Some announcements, a special thanks, and a short scene from The Crimson Hunt!!!

Hey friends!  Happy Thursday!!!  

A Special Thanks!!!

I want to start this post by saying thank you so much for all your stellar support with my cover reveal!  Everything went amazing and I'm so happy people are excited for  THE CRIMSON HUNT release on November 12!

Some announcements!!!

So, now the the fun begins! With the release in a few weeks lots will happen on the blog because not only is next month release month, but it's my blogoversary!!!  Yep, a whole year ago I started my blog The Twenty Something Fiction Writer.  It's been a wild ride and I'm so excited to celebrate with all you awesome peeps.  To celebrate...

I'm vlogging again!

That's right! Expect another vlog featuring MOI on Monday giving the details of November's events. You'll want to tune in. Some surprises will be in store, and a teaser announcement about an upcoming event ;D

A few more things...

• I still have eARCs available of THE CRIMSON HUNT, so if you are a book blogger and would like one just email me at:

victoria (dot) smith 775 (at) gmail.com.

• And the cover reveal for my short holiday romance, HOLIDAY FLING with be coming very soon!  There will also be a special announcement made that day as well!!!

So that's it! Thanks again for all the love and now a small scene from The Crimson Hunt!

The Set Up

My heroine, Ariel, has to seek out birds for an extra credit assignment for her college course.  She runs into the mysterious new guy on campus (my hero, Luca) in the woods and he helps her out! Enjoy the awkward that is Ariel!!!

He led me to a nearby tree and stopped at the roots.

“Do you mind?” He held his hands out in front of him.

Not knowing what he wanted to do to me with his hands, but not really caring as long as they somehow made it onto any part of my body, I nodded.

He picked me up by my waist in such a quick motion that I was barely aware of my body being lifted to the branch above. He sat me down. After I straddled the limb and was secure, he grabbed the same branch. Hopping up with ease, he whipped his leg around the bark, then straddled it.

Goodnight, that was hot. I really needed to go to some Parkour tournaments.

He scooted in close to me from behind. I shifted my focus forward, so he wouldn’t see the rapid rise and fall of my chest.

“What about that one?” His cool voice whispered in my ear.

I attempted to concentrate on something else, the environment—my assignment—but saw just as many birds in front of me as I did on the ground…minus one, which meant zero. Not that I could notice anything with how close he was.

“Which one?” I asked, breathy.

His hand slid to my left upper arm, lifting it into the air.

Ohhh…more touching.

He straightened out my arm and steadied it in front of me. He slid his hand delicately along my skin until he reached my elbow. He continued to be precise as he worked his way toward my hand. When the alignment was correct enough for him, he formed my fingers into a point to match his.

For the life of me, I couldn’t remember what we were doing just a minute ago.

“Do you see it?” His warm breath teased my ear.

I shivered from the sensation, lulling off from the euphoria it induced.

I quickly sat upright. I had to snap back into reality or he was going to think I was completely crazy. How long had we been in this position? At least a full minute? I had to focus.

Bird. Bird. Luca’s hand is on me. Bird. Bird. Oh wait. There was a bird out there. The creature was small and the color of my hair. Its wings displayed deep red tones at the top near its shoulders, and the red faded off into a soft cream color.

The bird didn’t look like anything particular newsworthy. The animal was actually kind of hideous.

“The crow?” I asked, and to my disappointment, he released my arm. The sensation still remained, though. The tingles reminded me that my body was wide-awake and doing its job—torturing me.

He laughed gently.

I shifted around to see him. Hearing his amusement, I hoped he thought my lack of knowledge was cute. Honestly, he could laugh at me as much as he wanted, as long as he didn’t stop with that awesome laugh of his.

“It is not a crow,” he said.

I still didn’t understand the significance. I watched him point in the distance.

“Do you see the one next to it? The brown one?”

I fought his entrancing words and looked for brown feathers. I spotted it and frowned – yet another ugly bird. I shrugged. “You lost me.”

He brought his gaze back to me from the bird couple. “They are the same.”

I shrugged again. With their newly developed fatigue, my shoulders took the brunt of my ignorance. Maybe I should stay awake in class more.

“They are the same, but they look dissimilar. Agelaius Phoeniceus.”

I gave another shoulder raise, but this time, I rounded it off with a confused arched eyebrow.

“I suppose they are more commonly known as the Red-winged Blackbird. One is male, and the other is female. They both have different physical features, but they are mated.”

 “Of course,” I said like I knew what he was talking about. “Still looks like a crow to me.”

When he flashed that rockin’ smile of his on me again, I couldn’t help but think that me being cute was what might be crossing his mind…. Then again, maybe he thought I was a dumbass. Either way, he smiled, which was good enough for me.

Copyright © 2012 by Victoria H. Smith. All rights reserved.