And then there was Alex

So for the first time I've been faced with a deadline that, well arrived sooner than I expected.  Who am I kidding?  Deadlines always arrive sooner than you expect.  So this time, while managing the deadline, I also met a new man.   Yes, that's right, a new man with a sultry voice.  Okay, not quite. Alex claims to be a man but he's not, not really, not like he claims.  In fact, he's not a man that DH need give a second thought to.  He's not fictional but he is kind of real.   He reads to me in the quiet of my office and somehow that seems so wrong.

But let me explain.  There's nothing wrong with just me and him alone in my office, his  silken tones seductive and...   Alright, so his tones are not so silken and aside from a slight hint of an accent, his voice is slightly robotic.  Although he does have his times, little nuances here and there. A mispronunciation, oops he slipped on one of my misspellings.  Alex is not quite the man of anyone's dreams but he's definitely the man I've been spending some times with lately.

Who is Alex?  Well, it's hard to describe him for he lives somewhere in the bowels of my computer.

My MacBookAir has a choice of speakers, sexes and I believe even accents.   So I chose Alex.  Now, he's the voice  that will read my story to me, should I wish.  And after reading a chapter or two one too many times, fresh eyes, no matter how mechanical, are welcome.  So Alex reads and I'm proud to say that he even has the occasional attempt at inflection.

When something just isn't quite working or you've looked at a chapter, paragraph, whatever... once too many times, Alex is my first go-to guy.  And he's done a pretty good job.  Reading to me as I drink my coffee and follow along, as the sun dashes away what is left of the night.  It's just me and Alex, my feet tucked up on my chair.  Me and Alex.  I have to admit, after a chapter or two, I'm ready to turn Alex off but he's got me out of my head and on the right path, and I suppose that was the purpose in the first place.

A good pair of human eyes beats hands down, sorry Alex.

So another deadline is met and book two of the Sheik series for Harlequin Intrigue is off to my editor.   I'm pretty excited about Zafir's and Jade's story.  They've had a wild time in Wyoming and Morocco, and I suspect those wild times have only just begun.  Now it's on to book three.  Four books, that will be out in 2017.  Emir, Zafir, Talib and Faisal - I can hardly wait to hold each of their stories, finished in my hand.

In the meantime, my neighbourhood Robin is celebrating the completion of book two, with his usual daily bath.  Which, by the way, has the squirrels and other birds squawking, chirping and flailing their tails in their annoyance that the local watering hole has been emptied.

I'm off, water bottle in hand to refill and get "everyone" settled down.


Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com