I’ve been failing on my Snippet Saturday so let’s see what I have for you today!!!
This snippet comes from one of my recent releases: Demon Fire.
A gust of wind raced passed us, sending a chill through me, even with the jacket in place. One of the men on the right side of the circle grunted. My eyes flicked to him. I’d hallucinated before, but never had any of them made noises.
He was a giant of a man, both tall and broad, and he was shirtless. Of course he was. Every inch of him that I could see was corded muscle, not an inch of fat on him. And the amount of muscle was staggering.
I could easily have looked at him all day drooling, but when he stepped toward me, no, stalked toward me, that idea vanished. He didn’t stop until he was right in front of me, solid arms boxing me in as he rested his hands on the car on either side of my body. My back had hit the passenger door as he’d approached, leaving me nowhere to escape.
The man leaned in, breathing deeply near my hair, my face, and then my neck. Each breath he took made his eyes burn brighter and my heartrate spiked and raced with even more wild terror. Either I was going to pass out because I couldn’t suck in enough air or my heart would give out. It was a toss-up to see which one occurred first.
Snarling at me, the man’s gaze returned to mine. “What is wrong with your eyes?”
My eyes widened at the other-worldly sound of his voice, and the lisp on his S’s. It was almost too smooth, and a light vibration and echo of some sort accompanied the sound. I had no idea how else to describe it besides unnerving as he glared at me with eyes that were practically on fire.
Today marks the five year anniversary of my first book, Perfect Scents, releasing to the world! It has been an amazing five years, and I can’t believe it’s here already! So much has happened, it’s almost impossible to believe! I’ve made more friends, both author and reader, than I ever expected. I’ve attended author events in several different places. People actually like my books and can’t wait for the next one! I was hoping that would happen, but wasn’t sure it would. I have loyal fans. Again, not expected but hoped for.
My author proof shelf!
The only thing I would consider to be awful about these last five years was losing Gunney, my writing companion. I haven’t talked about it much, but I lost my best friend in March of this year. He was a special part of each book and writing was easier with him around. The words have been a struggle this year since losing him, but they’re coming faster now. He was always lying at my side or near me on a blanket, so it has taken some time to write alone without him when I’m writing at my place.
So, let’s go through some of the highlights (there are so many, I’m not going to be able to go over them all in this post).
The first is that I found out there are author signings. This is a two way street here. First, I got to meet my favorite author in person. I’d loved Karen Lynch’s books since I started reading them, and when I found out she was signing at different events, I had to go so I could meet her. Since then, I’ve read more and met more amazing authors as a reader. Those friendships have gone on to bigger and better things.
On the flip side, I have attended several signings as an author. It’s amazing to be able to network with other authors but then to also share my precious books with readers from all over. I still have a goal to do a signing outside of the USA, so one day it’ll happen. I’ve had to learn to come out of my shell and learn how to sell my books to those who’ve never heard of me. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. But it’s fun either way.
Last year, I participated in my first shared world anthology in The Diner. It was a fun experience to be able to build this world with three awesome ladies! It was definitely a learning experience for all of us, and I continue to learn more as I do it. This year, I’m embarking on joining another shared world as we also work on The Diner 2. This is both an exciting thing to do, but it does have its challenges. I guess we’ll see how it all goes!
One of the things that has been special about this year is that my sister, Melanie Gilbert, and I have finally sat down and decided what book we’re writing together and going to finish it. So, in September, that book releases. We’re still working on it, but we’ve grown a lot in writing together since we first started doing it a few years ago. That was all great practice that has led up to the creation of Dark of the Night. It’s fun to be able to do what we love, but even better to do it together. So many people have been telling us to do it for years, and we’re finally doing it!
My last happiness of this adventure that I’m going to touch on, is my readers. I have several who tell others to read my books if I post in various groups. I have readers that one click whenever I post up a pre-order. I have FANS!!! Like, how did that happen? When did it happen? I love each and every one of them. They are the ones who make this an amazing adventure. If I didn’t have readers, I’d still write, but they make the experience far worth it. To each of you, thank you for enjoying my stories. You are amazing!!
There are so many more highlights to this author journey, and not enough time or space to write them all. I have been blessed beyond belief to make this journey. I’m hoping the next five years are even better than the first!
Heather Karn 