Hi everyone,

It was a busy month of June, so this post is a recap and quick check-in so far for this sunny month of July. I booked my actual plane tickets for FanGrrrl's signing event this September 11th & 12th (eeee, holy crap!), and currently, my days have been blocked to the max (time blocks) with writing, read-throughs, and event prep—swag, merch, signage, shipping, and the list goes on—while also juggling summer at home with the little one and shifts at the day job, too. Side note, what do you think of when you hear "Hollywood Glam" themed party/dress? I'm still poking around for attire, but I'm not usually a "dressy" person lol. 

Also, if you happen to be interested in swag but can't make it to the event, we'll be having monthly-ish offerings on the Patreon Page, where I just updated our weekly posting schedule to a new three-week rotation: vlog, excerpt, detailed writing check-in.🙂 For a little mix of everything.

Here in the US, though, I hope everyone had a wonderful 250th Fourth of July celebration🎆! And I'll leave you with our next little excerpt from Before the Dawn (Roz & Xaphan's story).

Have a great rest of your week, guys, and happy reading❣️📚

Before the Dawn (Roz & Xaphan) Excerpt

ChapterThree

Xaphan tiltedhis head, staring at the warrior female where she lay on the floor before him.He snikted and slowly lowered to crouch in front of her. For what shewas: human, and female—their lesser sex, apparently—she had fairly impressedhim.

She’d even drawn blood. Not something he was treated to oftenbecause of how difficult it was for his kind to mar their skin. It was why Xaphanwore the scars on his body proudly. Of which, the one across his right eye andinner lid he was particularly proud. It was given to him during a pairing withan especially brutal female that other males wouldn’t have even attempted toengage. But Xaphan liked a challenge; he liked fighting more, and CaptainCarter had excited him beyond what he’d expected: his body’s reaction wastestament to that. The response had startled him, though.

She’d drawn him from first sight, yes, but a physicalresponse would have taken more time—or at least he’d assumed. She was alien,not at all what he knew, in body or mind, and he couldn’t understand why a partof it annoyed him. But after a few moments, Xaphan let it go and felt his eyesbegin to glow as he silently petitioned Great Kharrhisshna for answers.

His attention fell next to the bloodied claw used duringtheir fight. He lifted it to his mouth and curled his tongue around the digit inan attempt to savor any dried remnants. Her lifeblood was allusive: a sickeningstab of sweetness…followed by a heady metallic tang that had a krhune suddenlythreatening to vibrate his chest.

Xaphan opened his eyes and looked back at her prone form onthe floor. She hadn’t been unconscious for long. He noticed her head move, andagainst his better judgment, crept closer, unable to resist the urge to crowdher now that he had tasted her blood. She was lying with her face to the floor,and he reached for her in order to check that her heart still beat strongly.

 The sudden vision of herwaking beneath him, fierce and as inflamed as he had been earlier—whatever thatlooked like for her kind—made him pause and growl softly. While her tenacity wasadmirable, Xaphan had had to restrain himself to avoid truly hurting her, elseshe would have been on the floor beneath him several times. But he had beenreluctant to break her spirit. It was wild, like his own. That did not change howmuch weaker she was when compared to a fierce Askari female, however. Which madethe idea of actually breeding her frustrating. But then Xaphan supposed it wasnot her fault for not having been born like him.

Moments later, he would have to wonder if the us’grahhad heard him…and amusedly decided to answer his call.

Before the Dawn, by J.M. LinkCopyright 2026, J.M. LinkAll rights reserved.

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