Day Late

It’s not Monday…. But here is this weeks Howling Moon Snippet. And I’ve made a decision of doing at least one more piece from my debut novel next week as the pieces have seemed to move along with the story.

Here it is, this weeks piece from Howling Moon….it goes without saying, spoilers ahead. And this section from the novel is a little spicy. Hope you enjoy. Leave a like, a comment, a follow on the blog. 🙂 Or even link above and check it out, Howling Moon is currently on sale!! Also remember I’ve been posting snippets all month, feel free to go check those out!!!

“Maybe…I don’t know what I mean. Mathew Bradley told me something that I can’t get out of mind.”

“Not to take away from what he did for you, but Mathew Bradley is an old drunk and you should take everything he said with a pinch of salt.”

“All of these deaths and I am the only person to live. The authorities have no idea what it is. Bradley said he saw something that night as he sped away from the scene, after he pulled me into his truck. Something as tall as any man and it howled, Colin.” She leaned back, placing the beer on the table. “It fucking howled.” She was having a problem fighting back tears as her heart thundered inside her chest.

Colin laughed as he set his own beer down beside hers. “So, we are talking werewolf?”

“I don’t know what I’m talking about. The attack, my seizure, the dreams….the damn dreams,” she said holding her head in her hands and leaning forward on the couch. “And the other night at dinner…I was feeling perfectly fine, and then I had a hallucination and saw everyone I care for with their throats ripped out.”

Colin got up and crossed the room. Sitting down beside her, he pulled her back against him, her legs still pulled up against her body.

“Em, listen to me…you have been through a lot and you are letting the ramblings of an old man drive you…”

“Crazy. I know how I sound…it is how I feel as well,” she quickly replied as tears began to flow freely.

Colin wrapped his arm around her pulling her closer against his chest.

“Werewolf…” It was the first time she’d said it out loud even though she had thought about it a lot since she spoke to Bradley. Emily could never bring herself to say it. Saying it made her feel ill, as if she had knowingly lost her sanity. “It does sound crazy.”

“You are going through a rough time,” he proclaimed. “This will all pass and we will laugh about this conversation one day.” There was long pause of silence, only the crackle of fire filled the room. “About the other night…we have been friends since our senior year in high school. And I would be lying if I said I’d never thought about us in that way, but I could not take advantage of you.”

She shifted her head looking back at him. “You would not have been taking advantage; I wanted you…very badly.”

“And now?” he questioned.

He got his reply in the form of a soft kiss on his lips. She shifted where she could look into his eyes in a more comfortable position. “Only if you are comfortable with this,” she stated, not waiting for a reply as she shifted into a cradling position on his lap.

His hand drifted up her legs just under her loose dress. “I think I am,” he replied.

Emily felt his soft lips on hers. She pulled away for just a moment as his scruff tickled, and then kissed him again. Their lips parted as they kissed allowing a hint of tongue. His hands rested on her legs just under the dress, while hers fought with the belts around her. The first fell to the floor behind them followed shortly by the second—freeing the dress and allowing her to breathe easier without the binding leather.

Emily pulled at his shirt until he raised his arms allowing it to come free. She tossed it on the floor behind the couch. She kissed him on his neck, softly and repeatedly. Emily felt his body fall lower into the couch, a comfortable position as she kissed his chest. She let her teeth graze skin feeling him flinch. She smiled.

.

October 18th

Two posts on my blog in one day….the horror!

But this evening I was trying to make a tiktok…yes a tiktok. Something I had completely forgot in the process, was the date in the novel when Howling Moon is starting! So I just thought it was funny and worth posting. Also remember, it’s on sale for .99 cents for the rest of October! Also, remember, hit that follow button to get more updates from blog.

“—I still heard it howl out in anger over a missed meal.”

Howling Moon Snippet for 10/18

Remember Howling Moon is currently on sale on Kindle for .99 cents through the rest of October.

This weeks snippet is one of my favorites from when I was writing the book. Also remember I’ve posted two others this month so go back through the blog and check them out. Spoilers ahead obviously.

“So you are here because you want to know what an old man saw.”

“You did see it, didn’t you?” Emily watched him return to the counter and begin to pour a couple more shots.

“To be honest, sweetheart, I don’t know what I saw that night,” he replied with a glance back over his shoulder. “I almost didn’t see you there in the road.” He took another drink of his own before he refilled both their glasses and approached her. “I wasn’t driving fast or anything of the sort when I came into those curves, but see…my judgment may have been slightly obscured.” Bradley lifted his glass into the air with a smile. “What happened in that last curve was enough to sober up the drunkest sailor on leave.” He finished off his drink and watched as Emily did the same.

Bradley took both glasses back to the sink but did not refill them. He walked past her taking a seat at the table. “I never actually saw the animal, miss. It was more of a feeling as I came out of that last curve—somethin’ kept my attention off the road and drew it to the embankment where you wrecked. The truth is I never even saw your car until after I picked your broken body up from the pavement. I only saw shadows. I was nearly on top of you before I saw you there—swerved to miss and was several car lengths past before I even realized you weren’t some deer carcass.”

Emily was shocked by his account of the events.

“Somethin’ about that night, in that moment…I almost couldn’t make myself get out of the truck. I was startled but it was more than just about hitting you—somethin’ inside scared me shitless. I backed my truck up and opened the door for only a moment before I closed it and locked it. I remember my daddy telling me stories of the war and fear—in those moments when you grow numb and you just don’t know how to deal. I saw war myself. I saw war, myself.  I saw things back in my day that would scare the hell out of most, but none of those memories give me the feeling I got that night. That moment, all I could see was darkness—but you just know somethin’ isn’t right. Somethin’ is there…waiting to get you.”

Emily knew the feeling. She could remember it well from that night, knowing there was something out there she just could not see.

“I scooted across the seat. I wasn’t outside of the truck…a handful of seconds. I scooped you off the ground and put you in the truck. Even bumped your head on the door in the process. I never looked at your wounds—you were covered in mud, blood and who knows what else. I just knew I had to get you out of there. Even over the roar of my engine, I heard it in the darkness—the intense hate filled growl. It was like no dog’s growl I’d ever heard. I pulled the door shut and locked it, crawled over top of you back to my seat, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. You just kept muttering for God to help you, dear.”

“I’m thankful you were there.” Emily moved from her position just inside the door of the cabin. For the first time she saw the papers at her feet—scattered and opened— they were all about the attacks.

“That’s not all…” the old man looked ashamed to finish.

Emily could see him shake and the fear set in on his face.

“As I drove, I saw somethin’ in my rearview. It was mostly just a shadow but at the very spot where you had lain. As tall as any man, it stood and stretched and—I swear I was a mile away, music on…the sound of your wounded breathing and mumbling, my own heart—I still heard it howl out in anger over a missed meal.”

Howling Moon 10/11 Snippet

For the second Monday in a row I’m coming to you with a snippet from my debut novel Howling Moon!! At least for the month of October every Monday will feature snippet’s from Howling Moon! Remember to click on the follow link on the right hand side of the blog to follow for future updates. And you can find Howling Moon on Kindle here:

https://www.amazon.com/Howling-Moon-Beginning-Steven-Watson-ebook/dp/B074LZRW48

And Goodreads here:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36256689-howling-moon-the-beginning

And not to keep you waiting, here is the next piece from Howling Moon. Hope you enjoy. 🙂

Spoilers ahead for the seventh chapter!!

Emily lay on the couch with the blanket pulled tight around her. Since Troy had left, she’d done nothing except stare out the window, though she could see little between the thick maroon curtains. An hour before dark she began to worry if Ashley would make it back.

She’d always acted as if she didn’t need anyone, but right now, all she wanted was for Ashley to walk through the door. She imagined the other woman’s voice in every sound that came from outside. The dream from the night before kept flashing in her mind every time she shut her eyes. The pain triggered by Troy’s touch kept worsening but worse was the feeling in her chest. She wondered if this was what a panic attack felt like.

The buzz of her cell phone on the kitchen counter broke through her worry. She tossed the covers aside and leaped up. It had to be Ashley calling.

She’d only taken a couple of steps from the couch before she doubled over in pain, an intense hunger deep in her stomach. She collapsed to her hands and knees. It wasn’t her side that hurt so much, but hunger. An intense feeling, she realized she’d been feeling all day. She stifled a scream as she fell to her side, hands tightly across her abdomen. The pain went deeper than just hunger. Her insides seemed to shift—readjusting within her—bringing an unsettling fear.

Her heart beat three times faster and then her muscles began to spasm forcing her from her side to her back. Her hips lifted from the floor and what felt like sharp pieces of glass cut through every muscle along her torso. She dropped her hips back to the floor rolling over onto her stomach. Every part of her screamed in agony all the way to her throat and jaws. She wheezed two breaths before she began to choke. Her fingernails dug into the hardwood, breaking as she tried to pull herself forward. Her jaw muscles throbbed, each tooth felt like needles were being stuck through her gums. She rose from the floor and vomited a mix of brandy and food. Coughing through her tight chest, she threw up again. This time only a white foamy substance escaped as her arms buckled beneath her. She curled up in a ball and drifted out of consciousness.

Snippet from Howling Moon!

Snippet from Howling Moon the Beginning!

First and foremost, follow my blog, click the button on the right to keep up to date with my blog posts. I have more snippets from Howling Moon planned in the future. And a lot of blog ideas as we’re are approaching a new year.

Also, click the link for Howling Moon on Kindle if you’re interested in picking the book up. Even clicks help. 🙂

https://www.amazon.com/Howling-Moon-Beginning-Steven-Watson-ebook/dp/B074LZRW48

We’ll just have to see how long I can keep this up. But at least for the next few weeks you can expect me to post a snippet of some of my work on Mondays. Today, we have a spoiler filled one from the first Howling Moon novel!  From the first chapter, so you’ve been warned…. 

            There was a brief moment as she turned and pulled the handle that a warm breeze drifted across her neck. Then something heavy slammed into her. It must have been behind the jeep the entire time, watching her, stalking her. The force knocked her through the brush, several yards away from where she started. She hit the ground hard, her right shoulder at an odd angle. She tried to scramble to safety, but she couldn’t place any weight on her right arm, and the mud shifted and slipped under her. In her frantic thrashing, one hand struck tarmac. She had been thrown nearly to the road. She didn’t need to look back, to know the thing was still there.

“Help! Help me!” she yelled. Something grabbed her ankle. She dug the fingers of her left hand into the dirt, her right arm still useless, but she wasn’t strong enough to resist the creature that pulled her back into the brush.

“No, no, no…”

Intense pain pierced her left side as it bit down through her jacket, shirt and skin, teeth like a hot knife through butter. Emily cried out in pain. Terrified, she frantically tried to roll away, striking blindly at the darkness. The grip on her side released, but the pain intensified. She screamed again, pushing away from the ground with both arms. The pain in her right shoulder was nothing compared to the intense throbbing from her left side. She scrambled on hands and knees, trying to move forward, but only slipping farther down the embankment toward her car. Adrenaline rushed through her, but fear made her feel weak. She knew she was stronger than this. She had run track in high school, but she couldn’t find that energy now. She cried out, praying someone would hear her, as she fought for her life.

Emily could hear the creature stirring behind her with unhurried movement as if stalking easy quarry. Her face was soaked with tears, mud and sweat as she finally stumbled to the road. For a brief moment, she tried to run again. A few steps into her sprint, she fell to the rough pavement with a thud jarring her entire body. “Why?” she muttered. She wasn’t sure if she even made a sound beyond a whimper.

The pain in her side was excruciating. She ran a hand down her side feeling a sticky wetness on her clothing. She didn’t have to see it to know it was blood. Her blood. A shrill scream escaped her lungs.

Emily twisted her body, attempting to locate her attacker, but the darkness kept it hidden. Her right arm hung free, the pain in her shoulder almost nonexistent. Her whole body was numb. “Why?” she asked the darkness. She wasn’t sure which way to go as she backed away from the crash site, tripping over her own feet and falling again.

On her back, she looked up at the sky and could see the half-moon as it stared back at her. The clouds had cleared. She could see the stars. A low rumbling growl sounded somewhere behind her.

“Please, God,” she mouthed. She tried to roll over onto her stomach but whichever way she went, her body would not accommodate. Finally, she got over onto her right side, curled in a fetal position. She could hear the growl louder now, and closer. It seemed to come from all around her. She squeezed her eyes shut, but she could hear it come nearer. Even felt its breath on her skin. There was nothing she could do but wait for the silence.

Want to know what happens to Emily next??? You can pick Howling Moon up on Kindle! At the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/Howling-Moon-Beginning-Steven-Watson-ebook/dp/B074LZRW48

Writing Update

Writing update for May through September…

May was a good month, hit 30k again for the month.

June however was the worst month I’ve had all year, just 4k words.

July was a good month breaking 20 k.

August also got over 21 k words.

September 4 k words…  But September stands out for an entirely different reason than June. I also went through a complete edit of the first Ulysses novel this month. One step closer to sending it off to an editor. I fixed an issue with he first book that I’ve been fussing with for the better part of a couple years. And now I’m much, much happier with the direction the serious is going. Going into October I plan on going through it again and with some luck will be even happier with the story.

My word count for the year is almost 200,000 words!  And considering I plan on doing NaNoWriMo this year, I might even hit by goal coming into the year of 250,000 words!!!  I’m very happy with my productivity going into the last three month of the year. 

March and April Update

March and April Update

Just a quick update on word counts. I didn’t post a blog in April for March so I figured I’d just do both months in one.

My March word count was just under 20,000 words. My smallest word count of the year so far. And April on the flip side I wrote 50,000 which made me very happy. I’ve not completed NaNoWriMo in a few years and it just upped my confidence a little that I once again was able to do 50k in a month. So I am planning on doing it again this coming November. And that brings my word count up to over 114 k for the year.

I was able to complete a rough draft of Howling Moon 3. I’ve put a lot of work into Ulysses 2 and a fantasy novel I’ve started. Also got to complete a rough draft of another steampunk short story that I’m thinking of releasing a anthology of steampunk shorts one day down the road.

I think I’ve decided I will only be doing these word count update blogs once every two months. In the mean time I am working on other writing related for the site, so until next time.

Trials by Moonlight

A little mid-month update on my word counts…actually, a little more progress in my writing library thanks to my goals. It’s not even middle of the month and I’m already at the 10 k written words for the month. Anyways, I officially finished a rough draft of Howling Moon 3 this week. To be completely honest, I finished it about an hour ago after I got home from work. It’s a little shorter than the previous two books (13k less), I know there is a lot of stuff I need to add. There is a lot of dialog without in depth description in this book, especially with the parts that I had written going into the year. So by the time the next draft is done it’ll probably be close to the same word count as the previous two books.

As for when you will get to read book two… There is a lot going on with the second Howling Moon book. Mostly, it needs to be professionally edited. After I go over it again. I’ve had several beta readers read it and honestly I have gotten very positive feedback from people who read book one.  Book two is very different creature than book one and now that I have finished the 3rd book.  I know more of what I need to go back and tweak in book 2. But I’m hoping to have some major news on that by summer. We’ll see. I’m slowly working my way through goals and projects and being very productive, publishing Howling Moon 2 is certainly on that list.