Tag: Sneak Peek Sunday

Sneak Peek Sunday #4

Published on by Juli D. Revezzo

Did you know today is Bastille day? *nods* So for  this Sneak Peek Sunday we have a spooky entry from House of Cards (Reign of Tarot, book 1) that just so happens to take place around this time of year. The main character, you see, is on the run because his family is about to be arrested during the opening strains of the Reign of Terror which affected France in the years following this event. So, here he is, just a moment after one of his horses threw a shoe. And he sees a woman hanging from a tree.

Spanish Dungeon© Kacpura | Dreamstime.com

Surely, he was seeing things: the poor soul hadn’t been there a moment ago.  Ignoring the driver’s warning, he turned back to demand he lend a hand as Sinjon intended to cut her down. The more he looked, the less he was sure she was human. There was something odd about her: the nails weren’t right seeming almost like razors, her skin more like wrinkled leather, her throat a little too long. Her eyes were altogether strange, gouged, yet whole; staring and lifeless, yet somehow they seemed to watch him. What had happened to the right side of her torso, he couldn’t tell, but it was torn to shreds, strips of bloodied flesh hanging, ribs showing through the injury. Yet, when he tilted his head for a different view, the skin and sinew seemed almost woven together. Something protruded from her back, but whether two humps, knives, or—it couldn’t be—stubby wings, he couldn’t decide. Or didn’t want to know the nature of what he saw.

As he turned back to his driver, a wall of ethereal flame erupted between them. Sinjon fell back, staring in astonishment. The ice-blue flames crackled and spat, the wind gusting from the blaze was cold as a winter’s breeze. Beyond, noises of battle erupted.

Sinjon reached for his pistol. A screaming woman flew from the conflagration and locked her hands around his throat. Shock paralyzed him as she dragged him to the flames.

The fire engulfed them utterly. The hag hissed, baring wicked fangs. Twisting her grip, her nails cut his flesh like blades. He shivered in the chill of the unreal blaze, struggling for freedom. She laughed and tossed him about until nausea threatened to overtake him.

Sudden darkness blinded him. Chains snaked around his chest, his limbs. He slammed against a stone wall alive with spiders; the monsters sunk their teeth deep into his flesh, shocking him with unmatched pain.

“Where are you?” he screamed. “Come and face me, damn you! I’m not afraid of you!”

Does he have reason to fear her? What does she want? If you’d like to see what happens next, House of Cards (Reign of Tarot, #1) is available at Amazon and Smashwords. Book two is in the works to be released (tentatively) next year!

For more Sneak Peek Sunday writers see the main site at: http://sneak-peek-sunday.blogspot.com/

Sneak Peek Sunday/Sweet Saturday#2–#99cent #shortread

Published on by Juli D. Revezzo7 Comments

For Sneak Peek Sunday/  Sweet Saturday Sample entry, week two, another  snippet from my story Caitlin’s Book of Shadows (though not quite supernatural horror in bent, this bit, Caitlin fears it’s coming. You’ll see… For those of you who have not read the first book in the Antique Magic series, The Artist’s Inheritance, Michela is the family’s guardian spirit).

Juli D. Revezzo, Antique Magic, crafts&hobbies, paranormal, cozy mystery, Fort Pickens, Gulf Breeze, Florida “He’s here again. Arianrhod promised he’s locked up,” Caitlin said, watching the guardian take a cup of coffee from her husband’s hand.
“I assure you that’s the case.”

Arms crossed, she gripped her loose sleeves tight, crumpling the flannel in her anxiety. “Why did I see him in Kameko’s?”

Michela shrugged. “You’ve been stressed. I suppose it’s normal for you to fixate that rage on him.”

“With good reason,” Caitlin grumbled. She raised her voice. “So, I can go back to work tomorrow without fear of him bombing the place or something?”

“If you put it that way, let’s be honest, anyone could perpetrate such a crime,” Michela mused. “To answer your question, I have no indication any evil’s about to befall you.”

Yeah, right.

****

Well….Caitlin knows Hofter and the mischief he perpetrates. Evil might be an understatement, right?

Caitlin’s Book of Shadows is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.

Something terrifying stalks Caitlin and her beloved Trevor. Something the bits and pieces she left claimed she had to make sense of–or so legend says. When the curator of their collection finds Caitlin’s long forgotten diary, she wonders will it tell the whole tale? Will it tell why Caitlin seemed so determined to tell the difference between reality and nightmare even as she continued the fight to defend her family from evil? Will it explain why she thought her world twisted? If she really became a witch?

Perhaps the answer lies between the lines of her story, one of lessons, struggles, and the hopes she carried like a warrior’s shield.

 **This is a side (or supplemental, if you will) story in the Antique Magic series, a companion to The Artist’s Inheritance (Antique Magic, Book One).

Also book one, The Artist’s Inheritance, is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

For more Sweet Saturday Samples see their main site: http://sweetsatsample.wordpress.com/

For more “Sneak Peeks” see the main site at Sneak Peek Sunday.

Sweet Saturday/Sunday Sample

Published on by Juli D. Revezzo

For this Sweet Saturday we have a spooky entry from House of Cards (Reign of Tarot, book 1)

Spanish Dungeon© Kacpura | Dreamstime.com
Spanish Dungeon
© Kacpura | Dreamstime.com

Surely, he was seeing things: the poor soul hadn’t been there a moment ago.  Ignoring the driver’s warning, he turned back to demand he lend a hand as Sinjon intended to cut her down. The more he looked, the less he was sure she was human. There was something odd about her: the nails weren’t right seeming almost like razors, her skin more like wrinkled leather, her throat a little too long. Her eyes were altogether strange, gouged, yet whole; staring and lifeless, yet somehow they seemed to watch him. What had happened to the right side of her torso, he couldn’t tell, but it was torn to shreds, strips of bloodied flesh hanging, ribs showing through the injury. Yet, when he tilted his head for a different view, the skin and sinew seemed almost woven together. Something protruded from her back, but whether two humps, knives, or—it couldn’t be—stubby wings, he couldn’t decide. Or didn’t want to know the nature of what he saw.

As he turned back to his driver, a wall of ethereal flame erupted between them. Sinjon fell back, staring in astonishment. The ice-blue flames crackled and spat, the wind gusting from the blaze was cold as a winter’s breeze. Beyond, noises of battle erupted.

Sinjon reached for his pistol. A screaming woman flew from the conflagration and locked her hands around his throat. Shock paralyzed him as she dragged him to the flames.

The fire engulfed them utterly. The hag hissed, baring wicked fangs. Twisting her grip, her nails cut his flesh like blades. He shivered in the chill of the unreal blaze, struggling for freedom. She laughed and tossed him about until nausea threatened to overtake him.

Sudden darkness blinded him. Chains snaked around his chest, his limbs. He slammed against a stone wall alive with spiders; the monsters sunk their teeth deep into his flesh, shocking him with unmatched pain.

“Where are you?” he screamed. “Come and face me, damn you! I’m not afraid of you!”

The inhuman hag stepped from the shadows. “Aren’t you afraid, Sinjon? I wouldn’t expect such feigned bravado, were you unaffected by tonight’s events.”

He pulled against his chains. “What do you want of me?”

What does she want? If you’d like to see what happens next, House of Cards (Reign of Tarot, #1) is available at Amazon and Smashwords. Book two is in the works to be released (tentatively) next year!

For more Sneak Peek Sunday writers see the main site at: http://sneak-peek-sunday.blogspot.com/

For more Sweet Saturday Samples, see the main site here.