I am excited to announce that Her Sexy Beast (The Chimera Chronicles 6) releases very soon! It was supposed to release August 7th, but my editor at Soul Mate has allowed me to move it up! (Exact date coming later)
I purchased a Windstone editions editions dragon to paint to raffle off to my newsletter subscribers! Above is a video of after I finished the base coat. The “before” is posted on my facebook page. click here I’ll be adding color (and eyes😜) and bringing it with me to NYC for the RWA Literacy Autographing. All you have to do to enter is be one of my newsletter subscribers! I’ll be signing people up at the autographing as well as having copies of book six to sell for literacy! Or you can sign up here on my website or email me with your name and email and I’ll sign you up. The drawing will be held the week after RWA National. So watch this space!
The kids are off to school, so I sat down with my mug of cocoa, looked around my house and realized—I have to clean! (I know there are people who enjoy this. I am not one of them) I think the compulsion had to do with the fact that Chimera 7 (Draft title Out Like a Dragon) is both the last book in the series and wasn’t unfolding to my satisfaction.
I’m a pantser. I once attempted to outline a book, but the end result looked nothing like the outline, so I gave up.
I usually write on the treadmill, but I was having real trouble and the weather was nice. My deck is a great place to write, but in the evening it gets buggy! My family always complains because I can usually sit out and not get bit, but even I was forced in. I journeyed (from my kitchen table) to amazon and bought a $8 mosquito net. The third photo is the view from inside.
I also realized I’d never shared the pix from my trip to NYC for the RWA National Conference. So, the next photo is my new book and the statue (who now has an owner!) with my room view in NYC. While I was in NY, I took the chance to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s been one of my favorite places since I was a kid. (Thanks to the book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by Konigsburg. Two kids run away from home and live in the museum. It’s awesome!)
The painting is a Monet. The horses and knights are from the Arms and Armor exhibit. In The Dragon’s Flame (Chimera Chronicles 5) The knights come to life and fight for Ky and CJ. I had to use (ancient) memory and the internet to describe the area, so 😳 I got some things wrong. As a former librarian, I’m appalled, but nothing can be done until I have an opportunity to revise. I still love the scene though, so I hope you’ll check it out!
Here’s a snippet***
Summoning a protection spell to shield herself, she stepped out from behind the riders. Unlike the spontaneous and unfamiliar spell that had failed on the cameras, she immediately felt the powerful wards snap into place. Fury rode her so completely it wouldn’t surprise her if sparks flew from her fingertips. She was no longer weak from captivity and overuse of her powers. Ares would soon discover he’d seriously underestimated her capabilities.
Her defenses set, she waved an arm at the mounted knights beside her. Expugnatisque nobis huc intrasti veterum militum animos. Souls of ancient knights enter here and fight for us.
Back to book 7. I had a brainstorm yesterday and am doing some moving around and adding to the beginning, so the word count shrank and is now slowly increasing. But now that I know where I’m going… I hope to have the first draft in hand by the middle of September.
I hope wherever you are the weather is nice and the bugs aren’t biting!
I posted my WIP, the last book in the Chimera Chronicles series, lucky number 7, tentatively titled Out Like a Dragon, for Weekend Writing Warriors this week, and I realized I’d never posted an excerpt of my brand new release!
Her Sexy Beast (Chimera Chronicles 6) is my ninth book baby to be born into the world.
This excerpt takes place about a week after Sofia and Roan meet. He longs to make a connection with her, but is too afraid of being hurt to follow through.
Book 6
***“Whoaaa!” The word slipped from Sofia’s lips without conscious thought as the ladder she was standing on tilted sideways. She grappled for the side of the cash office and her fingers caught the rough shingles. Her other hand was partially supporting the brightly painted wooden sign that perched on the roof of the cash office—normally. The ladder teetered on one leg.
In such moments, your life was supposed to flash through your mind, but all she experienced as fear stabbed through her chest, time slowed, and her fingers burned at maintaining her current, precarious situation, was regret for tackling the repair.
The brilliant idea had been to show everyone she was approachable, and grounded enough to get her hands dirty, not kill herself.
Should she risk a jump to the weedy gravel? That might be the wise move under other circumstances, but the unwieldy sign, heavy with water damage and age, was hanging on by a thread and might tear free and strike her.
All her weight was on one leg to keep the remaining ladder support from losing contact with the ground and her thigh muscle ached, trembling with the strain. Finally, the fatigued muscle gave way.
The ladder rocked and her fingers slipped. She was falling in slow-motion. She scrabbling at the ladder with the now empty hand, searching the rapidly approaching ground for the best place to land. This was going to hurt.
Suddenly, the ladder righted. Two strong arms bracketed her from behind against the shingles. A muscled chest pressed against her back. The bronze tattoos covering the arms on either side of her identified her savior. Roan.
Despite the bruising on her pride left over of their last meeting, relief prickled through her, but the feeling evaporated as he steadied her.
His body heat and strength surrounded her. A shiver zinged down the back of her neck and arms. Her heart do-si-doed from drumming in fear to a frantic, hormone-fueled jive.
She need to speak, to thank him for his rescue, but all the moisture in her mouth had evaporated.
He reached around her and hoisted the dangling sign. His hard, muscledchest brushed against her back. His thighs cradled her butt, the creases of his shorts searing through the fabric of her jeans to stimulate the sensitive nerve-endings beneath. A coil of desire tightened in her stomach. Pressed together as they were, breathing forced her closer to him, but she couldn’t seem to slow the rapid-fire workings of her lungs. She should inch away, but with his hands up to fix the sign, the slightest movement could send them toppling.
He took the hammer and nails from their abandoned location on the roof and lifted the sign back into position, securing it with several strikes of the hammer. His scent wrapped around her as he worked, clean and masculine.
She bit her lips to hold in a moan as he finished and slowly descended. Their positions on the ladder forced his sinewy frame to rub against her sensitized flesh. For all the armor they gave her, her flimsy, cotton T-shirt and jeans might as well have been non-existent. On the ground he held the ladder steady so she could come down.
Unsteady, she dismounted cautiously. She needed to make sure he understood how grateful she was. With Tia so frail, she couldn’t afford to get injured.
Safely on the ground, she paused, still clinging to the rails of the ladder. The rapid meter of her pulse banged in her ears. She inhaled slow and long. Time to face him. She was an adult woman. How hard could it be? Pep talk over, she wheeled to thank him, and faced empty air.
He was gone.***
Blurb:
Beast…
Stolen off the street as a teen, tortured for months, altered into a monster, and dumped with only vague memories of his past, Ronan found refuge in the sideshow of a traveling carnival. It’s a lonely life, but it’s all he’s known for years—until he finds himself transforming further day by day, his temper becoming more and more volatile, his body changing into what he can only label as a beast.
Beauty…
Sofia Flores always knew what she would do when she grew up, help run the family-owned carnival. She’s been studying for years, first as a scholarship student at boarding school, then college, and finally getting her MBA. Now, at last, it’s time to take up the reins. But she never bargained with her own fascination for her Tia’s star attraction, Ronan. Not only does he appear not to return her interest, he seems to actively dislike her.
Nothing could be further from the truth, however. Ronan is immediately captivated by the carnival’s curvy new business manager, but he knows the score—beautiful women like Sofia aren’t meant for men like him.
Unfortunately, Ronan has more to worry about than unrequited feelings. Since meeting Sofia, his body reshapes more each day. He’s losing himself to the beast. And the shadowy remnants of the people who did this to him are hot on his trail.
Hi, I’m Karin Shah and I’m new to weekend writing warriors!
I love anime, manga, dogs, and of course, reading! I write Paranormal Romance.
I’m currently working on the final book in my Chimera Chronicles series. Bk 7, it’s more fun to read from the beginning, but readers should be able to jump in anywhere!
Bk1-6 are out now.😀
Eight sentence snippet***
Caleb needs to find his mate before he goes feral—whoops too late. A captive of a group using him for assassinations, his only hope is the serum they use to keep him human for short periods of time. Council enforcer Mika wants to track down the mysterious hitman she thinks she’s identified when she’s pulled into the search for a Chimera’s missing brother. This is their first meeting…
Surprise knocked the air from her lungs. She froze. He ducked close to her ear. His face buried in her hair. She could feel the buzz of sound through the bones behind her ear. His jaw moved, forming syllables.
Unable to resist, she skated the surface of his mind. He was singing, sort of. Ya da, da, da, da, da, Da, Da, Da.
He swung her into the moves of a dance, sticking her right hand out in front of them and gliding them across the floor, she had to go along, or be dragged.Ya da, da, da, da, da, Da, Da, Da. Ya da, da, da, da, da, Da, Da, Da. Ya da, da, da, da, da, Da, Da, Da…
Rage surged through her. Her attacks had had so little effect, he thought of it as a dance. A tango. ***
A couple weeks ago, my daughter said to me, “i want to go to the beach.” I was all, “I hate the beach. Sand gets in unmentionable places. We don’t have the money. The ocean is too far.” Etc. Etc. Etc. (Ha! Identify the musical!)
She brought her father in and started on the both of us. I was sure he would brush her off because of the expense, but he took her seriously. We’ve gone tot he beach before, we usually visit his family in NJ and visit the beach for a few hours. It’s a production, food must be sourced and packed, towels, sunscreen, and other necessities must be packed. We go there for a few hours getting beaten by the sun and waves and then go home, exhausted, sticky with salt, and even though there’s a shower at the beach, the tub back at wherever we’re staying is covered with sand and even pebbles 😳 that escaped the shower due to their, eh hem, — inaccessible position. So I threw a spammer in the works. “If we’re going tot he beach,” I said. “We have to stay on the beach. No driving in and driving out.” There I thought, there’s no way they’re are hotels in our budget available directly on the beach!
Guess, what. Challenge accepted. My husband found the Hampton Inn Myrtle Beach. Fast forward to last Monday. We all piled into the car and head for Myrtle Beach.
I have to say, the drive wasn’t that bad. My husband drove the whole way like a champ. The kids, my son 14 and daughter, 16 didn’t fight too much. We started later than we usually do. We typically leave while it’s still dark for long road trips so the kids sleep part of the way, but My husband had flown back from a trail race the night before and his plane kept getting delayed so it was after midnight when he finally got home. We got in time to see a gorgeous sunset and a big yellow moon.
I, the beach grinch, now I have to eat. my words. It was awesome! The water was warm, (yes, the sand got everywhere but it’s a small price to pay). The hotel had lovely pools and complimentary breakfast. We hung out in the water, laid on the beach, and generally relaxed. Believe it or not I had never had a rum punch so I ordered one from the little bar in the pool area one day. I also enjoyed frozen drinks like frozen strawberry daiquiris, mango somethings, and the like.
The only downside is, despite my absolute devotion to re-applying sunscreen and badgering everyone in the family to use it, I was the one who got sunburned! Just my back and the back of my upper arms, but it kind of put a damper on the last day for me cause I wasn’t feeling too well.
It’s healing now, but yikes! It’s itchy! Where did you o for you vacation? Do you like the beach?
The moon was gorgeous every night. The last night it was so red it looked like a giant mars. This picture is from day two.
I had assumed the fun for the beach was all about the day, but after it got dark, people, mostly with kids, were down on the beach with flashlights. I was like, “What are they doing?” Apparently, they are looking for crabs, seashells, shark’s teeth, anything that gets washed up on the beach after the tide comes in. My husband, trailrunner guy, always takes a headlamp everywhere, so the last night he and my son went down. They didn’t find much other than shells, but they enjoyed it.
And the firework restrictions in South Carolina are apparently pretty loose, so all along the beach people were setting off fireworks.
Even just sitting out on the balcony, at night reading and watching the moon and few visible stars was fun.
Now to get ready for the RWA National Conference! Come and see me if you’re at the Conference or live in NYC or environs. There will be big name romance authors and the whole thing is for charity. I’ll have this guy with me.
This dragon can be yours!
All newsletter subscribers will be entered!
So you can see it in person. I have free swag, dragon and lion pendants and my new book! But don’t worry, there’s no pressure to buy my book, I’m happy just to chat! Stop by and say hello, you’ll make my day!
Beast…
Stolen off the street as a teen, tortured for months, altered into a monster, and dumped with only vague memories of his past, Ronan found refuge in the sideshow of a traveling carnival. It’s a lonely life, but it’s all he’s known for years—until he finds himself transforming further day by day, his temper becoming more and more volatile, his body changing into what he can only label as a beast.
Beauty…
Sofia Flores always knew what she would do when she grew up, help run the family-owned carnival. She’s been studying for years, first as a scholarship student at boarding school, then college, and finally getting her MBA. Now, at last, it’s time to take up the reins. But she never bargained with her own fascination for her Tia’s star attraction, Ronan. Not only does he appear not to return her interest, he seems to actively dislike her.
Nothing could be further from the truth, however. Ronan is immediately captivated by the carnival’s curvy new business manager, but he knows the score—beautiful women like Sofia aren’t meant for men like him.
Unfortunately, Ronan has more to worry about than unrequited feelings. Since meeting Sofia, his body reshapes more each day. He’s losing himself to the beast. And the shadowy remnants of the people who did this to him are hot on his trail.
1. Conference! On Tuesday, I preserved through Romance Writers of America’s perpetually overwhelmed servers to register for the National Conference which is in NYC this year!
2. Even though it’s like my twentieth year of going to the conference, I always meet new people, and learn something new (or something I knew, but forgot.) This year, I may not be flying to conference though because we may be moving.😳
Moving should be easy at my age, but with life up in the air, I’m pretty overhwelmed.
3. Still, after a few days of panicking, I got back to work and am currently am on Chapter Twenty-Five of revsions to Her Sexy Beast (The Chimera Chronicles 6) I can’t believe I’m finishing up the sixth book in the series! I only have one more brother to go.
Here’s a snippet from today. Remember it’s a work in progress and will be edited.
<<
He glanced at Thalia. The look in her eyes told him she could also hear the intruders. Neither one of them flinched when the heavy knock came, but Thalia’s eyes flared red, revealing her tension and he felt his dragon surge again. Clearly, it gained power from his emotions. He breathed deeply, trying to stay calm.
Thalia sighed. “I’m going to drop the barriers and open the door. Can you stay human?”
He nodded, hoping it wasn’t a lie. >>
Coming May 2019 from Soul Mate Publishing!
4. Meanwhile, I looked around at everybody’s shiny, pretty FB covers and logos and decided to get to work on some of my own. Below, is my new banner. Unfortunately, when I downloaded it to my FB page it looks all dark and murky. Nothing like technology to make you feel like an idiot.
5. Puppies! It’s Basenji puppy season. That means a trip to my breeder’s house to play with the babies. Puppy breath! Little pink feet! Ears that can’t decide whether to stand up straight or flop over. Snuggles and licks and nips and hair pulling. Basenji puppies are too cute!
Since it’s NaNoWriMo, I’m going to share a writing struggle.
Every one of the Chimera Chronicles was inspired by something.
1. In Like a Lion has heavy the Pretender overtones.
2. Entity Mine was inspired by an episode of Discovery channel’s old A Haunting.
3. The Lion’s Share is inspired by an episode of Supernatural called Nightshifter.
4. Lion’s Prey in inspired by a Supernatural episode called Jus en Bello.
5. The Dragon’s Flame is a treasure hunt book.
I’m working on book 6 now, draft title Her Sexy Beast, and as you might guess, it’s centered on a Beauty Beast theme.
Oddly, I actually find it harder to write the parts that most closely mirror the original story. This morning I separated Sofia from Roan as called for in the plot of BATB, now I have to maneuver through the rest within the confines of the Chimera Chronicles mythology. I’m procrastinating. “I have to write a FB post!” Better check in on Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter, post to my blog, etc. It’s important to me that I do this well, and I fear my best will not be good enough.
It’s not the first time I’ve mentioned my persistent self-doubt, but I think it’s important to recognize that these issues don’t just turn to ash like traditional vampires in sunlight after being faced. It can help to acknowledge the problem, but it doesn’t cure it.
Fear is often a motivator (though, I believe most steps taken as a result of fear are usually in the wrong direction). But for me it’s always been more of a roadblock.
Are you working on NaNoWriMo? Or just waiting eagerly for the fruit of us madly typing writers?
Is fear holding you back from something?
I’d love to hear! (Selfishly, it make me feel less alone)😊
So what’s distracting me this week? 
