Good morning! Please welcome guest author Lily Vega. Though I will be away for most of the day, please feel free to leave comments for Lily and I will post them as soon as I return. Thank you!
~Kate
Giving Thanks
By Lily Vega
At the end of last year, I came across a photo for a thankfulness jar. The idea was to capture on a slip of paper any of the following boons:
· Surprise gifts
· Accomplished goals
· The beauty of nature
· “LOL” moments
· Memories worth saving
· Daily blessings
On New Year’s Eve, the jar is to be opened and all of the pieces of paper are to be read to give honor to the year’s blessings.
On January 1st, I started capturing these on small multicolored post-its. I wasn’t perfect and my jar didn’t look as pretty as the one in the photo. I’m sure I missed a ton of them, but taking the time to write each one down and the ritual of revisiting them is a habit I want to continue in the years to come.
So, what’s in my jar?
Everything from safe travels on icy roads to the signing of my very first contract. I can’t believe I’ll have three novellas published this year with Changeling Press. One of the slips of paper in the jar is for Kate for featuring me and my books on her blog.
It’s easier to remember the rough times each new year brings, so I am grateful for finding this way of celebrating the good times. And I get to play with one of my favorite office supplies, multicolored mini post-its.
I wish you all many blessings.
The second installment of the Devil May Care trilogy, The Devil You Know, is now available.
https://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=2310
Natalie Owens agrees to perform a sex magic ritual to help her crush, dreamy Ben Nixon, summon a familiar. Being just friends with Ben after a night of magically enhanced sex will be next to impossible, but the hot steamy encounter might be enough to stop her ex-husband’s new fiancée from playing matchmaker.
But instead of a familiar, they summon a naked lust demon — who seems to know Natalie.
Here’s an excerpt:
The Devil You Know (Devil May Care)
Lily Vega
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2014 Lily Vega
The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ song “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” blasted in an endless loop in Natalie Owens’ mind, gyrating her brain cells. She shook her head to stop the spontaneous mental rave party and sucked in a breath of stale hallway air.
What the hell had she been thinking when she agreed to participate in a sex magic ritual? Healers rarely practiced any flavor of spell outside of the purest of white magic. There had to be another way to help Ben.
But if she bailed out now, who would he turn to? Her spell sisters would fight over the opportunity to bed the quietly sexy male member of the coven. The thought of one of them in her place strengthened her resolve to go through with the ritual.
While sex magic wasn’t full-on black magic, it wasn’t considered white magic either. Every witch knew someone who had dabbled in gray magic only to succumb to the allure of black magic. If only she could pretend this wasn’t one of those good intentions that might pave the road straight to hell.
The seeds of addiction lay within Natalie. Her brother, Ray, spent more time in rehab than out. While magic was her drug, she took precautions to stay well within her predefined boundaries. This risk didn’t mesh with her carefully regimented life. But she had something her brother didn’t — a son that loved her and friends she could rely on. Ben needed her to perform the ritual. She was strong enough to resist the temptation of darker magic.
Before she could raise her fist to rap, the door swung open. Ben Nixon wore only his underwear and a crooked smile. She found herself gaping at his crotch and dragged her gaze up to his eyes. Surely he noticed her sizing him up like a slab of beef on display in the butcher’s case.
He didn’t have the bulky muscles of a man who lifts weights religiously like her ex-husband, Blake, but Ben’s thinner build had the sleek musculature of a runner. His lightly tanned skin looked warm as though still kissed by the sun.
Dozens of candles lit the room and shadows lurked in the corners. The scent of burning herbs and incense filled her sinuses, provoking a sneeze.
“Gesundheit.”
“Thanks.” Natalie extracted a tissue to wipe at her nose and dab under her glasses at her watering eyes.
“I’ve completed all the preparations and initiated the ritual. All that’s left is…” Ben broke off, shifting his weight from leg to leg, as though standing on hot coals and too polite to complain.
The sex. Shit, they were in trouble if he couldn’t even say the word. She fought another sneeze. They needed to get the party started before she lost her nerve. She let her coat drop to the floor.
Ben’s eyes bugged out of his head like Wile E. Coyote. She half expected the Road Runner to zip by.
“Wow, Nat. You look beautiful.”
Of course it wasn’t necessary to dress for seduction, but she could not resist wearing the black teddy with red ribbon lacing up the back. The sole purpose of their coupling was to fuel the spell, but she wanted this one and only time with Ben to be special. He didn’t think of her as any more than a friend and coven mate. Tonight, she intended to make sure he viewed her as a woman, if only for the length of the ritual.
“Thanks.” She shook out her hair from its ponytail, sliding the elastic band onto her wrist. “Shall we begin?”
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