At The Heart Of Trouble

“That’s how I knew I was in trouble.
My heart was caught long before
my mind could realize it.”

The more I gave myself time to think, the more I became convinced that I brought this all on myself. It wasn’t just one thing, either. I turned to the one person I thought could help me and what remained of my family. I brought them with me because no one else could. Everyone else was dead. Once we arrived, I realized the gravity of that mistake. The power he effused from his very essence should have been cause enough for concern. But it was the gravity of him. In his gaze. In his body. It was like he was a black hole. Once you were captured by its pull, nothing could ever escape. That’s how I knew I was in trouble. My heart was caught long before my mind could realize it.

© Sarah Doughty

I just hoped it wouldn’t doom us all.

Inspired by my current WIP. Though it’s still in it’s early stages, the characters are beginning to grow louder.

Paradise

“The strong beat and bass guitar filled the air,
drowning out the sounds coming from next door.”

I landed two punches and didn’t miss his intentions with his slowed movements. Salvatore rubbed a hand over his chest and said, “Damn, woman, you sure hit hard.”

“Did I bruise you again?” I asked, smirked, and then pouted. “Poor baby.”

His eyes narrowed but his aura swirled with light blue. “I’ll get you for that.”

I grinned. “Good.”

When we made it back to our suite, Salvatore grinned as I unlocked the door and stepped
inside with him right behind me. His aura flamed with light blue and red.

“What?” I asked cautiously, eyeing his aura as I kicked off my flats.

“Connor and Aisling weren’t kidding when they said they knew everyone could hear them. They don’t seem to care at all.”

I froze and listened. I thought I heard a faint cry, but it could have been my imagination. My eyes flickered up to Salvatore.

He grinned. “Aisling is having a lot of fun at the moment.”

“Oh, my god! I don’t want to hear that. And you don’t need to hear it, either.” I walked to the dresser and picked up my phone. I tapped the screen and turned the volume all the way up.

The strong beat and sounds of a bass guitar filled the air, drowning out the sounds of my best friend and her mate. Hopefully, that was enough to keep Salvatore from hearing them too.

Setting my phone down, I turned around and froze. My werewolf’s head was cocked to the side and he was giving me an expression I couldn’t define.

Realization dawned and my jaw dropped. “Oh, is that too loud? I forget how well you can hear sometimes.”

He didn’t respond at first, he just kept staring at me like a predator stalking its prey. Then he took a step forward.

I took an involuntary step back and realized what I was doing.

Salvatore’s eyes glittered with yellow, but his aura still looked normal, blazing with red. “Paradise Circus?”

My face flushed, and I felt the warmth spread all the way down my neck as I realized what I just did. Not only could Salvatore hear Connor and Aisling in the next suite, but the room itself set him on edge.

And I just turned on my playlist, not thinking how the sexy music would entice him that much more. “Yep, and I happen to like Massive Attack,” I replied, trying to pretend as though I didn’t just trigger him to lose control. “I have a whole playlist like this. Do you like it?”

His red aura was brightening as he took another step toward me and my body was practically vibrating in anticipation of what was about to happen.

“Salvatore?” My voice sounded raspy. To my ears it sounded more like a moan.

“Angela,” he growled.

I took a deliberate step back toward the bathroom, as if I was trying to retreat from him. But I knew what I was doing. I was inciting him. Setting him on edge. On purpose. “Why are you stalking me like I’m something you want to eat?”

© Sarah Doughty

This is a direct excerpt
from my third novel, Home.

Though this novel of the series
follows Angela and Salvatore,
Aisling and Connor still play important roles.
I knew I wanted to include this exerpt
when this song was added
to the November Notes list this year.

It was slightly edited for context.

For day seventeen of November Notes.
Paradise Circus (Gui Boratto remix) by Massive Attack

Once Upon A Dream

“I saw him in a dream once.
And I didn’t know how,
but I knew he was the one for me.”

I didn’t know if it was
just a dream, or something more.
But, whatever it was,
I knew it was powerful.
And something I would never forget.
When the day came
that I finally met him,
I wondered why I ever
questioned it. He was
the one for me all along.

© Sarah Doughty
2018

A little something
inspired by my upcoming book,
Stronger Than Blood.

Slumber

“I didn’t know the true meaning
of sleep until I was in his arms.”

It was my favorite place to be, head resting over his heart, feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest, hearing the steady beat of his heart. When I awoke, still on his arms, I realized something important. I didn’t know the true meaning of sleep until I was in his arms.

© Sarah Doughty

A little something inspired by
my first novel, Just Breathe.
I’ve been feeling increasingly
nostalgic, itching to lose myself
in the ongoing story again.

Eloquence Of Sleep

“Dreamless sleep was like a dark place
that played like a lullaby without sound.”

Dreamless sleep was like being lost in oblivion. But it wasn’t frightening or terrible by any means. It was a dark place that played like a lullaby without sound. It was a slow beating of the heart, contentment, free from thought or stress.

© Sarah Doughty
2016

A small excerpt from Listen,
book 4 of
the Earthen Witch Novels.

Done For

“When I first looked into your eyes, I knew.
You were meant to be mine.”

I’ll always remember the day I met you. It started like any typical day. But then I felt it, deep down. I knew you were there.

When I first looked into your eyes, I was mesmerized. It wasn’t so much that their color was the most beautiful I ever saw. Though it was. And it wasn’t that it felt like I knew you, deep down. Though I did.

It was that it felt like those infinite depths of chocolate brown eyes could see right through to my soul.

I didn’t need to know you were meant to be mine in that moment. I could already feel it. I just didn’t want to admit it. And I knew, I was done for.

© Sarah Doughty
2015

This was one of the
first scenes from my first novel,
Just Breathe.
Though it’s not the
final draft version,
the moment was still the same.
Aisling and Connor
will always be my first loves.

Thunderstorms at Night

It’s such an honor to be a part of Heretics, Lovers, and Madmen. Thank you for letting me share my dark with you.

Heretics, Lovers, and Madmen

“Like a drum from above,

it was the thunder of my heart

that kept me alive and alert.”

It was the thunder that kept me awake. Synapses firing, like lightning in the night, illuminating the fog of dark gray, cotton-candy clouds. Thoughts springing to life before disappearing in an instant, only to fire yet again with another string of words flash behind my eyes and whisper to me. Those are my demons, my monsters, my battle cries. Those are the rumblings, the crackles in my ears. That is the constant reminder that I’m still alive. These thoughts, they keep me sharp. They keep me alert. I stay alive. And that thunder that rolls by. That’s the sound of my heart, refusing to submit.

© 2019 Sarah Doughty

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Sarah Doughty is the tingling wonder-voice behind Heartstring Eulogies. The Silence Between Moonbeams, her poetry chapbook, and her acclaimed novels and…

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The Color of Our Rights: A Reproductive Rights Collaboration

 

“The blood moving through my veins turned cold, freezing me from the inside out. That was the fear. That was the hatred. That was what awaited me. Every day, and every night.”

© Sarah Doughty

See the full collaborative effort of writers on their responses to the recent legal battle on reproductive rights on Heretics, Lovers, and Madmen. It was an honor to be among these incredible voices.

Heretics, Lovers, and Madmen

I will wear red
for my sisters whose health is at risk
for my sisters who have been raped
for my sisters who have been battered
for my sisters who are already struggling
to feed hungry children
for my sisters who need to finish
middle school
high school
college
grad school
for my sisters who are just not prepared

I will wear crimson
for their lifeblood
that will spill in back alleys
that will stain
wire hangers
knitting needles
other unsterilized implements
that become their only choice
in a country that questions
their ability
their very right
to decide

–Christine E. Ray

*************************************************************************************

I have been seeing colors of all hues in my mind lately.

I walk down my street and notice the full bloom of the flowers.

Yellow daffodils.

Pink sunsets.

The rain brought growth and vitality.

Green grass.

My stomach turns as I am pulled from my…

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Finding Home With Him

“With every cell in my body, every beat
of my heart, I knew I found my home.”

Our time together was a culmination of events that I couldn’t deny. I knew, if I didn’t love him before that moment, I fell over the edge into a bottomless ocean that was only for him. I knew I was never going back. So instead of speaking, I kissed him, hard. When my lips collided with his, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. And his arms tightened around me an instant later.

That was when I knew. With every cell in my body, every beat of my heart, I knew I found my home.

© Sarah Doughty

I knew I found my home.

An excerpt,
slightly adjusted for sharing,
from my first novel, Just Breathe.

Excerpt — Burn For Him

“And that was when I knew
what it was like to burn for someone.”

When I saw him, it was the ethereal glow surrounding him in a purple haze that caught my attention. He stood in a casual stance, wearing black. But his hair was my downfall. It was straight and brown, curtaining around his face on one side while the other was tucked behind his ear, threatening to fall in the breeze. Chocolate, brown eyes flickered to mine and my breath caught in my throat. He held my gaze, and I couldn’t breathe.

God, but he was the most gorgeous creature I ever saw. Something about him made me feel alive again. I wanted to feel his skin. Taste his lips. Feel the silkiness of his hair. The stubble on his cheeks. It made my fingers twitch and my lips tingle at the thought.

It was illogical. I didn’t even know him. But I couldn’t tear my eyes away. It felt like I’d been burned, all the way down to my soul.

© Sarah Doughty

A little something
from Just Breathe,
my first novel,
slightly condensed.

I thought, perhaps on the weekends, or maybe just Sundays, I would share a little something from one of my books. They each mean so much to me, and maybe by sharing little bits of them, you, my lovelies, will have a little taste of the bigger picture. I do hope you like this idea. Be sure to let me know in the comments what you think.

Much love,
Sarah