Excerpt from SWS and Platform-Building Campaign

I thought I'd post an excerpt from my novel Sleeping with Skeletons today, but first I have an announcement. I finally decided to sign up as a Platform Building Campaigner! I've wanted to do this for quite some time but just couldn't make the leap. Well, I have jumped in with both feet -- just in the nick of time. The Campaign closes August 31st. You'll find all the details at Rachael Harrie's Blog, but it's a Campaign to "link writers, aspiring authors, beginner bloggers, industry people, and published authors together with the aim of helping to build our online platforms." So, if you haven't joined yet, hurry over to Rach's blog and sign up! Time is running out! Here's the link. There is also a badge farther down on the page that links to Rach's blog. http://rachaelharrie.blogspot.com

Now a little about the excerpt from my novel Sleeping with Skeletons. It's not one I've posted before. Sleeping with Skeletons was originally a thriller centering around espionage, but in order to get it published, I needed to bring it into the romance genre. I think I got halfway there. By that I mean at least 50% of the book has my hero and heroine together on the page. This excerpt fits solely into the thriller aspect of the story. Sorry, no romance here.

Do you read romance? How about thrillers? 

Excerpt from Sleeping with Skeletons: 

The house was silent. The only sound came from the steady ticking of a lopsided clock on the wall. Shadows draped thickly, enshrouding the room. A light crept along the sleeping figures on the bed and then blinked out. Darkness settled in once more, hanging heavily against the walls and furnishings.

Another flash pierced the room, illuminating the naked couple. Their skin glowed against the glare. It followed the man. His arms and chest rippled with muscles. Tattoos snaked up both arms and continued along his thick neck, ending just below a small, closely shaved head. The light abruptly blinked out and darkness settled in once more.

The couple stirred, stretched, then relaxed back into sleep.

The light came again, finding the woman. It moved across her lean, athletic build, shone against the long black hair that curled over her shoulders, then moved to her eyes and lingered. She moaned softly, brought her hand to her head and turned, burying her face deeper into the pillow. The light followed, fixating on her closed eyelids, finally forcing her to wake. The beacon winked out as she turned to her husband.

“Dammit, Pol, stop fookin’ with the light.”

He shifted, stirring, and turned his head to look at her in the gloom. The only illumination now was a solitary nightlight by the door.

“Wha’?”

“Will ya please stop fookin’ around with the lights. Ya know I canna sleep with ‘em on!”

He propped himself up on his elbows. “And what d’ya mean, girl?”

The woman slapped his bare chest, the smack filling the quiet room. “The lights! Stop playin’ around.”

He turned away and rubbed the skin where she struck him. “Don’t be daft, Kane. I’m not playin’ with anythin’.”

Margaret switched her flashlight on again, played the beam across their startled faces, then snapped it off.

There was a sharp inhalation of breath. The man rammed a hand beneath the bed, only to return empty-handed. “The fook!” he barked.

“Looking for this?” Margaret asked and held up his rifle.

The man moved toward the edge of the bed. “Who the fook are—?”

Margaret darted out of her chair, connecting the butt of the weapon with his mouth. There was a crack and his head flew back.

“I didn’t tell you to get up.”

“Jaysus, Pol!” The woman scrambled across the bed and held a sheet to her husband’s bloodied face. He spat out several teeth. “What do you want?”

Margaret’s left hand reached over the top of the receiver and sharply drew the bolt of the Russian rifle back and let it snap forward with a clack. The rifle now held a chambered cartridge.

“And I didn’t tell you to speak,” she said.

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I know the ending was a bit violent, but I still hope you enjoyed the excerpt. Feedback appreciated, but since it's published, I can't really change anything. :-)