A month of surfing, lazy naps and Ring a Ring o’ Roses

“No one burn their skin to save someone else’s these days. Bravery, my dear, is a sentiment long forgotten, even by the heroes.”

—Heir of Doom (The Roxanne Fosch Files 02)

After an entire month of proofread – over and over and over – until I could no longer stomach the words, Heir of Doom, the second installment of The Roxanne Fosch Files was finally submitted to the publisher.

I’d have done it a lot faster if I didn’t keep falling asleep, or my mind didn’t wonder off to surf on the waves, or my kids didn’t go on winter vacation. But I did fall asleep a lot like an old nanny deprived of sleep, my mind kept wondering off and the kids were all home, bound inside from the cold and rain.

Now I’m biting my nails waiting for the publisher to finish reviewing the manuscript and start prepublication procedures.

While I wait, I’ll be posting snippets and scenes from Heir of Doom, and hopping around in the blogosphere. I can’t promise my Houdini days are over, but I’ll try to make a presence with more frequency.

For this first post of 2019, I chose a scene without much adventure, but one I hope makes an impression.

 

The throne room was empty of milling courtiers, save for the queen, Lee, Oberon and, of course, their guest of honor, Zantry, sitting beside a smug-looking Lee. They were all seated on colorful thick cushions on an alcove beside the dais. Brightly-hued tapestries fluttered in a breeze I again couldn’t feel, and the scent of lemon verbena was fresh in the air.

With the satin shoes on, my approach was silent, though my presence didn’t go unnoticed. The moment I entered the room through a side door, escorted by Drozelle and Crozelle, everyone stopped talking and glanced at me.

My stomach, already jittery, flipped and flopped and fell with a gurgling moan.

Zantry’s eyes met mine with interest, but there was no recognition there. For a moment I feared he had forgotten all about me and our deal, that arriving in this land had a sudden bolt of amnesia going over him. And then I met Queen Titania’s unforgiving eyes, just for a brief second, and I forgot all about him, my steps faltered, my legs almost buckling beneath my weight.

And we hadn’t even started anything.

 

That’s it for today, hope you enjoyed.

Ps: Thanks to Tyler Colins for pointing out all the grammar mistakes, bad punctuation, and all the typos. I swear my inner demon was just playing tricks with me, just to make me look illiterate. I did slap my forehead every time I found one I missed – I do have a red face to prove it.