Matchstick's on Pre-Order!

 Matchstick is almost here!! It's available for pre-order right now and will be released on February 13th! 

To read the first three chapters, check out Matchstick's page on my website! 

As Harley settles into the new dynamics of her life, including a budding relationship with Onyx, she's ready to move forward on her plans against the Order. Now more comfortable with her magic, she's optimistic about using it to her advantage and taking them down. 

However, her plans are thwarted as Mark resurfaces with a vendetta; Harley's only warning coming from an unlikely ally. Meanwhile, Bethany is also out for revenge, making an appearance of her own. Bethany has nothing left to lose and nowhere else to direct her anger. 

The odds of surviving them both aren’t in Harley’s favor.

♥ BN ♥ Smashwords ♥ Amazon ♥

Matchstick Excerpt 11: The Choice

There wasn’t a magic signature at all. Whatever this was, it wouldn’t blow up if I touched it. I carefully opened the door. It was a piece of fabric, roughly cut, that had been rolled up and laid across the floorboards. I glanced around quickly to make sure no one was paying attention to me. I carefully unrolled it. I didn’t want to alert anyone else just yet. No need to send everyone running if they didn’t need to. There was a note and a couple of pictures attached to it.

You are not as smart as you think you are, it said across the top.

Underneath it were Polaroids of Arthur and me from today. One from each location we’d been to except this one. My jaw clenched. I was tired of this bullshit.

Tick Tock. Who will you save? was scrawled across the bottom.

My heart dropped, and my hands started to shake as I tossed the fabric square back in the car.

“She knows we are all here,” I said frantically. “There was a note in my car. It asked me who I was going to save.”

“I haven’t seen anything on the cameras,” Elise said.

“I’ll come to you,” Mel said. “I can get my car later. Arthur put a call into Annabell. We need to bail.”

“I’m not calling her. I’m going to her. If they know we’re here, there’s no need to pretend,” he said.

It sounded like he was jogging. As his breathing picked up, so did my heart rate. I was paralyzed. I didn’t know where to go or who would need it. These games made me want to scream. She was always a step ahead of us, playing with our lives.

“There wasn’t a picture of Mel,” I said quietly.

“What?” Elise and Arthur said.

“There wasn’t a picture of Mel,” I said louder. “Bethany doesn’t know she is here. Don’t come to me, we need to go to them. It asked me who I would save.”

Just as I started moving toward them, two shots rang out. Arthur cursed and dropped off the call.

(All excerpts are taken from a lightly edited first draft. Contents are subject to change or may be removed from the final novel entirely.)

Matchstick Excerpt 10: The Fire

(Aaaaaaand, this POV is a secret for now!)

I lifted my hand in thanks and walked back to the sidewalk. Annabell was giggling with that same guy still. It looked like she wasn’t doing anything but flirting. It was a good play. Anyone looking in wouldn’t see anything else. Pretty girl flirting with a firefighter. Not unstoppable warrior gets information from a firefighter. After seeing all the magic last night, I was sure she had the most of it. I wanted to ask, but I knew better. I’d learn more from watching than talking.

“Definitely set by an elemental,” she said softly as she stopped in front of me. “It was pushed through the wall into the bedroom. That’s also why it was so intense in there.”

“I have pictures of everything from every angle, but there is something I want you to look at right now.”

I pulled up the pictures of the weird marks and showed them to her. She tipped her head back and forth and squinted her eyes, but she had no answer either.

“Where was it leading?”

“Toward that yard,” I said, pointing it out to her.

“Someone was over there, but I can’t tell exactly what made this mark like that.”

“I’m going over there then,” I said.

“You are going to draw a bunch of attention to us,” she hissed.

“To me. I will be drawing attention to me. I’m just a nosey human with a vague connection with the family living here. I’m from Florida. I don’t have a record of criminal activity. I don’t have magic. And, if anyone looks, I was accepted to law school with a fantastic LSAT score but didn’t end up attending.”

“Law school?”

“Yes. I’m full of surprises. Now, I’m going over there.”

I turned on my heel and walked away from her. I had to be useful if I wanted to survive all of this. I walked over to the neighbor’s house. I should have knocked on their door and asked to poke around. I’d rather ask for forgiveness than permission.

I walked into their backyard without looking back. I looked around for any sign of anything. I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for. Finding the lock on the shed was broken didn't take long. I was afraid to open the door, but I didn’t have much of a choice.

I slipped the door open slowly. I could see a foot. I took a deep breath and opened it the rest of the way. I wasn’t sure how he would react to seeing me here. 

(All excerpts are taken from a lightly edited first draft. Contents could be changed or removed from the final novel completely.)

Matchstick Excerpt 9: Sunbathing

This gateway was something Hayden would want to hear all about when I got home. I lowered my back onto the sand and closed my eyes.

 

“Today has all the makings of a perfect day,” Hayden said as she flung my door open.

“It’s 6am,” I groaned as I looked at the digital clock on my nightstand. “How can you possibly tell?”

“You can just feel it in the air,” she said, flinging my curtains open.

“Whhhhhy,” I whined as I threw the blanket over my head. “I wasn’t done sleeping yet!”

“Sure you were,” she said brightly. “We have so much to do today!”

“Like what,” I grumbled, flopping my arms down to my sides, taking the top of the blanket with them.

“Don’t you hear the dock calling you? It’s already sunny, it’s warm but not hot, and the skies are perfectly clear.”

“The dock is telling me it will still be there in two hours so I can go back to sleep.”

“I don’t think so,” she said opening my closet. “You just aren’t paying attention.”

She tossed the bathing suit she pulled out onto the bed. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching me expectantly.  

“Can you at least be quieter and maybe sound a little less… bubbly, while I wake up?”

“If you promise to get dressed,” she said with a grin. “I’m going to make us iced coffee to take out there.”

“That I can get on board with.”

She practically bounced out of the room as I sat up. I looked down at my pillow, forlorn. Vacations were supposed to be relaxing. I just wanted to sleep for several more hours. Her and my dad managed to roll out of bed with all the energy and motivation in the world. I never understood it.

I climbed out of bed and stretched, yawning. I pulled on the bathing suit, only almost falling down twice. I squeezed my eyes closed for a second and blinked rapidly. It didn’t help as much as I thought it would. I sat back on the edge of the bed and rubbed my hands over my eyes.

“Good, you’re dressed!” Hayden said as she skipped into the room. “Ready?”

“No…” I said as she handed me one of the coffees. She looped her arm through mine as I stood, and steered me toward the sliding glass door. “You promised to be less bubbly if I got dressed.”

“I didn’t promise,” she giggled. “I only agreed to try.”

“That is definitely not how that conversation went down.”

She laughed again as she almost pulled me out onto the back deck and down the stairs. At least she had slowed her pace some. There were already two towels and a radio on the dock. Apparently waking me up wasn’t the first thing she had done this morning.

“Tell me about the college boys,” she said as she dropped down onto her towel.

“I’ve told you about college boys,” I said, as I settled into my towel more carefully.

“I know! But I like to hear about them. I’ll be in college soon. I need to be prepared.”

“Soon? You start your junior year in like a month.”

“Semantics. It’s close enough,” she said, waving her hand around.

I took a drink of the coffee. I could almost feel the caffeine taking hold of me. Coffee is the only way I survived her early mornings. If I was allowed to sleep later, I probably wouldn’t need it.

“Why don’t you tell me about the guy you’ve been texting while I wake up,” I said.

“He’s pretty cool, but he won’t stop asking me what I want,” she said, rolling her eyes. “He won’t tell me what food he might want, where he might want to go… I don’t want to pick everything. It would be nice to just talk about it or for him to just to pick for a change. He’s known me long enough, he knows what things I don’t like.”

“Have you told him that?”

“Yes! He just keeps saying ‘I just want you to be happy,’” she said with a terrible attempt to mimic a guy’s voice. “Has he considered that maybe I want to make him happy too? Ugh.”

“So break up with him,” I said.

“I thought about it. He’s so nice, and we have great conversations sometimes.”

“So, don’t break up with him.”

“But I’m tired of having to plan literally everything.”

“I don’t know what answer you’re looking for,” I said, grinning. “There is no pleasing you.”

“Oh, whatEVER,” she giggled. “Like you’re any better.”

“I’ll have you know my last relationship ended on amicable terms after we decided we’d make better friends.”

“Was this before or after you decided the way he said ‘irregardless’ all the time was a deal breaker?”

“Hey, irregardless is not a word! It’s just ‘regardless!’”

“There is no pleasing you,” she said, laying back on her towel.

“Those are completely different scenarios.”

We settled into a comfortable silence. I was secretly glad she woke me up. We didn't get much time to just hangout anymore. We’re both busy, and our schedules never lined up. I would have loved more sleep, but I would try to make it up later. This week was going to be about us bonding.

 

I swallowed hard as the memory of our last vacation together faded. It had been almost a year since that weekend at our lake house. We spent most of that day on the docks sun bathing. 

(All excerpts are taken from a lightly edited first draft. Contents may change or be removed from the final novel entirely.)

Matchstick Excerpt 8: The Note

 I didn’t have a great feeling about it, but I wasn’t about to let Elise drive it back to the house until I was sure everything was ok. She would roll her eyes at me if I told her that, but it is what it is. Being around my aunt and seeing her security team work gave me far more experience than she had. Renee wasn’t even supposed to be involved anymore. I was already anticipating everyone’s reactions when they found out we did this on our own. I wasn’t looking forward to it.

I pulled the note off the wheel and let it fall open.

 

I see you’ve found help. You’re all full of surprises aren’t you? I am too. Our little game will continue as planned. It will be more fun with more pieces anyway. Don’t you think?

I’ll see you soon 💋 ♥

 

I would recognize that handwriting anywhere.

(All excerpts are taken from a lightly edited first draft. Contents are subject to change or to be removed from the final novel entirely.)

Matchstick Excerpt 7: The Aftermath

 “You think Maria was doing the shooting? Mark would have been there, though. He wouldn’t want to miss her reaction.”

“I also don’t think he would have taken a shot at me. He is mad at me, but I don’t think he could kill me. Maria was pissed he called me. She would probably be thrilled to have a chance to take me out.”

“We need to tell them,” Elise said.

“I know. I will. Annabell and Arthur are down and need to rest. Onyx can barely walk. Harley has a lot on her plate with everyone that’s been injured. I think it needs to wait until morning. Let everyone sleep, and then tell them.”

I was restless, but I needed the rest. The level of adrenaline that courses through you when you’re being shot at takes a toll. My mind was whirling too quickly for that. At least the living room was big enough to pace in. Elise stayed perched on the edge of couch. All her muscles were tense, she was ready to spring up at a moment’s notice. I didn’t blame her.

“Do you think the house will be ok tonight?” she asked.

“Maybe? It’s hard to say for sure.”

“We need to get Harley’s car. Arthur’s too,” she said. “We can take a cab to Harley’s and then drive to his.”

“I don’t know if that is a good idea. We would be out there on our own. If something happened… they wouldn’t even know where we had gone.”

“Let’s get Renee then. She can drive us in her car.”

“No one will be happy with us involving Renee.”

“What about involving me?” she said as she walked into the room. “Everyone else is sleeping.”

“I wanted to go get the cars. We can’t just leave them, it will draw attention.”

“None of them will like it, but it needs to be done,” Renee said. “Let’s go get it over with before someone wakes up and tried to stop us.”

“I just don’t think that’s a good plan. We don’t know if they are still watching the cars or if they left some kind of surprise at them,” I said.

“It will be ok,” Renee said. “While I don’t have much in the way of formal training, I have spent a lot of time with Arthur and Annabell. I know what to look for.”

“It won’t take long and we’ll be careful,” Elise added.

(All excerpts are taken from a lightly edited first draft. Contents are subject to change or be removed entirely from the finished novel)

Matchstick Excerpt 6: Bats

“The bats are out in full force tonight,” Annabell said.

“I’ve always loved watching them,” I said, grateful for something else to focus on.

“They have always creeped me out a little bit. I don’t want one to swoop down here and bite me,” Arthur said.

“They aren’t going to bite you,” I laughed.

“You don’t really know that, do you,” he grumbled.

“Are you a bug?” Annabell asked, trying to hide her grin. “If not, then you should be fine.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at Annabell. There was another noise in the woods. I turned my eyes back to the sky to keep from looking.

“It’s a raccoon,” Cali said softly in my ear.

I giggled. It didn’t sounds like me. It was borderline hysterical. I tried to reign it in, but I couldn’t. I was getting jumpy over a raccoon. I knew I sounded crazy. I knew I needed to cover it up.

“I’m sorry,” I said between fits of laughter. “I was just imagining a bat swooping down here to hang out with Arthur.”

Annabell started giggling too. Arthur was not amused.

(All excerpts are taken from a lightly edited first draft. Content here may be changed or removed entirely from the final novel.)

Matchstick Excerpt 5: Smores

Once I got the fire going, I plopped down in front of it. I saw the people in the cabin next to us. They were a young couple, and they raised a hand in greeting as they got their own fire going.

“Ok, ready to eat?” Onyx said as he settled in next to me.

“Can we eat the smores first?”

“You are going to end up eating all the smores, and then you won’t want a hot dog,” he said laughing.

I just grinned. He rolled his eyes, but the smile never left his face. He handed me a stick and I popped a marshmallow on it. I stuck it immediately in the fire and waited for it to be engulfed in flames before bringing it slowly back to me to blow it out. Onyx shook his head.

“They are better if you burn the outside, and it doesn’t take as long before you get to eat them,” I said as I smooshed it between the chocolate and crackers.

“Patience is a virtue,” he said.

“One that I do not possess.”

I squealed as he reached over and scooped me up, placing me in his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek. I leaned back into him and rested my hands on his arms. I could stay like this all night. I tipped my head back and laid it on his shoulder.

(All excerpts are taken from a lightly edited first draft. The content may change or be removed entirely from the final novel.)

Matchstick Excerpt 4: Healing

 “The bandages can probably come off now,” he said as I helped him sit on the bed. “Cali said they only needed to be there long enough to left the creams take effect.”

“Happy to be rid of them?” I asked as I helped him take his shirt off. Maneuvering his arms to do it on his own was still taxing.

“Yes. Not only does that mean I am close to fully healed, but I don’t have to deal with them catching on things, pulling at the skin, or impeding movements.”

I carefully removed the bandages. All of his skill looked much better than it had before. There were still some pink spots, and some of the skin was textured now. It would likely stay that way for a long while. He tried to hide it from me, but I knew how much he was worried about it.

I had to keep reminding myself that I am not entitled to thoughts he hasn’t willingly shared. He didn’t want me to know, and he didn’t want to talk about it. It wasn’t my place to make him. I ached to tell him how I felt about it. It wasn’t vain, it was human. It was a change that he didn’t ask for. I wanted to tell him that I cared about him exactly the same as I had before. I wanted him to know that it wouldn’t change anything for me. That I still thought he was incredibly and tantalizingly attractive.

I couldn’t. I couldn’t dive into reassuring all of his fears because he didn’t want me to know them. He tried to hide them, and I didn’t realize it until I found them. This was new territory for me. I didn’t know if I should tell him or not. Staying silence felt dishonest, but telling him felt like a betrayal or a violation of his innermost self.

I moved between his knees and leaned into him, letting my arms rest lightly on his shoulders. I kissed his forehead as his arms came around my waist. I held onto him for a minute before stepping back to help him lay down.

“Come lay next to me. I want to talk to you about something,” he said softly.

“This doesn’t sound like a good something,” I replied as I helped him get situated.

“It’s not bad, it’s just important.”

I pulled my jeans off before sliding into the other side of the bed. He shifted closer to me, but didn’t rest his head on my shoulder. I turned onto my side and took his hand.

(All excerpts are taken from a lightly edited first draft. Content here is subject to change or be removed entirely from the finished novel.)

Matchstick Excerpt 3: Bait

I looked down at my hands again. The idea of using her as bait made me nervous in ways I didn’t know how to express. It felt like it was uncaring, even though she was the one that volunteered for the position.

“When?” I finally asked.

“I need to talk to Arthur about it, and I know he won’t be particularly happy with the plan either.”

“I don’t want to be there when you tell him,” I said, managing a small smile.

“I make the most sense. I’m trained to watch out for myself, and I’m less intimidating than anyone else. It’s one of the reasons I was so good at my job. No one thought a short, thin, blonde could possibly do the things I did.”

“The first time I met you I could not figure out how you would be helpful,” I admitted.

“Most people feel that way,” she said smiling brightly. “So I lean into it and use it to my advantage.”

I wrung my hands together. I knew she was trying to lighten my mood. Somehow, her Arthur, and Onyx could flip in and out of business mode on a dime. Times like this they could be completely carefree and almost happy. Onyx had tried to explain it to me several times, but I still couldn’t really understand it.

“How could poor, little ol’ me be capable of something so terrible,” she said, ramping up her already heavy southern drawl and fanning herself with her hand.

That got a genuine smile out of me. It was way too dramatic to be even close to believable. The flutter of her eye lashes was the gem on top of it all. I was glad she was here with me. I wanted to be up at the hospital to see my dad, but I knew she was right and I needed to stay here.

(All excerpts are taken from a lightly edited first draft. The contents may be changed or removed entirely from the finished novel.)

Matchstick Excerpt 2: The Explosion

 “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I don’t know what happened.”

“She is outside and safe,” I said, grabbing her shoulders to steady her. She winced at my touch, but met my gaze. “I was just with her.”

“Thank you,” she said softly. “They won’t let me see him.”

“Go with them to get looked at, I’ll check on him,” I said, glad she picked up on avoiding our names. We would have to give them some. “It will be ok, Joann.”

She nodded slowly and I helped her into to grasp of the firefighter. He gave me grateful look and started leading her down the hallway. I didn’t know what names to use. That was the only one I could think of. With Bethany out there somewhere, and Mark looking for us, it just felt like a bad idea to be in a hospital under our real names.

“I need to see my boyfriend,” I said to one of the other firefighters.

“You need to be back downstairs,” he said to me softly. “We have people with him. There is nothing you can do up here.”

“I am not leaving until I see him.”

“I can’t let you in there,” he said again, just as firmly.

I stared at him for a minute before turning. He thought I was going to leave. Instead, I darted into the door Mel had exited from. The door connecting our rooms was pushed to, but not actually closed. I flung it open before anyone could stop me.

I froze. I knew it was Onyx. There was no one else it could be. He was burned severely. Two EMTs and a firefighter were at his side. They were talking rapidly about vital signs and other numbers I could not process. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and wrenched myself away from it.

I flung myself on the floor next to him and took his hand. The barrage of pain that filled him almost made me drop his hand. I held it tighter. As tears spilled from my eyes, I willed some of the pain to leave him.

(All excerpts are taken from a lightly edited first draft. The content may change or be removed entirely from the finished novel.)

THIRTY-NINE DAYS

I WROTE A WHOLE BOOK IN THIRTY-NINE DAYS!!!!!! 

I can't believe it. I've checked and double-checked. I didn't imagine it or misread how many words I have. It's real. I did it. I completed CampNaNo. Matchstick is officially written. It's crazy. I'm over the moon. It's a fantastic end to a weird and stressful week. 

I'm setting it aside for today, and I start round one of edits tomorrow. My process has changed a lot since I first started writing. I can't say it's perfect now, but it's what's getting me there. As I was writing, I knew some things needed to be fleshed out more. Places, emotions, settings, etc. Some of it was just the need to move forward, to get the scene to the end I knew it would have. I was in a flow and needed to get it out without bogging myself down with all the particulars. This first round will address that. Making sure it reads how I want it to read. 

Second round will involve printing it and making all kinds of edits with pretty pens, then adding it to my document. My third is reading it again, checking for inconsistencies, plot holes I may have created with other edits, general flow, etc. Then it goes through my editing software (I ♥ Grammarly) to catch any weirdness my brain glossed over. 

I haven't decided if this one is going into beta. It probably should. The problem is it's the second in a series. Finding people who can be objective but also understand the flow from the first book will be harder. Rage had some dedicated betas, so the second book will be sent to them. I'll see how it goes. 

Publication of Matchstick will hopefully be in February of 2024. Once I'm through with edits here, I'll be jumping back to Justified. I'm hoping to make it the target of the July CampNaNo.

I'm celebrating today. There may or may not be some brandy later. ♥

Matchstick Excerpt 1: The Getaway

 

“Are we there yet,” I asked Onyx with a grin.

“Almost,” he said, winking at me.

“You’ve been saying ‘almost’ for over an hour,” I laughed. “I think you need a new definition.”

“Just trying to keep you on your toes!”

“You still won’t tell me where we are going?”

“Nope, it’s still a secret.”

I stuck my hand out the window just enough to twirl it through the wind. We weren’t driving nearly as fast as we had the last time we took the Spider to a date. The suspense was killing me. He wouldn’t even tell me for sure what to pack. He said all I needed was some clothes and a bathing suit. I didn’t know how long he had been planning this, but he had already thought of everything. No matter what argument I made for not going, he had a counter argument. Arthur was there to back him up.

After all the effort and work we had put into tracking Dunham Marshawn, our next Order target, I felt obligated to be there for the last minute prep. We were going after him on Tuesday. I knew it wasn’t an argument I was going to win. So, I had to pack a bag for a trip I didn’t know anything about.

I was glad to be out of the house. Onyx kept telling me how important it was to enjoy the downtime when we had it, but it was still hard for me to accept. Maybe he was right after all. I didn’t want to tell him that. I already knew what look he would give me.

“Now we’re almost there,” Onyx said with his signature grin as he pulled off the expressway.

“There is nothing out here.”

“That’s the point. Wouldn’t be much of a getaway if there were people everywhere, would it?”

(All excerpts are taken from a lightly edited first draft. The content may change or be removed entirely from the finished novel.)

Please Don't Stop the Music

♫ I just came here to party, but now we're rockin on the dance floor actin naughty ♫

Ahem, sorry. I have a new playlist and it's GREAT! I'm just sitting here on my couch, with a plate of pizza rolls, dancing. That song was first up, and it's been so long since I've heard it that I started it over. I'm feeling much better than last week. Still not super great, but the power of a new playlist is strong. Welcome to my head ^.^

The new playlist comes with NEWS! It's official, I've started writing the second book of SoF. I was struggling with the vibe a little. It just wasn't hitting right. Then I realized I was totally slacking. I didn't make it a playlist. All my books get their own. Some of the songs make it there because of lyrics, some of it is vibe, and sometimes I can just feel them for a specific scene in my head or with a certain character. Honestly, I don't know if my playlists would make sense to anyone but me. It's fine. ANYWAY. SoF book two finally got a name. Having the playlist made all the difference!

Matchstick

I'm crazy excited about it in a way I don't know if other people will see, but again, that's fine. For anyone that does get it... hopefully they are like me and it will make them geek out a little.

I have another nail update! They didn't turn out quite how I wanted them to, but I still really like them. I think that is the story of my life when it comes to my nails. I have grand ideas, and then... remember I have almost zero artistic talent. 

I have other news too! I decided I'm going all in on Matchstick. I'm using it as my goal for CampNaNo in April. Basically, I'm hoping to have the writing done by the end of April. No pressure right? Which also means I'm adding a new tag on here for CampNaNo. Might as well add stats while I go. With two camps and NaNo, I'm going to be busy. Maybe this will be the push I need to write faster. Editing is still a long, tedious, and seemingly never ending process, buuuuut if I can get the writing done faster maybe I can keep to a two books a year publishing schedule?? Does that sound crazy? It feels crazy.

I feel like there was something else I was going to say it. I'm sure I'll remember it later. Like five minutes after this actually posts... Well off to write more things 

♫ I'm a scholar and a gentleman, and I usually don't fall when I try to stand ♫

Until next week ♥