Sneak Peek: One Last Cut from Wandering Monsters 2! (Patreon)

Hey all,

I'll likely turn the sneak peeks back toward Good Intentions 4 with the next post. WM 2 isn't a long book (about 71,000 words), so I don't want to reveal too much--and it's ALMOST READY!  All I've got left is one more editorial pass, formatting for the paperback, and whatever cover adjustments the paperback requires, and then it'll be out!

In the meantime... you ever wonder what makes a monster swoon for another monster?

Goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs watched with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. The crew took it all in stride as they passed through the camp. Shady Tooth seemed to ignore every pair of eyes—except one. “What?” she grunted.

“Nothing,” said Teryn.

“You’re staring at me,” grunted the hulking bugbear.

“I wouldn’t call it staring.”

“Glancing forward so you don’t trip doesn’t count. You’re staring.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen you around other goblin folk besides DigDig. Or enemies.”

“So you’re saying you didn’t notice before? What, you’re human, so you can’t tell?”

“Notice what?” Teryn asked.

Shady Tooth’s lower lip pushed up in the center, leaving the corners of her mouth in an ever-deeper frown. “I’m attractive.”

DigDig let out a choking noise. She looked back but lost him as he disappeared behind War Cloud, who mindfully turned his eyes to the stars. DigDig wasn’t the only one to draw her attention, though; in almost the same moment, Teryn said, “Oh.” Then she cringed under Shady Tooth’s glare. “I’m sorry, I’ve never known many goblin folk. I don’t know what they—er, you—consider the, um, aesthetic ideal.”

“The what?”

“The goblin idea of physical beauty.”

Shady Tooth rolled her eyes. “I’m not an ideal. I’m a bugbear. We’re a bigger and stronger breed of goblin. The others always want us. Bugbear women aren’t as common as males, so we get blown out of proportion. And I’m healthy. People like healthy.”

“Healthy,” Teryn repeated. A nudge at Teryn’s hip drew her eyes to another companion.

“Shoulders,” DigDig mouthed silently with wide eyes. He patting his own shoulders, then tilted his head toward Shady Tooth. He held up his hands, spreading and flexing his fingers wide to convey his awe of the bugbear’s grip.

“I-I suppose I can understand that,” Teryn stammered, still watching DigDig. He ran the back of his hand across his own cheek as if petting it. Unlike Shady Tooth, he had no fur at all, nor did any goblin or hobgoblin she’d met, but apparently her fur had its appeal. Without thinking about it, Teryn glanced to War Cloud and found him nodding in subtle agreement with DigDig.

“People always want what they can’t have, too,” Shady Tooth added. She didn’t notice the resulting frowns among her companions, but they all got the hint.