Alchemy, Sorcery & Magic volume 2, Crossings
The next volume in the AS&M series. Picking up where A New Age Begins left off with Greg and Gina, they cross the new wilds of the midwest. Technology has failed and the anarchy that ensues drives people out from the cities, those that survive anyway. The hunt for Merlin's journal heats up as the impending problems from the Netherworld begin to escalate and not a single clue to the journal's location has yet been uncovered. Expected release date late summer 2013.
Excerpt:
Looking into her face Greg could see that no amount of pleading or begging would change her mind. The thought of forcing her to stay briefly flashed through his mind and was just as quickly discarded as ludicrous. If he tried to force her to stay she would just end up hating him and he couldn't live with her hate.
"How about if I go along with you? We could both use a little vacation and the trip would be just the thing. We could relax along the way and just enjoy the scenery. What do you say?"
"I say that I can't believe my ears. Are you the same person who just six days ago told me that he couldn't break away for a couple of days to go into town because he was hot on the trail of a new spell? You said that the research would probably take you at least a month, most likely more, and it would be a bit longer before you felt confident enough to actually perform it. Have you made some extraordinary breakthrough since I was gone to change that optimistic estimate?"
"Well ...."
"Look, I know that you need to collect some more blood to begin that experiment. Besides if you went along with me you wouldn't enjoy any of the trip because you would constantly be thinking about what you could have been accomplishing if you had stayed home to continue your experimentation. With you distracted like that, the trip would be no fun for me either and to top it off we would be slowed down because we weren’t concentrating on the trail. If I wait for you to complete the next series of experiments the passes in the mountains will be blocked the early snows and I'll have to wait for the spring thaws."
"But ...."
"You know that if I have to wait for the spring thaws that I'll spend the entire winter hoping that the apothecary isn't in the process of being looted. I’ll begin to daydream what it would have been like if I had left in time to find the apothecary intact. Those daydreams will probably set me in such a foul mood that I won’t be able to concentrate on anything. You know that when I get distracted that I even have a tendency to ignore you, if you get the drift of what I'm saying."
Her quick glance to loft where they both slept was all the hint Greg needed. Feeling dejected he turned his back to her.
"Sure, go ahead. Kick a guy when he's down. Here would you like to turn the knife now that you have it firmly in my back?"
The smile of triumph flashed across her face as she moved up behind him and started to nuzzle him behind the ears. Pressing her body against his back, she encircled his waist with the arms. As her hands met over his belt buckle she whispered in his ear.
"Don't be like that. I'll only be gone for a little while. Two and a half weeks at the most. In fact I’ll probably be back before you realize that I left. Besides we can work on getting you so worn out that by the time I leave you’ll need a good week in bed alone to recuperate."
Nibbling on his ear her hands moved to open his shirt and caress his chest. The nibbling changed to soft little kisses up and down the sides of his neck as her hands played with the hair of his exposed chest and stomach. In moments she could feel the hurt anger slowly drain from his body to be replaced with a more urgent and animalistic need.
Turning around, he roughly pulled her to him and crushed his lips against hers in a violent kiss. Pressed tightly against him as she was she could feel his excitement pressed hard against her stomach.
"I'm glad to see that you missed me."
With a laugh he picked her up into his arms. Throwing her arms around his neck she pressed her lips to his, darting her tongue into his mouth. The heat that was being generated by the two of them would have warmed a small town. When they at last broke from the kiss, Greg could contain himself no longer. With a quick turn he carried Gina up the stairs and into the loft where they spent the rest of the day and night.
Excerpt:
Looking into her face Greg could see that no amount of pleading or begging would change her mind. The thought of forcing her to stay briefly flashed through his mind and was just as quickly discarded as ludicrous. If he tried to force her to stay she would just end up hating him and he couldn't live with her hate.
"How about if I go along with you? We could both use a little vacation and the trip would be just the thing. We could relax along the way and just enjoy the scenery. What do you say?"
"I say that I can't believe my ears. Are you the same person who just six days ago told me that he couldn't break away for a couple of days to go into town because he was hot on the trail of a new spell? You said that the research would probably take you at least a month, most likely more, and it would be a bit longer before you felt confident enough to actually perform it. Have you made some extraordinary breakthrough since I was gone to change that optimistic estimate?"
"Well ...."
"Look, I know that you need to collect some more blood to begin that experiment. Besides if you went along with me you wouldn't enjoy any of the trip because you would constantly be thinking about what you could have been accomplishing if you had stayed home to continue your experimentation. With you distracted like that, the trip would be no fun for me either and to top it off we would be slowed down because we weren’t concentrating on the trail. If I wait for you to complete the next series of experiments the passes in the mountains will be blocked the early snows and I'll have to wait for the spring thaws."
"But ...."
"You know that if I have to wait for the spring thaws that I'll spend the entire winter hoping that the apothecary isn't in the process of being looted. I’ll begin to daydream what it would have been like if I had left in time to find the apothecary intact. Those daydreams will probably set me in such a foul mood that I won’t be able to concentrate on anything. You know that when I get distracted that I even have a tendency to ignore you, if you get the drift of what I'm saying."
Her quick glance to loft where they both slept was all the hint Greg needed. Feeling dejected he turned his back to her.
"Sure, go ahead. Kick a guy when he's down. Here would you like to turn the knife now that you have it firmly in my back?"
The smile of triumph flashed across her face as she moved up behind him and started to nuzzle him behind the ears. Pressing her body against his back, she encircled his waist with the arms. As her hands met over his belt buckle she whispered in his ear.
"Don't be like that. I'll only be gone for a little while. Two and a half weeks at the most. In fact I’ll probably be back before you realize that I left. Besides we can work on getting you so worn out that by the time I leave you’ll need a good week in bed alone to recuperate."
Nibbling on his ear her hands moved to open his shirt and caress his chest. The nibbling changed to soft little kisses up and down the sides of his neck as her hands played with the hair of his exposed chest and stomach. In moments she could feel the hurt anger slowly drain from his body to be replaced with a more urgent and animalistic need.
Turning around, he roughly pulled her to him and crushed his lips against hers in a violent kiss. Pressed tightly against him as she was she could feel his excitement pressed hard against her stomach.
"I'm glad to see that you missed me."
With a laugh he picked her up into his arms. Throwing her arms around his neck she pressed her lips to his, darting her tongue into his mouth. The heat that was being generated by the two of them would have warmed a small town. When they at last broke from the kiss, Greg could contain himself no longer. With a quick turn he carried Gina up the stairs and into the loft where they spent the rest of the day and night.
Not So Virgin Mary: Daughter, Sailor, Mother, Spy?
Based on the real-life exploits of a woman ahead of her time. Mary Blanche Dacier ('D' to her friends) lead an incredible life starting with her enlistment in the Navy in 1942, business college then assigned to the first President of South Korea, Syngman Rhee. She served as secretary to President Rhee, attended many lavish parties, got to know the Korean people of post Japan occupation. D was also captured and tortured by the North Koreans when they invaded South Korea at the start of the Korean Conflict. Papers smuggled out of S. Korea document her involvement with the South Korean government prior to the invasion of the North Koreans. Expected release is fall 2013.