trueromance

Where is your series set?
Serendipity Falls is a fictional coastal town. It seems like an average small town but it’s really a hotbed of paranormal activity. I have set a few of my adult romance short stories in the same town as well.

Tell us about your hero:
Haden Black is breathtakingly handsome, of course. And he’s a little whimsical and a lot dangerous. He’s in town for a dark purpose and everyone he lets in his life is in danger.

Tell us about your heroine:
Theia Alderson is hard to define. On the surface, she’s almost paralyzingly shy and quiet. Beneath that, she’s actually a free spirit trapped in a careful mind. She’s been raised with very little freedom, but inside her is a reckless heart. As a result, she is very conflicted almost all of the time—trying to please her father and learning to be true to herself are two things very at odds with each other. And then she meets this devastatingly handsome boy….

Can you give readers a one sentence summary?
A dark, twisted fairy tale of romance, danger, and cupcakes.

What is the scene you like most and would never cut?
Theia’s first kiss was a joy to write. I’m glad it went so well for her.

What would your heroine never be caught dead doing?
Theia would never be caught dead doing a lot of things—until she ends up doing them. She wants to please her father so badly that she quashes a lot of her natural instincts to be daring and have fun. Even wearing jeans is a power struggle.

What celebrity is your hero like?
Haden isn’t like anyone out there—he’s a hunky, goth mashup of Jack Skellington, Willy Wonka, and Mr. Darcy. Throw in a little teen Christian Slater, too.

What celebrity is your heroine like?
Theia resembles Rebecca Herbst from General Hospital when she was a teenager in the 90s. I don’t usually picture celebrities as my characters, so this is hard.

What is your heroine’s occupation?
Right now, Theia is a high school student and a very talented violinist. I’m not sure that’s the career path she wants though, it’s more her dad’s wish for her. We’ll have to see (if she lives through this) what direction her path will take.

What is your hero’s occupation?
Haden is a high school student, too. He’s very charismatic and well loved by the people where he’s from. I think he’ll be a good leader if he doesn’t let the darkness eat his soul first.

What you think readers will like best about this book?
Probably Haden. He’s fairly irresistible.

Falling Under is about a lot of emotion, longing, and angst. I hope it catches something in people’s hearts. Growing up is so hard—learning who you are, who you love, how to love. I think the story will resonate with adults as much as teens.

Also, by the ARC reviews, readers seem to be enjoying the fact that there are no vampires, werewolves, or fey in this paranormal book.

Who is the person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet?
That would easily be Madame Varnie.

What’s next?
My keyboard is currently smoking from the sequel writing. I’ve tentatively named it After the Fall, but we’ll see if the title sticks. It’s the continuing story of Haden and Theia and will be released in 2012.

After that, I’d like to work on another YA series set in Serendipity Falls. You can keep up with any further shenanigans by visiting my website www.gwenhayes.com .

In FALLING UNDER, Theia really struggles with finding a balance between pleasing everyone and being true to herself, which I think is a struggle for a lot of women. I know for me, it wasn’t until I was almost thirty before I decided it was okay to put my own needs first once in awhile. What advice would you give the teenage version of yourself about growing up? And if you’re still a teen or still struggling with your inner-teen—what’s one thing you can do today to be a stronger person?

Two lucky commenters will win a copy of FALLING UNDER!

Setting: Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland
Subgenre: Romantic Suspense
Hero: Max Ridgeway, successful businessman
Heroine: FBI Special Agent Samantha Kennedy

One sentence summary: FBI Special Agent Samantha Kennedy has survived hell once…but when her lover becomes the target of a sadistic killer, she knows that she will have to face death again if they are both going to live through the nightmare surrounding them.

Scene you like most and would never cut: Very early in the book, Samantha races into a fancy party, desperate to find Max. When she sees him, things between them get hot and heavy—fast. For Samantha, this scene is incredibly important. She’s falling apart on the inside and being with Max is the only thing that actually makes her feel sane.

So it’s hot, it’s a bit wild, but that scene shows readers how much Samantha is struggling in the wake of her attack.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:

Samantha is a computer genius. She’s got a load of degrees and far more technical knowledge than most of the FBI agents working in the field. But…Samantha is a behind-the-scenes type of girl. She’s not the guns-blazing heroine who can take out a killer without breaking a sweat. She’s scarred inside, and she’s struggling to face her fears.

What celebrity is your hero like: Joe Manganiello(from HBO’s True Blood). Like Joe, my hero is handsome in a wild, rough way. Sexy.

What celebrity is your heroine like: Gillian Anderson (Oh, yes, let’s go back to my X-Files fan days!)

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Samantha works in the FBI’s Serial Services Division—it’s her job to track and apprehend serials—killers, rapists, and arsonists. Sam’s a computer genius, so normally she works behind the scenes. But, this isn’t a normal case for her.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing:
Max Ridgeway owns a very successful construction business. He’s a hard worker, a self-made man, and a guy willing to fight to the death for those he loves.

What you think readers will like best about this book:

DEADLY LIES is a hot, action-packed read. I hope readers really enjoy the relationship between Max and Samantha, and I also hope that readers enjoy the action scenes in which Samantha and Max hunt down the killer. I love writing scenes about tracking killers!

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:

I tend to be asked most about two characters from my Deadly series—Keith Hyde, the man who is the Serial Services Division, and Jon Ramirez a tough, ex-sniper with a very dark side.

What’s next: In July, my next paranormal romance will be released by Kensington Brava. NEVER CRY WOLF will take readers back to my Other paranormal world. Lucas Simone is the alpha of the LA wolf pack—he’s tough, he’s dangerous, and he knows how to kick serious butt. He’s also exactly what Sarah King needs. She has a price on her head, and Lucas is the only person standing between her and death.

All of my “Deadly” books are romantic suspense novels with a dark edge. Some of the characters have very painful pasts, and their stories aren’t always easy. The books are full of death and danger, but love is also always there to balance things in the end (because we are talking romance!). I’m curious…what’s your take on dark books? Do you enjoy sliding into the darker tales? Do you have a dark side of your own?

Three commenters will be randomly selected to win copies of DEADLY LIES.

Book: One Magic Moment

Setting: Present day and medieval England

Subgenre: Time-travel

Hero: John de Piaget

Heroine: Tess Alexander

One sentence summary: Tess (whose sister Pippa married John’s twin Montgomery back in merry olde medieval England) meets John (who is masquerading as a normal, everyday guy instead of carrying on as the medieval ex-pat with knightly spurs on his heels that he really is), finds herself falling in love with him, but doesn’t dare tell him that not only does she know what he’s hiding — namely his birthdate — she’s related to him by marriage.

Scene you like most and would never cut: I’m having trouble deciding, so I’ll give you two. The first is at the point where Tess has only seen John a couple of times, but she’s sure he is her medieval brother-in-law’s brother in spite of his pretending to be someone he’s not. He’s invited her, since they happen to both be in London at the same time, to come find him after her business is finished and he’ll give her a ride home. As she walks in the appropriate building, she realizes it’s a recording studio and John is recording a guitar track for a vocal group. After he finishes, the studio head casually mentions he has a lute in the back and one of his clients would be very interested in hearing what John could do with it. Tess, even after such a short acquaintance with John, is unsurprised to watch him secure the castle gates as it were and refuse to have anything to do with something associated with the past — his past that he no doubt thinks he’s hidden very well. After enduring a fair amount of nagging, he finally gives in and grudgingly agrees to record one song. Tess watches him as he first tunes the lute as if he’s done it hundreds of times (which she’s quite sure he has — in the past), then pauses for a minute or two before he begins playing. At that moment, as she’s listening to authentic medieval music being played inside a modern recording studio, she feels his past colliding with her present so thoroughly that she’s not really sure “when” she is any longer

The second scene comes later in the book. Tess and John are in medieval England and all the secrets about John’s youth and Tess’ sister’s relationship to his family have been revealed. They’ve escaped the keep for a bit of privacy (as much as can be found while surrounded by guardsmen). Tess is standing there, huddled in a cloak, looking out over the countryside that’s blanketed with newfallen snow; John is leaning back against a tree, watching her. Nothing particularly profound happens during that handful of moments, but there is something about the picture of a medieval knight who should be fitting into his proper place in time yet somehow doesn’t belong there any longer and a modern woman staring over a landscape that exists hundreds of years before her time that has stuck with me long after the writing of the book was over.

Sometimes, most of the time for me, the thought of time traveling comes with a healthy dose of good humor and potentially laugh-inducing mishaps. But then there are times when it’s just a very quiet, poignant thing full of one-and-only moments that are frozen in time, meant to be kept close and looked over when that time has passed.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: “Could I borrow your Miss Random-State Beauty Queen sash and tiara?”

What celebrity is your hero like: A cross between Jake Gyllenhaal and a young Sean Connery . . . only cuter, funnier, and much sexier.

What celebrity is your heroine like: A young, perky Sandy Bullock . . . only cuter, funnier, and sexier!

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be
doing: She has her PdD in Medieval Political Thought (because what would a book co-starring a medieval time-traveling knight be without some irony!) and runs reenactment parties in her castle.

What is your heroe’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be
doing: He pretends to own a garage, but in reality he just tinkers with really expensive cars, is a professional musician, and obsessively watches his portfolio on his smartphone when not otherwise occupied with making music and driving expensive cars.

What you think readers will like best about this book: That they, along with Tess, already know who John is. Watching him get to the point where he has to admit it is somehow funny and sweet at the same time. And there a bit of a family reunion as well.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: I get lots of requests for Derrick Cameron (see WITH EVERY BREATH) or Royce from STARDUST OF YESTERDAY.

What’s next: I’m working on the last book of a fantasy trilogy, then I’m turning to Tess’ sister Peaches’ story. I have the feeling it’s going to be a pretty bumpy ride for Peaches on her way to her happily ever after!

It could be because I’m a frustrated history major or maybe because I’d rather time travel than get on a plane, but there’s something about visiting another place in time that fascinates me. If you could chose either a place or an event in a time period not our own, which would it be and why?

3 randomly chosen commenter’s will win a FREE book - good luck!

de Piaget Family Series:

Happy Sunday! Listed below are our weekly winners & I hope you’re one! Contact SueG with your snail mail & we’ll make sure you get your book (sgrimsha@bordersgroupinc.com):

Sunday - Romcon - Growlycub; DonnaS; LynnW; Qwilla

& Cecelia’s winners - Diane S; CindyMc; MikkiM

Monday - Rachel V - Micheala

Tues w/Melissa - StacieDM

Wed & Elizabeth Hoyt - Angelika

Thursday w/CaraE - VirginiaC; Mindy Holt; TraceyD

Friday & Amanda’s - Catslady; StacieDM; JOYE

Sat CynthiaE - ambere; Estella; Vanessa

So fun 2 win! Try again this week w/our Blogguests:

Today & Lisa Kessler

Monday & Allison Brennan + later w/Robyn Carr

Tuesday w/Julia London

Wednesday w/Lynn Kurland

Thursday w/Kim Harrison

Friday & Nicole Jordan

Saturday w/Margo Maguire

Always fun at Borders — & don’t miss out on our Buy 4 Get 5th Free in Romance - thru Feb - last week so stop on by to pick up your new books!

Happy Romance, SueG

Hey Susan! Thanks for inviting me to guest blog. My two books currently out are completely opposite from each other. Both are historical, yet they lead down very different paths. Here’s a bit about the first one.

DEVIL IN A RED KILT is about a married couple who have lost their way.
Here’s more about it:
For more than twenty years, Evan and Evie MacDonald were the couple “meant to be.” Their marriage now in tatters, they throw one final family Halloween party to honor Evie’s recently deceased mother. But, as Evan’s hand hovers over divorce papers, the ancient Celtic secrets Evie’s mother always spoke of spring to life.

Transported in flames to thirteenth-century Scotland, Evie and Evan land on opposite sides of the feud raging between Clans MacDonald and McLeod. Dubbed the Red Devil, Evan’s skills as a leader and warrior bring him into the enemy camp—and back to Evie. Now, faced with an ancient evil they never imagined, the two must rekindle the “forever and ever” kind of love they once felt, and bargain for a bit of Fae magic to flip the hourglass right side up again—before time runs out.

So yeah, it’s a Scottish, time travel, historical romance. I’m really good at genre hopping, eh?
I’ve always been a huge fan of Highlander romance. Since I first sat down and devoured Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series, Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander – I had it bad. Give me guys in kilts! Claymores and brogues! I’m in heaven!

Yet, it’s rare that I read anything about married couples. I kept thinking of all the trials married couples wade through in a day. I wondered what would happen if they were stripped of their current comforts and thrown on opposite sides of a centuries old feud? Could they adjust? Could they figure out how to get back to one another? Would they want to or would they carry on with their lives in the past?

This was a love story for me as well. As this was my debut novel, I fell hard for my characters and they share a special place in my heart. Evan’s charm and honor tripped me up along the way. His faith in his marriage and himself is tested around every bend. Evie’s sharp tongue covering up the hurt she holds over family secrets were daunting at times. Trying to dig out their past and repave their future was a fun and enlightening ride.

My next release, THE ELECTRIFYING EXPLOITS OF THE ENGLISH THREE, is a fast paced, character filled Victorian London Steampunk romance. Got all that? Yeah, about those genres again…

Eliza, Miriam, and Jillian are friends by fate, employment, and society. In the London of 1894, they receive a directive from their mysterious boss to investigate, and stop, the Countess Wilmont’s plot to destroy the newly erected Tower Bridge.

Delving into a secret world of masterful training in martial arts, curious new technologies and weaponry, the women are armed and very dangerous.

Their investigation reveals a terrible truth about two of their husbands, and along the way they meet three men who will change their world…and show them that gentlemen aren’t always what they seem.

I have a problem with shiny new ideas. They don’t follow any rhyme or reason and they might be completely different from the one previous, and such is shown with the Electrifying Exploits. I recently read on a review, “If Charlie’s Angels could have been steampunk goddesses, this would be their story.” Which, quite honestly looking back, it really is. Three women, have been employed by a Colonel stationed in India to do an odd job. Two of the three are married, and the other has managed to dodge the marriage bullet by holding a very large secret over her father’s head.

The three men they meet, Devin, Silas, and Kane are very much essential to the plot in ways they never imagined. Devin is the gentleman of gentlemen, Silas is a rake everyone wants to be around and Kane is simply a mystery.

This story was such a break from the Scottish Highlands I had a blast writing it. To be honest, the first draft took only 19 days to complete. Editing was a chore but it was by far, the most fun I’ve had writing a book. The characters are all cheeky and fun and the lack of restraints on a steampunk novel just made it even that much more exciting. I hope to write more of these in the future.

IN fact, I have one more similar in the works now. I’m hoping to complete it within this year. So, yeah, that’s what’s in store for me next. I’ll be finishing up another steampunk in the same vein as EXPLOITS and another trip back into time for DEVIL. Then, who knows, I may take a right turn and end up some place completely different!

Again, thanks for having me, Susan - and thanks everybody for reading!

~Elysabeth

Sue’s stash will randomly given away to 2 commenters below — answer this question: Which of the two genres that Elisabeth writes would you be most interested in reading — Good Luck!

EVENT:
I’ll be at Borders in Austell, GA on the 12th of February from 1-3, hope to see you there!

As an unpublished author, you get many questions. “What is your book about?” “Can I read it?” “When is it going to come out?”

The hardest question to answer is one that unpublished authors often have to pose to themselves - why do I keep going? There is so much involved in the process. People outside of the industry think that the process is simple. Sit down with computer, write book, go to publishing house with their next bestseller and voila! Two months later you are sitting on the French Riviera enjoying your royalties and sipping drinks. Those of us trying to break into the world of published literature know that reality is an entirely different matter altogether. Writing, editing, revising, editing more, querying, accepting rejection like a champion and often times, starting over from step one. For those of us who keep going past the endless fields of rejection, there are the daunting industry statistics. Bookstores are closing. Mom and Pop bookshops on the corner are a rare find now. The market is trending towards eBooks. Even established authors are watching the trends with nervous anticipation. So, why would the unpublished author keep writing and querying and attempting to break in to a market with an uncertain future? As one of those in question, I can provide a few answers from my perspective.

Number one, love of the craft. I write paranormal romance (sorry, no vamps here). My manuscript was completed, had been queried to over twenty agents and it went with me to the RWA conference in Orlando. I was happy with it but something was missing. One particular agent that I spoke with told me that it was not dark enough to sell in a paranormal market. For months, I have stewed, brainstormed, revised and went through pots of coffee trying to find what was missing. Two months ago, driving home with my husband and children, I had an epiphany and hit the gas. Husband quirks an eyebrow and asks why I have started driving like a bat out of hell. Grinning, I look over and say “I know what’s missing!” Revisions are now complete and query process is starting over. Why go to this trouble? Because I love what I do. From the writer’s perspective, I have a finished product sitting on my desk. God willing, it will go from me to the agent to an editor at a publishing house and then to either an eReader or someone’s shelf. The product I present for query is one that I am proud of. Would I buy it? Absolutely. Do I believe in it? All day long. That is one reason I keep going. Anyone who writes will tell you that when you are in the groove and the creative juices are going and it’s two in the morning and you can’t stop because you want just…one…more…page. That is bliss.

Number two, because you should look between the lines. Look at the parking lots of the major retailers. Every time I go to one, and let’s face it, that’s is at least five times a month, I can never find a good parking spot. The parking lots are full. Whether that is for coffee or WiFi access or for the original purpose, shopping for books, there is a lot of traffic in the major chains. My idea of an ideal afternoon is browsing the bookstore and taking my purchases home for a relaxing evening of reading. With two children, that does not happen a lot but still, you get the idea. I have two sons, ages nine and 13 and they come with me book shopping a lot. I want them to know the anticipation you have when you are driving home with the new release from your favorite author and your heart starts racing because you are two miles from home and you can not wait to start reading. One of my proudest mommy moments from this past year was when my nine-year-old said “can you take us to the book store?” The retailers are full of child readers with their parents. Let’s keep this trend going and keep the doors open on our favorite places. Molding the next generation of literary thinkers is our responsibility. Let’s start that off by being avid readers ourselves and providing an example for our children. By gazing over the parking lots, I do not really see a valid argument in closing the book stores. As consumers, let’s make sure that no more do close.

Number three, because it is fun. I caught the bug early, working on my freshman class yearbook. Creative writing came along senior year. Dabbling in short stories over the years came and went. The year I turned *cough* thirty-five, I sat down with my husband’s lap top and started writing a story. Three months later, I held a best seller in my hands. This was what would be my retirement income. Eighty-two thousand words of pure literary genius that agencies everywhere would be aching to sink their claws into.

Two years and numerous lessons in the industry later, I have multiple manuscripts. What happened to the bestseller? It is printed off, sitting on my bookshelf just so I can look at it and say “I did this.” Book two was written from the perspective of an unpublished author with a good bit of knowledge into the industry. An author who knows that the struggle is not easy, there are going to be more rejections than I can count and that perseverance in key. An author who knows that anything worth having is worth fighting for. And survival in the industry this day in time is not easy. With a big smile on my face, I look the challenge of becoming published in the eye and say bring it on.

So, what do you think? Going to give writing a whirl? In your opinion, is there enough room for more authors? Love to hear from you!

Happy Romance!

Ck here for shipping options & buy Zoe’s series on Borders.com!

Setting: 1875 England, and a special location I can’t reveal without spoilers
Subgenre: Historical paranormal adventure
Hero: Catullus Graves, genius inventor, collector of waistcoats, admirer of women with freckles
Heroine: Gemma Murphy, gutsy reporter from Chicago, freckled

One sentence summary: Catullus Graves and Gemma Murphy must race to protect the fate of the world’s magic, but with danger on every side, neither count on the explosive attraction between them.

Scene you like most and would never cut: Bennett Day (the hero of SCOUNDREL) giving his old friend, Catullus, “the talk” about women.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: “Whatever you say, dear.”

What celebrity is your hero like: He looks like a cross between Chiwetel Ejiofor (from “Serenity”) and Idris Elba (from “The Wire”), with spectacles.

What celebrity is your heroine like: A freckled Christina Hendricks (from “Mad Men”).

What is your heroines occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: She’s one of the few female reporters at the Chicago Tribune, and determined never to write another article about fashion or cleaning.

What is your heroes occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: He’s the scientific and mechanical genius who supplies the Blades of the Rose with all their diabolical gadgets they use in the field; think of him like “Q” in the James Bond movies, except he’s younger, sexier and impeccably dressed. He’s also a bit shy and awkward around women. Which is why a bold woman like Gemma is perfect for him.

What you think readers will like best about this book: Catullus is a wonderful hero, and I think readers will love the way he and Gemma compliment one another.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: There are always more Blades of the Rose who need their own book and HEA!

What’s next: Currently, I’m working on a new historical paranormal series called THE HELLRAISERS. It’s about a group of 18th century English rakes who inadvertently free the Devil from his prison and literally raise hell. The first book will be out December 2011. I also have a sci-fi romance coming out with Carina Press in April 2011, called COLLISION COURSE.

Who’s better, an alpha hero, or a nerd hero?

I will give away a signed copy of STRANGER to a random poster from the US or Canada.

Deleted Scene - Enjoy!!
“This way!” cried Bryn. “Make yourselves spry! Why are you so infernally slow?”

“Because we haven’t wings,” Catullus growled.

The pixie rolled his eyes, as if Catullus and Gemma were mortals without the gift of flight simply to be contrary. Bryn whizzed off ahead, leaving his two human charges stare down a steep, mossy wall of rock using only the power of their hands and feet. Catullus tore some thick vines hanging off of a tree, and quickly fashioned a rope. He tied one end of the rope around his waist, the other around Gemma’s slender middle.

Slowly, they descended the rocks. Here and there, trees grew out of the cliff face, almost parallel to the ground far below. A downward climb like this wouldn’t ordinarily trouble him overmuch—he had made more dangerous descents—but Gemma hadn’t his experience. If she slipped, the fifty-foot fall would hurt her badly. Or worse. The rope binding them to each other gave him marginal peace of mind. Should she fall, he would keep her anchored.

He glanced up to see her above him, gingerly making her way down. Her fingers gripped the slippery surface as her feet sought purchase. She pressed her lips into a line, her brow knit, concentrating as she descended.

“You’re doing splendidly,” he called.

A brief smile flashed across her face, though she didn’t look down. Heights, or depths, as in the case with the well, seemed to be problematic for her. “Don’t look up my skirts.”

Naturally, he did just that. The sight of her sleek legs distracted him.

“You’re looking, aren’t you?” she said.

“Yes.”

“Good.” She grinned.

He lost focus for a moment, remembering her legs wrapped around him, or draped over his shoulders. He knew they had to leave the cottage, yet he felt, as he’d wriggled out the small window, that he and Gemma were leaving behind something important and fragile. Since their heated, unguarded lovemaking, a change had happened between them. Delicate and nascent. There would be no time for exploring this change. Now, they raced to prevent disaster. Catullus hoped that, in the mad rush to stop the Heirs and secure the Primal Source, this fledgling emotion would not starve and die.

Catullus shook himself. This was not the moment for mulling over affairs of the heart. He had to keep moving forward. Or, in this case, downward.

They continued down the cliff a few feet more, until Gemma yelped. “The cliff just tried to bite me!”

“Rock is made up of minerals,” he answered, patient. “It’s stone. Inanimate—”

An immense rocky hand slapped at Catullus. Dazed, he lost his grip on the rocks and tumbled backwards, into open air. The ground rushed up to meet him. He braced himself for a crushing impact.

The impact never came. He jerked to a stop with a hard tug on his abdomen, and found himself dangling from his waist in midair. Below him, the earth spun in slow circles.

He craned his head up, wondering what stopped his fall. A breathed prayer of thanks and amazement left his lips.

Gemma clung to a tree growing from the cliff face. She grimaced, struggling to hold on as she bore all of Catullus’ fourteen stone weight. The tree she held bent ominously under their combined mass.

Immediately, he gripped the rope holding him, trying to relieve her burden. “Hang on a little longer,” he called to her.

She groaned from the weight, her eyes screwed shut, but nodded.

He hung only a few feet from the face of the cliff, so he lightly swung himself towards it. The moment his hands gripped the rocks and gained footholds, supporting his weight and taking the pressure off of Gemma, another stone hand rose up and swatted at him. He was more alert, and dodged the blow, but barely.

The rocks shook themselves, trying to throw him off. Scientific theory held no meaning here in Otherworld. He gritted his teeth and fought to keep his grip. Pebbles and heavy clods of earth rained down on him, pelting his face and shoulders. If he survived this, his bruises would make him resemble a spotted Christmas pudding.

He glanced down to the ground. Nothing there to cushion a fall. At least forty feet between Gemma and the ground—possibly survivable, but if he and Gemma lived, they’d likely sustain at minimum broken bones, and that could be a disaster in this unpredictable environment.

How the hell to get down, off this damned sentient, and annoyed, cliff?

“Gemma,” he shouted above the din. “You need to let go of the tree.”

She opened her eyes and looked at him as if his brains had been knocked free of his skull.

“Let go,” he repeated, “and swing to that.” He nodded towards a tree that grew from the surface of the cliff, ten feet below him.

She glanced down, judging the distance. He saw her battling her fear, and her resolve. Yet, she did not loosen her hold. “You’ll be pulled off.”

“If you can hold my much heavier weight, then I can bloody well take yours.” He growled as the cliff bucked harder. “Do it.”

After drawing in a breath, she released her death’s grip on the tree. The tension on the rope between them momentarily vanished as she flew through the air. He clenched his teeth harder when the rope played out and she came to a sharp stop beneath him. True, he outweighed her by at least seventy pounds, but gravity worked its will. That much of science still applied. Gemma’s slight form pulled on him, and between her and the shaking cliff, it was all he could do to cling fast to the stone. Sweat slicked his forehead and ran down his back.

Gemma acted quickly, bless her. Using Catullus as an anchor above her, she pushed herself along the face of the cliff, until she gained enough momentum to swing towards the nearby tree. She swung once, reaching out, but the tree just evaded her grasp and she cursed. Floridly. Clearly, Miss Murphy was a haunter of Chicago’s less savory environs. He would have smiled at her colorful, obscene language, but he was too busy grimacing in pain and concentration.

She swung again, and this time successfully grabbed the tree. The tension lightened from around Catullus’ waist. Yet he couldn’t breathe easier. Neither he nor Gemma could hold on much longer, and it was still too far for them to jump down.

He spied an outcropping of rock another ten feet below Gemma’s current position. Hopefully, it would still be there in a few seconds’ time, unless the cliff decided otherwise.

“Hold tight again,” he called to her.

Nodding, Gemma wrapped her arms and legs tightly around the tree trunk, locking them together. He knew her limbs must be exhausted, unused to this kind of effort, so he had to move fast.

He released his hold on the cliff just before a fist formed and smashed down on where he clung. A moment longer, and he would’ve been a Graves-shaped smear on the face of the rock.

No room, or time, for relief. He fought to control and guide his fall towards the outcropping below, so that he wouldn’t pull too hard on Gemma above. Sensing his intent, the outcropping shrank away from him. He hurled himself against the rock, gripping it firmly, ignoring the scrapes to his hands and face, and the claws of stone that suddenly rose up from the rocky wall to scratch and tear.

“Let go,” he shouted to Gemma.

“There aren’t any more trees or ledges,” she called down.

“Doesn’t matter. Let go and I’ll keep you anchored.”

“But you could be hurt—”

“Now, Gemma!”

She untangled her arms and legs and fell past him—a vision of flying copper hair and blue skirts—and he snarled to himself when the rope reached its limits, tugging violently on him. She now swung a little over ten feet above the ground. A distance of twenty feet lay between him and the earth, but it would have to do.

“Get ready to land. I’m letting go. Just stay clear of me so I don’t fall on top of you.”

Once she gave him an all clear sign, Catullus pushed himself away from the cliff. A rocky hand reached out for him. It snagged the hem of his coat, but couldn’t hold him. He felt the impact of Gemma falling to the ground and protectively rolling. Then the earth hastened to meet him. He, too, hit the ground in a roll, the impact jarring. Even as the force of the landing rattled his teeth and bones, he gave a silent prayer of thanks that he didn’t land on and crush her.

They tumbled together in a flurry of limbs. Finally, they came to a gasping, dusty stop. They immediately crawled towards one another, and, both kneeling, wrapped their arms around each other.

Both looked towards the cliff. Its tremors subsided, now that the unwanted climbers had been dealt with.

“Damned thing looks smug,” Catullus rumbled.

Gemma shook her head, but smiled. “It takes more than a colicky cliff to get the better of Catullus Graves and Gemma Murphy.”

He chuckled.

Bryn buzzed into their line of vision, looking cross. “Too slow!”

Catullus scowled at the pixie. “You didn’t say anything about that cliff being alive.”

But Bryn was unapologetic. “Wouldn’t be a problem, if you were sensible and had some wings.” Then he droned away, muttering about humans and their ridiculous insistence on walking.

As Catullus helped Gemma to standing, she muttered, “I’d like to shove those pixie’s wings up his—”

“Careful,” Catullus warned, even though he echoed her sentiment. “Don’t want to offend our guide.”

She grumbled, but acquiesced. After dusting themselves off and taking stock of their few remaining belongings, including his shotgun and her pistol, they followed Bryn deeper into the hazards of Otherworld.
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