Absense makes the heart grow fonder...

So sorry I've been away for so long, everyone. I've been trying like hell to get the time to start back up with Damian and Cara. Unfortunately, the time still eludes me for now. I'm in the process of polishing up the first few chapters of my full length book, with the goal of entering it in a writing contest. Having never done this sort of thing before, EVER, it's taking me much longer than I'd hoped it would. But anything worth doing is worth doing right, and nothing worth having is going to be easy. Isn't that what "they" say? Well, at any rate, that's what I'm telling myself so I don't go insane. Also, and not that I am complaining by any means, I've had a few more book ideas pop into my dreams. Sometimes you just can't deny those voices the air time they demand. So I've been writing a few pages here and there. I'm terribly excited for the newest one, and since I'm in a sharing mood, I thought I'd...well...share. And just so you guys know, this is a first draft, so don't judge it too harshly.

*clears throat* The opening for the first book in this new series.

Amelina forced her legs to carry her exhausted body through the dense foliage at the back of her family’s estate. Faster. Keep moving. The fallen twigs scattered across the ground protested the assault, biting into her bare feet with each panicked step. Though spring had brought with it the vibrant green of renewed life, Old Man Winter’s casualties lay strewn amongst the forest like landmines long forgotten. Just waiting for someone to come along and step on them.

Almost there. You just need to make it to the barrier.

A gunshot echoed through the trees behind her. More followed in rapid succession, a warzone erupting in her family’s backyard. The wind swirled through her hair, whipping it against her cheeks. The explosions were gaining ground, closer and closer despite her adrenaline-fueled effort. Amelina risked a quick glance over her shoulder and nearly tripped over herself when she saw the path of destruction at her tail. It hadn’t been gunshots she’d heard.

Something was breaking the goddamn trees in half. The three hundred year old oak trees with trunks wider than some cars. Snapping like goddamn toothpicks.