Author: catstark

There are a couple scenes that emerged during a later re-write of the book. I originally thought the trilogy was a single book, as it was the first novel I had written, I didn’t think about the word count, and I didn’t format properly. When I realized it was a trilogy, I had to add a little to the second book to bump up the page/word count.
Having people read and give me advice really helped to fill out the trilogy and make certain characters more real. And really, anything that includes more Charlie makes me happy.

From Inside the Grey House:

“What are you going to do?”

“Take down my prey. Stay in the car, you’ll only get in the way.” Natalia rummaged in her backpack, pulled out a plastic sandwich bag stuffed with a wet cloth. Charlie didn’t ask about it as Natalia carefully placed it into her front pocket. She turned to Charlie once she had what she needed. “Turn wolf; hide in the back seat. Don’t show yourself when I come back to the car.”

“You’re not telling me your plan, are you?”

“Change to wolf; hide in the back seat. Don’t show yourself when I come back.”

With that, she was out of the car and headed across the street.

I started reading this paragraph, then the one after, then the one after…
Before posting anything, I read the paragraph and the one before and after to see how much I want to post. You’re getting a large amount of text today, as I really enjoy the seduction in this scene, and hope you do too.

From Inside the Grey House:

At the door to his sitting room, he paused, trying hard to control his ideas and desires. She had fainted earlier this evening from a little bit of exertion. He didn’t know how much he would be able to do with her. Vincent took a deep breath and stepped into his sitting room. The curtains had been drawn, but it wasn’t necessary. All the windows in his home were specially tinted to completely block the sun’s rays. Vincent walked to his bedroom, breathing slowly to calm his mind. He had no idea if he’d even be able to wake her. The door to the bedroom was open, and light was streaming through.

Vincent stood in the doorway, silently watching Natalia, who was standing by a window. She was standing naked, leaning against the wall, holding the curtain open with her body. He could see her weariness in her posture. His eyes traced the line of her back, over her ass and down her legs. He closed his eyes for a moment then walked to her, not making a sound. Her first indication he was in the room was when his hands slipped around her. She gave a ragged sigh and leaned into him, enjoying the feel of his hard body.

“Never again, Vincent.” Her voice was soft, but he heard her frustrations.

“Never again, what?” He was whispering into her ear, his hands roaming her torso, loving the feel of her warm soft skin.

“Never again, this long without you.” She turned and slipped her arms around his neck, pressing herself against him. Her lips found his as her eyes closed. His hands pressed into her back, pulling her as close as possible, but his clothing were in the way. He continued the kiss, though, deciding to move slowly. There were some things he needed to discuss with her. For the moment, though, he massaged her back, kissed her deeply, and let her feel his desires.

Natalia pulled away first, needing to catch her breath. Her face was flush. “Hello, lover.”

His eyes narrowed as his hunger broke through his attempt to stay calm. He growled at her as one hand went to the nape of her neck. His fingers caught her hair, bringing her head to the side. He continued the growl along her neck, tracing her vein with his lips. Her breath stopped as he bit her gently with his teeth. He had not exposed his fangs.

“You owe me blood, Natalia.” His voice whispered into her neck, traveling up her jaw line. He watched her reaction as he exposed his fangs to her.

“I do.” A low whisper. “When will you collect your payment?”

He turned her around, so her back was to his chest. Vincent lowered his head to her neck, letting her feel his fangs on her flesh. Each time he pressed the tips into her skin, her breath caught in anticipation and a touch of fear. “Tonight wouldn’t be wise, as you fainted on my steps not more than six hours ago.”

Natalia tried to turn around to face him again, but the large vampire wouldn’t let her. She enjoyed the feel of him against her but wanted to face him. His hands were running up and down her body. She’d been standing by the window for only a few minutes before he had come in, wondering if she should go find him. Now, here he was, going slow and easy, and all she wanted was for him to throw her onto the bed and claim her.

“What if I want you to take my blood?”

His lips were at her ear again. She could feel the cool air tickling her ear lobe. “It’s not smart to tempt me with such a dangerous pursuit, Natalia.”

She leaned into him fully then arched her back and neck, tempting him further. There was an edge to his usually controlled voice; she wanted to see how far she could push him. Her hands wove behind her to entwine around his neck, bringing his head closer to her elongated neck. His hands tightened around her waist and shoulders, attempting to hold her still. She moved her body back and forth slightly, rubbing herself against him. His arms tightened again, and his fingers dug into her flesh.

Vincent fought for control, winning when he heard her gasp. Pulling back, he turned her around. He took a moment to appraise her, letting his eyes roam up and down her shapely body. She was a little thinner than when he had last seen her but wasn’t surprised. He reached his hand out to run his fingers down her chest, between her breasts. She tried to step into his arms, but he pushed her back gently against the wall. She gave him an annoyed look, but stayed where she was, crossing her arms.

“Is there something else you want?”

“Information.” His hands and eyes were still roaming over her body.

“What do you want to know?”

“What brought you to my club that night?”

She turned her head away from him. “You know why I was there, Vincent.”

Natalia challenges Vincent to a fight, to get her way. Here, she recites his rules to show she knows what she is doing:

From Inside the Grey House:

“Do you know what happens now?” He started to circle her.

Natalia held his gaze, turning as he did. She came across his challenge rules in one of the Slayer journals. Vincent didn’t like when his men tried to kill him. If one of his men had a problem with some rule Vincent established, or they couldn’t settle an argument, they could land one blow then stop and the challenge would be enacted. “We fight. If you win, you’ll drain my blood, if you so desire. If I win, I get to drink half your blood. Since I’m not a vampire and I don’t want to drink your blood, I have a proposition.”

“You’re in no position to propose anything, human.”

“I swept you off your feet fairly easily, vampire. Do you really think I can’t do that again?”

I like Charlie’s relationship with his wife. They are very close and he tells her everything.
When I initially wrote The Grey House, I started with Natalia’s birth, went through her childhood and her young adulthood. She met Charlie and dated him, while knowing he was a werewolf. When I edited went to publish, I was advised to start not at her birth. And then to take out Charlie from the book almost completely. I couldn’t Charlie is my favorite character in this entire trilogy/series. I have already started writing his history, to be able to show Natalia and Charlie’s relationship. Also, it would allow me to share how Rebecca and Charlie interact more. It’s in the works.

From Inside the Grey House:

“Why don’t you start with why you think it’s your fault she got hurt?” Her voice was kind. “I’ll make breakfast.”

He smiled at her as his tension momentarily melted away. His wife knew him very well. He sat at the counter as she started gathering food. “Happened after Natalia hypnotized her friend. I wasn’t paying too much attention to my surroundings.”

He continued the story as she made breakfast. Though she listened, part of her mind was on the fact that Natalia had a human friend. Rebecca knew it was dangerous to have human friends. She had none herself. Never had. She grew up knowing what she would become and had been warned against making any unnecessary bonds. Her only friends growing up were the adult werewolves her parents knew and Vincent’s crew. Her parents worked for Vincent until Rebecca was old enough to take over. Vincent convinced her great-grandfather to work for him, and her family had been working for the vampire ever since.

Skipping my usual explanations as I experienced bad insomnia again last night. Hope you all slept well.

From Inside the Grey House:

“Natalia.” He considered for a moment turning off the security cameras but decided against it. Mierka was watching, but there was no reason to turn off the cameras as nothing said here would go further than the surveillance equipment and the guard.

“Joseph said you would tell me what was going to happen next.”

Vincent nodded. “He’s right.”

“Are you going to punish me now?”

The vampire started to pace slowly in the small room. “Your punishment is done, Natalia. This is your first offense, so I’ll explain the rules. If you do something that I would consider a betrayal, then I or Joseph or Mierka will punish you, depending on the severity. Small betrayals deserve small punishments; large betrayals deserve more. I’m not here to punish you; I’m here to find if I’m ready to be with you again today, or if it will have to wait until tomorrow.”

*A (short, incomplete) lesson of the English language.

When this word came up and I searched my novel for any instances of it, I was reminded by the oddness of the English language. Here are three examples of ‘tear’ in my novel. Two have similar meanings and sound the same, but are still used differently. The third has a completely different meaning and does not sound the same.

1) Tear: to rip apart physically

As Joseph retreated, she slashed him a few more times, tearing up his shirt and skin.

2) Tear: to rip through, but not physically

Natalia turned back to the notebook, her previous thoughts still tearing through her mind.

3) Tear: that which falls from the eyes when emotional.

He brushed away her tears, smearing the black mascara across her cheeks.

English is amusing. We have our language due to the mix of a few different languages. I hope that we continue to accept and assimilate different languages into our own. There are a few movies that add Asian words into English. I want that to happen. I want humanity to keep their native languages, but have one that everyone understands (or mostly understands) that is a mix of all languages. The idea fascinates me and brings me peace.

I too, slept poorly last night. Unlike Natalia, I did not reach for my partner. He was asleep, and I did not want him to suffer from my wakefulness.

From Inside the Grey House:

“Natalia.”

She heard her name as if the wind were speaking it. When Natalia looked up, her heart and breath stopped. Vincent was standing not five feet from the desk and was coming closer. Last night, when he left her, the look on his face suggested disappointment. Now, there was lust. Natalia closed her eyes and took deep breaths to calm her racing heart. She slept poorly last night, waking often, reaching for the vampire that was not there. Not too long after sunrise, she woke for the last time, gave up trying to clear her mind and went looking for a shower and spare clothing. One of the house humans had shown her the spare bathroom and lent her clothing.

There is a point in Book 2 where Vincent and Natalia fight (with weapons). She knows when he is about to attack because of a tell. If you’re not familiar with that definition of the word, it’s a poker term meaning to give away the cards you’re holding with some action. Some people become very excited, therefore terrible poker players. Some have small gestures.

Natalia, having been with Vincent for about a year at this point in the trilogy, has noticed something he does right before he moves. It helps her a little.

From Inside the Grey House:

“And how exactly am I doing that?” His voice grew loud. He was feeling a hunger weaving, flowing within him, combining with his anger. He was still under control, but it had taken a lot to heal the last cut. He breathed deep, closed his eyes as Joseph told him his tell.

Natalia waited patiently for Joseph to seal her fate. Joseph most probably knew what she did: that Vincent’s jaw twitched right before he moved. It was something Natalia learned in bed. There were times he would stand unmoving watching her, deciding how to proceed. Every time, without fail, his jaw muscle would twitch right before he dove for her. It was a handy tell to know about in this situation. Natalia felt the slight weight of the rapier, glad now to have the lighter weapon. It would be easier to whip at Vincent than the samurai sword. She stood at the ready as Joseph stepped away.

I have a favorite line of the trilogy. Well, probably more than one, but this one keeps coming back to me. It’s from the first book:

“The din tore down the beach like a great beast in heat.”

This happens when Natalia lets out a frustrated scream when she realized she wants to sleep with Vincent. I wanted the noise she made to resemble a beast, hence that word in the sentence. There is another, hidden, indication of that as well. “Din”. Great word. Older word we don’t use too much in English (American English anyway) that means noise.

I didn’t want to use noise though, as that was not quite right. I can remember if I used a thesaurus for the word, of if I remembered it from various books and poems I’ve read.

At any rate, I decided to use “din” as it reminded me of another word: djinn. Also spelled jinn. And bastardized into genie.

The image of Natalia releasing a frustrated scream in the form of a large genie like cloud that escaped down the moon lit beach hit me hard. It was, for me, perfect.

I love that line.

Describing furniture is not always my forte. But when I get an idea in my head on what a room should look like, I run with it.

From Inside the Grey House:

Lilly sensed the human’s need for silence, and simply led the way. They were halfway to Vincent’s room and Natalia was doing splendidly. By the time they reached Vincent’s rooms, the human was walking with her head held high.

The sitting room they walked into was furnished with antique furniture. There were two leather couches, a large wooden desk and several glass cases filled with artwork and artifacts from all over the world. All the furniture was stained a dark red and had clawed feet. Lilly admired everything as she led Natalia through the room. Natalia didn’t seem to notice anything but the way ahead. Looking around too much made her slightly dizzy.