On Sunday, Jilly shared the cover of her new novella, The Seeds of Exile. It’s spectacularly alluring and I think it will perform well for her. (Hope so!)

I, also have a new cover to share, along with a snippet from the short story it fronts.

If you’ve read any of my Touched by a Demon books, you’re familiar with Lilith, the she-demon who serves as one of Satan’s primary agents on Earth. Although Lilith excels at fieldwork, she ends each story headed for the maggot pit because she’s also Satan’s primary whipping girl when things don’t go as planned.

“Original Sin” is Lilith’s origin story and I’ll be giving it away as a freebie to anyone who signs up for my newsletter. It won’t be on Amazon or Barnes & Noble or any other vendor site–only as a reward for joining my subscriber list. (And to everyone who’s already a subscriber, of course.)

The cover was created by Paper and Sage, who also did my other covers. I love that this one echoes those, but it’s enough different to signal that this is something…different. A short story, rather than a full-length novel.

Here’s the tagline and blurb for the story:

In the beginning, God created Adam and…Lilith?

Meet the founding member of the First Wives Club. Before Adam met Eve, he was married to Lilith. Created at the same time and from the same dust as her husband,  Lilith views herself as Adam’s equal.

What if the original sin wasn’t curiosity?

Here’s the first scene (lightly edited in keeping with Eight Ladies’ PG rating):

Original Sin

Inside the lush garden where the Creator had formed her, the first woman planted her hands on her hips and glared at her husband. “Why don’t I ever get to be on top?”

Adam’s brows knitted together as he pondered her question in his methodical way. When his brow finally cleared, he said, “The Creator gave me dominion over everything on earth. That includes you.”

Lilith’s jaw clenched. He had been making that argument since day one and now, six months later, she was tired of hearing it. “That makes no sense. He made me at the same time and from the same dust as you. We’re equals.”

But Adam’s attention span was already exhausted. “The Creator said be fruitful.” He reached for her. She darted away but his footsteps were right behind her; she made it only a few yards before he caught up and wrapped his beefy arms around her torso. The Creator, for reasons known only to him, had made her the smarter of the two, but he’d made Adam larger and faster.

Adam sank to the ground, pulling her down on top of him, into the long grass. The grass created a soft bed that smelled like sunshine and fresh earth. He nuzzled the side of her neck, and that was very enjoyable. After a few minutes, he rolled on top. What followed might have been pleasant except for the extra rib at the bottom of his chest that jabbed her with every thrust.

She stared at the sky while he went about his business. What, other than not being beneath him, at the mercy of that extra rib, would make this more pleasurable? Perhaps she should talk to Friend Snake again. He’d suggested having Adam kiss her before being fruitful. That had definitely helped.

Above her, Adam grunted one final time and collapsed on top of her, crushing the air from her lungs. She tried to shift him, but he’d already fallen asleep in that annoyingly effortless way he had.

She would definitely talk to Friend Snake.

If you’re not already a subscriber, I hope this piques your interest enough to bring you on board!

(In case you need it, here’s the link to my newsletter signup again.)