Thursday, August 27, 2015

Progeny of Sin: Dark Dreams Deleted Scene #1

One of the hardest things we found about writing a novel and the subsequent editing process is that sometimes you have to make the tough decision to remove a scene or sequence that you really enjoy. There was an entire sequence early in the book that starts when the main female character, Jade, decides to leave the city to go hiking in order to relax. There she gets lost and encounters the male lead, Nias, for the second time. This scene and the subsequent scenes in the early stages of the novel fell victim to the need to move the story along - but some of the conversations found their way into other parts of the book because we really enjoy the banter between these two characters.  We hope you do too!

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After trying to find her way out of the fog-bound surroundings for around forty-five minutes, her frustration stopped her.  This day, simply meant for her to unwind or sort things out, had now lasted much longer than she originally intended. The light was almost gone and the woods which had been so warm and inviting were taking on a wholly different appearance in the quickly dimming light. Her attempts to locate some landmark were proving futile. The light breeze which had gone from warm and playful to unseasonably chilly teased her hair now and seemed to claw at her clothes with icy fingers. ‎
A howl, sounding less like a wolf and more like tearing metal echoed across the forest and went right through her soul.
“I’m so friggin lost,” she mumbled and kicked at the leaf-covered ground beneath her.
There was a rustling in the bushes to her right, and she turned quickly backing up a few steps trying to see through the soupy air.  Jade could see nothing beyond a few feet.  She felt her heart hammering in her chest as she scanned the ground for something, anything, she might use to drive off whatever it was that was coming at her.  It’s probably even hungrier than I am right now!  Her mind went wild with all of the possibilities.  Bear?  Wolf?  Bigfoot?  Damn, I’ve been watching the Discovery Channel too much.
Suddenly, but almost as if in slow motion, out of the mist a man came through the thick white air.  He was moving straight toward her.  He seemed quite tall; 6’4” maybe even 6’5”.
Immediately she noticed that he looked quite similar to the men she dreamed about in her fantasies.  Oh my god, he looked even more similar to the hot slice of man from her bookstore.  But it couldn’t be!  She was immediately suspicious of herself, of her crazy mind.  Her head made her feel more off kilter than most anything life could throw her way.
He had black hair with hints of brown throughout.  It shone and fell quite a bit below his shoulders; his extremely well-built shoulders.  His eyes looked dark as well until he got closer and she noticed they were actually an intense deep gold laced by black lashes.  Large muscled arms exploded out of the sleeves of his well-fitting t-shirt.
It was so like her to be focused on how great he looked instead of the precarious situation she was currently in.  Her heart was beating hard, though not with fear, with excitement; all thoughts of the sounds of the forest were lost to her now.
Then she snapped back to the reality of her plight - eyes, hair, height, hello crazy lady, she realized she was currently alone in a dark creepy forest with a large stranger.
These eyes, the ones she had been examining for color, were a little sinister and were focused right at her.  He had his eyes locked into hers, and she was finding it hard to look away.  She felt stuck in place, like somebody planted her feet in a bed of cement.
“Have you lost your way?” he asked as his perfect although still dark glare reached her.  It was definitely him, the man from her book store.  Even if she tried to deny it, there was no way around how her body reacted to him; she shivered, and … oh that is definitely him.
“Huh?” was the first thing that tumbled out of her gaping mouth.  Nice, he must think I am such a spaz.
Her body was tense, but alert at the same time, although he didn’t really frighten her.  His presence seemed calming; she felt safer.  She knew she shouldn’t feel this way; she wasn’t getting an accurate sense of him at all.  She should have been freaked, but she wasn’t, and that in and of itself was out of the ordinary.
Not sure how long she had been staring at him, finally she replied, “I’m … I’ll be fine … I’m just going back to my car.”  She gulped visibly, unable to move her feet.
“Don’t worry, I have come for you.”   He squinted slightly and moved closer to her. 
What the hell is he talking about?  Maybe he’s just as crazy as me or maybe he’s some kind of psychotic stalker! 
 “You couldn’t be, I’m not waiting for anyone.  You must have me confused with someone else.  No one even knows I’m here.”  Jade kicked up dirt from the ground this time.  Oh my god, why did I say that?  Now he can do anything he wants and he knows I won’t be missed.  Stupid!  Stupid! 
She could have sworn he smirked at her.  He slowly looked her up and down, from her boots, to her jeans, even slower over her tank top, and the straps of her backpack, and then up to her face locking on her eyes for just a moment too long.  Then his gaze slithered back down her hair, stopped completely this time, at her alert breasts, and then continued all the way down to her boots.  She should have been terrified at the way he was looking at her, instead she was just irritated.
“Hey that really wasn’t my outfit you were appraising was it?”  She cocked a scolding brow at him, and put her hand to her hip.
At this point she saw his expression change.  Now it was saying something like, you look as tasty as I thought you would, and he gave her a devilish half-upturned smile, which was clearly saying I believe I might like to fuck you right here.
Her mouth fell open, and she could see his apparently oversexed and overconfident smirk, thinking to itself, I know what to do with that as well.
“Excuse me!!”  She gasped, a little too loudly.
“Yes?”  He questioned with all the innocence of a school boy.
Yeah, a naughty one!  Her heart began pounding and she felt a hot wetness rise up from between her legs. He really is exquisite.  My body is such a traitor.  She slowly snapped out of her haze, after a few more seconds of staring.  She suddenly remembered that she was lost, and taking a deep breath, decided she was going to have to trust him, but only a little.
“Can you tell me how to get out of here?”  She said trying to change the unspoken conversation.  He shifted his gait and his t-shirt moved over his firm and muscled chest revealing a V formation to his upper body which made his finely muscled physique even more amazing. She swallowed, gulped really; his physical beauty made her nervous.  He grinned again knowing she had given him a prurient approval.
“I would love to.  Please, follow me.”  He turned, and began a strong feral saunter through the forest, just like a large dangerous cat, looking like he knew she was enamored with him.

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