How My Book Signing Went With New Book on My Blog

Check out how my book signing and aunch of Haunted Virginia: Legends, Myths and True Tales went at a new indie bookstore in Richmond at my blog.

http://pamelakkinney.blogspot.com/2009/05/haunted-virginias-cover-on-book-cover.html

Join Me on Paranormal View Radio Show Tonight at 10PM to Midnight

I'll be a guest on The Paranormal View Radio Show tonight (May 29th) from 10PM to Midnight Eastern.The hosts and I will be talking about Haunted Virginia: Legends, Myths and True Tales, besides Haunted Richmond, Virginia too. You can join in the live chat and be able to ask questions on the air. You can participate by visiting:http://www.para-x.com/live.html

Pamela K. Kinney
http://FantasticDreams.50megs.com
http://www.myspace.com/PamelaKKinney
http://PamelaKKinney.blogspot.com

Be prepared to take a journey into Pamela K. Kinney's fantastic dreams of horror, science fiction and fantasy, plus the ghosts and legends of two nonfiction ghost book, Haunted Richmond, Virginia and Haunted Virginia: Legends, Myths

Haunted Virginia Released-Blog Tour, TV Appearance the 29th & Book Signing the 30th

Haunted Virginia: Legends, Myths and True Tales is out officially today and I stopped at a blog, doing doing a a virtual tour. Check it out and do leave a comment. Also check out the rest of Sidney Williams' blog.

http://sidneywilliams.blogspot.com/2009/05/blog-book-tour-pamela-k-kinney-and.html

I'll also be interviewed by Virginia This Morning tomorrow morning (Friday the 29th) to talk about my new book. The show is 8:55-10AM and I am not sure what time I will be on. But check them out. http://www.wtvr.com/Global/category.asp?C=86435&nav=menu79_6_3

And this Saturday, May 30th 1:00PM to 4:00PM will be the launch and signing of my new book, Haunted Virginia: Legends, Myths and True Tales at Simple Pleasures Books and Gifts 10180 Lakeridge Parkway Northcross Center Suite 104 Ashland,Va.23005 Store Phone: 804-368-7736 Simple Pleasure Books & Gifts

Now Available :: "Mastering Stefan" by JM Snyder

Now Available

Mastering Stefan
by J.M. Snyder

Buy your copy today!

BLURB:
Three years and Stefan’s yet to find that certain someone who can take him to the precipice of lust, dangle him over the abyss, and shove him headlong into the darkness of his own desire. Someone who drives him to the edge but won’t let him fall. Someone he can trust completely, body and soul, someone he can lose himself in. When a local gay bar called the Code hosts a fetish night, Stefan goes looking to be conquered.

There Stefan meets the man of his dreams, known only as “Master.” But when put to the test, can he prove himself worthy of such a man?

NOTE: This story appears in the anthology Best Gay Bondage Erotica.

EXCERPT:
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

There at the bar, the guy sinks down to squat in front of Stefan’s stool. Still silent, he turns Stefan to face him, spreading Stefan’s legs until he’s between them. His wide eyes watch Stefan closely, his thin, unsmiling lips not betraying any emotion while Stefan struggles to hold his back. He wants to throw himself at this man ~ he wants to be ravished, torn into from behind, latex stripped away as this stranger barrels inside. He feels his heart beating where the boy-shorts cut into his upper thighs and wants to beg this stranger to take him now. But more than that, he wants to be taken without having to ask.

Slowly, the guy rolls back the hem of Stefan’s shorts-just the leg where his dick pulses. He peels the latex an inch or two away from Stefan’s cockhead; the shorts are too tight to allow anything more. Some part of Stefan’s mind whispers that his dick is out in front of a couple of hundred people, what the hell’s he doing here? But the mere fact that he’s exposed in a bar and the night doesn’t come to a screeching halt around him is enough to make his dick begin to weep. At the first drop of jism, the stranger leans closer, his hair tickling Stefan’s thighs, closer, until his hot whiskey-wet
lips kiss the tip of Stefan’s dick.

“Oh God,” he moans. His fingers dig into the guy’s arm, claw at the bar. His hips rise up off the stool, but his trembling legs are too weak to hold his own weight and he plops back down. The latex cuts across his erection like a tourniquet, igniting a dull fire in his balls that smolders with lust. A soft tongue rubs across the spongy glans of his cock, tickling him, teasing. Saliva and cum slick the latex around the head of his shaft and the stranger’s hand presses down on Stefan’s still-sheathed length, kneading him through the shorts, working him toward release. When that mouth closes over his bulbous
tip, the stranger tongues a tender spot just below his slit and sucks until Stefan comes with an explosive orgasm that threatens to rip him asunder.

Stefan bucks up off the stool, his hand knocking aside the untouched Russian waiting for him, and white liqueur splatters the bar like the load he shoots into the stranger’s willing throat. As the other man stands, Stefan sighs, “Please.” His hand trails down the guy’s arm, catches for a moment in those strong fingers, then falls to his lap, spent. Take me home, he wants to say, his mind filled with images of the two of them entwined together in someone’s bed, but he can’t seem to remember how to put those thoughts into words so he just murmurs again, “Please.”

The stranger pulls something from his back pocket-a business card. Tenderly he lifts Stefan’s now-limp member and slides the card into the sticky wetness between Stefan’s cock and thigh. Then he rolls the latex down again to cover the too-tender tip of Stefan’s dick. The paper feels like cardboard shoved into his shorts.

Then the guy fades back into the crowd. No words, not even a name. Stefan reaches for the White Russian, needing a drink, only to find ice cubes melting on the bar.

Buy your copy today!

Did you know

Richmond, Virginia was the capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War?

Virginia also hands down had more battles fought in it than any other state during the Civil War. 123 battles fought. Tennessee was next with 38.

Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
http://www.mechelearmstrong.com
http://www.melanylogen.com

Join me at Balticon!

Join me, Helen Madden, and Alessia Brio as we talk dirty and literary in Baltimore for what will prove to be a terrific party. This is to be my first Balticon, and I'll speak on two panels, one on Saturday night and one on Sunday night. It'll also be the first time in a while where I don't have put in time at a table or booth, and I don't mind that at all. It will be nice to play tourist for a bit and see the con through those eyes. Next year we'll get the booth and do the hard sell.

I will have gift certificates for free eBooks, though. Just look for the tired old lady in the pink Coming Together t-shirt and I'll give you one.

Now Available :: "Bounty of the Heart" by JM Snyder

NOW AVAILABLE

Bounty of the Heart
by J.M. Snyder

Buy your copy today!

BLURB:
For seven years, Emmett Ward has harbored amorous feelings toward his partner, Jack Robison. A chance encounter brought them together -- Emmett slaved in an illegal warehouse run by a Korean criminal known as the Dragon Lady, when Jack, a notorious bounty hunter with his sights set on her son Lin Ji, was captured. Emmett helped Jack escape in return for his own freedom. They've been together ever since, but Emmett aches for so much more than their platonic partnership.

A new bounty has been placed on Lin Ji's head, sending Emmett and Jack to the wilds of Alaska, where they hope to take out the crime lord during an annual dog-sled race. As they near their target, they run into Monty Becker, another hunter Jack used to know. He takes an interest in Emmett, who is drawn to the sexy, charismatic fellow despite Jack's warnings.

Emmett is torn between the two men -- Monty is more than willing to show him what he's missing, but Jack is what his heart wants. When the three team up to take out Lin, Emmett learns more of the past Jack and Monty share, and discovers just why his partner has ignored his obvious feelings for so long.

EXCERPT
As the fire gutted low among the coals, Emmett leaned back, one hand on the ground behind Jack. His partner shrugged, as if that would somehow give him more space, but it didn't. For a long moment, Emmett stared into the flickering flames, gathering up his courage. It was cold, he'd reason, and the shelf on which they had camped was open to the elements. Perhaps they could push the bedrolls together, just for the night. Emmett thought if he could only close the gap between them, nature would take over and do the rest. He'd wake in Jack's embrace, his body still humming from the older man's attention. Maybe if Emmett said it was too cold; how could he argue with that? "Jack ..."

Out beyond their firelight, a twig snapped. Jack jerked his head, instantly alert. Emmett touched Jack, fisting his hand in the hide covering Jack's back. "What was that?" he whispered.

A small scurry of stones answered him. In one fluid motion, Jack stood and drew his pistol. Before Emmett could speak, Jack hissed, "Shh."

Emmett strained to hear something else, anything, over the quiet fire. He heard nothing, and wondered if it hadn't been an animal of some kind when Jack leveled his gun and fired.

The report was deafening. Jack aimed a second time. "Show yourself," he called, raising his voice. To Emmett, he muttered, "Bastard's been following us since Juneau."

"What?" Emmett clambered to his feet, ears ringing from the shot. Why hadn't Jack said something earlier?

In the silence, Jack cocked the pistol. "Get the fuck out here," he warned.

From the darkness came a man's voice, jovial and light. "All right already, Jack. Hold up, will you?"

"Who is it?" Emmett wanted to know. "And why didn't you tell me we were being followed?"

Jack's frown deepened. "You should've known."

Slowly a tall shape extracted itself from the shadows. As the stranger stepped into the circle of light thrown by their fire, a chill passed through Emmett. He took in the weathered cloak covering tight denim pants and a dark shirt, the long rifle slung over one shoulder, the ten-gallon Stetson pulled low over the stranger's face, and wondered how this man knew Jack by name. A fellow bounty hunter? An old friend?

The disgust that flitted across Jack's face as he holstered his pistol suggested otherwise. He took his seat again by the fire, dismissing the stranger. Tossing a small bundle of sticks into the flames, Jack growled, "What the hell do you want?"

The stranger shrugged easily. When he pushed the hat back from his face, he grinned wolfishly at Emmett, his thin, dark beard enhancing his lupine appearance. Tapping the hat firmly into place, he drawled, "Where'd you pick up the kid, Jack? He's too damn pretty to be your type."

Emmett blushed. The stranger couldn't be much older than he was himself. Clearing his throat, he said, "I'm not a kid."

"So I see." The stranger's gaze trailed down Emmett's body, audacious, before rising to meet Emmett's eyes. That look felt invasive almost, as if the man could see through the bulk Emmett wore and behold the body beneath. Emmett's cheeks burned furiously, more so when the stranger winked. "Can't imagine Jack will introduce us. Niceties have never been his strong suit. The name's Monty Becker. Pleasure's all mine. And you are ...?"

"Emmett." He took the hand Monty offered. Its grip was strong and sure, but Monty didn't let go right away -- his palm burned in Emmett's, his wicked grin never faltering. With difficulty, Emmett shook him off. "Do you know Jack?"

Monty laughed. "We go way back. You two mind if I join you?"

Without waiting for a response, he sank down to sit by their fire, folding his long legs Indian-style in front of him. Emmett, all too aware that he alone stood standing, took his own seat again beside Jack. This time, the elbow in his side was quick and sharp, roughly pushing him away. "I didn't say sit," Jack muttered, his voice as cold as the night around them.

"I didn't really ask," Monty replied.

Buy your copy today!

Sapphire Phelan/Pamela K. Kinney Signing at Annual SciFi Yard Sale in Va. Beach 5/23

I'll be selling and signing copies of some of my books this Saturday, May 23rd at the Starfleet Atlantic SciFi Yard Sale--cash only. This will be books by Sapphire Phelan and also Pamela K. Kinney.
The time of the yard sale is 9AM to 2PM. The address for it is 4844 Linshaw Lane Virginia Beach, Va. 23455.
There'll be others selling some nice things, from collectibles to used books to more, including me.It's free to attend.

Now Available :: "For the Boys" by JM Snyder

NOW AVAILABLE

For the Boys
by J.M. Snyder

Buy your copy today!

BLURB:
Falling in love was the last thing Army pilot Carl Prosser expected to do while stationed in Korea. But he meets a young man named Tommy who's touring with the USO and does just that. Their relationship deepens through an exchange of letters.

When the USO troupe returns to the front, Prosser devises an elaborate plan to see his lover one last time before the entertainers return to the states. At the last minute, though, there's a change of plans when the enemy hits the USO troupe and Prosser fears Tommy is gone forever.

NOTE: This story appears in the anthology, Some Gave All.

EXCERPT
He laughed and stepped into the shadows to stand beside me. I could feel the warmth of his body just inches away from mine and I had to fist my hands to keep from unfolding my arms and touching him. He still wore his stage outfit, long sequined pants in a gaudy camouflage pattern with a tight fitting vest to match. The pants hugged his hips and thighs, blooming out around his ankles, and in the faint light from the window of his friend's tent I could see the freckles on his bare shoulders, the thick muscles in his upper arms. He wore a small cross on a tiny gold chain around his neck and his hair was a mop of unruly brown curls the color of freshly turned earth that my fingers itched to roam through. When he smiled, I could see the sparkle of glittery makeup around dark eyes that twinkled like the stars above. "She is cute," he said. "Did you see our show?"

I nodded, awed, afraid that my voice would be gone if I tried to speak. No wonder the nurses were giggling over him earlier. This close he was breathtaking.

"The guys always fall for her," he continued. "I'm Tommy."

"Tommy?" I asked, confused by his sudden change of topic.

He grinned. "That's me," he said. "Don't you think she's cute?"

I shrugged. "She's okay, I guess. Not exactly ..."

I trailed off, unsure of how much I wanted to tell him. Everything, my mind whispered, but I didn't listen to it.

Tommy laughed. "Not exactly your type?" He took a step closer and the front of his vest brushed against my elbow, igniting my arm at the brief touch. "What is your type?"

I didn't answer, but my whole body cried out for him and when he touched the insignia on my shoulder, I almost jumped. "What's this stand for?"

"Warrant officer," I whispered, watching his finger trace the metal bar pinned to my jacket.

With a grin, Tommy lowered his voice and asked, "Does this warrant officer have a name?"

"Prosser," I told him. He looked up at me, eyes widening, and I remembered he was a civilian. "Carl," I corrected. I could feel a blush heat up my cheeks and I turned away from his intense gaze. "It's Carl."

"Carl." When he sighed my name, it sounded like a promise. Glancing at the door to his friend's tent, still closed, he asked, "So you're just waiting here?"

I stared at the skin along his neck, the shadows pooled in the hollow of his throat, and nodded because I didn't trust myself to speak.

He shivered in the night air and I wanted to wrap my arms around him, hold him close, cover those bare arms and warm him up again. "It's getting colder," he said with a slight laugh, but he didn't move away, didn't say he had to leave, didn't make up an excuse and hurry on his way. Instead he rubbed his hands together and asked, "Where are you from, Carl?"

I liked the way he said my name, the way it sounded in his voice. "Southwest Virginia."

He laughed again. "You're a far way from home, boy. I bet it gets pretty lonely out here."

"You have no idea." Lonely didn't begin to describe Korea. Some nights, when the wind whistled around the flaps of my tent, I would lay awake on my narrow cot and listen to Bert snore, and wonder if maybe I wasn't wasting my time out here, wasting my life for a war that the government refused to declare. Nights like that I wanted to be home, in the heat of the South, and I clutched the blankets tight around my body and ached for a lover's touch. Then there were days when I was trying to get the wounded off the battlefield and could hear the steady ping of enemy bullets off my chopper blades, and wondered if I would ever even make it home again.

Tommy watched me closely -- I could feel his gaze on my face, my neck, and I was all too aware of his naked arms and his thin clothing, sequins and silk, when I stood next to him in heavy fatigues and a thick field jacket. "I'm sure you have someone back home who misses you," he was saying, his breath warm against my cheek. When had he moved so close? "Someone who writes you long letters, cheers you up a bit. A girlfriend maybe? Someone like that?"

"No." I shook my head for emphasis. "No girlfriend." I didn't want to tell him that the only letters from home I got came from my mother or my sister. No lover, and definitely no girls.

"Not your type?" he breathed.

Staring into his deep eyes, I whispered, "You could say that."

Buy your copy today!

Guest Blogging Today at Keta's Keep

I am guest blogging with an excerpt from Being Familiar With a Witch at KETA'S KEEP Stop by and leave a comment, and while there, check out this great author's blog.

Sapphire Phelan
WEBSITE
MYSPACE
SAPPHIRE'S PASSION CORNER
NEWSLETTER

Go beyond the usual, instead take the unusual that stretches the boundaries and find romance with Sapphire Phelan's aliens, werewolves, vampires, fairies, and other supernatural/otherworldly heroes and heroines.

A New Review for Being Familiar With a Witch

I got a new review for Being Familiar With a Witch at http://www.amberkatze.blogspot.com/

Some of what the reviewer said:

This book started as it meant to continue. Hot! This erotic paranormal romance was steamy and very very sexy. Definitely not for the weak hearted but will be loved by anyone who loves their erotic stories full of heat.

Read the rest of the review at the above link.

Find the eBook at PHAZE and on Kindle at AMAZON

Sapphire Phelan

http://FantasticDreams.50megs.com
www.myspace.com/SapphirePhelan
http://SapphirePhelansPassionCorner.blogspot.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SapphirePhelansParanormalNewsletter

Go beyond the usual, instead take the unusual that stretches the boundaries and find romance with Sapphire Phelan's aliens, werewolves, vampires, fairies, and other supernatural/otherworldly heroes and heroines.

Available now: from Phaze Books: the erotic urban fantasy, Being Familiar With a Witch:

Tina doesn't know she's a witch. It will take Charun, her demon Familiar, to convince her to make love with him and let loose her witch powers.
For if she doesn't, then with the demon army about to bring Armageddon to the Mortal Realm on Halloween, she won't stand a chance in Hell.

Now available :: "Caught Off Base" by JM Snyder

NOW AVAILABLE

Caught Off Base
by J.M. Snyder

Buy your copy today!

BLURB:
In Stepping Up to the Plate we meet Angelo Echevarria, AKA "Ange." Half Hispanic, half black, Ange is a young, sexy thug on whom Stacy's always had a crush. He wants Stacy to pull himself out of the gutter and get his life on track. Even if that means he has to leave his friends ~ Ange included ~ behind.

In this follow-up story, Ange spots a hitchhiker trying to bum a ride in the rain who reminds him too much of Stacy, and he can't just drive away.

Ange takes an instant liking to the precocious TC, but so does his friend, Lamar, who was instrumental in driving Stacy away. Why can't Ange keep this one for himself?

EXCERPT
Rain spiked his eyelashes into tiny triangles, ran down his cheeks like tears. His eyes were pools of ink in his face, wide and black. A faint mustache struggled to grow above wind-pinked lips, the dark hairs an indication that he was probably older than Ange originally believed. He smelled stale and damp, like a neglected dog, and his skin was the same color as the white police lines chalked around dead bodies at crime scenes. On each finger of both hands, in the long space between the knuckle and joint, blue letters like faded jailhouse tattoos spelled out FUCK THIS.

Sniffling, the stranger rubbed his nose, glanced into Ange's empty car, and saw the McDonald's bag warming the passenger seat. "Hey."

Ange studied him for a long moment, weighing his options. Drive away topped the list, but there was something about this bedraggled boy that gave him pause. Finally, after another sniffle and another wipe of the nose, Ange took a deep drag on his cigarette and let the smoke curl out of him like gray clouds in the darkness. "What's your sign say?" he asked softly.

The guy held it up so Ange could read it. STRANDED in bold, black letters that seemed to be all that held the cardboard together after a day in the rain. Beneath that, in small words he had to squint to read, the words, Please help. No amount too small. Get me out of here! Ange nodded at the fine print. "Where you want to go?"

"Some place else," the guy said, suddenly sounding so damn young. "Got any money I can bum off you?"

Ange shook his head. "I got some burgers." The guy glanced at the McDonald's bag again, hunger bright in his eyes. "Got dry clothes at home, couple dry towels, a shower to clean you up. Warm bed. What do you think?"

Those eyes dulled. "You sick pervert."

Without turning his head, Ange pierced the guy with his steady gaze and stared until the stranger had to look away. "You think I have to cruise the streets looking for a fuck?" Ange asked, his voice low. "A guy like me?"

"No," came the mumbled response then, unexpectedly, "Sorry."

"You gonna stay out here all night?" Ange asked, switching tactics.

With a shrug, the guy lied, "I ain't been here long ~"

Ange spat out, "Bullshit." The word hung between them but the guy didn't argue with it. "I saw you first thing this morning on my way to work. You want to kid yourself, chico, fine by me. But I probably made enough money in the time you 'ain't been here long' to get you a ticket to where you want to go. Where'd you say, again?"

Another muttered reply. "Anywhere, I don't care."

Ange waited. The guy looked at his hands, the dashboard, the steering wheel, up into the rain for a moment, anywhere but at Ange. When he ran out of places to look he finally met Ange's hard gaze, a quick glimpse, nothing much, but enough to give Ange the measure of the man. The boy, panhandling on the side of the road because he had no one looking out for him, no where else to go. Softly, his voice barely rising above the purr of his idling engine, Ange told him, "Get in the car."

Buy your copy today!

Free, Sexy Read from Nona Wesley

Hey there! How about a taste of Nona?

Well, that sounded dirty, didn’t it?

In anticipation of my first release through Phaze Books, I decided to participate in their free Cinco de Mayo giveaway with a short piece called Bottoms Up! It’s an interracial romance, BW/WM, about a girl on the rebound at a Cinco party. Hope you enjoy it, and hope it inspires you to pick up We All Scream when it comes out this December.

Download this free erotic short story from Phaze Books.

I had so much fun writing this for Phaze’s “Kinko de Mayo” celebration. I hope you enjoy it!

Free Reads from Leigh Ellwood, and Phaze Books sale

It's not that we couldn't wait to get the Kinko de Mayo sale at Phaze Books off and running. I just didn't want to fall asleep before I could update the site. It's happened, I'm human. These days the four-year-old outlasts me by a wide margin. She just learned to spell her name, so watch for her to become to new webmistress soon.

Now through May 6th, save 15% off your next order at Phaze Books with the code KINKODEMAYO. If that's not enough to salt your rim, we have five hot short stories available for free download, two of which are mine. A Daring Twist is part of Dareville and M/M erotic - it serves as a prologue of sorts to part of Dare to Dream and the upcoming Daring Red. As far as the universe goes, it's set around the time of Truth or Dare, and more will be explained with the next book. Anyway, hope you like it.

Sugar on Top is basically a reworking of a story I had in a Midnight Showcase Sinful Sundaes digest. The rights recently came back to me, and rather than try to shop another reprint I decided to let readers have at. It was a fun story to write, purposefully silly, about a werewolf with a sweet tooth and an invisible lady who doubles as a gossip reporter. This time, though, she becomes the gossip. Anyway, it's makes for nice margarita reading if you're so inclined. Check out the main Phaze site for stories by Becca Dale, Jude Mason, and Nona Wesley. Nona is new to Phaze, but she wanted to send something for advanced promotion, which is a great idea if you hope to introduce yourself to new readers. I touched on self-promotion a bit in the blog I do for Romantic Inks, and was surprised to see a number of people re-Tweet it on Twitter today. Gotta love Tweet cred.

"A Heart Divided" by J.M. Snyder

NOW AVAILABLE

A Heart Divided
by J.M. Snyder

Buy your copy today!

BLURB:
Confederate Lieutenant Anderson Blanks has grown weary of the War Between the States. He is all too aware of the tenuous thread that ties him to this earth -- as he writes a letter home to his sister, he realizes he may be among the dead by the time she receives the missive. His melancholy mood is shared by other soldiers in the campsite; in the cool Virginia night, the pickets claim to hear ghosts in the woods, and their own talk spooks them.

Andy knows the "ghost" is nothing more than a wounded soldier left on the battlefield, dying in the darkness. With compassion, Andy takes the picket's lantern and canteen in the hopes of easing the soldier's pain. After a tense confrontation with the soldier, Andy is shocked to discover none other than Samuel Talley, a young man Andy's father had chased from their plantation when the romantic relationship between the two boys came to light. The last time the two had seen each other, Sam had been heading west to seek his fortune, and had promised to send for Andy when he could.

Then the war broke out, and Andy had enlisted in the Confederate Army to help ease the financial burden at home. Apparently Sam had similar ideas -- he now wears the blue coat of a Union solider.

Sam is severely wounded and infection has begun to set in. Andy can't sneak him into his own camp for treatment because all Union soldiers are taken prisoner. But Andy's Confederate uniform prevents him from seeking help from the nearby Union camp, as well. It's up to Andy to tend his lover's wound and get Sam the help he needs before it's too late ... and before Andy's compatriots discover Sam's presence.

EXCERPT
"I brought you water," Andy offered. Despite the stranger's harsh words, he felt a sudden kinship with this man, unseen beyond the circle of light cast by his lamp. They were just two soldiers, without rank, two souls somehow alive on a battlefield littered with dead.

"Water?" the soldier asked, as if he had never heard the word before. The surprise turned to suspicion. "Why?"

"I thought you were dying." Even though the stranger couldn't see him, Andy shrugged. "I don't know. My men heard you singing and thought you were a ghost out here, come to steal their souls for the devil." The stranger laughed again, and Andy smiled at the sound. "I came because if it were me, I'd want you to come. I'd want someone to find me and sit with me a bit, 'til I go."

"I ain't going nowhere," the soldier said softly, and Andy heard the faint clatter of metal as the rifle was set aside. "Water?"

Andy unshouldered his own rifle and set it down on the ground beside the lamp to show the soldier he was unarmed, as well. Then he shook the canteen, more than half full, and the water sounded like a promise as it sloshed around inside the container. "Water," he affirmed. "I can toss it to you --"

"You can bring it," the soldier replied. "I'm ... there's a bullet in my thigh. I don't cotton the thought of dragging through the dead to find the canteen if you miss."

With slow, deliberate movements, Andy picked up the lamp again and stepped closer. In the flickering glow he saw the soldier appear like a ghost, a faint outline propped against a fallen log, taking shape and definition as he approached. He saw pants dark with blood from a ragged hole high on one leg, and he held the canteen out as an offering of peace.

When he wasn't shot as he approached, he came closer, and knelt by the man's side.

The soldier took the offered canteen with a sigh. "I'm so damn thirsty," he whispered, uncorking the container.

Andy frowned as the stranger gulped down the water. The lamplight fell short of the man's face, but Andy could see the dark coat he wore, marking him as a Union soldier. Hardly more than a boy, he corrected, taking in the smooth hands and thin wrists that held the canteen tight. "I thought you a rebel," he said as the soldier drank. "You sound Southern."

The soldier laughed. "Most men I know would kill you for that comment alone, water or not."

"Then I'm glad you're not most men." Andy sank to his knees beside the soldier, the damp ground seeping through his weathered breeches. "You say you aren't dying?"

"Who are you?" the soldier asked abruptly, ignoring his question. "I can't see your face."

"Lieutenant Anderson Blanks, of the Fifth Regiment out of Biloxi." He felt a cold hand grip his as the soldier caught his breath. "What is it? What --"

"Andy."

The word was nothing more than a sigh, barely heard over the breeze, but it rang through Andy like the peal of a church bell, echoing through his heart and his blood. My God, it can't be. It's the night and the weariness and the memories haunting me, nothing more. Sweet Lord Jesus above, don't do this to me, don't You dare ...

But his name in that voice, one he'd heard in dreams every night for the past three years, since the day he had watched the train carrying his lover disappear into the west. "Sam?" he breathed. "Sam Talley? Christ above, is it really you?"

Buy your copy today!

Being Familiar With a Witch Up for Best Book of April at Book Cover Lovers

Being Familiar With a Witch is up Best Book for April poll at http://bookcoverlovers.blogspot.com/. It's a great cover. If can take the time, please vote for it. The poll is on the right side of your screen at the blog. Thank you.