He wanted to punch something. Punching things was what he was good at, beating things, fighting, but not caring for things. He wanted to snarl at Cyrus to put him back where he belonged. He kept his hands clenched at his sides as he stalked downstairs.

He was calm, though, when he came back into Lindsay’s room. “You okay?” he murmured, closing the door behind him. The anger had faded to a background crackle behind the worry for his… His. Dane was sorrier than ever for it now, for Lindsay’s sake.

Lindsay opened his eyes and relaxed visibly when he saw Dane. “I’m all right,” he said, but he was still whispering and his eyes slipped shut.

“I’ll get that cloth cold for you again.” Dane hardly knew what to do. “Cyrus is calling Mona. She’s not a doctor. She’s a grumpy old lady who lives over a pizza parlor.” He picked up the cloth. “I’m sorry if I did this to you.” He petted Lindsay’s hair back from his face, as though that would do anything.

Lindsay’s brow wrinkled. “You didn’t hurt me.” The firmness that came through in his faint voice made Dane feel worse, in a way

“Okay. Stay right there.” Dane took the cloth and went to freshen it up.

He filled up the whole bathroom, it seemed, all huge shoulders and clumsy feet. He wasn’t made to be indoors. The face in the mirror wasn’t even human. His hands, when he didn’t pay attention to them, like now, were curled and heavy and tipped with black claws. He forced the claws to shift into something that looked like human nails so he wouldn’t tear the cloth up while wringing it out.

Back in the bedroom, Lindsay lay in the bed looking as fragile as he had the first night. Dane came over and laid the cold cloth on his forehead. “Mona will be here when she can be. Sorry it’s not sooner.”

Lindsay tilted his head, seeking out the touch, shivering. “Cold,” he whispered.

He smelled distressed, still. It was the same sick smell that had clung to his skin after the Institute. His skin was icy to Dane’s touch, in spite of the blankets piled up on him. The fire was hot in the hearth, so that wasn’t the problem. The air in the room was stifling.

Dane gave up and lay on the side of the bed, curling himself around Lindsay. It was all he knew how to do at this point, to keep his frail charge warm. He sighed against Lindsay’s hair, wrapping one arm over Lindsay’s body. “She’ll be here soon,” he promised, even though he didn’t know it for certain. Cyrus wouldn’t let them down.

Lindsay curled closer, pressing up against Dane as he always did. “Thank you.”

“Don’t talk.” Dane stroked Lindsay’s cheek, tucking his head down so his own cheek pressed against the top of Lindsay’s head. “I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

Lindsay ignored Dane’s instructions, this time. “Did you know?”

There wasn’t any suspicion in the little voice, in spite of the question, but Dane couldn’t help being a bit offended. “No. Hush.” All Dane wanted was for the little mage to stop smelling like he was so ill, to stop shivering.

“Not your fault,” Lindsay said, sounding almost imperious. He relaxed by degrees, his shivers slowing.

Dane put his fingers over Lindsay’s mouth to hush him up. He needed to be quiet, and to rest. Lindsay sucked in a breath, his eyes opening wide, but there wasn’t any pain in the noise. Dane moved his hand enough to cup Lindsay’s cheek, but he left his thumb on Lindsay’s lips to keep him from talking. Lindsay closed his eyes again, tilting his head into Dane’s hand. Dane’s guilt wasn’t Lindsay’s problem. What was Lindsay’s problem was that Lindsay was ridiculously stubborn at the worst times. For someone so small, such a thing could do far more harm than good.

“Good,” Dane murmured. That was better. Dane sighed and relaxed against Lindsay, waiting for the healer to come. He wanted to do more, but didn’t remember how, if he’d ever known.

Finally, Lindsay drifted off to sleep. It wasn’t an easy sleep—he was still shivering and his face was pinched with pain—but it was sleep and not the unnatural unconsciousness that had dragged him under in the park.

Deep runs the world of magic—and desire.

Lindsay Carrington is a prisoner of his life—first in the mundane world, then in the military testing facility where his parents sent him to have his magic dissected, studied and “fixed”. When he finally escapes, freedom comes at great cost. The man who rescues him from near death in a dark alley is far from a savior. He’s a feral mage nearly as broken as Lindsay himself.

Dane knows better than to argue with the wind that summoned him to Lindsay’s rescue, but playing nursemaid isn’t the role he envisioned for himself in the battle to end the human campaign to control his people. In spite of his resistance, he is bound to the delicate, skittish mage who unwittingly harbors one of the greatest magical powers ever known.

Lindsay desperately hides his growing desire, sure that Dane could never reciprocate. Yet Dane lays his life on the line to protect him, restoring the one thing Lindsay thought was gone forever: hope.

But true freedom to live—and to love—will elude Lindsay until he can regain his magic and win Dane’s complete devotion. And survive long enough to do both.

Find it here at Samhain and My Bookstore & More.

You can also find us chatting about Tatterdemalion and its unusual title at the Samhain Blog.

It was hard to be in the world. Harder than he’d ever dreamed. Without his cocoon of medications, he was a bare, ragged worm clinging to a branch. He certainly wasn’t a butterfly. This wasn’t a child’s story with an easy, happy ending. To Haruto’s dismay, Jasper had refused to give up his medications entirely. One to make him sleep, one to keep his seizures at bay. The other prescriptions from Dr. Avakian at Raindell had ended, but Jasper was still hoarding the last of each bottle.

“The more you fear, the worse you suffer,” Haruto had said at their last appointment. Samson, lying at Jasper’s feet, had whined sadly enough to make Jasper’s chest ache. “It is not the medications that bother me, Jasper; it is your fear. For this to work, for you to flourish, you must have faith.”

“I don’t know how.”

Find it here.

“If you are looking for an unusual paranormal story with a strong romantic plot then you can’t go much wrong with this book and I’m very much looking forward to the next book in the series. Highly recommended.”
4.5 STARS
–Jenre, Reviews by Jessewave (read the review here)

Tatterdemalion is a May Recommended Read on Reviews by Jessewave!

“The gritty urban fantasy setting is detailed enough to engage fans of the genre while the mixture of romance, action, magic, and hot sex delivers a simply great story. Get this as soon as it’s available.”
4.5 STARS
–Kassa, Three Dollar Bill Reviews (read the review here)

“TATTERDEMALION hits the ground running and never slows until the final word has been devoured and savored. Unlike the title there is nothing ragged, except perhaps my breathing, in this fantastic offering from the writing team of Anah Crow and Dianne Fox.”
5 ANGELS
–Hayley, Fallen Angel Reviews (read the review here.)

“TATTERDEMALION is the newest story by authors Anah Crow and Dianne Fox and those who love shifter stories are sure to love this one.”
5 NYMPHS
–Critter Nymph, Literary Nymphs (read the review here)

The newsletter will be coming out starting in May, and each regular edition that brings you news and updates will also bring you a piece of a De Luna Mellis novella from our Pandora Project universe.  The only other content that you will receive from us will be brief reminders of new releases, on the day of release.

Sign up by May 8 to get all the chapters of The Games of Ceres:

Fox & Crow Newsletter

Now, of course, I can’t go and copy what the Bioshock writers did. And I wouldn’t want to. But it did give me a lot of ideas for the steampunk story Anah and I have been talking about writing, about how important it is to put a fresh spin on the idea of steampunk without losing the substance of the story.

After Bioshock, my partner played the original Halo, and now we’re on to Dragon Age: Origins. Wonder what inspirations and ideas will come from that…

He’s already finished his first year away at college, his first year of being Out. He thinks he’s being open about who he is until he goes back home for the summer and has to face the fact that his parents still don’t know he’s gay. Even once that hurdle is past, he’s still hiding a lot, and throughout the story, Ricky struggles with how to handle his secrets.

Ricky isn’t the only one hiding himself, though. Jack thinks he knows himself, thinks he’s faced his past and that shutting himself up in his great big house in suburbia is the answer to everything, but Ricky shows him just how much of himself he’s turned his back on. In some ways, Jack’s road to being true to himself is easier than Ricky’s, because he’s already been through so much. In other ways, though, it’s Ricky who has it easy. The hurt Jack has been ignoring all these years is harsh, and it takes a lot to rip open those old wounds so they can finally heal.

Looking back on the story, I can only hope we conveyed how difficult the process was for both of them as well as I would like. From the inside — even two years on — it can be hard to tell what a reader will see in the story. This is one of those times when I’m actually seeking out the reviews that get posted, trying to out if we got it right.

I hope we did.