eBook Spotlight: Sue Brown and Stolen Dreams

Stolen Dreams

~SUE BROWN~
 

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

COVER ARTIST: Brooke Albrecht
RELEASE DATE: 30th January 2015
LENGTH: 240 Pages

BLURB: After cheating on and losing the man he loved, Morgan Conway decided to get his life right. Now he owns a coffee shop and is engaged to Jase, an actor and rising star. All is perfect in his world until the man he thought was gone forever walks into his shop. His hidden feelings rush to the surface, unfortunately there for everyone to see, including his fiancé.

Shae Delamere was crushed when Morgan cheated on him five years ago. But he has a reason for seeking Morgan out. As Morgan and Shae get to know each other again, they discover the extent that friends meddled in their lives to keep them apart. Morgan cannot deny he is still in love with Shae, but he is engaged. With some hard decisions to make, Morgan struggles not to hurt the men he cares about—again. Shae has secrets he came to share with Morgan, but revealing them now could keep them apart for good.

BUY LINKS: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5991

AUTHOR BIO: Sue Brown is owned by her dog and two children. When she isn't following their orders, she can be found plotting at her laptop. In fact she hides so she can plot and has gotten expert at ignoring the orders.

Sue discovered M/M erotica at the time she woke up to find two men kissing on her favorite television series. The series was boring; the kissing was not. She may be late to the party, but she's made up for it since, writing fan fiction until she was brave enough to venture out into the world of original fiction.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: http://www.suebrownstories.com/
Blog: http://suebrownsstories.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/suebrownstories
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/suebrownstories

EXCERPT:

THE GENTLE thudding of Shae’s heartbeat woke Morgan to the new day. That, and some interesting gurgles in Shae’s belly which Morgan had apparently used as his pillow.

Blinking wearily, Morgan raised his head to find Shae still fast asleep. Even now he looked exhausted, purple marks marring the pale skin under his eyes. They hadn’t fallen asleep until the early hours of the morning, Shae making good on his promise to let Morgan fuck him until they were senseless. Morgan frowned as he traced the dark lines. The man was obviously not getting enough rest.

“Stop staring at me.” The words were sleep-slurred and grumpy. As far as Morgan was aware, Shae hadn’t actually opened his eyes.

“I like staring at you,” Morgan said. “Creepy stalker much?” Shae grumbled but with the hint of a smile.

“You’re in my bed. That hardly counts as stalking.” Morgan buried his face in Shae’s neck, feeling the rasp of Shae’s beard stubble across his cheeks. His dick was little more than half-hard after the night’s exertions, but the feel of the soft hair on Shae’s thigh was adding a frisson of pleasure.

“It is stalking if you stare at someone while they’re asleep,” Shae insisted, finally cracking one eye open long enough for Morgan to see a glint of green.

Pressing his mouth to the hollow at the base of Shae’s throat, Morgan could feel Shae’s life pulse beneath his lips. “It’s just admiration, and a little amazement that you’re here in my bed again.”

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Because two of her book tours (for The Next Call and Stolen Dreams) are going to run simultaneously, we have decided we would have a common giveaway for both the tours! It makes for an awesome giveaway as you’ll see!

There will be FIVE winners chosen from this contest:

1)   First Winner will get a $20 Amazon Gift Card.

2)   Second Winner will get a paperback copy of Stolen Dreams. (The contest is open for everyone and not limited to a specific region!)

3)   First Runner up will get e-copies of The Next Call and Stolen Dreams each.

4)   Two Second Runners up will win an e-copy of either The Next Call or Stolen Dreams.

Contest Begins: 26^th January, 2015

Contest Ends: 28^th February, 2015

Rafflecopter Code:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday Briefs: Fortitude Part 15



And here we are again, another Wednesday, another flash. This time I was inspired by the phrase, "It's a fact of life." Enjoy!!

 

Fortitude Part 15

“It’s a fact of life, Will.”

“Not the life you should have,” I said. I’d escaped following in my father’s footsteps by nature of my birth, the very thing that trapped Teddy in his life. Apprenticeship within the family was a poor system.   

But individuality was seldom a trait celebrated in the city. Duty, familial honor, strict adherence to tradition… all prized above following one’s dreams or personal ambitions.

Including Teddy’s desire to tell the tales I’d been so lucky to hear since were small boys. “Come on. We have things to do.” I trailed my fingers in the cup I’d only taken a few sips from. I dabbed the ale at my neck.

“To your parents’?”

I nodded.

Eight days.

My parent’s fete would continue. Teddy’s father would remember, possibly, that he was working with me. Then we would be expected to return to our routines, and any deviation would cause scrutiny we could ill afford.

Not if the truth of this puzzle was to be found.

“We need to find the location of Schvesla’s machine,” I said, as we ambled down the road arm-in-arm again.

“How?”

“Do you remember my map? The one I showed you down in the tunnel?”

Teddy nodded.

“The path didn’t begin at the entrance to the tunnel. So, we’ll follow it backward.”

Yawning, Teddy asked, “Why did we leave the city anyway, then? How could you be sure that Schvesla hid his codex outside the city walls? Why would he expect those who came after him, those who found refuge here, to leave?”

“It’s only been in our lifetime that the isolation has been complete. My grandfather told me stories he’d been told, of how there were other cities like ours. There was trade and information, even travel for a select few. There are two stars on the map. One for the machine, one for the codex. It only makes sense. And we know the machine is in the city. That much is irrefutable.”

I was tired, and I knew Teddy was exhausted. We’d kept to a grueling pace. As much as I wanted to begin immediately, we couldn’t. We’d be far sharper with rest. Walking, our journey took the better part of an hour. My feet ached in my boots, throbbing and swollen against the leather.

We certainly wove about the walkways and alleys enough to simulate being drunk from drink instead of exhaustion. Our cover story firmly in place, we passed through the front gates and into the courtyard. A servant, water buckets hanging from her shoulders, gasped at the sight of us and hurried away to the side entrance. A man, one of two servants my mother’s family employed to keep up the estate, strode from the same entrance.

I knew better than to try going in the front door, but I made a great pretense at trying. Finally, I allowed him to draw Teddy and me through the narrow halls and stairs until we hit the third floor where I was quartered.

“Your parents have been asking about your whereabouts, Master Will.”

“A few drinks, a few games. A few girls,” I said with a leer. There’d never been any girls, and I saw Teddy wince, even though he’d been with me. I sighed. “I’m quite worn out with the tedium for today though, and need a rest. And a bit of a wash.” Making a face, I plucked at my shirt. “I could go down and announce my presence, though, if they’re that anxious.”

He grimaced. “No, Master Will, I’m sure they’ll be quite busy at the moment. Perhaps in the morning, you can speak with them breakfast?”

Not bloody likely, but I nodded.

“Very good. I shall have baths drawn up, sirs,” Simon said. He bowed slightly. “If you’ll remain in your room, Bettice will bring it all here.”

Once we washed, Teddy and I were out. As I thought, we’d slept the morning away, quite missing breakfast—and any interrogation by my parents. We dressed in fresh clothing and grabbed some food on the way out the kitchen door.

“Where are we going?” Teddy took a bite of his sweet roll, glaze drippings shining on his lips.

“Now we go to the museum. It should be deserted at this time of day. I want to look at Schvesla’s diagrams again.”

Most people were eating lunch, and the front desk was unmanned. The small house Schvesla had lived in was set up as a museum, but was seldom visited by many. I stared around the parlor, examining it visually first.

“What are we looking for?” Teddy asked.

“Secrets. Another hidden compartment, a hidey hole or something. I’ve been thinking. What if the stories about his codex are false? What if there is no other scientist he collaborated with in another city?”

“Didn’t he leave the journals? The originals were in the foyer.”

I raised a finger. “One, no one can say for certain he wrote those. Two, no one can say for certain what is written there, even if he did write it, is the unvarnished truth. We’re here because we suspect our city leaders of being false. Our very landscape outside the city walls proves man does not always care for his fellow humanity, or the cataclysm would never have happened in the first place.

“I already found the map. I want to know if I missed something because I was too sure of the knowledge I thought I had.

“All right. I’m not sure how much help I’ll be, though.” Teddy shrugged, a dissatisfied look on his face.

“I told you before, you don’t give yourself enough credit. I won’t allow you to go into a fugue state here, so just try to focus.”

“That brings it on, sometimes.” Gammas were almost as unheard of as betas, but they were much maligned. Teddy’s father had not helped with his self-worth, at all.

“I believe in you, Teddy,” I reminded him.

TBC

Do you think they'll find anything? Find out next week! Now go read some more works by other Briefers:

Briefers website
Carol Pedroso

Kazy Reed

Avery Dawes

Jon Keys

Chris T. Kat

Shelly Schulz

Elyzabeth VaLey

M.A. Church

Jim Dunaway

Tali Spencer

Ravon Silvius

Julie Lynn Hayes

Wednesday Briefs: Fortitude Part 14

 

Yes, back again! I'm on a writing roll lately, having so much inspiration to get lost in my head. I hope you'll continue to enjoy everything, including this week's installment of Fortitude, inspired by the prompt: There's much more to come.

Fortitude Part 14

I made Teddy repeat our cover story several times as we picked our way through the cavern and into the tunnel under the city. We were close to the entrance back into the city. I looked at Teddy critically. We were both dirty, and there were stains on our clothes that would be hard to explain from a crawl through the city taverns.

Not that I’d ever been much of one for indulging for days, but it would explain our absence from the dining table to my parents. Parlor gossip and stilted social mores were something I avoided whenever possible, so I’d planned our trip outside the city to coincide with my parents’ week-long fete for my brother’s fifth anniversary.

I’d never gotten along with his prig of a wife anyway.

We stopped, and I grabbed an oilskin bagged I’d left tucked in a corner of the entrance chamber to the tunnel. “Here.” I handed Teddy a stack of clothing from overcoat to smallclothes. “There’s still water in the bottle. Use this handkerchief to wash yourself as best you can.”

Sneaking back into the city to investigate the nobles hadn’t even crossed my mind when I’d packed the bag. I thought I’d be returning, triumphant, with Schvesla’s Codex, and having deciphered its clues, be ready to turn the machine back on immediately.

One simply did not save the city grimy and dressed in wrinkled clothing.

Now my conceit would let us do something far more dangerous than anything I’d ever considered before. I’d wanted to be elevated to their ranks, to join the nobles in their supposed humanitarian endeavors. I thought I knew the way the world worked, and with my beta intellect and powers, I’d soon be a very important person—someone to be remembered down through the ages.

Too important for anyone to dare gainsay who I wanted to be with.

 I pushed that thought aside; I had no time for that, or for what now seemed like the naïve daydreams of a sheltered youth. I turned my back to Teddy when he dropped his shirt to the ground and began changing as well.

“We had quite the adventure, didn’t we, Will?” Teddy said.

“There’s much more to come, I think.” I fastened my trousers and then slipped on my waistcoat.

Teddy sighed. “I know. I don’t like the idea. I barely survived getting our packs and escaping Anna’s house. I don’t fit in with the nobles. I barely fit in anywhere, to tell the truth. How can I possibly be of help? I’m a gamma; I don’t think nearly as fast as you do.”

For some time, I’d had theories on that. “But you come up with ideas and thoughts that no one else does. You see things in a far different way than I do. Speedy mental processes and the attention to detail are not inherently more important than following all the possible permutations of a tangent.”

His snort, the one he always used when I got too formal and ‘acting high-and-mighty’ broke the quiet after I concluded my little speech. “We’re not even back inside the city proper and you sound stilted. Such fancy words. Can’t you just say ‘I like your fresh ideas’?” Teddy asked.

“I depend on your ideas,” I said softly. “I can’t do this alone, Teddy. I need your help.”

Turning around, I found Teddy already dressed. He stepped forward and hugged me tight. “Whatever you need.”

 

Sneaking through the tavern district, looking over my shoulder constantly to make sure we hadn’t been noticed, was a bad idea. So we strolled, two comfortable men taking their evening leisure.  “So did we lose all your money at this time slumming at the gaming tables?” Teddy asked.  

“Not all of it.” I tapped my pocket, making my purse clink.

“Think your remaining coin could stretch to a few meat pies and an ale before we get to your parent’s house?”

I mulled that over. It might do us good to settle back into the bustle and noise of the city, the smells and smokes belching out of the buildings to lie in a haze over the streets. Exhaustion dragged at us both, but that just made our story more believable. “Let’s do it.”

We’d finished our first hot meal in two days, sitting at a splintery wood table just inside the door of a semi-respectable tavern, when a hand gripped Teddy by the ear, twisting hard.

He yelped and jolted to his feet.

“Where have you been, you inconsiderate wretch?”

Teddy’s father’s face was red. The man was a stern taskmaster at work, running Teddy ragged in his apprenticeship at the printing press and stifling what he termed his son’s ‘high-falutin fancies’, but on a night when  he was the worse for drink, things could get ugly. And no one would stop him.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Teddy has been with me,” I said. I stood up as well, though my lean form was nothing to impress, my will was something else. I placed my hand over his shoulder. “You said you didn’t need him at the press, remember?” I stared hard into those bloodshot eyes. He let go of Teddy’s ear, and Teddy sank into his seat, white-faced.

“Oh. Uh. I-I did?” When I nodded, his confused expression grew. The fury drained from his form, and he stood with slumped shoulders. “I forgot. It has been slow, and I didn’t need Teddy to do this week’s printing.”

“That’s right. And he’ll be working with me for the full fortnight, just like we discussed.” I’d hedged my bets, like a wise man always did.

“For pay?” His eyes narrowed again. Suppressing a sigh, I pulled out several gold coins. “Good, good,” he said when he handed them over, already eyeing the barkeep and his barrels of ale. “Earn your keep,” he said to Teddy, and then he was gone.

“Thank you,” Teddy said in a shaky voice. “He didn’t mean to—”

“Yes he did, Teddy.”

TBC

Okay, what are you waiting for? Go read more flash! Of course, after you comment, purty please with sugar on top! What do you think the guys will find out?

Briefer's Website

M.A. Church

Shelly Schulz

Carol Pedroso

Nephylim

Chris T. Kat

Jon Keys

Elyzabeth VaLey

Kazy Reed

Johayan

Ravon Silvius

Tali Spencer

Julie Lynn Hayes

Space Vampires!!

Okay, this is funny because 1) I write space vampires and 2) Sooooo true at times! Speaking of space vampires, another chapter will go live today, so keep an eye out for Ch. 2 of Cosmic Inception later!

Post by Jena Gregoire.

Wednesday Briefs: Fortitude Part 13



Oh, here we are again, and now for more Fortitude! The guys are almost free... but will they stay that way? This week's prompt inspiration was the phrase, "You and me both."

Fortitude Part 13

“We made it out!” Teddy said.

I clapped a hand over his mouth and whispered in his ear, “Not so loud.”

Teddy nodded, and I slowly moved my hand off his face.

“Loud bad.” Wildman glared at us. I gave him a narrow-eyed look in return. Did he think we were just going to forget his ability to talk? Go back to thinking he was a simple feral creature who was barely surviving?

“Don’t start that. We know you can talk.”

“Not here,” he hissed. Clouds finally hid the moon from view, hiding the terrain around the city in shadow. “Follow.”

Whenever possible I kept my steps in the same path as Wildman and Teddy, as I brought up the rear. We moved quickly, and quietly, but I kept throwing glances back over my shoulder. My heart had never stopped its rapid patter, the leap and then sneaking run out from shadow to shadow keeping my fear honed. Nevertheless, or escape still felt too easy.

 

I wasn’t thinking that the next night. Wildman was thin, which led me to think half-starved, but he was whipcord lean and tougher than both Teddy and me. He kept us moving, made us freeze hunched over and wait for endless minutes until my muscles screamed, and then without a signal I could tell, had us moving again. He refused to be drawn into more than the most basic of conversations, either. The only upside was that it didn’t rain again.

Our trek back to the city had taken far less time than our path out into the wild. On one hand, I was thankful to be heading back to the world I knew. On the other, there were things going on that, if what Anna said held even a shred of truth, endangered the citizens of the city for the benefit of the few.

I’d spent the few moments of respite Wildman allowed us thinking about Schvesla. I’d found his map, the key to bringing his machine back online—or so I’d thought. Not to mention the Dresfrei Codex. If the map hadn’t been to lead me to that document, so I could decipher the clues and ensure the machine would once again provide clean, free power to the city… what was it for?

What was I supposed to find? The people surviving outside the city? If Schvesla had known about them a hundred years before, then how had it been kept a secret all this time?

There were so many questions, and no real answers.

Stumbling to a half, Teddy slumped to the ground.

“Your tunnels. You go back to the city now. Stay inside.” Wildman gestured toward the yawning black mouth of the cavern entrance that would lead us home. He’d upheld his side of the bargain for us getting him free.

“Why don’t you come with us?” Teddy asked. “You can’t like it out here, not really.”

Wildman wrinkled up his nose. “City bad.” He turned and was gone, melting through the bushes without even rustling the leaves, before I could stop him.

“Well, damn.” I resisted the temptation to take a seat next to Teddy. Exhaustion dragged at my feet, and if I didn’t keep moving, I’d fall asleep immediately.

“Do you think we’ll see him again?” Teddy asked. “He didn’t even say goodbye.”

“I don’t know.” I did know he’d never come into the cities willingly. Not ours, and not Anna’s, either. Did I want to meet him again? That would mean I’d be beyond the walls, outside the city again. “If we do, at least we’ll be better prepared next time.”

Teddy held up a hand, and I reached down, pulling him back to his feet. He groaned. “I’m going to sleep for days when we get home.”

“You’ll have to stay with me. My parents don’t care, but you know your dad will freak out if he sees you in this condition. We don’t need any scrutiny from anyone right now.” Besides, I wasn’t ready for Teddy to go home yet. It’d been years since we spent so much time together, and I found I’d missed it, greatly. “I told them we were doing a city-wide scavenger hunt for parts for something I was making. They’ll just assume we’ve been out doing that or holed up in my study.”

“You’re going to try and find out if what Anna said is true, aren’t you?” Teddy asked. I gestured for him to turn around so I could get the lantern out of his pack.

“I think we have to.”

“We?” Teddy snorted. “I wasn’t any help on this journey, I even got captured! How am I going to help you find out if the nobles are really corrupt like Anna claimed?”

“Stop devaluing yourself. You have skills, Teddy. Your mind sees things in ways mine doesn’t, and you know people.” I’d spent most of my youth alienating those around me in a bid for power, and not caring one whit as long as it meant I’d achieve my goals. “If there is a way to turn on Schvesla’s machine, we have to find it, and expose the nobles for who they are. The citizens deserve to know the truth.”

I was able to believe the nobles were guilty, if only because I’d been so like them in my own quest for greatness. Only Teddy remained my friend. I grabbed the lantern and imagined it bursting into flame. My power rolled outward, and the wick caught, glowing a dim blue. I’d wait until we were under the walls to turn it up higher.

“Ready?” I asked.

Teddy shook his head. “I’m scared, Will,” he said in a shaky voice.

“You and me both. But we’ll stick together, right?”

He took a deep breath and let it out. “Right.” I held out the hand not carrying the lantern, and Teddy took it.

“We’ll do it together.”

TBC

Now head on over to see more flashers! (you know you wanna!!)

Briefers Website

M.A. Church

Jim Dunaway

Carol Pedroso

Jon Keys

Nephylim

Caraway Carter

Kazy Reed

Shelly Schulz

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Johayan

Sarah Hayes

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Julie Lynn Hayes

eBook Review: Let It Go by Sid Love

Let it Go by Sid Love
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For me, Let it Go, ranks 3.75 stars. The writing is generally smooth, and the slang terms were kept separate for the different nationalities, which I know is tricky when you're writing a foreign character. There were some typos and a pretty big character oops when one of the two main characters, Virat, says his wife doesn't speak good English--and then she comes right out fluent as can be later in the story. I was able to overlook most of the issues, though, and really enjoy the characters' journey.

Damon is an interesting character. At first I thought he was a photographer, based on the beginning. I liked his personality, though. Like most people, he saw something he wanted but when he realized he couldn't have it, he tried to do the right thing... but is the right thing always what everyone else thinks is best?

And we find out that Damon's love interest, newlywed Virat, isn't quite sure what the right thing is either. His wife of just days is a sweet, wonderful woman, and he loves her. But is that enough? They both have a lot of miscommunication going on between them, and everyone else in the story. The true question comes at the end of the book... "What happened next?" and I'm so glad we find out with a lovely epilogue. The Bittersweet Dreams angle scared me, but I was quite happy by the time I hit 'The End'.


View all my reviews

Wednesday Briefs: Fortitude Part 12



Sorry for the late post! I even wrote this last Sunday--I just got busy last night. We got new phones, LG G3, and well... yeah, hubby isn't exactly good at new tech! I hope you enjoy our return to Fortitude, inspired by the prompt: Find a way out.

Fortitude Part 12

Wildman scrambled to his feet, but his arm was locked to the corner of his bed. I narrowed my eyes; seeing him held captive that way pissed me off. So the forest wasn’t safe. What right had they to take away his freedom?

Anna might have the best of intentions, but that didn’t excuse her actions. For all her vaunted superiority to the leaders of the city, she was just as bad. If we’d proven as able to escape as Wildman, I bet she would’ve locked us away, too.

“Teddy, see if the guard has keys. Bring me any weapons you find, too.

I stepped inside his cell. It had a bed, a washstand, books and a chair by a window—that was locked and barred. Nicely appointed, but a cell nonetheless. “You want to be free?”

Suspicion clouded his eyes as he glared at me. Helping us had not been good for him at all. “Look. We want to be free, too. You need us, and we need you. Our packs and weapons are hidden somewhere; I bet you know how to find them. Then we have to escape here.”

“Why? Why I do things for you anymore?” He jerked on the manacles. “Should’ve let you die.”

Teddy jerked to a halt beside me. “You talked!”

I’d always known Wildman was intelligent. He was too aware. I plucked the keys from Teddy’s hand. “Because we have these.”

Wildman bared his teeth at me; for all he could talk better than he’d let on, he was still wild. He wouldn’t help us willingly, but for his freedom? All it took was his nod, and I strode forward to unlock him. He rubbed the red, raw flesh around his wrist.

“Where would they keep our stuff?”

Almost faster than we could follow, Wildman was ghosting though the house. I took the guard’s sword, and Teddy kept his belt knife. Our guide stopped us a few times and backed up, changing direction once. We were almost there before I realized he’d led us to a room next the parlor where I’d first met Anna.

Flattened against the corridor wall, Wildman pointed through the open doorway. “In there.”

Would they really keep our things somewhere we’d already been? Or was this a trap? If it was, we were done for. If not, then perhaps Anna wasn’t as smart as I guess her to be. Or we were better actors. “How do you know?” Teddy asked.

“You asleep, but I pretend. I saw.”

Good enough for me. “Where?”

“Box next to chairs, by fire.”

“Okay.” I took a deep breath. “I’m going in. Teddy, you stay here with Wildman. If I get caught, run. Find a way out.”

“Will—”

“Promise me, Teddy.”

Reluctantly, he nodded. “Promise.”

I didn’t wait for more. We didn’t have much time. I peeked into the room, but it appeared empty. There was more than one entrance, so I had to pray no one came through them while I was in there; I’d be seen in an instant.

Walking as softly as possible, I found the cupboard Wildman mentioned. Its hinges squeaked when I opened the door, and I froze. Frozen, breathless, I strained to listen for the sounds of someone investigating the noise. I turned my head, staring through the flickering shadows to see if someone would come from the other entry. A book by Anna’s chair caught my eye. It was open, and there was spidery writing inside. A mechanical pen lay beside it.

Quick as a blink, I snagged that book and our packs. I took care to shut the cupboard door, wincing as it squeaked again. Then I bolted out of the room.

“Let’s go!”

My heart pounded in my chest, never easing as Wildman led us on a new path, up, higher and higher. We were as high as we could go when he approached a window. This one wasn’t barred.

“Oh no,” Teddy gasped.

Wildman had opened the window and was already up and inching along the ledge. I looked out and watched as he reached up, taking hold of the eaves, and swung himself over the narrow alley to a nearby roof. The houses had a definite lean to them, but it was still a good three feet.

“There’s no way, Will. I’ll never make that.” Teddy’s face was ghastly pale in the moonlight.

“Yes you will. I have faith in you. Here, give me your pack and sword.” I made quick work of dumping Teddy’s things into my pack. I buckled his sword to the outside. “Now I can carry everything.” Pack cinched tight to my back, I was ready.

As ready as I’d ever be. I had to stay confident, for Teddy.

“Can’t we—”

“No, Teddy. There’s no other way. You can do this.” Hopefully Wildman was still waiting for us. Teddy’s hands were shaking. I grabbed him by one icy hand, bringing him close for a hug. “You’ll be fine.” I focused all my will on making him believe that. “You can do it, Teddy.”

“All right. I’ll try.” Teddy swallowed hard. “But if I die, I’m coming back as a spirit to haunt you. Just like the ones in the tunnels.”

“There are no ghosts in the tunnels.”

“Yes there are!” Teddy was climbing out the window, still arguing with me. I figured he was doing it on purpose, to distract himself. I watched, barely breathing, as he sidestepped along the ledge. He was muttering about ghosts, and non-believers, not looking away from the white-knuckled grip he had on the edge of the window.

I was afraid he would freeze, but Teddy kept going. He reached the corner of the ledge and reached up for the eaves. I held my breath as he reached over, swinging his body, and then let go.

He grunted as he hit the roof, sprawling flat on the ridge. Wildman had moved back, but he was still there, waiting for us.

Now it was my turn.

TBC

I'm with Teddy on the whole escape route--YIKES! lol  Okay, go enjoy more flash fiction updates from the other Briefers now, too!

Briefers' website

M.A. Church

Carol Pedroso

Jon Keys

Kazy Reed

Nephylim

Tali Spencer

Shelly Schulz

Victoria Adams

Elyzabeth VaLey

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Julie Lynn Hayes

50 Articles to Read About Writing!

 





No, I'm not sharing my own advice for writing--I'm sharing one of the sources I use to explore and research various aspects of the business from figuring out those pesky grammar and punctuation rules to questions about publishing you might not know you need to ask.

Writer's Digest.

Seriously, if you're an author, but you're not hooked up with this site and getting their free newsletters via email--you're missing out on a valuable free resource you should be using! Today, they've put out what they view as their top 50 articles from last year to help you in 2015, so go check it out. Then sign up!!!

Writer's Digest: 50 Articles on Writing to Help You in 2015