Asphodel Book Birthday!

Yay!!!!!!

So I'm super duper excited that Asphodel releases today! Yay!

You can buy you eBook copy at either Amazon, B&N, or Smashwords and the paperback will be available for pre-order starting Thurs. :)

I also have some more good news!

My lovely client Kelly Hashway's book, Touch of Death sold in a two book deal to Spencer Hill Press for publication in Jan 2013. Yay!

I have got two more deals to announce, but have to wait a little while longer before I announce them. *sighs*

That's all for now, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Cheers!

Hopefully there's more awesomeness to come in 2012!

<3 Lauren

Asphodel Chapter One! And New Novel Announcement!

Hello readers!!!!

I know it's been a while, but I have been a busy little bee.

With the release of Asphodel in 14 days (eeep!) and agenting I've been absent from the blog-o-sphere for a couple weeks and for that I apologize.

Also, I've been working furiously on a new novel which will come out in eBook a week after Asphodel. :)

Remember how I said I was going to write a zombie romance with no dialogue....Well I've decided to split it up into two books and the first one, Infect Me (Pandemic 1) will come out Dec 27, 2011... But yes.... this one does have dialogue... The second book Love Without Words will not. So that should be interesting. :)

Today I' have a special treat for you. Along with the first chapter of Asphodel, I'll be releasing a snippet of Infect Me. And if you want to you can add infect me on goodreads here.

Soooo i'm super excited to share these with you! So let's start it out with Asphodel, shall we?

Asphodel~ Chapter One ~ Hades

Sirens howled in the distance followed by honking car horns and tires peeling out. Hades propped himself up against a building and watched with a blank expression as an ambulance hurled around the street corner, it’s white and red lights turning in a circular motion.

A man lied in the middle of the street. His limbs were twisted and broken and blood oozed from every opening on the man’s face. His chest rose up lightly and even though he was feet away, Hades heard the man’s raspy, wheezing breaths. The Commander of the Dead felt the man’s life slipping away. With every weak breath that escaped the man’s lungs, he crept closer and closer to Hades’s grasp.

The man was hit by a bus. It was tragic, really. Hades had seen it happen, yet he did nothing to prevent it. That was the way the world worked. Mortals were born and died everyday. It was not his place to interfere, even though he could if he really wanted to.

Police blocked off the scene of the accident with bright orange cones and yellow caution tape and a crowd of onlookers had formed to watch as the paramedics placed the unknown man on a guerney. Women cried out and a few of them were being comforted by their male partners. Hades closed his eyes and began to feel bits and pieces of the man’s life flash before his eyes. This occurred everytime a soul was about to cross into his realm. This gave the God of the Dead the ability to administer proper judgement and proper placement once the souls of the departed reached him.

Using his invisibility cloak, Hades faded into the chaos of the crowd and hovered over the dying man. He reached out, prepared to latch onto the man’s wrist and pull him under when he’d heard a wild shriek in the crowd. “Jake! Jake!” Hades straightened up and looked over his shoulder as a woman sprinted through the crowd of onlookers, pushing and shoving the ones in her way. Her strands of chestnut hair slapped against her cheeks, her ivory cheeks were flushed and her eyes were rimmed in red. She howled out another painful shriek. “Jake! No! No!”

Hades stepped back as the woman reached the guerney and hurled her body over the dying man’s. Agony flashed in the woman’s hazel eyes as she ran her trembling fingers over the man’s mangled face. She sobbed, her voice strangled as the paramedics and police officers tried to pull her off the man. “No! No!” She fought them off, her arms flailing, her legs jetting out as she tried to kick the cops and paramedics. “Don’t die on me, Jake! Don’t die on me! I love…I love you!”

“Ma’am, we have to get him to a hospital!” a paramedic cried. “He needs medical attention!”

After a few more strenuous attempts the cops were able to pry the woman off of the man, they escorted her to the ambulance and helped her into the back. And she sat there, sobbing into her palms while the paramedics loaded the body. Once the guerney was secure, the woman laced her fingers through the man’s, lifted his hand to her mouth and kissed the man’s fingertips.

Hades waited until the paramedics closed the ambulance door before appearing inside. He watched the woman, a fierce loving look in her eyes as she brushed her thumb against the man’s limp hand. Her emotion struck Hades in a way he hadn’t been struck in centuries. He felt for her. Normally when he witnessed death he remained indifferent and just accepted what had occurred, but for some reason he couldn’t understand this situation seemed different.

Maybe because he knew what it was like to love someone and watch them slip through grasp eternally. He’d been after his love for at least five thousand years. Chasing her from state to state, city to city, and from continent to continent. He’d suffered in pain every time he lost her. And he’d lost her a lot.

Standing there in the ambulance, persuaded by his own feelings Hades did something he rarely ever did. He leaned over the dying man’s mouth, sucked in a deep breath, and breathed life back into him. The man’s eyes flew open and he coughed out, gasping for air. The woman’s eyes bulged out and she cried tears of joy as she kissed every bruise on the man’s face.

A soft smile crawled across Hades’s lips as he vanished from the ambulance and returned to his realm. He sat down, rigidly still on his throne and gazed out into the black abyss of nothingness known as the underworld. The realm in which he was the tyrannical ruler of. He peered over his should to his right, then to his left. The quiet engulfed him until all he heard were his own thoughts.

At times he cursed Zeus for damning him to a realm of nothingness, death, and despair, but then again there were times where he’d also praised Zeus. Hades had never been like the other God’s and Goddesses that previously dwelled on Mount Olympus. The wicked and despicable things he was capable of would haunt them to the core. He was sure of it.

Through the centuries, the tasks of running his realm had become tedious and repetative to Hades. The task of damning the souls that had crossed the river Styx into his domain was becoming tiresome for the deceitful king. Of course he still had Cerberus, his dog, man’s best friend. Cerberus had proven to be extremely loyal. At times the three headed beast’s howling and barking would annoy Hades to the point, where he considered cutting off all three of Cerberus’s heads. But that was only a mere thought.

The gentle giant of guardian hobbled into the throne room, all three tounges hanging out. The dog whimpered and let out a soothing yelp as Hades gently stroked the dog’s middle head. “Good boy.”

The God of the Dead’s attention averted to the grandfather clock in the corner of the room and Cerberus’s spine stiffened as Hades rose up from his throne. “Stay,” he commanded the three headed dog whom Hades called his only loyal companion over the last five thousand years. Cerberus howled and lied down on the floor, lowering all three of his heads in a gesture of obiedience.

Hades lips turned up into a wry smile as he walked out of his throne room. Perhaps his kindness today was a sign. Perhaps he was close to getting her. The one and only person he’d ever loved. The Goddess he’d been chasing for the last five thousand years.

****


It was fifteen minutes to midnight and Hades, God of death and destruction, paced along the banks of the river Styx with his hands balled into fists at his sides. Charon was late with today’s shipment of souls and that left Hades feeling uneasy. Hades didn’t like uncertainty. He ran a tight schedule in the realm of the dead and when the impervious schedule was interrupted, well, he knew Charon would be wise to stay away from him for the rest of the day.

He stopped mid-pace, kicking grey sand and focused on the fog, rising from the brownish, green murky waters of the Styx. There was an internal clock in his brain, ticking and as Hades closed his eyes he envisioned the hands of the clock moving as the minutes dwindled by. Filled with worry and impatience, Hades tapped his foot, folding his arms and drummed his fingers against his elbow. Anxiousness unfurled beneath his skin like a flesh-eating parasite. “The one day that I need him to be on time and he’s late,” Hades growled as he began pacing again.

Sand crunched as the rubber soles of his boots smashed it down and the noise richocheted off the walls of the cavern—the opening—the crossing where the land of the living met with the land of the dead. The slick brown stone walls glistened with sludge, a slmiy residue from the Styx’s choppy waters. Hades’s eyes centered on that sludge as he thought about all the punishment’s he’d have in store for Charon if he took any longer. But, before he came up with one, the soft plunking of wooden oars throbbed in his ears. Then the plunking intensified turning into slapping. Charon was close.

Hades stood on the edge of the dock as the old, feeble ferryman parked his ship, full of the dearly departed and descended down the rope ladder. Charon stood before his master clutching the brim of his hat, his fingers trembling. “I’m sorry master. So sorry.” Charon lowered his head and few wisps of white hair stood up while the lighting bounced off the bald parts.

“What was the hold-up?” Hades asked, gruffly.

Charon kept his head low, talking at his feet.“We had an indecisive soul, sire.”

An indecisive soul was the soul of a mortal who was stuck in the between, not quite in the land of the living, but still not able to cross fully into the land of the unliving. Hades scanned the row of occupants on the ferry, infuriated. “Which one was it?” His tone was flat and cold.

Charon lifted his head and nodded at a teenage boy in the back of the ship. “Him.”

Hades glared at the boy pre-adult boy, whose hazel eyes glistened with tears. Seconds later, Hades disappeared, reappearing in front of the boy. Fear crept up the mortal’s spine and he stiffened, unable to move. Then he started shaking. Hades examined him, hoping to scorch him with his gaze. Rage bubbled inside of the mighty God and Hades boomed, “Aren’t you a man?” The boy lowered his head and Hades blanched as he sniffled. But the boy did not answer.

“Answer me!” Hades screamed, shaking the entire ferry. The other passengers turned, eyeing Hades, fearfully.

“I’m, I’m only fifffteen,” the boy whimpered, stuttering at the same time.

Hades exhaled as the rage inside of him died down. He relaxed his stance slouching over, slightly. Even though, the young boy had taken too much of his time and Hades contemplated sending him to the depths of Tartarus, he knew couldn’t. Not because he wasn’t able to, but because despite his cold demeanor and mischevious ways, He had always been a fair and just God. And the boy didn’t deserve to spend an eternity being tortured endlessly. “Stand up,” He instructed the teen, calmly.

The boy rose from his seat, trying desperately to lock his trembling knees in place. Hades placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder and the young teen blanched, turning away. “Do not fear me,” Hades said boldly. Slowly, the boy turned toward Hades, peaking up at him from the corner of his eye. Then the God of the Dead closed his eyes and recited the same thing he’d recited for the last five-thousand years. “The realm of the dead welcomes you. Go forth and find your home in the Field of Asphodel so that you may live out your eternity in peace.”

Every soul on the ferry vanished. They’d been assigned to their forever. And then Hades vanished, appearing in his throne room. Walls of black and matching black marble tile floors engulfed him and he sat back on the red, velvet cushioned throne. He looked up at a cast-iron clock on the wall. Seven minutes to midnight. In seven minutes, he’d have another opportunity to take her, hopefully his last.

He recalled the first time saw her in the Hall of the Gods, trailing behind Demeter. Her mahogany hair glistened red in the sunlight. Her skin was a creamy peach color. And her eyes were the most stunning shade of Jade-green he’d ever seen.

Hades had been chasing Demeter and her daughter for five-thousand years. And in the past, Demeter was always able to out-smart him. Demeter had always kept her daughter close—too close.

But Hades had a feeling that during this seventeen year span it would be different. He would finally get what he’d always longed for. A queen. Or who he’d always longed for, Persephone.



And now a snippet from Infect Me(Pandemic 1)

“Good morning, beautiful.” Trevor’s voice fills up every part of me. I hear him in my head, in my ears, and in my heart.

I exhale as he clutches on to me tightly. “I’m sure beautiful is way too much of an overstatement.” Even I’m frightened of my own relfection when I stare at it first thing in the morning.

Trevor hovers above me and smells clean like fresh water and dove soap. I roll over, facing him and he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear before placing a soft kiss on my forehead. My eyelids flutter and I gaze into his melted sapphire blue eyes that are only an inch away from my face. “Did you sleep at all last night?” I ask, concerned.

“Some,” he answers me in a soft voice. I know he’s lying. He’s like a hardass who lies about the pain that accompanies a broken bone. He’s always trying to make things seem less than what they really are. And when he says he got ‘some’ sleep in Trevor code that means he didn’t get any.

“Why don’t you try to go to bed?” I sit up. “I’m going to go shower.”

He folds up his arms and nestles them behind his head. “But it’s so bright out. You know I can’t sleep during the day.”

I stop on his side of the bed and lace my fingers through his. “Just try, for me. Please. I’ll feel better if you do.”

“Fine,” he sighs, defeated. “But only because I hate to see you upset.” I try to pull away from him, but he lets out a soft laugh, yanks on my arm, and playfully clutches my waist before pinning me down on the bed.

His fingers glide up my shirt and wander over my stomach as goosebumps rise all over my skin. He’s half on top of me and my knees go up instinctively as his fingertips dig into my stomach. “Trevor,” I giggle. “That tickles.” He crushes his lips to mine and brushes his tongue over the tip of mine before backing out of the kiss and falling back on the bed. I prop myself up on my elbows and frown. “What was that for?”

“The kissing?”

“Yeah.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Are you saying that I can’t kiss the love of my life?”

“No.” I crawl toward him and caress my lips against his. “I’m saying that you’re a tease.”

He smiles brightly. “No I’m not.”

I straddle him and slide my hands up his abdomen. “That kiss was very tease-worthy, Trevor George.”

“I wasn’t trying to tease you,” he says sincerely. “I was trying to give myself something good to dream about.”


Hope you guys enjoyed this!

<3 Cheers!

Above The Earth Is Heaven...Below It's Core Is...The Everneath...

Gobble! Gobble! Readers!

Who's ready for Turkey Day? And what are you thankful for?

Me, I'm thankful for my family and my health because I wouldn't be here without either one. <3

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's... (summary from goodreads)

Who loves Greek myth re-tellings? (I do! I do!)

Seriously this book rocked.... Rocked hard... I'm talking like a Lynard Skynard eight minute guitar solo hard. And all in all its like a mishmash of several mythological re-tellings in one--which I thought was awesome.

But... it mainly focuses on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. And I don't believe until the Everneath it has been touched on.

What I loved most about this book was the relationship between Jack and Nikki. Loved the way the author brought out bits and pieces of it at a time and by the end of the book, you're weeping.

Trust me when I say this; Buy this book...Read this book... And love this book!

You won't be disappointed. <3

Cheers!

Happy Turkey Day!

Creative Writing Goals... What are some of yours?

Hello.... Literary Land!


With Turkey Day quickly approaching... (and let's face it, I'm sure we could all use a few days to relax, have some turkey, and spend time with family) that will also give us some down time. So what do you plan to do with it?

Today's post is about Creative Writing Goals. I know everyone has them. But what exactly are they and what do they mean to each person? Take mine for example, I like to write off the wall books... and I'm always striving to write something different. Books that really have something to say.

Among my slew of idea's I'm determined to write a zombie romance without dialogue. Challenging, huh? What's a book without dialogue? How can it be pulled off? I think as writers we always try to challenge ourselves with every book we write. And Imo, a challenge is a good thing.

So what are some of the challenges in writing you'd like to cross? What are some of your goals for 2012?

Have a good Friday, everyone!

Cheers!

So... It's official! I am a best seller!

So this past week has literally been insane for me!

And as of Saturday I officially became a best selling author. YaY!

This post is going to be short simple and to the point. For those of you who've read... He Loves Me...He Loves You Not... THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Most importantly, I never in a million years would have ever expected this. It means so much to me!

Some more news... You can definitely look forward to some more YA romances from me. I have a new one coming out at the end of the month called If I Can't Have You... And many many more coming in the future.

Thank you all so much for your support and love of He Loves Me... I am humbled and flattered that you enjoyed it!

Have a great week!

Cheers!

Talking Destined, With Author Jessie Harrell and eBook Giveaway!

 Yay! Readers!

So I loved, loved, loved this book! And I am super excited to welcome Jessie Harrell to the blog today so she can tell you a little bit about her upcoming YA release, Destined.

DESTINED BLOG TOUR: EXAMINING THE OTHER FOOT

Hi everyone! I want to thank Lauren for letting me take over her blog today as part of the official Destined blog tour.  This is the first guest post I’ve ever done for someone else’s blog and I hope you don’t hate it. :) The twitter summary of my topic: u can improve ur writing by figuring out what happens when the shoe is on the other foot. Bottom line, if you’re a reader and not a writer, just go ahead and skip to the bottom to read about the novel and the contest.  **you can win a free e-book**

For those of you still with us, here’s my thought for the day --

I remember having to come up with a thesis for a 4000 level English lit class on folk tales back in undergrad.  (Not quite the most awesome class ever, but close.)  As I struggled to come up with something to write about, another student told me that my thesis needed to challenge a common idea.  You can’t just say: anthropomorphism is common in folk lore.  That’s not a thesis, it’s a fact.  A thesis would be something more along the lines of ancient peoples used anthropomorphism in fables as a way of doing x.  (btw - I had no recollection of what my thesis actually was for that class)  The point being, by learning that I had to challenge a belief to write a compelling paper, I learned to examine things from many different angles.

Fast forward to this spring.  Destined was sitting on my computer waiting for me to find the perfect tweak for it.  I knew the story was so close, but it was just lacking that little something.  After a talk with Georgia McBride (thank you, Georgia!), I realized I’d forgotten to look at my story from all the possible different angles.  I’d latched onto the myth of Cupid & Psyche as written and just accepted that Cupid was a spoiled playboy and Venus was a complete b!tch.  But was that the best way to tell the story?  If I could start from scratch, what would be their motivations, their backstory?

Which made me realize, despite being “gods,” these characters needed to be humanized.  Venus needed a reason to become irate with Psyche.  Cupid needed a reason to reject Psyche the first time he met her.  Along the same lines, I heard someone remark recently that the bad guys in stories don’t think they’re being evil.  They have their own perfectly logical explanation for what their doing.  To make all of my characters come to life on the page, I realized I needed to find those “logical explanations.”

So my advice to you as writers is to turn each of your characters around and look at them from the other side.  You’ve got good guys and bad guys, but how would they act if the shoe was on the other foot?  How would the story be different if you were telling it from the “bad guy’s” perspective?  Would he or she really seem so bad?  

** I note that Lauren does this incredibly well with her new novella He Loves Me, He Loves You Not, telling the story of the “other woman” in a way that makes her the more sympathetic character. Not any easy task.

DESTINED BLURB AND CONTEST

For those of you who skipped ahead, START READING HERE.  :)  Here is where you get to learn how to win Destined.  But first, the blurb:

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.(summary from goodreads)

If you leave your e-mail address in your comment, you'll be automatically entered to win an e-copy of Destined. The contest will stay open for 48 hours after the post goes live, and then Jessie will use random.org to select a winner. Available formats include .mobi, .epub and .pdf. And please be sure to visit the other stops on Destined's official blog tour for chances to win copies of Destined and other goodies.

Check out the list below!
1-Nov Once Upon A Twilght -  Book Trailer +Interview Ebook giveaway
2-Nov Books With Bite - Interview Ebook giveaway
3-Nov Living in Literary La La Land Guest Post Ebook giveaway
4-Nov I am a Reader, Not a Writer Guest Post Ebook giveaway
5-Nov Paper Hangover Interview Ebook giveaway
6-Nov Nikki Katz Interview Ebook giveaway
6-Nov Fictional Distraction Review Ebook Giveaway
7-Nov Daisy Chain Book Review Interview Ebook giveaway
8-Nov MundieMoms Review + Short Story Ebook giveaway
9-Nov Safari Poet Guest Post Ebook giveaway
10-Nov Good Choice Reading WOW CONTEST + Review Ebook giveaway
11-Nov LM Preston Guest Post VLOG - Read a Scene Ebook giveaway
12-Nov An Avid Readers Musings Interview VLOG Ebook giveaway
13-Nov Skyla11377 Review Ebook giveaway
14-Nov Dark Readers Interview Ebook giveaway
15-Nov Shortie Says... Character GUEST POST Ebook giveaway
16-Nov A Cozy Reader's Corner Reviews  Guest post - Sneak Peek Ebook giveaway
17-Nov Stuck In Books Character Interview Ebook giveaway
18-Nov From A to Z Review  Ebook giveaway
19-Nov Turning Pages Interview Ebook giveaway
20-Nov A Tale of Many Reviews Guest Post Ebook giveaway
21-Nov Read My Mind - AliseonLife Interview Vlog Ebook giveaway
22-Nov S.A.Larson Review Ebook giveaway
23-Nov Starry Sky Books Prize pack giveaway + Guest Post Ebook giveaway
23-Nov Angels and Demons and Portals. Oh My! Prize pack giveaway Ebook giveaway

Thank you for dropping in on this stop of the blog tour.  Hope you found a useful nugget from my advice.  And better yet, I just hope you love reading Destined as much as I loved writing it.

Jessie Harrell

jessieharrell@me.com

The Great Asphodel Cover Reveal!!

Hi everyone!

So I have something super exciting to share with you today! The cover reveal of Asphodel, the first book in the Underworld Trilogy.

The designers are Jeremy & Jeff West... They are seriously geniuses! <3 YAY!

Persephone has been running for her entire life. Running from the humans to keep her immortality a secret. And running from a man who haunts her dreams. Not a man but a god, who will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. And what he wants most, is her.

Trapped in the realm of the dead, Persephone plans to return to the land of the living. The underworld is a terrifying place where ghosts roam freely, three headed dogs patrol the gates, and it’s a living grave where the rules of earth and the warmth of the sun no longer apply. But then, something unexpected happens. Persephone finds herself falling for the god who abducted her, the god who has chased her for five thousand years, a god who is none other than death himself, Hades.

Ripped out of the underworld by Zeus, Persephone must find a pomegranate to return to the realm of the dead and to her beloved. Consuming only a seed of the fruit of the dead would bind Persephone to spend her life beneath the earth’s core with Hades. But Zeus has reduced every pomegranate tree in the world to ash. Except one. Persephone must locate that one remaining pomegranate tree, a quest that could ignite a war between the two mightiest of the god’s. A war that could cause Persephone to lose the only family she’s ever known or give up a love that comes only once every five thousand years. (Summary from goodreads)

And here's a teaser from the novel!!! Hope you enjoy it!  

Persephone - There’s an awkward moment of silence. I hug my knees tighter as my legs start trembling. Tears swell in my eyes and I swallow hard, exhaling, rolling my head back, doing everything I can to keep my tears from spilling. Across the Styx? If I cross the Styx I know I can kiss the sunshine goodbye, I can forget the smell of wildflowers, I can forget the earth in its beauty and the living things that inhabited it. Goddess or not, I do know this; if you become one with the realm of the dead, you might as well consider yourself dead because there is a high probability that you’ll never come back.

Hades - The boy rose from his seat, trying desperately to lock his trembling knees in place. Hades placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder and the young teen blanched, turning away. “Do not fear me,” Hades said boldly. Slowly, the boy turned toward Hades, peaking up at him from the corner of his eye. Then the God of the Dead closed his eyes and recited the same thing he’d recited for the last five-thousand years. “The realm of the dead welcomes you. Go forth and find your home in the Field of Asphodel so that you may live out your eternity in peace.”

Demeter - Demeter had even tried using transformation magic to shield her appearance and her child’s from death himself, but not even some of her powers were of any use because he was that much more powerful. One time, on a off year Hades had visited Demeter while her child was at school. She had been at the kitchen sink, washing dishes and she didn’t even need to look up to know he was behind her. The moment he entered the room a slight chill whipped through the lavender curtains right above the kitchen sink. Demeter tensed up, gripping onto the tan ceramic plate in her left hand and let go of the dish sponge. “What do you want, Hades?”

He crept closer to her, the sound of his footsteps pounded into the hardwood floor. “I think you know what I want, Demeter,” he stated calmly. “I think you’ve always known what I want.”

And you can add Asphodel on goodreads here.

Have an awesome Tuesday everyone!

Cheers!

Art Thou, Destined?

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.


TGIF!!!!

Who's excited for the weekend? Me me me!!! Is anybody dressing up?

I have special treat for you today! My book review of Destined, by Jessie Harrell.

For those of you that follow or read this blog, you know me, I'm Greek Myth fanatic and Greek myth re-telling fanatic. And as far as re-tellings go, Destined, is God-like and fantastic!

Destined is a re-telling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. In the myth, Psyche is a beautiful maiden, who knows that she's beautiful and even claims to be more beautiful than Aphrodite herself. Enraged, Aphrodite persuades Cupid to shoot Psyche with one of his golden arrows, cursing her to fall in love with a creature so vile, so repulsive, and so horrifying, that no mortal would even think about loving it.

But what the Goddess of Love doesn't expect is for Cupid to accidentally prick himself with his own arrow and fall in love with Psyche himself. With every passing second, Cupid falls deeper and deeper in love with the beautiful mortal and he knows he cannot carry out his mission.

Aphrodite is furious that Cupid failed to follow through with her plan.So she places a curse on Psyche, so that all of her gentleman callers will still find her beautiful, but none of them will desire her as a wife.

In this romantic tale of love and jealousy, despite all the drama, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

What I liked more than anything in Harrell's version of the myth is that you actually feel like you're there. In Ancient Greece. The time is very vividly depicted.

And the interactions between Cupid and Psyche are sensationally-swoon worthy! (most of the time)

This book was magnificent! If you love Greek myths and re-tellings as much as I do... DO NOT HESITATE to pick this up! I promise.... you will not be disappointed.

So what are you waiting for? Add it on goodreads!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Cheers!

Take A Walk On The Dark Side...

Happy Hump Day, Readers!

I don't know about you guys, but I'm super excited for Halloween! My fav holiday! Whoo!

So today I'm posting my last three stops on the A Whisper To A Scream blog tour! YaY!

Some people don't like to walk on the dark side... I do. The dark side is sinister and challenging. I'll forever be a huge fan of dark and creepy books. I guess I can thank R.L Stein and V.C Andrews for that. Their books fueled my hunger for the dark and creepy.

I think I will probably always write dark books. Sometimes I like to throw in a few romances here and there, but for the most part most of my books will be creepy, dark, and horrific.

Here are a few that I'm working on; Sineater. (This is the first YA book I've ever written that's told entirely from a male POV. Trevor is my MC and he's pretty bad-a**.)

The Lady in Red~ This one is fun so far... It's a YA re-telling of the tale of Elizabeth Bathory.

And this one is my favorite..... :) Vlad & Liz a YA re-telling of Dracula... BEFORE he was a vampire...Personally, I think he was driven mad after Elizabeth and that's what led him to drink blood in the first place.

And if you guys didn't get a chance to check out my guest posts & interviews, check them out here!

Interview on Nymphaux with Jill!

Interview on Courtney Reads!

Guest Post on Jessie Harrell's blog!

And tomorrow you can check my out my vlog of the creepiest scene from A Whisper To A Scream on L.M Preston's blog.

One more thing..... If you're an R.L Stein fan, like me....

Cheers!

Happy Halloween!

Finding Your Inner Voice....

Readers~

I hope everyone is having an awesome Tuesday!

Today's post is about finding your inner voice with your writing.

Voice in writing is key. Let's face it, if a person can't connect to the voice of your MC your book is going to fall flat.

Sometimes, you can find your voice right away. Sometimes it takes years. Me personally, I just found mine. And it took me eight years to find it.

Below I've provided several helpful hints that might help you in finding your inner voice.

1. Test out different tenses - One thing I've learned is that testing out different tenses is a good thing. Some people are better at past tense, some are better at present. This whole time I thought I was a past tense writer and I'm not. I'm much more comfortable with present tense. It flows easier and I'm able to put more emotion into my characters.

2. Test out different POV's - Some writers are better at third person, while others are better at first. Write your characters from all of POV's then decide which one works best for you or which one flows more freely.

3. Know your characters inside and out - Fully flesh out your characters. Know their likes, their dislikes, know their feelings. Most importantly, know how they'd react in a situation... And remember this; even though sometimes we put pieces of ourselves into our characters. WE ARE NOT THEM. You are not your character. And it's important that you know how to separate yourself from the character. Because let's face it, we put our character's through hell and we wouldn't necessarily do what they do.

Hopefully some of this helps!

Cheers! <3

He Loves Me...He Loves You Not

Yay!

Today is the release day of my steamy YA/romance novella, He Loves Me...He Loves You Not.

Riley loves Henry. Henry loves Riley, but he's dating Callie.

Riley Davis is mixed up in an emotional love triangle that she wants out of.

But she can't help the way she feels about Henry Garner. She's obsessed. And she's convinced that her on the sly relationship with Henry is going to end badly.

And Henry has a secret. A secret that could make or break one relationship. But which one will it be? His relationship with Callie? Or his romantic entanglement with Riley?(summary from goodreads)

This was one of the most emotional books that I think I've ever written. And as most of you can see from the summary, it's about a love triangle. And it's told from the other woman's perspective. I don't know about everyone else, but I like to pick boundary-pushing subjects to write about. What can I say? I like to challenge myself. After He Loves Me...He Loves You Not I have one more novel releasing in 2011 and it drops December 20,2011. Asphodel is the first in a trilogy called The Underworld Trilogy. Also I have a huge line up for 2012.

First up at the end of Feb will be Remember Me My Love... another YA/Romance but, this one is actually based on a true story.

Hope you guys get a chance to check out He Loves Me...He Loves You Not!

Cheers!

Riley loves Henry. Henry loves Riley.

Hi Everyone!!!!

Sooo tomorrow He Loves Me...He Loves You Not my eBook novella comes out!! YaY! This book was so much fun to write! So today I'm posting chapter one for you to read! Hope you enjoy it... And I hope it makes you swoon :)

Chapter 1

"Love prefers twilight to daylight.”~ Oliver Wendell Holmes ~

Friday night is for lovers. An early morning tryst. A passionate dalliance.

It’s two in the morning, but I can’t sleep. I’m anxious because I know he’ll be here any minute.

I watch the moonlight as the glowing beams seep through my open window and dance along the hardwood floor. A minute passes. Then five. Next ten.

A cool summer breeze whips through my pale blue curtains and the sound of soft footsteps cuts into the silence engulfing my bedroom. He pushes back the curtains and I swear I can see his perfect smile gleaming in the dark.

Henry.

The anxious feeling subsides as the springs in my mattress squeak and Henry crawls into bed with me. His warm fingers slide over my bare hip and I shiver. My time with him is limited so when I get it, I’m happy, so happy that I cry. His touch thrills me, electrifies me, and sends a jolt throughout my body.

“You’re too far away,” he murmurs. His voice reminds me of the man in black. Deep, raspy, sexy.

I let out a restrained laugh. “I’m right next to you.”

“Still not close enough.”

He tugs on my hip bone and I scoot backwards, closer. So close that I feel like at any given moment we might melt together and become one.

He exhales into the curve of my neck and his hot breath trails down my back, igniting my insides. I swallow hard, so consumed with my desire for him that the burning sensation coursing through my veins is overwhelming. I contemplate telling him to hold me forever. To never let me go. But I don’t. That might sound too needy. Too desperate.

He kisses my hair and whispers, “I missed you.”

I reach for his arm pulling it around me tighter. Goosebumps rise all over my body as his fingertips tickle my stomach. My voice quivers, “I missed you, too.”

I find his crystalline blue eyes in the dark and he crooks me a wicked yet beautiful smile. “Kiss me.”

And I do. I kiss him fervently and passionately. My lips flutter overtop of his in a frenzy of seductive bliss and inside I tell myself I’d rather suffocate than sacrifice a moment from kissing him to come up for air.

He rolls over, half on top of me and clutches my bare thigh. I’m delirious. Lost in him. My fingers dig into his back as his lips brush against my collar bone.

Henry. Henry. Henry.

Inside I’m screaming. Don’t stop. Never take your hands off me. I love you.

But those thoughts are unrealistic fantasies.

He’s taken. Some other girl’s property. And just like me, she anticipates a gentle brush from his lips. She anticipates his warm enchanting smile, and his tender loving touch.

And sadly she has something that I don’t…

All of him.
~~~~~~
An hour later, he’s putting his pants on, kissing my forehead and sliding back out my window.

“Stay,” I say, softer than a whisper.

I know he won’t. He never does. And for me to think that he ever will is wishful thinking.

He doesn’t hear me. He’s gone. And I lose it.

I shove my face into my pillow and scream. Cry. Sob. An agonizing, dull pain pumps through my heart and I feel like I’m dying inside.

I’m trembling, tucked into a ball. I’m so weak that it makes me sick.

If I was a strong person, I’d tell him to fuck off and never crawl back through my window ever again.

I’d tell him that what we’re doing isn’t okay. Cheating is morally wrong. But I love him so much it makes my whole body ache when I think I might never see him again.

Now I truly understand what it feels like to be the other woman.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Hope you enjoyed this!

Cheers! <3

Five Top Tips When Querying An Agent

So you've done it! You've completed your masterpiece, fine-tuned it, added a few things here and there, now your finally ready to query and start looking for an agent.

Below, I've posted five helpful tips on what to do when querying.

1. Write a good book. One line I like to use is don't be sloppy. DO NOT just throw a bunch of words together just to get it finished. I know. I know. You're excited and sometimes that makes writers impatient. Slow down... Take a deep breath. Let everything flow. So what if it takes you a little longer. Most of us will still be here.

2. Again be patient. Agents get flooded with queries. Sometimes it may take us a while to respond.

3. Be able to take constructive criticism. Let's face it, nobody gets to be J.K. Rowling over night. And nobody is perfect. There are going to be specific areas of your manuscript that need to be re-written whether your agents suggests you do it or editors do.

4. Be prepared. Don't go into your agent search blindly. Have everything you might need prepared. Query. Manuscript. Partial. Synopsis. If you get that magic hmmmm I'd like to read this, I usually request the partial and synopsis first. That's just me, though, but you never know what we're going to want. Maybe we'll want everything... So it's always good to have everything in order.

5. Never be afraid to ask a million questions. So you're excited. You've written the manuscript, and now you've gotten the call... BUT be careful with that pen. Ask a million questions before you sign that contract. Anytime I'm on a convo with a client I'd like to sign, I ask them do you have any questions? And I answer all of them as thoroughly as possible and they can ask as many as they want. When you sign a contract with an agent, you should never go into without asking questions or getting to know your agent a little better. This is a partnership and both parties need to make certain they are making the right decision.


Hopefully this helps some of you in navigating through literary la la land.

Have a good weekend!

Cheers!

Blow Me Up. Break Me. Shatter Me Into Pieces.

I have to start this review out by saying this was one of the novels that I had been anticipating the most as far as new releases go. Well...I have a top ten list actually, lol.

Anyway, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is the story of Juliette, a teenage girl whose touch kills.

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. (summary from goodreads)

I don't think there are enough words to describe how much I loved this book. The two things I loved the most; One, Mafi's writing style is brilliant. So poetic and beautiful. And two, Adam, Adam, Adam. Seriously. He's a tatted up bad ass--which I think is awesome. But there's so much more to him and you're honestly surprised by it. You think he's one thing, but he's not... He's the complete opposite.

Shatter Me will leave you breathless, make your heart race, and leave you wanting more. Much..Much.. MORE!

Shatter Me is Tahereh Mafi's debut novel and you HAVE to check it out! It drops 11/15/2011


*ARC was provided by the publisher for a fair and honest review*

Cheers!

A Whisper To A Scream Book Birthday!!!!!!

Hi! Everyone!!!!!

So today I'm super excited to share this vlog post with you, where I'll be reading snippets of A Whisper To A Scream(book 1 in the sociopath diaries) And also a snippet of my YA Romance He Loves Me...He Loves You Not which comes out next Tues.

Hope you guys enjoy!

<3

Sometimes...Love can be deadly...

Hi readers!

So.... As most of you know, next Tuesday, A Whisper To A Scream will be released.... YAY! Just in time for my favorite holiday, Halloween. So I have a treat for you.... The first chapter!!!! Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Inside My Head

The urges started when Adam Jacobs was ten years old. He sat on the toilet, observing as his father stood in front of the bathroom mirror, eliminating line after line of thick, white shaving cream. It reminded him of the homemade frosting his mother spread across a batch of freshly baked cupcakes.
His father brought the razor down and cleaned it off in a pool of water that rested in the sink. “You see, son,” he said as he elongated his neck, bringing the razor back to it, “this is what you’ll have to do when you become a man.”
Adam’s eyes followed the razor—the sound of scraping flesh throbbed in his ears. He closed his eyes as the scraping continued. One line. Two. Three. Then….
“Ouch!” his father yelped.
Adam opened his eyes. They widened as droplets of blood oozed down his father’s neck. Adam’s insides swirled at the sight of it. His veins pulsated. He wanted to rub the blood between his fingers.
He shot off the toilet and rushed to his father’s side. The blood called to him. He dipped his fingertip in a crimson drop glistening on the counter, but his father slapped his hand away. That was when Adam’s heart sank. The initial sight of the blood caused him more joy that anything he’d ever experienced.
“Don’t worry.” His father smiled. “It’s just a little nick.”
He couldn’t tell his father that he wasn’t concerned about him. He could never tell his father that he was fascinated by the sight of blood.
After that moment, Adam’s urges escalated to a new level. He’d sit in his bedroom, repeatedly pricking his finger with a safety pin. He’d stare at his finger, watching the luxurious ruby red liquid flow from the tip, only to feel depressed when the clotting factor set in and his finger ceased to bleed.
During school, he did his best to contain his urges. Yet, he wanted to be front and center everytime a classmate fell on the playground. He had rushed toward Marnie Parker as she scraped her knee against the blacktop. “Ahh!” she wailed.
Adam knelt down in front of her, fanning his fingers across the open gash on her knee. “Wow,” he gasped. He scooped up a dollop of blood and rubbed it into his palms.
Marnie winced and slapped his hand. “Adam, what are you doing?” she cried. “That’s gross!”
Adam shook his head. “No. It’s beautiful.”
Tears dripped down Marnie’s cheeks. She slid against the blacktop, backing up into a chain link fence—terrified. “Stop it,” her voice quivered, “or I’m going to tell the teacher.”
Adam’s blood lust was overwhelming. And it wasn’t long after the Marnie Parker incident that his classmates started to notice him lurking, waiting for someone to fall. Or Adam, even pushing down his classmates himself. He then decided to stay away from the kids in his class.
He thought that if he kept to himself, he’d be able to hold his urges back. But staying away from his classmates had the opposite effect.
By age twelve, he began experimenting with animals. Pricking his own finger, waiting for kids to hurt themselves, and his own diluted fantasies were simply not enough anymore. He wanted to see the life flow out of something living, to shiver in delight when he saw the red, sticky substance pour out of veins, like hot magma spouting from a newly-erupted volcano.
His sister’s pet hamster, Eddie, had been his first victim. He strapped Eddie down with rubber bands on top of his biology book and cut into him eagerly with a pocket knife. Ah, Eddie. He didn’t even see it coming.
Adam gasped excitedly as all of the hamster blood ran down the side of his text book. He watched, mesmerized as Eddie squirmed, squeaked, and took his last breath.
After draining the creature, Adam sat back and examined it. He knew what he’d done was awful. But why didn’t he feel awful? Why was he so different? He was certain that nobody who was sane would understand him. And why would they? He enjoyed watching blood pour out of flesh. He was obsessed with killing and death. That was not and never would be normal.
He stared at the dead rodent for a long period of time, waiting for the tears to fall out of his eyes. Normal people cried when they did something terrible, so why couldn’t he?
It was simple. He was devoid of emotion. He was numb—like a living robot—programmed to act like a human, but wasn’t human at all.
From that moment on, he decided to put on an act. He bought books on acting, practiced different facial expressions in front of the mirror, and adapted perfect manners.

He had to pretend like he wasn’t a freak. And if he could do that and do it well, then maybe it would hide the monster lurking somewhere inside of him..
A week later, he had sat in his tree house, binoculars in hand, canvasing the neighborhood for stray cats. Victoria, his kid sister, poked her head through the hatch. “Adam, what are you doing?”
Adam lowered his binoculars as a trusting grin spread across his lips. “Nothing. Just bird watching.” That was an excuse he used often.
“Have you seen Eddie?” Victoria asked, a tear dribbling down her cheek.
Adam set the binoculars down. “No, I haven’t.” He got up and walked over to the hatch. “But I’ll help you look for him.” He placed his hand on her shoulder and patted it lovingly. Of course, he’d help her look—and after they’d been looking for a while he’d fabricate a lie about Eddie running away. Even if Adam didn’t help her, she’d never find the mangy rodent because Adam made sure that after he was through with Eddie, he flushed his body down the toilet.
***

Days passed. Then years. By the time he reached the eleventh grade, he learned to perfect his little act. He exuded charm and charisma. He was also blessed with romance-novel good looks. Parents adored him. Girls flocked to him. And his teachers had nothing but good things to say about him because he was a straight A student. He even joined the football team and became a star athlete. Nobody would believe that the innocent young man he portrayed was capable of anything wicked and evil.
Only Adam knew the truth. And it wasn’t until he was alone, left with his own morbid thoughts, that the real Adam came out of hiding. He’d close his eyes and envision blood flowing like a river. He thought of the story in the bible, where as part of the seven plagues, God turned a whole river in Egypt into blood. He wanted to swim in that river. He wanted to feel the blood splash against his skin. Adam told himself that having these thoughts was the only way he could appear to be normal on the outside.
He fought like a champion gladiator to control his urges and for years, he had kept them at bay. Then, out of nowhere, they resurfaced, hitting him like a slap in the face. He had sat across from his girlfriend Regina Taylor at the movies. He couldn’t look at her face. He found himself staring at her long, slender neck. She had such a beautiful neck.
Then, he closed his eyes and imagined her neck, creased with red, as the blood drizzled down the front. Regina caught him staring. “Adam,” she scolded, “snap out of it and watch the movie.”
“Sorry,” he said. He didn’t feel sorry. He was angry that she caught him and interrupted his fantasy.
He shook off his dazed look and turned toward the projection screen. In those few seconds he had made up his mind. There was no way he could push his urges to the side. Just from sitting next to her in the movies that day, Adam knew that he wanted to—no—knew he had to kill Regina Taylor.
Adam started his plan by just observing her. He was the ultimate strategist, plotting everything thoroughly. He kept himself out of sight, often wearing disguises; clothes he purchased from a local thrift store, wigs, sunglasses and shabby baseball caps.
He’d wait until she left school, and followed her home. Then, he followed her to the mall. He made mental notes and familiarized himself with every aspect of her schedule until he had it memorized.
Regina Taylor’s murder took ninety days to plan. Adam only needed thirty minutes to commit it. He loomed over her body, lying in an open hole in the ground. He watched as the blood flowed out of the gaping slash in her neck and out on to the muddy soil. He had satisfied his blood lust…. for now.
Search parties formed after Regina went missing. Of course, Adam Jacobs was the first person the police questioned, being that he was her boyfriend. They even took him into custody as a suspect. Adam turned on his charm when questioned, flashing his brilliant smile, being polite and cooperative. But that didn’t seem to work the same with the detectives that were working Regina’s case, as well as it did everybody else.
The detectives were fishing since no body was ever recovered. Adam had thought that out before he slaughtered her. Regina Taylor was buried in a rural area just outside the city in a place the detectives would never find because it was outside their jurisdiction. The entire Chicago police force ransacked Adam’s room, trying to find any sign of evidence. They had nothing. And luckily for Adam, his father was one of the most prominent defense attorneys in all of Chicago. Ultimately, Adam was released and no charges were ever drawn up. Adam proclaimed his innocence, even though it was a flat out lie.
As his father escorted him off the premises, a short, round detective lingered in the parking lot. “I know what you are!” he shouted as Adam and his father passed him.Adam looked over his shoulder. “Oh, yeah. And what exactly am I?”
“A monster…..”
Crocodile tears formed in Adam’s eyes. “Shut up!” Adam shouted, on the verge of fake hysterics.
“You leave my son alone!” shouted his father. “You hear me!” The detective glared at Adam, turned around, and walked inside the building.
When Adam arrived home from the police station, he shut himself away in his bedroom. Numerous questions bounced around in his brain. Did he feel sorry for killing Regina? No. Being that he was an emotionless robot, he felt nothing. Did he want to kill again? Yes. Without a doubt. But, did he want to be the monster the detective figured him to be? No.
There were several instances when he tried to suppress his urges. He remembered one time in particular when he locked himself in the closet. Not even that worked. When the urge to see a crimson red river flowing from a human being overwhelmed him, he kicked down the closet door.
He stood in front of the mirror in his bedroom and touched his face. “You’re a monster,” he said aloud. “No one can help you.”
His father interrupted his thoughts when he strolled into Adam’s bedroom. “Son, we need to talk,” he said, plopping down on the bed.
Adam immediately clammed up. The only time his father came around was when his mother called him at work and informed him that either Adam or his sister had done something wrong. He swallowed hard. “What’s up, Dad?”
Perhaps his father had heard about some evidence that would implicate Adam as the murderer of Regina Taylor. His heart began pounding. Perspiration formed under his arms.
His father crossed his legs. “I’ve been given a job offer out of state. Your mother and I have discussed it and we’ve come to the decision that I should take it.”
“Oh yeah.” A wave of relief washed over Adam. “Where at?”
“Burton, Ohio.”
“Do I have a choice in the matter?”
“No.”
“Well, then. Just tell me when I should start packing my things.”
His father patted his arm and walked toward the door. “Thanks for being so understanding, Son.”
“No problem, Dad.”
His father walked out of the bedroom and closed the door. The way Adam saw it, Burton, Ohio would be his new beginning. A new town, a new future. He would be stronger. He told himself that he wouldn’t allow himself to succumb to the temptations that had overcome him in the past.