Friday Thoughts and The Weekend Creation Hop

"Your time is limited. Don't waste it living someone else's life."

-Steve Jobs

I don't have an iPad, an iPhone, or an iPod, and I've never owned an Apple computer.  I guess I live in some other century, but I did note the passing of Apple's Steve Jobs and was moved by the quote attributed to him above.

So many people make plans to be something and never get around to actually being that something.  Tomorrow never comes and life gets in the way, so they never climb that mountain, real or metaphorical, and it remains something that was always a plan and nothing else. Or they get lost in the form and function of being whatever they want to be and never actually do much of anything.

So often in life we get trapped in a cycle of actions that we don't even realize are holding us back.  Fear can do that to you, and before you know it you've convinced yourself that a poor substitute for what you want is enough. 

In the spirit of the life Steve Jobs lived, here's to all of us living the life we all dream of. 

This weekend is the last before Destiny Redeemed's release, so I have to send out ARCs to reviewers and make sure the formatting is right before I upload to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. In celebration of the release and my dear friend Shah's Weekend Creation Hop, here's the blurb and an excerpt from the book.

Between fate and destiny stands their love...

Sentenced to spend the rest of his three remaining lifetimes in Nil, Amon Kalins is freed with the help of his Sidhe servant, Gethen, but now he must accept his life is never to be his again as the Council won't rest until he's safely back imprisoned within Nil's cold walls. Broken and nearly dead from his time in prison, Amon is saved by an Aeveren healer named Althea Forester. As a healer, Thea has served her people for 45 lifetimes, never having a destined one and always knowing each lifetime would ultimately end with her alone. But destiny hasn't forgotten her.

Drawn to the seductive Amon, Thea quickly becomes a pawn the Council uses to trap him. Taken prisoner by the sadistic leader of the rebel group, the Soren, Thea must survive the vicious world of the people hellbent on taking her destined one away forever, and Amon must risk everything dear to him to free her from those who would sacrifice her to claim the bigger prize and return him to Nil.

Excerpt: 

Amon looked up at the terrified woman standing in front of him and pity for her washed over him. As she stood frozen, he spoke to her, hoping to calm her fears.

“What’s your name?”

The woman stood as silent as a statue, her gaze fixed on the floor.

“Tell him your name,” Gethen said in a low, menacing voice.

Amon grimaced at his friend’s threatening tone and repeated his question. When she didn’t answer again, he added, “Please don’t be frightened. Gethen won’t hurt you. He’s just worried about me. I promise you’re in no danger in my home.”

Slowly, she lifted her eyes to his right leg. Without a word, she moved to the opposite side of the bed and focused intently on the injury.

Amon watched in apprehension as she stared at the main source of his pain. She seemed to forget anyone but the two of them were in the room. When she moved to touch his leg, he flinched and groaned, “No,” but she seemed oblivious to his refusal.

Gently, she touched just below his knee, and Amon waited for the searing pain to return with a vengeance. Eyes closed, holding his breath, he waited, but only relief came. His pain ebbed away, and when he was convinced it wouldn’t be back at least while she touched him, he allowed himself to exhale fully and slowly opened his eyes.

The left eye was still swollen, but through his right eye he studied the creature that had just taken his pain away. For the first time since she’d entered the room, he noticed how placid her face was. Long blond hair softly framed her face, falling in tendrils toward her waist, and pale blue eyes looked to his leg, as if she were willing him better.

Amon’s study of her was broken only by Gethen’s shifting positions against the door frame as he nervously watched her do as he’d commanded.  The noise interrupted her focus, and she looked up into Amon’s face. He winced expecting the pain to return, and she slowly moved to touch his face near his swollen eye. 

“Thea,” he heard her whisper as she gingerly placed her right hand over his left eye.

Involuntarily, he relaxed and closed both eyes as a sense of calm flowed over him. He wasn’t sure how long he lay there with her soft touch on him, but he felt the loss instantly when she moved away.

He opened his eyes in time to see her sway back toward the wall. He reached out to grab her, but in his weakened condition, he knew he’d only be able to support her for just seconds before she fell to the floor.

“Gethen!”

The man raced around the bed to catch her as she slipped from Amon’s hold. As he held her limp body in his arms, he looked to Amon with a confused look for guidance as to what to do with yet another hurt person.

“Place her next to me here,” he said pointing to the unoccupied half of the king size bed he lay in.

As Gethen did as he requested, he asked, “What happened?”

“Aeveren healers can become overwhelmed if the person they’re healing is severely injured. Considering the amount of pain I had before she touched me and how little I have now in both my leg and my eye, it’s not surprising she found it to be too much.”

Amon inched up into a sitting position and looked down at Thea as she lay motionless next to him. He regretted Markku having to take her against her will and having to hold her there, but the effect of just her brief healing touch was wonderful.

Looking up at Gethen, he whispered, “I’m tired, friend. Dim the lights and let me rest for a while.”

“Do you think that’s wise? She may wake up and hurt you.”

“Gethen, she’s a healer.” 

“Amon, she bit Markku downstairs.”

Smiling, Amon joked, “That’s Markku. She wouldn’t be the first person to want to harm him, and certainly not the first woman. And she had the right to fight back. She’s not here of her own free will.”

Gethen continued, undeterred. “I’m just worried she may try to leave.”

“Then you can remain outside the door, if you’d like. But I’m sure downstairs would be fine and far more comfortable. There’s only one door to the outside, and it’s on the first floor.”

Gethen accepted Amon’s argument and dimmed the ceiling light until the room glowed a pale amber color. He closed the door with one last glance back at him, and Amon listened as he made his way down the stairs.

Sleep began to come over him and he welcomed it like an old friend absent from his life for what seemed like years. For the first time in almost twelve months, he was in a bed and his body didn’t ache so much it would keep him up all night. And for the first time in all those months, he wasn’t alone. He inhaled deeply and let the air out of his lungs slowly, savoring the safety he felt.

Turning to look at the woman next to him, he watched as she lay silently still except for her breathing. Her hands seemed so small until his gaze traveled the length of her body and he saw all of Thea was small. She’d seemed so much larger as she stood over him, but the person he saw beside him now was petite. As he noticed this, sleep took over and his eyelids drooped closed.

Be sure to visit the Weekend Creation Hop to see all the other creative souls there, and don't miss the Celebrating Romance Giveaway Hop that begins tomorrow!