a spear

Early December Writing - Dec. 6, 2024

Dear Reader,

With Thanksgiving concluded and school back in session briefly before the winter break, the nights grew longer and the evening has a decided chill, even in Florida. It's finally the perfect weather for writing. Lately, I've spent an enormous amount of my writing time in the doldrums of the edits I created with the Great Takedown, but it has led to a flurry of publishing. ThanksPublishing was pleasant.

It was difficult to write over Thanksgiving, though. A horrible head cold and the obligations with family made the intense look inside the mind too difficult to maintain. Editing and publishing are less mentally intense activities for me. It's like driving a car, a series of learned and practiced behaviors which require the same steps to be repeated to achieve the desired destination. I think it has been a grand thing for my readers, but for the tiger who writes, it has grown stale.

I itch to write, but I often lack something. It's a nameless, mostly unknown thing for which I search. Occasionally, I am lucky enough to catch whatever it is. I call it a burst of creativity, or reference it as the fickle muse, but it's actually many things coming together in a manner I can't properly define. It has been absent for a few weeks, and it leaves a melancholy stress in its wake. I wish to feel the story take further shape, but I have none of the words required to make it happen.

But with the long nights and cooler weather, I am hopeful the muse will return and the story will pick up in some forgotten dusty manuscript once again. Until then, the dream welcomes me back with read throughs and edits. It leaves me hopeful to publish another tale soon.

Dark Curse book cover

Shameless Self-Promotion

So just a reminder that Dark Curse is on sale directly from me. Just use the following codes for either the ebook or the audiobook and take 75% off either or both. Sorry I can't do it everywhere, but keep scrolling for the wide promotion.

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Also, Haunted Echoes ebook is on sale everywhere ebooks are sold!

Haunted Echoes Holiday Sale

And don't forget season 2 of the Draoithe Saga Storycast has begun. If you want to listen to Druid Fox, it publishes an episode every day at 9:15.

Druid Fox Storycas episode card

Now that you've seen enough ad cards for a while, let's get back to the post. I've moved on to the next story, even if I'm not writing anything brand new. Dark Oath continues Flame and Nightshade's love story. But I wanted to let you know there is more to Flame than even he knows and while I think you will love him by the end of Dark Gift, he, like many other characters, will return for cameo and maybe more than cameo appearances, but I won't ruin future miniseries just yet. Instead of getting ahead of myself, allow me to introduce the sneak peek.

Dark Oath Book Cover

Sneak Peek

Dark Oath is still in the read through. It should land in Atticus shortly and begin publishing chapters to Valkyrie Riders before Christmas. That puts Dark Gift up to publish in January. I'd love for it to publish around the New Year, but it's likely to be closer to Martin Luther King Day. There are three more tales in Valkyrie Riders following Dark Gift, and then it's done. I'd like to have the entire miniseries wrapped up by June 2025. We shall see if the muse agrees.

Since I haven't been writing anything new lately, I thought you might want a sneak peek at Dark Oath. The scene where the quote came from seems most appropriate. But there must be some legalese first. This story isn't in print yet. So here goes nothing:

Warning:

This is a work in progress and

is subject to change at any time.

Read at Your Own Risk!

Copyright 2024

All Rights Reserved.

Dark Oath Quote Card

For The Meeting

Flame

He wanted a lover and a partner, someone who would share his long life with him. He wanted someone who’d love him as he wanted to love her.

Flame wanted his lifemate as his Valkyrie. He knew her. He wanted Nightshade to love him so he could love her back.

Flame stood up and walked over to the window to look out at the night. A light rain was falling. It was a warm summer night. The rain would feel nice.

“Come on, let’s go.”

Flame shook his head. He had to remember not to say it as a command.

“Would you like to walk in the rain with me?”

He changed his words. Hannah smiled at him.

“Yes, I would.”

She stood and carried her wine with her.

The new sliding glass doors didn’t even squeak. He wondered what Ash had told the repairman about the damage he’d done. Flame wouldn’t like the bill, but Hannah was safe. He would always pay for that.

They stepped onto the porch and watched summer rain drip from the eaves of the porch roof into the dark of the night. The cloud-cover blocked out the moon and stars.

They stepped out into the rain. She turned her face up to the soft rain with her eyes closed and let it hit her. He could see her neck arch up beautifully in the porch light. Her red tresses darkened with the water. He wanted to trace the outline of her with his lips.

She’d left her wineglass on the deck railing. Hannah opened her eyes and turned around, holding her palms out to the rain staring up into the night sky. She was beautiful.

He stepped off the porch to join her. Light rain sprinkled his head as he went straight to her.

Flame didn’t say a word. He just walked. If there had been anyone between them, they would’ve stepped out of his path. He was an alpha male shifter moving to his mate.

She stopped spinning and looked up at him, smiling widely. He put his arms around her and pulled her to him, then he cupped her face in his hands and kissed his vampire.

He kissed her deeply. His lips pressed into hers. His tongue demanded entrance to her mouth. He needed to taste her, claim her mouth with his.

He could feel the fire in her. She was den lasair. Her flame jumped from her hands to his chest, where her palms rested against him.

The spark of attraction between them burned with pure desire. His hands encircled her and slipped beneath her shirt to touch her skin. Lightning traced along the nerves in his arms at the exquisite feel of Nightshade.

Flame burned for her. The magic was pressing him to claim her, but all his heart wanted was to kiss her, so she knew he desired her.

He’d long ago mastered his magic. He refused his need to bite her.

It was his heart he could no longer control, for it belonged to her. It beat for her.

He kissed her in the rain. The steam rose around them as the flames transformed the rain to vapor.

When he ended the kiss, he let his forehead rest against hers. He looked into her eyes. She would ask him soon.

He lost himself in the feel of her. She was soft and warm. He groaned as his hands trailed down her back again beneath her shirt.

They stopped at her waist, just above her hips. He wanted to continue and feel her shapely ass beneath his fingers.

Lavender swirled around him. Flame blinked.

He stepped back and looked at her, confused. She smiled up at him. It was the best thing ever.

Hannah had him, and she knew it. Flame had gotten wrapped up in her allure. She’d used it against him.

He was in so much more trouble than he had ever been, and he didn’t care. He wanted to get lost to her.

Flame laughed out loud. Then he struck a pose, and she responded. They tangoed in the rain. He led to the tune of the music in his soul.

She laughed with him. He would dance with her in the rain forever.

He watched her as the rain traced rivulets of water from the ends of her hair down her swan-like neck. She was a dancer, full of grace. He wanted her.

When it ended, and he picked her up from the last dip, she kissed him lightly on the lips with her eyes closed. It lasted only a moment, but it took his breath away. Hannah O’Keefe was his Nightshade.

She was everything. They were both soaked through to the skin, laughing in the rain on a warm summer night. If she left him, it would be the last memory he let go of when he walked into the Netherworld.

“We better get dried off. We have a meeting in a few minutes,” Hannah reminded him.

It had slipped Flame’s mind. Maybe his kings had an idea to keep her at Draoithe. He wanted her close and safe.

“Hannah, the men who own Draoithe are going to make you an offer to keep you here. I want you to consider it. If you accept their offer, you can stay. But it needs to be your decision. Okay?”

Flame didn’t want them coercing her into anything.

“I’ll remember.”

They went back to the room and changed clothes. She toweled her hair dry, and they left for the meeting.

Leave your Reviews poster

I hope you enjoyed the tango in the rain. That scene was beyond fun to write. Flame is one of my absolute favorite male leading characters, but without Nightshade, he'd be nothing more than another lonely dragon. I have far too much work left to do with the read through and edits on Dark Oath. I better get cracking. Thanks again for stepping into the dream to enjoy another sneak peek episode. I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend. Until next time, when you read please remember to be kind and leave your reviews and remember you are always welcome to the dream...

Be Careful!

Happy Reading,

Ophelia Kee

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