Saturday 24 December 2016

Blood in the Snow

Murder, mayhem and magic.

The Guardian - Blood in the Snow

When an ancient curse strikes down someone close to Philip and Fern, they are drawn into a terrifying adventure in Norway where they discover a man that cannot die, a secretive murder cult and must race against time to save a life.

Meanwhile, the police are closing in on Philip for a murder he didn't commit and his djinn demands that he give up control over his own body, leaving him potentially a silent observer in his own head.

Blood in the Snow is the second in the Guardian series, and reveals more of the secret lore of the djinn, and the secret history of mankind.



Wednesday 14 December 2016

Northlore Volume II has arrived

The second installment in the Northlore Series is out now.



Over a period of 400 years, Christianity came to the Scandinavians, sometimes at the point of a sword. Slowly it spread, until only small pockets of the old religion persisted. The gods of the North understood their time had come. They withdrew from the world, disappearing into the realm of myth. But they did not die. This is their story: Mythos

Three books, three themes, one vision; The Northlore Series.

Monday 7 November 2016

Updates from the North

It has been a while since I posted anything, but now there is much to say.

As Editor in Chief of Nordland Publishing, I have the honour of being involved in some stellar projects. In addition, I am a member of a local writing group in Oslo (the Oslo Writer's League) and we have a new book being launched.

So, the first news is the announcement of my story, "Night Folk" which is appearing in Some Shape of Beauty, the fourth release from the OWLs. This book, as are all the OWL publications, is a great vehicle for enabling new authors to get their name in print. The quality of the writing is very high, and as there are some 200 members in the group, you can imagine that the selection process has to be, well, selective!

The book is launched on November 10th, and I will be there to help promote and generally give it a good sendoff. All proceeds from the book go to the charity Redd Barna (Save the Children) so it is both a good book and a worthy cause.

The launch will take place at Grunnerløka library, a lovely old building, with a great presence.




Monday 22 August 2016

Virtual FantasyCon’s Blog Hunt Welcomes Elizabeth Noble

Hi, I’m, author MJ Kobernus of the Guardian series, and I’m your host for this stop in the Hunt.
If you would like to find out more about the Hunt, please click here - http://vfcscavengerhunt.weebly.com/
Somewhere on this page is a hidden number. Collect all the numbers from all the authors’ posts, and then add them up. Once you’ve added all the numbers, and if I am your last author, please head to the official website and click on the ENTER HERE page to find the entry form. Only entries with the correct number will qualify to win.

The author I’m pleased to be hosting for Virtual FantasyCon’s Blog Hop Hunt today is Elizabeth Noble.

Code Name Jack Rabbit by Elizabeth Noble

Series: The Vampire Guard
Book Number: One
Publisher: DSP Publications ( https://www.dsppublications.com/ )
Release Date: July Twelfth, Two thousand and sixteen
ISBN-13:  978-1-63476-894-8
Pages: Two Hundred
Tag Line: Where Legend and Myth Meet Science and Technology
Genre: Urban Fantasy/SciFi/Thriller

Blurb:

Meet the newest members of the Vampire Guard, where legend and myth meet science and technology. Jonas Forge, vampire. Once a spy and soldier, now a cop, Forge enjoys the life he’s built with his friends in Flint, Ohio. Blair Turner, PhD. Blair, a vampire and computer hacker with exceptional skills, shares a powerful empathic bond with Forge, his soulmate. Declan, vampire, ex-pirate, ex-fur trapper, thief, and con man. Declan is Forge’s former lover and soulmate to Lucas Coate. Lucas Coate, MD, Flint’s medical examiner. A werewolf living amongst vampires, Lucas is also one of Forge’s best friends. Their lives become complicated when an impending presidential visit throws them headlong into a world of high tech vampire spies and espionage. Recruited into the Vampire Guard by the secret society of the Akhkharu Nasaru, they uncover a werewolf terrorist organization known as the Qiguan. Together they must thwart a murder attempt on the open waters of Lake Superior while tracking a previously unknown biological weapon controlled by the Qiquan—a weapon that may very well mean death for one of them.


Excerpt:

Lucas decided it was his good luck—no, it was a real blessing—neither Declan nor Forge could read his mind. Right now he wanted to kill them both. Lucas could do it too. Ten minutes wolfed out was all he needed. Vampires might be faster, but werewolves were stronger.

Being in a surveillance van with three vampires wasn’t the fun and excitement one might expect it to be. Lucas liked Kai, but he was sure Ori would agree that in this circumstance, Kai would have to die too.

Forge was pacing, at least as well as a man could inside a van with three other decently sized men. Lucas was leaning against one side, gazing at a camera feed, and doing his best to stay out of the way and not strangle Forge.

Declan put both hands on Forge’s shoulders and said, “Jonas, he’ll be fine.”

“He’s never done anything like this.” Forge turned and stared at the monitor. “Damn, I wish I could see him and not just hear him.”

“Jonas, it’s a pizza parlor, and she’s a research scientist. What the hell can she do to him?” Declan asked. Forge and Kai both turned to look at him. Declan heaved a sigh and shoved Forge into the seat beside Kai. “Relax. You can hear every word they say and feel what Blair feels. If anything goes wrong, you’ll know it practically before he does. You and I muddled through information collection with far less support and lived.” Declan rolled his eyes and focused on Lucas.

“I should go out there and back him up. In case.” Forge started to stand, but Lucas helped Declan push him back down.

“In case of what? They run out of pepperoni?” Lucas asked.

“She might recognize you,” Kai said. “You’re the head detective of this town. There is no need to take the risk someone will recognize you and blow everything. Besides, when making contact with someone with the express purpose of entering some sort of relationship with them, having your bond mate hanging around a few feet away is a bad idea.”

“He speaks from experience,” Ori chimed in and chuckled.

“You all do realize I can hear you, right?” Blair’s voice was crisp and clear coming from the speaker.

“Heads up. There she is. She’s about to walk through the door,” Kai said. He pointed to the monitor. “Got to love predictable people.”





Book Two of The Vampire Guard, Quarry, will be available for pre-order from DSP Publications on October Seventeen, Two thousand and sixteen.  http://bit.ly/1UKdyvj

Author bio:



Elizabeth Noble lives by the adage “I can’t not write”. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t make up stories and eventually she learned how to write them down. A part of every day is spent living in worlds she created that are filled with intrigue and espionage.  Using a real love of scifi and urban fantasy highlighted by twisty plots she crafts stories taking place in a slightly altered version of our world.

When she’s not chronicling the 11 adventures of her many characters Elizabeth is a veterinary nurse living in her native Cleveland, Ohio. She shares her little brick house with an adorable canine princess and her tabby cat sidekick. Elizabeth is a fan of baseball, basketball (go Cavs and Indians!) and gardening. She can often be found working in her ‘outside office’ listening to classic rock and plotting her next novel waiting for it to be dark enough to gaze at the stars.

Elizabeth received several amateur writing awards. Since being published two of her novels have received honorable mentions in the Rainbow Awards. Her novel Jewel Cave was a runner up in the 2015 Rainbow awards in the Gay Mystery/Thriller category.

Please visit Elizabeth Noble at:
The Vampire Guard website: http://bit.ly/232TyHH
Emotion in Motion: http://www.elizabeth-noble.com
Facebook group: On the Patio with Elizabeth Noble:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1551582581800123/
Twitter: @elizabethnoble1

Elizabeth’s direct email is: elizabeth.noble19@gmail.com
Visit The Vampire Guard: The Vampire Guard website: http://bit.ly/232TyHH
Email members of The Vampire Guard: jr.vampx@gmail.com

Buy Links: DSP Publications eBook: http://bit.ly/1NM4nuB 
DSP Publications Paperback: http://bit.ly/1NlAC3U
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1TdMHdG 
Kobo: http://bit.ly/29SNXkF
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/296qcnm
OmniLit: http://bit.ly/1Yyxfaf

 Did you find the number? If you did, then click Elizabeth Noble’s link – http://elizabeth-noble-thevampireguard.weebly.com/ to continue Virtual FantasyCon’s Blog Hop Hunt.

Tuesday 12 July 2016

Musings on the origins of Prometheus

I wrote an article for Renegade Revolution on the origins of the movie, Prometheus. Like practically everything I write, there are references to ancient texts, the Bible and Greek myth.

Find out the roots that even Ridley Scott never suspected.


Thursday 7 July 2016

Hot off the press

I like to experiment with different ways to be 'seen' by the wider world. I have tried many forums, peer review sites, platforms for sharing writing (wattpad and others) and just about anything that I find.

Some months back, I published two short stories for free on Smashwords. They got a modicum of attention, with over 700 downloads between them. Not bad, I suppose. But they did not lead to any sales of my novel, so while my 'name' may be slightly better known, it did not really do anything for me.
UNTIL NOW.
I have just received a contract to convert my short story, Salvage, into an audio drama. This will be professionally made, with voice actors, sound effects and so on.
It is quite and exciting idea, and I look forward to hearing it.
So, I just wanted to share that, but also stress that self promotion works, even when it does not appear to be doing anything. The more you have 'out there' the better a chance someone has of finding you.
You hardly need to be Confucius to figure that out, but hey....

Wednesday 22 June 2016

Salvage and Hunted are marching on

A little while back, I published a couple of short stories on Smashwords. The idea was to use these as an introduction both to my work, and to a novel that I am writing.

The stores are science fiction, and relate to Mankind's first meeting with an intelligent species that is not only as aggressive as we are, but more advanced.

You can download these stories for free (or you can go to Amazon and get them for 99 cents.) I suggest free, since that is what I intended, in spite of Amazon's business model.

Interest in the stories has been good, with a combined total approaching 700 downloads now. I hope to see it hit 1000 by the end of the year, so by all means go get them for yourself, if you do not already have them.

Click the pictures to go to Smashwords.


Friday 13 May 2016

A very personal affliction - GAS

This is something of an embarrassing admission; I have gas. Well, let me clarify. What I actually have is G.A.S. or Guitar Acquisition Syndrome. It sounds like a sickness, and believe me, it can be a genuine affliction.
Those of us who suffer from GAS are clinically incapable of logic, reason, or plain common sense when it comes to the object of our desires. Now, just to be clear, it is not any old guitar that will have our hearts palpitating and saliva drooling down our chins. It has to have that certain 'je nais se quoi.' That little bit of magic that makes it impossible to put down. We want to possess their history, their beauty, their soul. To have our very own Precious.
I suppose I have always known I was susceptible. When I was young, I watched everything by the Beatles. I loved Lennon's Rickenbacker and wanted a black and white guitar just like his. Later, when I started to play, I had a piss poor acoustic ordered from a catalogue. It was likely a Kay 6 steel string. All laminate and with an action so bad you could use the strings for a high wire act. I bled for that guitar. Quite literally. As Ringo once said, "I've got blisters on me fingers."
In time, you toughen up. And when that happens, maybe it's time to get something better than the cheese cutter menace you’ve been learning on. Like most kids, I wanted to upgrade. This is a pretty common attitude for any guitar student, and many will trade up as quickly as they can. Most people aspire to own a Gibson or a Fender. Those who are a bit 'fringe' might want a Mosrite or Rickenbacker. But when you are young and starting out on your musical career those are pipe dreams. What you get is an old Teisco del Ray, or perhaps a Columbus Les Paul. These look like real guitars, but they have dodgy wiring, scratchy pots and pickups that cut in and out.
As a child of the 70s, those were the axes we traded. We played Iron Man and Smoke on the Water, and thought we were cool. We weren’t. Cool was reserved for the kid who had the Fender Squier Telecaster. And while we all looked down our noses at it, because it was not a proper Fender, at least it stayed in tune and it certainly looked good. In 1982, that would have been an original JV series guitar. Worth a small fortune today if he had kept it. But of course, I can pretty much guarantee he did not. None of us kept our first guitars. We traded and sold them as fast as we could. We begged, stole and borrowed to get better instruments, always striving for the ultimate, which for me was a Gibson SG.
I had a lot of guitars in my teens. Some of them are now very collectible. I still pang for some that I have loved and lost. One notable memory is my Vox Standard 25, one of the heaviest guitars I have ever owned. It was made in Japan by the Matsumoko company, who also made guitars for Aria,
Washburn, Epiphone and many more. It had a maple body, with a black finish. Its three DiMarzio FS-1 pickups and maple neck made this guitar a Strat killer.
I was really not very good at that time. Like most seventeen year olds, I thought that if I could play Stairway to Heaven that meant I was as good as Jimmy Page. A collective delusion that a good many novice guitarists seem to suffer.
I sold the Vox, and bought a Kramer DMZ 2000. If you do not know what that is, I urge you to take a look at them. It combines an aluminum and wood neck, with a forked headstock and a heavenly body made from maple and walnut with DiMarzio pickups and a Badass bridge. Again, a very collectible guitar due to its seriously awesome nature and rarity today, and if I could afford it, I would have one.
There have been other guitars over the years. So many, it is hard to keep track. At one time, I even owned the very same model guitars that John, Paul and George had begun their careers with. To whit: A Gallotone Champion, an Egmond, and a Zenith Model 17. Most likely these guitars were not from the same year of manufacture as those owned by the Fab three, but who cared? I was almost a Beatle! I sold those guitars to a friend in the US who, like me, was a huge fan. Sadly, he died not long after getting them. I still cherish the note he sent me, thanking me for helping him achieve one of his dreams.
I was 17 when I got one of my all-time favorite guitars, an Ibanez M310 I called 'Blondie.' This is a lovely model, with a beautifully patterned flame maple back and sides and a solid spruce top. I carried this guitar all over the world, and have played it while sailing on the river Nile, on a rooftop in Jerusalem, in Cologne Cathedral and a boat on the Chesapeake Bay. In 2001, I sold it to a colleague in the US, before moving to Norway. It broke my heart to see it go, but we needed as much money as we could get to fund the move.
Years later, the M310 had become a hole in my heart. I tried to fill the aching void, so I bought a Gibson SG with P90s, and a Baachus Les Paul with a quilted top, and a 1973 Gibson Les Paul as well as numerous other guitars. I had finally arrived at a place where those big brand name guitars could now be mine. But somehow, they did not satisfy. I found myself frequently watching the auctions, looking for I don't know what.
Eventually these top of the line guitars went the same way as the rest, sold and traded. In the end, I had just one guitar left. A 1973 Ibanez Strat.
For some years, that was how it was. Just one guitar. Then along came the chance to purchase an acoustic from a singer and performer in the UK that I admired, and I jumped at it. Hello Simon & Patrick Cedar 6. This became my main axe for a goodly while. Then along came a Terada Hummingbird. A lovely guitar, with great tone and great looks. Then, during a vacation to Florida, I re-acquired Blondie, the Ibanez M310 I bought in my teens. It had been over 15 years since I had last seen her, and she was, once again, mine. That makes me both her second and fourth owner!
My most recent purchase is a very clean, vintage Ibanez Concord. It is a model 65. I am not sure
about the age, but it is obviously 1970s and is a fine instrument.
The GAS comes and goes. I find there are long periods, years even, when I do not browse the auction sites or search the classifieds. But when the hunger is upon me, I become a raging beast, a man, driven by urges he cannot control. It can be a hard thing to have GAS.
Still, it could be worse. I suspect that my wife may have S.A.S. Shoe Acquisition Syndrome!

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Monday 9 May 2016

Best Cover at BookGarage

My short story, Salvage, won best book cover in the category Sci-Fi at the BookGarage. This is a lovely surprise, and is greatly appreciated. The e-book can be downloaded for free from Smashwords, or for 99 cents at Amazon (go figure).


For those interested in the cover, it reflects a scene from the story as a shuttle approaches one of the Arcs, humanity's last hope of survival.

It was made by Ashraf Shalaby, a freelance graphic artist. If you want to know more, just drop me a line....

Thursday 5 May 2016

Aphra Behn and a Planet full of Apes

For those with a more literary bent, this might be interesting. Is there a link between Aphra Behn, and a planet full of apes? You will find the answer at Renegade-Revolution.

Monday 18 April 2016

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS – BENDING GENDERS, SEXUAL POLITICS AND HEINLEIN

I recently read a discussion on Goodreads about Heinlein. I would not go so far as to say that it incensed me, but it certainly made me think. And when I think, I often write.

The result is an article, published by Renegade Revolution, about Heinlein's writing and his characterization of women. Take a look. You will be glad you did. Click the picture for the full story.


Wednesday 30 March 2016

A very modern stigma

There is a very real stigma attached to the concept of self-publishing, and many people will denigrate a self-published book due to the perceived amateur nature of its production. Complaints are typically aimed at failures in proper editing and proofing, while another major bugbear is that of the design of the books interior, with excessively wide indents, poor font choice and other typographical issues. And don’t get me started on covers!

I will be honest and say that there is a very good reason for this unfortunate stigma, however, in the early days of any new industry, and that is exactly what this is, there is likely to be a good deal of rushed, not quite ready for market products. I believe that as the industry matures, this will sort itself out and quality levels will rise. This has happened with many new industries in the past, and I believe that the self-publishing market will follow that trend, as more and more self-publishing writers develop professional standards.

However, there will likely always be some people who will claim that traditional publishing, such as with an established company (one of the 'big four') will be a better and a more certain arbiter of a book being good, right and proper. Traditional publishing, they will claim, means quality.

Well, they say that if you do not know your history, you are doomed to repeat it. So let's take a little walk back in time and examine the truth of that assumption.

Traditionally, publishing was a free for all that allowed anyone with a few shillings to have a print run of their play or poem, or, as often as not, someone else's play or poem, to be printed, in limited numbers. These would then be sold on the street or through any number of businesses. In her paper, 'Print Peddling and Urban Culture in Renaissance Italy,' Rosa Salzburg remarks on how printed wares were available not only from members of the printing guilds, but also from merchants of many other types, including, in at least one case, a butcher. Now, this was in the 16th century, so evidently, self-publishing has a long history.

It would seem that regulating the production and sale of printed material in the early days was difficult, and amateurs competed directly with the guilds. Of course, over time, the printing guilds exercised more and more power, forcing writers to produce their work only through guild members and eliminating any non-accredited competition.

In Shakespeare's time, publishing houses as we know them did not yet exist. In London, the yard of St. Paul's church was the center of printed wares, and many vendors set up shop to meet the growing demand that the public had for plays, homilies, poems, and all manner of texts. In 1593, finding himself a bit short of cash, Shakespeare self-published a long poem, Venus and Adonis. He then sold this in the yard at St. Pauls, alongside many another self-published writer, and pocketed the profit. Evidently, this worked out quite well for him, as he repeated the experiment in 1594 with another poem, the Rape of Lucrece. These were the only printed materials we know of that that Shakespeare personally oversaw. Few would condemn this early self-publishing effort from the world's greatest writer, yet that was exactly what it was.

Before his death, 19 of Shakespeare's plays had appeared in folio. These were all branded as fraudulent by the editors of the first official collection of Shakespeare's works, Heminge and Condell. In the preface, they wrote of "diverse stolen and surreptitious copies, maimed and deformed by the frauds of injurious imposters that expos'd them." These early quartos are indeed seriously flawed, and clearly do not demonstrate the hand of the Bard himself. Pirated books are, of course, still an issue, more so than ever in fact, but that is the topic of another discussion.

While Shakespeare holds a preeminent place in the canon of western literature, and rightly so, the fact that he self-published his own work, rather than trust it to any member of the printers’ guild to handle for him, leads me to some interesting questions.

Did he want to ensure the quality level met his standards? Was he concerned that his work would be treated as just another 'job' and not given the proper attention it deserved? Did he resent paying more for a service that he could do as well, or better? And did he resent losing money to a guild that did very little, other than subject entrepreneurs to their control?

My feeling is a resounding yes to all the above.

Are these questions relevant for authors today? I believe they are. Far from being the last bastion of good taste and surety of quality, traditional publishing is excessively slow, highly conservative, and extraordinarily costly for the author. There is, no question, a degree of satisfaction to be derived from being signed to a traditional publishing house, but once your ego has been sufficiently stroked, surely it will matter to you how your book is treated. The editing, the marketing the cover design should all fit with your vision of your work. Yet, the writer has little or no influence over these decisions.

Naturally, a compromise is likely. I think that this is already occurring as independent publishers are on the rise. These are small publishing houses with a personal interest in your work, who see the value in your vision, and who will go to great lengths to realise it. Sure, there is always a bottom line, but they can get you to market faster, will collaborate rather than dictate, and they provide much higher percentages in terms of royalties. It is certainly the case they their reach may not be as far as their gaze, but what they lack in market share is more than made up for by enthusiasm and the care in which they treat your work. If that is not the case, then another publisher might be the way to go. Or none at all.

Self-publishing does not have to be a one person act. They say it takes a village, and writing a book is no different. You can find help in many places, but some things need to be professionally handled. Editing and cover design are two areas where one should not try to take short cuts. Finding the right people to work with is vital, but if you line up the right team behind you, your work need not be tarnished by any stigma.

For my own books, I hire a freelance editor. I hire a freelance cover designer. I do all the interior design work myself. I am proud to self-publish. Better to be your own boss than merely a small cog in someone else's wheel. Or, as Khan himself said, "Better to rule in Hell, than to serve in Heaven."

Now, pass me my pitchfork.

Sunday 27 March 2016

The Guardian - Blood in the Snow

I am currently working with a small group who are proofing the manuscript of Snow. In a few short weeks it will be ready for final revisions. At which point, it is just a question of choosing a date for release.

I am considering June, in order to hopefully take advantage of the possibility of good weather, since I feel it would be great to hold the book launch outdoors. Of course, here in Norway there is very little guarantee of good weather, even in the summer. Fingers crossed on that one!

Blood in the Snow is the second instalment of the Guardian series, and follows on shortly after the end of Blood in the Sand.

Philip Entwhistle grapples with the very serious dilemma of revealing his secret to his new girlfriend, the powerful witch, Fern. If he tells her all, will it destroy the relationship before it even has a chance to really begin?

But his hand is forced and he makes a full confession, including his failure with Jinny, the elemental creature that he swore to protect.

I will say no more on the topic. Suffice to say, a certain amount of something hits the fan, and Philip and Fern are drawn into a race against time to save her father's life, defeat an ancient evil and prevent a civil war that would be the ultimate downfall of two species.

Blood in the Snow....Soon.


Thursday 10 March 2016

A freebie!

I am developing a novel that integrates sci-fi elements with metaphysical, where three races vie for supremacy on an alien planet.

This book is years away from being finished, since I am also working on the Guardian Series, which I wish to complete first. Two more books, then maybe I work on The Predecessors.

However, I find myself unable to leave it alone. Ideas percolate, float to the surface and pop. Sometimes, you just have to write what is there, not what you want.

So, to salve the itch that wants me writing sci-fi (it was always my first love) I have written a few short stories. I am publishing these with traditional publishers, rather than putting them out myself first. However, once published (and once a reasonable length of time has gone by) I will be publishing them under my own house, Nordland.

The first of these is Salvage, and tells of Mankind's first meeting with something quite different from himself. Highly intelligent, aggressive, and more technologically advanced than our own species, the salvage team on a derelict ship come face to face with . . .

Find out more in the first instalment of the series, in SALVAGE. This story is available on Amazon.com and Smashwords. In fact, you can get it for free from Smashwords, while Amazon force me to charge for it. Nothing I can do about that, it seems. Click the image for a free download in the e-book format of your choice.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/620478

Thursday 4 February 2016

Blog Hunt with Shereen Vedam

Hi. I’m MJ Kobernus, author of the Guardian Series of Urban Fantasy novels, and I’m your host for this stop in the tour.

This is your post for the ACOA Scavenger Hunt and I am pleased to be hosting SHEREEN VEDAM.
In her post you will find a number, not in written text, but as a numerical number. Write it down and collect them all as you visit every post along the way. Good Luck!

If you yearn to take a step beyond the ordinary world while pondering the purpose of life, then linger awhile, because chances are good that you might enjoy this upcoming journey. Shereen Vedam loves weaving stories with a mix of adventure, magic, a light sprinkling of humor and the promise of romance. Below, you’ll get a taste of her Regency fantasy romance novel, A Perfect Curse.  In this fantasy tale, her hero and heroine will be called upon to cast complex spells, defy society's rules, and even brave a perilous journey aboard a gallant tall ship.

Keep in touch with Shereen and her upcoming works by joining her newsletter

She can be found on her 27 social media pages:

From her book - A Perfect Curse: http://mybook.to/APerfectCurse
“Nevara, why do you want to leave so badly? Are you not happy here?”
She swung around, and then backed up, as if startled to find him so close. Her shoes splashed the Serpentine’s edge and Mark quickly tugged her onto firmer ground. This lake was shallow, but it would still ruin her day if she fell in.
As he held her against his chest, her breath hitched. The temptation was too much. Mark had dreamed of kissing Nevara for years. This morning, he gave into his desire and claimed her.
But instead of pulling away, Nevara kissed him back. Had they both been waiting for this moment of contact? Mark was the one who pulled back first as an alarming sense of danger brought him up for air.
“Oh Mark,” Nevara said, and then she scrunched her eyes as if they pained her.
“What is wrong? What do you see?” he asked, frantic to spot where the danger came from.
“My head is pounding. It is one of my megrims, making everything too bright again,” she said in a frustrated voice. “What rotten timing for my sight to act up.”
Mark’s alarms clanged. Wrapping a protective arm about her waist, he drew her toward the tree where his power staff rested, needing to reach it but unwilling to leave Nevara alone.
A ripple from the Serpentine snagged his attention. He had almost reached his staff when a long green cord, covered with dripping weeds, whipped out of the water and wrapped around Nevara’s waist.
She screamed as he clenched his staff. In an instant, she was out of his arms and in the water. Then, before his astounded eyes, she was dragged below the surface. . . .



Scavenger Hunt Hint:

The number for your clue will not be written in text, but it will be numeral. Tally all the numbers you find during the hunt and tally them together. This final number will be an entry in the Rafflecopter on the ENTER HERE page on the official website - http://acoascavengerhunt.weebly.com/enter-here.html If you get stuck along the way because you of a broken link, please visit the AUTHORS LINK< page http://acoascavengerhunt.weebly.com/authors-links.html


Did you find the number? If you did, then click this author's link SHEREEM VEDAM -  to continue the Scavenger Hunt.