We have a winner!


On November 13, with the release of the final book in my Chronicles of Fallhollow series, I promised to give away a complete eBook set of the series to one lucky person on Thanksgiving. That one lucky person is:

Sharon Porter!!

Congratulations, Sharon!  I hope you enjoy your ebooks.

If readers would like information about the series, please feel free to head over to my website to learn more. Links to purchase are also provided there or you can click on each book below to visit Amazon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to everyone who entered. May you have a blessed holiday season and keep your eyes open for more possible Christmas giveaways!

Cover Reveal: Where the Staircase Ends by Stacy Stokes and Giveaway #M9BFridayReveals


Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

Where the Staircase Ends by Stacy Stokes

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Where the Staircase Ends

After her best friend orchestrates the lie that destroys her reputation, Taylor wants more than anything to disappear from her life. But when an accident turns this unspoken wish into reality, instead of an angel-filled afterlife, Taylor must climb a seemingly endless staircase into the sky.

Instead of going up, the journey plunges her into the past. As she unravels the mystery behind her friend’s betrayal, she must face the truth about life and find the strength to forgive the unforgivable — unless the staircase breaks her first.

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Title: Where the Staircase Ends
Publication date: April 2015
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Stacy Stokes

Chapter-by-Chapter-header---About-the-Author

Stacy-stokes-300x200

Stacy Stokes attended the University of Texas at Austin and The Wharton School of Business. She grew up in Dallas, TX, and currently lives in San Francisco with her husband. WHERE THE STAIRCASE ENDS is her first novel.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter

Chapter-by-Chapter-header---Giveaway

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

(Winners will receive their book on release day)

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The Wait is Over! ~ Cassandra Clare’s ‘City of Heavenly Fire’ is here!


The wait is over.

The epic conclusion to the #1 Bestselling Mortal Instruments series releases today.

ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID. 

I am coming.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world changed in the sixth and last installment of the Mortal Instruments series!

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“Dear Lucky Agent” Contest!


Writer’s Digest has a new contest going and boy, do I love this one!!!  Why, might you ask?  Because this one is open to YA authors!!!!  Whoo Hoo!!  If you’re a YA author, you’re going to love this one, too.

So what are the rules to enter?

 

  1. You must have a completed YA manuscript.
  2. Send the first 150 – 200 words of your manuscript by e-mail to: dearluckyagent15@gmail.com. Please paste everything. No attachments.
  3. You must mention the contest twice through any social-media.  Provide a social-media link or Twitter handle or screenshot or blog post URL, etc., with your official e-mailed entry so your eligibility can be verified.  Please read all the details HERE.

 

What is the prize if you win?

Top 3 winners all get: 1) A critique of the first 10 double-spaced pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com ($50 value)!

So, do you have a YA manuscript you’ve been wanting to get feedback on?  Here’s your chance, folks.  The contest is open to all genres and all authors, young and old, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA’s publisher, F+W Media, Inc.

Go on!  What are you waiting for?  You have until 11:59 PM PST April 9, 2014 to submit.  I’ll race ya!  🙂

 

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18 Truths


Today I have middle-grade teacher and Y.A. author, Jamie Ayres, here to talk about her latest novel, 18 TRUTHS, and how she taps into the elusive young adult side of her.  I have to say, I loved her first novel, 18 THINGS, but 18 TRUTHS, knocked my socks off.  Make sure you check out both of her books after her guest blog and then add them to your collection today.  You won’t be disappointed.   

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your comments and/or questions for Jamie as she’ll be popping in and out throughout the day.

***

How Do I Tap Into My YA Side When I Write?

Probably the biggest rule in writing is knowing your audience. When you write primarily for 12-18 year olds, this can be a challenge when you’re well, old(er). Luckily, I’m very immature. And I teach middle school! Very good place to eavesdrop, all in the name of research, of course. Hey, I warn my students ahead of time that everything they say is subject to be fodder for my novels.

It’s important to keep your voice age appropriate (in external and internal dialogue) and preaching is a rule breaker. Talking down to young people doesn’t work in the classroom, and it definitely doesn’t work in books! This doesn’t mean you can’t have a moral message. I certainly strived to have one in 18 Things and 18 Truths. And why not? Part of the beauty of writing for young adults is they’re open to new ideas!

So besides hanging out where teens are (besides school, and I should mention Starbucks!) and eavesdropping, I also talk about TV shows, movies, and music with them. One great thing I did this year was an ongoing Poetry Jam project. Each student picked a Friday to present a song and analyzed it for literary devices, the author’s message, and gave a personal reflection. Hearing what music they’re in to and the struggles they relate it to has kept me in touch with my YA side for sure. Oh, how I wish you could be a fly on the wall for some of these presentations. I’ve cried over at least three of them so far.

Now something that hasn’t changed since I was a teen (a long time ago in a galaxy far away) is every young person has that one thing they can’t live without. Looking back at my journals, it was a boy (I know, so typical). Actually, most adults have one thing they can’t live without as well (at this age, mine is coffee). But when you’re an adult writing for teens, you have to remember that their focus is usually much narrower and short-lived (oooh, squirrel). It is all about “THE” girl or guy, getting on a sports team, getting revenge, being popular, being Homecoming/Prom King/Queen, being elected to student government, passing final exams, or sadly, just surviving another day of bullying.

Most YA authors I talk to think the best way to tap into their YA is to read YA books. I disagree. It’s actually hanging out with them. Not everyone can be a teacher or has a teen living in their house (yes, I have one of those, too). So volunteer at your church’s youth group, teen section at the public library, a local middle or high school, the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, etc . . . The real way to staying young is hanging out with young people! What about you? Any other ideas?

***

Back cover blurb:

Lying is unbearable, betrayal is inevitable, and choosing which path to take is impossible.

Olga Gay Worontzoff ended her senior year as an eighteen-year-old girl totally in love with Nate, enjoying their new romance and about to attend the university of her dreams. Now she’s spending her summer in the weird subculture of the Underworld, with charmingly witty and powerful angels, and problematic demons, trying to rescue Connor, the best friend and secret crush she was unable to save during a freak accident.

But Nate has other things on his mind, mainly Grace. She’s their first assignment as joint spirit guides, and Olga’s feeling hurt and jealous. His mysterious behavior has Olga questioning everything she believed about him and now she must decide whether to stick to their plan, or follow her heart.

Unfortunately, a series of mistakes threatens everyone around her and plants Olga in the center of cosmic events much larger than she ever imagined.

Only one thing is certain: the chilling truths uncovered during her journey will leave no one untouched. 

 

Website: www.jamieayres.com

Add 18 Truths to your Goodreads

 

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First Book in the series:

Can eighteen things save a life?

Olga Gay Worontzoff thinks her biggest problems are an awful name (after her grandmothers of course) and not attending prom with Conner, her best friend and secret crush since kindergarten.

Then Conner is killed in a freak boating accident and Olga feels responsible. When she downs an entire bottle of pills to deal with the emotional pain, her parents force her into counseling. There, her therapist writes a prescription in the form of a life list titled 18 Things. Eighteen quests to complete the year of her eighteenth birthday.

All she has to do is fire-walk, try out for the cheerleading squad, break a world record, and err . . . go on her first date. Good thing Nate, a new hottie in town, enters her life with perfect timing. He brings the fun factor to her list and helps her discover the beauty and strength inside herself, then complicates things by falling in love with her.

But there’s more to Olga’s quests than meets the eye and when her therapist reveals a terrifying secret, her world is shaken.

There’s only one thing she knows for certain: her choices won’t just affect her future, but all eternity

 

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Graceling – A Review


From the back cover:

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight –     she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po’s friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace – or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away…

My Review:

I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  This book came out in 2008 and it was always on my TBR list but I didn’t get around to it until the end of 2013.  Why did I wait so long?  This book is exceptional on so many levels, I don’t even know where to begin.

I’m not going to bore you and recap what the book is about as I already posted the back cover blurb.  I will say this is a fantasy novel I will read again and again.  GRACELING is confidently and smoothly written.  It’s fresh and new.  The plot moves along at a great clip…not too fast, not too slow.  Cashore gives the reader time to ponder the characters, the scenes as she takes you from one to the other.  The reader has time to absorb the plot, the scenery, the character interactions.  It’s breathtaking to not be rushed from one intense scene to the next.  Never once did I feel bored or have the need to skim to get to the next exciting part.  The story unfolds naturally.  Exquisitely. The dialogue has a classic style about it and there is a timeless energy in Cashore’s writing style.

The characters are wonderfully engaging.  Katsa is a fantastic heroine.  She’s strong but not sassy.  She’s far from predictable, and yet at the same time, the other characters know not to mess with her.  She’s not a typical, sassy heroine.  She’s a skilled fighter and has been since a young age.  She is conflicted, torn between what is right and what she needs to do to survive.  She’s wary, but not afraid.  She’s strong but vulnerable.  She has no desire to marry and she stands firm to that belief, though there is nothing to keep her from experiencing life’s pleasures.  She is headstrong, not on the delicate side, and yet there are moments where the reader senses a childlike devil-may-care attitude, even aloofness that makes her endearing.  She is definitely an odd mix of personality which makes her real and extremely likeable.

Katsa has a wonderful cast of supporting characters:  Helda, her attendant, Oll, Raffin (her off beat, loveable cousin), and The Council, a grassroots sort of political group determined to bring fairness, honesty and peaceful leadership to the seven kingdoms of the realm.  There is not one person or kingdom unnecessary in the telling of this story or what they mean to Katsa.

The biggest surprise for me was Katsa’s love interest, Po.  I am so happy this is not another one of those ‘twitterpated’ love stories that makes me want to gag.  Po is a prince, Graced like Katsa, in search of his grandfather who was kidnapped.  But Po turns out to be so much more than a love interest.  His character is so deep and the perfect match for such a strong heroine.  He is the catalyst that drops the wall Katsa has built around herself.  My heart is drawn to him because of his unconditional love for Katsa.  It is a pure, unselfish love with no strings, no expectations.  Completely and absolutely refreshing.

I was captivated and mesmerized by Cashore’s writing.  I couldn’t put it down.  At the end of every chapter I kept telling myself, “Just one more.”

GRACELING is a Young Adult novel and I would recommend it for readers 14 and up.  For parents, you should know there are some scenes of violence and sexual intimacy, but none of them are graphic or gratuitous.  I’ve read other YA books that ‘show’ so much more. 

So, in closing, GRACELING is an engrossing read with mesmerizing characters, a truly satisfying romance that is far from mushy, and a plot that will hold you spellbound.  Cashore knows how to weave and tell a compelling tale.  GRACELING is completely worth the read and the tired, blood-shot eyes that come along with it.

Rating:  5 stars

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5 – no – 6 new Young Adult novels that have me salivating


2014 is chocked full of new YA books that have me salivating and wiggling on the edge of my seat to read.  Here are five that are coming out this month alone.  The last two have me jumping out of my skin (well, not literally, but you know what I mean.)

Release Date:  Jan. 21, 2014:

Now that Nikki has rescued Jack, all she wants is to be with him and graduate high school. But Cole tricked Nikki into feeding off him, and she’s begun the process of turning into an Everliving herself… which means she must feed on a Forfeit soon — or die.

Terrified for her survival, Nikki and Jack begin a desperate attempt to reverse the process using any means possible. Even Cole, who they expected to fight them at every turn, has become an unlikely ally — but how long can it last? Nikki needs to feed on Cole to survive, Cole needs Nikki to gain the throne in the Everneath, Jack needs Nikki because she is everything to him — and together, they must travel back to the Underworld to undo Nikki’s fate and make her mortal once more. But Cole isn’t the only one with plans for Nikki: the Queen has not forgotten Nikki’s treachery, and she wants her destroyed for good. Will Nikki be forced to spend eternity in the Underworld, or does she have what it takes to bring down the Everneath once and for all?

In this stunning conclusion to the Everneath trilogy, Brodi Ashton evokes the resiliency of the human spirit and the indomitable power of true love.

Release Date:  Jan. 23, 2014

Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl.

After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams?

Release Date:  Jan. 28, 2014

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Last summer, Mackenzie Bishop, a Keeper tasked with stopping violent Histories from escaping the Archive, almost lost her life to one. Now, as she starts her junior year at Hyde School, she’s struggling to get her life back. But moving on isn’t easy — not when her dreams are haunted by what happened. She knows the past is past, knows it cannot hurt her, but it feels so real, and when her nightmares begin to creep into her waking hours, she starts to wonder if she’s really safe.

Meanwhile, people are vanishing without a trace, and the only thing they seem to have in common is Mackenzie. She’s sure the Archive knows more than they are letting on, but before she can prove it, she becomes the prime suspect. And unless Mac can track down the real culprit, she’ll lose everything, not only her role as Keeper, but her memories, and even her life. Can Mackenzie untangle the mystery before she herself unravels?

With stunning prose and a captivating mixture of action, romance, and horror, The Unbound delves into a richly imagined world where no choice is easy and love and loss feel like two sides of the same coin.

 (Who’s with me on this one huh???)

Release Date:  Jan. 28, 2014

The earth-shattering conclusion to Veronica Rossi’s “masterpiece” Under the Never Sky trilogy and sequel to the New York Timesbestselling Through the Ever Night (Examiner.com).

Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it’s time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to bring balance to their world.

The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe-haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do-and they are just as determined to stay together.

Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. And when Roar returns to camp, he is so furious with Perry that he won’t even look at him, and Perry begins to feel like they have already lost.

Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble a team to mount an impossible rescue mission-because Cinder isn’t just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, he’s also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

In this final book in her stunning Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi raises the stakes to their absolute limit and brings her epic love story to an unforgettable close.

(Yeah, baby!)

Release Date:  Jan. 28, 2014

DESTRUCTION
The Year of Souls begins with an earthquake—an alarming rumble from deep within the earth—and it’s only the first of greater dangers to come. The Range caldera is preparing to erupt. Ana knows that as Soul Night approaches, everything near Heart will be at risk.

FLIGHT
Ana’s exile is frightening, but it may also be fortuitous, especially if she can convince her friends to flee Heart and Range with her. They’ll go north, seeking answers and allies to stop Janan’s ascension. And with any luck, the newsouls will be safe from harm’s reach.

CHOICE
The oldsouls might have forgotten the choice they made to give themselves limitless lifetimes, but Ana knows the true cost of reincarnation. What she doesn’t know is whether she’ll have the chance to finish this one sweet life with Sam, especially if she returns to Heart to stop Janan once and for all.

With gorgeous romance and thrilling action, the final book in the Incarnate trilogy offers a brilliant conclusion to the compelling questions of this fascinating world, where one new girl is the key to the lives of millions.

(Most definitely looking forward to this one!)

Release date:  Jan. 28, 2014

Lying is unbearable, betrayal is inevitable, and choosing which path to take is impossible.

Olga Gay Worontzoff ended her senior year as an eighteen-year-old girl totally in love with Nate, enjoying their new romance and about to attend the university of her dreams. Now she’s spending her summer in the weird subculture of the Underworld, with charmingly witty and powerful angels, and problematic demons, trying to rescue Connor, the best friend and secret crush she was unable to save during a freak accident.

But Nate has other things on his mind, mainly Grace. She’s their first assignment as joint spirit guides, and Olga’s feeling hurt and jealous. His mysterious behavior has Olga questioning everything she believed about him and now she must decide whether to stick to their plan, or follow her heart. Unfortunately, a series of mistakes threatens everyone around her and plants Olga in the center of cosmic events much larger than she ever imagined.

Only one thing is certain: the chilling truths uncovered during her journey will leave no one untouched.

 

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That’s ok…blame it on Mom


Today, the lovely and talented Danielle Shipley, author of many tales, is visiting my blog and is going to talk to you about the most influential person who helped her stay true herself, her dreams and her writing.  Danielle, we’re all ears (and eyes).

***

We can blame a good percentage of what I’ve become on my mother.

It was she who first got me hooked on books by reading aloud and letting me loose in the library. She who taught me how to arrange letters into words, and set me up with computer programs (and piano lessons) that trained my fingers to type like the wind. She who was always cool with me spending my free time on fictional character development and stories without a point. She who exposed me to the timelessness of fairytales, the allure of mystery, the thrill of heroic adventure, and the zany humor of my early mentors, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

And she didn’t limit my artistic freedom to my childhood. When I gradually came to realize that, more than a hobby only, authorship was what I wanted to do with my rest of my life, she never once told me to wake up, leave my imaginary friends behind, and go be a normal adult. Quite the contrary! She picked up books from the library about querying literary agents for me. She sat with me when I moped after yet another rejection came in, and squealed with me when the inbox actually contained good news. She brings me a cup of tasty grapes when I’m typing up a guest post about all the stuff she does for me. (Seriously. She just now walked in here and handed me a snack.) She lets me rant to her about everything I find irritating in the world of writing or the world in general, helps me brainstorm when I’m all tangled up in plot ideas, stays up hours past her bedtime to scrounge for votes when I’ve entered a contest to turn my fairytale tailor into a pony doll… I’ve little doubt I owe that victory to her.

She’s more than just a momma. She’s an intern in my self-publishing house and half of its marketing team. She’s one of my most enthusiastic cheerleaders, which is saying a lot, considering the squad also includes my ALL CAPS-happy writing besties and Will Scarlet. (If you’ve met the man, ‘nough said.)  She’s a solid line of defense between me and accidental starvation. Once I finally stopped being shy and let her read what I wrote, she became a fan of my writing. Naturally, she was a fan of the writer all along.

I’m not much of a rebel. If my mom had voted “nay” against the pursuit of my authorial dream, I may well have set that dream aside and gone searching for a new one, writing relegated to the realm of “hobby only” once again. Happily for me (and, I would suggest, for all of you), Mrs. Shipley’s got my back. I don’t expect you to love her for it quite as much as I do, but you can give it a go.

***

Ahh, to have such a person on our side is truly a blessing.  Thank you for stopping by, Danielle.  It was an extreme pleasure.

Want to know more about Danielle?  Keep reading.

 Danielle E. Shipley’s first novelettes told the everyday misadventures of wacky kids like herself. …Or so she thought. Unbeknownst to them all, half of her characters were actually closeted elves, dwarves, fairies, or some combination thereof. When it all came to light, Danielle did the sensible thing: Packed up and moved to Fantasy Land, where daily rent is the low, low price of her heart, soul, blood, sweat, tears, firstborn child, sanity, and words; lots of them. She’s also been known to spend short bursts of time in the real-life Chicago area with the parents who home schooled her and the two little sisters who keep her humble. When she’s not living the highs and lows of writing young adult novels, she’s probably blogging about it at www.EverOnWord.wordpress.com.

Books by Danielle:

      

Be sure to pop by Danielle’s other locations on the web, take a look around and say hi.

Website ~ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

And don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for your chance to win a copy of One More Day.

 

“Wow, who are you, really?”


Today, the lovely and talented, Erika Beebe, author of the short story, Stage Fright, which appears in the ONE MORE DAY anthology, is guest hosting on my blog today.  Please give her a round of applause as she discusses the Mind of A Writer, Character Development, and Who Are We Really?

***

The mind of a writer is a funny thing. I can invent the most twisted story, shake it off to make dinner, at least mostly, and then I catch my husband leaning over a printed copy of my latest and greatest chapter as the words escape his lips, “Wow, who are you, really?”

Growing up, I didn’t like creepy. I remember being eight-years-old and watching A Nightmare on Elm Street at a slumber party … further back at five when I’d caught Jaws on the television and was unable to walk across the basement floor without dreading the image of a great white beast living a hidden existence under the couch. I’d leap from furniture to furniture in the basement until I made it to the stairs. Now here I am. I write YA creepy. :o)

And then I dream how to tame it.

So how do we go to sleep at night with all of these creepy plots and words floating through our thoughts?

Writing is a profession. When you love it, you know when to turn it on, and sometimes, when you absolutely need to turn it off. Sure, I’ll have ideas slip into my head in the middle of the night, or while I’m going about my day, but that’s why I always carry a notebook. I can scratch down a really great thought, tuck it back in my purse and finish wherever I am in the moment. But just like a counselor, or an architect, or a doctor, you know you could work all the time, every minute of your life if you let it consume you. So you learn how to stop, make a few notes if they absolutely won’t let you move on, and you go back to what you were doing in the present moment.

How do we write about fictional characters and plots we don’t actually live?

Research. For me as a writer, solving a character is much like solving an algebra equation or creating a chemical reaction in a laboratory. I read everything. I look at pictures and study people. I document facts and details with pictures and words, journaling down what I feel and think in a moment. Recently I wrote a chapter where my two main characters were boogie boarding in the ocean. I’ve been to the ocean many times, but the past doesn’t always help an immediate physical moment. Especially if I need to feel, taste or sense a particular detail in a scene. So what did I do? Today, writers are lucky. We have YouTube, Google Maps, and the ability to type in and search for anything. I can watch a how-to video and be in someone’s moment on the beach. I can’t always smell what I need to smell, but that’s where memory helps. If I’m setting my book in a particular physical location, I go to that location.  I need to see the community, feel the ground, and smell the air. Last point to make, lots of what I’ve lived slips into my words. If you know a writer, there’s never a guarantee you won’t be somewhere in a plot or a character. My ideas come from my life. My creativity takes them in new and strange directions.

So who I am?

Am I the girl you see when you meet me? Am I character in my book? Am I a mother, a wife, a career woman, a yoga instructor? My answer is yes. Life is a complicated mess, and no matter what profession we choose, parts of us come out in everything we do.

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“Dragon Flight” Exposed!


Squeeel!!  My publisher, J. Taylor Publishing, gave the green light to the authors of the soon-to-be-released YA anthology, ONE MORE DAY, to share the first 500 glorious words of their short stories.  That means I get to share Dragon Flight!!!!  Are you ready?  A few words of caution…keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times and don’t look down.

tulip scroll

 

I grip the handles of the harness and squeeze my eyes tight as the coaster tops the three-hundred foot lift.

Oh, geez. What was I thinking? I hate heights. I hate things that go fast. Not a great combo for rollercoaster riding.

My pulse thumps in my throat as the metal beast curves to the left. I squeeze my eyes so tight they hurt. Oh, no. Here we go. Here we go. The scream hangs in my throat, waiting for the drop.

It doesn’t come. The steel dragon jerks to a halt, with me in the front row and nowhere to look but out and down.

What? No, no, no. We’re not supposed to stop! I’ve watched this ride a gazillion times. It never stops. I picture the track in my mind. Up, around, down, flip, corkscrew, insanity, heart attack. One and a half minutes of terrifying scream time. No. This can’t be happening! Why? Why now? Why did I get on this ride?

The answer sits in the seat next to me. Dean McCall. Damn his tall, dark-haired good looks and jewel-blue eyes. I’ve crushed on him since sophomore year, ever since he showed up in Mr. Wilkins’ history class wearing a pair of oh-my-God-nice-butt jeans and a Halo game T-shirt. I tried then not to salivate like Pavlov’s dog, but it was useless. Not much has changed since, as I’m pretty sure I just about melted out of my skin when he cornered me by the popcorn stand and asked if I wanted to ride Dragon Flight with him. Me! Book nerd extraordinaire.

So what if he waited for Grad night to notice me ? No one’s perfect, right? I gulped, mesmerized by his hypnotic eyes and charming, spearmint smile, and uttered something intelligent like, “Uh-huh.” Of course, my insides turned all gooey, and my heart struck up a crazy fast Congo beat because I’m such a feet-on-the-ground kind of gal. My brain shouted, Speak, you dolt!   Tell him no. Tell him you’re afraid of heights. He’ll understand. Instead, I shook my head and said, “I-I … okay.”

Major face palm, but really, I had no choice. It was Dean McCall, and if I turned him down, I’d look like a moron in front of everyone who was anyone. Besides, who better to face my fears with than the cutest guy to ever walk the halls of Newbury High? Now, as I sit stranded at the top of this freaking ride, I’m beginning to question that logic.

I press my head back against the coaster’s seat. Get a grip, Amber. Breathe deep. You’re okay. You’re strapped in. You’re not going anywhere.

Clunk. Clunk.

My eyes spring open.

What was that?

I fight back the urge to scream.

The harness releases and lifts off my shoulders, its movement stopped by the belt latched to the seat. I squeak like a frightened mouse and clutch the restraint tight to my chest, my knuckles as white as the moon staring down at me. Oh, God, I’m gonna die.

clip-art-rollercoaster-428971

So, what do think?

One More Day

by Erika BeebeMarissa HalvorsonKimberly KayJ. Keller FordL.S. MurphyDanielle E. ShipleyAnna Simpson

Release Date: December 2, 2013

Target Reader: Young Adult

Keywords: Contemporary RomanceFantasyFictionRomanticScience FictionUrban Fantasy

Description

What if today never ends?

What if everything about life—everything anyone hoped to be, to do, to experience—never happens?

Whether sitting in a chair, driving down the road, in surgery, jumping off a cliff or flying … that’s where you’d be … forever.

Unless …

In One More Day, Erika Beebe, Marissa Halvorson, Kimberly Kay, J. Keller Ford, Danielle E. Shipley and Anna Simpson join L.S. Murphy to give us their twists, surprising us with answers to two big questions, all from the perspective of characters under the age of eighteen.

How do we restart time?

How do we make everything go back to normal?

The answers, in whatever the world—human, alien, medieval, fantasy or fairytale—could,maybe, happen today.

Right now.

What would you do if this happened … to you?