#this is still a bit too long for my goal blurb length

[missmeinyourbones]

SUNA + THE FIRST TIME HE SAYS I LOVE YOU

send in a character + trope for a blurb

...

you should've been asleep. you're always asleep before him, so why would this time be any different?

suna knows the drill like the back of his hand by now. you fight off your inevitable slumber as hard as you can, trying to stay awake for no good reason until you eventually ignore his annoyances and succumb to sleep.

tonight shouldn’t have been any different.

"hey," a finger prods against your cheek, testing the waters.

when a groan bubbles from your throat but your eyes remain closed, suna knows you’re at the ‘barely hanging on to consciousness’ stage of your sleep schedule. he uses a hand to gently squeeze your cheeks together.

“stop.”

it comes out slightly muffled by your squished lips. he huffs a laugh through his nose, “what?"

you groan into the pillow, escaping his loose grasp.

"go to sleep," he whispers, and though you can’t see him, you can practically hear the menacing grin on his face through his tease.

if your eyes were open, you’d roll them. "i’m trying to."

and it’s routine, comforting to the two of you. suna waits there in the dark, like he always does, until your breathing evens out and replicates the deep inhales of when he knows you’re out for good.

he brings his finger back up to your face, but this time, instead of poking your cheek with the incentive of aggravating you, he runs it softly across your cheekbone and then down your jawline with purpose. he’s sure to notice how your eyelids don’t flicker at the sudden touch, how your breathing never hitches with his lingering fingers.

you’re asleep by his side. and just like that, vulnerability oozes from suna’s core.

so he mans up in the most pathetic way possible and presses a kiss to your head. between the space of skin and lips comes a muffled whisper that he’s been dying to say for ages now, but hasn’t quite found the courage to say clearly. 

"i love you."

it’s quiet for a moment, not a sound filling the room beside the air conditioner rattling in the window. and while suna plans to continue caressing your face, he freezes when he feels the smile growing beneath his fingertips. 

you open a single eye groggily, voice raspy when you perk up with a teasing, "what'd you say?"

"nothing," he responds quickly, trying his best to defuse the situation while simultaneously not making a big deal out of it. "you're hallucinating, go back to sleep."

"i was sleeping,” you continue to press, “but i heard something weird."

suna grimaces at your choice of vocabulary before grounding himself in your light tone. you’re not angry or upset, at least not enough for him to hear it in your voice. so he slowly eases himself back onto his pillow. 

"if you heard something, which you definitely didn't," he enunciates, "i don't think it was something weird."

"well if wasn't weird, then what was it?"

through the darkness of the bedroom, he can just barely make out your hopeful eyes, and he can imagine the giddy smile on your pretty face, so he exhales and swallows his pride.

"true," he admits, before hissing out in defeat, "and fucking embarrassing."

your laughter warms the bed and suna feels like he’s floating.

"true and embarrassing," you repeat through sleepy giggles, "just how i like 'em,"

his face is flushed as it hides in his pillow. "are you done making fun of me yet?"

he hears you shuffle in closer before he feels your breath on his arm.

"i will be if you say it again now that i'm awake," you barter.

"technically you were awake the first time i said it."

"rintaro," you whine, and when he doesn't give in so easily, you elaborate. "now that you know that i'm awake."

a bit more confident in his conviction, he brings his hand up once more to find your cheek. 

"i said i love you," he whispers, "like an idiot."

your laughter returns, and when you wrap your arms around his torso and press your nose in the crook of his neck, he can practically feel it warming his bones.

you place a kiss to his neck with a sigh of victory, "that's what i thought.”

a few minutes eventually pass in his hold, and suna would say you have to be asleep now, but he’s learned his lesson the hard way and isn’t one to make the same mistake twice.

and he’s glad because right before he drifts off himself, he feels your head rise from his chest and a gentle kiss placed on his chapped lips.

"i love you, too,” you press into his mouth like a secret, “idiot."

[galaxxiwrites]

In A Daze. (ft. Louis & Yakumo)

I don't know if people still like Code Vein but I do and that's enough justification for me to post this on my blog (￣ω￣;)

prompt: we suck at the game so we keep dying Your partner watches in horror as you die over and over again, somehow stuck in a never-ending loop of pain and loss. Inspired by KagePro's Kagero Days.

warning: mentions of graphic deaths and trauma ; I'm sorry if it's really messy compared to what I usually write, I just wanted to blurb on about Code Vein again ＼(º □ º l|l)/

As Revenants, it was normal to come back to life after death, as long as their heart wasn't destroyed. In the beginning, he believed that that was merely what was happening, that you were simply coming back to life after dying again. But at some point, he noticed that this was much more than just a mere revival, as every waking moment felt like a routine he had been repeating over and over again.

Yakumo Shinonome

Yakumo was at a loss, and was starting to believe that everyone at the base was messing with him. After all, despite not having much to do there, there was no way everyone was able to repeat the exact same movements they did the day before.

There was no way Louis had not moved on from the same page of his book, nor was there any reason for Coco to tell him that it was the same day of the same month again. Nor was there any reason for Yakumo to have such vivid memories of you dying so many different deaths while everyone else tells him he's crazy, as you had merely sustained too much injuries in your last skirmish but were close to reaching full recovery.

"No, I swear! Yesterday, they were impaled by Jack..."

Everyone looked at him with their eyebrows raised.

"Yakumo, you know Revenants can't come back after having their hearts destroyed."

Louis says as he places a hand over Yakumo's tensed shoulders and tells them to rest, that perhaps the last skirmish had taken a toll on him as well. The raven-haired Revenant also recommended that his friend sit out the today's expedition, but much to everyone's surprise, Yakumo lashes out at Louis.

"No! I need to stay beside them! I-" Yakumo catches himself and calms down, "I'll rest for a bit, but I'm not sitting out on the mission."

Much like every other vivid dream Yakumo had, he, yourself and Louis would later head out to the Gaols to purify more bloodsprings an mistles.

Yakumo was on high edge the second he saw one of the Gaol's horrific beasts along the path, just like what he saw in one of his dreams.

He leads them along to a secret path to avoid confrontation with the beast, and were fast approaching the area where he knows a few bloodthirsty Revenants lay in wait. He tells to prepare much early, and to be cautious of their backs as there was a revenant laying in wait for them after they defeat these others out and about.

The whole journey, Yakumo guides them, perfectly getting them out of what would otherwise be messy or fatal situations.

When you ask your red-haired partner just how he was able to lead them through the path as if he knew it at the back of his hand, it took Yakumo all his strength not to tell them, I saw you here again and again.

And finally, at the end of their path, he was expecting to see Jack, much like the other time. He was caught in shock however when he saw an extremely powerful horrific beast of the mists instead.

It was a hard fought battle, but Yakumo was convinced that he wouldn't let you die here. Due to his conviction, he never once faltered even as he stood in between you and that monster's attack, and he himself got impaled through the chest.

It's a shame, he thought. But at least now, they can continue on living.

Those were his last thoughts before fading into dust.

The next day, you awaken at the base, but didn't move from your bed. You were listening on the conversation the others were having, about how Yakumo has been having nightmares of you dying over and over again.

"When will this ever end..." You whimper underneath your breath.

Louis Amamiya

Unlike Yakumo, Louis would have realized that this was no mere coincidence. That for some reason, he was stuck in a loop, and only he remembers whatever happens.

He, however, bears this realization all in silence. This time, however, he'll try to do things differently.

When his eyes lands on your resting figure as you recover from the injuries you sustained in the "last" battle, Louis felt pain in his chest. On one hand, at least you're back to him, on the other, you were fated to leave him again, only to return to this very same day.

"I'm calling off today's expedition. Forgive me."

Louis tells to the gang after you woke up. Yakumo points out that he looked extremely out of it, and that calling off the mission for today was a smart decision.

Louis then spends the entire day with you, never having you farther than arms length, which made everyone curious.

"Did you just call off today's mission to spend the whole day with your lover?" Coco teased, which prompted others to join in. He was unable to answer them, and simply buried his face at the crook of your neck to hide his embarrassment.

"Get a room, you two!" Yakumo said at the sight.

Though you didn't mind that your lover was suddenly showering you in so much attention, he was never one to call off a mission simply just to spend time with you.

Louis had always been goal-motivated and wasn't a slacker, so you were worried that something must be bothering him to the point where he had to cancel your expedition.

"It's nothing much, love. Just, I'm tired, is all."

Louis said weakly, his red eyes which usually shined so bright had for once looked so dull.

Much to his delight, the day was going along smoothly. He was slowly starting to convince himself that maybe today, the cycle will finally end.

"What!? How'd that get in here- Louis, (Y/N)!" Yakumo called out, to them, and immediately the two of you darted out of your shared room and head on outside the base.

"What are the creatures from the Gaol of Mists doing here!?" Louis said as he prepared for combat.

Just when you were about to arm yourself, your lover immediately stopped you and instead tells you to run away.

The two of you end up arguing amongst yourselves, which would prove to be your downfall.

"(Y/n)! Behind you!" Davis shouts out.

You looked to see one of the horrific beings coming for you, but your reflexes had not kicked in yet, and you were about to be killed.

That was when Louis shoved you aside, and you watched in horror as the horror from the Gaol ravaged your lover.

The next day however, Louis awakens with regret as he sees you again, sleeping on the bed as you were recovering from your injuries.

"Why...Why hasn't it ended?"

[davidpastrsnack]

here’s a smutty pld blurb i just pulled out of my ass. not my best work but i needed to get my thots out. enjoy!

Saturday game nights were your absolute favorite. You were usually too busy with school during the week to go to Pierre’s games, but the weekend was your time to enjoy your boyfriend with no distractions. After sending him off to the rink early, not without eyeing him up and down in that suit, you took your time getting ready. Once hair and makeup was done, you got dressed, opting for the classic jeans, booties, and of course, a #18 jersey.  

The game was a close one, a divisional matchup against the Hurricanes. You sat with the other girls, drinks flowing as you watched the chaos below you. After a thrilling few minutes of overtime, the boys pulled out a win, Pierre getting an assist on the goal. 

As you walked down to the locker room area, the girls were already deciding what bar to go to, knowing the guys would be in the mood to celebrate. Pierre was one of the last ones out, the extra media of being a part of the game winner taking his time. When he finally turned the corner he smiled as soon as he saw you sitting against the concrete wall of the arena. 

You heard his footsteps, moving from your post on the floor. He was fresh out of the shower, damp curls sticking to his forehead and the scent of his shampoo lingering. He was back in his suit, but the top buttons of his shirt were undone and his tie was in his hand. 

 You jumped into his arms, Pierre grabbing you and hoisting you up into his grasp. Your legs wrapped around his waist as you tucked your face into his neck, pausing to appreciate his cologne. His hands splayed across the back of your thighs, dangerously close to your ass for such a public place. 

“Hi baby,” he hummed. 

“Hi,” you smiled, pulling back to press a kiss on his lips. 

Pierre sighed into your mouth, immediately melting at your touch. Before you knew it the kiss became heated, the only thing making you separate was his captain. 

“Watch it, Luc,” Nick laughed as he walked by. His wife gave you a knowing look, definitely having found herself in the same spot over the years. 

Pierre nervously laughed, waving the couple goodnight. He gently put you down, wrapping an arm around your shoulders as you started to walk out. 

“You still wanna go out with everyone?” he asked. 

“I don’t know,” you mumbled. “I was kinda planning on rewarding a certain someone for their game winning assist.”

“Oh really?” he questioned. “What’d you have in mind?” he teased, grip on your jersey tightening. 

“I think you have to take me home to find out.”

But you didn’t even make it home before Pierre was all over you. By the time you walked out the garage was essentially empty, and he had you pressed against his car within seconds. His lips reattached to yours eagerly, moving in perfect rhythm together. He trailed down to your neck, spending extra time right behind your ear. 

“Fuck,” you whimpered in response, moaning again as he pulled your hips towards his growing bulge. 

“Hmm?” he teased, knowing you were putty in his hands. “Come on babygirl, get in the backseat.”

You climbed in after him, straddling his thighs and running your hands all over his chest. You knew this was risky, so neither of you bothered to take more clothing off than was necessary, just in case. 

Your hands trailed down his abs, feeling the muscles tense at each touch. You finally reached his zipper, pulling it down and slipping your hands beneath his boxers. 

He groaned into your touch, his hips instinctually rutting up into your hand. You slowly jerked him, spreading his precum along his length. You shifted your body to sink to your knees, but he grabbed your hand before you could. 

“No, I just wanna be inside you.” 

You pouted, wanting to treat him for his amazing performance that night. 

He chuckled at your reaction, “Baby I won’t last,” he pleaded. 

You gave in, instead moving to pull your jeans off, Pierre helping you get them past your ankles in the tight space. You someone managed to get his suit pants and boxers below his knees, finally resting your heat against him. 

You moaned as you slid your folds along his dick, making sure to coat him in your arousal. His swollen tip brushed against your clit making you cry out, urging you to raise your knees and sink down onto him.  You sighed as he filled you up, always having to take a minute to adjust to his size.  

“Fuck, baby,” Pierre groaned, his finger tips digging into your hips. He didn’t move you though, always giving you however much time you needed to get comfortable. 

But once you did start to move up and down, all bets were off for him controlling himself. He guided your hips, making sure to keep a steady rhythm like he would if he was on top. 

“You like that, hmm?” he whispered into your ear, knowing you were weak for his voice during sex. 

The sounds inside the car were absolutely filthy, a mix of your skin meeting and the moans falling from your lips. 

You were so needy for him that it didn’t take long for your high to approach, Pierre feeling you clench tighter around him. 

“I- I’m gonna cum,” you whined into his chest. 

He moved one of his hands to circle your clit, giving you just enough to send you right over the edge. 

“That’s it, honey. Cum for me,” he cooed. 

As soon as you heard his words you did just that, falling apart on top of him. You felt him twitch inside of you, quickly following your lead and spilling into you. 

Your body was numb, Pierre holding your waist to keep you from falling over. Your head was tucked into the crook of his neck as he peppered your shoulder with soft kisses. 

“If that’s what I get for an assist I wonder what the reward is for an ot goal,” he murmured.

You laughed, lifting your head to meet his eyes. “We’ll just have to wait and see, huh?”

You stayed wrapped in one another for a little bit longer before finally heading home. Round 2 commenced soon after you arrived, Pierre in desperate need to take care of you without the constraint of his backseat.  

[alwaysthinkingoutloud]

Hannibal Episode-by-Episode Meta/Analysis: Episode 1, Season 1 (Apéritif)

The series start with Will Graham in a crime scene doing what he does, which is resurrecting crime scenes for further evidence and possible insight into the criminal’s mind and motives. What is interesting about this first scene is that for a first-time viewer, for the first a few minutes, it is not clear if what we are watching is a possible reenactment or it is actually a memory. That doubt gets cleared in a minute but until then, we don’t know if he is imagining or is he remembering. Is he a guy with a powerful imagination helping FBI who literally puts himself into the killer’s shoes or is he the killer itself, hiding in plain sight? To my thinking, the very first opening to the story does say a lot about the end of it all as well.

“This is my design”

Why not say plan, but design instead? Planning is something mechanical, strategical. It is the result of motive and effort of a rational brain rather than an acted-on urge. There is no much room for subjectivity or creativity since efficiency is the ultimate goal. However, design has a more artistical ring to it. It is like, its prior aim is not to be useful, but to be beautiful. Designing is done when aesthetics is of concern. We would say, Michelangelo designed David, plan would not look right there. It would be accurate as for explaining the mathematical part of it, the disciplined and patient hours that has been put into it, but it would not do justice to the inspiration, passion, and desperate need of the artist for his creation to materialize. A planner would not adore his work, but a designer would. And Will understands the difference a bit too well.

Later, talking with Jack Crawford, we learn that Will finds the name of Evil Minds Research Museum “hammy”. I do not think there is anything hammy about the name, it’s quite literal. It is not an ennobler name but why does Will find it so though? Does creativity and originality need to be perceived as abhorrent just because it was given birth by someone evil? This all-cautious way of approaching and overthinking things is a reflection of something dark within. Afterall, what is seen has at least a little to do with the seeing eyes, if not more.

Jack exhibits a disturbingly dominant way of communication with Will. He corrects Will’s eyeglasses, the guy who he knows is not comfortable with any kind of interpersonal interaction, within the minutes of their chat and holds down his bag to slow down his moving on. He is trying to make sure that Will feels Jack is the alpha and also that deep down, Will does not have the option to not cooperate. And more Will gets convinced to help for one step, stronger Jack drags Will into it for one more.

The first time we see Will interacting with any victim-related people, it is confusing. Being an empath and claiming that he can not only relate to narcissists and sociopaths but anyone, he does not seem to empathize much with the victim’s parents, cutting into the conversation about parents’ doubts on their daughter’s likelihood of being alive with a non-emotional, case related question. It almost makes you question if his ability to emphathize is just stronger with the dark side of the force than it is with the light one. Yes, the primer focus is to catch the killer and stop whatever malice is going on but after all, Jack came to Will with the need of help, so Jack must care about the case resolving more than he does. Yet, Jack seems more understanding of the parents’ feelings than Will, although Will is an ultimate empath. We even see Jack’s disapproval when Will cuts into the conversation. It is a brow mover.

Next, we get more insight about Will as he meets Winston. He finds him on the road roaming, tries to get close to him but cannot, so he drives all the way to his home to get something to lure him with and comes back to the dog. He is willing to go lengths to add a new dog to his pack, to his ‘family’, to his ‘social circle’. Something he is not willing nor comfortable to do for a person. Will's preferring an animal's company to a person's may say more than obvious. Afterall, he chooses Hannibal over Jack too, doesn't he?

Will who has already started to get traumatized by the case, is ambushed in the bathroom by Jack with an unforgiving mobbing, forcing ideas out of Will and stirring him up in the expense of his stability. Later on in his little chat with Alana, Jack’s intentions and priorities are further put into perspective. The way he talks about Will shows that for him, Will is more of a means to an end than an actual colleague. His insistence about “putting Will out there” despite Alana’s warnings and his admission of not being absolutely capable of protecting Will’s mental health just crowns that he does not genuinely care about Will. In fact, he even knows the risk of what he is doing, and he is trying to draw Dr. Bloom in to share, if not all together blame it on, the responsibility if something may go wrong.

We finally meet Hannibal in his office in a therapy session with his patient. The look Dr. Lecter throws when Franklyn blows his nose and places the dirty napkin onto the table… Up to this scene, we were not given any clue to suggest that Hannibal Lecter is a killer but after all, we do know who he is. And him being the first actual predator in the series we meet, we do not see him acting on brute violence or inelegant butchering. His first reaction depicted is unrest against rudeness. So the audience is welcomed into the mind of Lecter with an easily apprehensible act that can be shared by almost anyone. Almost to suggest that, this act of Franklyn’s may be enough to justify a wrath that may come upon him.

Jack shows up in Hannibal’s office unannounced and mistakes Franklyn with Hannibal. Hannibal, of course slightly annoyed, tells Jack to wait in the waiting room and invites him in with his own timing. Being a bossy and dominant guy he is, this takes Jack by surprise and it also tells us that there is an even stronger alpha here. So Jack realizes he cannot dominate Hannibal into his will like he did with Will. He may have to try something else. As Jack asks questions that are getting more specific and personal as they come, we see Hannibal getting cautious. Taking his scalpel into his hand and eyes widening. He lowers his guard only when he learns that he was referred to Jack by Dr. Bloom, his eyes visibly getting smaller, which are almost the only window to his thoughts anyway. So after seeing the sophisticated aura leaking not only out of Hannibal but everything around him, Jack chooses to sweet talk him into cooperation.

When Jack, Hannibal and Will first come together in a room, it is the first time in the show where Will makes such a long, non-blinked eye contact with someone, that being Hannibal. And we see mixed emotions and thoughts on Hannibal’s face. He is amused, intrigued and curious at the same time with the way Will thinks. He makes a quick analyze of Will which results in making him fling out of the room. Being the controlled, non-impulsive, strategic guy he is; even Hannibal himself is a little surprised with the sudden blurbing of his perception of Will. So maybe this first scene having Will and Hannibal together is another kind of first as well with both men doing something not typically them.

Hannibal, telling Jack that “he may help Will see the cannibal’s face”, he copies the crime of Minnesota Shrike. At the first look, this looks like an attempt of toying with the FBI and confusing them. But considering Hannibal’s last conversation with Jack, this feels more like a tribute, a helping hand for Will. Hannibal knows that Will would know that this is not the same killer the second he sees the crime scene. As Will later says to Hannibal, this was done to show Will a negative so that he could see the positive. So, we see from this point on that Hannibal’s wit does not focus on FBI, it does on Will. We see Hannibal eating and smiling, joyous of the fact that he now has an object of interest. Will imagining of a stag right after this, as stag will be the subconscious symbol of the Chesapeake Ripper / Copycat Killer before Will knows who he is and later when he does, of Hannibal; it shows that Hannibal literally entered his life and mind in more than one way.

Hannibal shows up in Will’s house very early and obviously very impatiently. So he does not only plan to interfere Will with being the Copycat Killer but through his ‘person suit’ as well. Feeding Will the meat of the girl he killed is also exciting for Hannibal as this manipulation game he has set to play with Will gets to be sicker for a normal human perception.

The breakfast scene is also the first time where Hannibal is looking for some ill-intent or killing inclination in Will, while Will denies having so. He wonders how much being able to empathize with killers say about Will’s own potential to do so. Hannibal suggests that Jack is treating Will as he is “a fragile little teacup, only used for special guests”. And that he himself sees him as “a mongoose that he would want under the house when snakes slither by”. He suggests that Will is not a pray that should be afraid to get hurt, that he is the predator. By that Hannibal does not only encourage the destructiveness Will may be trying hard to keep buried to come alive, but also the false perception that Will’s mind is strong enough to take any challenge Jack may throw his way.

Hannibal warning Garret Jacob Hobbs is literally setting the pieces in position of his will to get Will where and how he wants. He does not know what will be waiting in Hobbs’ house for Will but in the end, it does not matter so much since he just wants to see what happens.

When they arrive at the house, seeing Hobbs leaving his wife on the threshold her throat cut, Hannibal stands still. Is it because he is so confident that Will will be too frantic to ever look back and notice that, or is it because deep down he just does not feel like putting his person suit on in front of Will? I think both. When Will shots Hobbs and tries to tend Abigail on the floor, Hannibal walks in and sees Will caring hard for the girl. Hannibal’s face looks curious about what is going on but more than that, again, his focus is on Will more than it is on anything else. He sees all these humane emotions that Hannibal himself has always been somewhat stranger too on Will, those emotions that he thought, cannot come in a package with all the destructive ones. But maybe they can. And those emotions may even look nice. Because it almost does on Will. Although how the events would turn out Hannibal did not know, it was certain that the way he pushed things, there would be blood and there would be Will doing something that will change him one way or the other. After all, they have undergone a traumatic (for Will) and exciting (for Hannibal) circumstance together and it is a known fact that people who experience a significant situation together tend to develop emotional bonds. Maybe this was the least of what Hannibal hoped for. If that was the case, he got more than he wished. Will got to kill someone even if it was for a just reason and there happened to be an orphaned girl that Will desperately bonded the moment he killed her father, who maybe a manipulative tool for Hannibal in his game. The last scene where Will finds Hannibal holding Abigail’s hand in the hospital room highlights this perfectly. Now, Hannibal and Will has a mutual asset that Hannibal may use to draw Will closer to himself despite of Will’s initial reservations to do so.

[woah-were-halfway-there]

Can you write a blurb about y/n bonding with Auston’s sisters!! :D

Auston adored his family more than anything and always spoke so positively about them. To Y/N, it was obvious that it'd be important to him that his family thinks highly of the person he's dating, and although Auston was positive, that wouldn't be an issue, Y/N wasn't so sure.

  She had already met his parents, and they were the most amazing people. Although she had only been dating their son for a few months, they both welcomed her with open arms when she and Auston met up with them for dinner one night, and she got along with them great.

  They were just as kind and friendly as Auston made them out to be, which eased her worries. But, she still hadn't two very important girls in Auston's life, his sisters. And damn was she nervous about doing that, but eventually, the time came to do so. 

"You're oddly quiet," Auston said as he walked out of his closet while putting on the suit jacket he planned on wearing to that night's game, instantly snapping her attention to him. It was the game three of the Leafs vs Capitals playoff series, and the first playoff game to be held in Toronto. Although she had initially planned on sitting with Steph for the game, Auston told her about a week prior that his family was wondering if she'd like to sit with them. Of course she said yes, even though the thought stressed her out. "Nervous?"

"No," she squeaked as she stopped curling her hair to look at her boyfriend in the reflection of the full-length mirror she was sitting in front of. "Why would you think that?"

"Because I know you," he stated with a chuckle.

  "Ok, yes, I'm nervous about meeting your sisters, alright? Sue me. You're not even going to be there to help me through it."

"You have no need to be; I'm sure they'll love you."

"You have to say that, you're my boyfriend," she pouted and went back to curling her hair. 

He smirked at that, before finishing up tying his tie and walking over to her so the two could look at each other in the mirrors reflection again. "Well, they're pretty excited to meet you. Does that count for anything?"

"If you're just saying that as an attempt at making me feel better, then no. It doesn't."

"I mean it, though," he insisted. "I was texting Alex not too long ago; they're actually very excited to meet you."

She could tell by the seriousness in his voice that he was telling the truth, and it did kind of ease her nerves. "Ok fine, that helps a little bit. I'm really excited to meet them, too; I just want to make a good impression."

"You're going to be just fine," Auston told her before leaning down to ruffle her hair a little bit. She instantly swatted his hand away and scowled at him in the mirror, making him laugh even harder than before. "Ok, I gotta go. Are you going back to your place or staying here?"

"I'll probably just stay here until it's time to go to the game if that's alright," she replied. 

"Of course. You have your key, just let yourself out. Are you staying over after the game?"

"Only if you want me too."

"You already know I do," he said with a smile before telling her goodbye and heading to the arena, leaving Y/N to try to get her nerves under control all on her own as she finished getting ready. 

Out of fear of being late to meet up with Auston's family, Y/N accidentally ended up at the ACC way too early. She started texting Steph out of panic because she felt like an idiot just standing to the side drinking the vodka-cran she bought, alone, but soon enough, a voice was calling her name. 

"Y/N?" It said again as she quickly put her phone away and turned around to see Auston's family walking towards her. 

"Hi!" She greeted, hoping she didn't sound as nervous as she was feeling. Ema wasted no time pulling her in for a hug, which definitely helped make feel a little better. "How are you guys doing? How was your flight?"

"It was good, long, but good," Brian said with a smile.

  "I like your jersey," Ema told her with a wink as she tugged on the sleeve as Y/N's Matthews jersey. 

"Thanks," she chuckled. "Pretty sure I would never hear the end of it if I dared to wear a different one."

Everyone laughed, including Auston's sisters, who Y/N had yet to be properly introduced to yet. She instantly started thinking that she was coming off as rude by not introducing herself to them right away and didn't know how to approach it, but then Ema broke the ice. 

"Oh, Y/N, these are my daughters Alex and Breyana."

"It's really nice to meet you guys," she told them with a smile. "I've heard so much about you both."

"Only good things I hope," Alex replied.

"Well, if it's coming from Auston, who knows," Bre quipped, making everyone laugh again. 

"It has been good things," Y/N responded. "I mean, he's definitely told me a few stories about the two of you plotting against him, but I always just assumed that he deserved it."

"Oh, he totally did," Alex stated and nudged her sister with her elbow. "That's what he got for being so competitive all the time."

"Literally," Bre added and shook her head. "The game is gonna start soon, should we go to our seats?"

Everyone nodded, especially Y/N, who knew how buzzed the city had been leading up to that game. "Definitely. It's going to be a madhouse in there."

And it was. The game was unreal to experience live, and the energy of the crowd was amazing. Sure, it wasn't the first way Y/N ever pictured bonding with Auston's sisters. But by standing between them and cheering as their brother scored the first Leafs goal of the game, as well as when the team went on to win and started leading the playoff series, it was just so much fun, and she wouldn't have changed it for anything.

[imjeralee]

Hello lovely! Could I request some fluffy Leon headcanons where he wants to donate some of his hair with the help of his S/O reader?

Hello my dear! Yes of course you can! Here you are :p

It’s the annual charity event of Galar where individuals can donate to their chosen charity and a few notable members of the league have signed up.

Our beautiful man is no exception and decides to donate a portion of his hair.

He gets major public attention just be mere mentioning it and it goes all over the tabloids, online and social media etc etc.

At first, you had to admit you were a bit worried about him chopping off some of his signature long hair but he reassures you he’s not going to cut it all off but it will be a bit of a new look for him so it might take him some time to get used to his new length (and you too, you suppose).

However, you are fully supportive of course no matter what his decision is

You help Leon with the registration because poor boy already has a lot in his plate with battles and all, but you go through the list of charities to donate to together one late night whilst seated on the sofa with Charizard and your partner Pokemon with your feet up, eating dinner and with a hot drink in your hands

Leon decides to submit to a variety, splitting up the funding equally between 4 charities so 25% each

He had a hard time choosing which one to donate to so you choose together.

He has an affinity for the Chars and so he donates to a charity called “Cheer up a Charmander” <- a charity reserved not just for Charmander but also for abandoned or abused Charmeleons and Charizards

He also encourages you to choose a charity of your choice

Now that that’s over, you go online and create the campaign, typing up the blurb and creating a page and donation “jar” for Leon with a modest target in mind

Within 20 seconds of being online, you’ve already reached your goal!

Then the website crashes entirely. A few people go on Galarian Chatot tweeting “wtf is wrong with the website I’m trying to donate and it’s not working *angry face* 😡😡😡😡”

You’re gaping at the laptop whilst Leon wanders over, wondering what’s got you so shook.

You tell him what’s going on and Leon’s laughing and rubbing the back of his neck, stunned and feeling a little awkward and shy, “wow, that’s an amazing response from the public.”

The comments are all like “oh my god! So proud of our champion!!!!” And “I love you leon please have all my babies <3333 I’ll support u no matter what you do “

When it’s time for leon to cut his hair, it turns into a highly publicised event though it’s still private, between yourself and him.

You’re essentially keeping it simple - using your phone to film a livestream on social media of Leon standing in the bathroom in front of the mirror with a pair of scissors in hands and snipping his hair whilst Charizard plays with the rubber Ducklett toy in the bathtub and the comments from viewers range from thirsty comments like “oh mah gash Leon aaaahhh 👅” to “RIP LEON’S HAIR”.

#RIPLEONSHAIR starts to trend for the remaining duration of the video

When leon’s finally finished, he turns round to you in his new hairdo and grins for the camera with this huge chunk of his purple hair in his clenched fist and you’re like “ungh my heartuuuuu” at the sight.

You keep the camera rolling by setting your phone on a tripod and on screen, it records you grabbing a bag, walking up to leon with arms out and your head low as Leon chuckles and places his hair inside.

You seal the bag up, Leon faces the camera and thanks everyone for donating and for viewing and this sets up this huge stream of love hearts to appear on screen like

❤️

❤️

And

💖

💗

You’re like “ok” as you pick up the phone to close the live streaming after leon decides to wash his hair but you see this weird last comment that says “HIS HAIR SHALL BE MINE”

But whatever, you ignore it and turn to leon, raising your arm and running your hand through his shortened locks. His hair still feels nice and silky as you weave your fingers through and he chuckles and his face goes a bit pink at your actions as you smile at him and thank him.

“Why are you thanking me?” He asks, grinning.

“Because you did a brave thing today.”

He laughs but yes, he did do a brave thing. You know how he feels about his long hair. It’s a little shorter now but will take time to grow back to it’s usual length.

After dinner, you send off the funds to the charities and next day, you pack up Leon’s hair to be sent to a wig making company whilst Leon goes back to work

On your way, you’re jumped by a mask wearing, knife wielding maniac who literally springs out from an empty alleyway.

“Oh my Arceus, don’t hurt me!” Unfortunately you didn’t take your Pokemon with you for some reason and the streets are empty.

“Shut up! Don’t scream or I’ll cut you like a Scizor. Hand it over and no-one gets hurt!!”

“O-okay, this is all I have. Take it, just don’t hurt me please!”

You grab your wallet and other possessions of value and thrust them out for their taking but the robber looks at you and the wallet and sneers, “You think you’re being funny? Where is it!! Show me the goods!”

“W-what?”

“The hair, goddamnit!”

“The wha-“

“Leon’s hair!”

Okay, you did not hear wrong. You hold up the bag of Leon’s hair and the robber snatches it from your hand, laughs maniacally and takes off, but not before issuing a death threat that if you ever tell police, they will come back and gut you like a Magikarp. They know where you live.

You’re left standing on your spot, blinking in shock.

And you go home where Leon’s waiting and he asks you what’s wrong after seeing your spooked expression.

You tell him everything that happened and he jumps forward in his seat to comfort you, holding you tightly in his arms and reassuring you that you’re safe and won’t be harmed, not when he’s with you. Also, he’ll never let something like this happen to you again. You must have been so scared, but being held like this is so good. You feel better already!

He wants to go to the police station to report the incident too.

After a long time of huddling on the sofa, you both discuss what would have happened to his hair: A) it got turned into pillow stuffing. B) it got heated up and turned into a diamond or c) it’s been placed in a leon worshipping shrine somewhere. (It’s probably C)

You don’t like to think about it and it becomes one of those “let’s not talk about this ever again moments.”

...

Note: wait is this fluffy enough? If not I can do it again

[silentexplorer18]

How do you get in the mood to write? Because I feel like ive had a road block in my mind for like a year

Honestly, Anon, I feel you.  Writers block is the absolute worst.  I usually end up doing 1 of 3 things to help me with mine:

1. Look for something that inspires me.  Sometimes it’s perusing prompt lists or looking at nature photos or listening to music and really listening to the lyrics.  Other times, I just take a break from trying to write and let my mind wander.  There are times where I just can’t figure out what to write, so I jump in and read fic I haven’t read before, even fic from a new fandom sometimes.  The whole goal is to spark an idea that inspires me because if I’m excited about something, I’ll be more inclined to actually work on it.  Occasionally (more often than not) this means abandoning a WIP to write something totally new just to get the creative juices flowing.

2.  Do blurb or headcanon nights.  Sometimes when I get the urge to write again, but no actual drive or inspiration (especially for the WIPs waiting for me), I’ll reblog a prompt list and do blurbs or ask for a headcanon night or ask for requests/ideas of some capacity.  For me, wriggling my way out of writer’s block can sometimes be more of a quantity over quality thing.  Do five headcanons.  They’re short, they’re sweet, they may not be the best.  BUT you’re writing something.  It gives you a chance to be creative, jump back into writing a bit, without the stress of it being a perfect, pristinely written fic.  Even if you write something and don’t end up posting it, you’re still stretching your writing muscles!  And who knows?  Maybe that ridiculous headcanon prompt you never imagined receiving will end up sparking the creativity for a full length fic!

3.  Wallow in self pity.  I’m kidding!  (But only partly lol)  Sometimes I really want to write, but I just can’t.  It’s not working.  As frustrating as it is, that’s okay.  Don’t feel like you’re bad or at fault or anything else for not feeling writing.  We’ve all been there.  I like to focus on doing two things when I just can’t get any words out on the page: getting creative and getting fun.  To address the former, exercise your creativity in a different way!  I like to draw (art which will never see the light of day, but that’s okay!) and paint primarily, but your creativity could be anything.  Maybe try writing a song?  Or a poem?  Watch a movie and come up with alternative endings or invent a new character to go in it; you don’t have to write anything about those things, just get creative!  As frustrating as it is to not be able to write, doing something else creative that I enjoy can help spark my imagination for writing.  And, to address the latter, fun part, do something fun!  Watch a movie you love (perhaps your favorite?), reread a book you love, or dance around to some music.  Get funky, get wild, do something that makes you feel good.  Breaking out of that weird block can be like trying to dig through cement with a plastic spoon, but shaking up your days and doing something you actually really enjoy can help.  Or take a walk, look out the window.  Look at your space from a new angle.  Shake up your thinking a bit.  Or, on the flipside to all the yay-rainbows-and-sunshine I just said, try writing when you’re angry.  Channel those emotions into something (perhaps an unsuspecting fictional character?) and just go with it.

Don’t put yourself in a box, Anon.  Don’t force yourself to write anything you don’t want to write.  Sometimes you need to just be and let the words do what they will.

I know I sound horrifically optimistic for two in the bloody morning, but hopefully my points still came across okay.  (I warned y’all, I ramble!)  I really hope your writer’s block improves, Anon.  Hopefully my methods help you get out of your funk, or at least give you a little stress reprieve.  Know you can always come back here, I promise to do my best to pump you up (I’ll try to be less long-winded about it, too, lol) and cheer you on.

If none of this got through, just know that it’s okay that you can’t write right now. I get it, I understand.  The world is wonky, and I don’t personally know what you’re going through, Anon, but I know I stop being able to write when I get stressed.  My brain just shuts down.  Zero productivity.  And if that’s what you’re going through, it might help to let things out, talk things out, and I’m here for that, too, if you need it.

I believe in you! :) 

[hufflepuffmarlenemckinnon]

Letters from Fall 1980

An Excerpt from my Novel-Length Fanfic The Dog and the Duckling

Summary: Sirius is assigned to mentor Marlene Mckinnon when she joins The Order of the Phoenix. His perceptions of Hufflepuff house are drastically changed, and so is his life.

Rated Teen mostly for language and innuendo.

So most everyone who follows me will have gathered that I headcanon Marlene as Duck animagus for a lot of the fic I write. I decided to put some of the backstory of that up on Tumblr in case anyone was curious. I’ll keep these blurbs listed in chronological order on my Fic Masterlist.  

Letters from Fall Term 1980

To my favorite duckling,

Life is terribly boring since you left. Now I don’t know what to do with myself. Not that I really knew what to do with myself when you were here, but the same is still true.

James should be returning to The Order in another few weeks. Which is probably a huge relief to whatever poor soul has to read the notes I’ve kept on the files they have me going through.

Did you know that we have files on pretty much everyone? Some people are just not interesting enough to fill up a file. I keep waiting to come upon someone with a really interesting criminal record or rumors of consorting with harpies or something. But it’s rarely anything good.

Here’s my best find from this week. Brought to you by the file we have on one Rabastan Lestrange. Mr. Lestrange was placed under arrest in the summer of 1978 for impersonating a non-corporeal entity. Apparently the sod got it in his head that it would be a great use of a Thursday evening to powder himself down and go “ooooooo” at a churchyard. His fun, alas, was cut short when the ministry was contacted. This is sort that gets chosen as The Dark Lord’s creme de la creme.

I hope you’re having more fun than I am this past week. I miss you terribly. It’s deeply upsetting that I’ve become the sort of wanker who writes letters that say ‘I miss you terribly’. I do hope that the sudden penchant for sentimentality will abate when you’re home.

-Sirius

Dearest Sirius,

I heartily enjoyed your last letter. I broke out into laughter when I read your account of Mr. Lestrange’s arrest for impersonating a ghost. It did not escape notice from girls in my dorm. They have no room to judge me. Most of them are thoroughly ridiculous. I’ll bore you with the particulars because I have little else to do this evening.

Mary rolls her eyes at me every time I mention you. I think she’s jealous that no one writes her hilarious letters. She’s actually rumored to be seeing one Reginald Cattermole, who has the distinction of being the boy I dated for a whole year, in attempts to prove a point to my elder siblings. Perhaps I should have more sympathy for poor Mary. The sour look on her face might just be because she remembered they have a date coming up or something.

My friend Carolyn, another occupant of the 7th year Hufflepuff girls dormitory, decided over the summer that she’s the future Mrs. Fabian Prewett. This is all well and good excepting that Fabian Prewett has no idea that she exists. That seems to be a requirement for dear Carolyn. She has many admirers in our year, but she is not the least bit interested. Much to the sorrow and woe of one Barty Crouch Jr. of Slytherin, who pursues her relentlessly. I wonder if she’d lose interest in Mr. Prewett if he were to become aware of her. Do you know him? Perhaps you can introduce the two so she can move on to the next far-fetched love of her life.

I have a Hogsmeade visit coming up weekend after next. I mention this not because I want you to accost Carolyn with the presence of Fabian Prewett, but because I’d like to see you. I have a task I’d like your help with, but I think it would be better to discuss it in person. And since you miss me terribly and all, it shouldn’t be too painful for you to come meet me in town. Let me know if you’ll be able.

I miss you terribly too, but I’m sure you already knew that. But I’ll put it in ink to appease your newfound sappiness. I’m quite fond of this quality in you, truth be told.

-Your Duckling, Marlene

Dearest Duckling,

Of course I’ll meet you in Hogsmeade! I’ll be so unbearably happy to see you that I won’t even be bothered if I happen upon Argus Filch out on the town. You should take this as the highest form of flattery because Filch and I have a long and detailed history. none of it involved one iota of my wanting to run into him anywhere. He’s really the most inconvenient person that there is. His whole job while I was in school was comprised of thwarting my efforts in having a good time. Do you ever find yourself thwarted? What is the Hufflepuff version of a good time? I’Ll bet it involves the kitchens.

How goes the saga of Hufflepuff dormitory? Is Carolyn still in love with Mr. F. Prewett? He’s quite dashing so I can’t fault her there. Has Mary ever stopped looking sour? Did she go on a date with the famed Reginald Cattermole?

I will not inquire about the particulars of that doomed love affair, but it sounds as if you were not heartbroken. I’m glad to hear that. If someone’s heart must be broken, it shan't be yours. Perhaps it’ll be mine, because I still miss you terribly and I haven’t found any cure for this incessant sentimentality. I have the day that I visit you circled on my calendar and James has made comments. I am glad that you find my being a sap endearing, because at this point it seems like it’s unlikely to abate.

Next Saturday at the Hogs Head. I’m counting the minutes!

-Your Sirius

Dearest Duckling,

I hope you’ve found the map useful. It’s been out of use, and I thought it would have to wait for my little godson to take up the marauders banner. You, though, have turned out to be much more of a marauder at heart than I would have thought possible for a sweet Hufflepuff duckling.

You’ll use the map carefully, of course when the full moon is upon us. You remember the particulars.

How are you doing with the mandrake leaf? I know it’s vile. Peter mucked the whole thing up 3 different times just with the mandrake step alone. But I have faith in you my little duck.

Work is the same as ever, though I’m glad to have James back. I’ve told him all about you, of course and he’s looking forward to meeting you over the winter hols.

Will I get to meet your army of Badgers? Perhaps I’d embarrass you and you’d rather avoid it. It isn’t my goal to be embarrassing. But you are very adorable when you blush so It doesn’t give me much motivation to stop.

I’ll see you in precisely 19 days! Not that I’m counting or anything…

-Sirius

[truecrimehunter]

Wattpad Story Review Went Bad

Richard Brittain won a British Tv quiz show,Countdown, as a teen. To him, that won gave him life. It was his biggest goal. He boast about the win and thought he was smarter than those around him.

Richard enter university and went to a bar to hang out with his small group of friends. A woman named Ella Durant worked as a waitress. Soon, he became obsessive over her. He tried to win her over with his smarts with putting her on a team with him for University Challenge. He stalked her at her work, Twitter, Instagram, and such to keep tabs on her. She changed work shifts and started to work in the kitchen instead of in front of the house. She went to the Metropolitan police and student union. They didn’t do really anything. He stayed away for awhile but keep looking at her Twitter. She was one of those girls that tweets out relatable sad tweets, and she thought nothing of it. For some reason, he took those relatable tweets as she is talking about and to him. He went to her graduation, and she was creeped out when she saw him. After graduating, she moved from London to Glasgow.

After university, Richard wrote a poem called ‘The Benevolent Stalker’ and a book called 'The World Rose’. The book was about Ella and over romanticize of her. He traveled while writing. He wanted to publish the book and turn it into a movie. A publisher had other ideas and turned him down. He was pissed. He thought his book was a masterpiece (everyone thought otherwise). He still wanted his book to be out there. He puts the prolong on Wattpad for free and put his book on Goodreads(It’s also on Amazon).

He found Ella’s address from her college application. He went to her workplace and waved at her. She called the police and took her home. Two days later, he went back to her workplace and spoke to her even though she was screaming to get the attention of others. On September 23 2014, Ella saw a link a tweet to a blog called 'The Benevolent Stalker’ and went to the police. The defence counsel, Michael Meehan, told the judge that Richard either stuffering from paranoid schizophrenia or a personality disorder(maybe y'all should got him check out). He knew that Ella was living in Glasgow because her Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Back to his book, Wattpad’s users hated the prolong. He was pissed off that the users hated his work. He had arguments with them. A eighteen years old, Paige Rolland, read the prolong and knew how he reacts to criticism. That didn’t bother her(she has some balls), so she went to Goodreads after reading what was free to give her review with her real name. She dragged him to the dirt. Her review said(warning: it’s long review),“Before anyone reads any further, I must confess that I haven’t read this entire story. I’ve only read the prologue, courtesy of Mr. Brittain leaving it on Wattpad as a means of advertising and expanding his audience. There are two reasons I did not choose to buy this book and read the entire thing. Reason one being that the prologue was just awful and I certainly would not be paying £5 plus P+P to read the entire thing. Reason two…well, I don’t have a Kindle. And even if I did, I certainly wouldn’t be paying £1.90 for it. Surely Mr. Brittain was aware that first time authors self-pubbing give the Kindle book away for free. That way more people are likely to actually read it.

Let’s first talk about the cover.

As a writer self-publishing, I would have hoped Mr. Brittain did his research and understood the costs behind it. Surely he was aware of how much a good cover would cost him. What I’m looking at now looks painfully like something my English teachers in high school would make me read. Or a textbook. A washed-out photograph of a dirt path through a thin cluster of trees? Well…it doesn’t do anything for me and it certainly wouldn’t catch my eye in a bookstore. That combined with the bland colours used for the text and borders around that makes for an incredibly anti-climactic cover. And it definitely doesn’t scream "fantasy/romance novel” to me.

That blurb…

Yeah, that’s not a blurb. All I get is that it’s a fairytale and that the title means something. Nothing about the characters (other than the main one is a renowned beauty - urgh, gag me) nor about the plot. Probably because those elements are nothing more than a nice effort, at best. And if you have to explain the metaphor that is your title, you’re doing something wrong.

Now, to the prologue. As a reader, I’m bored out of my skull and severely disappointed in what I might have paid for. As a writer (albeit an amateur one) I’m appalled that anyone would think this was worthy of money.

Not only does it begin with “once upon a time” which you could argue is perfect as this is a fairytale (and it doesn’t work, it’s incredibly pretentious), but it’s filled with many writing no-nos. Way too much telling, pretentious prose, and a main character that I already hate. Ella is the perfect princess (true to fairytales, so we can at least give him a little credit despite how painfully annoying this is coupled with a complete lack of real personality shining through).

I’d like to take a moment to explain that fairytales, for those of you who don’t know, are short. They are short because frankly, nobody can stand that kind of writing for very long. It’s not considered good. Fairytales are there to entertain. Usually to entertain children. Full-length novels written for teens to adults?

Can we deal with the purple prose for a second? All this over-describing and stupidly flowery wording to describe Ella walking to her balcony and looking out.

Unfortunately, Mr. Brittain has gained a bit of infamy on Wattpad where he’s known for threatening users who don’t praise him (pray for me) and telling successfully published authors that they know nothing about the industry and are completely wrong in saying that writing rules must be followed in order to be successful. What I’m saying is, you can expect complete disregard for basic rules that lead to good writing for the entirety of this story.

Another writing rule that’s big is to avoid adverbs like the plague, particularly words like “suddenly”. Such a shame Brittain used this very word (which is considered a cheap and childish way of conveying suddenness, FYI) to describe a wolf howling and Ella jumping back in fear. So not only is Ella physically perfect, she’s faint-hearted too. Such a fair maiden. Never was a maiden so fair nor so beauteous. Nor so boobilicious.

Oh please.

Sentence structure. It’s all very repetitive. First part of sentence, second part of sentence. And that’s mostly how it goes. The first part of the sentence is separated by a comma before we go into the second part of the unnecessarily detailed sentence. It’s painfully dull to read. Doesn’t do much for engaging the brain.

Dialogue tags. They’re not so bad, but combined with those adverbs? Another writing no-no that Brittain has chosen to completely ignore has made this story all the harder to read.

Here is a perfect example of that purple prose I was talking about as well as this problem Brittain seems to have when it comes to over-describing. “The princess let her pet melt under her keen stare for a bit longer before she bent forward for stroke him.” This is fine, right? Well…no. Only because it is then followed by this: “Ella caressed Duncan’s fine brown hair, rubbing his ears and scratching him with scarlet fingernails.” First of all, we already know what colour the damn dog is thanks to the paragraph before. Also, we already know she is stroking him, so why do we need all this “caressing” stuff thrown in there and who cares what colour perfect Ella’s fingernails are? As if we need more reasons to dislike her already.

At some point, Duncan the dog “suddenly” becomes aggressive towards something in the room and all of that purple prose and telling and usage of “suddenly” completely ruined it. I didn’t care. I wasn’t scared. Why Brittain seems to think he can get away with not following these important writing rules is beyond me.

This sentence now. (“SPIT IT OUT!” Ella shouted.) I don’t think Brittain knows that using all caps like that in a story other than a children’s book is considered highly unprofessional. Not to mention with the exclamation point and the dialogue tag, we know Ella is shouting. So the caps become redundant anyway.

“But the bulldog merely yawned, slumped lazily in his basket with a sullen frown on his face.” Adverbs: check. Redundancy: check. Slumping is a lazy action. Frowns are usually sullen. From the context, we know this. I just…

Urgh, I can’t. Even if there WAS more on Wattpad to read, I wouldn’t. This is painful. Everything is written through telling and purple prose which is just about the worst combination there is as both a reader and writer. You can have the most fantastic plot in the world, but if you can’t write it well, it won’t sell. At least concerning self-publishing. And bad writing usually equals bad characters.

In the end (SPOILER) Ella’s father is found dead and Ella cries. Like…I don’t even care. There has been so little character development here (not that he allowed himself the room for that with all the pointless description) for a character I didn’t like from the first sentence about her, that I don’t give a damn if her father’s dead or she’s crying or how scared of the wolf’s howl she was.

The writing of this entire prologue (and what I managed to see of the chapters before they were removed from Wattpad) is bland and boring to read. It’s hard to keep reading because it’s so boring. It reads like a history book, and nobody goes into a fantasy/romance for bland, boring, textbook-like writing.

And Brittain has the audacity to say “To continue reading, please purchase the book…” You mean I have to pay to read something that’s not been professionally edited? No thank you >…

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

 The Letter Keeper by Charles Martin

A Murphy Shepherd novel #2

 Almost put this book down before finishing but decided to read the end, then a bit in the middle, and still unsatisfied with quitting I skimmed it all to find out if what I thought did not make sense might make complete sense by the last page. I felt, when I nearly stopped reading, that this is a series that probably should be read starting with book and I still feel that way after reading as I did although I did manage to get a sense of the main character, his calling, and the life he leads.

 What I liked:

* Shepherd/Bishop: a man with a skill-set and life calling to be admired…although…at times he seemed to have a death wish or perhaps he was an adrenaline junkie.

* Bones: co-worker/boss/string puller of Shepherd

* The task that Shepherd & Bones have in common and the way they achieve their goal(s)

* The way Shepherd keeps track of the people his work has impacted

* Gunner: A dedicated, smart, and loving canine companion

* The lives saved and the hints about what they were saved from.

* Casey: one of the people saved

* The parts Marie, Ellie, Summer and Angel played in the story ALTHOUGH this is where having read the first book might have come in handy.

* The indestructible constitution Shepherd must have – and his ability to heal from death defying injuries.

* Finding out who Bones & Shepherd will probably be chasing in the next book

 What I didn’t like:

* Knowing that there are traffickers in real life as evil or more evil than the ones mentioned in this book.

* Thinking about the pain and suffering that those trafficked must experience.

* Feeling that I should have read book one before reading this one – felt I must be missing things at times.

 Did I like this book? Sort of

Would I read more by this author? Maybe

 Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the ARC – This is my honest review.

 3-4 Stars

    BLURB

 Combining heart-wrenching emotion with edge-of-your-seat tension, New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin explores the true power of sacrificial love.

Murphy Shepherd has made a career of finding those no one else could—survivors of human trafficking. His life’s mission is helping others find freedom . . . but then the nightmare strikes too close to home.

When his new wife, her daughter, and two other teenage girls are stolen, Murphy is left questioning all he has thought to be true. With more dead ends than leads, he has no idea how to find his loved ones. After everything is stripped away, love is what remains.

Hope feels lost, but Murphy is willing to expend his last breath trying to bring them home.

Praise for The Letter Keeper:

“A man broken by events beyond his control accepts the challenge to walk dark ways in order to bring the lost and helpless home, but he comes close to losing himself in the process. Despite the hardship and heartache, Martin’s story shines with the light of eternal hope.” —Davis Bunn, writing for Christianity Today

“It is unequivocally, hands down, a remarkable read. It’s everything you want (and a whole lot more) from a sequel . . . Y’all better get ready. Like I said last time, clear your schedule. Then read this book . . . front to back. There will be more sweaty palms, fist pumps, tears, and laughter than the first one. I promise.” —Charlie Martin, Charles Martin’s son

Full-length novelOne of the Murphy Shepherd novels:Book One: The Water KeeperBook Two: The Letter KeeperBook Three: Coming June 2022!Includes discussion questions for book clubsAlso by Charles Martin: The Mountain Between Us, Send Down the Rain, Long Way Gone, When Crickets Cry

[chorusfm]

Back on AbsolutePunk.net we would run a feature each year called the “Absolute 100.” The basic idea was to put together a list of bands and artists that we thought needed to get a little more attention. This would range from unsigned, to under-the-radar, to underrated acts that we wanted to highlight. Over the years it ended up being one of my favorite features we compiled (I personally discovered quite a few new bands from it). And, I’ve heard from a lot for readers that you loved it as well.

Today I’m excited to bring this feature back under a new name. We’re calling it “In the Spotlight” and we’ve got the same goal: highlight a bunch of artists we think you should check out. This year we’ve got 50 for you. Over the past month our contributors have been putting together blurbs and pulling out song recommendations, and today we’ve got the first group of 25. We’ll be releasing the next set tomorrow.

The Wild Reeds

by Craig Manning

The Wild Reeds make music that isn’t quite rock, isn’t quite country, isn’t quite folk, and isn’t quite pop, but that has clear traces of all of them. That’s the charm of the trio’s sophomore LP, The World We Built, which dropped at the beginning of March. Tight three-part female harmonies, a crackling rhythm section, and big shout-to-the-rafters choruses are the ingredients that make up the songs on World—particularly “Only Songs,” the set’s opening track and lead single. On that song, a distorted electric guitar swings through the proceedings like a wrecking ball, the three band members bellowing their vocal parts like their lives depend on it. And they just might: “Cause the only thing that saves me/Are the songs I sing, baby/You can’t save me from anything,” goes the infectious chorus. The rest of the record hums with a similar life-or-death energy—a thrilling quality that makes it one of the year’s surest breakout LPs.

Recommended Track: “Only Songs”

RIYL: First Aid Kit, Haim, The Staves

Culprit

by Deanna Chapman

Despite being in the Southern California area, I’m probably not as familiar with the local scene as I should be. However, in the abundance of bands, I was introduced to Culprit. Even with some minor line up changes over the years, they keep things moving forward. Sonder is their latest release and it’s a solid rock album. They have their sound down and Travis’ vocals are constantly great. The songwriting is a huge plus, too. They still blow me away with their big sound and emotion inducing lyrics.

Recommended Track: “Anything”

RIYL: From Indian Lakes, Thrice, Emarosa

Animal Flag

by Aj LaGambina

MA-based band, Animal Flag, released their debut LP last year, the aptly named LP. The record is actually a remaster and resequenced version of the two EP’s the band released before it, and boy does it sound great. These guys write loud, distinctive alternative rock that draws equal influence from Brand New’s midtempo songs, the Run For Cover records catalog, and “emo revival” bands, though their ability to write a hook coupled with a mastery of dynamic songwriting is what really sets them apart. The best example of their sound is the song “Sensation,” who’s layered instrumental and massive chorus gives a decent idea of what the band is capable of.

Recommended Track: “Sensation”

RIYL: Turnover, Brand New, Manchester Orchestra

Allie X

by Jason Tate

Alexandra Ashley Hughes, under the moniker Allie X, mixes a cocktail of quirky, catchy, and heartfelt into her music. While the music usually winds between upbeat and frenetic, there’s an undeniable darkness to much of the lyrical content. With an EP of music already under her belt, this June will see the release of her debut full-length. If the first few songs released are any indication, we have another round of perfectly produced pop-goodness coming our way.

Recommended Track: “That’s So Us”

RIYL: Charli XCX, Foxes, Betty Who

Susto

by Greg Robson

Let this be known: Charleston, SC quintet Susto are on the precipice of breaking out. Their latest album & I’m Fine Today blends hazy folk-pop meanderings with sublime and near-perfect alt-country. Drawing on the likes of Wilco and Neil Young and drawing on the age-old themes of love lost, love won, late-night partying and indifference, the band’s expansive sound reinvents Southern rock in a way that needs to be heard to be realized. Contemplative, self-assured and deeply rewarding, & I’m Fine Today is a monster of a record from a band that’s well on their way to breaking out. With a summer full of festivals and a bookshelf full of critical praise, 2017 might just be the year SUSTO becomes a household name.

Recommended Track: “Waves”

RIYL: Wilco, The Head and the Heart, The Lumineers, Shovels and Rope

Muncie Girls

by Zac Djamoos

On the first song on Muncie Girls’ From Caplan to Belsize, frontwoman Lande Hekt implores the listener to “try and leave your own little mark on this earth.” It seems like she’s taking her own advice – her band’s debut is ten tracks of the most energetic powerpop I’ve heard in a long time. The lyrics might be the biggest draw here, as Hekt delivers wise-beyond-her-years musings on misogyny, family, and developing radical politics, while never sounding like a textbook. From Caplan to Belsize would be legacy enough for most bands – I can’t wait to see where Muncie Girls want to take us next.

Recommended Track: “Balloon”

RIYL: Cartel, Moose Blood, Fall Out Boy

The Magic Gang

by Kyle Huntington

Brighton, England based The Magic Gang have been going from strength-to-strength for the past few years, releasing a total of three EPs to date. Each EP documents the band’s considered progression but also highlights the excitement that the jangly indie-pop group can evoke in listeners. From the more recent and angular single “How Can I Compete?” which recalls The Strokes in their early days or “Only Waiting” which is a must for any Mac DeMarco fans – The Magic Gang create the infectious, melodic and enriching breed of indie music that is near enough impossible to dislike.

Recommended Track: “How Can I Compete”

RIYL: Mac DeMarco, Weezer, The Strokes

Gold Steps

by Becky Kovach

Gold Steps has only been around about a year, but with an EP and performances at SXSW and So What?! Music Festival under their belt, the band is already making waves in the local Austin scene. But it shouldn’t be long before the buzz starts to spread. With bold choruses and explosive energy that demands attention, I think they’re exactly what the pop punk world needs right now. There’s also the added bonus of a kick ass female vocalist who, with a little time and practice, could be the next powerhouse of the genre.

Recommended Track: “Louder Than Words”

RIYL: Nominee, Sleep On It, We Are The In Crowd

Lindi Ortega

by Eric Wilson

Hailing from Toronto, Ontario, and currently residing in Nashville, Lindi Ortega is a country singer/songwriter with amazing talent and a soulful voice. She has released several albums and EPs since 2001, and her latest EP ’Til the Goin’ Gets Gone continues to showcase her depth and talent when it comes to music and songwriting. Whether you’re in the mood for some mellow folk music, or something a bit more on the country side, Ortega’s discography will give you plenty of options to choose from. I’m excited to hear how her style will continue to evolve over time.

Recommended Track: “Til the Goin’ Gets Gone”

RIYL: Kacey Musgraves, Sarah Jarosz

Natalie Hemby

by Craig Manning

You might not know Natalie Hemby’s name, but if you’ve ever listened to country radio, you’ve probably heard one of her songs. An ultra-prolific gun-for-hire, Hemby has credits on records by everyone from Miranda Lambert to Maren Morris to Nelly Furtado. In her “day job,” Hemby knows how to spin a turn of phrase or a catchy chorus to build a surefire radio earworm. On her debut record, though, Hemby dials back her own mainstream country leanings for something far more personal and understated. The record in question, this year’s splendid Puxico, is an album about home, family, youth, young love, summer, and life itself. Remarkably, given Hemby’s resume, there isn’t an obvious single. Instead, Puxico is a capital-A Album, built around concept (Hemby wrote it about her grandfather’s hometown) and sturdy, mood-setting tracks (swoon-worthy summer night gems like “Lovers on Display” and “Worn”). The resulting record is destined to land plenty of “Best of the Year” notices come to December—and perhaps maybe even a Grammy nod or two.

Recommended Track: “Lovers on Display”

RIYL: Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark, Miranda Lambert

Feeny

by Craig Ismaili

After years of grinding out explosive live sets in support of their first EP Winter Of Our Disconnect, Feeny found themselves at a crossroads in late 2015, as they went into the studio to record with Jesse Cannon. Would they continue to hone the pop-punk sound of their early material, despite the growing sense within the band that pop-punk was not what interested them most musically anymore? Or would they take a leap forward sonically, potentially distancing themselves from their peers and bands they had played with in the past. The New Jersey quartet Feeny chose correctly, reinventing their sound for their 2016 EP No Beauty In Routine. While there are still moments where Feeny break into the bar chord blitzkrieg of pop-punk, they let songs breathe so much more on the EP than they ever have in the past, breaking into moments that border on post-rock. The results show in moments like the end of the featured song, “Patience in Paranoia�� where, after vocalist Matthew Koerner howls the song’s final line, “These memories are never enough,” the music breaks down to a softly strummed guitar, and the sounds of a wistful chord progression, as if the song is flicking through the carousel of memories. No Beauty in Routine is a moody, introspective record, with songs like the brooding “Spoliation (Uncomfortable),” exploring insecurities and irreconcilable differences which can tear relationships apart. It’s honest, heartfelt music from a band that trades on this sort of heart-on-sleeve troubadorism.

Recommended Track: “Patience and Paranoia”

RIYL: Microwave, Saves The Day, Taking Back Sunday

Super American

by Deanna Chapman

Take This To Heart Records continues to impress with the band’s they sign. Super American polished up their sound and recently released Disposable. The album is solid top to bottom. The album mixes upbeat songs with a couple that slow things down and give you time to realize just how good the band is. Their personality shines with their songs and they’re a band you’ll want to check out. It would be a shame to miss out on their recent release. It’s a stand out for me in 2017 so far.

Recommended Track: “Sloppy Jazz”

RIYL: Weezer, Superdrag, State Champs

Rosie Carney

by Greg Robson

Irish singer-songwriter Rosie Carney sings her songs with such conviction and sincerity you’ll find it near impossible to turn away. The thought-provoking and melancholic ballad “Awake Me” recounts her battles with both anorexia and depression and calls to mind both Joni Mitchell and Bon Iver. At only 19, Carney possesses a triple threat: deft piano playing, poetic verses and soaring melodies. Her songs are meticulously crafted, achingly tender, wise beyond their years and utterly timeless. A veteran of SXSW, Carney is poised for a big 2017 and should make waves on American soil in the very near future.

Recommended Track: “Awake Me”

RIYL: Joni Mitchell, Bon Iver, Joanna Newsom, Carole King

Daydream

by Aj LaGambina

California’s Daydream just released their debut full length Enjoy Nothing on April 4th, a more-than-worthy follow-up to their two 2016 EP’s. The entire record is stacked with hooks, big guitars, and the kind of instantly relatable lyrics found on some of the best emo/pop/rock records of the early 2000’s. Slow opener “Seeking Human Kindness” marks a strong start for the record and it keeps getting better from there. Though closer “Goodbye in Downtown” and second track “Bored” are the best examples of Daydream’s overall sound. The whole LP begs to be played while speeding down the highway, and that’s exactly how I’ll listen to it.

Recommended Track: “Bored”

RIYL: Jimmy Eat World, The Menzingers

Rick Brantley

by Craig Manning

Rick Brantley wrote the best song I heard in 2016. The tune in question, an understated ballad called “Hurt People,” doesn’t sound like much when you first hit play: just a simple piano line and Brantley’s spoken-word delivery. But focus on the lyrics, and “Hurt People” will crack your heart in half like a walnut, seal it back together, and give you the inspiration to be better. I won’t spoil too much: the song deserves to stand on its own, and reading about it can’t possibly compare to hearing it. But suffice to say that Brantley’s tales—about an abused kid who bullies his classmates, about a girl who has never felt love in her life, and about the scars we all have that we can never erase—carry lessons that everyone needs to learn right now. The rest of Brantley’s output—including two recent EPs, the largely acoustic Lo-Fi and the more rock-oriented Hi-Fi—display his dynamic songwriting talents, his big voice, and his Springsteen-circa-Lucky Town sound. But “Hurt People” alone would merit Brantley a spot on this list, if only because it’s one of those rare songs that I think every person in the world should hear.

Recommended Track: “Hurt People”

RIYL: Bruce Springsteen, John Moreland, Butch Walker

Pale Waves

by Jason Tate

Dirty Hit Records have been on a roll with their signings and the latest, Pale Waves, is no exception. Breathy pop-music with a groove, helped by Matt and George of The 1975’s unmistakable crystalline production, propels the lead single “There’s a Honey” to ear-candy status. Hopefully we’ll be getting more music from this group in the near future, yet one song’s enough to have turned my head and put this band smack dab in the middle of my radar.

Recommended Track: “There’s A Honey”

RIYL: The Japanese House, The 1975

Save Ends

by Zac Djamoos

Black Numbers has been one of the best and most under-appreciated labels around for a few years now, and last year they signed one of the best and most under-appreciated bands around. Save Ends’ effortlessly catchy brand of emo-influenced pop-punk feels like the kind of stuff that could’ve come out on Vagrant Records in ’01 just as easily as on Black Numbers in ’16. With the weather getting warmer and the band in the studio, there’s no better time than now to check out (or revisit) their full-length debut Warm Hearts, Cold Hands.

Recommended Track: “I Fell Asleep”

RIYL: Saves the Day, Tigers Jaw, Turnover

Many Rooms

by Craig Ismaili

Many Rooms is the brainchild of Brianna Hunt, and thus far they have released just six songs with the project. Those six came in the form of an EP called Hollow Body which was released back at the end of 2015. The first time I heard “Hollow Body” it shook me down to my very core. If you, like I did, fell in love with the stark intimacy of Julien Baker’s “Sprained Ankle,” I full-heartedly believe you will fall in love with Many Rooms. You see, “Sprained Ankle” feels like you are in the room with Baker as she pours her heart out on the track. Many Rooms feels like you are in the room with Hunt, except it’s pitch black and she is singing off into the void of the darkness. There is such a soul-bearing honesty to the songs on Hollow Body. Hunt’s lyrics, ethereal though her voice may be, seem to cut down to the very core of humanity. “Promises”, the second track on Hollow Body, has some of my favorite lyrics of the decade: “oh, how beautiful a lie / when it makes you feel like you can fly / and your wings are made of paper dreams and paper futures.” I can’t wait until Hunt releases more music with this project.

Recommended Track: Promises

RIYL: Julien Baker, Conor Oberst, Elliot Smith

Sainte

by Anna Acosta

Sainte is the long-anticipated solo project of former We Are the In Crowd vocalist Tay Jardine, and it delivers in spades. Although the project has only released two singles to date, the tracks are explosive, dance-y pop numbers that bode incredibly well for what’s to come. Jardine’s expressive songwriting and vocals are finally the focal point of the music she’s making, and the result is a refreshingly authentic sound that manages to feel both joyful and completely authentic. Jardine is all grown up, and she’s not pulling any punches.

Recommended Track: “With Or Without Me”

RIYL: We Are The In Crowd, Tonight Alive, The Gospel Youth

Mom Jeans.

by Becky Kovach

I went into my first Mom Jeans. show having never seen them before and with very little knowledge of their music. I was sold the minute their guitarist took a between-song break as an opportunity to showcase his repertoire of dad jokes. It also helps that the band’s lyrics are endearing in a pour-out-your-heart kind of way, and their music blends emo, punk, and acoustic into a cathartic rush of passion. Oh and did I mention that their single “edward 40hands” samples Bob’s Burgers? Yeah.

Recommended Track: “Edward 40hands”

RIYL: Sorority Noise, Oso Oso, The Front Bottoms

Oso Oso

by Jason Tate

There’s something perfectly nostalgic about Oso Oso’s The Yunahon Mixtape. It’s a little like opening a time capsule from the early 00’s and finding an album inside from a band you’ve never heard but could almost swear you used to love. I’m pulled back to my early college days filled with sharing mixtapes with dorm room friends, laying in the sun with one album on repeat, and getting wrapped in every note. This gem of an album was released in January. If you’re looking for something that sounds a little like yesteryear while being a welcome jolt during a time that seems too fucked-up to be real, you should make this the next album you spin.

Recommended Track: “The Cool”

RIYL: State Lines, Sorority Noise, You Blew It!

Striking Matches

by Craig Manning

Striking Matches is a band with one of the all-time great origin stories. A duo featuring singer/songwriter/guitarists Sarah Zimmerman and Justin Davis, the band got its start in the classroom ten years ago, when the two freshman guitar majors got paired up by a professor. As you could probably already gather from the band name, there was a spark. Since then, Striking Matches have opened for everyone from Train to Ashley Monroe to Vince Gill, written songs for the country music soap opera Nashville, and made their debut album under the tutelage of none other than T Bone Burnett. That’s quite the whirlwind start for any act, but one gets the sense that Zimmerman and Davis can handle it. On their debut album, 2015’s Nothing but the Silence, Zimmerman and Davis forged a true two-person identity. They both sang, they both wrote songs, and they both had plenty of room to show off their shit-kicking guitar skills. The songs themselves were incredibly refined, from the tender Civil Wars-esque ballads (“Nothing but the Silence,” “When the Right One Comes Along”) to the livewire rockers (turbulent opener “Trouble Is as Trouble Does”). And then there’s the outro to “Make a Liar Out of Me,” where Zimmerman shreds one of the most badass guitar solos of the 21st century.

Recommended Track: “Make a Liar Out of Me”

RIYL: The Civil Wars, melody-driven country-folk songs with incredible guitarwork

Crows

by Kyle Huntington

If there was ever a new band to ignite the primal connection to music – it’s Crows from London, England. Drawing influence in sound from the any of the post-punk greats with a splattering of shoegaze elements, garage rawness and hardcore tendencies – they’re a band who create the sense of walking a tightrope, a balancing act between unsettling chaos and energised melody – undeniable in its intense excitement. Whether on record with buzzsaw guitars and sweet darkness or in a live setting where they thrive and are one of the most captivating bands performing today – to the point where frontman James Cox commands, antagonises, includes and hypnotises the crowd in only the best ways – Crows are the exhilarating new punk band people have been waiting for. Check out “The Itch” and its explosion for an insight as well as “Whisper”.

Recommended Track: “Whisper”

RIYL: Joy Division, Fugazi, METZ

Donna Missal

by Craig Ismaili

You know a song is special when Zane Lowe uses his massive platform on Beats Radio 1 to premiere the debut single from an unsigned artist. That single was the sultry, incendiary “Keep Lying” from Donna Missal. The song has echoes of Nina Simone all over it, plus more than a bit of resemblance to Amy Winehouse’s “Back To Black.” To put it more simply, “Keep Lying” has some heeeaaat. But the New Jersey singer didn’t stop there. She has since released a string of singles over the past few years, including, most recently, the spacious, breathy “Holiday.” She has a chance to be a special musician in an era with a distinct lack of voices like her. In times where people with voices like hers are often pushed to alternative rock (Elle King), Donna Missal has a chance to lead the charge for the return of the seductress to pop radio. She’s finishing up her debut full-length album now, and I have hope it will be released later this year.

Recommended Track: “Keep Lying”

RIYL: Elle King, Nina Simone, Amy Winehouse

Cold Climb It

by Becky Kovach

If the vocalist of Cold Climb It sounds familiar, maybe take a closer listen to the backing vocals in some of your favorite The Wonder Years tracks. Yup, that’s Matt Brasch. Cold Climb It is an additional endeavor of Brasch’s, started a little less than a year ago. Since then the band has played a smattering of shows in the Philly area and released their debut EP Fade. Brasch steps into the spotlight on these songs, and seems at home in the position; he tackles the role of lead singer/songwriter with grace and ease. His voice has long reminded me of Smoking Popes’ Josh Caterer – melancholy in a soothing way – and the band’s brooding tones darker lyrics are a perfect fit. While The Wonder Years will always have my heart, Cold Climb It has become a new favorite for me and I look forward to seeing what Brasch does with the band in the future.

Recommended Track: “Looking Hard For Inspiration”

RIYL: Smoking Popes, Microwave, Alkaline Trio

Check back tomorrow for our second round of 25.

Please consider supporting us so we can keep bringing you stories like this one.

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[readingontheedge]

BOOK INFORMATION:

OUTRAGEOUS, the next Quantum series novel Marie Force is now live!

Read OUTRAGEOUS now!

Kindle US: http://geni.us/q7amz iBooks: http://geni.us/q7ibooks Nook: http://geni.us/q7bandn Kobo: http://geni.us/q7kobo Google: http://geni.us/q7google Kindle CA: http://geni.us/q7amzca Kindle UK: http://geni.us/q7amzuk Kindle AU: http://geni.us/q7amzau

Print Signed copy from Marie’s Store: http://geni.us/q7mfstore Amazon US: http://geni.us/q7amzprt

Amazon UK: http://geni.us/q7amzprtuk 

BLURB:

She drives him crazy… In more ways than one.

Every time Leah Holt encounters Quantum Production’s chief counsel, Emmett Burke, the only thing she can think of is how much she wants to lick him. Everywhere. She’s never had that kind of reaction to a man, and the fact that he’s a much-older colleague makes her out-of-control attraction to him far more complicated than it should be. Every day, she brings a new legal question to Emmett, hoping to catch his attention and make him see her as a grown woman who wants him desperately. She walks a fine line in trying to remain professional as the assistant to superstar Marlowe Sloane while lusting after Marlowe’s sexy attorney.

To Emmett, Leah is a fly buzzing around his head who can’t be swatted away. She’s always there, looking at him, asking him legal questions that have nothing to do with his specialty in entertainment law and generally driving him mad with her overt sexiness and sassy mouth. He wants to toss her over his desk and run the sass right out of her, which is hardly the way a professional who loves his job should behave in the office—especially with a young, fresh, sexy colleague. As the author of the company’s policy on inter-office dating, he’s painfully aware of all the reasons he should stay far, far away from her and the tantalizing temptation she represents.

Then Leah gets her chance to step up for Emmett, to help him through an unfortunate “accident” and to show him she’s much more than just a smart mouth and a sexy body. When she realizes she has genuine feelings for him—and that those feelings are returned—she wonders if he will take a chance on her or continue to hold her at arm’s length. Slowly but surely, she chips away at his resistance, and he begins to crave more of her. But Emmett knows if he’s going to let her in, he has to let her all the way in. What will she think when he introduces her to his BDSM lifestyle? Will she still want him the way she does now or will she run away in horror? And what will he do if she runs away?

When Leah confronts a dangerous threat from her past, Emmett is forced to acknowledge that his “annoying little fly” has worked her way firmly into his heart—and his bed.

Also, join the entire Quantum team at the company’s vineyard in Napa for Hayden and Addie’s wedding!

Contains the full TAME edition in the back for those who want all the romance with a less scorching heat level!

AUTHOR BIO:

Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, including the indie-published Gansett Island Series and the Fatal Series from Harlequin Books. In addition, she is the author of the Butler, Vermont Series, the Green Mountain Series and the erotic romance Quantum Series. In 2019, her new historical Gilded series from Kensington Books will debut with Duchess By Deception.

All together, her books have sold 6.5 million copies worldwide, have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list many times. She is also a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller, a Speigel bestseller in Germany, a frequent speaker and publishing workshop presenter as well as a publisher through her Jack’s House Publishing romance imprint. She is a two-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award for romance fiction.

Her goals in life are simple—to finish raising two happy, healthy, productive young adults, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can and to never be on a flight that makes the news.

Join Marie's mailing list for news about new books and upcoming appearances in your area. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter @marieforce and on Instagram. Join one of Marie's many reader groups. Contact Marie at marie@marieforce.com.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website:  http://marieforce.com/

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarieForce

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marieforceauthor/

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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1508588.Marie_Force

Reader Groups: https://marieforce.com/contact/ 

Leah

 I want to lick him. I want to strip him naked and lick every hill and valley of his muscular body. I want to know if all his muscles are as big as the ones on his arms. I want to ride him like a cowgirl. And then I want to ride him like a reverse cowgirl.

 My obsession with Emmett Burke began on my first day at Quantum Productions, where I work as assistant to megastar Marlowe Sloane, a Quantum partner and overall amazing, badass woman. On day one, Emmett was charged with reviewing the company’s nondisclosure agreement with me. Even with Flynn Godfrey’s assistant, Addie, sitting with us, I didn’t hear a word Emmett said about the NDA because I was so fixated on his obscenely sexy mouth. Right there in the Quantum office, I had visions of all the places I’d like to feel that mouth.

 Then he mentioned how I could be sued for discussing Quantum business or the partners outside of work, and that got my attention off his mouth, for a second or two, long enough to sign the NDA. I would never blow the amazing opportunity my friend Natalie secured for me after she fell in love with Flynn the superstar and ran away to Hollywood to marry him. But I sure would love the opportunity to blow Flynn’s attorney.

 At her wedding, Natalie hooked me up with Marlowe, who hired me on the spot and bought out my contract with the charter school I’d worked for in New York—unhappily, I might add. Teaching wasn’t for me. Being the assistant to one of the top movie stars in the world? Hell to the yes, that’s for me. Marlowe paid for my move to LA, and now that I’m here, doing a job I truly love, I’m the envy of everyone I know.

 Telling tales out of school—no pun intended—is not going to happen. I’d never do anything to screw up this sweet deal and the amazing opportunity I’ve been given to have a career I couldn’t have dreamed up for myself.

 But me and Emmett Burke? That is so going to happen. If I can just figure out a way to break through his uptight, always-professional demeanor to find the hot-blooded man under the three-thousand-dollar suits that have to be handmade for him because no off-the-rack suit would fit those biceps.

 In the meantime, I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about licking him and trying to come up with reasons to talk to him. I wish I had the balls to come right out and tell him I want to suck his dick until he explodes down my throat, but something tells me that wouldn’t be the best career move I could make.

 While Emmett isn’t one of the Quantum principals—and let me tell you, the word principal in this business is a whole lot different than it was in the school business—he is best friends and chief legal counsel to Flynn, Hayden, Marlowe, Jasper and Kristian, otherwise known as the bosses. That means I need to tread lightly and keep my drooling and licking to a minimum.

 But God help that man if I ever get him alone in a bedroom—or any room that isn’t an office in the building where we both work. I have to laugh at how ridiculous this obsession has become, because it’s truly out of character for me. Before now, before Emmett, my interest in men has been more along the lines of wham-bam-thank-you-sir. I’ve never actually given a shit about any of them. But this one… This one is different, and I knew it right away. Every time I’ve been with him since that first day, and I’m “with him” just about every day, between work and play—these people love to party—I only want him more than I did the day before. It’s insanity. I willingly admit that, but I have no desire to make it stop. No, my desire is entirely focused on making it start.

 Sometimes, when I’m home alone at night with my trusty rabbit, I allow my wildest fantasies to take flight. I picture myself with Emmett in every conceivable position, as well as a few that haven’t been invented yet. I’ve begun to anticipate rabbit time a little too eagerly, which is worrisome. I’ve never been the kind of girl to run from a challenge, but I suspect Emmett thinks I’m too young and immature for him.

 There’s really no one I can talk to about my “dilemma,” since my closest friends here also work for Quantum or are married or engaged to the partners. Of course, they’re the ones whose opinions I most want because they know him better than I ever will at this frustrating rate.

 I’m going to have three whole days with him when we head up to Napa at the end of this coming week for Hayden and Addie’s wedding. I’ve been counting the days with plans to implement Operation Nail Emmett Burke while we’re there. I figure I only need to get Marlowe and Sebastian out of the way, because other than Emmett and me, they’re the only ones who aren’t in relationships. With lovebirds circling all around us, I expect the four of us to end up on our own quite a bit and will fully exploit any opportunities that present themselves without humiliating myself in front of Marlowe.

 Fine line that’ll be…

 I’ve made up my mind that the weekend in Napa is go time. Enough fantasizing about what I’d do if I had a night with him. It’s time to make those fantasies a reality.

[hufflepuffmarlenemckinnon]

Dog meets Duckling

An Excerpt from my Novel-Length Fanfic The Dog and the Duckling

Summary: Sirius is assigned to mentor Marlene Mckinnon when she joins The Order of the Phoenix. His perceptions of Hufflepuff house are drastically changed, and so is his life.

Rated Teen mostly for language and innuendo.

A/N: So most everyone who follows me will have gathered that I headcanon Marlene as Duck animagus for a lot of the fic I write. I decided to put some of the backstory of that up on Tumblr in case anyone was curious. I’ll keep these blurbs listed in chronological order on my Fic Masterlist.  

August, 1980

“I need new friends.”

Sirius mumbled empty insults under his breath. His closest friends had left him in the lurch. Sure, they had a valid reason, what with their 6 day old baby and all...He didn’t really think that they should have planned their family with more consideration for him. But he couldn’t help feel annoyed at the new duties to The Order of the Phoenix he would pick up due to James Potter’s absence for the next 8 weeks.

He felt a smile coming on as he imagined little Harry giving them at least a tiny bit of hell.

James Potter was probably changing a nappy at the very moment that Sirius attempted to keep his eyes open while reading over files on the newly enlisted witch he’s be mentoring. James’s task would be more brief but certainly had a more unpleasant odor. The little parlor room The Order of the Phoenix rented at The Leaky Caldron was perhaps a bit musty from old furniture and neglect, but that was the worst of it.

Sirius has persistent doubts that he’d be a suitable mentor. He didn’t really understand why Dumbledore chose him to take up this slack.

He went over the possible reasons in his head. Because pointless mental conjecture was one of the long list of things that Sirius Black enjoyed more than paperwork.  

I suppose I was the next best thing?

He wasn’t. He knew this. The Potters were the sort of people that took naturally to leadership. They’d been head boy and girl during their 7th year at Hogwarts and they were both more patient and more responsible than most people in their early 20s. Sirius was a far cry from that description.

Two years out of Hogwarts, the goals he’d accomplished were less, “find a wife, buy a house, have a baby” and more “try not to be a gigantic twat to anyone today”.

He was fairly pleased with his progress in being less of a twat. He hadn’t been born to be a good or a kind person because certainly none of his family possessed those qualities. He didn’t even become aware that it was an option until he was 11 years old. His youthful attempts at catching up were often abject failures in real decency. He’d been a major twat a time or 50.

He really had gotten better. He didn’t feel like a decent person deep down, but it was certainly what he was aiming to be.

Sirius didn’t really do “responsible” though. He once bought new clothes because he was so rubbish at laundering spells, rather than practicing up on the aforementioned charms. It seemed reasonable to Sirius. He rode a flying motorbike and never found himself compelled to follow the rules in favor of having a good time.

He considered the possibility that Dumbledore was using this as some sort of mission to persuade him into behaving like more of a role model. The only flaw in that theory was that it assumed Dumbledore had reasons for all the things he did. Sometimes he just did things. No one knew why. Including Albus Dumbledore himself.

But reason or no reason, Sirius was stuck with the job and very soon he’d be face to face with his new mentee; Marlene McKinnon of Hufflepuff house, age 16. It was his his job to teach her how The Order works and let her follow him around, watching and learning,for the next month until she went back to Hogwarts.

She’d be entering 7th year. Sirius figured she must’ve gotten bored and restless during the summer or that perhaps her older sisters and brothers going off to fight in wars seemed exciting to someone that young. With four siblings in the order she’d be an obvious recruit after she finished 7th year.

He spotted the line on the file in front of him that stated Marlene wouldn’t even come of age until August 31st.  Generally, The Order wasn’t wild about taking under-age witches and wizards or even of age ones who were still at Hogwarts.

There were exceptions. Sirius found a pondering what made Marlene McKinnon exceptional more interesting than her file as well.

7th years were particularly vulnerable to recruiting from the Death Eaters. Having a 7th year spying for the order and keeping tabs on who had taken the mark and who was likely to to do so was a fairly useful thing for The Order. It had been done before.

But a McKinnon would be ghastly choice for this task.

The McKinnons were a well known wizarding family. All fervent supporters of Muggle Born equality and every one of them (now that their youngest had signed on) was Order affiliated. Sirius didn’t know their exact percentage of Magical ancestry and thought that sort of tedious detail was better saved for people who were vile enough to care. His mother probably would have known.

The McKinnon parents were a black Londoner witch and an Irish wizard. Their five children had slight variations of skin tones in the middle area between their parents. But every one of them had the same hair. It was instantly recognizable, as it was large. Heaps of ringlets that seemed to grow out rather than down. It wouldn’t be hard to spot a McKinnon in a crowd from a broomstick at a distance. Not a great quality for a spy.

So when the girl showed up 20 minutes early with a smile as broad as Hagrid’s shoulders, he didn’t have to ask who she was. This was obviously Marlene McKinnon of Hufflepuff house. She had more freckles than her sister Grace, who’d been in Sirius’s year, but he contended that they looked related.

The beaming impish girl was tiny under all the golden-brown spiral curls. Sirius had encountered taller 2nd years. Her taste in muggle clothes might have made someone else look like a bit of a rebel.  Marlene, on the other hand, looked like a human sunflower who inexplicably enjoys muggle bands with a penchant for profanity.

She’s actually quite pretty.

As soon as he’d had the thought he mentally backtracked and argued with himself over how she wasn’t really beautiful. She might have been more accurately described as cute. Sweet looking. Like a kneazle kitten. She had nothing of the icy untouchable beauty that his own family was known for. Sirius thought maybe that whole concept was overrated anyhow. His deranged cousin Bellatrix may have been one of the great beauties of her generation, but nearly everyone would agree that she was terrifying.

Marlene was anything but terrifying. The only thing Sirius found disconcerting about her was that she was looking at him like Godric Gryffindor come again.

Was she under the influence of a curse? Was she confusing him with someone important? Or just… confused in general?

Sirius was entirely oblivious to the fact that Marlene McKinnon had been looking at him like that for quite a while. She’d considered herself well over it by now, even. But as soon as she walked in she realized that the crush she’d acquired when she was in her 4th year and he in his 7th, was not entirely a thing of the past. Then-14-year-old Marlene had decided that Sirius Black was perhaps the most impressive young wizard she’d ever come into contact with when she heard he’d run away from home and subsequently been disowned for rejecting his family’s blood supremacist ideologies.

She was completely smitten when she found that along with his principles and willingness to stand up for them, he also possessed strikingly handsome good looks. His high contrast coloring and steel grey eyes in combination with his aristocratic bone structure made it hard for Marlene to focus on anything else, even from across the dining hall.

Her siblings who were still at school with her at the time, Grace in 7th year and Lucan in 6th, took notice of her besotted gawking. The sibling pair, who were always closest with each other, did not hesitate to tease their baby sister mercilessly.

Marlene had ended up saying yes to the first boy who expressed an interest in her in 5th year, just to prove to them that she was over her silly crush. She made a noble effort to overlook Reginald Cattermole’s uncanny resemblance to a ferret. Poor sod. Never stood a chance. She got increasingly bored of him during 6th year and gave him the boot officially some months back. And now she was back to square one. Sirius, naturally, hadn’t even been aware of any of this while it was going on.

He thought that no one looked at him like that. Though he liked to think he was quite pleasant to look at (Marlene would concur), in general he was looked upon with suspicion. And that was amongst his allies. There were plenty of witches and wizards who looked at him with complete contempt. But until that very moment Sirius didn’t think anyone had ever looked at him like Marlene McKinnon had from the moment she walked in the front door.

He was really enjoying it.

But why? It was weird. I should stop. She should stop.

“You’re Sirius Black.”

“I am. But I’m afraid you have this whole introductions thing backwards. I already know who I am. You’re meant to tell me who you are. But I’m fairly certain you’re Marlene McKinnon? Am I right?”

“Yes. That’d be me. Errrm… I meant to have introduced myself. Not just gape at you like an idiot, then tell you your own name. And I’m early. That’s...unfortunate. Uh… I’m pretty bad at this. I’m sorry?”

“It’s alright, Marlene. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You’re bad at… what exactly?”

“So many things, really.” She laughed.

Sirius decided that the ability to laugh at herself would come in handy if she was always this strange around people. He actually kind of admired that quality. He was of the opinion that most people took themselves too seriously. It was tedious for him to spend time around people like that. He got the immediate impression that Marlene was anything but tedious.

“Well aren’t we all? I’ve never mentored anyone before and I’m sure I’ll be very disappointing. Truly, I’m sorry that you got stuck with me. You can send complaints to the Potters.”

He thought maybe a small dose of self deprecation would put this little tightly wound ball of nerves a bit more at ease. Looking at her posture was giving him a crick in his neck.

It was also Sirius’s earnest opinion that he would be a terrible mentor. He had no idea what he was even meant to do with her. He felt it was likely that he would forget to feed her or something, like he had done with that goldfish he’d won at that muggle fair.

“Oh no; not at all.” She blurted out as if it were all one word.

As Marlene continued to speak, her words tumbled out at an impressive pace without so much as a pause for breath.

“I was thrilled when I heard you were going to mentor me. I always thought you were so brave, walking away from your family like you did. That must have taken an enormous amount of courage. But I hadn’t seen you since you left school and you are exceptionally good looking and I got distracted and forgot that I was supposed to say my name when I meet a person.”

Sirius did his best not to let his face react in any way while Marlene cycled through approximately 50 facial expressions within the span of a minute.

Sirius wondered what planet was this girl had come from. Grace McKinnon had been fairly Hufflepuffy in his recollection, but she wasn’t the personification of a broom crash when she spoke. But just like a broom crash, Marlene was impossible to look away from. Sirius was transfixed. But he preferred to think that he wasn’t quite terrible enough to have to hold back a laugh at a broom crash.

He was at a loss of anything at all to say. Lucky for him that Marlene, whose embarrassed blush might have been visible from her far off home planet, felt compelled to fill the air with more of her rapid fire words.

“Oh sweet Merlin did I really say that? I’m so so sorry. I think I should probably go. Maybe I’ll tell Dumbledore I’m not cut out for The Order. Maybe I’ll move to Spain and start a new life…”

“That really won’t be necessary. Besides it would reflect pretty poorly on me if my first mentee ran away to Spain after meeting me once. So I must object. You’ll be great with The Order. Your heart is in it. It must be. You’ve still got a year of school left but here you are.”

“I thought maybe I could help. Everyone’s so scared. You-know-who is gaining ground. I’d rather be part of something that stops him than sit idle and be scared.”

“See, you do belong here. Please don’t run away to Spain. I’m sure your brothers and sisters would miss you terribly.”

“I suppose they might. A bit. Well, maybe not Gawain. But the rest. Do you know them?”

“I was in Grace’s year. We’ve never been close but she seems like a lovely person. You look a lot like her. You all look alike. Gawain too. What’s wrong with Gawain?”

Marlene did look like all the other McKinnons. But Sirius had never given more the conventional looking Grace a second glance and if he had glanced any more at Marlene it would have constituted a full on ogling.

He reminded himself that he shouldn’t look at her like that. She was someone he’d have to see every day for a month. Then possibly work with in the future. He didn’t dip into that pool. It was needlessly messy, when he was Sirius Black and was not lacking in options.

Marlene had just called him exceptionally good looking which, while true, was not something he expected people to announce at random. So by doing that she confused his brain into considering the ways which she was attractive, or would be, if the circumstances were different. Or that was the mental gymnastics he performed to excuse his giving her the once over, anyway.

“Gawain’s terribly embarrassed by me. I’m… pretty embarrassing. So I don’t really blame him. But we aren’t particularly close.”

“I have a thing or two to teach him about what it’s really like to have embarrassing relatives. Did you know that my first cousin tells people that she’s the Dark Lord’s mistress? You’re not embarrassing. I… look forward to working with you.”

All the impulses Sirius felt towards Marlene felt wrong and contrary to the image he attempted to portray to the world. He was supposed to be blazé about people’s opinions of him. Self confident and cool. He felt anything but cool when intentionally bringing up Bella’s terrible taste in men. Could Voldemort even really be called a man at this point? He looked… not entirely human. Sirius idly wondered if he had all the working bits. But he would not go as so far as to make any inquiries into the matter.

Marlene looked so anxious. Her nervous fingers played with the ripped hem of her too-big shirt. As endearing as her nervous fidgeting was, Sirius wanted to make her feel more at ease.

But why should he care if she’s awkward? Probably that was just her. Why was he making himself uncomfortable in efforts to make her less so? He didn’t do that. He especially didn’t do that for skinny 16 year old Hufflepuffs with huge hair and school girl crushes.

But he did. And he continued to, even as he thought about how he didn’t.

“So you think she’s not his mistress but she tells people that she is? That’s. Wow. I can’t think of many things more embarrassing than that. Actually being his mistress would be less pathetic, at least.”

Her sunny smile was back. Sirius felt a small sense of victory before she averted her gaze down to her yellow-stitched boots.

“I don’t know. I mean that’s my theory. But I don’t keep a sneekoscope in he-who-must-not-be-named’s bedroom.”

“Do you think he even has a bedroom? You know I’ve never before this moment thought of him being a person who does mundane things such as sleep or shag your cousin. But he must, right? He can’t possibly devote every moment of his life to terrorizing and murdering. Do you think he does his own shopping?”

“He probably has his minions do it or else a house elf, but now I really wish he did do it himself. I like the mental image it creates. He’d need breaks from reigning terror for a few hours on Thursday afternoon, because he needs to stock up on fresh produce. Can you picture the poor shopkeeper, totally gobsmacked?”

“You make jokes about He-who-must-not-be-laughed-at too. Gawain would be so scandalized.”  

The pair were having quite a laugh at the expense of the most dangerous dark wizard alive. They were both sure that this was going to be fun. Sirius decided that he needed some fun in his life now that James and Lily were busy with their baby.  

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

 Smash bang killed her in the first chapter BUT who killed her? Then, 25 years later her BFF is called in and told that new evidence has popped up after a boot, boot of the deceased cold case, has popped up. So, Maggie, laden and ready, nearly, to pop out her first born takes on the cold case of, “Who killed Eve?”

 At this point I have to admit I promised to do a Book Review and Blog Post so…am taking a break from the riveting reading to post the review (not finished) and tell you why you should read this book.

 What I like (so far):

* Maggie, she seems to be on the job, in the marriage, willing to do what it takes to solve the mystery of who killed Eve 25 years before

* Shaun: I think…haven’t seen enough of him yet BUT as a farmer and someone that Maggie is with…he probably is a good guy

* The writing – well done and can’t get back to the story

* That this is a cold case that might be solved with the use of DNA trace evidence on items saved from a previous crime scene

* Plenty of red herrings

* Wanting to get back to the story even though I should probably go to bed

 What I did not like

* That Eve had to die to make this book happen, and that she suffered so much

* That the bad guy got away with the murder for almost three decades

* That I have not finished the book yet so have to return so I can find out what happened.

 Did/Do I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Will I finish the book? Yes…at least I hope to!

 Thank you to NetGalley and HQN-Park Row Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

 4 Stars

BLURB

With the eccentricity of Fargo and the intensity of Sadie, THIS IS HOW I LIED by Heather Gudenkauf (Park Row Books; May 12, 2020; $17.99) is a timely and gripping thriller about careless violence we can inflict on those we love, and the lengths we will go to make it right, even 25 years later.

Tough as nails and seven months pregnant, Detective Maggie Kennedy-O’Keefe of Grotto PD, is dreading going on desk duty before having the baby her and her husband so badly want. But when new evidence is found in the 25-year-old cold case of her best friend’s murder that requires the work of a desk jockey, Maggie jumps at the opportunity to be the one who finally puts Eve Knox’s case to rest.

Maggie has her work cut out for her. Everyone close to Eve is a suspect. There’s Nola, Eve’s little sister who’s always been a little... off; Nick, Eve’s ex-boyfriend with a vicious temper; a Schwinn riding drifter who blew in and out of Grotto; even Maggie’s husband Sean, who may have known more about Eve’s last day than he’s letting on. As Maggie continues to investigate, the case comes closer and closer to home, forcing her to confront her own demons before she can find justice for Eve.

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EXCERPT

Maggie Kennedy-O'Keefe

Monday, June 15, 2020

As I slide out of my unmarked police car my swollen belly briefly gets wedged against the steering wheel. Sucking in my gut does little good but I manage to move the seat back and squeeze past the wheel. I swing my legs out the open door and glance furtively around the parking lot behind the Grotto Police Department to see if anyone is watching.

Almost eight months pregnant with a girl and not at my most graceful. I'm not crazy about the idea of one of my fellow officers seeing me try to pry myself out of this tin can. The coast appears to be clear so I begin the little ritual of rocking back and forth trying to build up enough momentum to launch myself out of the driver's seat.

Once upright, I pause to catch my breath. The morning dew is already sending up steam from the weeds growing out of the cracked concrete. Sweating, I slowly make my way to the rear entrance of the Old Gray Lady, the nickname for the building we're housed in. Built in the early 1900s, the first floor consists of the lobby, the finger printing and intake center, a community room, interview rooms and the jail. The second floor, which once held the old jail is home to the squad room and offices. The dank, dark basement holds a temperamental boiler and the department archives.

The Grotto Police Department has sixteen sworn officers that includes the chief, two lieutenants, a K-9 patrol officer, nine patrol officers, a school resource officer and two detectives. I'm detective number two.

I grew up in Grotto, a small river town of about ten thousand that sits among a circuitous cave system known as Grotto Caves State Park, the most extensive in Iowa. Besides being a favorite destination spot for families, hikers and spelunkers, Grotto is known for its high number of family owned farms – a dying breed. My husband Shaun and I are part of that breed – we own an apple orchard and tree farm.

"Pretty soon we're going to have to roll you in," an irritatingly familiar voice calls out from behind me.

I don't bother turning around. "Francis, that wasn't funny the first fifty times you said it and it still isn't," I say as I scan my key card to let us in.

Behind me, Pete Francis, rookie officer and all-around caveman grabs the door handle and in a rare show of chivalry opens it so I can step through. "You know I'm just joking," Francis says giving me the grin that all the young ladies in Grotto seem to find irresistible but just gives me another reason to roll my eyes.

"With the wrong person, those kinds of jokes will land you in sensitivity training," I remind him.

"Yeah, but you're not the wrong person, right?" he says seriously, "You're cool with it?"

I wave to Peg behind the reception desk and stop at the elevator and punch the number two button. The police department only has two levels but I'm in no mood to climb up even one flight of stairs today. "Do I look like I'm okay with it?" I ask him.

Francis scans me up and down. He takes in my brown hair pulled back in a low bun, wayward curls springing out from all directions, my eyes red from lack of sleep, my untucked shirt, the fabric stretched tight against my round stomach, my sturdy shoes that I think are tied, but I can't know for sure because I can't see over my boulder-sized belly.

"Sorry," he says appropriately contrite and wisely decides to take the stairs rather than ride the elevator with me.

"You’re forgiven," I call after him.  As I step on the elevator to head up to my desk, I check my watch. My appointment with the chief is at eight and though he didn't tell me what the exact reason is for this meeting I think I can make a pretty good guess.

It can't be dictated as to when I have to go on light duty, seven months into my pregnancy, but it's probably time. I'm guessing that Chief Digby wants to talk with me about when I want to begin desk duty or take my maternity leave. I get it.

It's time I start to take it easy. I’ve either been the daughter of a cop or a cop my entire life but I’m more than ready to set it aside for a while and give my attention, twenty-four-seven to the little being inhabiting my uterus.

Shaun and I have been trying for a baby for a long, long time. And thousands of dollars and dozens of procedures later, when we finally found out we were pregnant, Shaun started calling her peanut because the only thing I could eat for the first nine weeks without throwing up was peanut butter sandwiches. The name stuck.

This baby is what we want more than anything in the world but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm a little bit scared. I’m used to toting around a sidearm not an infant.

The elevator door opens to a dark paneled hallway lined with ten by sixteen framed photos of all the men who served as police chief of Grotto over the years. I pass by eleven photos before I reach the portrait of my father. Henry William Kennedy, 1995 - 2019, the plaque reads.

While the other chiefs stare out from behind the glass with serious expressions, my dad smiles showing his straight, white teeth. He was so proud when he was named chief of police. We were all proud, except maybe my older brother, Colin. God knows what Colin thought of it. As a teenager he was pretty self-absorbed, but I guess I was too, especially after my best friend died. I went off the rails for a while but here I am now. A Grotto PD detective, following in my dad’s footsteps. I think he’s proud of me too. At least when he remembers.

Last time I brought my dad back here to visit, we walked down this long corridor and paused at his photo. For a minute I thought he might make a joke, say something like, Hey, who's that good looking guy? But he didn't say anything. Finding the right words is hard for him now. Occasionally, his frustration bubbles over and he yells and sometimes even throws things which is hard to watch. My father has always been a very gentle man.

The next portrait in line is our current police chief, Les Digby. No smile on his tough guy mug. He was hired a month ago, taking over for Dexter Stroope who acted as the interim chief after my dad retired. Les is about ten years older than I am, recently widowed with two teenage sons. He previously worked for the Ransom Sheriff’s Office and I'm trying to decide if I like him. Jury's still out.

  Excerpted from This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf, Copyright © 2020 by Heather Gudenkauf

Published by Park Row Books

AUTHOR BIO

Heather Gudenkauf is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many books, including The Weight of Silence and These Things Hidden. Heather graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in elementary education, has spent her career working with students of all ages. She lives in Iowa with her husband, three children, and a very spoiled German Shorthaired Pointer named Lolo. In her free time, Heather enjoys spending time with her family, reading, hiking, and running.

Q&A

1.         What is your writing process like?

I approach each of my novels with the goal of being a plotter – someone who explicitly organizes and outlines her books – but it never quite works out that way for me. I make notes and outline the plot but ultimately the characters take over and do what they want to anyway. My process is messy and meandering. Thankfully, I have a brilliant editor who is able to see through the weeds and pull out the best parts of my plots and keep me on the right path. This is How I Lied completely evolved from my initial intentions. The characters changed, the plot shifted and the final ending poked its head up near the end of revisions and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

   2.         Which came first: the characters or plot line?

For me, the two go hand in hand. The basic plot line comes first, and close behind comes the characters. It doesn’t matter how suspenseful of a plot I develop, if the right characters aren’t there to mold the story and carry it forward, it won’t work. Before I begin writing, I attempt to give my characters rich backstories. Often many of these details don’t make into the novel, but by fully developing their personalities and biographies, it helps keep me in tune with them as I write. Knowing the characters’ likes and dislikes, their foibles and strengths helps me to honestly and accurately determine their motivations and the decisions they make as they move through the novel.

   3.         How do you come up with your plots?

I’m a news junkie! I’ll scan newspapers and websites and a story will catch my eye. It can be the smallest detail or a broader theme but if the idea sticks with me and keeps harassing me to write about it, I know I’m on the right track. For my novel Little Mercies, it was an article about a social worker who ended up on the other side of the justice system because of alleged negligence with her caseload. From this I created an entirely new story about a social worker who was fighting for her own child. In This is How I Lied, I was intrigued by news stories that dealt with the use of familial DNA to solve cold cases and it became a key detail in the novel’s resolution.

 4.         Do you use music to help set a mood/tone for your books?

I do listen to music as I write. It varies based on the story and what I think the characters might listen to. By curating these playsets, it helps me get into their mindset. As I worked on Maggie’s sections in This is How I Lied I listened to a lot of Avett Brothers and Lumineers. For Nola, I listened to classical music and hard rock – she’s an interesting mix. As for Eve, since she was sixteen years old and living in the 90s, I listened to plenty of Nirvana and Beck.

 5.         Where did the idea for this story come from?

 Before I started writing This is How I Lied, I read I’ll be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara, about the author’s investigation of The Golden State Killer who, for decades, terrorized northern California. This book both terrified and fascinated me and I became intrigued by how modern technology was being used to close old cold cases. For my project, I thought it would be interesting to explore how this might play out in a small town where the perpetrator thought the truth behind the crime would never be discovered.

 As I was writing the novel, I learned about the developments in a 40-year-old cold case not far from where I live where familial DNA was used to ultimately convict the killer. Amazing!

  6.         Do you find inspiration for your novels in your personal life?

I often get asked what my childhood must have been like because of the twisty thrillers I write. Thankfully, I can say that I had a blissfully uneventful childhood with parents and siblings that loved and supported me. For me, the inspiration from my own life comes in the settings of my novels – the Mississippi River, farmland, the woods and bluffs – all found in Iowa. In This is How I Lied, the town of Grotto is loosely based on a nearby town until I moved to this part of Iowa, I never realized that we had cave systems.  Visitors to the state park, can literally step back thousands of years. The limestone caves and bluffs are beautiful, haunting and have something for everyone. You can take a casual stroll through some of the caves and have to army crawl through some of the others. Old clothes and a flashlight are a must! The caves made the perfect backdrop for a thriller and I was excited to include them in This is How I Lied.

 7.         What is the one personality trait that you like your main characters to have and why?

In looking back at all my main characters, though they are all different ages and come from different walks of life, I think the trait that they all seem to have in common is perseverance. I’ve had characters battle human evil and demons of their own creation but it doesn’t matter what traumatic events they have been through or the challenges they will face, they manage to make it through. Changed for sure, but intact and hopeful for the future.

 8.         Why do you love Maggie and why should readers root for her?

I do love Maggie! As a police detective, Maggie has dedicated her adult life to helping others and is a loving daughter, sister and wife and is expecting her first child. This doesn’t mean that Maggie is perfect. Like all of my protagonists, Maggie is complicated and flawed and has made some big mistakes, but ultimately she is doing the best that she can.

 9.         What is one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you?

As a former elementary school teacher, I had absolutely no insights into the publishing world beyond what I saw on television and in movies – which portrayed it as a dog-eat-dog world. I have to admit, as a new author, I was very intimidated. But to my delight -  and relief - the people I’ve encountered along the way– my agent, editors, publishing teams, fellow authors, booksellers and readers – all have been nothing but supportive, encouraging and kind.

 10.       What is coming up next for you?

I just finished the first draft of my next novel, a locked-room mystery about a reclusive writer working on a true crime book when a snow storm leaves her trapped inside her remote home, setting off a series of events that lead to a stunning revelation. It was so much fun to write!

 11.       Has quarantine been better or worse for your writing?

It’s been such a scary, unsettling time but I’ve found writing a nice distraction and a great comfort during this extended time at home. I’ve been able to turn off the news and get lost in my manuscript or other writing projects. It’s a lot like reading – a much needed escape from the real world.

 12.       What was your last 5 star read?

Julia Heaberlin has a new book coming out this August called We Are All the Same in the Dark and it has surged to the top as one of my favorite reads of the year. It has everything I love in a great thriller: a beautifully written small town mystery, with multilayered, unforgettable characters and a twisty plot. It was absolutely mesmerizing.

Social Links:

Author Website

Twitter: @hgudenkauf

Instagram: @heathergudenkauf

Facebook: @HeatherGudenkaufAuthor

Goodreads

THIS IS HOW I LIED

Author: Heather Gudenkauf

ISBN: 9780778309703

Publication Date: May 12, 2020

Publisher: Park Row