Works In Progress

I am juggling a few projects right now, all are follow ups for books I have contracted. Two are in early edits, one is in rough draft.

Del Fantasma: Demonade

(to be subbed to AMP this summer)

Trudy is a survivor. She is part demon, a psyvamp, who uses her ever-young beauty to steal bits of sustaining life force from young men she meets at clubs and parties.

Gabriel is a former priest who was once part of a secretive society that studied "demons"--defined as any being not human or animal. While he is now a staid college professor of ancient history, he maintains his interest in all things paranormal. And Trudy, introduced to him by Cody at the Del Fantasma, is very interesting.

Vampire of Solace Creek

Book two in the Shadow Clans series, Autumn Rose Line
( subbing to RRP late summer)

Rancher Bleach Dalton became a vampire as part of a military enhancement program but he's been able to survive on his family ranch with the support of Clan O' Kiernan.

His neighbor and childhood sweetheart, Belinda, arrived back in Montana after years away, pregnant.

A Chinook blows in, thawing the roads to impassable mud, and Bleach smells blood on the wind. Belinda is having the baby, and the baby is a damphyre --a day-walker. Belinda is going to need his support--and answers.


Galactic Game

A book in the Sons of the Protectorate series
(to be subbed this fall to RRP)

The Survival Show is wildly popular throughout the Puregen system of planets. Two prisoners are thrown together on a wilderness continent and watched avidly as they try to survive and compete to gain points for their freedom.

Gema, is not a genetically enhanced Puregen, and she is lame in one leg.She knows her chances of survival are slim. Plus the audience will adore her exotic, stunning lilac eyed Puregen partner, Kellac. To make matters almost worse, Kellac is an honorable man, and her lonely heart could easily adore him, too. But Gema has a terrible secret.

Then the Game is interrupted an invasion.

A new excerpt of Del Fantasma: Tiger Juice--w/inspirational pics!

The Del Fantasma stories are centered around a bar and restaurant on the Southern California beach, the Del Fantasma. Cody the owner, chief bartender and matchmaker, is a vampire. Most of his patrons are more than human. Cody's special drinks have magical power...

Del Fantasma: Tiger Juice

By Melisse Aires

Widow Letha flees a repressive religious community on the northern prairies, where she lived under the suspicion of having demon blood.

Her journey ends in Vista Loma, CA, at the Del Fantasma. Perhaps working for vampire Cody in a paranormal friendly bar will give her some answers about her psychic abilities.




Jagger comes from a tight knit clan of white tiger shifters, but he left the family entertainment business to run a contracting business. He hangs out at his friend Cody's bar.






When the Storm of the Century approaches Vista Loma, Cody works his magic.

Excerpt (rated R)

BACK GROUND: Letha sleeps in her truck because she has no money for an apartment. Cody finds out and has her stay in his office at the Del Fantasma.
(unedited excerpt)





A loud banging woke Letha from a deep sleep. She looked around, disoriented and saw the clock on the wall. Six am. It was dark for six am.

Another bang. She leaped off the couch and ran into the bar.
Thunder and lightening crashed and the door of the Del Fantasma burst open.

A man, nude, stood in the doorway as lightening blazed, outlining a tall lithe form and pale silvery hair. Then, in the man’s place stood a tiger, white with dark strips, enormous.

Letha screamed and whirled around, and tore off for the office.
There as a soft thud behind her, then a paw, white, with long claws, fell heavy on her shoulder, and she fell to the floor. The paw gently rolled her over as if she weighed nothing.

The white tiger with sky blue eyes stood over her, one paw still on her shoulder. Then the shape blurred, and a man crouched over her.

Jagger Kirillov.

“Don’t. Ever. Run. From. A. Tiger.” His voice was harsh.

She tried to catch her breath. “A-all right.” She couldn’t look away from his sky blue eyes. The heat of his naked flesh, held just inches from her thin knit, burned. In fact, as she took a deep breath, the tips of her breasts grazed his chest.

He gave a sound something between a growl and a purr that resonated all the way through her, even between her legs. Then his lips pressed against hers, hard and demanding.

She gasped in a mix of shock and delight, and his tongue plunged in, while at the same time he lowered his hard hot body on top of her own. She could feel the hard length of his erection pressing against her. Wildness flared inside her and she threw her arms around his neck giving back the kiss with passion she didn’t even know she had, sucking his tongue, while his arms pulled her tighter.

*Website*

*~*Buy Link *~*

Also available at *Fictionwise*!

I Missed Excerpt Monday!

I just wasn't organized this month. Need to do Excerpt Monday on the Sunday before!

Here's and excerpt of my newly contracted novella, CYBOT AWAKENED.

Coming in Early 2010 from Red Rose Publishing,

the first book in the Sons of the Protectorate series:

CYBOT AWAKENED

by

Melisse Aires




BLURB:

Sabralia lives a lonely but luxurious life in Emperor Sirn’s Harem, her only companion is her obedient servant, Qy, a cybot. Her life has largely been controlled by others, but when Sirn demands his Harem pleasure his Commanding Officers at a victory celebration, Sabralia makes a daring plan to hide to avoid rape by Sirn's men.

The Palace is ambushed and her cybot gets her off world. The impossible has happened−Qy the gentle cybot becomes the man he once was, the warrior Kaistril. Pursued for valuable information, Sabralia is thrust into dangerous, unfamiliar situations where she must stand up to the challenges, or lose the man she loves.

EXCERPT

***

Kaistril dreamed. A woman was in his arms…his Mistress Sabralia, with her dark hair, dark blue eyes and white soft skin. His cock roared into hardness. He tightened his arms around the woman, pulling her closer…she was so sweet, smelling of flowers, her soft bottom cradled his straining member…
Something is wrong. His eyes snapped open in a starless night and he sat up so fast he swayed, dizzy. They were on a cushioned pallet in thick woods. A body was pressed tight against him and he knew it was his mistress, Sabralia. They were hiding from…unrest.
Something is wrong.
My name is Kaistril. No! I am Qy, in service to my mistress.
He couldn’t remember…but Kaistril seemed right.
He shook his head to try and clear his confusion.
The air reeked of smoke. The fire, soldiers, danger, weapons…
His head ached, as did his stomach. He was thirsty. He reached into Sabralia’s food basket and got a fruit drink, which helped a little, but his mind was still clouded.
They were in the woods…a fire at the palace…
Something is wrong. Breathe deeply, calm yourself, a voice he recognized as being from his past, told him. He closed his eyes and breathed in through his mouth and out through his nose, concentrating.
There was a sound. It was important. He listened.
Far away, so far away he could only feel the vibrations through the earth—death! He slid off the pillows onto the forest floor and placed his palms on the ground—
−The Strafe, attacking his Tier, the entire contingent in their observation units, dying. Burning, blinding white flashes, men falling dead in an instant, dead bodies everywhere… He knew it well. It had killed his men. The Strafe was coming!
“Wake. Wake.” He hauled the sleeping woman into his arms. “We need to get down to the beach, to one of the caves.”
A timer went off in his brain, the timer he was to obey, for his nightly maintenance. He groaned with confusion. No− The caves! He threw the queen over his shoulder with her blankets over her, and loped toward the beach, ignoring her protests and squirms. She was round and soft, not strong, not a warrior woman and he was able to subdue her struggles easily without harming her. In the far distance the Strafe slashed through the air, lighting the way with its killing white light, and the woman screamed in shock, her whole body going tight.
“Underground. The Strafe,” he grunted. She probably had no idea what the Strafe was. But he knew. He remembered. Fierce triumph filled him. He remembered and they would not kill this warrior, or his queen.
“What’s wrong?” she cried.
The soft voice of his mistress sent a shiver down his spine. His body was still hard, clamoring for her touch, despite the raging light. The danger, the excitement flooding his body, his memories, the woman in his arms. He paused for a moment, suddenly overwhelmed with confusion.
The Strafe moved closer, so its individual tines of killing light were visible.
“We need to get to one of the tidal caves. The Strafe will kill us.”
“The Strafe,” Comprehension colored her words. He sat her down, pulled the blanket from her face then grabbed her hand and they raced down the beach.
He found the section of beach with shallow caves. They’d explored them before, collecting shells… Once inside he shoved her against the back wall of the cave and covered her body with his own.
“The Strafe doesn’t go through soil. We might live if we …”
His words trailed off. She was staring at him, mouth agape, eyes huge and dark in the night.
“You are different.” His mistress sounded faint.
“Yes. There is no time. Close your eyes,” he said. “The light can damage your vision.” He pulled the blanket over them, holding it cupped to her eyes with one hand while he did the same to his own with his other hand.
Kaistril listened carefully but could hear nothing now except their breathing, heavy with fear. The Strafe was concentrating on populated areas, though it would eventually sweep outlying areas for strays.
Bright, deadly tines stroked the beach and suddenly clashed around them, lighting even their closed, blanket covered eyes. They sank to the ground as the light sizzled just feet from them, close enough they could feel its strange heat. It disappeared, though they could still hear it.
Qy ran out of their shelter. The Strafe had returned to the Palace area. “Come on. It has gone straight back to the city. This is our chance!”
He grabbed her by the hand and ran up the beach, dragging her along.
“Qy, where are we going?” she wailed.
He paused for a split second, then continued pulling her along.
“Staying alive is the plan,” was all he said. No need to tell her it’s a gamble. Soon the Harvesters will be here to kill those that remain alive…

Unedited excerpt

Plans: Summer and Futuristic!

Summer is shaping up!

My oldest childe, Cat, got a two week debate camp--full scholarship! We are thrilled and thankful--the kid lives for debate.

My twins don't have many plans--summer band got canceled, so they have lots of free time. They are not old enough to get jobs. I'm still looking for things for them to do. The library here has a great teen program, so they have that to look forward to, and Book Club.

I am spiffing up my futuristic series since Red Rose Publishing contracted Cybot Awakened. I plan to have Galactic Game subbed by mid July. It was a 10k short, I've expanded and lengthened it, added two subplot characters and more external conflict that meshes with other stories in the series (hmm, now that is not so easy!) Two other stories are partially written, the last story is but a dream.

When I need a break from the distant future and intergalactic space war romance, I have a WIP for another Del Fantasma. That series is so fun!

We don't have a summer vacation planned, but we hope to get out around Wyoming and Northern Colorado on some weekend trips.

Wish my seester Teriboberi wasn't 12 hours away!

Summer

It is chilly here in the High Desert. My flowers are doing okay, the extra rain has been nice, but--BRRR.

Yesterday was the last day of school for my kids. We don't have too many plans for the summer. Their usual summer activity is summer marching band, but that program got cut this year. My twins are really at loose ends since they are too young to get a summer job. My oldest got a full scholarship to a two week debate camp at UW! She also is job hunting.

As far as my summer, there is the garden. We'll take day trips to lakes and other outdoor recreation sites. Hopefully we'll get to Fort Collins for school clothes in August. Not a real exciting summer, I know, but we can't atke off work this year. Just one of those economic things.

My writing is planned for the summer: A second Shadow Clans vampire romance for Red Rose Publishing, titled Vampire of Solace Creek, set in rural Montana. Then edit and finish stories in my five part futuristic series, Sons of the Protectorate, also with Red Rose. And I have a WIP for another Del Fantasma for Aspen Mountain Press.

I'm not starting anything really new, though occasionally I will take breaks from all my WIPs and fiddle with a new idea.

I am looking forward to trips to the lake. I love my old Alphasmart!