Jun 11 2016

No Such Creature Known Weekend Writing Warriors

WeWrWa More new release news after the excerpt!

Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriorscentral page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)

I’m going to finish this scene from LADY OF THE STAR WIND because everyone has hung in there with me on this book (which is still doing well, thanks to the Warriors for your support!). Maybe one or two more excerpts.Then we’ll move on because I haz more new releases out there.

Mark and his companions, including the unconscious Sandy, have been rescued by a clan of desert-dwellers. They’ve taken refuge in the underground village to wait out the sandstorm, before attempting to continue their trek to the Lost City. After treating Sandy as best they can for the snakebite, the chief takes Mark to show him the scrolls from the ancient library, rescued from the Lost City, including one depicting a snake such as Mark has described. Last week, Jagrahim told Mark the snake was “Myth, legend, divine being, who can say?” Mark is speaking now. Edited from the published version.

“I stood this close to it, then it bit Sandy. Hell, it bit me—look!” Mark shoved his sleeve aside to reveal the twin fang marks above his wrist on the inside of his left arm. The marks were red and purple, surrounded by a spectacular black bruise. “Lucky it ran out of venom, or I’d be in a coma too. The snake was real, all right – mythical creatures don’t leave damage like this.”

“Did the others see it?”

“I think Rothan caught a glimpse maybe – I’m telling you, a real serpent attacked us.”

“There’s no such creature known to my people, my lord, and we live in this desert. There are snakes, yes, and many are deadly, but this,” he tapped the crumbling, painted surface, “doesn’t exist, save in the oldest scrolls of a long-dead religion.”

The story:

Are they merely luckless lovers … or a legend come back to life?

Mark Denaltieri, ex-Sector Special Forces, has been hired by the Outlier Empress to rescue her granddaughter, Princess Alessandra, from kidnappers. Since the Empress once had him tortured and banished, she’s the last person Mark wants to work for. But he takes the job. He’ll save Alessandra, his first love, and discover why she didn’t speak for him when he desperately needed her. Then he’ll be on his way, finally free of his past.

Alessandra would rather her rescuer was anyone but Mark–after all, he let her believe he was dead all this time. But when the couple are forced to flee her captors by Traveling via a strange crystal globe, they find themselves in a lovely Oasis on a desert planet, the old attraction sizzling between them again.

They soon discover they are far from alone. The Oasis holds the entrance to another world, one in which the inhabitants are convinced Sandy and Mark are the Lady of the Star Wind and her Warrior, come to free them from an evil Queen.

Mark and Sandy must work together to unearth an ancient mirror, and crown the true king of this land. Can they fulfill the prophecy of the Lady and her Warrior … and this time, will their love survive the test?

Buy Links: Amazon KOBO Barnes & Noble iBooks

NEWS!

I just released Hostage To The Stars last week. Here’s the blurb:

He rescued her from space pirates … but can he keep them both safe from the far greater evil stalking a deserted planet?

Space travel without Kidnap & Ransom insurance? Not a good idea. University instructor and researcher Sara Bridges can’t afford it, so when pirates board her cruise liner, she’s taken captive along with the mistress of a wealthy man, and brought to a deserted planet. When a military extraction team sent to rescue the mistress refuses to take Sara too, she’s left to the mercies of a retired Special Forces soldier, along as consultant.

Reluctantly reactivated and coerced into signing up for the rescue operation to the planet Farduccir where he once was deployed, Sgt. Johnny Danver just wants to get the job done. But when the team leader leaves one captured woman behind, he breaks away to rescue her himself.

As Johnny and Sara traverse the barren landscape, heading for an abandoned base where they hope to call Sectors Command for help, they find villages destroyed by battle and stripped of all inhabitants. A lone survivor tells a horrific tale of the Sectors’ alien enemy, the Mawreg, returning after being pushed out …

Searching for evidence to give the military, Johnny is captured. He regains consciousness in a Mawreg cage–with Sara next to him. Death is preferable to what the aliens will do to them… And even if they do escape their captors, can they alert the military in time to prevent another invasion of the Sectors?

Standalone sequel to Mission To Mahjundar (mild spoilers for Mahjundar in this story.)

Amazon Kobo Apple iBooks Barnes & Noble

Jun 9 2016

New Release Hostage to the Stars

Hostage ToTheStarsFinal-FJM_High_Res_1800x2700 The story:

He rescued her from space pirates … but can he keep them both safe from the far greater evil stalking a deserted planet?

Standalone sequel to Mission To Mahjundar (mild spoilers for Mahjundar in this story.)

Amazon Kobo Apple iBooks Barnes & Noble

Jun 4 2016

As If It’s a Myth Weekend Writing Warriors

(If you came for the SFR Brigade Presents hop, the link is here for the central list and here for my post of the week.)

Awards news and talking about a cool compliment from Nalini Singh at the end of the post!

Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)

Since LADY OF THE STAR WIND is still my newest release – and doing quite well, thank you to all the Warriors for your support! – I’ll keep going with this book. I’ll continue with Mark’s POV.

Long lines of elegant symbols surrounded the depiction of the snake.

The desert chief repositioned the anchor stones holding the parchment scroll open, “Read for yourself.”

Even if this was High Chetal in the written format, which Mark doubted, his hypno training covered spoken languages only – he could no more read this than the well-meaning man opposite him could speak Outlier. “I can’t – translate for me, please?”

“This is Sherabti, companion to the Goddess Mother Nuet, She Who Came Before. Sherabti served as her messenger, her watcher—”

“Wait just a moment.” Mark held up his hands against the flood of words, “You’re talking about this snake as if it’s a myth.”

Jagrahim seemed to be in unmistakable agreement, “Myth, legend, divine being, who can say?”

The story:

Are they merely luckless lovers … or a legend come back to life?

Buy Links: Amazon KOBO Barnes & Noble iBooks

NEWS!

Ghost of the Nile was announced by InDTale Magazine as a RONE Award Finalist, and in another contest result also announced last week, was the Winner of the RCRW “Cover Me Contest” in the paranormal romance cover art category! (Frauke Spanuth of Croco Designs gets all the credit for the beautiful cover.)

And then this other lovely thing happened for Star Cruise: Outbreak, when Ms. Singh retweeted a review the book had gotten and added her own comment. She’s my favorite author, so I was beyond thrilled to know she enjoyed one of MY books!:

May 28 2016

When the Great City Perished Weekend Writing Warriors

WeWrWa Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)

Since LADY OF THE STAR WIND is still my newest release – and doing quite well, thank you to all the Warriors for your support! – I’ll keep going with this book. Only now let’s give Mark a turn.

Mark and his companions, including the unconscious Sandy, have been rescued by a clan of desert-dwellers. They’ve taken refuge in the underground village to wait out the sandstorm, before attempting to continue their trek to the Lost City. After treating Sandy as best they can for the snakebite, the chief takes Mark to show him something. This scene will take a few weeks to play out, going ten sentences at a time! Edited a bit from the published version.

The chief led Mark into a large chamber filled floor to ceiling with shelves holding thousands of scrolls. A long, shiny table occupied the middle of the room, its legs graceful depictions of some birdlike creature. A scroll had been partially unspooled and spread out, waiting for them, the edges anchored with glimmering green and blue stones carved into fanciful shapes of birds and fish.

“What is all this?” Mark paused on the threshold, breathing in the musty but not unpleasant smell, stunned by the sight of thousands of scrolls.

“The Library of Khunarum himself.” Jagrahim’s voice held pride. “When the great city perished from the lives of men, and the people fled away to the south, my tribe received the duty and honor of preserving the knowledge. After hearing your description of the serpent in the temple, I remembered a reference to such a creature. I’ve spent the night searching for the pertinent scrolls.”

The story:

Are they merely luckless lovers … or a legend come back to life?

Buy Links: Amazon KOBO Barnes & Noble iBooks

May 21 2016

Already Too Late Weekend Writing Warriors

WeWrWa (If you’re here for the Blue Moon Blog hop, go HERE.)

Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)

Since LADY OF THE STAR WIND is still my newest release – and doing quite well, thank you to all the Warriors for your support! – I’ll keep going with excerpts from the scene we’ve been pursuing here.

From about 1/4 of the way into the novel: Sandy was bitten by a snake named Sherabti, went into the green light with a woman unknown to her and found herself sitting in a room she’s never seen before, with four women who seemed to think Sandy was someone else…the Lady of the Star Wind…A new player, Haatrin, entered the chamber and scolded the Moon Sisters, after which an even more senior goddess, Nuet, arrived to scold them ALL and sent the Moon Sisters fleeing. I’ve skipped a few sentences between our last on from this book and today’s. (Nakhtiaar is what the local residents call this area of the planet.):

“You must have a warrior, a consort, if you are to be the Lady,” Haatrin said, her tone firm. “But this Mark you speak of doesn’t have to be the one. You can choose another, a warrior of Nakhtiaar perhaps. What matters is your choice.” Leaning forward, she touched a fingertip to Sandy’s chest above her heart. “Your choice here.” Retreating, she drank from her own glass.

“How much time do I have to decide? To see if things can be worked out with us?”

“You’re already too late for some possibilities,” Haatrin said.

The story:

Are they merely luckless lovers … or a legend come back to life?

Buy Links: Amazon KOBO Barnes & Noble iBooks

May 16 2016

Veronica Recaps The 100 Season 1 Episode 1

clarke Since the finale of Season Three is this week, I thought it might be fun to go back and re-watch Episode One of Season One, like a time traveler, coming from their future. Especially with this series, I have no idea if the writers knew in Season One the kinds of twists and turns they were going to create over the next three years, but I thought it’d be fun to look for clues. SPOILER warning – I will talk about events in all three seasons.

Clue one – this episode has no twisty, insider reference of a title. It’s just the “Pilot.”

We get the key to Clarke at 2:16 into the episode when her mother says, as they’re getting ready to send her to the ground, “Your instincts will tell you to take care of everybody else first, like your father…” That is so true, in so many ways.

It was odd to see everyone looking so young. Carefree would be the wrong word, although they go a bit crazy when they reach the ground, but certainly not as drawn and hardened as they’ll become.

I’d forgotten there was so much emphasis on the adults and the politics and harsh survival mechanisms of the Ark. All the infighting and maneuvering! The nasty Security chief gave me chills for one. Kane for another. I remembered instantly why I didn’t like him in the old days, when he had a slicked down old style haircut, by the way. He was a cold, unpleasant enforcer, although he was still trying to find a way to live by the law. “If we’re going to kill hundreds of innocent people, we’re going to do it by the book,” he says at one point.

I can’t even look at Jaha, because the character’s become so loathsome to me over time, with the ALIE plot. It’s weird to recall how in the beginning he seemed like such a good leader. But even in season one he gave ruthless orders the way he does as part of ALIE.

FINN Finn! The first time we meet Finn, in the dropship on the way to Earth, I think my heart stopped for a moment. He was such a cool character. He’s the missing piece that Clarke and Bellamy need so badly in Season Three to balance their decision making…but alas, we lose him in Season Two. I’m still sad over that.

Did you remember that Octavia was first out of the dropship, thanks to Bellamy? I’d forgotten that but what a nice touch, since she’s going to literally become a Grounder. “We’re back, bitches!” was her line. Not quite up there with what Armstrong said on the Moon. I’d also forgotten how much of an outsider she was, the “girl who lived under the floor,” laughed at by her peers. She flirts with Finn. She flirts with Jasper. octavia

So the kids go wild, except for Clarke, who’s got her map – to Mount Weather no less – and is already insisting they need to do this, they need to do that to survive.

It was so scary to me, watching them party and frolic, and wander around carefree, since I know the Grounders are right there, observing. I wanted to yell at the screen. It’s never going to be so happy and pleasant again, folks, so I guess it’s a good thing they have a few moments of sheer happiness. Savored the rainstorm.

Can you imagine if the dropship had landed in the right place, closer to Mt. Weather, and they’d trustingly arrived there, expecting it to be empty and waiting for them to move in? These naïve kids would have had no chance against the occupants at that point in time. Mt. Weather management might have played it smart enough to lure the entire Ark population to them for harvesting.

Would Jasper still have fallen in love with Maya at that point? He and Monty are such free spirits in this episode. I’d forgotten that Monty’s family was in charge of the Ark’s ‘herb gardens’, which was part of what drew the two guys into friendship. Shared interests wink wink.

Bellamy Bellamy’s evolved over the three seasons more than I thought. I’d managed to overlook how many of his actions at this point in Season One are taken purely to save himself and Octavia. He talks everyone into removing their bracelets, mostly so he won’t get executed. The adults in the Ark won’t land if they think the 100 all died, remember? Clarke even asks him if he’s willing to sacrifice everyone on the Ark for his own benefit, after she reveals the Ark has only three months worth of life support left. He’s caught up in the “here there are no laws and we can do whatever the hell we want” spirit. He’s protecting his sister and himself and that’s all he cares about at this point. But even then, he’s seen as a leader and people listen to him. Of course, he’s telling them to party.

Murphy was more prominent in this episode than I’d expected. He was one of the first off the dropship, and he was Bellamy’s right hand man. His character was the way I’d remembered though – sullen and self-centered, and not trustworthy. I still think Murphy has evolved more over the three years than anyone else. Jasper became more hardened, but still the same person.

Jasper So a small group merrily goes off to find Mt. Weather and plunder it – Clarke, Finn, Jasper, Monty and Octavia. Along the way they find a lake, a two-headed deer (what ever happened to those cool special effects?), a snake-thing that nearly ate Octavia until Jasper (!) dives in to save her, and a midnight forest full of magical glowing flowers, shared by Finn and Clarke. OK, I’m still mourning Finn…

But wait, he’s found tracks, which he thinks are those of a great ape. (An animal we know will figure in a Season Two episode that I personally found quite unbelievable.)

And then after Jasper makes his terrific, Tarzan-style trip across the river by vine, and finds the Mt. Weather sign, he’s transfixed by a spear that’s the size of a young tree trunk. Fun times OVER.

“We’re not alone,” says Clarke.

Random Thoughts:

Octavia took exception to Bellamy wearing a guard uniform. Nice foreshadowing of a lot of stuff to come.

Who was that woman on the Ark who kept saying she was Abby’s best friend and seemed to be Kane’s girl friend? I’d totally forgotten her, but apparently she was important to the plot in Season One.

Kane was going to float Abby!

I was delighted all over again by the attention to detail, especially the raggedy clothing the Ark residents wore. Subtly reinforced that they’d been marooned up there for 97 years with no opportunity to go shopping, or to manufacture new clothes. Hence, shirts with holes and careful mending.

I’d forgotten how Clarke was such a wonderful artist when she lived on the Ark, drawing all those pictures of the ground in her cell. That aspect of her personality gets submerged pretty fast.

And how she tried to keep her father’s watch…

There was a lot of good music in episode one. The producers certainly made excellent use of the sound track over the years, to emphasize key moments. “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons is almost too much on the nose in this episode.

I didn’t see any specific foreshadowing of ALIE. Maybe at this point in season one, the writers hadn’t come up with that plot line. I did zoom in on anything red!

Jaha’s son Wells. He seemed like such a key character, as if he was going to be a mainstay of the series…and then they kill him off almost casually a few episodes later. Remember? He’s a victim of Bellamy’s “do whatever you want” slogan, when the little girl who hates Wells’s father slits his throat. That was the warning to us, the viewers, right then and there, that the series was going to be brutal about who dies and when. Wells was the foreshadowing of a lot of loss to come, characters we were going to care about much more than we did him. (We barely know him and he’s gone.)

Parting Shot:

Knowing what I know now, as a viewer, would I still have gone along for the ride? Yes. There’s a lot of good story telling ahead, twists and turns, and jaw dropping moments. I wouldn’t want to give up time with Clarke and Bellamy as they make their choices and take actions. I wouldn’t want to miss the tragic beauty of Octavia and Lincoln together. I wouldn’t want to miss out on meeting Raven and seeing her evolve. And Lexa was such a layered, exceptional character – who could regret meeting her, even if for far too brief a time?

I would be better prepared for some of the shocks and I’d still be highly upset over Finn’s death. Lexa’s death. Lincoln’s death. And probably some hard-to-take deaths in the season three finale ahead. I might not have let myself get so invested in the story and the characters, given some of the unfortunate-in-my-opinion choices the showrunner and writers were going to make. Been more of a casual viewer.

But overall? I’d be there. Well, depending what happens this week with the finale!

May 10 2016

Exclusive Cover Reveal LADY OF THE STAR WIND

UPDATE: Veronica sez: since the period of exclusivity is over, here’s the full cover! But please do visit the USA Today Happily Ever After post for the excerpt! And the book is now available on Amazon! (Other ebook sellers coming soon.)

I’m doing an exclusive cover reveal today over at USA Today Happily Ever After for my new scifi romance novel – Lady of the Star Wind. Another gorgeous cover from Fiona Jayde! I hope you’ll hope over and check it out. The book will be available from the usual ebook sellers next week.Meanwhile, here’s the story (I have an actual excerpt over at USAT/HEA):

Are they merely luckless lovers … or a legend come back to life?

Apr 30 2016

She Prefers to Be Addressed By Name Weekend Writing Warriors

Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)

Here’s the second snippet from STAR CRUISE: OUTBREAK, which released in April. I picked a less gory scene for contrast to last week’s snippet (here). In this snippet (which takes place before the outbreak begins), Dr. Emily Shane has just been called upon to treat an animal, belonging to a princess traveling aboard the ship.

“I’m off to a great first day—undoubtedly broke fifteen or twenty regulations, not to mention a few medical canons.”

“Little girl with a sick pet.” He shrugged, “What could you do?”

“You don’t even need me for this situation – the AI is obviously prepared to diagnose and treat on its own.” Emily washed her hands again.

“Maeve.” His voice held a hint of impatience, “I did mention several times that the ship’s AI has a name—Maeve. She prefers to be addressed by name.”

“Not Nebula Zephyr?”

“No, Fleming brought Maeve over with us from the ship he commanded in our military days,” Jake said.

The story:

She saved countless soldiers in the wars … but does she have the weapons to fight an outbreak?

Dr. Emily Shane, veteran of the Sector Wars, is known as “The Angel of Fantalar” for her bravery under fire as a medic. However, the doctor has her own war wounds–severe PTSD and guilt over those she failed to save.

Persuaded to fill a seemingly frivolous berth as ship’s doctor on the huge and luxurious interstellar cruise liner Nebula Zephyr, she finds the job brings unexpected perks–a luxe beach deck with water imported from Tahumaroa II, and Security Officer Jake Dilon, a fellow veteran who heats her up like a tropical sun.

However, Emily soon learns she and Jake didn’t leave all peril behind in the war. A mysterious ailment aboard the Zephyr begins to claim victim after victim … and they must race against time and space to find the cause and a cure! Trapped on a ship no spaceport will allow to dock, their efforts are complicated by a temperamental princess and a terrorist–one who won’t hesitate to take down any being in the way of his target. If anyone’s left when the disease is through with them…

Buy Links: Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble Apple iBooks

Apr 23 2016

The Outbreak Begins Weekend Writing Warriors

Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)

Sorry about the snafu last week with my post not coming up as scheduled. Thanks for the comments I did receive! Here’s the link to it: since that was the last snippet from LADY OF THE STAR WIND until the book releases in May. Then we’ll revisit it! (Moderators, please excuse me on this!) I WILL make the rounds today and comment, promise. Was on a plane last Sunday, coming back from the RT Booklovers Convention.

Here’s the first snippet from STAR CRUISE: OUTBREAK, which released this month:

The portal to the corridor burst open, and Mr. Enzell struggled into the lobby, half carrying his wife and surrounded by their white-faced children. Syl was sobbing in great gasps, and the boys’ faces were set in expressions of terror. The oldest had a blood-soaked wad of cloth pressed to his nose. Mrs. Enzell’s head lolled, and she looked as if she was crying tears of blood. Clint immediately moved to support the woman on the other side, calling for Emily as he did so.

“Seven hells, here we go.” Emily was right behind them as the men helped Mrs. Enzell to an exam room and onto the bed.

“Trynna started bleeding a few minutes ago, Doctor,” Mr. Enzell said as medical personnel hurried to get their new patient hooked up to monitors. “She said she was dizzy and then—then her eyes—she was—the tears were blood. And next thing I knew, my son’s nose was bleeding – what’s going on?”

The story:

She saved countless soldiers in the wars … but does she have the weapons to fight an outbreak?

Buy Links: Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble Apple iBooks

Here was one of my favorite moments from the RT convention. This charming gentleman, Vikkas Bhardwaj, is the cover model for my October release, as it happens!

Apr 17 2016

The Activities of Mortals Weekend Writing Warriors

Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)

If all has gone as planned, I’m coming home from the RT Booklovers Convention today so I won’t be able to make the rounds and comment on everyone’s post till later in the week.

The Lady of the Star Wind is an epic portal fantasy, which will be released after Star Cruise: Outbreak, in the May 2016 time frame.

Sandy and Mark have been transported to an unknown world. This snippet is from quite a bit further in the novel, after they’ve left the mysterious mountain oasis, in the company of some new friends… Sandy, who picked up an odd stone key in the Oasis, was bitten by a snake named Sherabti, went into the green light with a woman unknown to her and now is sitting in a room she’s never seen before, with four women who seem to think Sandy is someone else…the Lady of the Star Wind…A new player, Haatrin, entered the chamber and scolded the Moon Sisters, after which an even more senior goddess, Nuet, arrived to scold them ALL and sent the Moon Sisters fleeing. Nuet is speaking – I’ve skipped a few sentences between last week’s snippet and today’s:

“….I will take Sherabti with me away from this world, as I ought to have done long ago. But she retained her fondness for the activities of mortals, which I’ll no longer indulge.” Nuet shook her finger at Haatrin. The goddess walked toward the door, no longer needing to guide her steps with the cane, which she cast aside. The wood struck the floor in a burst of purple and gold sparks, and Sandy gasped as the cane became Sherabti, the white snake, coiling sinuously for a moment.

Nuet was as youthful now as the Moon Sisters had been, in demeanor and appearance, and her robes transformed to shades of purple, from deepest amethyst to pale lavender, as if dye poured over the fabric. Masses of silver-blond hair tumbled over her shoulders.

Haatrin raised a hand. “And the mirror?”

This is the last excerpt from Lady of the Star Wind, until it’s released in May. Star Cruise: Outbreak releases this coming week, so I’ll be sharing a few excerpts from it going forward. Thank you for all the comments and feedback you’ve given me about this book! I’ve loved presenting the snippets…there is more to this particular scene but we’ve run out of time in my release schedule.

Veronica Scott

Science Fiction & Fantasy Romance Author

Tag Archives: science fiction

No Such Creature Known Weekend Writing Warriors

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New Release Hostage to the Stars

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As If It’s a Myth Weekend Writing Warriors

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When the Great City Perished Weekend Writing Warriors

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Already Too Late Weekend Writing Warriors

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Veronica Recaps The 100 Season 1 Episode 1

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Exclusive Cover Reveal LADY OF THE STAR WIND

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She Prefers to Be Addressed By Name Weekend Writing Warriors

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The Outbreak Begins Weekend Writing Warriors

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The Activities of Mortals Weekend Writing Warriors

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