Hump Day Hook is a weekly blog hop where participants post one paragraph from a published book or work in progress. This is my first Hump Day Hook. I wanted it to be really good, so I chose a scene from the short story “Savage Heat” from my Plumis Aeternum series featuring my peris, Samyel and Danyel.

The wind escaped his lungs as he took in the sight that greeted him in the small living area. Not only had Danny put every single weapon back in its place and cleaned up the mess he had made, but he had also cleared the room of furniture and rolled up the rug. In its place was a love nest of blankets, pillows, brightly colored flowers, and greenery pulled from all over the apartment with the sounds of a waterfall playing on the stereo; the setting combined with the clinging heat left the impression that their apartment had been transported to a tropical rain forest. Danny stood in the center of the living area, looking for all the world as if he had just stepped out of the Amazon jungle; he was clad only in a loincloth and armbands, tribal patterns had been drawn all over his dark skin with war paint, and beads and feathers from both of their wings had been woven into his thick and wavy chocolate tresses. His wings, with feathers the color of molten chocolate, spread out in a wide expanse behind him, giving him the appearance of a primitive god. As Sammy stood rooted in place, drinking in all the details of his lover’s perfect body, the vision of savagery brought to mind one of the best memories he had of their relationship.

For those unfamiliar with my stories, a peri (according to my own mythology) is a retired angel living on earth in an earthly body. They look like normal humans with the exception of large feathered wings which can appear and disappear at will and whose colors tend to correspond with hair or eye colors. Danyel has chocolate-colored feathers on his wings, which match his hair, and Samyel has grey and silver feathers on his wings, which is a bit lighter shade of grey than his eyes. Their series is very much a work in progress, and you can read more about them here.

Painted by BondageFox

The list of participating Hump Day Hook writers can be found here or visit the HDH Facebook group to find all the paragraph hooks. You can also search #HDH on Twitter for posts. Remember, writers love feedback so feel free to “like” and comment! Sharing is also appreciated.

This is also Day 2 of Launch Week for my blogs, which means that every commenter will be entered into a drawing for a free book of their choice, so don’t be shy. Comment for your chance to win! Discounts for every commenter on my editing blog, Edits by Jade, as well.

Thanks so much for reading!

Love, Jade