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Meri's Corner

~ A Writer's Thoughts and Reviews

Meri's Corner

Tag Archives: Urban Fantasy

And time vanishes

12 Tuesday Jan 2021

Posted by MBenson in Personal Thoughts, Writing

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10kWritingChallenge, amblogging, amediting, amwriting, balancing, books, co-author, creativity, discoveries, enjoy, fantasy, goals, inspiration, life, musings, Nine, online presence, original fiction, original work, possible wip, Project Norse, published work, ramblings, real life, thoughts, time, time management, update, Urban Fantasy, what do, WIP, word count, writing

So I lost my weekend to the best reason possible. All the words. All the words is definitely a good thing to lose time to though. My co-author on Project Norse and I decided to try and do a 10K words in a day challenge for our respective Saturdays.

As a whole, the challenge went well. We realized fairly early on that our time zone difference made for an interesting addition to the challenge, because with her in the Philippines and me in the United States, being fourteen hours apart means we can’t just boomerang the novel back and forth between us all day. For a good chunk of the writing time, one of us was sleeping while the other was writing.

We made it work though by working on different scenes in the novel at once. Like, I think we were working on four or five different areas to go back and forth with each other, but then also we had a couple areas where one of us took the lead on a certain scene and ran with it.

Neither of us hit 10,000 words on Saturday, but both of us got a little more than halfway through. She finished her 10,000 words on her Sunday. I didn’t, because I ran into a secondary challenge for a long da like that. So back in May 2019 I had my dominant hand’s wrist in a cast. And ever since that accident I’ve had serious problems with my wrist when I over work it.

Well apparently it feels that 6,372 words it decided was over working it. My morning went super well and I was able to get a little over 2,000 words before breakfast, but it had started to ache after that and just get progressively worse through the day as I tried to alternate between resting it and working on more words as I could.

Sunday was pretty much a get nothing done, only rest it day. Also, all the grocery shopping and things I had meant to do that I pushed off from Saturday, so no real other words happened over the weekend. But still, we were able to get about 16,000 words collectively on our novel over the weekend, which is awesome! Since we have that July deadline for publishing, it’s great that we’re able to make so much progress on it as a whole for draft one. As well, when we were awake at the same time and not writing, we were able to flush out our outline to really hone into the timeline of what we what to happen when and how we kind of want it to go so we have guiding things to get us there. Overall, it’s a super productive weekend.

And then yesterday I also realized part of the problem with my wrist is that when I have to work on campus and cover the front desk, that the angle the desk is at compared to the chair is part of my problem. We’ll see if anyone complains about the chair, because I lowered it by like a TON, but I’m hoping since it’s just a little lever, that they’ll just shift it for them when they’re on campus and no one will complain. But the angle was not okay for me anymore. within the first hour of working at the desk my wrist felt like it did after writing 6K words from Saturday, only worse. So yeah, something had to change. I also shifted how the monitors were set on the desk, but those were put back after my shift so no one had to worry about them.

I’m hoping my work week goes fairly quiet as a whole, and I can continue to get words in on the novel. I really want to continue this momentum that we’ve found on getting things done on the different chapters. I’d personally love it if we could have draft one finished by either the end of January or the really early beginning of February so we can get those edits in hard and fast.

Hope your week goes well, readers! And if you did anything you’re proud of, drop a comment and let me know!

Also, if you’re wondering what the image has to do with this post, well, it’s partially just because it’s my kitty and I love him. And partially because that’s legitimately how tired I feel right now.

Book Review: Rogue Huntress by Thea Atkinson

30 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by MBenson in Reviews

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amblogging, amreading, books, creativity, discoveries, enjoy, inspiration, pack struggle, review, reviews, Rogue Huntress, Rogue Huntress Chronicles, Thea Atkinson, thoughts, update, Urban Fantasy, werewolves

Author: Thea Atkinson
Publisher: Thea Atkinson
Series: Rogue Huntress Chronicles
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: July 6, 2016
Rating: 4 Stars

Find Rogue Huntress on Goodreads

Brief Synopsis

Shana, an assassin for the Beo pack, has been taken hostage by her foster brother, Caleb, after he kills her father, the alpha. By pack law, Caleb is now the alpha of the pack, but Shana and her brothers are a threat to his leadership and he’ll do what he can to force Shana into submission with the lives of her brothers.

Can Shana fake submission long enough to turn the tables on Caleb and take her pack back? Or will the human mercenary Caleb’s brought in be too much of a distraction that she’ll lose it all?

Review

The book starts off right in the thick of everything. We don’t start before Shana’s capture to get to know any of the characters, but with Shana already captured, trapped in the manor she called home. Caleb, her foster-brother turned captor wants her to submit to him and be his mate, but naturally Shana doesn’t want to mate to the man who had killed her father and put her essentially in a cage, even if her wolf thinks the idea of mating to such a powerful wolf isn’t a terrible idea.

A lot of the backstory about Shana and Caleb comes to us through Shana reflecting back on the past and both who she thought people were coupled with what Shana has gone through to make her the woman she is today. She thinks several times that she’s not sure who this Caleb is, because he wasn’t the man she’d grown up with, trained with, and knew as a brother. Though short of those comments we aren’t ever shown that juxtaposition against the Caleb we see keeping her captor and wanting her to be his. It’s a lot of telling in that respect.

Throughout the book, we’re teased back and forth with Jeb, the human mercenary that helped Caleb take over the pack and had been helping keep Shana captive. He seems cold and calculating, but then there are glimpses where we think we can maybe trust him, that he’ll be there and come through to help Shana take Caleb down and free her pack from his influence.

The worldbuilding that exists is good, because we’re mostly kept at Shana’s manor and the surrounding woods and ravine around it there isn’t too much to have Shana describe or see to us. But the descriptions of the old trees, the roots that in some scenes are large enough for Shana to duck under or around, the bramble bushes with their pricklers are described nicely to be able to visually see what Shana is going through. Even the description of the halls of the large manor as we’re taken through it in the different scenes left me fairly confident I knew about where things were from walking the halls with Shana.

The characters are mostly well thought out. Shana, being the main character feels the most alive, and her inner thoughts, motivations, and drive are well written. She’s very much a well flushed out character. As were the others over all. I don’t know if I’m over thinking it too much, but the only piece of the puzzle I feel like I’m missing is Caleb’s motivation for killing Shana’s father and taking over the pack.

Throughout the book Shana’s telling us that this isn’t the man she grew up with, and yet Jeb mentions at one point that this had been years in the planning. And Caleb didn’t take the pack over by way of the normal trial by combat normally associated with an alpha battle but crept in the shadows and took the wolves he knew he couldn’t beat fairly by deception and blind surprise. It leads well to why some of the pack wouldn’t follow him because it reeks of cowardliness despite the strength Shana’s wolf tells us Caleb has.

While I liked the book over all, it’s the lack of understanding Caleb’s motivation for turning on the people that had welcomed him in as a family for centuries if Shana’s offer of growing up with him is caught correctly is what leaves this more at a four star read. The story does hook you, and I followed it happily. I am also considering picking up the next book to see where Shana goes. However, even after I read it, I still have the serious, but why did he do it, nagging at the back of my head. There were also quite a few noticeable errors in spelling and punctuation being funky that while it didn’t completely pull me out of the story, were distracting.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion. All thoughts are my own, and were not colored for receiving a free copy.

Hello September

04 Friday Sep 2020

Posted by MBenson in Personal Thoughts, Writing

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amblogging, amediting, amreading, amwriting, author life, balancing, creativity, discoveries, enjoy, fantasy, goals, inspiration, life, milwordy, musings, online presence, original fiction, original work, possible wip, ramblings, real life, thoughts, time, time management, update, Urban Fantasy, what do, WIP, word count, writers life, writerslife, writing, writing goals

Yes, I know that it’s not Monday, and yes I know I missed last week for posting. But September started slightly mid-week and since we’re welcoming September, well, it’s only fair that we start it in September instead of saying hello to September during the last day of August, right? That’s not exactly fair to our dear August as it left us.

Last week was a mix of not posting because it was my birthday and I took a little time off, but also coupled with a small downswing in my mood that threw everything off for most of the week. I’ve since recovered from said downward swing of mood – partially by taking walks around the part to get some fresh are because I think a lot has to do with just being cooped up inside for so long.

My introverted self doesn’t mind being able to work from home and not having to deal with the random issues and questions that slide past my desk back when there was the old normal – a normal I do hope that we get back to soon though I think I heard that the best case if the vaccine works for widespread distribution is like next summer? Because once we find a vaccine, it takes time to make and then get to everyone so we’re able to go back to what we used to know as normal. My go-to when I’m feeling too closed in is outside. Be it the park or Mom and I have really gotten a lot of use out of our Arboretum passes this year. I used to enjoy going to like the outdoor mall to get away but shopping has become very stressful over all so it’s not exactly an escape from the house anymore. But the Arboretum with all the plants, sunshine – and sunscreen I remembered last time and will remember this weekend when we go – and sure there are occasionally people but it’s a large enough area with timed entrances so there’s never too many people in the place wandering around at a time, it’s actually relaxing and helps.

Plus, I get to take some really nice pictures, like the one at the top of this post. Crafting is normally my go-to for relaxing too but writing has been hard, I think partly from the stress of everything going on, and crocheting while it has been fun and I made some cute bees has aggravated my wrist so it’s been hard to work on that as much as I want. And with the heat, my garage where I do my painting hasn’t been friendly either. So all the things are letting me down for stress relief, at least in their own ways.

But September is here, and with it, hopefully, some cooler weather. I say hopefully because the last week or so here in Illinois it’s been record-breaking highs in the 90’s. Which has left me melting and not wanting to do much because ugg too hot.

This weekend Mom and I are headed to the Arboretum again because I wanted to get out. Plus they’re having their annual plant sale, so I’m curious to see what they’ll have that we can buy and bring home. All the pretty fall plants hopefully. I’m also, as of September, started last Tuesday, going to try to do a million words in a year. Not solely novel type words, though that is a large part of why I want to strive for this. But all words, even the words from this blog will count. There’s an authortuber I watch that’s decided to do it and I thought it would be an interesting challenge to try and do along with her. It’s a good motivational goal to try and do. The authortuber in question is Kate Cavanaugh, and you can find her channel here.

For those trying to count it, it’s roughly 83,333 words a month which, thankfully she did the math for in one of her videos. It’s roughly 2,741 words per day if you write every day or, if you’d like to be able to take holidays and weekends off, it’s 3,831 words per workday. Which, as a whole, is a lot more than a NaNoWriMo month, but at the same time counting editing words, blog words, and other words writing past your writing project, it does help to add up a little better, or well, should.

So September word count, all words, goal is 83,333 words. Will I hit that goal? I certainly hope so or this new million words in a year challenge will be off to a really poor start.

I’m also trying to aim to edit and finish my one novel that’s been in editing for a while maybe by the end of this year. So gotta get cracking on that. I did around six chapters of it originally but I think I’m going to do another quick run-through of them because it’s been a while since I even did those. So to finish editing the novel, starting from technically scratch, we’re looking at twelve chapters a month for September, October, and November, and then ten chapters and the epilogue for December.

Overall, I think it’s a do-able goal. Then track down some beta readers to give it a once over, and I think I’ll feed it through my Writer’s Group to get their feedback on it too.

Naturally, I’d also like to get some new original words. I have a few short stories I started that I’d like to finish, edit, and get released as well. Plus new shorts and novellas that are sliding around in my head that want to get out and written. So I think for this year I’m going to try and finish a few that are halfway or more toward completion and then start new things with the new year in January.

So kind of a quarter goal for me right now instead of just a September goals list. But I think over all if I can keep myself moving, it’s an achievable goal.

Book Review: Twisted Devotion by Jessi Elliot

22 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by MBenson in Reviews

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amblogging, amreading, amreviewing, books, creativity, discoveries, enjoy, fantasy, Jessi Elliott, musings, New Adult, paranormal romance, published work, review, reviews, Romance, thoughts, Twisted Desire, Twisted Devotion, Twisted Fate, Twisted Gift, Twisted Series, update, Urban Fantasy

Author: Jessi Elliot
Publisher: Jessi Elliot
Series: Twisted #4
Genre: New Adult Paranormal Urban Fantasy Romance
Release Date: April 21, 2020
Rating: 5 Stars

Find Twisted Devotion on GoodReads

Warning – There will be Spoilers for Twisted Fate (#1), Twisted Gift (#2), and Twisted Desire (#3). It’s recommended to pick up copies and read those before you continue with this review!

It was really nice to return to Rockdale and the cast of the Twisted series while getting a whole new level of understanding for a few of the side characters from other books.

While the war between the human and the Fae is over and The Experiment has been ended, there is still a lot of healing and settling to be done in the Fae world. And with the science that the humans have created that allow a Fae to be turned human, there’s a world of possibility left open to Fae who may not want to live for eternity.

Lucky for them Jackson Hawthorne is ensuring that those who might want to become human again have that choice should they want to take it – after being told the full extent of the risks that come with the procedure. But even knowing full well how things might fall, that a Fae might not survive turning human, surviving family members don’t stop from threatening him and his life in the face of their loss.

Which is why Kelsey Young is tasked with keeping him safe. Offered substantial compensation to keep Jackson alive as his personal bodyguard, Kelsey puts her plans to leave Rockdale in the rearview on hold to protect the arrogantly charismatic entrepreneur.

The ups and downs as Kelsey and Jackson spend several months together throughout the book keep the book moving. We learn a lot more about Kelsey’s past, how that has affected her now and why she really just can’t stay in Rockdale. And the budding romance between Jackson and Kelsey is a sweet contrast to the heat that they have between each other fro the moment he greets her at the door of his rather large home.

While this book focused on Kelsey and Jackson, it was great to be able to see the cast from the first three books weaved throughout to not just bring more life to this wonderful world that Jessi’s created, but also give us sneak peeks as to how they’re doing without taking over the story to do so. The world lives, breaths, and is this magically vibrant place that I would love to visit whenever Jessi wants to invite us back to it. The characters are just as strong developmentally as they were in the last three books, and my heart is all the warmer for reading Kelsey and Jackson’s journey.

Disclaimer: I did receive an arc of the book in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion. All thoughts are my own and were not colored by receiving the arc.

Remember to find Twisted Devotion on GoodReads

Official Synopsis

Being responsible for the survival of someone you loathe really dwindles all hope for a fresh start.

Kelsey Young is ready to leave Rockdale—and the darkest parts of her life—in the past. After barely escaping the massacre of her foster family and taking down the evil behind The Experiment, she wants nothing more than to relocate and start over.

That is, until the fae leaders offer a reward too good to refuse, derailing her plans in the process. Kelsey agrees to put her future on hold to protect an arrogant creature with far too much charisma for his—or her—own good.

While she’s no stranger to the rumors of Jackson Hawthorne, she is new to his charm. And soon, she finds it nearly impossible to resist—especially when he makes no effort to hide his blatant desire for her.

Tensions run high as Jackson’s well-being is threatened by angry fae and humans alike with a mission to destroy his business—and him.

But temptations run even higher after Kelsey swears to safeguard his life—even on the days she wants to kill him herself. And what about his heart—or hers? When they find common ground in new territory, lines blur, defenses crumble, and devotion begins to outweigh duty.

Available Now!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes | Signed Paperback | Google Play

Get the rest of the Series

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes | Signed Paperbacks | Google Play

About the Author


Jessi Elliott is a law clerk and author of both young adult and new adult romantic fiction. Her love of writing was born after many years of reading and reviewing books on her blog.

She lives in Southwestern Ontario with her adorable cat, Phoebe. Yes, named after the Friends character.

When she’s not plotting her next writing project, she likes to spend her time hanging with friends and family, getting lost in a steamy romance novel, watching Friends, and drinking coffee.

You can find Jessi at www.jessielliott.com, on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can join her newsletter to stay up to date on book news and upcoming releases.

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Things are getting Crafty

20 Monday Apr 2020

Posted by MBenson in Personal Thoughts, Reviews, Writing

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amblogging, amediting, amreading, amwriting, balancing, books, creativity, discoveries, enjoy, fantasy, goals, inspiration, Jessi Elliott, life, musings, online presence, original fiction, original work, possible wip, published work, ramblings, real life, review, reviews, Romance, thoughts, time, time management, Twisted Desire, Twisted Devotion, Twisted Fate, Twisted Gift, Twisted Series, update, Urban Fantasy, what do, WIP, word count, writing

So, if you’ve been following my Instagram at all (meriscorner), you’ve seen this already. If not, check out my Instagram, I’m always posting food and cat pictures over there as well as all the interesting crafty things that I’m doing in my life. It’s not all books with me, especially when words are being hard to find.

This week, I’ve dived into the world of acrylic pour painting. The image above is from the pour I did on Sunday, still went so I’m still waiting to see how it fully dries and how everything shifts as it finishes finding it’s level place. This is only my second pour and I’m trying to figure out if I had too much paint in the cup when I did the pour or not. While there’s a lot of paint on the bottom of the container I am doing this in, I had a little trouble at first getting it to the corners – trust me not from lack of it being too thick.

My first pour was WAY too thick. And I know that because after waiting like ten minutes it was still very textured. Though it thankfully leveled itself out and dried flat.

This time, I was able to get the recipe right for the paint, so it flowed really well, it was just happy chilling not in the corners, which from the videos I’ve watched of people doing this isn’t uncommon.

On top of playing with paint I have been writing a little bit. Like around 500 words little this month so far. It’s small but it’s something, for which I’m incredibly happy with.

As well, I’ve got a couple reviews coming up. One will be up on Wednesday for a book that’s coming out tomorrow, Tuesday April 21st. I was lucky enough to receive an arc copy of Twisted Devotion by Jessi Elliott – who is doing a Release Day Party on her Youtube channel Tuesday, so be sure to check it out her party. And then come back here Wednesday for the review to see what I thought of the book!

Link to her Release Party HERE

What do you mean it’s not Monday?

15 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by MBenson in Personal Thoughts, Writing

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amblogging, amediting, amreading, amwriting, animal crossing, animal crossing new horizons, balancing, books, creativity, discoveries, enjoy, fantasy, goals, inspiration, life, musings, online presence, original fiction, original work, ramblings, real life, review, reviews, self publishing, thoughts, time, time management, update, Urban Fantasy, what do, WIP, writing

So I’ve lost track of what day it is in self-isolation.

That’s not entirely true, because I’ve been updating this cute little whiteboard on my fridge with the day and date every morning to make sure I know exactly what day it is. This was supposed to come out Monday, but my days have been getting away from me.

Part of it’s stress at work – while I like working from home for the most part and falling into a rhythm is easy enough because I’m keeping the same hours I would were I actually at my desk in the office, I feel like some of the people have gotten either incredibly lazy or incredibly stupid with this stay at home during work time. Or potentially a little of both.

It wouldn’t surprise me if some of them are playing Fortnite instead of working considering the amount it takes them to answer an email just to confirm they are working on it – it’s like a two-second email it shouldn’t take you six hours to see my email and send it.

A lot of summer events that I have been working on both for my office, we’re supposed to be hosting a conference at the end of July, and my volunteer group, we’re supposed to be hosting a festival at the end of July, are kind of on notice because the Illinois Governer has not yet canceled summer events but has already voiced that he’s concerned about holding them until we have a vaccine for this virus – something that’s months away at minimum. And honestly, I can’t blame him for being concerned.

As much as I want to get back out in the world, to not have to worry about someone sneezing or coughing while I’m out shopping for essentials because I couldn’t get them delivered, I also don’t want to rush it and end up right back where we started. I want everyone to be safe first, because our health is the most important thing in this world.

That being said, I’m also seriously hoping that by November I can attend a Sci Fi Convention and potentially get a little booth and sell my wares – one of which I’m hoping will be a hold in your hands, large enough to print novel. Yes, I’ve got shorts and novellas but nothing that’s really big enough to run through the print on demand for paperbacks. But soon. SOON!

I’d say I’m making great headway on it, but the reality is that I’ve been spending a lot of time playing my newest addiction. Animal Crossing New Horizons on the Switch.

That’s right. I have a self-isolated myself not just in the house, but to a deserted island that I’m slowly building up to be a cute little town. It’s a really cute game, and if you like things like Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon and things, I’d totally recommend it. It’s super chill, super cute, and super fun.

Also – if you play the game and have Roses, Lilies, or Cosmos for sale? Hit me up, I’m totally needing them!

I’ve got a couple books I’m looking to read this month, a review going up next week, and some artsy things I’m looking to try out. All the plans, on top of getting some editing done on that novel.

And yet, it’s hard to want to do much except nap when I turn around from my desk and see cuteness overload.

I mean, how can you not want to nap when you see that behind you?

I hope everyone is staying healthy, staying safe, and finding ways to stay sane while we’re stuck at home.

Cover Reveal: Twisted Devotion by Jessi Elliott

23 Monday Mar 2020

Posted by MBenson in Cover Reveal

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amblogging, amreading, amwriting, books, Cover Reveal, creativity, discoveries, enjoy, fantasy, goals, Jessi Elliott, online presence, review, reviews, thoughts, time, Twisted Desire, Twisted Fate, Twisted Gift, Twisted Series, update, Urban Fantasy

Title: Twisted Devotion
Series: Twisted Series #4
Author: Jessi Elliott
Genre: NA/Paranormal Urban Fantasy Romance
Release Date: April 21, 2020
Cover Design: Arijana Karcic, Cover It! Designs
Being responsible for the survival of someone you loathe really dwindles all hope for a fresh start.

Kelsey Young is ready to leave Rockdale—and the darkest parts of her life—in the past. After barely escaping the massacre of her foster family and taking down the evil behind The Experiment, she wants nothing more than to relocate and start over.
 
That is, until the fae leaders offer a reward too good to refuse, derailing her plans in the process. Kelsey agrees to put her future on hold to protect an arrogant creature with far too much charisma for his—or her—own good.
 
While she’s no stranger to the rumors of Jackson Hawthorne, she is new to his charm. And soon, she finds it nearly impossible to resist—especially when he makes no effort to hide his blatant desire for her.
 
Tensions run high as Jackson’s well-being is threatened by angry fae and humans alike with a mission to destroy his business—and him.
 
But temptations run even higher after Kelsey swears to safeguard his life—even on the days she wants to kill him herself. And what about his heart—or hers? When they find common ground in new territory, lines blur, defenses crumble, and devotion begins to outweigh duty.

I walk up the steps and stop in front of the set of frosted glass doors, where I knock twice. Admittedly, the luxury of this place is rather intimidating; somehow more so than what I’m here to do. It’s ridiculous, considering I’m used to spending time at the Westbrook Hotel. But this place is next-level fancy.I clench my hands into fists and then let them go, shaking them out to release the tension.

It doesn’t do a whole lot the first time, but before I can do it again, the door opens, and Jackson Hawthorne smirks at me.

My eyes drop from his mouth to his bare chest and stick there.

Does he often answer the door half-naked? And with sweatpants riding dangerously low on his hips? Jesus.

“Long time no see, Red.” His voice is as smooth and warm as caramel.

After another second of admiring his lean, tight muscles, I meet his gaze and blink. His eyes—how could I forget how stunning they are? Melted honey with flecks of amber that pull you in. I want to believe they’re fake—costume contact lenses or something—but they’re completely real. They put my green eyes to shame.

Jackson leans in the doorway, those annoyingly captivating eyes roaming over my face as they glimmer with faint amusement. “Last I checked, Tristan and Aurora were the only ones who experienced fae amnesia. You good?”

I snap out of it and force a nod. “I’m fine. Hi, Jackson.”

Granted, I’ve only seen this guy a handful of times during The Experiment takedown—none of which involved him actually participating in the fight. But somehow, I forgot about his ridiculously charismatic personality. Perhaps if he’d fought with us instead of hiding, I would have gotten to know him better.

You will now, a voice sings in my head, and I fight the urge to scowl This guy got off scot-free and has been profiting from the deal Nik and Sky were essentially forced to make. Resentment isn’t an emotion I enjoy—feeding on or experiencing first-hand—but I’d be more comfortable protecting Jackson’s life if he’d risked it like the rest of us did ours. That thought prompts the wall to go up around my emotions, blocking my aura from view. Even though I don’t enjoy hiding it, I’d much rather Jackson not be able to see it.

He grins at me, clearly unaware of my distain, and far too chipper for this hour. I suppose it’s partially my fault for showing up so early.

“Please, come inside. Make yourself at home. Yada, yada, yada.” He glances behind me. “Did you bring anything? A change of clothes, perhaps?”

“It’s in the car.” Shrugging, I add, “I’ll grab it later.”

Nodding, he walks away, leaving the door open for me to enter the foyer.

I follow him inside, closing the door behind me. “Is Skylar here yet?” I glance around but don’t see or hear anyone else. “She said she’d meet me here this morning.”

“Are you kidding?” Jackson’s voice comes from the other room, and I follow the sound into the kitchen. “It’s barely daylight. Sky ain’t going to pull her ass out of bed until she absolutely has to. Nik would keep her there all day if he could.” He winks at me before tossing a blueberry into his mouth.

I stop in the doorway; my arrival interrupted his breakfast.

He must pick up on my reservation because he waves me into the room. “Coffee is fresh,” he murmurs, pointing behind him. “If you’re hungry, Gloria can make you pretty much whatever you want. She’s here a few days a week to cook and clean.”

My eyes widen, though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised he has staff here. “I’m good. Thanks.”

Jackson nods, cutting into what looks like a ham and cheese omelet.

In the silence, my gaze can’t help but venture back to his very well-maintained stomach. I just need to get my fill of the delicious, taut muscles there, and then it won’t affect me anymore. At least, that’s what I tell myself.

Jackson laughs deeply, and my cheeks go red. “See something you like?”

I narrow my eyes, but I can’t deny it. “Your house too expensive for you to afford a shirt?” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.

His eyes sparkle, and he drops his gaze to his bare chest then back to me. “Nah, this is your welcome gift.”

I gape at him before grumbling, “Here’s hoping you kept the receipt.”

His lashes are still lowered when he smirks. “Now, that’s not very nice to say to your boss.”

I choke on a laugh. “You’re hilarious.”

He beams. “Thank you. Much better.”

I push away from the doorframe and walk closer, crossing my arms over my chest. “You are not my boss, Hawthorne. If anything, I own you.”

Nikolai’s words echo in my head. Keep him in line. I’m going to do just that.

He wets his lips. “Do you now?” His gaze travels the length of me, lighting my skin on fire. “I might be okay with that.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Now—”

“My goodness, I had no idea you were here!” a middle-aged, mousy-looking woman says as she rushes into the room. Her cheeks are flushed and a light sheen of sweat lines her upper lip as if she’s been running around for a while. She makes quick work of pulling back her frizzy brown hair and smiles at Jackson. “I apologize, Mr. Hawthorne. I was upstairs preparing Miss Young’s room and didn’t hear the door.”

“It’s not a problem, Gloria,” Jackson tells her with a charming smile. “I was happy to greet our new houseguest.”

She wipes her hands on her apron and smiles at me, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Can I show you to your room, Miss Young?”

I nod, grateful for the interruption. “That would be great. And please, call me Kelsey.”

Gloria heads out of the kitchen, and I go to follow her. But when I step forward, Jackson shifts in front of me to block my exit.

I suck in a breath, surprised he used the ability in such close proximity to his human employee even though she wasn’t close enough to see him do it. He made it look effortless.

As if it was as easy as taking a step to close the distance between us.

Maybe it was. Maybe for most fae who actually use the abilities they have, it’s just that easy. I, on the other hand, try my best not to use them—especially shifting. Even during my early days of training, I hated it. The movement leaves my body tingling as if a strong current of electricity has just run through me. I shiver at the thought and force myself to meet Jackson’s gaze. It’s not difficult to do with him standing so close.

“For the record, my bed is the comfiest in the house,” he says in a low voice so Gloria doesn’t overhear.

I speak in a normal voice; I don’t care who hears. “For the record, let me be very clear with you, Mr. Hawthorne. I will never spend a night in your bed. We clear?”

The corner of his mouth lifts like I’ve just offered him a challenge. Fuck.

I shake my head and walk away before he can say something that’ll make me do something I’ll get in trouble for—like punch him in the face.

Skylar better get here soon, or there may not be a need for my services.

Jessi Elliott is a law clerk and author of both young adult and new adult romantic fiction. Her love of writing was born after many years of reading and reviewing books on her blog.

She lives in Southwestern Ontario with her adorable cat, Phoebe. Yes, named after the Friends character.
 
When she’s not plotting her next writing project, she likes to spend her time hanging with friends and family, getting lost in a steamy romance novel, watching Friends, and drinking coffee.
 
You can find Jessi at www.jessielliott.com, on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can join her newsletter to stay up to date on book news and upcoming releases.
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Update – My Monday has become my Friday

06 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by MBenson in Personal Thoughts

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amblogging, amediting, amreading, amwriting, balancing, books, cat life, cat mom, creativity, discoveries, enjoy, fantasy, goals, inspiration, life, musings, online presence, original fiction, original work, ramblings, real life, resin, resin art, resin magnets, thoughts, time, time management, update, Urban Fantasy, what do, WIP, writing

So the sick Kitty is doing better. Have a shot of him while we drove him to his two-week check-up. He was not a happy kitty to be outside, but then he never is. He hates the outdoors, he hates being in a car, but he quiets down when I let him stick his head out of the bag and look around while we drive.

Overall, the prognosis is, he’s doing better! He hates his meds. He knows what time meds are given due to work schedule, and tries really hard to hide so we can’t give them to him – I feel bad that it’s gotten to this point but they’re needed to get him to feeling better. I’m hoping next week, after his four-week check-up, that we’ll be at a point where he won’t need the drops or the steriods and so the only meds will be the antibiotic shot to give him.

We learned how to properly clean his ears, with the best practice for him so it’s lower stress on him while we do it. The goal they said every three to four weeks is good to keep the build-up from getting to infection point.

Writing-wise for me has been slow. The last two weeks I’ve felt super low, kind of like I was drowning in the world. This week has been better. I feel more on top of everything, more like I’m at least paddling in the boat instead of trying to hang onto the side for dear life. I still have a good deal of catch-up to do but I’m more confident I’m getting it done.

I’m hoping to get my one novel that’s in editing stages done faster. Like, actually finish it and release it into the world this year, done. Preferably around September or October. I may or may not be poking one of the Sci-Fi cons mom and I attend to see what it actually costs for a table to sell, and maybe sell the pretty finished book along with some resin and costers and things.

Because for all my dabbling in things, the resin isn’t going away. If anything, it’s getting stronger. Like, I just bought some mica powder and more molds to do more things. And I am super excited to try all the things with resin.

I recently sent these guys off into the world. And I mean, how cute are they?! Two are currently keychains, but they could be necklaces. And the other two are magnets – they have a magnet on the back of them.

I also ended up getting a mold for zodiac constellations which I found super fun and cool and I’m still working on them in order to get the best results. And more mermaid tails.

I also ended up picking up this cool heart puzzle mold that fits together that I want to play around with a little more, but I’m already loving how it’s coming out.

So yeah, resin is now my life in general. Along with all the words and things. The great thing about the resin though, is that once I pour it and it’s curing, it hast to sit for 24 hours, which means after it’s poured, it’s all about working on those words. =)

New Release – Treasure of the Deep

15 Saturday Feb 2020

Posted by MBenson in New Release

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amblogging, amreading, amwriting, books, creativity, discoveries, enjoy, fantasy, goals, musings, online presence, original fiction, original work, Paranormal, paranormal romance, published, published work, self publishing, update, Urban Fantasy

Treasure of the Deep

Treasure of the Deep

Kari is a headstrong Princess who loves to explore the ocean floor around her. Treasure is always something she loves scouring for in the shipwrecks, but will it be her heart that ends up the treasure when she saves a diver from a shark attack?

You can find the book HERE for purchase or free to read with the Kindle Unlimited program.

NaNo Just Around the Corner

28 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by MBenson in NaNoWriMo, Personal Thoughts, Writing

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amblogging, amediting, amreading, amwriting, balancing, creativity, discoveries, enjoy, fantasy, goals, inspiration, life, musings, NaNo, nanowrimo, NaNoWriMo 19, NaNoWriMo 2019, online presence, original fiction, original work, ramblings, real life, thoughts, time, time management, update, Urban Fantasy, what do, WIP, writing

Design by Georgia Lange, Poster in the NaNoWriMo shop.

So, NaNoWriMo is right around the corner. Literally 4 days away. I’ve been so busy getting ready for it that everything else has kind of fallen by the wayside. It’s not a great quality in me, but at the same time, I admit that that’s how I am and while I try to change there’s no sense in getting mad at myself about it either.

I didn’t get nearly as much writing done as I’d hoped with the prepping and getting everything as ready as I can make it be successful for November. I did try to do that GrimsList prompting that I mentioned in my last post, and while I did get about two thousand words overall, none of the shorts that I started are finished. So for now, it will sit and wait and I’ll try to work on them in December. Maybe I can have enough to do a small anthology of horror for next Halloween.

My biggest shift is I’ve decided to rewrite a novel from four years ago for my NaNo Project, officially. The current WIP stands at forty-seven thousand words with two to three chapters missing to close up the story. It’s basically in a zero draft stage where everything can change and nothing is safe. I’ve been editing what I have this month, being really hard on it, so that starting Friday my goal is to rewrite a chapter a day to catch up, leaving me a few days to finish the missing chapters and hit 50k. If for some reason it shortens in the rewrite and I don’t hit 50k for it, I have a sequel novella prepped and outlined and ready for me to start writing on to get me past that NaNo finish line.

November is always interesting because we have Thanksgiving near the end and as such we aren’t allowed to be writer hermits because our families demand our attention and to put down our pen, phone, or keyboard at least long enough to smile, chit chat, and pretend that while we’re eating our turkey we’re not also trying to continue writing in our heads so once we get back to our writing implement of choice we’ll be able to hastily continue our words.

On top of that, I’ll be at a Science Fiction convention for three days, though I’m not looking for that to stop me or slow me down. I have goals and they will be successful and I’ll get that NaNo Win!

If you’re participating in NaNo and are looking for a writing buddy, be sure to add me. My user name on NaNo is MerisCorner

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Feeling mighty sleepy this week, or at least for the beginning of this week. But, well, can anyone blame me after attempting a #10KWritingChallenge this weekend?
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