Changing Websites!!!!

 I finally got to creating a new website and I will be moving my blog there!

A rough version is now available here:

NEW WEBSITE

I will slowly transfer all my stuff from here to there.

Lockdown, writing etc.

 I'm sure the coronavirus pandemic has been a strange time for us all. Personally being stuck on furlough (off work but still being paid 80% of my wages) for four months would have been so much more difficult if not for my writing. As it was I managed to accomplish quite a few things. 

• Finished and published Real Love - next book in Reality series.
• Managed to self publish my first book - The Mage - first in my new Into The Wilds series.
• Started writing the second one of Into the Wilds books.

It's all terribly exciting but just as all this was happening I got a call from work telling me I was being made redundant. Thankfully, I didn't end up jobless in the middle of the pandemic. The company managed to start a new contract and offered me a different job position. While I'm grateful and feeling very fortunate that I still have a job, I also can't help but be a little sad at the timing. All the training for the new role distracted me from the excitement of having my newest two books published. Still, this quiet time to focus on my writing did me some good. It reenergized my imagination and helped motivate me. With a little bit of luck, I'll keep my stride and won't falter again anytime soon.

Self isolation

The world's gone crazy. A tiny little virus is affecting the whole global population. A pandemic has more than health consequences. It affects our way of life, economy, practically every aspect of human life. 

Even though the company I'm working for is still open, they were forced to send some people on the government funded scheme of Furlough. You still get paid 80% of your wages but are required to NOT work for the company. How crazy is that? Government paying people to not work? I don't believe it's ever happened in history of mankind before. Still, it is what it is and we must all do our best to slow down the spread of this virus. Personally, and I do feel a little bad about it, I'm glad to be at home. I am one of these fortunate people who live in the countryside, surrounded by nature. It's calm, peaceful and a big contrast to constant human interaction at work. Right now I'm sitting outside listening to and observing the birds. 

The other plus of my enforced time off is being able to write. Finding time and energy to do it while working 45+hrs week is almost impossible for me. But now I've got two months to finish all the projects that I have started and never found time to complete. 

Aside from my current Reality book I'm working on (Jack's story) I do have a few others finished and not edited. They do not fit the guidelines of my current publisher and dealing with them was more effort than I was capable of for a long time. Maybe, just maybe, this forced time off will be just what I need to decide what I really want to do with my professional life. My job isn't a dream one, but it does pay the bills. But do I really want to continue as I am, mentally tired all the time and unable to write? Maybe it's time to weigh my priorities once again.

But to finish on a more happy note below is some peaceful countryside for everyone to enjoy :)

March 2020

I'm still working on the next book in Reality Series and it's giving me trouble. Jack has a complicated past but his love interest's is surprisingly enogh just as complicated. I finally managed ti get them through the biggest hurdles and to their first sexual encounter. Getting them here was difficult because of Jack's issues due to his captivity as well as some tension between the two men themselves. But they are now finally ready to build something real together.
This book is surprisingly giving me a lot of trouble. The characters just don't want to cooperate. I'm hoping now that they're past their worst hurdles, they'll finally become more willing to work with me, but I'm not holding my breath.
The book was meant to be finished by the end of 2019 but it's now March of 2020 and I'm still working on it. Writer's block or lack of strong will, wharever it is, it's incredibly irritating.
In the meantime coronavirus is on everyone's minds, a big distraction. But life doesn't pause even for a global pandemic. Show must still go on, and so I work like normal, 8-17.30 five days a week. A mentally draining job, it doesn't leave me with much brainpower for writing or anything else really. I keep meaning to try and create some kind of routine for my writing, but it seems just too difficult most days. Let's hope that spring will bring with it sun, warmth and more energy...

A quick update

I'm still working on getting back to writing more regularly. For now I'm just taking it easy. I'm working on a series of short stories that may end up as a young adult book, not sure yet. The short stories are all connected but there is no main thread linking them yet. I've got 25000 words already but I'm still mostly introducing the world and main characters. We'll see where the story takes me. I believe it's easier for me to work on those little snippets, because each single piece is a story in and of itself, and as such every finished one counts as a win in my head, motivating me to do more. It works for me for now, and I hope I'll work my way up to one of my bigger projects soon. 

Thank you for all encouragements, it means a lot.

Hell of a writer's block.

For quite a few months now I've been struggling badly with a writer's block. I tried quite a few things to get rid of it but it doesn't seem like anything's helping. And the worst part is that it's not only that the inspirstion dried out, I cannot motivate myself to do anything when it comes to my writing. I've got a few stories which are finished, in need of editing and submitting. But because they are slightly different from what I normally write they do not qualify for my regular publisher. That would mean either finding a different publisher or self-publishing. Just thinking of that is daunting to me right now. 

I could find excuses as to why I'm not writing. But the honest truth is... I don't know. I sit down to write and after a few sentences my mind will drift off. I catch myself, write a few more sentences and the same thing happens. I really don't know what the solution is. For now I decided to focus on this odd little story that came to me a few months back. It's very different from my usual writing. A series of short stories focusing on this young guy. It shows snippets of his life from childhood to young-adult years. There is no romantic interest in the ones I've written up till now, and I'm not even sure whether he's gay, straight or asexual. It seems sex isn't that important to him, so maybe demi-sexual? Anyway, because the stories are short it seems much easier to focus on than a full length one. Less intimidating in my current state of mind. 

Other things I tried to get over this block is doing some other creative stuff: drawing and photography. it often sparks my imagination, alas as of yet I had no luck. Still, I'd like to share some of these with you. 

The End of Year Reflections

Yet another year ends. 2018 was a year of changes for me. So will be 2019. It I hard to predict where the life will take me, but of one thing I'm certain, I will not give up writing.

In 2018 my job became increasingly more busy and exhausting. To be honest finding time and energy to write has been difficult. But the second part of the year brought with it more surprises. Beginning a new relationship was not something I was expecting. It seems that good things can surprise us though. Being with the right person can change you for the better. I find myself happier and more motivated, full of hope for more good changes. With that said I'm still in that state in-between where you plan something but cannot put your plans into action just yet. It can be nerve-wracking.

I’m hopeful for 2019. If all goes well I’ll find more time for writing. I guess the most difficult part will be changing some of my bad habits. So, writing plans for the upcoming year…

• January – “The Sleeping Beauty’s Castle” comes out on the 4th YAY! writing this book was fun. It’s slightly different from my other ones. A fairy-tale with a spooky twist. It takes place in the fairy-tale world of “The Prince and the Frog” and “The Sister of Seven Ravens.” The book gives us a chance to meet some of the characters from the previous book.
• First quarter of the year – working on another fairy-tale story. This one takes place in a different part of the fairy-tale world and involves another character we met previously. It’s untitled as of yet.
• First and second quarter – finishing a half-written story that’s been waiting for it’s turn for a while. It’s a first in a two part, loosely connected series. Once It’s finished I’ll edit it along the second part and submit them together. The third book that needs editing and submitting is a standalone for now with possibility of a second part.

I don’t like planning too far ahead as the stories tend to come to me unexpectedly messing up my neatly laid down plans. For now this will have to do as my schedule.

And Below Is the link to “The Sleeping Beauty’s Castle” Enjoy!

The Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Gard’s minor magical gift lets him see the darkness inside people. Knowing servant Falk is marked by the old god Veles, Gard blackmails the man to go on a suicide mission with him. Soon after, ashamed of his conduct he releases the man from his promise, but Falk decides to accompany him anyway.

A trip to the most dangerous barony in the kingdom to attempt to lift the curse on the Sleeping Beauty’s castle brings the two men closeness they didn’t expect. While their feelings for each other grow stronger, the danger that they’re about to face might yet prove deadly.

Discovering the truth about the Sleeping Beauty’s castle in the most dangerous kind of way leaves Gard on the brink of death and Falk facing his past. It will take a lot of help from Gard’s family to convince Falk that the two of them can have a future together.

Buy Here

New Book Submitted!

I finally finished and submitted my latest book. It’s #2 in Stories Tales and Legends: Retold Series and is my longest yet. I had real trouble cropping it to below 85K to fit Siren’s guidelines. The story just wanted to go on and on. I was ruthless though and managed to fit in the guidelines (with 10 words to spare woo-hoo)

The book is based on my favourite fairy-tale – The Sister of Seven Ravens. The version I based it on is a Mazovian fairy-tale adapted and written down by a well-known Polish children-book author Janina Porazinska. Her adaptation of the story is less gore-filled and gruesome than Grimms’ fairy-tales but it has strong links to Polish folklore. As a child I was fascinated with how a simple peasant girl embarked on an adventure to save her brothers. The fairy-tale was different than most because the main character was a girl, and she didn’t really need saving. She was the one doing all the saving in the story, instead. Still, looking at the story through adult eyes there were elements that I didn’t like. Like the fact that the wise-woman who told the sister how to save her brothers made the plain-looking girl beautiful by magic. Or that the duke fell in love with the girl’s beauty and just decided he had to have her as his wife. And then there’s the part where the old duchess managed to finally drive a wedge between the duke and his wife and the Duke believed his mother’s lies sentencing his wife to death. All these facts did not sit well with me. It’s not what real love should be like so I decided to give the story my own twist.

I started with the biggest change. In my book the sister is actually another brother. He’s more delicate looking and much prettier than his brothers and so they teasingly call him their sister. But my main character is also a very strong-willed person with a strong personality. He is the de-facto leader of his family despite being the youngest and ravaged by illness.

The second change comes when the curse is cast. In addition to changing the seven brothers into ravens the curse has a second effect on the Youngest.

The meeting of two main characters differs from the original fairy-tale as well. True, the duke is taken with Yasko’s beauty but it is his personality that actually causes the Duke (Casimir) to fall in love with him.

I added a period of courtship to the story as I’m a fan of slow-burn romance. Even if there is love at first sight, the people in the relationship will always have to work on their differences, I don’t believe anything else is possible.

My final big change is Casimir’s unwavering loyalty to his husband. Despite all accusations and aspercions being cast at Yasko Cas never believes his husband guilty of any wrongdoing. I just couldn’t imagine how (in the original fairy-tale) a wife could forgive her husband accusing her of killing their children and sentencing her to death by burning. It is such a huge betrayal on the husband’s part that I don’t see how the marriage could survive it. I mean, what would he say to her afterwards? “sorry I condemned you to a slow and agonizing death by burning alive, but I really thought you killed our sons. So, water under the bridge, right?”

Anyway, I much prefer my version of the main characters relationship.

Like in the first book in the series I drew heavily from history and culture when world-building.

Yasko’s family belongs to lesser nobility, but lives more like peasants than nobles. It was pretty common in XV-XVIII century Poland. The social group even had it’s own name “Szlachta zaściankowa” which does not translate well but a close term would be petty nobility.

When writing the old duchess I tried to base her on XVI-th century polish queen Bona Sforza. She was a great queen and politician but had many enemies amongst the nobility and they created this dark legend around her accusing her of poisoning, greed, intrigue, scheming etc.

The tribe of Yotvingians was a real one. They  had a strong warrior culture and were generally well known as great warriors and hunters, and were feared by neighbouring Baltic tribes for their skill in warfare. Skalmantas, leader of the Yotvingians was responsible for single-handedly raiding Pinsk in the Principality of Turov.

XVII century Poland was torn by wars. Fighting against Russia, Sweden, Turkey and inner conflict with Kosacs. In my book I decided to allow Cas and Yasko some peace after the resolution of conflict with the fictional  Southern Turk Empire. This is the beauty of writing fiction. I can change all the shitty things that actually happened in history.

This book dives deeeper into Slavic folklor and beliefs. In actuality the remnants of Slavic religion were still strong in parts of Poland even in nineteenth century. In the fictional world I created a mish-mash of XVI-XVIII centuries, the gods old exist alongside the new one. Mentions of Dola and Niedola – a person’s individual fate, as well as Leshy or Borovy, the lord of the forest are made. The practice of sacrificing children to Borovy is my own invention. From what I’m aware the only sacrifices for leshy were food and drink. Still, in tales of the Forest Lord there are mentions of his wife and children. It fit my idea of the duchess abandoning her grandchildren in the forest. I might even write a short story of Borowy’s children at a later date. It’s only a vague idea at the moment.

I will dive deeper into Slavic beliefs in my next book in this series. The plan is for it to be only a short story, but I’ll see where it takes me. I’ve got the main plot-line worked out, but there’s still details to iron-out.

I’m really excited for The Sister of Seven Ravens to be published and I’m waiting with bated breath to see whether it’ll be accepted. I still have several other things that I need to work on in the meantime and not nearly enough time on my hands. Ah, eal life, why must you intrude on my daydreaming?

Let’s do a giveaway!

It’s a beginning of a new year, the possibilities for a better future stretching ahead of us. I thought it’s a high time I do that giveaway I’ve been planning for months. There’s a lot to celebrate. Last year I turned thirty, It’s more than two years since my first book was published, the world hasn’t ended yet despite some really disturbing things happening around the world. I guess that’s more than enough reason for a giveaway.
So here’s the rules:

1. Go to my facebook page and like it: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSophieMartin/
2. Comment under the post: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSophieMartin/posts/769427276544475
3. I will randomly chose three winners on Sunday 15th and contact them.

I will chose three random winners. The prize is an ebook copy of one of my books. You’ll be able to chose the book you want.
There, I think these are pretty straightforward rules. Lets do it!

The Prince and the Frog - my inspirations

As a kid I loved fairy-tales. Who doesn’t? You get to go to another world where magic is real, where people have amazing adventures and come out of them unscathed. (Or mostly unscathed which is good enough.) The evil is punished, the good deeds rewarded and everything ends with a happily ever after. I never outgrew my love of these stories. As the time passed it changed slightly and I became obsessed with fantasy books instead, but fairy-tales have always stayed with me.
When I first found some fairy-tales redone into M/M books I was hooked. But with time I discovered that most of these books focus on mostly the same fairy-tale themes. There’s the immortal Cinderella story, the Beauty and the Beast, and a few others. There are so many fairy-tales out there with so much potential. So I decided to write the books myself.
With that thought in mind I wanted to focus on some of my favourite fairy-tales, the ones I grew up on. These would be the traditional Middle- and Eastern-European fairy-tales. While The Prince and the Frog is not my all-times favourite story it is in the lead.
Writing the book, I consulted my childhood storybooks. The Prince and the Frog is a popular fairy-tale and I knew both the Polish and Russian version of it. I included elements of both but I also added some things of my own. The result is hopefully enjoyable one.
The fairy-tale world I created is a mix of historical and fantasy ones. While magic is an obvious indication of fantasy there are many elements that hail from the real world and are based in historical times.
The Magical Academy is very loosely based on European Universities and Academies of late middle ages. I did not include many details and because it is a magical institution most of the ones that I did include is made up but I hoped to convey the general feel of those Schools of old.
One of the things that are based mostly in real world are the subjects of three tests.
Even though my book is based on a fairy tale I also wanted it to feel as authentic a story as it could. Because of that I thought there needed to be a valid reason for the three tests the Frog in the fairy tale faces. I didn’t think “Because the King fancies so” was a valid reason. (King Aleksiey didn’t seem like the kind of father who’d force something like that on his sons, even though he does like to send them on dangerous quests.) I decided to reach to a custom that I’ve known of for a long time.
The witnessing of the marriage consummation was a tradition applying to royal and sometimes noble marriages. It was exactly what it sounds. Some people stayed in the bedroom of the newly-wed couple to bear witness to the consummation of marriage. As the consummation was often a legal requirement for the marriage to be considered valid, the custom could prevent future trouble.
Just look at Henry the VIII. His first wife, Catharine of Aragon had first been intended as his older brother’s wife and betrothed to him. After the older prince had died Henry and his father went to a lot of trouble to ensure that marriage be considered invalid. (It would be impossible for Henry to marry his brother’s wife, it was forbidden) So Henry the VII, wanting to ensure an alliance with Spain, made sure that the previous relationship of Catherine was annulled and she was available to marry his younger son, future Henry the VIII. However, after many years of prosperous marriage, when Catherine failed to give Henry a male heir, the king did what? Yes, you guessed it, he tried to have his marriage annulled as well. It didn’t work to his favour as the pope at the time was Catharine’s relative, thus Henry’s later split from the Catholic Church.
The point I’m trying to make is that the witnessing of the marriage consummation could save a lot of trouble in situations like this. But like I said, it was a custom reserved for royalty and sometimes, nobility. For that reason I thought it believable that when king Aleksiey decided to marry a merchant’s daughter, a woman of a very strong character, she wouldn’t be amused by having to have witnesses to her wedding night. King Aleksiey and Queen Ekaterina seemed like a couple who’d move heaven and earth to get what they wanted and so I thought they’d have made sure the custom was abolished. But tradition is something that cannot be discounted lightly and neither can politics. I’m certain making such a big change couldn’t have been easy and there would have to be some concessions. Hence the three trials...
In my book the three tests get symbolical meanings, as I’m sure would happen in such circumstances. The princes’ spouses must prove their worth. In the situations I depicted baking a cake is supposed to show their devotion and ability to take care of their husbands basic needs (something like providing food for your family – the very basic way to prove you can take care of that family). Second test in the fairy tale was to weave a carpet. I thought it was an extension of the first test, to show you can take care of more sublime needs of your spouse (Provide food, then shelter). Then there was the third test of attending a ball. This one seemed obvious enough. A member of royal family had to be able to find themselves in any social situation. A ball where members of each social class were invited would be a great test of those skills.
Concentrating on the tests I decided to add some authenticity to them. Princess Nasha cannot bake, she had been catered to her entire life, she had no time to learn how to cook. Prince Colia’s husband and wife come from a Northern Tribe, and they led a very different lives, prior to meeting Nicolai.
And here we come to the fascinating element of real world in my book. Vil and Kunney belong to a Northern Tribe. I based that tribe on one of the peoples inhabiting Siberia. Since the kingdom where Ivan and his brothers are from is mostly based on old time Russia, it seemed obvious that going North would more or less lead Colia to Siberian Tribes. The tribe I chose as a focus for where Vil and Kunney came from are Sakha people or Yakuts. Kunney is an actual female name from their language and means sun-moon it is also a mythological hero’s name. Vil, I believe, is also a word from sakha language. I encountered it while doing research on some of yakut traditions, but for the life of me I cannot find the webpage now. If I remeber correctly the word is supposed to be a name of a fish, either salmon or trout.
When it comes to the tests, what Vil and Kunney present are actual elements of Sakha culture.
Salamat is a creamy sour porridge made of cream, wheat, butter and salt. Usually eaten on feast days. It seemed like the best equivalent of a cake.
Colia also mentions a dish of a frozen fish that he had been offered in his spouses’ tribe. The real dish is stroganina - raw, thin, long-sliced shavings of frozen fish.
In the second test, when the contestants are asked to weave carpets, Kunney and Vil present some uniquely made fur rugs. Once again it is a real tradition. There are historical depictions of those checked fur rugs, like this woodcut:

The culture of Yakuts (Sakha) is an altogether fascinating subject. Here are some links if you wanted to know a bit more about it:
http://www.cosmicelk.net/Yakutia16c.htm
http://primitiverug.com/journal/yakut-pieced-skin-primitive-rug
http://travelingyourdream.com/?page_id=1596
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3735993/The-wolf-hunters-Siberia-Incredible-pictures-battle-reindeer-herders-super-packs-predators.html
http://www.biligbitig.com/2014/07/saka-turkleri-sakha.html
The elements of Sakha culture are not the only real-world/historical thing that inspired me. In the book Vasya uses his personal experiences in the king’s challenges. These are also based on real things. This time I drew from Slavic traditions.
Kolach the special cake Vasya bakes for the first test is actually exactly what it is described as in the book. A traditional kind of sweet bread mostly served during big celebrations. In pagan times it was reserved for ritualistic purposes but with time it got adapted and was mostly used during wedding or birth celebrations. Even now it is a tradition in Poland (where i’m from) and I believe other Slavic countries as well, that a newly wed couple is greeted by their parents with bread and salt (and more often than not, vodka). Also during various religious celebrations there are beautifully decorated breads being blessed with holy water. These breads are often made by braiding the dough and are in a shape of a circle. The name kolach is derived from the word koło – circle. There is even a saying in Polish – “Bez pracy nie ma kołaczy” – literally meaning – “Without work there will be no kolaches.” So it is easy to see how important a part of slavic culture kolach actually is.
A picture of kolach from wikipedia
Here’s a picture I took last year at my cousin's wedding. It is a decorated sourdough bread.

  And some picture’s of breads made for religious celebrations (from the web.)


 
In the second test Vasya weaves an arras depicting his first meeting with Ivan. As an inspiration I used real arrases from the Royal castle of Wawel. Especially this one:

You can read more about Wawel arrases here: http://www.wawel.krakow.pl/en/index.php?op=22
and some other links: http://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Jagiellonian%20tapestries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagiellonian_tapestries
www.fibtex.lodz.pl/2005/6/85.pdf

Despite now living in UK I am and have always been very proud of my country. Poland has a very colorful history and a lot of interesting traditions. Writing “The Prince and the Frog” I dug into some of those traditions. after kolach and Jagiellonian arrases, another unmistakably Polish element in the book is Vasya’s mage robe. While I admit many authors write about wizards wearing robes Vasya’s is a bit different. The main difference is the long row of small buttons Ivan has trouble undoing. (Poor Ivan ) That robe is based on żupan and kontusz. Żupan is a kind of long garment, always lined, worn by almost all males of the noble social class in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, typical male attire from the beginning of the 16th to half of the 18th century. Kontusz is an outer garment worn over the inner garment żupan. Kontusz was a long robe, usually reaching to below the knees, with a set of decorative buttons down the front. The sleeves were long and loose, on hot days worn untied, thrown on the back. In winter a fur lining could be attached to the kontusz, or a delia worn over it. The kontusz was usually of a vivid colour, and the lining was of a contrasting hue. The kontusz was tied with a long, wide sash called a pas kontuszowy. The kontusz was more of a decorative garment than a useful one.
Polish nobles of the time had a very distinctive culture a main part of which was Sarmatism. Wikipedia has a pretty good article about it. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarmatism) Here are some pictures of Żupans and kontushe so you can have a better idea of what I imagined Vasya wearing. (and links to wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kontusz; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BBupan)

Last but not least, there’s another element of Slavic beliefs that I inserted in the book. It fit so perfectly with the fairy-tale that I couldn’t not add it. I mean the fate-magic. It is not called that in original Slavic culture. It doesn’t really have a name, at least not that I know of. It is simply a belief that your words and wishes might come true if you speak them in a bad hour. There’s a lot I could write about it but I’ll keep it for the second book in the series which is based entirely on this belief. I only introduced it in The Prince and the Frog to give you a taste of it.
I believe that’s most of what I wanted to share with you about the book. The last  little bit is in a form of a video. Just so you can see for yourself how vicious the herbivorous hare can be.
Have fun watching it!

Change in plans etcetera

 

Oh, how we all love when our best-laid plans get messed up and need to be changed.

Well, it just so happens that my characters won’t cooperate with me and insist on changing my plans. And thus, a good servant that I am, I follow their orders.

The original plan was for me to finish Jack’s story, then start working on part two in The Bigwells Chronicles. This plan went up in smoke. At the moment I’m working on re-writing my last year Halloween story into a full book. I’m probably somewhere halfway there. I suspect it won’t be ready for the Halloween, though.

And meanwhile, some other characters have been clamoring for my attention. It’s a pretty short story settled chronologically before the Reality Series. It’s a story from the time of Fey Wars that sprung in my mind when I was writing Timiny’s book. I hope (fingers crossed) that I’ll be able to finish it for Christmas.

 

Up to fun thing, though.

My first fairy-tale book is coming out soon!

Here’s the link: http://www.bookstrand.com/book/the-prince-and-the-frog

I’m planning a post about some of my inspiration for the things you’ll find there. There also might or might not be a giveaway happening…

That’ll be all for now. I need to get to that Halloween re-write.

New book - new cover

I got the cover for my first fairy-tale book. The Prince and the Frog is set to release in September.

Besides that I am working on Jack's story and struggling with research to Fey Wars, a spin-off series to Reality.
Also I'm trying to juggle my work, preparing for my holiday in Poland, dealing with train problems, etcetera. All in all it's a busy, busy time!

What's new

First of all, "The Warrior's Light" is out now! In the five days since it's been released Ulr and Brad's story crawled to the top ten on Bookstrand bestseller list! Wow! I'm so happy. And I haven's had time to promote it properly with the mess that was going on in my house. Changing a boiler along with putting in new plumbing for it means three days of constant mess and not much time to spend online. I still need to send my ARC's to some reviewers, but that'll have to wait till the end of my workweek. 

Now, I'm nearly done with edits for my fairytale book. I hope to finish them Wednesday the latest. After that I can finally concentrate on Jack's book from Reality. 

This Wednesday my three weeks of holiday start. Actually I booked only a week but with my work schedule it gives me three weeks off. How cool is that!? I already know I'm spending the last week camping in Scotland. What will I do with the other two weeks? Relax and write! :D

I really look forward to that! 

Captive or Captor #13

A slightly longer post today. Lowell and Purr’s story is gaining momentum!

 

With each passing day Lowell was getting more and more frustrated. He’d been with the pack for more than two weeks now and Purr wasn’t getting any better. True, the tiger let Lowell close to him and he stopped needing sedatives. But there was still no humanity in the animal’s eyes. Lowell spent every moment of every day with Purr. He fed the tiger and spoke to him. He reminded his lover of all they’ve been through, telling him stories of their time together. It wasn’t working.

The tiger was content for Lowell to sit with him, to pet him, but he didn’t show any signs of understanding Lowell, either. Slowly doubts started creeping in. What if Purr never got better? What if he stayed an animal forever? Without even realising he was doing it Lowell started planning for a life if this happened. Of course he wouldn’t leave Purr, that was out of question. So they’d have to find a place where Purr could roam. Somewhere away from civilization because the tiger didn’t react well to anyone except Lowell. Every time someone got close to them Purr became aggressive, situating himself between Lowell and a perceived threat. The pack members quickly learned to stay away from the enclosure.

Lowell slept in the room that Purr had been in before he turned into a tiger. He had to admit that the room seemed pretty comfy, even if it had been wrecked by an out of control tiger. The pack members who lived in the Pack Leader’s house were also pretty friendly. The didn’t go out of their way to get to know Lowell, but they were nice to him whenever they met.

Lowell himself wasn’t trying to make new friends. He wasn’t even sure he knew how to do it, anymore. Ever since his exile to the mansion Lowell had lost touch with his former friends. And after meeting Purr he felt he didn’t need anyone else. Now his social skills seemed to be seriously lacking and he was too focused on helping his tiger to do anything about it.

Lowell stopped sharing his thoughts with the tiger at his feet and looked up. Someone was running towards the enclosure. As the man came closer Lowell recognized him as one of the younger guards, Fabian. Lowell frowned as the young man came closer and closer to them. By now all the guards knew it wasn’t the best idea to get close to Purr’s enclosure, so why wasn’t Fabian stopping?

Purr tensed, the tiger’s powerful muscles coiling as if readying for attack, and he snarled. The young guard’s steps faltered but he didn’t fully stop. Just as Fabian reached the chain-link fence Purr jumped to his four paws and situated himself between Lowell and the newcomer. Lowell sighed and shook his head.

“Fabian, you know better than come here when I’m with Purr,” he stated, standing up. He kept behind Purr, not wanting to agitate his furry lover even further.

“I know and I’m sorry Lowell, but I’ve got an important message for you. There’s police here to see you,” the guard blurted out.

“Police?” Lowell felt all blood drain from his face. “How did they find me?” he said in a near whisper, more to himself than Fabian.

“I don’t know, but they’re here to arrest you. Alpha Marek tried to convince them it’s a mistake, but they wouldn’t listen. So he stalled them giving me time to notify you.”

“Shit!” Lowell exclaimed and noticed that Purr started backing him into a corner behind him. The tiger was obviously sensing his distress. “This is a disaster.” Lowell shook his head. He knew there was no use running away. Once the police figured out he was alive, they wouldn’t stop looking for him. And Lowell couldn’t leave Purr. Dragging a full-grown tiger with him everywhere was out of question as well. “There’s no other way,” he spoke softly to himself, petting his tiger’s fur absentmindedly. He had to give himself up and count the police would listen to him and believe the truth. “Fabian,” Lowell spoke in an even voice, “if you could please back away. I need Purr calm so that I can leave the enclosure. He won’t let me out otherwise.” Fabian nodded his understanding and did as asked. Lowell watched his tiger relax as the man left their proximity. Crouching before Purr Lowell hugged his furry lover.

“I’m sorry Purr,” he whispered softly into one fuzzy ear. “I have to leave you. Hopefully the police will listen to what I’ve got to say and they’ll let me come back to you. I wish we had more time. I wish I could have made you turn back to normal. But I believe in you. I know you’re in there somewhere. One of this days you’ll come back to me, and we’ll have this life together we’ve always dreamed of. So, hang in there Purr, my love. Don’t give up.” Lowell felt tears prickling his eyes as he stood up and walked to the gate slowly. Purr was still sitting in the corner, watching him. There was still no humanity in the tiger’s eyes and Lowell felt his heart squeeze painfully. Who knew how their separation was going to affect the shifter? Lowell prayed it wouldn’t undo whatever progress they might have made.

Lowell stepped through the gate and closed it behind him. Purr stood up and padded to the gate, their ritual familiar now. Purr knew Lowell was always coming back to him and the tiger never protested Lowell leaving the enclosure. Lowell stood before the gate clutching the chain-links in his fingers. He didn’t want to go. Didn’t want to leave his lover, vulnerable like Purr was. Soon, he heard voices and footsteps from where the mansion was. Lowell shot a look over his shoulder and recognized the alpha with two other men coming toward him. Lowell turned back and locked his gaze with Purr. His whole being hurt at the thought of being separated from Purr, but there was nothing he could do to prevent it. The steps came closer and a voice spoke from behind him.

“Lowell Hayes?”

“Yes, It’s me,” Lowell answered quietly.

“Lowell Hayes you’re under arrest on suspicion of kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment of Patrick Peters,” the man was saying as he came to Lowell. Without a word Lowell put his hands behind his back and let the man handcuff him. Lowell never looked away from Purr. The tiger narrowed his eyes and a low growl escaped him. It was obvious the shifter knew something was wrong.

“I’m telling you, you’re making a huge mistake, officer.” Lowell became distinctly aware of the Alpha saying. “Like I said, Patrick is in a feral state right now and Lowell Hayes is essential to bringing him back to normal. He might be Patrick’s only chance at recovering.”

“I’m not arguing it Alpha,” the officer was saying, “but it is not our call to make. We were sent to arrest him and we’ll do just that. Everything else will be resolved during the investigation and trial. I’m sure the judge will take the circumstances under consideration.”

“But I just told you separating them now might have horrible effect on Patrick, causing him to retract even further into his animal!” The alpha’s voice had a growl to it that betrayed his annoyance. Lowell couldn’t concentrate on it though. As the officer pulled him back from the fence Purr seemed to sense something was wrong. The big tiger snarled and threw his whole body against the gate, trying to get out.

“Shit, I told you!” the Alpha shouted. “He’s going back to harming himself! Fabian, run to the house, we might need to shoot him with a sedative again!”

Lowell heard the young guard’s confirmation, as he run off. As the police officer led him away from the enclosure, Lowell kept looking back, his heart bleeding for his lover who kept throwing himself against the fence. Lowell could feel tears trail down his face as he whispered.

“I’m sorry Purr. I love you.”

* * * *

I’m sorry Purr. I love you.

His Master’s words reached him, piercing through the veil surrounding Purr’s mind. He shook his head trying to get rid of the horrible fog. His Master was here! Purr threw his body against the steel fence trying to get to his Master. The fence didn’t budge. Purr snarled. The bloody gate was in his way! It prevented him from reaching Master! He had to get to him! He had to protect Master! Purr shook his head again and looked around. Wait, what? What’s going on? The world seemed different, wrong somehow, but Purr couldn’t figure out the reason. He was behind a chain-link fence in what seemed like a cage or enclosure of sorts. He remembered those from his time in the circus. That’s where they kept the animals. But that couldn’t be right. He wasn’t in a circus anymore, was he? He had been with his Master for years now.

Master! Purr looked up and saw his Master being led away by some strange men. There was also another man, one that looked familiar. Alpha, his mind supplied. That was the alpha who told him his Master was dead. The same alpha who kept Purr from going after Master and saving him from Master’s evil father! Purr felt rage overwhelm him. They were taking Master away from him again! Purr backed up as far as he could go. Then he started running. The fence was tall, but Purr was determined. He wasn’t going to let them take his Master from him again. Purr’s paws swallowed the ground as he gained in speed. And then, with a loud roar he leaped.

Purr soared over the fence and landed on the other side of it gracefully. Not missing a step, he run after the men kidnapping his Master. The three men turned and two of them shrieked. The Alpha only swore but looked slightly panicked as well. Purr felt satisfaction and a need to grin. Good! You shouldn’t have taken my Master from me. Stupid Alpha! The two shrieking men were frozen in fear as Purr advanced on them. The Alpha though seemed to gather his composure once again. Ripping off his shirt and undoing the button of his jeans the man initiated his shift. Just as quickly there was a big grey wolf standing in Purr’s way. Oh, hell no! You’re not blocking me from reaching my Master! Purr slowed down as he reached the wolf and the three men behind him. Purr quickly made sure that his Master was unharmed. Lowell looked fine if a little sad. Well, Purr could deal with cheering his Master up later. Right now, he had an annoying wolf to take care of! Purr showed off his teeth in a show of aggression and started circling the wolf. The alpha jumped at him, trying to nip him, but Purr’s quick reflexes made the wolf’s teeth close on air. The alpha renewed his attack again and again. The wolf didn’t seem to want to seriously hurt him. He was trying to coral Purr back to that cage he came out of. Purr gave a little snort. Not going to happen! He avoided the wolf’s nips and batted his paw at the wolf. He wasn’t trying to seriously hurt the wolf, he kept his claws hidden, but he wasn’t going away either. Some sixth sense alerted Purr to the danger behind him and he leapt up, twisting his body out of the way. Purr watched a small, feathered dart sail past him and hit the wolf. He smiled inwardly as the wolf alpha staggered then fell down. There, that’s better, one annoyance out of the way. Purr turned around and looked at the wolf who shot the dart. The man was young, and, by the looks of him, he was terrified. Purr barred his teeth at him and snarled. The wolf shook so hard he nearly dropped his rifle. Purr smirked showing of his teeth and stalked the wolf. The pup shook as he backed away.

“Purr, leave Fabian alone. He won’t shoot you, will you Fabian?” His Master’s voice reached Purr as he stalked his prey. Purr’s ear swivelled back and he paused, his eyes never leaving the wolf.

“I won’t,” the wolf said and Purr realised he was answering his Master’s question. The wolf seemed sincere, but he still held onto the rifle and Purr was no dummy. He wasn’t turning around until that rifle was far out of the wolf’s reach.

“Fabian, drop the gun. I think Purr feels threatened by it,” Lowell said and Purr felt proud of his Master’s intelligence. The wolf dropped the rifle and stepped away from it. Purr waited a bit longer before the wolf was way out of reach and he quickly jumped and took the gun in his mouth. He wasn’t leaving the weapon where anyone could get to it. Luckily for him the rifle had a strap attached to it and Purr put his head through the loop, the gun now hanging on his neck. Turning back to the humans and his Master, Purr stalked closer. The two strange humans were sitting on the ground, obviously in shock. Purr’s Master stood straight though. He wasn’t easily scared, Purr knew. His Master was a brave man. Purr padded to where his Master stood and rubbed his head against the man’s thigh. Mmm, his Master smelled so good!

“Purr, can you understand me, my love?” Master asked and Purr sat down on his haunches and looked at Master quizzically. What did the Master mean, could he understand? He tilted his head as if to ask: What do you mean?

“Purr, do you realize what happened? Do you know who you are? Who I am?” This time Purr snorted. Silly Master! Of course Purr knew who they were. They’ve spent years together, how could he not know who they were.

“Purr,” Master said kneeling before him, “look at yourself. You’re a tiger now, my love. Do you realise that?”

What did master mean? Of course he was a tiger! Purr had always been a tiger. He was a shifter after all, that’s how they’d met. Because Purr was a tiger and had been left for dead by people from the circus. He was a tiger... Holy shit! Purr looked down at his furry body and took stock of it for the first time. Holy shit, I’m a tiger! Purr looked up at his Master, his eyes growing huge and his jaw going slack. His Master chuckled, even though Purr could see there were tears in his eyes.

“There you are love!” Master said. “You understand now? Can you change back?” Purr took a minute to think about it, then shook his head. He had no idea how to change back. How could he if he had no clue how he had changed into a tiger in the first place? Lowell frowned but then smiled. “Doesn’t matter, love. We can figure this out. The important thing is that you’re sentient now,” Master said and Purr wondered briefly what that meant. He didn’t have time to worry though, because the humans seemed to recover from their shock.

The two men got back on their feet and reached for their weapons. Immediately Purr stepped in front of his Master. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to Lowell! Suddenly they were all surrounded by a bunch of snarling wolves. Purr had his attention split. He had to protect his Master from the humans and the wolves now.

One of the wolves turned into his human form and Purr recognized the rude man who had insulted his Master before. Purr barred his teeth in a warning and let out a snarl. That wolf had been mean before and he hated Purr’s Master! Purr angled his body so that it was between humans and the mean wolf and Lowell.

“What have you done to the Alpha?” the mean wolf asked with a growl. One of the humans answered.

“We didn’t do anything. The tiger jumped out of the enclosure and chased us. Your alpha turned into a wolf and fought him...” the man paused.

“Then how comes he has no injuries yet is unconscious?” The mean wolf snarled at the humans and Purr felt satisfaction. Go ahead, fight each other, stupid wolves and stupid humans!

“The officer is actually right, Beta. Although I don’t think they were actually fighting, I think it was more of a small scuffle. But anyway, Alpha Marek is unconscious because Fabian accidentally shot him with a dart,” Lowell said.

“Is that true?” the mean wolf asked turning around to the young wolf in human form who just now run to them.

“Yes, Beta Robert. I was trying to shoot Patrick, to stop him from killing everyone, but he jumped out of the way and the dart hit Alpha Marek,” the young wolf explained.

“Shit, what a mess.” The Beta pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he looked up straight at Purr and his eyebrows crawled up his forehead. “Is that the rifle on Patrick’s neck?”

“Yes, Beta,” Purr’s Master answered. Suddenly a huge smile bloomed on Lowell’s face and tears of joy run down his face. “Purr is cognizant again. I think me being taken away shocked him out of his feral state.”

“Well, why isn’t he changing back then?” the beta asked.

“I don’t think he knows how to. Remember, he has never been able to shift before.”

“Oh.” The beta wolf scowled but said nothing more. Instead he turned to the two humans. “Could you please put away your weapons, officers? They’re unnecessary right now and they agitate Patrick, who is new to shifting and not in full control of himself right now.”

“What if he attacks us, though?” one of the officers braved a question.

“You’re not going to attack the officers, are you Purr?” His Master crooned and before he realized what he was doing Purr shook his head, no. Sneaky Master. “See, he said he won’t attack you. Now can we please all calm down and at least try and reach a compromise?” After another moment of hesitation, the policemen put away their weapons and everybody visibly relaxed.

“Lovely,” the beta said. “Now why don’t we go back into the mansion and discuss things like civilized beings. Fabian, Trent, you can carry the alpha. He’ll be one cranky wolf when he wakes up.”

Captive or Captor #12

* * * *

Lowell distantly heard the Pack Leader call him by his real name, but he couldn’t care less. The sight before him had him entranced and yet he felt his heart squeeze painfully. There, in the big enclosure the Alpha had led him to, was a tiger. And it wasn’t just any old tiger. The animal was magnificent. All orange-golden fur with black stripes and powerful muscles hidden underneath. Lowell had no experience with wild animals, but something told him that the tiger was unusually large. When on all fours the tiger would easily reach up to Lowell’s neck. While he wasn’t a very tall man, he always thought tigers were more like, up to his belly or chest if they were really big. The animal was also very long. Lowell suspected, if it stood on his hind legs, it would tower over him with ease.

Without conscious thought Lowell took a step closer. The tiger’s head whipped around and huge golden eyes concentrated on Lowell. The animal’s lip rose in a silent warning. Still, Lowell couldn’t help himself as he stepped to the chain-fence, and clutched the cold steel in his hands. His heart squeezed harder and a small whimper escaped him. Because down deep he knew… He knew this wasn’t a wild animal. It was his lover in his true form.

“Purr…” Lowell whispered. “What happened to you?” He didn’t expect an answer and he didn’t get any. The tiger’s ear flicked forward but otherwise the animal ignored him. Lowell had a sudden feeling the animal’s calmness wasn’t natural. “What have you done to him?” Lowell demanded turning to the Alpha. The rise of the man’s brows was the only indication that he didn’t appreciate Lowell’s disrespectful tone.

“Lowell, is it?” the Alpha asked and Lowell snorted. He wasn’t going to give the man respect until the Alpha earned it.

“You know very well it is. That’s why you brought me here, isn’t it? You wanted me to see what happened to Purr.”

“Purr?” the man’s tone was questioning.

“Yes, Purr. It’s my pet name for Patrick. Now tell me what’s wrong with him? Why is he so… apathetic?”

The alpha sighed and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the tiger. Lowell could suddenly see the tiredness in the man. There were dark circles under the Alpha’s eyes and his skin looked sallow as if he wasn’t getting enough sleep. Lowell didn’t care though. This man was responsible for what happened to Purr… Well that might be not exactly true, but Lowell was too worried about his lover to be reasonable. He needed someone to blame and the Alpha was right there.

“You were supposed to protect him!” Lowell accused. “This is not protection!” he pointed at the tiger who barely even looked at them. The alpha sighed again, then spoke.

“He needs to be medicated. We put sedative in his food, that’s why he looks so sleepy.” Lowell opened his mouth to say something but the Alpha interrupted him by rising hi hand. “You need to understand we did it for his own good. Are you familiar with the process of going feral in shifters?” the Alpha asked. Lowell thought about it for a minute.

“It is when a shifter reduces to an animal state, isn’t it? Usually as a reaction to losing his or her mate…” Lowell paused, suddenly terrified. The alpha didn’t seem to notice it.

“Yes and no,” the man said. “Yes, it is a reaction to losing one’s mate and it is similar to reverting to animal state. But it is more than that. When feral, shifter loses most of his or her human awareness. They are still capable of some basic thoughts but not much. And they become dangerous. Consumed with rage and grief they would sometimes attack indiscriminately, killing innocents. If the worst happens and a shifter turns feral, he needs to be contained for their own as well as everyone else’s safety. If it’s impossible though, they’d often be killed.”

“Killed!?” Lowell exclaimed. “But that’s… that’s barbaric!”

“Yes, Mr. Hayes, it is. But you need to understand that there is no known cure for shifter ferality and not every pack has means to capture such shifter and keep them contained. Hell,” the man shook his head, “we had problem doing it, building the enclosure and capturing Patrick. And he needs to be kept sedated most of the time. Otherwise he’ll just throw himself against the fence until he hurts himself. He barely eats, barely sleeps… you get the idea.”

Lowell did. It sounded terrifying. His heart went to poor Purr, and he wanted to go to his tiger. He couldn’t though, not yet. He needed more information first.

“How did it happen? Why did Patrick turn feral? And how did he do it anyway? He has never been able to take on any of his forms fully. He’s been stuck in the in-between form ever since birth.” Lowell looked up at the alpha, whose face darkened.

“It was our fault, I admit. When Patrick had been brought to us, we were under the misconception that he had been kept captive and abused by your father or you. We didn’t understand your relationship, and with him calling you Master…”

“You assumed the worst, I get it.” Lowell was growing impatient. “Just FYI he calls me Master because he chose me. Before I saved him he had known only cruel, abusive masters. After I took him in and we grew close he decided to call me Master. It is his way of saying I am the Master of his heart. The one master he willingly submits to. But anyway, what happened?”

“It was actually my beta who pushed Patrick over the edge. As I said we assumed you were abusing him and that he had some kind of Stockholm syndrome or something because he kept asking about you and claiming you’d come for him. My beta was disgusted with what he thought was your treatment of Patrick and he blurted out that you were presumed dead. I think atop your separation and Patrick’s general lack of experience with the society that news pushed him over the edge. He simply snapped. That was when we understood our mistake. Shifter doesn’t go feral for just any reason. They only do it when they lost their mate.”

“So, we are mates.” Lowell said more to himself than the Pack Leader. “That explains a lot.” He went quiet for a while before lifting his eyes and looking the Alpha square in the eyes. “What’s your plan then? You wouldn’t have brought me here if you didn’t have one.”

“You’re partially right,” the man said. “The problem is, there have never been an instance of a shifter gone feral returning to their senses. But we have an advantage. You, Patrick’s mate, are not actually dead. He only thought so. I believe because of that we might have a chance of helping him revert back. I actually have someone, a scientist friend of mine, helping with it. She’s trying to come up with a cure, or a way to revert this process. Now, that we found you, we might finally have a chance!”

As Lowell looked at his lover’s enormous form curled on the grass of the enclosure, he really hoped the Alpha was right. Because if Purr was gone, so was Lowell’s reason to live.

A fuller update

 

Okay, so I promised to tell you what exactly am I up to. Well, I’m happy to tell you I finished the first book in my new, fairy-tale series. I’ll tell you more about this series in another post. For now, I’ve finished the story about The Prince and the Frog. I still need to do edits on it before it is ready to be sent to publisher. Meanwhile I’m already deep in Reality Series world as the characters are pressing me to tell their story.

So that’s what’s on agenda next for me. Reality series #4 Jack’s story. It’ll take some time to have it done I think, because there are many plot lines that need to be included. Jack’s romantic problems will be the least of the trouble the pack will be facing. There is the escaped fey who had been leading the human and paranormal trafficking ring – we haven’t heard the last of her, I assure you. And then there are all the other problems that surfaced in the short Halloween story (yeah the short story that proved not so short ) So there is that missing cuberow girl, another cuberow who’d joined the pack, a bunch of teenage cuberows who’d attacked Jason and his friends on Halloween… Yeah, a lot of cuberow shifters! Oh, and of course there is the owl-cat. I believe he’ll become a very important member of the pack. So anyway, a lot to figure out and so I foresee finishing this book will take some time.

But that’s not all that I have in mind. After I’m done with Jack’s story I’m finally going back to Bigwell! Ollie and his friends have been bugging me for some time to tell their story. Unfortunately their is a complicated one. I wish it was as easy as a simple matter of one wolf trying to take over the packs. Well, on the surface it is but then that’s just the surface. Well, at least I know there are two stories forming in my head. First – Tony, Oliver’s Selkie friend is going to get his happily ever after – after a ton of trouble of course. The next story isn’t so obvious. The characters haven’s been introduced yet and the only thing I’ll tell you is that one of them is a wolf who’ll be joining Henway pack with Tilda. He’s her best friend from Ashworth pack and decides to come with her once she’s forced to move.

So yeah, that’s these two series for now. After that I’ve got about three other fairy-tale stories and a bunch of other stuff circling in my head. It’s too early to decide what’s going to be first.

So yeah, that about sums up my plans for the earliest future. I’m still waiting for the first round of edits for “The Warrior’s Light” which is supposed to come out late June. Meanwhile there’s the boring “real life”. My night job (sounds funny. I’ve got a night-job in real-world and writing is my day-job ) some DIY projects for my cat. Figuring out my finances… and a ton of other stuff that isn’t half as exciting as writing.

But it is time for me to get ready for my working week. See you when I have enough time to write that post about my fairy-tale series!

Captive or Captor #11

As he got on his bike and started towards the house Marek felt a sliver of excitement building within him. Oh, he wasn’t stupid, he knew when someone was bullshitting him and the man he’s just spoken to was doing exactly that. But the man was also telling the truth as odd as it seemed. And he knew things about shifters that not many humans knew. Like the thing about smelling out lies, and how close a shifter had to be to do that. The longer they’ve spoken the more convinced Marek was that the man who claimed to be an online activist was indeed the missing Lowell Hayes. Marek could only hope he was right.

What had surprised him was the fact that the man didn’t lie about being an online advocate for shifter’s rights. Marek suspected that with the man’s father having the exact opposite viewpoint it might have been the reason why Lowell was living in the estate, away from his family. The politician wouldn’t want an unruly son undermining his authority.

Having reached the driveway to the Pack Leader’s house Marek parked his bike and turned around to wait for the man following him. The suspected Lowell wasn’t far behind. Soon, he too was parking his bike and getting off it. Marek wondered in passing how the man escaped the fire and where he’s been all this time. But it was not the time to ask. They’d have enough time for it later, if the man proved to really be who Marek thought he was.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch your name…” Marek addressed the man once he removed his helmet.

“It’s Logan. Logan Caldwell.”

“I see.” What was it about people who changed names trying to keep them as close to the original one as possible? Marek wasn’t sure where he remembered that little fact from but it further convinced him he was right when it came to the stranger’s identity. “So, Logan, please follow me and we’ll discuss this job I told you about.” The man nodded and Marek turned to lead him into the house. They passed several members of his pack on the way to Marek’s office and they all eyed the newcomer with distrust. Marek couldn’t really blame them. Some pack members had had some horrific experiences with humans who hated shifters.

They reached the office and Marek sat behind the desk gesturing for his guest to sit on the opposite side of it. Marek had to give the man credit, he looked pretty well composed for someone who’d just walked into a wolf’s den – metaphorically and literally. Not many humans would feel at ease when in a middle of shifters’ pack but Logan-Lowell did pull it off.

“As I said,” Marek started getting straight to the point, “the job I’ve got for you will be a difficult one.” He paused and leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk, the tips of his fingers touching. “Our pack sometimes accepts shifters who had been rescued from really bad situations. We’ve recently accepted a tiger-shifter who had been held captive in a basement for a long time.” Marek paused and tried to gauge the man’s reaction. There it was, the tiniest hitch in the man’s breath. If Marek wasn’t looking so closely he’d have missed it. Marek smiled inwardly and continued. “The problem is, even after being rescued the young man wasn’t acclimating to freedom very well. And then, through a mistake of our own, I admit, we made the situation worse.” Yep, the man’s hands clenched when he heard Marek’s admission. The Pack Leader was getting more and more convinced that he had the right person.

“Worse how?” the man asked when Marek didn’t say anything else for a while.

“I won’t lie to you.” Marek’s expression turned dark as he thought about poor Patrick’s state. “It is really bad. But I think it is best if you see it for yourself.” Marek stood up and indicated for Logan to follow him.

“But I don’t understand. What would my job be?” the man asked even as they passed the long corridor and reached the back door. Marek hesitated. They left the house and crossed through the garden to the enclosure that had been built for Patrick. Logan-Lowell followed after Marek obediently even though a frown marred his face. They stopped before the enclosure and as soon as the man saw the huge tiger inhabiting it a soft gasp escaped him.

“Your job, Logan Caldwell, will be to help Patrick revert from the feral state he’d in. Do you think you can do it, Logan? Or should I call you Lowell? Because you are Lowell Hayes, aren’t you?”

A quick update

Hi everyone.
I've neglected the blog except for the blog story, lately. It's time to make up for that. I plan a longer post during my week off - which starts tomorrow, but for now just quick update.
I got my newest cover yesterday. It's beautiful. Like always Harris Channing did a great job! You can almost see Ulr's mischievousness! I'm working on a (surprise surprise!) new series. I know I ought to stop with new ones all the time and concentrate on the ones I've already started, but what can I do... Muse a capricious mistress. :D Anyway, I'm working hard to finish my current WIP. Fortunatelly I've been feeling better lately and have more energy for writing as well as everything else.
I also have big plans for the upcoming week - transform my garden: My brother is supposed to make a DIY raised planter-bed which would allow me to repot all my veggies from small pots they're in. I ordered a grow-bag from amazon for my tomatoes and have a special grow-bag growhouse to assemble to protect the plants from neighbourhood cats. (one have already dug a hole in one of my flower-pots) Also there's a garden-set of a table with chairs and umbrella coming soon, I'll need to put it together as well.
Then, I got the leather scraps I ordered and my special little project of creating a steampunk belt-bag is calling to me. Also, I need to take my cat tot the vet, have him registered and get him a flea treatment. I need to go shopping. I need to call my friend. I need to clean the house. I need to...
Yeah, so a never-ending list of things to do is getting longer but hopefully I'll squeeze some time for writing in there somewhere :D
And for updating my blog.
Hopefully....
So wish me luck!

Captive or Captor #10

“So,” the stranger said sitting across from Lowell without waiting for invitation, “I hear you’re a journalist looking for information on my pack, is that right?”

Lowell wasn’t stupid. He knew when he was facing an alpha, and this man was definitely one. But the knowledge didn’t help. If he admitted to being a journalist, the alpha would run him out of town. If he denied it however, he’d need to explain what he was doing here. And if there was one thing Lowell was certain about, it was that he couldn’t tell the truth. Oh, he was from naive, he knew his father would be on the lookout for him. Also, the man would do anything to incriminate Lowell and get out of any charges. There was no way Lowell could give his real name to the man before him. Not knowing what else to do, Lowell decided to go with his gut feeling and lie his ass off.

“Actually, I’m not,” he said calmly. “Although if that’s what your people thought, then it explains why they weren’t very forthcoming.

“Not a journalist? Well, then I’m even more concerned. Why are you inquiring about my pack? We don’t take kindly to people prying into our business!” the man said with a low growl. Lowell had a quick random thought, wondering about the man’s accent, but he quickly dismissed it.

“The truth is,” he said, “I came here looking for a job. I thought maybe I could find something with the local pack.”

“It’s a bit unusual, isn’t it? A human looking for a job in a shifter pack?” the man asked suspiciously.

“While that might be normally true, my situation is rather complicated.” Lowell paused and thought for a minute about how to continue. The best lie was one that had a grain of truth in it. Shifter’s ability to literally sniff out lies aside, it was easier to remember your fibs, when they were as close to the truth as possible. Lowell knew, that a shifter could only smell lies, when they were really close to you, sniffing with their nose to your skin. The minute changes in a person’s scent could only be detected from such a close distance. Staying as close to the truth as possible though, was still in his best interest. So he dug back into his past reviving the online identity he’d created in his activist years. To his knowledge his father never knew about it. “I used to be a rather well known online activist for shifter’s rights,” Lowell said. “In recent years I haven’t been doing much of that due to my personal situation. I still managed to anger some pretty powerful people who are out to get me. I am in a bit of a pickle really. I can’t go to any o the places where they’d look for me. So I decided to hide somewhere the people looking for me would never think to check.” Lowell paused, letting the man consider what he said.

“Why hide in a shifter pack then. Wouldn’t they think that’s exactly where you’d hide?” The dark haired man asked.

“No, that’s just it. I am known as the very human shifters’ rights activist. That’s what gave me the edge over shifters fighting for the same cause.” That and him having been the son of a well known politician, Lowell thought. It was long time ago, though. In his online activities he had never revealed his true name. He was known as MerelyHumanVoice19. He knew there were still people in the community who remembered him and his efforts.

“And so you want to bring risk to my pack by hiding here?” The man still sounded suspicious. Lowell decided to ease up a bit. He sighed then said.

“While I don’t think you’d be in any danger, I can understand your concern. You were simply the first pack I encountered in my travel. I thought it couldn’t hurt to try.” Lowell finished and took a sip of his beer. The man watched him closely for a long time. Finally, he asked slowly.

“Would you be willing to let me smell you?”

“You mean you want to sniff out the truth?” Lowell laughed. “Sure, why not.” He shrugged even as his heart picked up. He never had anyone but Purr sniff him and he wasn’t sure he was going to like it. It seemed to intimate, to close to cheating on Purr, in Lowell’s opinion. But it might have also been his only chance of getting closer to the pack and discovering what happened to Purr.

The man got up and gestured for Lowell to do the same. Lowell did as asked and the man stepped closer to him. He was big, towering over Lowell’s slim frame. He grabbed Lowell’s chin and tilted his head to the side, before lowering his nose to the crook of Lowell’s neck.

“You seem nervous,” he murmured into Lowell’s skin.

“Yeah,” Lowell’s chuckle had a nervous edge to it. “I’m not used to having a shifter with big, sharp teeth so near my artery.”

“Fair enough,” the man stated, then asked “What is your online identity?”

“I’m known as MerelyHumanVoice19.” Lowell’s answer was firm.

“Why are you in hiding?”

“I’m running from some really powerful people, I don’t want them finding me.”

“And why did you came to my pack?” on this question Lowell hesitated.

“I...” he swallowed loudly then answered “I want to hide among shifters and your pack is first I came across.”

The man released him and stepped away, his expression betraying nothing. Lowell sighed with relief. Having the shifter at his neck was more uncomfortable than he thought. He could feel his skin beginning to itch and he brought his hand to the place the man sniffed in a protective gesture. It’s been necessary, but he never wanted any other shifter than Purr around his neck!

“Fine,” the man said. “I do have a job to offer, but I’ll warn you, it’s not easy.”

“That’s fine,” Lowell answered trying to contain his excitement, “I don’t mind. I can work hard!”

“Well, that’s good then, because this job will be difficult in more ways than one.” He then turned around and said over his shoulder. “Follow me, we’ll discuss this further in the Pack Leader’s house.”

Captive or Captor #9

Lowell had to admit his defeat. Going off like he did without a plan or even a clue on how to gather intel had been a bad idea. He’s been sitting in the bloody pub for hours, nursing his pint, not wanting to drink more as he rode his bike. He had tried asking some discreet questions, had tried to befriend locals. It didn’t work. Everyone in the pub was tight-lipped when it came to the local pack. Lowell reckoned it was to be expected. The pack must have not want to advertise their sanctuary status. Add to that the prejudice that could still be found against shifters and the lack of forthcoming was understandable. It didn’t mean Lowell was going to back off. No, he decided drinking the last of his beer. He was going to withdraw and regroup, come up with a better plan. With the decision made he went to stand up and leave. 

The front door to the pub opened and a man strode in. From the first moment he saw him, Lowell knew he was looking at a shifter. The man simply had that aura of danger around him, the barely restrained wildness. Lowell had learnt from his experience with Purr that it was something inherently natural for shifters. The man nodded to a few patrons and Lowell noticed some glances exchanged that held more meaning than a simple greeting. So there were more shifters in the pub, go figure. The newcomer had to be someone of position in the pack since the other very obviously deferred to him. Lowell was fascinated. Purr had been alone for a long time when Lowell had found him. He had no clue about working of a pack, and so Lowell was mostly ignorant too. He did remember some things from his time in the Shifter Equality movements, but they were basics. Shifter packs were structured mostly like some traditional human tribes from times of old. There was a clear chain of command with Alpha – the pack’s Chief, and his second Beta, or Betas. There was sometimes also a Council of Elders, but that was the extent of Lowell’s knowledge. 

The man’s gaze zeroed in on Lowell and he started towards him with a purposeful gate. Lowell felt a sliver of unease creep up his spine. The man was huge, well over six feet tall and with wide shoulders. He was very well muscled and seemed as if he could break Lowell in two without even breaking a sweat. Lowell thought that Purr might look similar given a year or two. Lowell’s darling tiger was already tall and muscular but he clearly haven’t reached his full potential. Being locked in a basement without nearly enough sunshine, exercise and proper nourishment was partially to blame for that, the other part was Purr’s young age. 

The man came closer and Lowell could see his dark-brown, nearly black hair and hazel-coloured eyes. Lowell had also a great view of the man’s scowl. He swallowed loudly and waited for the man to approach him. It was obvious that the conversation they were about to have wasn’t going to be pleasant