A dangerous question...

*peeks in the door* Hi, I'm sorry I've been MIA lately. It's been a rough month, but I missed you guys. I really needed to get Wait for the Wind finished and off to Piper (on time). I was almost done when a computer virus wiped out my computer and the backup I had on my flash drive and I had to rewrite half the book, then Jackie (for those of you out of the loop, that's the hubby) went back in the hospital. I took my vacation time from my day job to finish up the book and take care of some family stuff the first week of July. 


Somebody up there must have thought I really needed a vacation, because as soon as the book was sent, my cell phone and both laptop cords died. I finally found a replacement for the Acer on eBay, but it still hasn't arrived yet. My kids laughed at me when the cell died and I couldn't check my email. I felt blind and naked without my laptop and phone. Funny how you become so dependent on something. Got the phone working, but the laptop is still dead. *Sigh* Soon. Good thing I remembered to set my 'out of office' message before I left for vacation. 


Another trip to the ER and a hospital visit for Jackie last week and unfortunately a death in the family. Jackie's baby cousin passed away July 13 in a drowning accident. Just one of those horrible freak things that happen, but its so terribly sad. Jackie got out of the hospital three hours before her funeral. We went home, changed and drove to Tuscumbia to attend. It was indescribable in the worst way. Gracie would have been two July 26. She was such a sweet little angel, and I cry if I think about her and her mama. So, I work.

I've started Sea's Sorceress: Elemental Magic Book 4. I don't want to give away too much, but it picks up right where Wait for the Wind: Elemental Magic Book 3 leaves off with the birth of Liv and Jack's twins. I've been slowly creeping back into the manuscript with the spell that started the series, showing bits of Liv's legend (EM Book 1) here and there. I'm sort of out of my element again. This time with past lives.

I'm so on the fence about the topic, yet I chose a long time ago to use this scenario for book four. Why? Not sure except that Skye and Rhiannon demand it, so I must obey and let these characters tell me their story. I was raised in a true holy-roller Church of God. (I mean no offense by the term, it's just what we call them down here.) They believe in gifts of the spirit such as prophecy and the laying of hands (healing by prayer), but I'm pretty sure I've yet to see a church endorse past lives. Now I might be wrong, but the bible belt Alabama ones don't. So why continue on this path? Because I've seen enough weird things to believe there is so much more to the universe than any of our minds can comprehend.

I knew where the hidden staircase trigger was located in Arlington House long before the guide reached it or mentioned it. I knew where the old slave cabins and kitchens were at Belle Mont when I'd never been there before. I could have drawn a map of the entire house before I ever set foot inside it. Past life memories? Deva vu? Turned out the curator was related to the Pitts as well as some of the former owners (I think), maybe that explains it? Then there is my fascination with swords, particularly Japanese and the kind you'd imagine King Authur's knights would carry. So...what if?

Dangerous question. Here's another, just for fun. If there are past lives, who were you and when were you? I think I would have been a temple priestess in feudal Japan, or maybe a noble lady who desperately wanted to be a knight. Or maybe I was a writer...

Be blessed,
Brynna

An excerpt

Hey y'all. Forgive me for squeeking by this week with an excerpt. My hubby is in ICU with pneumonia. I've been sitting with him, so I'm behind on my blogging. Hope you all had a fun St. Patrick's Day.  I forgot my green attire, but I've Irish blood in my bones so hopefully that was good enough. lol
Be blessed,
Beth
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LEAD IN- Devin is preparing to steal the Regent diamond for the Niccolo Gueraldi


Devin stood in the shadow of night, in front of the Louvre and waited. He enjoyed the anticipation of the act as much as the prize. He was after a great prize tonight. He might have come earlier, switched the jewels on his own with his magic, but he would have missed this part of it.Larceny, being somewhere you aren’t supposed to be, doing something you’re not supposed to do, was a thrill of its own. His team was already in place and waiting for his signal, each in black from hair to toe, so as not to be seen. Devin had his arm around Nicolette; except for the dark clothes they appeared to be lovers lost in the romance of Paris at night. They moved as a unit to a doorway. In mere seconds, she had the alarms down, and they were in.
It was he who whisked the diamond from its resting place. So complicated were the alarms, he actually had to use magic to do it. Replaced with its recreated copy, the Regent lay safely in a velvet pouch in his pocket. He could feel the power and history pulsing from it even now, but that was for later. There would be much to do later. They left as quickly as they came, without leaving a trace of their passing. Tomorrow he’d catch the first flight out and take Gueraldi his diamond.

Tonight was for magic.

Devin declined Nicolette’s invitation of her company for the rest of the evening. She wasn’t happy about it. Alone, he went to his room, and left her pouting in the hall. His team had their payment, and he owed them nothing more than that. He had learned not to get attached to people over the years, after he had lost friends and loved ones. He remained the same year after year, while everyone else withered and died with new lives being born to take their places.

He changed into a robe of black velvet that grazed the carpeted floor. His eyes were wild with sorcery when he cast his circle, a lion before the kill. It was time for his prize. He took the stone into his hands and used it as a looking glass. Devin absorbed the power of the emotions it had collected as old as time itself. As he did now and then, out of curiosity mostly, he sought her out.

“Show me she that is bound by three, Earth Air and Sea. As is my right, for I am her key. Hide me from her sight so that only I may see what destiny has in store for me. As I will so mote it be.” With eyes closed he held the diamond while it grew hot in his hand, and looked across the distance to the stone circle by the sea. He couldn’t see her yet, not just yet. Arianne was still the wind, but he felt her magic. He saw the spell cast again, saw her become the air. She was beautiful, desirable. He wanted her instantly and hated the sight of her all the same.

It was all he could see, for now, but something had changed. Time was shifting. He had essentially stayed the same since he had been trapped. He didn’t age, at all, not even by a day. His hair hadn’t grown, and if he cut himself he didn’t bleed. It was like he was caught in limbo, until this morning. He’d had to shave for the first time in a millennium. Proof that the spell was unraveling, even if ever so slowly. He didn’t know what was causing the change, but it meant this half existence would soon be over. It might be worth his while to find out what was causing it. He didn’t want her to be waiting for him when it was, but the spell itself would compel him to seek Arianne, compel him to lust for her. Love? Well, love couldn’t be ruled by magic.