******

Pretty little face stopped me in my tracks

But now she sleeps with one eye open

I sing as I walk through the living room. My bare feet sink into the thick carpet, muffling my footsteps. Not that I’m interested in silence.

I want her to hear me coming, to know she’s about to pay for whoring herself out to the man I love.

The hallway comes to an end, leaving me with the choice between the kitchen and stairs leading to the second floor. There’s an exit to the garage in the kitchen, but I don’t think she’ll head that way. People inexplicably run up when they’re being chased. Makes no sense –  your chances of surviving drop the further you are from an exit — but it’s a truth I’ve learned from experience.

I trail my knife along the wall, leaving a scratch in the lilac paint. This house grates on me, the perfect carpet and perfect furniture, all coming together to create a perfect little home for that perfect blonde slut.

I want to set it on fire.

All in good time.

I start singing again, louder than before.

I took a knife and cut out her eye.

I took it home and watched it wither and die.

Well, she’s lucky I didn’t slip her a smile. That’s why she sleeps with one eye open.

But that’s the price she’ll pay.

A whimper sounds from somewhere above me. I allow a smile to pass briefly over my lips as I start up the stairs. My hair slides over my shoulders, mirroring the movement of my skirt against my legs. The choice of a dress is’t practical, but I don’t care. Sometimes a girl wants to look pretty.

The door to the master bedroom stands partially open, the room beyond wreathed in shadows — the perfect place to hide if you’re too stupid to run. I shake my head and use my toe to push the door open the rest of the way. The light from the street lamp outside the window illuminates a dresser, nightstand, and a king-sized bed. Probably where the little slut does all her business.

Mama always said there were two kinds of girls in this world: ladies and whores. Little Miss Caroline is the latter. Then again, Mama claimed I was too. I still don’t understand why she was surprised when things ended the way they did.

I really don’t like being called a whore.

On the other side of the room there are two doors, most likely to a closet and bathroom. I glance at the window but it remains shut. Of course she didn’t tried to climb out; she’s holed up somewhere like a scared little rabbit.

The last lines of the song slip past my lips as I enter the room.

I’ll cut your little heart out cause you made me cry.

A sob comes from the door on the left. I cross to the bathroom, taking in the closed shower curtain. I push the door open all the way to ensure she isn’t hiding behind it. She isn’t. How predictable. If James is going to cheat on me, the least he can do is pick someone less pathetic. This is really too easy.

I ease the shower curtain open and there she is, cowering in the corner of the tub, her arms over her head as if that will save her. The very sight brings my rage to the forefront. All I want to do is stab and stab until there is nothing left to remind me of James’ betrayal, until the darkness inside me quiets.

Instead I step back. “Get up.” I want to see her face when she dies, to watch the light fade from her eyes. To know I’ve won.

When she doesn’t move fast enough I grab her and yank her to her feet. “I said get up.” I shove her and she trips out of the tub, falling against the sink. Enough fooling around; it’s time to end this.

Taking a fistful of hair, I force her head back, exposing her neck. “Should have kept your panties on, sweetheart.”

Those big blue eyes start leaking. “Please. Please don’t hurt me.”

“Shh.” I raise the knife, pressing it against her lilly white skin. “It’ll only hurt for a moment.”

“Jenny.”

I jump, cutting a thin line across her throat. Not enough to cause any real damage but the little drama queen makes a sound like she was dying. Looking up, my breath catches in my throat. James always does that to me. He’s just too beautiful with his brooding good looks and soulful green eyes. “James?”

“Let her go, Jenny.” He inches into the bathroom, one hand outstretched as if he can really save her.

Betrayal surges, hot and thick in my throat. “I can’t, James. I have to kill her so we can be happy again.”

James shakes his head slowly. “I can’t let you hurt her, Jenny. I can’t.”

He doesn’t have a choice. He can’t reach me before I slit her throat and pour her pretty blood all over her perfect bathroom. I tense as flash of metal catches my eye. A bang shatters the near silence of the bathroom. Pain explodes in my chest, so intense I can’t scream.

I slide to the ground, unable to catch my breath. Wetness soaks my dress, a dark stain spreading over the white. “James?”

He appears in my line of vision, a single tear sliding down his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Jenny. So damn sorry.”

James has always been weak. I close my eyes against his pain, letting my own drag me down, the last line of the song repeating over and over, getting louder and louder, crashing together in a crescendo that makes my heart threaten to burst from my chest.

Then it slips away and all that’s left is silence.

*The song Jenny’s singing is Girl With One Eye by Florence + The Machine. You can listen to the song here and buy it here.

Name: Boone O’Keirna
Build: Built like a linebacker (big and muscular)

Eyes: Icy gray

Hair: Black, a bit too long to be fashionable

Height: 6’2
Weight: 220
Strengths: Excellent with lasers and hand-to-hand combat, piloting ships, loyal to a
fault

Weaknesses: Suffers from borderline PTSD when confronted with blades
and being cut
Leading Lady: Ophelia Leoni, Diviner and all-around hellcat
Favorites: Strong women, his people, his little sister (even if she is
on the far side of crazy)
Occupation: Smuggler and prospective heir to the Hansardian throne

“Robert’s Sanctify series kicks off in high gear. Humorous elements lighten the story’s overall space-opera mood, but there are many dark moments exploring genocide and tyranny. The characters and space setting are well developed and readers will root for the alpha hero, whose determination is easily matched by spunky, gritty Ophelia.”

- RT Book Reviews

 

Can you say SQUEE!?!?! *bounces* So thrilled about this!

 

In other news, Nina Croft (bestselling author of BREAK OUT and DEADLY PURSUIT) gave QUEEN OF SWORDS a blurb:

“I was hooked from the opening line. Intricate world-building, a wounded hero, and a fabulous love story—QUEEN OF SWORDS is Sci-fi romance at its best!”
 

BLURB:

Eighteen-year-old Eden Rosenberg knows how to kill and she’s damn good at it. Until recently, her life was pretty easy – get a call from her team’s mysterious employer, jet off to a new location, kill some zombies.

But the most recent call is different from the others. Instead of being an isolated incident in the middle of nowhere, it’s an entire village at risk. By the time the team shows up, the village is empty, leaving only a handful of infected wandering the streets. Or so it seems until they’re ambushed by far too many zombies for their five-person team to deal with.

On the run and trapped within the valley, Eden is separated from her team when she tries to save a little girl from the inevitable fate of the bitten. To make matters worse, she’s forced to rely on Alejandro, the one man she swore never to trust again, to watch her back. She hasn’t seen him since he walked away from the team – from her – a year ago and she’s not even sure what he’s doing in the valley in the first place

As Eden races to reunite with her team, she’ll have to deal with a homicidal priest who’s more than what he seems and a group of survivors she’s pretty sure are too stupid to live. But things are more complicated than she realized and soon Eden’s forced to confront the truth about the infection; it isn’t an accident and those responsible will do anything to ensure no one gets out of the valley alive.

***

It’s it AWESOMER THAN AWESOME?!?!

This is my YA zombie book and it’s coming out in May/June of this year with Mundania Press. Skyla Dawn Cameron is the EFFING GENIUS who created this and I loves her and am sending her much virtual whiskey because of said love.

SO HAPPY!

Confession:  I use the possession of a zombie plan as an indication of if we can hang out for any length of time. All of my good friends have pretty decent plans…which is MY zombie plan—surround myself with people who have sweet survival skills and love me enough to scoop me up when all hell breaks loose and the dead are roaming around, looking for a Katee-sandwich. Because, let’s be honest, I have no survival skills. I can barely go camping because I tend to wander off and get lost, or fall down, or run into wildlife that are less than impressed with my existence. It’s a tragedy, really.

So how does this tie in with dating? It’s one of the things I ask a guy on a first date. If he gives me deer-in-headlights when I come at him with “What’s your zombie plan?” then I know we’ll never work out. Seriously, if you’re not bringing sweet survival skills to the table, then we’re both dead in the water. A friend once told me that he has a list of Reasons Why I Won’t Date You. It was rather entertaining and random, but this is pretty much the only thing on mine. You don’t have a zombie plan? Sorry, kid, it’s just not going to work out.

THIS, darlings, is why I love rednecks. They typically have multiple guns and misc. weapons tucked away and, depending on what part of the country you’re in, they have a specialized set of skills that are really freaking useful. And most of them don’t blink at zombie-related questions, which is always a plus.

What about you? Do you have a zombie plan? Better yet, does your significant other have one?

Heather Howland has outdone herself with this one. I’m so geeked out that I’m sitting here, drinking wine, and staring at my cover. I have been for…..some time now. I LOVES IT!!!

What do you think???

EDITED TO ADD: Uh…. Got so excited, I forgot to stick the blurb on here!!

Without further ado…..

Without further ado.

Underworld: Awakening Trailer

Now, I didn’t exactly dislike the last Underworld movie, but it kind of depressed me because we all knew how it was going to end — in tragedy. The first two were awesomer than awesome — exactly my idea of a guilty pleasure. And this new one looks to be in the same line.

The Dark Knight Rises Trailer

I have mixed feeling about Christopher Nolan as an individual, but no one can deny that he’s a freaking genius. I’ve been so impressed with what he’s done with this trilogy so far and the conclusion looks to outdo both the first movies. SO GEEKED!

The Hobbit Trailer

We don’t have to talk about how many times I’ve watched this trailer (really, we don’t), but suffice to say it’s….a lot. I know I’ll drop in geek cred for this, but The Hobbit is actually the only LotR book I’ve read (and, again, we don’t have to talk about how many times I’ve read it). I LOVE that book and this movie promises to be one of the better ones coming out in the next year.

What about you? What movies are you looking forward to seeing?

 
Everyone knows that sequels are problematic. I mean, if people love
the first story, they’re going to have a pretty high expectations for
the second. Which means it’s already set up to fail. So, to avoid this
problem, said sequel has to be awesomer than awesome—ten times as good
as the first story. Since I’m coming to the end of my second book in
the Sanctify series, I know all about the pressure one can feel. It’s
a wee bit daunting. Movies are the same way—some are great, some are
disappointing, some are scrub-my-brain-with-bleach bad.

 
We can’t all have Toy Story 2, you know.

 
So, without further ado, let’s look at the trailers for said sequels
and I’ll share my thoughts. Prepare thyself.

HOLY CHUCK NORRIS BATMAN.

 
Let’s be honest, despite the fact that so many childhood heroes were
in the first movie (Stone Cold Austin….be still my heart), it just
plain wasn’t that good. I enjoyed it because I like mindless action
flicks, but it didn’t wow me.

 
This trailer wows me even less. That said….. It’s Chuck Freaking
Norris. The man, the legend, the… AHEM. So, yeah, probably won’t see
this in theaters…or admit to anyone when I actually do see it. But see
it I will.

 
I…there are no words. Again, I liked the first movie just because it
was cheesy and has one of my many loves in it (Channing Tatum…you can
stop judging me now). But this just looks like a hot mess. Admittedly, it could be my lack of knowledge concerning the G.I. Joe universe, but….still.

 
I do believe I’ll hold out for Magic Mike (dude is a stripper…and it
has Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer, and Joe Maganiello…who goes by
the name Big Dick Richie…but I digress.)

 
I have personal issues with the first movie and this trailer is so
filled with WTFery that I don’t even know where to start. Shame on
you, Titans, shame one you.

That said…. Well played on the song choice.

What about you? What are your thoughts on the these sequels and the other ones popping up everywhere?

“Of course it would be a warship they sent. Talk about overkill.”

“I don’t know if it’s overkill, considering who they’re coming up against.”

“Who?” She gave a wicked grin. “An inventor and little old me?”

Having seen Jenny in motion, Mac decided Sanctify should have sent three warships.

So be sure to check out my nifty author bio, as well as the updated info on the books I have coming out.

In other news, what better way to start off a new blog than with man candy? I knew you’d agree!

Without further ado, let’s ogle some goodies! Here are my leading men:

Yummy, yes? I sure think so.