by JustinSloan | Jul 5, 2017 | Snippets
UNEDITED
Royland crouched as he walked along a crudely-made roof of mostly two-by-fours and plywood. It seemed to be a lookout station. Too bad that hadn’t worked out so well for the previous occupant, but now it made for a perfect viewpoint for Cammie and him.
They had been observing the pirate outpost for several hours now, mostly to ensure it was actually pirates, but also to see if there were any vampires or Weres among them. So far, it seemed the answer was no.
This wasn’t the first group of pirates they had come across, which kind of surprised him. When they set off from Old Manhattan, they had expected to come across one main pirate base where everything was being conducted. Turns out, at least along the coast, a lot of pirates had gathered. They weren’t all Canadians, either, but groups from overseas—Spanish, Algerian, Laotian, and, most of all it seemed, Norse. Apparently, someone had been hard at work organizing the pirates around a cause.
Unfortunately for that someone, said cause conflicted with Old Manhattan’s path toward becoming a conflict-free hub of the new world, or at least a new America. They couldn’t allow interruptions in trade, and the idea of allowing a massing of criminals just north, on the same continent no less, was certainly unacceptable. (more…)
by JustinSloan | Jul 4, 2017 | Snippets
UNEDITED
Sandra rolled over in bed, the nausea of early pregnancy already making her want to punch Diego for making this her reality. Not that she’d trade it for a second—she wasn’t some vampire set on dealing out justice. She was just a woman trying to survive in this crazy world, and in approximately eight months, a mom trying to keep a family safe in it.
That meant she had less than eight months to do everything in her power to ensure her world, or at least the world that could touch them, was as safe as possible.
Holding her own hair back over the toilet didn’t exactly help her in that goal, but at the moment seemed a necessary evil. She dry heaved twice, then heard a pounding of footsteps behind her.
“Dear?” Diego said, kneeling beside her and holding back her hair. “Is this… normal?”
“Haven’t known many pregnant women, huh?” The words came out with more of a bite than she had meant, but what the hell, she was pregnant. It was late at night, and she was in pain. He could deal with a little grouchiness.
“Honestly, none that I can remember,” he replied.
She nodded, knowing that made sense. In times like these, people weren’t eager to bring new life into the world. It happened, but even when people tried, it wasn’t exactly easy anymore. During talks with Diego at the small vineyard he had made for her, they had decided it likely had to do with the fallout of the collapse of civilization. Whatever had caused that had probably left lasting effects that meant childbirth either wasn’t for everyone, or just made it harder to conceive. (more…)
by JustinSloan | Jul 4, 2017 | Snippets
UNEDITED (Find books 1-4 on Amazon)
The Eastern Coast, Former Canada
Valerie dressed, almost failing to notice the pirate blimp passing in the distance as she glanced back at Robin stepping out of the river. Moonlight cast shadows across the younger woman’s bare skin, shimmering in the droplets of water as they trickled down her breasts and thighs.
Had the blimp gone unnoticed, would Robin have not seen Valerie staring? Valerie bit her lip and turned away, embarrassed to be caught staring, and then froze as a different type of excitement took hold—there, on the horizon and traveling northeast, a dark shape moved slowly along the coastline. There was no doubt it was a blimp, and if it was up here, there was very little doubt that it was operated by pirates.
“It’s the wrong way,” Robin said, stepping up beside Valerie and picking up her clothes. She scrunched her nose and glanced back at the water. (more…)
by JustinSloan | Apr 5, 2017 | Book Release
It’s the big day! My 4th book in the Reclaiming Honor series (A Kurtherian Gambit series) has launched and is rising up in the charts – be sure to check out ANGEL OF RECKONING!
There are new characters, conclusions to old threads, and some opening of new ones. Yay! (more…)
by JustinSloan | Apr 4, 2017 | Snippets
UNEDITED (This is book 4 in the Reclaiming Honor series [A Kurtherian Gambit series]. Check out books 1-3 on Amazon, all in Kindle Unlimited)
Sandra wanted everything to be perfect for the surprise party. She had arranged her best wine, one that dated back to the first post-collapse, from the vineyards of France, or at least so the captain who had sold it to her claimed.
Cheese was spread out with freshly baked bread, along with special meats she had imported as well. It wasn’t as much as she would have liked, given the interruptions to the imports from overseas. If Cammie and Royland really could come up with a way of dealing with them before she came back, she would be ecstatic. (more…)
by JustinSloan | Mar 29, 2017 | Snippets
UNEDITED (This is book 4 in the Reclaiming Honor series [A Kurtherian Gambit series]. Check out books 1-3 on Amazon, all in Kindle Unlimited)
Old Manhattan
Valerie loved having Sandra to herself again, for the first time in what felt like years. They had found a spot at the outskirts of the main part of the city, on a rooftop where Valerie often found herself lately, attracted by the enticing aroma of the thyme and mint planted there, especially when it wafted along on a cool spring breeze just like today.
“We really have no other options?” Sandra said,
“Not without putting more people at risk.” Valerie took a small leaf of mint, crushed it in her fingers, and then breathed in the scent with a refreshing sigh after. “I have no tolerance for more innocent death.”
“Not that you ever did.”
Valerie considered her, head tilted, and said, “Honestly? Toward the end of that Strake business, or even in the Bazaar, I was starting to wonder about it all. Like who had I become? Was this really me?”
“Seriously?” Sandra laughed, leaning over the railing to look out at the debris and ruins in the distance. “I’ve always loved you, always will. But the Valerie you are now? This woman you’ve become? That’s the real you. That’s the Justice Enforcer who will bring the evil of this land to its knees.”
“You think?” Valerie joined her to lean against the railing. She was vaguely aware that the metal was cold, but it didn’t bother her.
Sandra simply nodded.
“You sure you won’t reconsider staying behind?” Valerie asked. (more…)
Royland crouched as he walked along a crudely-made roof of mostly two-by-fours and plywood. It seemed to be a lookout station. Too bad that hadn’t worked out so well for the previous occupant, but now it made for a perfect viewpoint for Cammie and him.
