Works in Progress, Week 5: Blood Bound and Bones of Earth

Blood Bound
Flesh and Blood, Book 1

Bones of Earth
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 3

Slow work week this week. Again. I’m going to get into the swing of things soon, I swear! But not this week, I don’t think. Final edits are back on Forged in Fire, so I’ll be getting that ready to upload for presales. And I’m also trying to convince my body that it hasn’t caught a cold…

Part of my slow week was my non-writing life. Scholastic Book Fair volunteer on Thursday, personal eek on Friday, Keiser Supercon on Saturday and a 5K Sunday morning. I was hitting my wordcounts until Thursday!

Keiser Supercon was an awesome little convention, and I enjoyed myself greatly! For a first year convention, they really outdid themselves — one of their media guests was George Lowe, the voice of Space Ghost from Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. And, in an very unusual turn of events, I was the “name” fiction writer. I’m not used to being one of the headliners on the guest list.

One of the other comic guests was someone VERY impressive — Athena Finger, granddaughter of Bill Finger, co-creator of Batman. She was the one who finally beat DC and forced them to recognize her grandfather’s work, after he was shafted by Bob Kane. She did a panel on the history of Batman in the media, which I have to say made the convention for both my husband and my son!

It was a good convention, and I hope we have a second one next year!

On to an excerpt. They’re all from Blood Bound, because anything I post from Bones of Earth is going to have spoilers in it. So those will have to wait until after Forged in Fire comes out.

***

“Daniel, you told me that your college major required a language,” Hiro said as he took his seat and picked up his mug. “You didn’t tell me what your major was.”

“Political Science,” Daniel answered. “With an emphasis on human-vampire relations.”

Hiro stared at him for a moment, then started laughing. “And you are not a bond why?”

Daniel shook his head. “I didn’t finish college. And I told you I didn’t have the money for the prep school. I have no degree, no certificate, and no family connections, which means that I don’t qualify for the lottery.”

Hiro shook his head. “That is not the only way to become a bond.”

“It’s not?” Daniel asked.

“No. It is the most common, but it is not the only way.” Hiro took another sip from his mug. “A vampire can choose their own bond, independent of the lottery. It is then their responsibility to provide their bond with anything that they lack.”

“I didn’t know that,” Daniel murmured. A sudden suspicion dawned, and he looked across the table. “Hiro—?”

Hiro smiled. “Eventually. It would please me a great deal,” he answered. “But I will not press you. Not so soon. You must be comfortable with me, with us. Just know that I am interested.” His smile broadened.
“Very interested.”

Daniel felt his face grow warmer. “I… I really don’t understand why.”

“Because you are not seeing yourself the way I see you,” Hiro answered. He picked up his mug and drained it, then leaned back in his chair. His smile slowly transformed into a leer. “Finish your tea, Daniel.”