👀 Saturday Seven ~ 18th April ~ My Weekly Roundup!

Happy Saturday, what have you been up to this week? 

Here is a rundown of highlights for the week. I hope you find them useful in your life! My goal as a person and a writer are to always Pay-It-Forward, so please let me know how I can help you. YES, YOU!


Enjoy your weekend & this post! Amazing things to come!

~Amy

What am I Reading? - Life After This: 6 Heart Fire Stories To Pick You Up When Life Knocks You Down by Andrea Cadelli and Kate Michael Gibson ~ Designing Your Future Begins With Healing Your Past. How do you respond when life knocks you down? Are you merely going through the motions and calling it living? How do you bounce back and grow from difficult circumstances? In Life After This, storytelling coach Andrea Cadelli talks honestly and vulnerably about why our lives spiral out of control and how to get back in the driver's seat.



What am I Listening to? – Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron ~ Imagine knowing what the brain craves from every tale it encounters, what fuels the success of any great story, and what keeps readers transfixed. Wired for Story reveals these cognitive secrets--and it's a game-changer for anyone who has ever set pen to paper.


What Quote am I Pondering? – The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.


What am I Researching? – Hidden civil war gold. Truth versus legend. Any thoughts or stories? Please share!



Yummy Meal of the Week – Homemade omelet with cheese, hash browns and bacon. Kudos to my eldest son! There is nothing like breakfast for dinner.



What did I Learn? – I think we should all read who moved my cheese? I learned, once again—maybe this time it will stick—I do not do well with change. My life, as of late, has been chalk full of change. While I can ignore it all I want, until I get re centered and settled my little princess (aka my subconscious mind) will do all she can to torpedo all efforts to move forward in an effort to protect me from the unknown. Can anyone relate?



What am I Watching? – Dear White People ~ on Netflix. Season’s one & two were very interesting. Season Three was a little scattered. Look for my upcoming review. Here are the details. - At a predominantly white Ivy League college, a group of black students navigate various forms of racial and other types of discrimination.



That is all for this week, my lovelies!
I hope you have an amazing week, and I will talk to you all next Saturday!


*BONUS Content ~

Have any thoughts on my week’s activity or want to make a recommendation? Drop me a line or a tweet. One lucky commenter will win a free Romine book of their choice! Never want to miss a blog post or a Saturday Seven? Join my mailing list, and I will be happy to send it straight to your inbox!

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Come Find Me!

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Awesome Excerpt Thursday ~ Don't Badger Me ~ Charlie Richards

On the Road: After a breakdown forces a shifter to make a pit stop, he realizes it’s a blessing in disguise when he scents his mate.


When Deacon Ferdmin learns his brother, Daevon, is transitioning into a new life, he decides it’s time to do the same. Plus, as a badger shifter, he’s tired of living in the city. Buying a motorcycle and heading cross-country to meet up with Daevon, Deacon enjoys the change of pace from his prior high-stakes job as a firefighter…until his motorcycle breaks down. There’s only a couple of mechanic shops in town, and the first one he goes to refuses to service his machine since he’s openly and obviously gay. As angry as it makes Deacon, when he walks into the second shop, he quickly turns grateful. He scents that somewhere within the depths of the dingy space is his mate. However, Deacon also realizes that approaching the man—Axel Spumoni—will take some finesse. Not only has Deacon already experienced discrimination, but he notices Axel is a burn victim. Can Deacon figure out a way to woo his reclusive, wary mate while dealing with the backwater town’s hostility?

Buy Now!

Excerpt ~ 

“We don’t serve your kind here.”

Deacon Ferdmin arched his left brow as he stared at the smirking man—James, according to the name written on his coveralls. “Excuse me?” At first, he thought James was referring to the fact that he was a badger shifter. Except, there was no way the human could know…right?

James curled his lip in a sneer as he swept his gaze over Deacon. “We ain’t helpin’ a faggot.”

Well, holy shit!

Deacon couldn’t remember the last time he’d been discriminated against for being gay. The fact that he swung that way was pretty damn blatant, too. Between the streaks of green that he’d dyed into his black hair, the studs and hoops in his ears, eyebrows, and lip, plus the pale-green and yellow plaid shirt he’d chosen to wear under his unzipped black leather jacket, it was an easy assumption.

Even all the guys at the firehouse he’d left behind when he’d resigned his position hadn’t given his sexuality a second thought in years. At least, they hadn’t acted as if they had anyway. They’d thrown him a going away party and wished him well. A few of them had said to keep in touch, and Deacon probably would for a few years. Then he would need to stop, since he would outlive all of them by centuries.

“Didn’t you hear me?” James crossed his arms over his chest. “You can leave.”

“I’d like to speak to the owner,” Deacon countered. As much as it galled him to trust the workmanship of his Triumph to a homophobic bastard, he needed his motorcycle fixed.

James sneered at him as he pointed at the store logo on the wall. “James’s Garage. I’m James.” He tapped the name on his chest. “I’m the owner, and I ain’t servicin’ the bike of a cocksucker. Get out.”

Damn. Was afraid of that.

Turning on his heel, Deacon left. He crossed to his motorcycle and leaned against it. Pulling out his phone, he opened his internet app and searched again.

When his motorcycle had quit and Deacon had coasted into town, he’d thought he’d been lucky to immediately spot the garage. Too bad he hadn’t known it was owned and operated by a backwoods homophobic hillbilly. He sure hoped there was another garage in this Podunk town.

Deacon read a second garage listing and hoped it wasn’t run by a homophobe, too. After making a mental note of the directions, he lifted it off the kickstand and began wheeling it down the street. At least with his shifter strength, pushing the motorcycle was easy.

As soon as Deacon had heard that his brother Daevon had chosen to resign as a college professor and approach a nomadic alpha to join his pack—or gang, as they called it—Deacon had decided he would do the same. He hadn’t had the opportunity to spend much time with his brother in over forty years. As a shifter, a paranormal living in a human world, he had to remake his identity every few decades.

The last time around, Deacon had headed to Chicago to be a firefighter, while Daevon had found a position in another city. Neither of them had had much free time. For the first time in a long time, Deacon had appreciated the changes in technology, but talking over a computer wasn’t the same as frolicking together in animal form.

Thinking about his brother, Deacon realized he would need to call the man and let him know he wasn’t going to make the rendezvous.

“As soon as I have something to tell him,” Deacon muttered as the sign for the second garage came into view. The place appeared old and dingy, but at least, there was a glowing open in the window.

Deacon left his Triumph in the parking lot and headed into the office. Seeing no one behind the counter of the dirty room, he grimaced. He could hear clanging and talking coming from an open door to the left of the counter, so he knew someone was there.

“Hurry up with that oil change, Axel,” a man ordered. “You were supposed to have that done this morning.”

“Yes, sir,” a deep voice responded softly.

Deacon knew that only his shifter hearing allowed him to make it out. The bass tones caused a warm flutter in his gut, and he almost hummed appreciatively. Having already been singled out for being gay stayed his reaction.

Instead, Deacon headed for the door and hollered, “Hello, the garage?”

“Yeah!” responded the first voice from deep in the bay behind an older Dodge pick-up.

Stopping in the doorway, Deacon swept his gaze over the area. He spotted movement in the back and waited. As he watched an overweight man in filthy coveralls lumbering toward him, he tried to breathe shallowly.

The scent of grease, oil, and other vehicle fluids hung heavy in the air. To his surprise, however, there was something else, too. He took a slow, deeper inhale, and heat and need began pooling in his gut.

Oh, damn! Do I seriously smell my mate in here?

With the way the heavyset man stared at him with narrowed eyes and a curled lip, Deacon prayed to whatever gods cared to listen that it wasn’t him. Great. Another homophobe. Doing his best to ignore it, Deacon dipped his chin in a nod of greeting.

“Hello, sir,” Deacon greeted. “I think the stator went out on my motorcycle. Can you take a look?”

The man looked Deacon up and down, his expression easy to read. “Axel, take care of this customer.” Then he turned and walked away.

Oooookay. At least he’s not my mate. His nasty BO just about knocked me outta my boots!


Which leaves Axel.

~

Come Find Me!

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Teaser Tuesday ~ Trust Me (Veiled Deception -Book Two)

Eric sat through a barrage of unneeded attention for a simple flesh wound. After what seemed like forever, the doctors released him. It was early evening when Eric stepped onto the sidewalk. He saw several messages waiting for him and he began to listen to them when Adam pulled up with the car.

He got in and his phone buzzed. He lifted it, seeing Charlie’s name. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Are you on your way?”

“On my way where?”

“Rebecca’s house.”

“What? Why are you at…”

“Eric, it’s…it’s bad.” Eric’s heart dropped. Breathless, he looked to Adam. “I got her out, but she won’t stop shaking. She won’t talk or look at me. It’s like she’s in a trance…”

“What happened?” Eric felt the car accelerate and Adam turned on the emergency lights.

“Someone broke into her house and covered it… Everything is covered in…blood…” Charlie started, his words broken and hesitant. Eric’s mind went to the buckets of blood. “I’ve never seen anything like it, whoever did this…”

“Did you already call the police?”

“Yeah, but they aren’t here yet.”

“Okay, Charlie, you need to listen to me.” He tried to stay focused and compartmentalize the images rushing at him. “Rebecca’s going into shock. Put her in the car and turn on the heat. You need to keep her calm and warm until the police arrive.”


“How far out are you?”
“About half an hour, we’ll get there as soon as we can,” Eric replied before he hung up the phone.

“Black and Whites will be on scene in less than five minutes,” Adam told him. “I called Misty, Lug and a bus. How bad is it?”


“I…it sounds…bad.”

They pulled up alongside three patrol cars parked in front of the house. Jogging to the front door, a uniformed officer burst out of the house. Eric looked to Adam in confusion and the officer proceeded to vomit into the bushes. They stepped across the threshold, seeing pairs of flat foots covering their mouths, standing in awe of the view.

His memory of her house was full of light, comfortable and warm. A chill ran up his back and his stomach lurched in revulsion. Surrounded by dripping crimson and the suffocating odor of iron, the walls were covered in a thick coat of blood.

Eric didn’t remember what color the couch was before, but it was now a deep soaked purple with blood dripping down the sides. Two more officers exited the house and he forced himself to remain steady against the revolting display.

“Where’s Misty?”

“She just pulled up.” Adam stepped out of the house to get their expert.

Beccs…

He tried not to think of Rebecca walking into the house and seeing this for the first time, but there was no way to avoid it. He could almost envision how it happened and his entire body tensed in rage.

“Wow,” he heard a female voice say and saw Misty walk into the house. “This is some seriously fucked up shit.”

“Get to work. I want this bastard rotting in a jail cell sooner rather than later.”

Eric looked to Adam, who nodded in acknowledgement. He stepped out of the house and searched for Charlie. He found him just beyond the driveway talking to Lugow. Eric moved to his brother’s side, his chest quaking in dread. “Charlie.”

“Eric, how…”

“Try and not to think about it, Charlie, it won’t help anything,” Lug offered.

“Yeah.”

“Is Rebecca in the car?” Eric asked.

“Yeah.”

Eric saw her through the window.

“I did everything you said. Lugow tried to talk to her, but…”

“I managed to get her to take couple sips of water, but that’s about it,” Lugow

replied, giving him a look of genuine concern. Eric’s chest tightened even more.

“Addison said there’s a pile up downtown. All the ambulances are tied up so they have no idea when they’ll get here.”

“Do you mind if I try and talk to her?” Eric asked and Lugow nodded his okay. Eric gave his brother a pat on the back and moved around to the passenger’s side of the car. He reached for the handle of the door. He pulled on it, trying not to startle her.

The door opened and despite his efforts, she jumped back in confusion and fear. She saw him and blinked. Her entire body trembled and her arms wrapped around themselves. Eric pulled off his jacket, bundling it around her thin body. “Beccs.” He pulled the jacket tight, before he touched her chin. “Rebecca, can you look at me?”

There was no doubt, she was in shock. The trauma of finding her home violated to such an extreme manner would send anyone cowering in disbelief. She met his gaze, her eyes wide and distant.

“Hey, bright eyes.” His thumb caressed her cheek and her eyes closed at his touch. She trembled again and it took every ounce of strength not to enclose himself around her and take her away. He knew better and pulled himself back into the real world.

“Charlie’s going to take you somewhere safe, where you can rest.” She stared up at him blankly. He decided not to give her a choice of accommodations. He wanted her where he could keep an eye on her.

His free hand rested on the edge of the seat and he felt her icy hand grasp it, her eyes dipping when her breath stuttered in her chest.

“Hey, hey,” Eric responded, holding her hand between his in reassurance. “It’s going to be okay. Charlie isn’t going to leave you. You’ll be safe.”

Her eyes softened a little, but she couldn’t hide the fear and pain still residing behind them. Her grip on his hand tightened.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said while she kept his unfaltering gaze. “I promise.”

Charlie approached the door.

Eric shifted and released her hand. He glanced at his brother, seeing she’d resumed her focus on the world outside the windshield. Eric moved out of the car. His heart ached with every inch he moved, but he closed the passenger door and met Charlie.

“How is she?”

“The same.”

“Can I get her out of here?”

“Yeah, hang on.” He moved past Charlie to Lugow. “Do you have any problems with Charlie getting her out of here? I am going to have him take her to my dad’s. She’ll be safe there.”

“Yeah, no get her out of here so she can rest. We can talk to her tomorrow,” Lug replied.

Eric walked back to Charlie. “Lug said it is fine. Why don’t you take her to Dad’s for the night?”

“Dad’s?”

“Yes, Dad’s,” Eric replied in an even tone. “She needs to rest and with both you and Dad around, she should be able to relax. This guy is still out there and Dad’s house is more secure than your place, no offense.”

“None taken,” Charlie replied, looking to the car in concern. “Did she say anything to you?”

“No,” Eric replied, he wasn’t technically lying to his brother.

“She hasn’t said anything since…”

“Charlie, she’s in shock,” Eric explained again in reassurance. “She needs to stay warm and relaxed. Besides that, just be there. She’ll come around. She needs to process what’s happened.”

“Okay,” Charlie replied with a nod. “You coming to the house after all this?”

“Yeah, after we’re done here.” His stomach twisted. Charlie nodded and moments later, Eric watched the car pull onto the street and disappear into the darkness.

***


Come Find Me!

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