A deleted scene from SAPPHIRE FLAMES that became a short story for you.
Some days just suck.
First, I found a stain on the cute dress I planned to wear today. Then I spilled my coffee. Then I hit my toe on the door frame to the office. I really wanted to kick the door, but the last time I hit the back of my head and then punched the offending surface, I had to lie to Catalina and claim that a support beam in the abandoned building spontaneously collapsed. If it was my oldest sister instead of my second oldest sister, I wouldn’t get away with it. Nevada knew when you lied to her. Catalina totally believed me.
Lying to Catalina wasn’t a habit I cultivated. Oh, I lied casually all the time and never got caught but lying to Catalina was like kicking a baby deer. It made me feel guilty and I avoided feeling guilty whenever possible. But my family just now relaxed enough to stop continuously worrying I would change my shape and be killed because of it. I didn’t want to heap more onto the worry pile.
I was supposed to be working on the case Catalina took for her friend and I was making good progress when Leon called. Leon was my younger cousin. Mom had adopted him and my older cousin, Bern, on account of my aunt being a heinous bitch, and they were more like my brothers. One time I called Bern brother-cousin in public and then we had to leave the wedding reception for Mom’s friend because everyone kept giving us weird looks. It was hilarious.
Leon kept the call short. “I fucked up. Come help me and Grandma. Don’t tell Catalina.”
I wasn’t planning on telling Catalina. She had her hands full.
A quick investigation revealed that Grandma Frida was gone and so was the Brick. The armored vehicle was her new baby. She took one of the Humvees we claimed when some idiots attacked our warehouse and spent the last three years turning it into an indestructible monstrosity. She never let any of us drive it, which meant that Leon must’ve called her first and she took the Brick and went to help him.
Leon had been working the Yarrow case, named so because of the subdivision where the woman he was investigating lived. I didn’t know much about it except that the woman worked as an accountant and apparently embezzled money from her friends’ businesses. None of that required either Grandma Frida or the Brick.
I jumped into my car and drove to the address he texted.
Yarrow Northwest was a master-planned community in Katy, which was technically its own city west of Houston. In reality, Houston sprawled in all directions, like some giant amoeba that gobbled up the neighboring municipalities. It swallowed Katy a while ago and now there was no way to tell where Houston ended, and Katy began.
The Yarrow boasted about seventy homesites, all featuring EcoSmart technology, large yards, amenities like tennis courts and an onsite waterpark with slides and a lazy river, and prices of a million and a half and up. According to Leon, they actually measured the grass on each lawn with a ruler. It was so trendy, it made me want to spray paint unicorns pooping rainbows in their driveways just to add some life to the place. Buying a house in Yarrow made a statement. I am successful. Look at my house, look at my beautiful family, look at our lazy river and our precision trimmed lawn and perfect little flowers and despair, for we are better than you.
Who would want to float in their lazy river anyway?
Logically I could think of some reasons why someone would want to live in a place like that, but it wasn’t for me. We worked too hard for our money. When we bought a house, nobody would tell us how long our grass could be, what color we could paint the walls, or where we could park out cars. If I wanted a turret on my roof, I would get a damn turret…
When we bought a house… All of us had been working very hard toward that magical house, but so far we hadn’t found a good one. A house would solve a lot of our security problems. The warehouse wasn’t defensible, and we were all too old to live together. Bern had to be dying for his own place. Leon, too. Trouble was we needed something large enough for all of us and secure, and while there was plenty of mansions and compound around Houston, there wasn’t much available in our price range. Catalina had gone a little crazy trying to get this taken care of and I watched her closely. We didn’t need the repeat of the other incident.
I took the exit, drove up the road to the side street, and took a short picturesque drive to the gated entrance of Yarrow. I smiled at the guard in the booth and punched a code into the digital display. The heavy iron gates parted, and I steered the Mercedes through. The guard smiled back as I drove in. The car was fancy enough and I looked the part – a pretty nineteen year old blonde in a designer grey dress driving a Mercedes.
“Call Leon.”
The phone rang, and my cousin answered through the car’s speaker. “Are you almost here?”
“I’m in the neighborhood. Which house is it?”
“Keep going. You’ll see it.” He hung up.
And that wasn’t ominous. At all.
I guided the car down the lane. To the left of me, a beautifully landscaped median offered flowerbeds and picturesque shrubs. To the right, driveways peeled off, each leading to a walled estate secured by an identical gate.
You’ll see it.
All houses looked the same. Some had stucco, some were brick but at the core, they were all the same, slightly modified version of a McMansion…
The house on my right was missing the gate. That fact took a second for register, and I drove right past it. I reversed and backed up. The gate lay in the inner yard, twisted. Past it, a large vehicle-shaped hole gaped where the front door should have been.
Damn it, Leon.
I turned into the driveway, leaned forward as drove up to the hole, and peered through the windshield. The interior of the house was darker than the outside, but I saw the unmistakable blocky outline of Brick’s rear. The Humvee was in the house. The damages. So many damages.
Catalina would kill him. And I would hold him while she bashed his head in.
I shut off the engine and went inside. The place had a wide foyer. Twin staircases hugged the opposite walls, leading upstairs to a unified landing. Two black tire marks stretched from the front door, across the shiny grey marble floor, across a beige oriental rug, all the way to where Brick now waited in front of a steel door. The door looked really out of place in the upscale house and sported a big dent. A panic room. Great.
They had driven the Humvee through the front door, through the foyer, through the sitting room and half of the damn house, and then they rammed it into the steel door.
Damn it. Damn it with sprinkles on top.
Grandma Frida sat on top of Brick looking bored. To the right, shirtless Leon rested on the floor, leaning against a coffee table that had somehow survived the vehicular assault. His T-shirt, once white and now bloodstained, was wrapped around his head. A white man in his mid-thirties frantically paced back and forth around a white couch as if trying to wear a hole in the rug.
“Have you all lost your minds?” It seemed like a fair question.
Leon pointed to the man. “His fault.”
I looked at the man. “Who are you?”
The man stopped pacing and looked at me for the first time. “I’m Kent. Kent Mills. I live here. This is my house.”
He was the suspect’s spouse.
“What happened?”
Leon gave me an exhausted look. “This is Kent Mills. He works as a registered nurse. This is his house, except it’s actually being foreclosed on because his wife, Sandra Mills, who is our suspect, failed to pay the mortgage. For six months.”
“I did pay the mortgage!” a woman’s voice shrieked through the speaker above the steel door. “It’s a misunderstanding!”
Kent spun toward the door. “Oh yes, another one of your famous ‘misunderstandings.’ It’s a clerical error, it’s a computer glitch, and you’ll call them tomorrow and straighten this right out.”
“You’re a bastard, Kent. A stupid, selfish bastard!”
Kent sucked in a lung full of air.
I used my best impersonation of Mom’s voice. “Shut it.”
He clicked his mouth closed.
I turned to Leon. “How did Brick get in the house?”
“I’m getting to that. We were hired by The Shaw Distillery to investigate possible embezzlement. I determined that their bookkeeper, Sandra, was robbing them blind.”
“That’s a lie and I’ll sue you for libel,” Sandra screamed through the speaker.
“That suit will be thrown out, because it should be slander, not libel,” I said. “If you’re going to threaten someone, at least do it correctly.”
“I looked into the other businesses she did the books for,” Leon said. “She befriended people, convinced them to let her handle their books, at a friend discount, and then stole everything they had.”
“That’s another lie. I’m telling you, it’s a misunderstanding.”
Leon rolled his eyes. “A lie the way your MBA is a lie?”
Kent blinked. “Wait, what? I saw the diploma from UT. It’s in the office.”
“Fake,” Leon said. “She has an Accounting Certificate from Houston Community College. UT has no record of her ever attending.”
“It’s a –”
“A misunderstanding!” Grandma Frida, Leon, and Kent finished in unison.
“Get to the part where the two of you drove the car into the house.”
Grandma Frida drew herself straight. “It’s not a car. It’s an armored assault vehicle.” She petted Brick’s roof. “You don’t listen to her. You are a magnificent beast.”
I had to strain to not shake my fists at them.
“I found nine businesses she defrauded for a total of eight million dollars,” Leon said.
“Eight million?” Really?
“She’s been doing it for years.”
“Eight million, Sandy, and you couldn’t pay the mortgage?!” Kent roared.
“It was fine! It was all fine until you ruined it!”
“Where did the money go?” Kent demanded.
“She bought a winery,” Leon said. “Seriously, who does that?”
“Sandy! What the hell do you know about wine?”
“You never believed in me, Kent.”
My head began to throb. I rubbed my temples.
Leon heaved a sigh. “I came here to talk to give her a chance to come clean. At that point, Mr. Mills ran out, hysterically screaming that his wife had locked herself in the panic room with his little girl.”
A child? These two had a child?
“So you called Grandma, talked her into driving Brick here, and rammed it through the house into the panic room? Do you have any idea the conversation Catalina will have to have with our insurance company?”
Leon waved his arms. “I did my due diligence. First, I had him formally hire us. He signed a waiver absolving us from any liability resulting from damages to the property. Second, I called Grandma. I wanted to go with a blow torch. She decided that, and I quote, ‘ramming it is faster.’”
“Grandma!”
She shrugged. “The angle of approach wasn’t good. The Brick is wider than the door, so it’s hard to hit it right.”
“You drove the Brick into the house! And you didn’t even break the door.”
“How was I supposed to know she’d spent the money on ballistic resistant plate steel?”
“I deserve to have nice things, I work hard, and safety is important to me!”
“I was not consulted about said ramming,” Leon said. “I had to dive out of the way and hit my head on this stupid coffee table.”
Argh! I wished I could growl but it would just freak everyone out.
“Where is the child now?”
“It’s not a child,” Grandma Frida said.
Leon passed me a framed photograph. In it, Kent and Sandra held a white Persian cat.
“That’s the name of the cat,” Leon informed me. “Little Girl.”
I turned to Kent. “Why did your wife hide in the panic room?”
Kent waved his arms. “Clint called and screamed at me that Sandra is a scammer and she bankrupted his bakery. Patrick from the winery had called him and Clint checked his accounts. I logged into our bank to see if there were any weird deposits and I found that we are broke. It’s worse than broke, we are in debt! Our personal credit lines are maxed out. Our mortgage hasn’t been paid since August. When I confronted her, she kidnapped my baby and ran into the panic room and now she’s threatening to hurt her!”
“Everything was fine until you decided to go digging! I gave you everything, and you just couldn’t leave it alone. Why can’t you believe me, Kent?”
“You stole from our friends! Everyone knows. Clint and Patrick called everybody! Everyone hates us.”
“I made their businesses. Every single one of them was failing until I helped them. They owe me.”
Kent looked at me. “I just want my cat back.”
“Okay.” I walked up to the door. “Mrs. Mills, this is silly. You can’t stay in the panic room forever.”
“Yes, I can.”
“What would you like to happen?” I asked. “What would it take to get you to come out?”
“I want you all to go away. And I want everyone to apologize to me for lying about me. I want Patrick to come here and tell me how sorry he is that he made everyone mad at me.”
Denial was a terrible thing.
I tried for my business voice. “Mrs. Mills, that’s not realistic. You embezzled a significant amount of money. That’s an irrefutable fact provable by financial records and bank statements. No amount of apologies will make it go away.”
“What do you people want from me? I do everything. Do you want my blood, is that it? Do you want blood sacrifice?”
“Nobody wants that. We want you to be healthy and uninjured. Why don’t you come out and we can talk about it? I’m sure you were under a great deal of stress. We all make mistakes. As you said, maybe it is all a misunderstanding.”
Kent rolled his eyes. Leon made money counting gestures.
“You know what I think?” Sandra asked, a vicious note in her voice. “I think you’re a conniving little bitch. You can tell that bastard that I will break every bone in his piece of shit cat’s body. He loves her more than me anyway.”
Who wouldn’t? I looked at the door. It seemed standard: solid, with a wheel that rotated, and probably multiple steel bars that secured it when the wheel was turned. Once she locked it from the inside, the wheel wouldn’t move.
“Leon, call Sgt. Munoz and let him know that we are about to have an incident. I need all of you to leave the building and not peek. I want to have a private conversation with Sandra.”
They looked at me.
“Do you want her out of that room or not?” I made shooing motions with my hands. “Go on.”
“I want to…” Kent started.
“Please leave. Your baby is counting on you.”
I watched the three of them walk out of the building. The thing about metamorphosis mages was that everyone thought we were one trick ponies. We turned into monsters and sometimes went nuts. But there was more to it. So much more.
I pulled on my magic. It tried to bury me like an avalanche, a glowing mess of rainbow colors, churning together. I picked just one, the dark red one, and let it fill me. The blood-red shadow of the Beast that was my other form filled my mind, colossal, shaggy, with eyes that glowed pure white.
“You wouldn’t really hurt a little cat, would you?” I stretched my shoulders.
“Watch me!”
“Have it your way.”
I gripped the wheel and strained. In my head the Beast roared. Metal snapped with a sharp clang inside the door. The wheel gave with a grinding noise, the bars slid back, and I yanked the door open.
Sandra Mills stared at me with freaked out eyes. She was white and thin, in her early thirties, with salon-dyed blonde hair and too much foundation that was two shades too yellow for her skin tone. Her sweatpants and an over-sized T-shirt hung on her bony shoulders. She clutched a white cat to her.
She opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
I reached over, grabbed the wheel, and snapped it off the door.
Sandra jerked back.
“I talked to you, and you came out on your own,” I told her. “If you say anything different…” I bent the wheel’s spokes with my hands.
She nodded frantically.
In the distance police siren wailed, getting closer.
The Beast evaporated from my mind, as if swept by a wind. Fatigue took over. I winked at Sandra, took the cat, from her arms, and headed outside. I would have to spin a cute story for the cops, convince Leon and Grandma that the door must’ve been damaged by the Brick, and then I would have to call the insurance company. Catalina didn’t need one more headache.
I was the youngest kid in my family, but I was a Baylor. We always pulled our weight.
Yay! ?
By the way, I’m glad it wasn’t your day that started off that badly! (I didn’t realize it was a snippet until I read Catalina.)
Me too! I totally thought it was Ilona who had spilled her coffee!
+1
+1
So so awesome! I hope she gets her own series too!
Me too!
Ditto!
Right?
I’ve had days that began like that, so, I, too, went “Uh-oh!” till I got to Catalina. 😀
???
It’s a been a rough week and this is the perfect cure for a quiet Sunday afternoon.
Thanks for sharing this awesomeness. I love all the Baylors!
Hope things have settled down at your house!
This makes going to work on a Sunday sooooo much better. Thank you!
Much AWESOMENESS! Thank you.
So. Perfect. Thank you so much for this!!
The snippet made my day. Sorry you’re was so miserable
Ohhhhmyyyygosshhhhh! That was awesome!!!!!
Thank you for that snippet. I love that you are doing books in the girls’ point of view. I have no idea how you can create and keep track of all those personalities in your books, but it is phenomenal.
I LOVE ARRABELLA!
Wait, wait, she’s a METAMORPHOSIS MAGE?? Omg this is so good!
Did you not read the trilogy?
Wow. My Sunday is made. thanks.
Thanks so much. A wonderful tidbit.
Magic!
Yay! Love this series!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Love the Baylors!
What a lovely surprise!
Yaaaaaaaaay!! Thank you for this!!!
Thank you for this cute little short. Arabella is just the right punch of attitude.
Thank you so much!
I love this so much! KERMIT FLAILING ARMS!!
OMG YESS!!!!!!!!
What?? Where has Arabella’s POV come from? She’s 19, I can’t do the math. Is this during sapphire flames?
I loved it! It was amazing. Thank you. What a crappy weekend until I read this!
Thank you! That was fun and a great way to start the week!
So cool!! Lots of pretty colors means lots of cool ways to change??? Thanks!!!
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! LOVE it!
Perspective shift, though. Is the book after Sapphire Flames about Arabella?
OMG. I love those people! I love grandma!
Arabella is awesome, Leon was very responsible and Grama was crazy, I love it! Thank you for the short snippet. It made my day.
Reading this was SO much better than doing my math homework!
Love Arabella – I thought I would choke on my coffee when you described her during her trials – doing long division and writing “this s***ks” – she became my spirit animal right there and then.
Probably has already been pointed out, but Arabella says dog instead of cat before opening the door.
Cant wait to read the next installment!!
*happy sigh*
Thank you.
My mouth is actually hanging open… love it. Squeal.
Thanks, this was awesome!
Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whee!!! Thank you!
Snippet on a Sunday???? Score!!!!!!!
Ooooh! You know, I’ve been wondering what you would do with Arabella. Like, it’s awesome she can turn into the Beast, but everyone else seems to have all of these dimensions to their powers, so I KNEW there had to be more to hers! Very exciting, officially can’t wait to see where tings go for her. I am going to enjoy every moment of Catalina and Alessandro, while still speculating about what – and who – Arabella’s story will be about and with. 🙂
+1 exactly what I thought.
“The thing about metamorphosis mages was that everyone thought we were one trick ponies. We turned into monsters and sometimes went nuts. But there was more to it. So much more”
Ohhhhh my stars! I so want to know more about it and our dear Arabelita! Thank you so so so much for giving us this story. Loved it!
Thank you that was a great treat to read today.
These surprises make my day! Thank you. Your creativity together is a real joy to read! Here’s hoping your week goes much easier than this. Hurt a cat-you can be godfathered for that!!
Thank you!!!
Cool
Arabella is awesome. Thanks for the story!
I love it!!!!
Well done. Again. Thank you. Again.
Such a great snippet. I love Arabella’s voice. Just the right amount of snarkiness( if that is a word) but still showing responsibility and care for her family. Can I be an honorary Baylor, from NYC? I can cook pancakes, make great chicken soup and love animals . I am reliable, goal oriented and bring snacks.
My powers include, always finding a seat on the subway even during rush hours. I can sniff out a sample sale and get there before there is a line.
And I am great at negotiating my way around a hospital,emergency room , during a crisis. I take care of my friends and family.
Go Grandma ,andLeon and Arabella.
and can verbally take down any spoiled , vapid know it all with a few choice words.
And I can always find an empty seat on the subway during rush hour.
If the Baylor’s don’t adopt you, I will!
I love how all these girls pick up and go take care of their family .
Great snippet, short story …..GIFT
*hugs self*
Thank you for that.
Sorry I didn’t edit , I sneezed and forgot to delete.
Could never be a spy, I have trouble with locks, even when I have the keys and I sneeze a lot.
Wow, just wow! So excited to see other aspects of Arabella’s power. So sorry this snippet didn’t make the cut for the book, though. Thank you for sharing and for making my Sunday afternoon! I was kinda pouting at my 4 day weekend coming to an end. No longer!
Thank you so much for sharing this!!
That was extra fun. Thank you.
Love, Love, Love it!! You guys are the best! Thank so much. 😀
Thank you for the tasty tidbit.
In the paragraph starting with Kent waved his arms – you have reversed the last two words. It should be “hurt her”.
Before…
the posted policy included a request that we casual readers NOT point out errors and typos. I too spotted several, but still deeply appreciate the ALs’ generosity in providing such wonderful stories freely.
I would ask that no one nitpick, so that the ALs stop finding this fun for them, then stop giving us free stories altogether.
Please.
+1
+ 1 Hundred pretty please don’t spoil it for the rest of us. Thank you.
Agree completely. Loved the short story
+However many. Also isn’t it interesting that nitpickers in life are so often anonymous?
I agree with the others. Do NOT nitpick the snippet. Otherwise Ilona and Gordon will not put them out on the blog. If that happens, the entire horde (BDH) will not be happy. That’s putting it mildly.
+1
Amazing. What series is this? I have a new love. I must read all of it.
Hidden Legacy. The first three books are out. Number 4,Sapphire Flames, comes out August 28th.
Omg, I want more?I love baby girl cant wait for her book.?
Thank you soooo much! That was amazing! Totally made my day!
That was fantastic!! Love the Baylors.
Love it!! I love this series! Ya’ll are sooooooooo good!!!! Thank you!
Love love love it, she’s actually my favorite ?
Thank you so much 🙂 I enjoyed this immensely and totally brightened my day!
Awesome Short Story
So awesome!
AWESOME! Love the peek at Arabella. Thank you.
This was great. Its crazy how much damage they did to the house, they could of just called her in the first place. Thru the whole thing i just kept wondering how much worth in damages did they do. Great read.
I would LOVE a book about Arabella. Not only is she funny and sassy, but I’d love to see her have the same fear as everyone else has of her “monster” self, but hiding behind confidence in order to assure her family.
Me too!
Thank you for sharing this!
I am so glad that Arabella is turning into a real person and that she and her magic are coming together. It is nice that there are gradations to her magic so that she can exist more comfortably in the “real” world. I can so see Grandma in a Buick ramming the door. Perhaps the company could use this in one of their ads.
I have been waiting for Arabella to come into her own. Thank you for the short story!
OMG, I love this family so much.
Thank you for bringing a big smile to my day.
It’s magic, I swear it is. You set a spell and just suck me in!
~thank you, 🙂 ~
This is a deleted scene? How disappointing. I’d love to know what happened next 🙂
Thanks!
Just wow- really love this glance at Arabella and her magic, thank you for the awesome story!
Please, please, please save this somewhere so we can reread it again and again. Thank you so much for the Sunday special snippet. Looking forward to the book release this month. I’ve already preordered.
Soooo good. As always.
As much as I love Nevada (lots and lots) and think that Catalina is all sorts of awesome (cat 5 hurricane), Arabella is my favorite Baylor sis. Probably because she’s right at mental age, but I digress.
Thank you for this. Made my weekend.
* right at MY mental age
Sheesh
Is it the audiobook performer for this series that isn’t answering your calls? I loved the snippet and can’t wait for the book…and audiobook.
Thank you – great short story and glad to see that Arabella can use her Beast’s strength without transforming.
Love this. Thank you!
What a lovely surprise. Arabella rocks!
Loved it! Thank you so much.
Wonderful snippet/short story. Really enjoyed Arabella’s POV — so nice to see her coming into her own. Plus the Baylor family is awesome. I love the way they pull together and care for each other.
And so we see that the little girl of the family has grown up. How satisfying! Thank you for this.
Happy Dance!!! Thank you so very much!!
Thank you 🙂
Thank you. Love it so much. How about you take your short stories that have been cut from your various series and put them in a book. That way I can always find and reread them and they won’t disappear in the Ethernet somewhere. I would be very happy to buy it. Only one problem- you might have to put together more than one book due to your talent and creativity. ?
Nalini Singh did something very similar for her readers. She put all her newsletter snippets in one book and made it available for free to her newsletter subscribers. It’s so nice to have them in one book. ?
+1. I can’t find the recent blog where a member of the BDH posted links to Rogan’s POV and now I need to keep track of this short story.
Just need to do a search for Rogan POV on their website: https://ilona-andrews.com/?s=Rogan+POV
OMG!!! I LOVE it!!! I SO needed this today!
I’m curious if the other colors metamorph her into different things?
+1. Thanks so much!
Loved it!!!!
I love the Baylor family.
Thank you for the story
Can I join the family? ?♀️ This family is hilarious!
That was without question, the best part of my week, month even.
Thank you. It was awesome.
Thank you so much!
When you finally write Arabella’s story, it should be all kinds of awesome.
The Baylor sisters are incredible. And the way they use and fine tune their magic is great.
This was such an unexpected treat. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Happy dance! Happy dance!! Happy dance!!!
Thank you so so much! I adore Arabella with all my heart and identify with her (probably a bit too much, I’m obsessed with these books!), this was amazing!
I love her voice, so different from Nevada and Catalina. I really hope she gets books of her own, she’s my favourite!
Loved it. LOVED IT!
Looking forward to reading more about the Baylor family. Such a cast of interesting nuanced characters! I especially love this down to earth family in this world of entitled crazies! Great contrast.
I enjoyed reading the snippet for pleasure. I think this is one of the better ones. I understand snippets, blogs and first appearance serials are printed before drafts. I guess the critical readers do not understand that. They should read the opening statement.
Thank you!! I love the Baylors.
I love this family. Each book, story, tidbit, etc is marvelous
Thank you
Love it
OMG!!!
Fabulous, just fabulous. I want the book!
Thanks for the little appetizer
Oh, wow!
Thank you SO much. Sunday is now even better.
Arabella is just as great as her sisters. I knew she had to be, I simply had not seen her act like an adult and not have problems with control (and temper).
I’m looking forward to her books. They will be great, just like her sisters’ books.
Love it. Thank you so much!!
That was so awesome!!! Thanks so much. I am truly grateful for your tidbits. So sorry for all of the complications and headaches y’all have been having lately. You are super generous. I avidly and excitedly read your posts just for these little gems.
Thank you! With all you have going on I’m not sure how you managed to get this out so it is doubly appreciated! ?
That was Very Strange. Another Munoz deletion?
Thank you
It was nice getting to know Arabella and her magic a little better. Rogan will swoon when he learns how much more there is to her magic. When he and Nevada have kids, I wonder if he’ll let Arabella babysit alone!
Great story, it gives us a tiny glimpse into a day in the life of House Baylor.
Thank You !!!!
Best words. Sense of humour and great story. Thank you
Wel, well look who is growing up! Loved it thanks for sharing!
OMG The end to a perfect day for me; this was the cherry on top of the sundae. Thank you!
Love!!! Made my evening!
Your brains are amazing! I could go on and on, but that’s the gist of my reaction. Leon, Grandma Frida and Arabella are all snark on wheels and Leon is my favorite. Thanks!
Thank you – it is very exciting to hear Arabella’s voice – and a very nice surprise.
Now you’ve done it. Now we’re all going to be hounding you for Arabella’s own novel.
Question, if it’s not too spoilery… From the last paragraph, it sounds like the rest of the Baylors don’t know that Arabella can tap into the Beast without going full Beast??
A secret weapon isn’t a good weapon unless you keep it to yourself. I’m guessing she had to practice and some members of the family know but not everyone.
A lot can be learned in three years, which is how long it’s been since Arabella took out the giant the bad guy summoned at the end of Wildfire. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mrs. Rogan had taken both of Nevada’s sisters under her wing.
What a nice treat, thank you ever so much!!
What a great surprise before heading in to work after the long weekend! Thank you!!! ?
Loved it!! Thank you.
Fantastic! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Yeah!!! Love it, thanks so much!
What a wonderful snippet/deletion!! Loved hearing Arabella be so responsible and tapping into some of her magic without transforming was terrific.
And Baby Girl was a fabulous addition, sadly probably all we’ll ‘see’ of her.
Thank you!!!!
I loved this!!!!!
Damn it with sprinkles on top!!!!
It was awesome!
I loved the description of her powers being a rainbow of emotion that she can isolate and use. Wow!
She definitely needs her own book!
Isn’t this Arabella’s book?
Please tell me that each of the kids will be getting their own book(s).
Not that I’m greedy or anything.
Same! She’s really growing up to be interesting. I wonder what else Leon would have tried, too. Explosives?
Interesting he called Grandma and Arabella who were more available than Catalina as Catalina could have love whammo’d that door open in a jiffy.
Brilliant!!
What an excellent surprise!! Love it. ???
Holy moley! That was delicious! Thank you for a wonderful surprise. ?
Arabella rocks (as do all the Baylors/Rogans (have to include Nevada)).
Thank you! Thank you!
Had a messed up week with aged mother falling & having complex ankle fracture then the subsequent aftermath ?
This snippet was most welcome.
Nevada’s power is layered and complex. In Catalina’s novella, we saw that HER power is also layered and complex. To be honest, I never thought of Arabella’s as that interesting a power. Sure, her beast form is impressive and that she can control it is even more so, but I had a hard time seeing how she could compare with other primes whose powers are so much more versatile.
This short story answered that question neat and tidy! I can’t wait to see what other threads Arabella can pull on without going full-on beast— and will she be able to transform into something other than the Beast of Cologne? I already loved Arabella’s personality for a POV character (it’s fun to see the world through the eyes of someone that fearless of their personal safety), so this just makes me even more anxious for stories with Arabella as the main character.
I LOVE the whole Hidden Legacy Series. I’ve read the series at least eight times and it is still great.
THANK YOU, dear AL, for the hours and hours of entertainment!
+1111
I think it’s less that she’s able to isolate specific magics and more specific aspects of her beast form. In this case she took the superior strength. I would guess she can also gain some damage immunity and possibly supercharge her senses.
So much this, though
“I LOVE the whole Hidden Legacy Series. I’ve read the series at least eight times and it is still great.”
…I just haven’t counted.
I’ve re-read it often enough to know not to start on a particular day of the week. Because the sushi place nearby is closed for their weekend by the time the craving gets me.
So much love for the AL. Our little Arabella is all grown up wearing couture and driving a Mercedes. It seems only a few months ago she was wearing a Sailor Moon shirt and backward shorts. Hehehe.
Really adored Arabella and now love her more. Thanks for the happy juice!!! Can’t wait for SF.
Ohh, just re-read. “We didn’t need a repeat of the other incident.” DUN DUN DUN! foreshadowing anybody? Now my mind is reeling with possibilities. Love muchly 🙂
Didn’t Catalina say in her book she had had a breakdown?
Thank you so very much.
To give us this, after the two weeks you’ve had . . . Wow. Just . . . wow. And thank you. We missed you.
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing!!!
This was wonderful, thank you!
Omg! So good to get inside her head!!! Love it!
Thank you! Especially for sharing an Arabella story!
thank you thank you thank you!
Yeah! Snippet heaven – so good! Mahalo!
Thank you for the snippet! And I love that it was from Arabella’s point of view…
Love that kid.
Not one trick ponies? Will we get too see what the other colors can be?
This was a great day and this just made the end of it even better. Thank you.
Wow. Thanks for the short story. Amazing, I hope Arabella gets her own trilogy! as well as Bern and Leon! I am wondering if Leon filled out, I remember him comparing his physique against Rogan and lamenting the woes of a teenager!
Love it!
Thank you!
Woohoo! thanks so much 🙂 Will some of these deleted snippets make it into a Hidden Legacy short story collection (for money not just love)?
Wow! And THIS got deleted? Wow!
What a wonderful twist to Arabella’s power.
Yass, Arabella!
Lovely! Thank you!
Fan-tabulous!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!!
What a wonderful way to end the day! Thank you so very much!
Wowza!!!! Bella is so totally cool! Now that we get a little bit more of her powers, and she is like Curran, she can tap into her powers and use it how she needs it!
I’m so happy to see that when Catalina grew into her own, this demonstrates that Bella really matured too. Can’t wait for the next one!
Thank you, Authorlords. A great bed time story after 6+ hours of driving to a jobsite. An early b-day present to boot! Loved the brother-cousin as my husband is a bruncle. People get so confused, but it’s really all about family caring when other family members should not have nor raised children. Blessed be and thank you for the treat!
Loved it!! Thank you!!
Thank you so much. This was wonderful!
Delicious! I will buy it if and when you all decide to publish it officially! Thanks for the awesome story!
Thank you, made my night. Now work tomorrow 🙁
Thank you! That was fantastic
Great Work.!!! Love to learn more about her magic!!
What a lovely surprise! Thank you ….I loved hearing more about these characters
Absolutely loved it
Am craving an entire Arabella book❤
Thank you!
It was an excellent story and the perfect way for me to end a long day.
Your team is fantastic.
You are absolutely amazing! If this is a cut from the original story, I am frightened to imagine how great Sapphire Flames will be. Joy to you for the joy you have given to me.
Absolutely Awesome! Funny, my sister’s dog is named Baby Girl. However in those circumstances if Baby Girl was mishandled, the hands would be missing. Teehee!
My favorite porch cat was named Baby Boy. Absolute sweet heart to me and eventually vet staff, but he walked right past the neighbors without so much as a tail flick.
Yeah!
Oh wow! She is so cool ! Thank you so much 🙂
OOOOH, thank you for the prezzie.
It’s a treat getting some point of view from our youngest Baylor.
Arabella has hidden depths. I am not sure that her attempt to keep her skills a secret will work. She must have been studying a lot and want to keep her secret for her to know and opponents to discover the hard way.
I love it! Thank you for sharing.
Cool story! Thanks muchly ?
And because i was in awe and because i am slow:
What do mean with the rainbow? She can literally choose
from the whole magical spectrum? And she can lie to Nevada but
choose not to because she would feel quilty? And isnt she the biggest
Gun House Baylor has then?
It is still cool, thank you so much. Its early here in Germany 🙂
She can lie to Catalina, not Nevada 🙂
I would propose, based on the description, that metamorphosis mages can choose (when good enough) to do the full change from human to other, or can just exhibit facets of their other form – in this case the strength; presumably the other strands in the mess of rainbow colours, would be for things like size, the glowing white eyes, the fur etc..
Cracking Story, thank you Ilona!!! Loved the insight into Arabella!
Tom,
Not only do you have it, you explained better than we probably could.
Thank you!
(Although I’m not sure about the better explaining bit… I think the original description was really clear already!)
Thank you very much, it makes for a great start to my Monday!
Have a very nice week,
Laurence
Wow
..and thanks for sharing ♥
Magnificent! Thank you very much for posting this!
Amazing – thanks so much for this beautiful insight into the book. I am counting the days till it is released… is it still more than a month? *sigh*
All the Baylor family members are cool and it is nice to see them grow up more. Leon has his stuff handled and he didn’t pull out his guns – the just got his grandma with the mini-tank 😉
A great way to start off a Monday. Apparently de-nile is the newest river in Katy ?
That’s probably what they named the lazy river in their subdivision. ??♂️
Delicious! Love these people.
Lovely! Thank you!
Thank you so much Authorlords.
On a second or is it third re-read, on a second day, I’m loving the snark on the too yellow foundation.
Possibly cos most foundations are too pink for me, along with not pale enough.
Each Baylor has traits that I relate to, and I suspect that I’d love a Bern novel, cos I really relate to patterns and data. With hindsight I would have become a forensic accountant.
Fantastic!!
I stopped everything to read this, well worth it. Happy Monday, Thank you
Me Too!
What a lovely way to begin Monday, Thank You!! My 1st Baylor insight. Cannot wait to read More…. ?
This is fabulous!!! I love everything about the “Snippet”. The authors have spun gold into my morning. Thank you very much.
Thanks for the snippet. It’s great! I can’t wait to see more of her stories.
This was so good! Thank you for publishing it.
Thank you so much! It was like beeing on a diet for too long and then someone gives you a banana split with extra chocolate-sauce ??! Sooo good! Greets from Switzerland!
Inga
Loved this! So great to hear Arabella’s perspective and of course would love to read her books too!!
Also, I love the artwork.
Thank you so much!!!
Thank you for the pick up. I was having a pokey day. My lymphedema is acting up and causing a lot of pain but this brought a smile to my face.
Thank you, Ilona Andrews for the snippet. Poor Sgt M. I bet he buys alot of ulcer medication. Or does something else for his elevated stress levels.
Titan and I enjoyed the snippet while the 6 week old quintet of kittens ate their kitten mush. We are now in the catch, tongue bath, and release portion of today. I keep telling the knucklehead pup that cats do not like baths but he has male selective hearing.
Looking forward to the book.
❤️
This was the perfect thing to read while it pours buckets outside. Thank you! If this is Monday, bring it! Awesome way to start the week.
Thank you! (And thank you even more from last night me, who had a migraine – but was enough out of it to focus my eyes again – and had already posted some really incoherent things online and was therefore keeping mum. Best time for a snippet!)
YAY! Loved this!! I love when we get a peak inside the way the mages access their magic. I loved that with Kate also. Arabella is awesome. 🙂
Love, love, love. August 27 cannot come quickly enough….
Wow! What a great start to a Monday indeed! ( As it rains for like the 8th day in a row)
Love everything you guys write, but so enjoy snippets / short stories about the Baylor clan.
Thank you!
Janeen from Alberta.
Excellently entertaining, as always
Sweet! Go Arabella! “You decided to come out on your own”…..mwah hahaha, classic! Thanks for the short story 🙂
Oh, hooray, what wonderful thing to awaken to on a Monday morning of a week that already promises to be “interesting”. Blessings upon all of you.
OMG, now I want an Arabella book❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️. All the Baylor kids are amazing.
OMG! love you guys. TY
Is it wrong to admit I imagine seeing/hearing Kid#2 when I read Arabella? Thanks for the short.
What a nice teaser. You’ve gotten me. Can’t wait to read the completed story
Wow! This is a really nice treat.
Thanks for the snippet, always a good thing as they improve everyone’s day. A book this month and next month, happy dancing!
I hope you get some rest and relaxation before the requests start piling up for the next book!
That was a fun read. Thank you!
Go, Arabella! What a great insight into her character and abilities.
Thank you for gracing us with this snippet. It’s already been a Monday I don’t want to remember, and this was a marvelous lift to my spirits.
so great! Arabella is so wonderful!
Love the snippit, can’t wait for more! Thanks.
Thank you – what a great treat!! Loved getting baby sister’s perspective and learning about her very cool abilities!
Looking forward, as always, to your next release – not much longer now!!
Love hearing a short from Arabella’s point of view! Thank you for posting! I really like the description of how she accessed her powers; totally reminded me of the infinity stones with the different colors representing different abilities.
cool insight, thanks!
What a treat! Thank you both for the lovely short story.
Yay! Thank you! This made my day.
I hope we have an Arabella trilogy, after Catalina’s books. I just love this series!! Thank you for the story.
Now I can’t wait for Arabella’s trilogy. This is on the one hand, a gift, and on the other hand, a terrible tease.
*sigh*
And she’s hiding her magic even from her family! This is awesome.
Her family knows she practiced her magic out at that ranch many times. Whether they know the details, who knows. Equally looking forward to both Catalina’s AND Arabella’s books.
i did not know how hard to laugh. Boy, Arabella takes the cake but can she control that power. Waiting impatiently for her story.
What she said 🙂
OMG + 1 on everything above
What an unexpected treat on a Monday morning! Thank you!
Thanks for giving us the deleted scene. I hate it when you hear things got taken out and you never know what it was all about.
Wow, thanks for the awesome surprise!
Thank you for the story! A wonderful start to my Monday. You two (and Brandy) rock!
I LOVE IT!!! I am so glad you showed us the “incident”, and I am REALLY sorry that it ended up deleted from the final manuscript. I can’t wait until it officially comes out! I am holding on to my patience SO HARD!
Great vignette, and thank you. Like the other commenters, I like the refinement of Arabella’s magic–this description changes it from a last/nuclear option to something that is more useable. Since she still had her clothes, her partial magic didn’t totally transform here (at least not her size and shape too much), but she was still able to use part of the Beast.
I am curious: Sandra can say she came out on her own, but there’s still the issue of the door, the broken wheel, etc. That should make it pretty obvious that something else was going on!
Brick dented the door, bent the wheel. It was so lucky that it broke so that Sandra was still able to open it an walk out. Should Sandra deny that…well, has she said anything else at all that any one is going to believe.?
It was WONDERFUL ! Thank you. Such a fun little peek into Arabella.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thank made my Monday.
OK, I’ll one up ya. I woke up with a dozen bites on my legs on the 4th that still look bad this morning. I tripped on a tree root and broke my foot and scraped my face on the way down. Sunday morning I started the coffee without the pot and what a mess. Last thing I left my favourite pair my total favourite pair of pyjamas hanging on the back door of the cabin we rented for the weekend. I did not have a happy 4th of July and my husband is still chuckling. ?
I hope we have a better week!
Wow, that should be enough bad fortune to cover the rest of the year. I hope that the rest of your year is bright and beautiful.
+100
What a pleasure. Thank you for the surprise. Totally needed this bright little scene. Love Arabella and can see how her story could come along later on.
Absolute delight!!! Thank you!
This is great! It made my day! thanks!
Mwuahahaha! Awesomeness! Thank you so much!
Thank you for this gift. Now, I too am waiting for Arabella’s story.
LOL that was awesome!
Lol
Love it!!!!
Great story – thank you for this and the many hours of pleasure reading and rereading your books have given me.
+1
This is great. I am curious if Arabella has other forms she can partially shift into. Is she always that strong or only when she pulls on her magic. I have a hard time waiting for Catalina’s story and now I want Arabella’s story. Will we ever meet Leon and Bern’s mother? I know she was a rotten mom, but she might need help at some point. Also, I am curious about Grandma and Grandpa Afram’s magic as well as Penolpe’s. What are there rankings?
Thank you so much, that was great!
I keep thinking that I won’t like the “others”; all those extra characters that get a story too. You would think that after all these years, I’d learn to trust your writing, but I am old and change is hard. However, you may have finally gotten through to me now that you’ve managed to make me like Arabella!
* I will never like women like Sandra Mills though. Have a twinge of empathy for? Yes. Like? Never. I have scars on my soul from women like her.
I have missed this storyline. I have truly loved all the books in it, and this little snippet certainly didn’t disappoint! There is never a dull moment with this family. Looking forward to the next one.
OMG. This is awesome. I love the revelations about the subtleties metamorphosis mages are capable of!
Thank you! Love Arabella like all the Baylor girls. The are all so responsible when they need to be. Wonderful to get some more insight into Arabella’s magic. She is a tough cookie so can’t wait to see who will be her chosen one.
On another note entirely, any hope of a Julie and Derek story?
OH YEAH!!! Arabella for the win!
On the other hand, darn you guys to heck for making me so excited to see all the shenanigans Arabella and Leon will be getting up to. Glad Grandma has gotten a new toy, and of course it’s named Brick. 🙂
Thank you so much for the snippet! Glad to see the kinks in the auto-mailer seem to have gotten worked out, too.
Wow! Just wow! I am breathless.
Thank you!
What a fabulous start into the week, thank you ever so much! Loved the snippet so hard, can’t wait for the book.
“Catalina had gone a little crazy trying to get this taken care of and I watched her closely. We didn’t need the repeat of the other incident.” – Can I just say Uh oh.
SO GREAT! always wanted to see things from her point of view. thank you so much
Thank you for spinning this into a short story! Amazing, really enjoyed it!
I particularly liked how we get to know Arabella netter and catch a glimpse of her magic, but also see how she is connected to the other family members and the family values!
Arabella is awesome! She reads like a young superhero in disguise! Thanks so much for the Monday morning gift. What a great way to start the week!
What a great start for a Monday. Can’t wait to read arabellas story!
Thank you for this awesome gift!
Wishing you all the best and sending powerful good vibes at you!
This was a lovely Monday gift! Thank you!
Oh, YES!!
I really enjoyed that. Thanks
I thought Arabella could not talk in her Beast form?did she learn how?
She didn’t fully transform, she only pulled in a single aspect that she wanted to use.
Thank you for the short story. Loved it!
Loved it!
Yes I admit it. I want more please. I was just thinking about you today. About how lucky I am to get two more books. I suspect you are working on another already. Thank you. Yes I am lucky.
I love every time we get a new peak at this universe. There’s so much to play with and seeing more characters have a chance to develop makes the whole world richer. I’m really excited for Catalina’s series, but to echo other comments this makes me excited to see more Arabella as well. Thanks for sharing it!
Arabella Awesomeness!! Thanks for the great story!
Also, I really love your extended/blended/adopted/multi-generation families in all your series!
This is so great and raises so many questions. Can’t wait for Arabella’s story.
Thank you! While I hate that anything is getting cut from the book, I love that you shared it w/ us as a short story!
This was absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing!!! Having a peek at how Arabella’s powers work is mega cool.
I have a tiny question. How old is Leon? I thought I was between Catalina and Arabella age wise, but is he younger than Arabella?
Thanks so much for sharing!! I have been reading the last book within the Kate Daniels series and can already tell I’m going to be a mess when it ends (so many feels). Looking forward to Sapphire Flames. Again, thank you so very much for all you do!
Thank you!!!!!!!
Thank you for the lovely surprise!
Great short story! Thank you.
THAT WAS AWAESOME! AFter the day I just had, that was a totally fantastic end to my day! Thank you!
Haha….love it. Perfect. I cant wait to read more about her. Everyone kinda underestimates her because of her age. They are in for a surprise I think!
Thank you, thank you! What an unexpected treat! Wishing you a fantastic week.
+1!
+1
+1
+1
How awesome, thank you so much for sharing!
So needed. Thanks!
So nice to hear the youngest sister in the first person, front and center. Thank you.
Agreed! Maybe once Catalina’s series is told we can hear about Arabellas? Im a greedy guts arent i! No shame ?
EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeee! Than You!
I second Cindy, with some fangirl screaming in addition. I LIVE for these snippets. I was going into withdrawal waiting for the 16th. (Sapphire Flames release date here in Oz.)
Your marvellous;
a blessing on you both,
a blessing on your father’s safe arrival,
A blessing on the tire delivery people to get it right,
A blessing on your dog’s eye may it heal.
A great start to the day!!!
+1
Loved it, thank you <3
+1
I understand that Snoopy’s dance is actually the direct result of reading snippets. Yes, the dance of snippet joy! Let us all assume the nose in the air pose and Dance, Dance, Dance! (you can hear the peanut’s music can’t you) 🙂
With sprinkles ??????
Oh! That was BRILLIANT! Thank you so much.
H U Z Z A H !
Thank you
I am trying so hard ….
please know (m…) is sealed behind my lips ?
Oh my – that was so good!!! 🙂
LOVE IT nice to hear about what Arabella can do
Yay! Lovely surprise to a yucky day! You guys are the best!
That was a fun few minutes! Thanks!
Thank you! Made my morning!
Loved it. Made my day.
Thank you! This was wonderful to read with my tea. Another treat! ?
Ahhh thank you. I was struggling with course work this summer and you brought back just how much love for “the story” is important. So I must keep slogging!
Such fun!! Thank you for the lovely summertime treat!!
Remember Snuffles (Quick Draw McGraw’s dog) getting a treat? He’d zoom to the sky, then float down with AAHHHHHHHHH.
that’s how I feel.
Thanks so much for the wonderful treat!
(also, been looking at Anuschka things – thanks for sharing that as well ;> )
Thank you. What an interesting perspective on Arabella and her magic.
This was SO cool. I loved finding out a little more about Arabella. So her beast isn’t actually physical all the time but can be a mental beast? Pretty neat!!
Love! Can’t wait for August 🙂
This was such a wonderful treat!! Thank you♥️
Cursed publishing companies! Oh no it can’t possibly be 125k words… you need to cut all the great extraneous bits to make it exactly 110k words!
Hope that ends up in a short story collection for this universe!
WHAT OTHER INCIDENT!!!
Thank you! Just the excuse I needed to curl up in a sunbeam and read for a few minutes 🙂
Brill – thank you!
I do love the fact that it’s the door that looks out of place, not the tank …
Thanks for the little( pick us up).
Thank you so much for the snippet, it’s been a rough week and this just brightened my day. Hope your Dad made it safely home and your pupper is doing better.
I was thinking about all the things I love about the HL universe, and this snippet reminded me of how much I love Grandma Frida. She reminds me of Pinako Rockbell (FMA), and I wonder what kind of adventures she gets up to with her magnificent beasties.
Whew! Now I can breathe again 🙂
LOL Love it!
Awesome! Thank you 🙂
Fuck me, just when I thought I knew how everything worked, you give us “single strand” of Burgundy from Arabella’s rainbow of options.
Excuse my volume.
SAY WHAT!!!!???? A MOTHER DUCKLING RAINBOW?? Just how many creatures can she turn into??
Oh August 27th can’t come soon enough. I’m so excited to discover more about the Baylors’ powers.
My guess is Arabella can access different aspects of her power. So, she accessed the beast’s strength (or as much of it as she can use in a human sized body). Another color might mean accessing the beast’s senses or constitution.
This was the perfect ending to my day. Thank you!!!!
Dang that was really cool, thank you!
Arabella is amazing.
god sory
Perfect end to a stressful day! Thanks!!
That was fun! Thank you for the story – it’s like meeting the best of the extended family, one relative at a time – you’ve heard about them and know roughly who they are, and then you meet in person and they are great! Grandma Frida must have been Trouble with a side of explosives when she was younger!!
This made my day. Many thanks.
Now I just have to pick myself up off the floor from ROTFLMAO and get back to work. This story is definitely (non-poisoned) icing on today’s cake.
Funny but….what’s going on with Grandma Frida? That was not rational behavior on any level. 🙁
Iona I would like to buy extended version of Sapphire Flames with the other 3000 words in it. It seems the cut down version cut to the bone and left out some body parts that connect the previous book to future books about Arabella. Thank you for the 2 parts that were cut from the book!
Wow! Totally unexpected! Thank you so much.
Love it! Thank you!
OMG OMG OMG YAAAASSSS!!!!
Totally different subject (I already +1 how thankful I am for this snippet), I still go back and look at the Tuna comic. I say comic because four boxes like cartoons in the Sunday paper. Anyway, I keep going back to get my Tuna fix.
One Fell Sweep (Innkeeper #3) is on sale today in Kindle form on Amazon for $1.99. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MSJJFAC/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title
Surely you know somebody who desperately needs a copy. (Thank you, authorlords!)
🙂
That was fun! Thank you.
So amazing and funny – my added thanks. I was reflecting on your writing today and it is no wonder I love it so much (and your millions of fans) because you are just that funny, clever and humble. Happy to see the new blog though sad for the difficult times being had by all. Travel, luck and health blessings to all. Take a spa day – really.
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This was too good to delete…love it. You are my favorite writers and wish it did not take so long for your books to get published!
Agreed! I know some people have been ungrateful or complaining, but most of us love the snippets and extras y’all post, from cut chapters to POVs to the Innkeeper series. We appreciate all your hard work & generosity so much!
I love it! Thank you!
Looking forward to this book as well!
Bahahahaha…a winery? Hahahaha Little Girl? Omg…you guys kill me???????
So good! Thanks for the snippet.
Thank you! Love it!
Thanks. I enjoyed this immensely.
Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
Thanks for the unexpected treat! Talk about a great start to the weekend!
This was awesome! Thank you for sharing it! Can’t wait for the next book.
Thank you for the giggle I hope we will have a book about Arabella
Zaz
Loved it. Thanks for the great snippet, even though it is a rejected one! :-}
Loud cheers and much squee. Loved this but I want to know what happens next…Okay you have enough on your plates already. Will crawl back under my stone.
Beyond great. Can’t wait for the novel… comes out right before my birthday/vacation.
The editors know not what they do. This was absolutely hysterical, and should’ve been kept for the levity alone! Thank you for all your hard work to entertain us. We are deeply appreciative. Glad kid 1 is doing so much better!