ILONA ANDREWS

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

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Tiny Snippet: Ham Sandwich

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I’m in a good mood because we are hopefully on our last day of editing, so you get a snippet.

When I came out of the bedroom, Derek was sitting in my sanctuary at my kitchen table spreading a thin layer of honey mustard on a slice of bread with a wicked-looking knife. Another bread slice with an inch-thick slab of smoked ham waited on his plate. 

He’d made himself a sandwich.  Maybe I’d get lucky, and the son of a bitch would choke on it.

“You don’t have any iced tea,” he said.

I would strangle him. “That’s just one of the things I don’t have.”

Derek sliced the sandwich in half. “Oh?”

“I also don’t have any patience for people stealing my food.”

Derek picked up half of the sandwich, bit into it, and chewed.

Food held a special significance to the shapeshifters.  When a shapeshifter offered to feed someone, he communicated willingness to protect and take care of them. A shapeshifter who couldn’t protect his meat was weak. Derek broke into my house and ate my ham, and now he was rubbing my face in it.

Just you wait.  You’ll regret it.

I sat across from him.  “Is it good?”

He licked his lips.  “Delicious.”

I’d negotiated peace agreements with people I hated.  I would not give him the satisfaction of slapping the rest of the sandwich out of his hand.  No matter how wonderful that would feel.

I pulled a pad of paper toward me, wrote $20 on it, and passed it to him.

“What’s this?”

“The bill for the sandwich.”

 “A $20 ham sandwich?”

“You chose to eat here. You should’ve asked about prices in advance.” I pointed at the doorway.  “The door is that way. This restaurant is closed. Take the rest of your meal to go.”

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Comments

  1. I love Derek. I’m going to be presumptuous and believe this is an indicator of a future relationship. I know I could face disappointment, but I am so feeling positive these days. I’m hanging on.

  4. Adorable. I love Julie. She could be a bit bratty as a kid, but you couldn’t really hold it against her—she was a kid. I love seeing how she grew up! It’s a very realistic maturing I think, especially since she’s Kate’s daughter. And this scene has the same vibes as Kate welding Curran’s workout equipment.

    • I totally agree with you. Young Julie never really clicked for me but this older version is everything I like in a heroine.

    • That kind of makes sense since he was mostly around Jim and Curran when he was part of the pack.

    • If he is courting (and I’m going to assume he is 🙂 ) he could be doing it more like alpha-to-alpha style. And I know Julie grew up around shapeshifters, but she is still human. So that could be affecting things, too.

  13. I am loving this. So happy we get to see more of these two. Happy happy happy. Thanks for the snippets!

  16. I have such a huge grin on my face that my TMJ is starting to ache. Trying to relax but just can’t.

    Thanks for putting me in a good mood too.

    Thank you & good luck with final edits.

  17. Iiiiiiiiiiiiiii love every word-i wish i was that smart-mouthed-ready witted-quick at repartee????
    Whats the correct term?😁😁😁😁😁

  18. Congrats on the last day of edits!

    Thank you so much for the tiny snippet. I love this book. It is going to be sooo much fun.

  19. Julies reactions are hilarious and brilliant at the same time. I’m so glad January is coming closer and this wonderful world you created will suck me into its dimension once again. Can’t wait to discover what has happened and how things have changed – and how Julie is going to handle it and being Aurelia.
    Hope your edits are almost done and thanks for the snippet.

  20. 😍😁🤩 is it January yet? I’m pretty sure I pre-ordered it the day it was available. Just love all your stuff soo much.

  22. This scene reminds me of family members eating food that I intended for other purposes 🙄. So excited for this book!

  24. There is an option for paperback on the amazon.com site but not the amazon.ca site. Holding out hope for it to show up soon. I need my dead tree version.

  25. Thank you, Ilona Andrews, for the snippet. I LOL.

    Great news about last day of editing. Hurrah!

  27. This guy is immune to her magic. He passes her wards without problem. Reminds me of two great characters in another series involving a mother confessor. Great flirting. He may not know he is claiming her in a way. So good. Thx.

  29. I wish I had the words to adequately convey how excited I am for the book. More so than EB or MT, and I could hardly wait for those.

    This book gets my heart beating faster. I am over the moon and beyond for this one and it’s not even out yet.

  30. Oooooh, from teenage crush to “Maybe I’d get lucky, and the son of a bitch would choke on it.”
    How did we get there? Why is it only Novemebr?

  31. well now I have to make ham for Christmas if only to have the leftover sandwiches 😍. Thank you so much, fingers crossed on editing!

  33. Thanks for the snippet!! I pre-ordered the book as soon as it was listed on Amazon – as I do all your books. Can’t wait!

  42. Julie said everything changed about herself, could an Derrick been following her movements from afar, or is part of her original scent still there?

  46. Rawr!!!! I love it, I would have charged him more!

    Ok, maybe not, he is Derek after all.

  48. Love this! Thank you so much, and I hope you the edits done so you can relax a bit. Can’t wait for January!

  49. I love how you guys always include the pre-order link. Who reading this hasn’t bought it yet?? 😆

  50. I’ve pre-ordered already. So excited to get this book! I’ve loved having a glimpse into the creation of this book from the first snippet to awaiting the final publication.

  51. ❤️ Love love love this. I can’t wait to read the book and “see” them dance around each other. It will be glorious. 🤗

  53. Wonderful snippet! Good anticipation for January.

    Haven’t had a Monday this good in a long time 🙂

  56. I re-read chapter 1 and I’m convinced Derek was at the bridge when Julie arrived in Atlanta. Remember the dangerous something or someone watching her?? He saw Julie and her brother hug. He has to know who she is!

  61. I love ham and cheese sandwiches. I use mayo instead of mustard. These two were once in love. They might still be. I think back on how Kate and Curran’s relationship progressed through the stories. Julie is no longer human if she has a God’s eye. As a besotted reader, I imagine we will find out how this relationship progresses. Looking forward to January for several reasons.

    • Rye bread, mayo, Swiss cheese and if eating cold, spicy dill pickles to cut the richness. Throw in some potato chips and you’re good. I think I just planned dinner. Have to head to the freezer now and thaw some ham.

      I am looking forward to seeing how this works out. Perhaps during the end battle with Moloch, he will realize who she is. I know she uses a spear instead of a award, but with Etta and Shinar training, her fighting style may be similar to Kate. I like her with Derek, but I can’t see him taking up a consort position in Shinar when he is poised to take over the Alaska pack. Kate had difficulty with being consort, but she and Curran were in the same city.

  62. Yay! Thanks for the snippet…this will be a lovely early birthday present. Glad editing is close to done..you all deserve a rest.

  63. That made me laugh so hard. “A $20 ham sandwich?”. Be careful what you asked, or not, for!

  64. I can think of no better way to see off the rancid dumpster fire of 2020, than with a new IA book.

    Now if we could just get there a little faster….

  65. So much smacks of Curran sneaking in and eating Kate’s pie… but Julie’s bill just popped him on the nose with a rolled up newspaper. No free meals… no possible shifter-romantic antics of one-upmanship. He will have to be more upfront.
    I love it.

  66. Congratulations on the last day of editing!
    And thank you for rewarding us for all of your hard work -lol

  67. Awesome. Thank you! I loved this snippet, and I really needed the smile after another round of dealing with insurance calls. Thanks so much.

  69. In NYC you can find a $20.00 ham sandwich.
    I choose to make my own.
    Ohh, Julie and Derek!!
    He invaded her home and is eating her food, uninvited.
    Stay tuned!!
    Thanks for sharing a new snippet.

  73. Thank you for this. I hope you got the edits done.

    No iced tea? I wonder if Derek was testing Julie? He knows southerners keep tea always in the refrigerator.

    Why do I keep getting flashbacks of Kate and Curran’s courtship, or Andrea’s with Raphael? At least Julie hasn’t broken out the purple shag carpet. 🤣

  74. Always so clever. You spoil me for reading most other writers. Glad you are almost done with editing. #relief

  78. *snerk* I like the bill idea. I’m like “What even is the right response here?” Yup, that was it. Lol

  87. You need an upvote/downvote rating for these snippets… so I can give it a 4/5. -1 because I’m desperate to see how the scene ends.

  88. Craving ham. Re-read this too many times to admit.

    Dying to know DID HE PAY UP? OR LEAVE A TIP??

    Never thought of myself as a shipper but really longing for a HEA for Derek & Julie. . . But willing to wait 4 books to get it if it means a long series!

  92. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I am hoping Julie and Derek don’t get together in this book. Mainly because that leaves more tension and story for the next book. And I already want the next book. I know, I’m very greedy. You have slaved hard over this book, it hasn’t even come out yet, you have had no time to bask in the glory of its success and here I am asking for the sequel already. So, I will remind myself not to be pushy, to say thank-you for this great story and for sharing in its conception during a time when we desperately needed a distraction. If it is a stand alone with no sequel so be it.

    But I still have hope that they don’t get together in this book 😉

  93. I pre-ordered forever ago… But I’ve honestly checked back multiple times to make sure I didn’t dream that I did.

  99. It is crazy to me that this story started out as a joke and then they talked through the story one evening and now I am crazy excited about this for the first of the year. It literally the highlight of 2021!

  100. I am also crazy excited. I’ll be driving to work and suddenly think “I wonder if this *insert scenario* will happen in Blood Heir.” I am rereading Kate’s series from the beginning to tide me over until January. God bless you two for giving us something to look forward to during these pandemic times. Thank you, thank you!

  102. I won’t even speculate on whether Derek knows or cares who she is. I am extremely amused at her billing him for the sandwich and throwing him out the door with it. Smart move, pretending she doesn’t know the significance of food to shapeshifters. Whether he knows who she is or not, she won’t give it away. I look forward to reading this book more and more as I get glimpses of who she turned into over the years. I never liked Julie the spoiled brat who wouldn’t go to school and caused so many issues for Kate. I rather like this new version of her.

  103. I have waited for this so loooooong! I can’t make up my mind if he knows it’s her or not or if he just knows there’s….something. January can’t get here fast enough! <3 Thanks so much for the snippet! 🙂

  104. I never pre-order your books.i like to get them closer to the publication date.
    Should I pre-order earlier?
    How important is the pre-order??
    Thank you for both the snippet and all the information about the publishing industry.

    • Thank you for giving our books a chance, Gail. This is a complicated answer, so I’ll do a blog post on it tomorrow. But I want to stress that there is absolutely no pressure to preorder. You never should feel guilty about when you buy a book, in what format, or whether you choose to borrow it from the library. We just ask that you don’t pirate.

  105. These little snippets really light up my day and take a bunch of the crazy COVID and everyday stress away. Like a little escape hatch from the insanity that is life for 15 minutes. Thank you for posting the smattering of them here and there <3.

  106. Yay! for a paperback. 👍 I had already ordered the Kindle version for myself and just got the paperback to send to my sister.

  107. I love it! Thank you!! There is a part of me that wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Derek knows that Rider is Julie transformed.

  108. Thank you for this delicious snippet. After the day I had, it felt so good. I love grown up Julie. I can’t wait to read her book. Thank you for the work you put in your books. And most of all, be brave and stay safe.

    Chloe from France

  109. As always lovely writing, plot, and character building

    Thanks for heads-up re print pre-order. Not yet available in UK/Europe but will keep checking.
    Have, of course already pre-ordered the e-version.

    All the best,

    Devoted

  110. I shall rush out and pre order this immediately, and I have a couple of Kate’s books to catch up on so Christmas will be good. I shall spend alone in lovely peace and quiet, wrapped up in a pair of nice leggings and a cosy cashmere jersey, with delicious food and music, and lots of books to read at my leisure. Note to self, do try and go to bed occasionally.

  111. I have come to the conclusion that the AuthorLords have no one to blame but themselves! They give us these INCREDIBLE little snippets, stoking up our excitement so that once the book is released we have no choice but to DEVOUR IT IMMEDIATELY!!! Thus the BDH was born! LOL

  112. I was so sad when Derek and Julie parted ways at the end of the Kate Daniels series. I had such high hopes for them then. Totally loving that they are once gain connecting. Can’t wait to see how their relationship evolves. Fingers crossed for the best!

  114. Sigh. .. Love it and really can’t wait to read it. The Julie and Derek sizzle!

    I stand for Julie the child. I thought she was awesome and she still is as she grows and matures. I know this is story telling at its best but, for an abandoned, street child, she was bound to test if she was unconditionally loved by Kate, and she was afraid of being abandoned again. I love how relatable these beautifully written, flawed, characters can be.

    Derek and Julie’s relationship is going to be unique to them, something different.

    Thank you, IA, for this snippet.

    • +1, also, who knows who they are at 19, you get a much better story after someone has learned a bit more about themselves and who they are.

  115. I have to say I love the bill she produced, especially that it was $20 for a ham sandwich.
    I’ve always liked Derek. I never liked Derek and Jill together for a romantic relationship, I just don’t feel they belong together and Jill needs to get over her crush. Can’t wait for the e-book to come out!

  116. I’m always impressed by how you both are able to write dialogue that is so succinct and yet still conveys depth, emotions, and humor. Thank you!

  118. The reason we assume that there will be a series is that we, the BDH, can’t imagine that there won’t be one. 😀

  119. I think these two might be my favorite of your couples. I loved the closeness that developed between them as kids and seeing them orbit each other as adults makes me sigh happily. I apologize in advance because I can just anticipate how much readers will clamor for the sequels the SECOND Blood Heir is released. Thanks for the snippet, your hard work, and your patience with your insatiable readers!

  121. You guys have no idea how much I’m looking forward to reading this book!! It’s one of the few things getting me through the semester. Thank you for the snippet ❤️

  122. Finding ways to profit. I approve.

    “When there’s an opportunity to earn money, warm ass much of it as possible.”

    ~Maine (and basically every character in Ascendance of a Bookworm)

  123. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

    You get all the hearts!!!

    ❤️ ❤️ ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

  124. She admits she doesn’t have any tea.

    She notes she doesn’t have a lot of food.

    She comes home to a packed larder and a home filled with pigs and chickens,..

  125. Preordered this book as soon as it was available to order! I can’t wait!!!!!!!!! Many thanks to Team Andrews for this bright spot in today’s dim world.

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