I’m back to work tomorrow. Here’s hoping it won’t be too painful. I’m still getting exhausted easily between the combination of surgery and wild hormone shifts.
I’m also 2K away from winning nano for the 19th time. That makes me happy.
I’m continuing on with Kaleo and Aneirin’s story. They have arrived home and met Aneirin’s large cat-like pet.
“Ah, there you are, sir. I have things ready.” Aneirin turned back toward the hallway to see his majordomo standing there, his eyes trained on Kaleo. Grimoald’s handsome face seemed pinched as he considered Kaleo.
“Very good. Kaleo, this is Grimoald. He pretty much runs this house.”
“As Doctor Shyroth said, I’m responsible for the house. If you have questions, I’m usually around. If you disrespect the household, I’m the one you answer to,” Grimoald said, more serious than Aneirin had seen him in a long while.
I am home from my surgery. I think I’m doing okay. It’s not quite as painful as expected but the waiting to hear if the cancer has spread is pretty awful.
I’m continuing Aneirin and Kaleo’s story. Kaleo just got jumped by Aneirin’s pet upon their arrival at Aneirin’s home.
“Is it a cat?”
“No, she’s a Zabetian Shozalin, though yes, they are cat-like in appearance and attitude. A partner for her is what I wanted for my birthday, not a companion for me.” He sighed, and put the beast down before she managed to impale him on her saber teeth by accident. He noticed she had managed to get the padded tips off the ends of her teeth again. She padded over to Kaleo, her black fur rippling, making the curvilinear markings of white and gray ripple like smoke. It’s how he arrived at the name.
Kaleo eyes her uneasily as she sniffed at him. “Does she act like a cat? I’m kinda dangling free here, and I know what a cat will do.”
I’ve been very erratic with these but I wanted to get one more in before my surgery on monday. I’m crossing everything hoping the hysterectomy is an end to the cancer but it’ll be a few weeks before I k now for sure and 5 years of follow ups to make certain it stays away.
I went back to Aneirin and Kaleo’s story. They’ve finally reached Aneirin’s home.
“I didn’t know you had houses so big! I thought that place last night was a hotel or something. Mom told me about those.”
“No, that’s was Pherick’s condo and this is just the living room. Grimoald, I’m home,” he called.
“Just…” Kaleo, following Aneirin deeper into the house.
Suddenly a heavy weight hit Aneirin’s shoulders, nearly knocking him down. Kaleo yelped. The mass slithered off Aneirin’s shoulders, into his arms, a rough tongue caressing his cheek. Smoke butted her horned head into the bridge of his nose, making him see stars. His pet’s love was scary sometimes.
“Smoke, you bad girl! Don’t do that!”
“What the devs is that?”
Haring the panic in Kaleo’s tone, Aneirin turned to see the young man crouched in a defensive pose Aneirin had seen Cronai warriors adopt. He had no doubt Kaleo could explode out of it into a deadly fury but it looked ridiculous when the boy’s neck dripped glitter stone necklaces and the cloth around his waist had rippled up enough he could see hints of genitals.
Most of my Halloween plans of paranormal investigations were side lined between rain and worries. Most of them were going to be outside and I am not risking a) falling b) contracting covid or anything else and setting my surgery back. There’ll be other investigations and Halloween fun but only if I do what I need to survive my cancer.
Today for Halloween I’m sharing a snippet from my paranormal novella, Cassadaga Nights, set where I used to live in Cassadaga Florida. Hope you enjoy.
Ryan drew his shield over himself, letting his psychic senses dampen down. All day, most days, he dropped his armor, walking around exposed, vulnerable on all sides to the flood of stimuli. Such was the life of a professional psychic. He was unable to cut himself off when he was on the job. His clients depended on his abilities. While he could cold read a person to give Houdini a run for his money, Ryan was the real deal when it came to being psychic. Houdini would have had a helluva time debunking his abilities.
Blurb-
Santino Bellomi and his coworker, Cam, are sent to Cassadaga, Florida by the Aspida Pneuma, a group of psychics and mages. Their job is to rescue a nixie from a polluted lake and to check out the town, which is known for its psychics. New recruits to the Aspida are always welcome and where better than a spiritualist camp to hunt for them? What Santino wants most, however, is to finish the assignment quickly. He isn’t a fan of heat and humidity, and he’d looking forward to a well-earned vacation once the mission is over.
Ryan Doyle grew up in Cassadaga, where being psychic runs in the family. Ryan has never roamed far from home, though it’s hard being a geeky gay, wannabe urban fantasy author living in a small town. His job as one of the town psychics is fairly routine until he meets someone new. Ryan has never encountered anyone with a psychic shield so strong until Santino sits down for a reading. Intrigued, he asks Santino out even though Santino is as secretive as he is fun.
Santino hopes to win Ryan over both for himself and for the Aspida. And he’s hoping his skills in the kitchen will swing the balance in his favor. Ryan has almost given up on finding love, living in rural Florida. Can a seductive tourist be the answer to his dreams?
Things never run smoothly for those in the Aspida. What should have been a simple rescue mission is plagued by mosquitoes, enraged ghosts, and someone or something draining residents of their life force. Ryan’s first foray into adventure may be his last.
It’s been a bad week. I had a biopsy and it came back endometrial cancer. So now I’m in a holding pattern waiting to see the oncologist and schedule surgery. I don’t know yet what happens after that.
But I’m still around, still writing (need the distraction more than ever). I’m picking up with Behind Blue Eyes again. They’re finally at Aneirin’s home.
Aneirin snorted, leaning his head into the recess for the retinal scanner. The door opened and he ushered Kaleo in. The young man stopped immediately, his eyes wider and his jaw loosened as he took in the space with its muted, calm color palette and soft, inviting couches.
“I didn’t know you had houses so big! I thought that place last night was a hotel or something. Mom told me about those.”
“No, that’s was Pherick’s condo and this is just the living room. Grimoald, I’m home,” he called.
“Just…” Kaleo, following Aneirin deeper into the house.
Suddenly a heavy weight hit Aneirin’s shoulders, nearly knocking him down. Kaleo yelped. The mass slithered off Aneirin’s shoulders, into his arms, a rough tongue caressing his cheek. Smoke butted her horned head into the bridge of his nose, making him see stars. His pet’s love was scary sometimes.
Jana Denardo 