Changing Worlds: A Double Book Anthology Featuring, Saunders' Choice and The Contract

By Gina Briganti And Melissa Barker-Simpson

Saunders' Choice
A Natural Gifts Novella by Gina Briganti
Saunders finds himself in a plane of existence called the Dreaming, where he encounters Velvet, the most exciting creature he will ever meet. The answer seems obvious, but Saunders’ life has never been easy.
The Contract
Prequel to The Fractured Series by Melissa Barker-Simpson
After the Demonic War, a battle which devastated the mortal realm, humans now stick to the world’s major cities. To even the score, and to protect those cities, hunters joined together to establish cells across the globe. Maddison Wood is part of an alpha cell within the north of England.
Though a skilled fighter and powerful witch, Maddison can be brash, and unpredictable. She has a penchant for trouble, and is usually the first to volunteer in battle. When she accepts an assignment to protect the Hympe King, Tobias Locke, Maddison’s fate becomes bound to his. As the stakes change, and she finds herself trapped inside the bowels of an enemy camp, Maddison must fight for her freedom, her independence, and for a prisoner who has not seen the light of day for almost a century.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gina Briganti And Melissa Barker-Simpson
• Release date: May 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311521408

Gina Briganti And Melissa Barker-Simpson

Gina Briganti has been writing since she could hold a pencil. It has always been a comfort that to create she needs only three things; the pencil, the paper, and her imagination. She lives in beautiful Joshua Tree, CA, the setting for her debut paranormal romance series, Natural Gifts. Melissa Barker-Simpson I've been writing since, well...since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. I often look back on those earlier stories, and apart from laughing at the heavy-handed drama, or cringing at my inexperience, I am reminded that I have always lived in other worlds. My first novel was published in 2008, and I love nothing more than working on a new project. The voices inside my head invariably pull me in different directions, so although I try to work on one thing at a time, those who know me would tell you it doesn't always work! I have a full-time job which, though does not involve writing per se, incorporates my love of language. As a British Sign Language Interpreter, I get to translate information between two languages which is (mostly) fun. I have two beautiful daughters who bring me great joy. They also keep me grounded, because otherwise I would have my head in the clouds permanently!

Book preview

Saunders’ Choice

(Natural Gifts Novella 1.2)

By Gina Briganti

Copyright 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Lilliana Grace Pensoneau, my first grandchild.  That’s right, Lilli, G.G. is an author.  This probably isn’t the last time you’ll see something of yourself in one of my books. 

I would like to thank Melissa Barker-Simpson for being a fantastic co-author.  You've made this new leg of the writing journey a wonderful one.

Thank you to Dana McCool and Cyhndi Mora for reading through the rough drafts and sharing your valued opinions.  I appreciate you more than words can say!

Also by Gina Briganti

Natural Gifts Series

The Dreaming (Book 1)

Short Stories From The Dreaming (Novella 1.1)

Desert Sunrise (Book 2)

Non-Fiction

Keep It Simple: Permission to Illuminate Your Life Easily, Effortlessly, & Joyfully

Chapter 1

Laughter followed Velvet as she left the stage in the grotto where she had been hired to perform a private show for the wealthy businessman’s birthday party.

She knew the males, and some of the females, were eyeing her bare torso, hoping the current would sway her long blond hair off of her breasts so they could see if the color of her nipples matched the color of her lilac fin.

She sighed. Maybe it was time to change. Raven black hair with a bright, shiny aqua blue tail made her audiences stare, but she did get more jobs that way. She wanted more shows at the big clubs.

Velvet. Cassidy, her booking agent, called out to her from where she waited in the luxurious apartment the management called a dressing room.

Cassidy was a mermaid, too. She was much older than Velvet, who was only one hundred years old. Cassidy was more than three hundred years old. No one would know that if it weren’t for the Hall of Records there in The Dreaming because everything stayed the way you wanted it to.

Cassidy looked exactly the way she wanted to look. As did Velvet. As did the club she performed in. It was the perfection of everything in her life that had developed Velvet’s sense of humor to begin with. She needed a break from the sameness of perfection.

Cassidy, she sang back in answer, turning her bubbles into kissing lips that smacked Cassidy on the cheek when they reached her. They made a smacking sound for the kiss, and then popped, returning to the water.

They liked you, Cassidy approved of the crowd Velvet had drawn tonight. Cassidy leaned back in the purple chair, releasing smoky tendrils from her lungs and her cigarette while she spoke.

Velvet had to smile at Cassidy’s mimicry of 1950’s television where the characters were in black and white, with cigarette in hand, and an evening cocktail on the table in front of them. She had styled her hair, and colored it, to match Lucy Ricardo’s ravishing red in the I love Lucy show. Her tail matched. She was more modest than Velvet, too, because she wore black shells to cover her breasts.

They did like me, Velvet agreed. My new set about the dangers of washing and styling your hair in a whirlpool went over well with the females.

Velvet treated Cassidy to the joke that received the most laughs; So the big night is finally here. You know the one I mean, ladies, Velvet comically winked at Cassidy, all the signs are there. Velvet theatrically swung her left arm in front of her, pointing the index finger up. One, he brought you over to his mother’s house for dinner. Two, Velvet swung her arm around and brought her middle finger up to join the index finger, he used the word future in a sentence. Velvet paused for those crucial seconds to let Cassidy laugh and then started the next part of the joke. And three, he said he’s taking you somewhere special for dinner. You have to look amazing. There will be pictures and you will be telling the story for years about how you knew this was the night. So, what do you do, ladies? Velvet paused for one second. You decide to try the new trend. Her voice turned mocking. On the most important night of your life, you mess with what he likes about you.

Cassidy laughed, then sipped from her bourbon, eagerly waiting for the rest of the joke. Yes, you mess with what’s working. Velvet bumped the microphone in her right hand against her head. I know, I know. You saw it in a magazine. It looked so glamorous. A wild new you. You messed with what was working. You put your head in a whirlpool and let it style your hair for you. Wait, wait, that’s not even the topper. You paid someone to show you where the best whirlpool is. Velvet shook her head, laughing along with Cassidy, and the memory of the crowd’s raucous laughter during the show. Really, does it matter how good your hair looks if you’re late for the dinner and can’t swim right for a week from the force of the whirlpool? Velvet paused, then laughed at herself. Who am I kidding? Of course it’s worth it. Cassidy fell over laughing, barely holding onto her drink.

Velvet loved to see people laugh and smile. Both were common enough in The Dreaming. Really, what was there to frown or worry over? Still, it was a thrill to know that she was the one causing the laughter and smiles. Especially when they were genuine. She could fill the audience with her own creations; a dream audience who looked and acted the way she directed them to. The real thing was so much more satisfying. Her sister Noelia was content with dream creations for her audience of readers. Velvet envied Noelia the pleasure she saw on her face when she released a new book and her creations clamored for it.

Secretly, Velvet had tried to create a packed stadium full of adoring fans who stroked every one of her ego’s urges. She had felt worse than when she started doing stand up and she was genuinely booed for her boring jokes and nervous delivery. Genuine emotion was definitely her style.

That’s my favorite, Cassidy said.

Cassidy said that about all of Velvet’s new jokes. She also meant it about each joke.

Thanks, Velvet bowed. So, what is the champagne for? Velvet read the label and raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

Cassidy clapped her hands, giddy with excitement. You have been offered a tour! With Rockford Entertainment. You’ll be travelling with other headliners. They showed me the PR campaign, and it is gorgeous. You’ll be performing in front of full audiences every night. The best part is, they called me, not the other way around. They want you, kid.

They want me with the lilac tail? Velvet asked doubtfully.

Where has your confidence gone, Velvet? Of course they want you with the lilac tail. You’re a comedienne, not a model. What is this about? This tour is exactly what you’ve been working for. Cassidy’s concern was real. Velvet was never down. Her sunny personality was one of the main reasons she accepted her as a client. She had enough nervous Nellies and dour Dominicks.

Velvet let out a deep sigh, and then leaned back in her chair. I think I’ve been putting too much pressure on myself, Cassidy. I’m writing good stuff and working steadily. There’s no reason for me to feel like my career isn’t going the way I want it to.

I know what this is about, Cassidy said in her wisest voice as the situation became clear for her. This is about Ronolo and Delia getting together and manifesting a baby so soon after your breakup with him. You broke up with him, remember? He wanted you to settle down, forget about your career, and raise babies. If he was the one for you, you would have wanted the same things he did.

I know all of that, Cassidy. He’s a great male, and I do miss him sometimes. I should get out and mingle more. Of course, that’s going to be easy because I will be on the road! The excitement of the tour caught up to Velvet, chasing her doubts away.

Chapter 2

Velvet found herself enjoying the illusion created by her roommate. The rooms they were given by management on this tour were meant for one person. One small person. Debra immediately gave them bigger bedrooms, separate bathrooms, closets, and dressing tables in each hotel they stayed in.

Velvet couldn’t say for sure what Debra was, as species go, and she didn’t know her well enough to ask. Debra looked human with her blue eyes, black hair, and perfectly shaped body, but few of her actions were human. She used magic much more freely than humans generally allowed themselves to in the Dreaming. Her magic was considerably advanced. She had no trouble that Velvet could see with creating anything she wanted to.

Humans didn’t generally come to live in the Dreaming, anyway. They were usually called visitors because they stayed for short periods of time. Her friend Joe was the only human she knew who visited the Dreaming every time he fell asleep.

Debra’s routine on this tour was about how being a professional comedienne makes relationships difficult. Debra’s jokes about how partners swung back and forth between wanting her to be funny and wanting her to be normal made her and the audience laugh all the time.

Velvet laughed as she remembered Debra’s outraged impression of a boyfriend during a fight because she told him a joke and he laughed, breaking the mood of the fight. Now, I ask you, Debra played to the audience, next to sex, isn’t laughter the best way to stop a fight? Debra always took a drink from her ginger ale to let the audience think before she delivered the punch line; He started the next fight. Do you know what we fought about? We fought about me ending the last fight with a joke.

Velvet and Debra were placed together in each hotel, since female comediennes were rare, even in the Dreaming. Velvet had spent enough time researching them in the Hall of Records, watching videos there, to know that female comediennes were rare in the World, too.

The tour was halfway over now. They all had the afternoon off to do whatever they wanted. Velvet was going swimming.

Most of the tour was in parts of the Dreaming that were mirror images of the World, where oceans filled with mermaids weren’t everyday scenery.

She was wearing legs instead of fins on stage. Her gills were covered by her long hair. She looked more human than she was comfortable with; being a mermaid was what she wanted. She shrugged. The tour was almost over and she loved the big crowds they were playing