Love, Lies & Red Eyes | ONC 2023 (Complete)

You Ever Try to Write a Short Story and...

Friends, the chaos continues and I think I have a handle on how many stories I'm going to attempt. Because who doesn't love breaking their own records? I know I do. 

You know what else I like doing? Taking a short story I wrote and making it a heck of a lot longer! I like doing that a lot (see: Under Chateau Lights). And this story is yet another example of my inability to keep ideas small. 

So, the short version of this tale is that I wrote a piece called "Azucena Valentine" for the WritersConnX Monstrous Love anthology about a cute, spunky cultural anthropologist and the gigantic, protective, thoughtful cadejo. 

But the initial idea for that was WAY too long to stay under the 3500 word count, so I had to switch gears and write something else which I LOVE and I can't wait to share with everyone. 

The big idea still lingered in my head, though, and I wanted to do it but wasn't sure if I could pull it off. And then I saw the perfect prompt and suddenly a way to make this grand idea shrink down into a novella came into being and here we are two days later with a cover and a blurb and a chapter an a half drafted. 

What can I say? I love these two and I hope you will, too. This will be my first paranormal? fantasy? romance (unless you count the short story, I guess. Then it's my second). I'm so excited to try something new, which is another ONC tradition for me. Gotta stick with the classics! 

Anyway, back to this story! It's cute, it's fun, it has a bit of mystery and a very murderous monster who the MCs must figure out and fight against, but mostly it's a romance. A story of two people learning everything there is to know about each other and giving of themselves unconditionally. 

If you're interested in keeping up with updates of this story, you can add it to your library or follow authorelizasolares (or both) to make sure you get notifications for each new chapter. And if you're so inclined, adding this book to a reading lists really helps other readers find it, and I would be most grateful. 

Either way, thanks for stopping by and I hope you love this story, my first attempt at this type of romance. 

Eliza. 

~ * ~ Summary ~ * ~ 

Arturo Banderas is a cadejo on the run. Framed for crimes he didn't commit, he has to escape his home for the human world, but in order to hide, he'll need to learn their culture, not just their physical form.

Doctora Lidia Gutierrez wants to be the first person to understand the culture of the mysterious cadejos. No one has ever found them in the daylight, and those who survived their encounters at night weren't sober enough to explain anything.

At least, none who were willing to talk to Lidia.

When Arturo discovers Lidia's research he proposes a trade. If she'll teach him how to blend in, he'll tell her everything he knows about the cadejos. And it works just fine until a monster in the forest pushes them closer together.

Working together is the only choice they have, but every moment spent together makes it harder to imagine a time when they'll be forced apart. And they will be, unless there's a way to stop the past from catching up with them.

This story is based on prompt #52: "There is someone you dream about every night, but you never imagine meeting them in real life."

~ * ~ Thanks ~ * ~ 

Thanks again for stopping by! If you'd like to chat books, my writing, or ONC, I'd love to hear from you. And if you'd like to be notified of this or any other books I post, you can follow me authorelizasolares for updates! 

Are you writing for the open novella contest? Do you know any stories using prompt 52? I'd love to add fellow writers and prompt buddies to my reading lists so let me know here or in a DM! 

See you for the first chapter sometime this week!