Astrid gets an interview, and a Fur Thing snippet

Mia Darien, author of the Cameron's Law series, was very brave and had Astrid from the Blue Moon Detective's over for a character interview, and let her snark all over her blog. Check it out here: http://www.miadarien.com/character-interview-j-h-sked-astrid-from-the-blue-moon-detectives-series/

Fur Thing is coming along nicely, and I've got a snippet to share with you today. Usual warning: edits may change things, and there may be typo's. Enjoy.


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Jenny Lightfoot had spent a lot of time in this room. Her scent was everywhere, especially in the bedroom doorway. She leant against it now, frowning at the bed, and I knew why the hotel staff hadn't thrown me out on my ear. This death was bugging the hell out of her, and I was a possible source of information. Once Sam Prent's husk left the hotel, Lightfoot had no case left. No suspects to question, no answers to get. Along comes Billy, and a way back into the case.

I couldn't really complain, since it got me a lot further than I would've by myself.

"Why is this one getting under your skin so much?" I asked her. She was right about the vamp-in-ice scent. It had crawled into every part of the room, seeping into the carpet and curtains and especially the bed. It entwined with the dry, ancient fur smell of a very large cat, and I had to restrain the urge to arch my back and hiss.  That was not a friendly smell. That was a smell that said 'If you cross my path I will eat you.'

"Do you know what I did in the Corps?"

I shook my head. "I know you were at Captain's rank, and I know they blew the hell out of you and your team. That's about it."

She nodded. "We were MP's. The IED that hit us was set by one of our own guys. He'd shot three civilians and his C.O. and run."

"Did you get him?"

"Oh, yes." Her eyes went flat and cold. "He  died in the blast."

I looked at her face and considered how certain injuries could be consistent with bomb trauma. I'd seen that look before. Astrid had no compunction about killing when it was needed, and she did it with the same eyes.

"Before we ended up getting blown to hell in the desert, I was stationed in Prague for eighteen months. The only case I didn't close was a murder in a smart hotel. Twofer; a visiting colonel and his wife. The colonel was shredded; his wife looked a great deal like the girl I saw on this bed a week ago."

"Same scent?" Astrid wouldn't find that case on any law enforcement database. Military investigators don't tend to share with the civilian cops.

"Same scent."

"How, exactly, was the colonel shredded?"

Lightfoot looked at me. "Ever seen what a cat can do with its back claws?"

I thought back to the video, and the glint of claws in dim light. Those things had been long enough to give Freddie Kreuger an inferiority complex.

"Shredded," I nodded. "Gotcha."

I'd seen enough. If Samantha Prent's ghost was in the hotel, it wasn't interested in talking to me. Maybe Ruth would have more luck. Ghosts and cats can interact pretty well, but if the ghost doesn't want to play, I can't go looking for them on the ether. There's nothing that can play hide-and-seek like a dead girl.

Quarter the Moon - New Stories and Art Work

Quarter the Moon went live on Amazon today - click here for the Amazon.com link, and here for the UK version.

I had a couple of new shorts that cover some of the back story of the characters; Room Mates establishes how  Astrid and Ruth met from Astrid's POV, and it's a bit darker than the normal Blue Moon stories. Then again, Astrid is definitely the darkest out of that bunch and she's utterly ruthless when it comes to taking action. I think the story demonstrates that quite nicely.
Yes, Astrid, There is a Santa was originally a Creepfest tale published on Jason McKinney's blog. It's written in Ruth's voice, and takes a fun look at what a centuries old vampire's reaction to Santa could be.

They've been bundled with Basement Blues and Die Laughing as a collection, so buyers get a nice little package when they click the link.

The cover is a lot lighter than my normal ones - the humour of the stories seems to be what readers like the most, so I decided to tap into that. If the reaction is good, I may stick to this style with the series going forwards. Shout Yay or Nay in the comments; if I get enough Yay's it's a definite. (This is the best part about self-publishing - you can tweak your cover art as and when it suits you.)

I had a lot of fun slipping into the different character voices for these shorts - they feel like old friends. I'm not sure I'd ever take them into one of the longer stories - Billy just rings all the bells for those - but I'm not ruling it out either. And there's always a chance of a spin-off into Astrid's (very) long history, which would have to come out in her voice. The odds are that those will be very dark indeed, and at the moment the dark fantasy is being channelled straight into the Crescent tales, so that won't happen for a while.

I also experimented with adding graphics in-between the stories. I rather like the effect; it lets the reader know that particular story is done and also adds a cool little visual. It also means I get to combine my writing and my art, and I'm loving that part of it. I didn't blow up my PC or Amazon achieving it either, which is a major plus point for me. *grin*

Just for kicks, here's a snippet from Room Mates for you.

Room Mates

One

“We’ve had trouble keeping tenants in the property,” the agent told me.

“Really?” I murmured to be polite, parting the dusty drapes covering the lounge window and looking out to the street below.

“Yes. Um.” She cleared her throat, delicately. “It’s been sitting vacant for a while, and the owner has dropped the rent by quite a bit.”

I nodded and let the opportunity to grill her a bit more pass; I knew exactly why the letting agent was having trouble keeping their tenants for more than a couple of weeks. She was standing in the corner in a blue nightgown, scowling at both of us.

House hunting is a chore. House hunting as a vampire, when your options are limited to the few letting agents desperate enough or sleazy enough to meet new clients after dark is both a chore and extremely annoying, although looking for new digs in winter helped.

Tip to anyone who finds themselves in my situation – only look for a place in winter. It gets dark early, and most agents assume you work during the day.

I’d learnt some years ago to pick female letting agents if possible. There’s a limit to how many times you can 


bury agents without running out of agencies. 


New

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J H Sked is the author of WolfSong, Basement Blues and Die Laughing, all of which are on Amazon and enrolled in the Kindle lending programme.

Kindle Author interview up, & some funky new stuff

My Kindle Author interview went up yesterday, focusing on Basement Blues. A massive thanks to David Wisehart, who's a talented author himself,  for the opportunity and a really cool site.

You can now get Blue Moon Detective Agency goodies from the U.K.  Zazzle site, as well as WolfSong and Basement Blues mugs.

 My favorite are the mugs, but there are hooded tops and vests available too, with more to come soon - watch this space.

http://www.zazzle.co.uk/basement_blues_mug-168922249816685402http://www.zazzle.co.uk/wolfsong_mug-168868449048998656