FYI, my brain is mush.  We leave on vacation on Wednesday, I’m trying to finish up edits on Veil, I’m fiendishly writing on the romantic suspense books, plus my next Grimm book and well… my brain is mush.

So instead of trying to be witty, clever and fascinating :OP, I’ll just post a few interesting links, and an excerpt, and call it a day. Sound good?

• In case you weren’t around over the weekend, I’ve got a wicked cool contest-Ilona Andrews gave me a few copies of Magic Bleeds to give away.  She dared her readers to crash my server-so far, they haven’t had any luck.  Go here to enter.
• Jeanine Frost compiled a list of a bunch of questions she’s been on asked on being published-there is no subsititute for doing your own research, but sometimes, if you have an idea where to start, it does help.  Maybe this will give you an idea.
• Lynn Viehl has a ‘Support PBW 10‘ list up… as in why you should buy her next book Dreamveil.  I’ve got the only reason I need… she wrote it.  BTW, I read Dreamveil and it’s like… oh, man… I’ve dubbed her the queen of weird and awesome.  Read it.  Read it.
• Thanks to Lynn and her thousand ways of always finding fun links, I’ve discovered the paranormal romance plot generator… it comes up with things like:
  • On a misty spaceport, an optimistic lawyer falls for a wizard.
    But the wizard is in love with a bitter horse. Who will he choose?

Excerpt:

In his arms, she shuddered, shook, and wept silent tears. Her mouth opened in a silent scream and Xan felt his heart twist inside his chest. Dipping his head, he nuzzled her neck and whispered, “Syn, come back to me.”

Where was she?

What dreams held her so thoroughly trapped?

And then she was awake, a harsh gasp slipping free. She struggled to break away from him, sucking in air as though starved for it. Xan let her go, watched as she sat up on the side of the narrow bunk, her head lowered, her naked spine bowed.

“You dreamed,” he said softly.

“Yes.”

Stroking a hand down her back, he asked, “Can you talk about it?”

She glanced at him over her shoulder, her narrow face grim. “It’s over. Was just a dream.”

Xan sat up and settled himself behind her, drawing her still-trembling body into the curve of his own. He wrapped an arm around her, pressed his palm flat against her belly. He used his other hand to wipe away the tears on her face. “You cry. You fought. You wouldn’t wake up. It was more than just a dream, Syn.” Pressing his lips to her shoulder, he murmured, “Tell me. Let me help.”

Please . . . please, let me help.

She sighed and another shudder wracked her body. “It was about the night my mother was taken from me,” she murmured. Shaking her head, she added, “I don’t like thinking about it.”

“The night she was taken,” he echoed. “In a raid.”

“Yes. We had a hidden room . . . no surprise, I guess. Most homes, especially those near a Gate, have places to hide. Mama put me and my brother in there. We wanted her to come in, but she wouldn’t—we had neighbors. They were like family. She insisted on checking on them. But the Sirvani were too close. They caught her.” She leaned her head back against his shoulder and murmured, “We could hear her screaming. Through the walls. We heard her screaming.”

Xan stared down at her, his heart aching. Automatically, he moved his head so that his hair fell and hid most of the scarred half of his face. “You were in that little room—hidden—alone.”

She looked at him. “My brother was with me. He was thirteen. But yes. We were alone.”

“I’m sorry.” Sorry . . . half- sick, furious. Sorry didn’t even cover what he felt.

Her mouth twisted in a grimace and she shrugged, “It’s not an unusual story. Most of us have lost people close to us, because of a raid. Haven’t you?”

“Yes.” He turned his head, staring out the narrow window set high along the wall. The full moon spilled silvery rays of light inside, easing the darkness.