Wednesday 30 October 2013

It's a giveaway!!!!!

Yep, yep, yep! So, here I sit, looking at this beautiful paperback and thinking, man, I need to give this to some lucky winner. :D So, here's an excerpt (it's a steamy one) and the synopsis.  Oh. And the rafflecopter giveaway! Get in on this!

Synopsis:

It's been five years since the Chosen One's war and Hayden's pack has been able to enjoy life once again. Of course, things can never stay calm and they soon find themselves caught up in another epic fight and this time it looks like Ternach might hold the key to winning.

Mortal since losing his powers in the battle of Paradin, Ternach decides to take a trip to Sageden in hopes that Hayden can help him get his magic back. Along the way, he meets Sarah; a woman with a secret and an agenda.

It doesn't take long before sparks are flying and Ternach starts to think that maybe being human has it's perks after all.

When he discovers Sarah's secret he needs to make a decision: Does he stay human so he can stay with Sarah, or does he attempt to become immortal again knowing he has what is needed to win...

Excerpt:

“So we’ll leave first thing in the morning then.  I wish I’d known sooner what had happened.  We could have been gone already.”  Cassandra frowned and looked to the door of Ternach’s room.
“Can I have a look at the orb again?  It really is irking me that I can’t remember when I saw the other one.”  Ternach put another piece of wood on the fire he had going.  Cassandra reached into Peter’s pack and pulled out the yellow orb then handed it to him.
Ternach frowned.
“Have you left Quelondain?”  Peter sat behind Cassandra.
“Hmmm?  Oh, yes, I have.”  He looked up from the orb and its moving veining and smiled.  “If you name it I’ve probably been there.  It’s amazing how bored a being can get over time.”
Cassandra laughed and leaned back against Peter who kissed her shoulder.  Ternach smiled at the gesture then frowned as he looked at his door.
“Is she alright?”  Peter was looking in the same direction.
Ternach shrugged.  “I’m not sure.  I can’t tell you if this happens every time she comes home, or if it’s a new occurrence.  It could have been the fight with that Brent character or the fact that someone left a dead animal in her bed.”  He remembered how she’d shivered against him through the night.  He took a deep breath.  “Bastard,” he muttered under his breath.  He wasn’t entirely sure what the idiot had said to her, but she’d seemed distant for the past day.  Other than the odd glance in his direction she’d barely acknowledged he was there though she hadn’t left his side since they’d found her room covered in blood.  He handed the orb back to Cassandra and stood.
“I have some herbs that might help calm her down if she wants.  If she needs me, we’ll be in our room.”
Ternach nodded and walked off to find Sarah.  “She told you she needed a minute to herself,” he mumbled to himself.  He stopped walking then started again.  He had a bad feeling.
“No!”  Sarah’s voice was filled with fear.  Ternach ran as quietly as he could and hid behind a bush.
Sarah looked in his direction, like she’d felt him grow near.
“Ow, Brent, you’re hurting me.”  Sarah winced as his fingers dug into her arm.  Her heart was pounding.  Brent had always been quiet and gentle.
He jerked then looked at her with the strangest look on his face.  “I’m hurting you, am I?  What are you going to do about it?”
“What?”
He grunted.  “Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about!  Tanner did the same thing!”  He shook his head.  “What?  You’re drunk, Brent.  Go sleep it off.”  He brought his hand up and slapped her in the face.  Sarah’s face exploded with pain as her head snapped back.  “Well, I’m not drunk now, Sarah, so how are you going to explain it to me?”
“Explain what, Brent?”
“Come on, now.  Stop me.”  He spun her around and pressed his dagger to her throat.  “Stop me, Sarah.  I know you have more sense than Tanner.  He thought I’d stop if he didn’t do anything.  You won’t make the same mistake, now, will you?”
“What are you saying?  You’re the one who killed Tanner?”  Tears spilled from her eyes.  “Why?”
“I know what you are, Sarah!  I know what you both were!  But your mate was stupid, wasn’t he.  Even when he was dying he refused to help himself!”  He pulled her head back even farther and Sarah felt the blade bite into her throat.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!  Brent, please!”
“Oh, that’s nice.  I like the sound of that.  Beg some more.  Actually, just agree to my proposal and I’ll let you live.  I don’t mind what you are, Sarah, but I refuse to let anyone else have you.”
“I’m a Namael!  A cheetah!  By the moons, Brent, I don’t understand!”
He pressed his dagger harder against her throat.  “Come on.  Save yourself.  You know you can.”
“Is there a problem here?”
Brent turned quickly and growled.  Sarah’s heart jumped into her throat.
“Move along, man.  This is none of your business.”
“Now that’s where you’re wrong.”  Ternach tried to look calmer than he felt.  All it would take was one quick swipe of the dagger and Sarah would be dead.  He couldn’t help but think about the fact that his magic would be handy right about now.  “Sarah is my business.”  His jaw clenched as he saw her eyes widen, her tears running down her bruised face.
Brent frowned.  “What’s wrong with your eyes?  Are you one of them?”
“One of who?  What’s he talking about, Sarah?”
“I don’t know!”
Truth be told, Ternach didn’t really care what the man was talking about.  Just keep him distracted, he thought to himself.  To Brent he said, “I’m definitely not one of those, but I’ll agree with you, she’s something else isn’t she?”
Sarah’s eyes widened.
“There!  I knew it!”  Brent pushed her away, spinning her around so that she was looking at him.  Ternach was sprinting toward them.  “Now, save yourself, witch.”  Brent wound up and threw his dagger at her then grunted with the impact of Ternach’s body colliding with his.
Ternach straddled the smaller man and punched him until there was no more struggling under him.  “Sarah!”  He turned and scrambled to his feet.  Sarah stared at him with wide eyes, unmoving.  “Are you alright?”  He looked her over, trying to see if the dagger had hit its mark.
“I’m… I’m fine.”
“Where’s his dagger?”
“It… he threw wide.”  She couldn’t stop staring at Brent’s listless form on the ground.  “Did you kill him?”
Ternach frowned and glanced back.  Brent’s chest was still moving as he breathed.  “No.  He’s alive.  By the moons, Sarah, look at me!”  He reached out and took her by the arms.  Her eyes finally met his.  “Are you alright?”
She nodded slowly and suddenly, all of the strength she had left evaporated.  Ternach caught her as her legs gave way.
“Let’s get you to the inn and we’ll figure out what’s wrong,” he said as he cradled her in his arms.  Brent moaned and reached up to touch his swollen face.  His eyes met Ternach’s.
“If you ever come near her again you’ll die.”
Brent’s eyes widened.  “You can’t possibly believe her!  She’s a witch!”
Ternach shook his head.  “I know from personal experience that she’s not a witch and I meant what I said.  Killing you won’t bother me in the least.”  He strode away and hugged Sarah to his chest.  He looked down at her, frowning.
“Let’s get you back to my room.  I’ll go get Cassandra for you.”
“No!
“But Cassandra could help…”  He touched her face lightly where it was bruised.
She shook her head.
“What do you need me to do?”
“I…”  Sarah felt as though she was being carried through a haze.  “He did it.”  Tears slid down her face and Ternach pulled her close.  “He killed Tanner.”
“Did he say why?”
She shook her head.  “He kept saying he knew what we were.  He called me a witch.”
“Well, then, the man is obviously losing his mind, no?”  He kissed her forehead.  “I know witches, and you, my girl, are definitely not one.”  He rubbed her back until she started to relax against him.  He managed to open his door and lay her on the bed.
“But you agreed with him.  You said I was something else.”
He chuckled and lay beside her.  “I didn’t agree that you were a witch.”  His gaze softened and he tucked her hair behind her ears.  “I said you were something else and that you are.”
Her heart fluttered in her chest.  “Ternach?”
“Hmm?”
“Why did you go come find me?”
“I…”  He frowned.  “I’m not sure.  I had a strange feeling.”
“Thank you.”
He chuckled.  “Anytime.”  He lifted her chin and looked at her throat.  “Are you sure you don’t want Cass?”
Her eyes widened.  “No!  I’m fine.  Really.”
“Sarah, are you sure you’re alright?”  Ternach couldn’t get over the scared look in her eyes.  “Are you scared he’ll be back?  He won’t touch you again, I promise.”
She only moved closer to him and buried her face in his chest.  There had only been one man that had been able to make her feel safe until now.  She took a deep breath and felt him tighten his hold on her.  Maybe everything would be alright.  Would Brent try anything else?  Maybe.  Ternach was right, he’d obviously lost his mind.  Who in their right mind would make accusations like that?  Stop thinking about it.
“Do you want me to add some wood to the fire?”  Ternach was starting worry about how hard she was shaking against him.
She shook her head.  “Just hold me.”  Truth be told, she wasn’t shivering because of the shock of her situation anymore.  She focused on the feel of his hand moving along her arm.
He pulled the blankets over the both of them and hugged her close, rubbing her back.  Sarah felt her tunic ride up in the back and his fingers brushed along her skin.  She jerked at the touch and her heart jumped.
“Sorry.”  He smoothed everything down again and continued trying to warm her.
“Ternach?”
“Hmmm?”
“What have you been feeling?  I mean, when I walked into the restaurant last night and then after that?”  She remembered the frown that hadn’t left his face.
He thought about it for a minute.  “Worried, why?”
“Oh, well, I thought you might have been upset after finding out about Brent.”
“Is that why you’ve been acting standoffish?”
She nodded, still sure he wasn’t entirely happy with her.  “And what about now?”  She looked up into his white green eyes when he didn’t answer and caught her breath at the look in them.
“Still worried.”
Sarah smiled at his blush.  “And?”
The corners of his mouth twitched.  “By the moons, Sarah, you’re pressed right up against me.  If you can’t figure it out…”
She grinned and gasped as his fingers left hot trails down her arm.
“I don’t think you lost your magic at all.  I think it’s buried somewhere in there.”
He shook his head.  “Trust me, my girl, if I had any magic left, I’d know.”  But even as he said the words he couldn’t help but hope she was right.  “So why would you think I had magic left?  I thought you didn’t have a feel for magic.”
Sarah’s heart beat a bit faster.  “I… I don’t.  I’m not sure why.”
“Are you sure you’re alright?  I still think I should go get Cassandra.”
She shook her head.  “I don’t want you to worry or even think right now.”  She reached a hand up and ran her fingers along his jaw line.
His frown deepened.  “Sarah…”
She repositioned herself so she could kiss along his jaw.  “I’ll add no talking to the list of things not allowed at the moment.”
“You’ve been through a lot the last two days…”  He closed his eyes at the feel of her hands running through his hair and Sarah smiled at the shiver that ran through him as she flicked her tongue over his lips.
“Make me forget.”
He pulled her up so he could look at her.  “Are you sure?”
She answered by pushing him onto his back, straddling him, and pulling her tunic over her head.  He groaned and pulled her down so that his face was pressed between her breasts.  His tongue flicked over her nipple lightly and it was her turn to groan.  His hands ran up her back and tangled in her auburn hair.  His mouth left her breast, trailed along her collarbone, up her neck, and found her lips.  Her tongue found his and she melted over him, her hips moving against his.  He let out a strangled gasp and suddenly she was sure that if she couldn’t feel him naked under her hands she would die.
Sarah rolled to the side and pulled him into a sitting position so she could tug his shirt over his head.  Her heart was pounding and at the sight of his bare chest it started to race.
“Pants…” she managed to choke out the word.  He obliged her by standing and stepping out of them.  Seeing him standing before her, his eyes blazing with need, his body ready to take her, she shivered.
Ternach closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  Once he’d managed to calm down a bit he took a step closer to the bed and leaned down to kiss her.  His arms wrapped around her and he moaned at the feel of her breasts against his chest.  His head was reeling and he pulled back, stood her on the bed and helped her out of her pants.  His teeth brushed over her nipples and she arched against him, her gasp causing him to groan.
Sarah moaned as his fingers found their way between her legs.  They slipped inside of her and she had to fight to stay upright.  Ternach’s mouth moved from one breast to the other then moved back to her lips.  His fingers flicked inside of her.
“Wait… wait…”  Her head was spinning and the heat inside of her was building.  “I want you in me…”  She felt him smile where he’d been nibbling on her neck.
He felt her start to tighten around his fingers and he stopped his stroking.  He moved back to her breasts and she arched against him as he pulled most of one into his mouth.
“You know, I’ve never done this without magic…”  He let his tongue slip from one nipple to the other where he proceeded to pay attention in great detail.  Sarah’s breath caught in her throat as his fingers resumed their stroking.
“Ternach…”  Sarah moaned as his tongue found hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck.  Her whole body was on fire.  Every touch was sending heat waves scorching through her.  She sobbed in frustration as his fingers stopped once again.  “Please…”
Her eyes flew open as they left her body.  His one arm pulled her to his chest and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he crawled to the head of the bed.  He lowered her gently.
“This is feeling alright for you?”  He brushed the hair out of her eyes and waited for her answer.
Sarah stopped herself from laughing when it became obvious he was serious.  She let her fingers trail along his jaw.  “It is feeling so good that if you don’t stop talking and keep doing what you were doing I might decide to kill you.”
“Hmmm…. Well, we can’t have that now, can we?”  His words were whispers in her ear.  He spread her legs with his knees and groaned as he pushed himself into her.  Sarah caught her breath, her hips tilting upwards to meet his.  He seemed to fill her completely and as he started to pull back again she quivered under him.  He pushed in again, slowly.
“By the moons, Ternach, please…”  Every movement in and out was slowly bringing her to her release.  He felt her start to tighten around him and he stopped, buried as deeply as he could be.  He groaned and took a deep breath.
“Not yet, my girl, not yet.  The moons only know when we’ll have a chance to be alone again.”
Sarah squirmed under him, urging him to move, but the weight of his hips against hers kept her from achieving what she wanted.  He waited a moment then resumed, loving the small groans that escaped her every time he would push back in.
His strokes quickened and he looked into her dark hazel eyes.  Sarah wrapped her legs around his waist then bit into his shoulder to muffle the scream as she clenched around him and every nerve in her body exploded with feeling.  Ternach’s breath caught in his throat and he groaned as her release set his off.  His mouth found hers and he kissed her tenderly.  He jerked as he closed his eyes and a flash of light filled his head.
Sarah gave a surprised cry.
He opened his eyes and found himself in a time he’d forgotten about.  Hazel eyes a shade lighter than the ones he’d just been gazing into peered back at him.  Plumper lips smiled sexily.  He grinned and kissed them lightly.
“By the moons, Brailla, I’m going to miss you.”  He made to roll off of her.
She hooked her legs around his hips and held him in place.  “Don’t get up yet.  I want to remember this feeling.”
He relaxed over her and let himself settle deeper into her.  She sighed and ran her hands lightly over his back.
“You’ll be careful?”  He couldn’t help the worry he’d been fighting off from returning.
“I will be.”  She ran her fingers along his jaw line.  “I’ll be fine.”
He grunted.  “You’re not about to take a stroll through the dragon mother’s den… you’re going up against Vallorg.”
“I was born to this, Ternach.  I can’t simply say I won’t go.”
“I know.  Are you sure you don’t want me to come along?”
She smiled.  “Yes, I’m sure.  It doesn’t say anything in the Witteck’s Prophecy about some beautiful immortal swooping in to save the day.”
“And this Glear character…”
“Will treat me well.  If he doesn’t, I’ll be sure to break his nose for you.”
“Alright.”  He kissed her softly and moved so that he was sitting by her side.  Brailla stood and he watched as she made her way to her pack.
“What are you looking for?”
“You asked if there was anything you could do to help me and I think I just thought of what that might be.”  She stood, the firelight highlighting her bare skin and long auburn hair.  “I think you should keep this.”  She handed him the red globe she guarded with her life.
He took it from her and watched as the dark red veining moved lazily through the sphere.
“If for some reason Vallorg manages to capture all of us and take the keepers’ orbs, he’ll still be short this one.  He can’t do anything without all of the spheres.  He’ll never think of looking here for it.”
Ternach frowned.  “You’re talking as if you’re knowingly going to your death.”
She shrugged.  “I’m not saying it’s what I want to happen, but I won’t lie to myself.  The possibility is good.”  She pulled her clothes on before kissing him again.
“Let me get my clothes on and I’ll walk you to the edge of the woods.”
Once they’d made it to their usual parting area he paused.  “Good luck, Brailla.  For everyone’s sake, I hope you succeed.”  He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly.  “Stay safe.”
She took a deep breath and nodded.  “Goodbye.”  She stepped back, muttered under her breath, and vanished.
Ternach jerked back to the present and found himself still lying on top of Sarah.  Her dark hazel eyes were wide, her jaw slack with surprise.  He moved so he was on his back and covered his face with his arm.
“By the moons, did you see that?”  His voice came out strangled.
“I did.”  Hers was just a whisper.  Neither one of them said anything for a moment.
“You knew Brailla.”  Sarah didn’t make it a question.
“I did.”  He turned onto his side so he could look at her.  “You’re a Witteck.”  It wasn’t a question either.
She rolled and gazed up at him.  “I am.”
“Did you come looking for me thinking I might know where the red orb was?”
She shook her head.  “I had no idea.”  She smiled.  “But now that I know she gave it to you, where is it?”
He shrugged.  “I have no idea.”  He grinned at her raised eyebrow.  “Sarah, I buried it somewhere in the Northern Regions, that’s all I can tell you.  That was almost a hundred thousand years ago; a lot has happened since then.”  He tucked her hair behind her ears.  “It’s safe.”
She started to laugh.
“What?”
“I just… I was just thinking that we are the only two beings alive today that could have experienced what we had and be having this conversation as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.”
He chuckled and pulled her close.  “So Brent was right about you then.”
“He was, though he was wrong about the witch part.  Wittecks aren’t witches.  We’re the keepers of the orbs.”
“Was he right about Tanner?”
“He was.”  Her voice was just a whisper.  “Tanner was my other half.  He didn’t want to be a Witteck.  He insisted it was a mistake.  He refused to start looking for the orbs.  As far as I know, we were the only two to have been called.  The more danger of the orbs being united, the more Wittecks will appear.  We’re born regular beings, but a dream seems to unlock the ancient memories of the past.”
“Do you know where the rest of the orbs are?”
She shook her head.  “When Brailla and Glear displaced them, it was a random act caused by them alone.  There is no record of where the orbs went.”
“Well, we know where three of them are.  Peter and Cassandra have the yellow one, Marilynn has the green one, and somewhere in the Northern Regions, I have the red one.  Do you know why you’ve been called?”
“If we’ve been called, it means some evil has risen.”
Ternach grunted.  “Terrific.”
“Did you love her?”
Ternach frowned.  “What?”
“Brailla.  Did you love her?”
He raised an eyebrow at her.  “How do you switch over from what could be the end of the world to my love life?”
Sarah shrugged.
“I… I’m not sure how to explain it, Sarah.  I was immortal.  I loved her as much as I could knowing that she would get old and die and I wouldn’t.  There was also the fact that she was already a Witteck when we met and she was waiting to dream of her other half.  It was fun and we both cared for each other, but we knew it wouldn’t last.”
“Is that why she left that night?”
“It was.  Can we get back to the end of the world?”
She noticed a flicker of sadness in his eyes.  It was there and gone so quickly she wasn’t sure she’d seen it at all.
“I suppose we can, though there isn’t much I can tell you.  I fated to Tanner.  Six years ago we both had the dream that marked us as Wittecks.  I managed to find one of the keys needed to lock the orbs back into their nests but with everything that happened with Braw it was hard to explore without being questioned.  Both halves of a Witteck couple have to be together at all times.  We lose our magic otherwise.”
“That’s right, I remember that now.  But Brailla was a Namael sorceress.  I remember how her energy multiplied after she dreamed of Glear.”  He frowned.  “You’re not a sorceress.”
“No, I’m not.  Why?”
“When Brent threw his dagger, he didn’t throw wide.  I saw it on the ground not too far from where you were standing.  And in the bedroom our first night here, while you were in the tub, I didn’t think anything of it, but you were able to warm the water.  Am I wrong?”
“You’re not.  I managed to warm the water and I deflected the dagger, though if you hadn’t been there I would have been dead.  I’ve tried doing magic without you around.  It doesn’t work.  I’m not exactly sure why, but you’re my other half now.”
“Well, now, that doesn’t make sense.  I’m not a Witteck.”
She shrugged.  “Like I said, I’m not sure why.  My magic needs a second half to work.  I think it’s reacting to your magic.”
“I don’t have any magic left.”
“Well, then, you explain it to me.”
He opened his mouth then closed it.  “I can’t.”  He smirked.  “You know, if I do have any magic left somewhere in me, I don’t think it’s very fair that you get to use it and I don’t.  Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I was just thinking…”
He waited for her to go on.
“It’s just… this is almost too good to be true.”
“What?”
“Well, for starters, there’s how I lose my other half then just happen to run into you who seems to be able to replace his magic.  Then there’s the fact that you were lovers with Brailla, the first of all Wittecks, so you actually have a clue what I’m talking about.  And then, to top it all off, you seem alright with all of this?”
He smiled.  “Are you waiting for me to run out of the room screaming?”
Sarah blushed.  “Maybe.”
His smile softened.  “I meant every word I said when I told you how I felt.  A lot of this comes as a surprise, I’m not going to lie, but I’ve told you before, Sarah, it takes a lot to shock me.”  He felt her relax against him and pulled the covers up.
“Ternach?”
“Hmm?”
“Can we keep this to ourselves for now?”
“What’s that?  The orbs, the fact that you’re a Witteck, or what we just did.”
She smiled up at him.  “The orbs and the Witteck part; I couldn’t care less about who knows what we just did and what they think about it.”  She snuggled against his chest and yawned.
Ternach closed his eyes.  It seemed that even as a human his life was bound to be anything but normal.  Now, if he could just get his magic back, he’d be set.

So now, enter the giveaway!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday 16 October 2013

The Rustler's Daughter by M.E. Franco

Blurb:
When Hannah Miller’s mother dies unexpectedly, she is forced to go live with her father, who she thought was dead. Hannah has high hopes that her father will be happy to finally meet her, but Roy Miller quickly puts Hannah in her place. She is a burden, just another mouth to feed, and an ugly reminder of the wife who left him.

Roy Miller’s act of desperation puts Hannah at the mercy of his enemies, the neighboring Scott family. Despite the bad blood between their families, Hannah is immediately attracted to Jackson Scott, but he has his own secrets and feels Hannah would be better off with someone else. When someone else does offer Hannah a way out of her predicament, will Jackson be able put aside his past and fight for the woman he loves?

Review:
Horses, cowboys, good old fashioned historical western romance. Yep, it was great. :) M.E.'s characters go through loss, love, and, true to her style, some very comedic moments.
So why did I love this book?  Well, three hot brothers, stubborn as hell women, emotions all over the spectrum... it's not hard to see why this is going to be a hit among readers.  I'm told we're going to see more from these characters and I can't wait!
I'm not going to say any more other than you need to read this... and M.E. Franco's Dion series.  (just saying)  :D

One Tiny Secret by Adam Kunz

So as a lot of you know, C.A. Kunz is one of my favorite authors.  There are a few great reasons for that.  One, they write great stories.  Two, they are fantastic people.  And three, just the fact that they are a mother/son team amazes me.  I mean, seriously, I'm pretty sure I'd kill anyone I tried to write a book with. lol
Now, Adam is the A in C.A. Kunz and he has written a story all by his lonesome.  And WOW!! This new adult novel is phenomenal.  I'm a huge fan of thriller books and this didn't let me down in any way.  I'm not going to lie, as I read through the book, I found myself picking out the killer.  It was going to be someone obvious, right?  Hell no! When the killer was finally revealed, I put my kindle down just to let it sink in.  OMG!!
I'm not going into detail because I hate giving spoilers, but if you like the movies I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream, you'll love this story.

Blurb:
Just one tiny secret has the potential to ruin everything.

Being the daughter of the sheriff in a small town like Holden Ridge means that eighteen-year-old Danielle “Dani” Marks’ life is under constant surveillance. She’s made a habit of staying under the radar by being a floater among social circles at school, which has kept her out of trouble—until now.

After a missing persons case stirs up the entire town, Dani finds herself caught right in the middle of the scandal. When she’s labeled a possible suspect, things quickly go from bad to worse. The sudden return of her old flame, Parker Reed, manages to make her whole situation even more complicated. 

When an elusive unknown person begins to blackmail Dani by threatening to reveal her deepest secrets, Dani refuses to play along. That is, until the person’s actions take a violent turn. Holden Ridge begins to lose its sense of quaint town security, and Dani is caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Who can she trust when anyone around her could be a suspect? 

One thing’s for certain though: Never underestimate the power of one tiny secret.

Friday 11 October 2013

It's My Anniversary, so you get an excerpt... of the second Witteck novel. WHOOP!

Well, that was a long title. lol So, here it is.  A sneek peek at book two of The Witteck Chronicles.  :D

“By the moons, Brice!  I’ve never told you this, but I was always under the impression that some humans are a bit slower than the average shifter.  I think you just confirmed this for me.”  Danny shook his head and took a drink of his sloan.  “Do you need another drink?”
“Probably not, but I’ll have another just the same.”  He handed his mug to Danny who was still shaking his head.
“So let me go through this again just to make sure I got this right.  You fall in love with a woman, who happens to be madly in love with you, no don’t deny it.  If you didn’t know she loved you then you were the only one who didn’t notice, which would then reaffirm my suspicions of the slower human brain.  So, then, instead of whisking her away to a cabin and making her your mate, you tell her you love her and confess to every sin you’ve ever committed.”
Brice groaned and laid his head in his arms.  “That sounds about right.”
“So now, for the past week you’ve been avoiding her?”
“That’s accurate.  She said she needed time.”  He looked out of the window and into the storm that was raging outside.
Danny shook his head again.  “Don’t even think of heading home.  You can sleep in the spare room.  Not to mention that in the shape you’re in at the moment you’d probably head straight to Kacey’s and say something unbelievably stupid to Blayre which would hurt your chances of ever getting her to take you back.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Of course I’m right.  You know, it’s not like you sat down and told her you’d stolen money or killed for the pleasure of it.  I think she could have handled that.  You actually told her that at one point you hated us and wanted to wipe us out then almost managed to do just that.”
Brice looked up and glared at his friend.  “I know, Danny.”
“Sorry.  Well, look on the bright side.  At least all you need to do is convince the woman that despite your past you actually are the great man she thought you were.  The fact that none of us have tried to kill you should show her what we all think of your character.  That should help.  Here I’d given up on fating and was about to go find myself a nice girl to settle down with when low and behold I’m dreaming of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on only to realize that I have no idea what kind of being she is or where she might be.”  He took a long drink of his sloan.
“That does sound worse than my situation.”  Brice shook his head.  “So what are you going to do?”
“What can I do?  I have no idea where to start looking.”  Danny shrugged.  “What are you going to do?”
Brice looked across the table to his friend.  “I’m leaving.”
Danny frowned.  “What?”
“I can’t do this.  Giving Blayre her space when she’s so close is driving me insane.  I have to get out of here.”  He looked out the window.  “As soon as this storm lets up I’m leaving.”
“Where will you go?”
“I’m going treasure hunting.”
Danny laughed.  “Really?”
Brice nodded.  “Matthew is going to Paradin to see if he can’t find more information as to where Braw found the green orb.  I’m going to tag along.”
“It sounds like fun.  Do you think he’d mind if I came along?”
Brice smiled.  “Probably not.”
The pair refilled they mugs.
“Alright, then.”  Danny grinned.  “Treasure hunting it is.”

:D

When Night Falls by Airicka Pheonix COVER REVEAL!!



Book Title: When Night Falls
Author: Airicka Phoenix
Publisher: Fire & Ash Publishing
Release date: Dec 2013
Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi, Thriller with strong elements of Romance
Warnings: Language and sexual content
Formats: eBook & Paperback
Other Novels: http://www.amazon.com/Airicka-Phoenix/e/B00906AGHM

Stalk Links:
Author Website: http://airickaphoenix.com/Author/
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Add to your TBR list: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17696414-when-night-falls

SYNOPSIS

The Earth as we know it no longer exists. Humanity has destroyed itself and with it any chance we may have had of returning.

What had started as a six month voyage through the stars becomes a nightmare when the passengers are stranded in space without hope. With Earth gone, the crew and passengers of The Dawn Light are left wandering the galaxy in search of a new planet. After years of searching, one is found, but no one is prepared for the terror that takes claim of the Galaxy Cruiser when one by one the people begin to turn, mutating into flesh eating monsters.
For Scarlett, Hunter and Rolf, this means being trapped in a sardine can full of piranhas. Their only hope... to get the hell out before they’re next, but someone on the ship wants to be the only survivor to reach the new planet and will do anything to stop them. But just how far are they willing to go?

AUTHOR BIO

Best-Selling author Airicka Phoenix lives in rainy British Columbia with her beautiful family. When she's not pounding away at the keyboard, she can be found reading, shining her collection of daggers or chilling with her kids.

She is the author of the Touch Saga, The Sons of Judgment Saga, The Lost Girl Series, and Games of Fire.

Airicka also writes adult paranormal & contemporary romance under her alter ego, Morgana Phoenix. Her first novel, Capture Me, will be out 2014.

For more about Airicka, visit her website at: http://airickaphoenix.com/Author/

Thursday 10 October 2013

My Life and My Retreating Sanity

So, I've been told a few times that my life seems hectic and eventful. lol  Tonight, I had a friend read over some of my stories and she agreed.  She said I should definitely put these stories up for sale.  I'm not entirely sure who would give a shit about my life, but here is a preview of my newest project. :) (yeah, cause I needed another one...) lol


My Life and my Retreating Sanity


There Are No Words

'I says, "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck.
"We just ain't a-gonna pay no toll."
So we crashed the gate doing ninety-eight
I says "Let them truckers roll, 10-4."

I smile as my father-in-law's ring tone rings out of my cell.  "Allo?"
"Hey.  Are you home?"
I pull out the coffee pot out.  "Yep.  You coming for coffee?"
"Nope. I'll be there in a minute."
I reach for the tea kettle instead and true to his word, Ken is walking through my front door a minute later.  He looks around the living room.
"Where are the kids?"
I gesture to the back yard.
"Mimi, I'm going to Saskatoon.  Kyle's been in an accident."
I look at him blankly while this registers and I silently pray for the 'sike' I know isn't coming.  "What?"
"Kyle's been in a bad accident."
"On the highway?"  My heart drops and my chest tightens.
"No.  In the NRT yard.  I couldn't get a whole lot of details, but it sounds like he got hit by a truck."
Visions of Kyle being hit by a semi flash through my head.

There are no words to describe how I feel. Shocked, devastated, scared, overwhelmed.  These words will never accurately describe the feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I fight back the tears so I won't scare the kids and grab my cell to let my dad know the tiny bit of information I have.
"Kids, come on!" I call out the window.  "You guys are going to go play at Grandmere and Grandpere's!"
The kids whoop and holler and come running into the house.  I remember the diaper bag and Anthony's seizure medication and that's it.  As a last second thought, I call the dog to come along... I'm not sure why.

My mom and dad are waiting for us on the front lawn.  Dad pulls me into a hug.
"Are you going alone? Do you want me to come along?"
"Ken...." I start to break down and take a few deep breaths to compose myself before the kids can see.  "I'm jumping in with Ken."
By then my father-in-law has pulled up behind me.  I hand my mom the diaper bag.
"I... I think there's diapers in it.  Anthony's pills are in there."
"Where are you going, mommy?"
I contemplate telling the kids their dad got run over by a truck and I come up blank on how to do it.
My mom hugs me.  "Mommy and Papa have to do some running around."  To me she says, "We'll wait till we know more, and we'll let them know then.  Go.  We'll worry about the kids."
I try to smile then run to Ken's truck, detour to my van, let the dog out, then head back to the truck.

He fills me in on the news update he's gotten. (This is Kyle's rule, by the way.  If anything happens to him, everyone is suppose to get a hold of his dad first, who is then in charge of telling me. I think it's supposed to make the bad news seem.... less bad? I don't know.)  Knowing I'm about to lose it, I pick up my phone and call Kyle's best friend since he was, well, born; his cousin Sheldon.
"Hey, Mimi, how's it going?"
"I've been better.  I'm on my way to Saskatoon.  Kyle was in an accident.  I'm not sure exactly, but it sounds like he was working under his trailer and when he slid out from under the trailer, a truck didn't see him and ran over him."
We're both quiet for a minute.
"I'm off till tomorrow," he says.  "If you need anything..."
"I'll let you know.  Thanks.  As soon as I know more, I'll let you know."
And as we leave Prince Albert to go to Saskatoon, all I can think of is that at this moment, my husband is in an ambulance and on his way to the hospital.

A half hour into our hour and a half ride (though it didn't take that long at the speed my father-in-law was driving) and no news later, I'm getting close to breaking down once again.  Ken is either feeling the same way, or can see I need something to do.
"Do you have dispatch on your phone?" he asks. (He drives for NRT, too)
"No."
"Grab my phone and phone the bulk side."
I do as he says and am glad when Dale picks up the phone.  I love his voice.  It's deep and calm, and right now, it's just what I need.
"Hey, Dale, it's Mimi. Can you tell me what the hell happened?"
"We're not sure.  All we know for sure is that somehow the tire truck pinned him to his trailer.  We don't know why the kid driving didn't see him or the semi there, or anything like that, but we should be able to tell more once we look at the video more closely.  What I can tell you is he was conscious when the ambulance took him away."
Tears fill my eyes because that right there is great news.  One, he didn't get run over by a semi, he was pinned by a one ton. Yes, I realize that it's still not good news, but if I had to pick between a semi and a one ton to run over or hit me, I'd pick the one ton.  And two, he's conscious."
"Do you know what part of him got pinned?"
"From what he told the cops and paramedics, its sounds like from the top of his chest to his knees."
I must make a noise because he rushes on.  "But, Mimi, a few guys looked at the tape and say he was bent over when the truck rolled towards him.  He stood up a fraction of a second before it pinned him."
The realization of that statement hits me and new tears fill my eyes. Had he not stood when he had, it wouldn't have been my father-in-law bringing me the news of my husband's accident.  I take a deep breath and swallow hard a few times.
"Ok.  Thanks Dale.  I should be at the hospital in about an hour.  I'll let you know how he is when I find out."
"K.  Let him know we're all thinking about him."
I relay this information to Ken.
"Well," he says, "it's better than being run over by a semi."
We look at each other and start to laugh, because, well, it's better than crying.

We finally get to the Royal University Hospital and head to emergency where we are met by another of Kyle's cousins who lives in Saskatoon and came to be with him so he wouldn't be alone.  Billy gives me a hug.
"They won't tell me much cause I'm just his cousin, but he's getting a CT scan and x-rays done right now.  I haven't seen him yet."
"Mimi!"
I turn and get a hug from Wendy, one of the secretaries at NRT.
"They're not telling me much either," she says, "even though when they asked who I was, Kyle told them I was his wife until his real wife got here."
I can't help but laugh.  Leave it to Kyle to get pinned between two trucks and still joke around.
"What I can tell you is what I saw before they wheeled him away for his scans.  He's having trouble breathing, so maybe some broken ribs, his right leg might be broken, and his left arm, but he's concious and he's joking."
A few minutes later, we watched as he gets wheeled by on his way to the room he's staying in.  He's covered in blankets, he's wearing a neck brace, there are IV's and lines everywhere, and when the bed rolls over a small bump in the floor, I want to cry at the pain I can see he's in.  I think there he is; the man I love, who I've been with for eleven years, been married to one month shy of eight.  We've been through hell and back together, and he's lying there and there's nothing I can do for him.  I kick my praying into high gear.  Please, dear God, I can't do this without him.  You can't take him away from me.

A couple of hours later, Billy and Wendy have gone home and we've promised to phone should we need anything.  Kyle's mom and sister are also at the hospital and we are still waiting for news.  Karen, my sister-in-law, and Ken head to the NRT yard to go get his things from the truck.  Marlene and I wait and try to keep Kyle as comfortable as possible while the nurses try to keep up with the overflow of patients.
Finally, two doctors walk into the room and look at my husband in amazement.  The one holding the chart looks at me.
"You're his wife?"
I nod and he looks at his chart again.
"I'm sorry we took so long," he says, "but we were trying to find something wrong with him."
Everyone is quiet for a second and I finally find my voice.
"What?"
"Well, we did the CT scan and xrays, and there's nothing.  Well, nothing major.  But nothing like what we would usually see with this type of accident."  He takes the neck brace off of Kyle and tilts the bed up so he can see.  "You must be made of steel, Kyle."
Kyle catches his breath after the pain just sitting up has caused.  He smirks.  "Milk does the body good."
I'm still in shock, I think.
"So, here's what we found.  You have torn ligaments in your knee, a small break in your elbow, and your ribs are bruised, but not cracked."  He shakes his head.  "Not one cracked rib.  You'll be extremely sore for a while, the knee will take a long time to heal, but other than that..." He grins.
"So... he's fine?"  I'm still sure I haven't heard right.
"He's fine.  The man got pinned between two trucks and he's fine."
Now, when I prayed to God not to take my sweet away from me, I'd been willing to deal with paralyzed, missing limbs, anything, but this... this is a miracle.
"I'll go get you a brace and some crutches, and I'll be back."
"So he gets to go home?"
The doctor still looks just as shock as I feel.  "You can take him home."

"Mi, can I bug you one more time?"
I smile.  "That's what I'm here for."
"Can I get a glass of water, please?"
I take Kyle his water and kiss him softly, then go back to the kitchen and start to cry.  Tears of relief, tears of joy; tears of thanks.  My sweet is home and well.  He is in a lot of pain, he can barely move, and has to go see a surgeon about his knee on Tuesday, but he's here.
And for the millionth time today, I thank God for answering my prayers and throwing in his own miraculous twist in there for good measure.

We still aren't sure what happened exactly, but I'm sure they'll figure it out with the investigation going on. Mostly, Kyle just remembers standing and getting pinned then pushing the truck off enough to get out.  He then walked a short distance before declaring that he didn't feel good, and fell to the ground.  Right now, I can honestly say I don't care.  I'm just happy he's home. But for the sake of avoiding accidents like this again, I hope they find out what went wrong.

To all of you who prayed for us that night and kept us in your thoughts, thank you.  I will never be able to say it enough.

(update: My love was home for over a year because of his injuries, but he is now back to his hundred percent self.)




The Helpless Fear that Comes with Love

It starts with the quickening of my pulse as you come running into the house.  I notice your hand over your eye, the wild look in the other, and my heart drops. It's happening again. I sit on the couch without saying anything and you come to me.  That alone makes my throat tighten; the love and trust that one move demostrates makes me feel useless. I'm you're mom; I'm supposed to keep you safe, and yet I will never be able to stop this.  All I can do is hold you.

I lay your head on my lap as you start to lose control.  Your eyes roll back, you body starts to stiffen, and it takes all of my will power not to show your brother and sister how devistated I am.  I tell myself to breathe. Just a few minutes, that's all it will last.  But a few minutes passes and this time, it doesn't end. This time, you seem locked in a position that your body shouldn't be able to be in. This time I can't see your chest rise and fall with your breathing.  Your green eyes look into mine and I try to smile. I'm not sure if you can see me, but I smile just in case you can.

Your brother asks if you're alright and your sister looks on with wide eyes; even they know that something's different; that something's wrong.  I tell them you're fine, that you used to do it this way when you were a baby, but I think I might be trying to convince myself.  Your lips start to turn blue and I try not to think of the time you died in my arms.  I almost lost you then; God can't do that to me twice, can he? I put my ear by your mouth to be sure and tiny puffs of hot air touch my cheek. You'll be alright, I tell myself; it just has to pass.

Yet this time it doesn't seem to pass.  I look up at the clock; seven minutes. The jerking's still happening and your breathing won't start up again. Please, God, just let this one end.  Ten minutes goes by and still you seem like a puppet on a string. Your eyes are tearing. Are  you crying? Are you trying to tell me something? Your lips are such a dark blue.  My chest tightens and I make my decision to phone the ambulance.  I tell your brother to bring me the phone.

Your jaw is the first thing to relax. Your arms and legs are next.  Finally, your head turns back to it's proper position and your chest swells with the deep breath it's been needing. I start to cry and drop the phone so I can hold you.

You look up at me, your wet green eyes showing the exhaustion you're feeling.  I ask if you're alright and all you can do is blink in answer before falling asleep.  I set you on the couch where I can watch you, see your siblings off with your grandmere, then lock myself in my bedroom and sob.

There will never be words to describe the helplessness of not being able to keep you safe from this, the fear I feel every time the seizures get worse.  I may not be able to keep them away, but I do promise you this: that I will be there to hold you, to make you comfortable, and to keep you as safe as I possibly can for as long as I live. I love you.



My Parking Lot Angel...

The setting: Sobey's Parking lot (again)
The cast: Me, three drunks, and (thankfully) a stranger

I swear, I am going to start shopping at Superstore again.  This is getting ridiculous.  I must have a 'harass me' sign on my forehead that only I can't see.  Granted, the old man telling me I'd never get married cause I looked like a boy was comical. This morning, however, was not.

This morning I woke up and realized we were out of bread.  Kyle is home for a couple of days to work on a garage, so I left him with the kids,  hopped in my van, and off to Sobey's I went to grab a few things before he had to leave.  I noticed three drunks lying on a grassy spot between Wallmart and Subway as I drove by.  I didn't think mych of it.  I've lived in Prince Albert since I was thirteen.  Scenes like that just aren't a shocker anymore.  I parked, walked in, got what I needed, and was on my way back to my van in the matter of five or ten minutes.  Just as I get to my van, I hear someone yell, 'Hey!'.

My heart jumped into my throat as I glanced back and realized it was the three drunks and that the shout had been directed at me.  Now, I said that I was used to seeing drunks lying around; that doesn't mean I like to or even want to have anything to do with them.  I hurried to try and get my van unlocked (the remote lock doesn't work) and of course dropped my keys.  I bent down, grabbed them, and by then, they were right in front of me (drunks can stumble pretty quickly when they have a destination in mind, it seems).

"Hey," the tall one smiles and manages to look slightly charming, but in a scary kind of way.  All I can smell is stale booze. I am not big, I can't fight, and at this very moment, I'm scared.
I stop trying to unlock my van because, quite frankly, I'm a bit scared they'll try to get in with me.
"Do you have any money?" This was the old one. He smiles too, but it doesn't look quite as charming cause he's missing half of his teeth.
I shake my head.  "No, I don't."
The third one stayed quiet and was staring off into space.  The young one gestures at my groceries.  "If you don't have any money, how'd you buy those?" (You'll have to imagine the slur he had, I'm not sure how to write it in).
"I spent it all on groceries." I hate lying, but there was no way they were getting the cash I had in my purse.
"Come on, you gotta have some change.  A couple bucks."
My heart is pounding, I'm sweating, and I can't see anybody around.
The old one takes a step toward me (or he may have lost his balance, I'm not sure) and I almost screamed.  Have I meantioned I'm not brave... at all.
The sound of a truck pulling up makes me look past the one that's staring into space and I see a young guy (early twenties?) step out of the black one ton.  He looks over a me and frowns.
"Are they bugging you?"  He starts walking over.
I nod.
"Maybe it's time you guys went home."  He's standing right behind the three of them now and I notice he's tall cause he's towering over the drunks.  They turn toward him (well, the two that aren't lost in space do) and look up at him.
"We're just seeing if she had some change." That's the young one.
"And what did she tell you?"
"She said no."
"So there's your answer."
The young one looks at the old one and the two of them start walking away.  The tall stranger taps the third one on the shoulder.
"Your friends are leaving."
Space man jumps like he's been hit with a cattle prod, looks around and stumbles after his friends.
"Are you ok?"
I take a deep breath and nod.  "Thanks."
He smiles, puts my groceries in the van for me, and stands by it until I drive away.  It takes everything I have not to start crying on the way home.  It was scary, it was... god, it was just scary.  But it did help remind me that though the scum of the earth is out in full force, there are still angels out there; people who give a damn just because they are good people.

So to you, my tall hero, Thank you.  This morning, you were my angel.



My Children and My Retreating Sanity

There are days when I sit on my couch and shake my head.  Is it just me?  Is there some other poor sap out there that finds herself in the same situations, all the while not quite believing what is happening?  I mean, honestly, I seriously think that when God wrote out my life, he was having a bad day and needed a good laugh.  ‘Hmmmm…” He thought to Himself.  “Let’s see how she handles this one.”
This is the thought I had one disastrous afternoon.  I was talking to a couple of friends of mine, standing in the entrance of our old house, when all of a sudden, it was raining on me.
“What the…”  I looked up at the ceiling and realize with some shock that my second level was flooding.  With a quick goodbye to my friends I dashed upstairs and found my three children standing in the flooded bathroom, all of them staring at me with that ‘oh, shit, she caught us’ look on their faces.
Now what you need to know is that our upstairs bathroom was never used, therefore, there was nothing in it; no toilet paper, no hand towels, no towels, nothing.  So I scrambled back down the stairs (almost breaking an ankle in the process because my shoes were wet) and grabbed a plunger and  as many towels as I could see on my way past the towel closet then limped back up the stairs.
By this time the kids had scattered and were nowhere to be found.  I threw my towels on the floor and watched as they all became instantly soaked.  Seeing that the flood was no longer rushing out of my toilet, I tried plunging it and flushing again only to find that whatever it was the kids stuck down there wouldn’t be budged by the force of the plunger and the water came flowing out of the white porcelain bowl once again.
I ran back down the stairs, a bit more carefully this time, grabbed more towels, all the while noticing that I am now running through a puddle on the main level of the house, and ran back upstairs.
I can’t even describe the amount of water my children had managed to get out of the toilet before I noticed what was happening.  All I can tell you is that it took all of my towels and three comforters to soak up all of the water on the second and main floors of the house.  I was just mopping up the last of the flood on the main level when Anthony, Emery, and Ashtynn poked their heads into the room I was in.  I clenched my jaw and took a deep breath then said, “go play downstairs while I get supper ready.”
I peeling potatoes when Emery peeked into the kitchen, his eyes wide.
“What is it Emery?”
“Our toys are wet.”
Something must have shown on my face because he scrambled back down the stairs as fast as he could.  I followed him down and stepped on some extremely wet carpet.
“Fuck’s sakes.”  By this time I’m choking back the tears and I’m screaming on the inside.  The kids are watching me closely, all of them kneeling on the wet carpet, toys in their hands.  “Go to the living room and watch tv.”
I go back up the stairs, grab two more comforters, and lay them on the carpet to try and soak up the worst of it.  Did I mention this was brand new carpet?  It had just been installed, oh, about two months before.
By the time I’ve dealt with the basement flood, it’s too late to make a decent meal so I order pizza and go sit on the couch with the kids who by this time seem to have completely forgotten how they just managed to get all three floors of the house wet.  They go back to watching Treehouse and I try to calm myself down.  Usually, a few deep breaths will work so I flip open my lap top and pull up the ‘Crossover’ file because getting lost in my story will usually make me forget a shitty day.  Nope, not today.  I hit ‘new’ on the file tab and smile as my fingers start to type and I realize what I’m writing.  In big bold letters, the title stands out…
My Children and My Retreating Sanity
Yes, I do believe I have found my new therapy.
Lol.  Now, some of you are thinking, ‘that’s not so bad.  My kids have done way worse.’  I’ll tip my head to you and agree; probably.  But this, this one not so awful incident is not the begining, nor is it the end.  And trust me, it’s quite the story…



The Good, the bad, and everything else that's worth it...

There are days when I sit down at night after the kids get to bed and I wonder what God’s plan is for me.  Then I remember the little kisses and hugs and the ‘goodnight, mommy, I love you’ that I just heard and it’s obvious.  When there’s a day that seems unbearable and everything seems to go wrong, all I have to do is think back to when I first became a mom and I’m actually greatful for the broken window, the dead fish, or the lotion all over the bathroom floor.  I’ll warn you ahead of time, this isn’t one of my promised funny stories.
I am one of the many unfortunate woman in this world who have had the misfortune to have a miscarriage.  I’ve actually had two.  When I found out I was pregnant the third time, I refused to get excited and Kyle refused to not tell everyone.  Third time’s the charm, he told me.  It turns out he was right.  After 36 weeks filled with puking, bleeding, cramping and four ultrasounds I had the pleasure of waking up completely soaked.  I looked at the clock.  It was three in the morning.  “Kyle!  Wake up!”  “Hmm?  Are you ok?”  “Well, either I peed the bed or my water just broke.”  “Ugh.  Either way, that’s pretty gross.  Does it wash out of blankets?”  “I don’t know!”  During this slightly odd conversation we were getting dressed.  “Alright.  Let’s get you to the hospital.”  At three pm the next day, all of the bleeding, cramping and puking became worth it.  The look on Kyle’s face as he gazed upon his tiny son was priceless.

Though I had a feeling that being newly weds as well as new parents wasn’t going to be easy, I had no idea that it would be this hard.  Anthony never slept and always screamed.  When Kyle was home he would clean house and help me with the constant walking that was needed to keep Anthony quiet during the night.  Some people told me I had him spoiled; that all I had to do was put him down.  But the instant I put him down, he would scream.

At six months, the center of our universe almost shattered when we woke up to the sound of Anthony trying to breathe.  We rushed to the hospital where we were told to get ready to head to Saskatoon.  If the IV didn’t make a difference here, our little man was going to be shipped away.  Thankfully Dr. Ramji is terrific at what he does and soon had Anthony stabilized.  Kyle took time off work and barely left the hospital.  We took turns staying there until a week later when Anthony was released.

 By the time Anthony was a year old I knew something was wrong.  Three of my friends and I had babies within weeks of each other.  All of theirs could roll, sit, stand, babble.  Anthony could sit but barely made any noise at all.  We brought it up to our family doctor.  We were told Anthony would catch up; he was a boy and boys were slower.

If we thought our world had been shaken up when Anthony had his massive croup attack at six months, nothing could have prepared us for what happened when he was eighteen months.  After laying him down for a nap, we sat at my mother in law’s table and chatted over a cup of coffee.  Anthony was screaming his usual scream and by this time we were used to it.  Then, the scream changed and we ran into the room to find him throwing up.  Kyle picked him up, cleaned him off and came back to the table with Anthony in his arms.  My mother in law frowned.  “Is he ok?”  My heart jumped into my throat and I followed Kyle as he ran out to our car.  Anthony’s eyes were rolled back into his head, his lips were turning blue.  He wasn’t breathing.  It took Kyle one minute to get from Silken’s to the hospital.  I remember giving Anthony chest compressions, Kyle reaching over and doing the same, trying to get him to breathe, the car stopping and Kyle grabbing him out of my arms.  The look on the nurses’ faces as we ran in to the emergency room.  I remember them shutting the door so we couldn’t see what was happening and the voice over the loud speaker saying, ‘Doctors to the ER, code blue, code blue.’  I don’t remember sitting on the cold floor and breaking down, but I remember Kyle helping me stand and guiding me to the family room where we were told we should phone someone to come be with us.  I remember how Kyle’s hands shook as he picked up the phone and dialled his mom’s number.  How his voice caught in his throat when he said, “Dad?  It’s not good.”  How his blue eyes filled with tears when he looked at me and all we could manage was to sit on the couch and hold each other, praying to God that he wouldn’t take our son away.  It was the feel of his hand tightening around mine when Dr Ramji came into the room and the way his arm went around my shoulders when we were told, “He’s alright.  He had a seizure.”

At the age of two, Anthony was diagnosed with epilepsy.  When he was twenty eight months we were seen by the specialists at KCC.  When the MRI showed that a small part of his right frontal lobe was missing, he was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.  We were told it would take a lot of work to get him to walk properly and that he may never talk.  I remember crying on the ride home from Saskatoon.  Kyle put a hand on my leg.  “It will be ok,” he said.  “How do you know?” I asked.  He shrugged.  “I don’t know.  But God gave him to us for a reason.”
It took two more horrible pregnancies with cramping, bleeding, puking, and multiple ultrasounds and two more premature labours, but by the time we were done, we had our three angels.
Anthony is now seven.  He can walk, run, skate, ride his bike and now plays lacrosse.  Not bad for the kid they said might never walk.  He also has about fifty words he can say, which, considering we were told he would never talk, is pretty fantastic.  Emery will be five and is sharp as a whip, while Ashtynn, who is two, is a blue eyed, blond curly haired angel with cuddles and kisses for all when she’s not being shy.
When I write some of my statuses I usually get a couple of replies along the lines of, ‘geez, Mi, I don’t know how you do it some days’.  Well, this, my friends, is how.  I think of how much I love my kids, my husband, my life, and I know that no matter now many windows get broken, how much lotion I find smeared on my walls, I wouldn’t trade a day of it for any anything.  I almost didn’t have my kids and I’ll treasure every moment with them.  Now don’t get me wrong… I do have days when I ask God why?  He hasn’t answered me yet, but I’m sure that one of these days he will and I’ll go, ‘Ah! I get it.’
Until that day comes, I’ll try to laugh through the bad and enjoy the good because, well, really, what else is a woman to do…



Silence is never a good thing...

“I swear, I locked the door.”  That’s the answer I got from Kyle while I sat at home and he got his trailers loaded in Regina.  He’d just finished asking me if I’d be up when he got home and I answered his question by saying, “sure.  I’ll still be up wiping up all of the caulking the kids got into because someone forgot to lock up the furnace room when he was done in there.”
Hmmm.  Now that the kids are in bed and the caulking is all cleaned up, I thought I’d take a minute to tell you about it.  Maybe I should start at the beginning.
This morning I went to Saskatoon and dropped Kyle off at the NRT shop so he could go to work.  My mom was a dear and watched Ashtynn for me and picked Emery up at noon so I didn’t have to worry about things.  The ride down was nice, the ride back was quiet, and I had fun visiting with mom when I got back.  Anthony got home from school and we all had a snack while we watched the second Harry Potter movie; we’re having a Harry Potter marathon right now because the box set containing years 1-6 got here today and well, when you have that many movies in a series, the thing to do is watch from beginning to end. :)
So, my day was going spendidly when the kids decided they were tired of watching Harry and went downstairs to play in their room.
Kyle text me.  How’s your day going?
Good.
How are the kids.
Excellent.  They’re being so good today.
Right on.  I’ll be home tonight about midnight.
At this point, I realize… it’s pretty quiet down there.  I tip toe down the stairs and find all three of them with pieces of jip rock, markers, a little saw, a hammer, some unused light switches and two tubes of caulking.
Emery looks at me, proud as can be.  “Look, mommy, we’re fixing!”
Ashtynn grins.  “Fixing!”
Anthony looks up midswing with the hammer.  “Fix!”
“I’m sure you are, but this is daddy’s stuff and you’re not allowed to play with it.”  I pick up the caulking, grab the hammer and little saw, and put everything back into the furnace room and lock the door.  We head back upstairs to have a snack and watch some more Harry Potter.  I look at my phone.
Do you think you’ll be up when I get home?
… Well, you know the rest of the story.



Sleep? Sleep is for wussies...

Ugh.
Of course, as I’m writing the title to this little piece, I’m so tired I feel like crying, but since I know I won’t be sleeping anytime soon, I try to give myself little pep talks and tell myself that sleep is really just a luxury, not a necessity.
Tonight, I went to bed at ten thirty.  At eleven thirty, I was woken up the the worst sound in the world.  Anyone who has heard it will remember it for the rest of their lives.  It makes your stomach drop, your heart race, and you instantly feel like crying.  It is the sound of your child trying to breathe with lungs that aren’t working properly.  I’m lying in my bed on the main floor of the house and I’m hearing Anthony’s breathing, or lack thereof, and he is in the basement.  I hear him start to cry as his body realizes it isn’t getting enough oxygen and it wakes him up.  The first thing that runs through my head… where the fuck did we put the nebulizer when we moved. (You’ll have to pardon my language, but I tend to swear alot when this shit happens at a retarded time of night.)
Now, what I should tell you guys is that since Sunday, Anthony has had two seizures, I’ve had to wrestle him still to get bloodwork to check the levels of his seizure meds, Ashtynn has had a fever off and on, this morning Emery woke up with a hundred and three point five fever and he also puked this afternoon.  After getting everyone drugged up and in bed, I prayed that tonight, everyone might have a decent night…  only to be woken up by this.
The first thing I tried was a flovent puffer and a steam shower… sometimes this works, but tonight it didn’t.  Honestly, by the sound of the wheezing, I knew I’d need to pull out the bad boy to kill this asthma attack.
Anthony has been having asthma attacks since he was six months old.  By the time he was two I’d had enough.  Rushing to the hospital in the middle of the night just to stay there to be observed after he was given a mask was starting to get to me.  I did all the work there anyway.  The doctor would come in, say, ‘oh, my… lets give this little man a mask,’ and then would leave with me holding onto a screaming and kicking toddler while I tried to hold this stupid mask on his face.  I finally asked one doctor… ‘is there any way I can do this at home?’
The doctor was great and explained to me that I could, indeed, do this at home.  All I needed was a nebulizer.  He prescribed me the little nebules I would need (these are tiny packets with the steroids in them) and off I went to the drug store to buy a nebulizer which to my annoyance, was not covered by any medical plan.  However, I reminded myself that this would be best, that I could fight with my struggling son in the comfort of my own home and that just that little bit of stress relief would help make all the difference.
And I was right.  As I look to the side and see Emery falling asleep (his fever is down to a hundred and one now) and Anthony already sleeping (his breathing much better though not completely back to normal yet) I think of what would have happened tonight had I not spent that two hundred dollars.  For one thing, I would have had to wake somebody up to come watch Ashtynn and Emery… I would have rushed to the hospital, sat on a bed, then spent the next two hours there (maybe longer).  Instead, I found the nebulizer (it was in my closet still packed in a box) pulled out a little nebule and put the salbutamol in the little green thingy that the air goes through, sat on the couch with Anthony while we counted to a hundred then made a bed on the couch for him so he could watch tv while we waited for the steroids to do their thing.
So now that the boys are sleeping again, I’ll try to do the same, though I know that the chances of me getting any sleep tonight are slim… I’ll be on full alert as I listen to make sure neither of them has a repeat of their symptoms.
*Yawns*  Sleep?  Ugh.  Who needs to sleep.  Apparantly, not me.



Owy is never a good word

“Owy, owy, owy, ooooowwwwww!”
This is never a good sound when you’re making supper and the scream is coming from another room.  If you’re me and it’s coming from your children, you calmly tell yourself that supper is now postponed and a trip to the hospital is in order.
I’m serious.  My kids are tough… like, superhero tough.  Like, all three are running full speed in the house and manage to run into a wall, get up and do it again kind of tough.  The two year old can be lying of the ground and the seven year old will jump on her and she’ll look at him and scream… not in pain… in anger… because he made her drop her pony.  That kind of tough.  Or the five year old will jump off of his bed, trip, and smash his face into the floor, then show his siblings how to do it just like he did.
When one of my kids is screaming owy at the top of his lungs, I know it’s not going to be a good sight.  Owy means skin is missing, blood is flowing, or body parts are no longer bent in the proper direction. (thankfully, the latter has only happened once and it was a toe.  Toes are a minor body part, so I’m not even sure if it bears mentioning).
So tonight when I heard that dreadful word, I took a deep breath, and headed into my bedroom which was where the horrible sound was coming from.  This usually means a wrestling match gone wrong. My kids have a great time trying to kill each other.  It happens every day and I’ve given up on trying to stop them.  I’d never clean, I’d never eat, hell, I’d never be able to have a shit if I was trying to keep it from happening.  Survival of the fittest is the law in my house and so far, the three of them seem pretty well matched.
I heard my daughter jump off the bed and scramble to her bedroom.  I heard another thump as one of the boys jumped to the ground.  This left the five year old screaming at the top of his lungs, so I knew who was the object of today’s assasination attempt.
My first instinct when I walked into the room was to start yelling.  I opened my mouth, took a deep breath, and stopped.  I was speechless.  And then I started to laugh, because, well, it was funny as hell (though apparantly not to Emery who had his head wedged between the matress and the boxspring of my bed).  That’s right.  Today’s attempted murder was by means of head squishing.  Somehow, this was fun (I never did get a straight answer as to how or why Emery thought it was a good idea to let his siblings put his head between the matresses) .  Stick brother’s head in matresses and jump.  Sure, I can see the logic in that.
After freeing my son and making sure that his skull was still intact, we had a small group discussion as to why it is a bad idea to squish your brother’s head between two objects of any kind.  The three of them ran downstairs (to plan their next assassination, I’m sure), and I went back to making supper, shaking my head while thinking to myself that today was a good day. No bent body parts, no missing skin, hell, not even a drop of blood to wipe off the floor.
So, let me rephrase that.  Today was not good.  It was fantastic. :)Hahahaha!  Stay safe, everyone!


Some People's Nerves

Contrary to how the title makes it sounds, this is not a rant.  Let’s put this little story into the ‘reflection’ category.  I have to start off by telling you about the incident that led to this train of thought.
This morning I was running some errands with my two year old daughter.  We dropped Kyle off at the semi so he could get back on the road, proceeded to head down to the bank, went for coffee with my mom at Tim Horton’s, then went to Sobe’s to do groceries.  Once back in the parking lot, I put Ashtynn in her car seat and started to put the bags away in the trunk of the van.  I guess I should tell you what I’m wearing today… though most of you who know me can probably guess.  Yep, I’m wearing my usual baseball hat, a zip up bunny hug, my jeans, and the same running shoes I’ve owned for the past eight years.
So, I was putting my grocery bags into the back of the van when a little blue car pulls up beside me.  A little old man gets out and looks at me.
“Good morning,” I say with a smile.  It’s beautiful out and I’m in a good mood.  The little old guy keeps look at me without saying anything.  I stop putting the groceries away.  “Can I help you with something?”  Who knows, he’s pretty old… maybe he forgot what he’s doing there, I don’t know.  Maybe I remind him of someone.  Maybe, just maybe, he’s my biggest fan and he’s too shy to ask me for my autograph (*snicker* no, I did not really think that).
Anyway, he looks at me and asks, “are you a boy or a girl?”
Just smile, I think to myself.  “I’m a girl.”
He frowns.  “How old are you?”
“Thirty-one.”  By this time I’m wondering where the hell he’s going with this.
He shakes his head.  “You know, you’ll never find a man that wants to marry you if you keep looking like a boy.”
I feel my wedding band on my finger and take a deep breath.  “It just so happens that I’ve been with my husband for ten years now and we have three kids together.”
The old man grunts and walks away.  I turn back to my groceries wondering did this just actually happen?  Now, granted, if he had looked at my hand to see if it had a ring on it, the odds were he just didn’t see it.  When Kyle asked what kind of ring I wanted I told him that if he spend more that a couple hundred bucks on my entire set that I wouldn’t marry him.  My wedding band is a thin yellow gold one with a tiny diamond in it which usually gets turned around and ends up facing the bottom of my hand.  I don’t wear the engagement ring.  I’m not big on jewelry.  But still…
Now, at this point I need to point out that I wasn’t upset, simply floored.  How does a person walk up to a complete stranger and so bluntly insult them.  I mean, I could see if a friend of mine had seen me, come to say hi and said something along the lines of, “Hey, Mi, can’t you do yourself up a little when you leave the house?”  Though, now that I write this, if they were any kind of friend to me, they wouldn’t think of saying that for the simple fact that they would know that no, I don’t dress up to leave the house.  As my youngest sister once so nicely put it, “You know Mimi is dressed up when she’s wearing a bra.”  :D
So, would you have the nerve to do what the old man did to me?  How would you react if you’d been in my shoes?  Would I have done anything different had I had time to prepare for his comments?  No, probably not.  Does it make me think that maybe I need to change my look when I leave the house?  No, definitely not.
And that gets me going on a completely different topic related to this one which is ‘image’, but that, my friends, is a reflection for another day…



Damn You Thundercats!

"Never! I have no cause! I believe in nothing!" Bahahahaha!
"Justice! Truth! Honor! Loyalty!Thundercats, Ho!" Lmfao!

Holy good god, help me now! At this very moment, I should be writing. The kids are in bed and it's prime time for me to shut everything off, start my writing playlist, and get lost in Quelondain.... at least that's what happens why I'm home alone with the kids. :D Tonight, Kyle is home and the tv is on. What is it about 80's cartoons that causes me to sit with my fingers poised over the keyboard, my mouth slack and my eyes glued to the flatscreen? Bah!

Fine then. I'll watch Thundercats.  But then, when it's over, it's time to write.  I sit and watch the entire cartoon, my fingers still sitting on my keyboard, and as the end credits make their way up the screen, I turn back to my laptop, primed to get some words down on the screen. Until...

"Transformers! Dum, dum, dum, dum! More than  meets the eye!" Holy shit! Optimus is hurt! Ratchet! Where the hell are you?! I'm positive all I do is blink, but the next thing I know, the end credits scroll up the screen. *facepalm*

Damn it! I've been watching cartoons for the past two hours! *sigh* I guess I won't be getting any writing done tonight... so I might as well go blog about it.

Hahaha! Well, there you have it. My evening as it were.  *yawn* Though, do you know, I think that every so often, an evening of distraction is just what I need.

Have a great night everyone, and stay safe.



Pictures of Us

I look a pictures of us taken so long ago.
They're always good for a smile.
My first taste of beer, you looked so young.
Days camping, hiking, mushroom picking.

Pictures of us, these ones when I'm older.
Horse shows, working at the mill, just sitting together.
The day I graduated, you looked so proud.
And when you gave me away, it took all I had not to cry.

Pictures in my mind, moments in time.
My first horse, my first car, my first house.
You were always there no matter what.
Always there to help, to make things right.

Pictures of the thing they found.
It was a blow to all of us.

You're the one who's strong.
You're super hero material.
You're invincible.
You can't be sick.

The doctors say your chances are good.
Keep being strong.
I'm here for you this time.
No matter how hard it gets.

Don't you worry.
Tomorrow, I'm going to buy a new album.
And I plan on filling it with many more
pictures of us


Is something like this something you'd read?  Let me know.  :)