You Might Be A YA Writer If... And... He Loves Me...He Loves You Not...Poll

Hello Readers!

Hope everyone's week has kicked off to great start!

I had this super fun idea for a post last week, but I'll get to that in a sec.

First I wanted to take a poll from the readers who've read, He Loves Me...He Loves You Not...

So, I've been toying with the notion of rewriting. No... Not completely rewriting, but writing a second addition and adding Henry's POV to it. I've asked a few people who have read it and some say, "No don't!" While others say, "That might be interesting to read."

Truthfully, I love Henry. He's one of my favorite characters. Part of me thinks he deserves to tell his story. So in the end, I want to know what the readers think. What about Henry? Would you want to read his POV?


Now on to the fun part of today's post?

How many of you watch or listen to comedians?

Personally I love some of the ones that incorporate stuff like this into their acts.

You might be a (insert word here) if....

So I thought, how fun would that be if we did that for today's post? Let's face it. We all draw our inspirations from different places.

And...

If you're adult, sometimes its difficult to find yourself in the teen mind-frame when writing a YA novel. We might think we know what the current trends are in the world of teenagers, but that's not always the case.

Now on to the fun part. Here's how I dip into the teenage mind, lol.

You might be a YA writer if...

1. You casually eavesdrop on a conversation between some bubbly teenage girls while skimming the sales rack at Forever 21. Then you ask yourself,"Did she just say fugly?" Hmm... Fugly? Is that even a word? Maybe I can use that somewhere.

2. You observe your teenage brother with his dudes while they play basketball to catch up on current teenage boy speak.(I have to say, that from doing this I've learned that teenage boys lingo is totally and completely different from teenage girls.)

3. Google becomes your best friend and you've been sitting in front of your computer for the last hour typing in searches like; fashion trends for teens. (Yes, I have done this, lol.)

So let's hear some of yours....

You might be a YA writer If.... Finish this in the comment section.

Hopefully you've had fun with this!

I know I did.

Cheers!

New Book, New Cover, and some news!

Morning readers!

So.... it's been forever since I've written a post.

First off I have a new YA Romance coming out! YaY! I've pasted the cover below & blurb... I'm super psyched about it.

One is lonely. Three is a crowd.

Robin Mason has never been the same since Drake Robertson, a hot lifeguard at her family's yearly vacation spot saves her from drowning. Ever since that day she's never let another guy hold a candle to him. She's idolized him and has been waiting for the day where they can go from Facebook friends to more. Much, much more.

Flash-forward three years and Robin isn't the same tween Drake rescued from the deep blue sea. She's college bound, curvy, and finally ready to take what she wants most--Drake.

But not if Drake's brother Elliot has anything to say about it.

Robin is torn between what's right and what's wrong, her head and her heart, and two brothers that are simply irresistible. But who will she choose? Safe, sweet, Elliot? Or the hot, smoldering, Drake?

Two brothers. One Girl. One choice. So which will it be?

Also.... I'm going to take Asphodel down. There are some errors I've been made aware of and I'm going to be taking it down in the next week to make some corrections to it.

Lastly, after If I Can't Have You comes out on Jan 31, I'm taking a much needed break and the first book that will be released out of the one's that have sequels will be the sequel to A Whisper To A Scream, Yelling Out Loud on March 20.

On the agent home front I've some awesome news to share soon, but as of right now I have to keep everything hush-hush. BUT.... I will say that I'm going to be accepting queries for romance novels. Both adult and YA are welcome.

AND.... I really really wish some of you would query me with some dark novels. Like YA horror or suspense. Unfortunately, I'm not accepting anymore Paranormal Romances at this time.

I think that's about it.

I hope everyone has a stellar week!

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!

Fly Me To The Moon......New novel teaser.

Do you ever get an idea for a novel and it stays with you and it feels like you'll never shake it?

That's how I feel with my current WIP. I can't shake it. Maybe that's because it's kind of steamy. And I've never tackled writing a steamy novel. So this is kinda fun for me.

How many of you love old movies? I always have. Probably always will. There's something special about them. The way everything is portrayed. Society. Culture. Romance.

One of my all-time favorites is Splendor In The Grass. It stars Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty. And if you haven't seen it, watch it because it's one of those movies that sticks with you. And I could watch it repeatedly and never get tired of it.

Anywho, its about a young couple in high school, an obsession, a changing view of relationships in the world. And lastly, a twisted tragic love story... A good tagline to describe it. Love makes you crazy.

Where am I going with this? That movies reminds me of my current WIP... Of course the book is different, but it is about that crazy, obsessive kind of love.

And my inspiration, aside from thinking of the move. Stay by Sugarland. The song is amazing and sometimes it just takes the smallest thing to send a writer's imagination reeling....

And it seems like Mine is reeling more often than not.... LOL... So here's a teaser and a picture of the cover for....

He Loves Me... He Loves You Not.

As the tip of his tongue brushes against the roof of my mouth, I’m seeing fireworks. An explosion of colors. Brilliant and beautiful. And the explosions of beauty leave a trail of colored smoke in the sky. And a trail of colored smoke in my heart. Red. Bright red. The color of passion. The color of love.

He pulls away. “Come back.” I’m panting. His kisses knock the wind out of my lungs. I crave him, like chocolate, I want to taste him.

My legs are wrapped around his back and he places both of his hands on my cheeks and just stares. Two sets of blue eyes, gazing intensely into one another's. We’re gone. Swimming in seas of blue on some deserted uncharted island.

I’m fascinated. I can’t move. He’s a hypnotist. One snap of his fingers and I’ll be clucking like a chicken.

We’re both breathing. Soft and slow. And he reaches up and yanks the hair-tie from my hair. “You don’t know what you do to me.”

Then his lips caress mine. It’s only a brush, but the warmth overheats every part of me. Leaning back, my elbow bumps into the power button on the dryer and the old appliance starts moving. Spinning. Spinning like my head. Like my heart.

My hands are in his hair and his arms wrap around my waist tighter. I know what Henry does to me. I’m space bound. A rocket about to blast off. And I want Henry to send me to the moon.

Eek! Pride Book Birthday and Giveaway!

Hi everyone!

Today, I am super excited to celebrate the release of Pride, whoot, whoot!

This book is super important to me. If you read this book blog, you know me...

Almost all of my posts are written to try and spread positivity.

That's what Pride is all about. Positivity. And self-growth.

So to celebrate the release of Pride, I'm giving away two Pride T-shirts! Yay!

To enter the giveaway, you must be a follower of this blog. You can earn extra entries by following me on twitter and adding Pride on goodreads.

Finally, what I really want to know is how you have Pride. In the comments section, let me know!

Also, whoever wins, please take a pic of your self rocking your Pride shirt and tweet it or blog it or facebook it.

Have a little Pride....

and remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder....

Happy Tuesday!

You can buy Pride on:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Smashwords

Or order the paperback.

And don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Cheers!

Sometimes Love...Can Be Deadly!

Happy Friday Everyone!

I've got some awesome things to share with you today!

First.... Check out the book cover for my YA/horror/suspense novel!!

Secondly, if you wanted to order a paperback copy of Famished or you want to pre-order Pride & A Whisper To A Scream you can do that here.
Lastly,I hope you all enjoy what's left of summer. :( It always goes by way too fast. And I hope you all have a great weekend!

Cheers!

Well, I'll Be Shattered....

Today we have all kinds of awesomeness going on!

First if you'd like to win a paperback copy of Famished and see what my favorite things to do during the summer are.....Check out my guest post on Jessica's awesome blog, here.

Secondly, if you missed my interview with the lovely Adrienne over at Paper Hangover. Where I talk about all my upcoming releases and agenting...... You can check it out here.

And lastly...... The book of the week..... Ta Da.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

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.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel. (summary from goodreads)

Now, I won't be posting my review for a while since the book doesn't come out until November, but I will say this.....

Amazing is an understatement when it comes to Shatter Me. And also, it's one of the most unique and beautiful books I've ever read.

Now what are you waiting for... Add it here.

I promise you, you'll regret it if you don't.

Cheers!

Have a little Pride..... Teaser from my new novel... and Vlog post!

Hey Everyone!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Check out the teaser from novel, Pride, releasing 9-6-2011 and be sure to check out the Pride giveaway on goodreads!

Enjoy the weekend!

Famished Release Day & Borders Bonanza!!!!!!

So the day has finally arrived!!!! And let me just say that is has been crazy!!!

But it's official Famished has been released, yay!!!!

Tomorrow I'll be announcing the winners of the Famished giveaway!

There is no United States. There is no world. An asteroid has destroyed what the human race knew as earth and The Great Famine has wiped out most of the surviving human population. For the few remaining survivors, food is scarce-- precious--a luxury. A luxury that most humans can’t find.

Seventeen year old Georgina Carver is fortunate. She’s survived the destruction. She eats three times a day while the rest of humanity is plagued by The Great Famine. And she’s safe, hidden away in an underground colony with her family and several other families of survivors.

All of that changes the day she’s randomly selected to be a gatherer. Georgina must leave her safe yet simple world and venture out into a world unknown. A vast, dangerous, destroyed world that could literally eat her alive.

After Georgina is severely injured, her life begins to fall apart. She can’t remember how she got home or what happened to her while she was on the new earth. The boy she is crushing on avoids her and she keeps having visions that involve an unknown person with violet eyes.

As Georgina begins to unravel the truth, it doesn’t take her long to figure out that maybe her safe yet simple life isn’t that safe at all.

I did something a little different with Famished...

In the back of the book, are summaries and the first three pages of my next two novels. I thought that would be really cool... And unique.

Famished is available in ebook and paperback formats.

Ebook price~ 1.50 Paperback 9.99

Currently you can find the ebook on Barnes & Noble for the Nook. On Smashwords and Tomorrow morning on Amazon.com for the Kindle.

The paperback version will be out next week and available pretty much everywhere! YaY!

And now for the sad part Borders. :(

It's the only bookstore in my area. (B&N is 30 mins away.) And I felt like crying as walked through the store and noticed the empty cafe and half-full bookselves.

But.... Despite my depressed feeling, I did buy some pretty amazing books. And I'm hoping to get some more before the store shuts down.**Tear** Here's what I got....

1. The Fat Girl by: Marilyn Sachs(This is the one I'm currently reading.)
2. XVI by: Julia Karr ( I have heard nothing but great things about this one!)
3. The Goddess Test by: Aimee Carter (Where are all of my mythological re-telling lovers? I hope this doesn't disappoint!)
4. Rumors by: Anna Gobbersen (Yeah, I'm going to totally admit that I bought this book for the cover, but.... It sounds like a great read too!)

Check out Famished and some more of the awesome books I found!

Cheers!