The writer in me LOATHES Daylight Savings Time. An extra hour to work in the morning before the family gets up, LOST. I’ve always been a morning person who put in a day’s work at the keyboard before going TO work. Not so much now that I’m retired, but I still savor those hours of quiet time (after feeding the cats, of course!). I’m an early to bed, early to rise creature of habit. Spring ahead, Fall back upsets my creative Chi.

As far as my fictional life goes, this saying takes on new meaning. In order to kick my writing life into gear, I’m falling back ten years to reissue my “By Moonlight” dark shapeshifter series that I’ve gotten the rights back to. And I’m having a blast! This is my favorite series (well, maybe tied with my Texas historicals). I’m loving spending time with Max and CeeCee and their expanding circle of friends in steamy New Orleans in anticipation of my own trip back there this fall. Here’s a taste from SEEKER OF SHADOWS, Jacques and Susanna’s story . . .

Seeker of Shadows (By Moonlight - Book 6)

Length: 418 Pages

Add to Goodreads TBR→

NANCY GIDEON CONTINUES HER COMPELLING, SENSUAL NEW SERIES WITH A SEDUCTIVE TALE OF FORBIDDEN ALLEGIANCE AND REDISCOVERED LOVE.

His town.

Susanna Duchamps came to New Orleans to settle a debt and to temporarily escape the controlled constraints of her life among the Chosen. What she finds is an opportunity to make miraculous strides with her research into Shifter genetics . . . and an unexpected, but never forgotten, man from her complicated past.

Her rules.

Shifter club owner Jacques LaRoche is fiercely protective of his freedom. Stripped of his memories of a former life, he longs for the mate he lost . . . until the enticingly familiar presence of a mysterious stranger from the north ignites a primal, nearly uncontrollable need to release the untamed beast inside him.

Their last chance.

Susanna dares not tell Jacques it was she who sacrificed his past and her future years ago, to protect him and the secret she carried. But her arrival in New Orleans comes with consequences. When a bloody confrontation erupts between their enemy clans, will she betray her lover once again—or throw her own life on the line so they can finish what they started?

The Excerpt

He was exactly what she feared.
A rude brute, an unmannered beast, an untamed animal, growling, grabbing at what wasn’t his to take or desire. A primal, inferior species unable to harness his carnal needs.
Jacques started to reach for one of the jewel-like bottles stacked in tempting rows, but let his hand drop away as he stared at the face in the mirror behind them that had been that of a stranger when he’d first seen it seven years ago. He’d had no idea who those features belonged to before that moment. He could have been anything, anyone. What he’d become had been born in that instant of non-recognition.
What he did know was that he’d belonged to them, to those pitiless users in the north, who’d obviously trained him and directed him to serve their capricious whims. The scar between his shoulder blades told him that much. Had he pleasured their females, hunted, and killed his own kind the way the Tracker who’d died in the hallway had? Had he been a mindless drone who went about their business with a blind obedience, so conditioned to their commands that he had no self-control even now?
( . . . and a bit more . . .)
Resentment simmered as he paced, movements dangerously predatory even as his thoughts panted in raw confusion.
Why can’t I get a grip? This isn’t me. This isn’t what I’ve made of myself. Why am I letting her get to me? She’s one of theirs, not one of mine. She belongs to one of them, not to me. Not to me.
So why was every primal pulse of his blood denying that fact?

When I was a kid (even when I was a college student!), I hated the start of Daylight Savings Time. Losing an hour to sleep in. Who would want that, right? Less time to play outside with friends even though the sun was still shining. But as an adult, it comes with the grumpiness of old age. Set the clocks ahead or turn them back, which is it? That’s why the oven clock is an hour behind for half the year. What a pain in the neck. Thank goodness for digital watches, computers, and clocks that do the work for you. Are you in a DST state or do you stay the same all year? Love it or hate it?

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.

Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.

Nancy on the Web

Goodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group

16 comments

Daryl DevoréMarch 12, 2023 at 10:14 AM
He is a tormented one. Tense scene.
Tweeted.

Neither time change bothers me. The only side effect I ever notice is my tummy is an hour off on meal time :-)
Veronica ScottMarch 12, 2023 at 1:30 PM
I loathe spring forward. I'd rather we just stayed on an even keel, time-wise. Enjoyed the snippet - very intense and he's surely working through some heavy duty STUFF. Well done, as always!
Aurora SpringerMarch 12, 2023 at 4:59 PM
I forgot about the time change until I noticed the hour difference between the time on my laptop and my watch. Your snippet pictures his conflicting emotions. His past must have been horrific.
JSBrayMarch 12, 2023 at 5:02 PM
Great snipped love how you can see the scene through your writing. You can feel his torment. -- As for DST, I love how it gets darker later. Get to do some front porch sitting when my wife gets home from work. She works in the city and we live in the country, well small town. Although toward the end of it is better, September on is much better. as it cools down and you get that autumn breeze.
JennaMarch 12, 2023 at 5:14 PM
He really is a tortured soul, isn't he? I feel so sorry for him and I don't even really know him! Great snippet to do that. I dislike losing the hour, but I love having daylight last later in the day. I wish they'd keep it this way year round.
Eden "Kymele" MabeeMarch 13, 2023 at 11:04 PM
Why doesn't the past ... stay in the past? Then he wouldn't have to fight to hold on to the man he now is so hard (or... would he?)

DST.... it's just a bad idea all around, imho
AnonymousMarch 14, 2023 at 11:23 PM
I have to walk the dog before I can get anything done. My sleep patters seem to be defined by the sun not a clock. I'm trying to roll with it. Fabulous excerpt!
Heather BoydMarch 14, 2023 at 11:25 PM
I have to walk the dog before I can get anything done. My sleep patters seem to be defined by the sun not a clock. I'm trying to roll with it. Fabulous excerpt! (had some trouble posting with my id)
ElightDigitechApril 26, 2023 at 7:21 AM
Thank you for providing this information, I suggesting Best SEO agency in Surat