks the curse before it’s too late.

Wicked Little Sins by Holly Hood -The more wicked the sin, the deadlier it can be. Home for the funeral of their mother, four siblings unearth more than they bargained for.

The Royal Elite by Danielle Bourdon - Ahsan-Sheikh Ahsan Afshar, an arrogant, seductive rogue, falls for a woman whose deadly secrets could tear them apart.

All for Hope by Olivia Hardin - Brennan didn’t want to be the love of Hope's life. He wasn’t the man she needed. But sometimes the safest distance between two hearts is none at all.

High Risk Love by S.J. Mayer - Risking it all for the one who could shatter her heart completely? Bad idea. Yet Jasmine can't stay away from Jet any more than he can from her.

Rush by Violet Vaughn - Olympic hopeful Gretchen is all for a sex only relationship. But when it races out of control, love isn’t the only devastation that threatens her chance for gold.

First Taste by Mira Bailee - Cautious Olivia has no interest in the lives of celebrities until Devon Stone—sexy tabloid favorite—insists she cater a party at his mansion.

The Perfect Someday by Beverly Preston - Tracy lives by a strict moral code, but one masked night with a handsome Italian who entices her deepest desires changes everything.

St. Charles at Dusk by Sarah M. Cradit - Set amidst the lush and vibrant backdrop of New Orleans, Oz and Adrienne must survive forbidden love and startling heartbreak.

Sign up to know when it’s out: http://eepurl.com/TW7HP

Like the Red Hot Facebook page to keep updated on this and future boxsets!

https://www.facebook.com/redhotboxedsets

#FlashFiction Friday #bravewriting

It's time once again for my weekly writing exercise. Here was today's challenge.

First line: He had enjoyed ten years of being totally irresponsible. (randomly generated line)

Last line: “Yes,” I said. “Isn’t it pretty to think so?” (~Ernest Hemingway)

Exercise: Construct a character who is not present.

He had enjoyed ten years of being totally irresponsible. His visits were scattered whirlwinds of excitement and promise that always fell just short of expectations. In the decade since my dad left, I changed, my mom changed, and the world changed, but he stayed the same. Always a boyish grin and quick joke to distract from any semblance of real conversation—Heaven forbid we get too deep.

At first I believed he would come back and stay. Why wouldn’t he? He was my dad. So his first visit was hardest. It had been over six months then without warning one day there he was outside of school leaning against an old rusted brown car with sunglasses and a smile I had begun to think I imagined.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said. “Did ya miss me?”

I dropped my backpack and flung myself into his waiting arms. He was home. I was right and everyone else had been wrong. He came back. The rest of the day was a blur of sugar, games, and brightly colored lights, which ended in a stomach ache and my mom furious. I fell asleep to the sound of their muffled argument, but still I smiled because my dad was home.  It was two years before I saw him again.

The next time I was a much wiser eight year old. When he breezed back into my life, I hesitated.

“Don’t you recognize your old dad?” he asked.

I stared at him. Nothing had changed except the car he drove, now it was a faded VW bug. But I was different. Hurt does that to a person, it changes them unpredictable ways, but it definitely robs them of their child eyes. I had a new dad now and was cured of my delusions about my real dad staying. But still the trickle of excitement seeped into me and I went with him once again for our day in Never-Never Land.

And so it went on as the years passed. He would always come without warning and be gone hours later. I don’t know what he did or how he survived when he wasn’t here. I didn’t even know where he lived. It could have been a mile or a thousand miles away. Every time he drove a different old car, but he was always happy and made me feel like the center of the universe even if it was just for a few hours.

Mom never said anything after the first time about his visits. She would just accept me home late with a relieved sigh and dry the inevitable teas that came later when he left again. But now she was gone and so was my stepfather. One terrible accident and now the stranger I had worshipped as a kid and tolerated as a teenager was my legal guardian.

“It will be different now,” my friend Emily said.

I gave her a weak smile. “Yes,” I said. “Isn’t it pretty to think so?”

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

I am going to be throwing some recipes and you guys (possibly) in the future. I have been enamored with food and cooking and am trying to move that toward healthy eating, so I am now officially that crazy person photographing her food. Anyway, since I couldn't find a recipe I liked for this on a website that I could pin, I wrote down my own recipe that I made last night. It was delightful and the perfect cold weather, snow-in-the-forecast dinner. 

I adapted the recipe from Web MD's recipe (http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/chill-out-your-appetite-soups-stews?page=3)

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

1 pound lean ground sirloin  or ground turkey 

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup salsa
2 cups water
2 cans petite diced tomatoes
1 can diced green chiles 
Taco seasoning mix (I make my own and then put it in to taste)

Optional Garnishes (I don't use these. I normally just top mine with some cilantro, but I like it spicy):
Sprinkle of cheese (your choice)
Dollop of Greek Yogurt or sour cream
Cilantro

• Cook meat until browned. Drain.
• Mix the ground meat, beans, corn, salsa, water, diced tomatoes, green chiles, and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Cook for 8 hours.
• Serve

#FlashFiction Friday

Today's exercise (sorry I was so late posting it).

Writing exercise: Write a “conversation” in which no words are said.

Explanation: This exercise is meant to challenge you to work with gesture, body language (or, as a baseball announcer I heard once misspeak it, body English), all the things we convey to each other without words. We often learn more about characters in stories from the things characters do with their hands than from what they say. It might be best to have some stranger observe this conversation, rather than showing us the thoughts of one of the people involved in the conversation, because the temptation to tell us what the conversation is about is so great from inside the conversation. “I was doing the opposite of Freud,” Desmond Morris says, of his famous book The Naked Ape that first studied the ways humans speak with their bodies. “He listened to people and didn’t watch; I watched people and didn’t listen.” Because of Morris, according to Cassandra Jardine, “when politicians scratch their noses they are now assumed to be lying—and the sight of the Queen [Elizabeth] crossing her legs at the ankles is known to be a signal that her status is too high for her to need to show sexual interest by crossing them further up.” Autistic children cannot understand human conversation even when they understand individual words because they cannot read facial expressions, which is clear evidence of how important other forms of language are.

The door slammed. Paul stalked into the room, jaw tight and chest heaving. He swiped at his tie, tearing it over his head and dropping it on the floor before undoing the top three buttons and walking over to the window. 
Megan slipped silently into the room. Paul’s shoulder pulled back and his arms crossed over his chest. Her manicured fingers smoothed over the raw silk top and white pencil skirt as she opened her mouth to speak. 
He shot her the look over his shoulder: mouth in a thin line, sharp cheekbones, and ice cold gaze. Her full lips closed and eyes filled with tears that never made it the heavy black mascara. Paul turned back to the window staring out past the bright lights to the black endless sky. 
She moved toward him slipping off her shoes as she went. With a sigh, her hand brushed against his arm. He stilled at her touch and she held her breath. When he didn’t remove her hand, it climbed to his shoulder and she moved closer until her chin nearly rested against him. 
Still he stared out the window, jaw tight and lips thin. Megan stared into the corded muscle of his neck, her soft breath whistling against this collar. Silence roared through the room creating a chasm between them. A tear rolled down her cheek and she drew in a shaky breath. 
Paul’s hand covered hers.

#CurrentlyReading Not Quite Mind by Catherine Bybee

So I have been on a contemporary/chick lit sort of kick recently. This book, Not Quite Mine, is about a rather spoiled rich party girl, Katie, who finds a baby on her doorstep and it changes her life. It is sweet and fun and sometimes funny.

Basically, Katelyn's brother is getting married and with the wedding comes an old, long lost flame back into her life, Dean. Then she finds the baby about the time she is ready to make some changes. But instead of calling the police and turning the child over, she decides to keep it and hide the fact from everyone who knows her.

She lets them think that her lack of sleep, erratic behavior is all because she is partying too much. Having promised her brother he would look after her, Dean starts to get suspicious and eventually finds out about the child. But will the baby pull them closer together or push them further away?

#FlashFiction Friday #BraveWriting

Who's ready for a story/challenge? Just in time for Valentine's Day something romantic....ahahaha I kid. 

Here it is:

Today's flash fiction:Write a 500 word scene where the character experiences a visceral (instinctive and out of their control) reaction to something that is happening.

A hard lump formed in my throat at the base of my neck just above the collar bones. My fingers skimmed the spot expecting to find physical proof of its existence, but all I felt was soft skin. From there my ribs seemed to pull in with sheer and utter panic and my mouth was completely dry, but all I could do was stare out of the window. 

“What a shame the poor bride’s groom is a whore,” repeated over and over in my head as I watched him with her below. They couldn’t even give me one day. No. That wasn’t the right response. 

She tried to leave and he took her hand. I braced myself against the window frame as my knees threatened to give out and the tops of my cheeks burned. He pulled her back to him. The dull ache in my heart throbbed out through the rest of my body. His lips possessed hers as his hand crushed the delicate silk of her dress. I forgot to breathe. She pulled back, shaking her head as I drew in a gasping breath and copious amounts of cool anger that made my hands shake, but strengthened the rest of me. This was my day. Nothing was taking it from me. 

Stepping back from the window, I stood in front of the mirror staring into my own eyes. It would all be okay. Better a tragic widow than a fool of a wife. The color in my cheeks slowly drained with breath. 

There. I was perfect again.



-Liz

#CurrentlyReading The Legend of Drizzt by R.A. Salvatore

So this one is a bit of a departure from what I have been recommending, but it is an excellent series. I have been rereading it (I have read this series about five or eight time). Let me tell you, it is fantastic.

This is a high fantasy trilogy in the Forgotten Realms that has a little of everything. It has action, fantastic battles, subtle emotion, character growth, lots of pain, and one of my favorite heroes to ever grace the page: Drizzt Do'Urden.

My actual first introduction to Drizzt was in The Crystal Shard then I went back and read the trilogy about how he escaped the Underdark. You see Drizzt is a dark elf who isn't much like most of his kindred. It starts with Drizzt being born in the first book Homeland. This book takes us all the way through his education and his ultimate choice to leave Menzoberranzan. The second book Exile is about Drizzt's time in the wilds of the Underdark. The third book is Sojourm is about Drizzt adjusting to the world on the surface where everyone is terrified of him.

Seriously if you enjoy fantasy, even if you have never read high fantasy, give this series a chance and we will chat about it. I love it so much!

Liz

#FlashFiction Friday #bravewriting

Hello all,

Here is this's week's piece of flash fiction. I hope you guys are enjoying these as much as I am. Here was the challenge:

Write a story backwards. Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold works this way, more or less. Murder mysteries are told backwards, in a sense. Most stories we tell orally we tell from the middle forward until someone tells us we’ve left out important details, then we double back. You might try taking one of your own short pieces—or someone else’s—and simply reversing the sentences. What then? Unless you’re very lucky, you’ll have to do a good deal to make this reversed piece of prose make sense. Make sure this does not become simply a device. The structure should be inherently useful to the material, which is good advice for any fiction. 500 words.

The path to my future was beat down before me. Impractical shoes wore blisters on my feet. I paused long enough to take them off before starting back forward, not seeing anything before me. The tall dry grass brushed my skirt and tickled my legs, but heart lay bleeding and broken back on that porch with the only man I had ever loved.
Jack had been sitting on the top step of my porch, elbows against his knees and a beer dangling from his fingertips when I got home from my trip.  I left to find myself—God that sounded cliché. The whole cab ride home I debated if I had found what I was looking for at all. Seeing Jack’s unshaven square jaw and serious eyes hungry as they grazed over me, I doubted everything I thought I figured out.
He waited until I was within a few feet of him to look up with a wry, entirely too handsome smile. “You’re home.” His rich baritone was soft and pensive.
I dropped my suitcase on the sidewalk and schlepped up the four steps before I plopped down next to him. “How long have you been here?”
His lips pursed as he shook his head ever so slightly, taking a swig of his beer. “Not long.”
Three more bottles of beer sat behind the post. I reached around him, bumping him with my shoulder as I grasped one bottle and knocked over another. Empty. Raising my eyebrows I straightened. “As I suspected.” I took the bottle out of his hands and took a drink before handing it back.
We sat in comfortable silence for several minutes. Exhaustion plucked at my consciousness make each blink longer and slower. After traveling all day, the only thing I wanted to do was shower and go to bed. “What are you doing here, Jack?”
He took a deep breath and offered me his beer again. I took it as he watched out of the corner of his eye, never once turning toward me. He was obviously in a mood today.
“Do you know what the best part of my day is?” his voice startled me.
My mouth fell open. I pressed my lips together and shook my head.
“It’s sitting on the balcony with you.”
My cheeks were warm and my breath thin. This was it. It was finally going to happen. I glanced at the ceiling of the porch as if I would be able to see the balcony that sat above it. Every evening I sat out on that balcony and waited for him to come home. That moment when he’d look up at me from his driveway next door and smiled just for me had been the best part of my day since the day I moved in. I looked back at his profile, his mouth still thoughtful and his cheekbones sharp. “Is that right?” I handed his beer back to him.
His shoulders drew up with breath and his legs shifted, pressed his knee against mine. Suddenly I was very much awake. The warmth from his leg soaked into mine. His finger laid over mine, but he still didn’t look at me.  “It would appear so.” The vibration of his deep voice ran down my spine.
I wasn’t going to misunderstand this time.  If it killed me, he was going to spell it out. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I dropped my head against his shoulder and let this rare moment of vulnerability wash over me. I didn’t have to control everything, but I did need to know he wasn’t going to change his mind again. I couldn’t go through that a second time.  If my trip had taught me anything, it was that I couldn’t keep waiting around for him. I had to live my life. The degree to which Jack would be in it was up to him. It had to be.
“What does that mean?” I finally forced out, terrified he wouldn’t answer—or worse that it changed nothing. He’d still go home like he did every night and leave me in limbo.
Those wonderful, terrible fingers rough to the touch, moved back and forth over mine so gently, so soft. The seedling of hope grew. I couldn’t help it or stop it. This was what I wanted and I was finally getting it. He was finally choosing me.
“I don’t know,” he said.
All heat drained from my body. Piece by piece I broke contact. First, I removed my head from his shoulder, next I slid over enough that our legs were no longer touched, and finally I took my hand from his, feeling each finger tear away a piece of me as they left. It was my turn to breathe deeply. Tears didn’t come, only shocking pain that hardened my insides—a tragic aftermath of hop. I stood up and went back down the stairs. With trembling legs, I pushed each foot forward. I couldn’t go into my house and I didn’t look back.
I’d never look back again.
The worn down path stretched out endless in front of me. It didn’t matter where I was going. All that mattered was that it wasn’t here.

#CurrentlyReading The Jinn Trilogy by Liz Schulte

So yes, I am cheating by talking about my most current book, but this is my blog so I do what I want. Bam!

Anyway, the last book in the Jinn Trilogy released last week. Woohoo!!

Olivia and Holden always beat the odds. Destined to be apart, there was nothing they wanted or fought for more than simply to be together. But no matter how great their love, the hurt they've caused each other may be more than they can bear.

An evil like no other has risen from the underworld, leaving nothing but death in its wake as it seeks out the one thing it requires: complete and utter submission from the jinn.

Losing the angel has left Olivia weakened beyond repair and unable to help even herself. Frustrated with her loss of power and devastated by her part in the death of two cherished loved ones, she struggles to find the hope she once relied on even though her relationship with Holden is crumbling. An offer to help comes from an unexpected source, but it isn’t without cost. To save herself, she will have to give up everyone else.

Holden’s powers are stronger than ever before, but his control slips further and further from his grasp, putting everyone around him at risk. Unable to forgive himself or Olivia for the death of a friend, he focuses on the only thing that matters: insuring the freedom of the jinn. But as his past comes back to haunt him, he is pushed further and further into the darkness.

In their final battle between good and evil, no one is safe and everything will change.

Eeek! *bites nails*

Things other people have said about it:
- "Finished vestige, loved it. Was a little concerned when I read your teaser but well done, well played. Not to many tears shed."
- "I LOVED the ending of Vestige."
- "Thank you thank you thank you it was everything your readers could ask for! Loved it so so much!"
- "Finally finished Vestige... ... That about sums it up. Thanks for another great ride"
- "Damn. That was fantastic!! This is why I stalk Liz"
- "Just finished Vestige and wow! I went through every emotion possible.Absolutely amazing bòok!"

So there you have. This book may or may not make you cry, it will make you want to stalk me, and it's a solid ending. 

Okay, that's enough shameless self-promotion until the next release!

-Liz