Do we inspire art, or does art inspire us? One man asks the question, while the Other searches for the answer. This cat and mouse hardboiled noir follows Detective Cooper Gianopulos and Detective Sarah Reyes as they stumble onto a case that will be unlike any other they've solved. What will it cost them to find their criminal?

****Copyrighted**** 'Tell me you don't feel it.' He whispered against my lips, and the trembling that had ceased at the feel of his lips against mine began again with renewed vigor. 'Tell me it's not what you want, and I'll go. You'll never have to see me again.' Swallowing, I looked up at the eyes that had entranced me from the start. I took in his every feature, slowly and deliberately. I thrilled at the feeling of his arms enfolding me, and I inhaled his familiar scent with a trembling breath. And then, then I did the most foolish thing imaginable: I flung my arms about his neck and kissed him with all that I had, almost losing myself in the safety and security I felt. But more than that, I ran. I took his moment of shock, the slight loosing of his arms about me, and tore myself away from him, shoving out the door and into the rain. I suppose I'll never know why he didn't follow me. It was the thing I feared most. I knew that if he came for me a second time, I wouldn't be able to say 'no'. I wouldn't be able to run. But I had to. I had to go. I couldn't let him be hurt because of me. He would live on now, and I would marry another. I had leased my last bit of passion in that one moment in his arms, and as I made my way through the dark streets, I felt myself become dull and lost like the creatures bound in the menagerie. **Much of this was written when I was younger and then I came back later and finished it. There will likely be mistakes. Lots of them.

In 1939, a ragtag group of adventurers are forced to team up with Germans on a quest for a legendary oracle, hidden deep in the Kunlun Mountains of Tibet. Led by an enigmatic guide, what they will find holds an ancient message for a modern world on the brink of war. A novella-length magical mystery adventure into a world just a step beyond... ********** Publication Announcement! ********** Great news! I'm very pleased and excited to announce that The Goddess of Kunlun has been published and is now available on Amazon, in both ebook and paperback formats. I'll leave the first three chapters up here, as a free sample. It's been a great work-in-progress run here on Wattpad, but the time eventually comes to let your story out into the big world. Thank all of you so much for your support, encouragement, kind words and feedback on The Goddess of Kunlun, and on all my works posted here. I couldn't do it without you.