Commissions

I have been waiting for the official release week to show you this absolutely wonderful cover done by the amazingly talented germancreative over on Fiverr. I have been in love with this cover art, and I am so thrilled to be sharing it at long last.

Today I will not give you a drabble. Rather, I will give you a summary of the novel itself.

^^^

When she was twelve, Irilith Inimica’s brother told her to run; not from the dragons and beasts he’d warned her of her whole life, but from him. Soon after he caught up with her, she discovered exactly why.

He had become a monster.

Irilith, now known as Ria by her newfound family, lived securely within the dangerous Elleran Forest for five years. On one fateful trip to the city though, she is outed by humans as the relative of the notorious crime lord and self-appointed king Drystan. Being despised is commonplace for Ria as a half-vampire, but being hunted by Drystan is the exact thing she had hoped to avoid.

Because Drystan was the monster her brother had become.

The demon that inhabited her brother had driven him to pursue power at all costs, and he was not going to have any challengers to his new throne. Therefore, Drystan could not allow Ria and those who helped her survive to be left alive. Can Ria evade him as she had done five years prior? Or is she truly a harbinger of death to all those she loves?

In The White Dragon Saga, we follow the lives of the accursed family the Inimicas, fallen kings and queens notorious for their violent ancestor the White Dragon. Any who come in contact with the Inimicas tends to meet an unpleasant end. This doomed family must find redemption or relief through the bonds they make. Some bonds are strictly antagonistic, others helpful and even loving. As meaningful as these bonds are, they are also prone to tragedy.

The Blood of the Enemy is Ria’s story.

This stunning artwork was done by another friend, absurdelights.tumblr.com

Did you read yesterday’s drabble? What did you think of it? Would you like another featuring a couple other characters in the story? Well, you’re in luck 🙂

^^^

You keep kicking me. Just lay right. Misera was getting better at projecting their thoughts to Lias, and Lias was getting better at reading their mind. It proved fairly useful when they were trying to hold a quiet conversation they didn’t want anyone else to hear. Not that anyone could hear the pair grunting and groaning as they tried to get comfortable in the small bed anyway.

Their flat above the pub was one room with shambly walls, one window that needed a cleaning, and one bed they needed to get used to sleeping in. As Lias adjusted on his side, lying awkwardly beside his half-elf friend, he sighed heavily in exasperation. He was still hanging off the side of the bed and knew that Misera wasn’t having much luck space-wise either. “I should just sleep on the floor,” Lias declared allowed.

“N-no,” Misera choked out. They cleared their throat, then resumed simply projecting their thoughts, You won’t get any sleep that way.

“I’m not gonna get any sleep this way, I’m afraid.” No sooner had the thought left his mouth than he came up with another solution. “We could always just snuggle.”

What? Lias glanced over Misera’s face, taking in the black flush against the half-elf’s already dark gray skin. Their long, white hair did nothing to conceal their fluster, nor did it hide how their eyes had turned into orange saucers. The half-elf’s lips quivered the way they always had when they struggled against a stuttering voice. Even as they put themself in the habit of projecting thought rather than talking aloud, their lips still trembled.

“I mean, it would be the only real way to make things comfortable here. No need to blush about it,” Lias said. Though Misera was clearly nervous at the idea of such close proximity in an already tight situation, they didn’t refute Lias.

That was the first night they’d spent together in the same bed. A few weeks into their docking job at Arshkan, and they were regular bedmates.

Now Misera crawled into the bed and proceeded to move their taller friend around. Lias lay still as Misera shifted onto their hip, waiting for them to start pulling at Lias’s arm trapped between his body and the mattress. Lay flat, the half-elf projected.

“Alright.” Lias shifted onto his back. Finally fully sprawled across the small, down mattress, Misera dropped down across his chest. Lias continued lying completely still until Misera was fully adjusted across his chest.

In the time it had taken for them to get used to sleeping together, Misera and Lias had both stopped going to bed fully clothed and now remained shirtless. The most they wore to bed were their threadbare, cheap but still soft night trousers. The half-elf tucked his white head under Lias’s stubbly chin, the dark grayness of their arm striking against the olive tone of Lias’s chest. Misera’s fingers flicked at the growing hairs on the wolf man’s chest, the half-elf commenting, The hairier you are in human form, the more ruffled you look in your wolf form.

“That’s a myth, the hair on my body doesn’t affect that,” Lias declared, eyes closed as Misera continued petting his hair curiously. He had no shame in regards to his body, despite years of being told that his ability to shift into an anthropomorphic wolf creature was utterly abominable. Misera, on the other hand, had a lot of shame. Lias couldn’t bring himself to poke fun at how, unlike other elves, Misera’s skin did not change color depending on the environment. It stayed this dark gray that so often reminded Lias of monsoon-soaked mud. He could poke at other things, though. “I know you guys don’t have nipples, so I’ll warn you: don’t touch mine.”

Misera scoffed aloud, their face hot against Lias’s chest as their breath blew across the hairs. Why?

“They’re sensitive.” Lias cracked open one eye and glanced at Misera. “Like your ears.”

Misera stopped rubbing the dark hair on Lias’s to tuck their hair over their pointed ears. A soft, “Rude,” blew over Lias’s chest before the two further relaxed into bed.

Lias smiled to himself, absently stroking Misera’s soft hair. It draped over their shoulders, the severity of the lack of pigment making Lias’s own dark hair look pitch black despite it being just a darker brown. The androgyny of Misera’s race garnered them a lot of attention in the docks. Lias couldn’t help but get defensive whenever someone called his best friend pretty, or some derivative of the word.

Misera was pretty, though.

There was something delicate about their nature, a primordial energy that made them seem to be both part of the natural world as well as supernatural. Though Misera’s looks were comprised of two different races of elves crossed, they retained that energy. Lias was almost sad that he might not live long enough to see Misera’s features sharpen with age. As he pet Misera’s hair, Lias’s pinky nail accidentally flicked Misera’s, as stated, sensitive ear. The elf jerked awake and yelped, their lips so close to Lias’s skin that their startled breath moistened the part of his chest they were resting on. “Sorry,” Lias hastily muttered.

Before he could say it was an accident, Misera crooked their fingers and flicked Lias’s own ‘sensitive’ peak. Lias kicked out as he jolted upward. His feet dropped back down on the too close edge of the bed, and he flattened back down on the mattress huffing. Revenge, Misera projected, their mental voice jesting but their face still twisted in shock.

“Unfair revenge,” Lias retorted, breathing heavily.

“Hmph,” Misera declared. The two said nothing else. While Misera hid their face against Lias’s chest, Lias had to work to catch his breath. After several minutes, he took a long pull before exhaling loudly. Closing his wide eyes again, he attempted to ignore the transference. Then Misera projected, You liked it, nasty.

“And just how do you know that, jerk?” he asked. It wasn’t like Misera could read his mind, but he still asked.

Heart’s beating rapidly. With their ear and cheek pressed to Lias’s chest like this, there was no way they could be lying.

“Go to sleep, doofus,” Lias ignored the statement. He felt Misera smile against his skin.

And hoped the elf didn’t turn their head to see if Lias’s cheeks were flushed.

This was the original cover art, done by my good friends over on goobermation.tumblr.com

Want a peek at the characters? Here they are in a drabble I wrote just for you!

^^^

“Are all dragons bad?” The question spilled from her mouth before she could stop herself. Curled up on her sleeping mat long after the ashes of the campfire had dimmed, Irilith couldn’t help but ask.

 

Sejaxis groaned, then rolled over to face her. He lay on his own mat, the pair hidden under the carefully pulled and tied branches Sejaxis was using to block out the morning sun. They were tired and sated, having hunted through half the night to get to this place of comfort. Yet as the sun started to rise higher in the sky, and Irilith attempted to think herself to sleep, she couldn’t seem to find the rest she so needed.

 

Her brother blinked slowly, his hair a similar shade as her own. They shared their fair looks, both blonde, but his eyes were darker than her green. They also shared their food, their thoughts, their most unpopular opinions. For as long as Irilith could remember, Sejaxis was her one true confidant. She could not have gotten as close to her own twin if she wanted to. Irilith was glad to have her brother, who had shown her how to hunt and care for herself when no one else would or even could.

 

“Why?” he asked, voice soft, fangs poking out over his bottom lips as he sucked some of the red off the thin skin. When he released his bottom lip again, he clarified, “Thinking of great-grandpa again?”

 

“Mm-hm.” Through all her eight years of living, the only thing their mother had ever ranted and raved about was their ancestor the White Dragon. He was an evil man, dethroned by his people for his relentless cruelty to those who challenged his ways. Though Irilith knew he wasn’t all dragon, but a blemished sorcerer who could not cast magic, she wondered often. Was he the model all dragons had to follow? Did they all have to be cruel? “I know there are dragons,” she murmured quietly, watching her brother blink slowly trying to focus on her. “I just wonder if they’re all bad like him.”

 

Sejaxis yawned, closing his eyes. “Of course not,” he answered in a hushed tone. Then he added, “But they want you to think they’re mean.”

 

“Why?” she asked. Sejaxis’s eyes opened so slowly, he was so exhausted. “M’sorry,” Irilith pouted. She knew it was a bad time to be asking him so many questions.

 

“It’s fine.” He stifled a second yawn. “I’ll tell you a secret,” he suggested. “And once I tell you, you have to swear you won’t tell anyone else.”

 

“Yeah?” Irilith’s eyes opened wider. Her heart beat just a little faster, excitement waking her up more as she focused on listening to Sejaxis.

 

Who also looked more awake as he whispered, as though someone might hear them, “Dragons can talk, and they’re smarter than us too.”

 

“What?” Irilith was bewildered. An animal who could speak? “How?”

 

“Legend has it that for every sorcerer, there is a dragon. Sorcerers are just human dragons with dragon powers.”

 

“Dragons can use magic?!”

 

“Shhh,” Sejaxis shushed. Irilith was jittering on her mat, scooting closer to hear more. Though she didn’t fully understand magic and how it worked, that seemed beyond comprehension. “The Ancients didn’t want something so big and strong with the ability to fight them with wit and sorcery, so the sorcery was stolen from them and given to a new race of humans. This left the dragons only with strength and ferocity.”

 

“But you said they were—”

 

“They are very smart, but they don’t want you to know. Anyone who does know will likely be eaten.”

 

“But why?”

 

“Because if people know that they are not just plain monsters, then they will be hunted.”

 

Irilith’s brow furrowed as she eyed her older brother. Though he was only three to four years older than her, she trusted his word over anyone else’s. That didn’t say much, she hadn’t met that many people. Though this sounded off to her. “People already hunt them, don’t they?”

 

Sejaxis shook his head, his eyes closing again as he answered tiredly, “People kill them if they see them. They don’t go after them.”

 

“Because they think they’re dumb?” she asked. He nodded slowly. “And if they’re not dumb, they’d actually look for them?” Again, he nodded. “Why?”

 

“Because they’d be different from other monsters.”

 

“Different?” Irilith reiterated. Sejaxis nodded. Irilith thought quietly to herself. Her full belly was starting to weigh her to the mat, but her mind was still racing. She remembered something that made her squint even more, and her heart sank. “Are people going to hunt us?”

 

Sejaxis’s eyes opened again slowly as he murmured, “Why?”

 

“Because we’re different.”

 

There was a quiet pause. A breeze picked up and rustled their hand tied roof of branches and leave. Sejaxis sighed as he gathered his thoughts, then shared, “No one is hunting us, Irilith.”

 

“But what if they do?” They were half-breeds. Her mother had thrown that term at all three of her children so often that Irilith was unable to forget the slur. They weren’t just Inimicas, sorcerers with limited powers, descended from an evil king. Their absent father had also been a vampire, with gray skin and black hair, eyes lined with red. Though the only thing Irilith and her siblings had inherited from their father was thirst, strength, and speed, that was enough to set them apart from humans and sorcerers. That was enough to label them different and worth hunting. The thought of being hunted as she and Sejaxis hunt for blood frightened her to her core.

 

Sejaxis patted his mat twice, his hand meeting the thick fabric softly. Irilith crawled from her mat, pulling it along with her as she moved to lay beside him. With her brother spooned protectively against her back, he wrapped his arms around her. They lay nestled together as they always had when one of them had nightmares.

 

“I won’t let anyone hunt us,” her brother whispered. “We’re gonna live, and we’re gonna to be happy. Woods, trails, or city, we’re gonna be safe. Alright?”

 

“Promise?” Irilith’s eyes were closing at last.

 

“Promise.” She always drifted off when she snuggled close to her big brother. He had a way of making her feel safe. So when he murmured, “I won’t let anyone hurt you,” she believed him.

 

With all of her heart.

 

Who’s ready for the release of bonus content all through the next two weeks???? ^.^

1st Quarterly Goals

• EPIC FAILS:
  • Go to the gym once a week. MISSED 2 BECAUSE OF HAND INJURY
  • Drabble at least twice a week. (Added 2/12) TOOK A BREAK 3/4 – 3/10
• EPIC SUCCESSES:
  • Get the guinea pigs 4 3×4 fleece liners. (Check Amazon shopping list.) 2/26
  • Answer the work radio in a more interesting way. 2/7
  • Walk around the building twice a day. (Added 2/23) 3/16
  • Publish The God of Other Worlds as soon as the cover is finished. To Break a Wild Thing ends March 15. 2/23
  • Knit or crochet at least one item a month. (Added 3/2) 3/10
  • Buy ferret playpen March 15. (Check Amazon shopping list.) 3/2
  • Have The God of Other Worlds beta read by Cecil and Paola. 2/15
  • Buy hay rack for guinea pigs. (Check Amazon shopping list.) 3/3
  • Write Dams’ Cam 4. 2/26
  • Complete The God of Other Worlds. 1/?
  • Complete the final draft of The Blood of the Enemy. 1/25
  • Complete the self edit for Sand and Silver. 1/31
  • Revise outlines for the following pair of White Dragon books. 1/3
  • Outline The Secrets in Our Bones. 1/7
  • Outline The Book of Melete. 1/9
  • Write January AAK. 1/10
  • Build a website for Rowan Liddell on WordPress or Wix. (Get your own domain.) 1/5
  • Look into duotrope for exposure. (Can’t afford to pay right now.) 1/3
  • Plan expository short stories for upcoming novels that end with free chapter samples for releases. No more than 1000 words. 1/4
  • White Dragon: Promotional Drabble 1 (1000 words). 2/1
  • Look into critters.org for critique workshops. (You have critique partners from Skillshare.) 1/3
  • Outlined the last White Dragon books. 1/3, 1/7
  • White Dragon: Promotional Drabble 2 (1000 words). 2/1
  • Write February AAK_Scruffy Part 2. 2/2
  • Plan March Dams’ Cam. 2/1
  • Write March AAK_Calcifer. 2/2
  • Get beta readers started on Sand and Silver. 2/5
  • Promote The Blood of the Enemy! 1/?
  • Choose your next Nanowrimo. 2/7
  • Write Dams’ Cam 5. 2/27
  • Write To Catch a Wild Thing. 3/14
  • Create a timeline for The White Dragon Saga and Storytime. 3/26

2nd Quarterly Goals

• Exercise twice a week.
• Drabble at least twice a week.
• Knit or crochet at least one item a month.
• Finish reading a book.
• Buy FOB’s album Mania.
• Draw a map of Storytime.
• Go to at least one Fallout event a month.
• Buy reptile humidifier for Mushu. (Check Amazon shopping list.)
• Reptile cage deep cleaning time. (Need two bags of Eco Earth, two bags of moss, another vine, and a bigger tub for Mushu.)
• Put Buttons in Mushu’s tank. Put Ursula in Gideon’s tank. Put Gideon in Buttons’ tank. Put Mushu in Ursula’s tank.
• Write Project R section 1 dialogue with minor action detail.
• Have To Catch a Wild Thing beta read, then published. Publish The Red Cord six-parter immediately after. The God of Other Worlds ends May 10.
• Write To Save a Wild Thing.
• Have To Save a Wild Thing beta read, then published. To Catch a Wild Thing and The Red Cord end July 10.
• White Dragon: Promotional Drabble 3 (1000 words).
• White Dragon: Promotional Drabble 4 (1000 words+chapter sample).
• Release promo art and The Blood of the Enemy drabbles!
• Publish The Blood of the Enemy a week after the release of the drabbles!
• Write Dust Devils.
• Self edit Dust Devils.
• Write April AAK: Buddy, our most anxious cat.
• Write May AAK: Gimpy, the feral turned chub.
• Write June AAK: Uma and her bird lady.
• Write Dams’ Cam and plan arcs.
• Write Flavor for the Week and plan arcs.