Falling Behind

It's summer and things have stagnated for me as far as writing/editing goes. Good weather seems to promote outdoor activities and I've gotten lost in a myriad of projects, some fun and some not-so-fun. However, I still have ideas floating around in my head about my ongoing writing projects so I decided I should at least put a little time into them.

First off, I've once again tackled editing on A Romance Novel. I feel like a turtle, but I also know that slow and steady often wins the race.

Second, I've put a little effort into my epic fantasy series and am looking at commissioning covers for them. It's a bit $$$, but these books are my pride and joy so no expense is to great (lol...not really).

Last, I had a few brainstorms concerning the next book in the Stone Vengeance series. The book is named Opal and here's a quickly written Prelude for the novel. Enjoy....

It’s been twenty years. For a demon, it will seem like a passing of days. For an angel, it might seem even less. For Hades, twenty years as passed in the blink of an eye. To see Opal grow from a child into a woman was both joyful and painful. In a way, this is his child and he’s taken pleasure in watching her from afar. He watched her take her first steps, kick her first ball, throw her first pitch, and find her first boyfriend. But she is not his child and he is only her protector, a burden he accepts while knowing it limits his freedom.

A week ago, he watched graduate college early with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, yet he knows this is just the first of many degrees she will get in her chosen profession. Still, she has not experienced life. She has not grown up with hardships. She has not worked for what she’s achieved because Hades has fulfilled his promise. He has ensured she was placed within a wholesome and wealthy family in a city far from her birth. As for her disappearance a day after she was born, it vanished with barely a notice. He is grateful for that as he watches her jog past on the walkway around the beach. For a few seconds, his eyes linger on her before returning to his hands which are folded in front of him.

He hates the sunlight. He hates it because it limits him despite the shadows it cast. But this is the only time he can observe her alone. Still, it blocks his abilities, makes him vulnerable, and with as many enemies as he has, Hades has to be careful. Coming out at noon like this is something no demon will suspect of him which is exactly why he does it. Unfortunately, he is finding it harder and harder to hide within the world of shadows, but it is his problem, not hers.

With a glance toward the now distance girl, he wonders if she can somehow help him with his dilemma even though the thought of bringing her into his world brings about undo risk to them both. Maybe someday, when there is no place for him to hide anymore, he will have no other choice. For now, he will simply watch her, protect her, and wait.