Wednesday, May 16, 2012

“Vintage”

  I was out with my camera and found a bit of history from our little town. I thought it might make an interesting subject and I wasn't the only one interested in the old engine.  As I was shooting, a couple of young boys came and decided to check out my subject too.   Guess some things never change huh and boys will always be drawn to fire trucks – no matter how old. All images are copyrighted

    

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A Sneak Peak of “A Fall of Water” by Elizabeth Hunter


While waiting for spring I had the chance to read the Elemental Series by Elizabeth Hunter. She is a fellow Fan Fiction writer, who has turned her talent towards  original work.  As much as I loved her writing on FanFic, I wondered how in the world she was going to create a new group of vampires which were fresh and intriguing.   Well  let me say she did JUST that.   Her characters are rich and we immediately are drawn into their plight and struggle.   Lucky for all of us the final “chapter” to this great series will be available in a few short weeks,  June 5, 2012. 

Below is an except from the last book of the series, “A Fall of Water”.   I can’t wait to see what happens next with Gio and Beatrice hope  I'll see you in line at Amazon on June 4th say around midnight.



September 2011

“How could you?” She threw him into the face of the cliff, tossing him as if he weighed nothing when he finally caught up with her on the road back to the valley.
He shook his head and wiped a trickle of blood from his nose. “He was old.  He was going to die within a few weeks, Beatrice.”
She paced back and forth in the small clearing.  “But I didn’t need to be the one to kill him.” Streaks of tears marred her perfect white skin.  The rain beat down on them and the wind whipped through the small pass.
Giovanni tried to speak in a low calming voice.  “You broke out of the bloodlust much quicker than I had imagined.  You’re doing very well.”
“But I still killed him, Gio! I did.  And you stood there and let me.  You stood by and let me kill that old man doing nothing more than sitting in his garden!”
Giovanni stood slowly, still keeping his distance.  “If he had been in good health, you would not have killed him.  But he was sick, Tesoro. Surely you must have tasted it in his blood.  He was in pain.  Your amnis calmed him as you drank.  He felt nothing.”
She screamed and pulled at her hair.  “How could you let me kill him?”
“It was a mercy.”
“No!” she yelled and rushed him, knocking him over and pummeling his face.  She loosed her rage on her mate until he grabbed her hands.  He could barely contain her; Beatrice had become almost immeasurably strong.  “Why? Why did you let me murder him?”
With a surge, he rolled over until she was laying under him, sobbing in the rain as the bloody tears ran down her face and into the mud.
“This is why!  Do you understand?  Look at me, Beatrice.”  Giovanni finally caught her narrowed eyes, and she bared her teeth at him.  “Look at me and listen right now!  Did I let you kill that old man?  Yes, and I’ll tell you why.”
He took a softer hand and brushed at the tears that stained her cheeks.  “Because one day, very soon, it’s not going to be a sick stranger in a garden who tempts you.” He sat back and pulled her up in front of him, as the rain beat on their heads.
“Someday very soon, it’s going to be Benjamin.  Or your grandmother.  Or Caspar or Dez or Matt.  It’s going to be someone you love.  An innocent stranger on a train or walking down the street at night.  And the temptation is going to knock you over and every instinct in you is going to be screaming to take and drink and not to stop because there is nothing in the human world more powerful than you.  Do you understand what I’m saying?”  He grabbed the collar of her soaked overcoat and pulled her closer.  She still stared at him with sullen, tear-filled eyes as he continued. “Do you? Because when that moment comes, I want you to remember how you feel right now, Beatrice.  I want you to remember this moment for the rest of your existence because that is what will keep the humans around you safe from the monster who lives inside you.  Who lives inside all of us.”
Her eyes were dull as she stared at him.  Her hands lay limp at her sides.
“I hate you.”
“I love you.”

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Getting Back to the “Elements”



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The fourth book in Elizabeth Hunter’s Elemental Mysteries Series, “A Fall of Water”,  is almost here and I for one can not wait.  It will be out June 5, 2012 and to be honest I am as excited about this as I was the new Charlaine Harris novel.  I can honestly recommend  Elizabeth Hunter’s series right up there with some of my favorites such as Night Huntress and most of the Southern Vampire Mysteries.  I can tell you I will be waiting for the electronic download the minute it becomes available and I recommend you do the same.  Below is a glimpse into this fascinating story.  Be sure to check it out,  I promise you won’t be disappointed

“No secret stays hidden forever.”
Still grieving from their loss in the far East, Giovanni Vecchio and Beatrice De Novo discover that for them, all roads really do lead to Rome. But nothing is quite as it seems in the Eternal City. Joined by Carwyn and Tenzin, unexpected clashes greet them almost immediately, and rivalries churn beneath the glittering facade of the old Roman court. They quickly realize that allies might be enemies, and ancient rivals could hold the key to a deadly secret.
Giovanni and Beatrice will be forced to call on old alliances, ancient power, and fierce cunning to survive for the eternity they both desire. Sometimes, finding the end means going back to the beginning. Fire, Earth, Wind, and Water finally meet with devastating results in the conclusion of the Elemental Mysteries.