Yes, I’m well aware that it’s only been a few months since the release of Cleaning House – An Appalachian Contemporary Fantasy, but I’m spending the month of November featuring it in my #TBT (Throwback Thursday) series because of the recent release of the second title in the series, the novella Mama, Me, & the Holiday Tree. It’s generally good to relive the past, even the recent past, so I’ll be sharing Chapter One from Cleaning House throughout the month.

The section in yellow comes from last week’s #TBT post.

     “Can I do anything else for you?”

     Are they flirting with me? Cent looked down then back up, startling when she saw the messenger’s eyes were still on her. Taller than she was, which was unusual, a bit thick at the waist, but it was clearly muscle. A puzzle, and an attractive one at that. There was something calming about this person’s eyes. Something familiar Cent couldn’t quite place. They’re damn-near twice my size. The realization that such strength stood so close made her skin prickle in a way she’d come to miss. No wonder they’re on this route. “No, um, thanks.”

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Yes, I’m well aware that it’s only been a few months since the release of Cleaning House – An Appalachian Contemporary Fantasy, but I’m spending the month of November featuring it in my #TBT series because of the impending release of the second title in the series, the novella Mama, Me, & the Holiday Tree (info below). It’s generally good to relive the past, even the recent past, so I’ll be sharing Chapter One from Cleaning House throughout the month.

The brief portion in yellow comes from last week’s post.

The old bank had once been grand, but now…

     “What a dump.” Still, it was all she could afford on two part-time jobs. Cent threw her coat over the single dinette chair and flung herself, face-down, over the sheet-draped, worn plaid couch that served as both her living space and bed. Not even a fold-out. She’d finagle one eventually, but until then she’d sleep solo. Always solo. “Who’d want to come back here, anyway?” Her romantic and job prospects had been abysmal since she’d lost her full-time accountant job in a corporate down-size. For the past year, she’d divided her time between a local bodega and a small computer repair shop. Both bosses were pricks, and the bodega owner’s wife kept telling her that she’d find herself a good man if she’d try.

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10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4… This marks day seven of my ten-day countdown to the release of my novella Mama, Me, and the Holiday Tree. You can read more about #HolidayTreeNovella at the bottom of this post, but today I’m taking you back to the first novel in the Appalachian Elemental’s series, Cleaning House.

Yes, I’m well aware that it’s only been a few months since the release of Cleaning House – An Appalachian Contemporary Fantasy, but I’m spending the month of November featuring it in my #TBT series because of the impending release of the second title in the series, the novella Mama, Me, & the Holiday Tree. It’s almost always good to relive the past, even the recent past, so I’ll be sharing Chapter One from Cleaning House throughout the month.

So without further ado…

     “Fourteen. Fifteen.” Centenary Rhodes counted the bills in her hand a second time and shoved them back into the front pocket of her cargo pants. She had fifteen dollars left after she paid her rent. Fifteen dollars for food and the bus. She sighed and turned away from the hamburger joint whose door she’d darkened. “Beans and rice it is… again.”

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