Anna Zabo

Sneak Peak Sunday is a blog hop where authors share a snippet of a book or work in progress. More snippets can be found by checking out twitter tag #sneakpeeksunday.

This week, I’m sharing a snippet from a soon-to-be-released Spring Fling short story Slow Waltz (coming May 7th from Loose Id). It continues the adventures of Rhys and Silas from Close Quarter. Here’s the blurb:

New lovers Rhys Matherton and Silas Quint finally have a chance to breath easy and enjoy a well-earned respite on board a transatlantic cruise to New York City. But the lack of danger gives Rhys too time to think about the enormity of falling in love with a man who isn’t human. He’s not sure love at first sight can last, especially when your lover is fae. Sure, the sex is fantastic, but that’s not enough to hang the rest of your potentially immortal life upon.

To distract himself, Rhys suggests he and Silas take a set of lessons to learn to waltz. The plan backfires when they are paired with two older women—one of whom reminds Rhys of his recently deceased mother. Instead of being able to ignore thinking about his future with Silas, he’s actively questioned about his lover. And it seems the whole boat knows who he’s sleeping with.

As Rhys learns the steps of waltz, he has to decide if he’ll continue to dance around what he feels for Silas or if he’ll finally learn to trust in his partner’s love for him.

In this snippet, Rhys has just finished his first dance class learning how to waltz. He’s been partnered with an older woman named Debbie:

Scott clapped again. “Well done, everyone! Time to let you go for lunch. Please try to be back by two thirty, and we’ll learn some finishing moves and variants to the dance.”

They broke apart. Debbie patted him on the arm. “You did well, young man.” Again, she winked. This time, he couldn’t help but smile. “And if he’s good to you, you keep that man.” She eyed Silas as he approached. “He looks like he’s worth the work.”

Debbie left them and joined Faith, and the two women headed in the direction of the self-serve buffet.

“I’m worth the work?” Silas’s breath grazed Rhys’s ear, smoky and rich. A spark of heat settled at the base Rhys’s spine.

“Only if you’re good to me.”

A wicked grin was Silas’s answer. “I’m very good to you.”

Rhys matched Silas’s expression. “Hungry?” He wasn’t talking about food.

“Very.”

They headed to the forward elevators.

Vasil threaded his way through the restaurant and back out into the street. The sun had finally set, but the sky still held light. Between that, the streetlights, and the throng of people, the night had an almost carnival atmosphere. “Back to the house?”

Altan’s answer warmed Vasil’s ear. “Yes. Do you know the way?” He slung his arm over Vasil’s shoulder, like so many other men in the crowd who were walking with their friends.

Vasil couldn’t decide whether to be annoyed or pleased by the gesture. Cultural differences. He forced himself to relax. “I remember how we came.” Then he set about proving it.

They wove through the streets, partly to avoid other people and partly because neither one of them was entirely sober. “Is this widow going to be upset that we’ve been drinking?”

“Probably.” Altan placed his chin on Vasil’s shoulder. “But it’s not the first time I’ve arrived tipsy on her doorstep.”

“With another man?”

“I’ve never brought anyone to visit her before, drunk or no.”

They turned off the main road back onto the residential street that held Altan’s apartment. “We’re not dating.” Again, words he didn’t want to say poured forth. “We’re not going to date.”

Slow Waltz (a Close Quarter Spring Fling) is coming out in exactly a month. Tonight, this arrived in my mailbox:

Art is by Fiona Jayde.

I’m fairly certain I’ll be sharing this cover with some other m/m spring flings, but he looks a lot like Silas, so I’ll just sit here and stare at him for a while.

 

 

The humid scent of the nearby strait, the smell of fresh bread, and a blend of spices Vasil could not name came together to create a distinctive mix that felt both foreign and as familiar as an old friend.

Just like Altan. Pinpricks danced down Vasil’s arms and he slowed his pace.

Sneak Peak Sunday is a blog hop where authors share a snippet of a book or work in progress. More snippets can be found by checking out the Sneak Peek Sunday blog.

This week, I’m sharing a snippet from a soon-to-be-released short story Slow Waltz (Coming May 7th from Loose Id). It continues the adventures of Rhys and Silas from Close Quarter.

In this snippet, Silas and Rhys are in an elevator…

Silas pushed himself off the wall. An instant later, he tilted Rhys’s chin up and his soft lips skimmed against Rhys’s mouth. The gentleness of that first touch vanished, and Silas devoured Rhys’s mouth.

For a moment, the world vanished and all that existed were Silas’s lips, his tongue probing deeply, and his fingers stroking Rhys’s throat. The elevator lurched to a stop, and the doors opened. Silas broke the kiss but remained inches close. He ran his thumb over Rhys’s jaw. “Of course love at first sight exists.” He murmured the words.

Someone in the hallway coughed.

Thanks for stopping by! See you next Sunday!

Why couldn’t Altan have just let it be? Vasil still ached from the healing, from Altan’s kindness, and from the hot press of of the half-fae against his back and the man’s warm breath in his ear. Each was a pain that tugged at a different scar.

Sneak Peak Sunday is a blog hop where authors share a snippet of a book or work in progress. More snippets can be found by checking out the Sneak Peek Sunday blog.

This week, I’m sharing a bit of a different  snippet from my erotic paranormal romance Close Quarter, which is available now from Loose Id and other outlets.

In this snippet, Silas has gone off to do his job: Hunt the soulless on board the cruise ship. We’ve skipped a bit forward from last week…for it seems the soulless have also found Rhys. Silas is none too happy about that.

The male stepped away from Rhys’s body. “Quintus Silvanus.”

So. This one knew his name as well. Silas kept silent and stepped closer to Rhys. He was alive—that much Silas knew—but in pain. He did not let himself look at the extent—or type—of Rhys’s wounds.

The male wiped blood from his mouth, then spoke. “You have not fared well tonight.” Rich voice, full of amusement. “Your masters will not be pleased.”

This one was older. Cautious. “Two of your kind are ash.” He kicked at the pile that had been the female, sending what was left of the soulless swirling into the night air. “You soon will be. I think they’ll be pleased enough.”

Thanks for stopping by! See you next Sunday!

An instant later, a knot of earth slammed into Altan, lifting him off his feet, and hurling him at the far wall of the kitchen.

Vasil’s desperate cry of shock and dismay echoed against the appliances.

Altan grappled with his own element, pulling and pushing at the air to stabilize himself. There was just enough room to change his trajectory so that he flew through the doorway to the living room. He threw his will against the momentum from the burst of earth, twisting and tumbling from the sudden deceleration. He halted, hovering sideways in the air above the coffee table.

Vasil scrambled from the kitchen to the living room doorway and stared at Altan, his face pale. “Hospodi.” He slid to his knees while still clutching the door frame. “You’re alive.”

Quite a lot of this blog has been about my writing. I thought I’d share some things about the place in which I live.

Right now, Pittsburgh is still in the grips of winter. But when it’s not rain/sleet/snowing out, one of the things I like to do is sneak out of work for a lunchtime walk. I’m lucky enough to work close to downtown Pittsburgh in an area called the Strip District. That’s a descriptive tag… the neighborhood is a thin strip of flood plain between the Allegheny River and a pretty large cliff called Grant’s Hill.

It’s home to a lot of wholesale, produce, ethnic, meat, and fish markets. If you can eat or drink it, the Strip probably has it. There’s also a ton of restaurants and the Western Pennsylvania Regional History Museum, and a number of businesses.

There’s also a walking trail that runs along the river. Sometimes I walk down into the Strip, other times, I walk up along the river. Pittsburgh’s an interesting place to live and work because there’s so much green space, even close to downtown.

Here’s a photo looking down into the city from where I work:

Here’s a shot of the river. Different time of day, but this view is only 90 degrees from the other one (you can see the other end of the train bridge):

If I walk down into the city, then cross a bridge, this is what it looks like:

And if I walk further down the river, and stand in the middle of the river on a bridge, this is what the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela look like. This is the head of the Ohio River. You can also see one of the two inclines of Pittsburgh. They’re part of the public transit system to take folks up and down Mount Washington, which is the cliff across the river.

This is why I find Pittsburgh so magical. You have hills and rivers and trees and boats and cars and wildlife all butted up against one another.

Any yes, I do intend to set a book of three here in this city of steel and water and life. It’s my hometown, and I love it.

Sneak Peak Sunday is a blog hop where authors share a snippet of a book or work in progress. More snippets can be found by checking out the Sneak Peek Sunday blog.

This week, I’m sharing a bit of a different  snippet from my erotic paranormal romance Close Quarter, which is available now from Loose Id and other outlets.

In this snippet, Silas has gone off to do his job: Hunt the soulless on board the cruise ship. He finds one…

Fire raked across Silas’s back. A clawed hand covered his mouth. “Looking for someone, pixie?” Putrid breath against his face.

Oh fuck. Orcus take him down under the earth.

The soulless bit into his shoulder, and pain exploded through Silas’s nerves. Centuries of discipline took over. He lurched forward, throwing the creature over him. Clothing and flesh ripped as Silas launched the soulless through the air and down the darkened ramp of the theater.

Thanks for stopping by! See you next Sunday!