Exclusive Sneak Peak!

I know I promised a peak at Kiss from the Deep but a publisher I’ve been keeping an eye on has a submission call for super hero stories.  So I’m dusting off Sweet Justice for editing.

I wrote Sweet Justice for the National Novel Writing Month in 2013 and to the let you see the mock cover I made using stock images and the Amazon KDP cover creator.

Blurb:

Between secretly spying on her employer, heavy office flirtations with the mail clerk, and an unhealthy obsession with super hero news, Justice thought that things were finally going her way. As the ChemPharm research facility exploded and demolished months of undercover work, Justice took some comfort in the arms of Ultraman as he whisked her away from the blast.

When a drunken midnight calling card meant for Ultraman attracted Blaze instead, Justice has the chance to tell off the lab saboteur. Only instead of searing jibes and insults, sparks start to fly between Blaze and Justice and his abrupt departure leaves her confused and angry.

Will Justice be able to pick up the pieces of her destroyed project? Will Justice have to choose between the super hero and his arch nemesis? And what about the mail clerk who fills out his dress shirts just right?

Read the opening excerpt:

The following is copyright Elle Clouse 2013-2014 and mostly unedited; Sweet Justice:

The shockwave rocked the fifth floor of the ChemPharm Industrial Company building.  The lights flickered.  Dust fell from the ceiling tiles as they shook in their rafters.  She stood from her desk chair to look across the call center floor, phone representatives looking around them in alarm.  A few stood at the narrow tinted windows gazing at the cityscape beyond.

Her brain started to catch up with reality, her grip around the flash drive in her hand tightened.  She slipped it into her sweater pocket before anyone noticed the data storage device.  Her little agenda would have to wait.

“Please keep calm.” Justice pushed her trendy thick framed glasses up her nose.  “I’ll let you know what is going on as soon as I can.”  She watched the other supervisors pop up from their cubicles and look around in confusion.  Her email box showed no new email and her office phone remained silent.

A voice over the rarely used intercom:  “May I have your attention please! May I have your attention please!  All personnel evacuate the building immediately.  Repeat:  All personnel evacuate the building immediately.”  The evacuation alarm sounded as soon as the intercom fell silent.  Yellow lights started to flash.  She watched the members of her team disconnect their lines and discard their headsets.

“Grab your purses,” a fellow supervisor called from across the room.  Justice took a moment to grab her clutch from her bottom desk drawer.  People were quick to make their way to the stairs.  Justice walked down the row of cubicles to make sure every person left their station.  With an explosion like she heard, no one would doubt the alarm.  Protocol dictated all supervisors ensure their team left.

The last person disappeared down the stairs as Justice cleared the last cubicle row.  The other supervisors had left.  She rolled her eyes.  A rumble started to grow throughout the whole building as she burst into the stairwell.  Her lung filled with smoke, disorienting her.  She reached for the metal railing and used it to guide herself down the stairs.

Only one flight down another explosion rocked the building, this one closer and louder.  The power flickered off and the flood lights kicked on.  The alarms in the stairwell blared.

Justice willed her heart to slow down as it threatened to race from her chest to safety.  The air stank of smoke and excellent.  She prepared to take another step down but the stairs.  Below her was burning office furniture, rubble, and a twenty foot drop.

Nowhere to go but up.

Someone would see her on the roof and be able to get to her before the whole building collapsed.  Justice turned and used the same railing to help her go up the stairs.  The smoke grew heavier as she ascended.  She threw open the roof door and she gasped in the fresh air.  The mid-morning sun strained her eyes as it was a stark contrast to the dark hall she emerged from.

~~~~

Stay tuned for more information about the super hero romance!