Just Kidding... Updated Release Info

 After doing some thinking and planning and looking at the logistics, I’ve decided to make some changes to the Harnessing the Flame series. The series is being renamed Spirit of the Flame, and the first book will be renamed Into the Flames (I just added an S there). I feel it will make it less confusing in the long run to give it just a little bit of space from the original releases. I don’t think I’m changing the name of Firebombed, but I will know for sure relatively soon.

 As of now, I am modifying the publishing schedule I was considering. Once Rage has undergone its overhaul, I’m shifting focus to Spirit of the Flame. I need to get the rereleases ready and scheduled. By the time that is completed, I should have Rage back from my betas. Changes will be made, concerns addressed, and then it’ll be sent off to my editors. While my editors are tearing into all the possible (read likely) mistakes I’ve made, I will dive into the second book of the Spirit of Fire series. Releases will alternate between the two series. This will allow me to write for one while the other is undergoing edits.

When Thomas met James

 A glimpse into the day Thomas met James for the first time. This is only the very beginning of their story, but I hope you enjoy it!

It had been one of those days. The hours at the bank were increasingly more erratic as his boss wanted to make sure to land a deal with one of the most influential financial powers in Aleiant. To have Raffe come over to handle all his dealings would be a significant gain for the bank.

It just meant more work, more stress, and longer hours to Thomas. His staff was incompetent, in his opinion. Nothing was ever done the way he wanted it to be, and it was his call godsdamnit. He was in charge, and they needed to get in line. He had to yell at two of them before lunch. The fact that one of them cried just showed how weak they were.

“Coffee. Black,” he said to the pretty blonde girl behind the counter when it was his turn.

“Sure thing, sugar!” she replied brightly.

He scowled.

“Do not call me that,” he said sharply.

He didn’t like this place. The owner, Kylie, Cara, something like that, was just too happy. She owned a coffee joint; what did she have to be so happy about anyway? The fact she couldn’t tell he was important and busy and didn’t have time to be bothered by the likes of her was just another strike against her.

“Your coffee, your excellence,” she said with a toothy grin as she set the coffee in front of him with such force it sloshed onto his sleeve.

“Godsdamnit!” he yelled. “Your only job in life is to serve coffee, and you can’t even manage that properly!”

“My apologies, good sir,” she replied silkily. “My apparent lowborn background didn’t prepare me for things such as grace or poise, but I see you were never taught manners or decency. So, I think we can call it even.”

She leveled her gaze at him and didn’t flinch as he returned her stare. Several tables around them had gotten quiet. He was fuming such a person would speak to him in that manner.

“Do you know who I am?” he snarled.

“No, but I suppose you’re going to tell me.”

“I am a top-level manager of Casey’s Vault and Trust,” he said, straitening his spine. “I could have any number of people come into this hellhole and shut you down permanently. Mind your tone.”

“Ah, very impressive indeed,” she said, tipping her head to one side. “I’ll just have to give Daddy a call to help me out. I’ll make sure to give him your name. He and Ralph Casey take the horses on a run together every Saturday night.”

“You know Mr. Casey?” he asked incredulously, taking a step back.

“Ralph is my godfather. I grew up playing in his gardens with his daughter, Amy. It would be in your best interest to remember kindness in all aspects of your life, sir.” She leaned across the counter and spoke in a low whisper. “I have enough gold sitting in a vault at Casey’s Vault and Trust to hire a staff to attend my every need for the rest of my life. I like this coffee shop and what it means to the people that come in here, and I like getting to know everyone from every path in life.” She leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. Thomas was stunned into silence. “Working for a living, no matter the position, is a noble endeavor, and it would serve you well to remember that.”

Thomas grabbed his coffee and turned to stalk out of the place. He wanted to yell. To scream. To knock someone over. He did not like being spoken to like that. He couldn’t say anything else to that wretched woman, though. If she talked to Mr. Casey she could cause real and lasting trouble for him.

He was halfway to the door when a woman started to stand. He was waking too quickly to stop and collided with her. His coffee splashed all over his shirt and over the woman’s shoulder, running down to her skirt.

“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” the woman snarled as she whipped around. “This was new!”

“You need to watch where you’re going,” he yelled back. “Because of you, more than half of my coffee has been thrown around in here! You will go get me another one!”

“You here that, James?” she said with a laugh, turning to her companion.

“Be nice, V,” he said, leaning back and putting his elbow up on the back of his chair. “You heard Carly. Kindness is a virtue.”

The insufferable woman in front of him snorted and stalked around Thomas toward the bathroom. He looked over at James. A small smile played at his lips as he shook his head. Thomas watched his lips a moment longer.

“It’s apparent you aren’t having a very good day,” James said. Thomas couldn’t tell whether or not he was being mocked, but before he could answer, James continued. “Let me see if I can help any.”

He leaned to the side a little and stuck his hand out. To his surprise, the woman behind the counter, Carly, according to James, came right over and hugged him.

“James! I didn’t see you come in! Did I get your coffee right? I don’t like guessing when I can’t see you!”

“It’s perfect as always, Carly,” he said with the most dazzling grin. “I was wondering if you could do me a personal favor?”

“All you have to do is ask,” she said, still pointedly ignoring Thomas’s presence.

“This man here…” James paused.

“Thomas.”

“Right, Thomas here is having one hell of a day. Would you be willing to brew him up a couple of your best brews and toss in some muffins on me? He’s going to sit down with me and wait.”

Carley gave Thomas a sideways glance but nodded at James.

“You, James, are just too nice for your own good.”

“Vanessa reminds me of that every day,” he said with another dazzling smile.

Carley made her way back to the counter as James gestured to Vanessa’s vacated chair. He reluctantly sat down. More out of curiosity than anything else.

“Why would you do that?” Thomas asked with narrowed eyes.

“Why shouldn’t I?”

Thomas didn’t know how to answer that under his calm but scrutinizing stare. They sat in silence for a few minutes, a few minutes that seemed like hours to Thomas.

“While I agree with everything the women have said to you, I have a slightly different view on things. Yelling at you won’t help you. Showing you kindness while you obviously need it might. If I’m wrong…” he shrugged. “It didn’t hurt me at all to be kind anyway.”

Thomas stared at him a moment longer before Carly walked back over and set the coffee and muffins down in front of him. She looked him over once and walked back to the counter without a word. He could tell there was more she wanted to say but had decided against it for whatever reason.

“James! You have got to be kidding me!” James just grinned over Thomas’s shoulder. “Why in the world would you even consider helping this pompous asshole?”

Vanessa stalked up to the table and stood there with her hands on her hips, glaring at Thomas.

“Why shouldn’t I help him?” James said with a grin.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because he was rude to Carly, spilled his coffee all over me, and then he demanded I pay for him to get a new one?”

“We all have bad days, V.”

Vanessa snorted and rolled her eyes.

“You owe me a new skirt.”

“Fat chance of that happening,” Thomas said, returning her glare. “If you had been paying attention, none of this would have happened!”

“If I had been paying attention? If I had been paying attention. Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me…”

James put both his hands out. Vanessa stopped in her tracks and shot him a dirty look that didn’t seem to phase him.

“Thomas is sorry for spilling his coffee on you. Vanessa is sorry she yelled at you,” James said, looking at them both in turn. Before he could be interrupted, he continued, “and now we will go our separate ways and continue with the rest of our day.”

James stood up and held his elbow out to Vanessa. She grudgingly took it, and they started to walk away as Vanessa mumbled under her breath. James paused a second and looked over his shoulder at Thomas.

“I hope you have a better day,” he said, giving Thomas a wink.

An Interview: Ty

 “Good morning, Ty. How are you doing today?”

“Can’t complain,” he said as he leaned back in his chair, propping his elbow up on the back of it. “How about yourself?”

“Can’t complain. Are you ready to get started?”

“Mhmm,” he said, sounding more like a grunt than anything else.

“What do you like about your job?”

“Keeps me busy,” he said with a furrowed brow. “Raffe is a good guy. Coin is more than fair, don’t have to worry about much… Well, until recently. Lots of worrying across the board now.”

“Would you ever consider changing jobs, and if so, what would you want to do?”

“Nope. Work can be hard, but I’m good at it. My brother and I get to work most of it together. Not a bad gig.” He stretched his legs out in front of him and ran his hand through his hair.

“What’s a hobby you have?”

“Wood carvings. Small things mostly.”

“Small things like…?”

He pulled his legs back to him and leaned forward in his chair slightly. The first sign of more than professional courtesy or indifference he had shown.

“Usually small animals, but sometimes houses. I started making a small village a while ago,” he said with a gleam in his eye. “It’s on hold while other things are being handled.”

“I’m sure you could get some carving done while waiting for information or plans. Vanessa wouldn’t mind.”

“Maybe. I need my attention on the matters at hand, though,” he said as he leaned back. His expression shuttered. He wouldn’t go on with that line of questions.

“What got you started in carving?”

He relaxed a little, glad the subject of making time to carve now wasn’t being pushed.

“My mom carved things. She did figures and statues of all sizes. Sometimes things so big she had to make them in parts and attach them together. My dad would paint them. Sometimes the whole thing, other times just details.”

“That’s really great. I would love to see one of them sometime.”

He grunted in return. It was unclear if he agreed or not.

“What skill do you have that might be surprising?”

“Gardening maybe,” he said thoughtfully. “Nothing about me looks delicate, but I can cultivate flowers, fruits, and vegetables almost as well as a fairy. Just not off-season like they can.”

“That is fabulous! Do you grow a lot of your own food then?”

“Not a lot, but some,” he said, propping one ankle up on his knee. “I don’t have the time to dedicate to a full garden. I focus on a few flowers in the yard, some tomatoes, and some peppers.”

“Sounds rewarding.” 

He answered with only a grunt.

“What does the perfect vacation look like to you?”

“I haven’t really thought of it,” he said, frowning. “I work when Raffe needs me. Sometimes it’s constantly like now; other times, I have several days to myself. If I ever need time for something, Raffe would allow it. Unless, of course, something significant needed tending.”

“So you’ve never had a vacation?”

“I… I guess not in the traditional sense. But I am happy with my work and unbothered by not having a traditional vacation. If Raffe sends us to another city on business, he always tells us to take a tour of the city and enjoy ourselves.”

“Vanessa mentioned at one time that Raffe was not someone to mess with, but he doesn’t seem that frightening the way you talk about it.”

A Cheshire grin spread slowly across his face as he leaned back into his chair. “That’s because he knows I am loyal, work hard, and he likes me. Cross him, lie to him, or interfere with his business or family and you will see a very different side of him. Raffe runs in extremes.”

“I see. I’ll make sure to stay on his good side then. Ok, our last question before we wrap up: what do you think would be a perfect date?”

“Good food and starlight.”

“That’s pretty straightforward. Can you elaborate at all?”

“I think that’s about it. Good food; I’m not picky on what kind. Sitting under the stars.”

“Why is that the perfect date for you?”

“What someone considers good food is important in the long run. Sitting under the stars allows for conversations, but silences are spent looking up, so not awkward.”

“I like that. Ok, I’ve taken up enough of your time. Thank you for sitting down with me!”

“Mhmm,” he grunted as he stood and stretched before heading back to the portal that would take him home.

It is done!

Ok, not DONE done... Rage is officially written! Now it's on to editing. I have to do a major overhaul that includes: continuity, plugging plot holes, making sure everything is as fleshed out (or vague) as I imagined it, and my technical due diligence. After that, it's off to my lovely betas! They have to let me know what works, what doesn't, and whether or not they would buy it if they didn't know me. Followed by more edits of mine. Finally, off to my editors to make it all shiny and ready for consumption. I'm hoping this process will only take 4ish months, but I can't promise that. 

However, once I get through the overhaul, I will get going on the second book. I won't be getting excerpts out for the second book until a few weeks after the first book's release. I'm going to try to get some extra's rolling, though! There are already two more excerpts from the first book scheduled and a peek into the Thomas and James story! 

But! As it stands now, Rage is 365 pages and 115,669 words! I'm tired and happy and about to go enjoy some very nice apple brandy to celebrate its (sort of) completion! Cheers!