Hi there! I'm A.J. Norris and I write paranormal romance and romantic suspense. I love participating in key word flash fiction. Nicola is an awesome host! I'll be attending Rust City Book Con in Troy, MI again this August. Last year was loads of fun and I got to meet a lot of great authors. So if you live in the southeastern Michigan area consider going to this fun con.
Awesome, thank you! let's talk heroes... what's your favorite?
I have a soft spot for an anti-hero turned hero. One that is bad at the start but you can tell he's conflicted. One that comes to mind is Xcor from J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. When readers were first introduced to the this character he was so bad, but you could tell he was ruled by fear. Later, love changes him for the better. He becomes the hero by fighting for it.
Oh man, I've been drooling over the BDB for years, and I just finished The chosen. You are so right!
OK, AJ, you know the drill. Continue the story that Stacy and Suzanne started, using the possibly evil challenge words that Suzanne left you. Are you ready?
Bring it, Nicola; I love this game!
OK, here you go. Your words are: Craving, Black, Soul, Release, Tattoo Hmmm, I think someone's been reading your Dark Amulet series!
I can definitely work with these, Nicola -- and thanks, Suzanne!
The Hunters
Part 1, by Stacy McKitrick
Part 2, by Suzanne Sabol
Part 3:
Rick drove his steel stake into the top of the worm’s skull. Black blood bubbled up around the stake and oozed down the creature’s head. A sickening release of noxious fumes filled the air. It reeked of rotted flesh.
Suzie coughed. “Oh, man, why do they have to smell so badly?” She waved her hand in front of her face.
“I don’t know but it certainly makes you hate having to breathe,” Rick eked out, yanking the stake from the worm. He had dubbed the Mongolian death worms "Soul Snatchers." They waited in graveyards, hoping to grab a lingering soul from a recently deceased—one that wasn’t ready to leave this Earth. Although Rick had been cursed two centuries ago, his craving to hunt and slaughter the Snatchers ran deep like it was part of his DNA. Maybe it was.
“Did you remember to bring the matches this time?” Rick asked Suzie.
“Did you bring the gasoline?”
“Of course.” He winked with a devilish grin and trotted back to the car. After returning to the dead worm, he found her perched on a headstone, lost in thought and biting her nails. She jumped off the granite when she saw him. “Lose you again?”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Did I lose you? You looked like you were thinking too much again.”
“No.”
Rick smirked, knowing she lied. He doused the carcass. “Matches?” he said, holding out his hand. She slapped it. “Didn’t bring the matches, huh?” Sighing, he took some out of his pocket. He struck the match and flung it onto the Snatcher.
Whoosh! They watched the fire burn until the worm was engulfed in flames.
A prickling sensation traveled over his tattoo—the mark of a death worm hunter, which spanned his entire back. Another worm was nearby and approaching rapidly.
“Look out!” she screeched.
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Because one measly little Mongolian Death Worm just isn't enough for a hoppin' night out, is it? Will Rick and Suzie prevail? You'll have to come back for the next installment to find out! (I mean, I don't know either!)
Find more from AJ at her website.
Con Information:
Don’t miss your chance to meet some amazing authors at Rust City Book Con next August! Come join us as we celebrate the authors who write the stories we love to read in the Motor City!
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