I need to write a new story instead of tinkering with old stuff. Going to record some ideas here. 1. The reading of a will. Either the deceased or one of the beneficiaries is revealed to be not all they seem. Or maybe a challenge must be met before a fortune can be inherited. I know its been done before, but as always - its about putting a new twist on it. There's a key will-reading scene in my novel "Butterfly Defect" but I want to try and make it a standalone story. 2.

More from "The Butterfly Defect". This is an unpublishable novel written as an exercise to see if readers could ever get on the side of a very unlikable MC. Tracy ends up running a child exploitation ring, of sorts, with the help of an undercover "firm" that moves in very dark circles in the North of England. The story starts with her as a petty thief, stealing from the elderly clients she's supposed to care for as a nurse aide. When she meets a dying client with even less morals than hers, they form a bond. His passing would either see her mend her ways, or sink deeper into the murky depths of evil. Spoiler alert - she does the latter. :-) In this scene, she rides a roller coaster of emotions, at first thinking her life is over and then realising the government is actually asking the fox to look after a chicken. - Tracy suffered the biggest shock of her life on Monday afternoon Becky was at reception, messing about with the PC and her phone. Tracy returned from the staff room with coffees when an unfamiliar woman in a business suit came through the salon's front door. She had Sarah in tow, in her school uniform. At first Tracy thought Sarah's mum had sent a friend to drop her off. But this strait-laced looking woman, with hair tied back in a bun and a rather serious expression, did not look like a mate from the pub. And when the woman pulled an ID wallet from her coat pocket, Tracy had to put the coffees down quick and control her breathing. Sarah flopped down on the reception couch with her schoolbag. She looked like she may have been crying but seemed ok now. She said, "Hi Becky and Tracy." brightly enough, and fished her iPad out. "I'm Caroline Thornton from CPS." The woman said, holding up her ID, and added "Child Protective Services." She had to ask the dumbstruck Tracy, twice, to confirm her name. "Yes, that's me." Tracy said, heart sinking Out of the corner of her eye, Tracy could see Becky texting something on her phone and she hoped like hell it was a text to the firm.

An insight into the empire that Alice will soon discover she'll inherit. (my attempt to drop some exposition into a salacious scene without it being an info dump) -- The Carpathian Mountains, 380 miles northwest of Bucharest By the time the Range Rover turned off the E81 and headed up through the long, narrow village of Stolna, they’d already been driving for six hours. It would take another hour, crawling higher into the Southern Carpathians, before they’d arrive at the castle. Lars cursed his old man’s bladder and tapped on the partition separating him from the driver. Hopefully this stop would be the last before their destination. The snow fell heavily now, settling in the needles of the Silver Fir trees. Outside, the air bit him sharply, and he rubbed his liver-spotted hands together for warmth. Standing behind a tree, fumbling with his zip, Lars reflected that no matter how rich or powerful a man was, he still needed to take a piss like the poorest of men. It was one of nature’s levelers. Ten minutes further up the road, the driver switched into four-wheel drive mode and engaged the lower gear ratio as the tyres crunched through an inch of snow. The remaining hour became two, and Lars dozed off. He woke when they made the final turn into a steep, unmarked driveway. Wrought-iron gates slid aside to allow them entry. Here, the forest thinned, the altitude too high, and the terrain too rocky for many trees to lay down roots. Craggy cliffs of grey shale loomed above, and on a massive outcrop, the castle stood majestically. It always exuded an eerie dominance over the landscape, but this afternoon, in the half-light of the snowstorm, its visage was haunting. The original castle, constructed seven centuries ago in the Byzantine era, had been largely swallowed by each generation of extensions and modifications. The resulting edifice now resembled a chaotic citadel. Jagged towers rose above the curtained stone walls snaking around the mountainside. Most of the vertical slitted windows set into the ancient masonry were dark, but a few in the east wing glowed the sickly yellow of cat’s eyes, squinting at prey. Blue lights blinked atop the most incongruous modern addition, a helipad, rendered useless today by the weather.

I fear some of my stuff might be too dark for anywhere else, so I'll put it here instead. This novella is definitely unpublishable. Its set within the Third Reich's Lebensborn program and told from the point of view of the participants. The intention isn't to glorify the Third Reich, although the characters certainly see it as glorious because they've been denied a moral compass. (or at least had it blinded). I still love my characters. Shrug. Here's a scene from early on... ---- Kristina raised her hand and asked matter-of-factly, "Are we going to have babies?" "Yes, hopefully," Greta answered. "Perfect German babies. But tonight, a treat. We're dining in the city. You'll be collected from your homes between six and six thirty. Wear your uniforms, to make your school proud, but also these." She opened a velvet-lined mahogany jewellery box and beckoned them to come forward. Nellie was first and her eyes shone as Greta pinned a silver brooch to her lapel. The upward-pointing lightning bolt, symbol of the Lebensborn program, with the slanted SS beneath. When everyone had theirs, Greta said, "Wear them with pride. But act with good graces. I know you will." In the evening, under a soft drizzle of rain, highly polished limousines crept through the suburbs collecting the eight students from their homes. The driver opened and closed the rear door for each VIP. They left behind parents still coming to terms with their family's good fortune. A uniformed doorman in bottle-green, with brass buttons and white gloves, greeted them on arrival at the finest restaurant in the city. He ushered them through heavy wooden doors with frosted glass panels etched in Art Deco geometrics. The doorman held the students in the foyer until they had all arrived and then led them through to the dining room. Greta was there waiting for them, sat at a long central table, surrounded by smaller tables with regular guests. The girls marveled at the cream wainscoted walls, deep burgundy drapes, and the thick wine-coloured carpet that hushed their footsteps. All warmly lit by wall sconces of frosted glass. Their table had been dressed in a crisp ivory-white tablecloth, the linen folded so sharply at the corners it could have been paper. The nine place settings held heavy silverware—three forks, two knives, two spoons—and a wine goblet at each place.

In "Warp Factor: Bitch", I changed the sexes around. And we're also in a sci-fi setting with a reptilian race having defeated humankind and killed just about everyone except a few slaves. Far from the now-dead Earth, on a hellish volcanic planet, Jen is bought at a slave auction by an unlikely slave master. He only needs her for one thing - mining warp crystals. It gets weirder than Mother's Little Angels. I think I like it better because I'm more at home with sci-fi. Blurb: When you wake up in a cage, at a slave market on an alien planet of sentient lizards, you might be forgiven for thinking "Life's a bitch and then you die", before surrendering all hope. Jen decides instead that SHE'S the bitch, and she's going to give life a swift kick in the balls. Or the lizard equivalent of balls anyway. Join her as she fights back, on behalf of her devastated human race in this rollicking scifi novella that's sure to offend someone. ARC Review: This book was a wild ride. Jen is such a badass. Waking up disoriented and discovering that she's now a slave, I only wish I could be so comfortable working in a hot mine for a giant lizard while completely naked. If she ever finds out who she is, those lizards won't have a chance. They barely do as things are. I hope Warp Factor Bitch is a series, because I want more Jen. Zerkox was also pretty cool, for a greedy runt of a giant lizard. If I had to choose a slave master, he'd be the one. And if you think the words naked, slave, and master imply that there's anything erotic in this story, you may be disappointed, depending on what kind of book you’re looking for. I was not disappointed! Thanks to author Davi Mai and Hidden Gems for the free advance readers' copy of Warp Factor Bitch. I have no obligation to give a positive review, but I want to. It was a quick read that packed a lot into it, just like Jen. I loved it and I want more!