“Hey! Ducky! Stay right there.”

Adair almost dropped the small sack when he heard that familiar voice call out in its authoritative tone. He did as he was instructed and waited until she stalked over to him. To his relief, she no longer held the nasty looking knife, but her presence itself was enough to make him want to run back to the inn and forget he'd ever had this stupid idea. While she wore a heavy coat now, her stage costume had revealed muscles in her arms and shoulders. With her lips pressed into a tight frown, she was more than a little intimidating.

He held the sack up in front of his chest, although whether as the intended offering or as a shield, he couldn't be sure. He gave a weak smile and hoped that an innocent expression would help. He had nothing else going for him at the moment besides a bag full of bribery pie.

She looked down at the sack then back up at Adair's face from under a fringe of dark bangs. Then back down at the sack. Then up at Adair again with narrowed eyes. Finally, after a long moment that made Adair wish he'd thought this through better, she asked, “Why are you handing me a bag?”

Perplexing her was at least start. Maybe keeping her confused was the way to go. “Peace offering?”

She took the sack somewhat reluctantly and peered inside, keeping it away from her face. Even from that distance the aroma wafted upwards and she wrinkled her nose. Adair's mouth began to water as the scent reached him. He really should have bought another one for himself.

She was eyeing him again, looking noticeably unimpressed. Everyone liked dessert! How could Adair have found the one person who didn't like sweets? “You brought me a pastry? What did you do to it?”

Adair was taken aback, unsure of what she meant. That wasn't the comment of hating chocolate that he expected. “All I did was carry it from the restaurant to here. I didn't eat it or something, if that's what you mean.”

She continued to stare. Adair fought the urge to fidget. Finally she seemed to reach a conclusion. “You really wouldn't think about tainting food, would you?”

Oh, so that was what she had meant! “Why... why would I do that?”

“Simple. Because you're trying to get where you don't belong.”

Adair gaped at her. That kind of reasoning was so foreign to his way of thinking that he couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around damaging food. “No! I just thought you'd be nicer and not wave your knife around at me if I did something nice for you first.”
- From the current draft of Unexpected Inspiration: Colorweaver (book 1)

More character art! I commissioned this one from ilovezombiesxxx on DeviantArt. If you’re looking for custom art, check her out! I love Ty’s drawing style! It’s a little cartoony while being somewhat realistic, which is fun, and it was her use of colors that drew me to contact her. I love how fluid and vibrant the colors are in her art!

Anyway, this art is of three of my main characters in the “Unexpected Inspiration” trilogy: Blythe, Adair, and Etri. The blurb is from the day Adair met Blythe and ... well, he’s really big on pies and desserts, so it went well with the art. I love how Blythe has this expression on her face like “Where the heck did you manage to find another pie??” Adair’s obsession with food is actually what earns him Blythe and Etri’s friendships; he tends to use food to get on peoples’ good sides and it usually works. ;)

Here's a short summary about the characters. Blythe is trained as a warrior and serves as their carnival troupe’s assistant healer, blade dancer, and part-time guard. (She has her favorite knife on her belt and the flowers in her hair represent that she loves plants and gardening.) Adair is one of the few non-carnies in the series (although by book 2 he's part of the troupe with the others) and is a cartographer/painter with illusion magic; he got his tattoo-like skin discoloration thanks to a magical mishap. (He has his paintbrush behind his ear and the sling across his chest holds his painting supplies.) Etri is the carnival troupe’s fire eater and knife performer, as well as working as a sort-of thief on the side. (He’s incredibly foreign, so he’s much taller and paler than anyone else in the series.) These three end up in a relationship by the end of Book 1 (Colorweaver). Part of the plot of book 2 (Sentinel) involves them discovering that they accidentally ended up with a psychic/empathetic link. This link is normal for Adair's subculture and is essentially the artists’ form of marriage- which the three wander into pretty blindly. Hilarity, some drama, and more pies ensue.


~Meri