It is so exciting. We are doing rather well with the pod casting. We have been at this for about a month and we have had over 400 downloads. It is like way exciting. I don't know what to think. Mark wasn't optimistic about the amount of downloads we would get the first few months but now...he thinks we might make way over 1000 by the end of the year. We are just super happy about it. Thanks everyone.
After we are done with the first trilogy we will start work on the second set. We are thinking about opening it up to other authors...new writers. We are hoping some of the authors we are currently hooking up with will be interested in writing for the series. It is kind of scary though. If we don't like what they have then it will be hard to tell them no thank you. I say this because I am really picky and have high expectations of other writers. Mark and I are both very particular about what passes for good writing. Wow. This is going to be hard.
Anyway, come check us out at
www.hellholetavern.com.
Here is a sample of another writing project I am writing on.
All Rights Reserved. Copywrite Elizabeth Draper 2007
Blue (chapter 3, 4, 5)I walked out into a twilight forest, a soft breeze blowing through my hair, and tried to ignore the shadow walking behind me. Maybe if I pretended the pesky little bugger wasn't there, he would leave me along.
"Brigit, I insist you stay and talk with me."
Or not.
Cor's voice was crisp and demanding, his anger riding just below the surface of his outward calm.
"Look Dude, I'm not staying here. I appreciate you helping me out back there at the bar when things got hairy, but all that crap about me being some super warrior, and being the last brigand, well…that just ain't me and I don't really want it to be me."
The shadow moved up closer to me, raising the fine hairs on my neck. It bothered me to have someone I didn't know, or like, at my back.
"It doesn't matter what you want. You are who the goddess made you and none other."
I rolled my eyes. This guy was a regular air bag of wisdom. And I wasn't sure, but I think he liked hearing himself talk. "I make my own destiny Dude. I left fairyland a long, long, time ago and haven't regretted it since."
"My name is Cor -- not dude. And had the Queen not stolen the throne, you would have been raised in the court to be the Warrior and Dam nu' Air. It is only by your own unwillingness to come back to court that this did not happen."
He placed himself at my side and was walking so close I could smell the sandalwood scented cologne he was wearing.
I stopped abruptly and so did Cor. He was good; didn't miss a beat this one.
"Let me tell you something, Cor." I turned and looked up into his face. With the sun's light only a dim reminder on the horizon, his dark features were cast in even darker shadows but I knew he was looking down that long perfect nose at me -- face arrogant, eyes half lidded. It didn't usually bother me others were taller then myself, but he was using my lack of height as a means of measuring me. That just plain pissed me off.
"I was nine years old—nine—and nobody, and I mean nobody came to my aide when that bitch had me strung up in the middle of her bedroom trying to fillet me." I poked him in his chest, staggering him backwards. "Not you, not the guard, not my father's friends, nobody, and don't give me any shit about not having enough time because I spent twenty nine days in her tender care. I only got out of there because the pain was so excruciating that I came into my powers early. And if that didn't make it clear how much she hated me and wanted me dead, the thirty years of being chased and hunted by her 'faithfully ugly' pretty much set it in stone. So screw you, screw the court and screw your half baked ideas about destiny." I turned and started walking again. "Where the fuck were any of you when I needed someone to protect me?"
Memories of those thirty years came back to me in harsh flashes of sorrow and loneliness. I could not count the number of places I had put down roots only to have the Queen and her harpies rip them up. It wasn't until I learned to use my glamour that I escaped to America. And the journey across the Atlantic with all those filthy and overly superstitious pilgrims had almost killed me.
Cor was beside me again. Damn. The man was like a starved dog on a dry bone. He wasn't going to quit until he got to the marrow.
"None of that matters now Brigit. You are here now and things can begin anew."
I stopped again. This time I was so pissed I had to close my eyes and take deep breaths. The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance.
"You are Brigit of the house of Ronan and your destiny is that which the goddess has chosen for you. You need to get over the past and move forward."
"It's Blue." I hissed.
"You were blessed by the sacred waters of Danu and named after our three fold goddess Brigit. You do her memory a disservice by renaming yourself." Cor's anger shimmered in the air between us and added fuel to my own.
I put my hand over my face. Didn't this guy ever shut up? "Look. I don't give a crap about who I'm offending. Okay?" I was close to shouting. "I like the name Blue. Brigit can keep her freaking name. And I don't want to join your little group of 'save the fey'. Get off my ass, stay off my nerves and shut up a you mouth!" I said the last part in my best Italian accent. I turned and started stalking toward the other end of camp. I didn't want to be preached at anymore. I just wanted to go home to my garden.
From out of nowhere a gale force wind knocked me face first to the ground. I tried to move but it blew and shoved at my back like a giant hand trying to squish me.
Cor walked around in front of me and squatted. "Don't you ever blasphemy the goddess again. Or prophecy or not, I'll blow that pretty little head right off your body." Rage that did not show on his face flashed in his eyes as dark brown tornados. I could feel the heat in his stare and his power pouring over my body. My chest tightened and for the first time since he'd taken me from the bar, I got a good look at who and what Cor of Ravensdown really was.
Holy Goddess. He was a full blown air elemental. No pun intended.
"Do we have an understanding Brigit?" He hissed my name between clenched teeth and the hand on my back grew heavier. I gasped as the air in my lungs was crushed out by his magic. I gave the barest of nods and Cor stood up.
"Don't leave the camp or Liam will find you a nice prize for his Queen." Cor turned and as he did, the pressure left. I sucked in a large lungful of air and started coughing. I pushed myself up and immediately regretted doing so. The world swam around me and I laid back down.
"Bastard." Who the hell did he think he was? I'd leave if I wanted to and damn be the consequences. Just wait until I could stand. Leaving was the first thing I was going to do.
"He's a bully isn't he?"
I stopped cussing and rolled on my back. A tall sidhe warrior stood barely a foot from me. Where had he come from?
"I am Aries. You must be our honored guest, Blue?"
His smile was kind and warm and his face shone like the first tender moments of dawn. Golden waves of hair flowed down his front and ended just above his waist. And his eyes, by the goddess, were they twinkling? It was like being in the presence of some forgotten sun god. I was a bit stunned. I'd never seen a man that damn gorgeous.
He reached a hand to me and I took it before my common sense could kick in and tell me to stop. It was smooth and firm and as I gained my feet I stumbled into him. His arm encircled my waist to steady me and I found myself staring deep into those sparkling blue eyes. A tingling sensation traveled over my skin and my senses became closed off. All I could see or hear or feel was him.
"Are you alright?" His voice was a soft whisper against my face and the scent of fresh rain and lilacs filled my nose. Was that him smelling that inviting or my own magic going a little wonky?
"Yeah." My heart fluttered, my breathing became shallow. I realized with a strart my hands were sliding down the man's chest. What the hell was I doing? I closed my eyes and tried to slow my breathing. When I thought I could speak, I pushed myself reluctantly away. Aries' hands slid from my body and left tendrils of warmth in their wake. I opened my eyes, thinking the distance would help, but the urge to touch that firm expanse of chest was overwhelming. I stared at Aries chest a bit longer then I should have before I took another step backwards, placing him just out of my reach.
"He likes doing that to people." Aries voice glided over my skin like silk and my lower body tingled. I wanted to do him right then and there.
"Are you all right?" He asked.
I shook my head. Something was definitely not alright. Being attracted to another person is one thing, but wanting to tear their clothes off and fuck them till they couldn't stand, well, that took magic.
"What are you?" I breathed.
"I beg your pardon?" Golden, feathery eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
"Are you a nymph of some sort or maybe a descendant of a siren?"
Aries confusion suddenly turned to surprise. "I am sorry." He stepped backwards several feet and as he did the tingling stopped but my body ached for him to be closer again. I started to take a step forward.
"Blue…don't. Use your magic to block mine."
I nodded, numb and a bit uncomprehending, and gradually began to raise my power like an invisible wall. Aries moved back even further from me. The smell of rain came again as well as the sound of thunder and waves crashing against some distant shore. The urge to molest him left me and my breathing steadied.
"My grandmother was a wood nymph. Sorry about that." A slight flush crept across his high cheekbones. "I didn't think the Warrior would be so easily swayed by such trivial magic."
I frowned and narrowed my eyes. "And what do you mean by that?"
Aries shook his head and shrugged. "Nothing. I just…look…"
I raised my hand to stop him. "Nevermind. Forget I asked. I'm a little cranky right now." And I was. First I get lectured and thrown to the ground by the world's biggest egotist then I nearly get seduced by some hunky stranger who didn't even mean too. Talk about the opposite ends of the spectrum. "It was nice meeting you Aries." I turned and headed for the other end of the camp…again. My mood was growing darker and I just didn't want to be around anyone.
"Where are you going?"
"Home."
In less time then it took for me to blink, he was standing in front of me on the path. I started and swore at him.
"That isn't a wise choice."
How the hell had he done that? My anger, already simmering beneath my skin, ignited. "And who's going to stop me?" My voice become lower - not a good sign.
Aries hesitated before he answered. "I guess…me." He shrugged and gave me an apologetic smile.
"Get the hell out of my way before I literally rain all over your sunshiny head."
My hands balled into hard fists and the first hint of rain speckled his face.
Aries looked at the darkening sky, his eyes wide with wonder; not what I was looking for. I channeled my anger into the air and a distant rumble reverberated around us. Aries' mouth formed a silent 'wow' and then looked back at me. "I did not know you were an elemental. Why did you allow Cor to lay you out like that?"
I lost focus for a moment and the thunder receded. "I wasn't expecting him to do that and he did not 'lay me out'." I huffed.
Aries nodded. "I understand now. It's not that you aren't powerful enough, you just have no battle experience."
I thought about it a moment then nodded. Natural born warrior or not, I was a singer in a rock band and you just didn't encounter too many hostile forces…unless it was a two for one night and the place was loaded with drunks. Things could get out of hand then. But even so, we just usually slipped out the back. Nope. No fighting for me.
Aries started walking toward me and I backed away as he did, keeping at least a two feet between us. "Don't come any closer to me or I'll fry your butt." At least I hoped I could. I didn't like the thought of hurting someone and he hadn't really done anything to me…yet.
Aries smile spread across his face, slow and seductive. "I can't let you leave Blue. You are all that stands between us and the fading. And I don't want to fade Blue. I like living."
His magic pressed against me as if his hands were caressing my skin. I shuddered, and stopped backing away as it moved lower. I tried to focus and reinforce my shields but his magic pushed further into me. I moaned and stumbled forward into his arms. Desire flooded me like warm chocolate and I wrapped myself around his body, pulling him to my mouth. I had to have him.
Aries hands roamed at will and I didn't stop him. I wanted too, I knew I was being rolled, but I couldn't think past my burning body parts, the lower ones in particular. His hands had found the bottom of my skirt and pushed it up around my waist. I grabbed at the front of his pants and started undoing them. His mouth moved to my neck, biting me hard enough that I knew his teeth would be imprinted upon my skin. I moaned and shoved my hand inside his pants, grabbing his hard thickness in my hand and stroking.
"Oh Blue…" He groaned and backed me against a tree, his hand slipping between my legs.
"What the Hell are you doing?" Cor's voice cut through the air like a sonic boom and the crushing wind came back.
Aries tried to turn his head to look at him but couldn't. "I'll tell you if you tone down your gale." He shouted.
The air ceased trying to crush us and Aries carefully let me go, keeping himself between Cor and his view of me, while he straightened my clothes. Then Aries turned and faced Cor.
"She was trying to leave."
"And?"
"I stopped her the only way I knew how."
My face started to burn and as it did, my embarrassment helped chase away Aries magic.
"What? By pinning her to a tree and shoving your hand up her…"
"That's enough Cor." Aries voice was deeper, more dangerous, his soft whispers gone with the wind. "I did what I could, short of using my other powers on her, which would have been more then a bit unpleasant."
My eyes widened. What other powers?
"You could have came and told me and I would have dealt with her." Cor's voice grew lower and the wind increased in strength. I was now being pinned against the tree again, only it wasn't nearly as pleasant when Aries had done it.
Aries stood his ground. Tendrils of soft, tantalizing hair blew back into my face and caressed my skin. I felt his magic even in those few brief touches and had to restrain myself from reaching for him.
Aries laughed, short and unpleasant. "You are not the leader here Cor, I am. So put your jealousy away and stop acting like a child."
Cor's mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide; the wind died down to a strong breeze. "I am not jealous. Second, this is a joint effort and you don't tell me what to do or how to handle my prisoner."
Prisoner? Did he just refer to me as a prisoner? And just who the Hell were these two clowns? Sweet goddess. I had been kidnapped and didn't even know it.
"Your prisoner?" Aries sounded indignant. "I was the one who found her in the first place and warned you about Liam."
"Speaking of Liam, how did he know where she was to begin with?" Cor's voice hissed out through clenched teeth and his eyes had narrowed to slits.
"Do we have to do this now?" And his head jerked in my direction.
I pushed myself away from the tree and walked around Aries so that I stood between the two of them. "Yeah…we do. Because I have just learned I am being held here as a prisoner and I'd like to know why?"
"I told you why I brought you here. It is for your own protection." Cor said.
"Well I didn't seem to need protecting until he tracked me down and told everyone where I was at." I jerked my thumb in Aries' direction and placed my hand on my hip. "Want to try that answer again?" I narrowed my eyes and glared at Cor then turned my gaze to Aries.
Aries turned his head away and had the decency to look sorry. "I didn't tell Liam anything."
"I have told you all you need to know for now. You will stop being a child and allow myself to be your escort and that is the end of it." Cor replied, ignoring the other man's protest.
I looked back at Cor and studied his face. His lips, which I thought were so attractive when I first met him, were now pressed together so tightly it looked like someone had drawn them on his face with an eyebrow pencil. I scowled at him and folded my arms.
"Screw you. I'm leaving and I don't give a crap what—"
The wind roared down from above but I was ready this time. I dove to the ground and rolled out of the way. I was up and running, my magic already responding to my call, pulling water from the earth and the air, making the ground behind me a sopping, muddy, mess. Small pellets of hail spit from the sky, and I heard my captives, for that is what I thought of them now, cursing as it stung their exposed flesh. I could hear Cor's wind and my rain slashing at the air behind me as he tried to keep the rain and hail from attacking them. I sprinted through the trees, thankful I had chosen the low, flat boots over the higher heeled ones. Low hanging branches tore at my face and clothes like they were trying to reach out and grab me. Then one finally did.
I tumbled and rolled across the ground, scraping my hands and knees. I tried to push myself back up but before I could become fully erect someone flew into me from behind. I charged the air and called forth the lightening.
"Don't! You'll fry us all!"
I kicked and screamed about in the water and mud, fear fueling my magic beyond any sense of control. Strong arms jerked me up from the ground and the wind shot up from beneath, lifting my captor and myself straight into the air. The lightening struck the ground directly below us and traveled along the river of water like a shockwave. Trees caught fire and fell and bits of bark and limbs pummeled us as they flew upwards from the force of the blow.
I stopped resisting, shock freezing me more effectively then any spell. I looked up from the ground to find an angry, terrified Cor hovering in front of me, soot and splinters of wood covering his face.
"You idiot!" He shrieked. Cor drew his hand back and struck me across the face. The blow sent both Aries and myself spinning like a top into a tree where Cor pinned us, again, against the still warm trunk.
"Put us down you fucking asshole before I decide to dissolve our partnership literally." Aries sounded panicked and more then just a little angry.
I tried to focus but the right side of my face was one big heartbeat of pain and Aries held me so tight I couldn't breathe. The smell of singed hair filled my nostrils and I wanted to throw up. Fuzzy images filled my sight then like someone had switched off the lights, there was nothing.
When I awoke, I found myself in bed, cuddled in close to Aries. My head rested on his forearm and my arm was draped across his chest. That firm, beautiful chest.
I tried to lift my head but as soon as I did, the heartbeat returned to the side of my face. I groaned and rested upon his chest again.
"Blue?" His voice was a whisper again, soft and alluring. "How do you feel?"
"Like shit." It hurt to talk and I groaned again.
"Sorry." Aries touched my face where Cor had hit me. His touch felt good - warm, tingly. "He broke your check bone when he hit you. It is nearly healed but not quite."
"Where am I and how long have I been out?"
"In my bed and it's now mid-afternoon. You've been out for almost fifteen hours."
What? His bed? I looked more closely at the two of us. His chest was bare above the covers. Was it the same beneath? I swallowed and pulled the blankets up around me and that's when I realized I wasn't wearing anything but a nightshirt. Where was my underwear?
"Do you…I mean, are you…" My face started getting warm. I moved my leg away from his and slid my head onto my own pillow.
Aries smile become impish and his eyes seemed to brighten with mirth. "Wondering if I'm nude aren't you?"
My heart started to flutter like it had in the forest. My face burned like it was on fire, making the side of my face hurt even more. "No." But yes.
Aries sat up slowly in bed, the covers sliding lower on his body. "You're lying Blue."
I had a moment of near panic where I thought I was going stop breathing. The memory of his hands on my body and his mouth devouring mine was so strong that it was like he was kissing me right then and there. That's when near panic turned into real panic. I shoved him away from me and pulled the covers over my head.
There was a thump and a loud string of swear words.
"Damn it Blue!"
My eyes were squeezed shut under the covers. I didn't want to see him naked. Even through the pain I didn't have that much self control and the last time I checked, he was just as much to blame for my kidnapping as Cor was.
"You can uncover your head Blue." Aries didn't sound playful anymore. He sounded annoyed.
I hesitated a moment, then I carefully lowered the covers. Aries stood next to the bed, hands on his hips, scowl on his face, and boxers on his body.
"Do I look naked to you?"
I shook my head. Then another embarrassing thought occurred to me. "How did I get into this nightshirt?"
Aries smile crept back across his face. "For one, that isn't a nightshirt. It's a shirt from my closet. And for another," he paused and his smile grew positively wicked, "I'm not going to tell you."
I scowled at him and hugged the covers.
His laugh came abruptly and echoed through the room.
"I have been a complete gentleman Blue." He shook his head at me. "I slept in that bed with you all night and kept my hands to myself, even when you did things in your sleep that indicated I should have been otherwise inclined."
I wanted to throw something at him. His enjoyment of my discomfort was not making us fast friends.
"Besides," Aries slowly crawled across the bed until he was only inches from my face. He was no longer teasing, his mouth no longer curved in amusement. His eyes captured my own and held me entranced. "I want you to come to me without it being forced upon you."
His breath caressed my cheek and I couldn't breathe again. "You are simply one of the most beautiful fey I have ever met." His eyes were a deep blue like the sky just before twilight. I reached a hand out to touch his face and as our skin made contact, his lips, so full and smooth and pink, parted in a sigh.
What was I doing? This man was not my friend. I shoved him away from. He fell effortlessly backwards, then propped himself up on his elbows. I stared down the long, muscled length of him and lingered in places, which only the night before, I had my hands wrapped around. I tried to slow the beating of my heart but seeing him nearly nude made it impossible.
"Can you please put some clothes on?" I choked the words out.
"No."
I turned my head away. Maybe if I stopped looking at him I could think past my hormones. "You and I are never going to have sex."
"Yes we will."
I whipped my head around and glared at him. "Get out." I pointed toward the door.
Aries let his head fall back and laughed. It was like the rustle of trees, the babbling of a brook, like all the unsung melodies of the birds. It was magic and he was trying to suck me under again.
I grabbed my pillow and lurched across the bed, swinging it as I did. With a resounding 'whump' and a startled cry, I knocked Aries from the bed. He landed on the floor. And much to my satisfaction, it sounded like it hurt.
Aries arose from the floor slow and careful, and from the look on his face, really pissed. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. But hey, nobody does their hoodoo on me and gets away with it.
I tensed, expecting him to start yelling at me but he didn't. He simply reached over and touched the chair at the end of the bed. At first I thought he was going to throw it at me but he just kept staring, eyes narrowed, nostrils flared.
I was about to speak when he let go of the chair. It shimmered briefly then broke apart into a thousand drops of dried chips. I was so startled that I didn't see he had moved until his mouth was next to my ear. I tried to jerk away but he grabbed the back of my head and held me in place.
"Don't. Piss. Me. Off." His breath was hot, nearly scalding.
I whimpered. Didn't mean too, but it hurt.
"I can do all kinds of neat little tricks Blue. Mean, nasty little tricks. Try to keep me using my more pleasurable talents." Aries' breath cooled. His tongue flicked my earlobe and drew it into his mouth. As he sucked on it, pleasure danced over my skin but not even the heat of his magic could thaw the cold fear in my heart.
He let me go. I scrambled across and out of the bed. My heart was thudding so loud I thought it would explode inside my chest. "If you want to touch me you ask my permission or you're gonna' find I have a few nasty tricks of my own."
My words sounded braver then I felt. Would he really do that chair thing to me?
Aries sat there looking at me, a look of concentration on his face then slowly he stood. "Have it your way Blue. But make no mistake that if you try to get away again, I won't hesitate to stop you – anyway I can." His body shimmered with sweat and the air grew steamy.
I couldn't look away from him. I wanted to but the fear in my gut wouldn't let me. Keep that one in sight at all times, it whispered. Cause if you don't you may end up dead. And in my book, dead was not good.
I paced in Aries' bedroom, finished with my dinner. It had been a couple of hours since I had seen my charming captors. They had stopped in long enough to read me their version of the Geneva Conventions rules on prisoners.
1) I was not to leave the bedroom. My camp roaming days were over.
2) Trying to escape would only get me put into iron shackles.
3) If I wanted my clothes and my independence back, I had to swear an oath of non-betrayal to their cause.
The last point was of serious contention between the two of them because Cor initially wanted me to swear my undying loyalty to him. I thought for sure I was going to have a chance to escape when he said that because Aries nearly blew a vein out when he heard it.
Unfortunately, my captors were a bit more united then I had thought.
When they calmed down I told them to go screw themselves. For that I got a look of fury from Cor and hopeful lust from Aries.
I was now alone, and underwear-less. This outranked any predicament I had ever been in and that included the time I woke up naked in someone's tree house, in the middle of December and had not a clue how I got there. I walked over to the bed and flopped down, my face still throbbing (chewing had hurt like hell) and more then a little tired. I laid back on the bed and tried to think of a way out of this mess. I mean, what would the real Warrior and Dam nu' air do if they were in my position? Well, to begin with, I shouldn't have let them capture me in the first place. I thought. This really irritated me, so I decided to try and answer another thing that had been bothering me. Which was: why were a dark elf and a light elf consorting together?
It wasn't like dark and light elves hated each other, some did, but it was really a matter of religious choice. Dark elves believed that Brigit, the goddess I am named after, was the true heart of sidhe people and she alone had ensured the survival and prosperity of the Sidhe Nation. The light elves believed that Danu was the bringer of all light and she was the mother creator, which to them, made her the main deity of our race. I myself agreed with the light elves. I mean it did make sense to honor the creator of our race not the goddess which the humans had once worshipped. Technically, Brigit had been one of us, only uber powerful.
Another thing that I didn't understand was this fading thing they kept talking about. Was it some new fey disease? I thought we were pretty much invincible. Maybe not. And what did I have to with stopping it?
I got up, restless, and more then a little angry and went to the door. I put my hands on the smooth, burnished wood, and tried to see if I could call to any water. The only thing I found was a little dab of liquid a few feet down the hall. I had never been cut off from my element.
I began to feel tired of the whole mess. Why did they have to come and ruin the life I had created for myself? My eyes started to droop. I needed to sit back down. I staggered over to the bed. The room swayed. I fell into the bed's silky coolness and tried to hold onto my thoughts. I had so many questions and not nearly enough answers. I had to get out of here. I had too…too…what? My limbs felt like they were filling with pudding, my mind full of fluffy cotton. Soon, I was floating through the air on a cushiony bed, surrounded by strange voices and even stranger faces. I must be dreaming, I thought. No one's face was that ugly…was it?
And when had I learned to fly?
