Tag Archives: romance
Under My Skin Cover Reveal Signups and #AuthorLifeMonth Week Three
My young adult contemporary romance is coming in April and the cover reveal is planned for March 18, hosted by Chapter By Chapter. I’m so excited for Adam and Darby to meet the world and the cover fits their story PERFECTLY, thanks to Georgia McBride and her FAB team at Swoon Romance!
PS: I’d be totally stoked if you’d sign up to help!
Here’s the link.
And thank you!
(I couldn’t resist snapping screenshots of the announcement and book blurb.)
Blurb:
Click here to add to your Goodreads list
Changing gears…
#AuthorLifeMonth continues to go strong. Here are my posts for the past week:
Day 15: swag
Day 16: where you write
Day 17: where you relax
Day 18: research
Day 19: your critique partners
Day 20: fave chapter ending
Day 21: your muse
One week remains until the end of Author Life Month. Stay tuned for more posts!
Susan Kaye Quinn’s SECOND DAUGHTER
NEW RELEASE
Second Daughter (The Dharian Affairs #2)
Assassins, skyships, and royal intrigue…
Kindle, Kobo, AllRomance
Second Daughter is the second book in The Dharian Affairs trilogy (Third Daughter, Second Daughter, First Daughter). This steampunk-goes-to-Bollywood (Bollypunk!) romance takes place in an east-Indian-flavored alternate world filled with skyships, assassins, royal romance and intrigue.
Reviews of the first book, Third Daughter:
“The author fuses carriages, steam trains, airships and clockwork with the rich eastern culture that underlies Bollywood storytelling…” – Cherie Reich
“The political intrigue, the steampunk gadgets, and the beautiful costumes kept me in wonderment.” – Tony Benson
ìThird Daughter is vividly breathtaking. Quinn delivers royal intrigue, exotic locations, and sweeping romance. Not to be missed!î – Pavarti Tyler, author of Shadow on the Wall
ON SALE – 99cents until 7/21
Third Daughter (The Dharian Affairs #1)
Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iTunes, AllRomance
(also available in print)
The Third Daughter of the Queen wants her birthday to arrive so she’ll be free to marry for love, but rumors of a new flying weapon may force her to accept a barbarian prince’s proposal for a peace-brokering marriage. Desperate to marry the charming courtesan she loves, Aniri agrees to the prince’s proposal as a subterfuge in order to spy on him, find the weapon, and hopefully avoid both war and an arranged marriage to a man she does not love.
NEW
Both books now have a map!
Speedy Tweets to Share:
NEW RELEASE: Second Daughter (Dharian Affairs #2) Assassins, skyships, royal intrigue #steampunk #fantasy #romance http://bit.ly/SDAmazon
WIN Gift Card and PAPERBACK Third Daughter (Dharian Affairs #1) #steampunk #fantasy #romance http://www.susankayequinn.com
Skyships, saber duels, royal romance: Third Daughter (Dharian Affairs#1) ON SALE 99cents http://bit.ly/ThirdDAmaz
Thank you so much for helping me get this book out in the world!
Win
paperback copy of Third Daughter
$10 Amazon Gift Card
Win
paperback copy of Third Daughter
$10 Amazon Gift Card
check out the gorgeous formatting of the print book!
New Release CHASING LUCK by Brinda Berry
Chasing Luck
By Brinda Berry
a Serendipity novel
$2.99
New Adult Romantic Suspense
ISBN: 978-0-9916320-2-2
On Amazon / Kobo / B & N / iBooks
Sometimes surviving doesn’t feel lucky. Especially when you’re a sole survivor…
At the age of seven, Malerie walked away from a bombing that left hundreds dead—including her mother. When a crazed gunman kills her guardian on her eighteenth birthday, Malerie suspects there may be more to her survival than luck. A mysterious code holds the key to her future, and a reluctant white knight holds the key to her heart.
A loner wearing emotional armor…
Ace is a twenty-year-old entrepreneur focusing on two things in life: financial security and a life without ties. A life that doesn’t risk losing the ones who matter. When Ace is hired to secretly act as a bodyguard for Malerie, he faces an unwanted attraction that threatens to sabotage his heart. Can Ace find the courage to love a girl with a death wish?
Excerpt:
Ace
“My attraction to you runs fiery hot. It consumes my every waking thought. I burn for you, baby. Don’t stop this attraction, baby.” ~ Jelly Bean Queen
The text from John Toombs directs me to a table near the center of the main room. I enter and can’t believe my mixture of good and bad luck. Good because Ms. Smokin’ Hot is with Toombs. And bad because Ms. Smokin’ Hot is with Toombs.
He looks up at me and nods as he rises. I lean across to shake his hand and I can smell the girl. Something subtle like stuff from the bath shops. A sweet, vanilla scent advertising innocence.
But she can’t be innocent hooked up with somebody old enough to be her father. He has money and she’s too young to be whoring herself out. My stomach clenches at the thought of them together in bed.
“Ace, I’d like to introduce my niece, Malerie.” Toombs waves a hand in her direction.
The scales definitely tip in the direction of bad news. She’s not his trophy wife or barely-legal mistress. She’s his niece — the number one spot on the dateable-but-off-limits list. The girl looks at me and her gaze makes a slow run down the length of my body. I’m beyond screwed. Goodbye Miss Innocent, hello Miss Seductress.
The air sparks between us and her eyes say she feels the electricity, too. “Hi, Malerie. Nice to meet you,” I say, wishing she’d given me this look earlier instead of the one like I was some psycho perv who hangs out near restrooms.
Malerie has an exotic look that I can’t place. Her honey-brown eyes, huge in her pale face, remind me of some hot anime character with bottomless eyes and dangerous curves. The chick probably has guys lining up to take on her rockin’ body and the attached load of money.
I tear my gaze away from her and meet the Clint Eastwood glare of John Toombs. With one look, Toombs gives me the hell-no warning. It’s a warning that rubs me like running a hand against the fur up a cat’s back. I don’t like it, but I’m not stupid.
I can almost hear the whomp-whomp of his protective radar. If I were him, I’d bar the door and clean the rifle.
Learn more about Brinda by checking out her website HERE.
Cover Reveal: Beautiful and Broken by Sara Hubbard
I’m so excited to share author pal Sara Hubbard’s upcoming romance, BEAUTIFUL AND BROKEN. What a GORgeous cover!!! Congrats, Sara!
Blurb:
Molly’s a hot mess and her life is falling apart.
Just when she thinks she’s about to get her happily ever after, her sister steps in to have an affair with her fiancé on her wedding day. Determined to bring Molly out of her funk, her friends take her out for a night on the town, only for her to go home with a professional boxer who pops in and out of her life when she least expects it. Her mother tries to push her back into the arms of her cheating ex, but forgiving Jason is the hardest thing Molly will ever have to do. And even if she can forgive him, does her happily ever after include her ex-fiancé, or the charming boxer with a shady past?
![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000026_00023]](https://lbdiamond.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/beautiful-and-broken-1-front-5x8_bw_250.jpg?w=186&h=300)
Excerpt: To set up the scene, this happens shortly after Molly intervenes in a fight between Sawyer and one of his friends, and she inadvertently gets caught in the crossfire.
I’m to meet the client at the Red Line Coffee House the following day. It’s this little cafe on the main floor of the Dover Hotel— the same hotel I did the walk of shame at after sleeping with Sawyer. Sigh. Being here makes me uncomfortable and I massage the back of my neck as I feel a flush of heat in my face.
I check my watch and it’s twelve forty five. I’m fifteen minutes early and I’m dressed to impress, wearing my best outfit: a black pencil skirt and white silk blouse with a fitted red blazer and matching pumps that Jason bought me for Christmas last year. Looking down at them as I sit at the table near the counter, I can’t help but feel nostalgic.
Why can’t I stop missing him?
“This seat taken?” says a familiar, deep voice.
I begin to smile as I look up, but my smile quickly fades. Then my temper fires. Sawyer slides into the seat opposite me. He smile is timid, like he’s not sure if I’m happy to see him or not. Newsflash: I’m not. He wears brand name track pants and a henley shirt. His hair is freshly showered and damp, falling over his eyes so he flicks his head to push it back.
“Yes, it is. I’m waiting for someone.”
“Oh, really. A date?”
“That’s none of your business.” I fold my arms across my chest and sit up straight. I need to be on my toes with this one. I barely know him and yet everything about him disturbs me. “Haven’t you done enough damage?” I say as I lean in. He leans in to meet me.
He points to my face and drops his hand onto the table. “Your face doesn’t look so bad.”
I make a face. “Thanks. Just the kind of compliment every girl wishes for.”
He clears his throat and changes the subject. “Does it hurt?”
“What do you care? The damage is done. Now if you don’t mind, I’d really rather not see you ever again.”
“Dane said you were insulted that I sent him.”
“I’m not a gold digger. And you if you wanted to make things right, you could have come to the hospital and apologized instead of sending your lawyer. I mean, it’s not like we’re complete strangers, is it?” I feel the heat pooling in my cheeks. I really don’t want to think about that night we spent together. I can barely remember it anyway, but the look on his face, the frown and the head tilt, I wonder if he remembers me at all—other than our incident at the party.
“Did we hook up?” He points to his chest and mine.
I want to slap him across the face. Okay, we were both drunk, but could he make me feel any smaller? The heat in my cheeks burns hotter, this time from anger. At least I remembered sleeping with him—sort of. The least he could do was afford me the same courtesy.
“I wasn’t at my best when I saw you at the party,” he adds.
“No. We didn’t.” I look away hoping he doesn’t see through my lie.
He shifts in his seat and taps his thumbs on the table. His eyes go blank, as if he’s somewhere else.
“I am sorry about the…” He points to my head.
I take a deep breath and study his face. Somewhere on the edges of his cheeky smile, I see a flash of sincerity. As much I’m decided on accepting his apology, now is not the time for making amends. I have more pressing things to deal with. My watch reads one-oh-five.
“What were you even fighting about? Let me guess, a girl? Maybe the girl you slept with at the party? Real classy, by the way.”
He scratches at the scruff on his cheek and takes a deep breath. “How did you know about the girl?”
“I was in the bathroom when I heard your marathon sex session.”
“Wow.”
I expect him to be embarrassed, to blush or something, but he doesn’t. He just looks a little surprised.
He massages the back of his neck as he chuckles. “This really isn’t going the way I planned.”
“Listen. We’re cool. I accept your apology, but you need to go, all right? I’m waiting for a client.”
“A client, huh? What kind of work is it that you do?”
I glance around the room. I have no idea who I’m looking for. Dina said the client would find me. “Real estate.”
“Really. Well now that’s a coincidence, because I’m in the market for a new house.”
![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000026_00023]](https://lbdiamond.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/beautiful-and-broken-1-5x8_bw_250.jpg?w=640&h=489)
Available February 16th on Amazon, B&N, Kobo and Are.
Add to Goodreads
Find more out about Sara Hubbard and her books HERE
Cover art by: Stephanie White of Steph’s Cover Design
By Force by Sara Hubbard
My Etopia Press pub sista, Sara Hubbard, has a new release coming soon and today I get to share the cover–it’s sooooo pretty! Congrats, Sara!
Getting kidnapped would set her free…
Isame doesn’t want to marry the man her parents chose for her. She wants more: the freedom to travel, the freedom to explore, but most of all, the freedom to choose the life she wants instead of the one her parents expect. When Isame leaves her home to accept a man’s proposal, she encounters five fierce, handsome warriors. She wonders why they’ve travelled so far from home. She never imagines their purpose might have something to do with her, not even after they’ve kidnapped her.
Remmie is a fiercely loyal man who is true to his word. When his king commands him to find a young woman on the island of Copaxa, he doesn’t expect the puny woman to hold his attention or to make him consider turning his back on his brothers in arms and his king. But Isame is special and he can see it from the start. Soon he must decide if she is worth losing all he knows and loves for the girl that’s worked her way under his skin and into his heart.
Coming January 3, 2014.
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18306385-by-force
About Sara Hubbard:
Sara Hubbard is the author of young adult books. Her debut novel BLOOD, SHE READ released fall 2012 and was a NEORWA Cleveland Rocks winner and a RCRW Duel on the Delta finalist.
Sara lives in Nova Scotia, Canada with her two children (four if you count her husband and her needy labradoodle) and works as a registered nurse with the military.
Find more about Sara and her books here:
http://www.facebook.com/sarahubbardauthor
http://twitter.com/SaraLouHubbard
Sentinel Tour–Daimon Day
I’m so excited for the final installment of the Sentinel series! Link to complete tour
What’s even more fun is tour takes us on a walk down memory lane by celebrating each novella and novel in the series. Today is all about Daimon.
Book summary for Daimon
“Love in my world usually ended up with someone hearing ‘I smite thee ‘ as she was cursed to be some lame flower for the rest of her life.” For three years, Alexandria has lived among mortals–pretending to be like them and trying to forget the duty she’d been trained to fulfill as a child of a mortal and a demigod. At seventeen, she’s pretty much accepted that she’s a freak by mortal standards… and that she’ll never be prepared for that duty. According to her mother, that’s a good thing.But as every descendant of the gods knows, Fate has a way of rearing her ugly head. A horrifying attack forces Alex to flee Miami and try to find her way back to the very place her mother had warned her she should never return-the Covenant. Every step that brings her closer to safety is one more step toward death… because she’s being hunted by the very creatures she’d once trained to kill. The daimons have found her.
Links to find Daimon:
Author bio:
# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia.
All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true.
Well, mostly. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.
She is the author of the Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press), the Lux Series (Entangled Teen), Don’t Look Back (Disney/Hyperion) and a yet untitled novel (Disney/Hyperion), and new YA paranormal series with Harlequin Teen.
Jennifer also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. The Gamble Brothers Series (Tempting the Best Man/Tempting the Player) and Wait for You. Under her pen name, she is published with Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.
Author Links:
Website: http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JLArmentrout
Giveaway:
Spencer Hill Press is giving away a $200 gift card to Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Book Depository or any indie bookstore of the winner’s choice to not only stock up on amazing books, but to perhaps buy a Nook HD or Kindle Fire.
Here’s a mini interview from JLA:
For JLA – What made you decide to go back and write Daimon? I wanted to show the readers what Alex was facing at the beginning of Half-Blood that caused her to have trust issues and such a bad attitude.
For Alex – If you could time travel back to the day Aiden came to bring you back to the covenant, what’s the one thing you would tell him the moment you saw him? You’re hot.
For Aiden – Knowing the end, would you still go after Alex to bring her back to the covenant? I would have still gone after Alex, but I wouldn’t have taken her back to the Covenant. I would have taken her away somewhere that I felt I could protect her.
DROWNING by Rachel Firasek
OMG, folks! I’ve been waiting for this story for MONTHS! Author Rachel Firasek has an uncanny ability to create vibrant, flawed, and strong characters, and she’s done it again with her upcoming release, DROWNING. Today, she’s sharing the cover with the world. Ain’t it GORgeous?!?!?!
CONGRATS, Rachel!!!!
Blurb:
“I dare you.”
Those words would change adrenaline junkie, Alice Harrison’s life forever. She’s a party girl that doesn’t believe in love until she meets a man that only writes about it.
Seth James escaped his overbearing father and moved into one of the James family’s vacant condos, hoping to create the music he loves in peace. But the fragile calm he’s envisioned shatters when a tiny woman with a world full of energy bounces out of the elevator and nearly takes him out.
With the patience of a saint, Seth seeks the dark that keeps Alice from enjoying life. He challenges her to exorcise the demons in her past in order to discover the true meaning of love. But when the walls fall down, the hidden deceptions will bare the ugly truth about a woman drowning in sorrow and a man who may not know how to be her hero.
Add the book on Goodreads
Author Bio
Rachel Firasek spends her days daydreaming of stories and her nights putting the ideas to ink. She has spent a dull life following the rules, meeting deadlines, and toeing the line, but in her made up worlds, she can let the wild side loose. Her wonderful husband and three children support her love of the written word and only ask for the occasional American Idol or Swamp People quality hour.
She has a philosophy about love. It must devastate or it isn’t truly worth loving. She hopes that you all find your devastating love and cling to it with all your heart!
You can meet her at:
Facebook
Twitter
Website
Blog
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
Rachel is hosting a Rafflecopter giveaway. Check out the ultra cool swag below, then click the link to enter! 😉
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If you missed yesterdays’ post, click HERE for details on Heather Van Fleet’s sequel Seizing Fate!
ALSO, I’m participating in YA Bookfest today on April Baker’s blog. I’m sharing a closer look of the main character and antagonist in ENDURE, my YA dystopian. There’s also a fun scene (not in the book) highlighting how the characters interact. Enjoy!
Camp Boyfriend Book Blitz!
Camp Boyfriend (Camp Boyfriend #1)
by J.K. Rock
Release Date: 07/02/13
From Spencer Hill Press
Summary from Goodreads:
The summer of her dreams is about to get a reality check.
They said it couldn’t be done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson transformed herself into a popular girl after moving to a new school halfway across the country. Amazing what losing her braces and going out for cheerleading will do. Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing on Lauren’s nerves and she can’t wait to return to summer camp where she’s valued for her brain instead of her handsprings. She misses her old friends and most of all, her long time camp-only boyfriend, Seth. This year she intends to upgrade their relationship to year-round status once she’s broken up with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn’t even begin to know the real her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who dreams of discovering new planets and galaxies.
But Matt isn’t giving her up without a fight. As he makes his case to stay together, Lauren begins to realize his feelings run deeper than she ever would have guessed. What if the guy she thought she was meant to be with forever isn’t really The One? Returning to Camp Juniper Point was supposed to ground her uprooted life, but she’s more adrift than ever. Everything feels different and soon Lauren’s friends are turning on her and both guys question what she really wants. As summer tensions escalate, Lauren wonders if she’s changed more than she thought. Will her first big discovery be herself?
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16409311-camp-boyfriend?ac=1
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/camp-boyfriend-jk-rock/1114201164?ean=9781939392503
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/camp-boyfriend
http://www.bookdepository.com/Camp-Boyfriend-Rock/9781939392503
Excerpt:
“Can I ask you a question?” I’d been dying to ask him this for years, but the old me had been too afraid.
“Shoot.” He wrapped his arms around his knees and locked a hand around his other wrist.
I gathered my courage. “Why did you want to break up every year after camp?”
In the quiet that followed, I traced the white stitching on the embroidery that outlined Madison’s initial.
When Seth finally answered, his voice was low.
“It’s easier to end things on good terms than risk something going wrong during the school year.”
“Why assume the worst?” I’d never given him reason to doubt me.
“I saw what my dad went through after my mom left us.” He reached for a stick to shove the logs around in the dusty fireplace as I marveled that he’d finally admitted what I’d suspected. When Seth’s mom abandoned him, she’d left a huge hole. No wonder he had trust issues. Still, we could have worked through that if he’d given me a chance. Opened up to me like this before.
“I always figured I’d wait to get serious with anyone until I was… really sure,” he continued.
“And you were never sure of me?”
His crooked grin made a surprise appearance, but his tone was dry. “I was hoping this would be the year we’d be ready to take that step.”
Something inside me collapsed. My chest felt so tight that for a minute I couldn’t breathe. We’d been so close to developing something amazing.
“Instead, I showed up with someone else.”
Outside, the wind rubbed tree limbs against the cabin, making a squeaking scrape.
“It wasn’t just that.” He put the stick down and looked at me. Really looked me. “You showed up as someone else. Someone I didn’t recognize with a new look, clothes, interests.”
I opened my mouth to protest but stayed silent when I followed his gaze to my trendy sneakers.
“I didn’t know who you were anymore,” Seth went on. “Since when did you prefer dancing to stargazing, tanning to pursuing your Aerospace Scholar dreams? That wasn’t the Lauren I knew. Loved.”
I flinched. Who knew a verb tense could cut as deep as a knife? Seth no longer loved me because I’d changed.
How ironic that I’d come back to camp to get back to the things I’d loved, especially Seth. But Matt had stopped that chance and, suddenly, I was glad he had. What was so wrong with liking dance and astronomy? Cheering and the science club? The popular and the outsider cliques? The problem was, I hadn’t realized I could do both, be both. If I’d gone back to Seth, I would never have learned that.
I looked over at my drying wedge sandals by the fireplace. They were awesome, even if they had slowed us down. And yeah, I was the girl who worried about weather-induced hair frizz.
So maybe I had changed. And Seth had a point about letting my dreams lapse. But why couldn’t he see through the make-up and clothes to the person who still thrilled at the site of a meteor shower and drew constellations on her notebook covers?
I laid back, tired of justifying myself. “That girl’s gone, Seth. I’m different now.”
Seth stretched beside me. His amber eyes searched mine in the shadows between us, a wistful smile lifting the corners of his mouth.
“It’s not a bad thing,” he agreed, his fingers toying with my curls. “I just miss the old you sometimes.”
I closed my eyes and enjoyed his touch, knowing it wasn’t going any further. After all, he cared about someone else, someone I’d never be again.
“Sometimes…” I edged a little closer to ease the empty ache inside. “…so do I.”
About the Authors
J. K. Rock is the writing partnership of sisters-in-law Joanne & Karen Rock. Separately, they write adult romance. Together, they dream up Young Adult books like CAMP BOYFRIEND, the first in a three-book series. The summer camp stories continue with CAMP PAYBACK (4/14) and CAMP FORGET-ME-NOT (8/14), plus bonus free novellas in between stories. Visit http://campboyfriend.net to learn more about the series and the free prequel novella, CAMP KISS, which you can download here.
***Author Links***
Author Website / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads / Karen’s Twitter / Joanne’s Twitter / Facebook
***GIVEAWAY***
Grand prize – Signed copies Amanda Ink’s SUN, Jennifer Armentrout writing as J. Lynn’s FRIGID and JK Rock’s CAMP BOYFRIEND. Also included, advance sneak peek copy Laurie Halse Anderson’s THE IMPOSSIBLE KNIFE OF MEMORY and Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian’s FIRE WITH FIRE, plus an “I ❤ my Camp Boyfriend” tee shirt, friendship bracelets, ‘I ❤ Camp’ temporary tattoos, and a bookmark with the download code for CAMP KISS.
Three other winners will receive $10 Amazon gift cards
Click the link below to enter the Rafflecopter 😉
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MjM0OGI5ZGJmNWUwNzllYTYzNjAyYzhhZGU0MDc0OjEzNg==/
SPIRIT Book Blitz
While I’m still in the midst of juggling two (was three) manuscripts, I’ve suspended my regular posting schedule. Once the volleying of manuscripts between editors is finished, I’ll return to Mental Health Mondays and Flake-Out Fridays. * Pinky swear! *
In the meantime, I’ll pop in to share fun stuff along the way. Like today!
Author Shauna Granger is working with YA Bound Book Tours to blitz her YA pararom, SPIRIT–there’s even a giveaway! Best of luck, Shauna!
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Spirit (Elemental #5)
Release Date: 04/30/13
Summary from Goodreads:
Not even a guardian angel is more powerful than Death.
Always careful to watch out for others, Shayna put too much trust her abilities to keep herself safe and has been cut down by crazed man. Now she is trapped in the land of the dead, watching as her two best friends suffer the consequences of her death; their powers are fading and soon they will too. Shayna is desperate to return to the land of the living to save them from a similar, cold fate. To save her friends Shayna must turn away from the Light and, in doing so, sacrifice her wings.
But the longer Shayna stays among the dead, the further she slips from sanity. If Shayna cannot find her way back she will be condemned and lost forever among the restless souls of the dead. With nothing left to lose, she will do whatever it takes to fight her way back, with or without her wings.
Available from:
Excerpt #1:
More than two
hundred homes and two thousand square acres were destroyed in the fire. Two
people were severely burned, but they survived. Amazingly, no one died. At
least, that’s what the papers reported. They never found my body, and they
looked for days. I know; I watched them search for me. I had always said I
wanted to be cremated when I died, asking to have my ashes scattered at the
roots of an old tree, but being burned alive was not what I had in mind.
hundred homes and two thousand square acres were destroyed in the fire. Two
people were severely burned, but they survived. Amazingly, no one died. At
least, that’s what the papers reported. They never found my body, and they
looked for days. I know; I watched them search for me. I had always said I
wanted to be cremated when I died, asking to have my ashes scattered at the
roots of an old tree, but being burned alive was not what I had in mind.
My parents held
my memorial outdoors, on the beach. Search and rescue told my parents it was
too soon to be completely conclusive about my whereabouts, but after seeing the
site where Jodi and Steven said I’d died, my parents came to the hard decision
that I was, more than likely, gone.
my memorial outdoors, on the beach. Search and rescue told my parents it was
too soon to be completely conclusive about my whereabouts, but after seeing the
site where Jodi and Steven said I’d died, my parents came to the hard decision
that I was, more than likely, gone.
A pack of
surfers I had known since childhood paddled out to sea, each bearing a flower
wreath. Once they were past the last break of waves, they cast the flowers into
the ocean, letting the ebb and flow of Earth and sea take them. The beach was
covered in black from mourners milling around, huddled against the winter bite
in the breeze.
surfers I had known since childhood paddled out to sea, each bearing a flower
wreath. Once they were past the last break of waves, they cast the flowers into
the ocean, letting the ebb and flow of Earth and sea take them. The beach was
covered in black from mourners milling around, huddled against the winter bite
in the breeze.
Deb had brought
her entire coven to show their respects. Little Trisity clung to Deb’s hand
while tears streamed down her face, her aura a pale gray obscuring her sweet
face. Deb lifted her up and held her on her hip, letting Trisity cry into her
shoulder as she made her way to my parents. Half the senior class had turned
out in a wash of black, white, and gray; even a few teachers were in
attendance. I had no idea so many people had known me. A huge, obnoxious
picture of me stood on an easel, flowers littering the ground around it. Beside
it, my surfboard stood, jammed in the sand.
her entire coven to show their respects. Little Trisity clung to Deb’s hand
while tears streamed down her face, her aura a pale gray obscuring her sweet
face. Deb lifted her up and held her on her hip, letting Trisity cry into her
shoulder as she made her way to my parents. Half the senior class had turned
out in a wash of black, white, and gray; even a few teachers were in
attendance. I had no idea so many people had known me. A huge, obnoxious
picture of me stood on an easel, flowers littering the ground around it. Beside
it, my surfboard stood, jammed in the sand.
Jodi and Steven
received just as many hugs and whispered condolences as my parents. Their faces
were dry of tears. Jodi looked hard and determined, as though an idea had taken
root in her mind and she was unaware of her surroundings, whereas Steven looked
distant, the fire in his eyes banked to cold embers. They accepted the hugs and
nodded at the words, but otherwise they weren’t truly present. I felt Jodi’s
uncontrolled magic, the sudden gusts of wind whipping her signature around,
making the mourners cling to their coats and inch closer to each other.
received just as many hugs and whispered condolences as my parents. Their faces
were dry of tears. Jodi looked hard and determined, as though an idea had taken
root in her mind and she was unaware of her surroundings, whereas Steven looked
distant, the fire in his eyes banked to cold embers. They accepted the hugs and
nodded at the words, but otherwise they weren’t truly present. I felt Jodi’s
uncontrolled magic, the sudden gusts of wind whipping her signature around,
making the mourners cling to their coats and inch closer to each other.
Jensen was
there, wrapped in a black peacoat and wearing a grey beanie pulled low over his
ears. His hands were jammed into his coat pockets, and his tiny mother was next
to him, her arm linked through the crook of Jensen’s elbow. I traced the line
of his profile with my eyes, remembering the heat of his full, red lips and the
sharp lines of his cheekbones under my fingers. An ache blossomed in my chest
as I waited for him to turn toward me, let me see the stormy ocean of his eyes,
but he never did.
there, wrapped in a black peacoat and wearing a grey beanie pulled low over his
ears. His hands were jammed into his coat pockets, and his tiny mother was next
to him, her arm linked through the crook of Jensen’s elbow. I traced the line
of his profile with my eyes, remembering the heat of his full, red lips and the
sharp lines of his cheekbones under my fingers. An ache blossomed in my chest
as I waited for him to turn toward me, let me see the stormy ocean of his eyes,
but he never did.
I stood alone on
the rocks, watching from a distance. I found when I came too close to those who
had loved me in life, I stole what little peace they’d carved out for
themselves. Any calm or happiness they had found would seep away, the color of
their aura draining to gray. I was a wraith, bound to the shadows, trying to
find my way home.
the rocks, watching from a distance. I found when I came too close to those who
had loved me in life, I stole what little peace they’d carved out for
themselves. Any calm or happiness they had found would seep away, the color of
their aura draining to gray. I was a wraith, bound to the shadows, trying to
find my way home.
I had spent my
time in the Ether, somewhere between the living and the dead, hiding and
running from that which would take me from this plane. I’d seen the bright
Light, the tunnel, felt the inexplicable compulsion drawing me toward it. I
felt the peace it offered. It felt like home. And I turned away from it.
time in the Ether, somewhere between the living and the dead, hiding and
running from that which would take me from this plane. I’d seen the bright
Light, the tunnel, felt the inexplicable compulsion drawing me toward it. I
felt the peace it offered. It felt like home. And I turned away from it.
It was strange,
watching those people, so close to them but totally apart. Even at this
distance, I saw Death’s next victims. Everyone was marked for death, but the
closer they came to it, the darker the mark grew over their bodies. It was a
cancer that made the soul rip away from the body. I saw lung cancer creeping up
on my English teacher. In another year’s time, he would know about his
diminishing chances of beating it. One of Deb’s sisters stood with the shadow
of Death looming over her shoulder, ready to snatch her away in a few weeks
when she stepped off that curb just fifteen seconds too soon because she was
digging through her purse with her phone braced between her cheek and shoulder.
I was so close and yet so far away. I couldn’t warn them though the words
screamed in my mind. I felt the phantom weight of my wings on my back, but I
knew they weren’t there. When I died and turned away from the Light, they were
ripped violently away from me.
watching those people, so close to them but totally apart. Even at this
distance, I saw Death’s next victims. Everyone was marked for death, but the
closer they came to it, the darker the mark grew over their bodies. It was a
cancer that made the soul rip away from the body. I saw lung cancer creeping up
on my English teacher. In another year’s time, he would know about his
diminishing chances of beating it. One of Deb’s sisters stood with the shadow
of Death looming over her shoulder, ready to snatch her away in a few weeks
when she stepped off that curb just fifteen seconds too soon because she was
digging through her purse with her phone braced between her cheek and shoulder.
I was so close and yet so far away. I couldn’t warn them though the words
screamed in my mind. I felt the phantom weight of my wings on my back, but I
knew they weren’t there. When I died and turned away from the Light, they were
ripped violently away from me.
Thankfully, when
I looked at my parents they were crystal clear, no shadow looming over them. In
time, the grey of their auras would clear and resonate in the rainbow spectrum
as they should. But when I looked at Jodi and Steven I saw the merest whisper
of a shadow. It blurred against their gray auras, but when they moved I saw it
and panic nearly strangled me. But what could I do?
I looked at my parents they were crystal clear, no shadow looming over them. In
time, the grey of their auras would clear and resonate in the rainbow spectrum
as they should. But when I looked at Jodi and Steven I saw the merest whisper
of a shadow. It blurred against their gray auras, but when they moved I saw it
and panic nearly strangled me. But what could I do?
I turned to Jodi
and watched her face, seeing the peaches and cream complexion drained to pale
anger. My fingers twitched with the desire to wave to her, get her attention,
make her see me even though I knew it was futile. Steven had turned his back on
the congregation, looking out to the sea that usually terrified him, but today
nothing scared him, nothing moved him. I sighed even though I no longer
breathed, and when I pulled my gaze off of the back of Steven’s head,
remembering how soft the curl of his hair felt under my fingers, I looked into
Jodi’s eyes.
and watched her face, seeing the peaches and cream complexion drained to pale
anger. My fingers twitched with the desire to wave to her, get her attention,
make her see me even though I knew it was futile. Steven had turned his back on
the congregation, looking out to the sea that usually terrified him, but today
nothing scared him, nothing moved him. I sighed even though I no longer
breathed, and when I pulled my gaze off of the back of Steven’s head,
remembering how soft the curl of his hair felt under my fingers, I looked into
Jodi’s eyes.
For one heart
stopping moment, she stared right back at me.
stopping moment, she stared right back at me.
Her pale blue
eyes didn’t blink, the line of her mouth pressed hard and angry. I started to
open my mouth to call out to her, but before I could, I heard the crunch of
rocks behind me, making me break our eye contact. I spun around and saw the
angel terrifyingly close to me.
eyes didn’t blink, the line of her mouth pressed hard and angry. I started to
open my mouth to call out to her, but before I could, I heard the crunch of
rocks behind me, making me break our eye contact. I spun around and saw the
angel terrifyingly close to me.
“Shayna,” he
whispered, his voice carried on Jodi’s wind, gusting now in frantic confusion.
whispered, his voice carried on Jodi’s wind, gusting now in frantic confusion.
“No!” I yelled,
jumping from the rocks. I took off running, faster than I ever could in life. I
prayed for my wings, willed them into existence, but the pain never came and my
back remained whole and unmarred. I heard the thunder clap behind me,
reverberating as his wings erupted just before he took flight, chasing me.
jumping from the rocks. I took off running, faster than I ever could in life. I
prayed for my wings, willed them into existence, but the pain never came and my
back remained whole and unmarred. I heard the thunder clap behind me,
reverberating as his wings erupted just before he took flight, chasing me.
Fear ripped
through me, threatening to trip me up. I felt the Heavens opening behind me,
the warm light pressing against my back, growing warmer the closer the angel’s
outstretched hand got to me. I closed my eyes and drew in the shadows of the
rocks around me, turned on the spot, and let my body fall. The shadows wrapped
around me and pulled me through the cosmos just as the tips of the angel’s
fingers touched my sweater.
through me, threatening to trip me up. I felt the Heavens opening behind me,
the warm light pressing against my back, growing warmer the closer the angel’s
outstretched hand got to me. I closed my eyes and drew in the shadows of the
rocks around me, turned on the spot, and let my body fall. The shadows wrapped
around me and pulled me through the cosmos just as the tips of the angel’s
fingers touched my sweater.
***
Rest of the books in the Elemental series:
(link to Goodreads)
(link to Goodreads)
About the Author
Like so many
other writers, Shauna grew up as an avid reader, but it was in high school that
she realized she wanted to be a writer. Five years ago, Shauna started work on
her Elemental Series. She released the first installment, Earth, on
May 1, 2011 and has since released four sequels, with the series coming to an
end with Spirit. She is currently hard at work on a new Urban
Fantasy series, staring a spunky witch with a smush-faced cat named Artemis.
other writers, Shauna grew up as an avid reader, but it was in high school that
she realized she wanted to be a writer. Five years ago, Shauna started work on
her Elemental Series. She released the first installment, Earth, on
May 1, 2011 and has since released four sequels, with the series coming to an
end with Spirit. She is currently hard at work on a new Urban
Fantasy series, staring a spunky witch with a smush-faced cat named Artemis.
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY***
1 – Signed Paperback of winner’s choice of books 1-5 in
the Elemental series. (US only)
the Elemental series. (US only)
1 – e-book of winner’s choice of books 1-5 in the
Elemental series. (INT)
Elemental series. (INT)
Author Laura Diamond--Lucid Dreamer 