Read In Bed!

Another snippety-doo-dah…before I turn in for the night. I could keep going, but I will be sad and tired in the morning.

EXCERPTY SNIPPETY DOO DAH:

He straightened at the familiar way she, a stranger, addressed him. “I thought for sure you’d gone for good.”

She looked at him solemnly, her eyes narrowed, before she shook her head. “No. I haven’t gone.”

Unexpected relief rushed through him, and he cursed it as much as he’d cursed his prick’s interest before. He didn’t want to wish to impress her, no matter how nice it had been to hear her praise the job he’d done. His gaze fell upon a few of the items he’d yet to tidy – one of them a small portrait of Larissa he hadn’t been able to figure out where to put.

Larissa had ever wanted what she didn’t have; she thought nothing of stealing a lover or wheedling someone out of a bauble if she thought it would suit her better than it would a companion. She’d kept Alaric longer than many of her suitors and accepted his proposal, but she hadn’t become his wife.

Yet how would she feel should she see him on bended knee to another? She could scarcely bear to watch her favorite horse being ridden by a groom or her cast-off gowns on the backs of her servants. How would she feel to see Alaric bent to another woman, even one hired for the purpose?

Perhaps especially one such as that?

Alaric looked the Handmaiden in the eyes. “I plead your mercy for my behavior earlier. It was inexcusable.”

“It was excusable,” she said quietly. “Perhaps not pleasant, but you had your reasons. However, I expect we shall not need to ever have such a discussion ever again.”

By the Void, he’d struck her, hadn’t he? If not struck, shaken. A flash of the memory came to him and the heat of shame sent him to his knees without a second thought. “I plead your mercy,” he muttered. “I should never have taken a hand to you in that manner.”

After what felt like a lifetime, he felt the soft touch of her hand on top of his head. He lifted it to look at her. The Handmaiden, whose name he still didn’t know, gave him such a look of sweet compassion he wanted to weep.

“I forgive you. Make no more of it, Alaric. What matters not what you did but what you shall do.”

“And…what shall I do?” He asked.

She smiled. “Why, whatever I tell you to, of course.”

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So I’m working on Pleasure and Purpose and I’m really enjoying it, and I thought I would share a snippet.

You won’t know what it’s about or what’s going on, but you can maybe just enjoy it anyway.

Alaric’s first-hand experience with the Sisters of Solace was limited to two, exactly. Stillness and Honesty were both sent to soothe his friends and both had stayed. If that was what his friends had in mind for him, he wanted no part of it.

“Love.” He sneered the word and stood at his full height so she’d have to tip her head back to look at him. So she could not possibly look down on him. “Is that your intent? To make me love you so I find peace and help you fill your bedamned Holy Quiver? You wish to use me to help you fulfill some stupid prophecy? And you’ll do what it takes, won’t you,” he added without giving her a chance to answer. “I know how you work.”

Alaric staggered at the force of his words, still unsteady on his feet despite the cold bath. His gut churned and head pounded in sick-making counterpoint to his heart beat. He could taste herb on the back of his tongue and below it the flavor of worm, but below that, even more terrible and lovely, the scent and taste of XX clung to his senses as though his blood had been turned to it. His fingers curled again to scratch at his belly, where the sleeping dragon was waking. He needed more XX. It would soothe the itch and the ache and take him away into darkness better than any woman ever could.

“I will never love you,” he spat out. “No matter what you do.”

All traces of amusement slid from her expression and all warmth left her tone. “I do none of this for love, Alaric. I do this as my duty and my purpose and on occasion my pleasure as well, but I do none of this for love.”

XX is an as-yet-unnamed drug of some sort. Bad stuff.

And I’m getting back to it! Wheeee!

Oh. And just because…

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So this past weekend I went to Ohio for the Lori Foster Reader/Writer Get Together in Cincinnati! Also known as PORKOPOLIS according to my friend Alex, who picked me up at the airport. I hadn’t seen him in…oh…16 years? Something like that? And I’m pleased to say, it was NOT just like old times — it was much nicer! Funny how that older and wiser business works.

The Get Together was much fun — got to hang out with my friends Anya and Lauren and my agent, Laura Bradford. Always a good time. And I got to meet my new editor from Berkley, Cindy Hwang! And that was…FABBBBBULOUS! Got to spend Friday night chatting with her and went to dinner on Saturday at this restaurant called MESH which was super schwanky. Cindy is a hoot and a half and I’m so excited to be working with her.

Got to meet lots of new people (thanks Laura and Rhonda for braving breakfast with us! That was a LOT of butter!) and came home feeling refreshed and ready to work. All in all, a great trip. And, of course, because that’s how it works with me, I made a video diary about it. See the pictures! Witness the madness!

Oh, and just on a side note: I’m not an advocate of not having a life, of burning yourself out, of overscheduling. I have deadlines out the wazoo and have a comfortable writing pace and feel okay about what I have scheduled for myself. I also have a life. I fart around online, watch Supernatural and play House of the Dead and hang with my kids. I will go on vacation this summer. It’s all good.

If you’re whining about putting out a book a year? STFU. Seriously. If you CAN NOT write more than a book a year, well…that’s too bad. I can. I do. So do many of my friends. I’ll gladly take your slot on the NYT and your movie deals and I will do it while having a life…and yes. I’ll sneer at you for whining. I don’t sneer much in public — I’m pretty much a ‘do as thou needest for thy own career’ type person. But the “hamster wheel pace” of a book a year? Please. I laughed out loud and rolled my eyes and looked for the cheese to go with that whine. Puh-leeze.

Anyway, I’m back, I’m ready to work, it’s summer and I just got some more good news about another project so…yeah. I’d better get on it.

M
PS — people who are searching for “Megan Hart naked” — eeeeew. God. Why? WHY?!!!!

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It’s big. And shiny. And I loves it, I does. The keyboard is taking some getting used to.

I was away for the weekend at my RWA chapter’s annual retreat. Got work done, ate a lot, bothered my roommate, had bad dreams again, saw a ghost cat.

I’ll have pictures later when my photobucket account lets me back in.

We watched Supernatural…SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!

And when I came home, there was my new computer, all ready for me to use it. So I set it up and now I’m typing away on it and figuring out how to make sure all my other stuff is saved appropriately and then fixing up my old desktop for that man I live with to take over…

And it’s end of the year crazy round these here parts with gym shows and all manner of nutty things. So I’m trying also to write. And my feet are cold today! BOTHER!

So that’s it from here, catch youse later when I can put up some pics and when I’ve done with my writing for the day.

M

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So, I’ve finished editing and submitted my novel Beneath the Veil to my agent so she can send it out for the world to love. (It’s much shorter now.)

I’ve finished writing/polishing/submitting the proposal for my follow-up submission to Black Lace (working title is No Reservations) so my agent now has THAT to send out for Adam Neville to love. We hope.

I’ve cleaned my desk. I even used a cleaning wipe! Yes, I did!

Now, it’s back to edits on SWITCH, which I hope to finish by the end of next week, so that I can finish writing Pleasure and Purpose while at my local writing chapter’s annual retreat.

I’m also wearing my SHIN/SUPERMAN T-shirt that my sister bought for my birthday.

My goodness, I do appear quite…pneumatic…in that photo.

Now. Back to Switch!

M

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Yay! I’m pleased to announce I just sold two books to Berkley Sensation. The first is a three-novella project tentatively called Pleasure and Purpose and I’m one third finished with it. Wheeeee!!! The second is…undetermined, but I have a couple options.

AND I HAVE CORNED BEEF FOR DINNER!!!!!!!!!!

M

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