Down Write Nuts: Halloween winners!

Hey all--

Thanks again for stopping by and playing along! We have our three winners-- Watch your inboxes for my email!

Our runners up are Debbie and Holly!

And the winner is
~*~Vida B~*~

I love the Charmed ladies!
Thank you so much for stopping by; I'll get those emails out to you sometime today.

And in the meanwhile, I realized, I never posted the promised teaser from the second book. That was awfully rude and inconsiderate and disorganized of me. So, as promised yesterday, here is the excerpt from Penumbra: Solstice (currently slated for March 15, 2014).

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Vincent calmly stood and turned around. “Inspector. I didn’t expect to see you so soon.” He offered his hand to the man.

DuPré took a deep breath, and didn’t take his hand. He motioned to the officers behind him. “I am sorry, Monsieur Morchause, but we are going to have to place you under arrest. There simply aren’t any alternative theories we can come up with that fit the circumstances. You were placed near the scene by two completely different sources, and we must assume the worst.”

The officer put a pair of handcuffs on him and said something in French. Vincent took a deep breath, and braced himself for action. Alia laid a hand on his forearm. “No. Don’t. You aren’t guilty, and therefore will not be convicted. Go with them, and we’ll get this all straightened out in a few days time.” Vincent nodded.

“He’s a murderer, Alia,” came another voice from behind DuPré. “He won’t be acquitted.”

DuPré made a fluttering motion as if to hush the person, and then quickly gave up when he walked out from behind all the officers.

Alia’s jaw dropped nearly to the floor. “Charles Berendorf!? YOU are the other source!? What in the name of the seven hells are you doing here? Accusing my husband of murder in a foreign city, making our life miserable?!”

DuPré looked at Alia askew. “You know him?”

“He tried to turn me away from my husband when we were in high school! He speared one of our friends through the shoulder with an eighteen inch long silver knife, and was mad he had missed Vincent!”

Another of the group, one of the other inspectors, spoke up. “C’est impossible. Monsieur Garmond has lived in Paris for twenty years. He could not have been at your high school with you.”

Alia, Coray, Coleen and Vincent all looked at Berendorf with their eyes wide open in disbelief. He didn’t look any different from the day of prom. He wasn’t backing down either this time; he stared at them with a cool expression on his face.

“Please escort Monsieur Morchause to the car, s’il vous plait,” DuPré said. “Garmond, please remain here while we settle him in.” Two officers and DuPré led Vincent to the waiting police car.

Alia turned to Berendorf. “I don’t know who the hell you are, Charles, or even what your real name is but I swear to you, you will not be able to keep my husband in jail. He’s innocent and you know it.”

“I don’t know that,” he said. “What you do not seem to fathom is the dangerous creature your husband is. He murdered an old woman last night to satisfy his demonic urges. He is cruel, he is evil, and he is dangerous.”

Alia assumed her regal aires. “You obviously do not realize how dangerous I am.” She walked a little closer to Charlie. “You’ve tried this before. I know what my husband is. I know what his father, and his brothers and his sisters are. What you obviously don’t know is who I am. Well, now you are going to find out, Charles. Just as I will find out who and what you are, and destroy it.”