Desperation...

I'm going to draft the next 3 or 4 chapters of Desperation tonight, concluding the first act of the novel, and then have the next two acts done within the next four days. That means that this book will be out sooner than I thought!

It helps that it's a lighter, fun project to take my mind off a more intense beast I'm about to tackle another round of edits on. Plus, gay faeries. It's just a fun, romantic story with lots of action.

Here's an extract:

The lingering echo of death filled my mouth like the taste of copper, and I turned around and plunged into the forest after the rude boy who’d just saved my life.

Rowan led the way through the dense forest without a word.

I spent most of the walk staring at the rippling muscles of his back. He was muscular, but not overtly so—more lithe and slender. There was something slightly feline about the way he walked, graceful and silent, while I crashed through the underbrush like a bull in a china shop.

By the time we reached the edge of the forest, the sun was setting. It had been only four in the afternoon when I’d pulled myself out of bed and left the house, but now the balmy summer air had taken on a slightly cooler level and the sky was a rippling canvas of pink and purple.

We stopped at the edge of the forest, a silent agreement, and stood together for a moment. Across the lawn, George looked up from where he was tossing his tools into his wheelbarrow and spotted me. He had clearly been at work for a while, sweat beading on his dark brown skin. His eyes widened, face registering surprise, and he began to wave me over.

“Thank y—” my words cut off abruptly as I turned to face Rowan.

He was already gone.

And, as always, a link to the first chapter!