In case you thought EMPIRE OF LIGHT is all I have up my sleeve --- oh, wait, is that a LAPTOP in your pants???

No. Not a laptop, but a new shiny WIP. You may or may not have heard me ramble about it before, but as soon as EMPIRE OF LIGHT is finished, polished, cohesive and potentially marketable and *gasp* query ready, work on my YA urban fantasy SLEEPING WITH GHOSTS will ensue.

SLEEPING WITH GHOSTS in short is going to be part crazy crossover between American urban fantasy and Germanic legends, featuring a bi-gender protagonist, who not only happens to be a cursed, pathological liar, but also has issues with ghosts and the occasional zombie getting into his/her way. Together with Sig, a resurrected (or shall we use Ash's term "zombified"?) dragonslayer of Germanic myth, Ash has to deal with ghosts frequenting his/her dreams, some kick-ass agents of the Cursebreakers on their heels, and oh, did I mention zombies?

So stay tuned for a tiny excerpt from what is going to be SLEEPING WITH GHOSTS. This one is going to be fun and I can't wait starting to really work on it :)

“It would be a stupid idea to kill me.” I flashed Merle my most convincing smile.

Apparently it didn’t impress her or her heavy boot that kept me pinned to the ground. Or her knife aimed right at my throat.

“Really?” Merle raised one coppery eyebrow. What was it with Redheats hating my guts? And anyway weren’t freckles supposed to make you look a little childish, friendly, harmless?

Bull shit.

In Merle Lando they brought out the badass. Her hair glowed like hellfire in the fading sunlight. “I think killing you is the best idea I’ve had in the last century or so.”

“But I know where the key is. The ghosts told me. You’ve seen it, remember?”

“Shifter,” Merle said, rolling the word back and forth on her tongue, relishing it.

I wished she’d stop calling me that. Right after she let me go and be on my way to betray her again. They say if you have partners like me, you don’t need enemies. They may be right and damn me if I regretted anything I had done. It had been necessary, damn it.

“Liar,” Merle said, voice suddenly distant, reminiscing. “You always lied. You lied about the ghosts, you lied about the Cursebreakers, you lied about who you are. Lies, all of it. It’s your fault they’re dead. You killed my family. You. Not them. It’s never been them.” Merle’ eyes burned with blue fire. “But I’m done waiting. Done following you around. It’s your turn now. Finally.”

“Yes,” I swallowed, carefully, eyes fixed on her hand holding the knife. “I can see your point. But don’t you think that now that you have your chance, revenge tastes stale and bitter and maybe just a tad unfulfilling?”

Merle cocked her head to the side, considering.

“No,” she said and drove the knife in.