~Snippet Saturday~ The Devil She Knows

I shared a tidbit of The Devil She Knows several weeks ago, back when I was still calling it Surrender. How about another? Ooo, and there’s a cover now, too! 

For those of you who don’t know, The Devil She Knows is a short story, just under 10,000 words, that will be released with the compiled edition of Death Becomes Her. It’s the story of Sadie Miller and James Melbourne. Will they get their happy ending?

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Chapter Two

Spain 1812

James Melbourne led a charmed life. Through misstep after misstep he’d emerged on top, unharmed. With a bit of charm and his handsome face he could talk his way out of any situation. Nothing stood in the way of what he wanted.

But war was not something one could charm. James had suffered right along with the ugliest, most crass creature, an injury to his leg and the resultant fever ending his bout of good fortune. Though, in all honesty, having escaped death was probably as lucky as one could get.

As he lay senseless, the fever taking over his body again, he longed for home, longed to see the family he’d left behind. He’d never been a sentimental type, but fighting for one’s life had a way of turning one into a simpering milksop.

And, simpering milksop that he was, he missed home. He missed England’s dreary rain and London’s suffocating fog. He missed his overbearing, sanctimonious brother David, and David’s equally judgmental wife.

Then there was Sadie. Beautiful Sadie, low-class and foul-mouthed, damning him one moment and pleasuring him like a courtesan the next, the woman he loved and couldn’t have.

He’d had to leave England, but there were some who didn’t see it that way. Sadie Miller probably despised him and he could hardly blame her. But marriage was out of the question. James would make a terrible husband and Sadie should have a husband worthy of her loyalty.

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This story is being formatted along with Death Becomes Her, and should be released by mid-October. Thank you for stopping by! ☺

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There’s a jukebox in my head. It’s currently playing

♫♪ Escala ~ Adagio for Strings 

~Snippet Saturday~ Surrender

Hello, my lovelies! How about a snippet from something not yet published? ;)

The following is from Surrender, a short story that will be released with the compiled edition of my serial Regency Death Becomes Her. Enjoy this little taste! ♥ 

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Taken from the rough copy of chapter one...

Chapter One

London, 1812 

Sadie Miller did not take life for granted. As the daughter of a resurrectionist, and having herself been a thief of the dead, she knew just how fleeting life was, and knew without doubt that any given moment could be her last.

Thus it was with prayers trembling on her lips that she screwed up her courage, her strength, and her will, centering all of it to her lower extremities, pushing forth the life she’d carried inside her for the past seven months. Exhausted, she fell back on the bed, panting, chest heaving with the force of her exertions. The room lingered in silence for several moments, then the midwife’s concerned grunt burst through Sadie’s consciousness.

She forced her tired body up onto her elbows, trying to see around her own legs to the women who’d helped her labor. “What? My baby?”

Her eldest sister, Melly, frowned over at her. Leaving the midwife to her task, she approached Sadie’s side. “The child is so small and he does not breathe. He may yet, but—”

Sadie nearly came off the bed in her desperation to reach her child. “No! He will live! Let him live!”

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Watch for the complete (and edited) version to come out in August. Thanx for stopping by!

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There’s a jukebox in my head. It’s currently playing

♫♪ Alicia Keys ~ Caged Bird