M. Leighton's Blog, page 27

Giveaway: Defiance by Shelly Crane

So, my lovely and talented friend, Shelly Crane will be releasing the highly-anticipated third installment of the Significance series, Defiance, on March 13th.  She'll be giving away an ARC (eBook, international) to one lucky winner from my blog!  Woohoo!  What do you have to do to win this awesome prize, you ask?  Just leave a comment with your name, e-mail address and the reason you love the Significance series and you'll be automatically entered into the drawing.  You have to be quick, though!  I'll be randomly selecting a winner on Monday, March 12th and announcing it at noon on my blog so get your comments in FAST!  Here's a peek at the amazing cover and a description of this latest tale:

In the third installment of the Significance series, we begin with Maggie and Caleb in the clutches of a new enemy; the Virtuoso council. Not only do they have to deal with the consequences of taking the lives of the Watsons and the council attempting to take Maggie away to keep their precious Visionary safe, but they must deal with Marla as well. All are determined to undermine, control and use Caleb and Maggie's rare gifts for their own uses, some wish to destroy them entirely. Then Maggie's father and Bish are threatened but the council forbids the presence of humans. Peter and the family fight and stand beside them every step of the way to save Maggie's father, to keep Caleb and Maggie together when the corrupted council is so set on keeping them apart and to stop Marla and whatever she has up her sleeve. Then Maggie has the shock of her life when she discovers something about her real father. It may change everything for everyone. Stay tuned as the story continues.

''One thing was certain in my mind; change was necessary and the truth was always the best option, but that didn't mean that it was going to be a painless journey…''  - Maggie

Ready, set, GO!

Playlist for Blood Like Poison

Okay, so it goes without saying that I'm WAY late to the game with this one, but I just posted the playlist for Bo and Ridley's beginning (For the Love of a Vampire) to my sidebar .  I'm going to do them as I go from now on, but I couldn't resist doing this one in retrospect, as many of the songs are permanently etched into my mind.  What do you think?

Beginnings, An M. Leighton Anthology

Today, I launched an anthology that includes the first book of 5 of my series.  Those books are: Madly, Blood Like Poison, Wiccan, The Reaping and Caterpillar. It is available on Amazon today, but won't be on B&N until later.  And get this, it's ONLY $3.99!  Y'all, that's hours and hours of entertainment for less than four dollars!  Holy canoli!  I'd love y'all forever if you'd help me spread the word. *bats eyelashes*  And stay tuned because I'm going to be doing quite a few giveaways in the coming weeks.  All sorts of combinations of things.  It's gonna be EPIC!

Anyway, here's the cover for Beginnings.  The link to Amazon is below it.  Thanks for stopping by:)


Buy it or Gift it on Amazon

TRANSFER STUDENT BLOG TOUR : EXCERPT

Okay, so I'm lucky enough to have another awesome author and fellow Plume on my blog today.  Her name is Laura A. H. Elliott and she is A-MAZING.  She's also doing a giveaway, so be sure to read past the excerpt to get all the details.

Now, without further ado, here's a little about Laura and her book:

Laura loves writing about enchanted road trips, birthday gifts that are out of this world, and alien romance while eating lots of popcorn. She's the author of Winnemucca, a small-town fairy tale inspired by her life-long love of a little-known town, Avenal, CA, and her equal love of enchanted teenage road trips. 13 on Halloween is the first book in the Teen Halloween Series. 14 on Halloween, book 2 in the Teen Halloween series, will be released in the summer of 2012. Her new release, TRANSFER STUDENT will be available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble March 20th.

Her newest title, Transfer Student, will be available March 20th.  Until then, here's the blurb and a little sneak peek:



TRANSFER STUDENT is the latest novel from Laura A. H. Elliott and will release on Amazon and Barnes & Noble March 20th. Here's a little bit about the novel and an excerpt written from Ashley's POV about her obsession with Rhoe's best friend, Yuke. Be sure to read to the end to enter to win the EBOOK
GIVEAWAY and this week's SWAG!Two Worlds––Two Teens––One Wish
Geek Rhoe and Surfer Ashley would never be friends.
Even if they lived on the same planet.
But, they'll become so much more.
They'll transfer.
Earthling Ashley's world revolves around winning daily popularity contests at Beverly Hills High School and surfing competitions with sweet scholarship prizes that will finally help her break free of her control-freak mother. Ashley never loses. Ashley never wishes on stars. But that changes when her senior class takes a field trip to the Griffith Observatory where Ashley's conflicting feelings about her predatory best frenemy Tiffany, throws Ashley's carefully-crafted Queen of B.H.H.S. title under the bus.
Meanwhile on planet Retha, Rhoe misses his dad, loves his mom's home-cooked Glechy crag with a side of Ory sauce, is desperate to heal his sick brother and wants more than anything to win The Retha New Invention Competition. He and his best friend Yuke have worked for the past two years constructing the teleporting telescope Rhoe started building with his dad before an accident killed him. Rhoe's never kissed a girl. Rhoe's hero is the eccentric physicist, Ramay. But that changes when the telescope teleports Rhoe across the universe with an unintended side-effect. Ashley and Rhoe transfer––swap lives––when they make the same wish at the same time.
Popular-surfer-turned-boy-geek alien Ashley must handle life on Retha as Rhoe complete with webbed feet, low-gravity, an obsession with Yuke, all the while being hunted by Rethan spies and resenting her hairy, flat chest. Boy-geek-turned-popular-surfer Rhoe must fit in at Beverly Hills High School as Ashley, compete in The Laguna Beach Invitational without becoming shark food, dodge boys' affections, cool his preoccupation with kissing Tiffany and his new body, on his quest to find the healing rocks he believes will save his brother's life.
If only it were that simple. Some wishes can't come true. Some have to. How far would you go for someone you love?
EXCERPT:

Yuke catches up to me. We walk side-by-side in silence through the Golden Meadow. The airboard launch, a sort of gigantic upside-down slide, peeks over a row of Truffula Trees.
           "Listen, there are three things you have to remember about soaring. You'll never soar if your mind is on the ground. Put it up on The Ridge," Yuke says, pointing to a purple-blue mountain ahead of us. "Rhoe taught me that."
         The way he says Rhoe I know it's happened. He knows. He really knows I'm not Rhoe, I'm…Ashley. It's sunk in. Finally. I stop walking and can hardly breathe. It's the first time he's ever seen the real me, and his gaze warms me down to my frog-feet. Yuke spots the question in my eyes.
         "The Ridge of No Return," he says with a small smile, "It's the prime place to catch air. But beware The Devil's Grip. Soar too high and you'll be caught in The Grip and lost to The Other Side. Forever."
         He misreads the question in my eyes. Again. I shiver thinking about The Grip and dying in the mythic ice and snow of The Other Side. I stare at my hideous frog-feet, my peds. I don't care about The Ridge. There's only one person I care about. One boy I'll never have. Yuke.
         "What else?" I ask, peering deeper into Yuke's alien eyes.
         "You've got to feel the beat of the wind in your peds. Surrender to the air. And know, deep in your hearts, no one is its master."
         I hear and don't hear every word Yuke says. For the first time in my life I can't speak. I can't take my eyes off Yuke, now that he knows I'm not Rhoe. He wouldn't be telling his best friend, an Astral, how to airboard unless he knows I'm Ashley, someone who doesn't know much about soaring.
         "Your catchers will always stop you if you fall," Yuke says, filling the silence between us. He raises his arms above his head. Delicate wings expand out from under his arms. Thin pinkish-purple skin stretches over delicate, long bones. No feathers at all. Just smooth, glimmering skin. And it's crazy. A week ago I wouldn't even look twice at a guy with a big nose, but now, I'm hot for an alien. With wings. He's that hot. 
         I have to touch him. It's beyond wanting to. The way Yuke spreads his wings makes his pecs flare and his biceps seize. He's beyond gorgeous. The way his sheer wings take to the breeze makes Yuke more unreal than he already is to me. He's everything I never wanted and everything I can't live without. It feels like we're the only souls in the universe. The look in his golden exotic eyes melts my ability to stay away from him.
         "You can't be real," I say taking a few steps closer to him, holding my hand out to touch his wing. Waiting for him to let me. To know it's OK. He flexes and lets his head fall back a little inviting my touch. I lay my alien fingers on his smooth taught skin, and run them over his wing's thin hollow bones. My eyes fill with tears. His wings flutter in a breeze. He's beautiful.
         Yuke sticks his chest out and when he drops his arms his catchers vanish back into his biceps. "I can't let you soar. Not now," he says, the crowd cheers just beyond the trees.
         Only then do I remember where we are. What we're here to do. A band begins to play a set of songs. The crowd beyond the row of trees cheers again and again.
         "I have to. I'm doing this for Rhoe," I say.
         Yuke puts his hand on my shoulder. I shudder.
         "And for me," I say.
         Yuke's golden eyes focus only on mine, on the Earthling inside of this alien body.
         "And for you," I say, feeling the beat of my hearts in my throat. "We're going to win this damn thing."


GIVEAWAY:
Here's how to enter to WIN A TRANSFER STUDENT EBOOK! Just follow @Laurawriting and tweet: [leave a comment here with your link]

Can't wait to read Transfer Student by @Laurawriting Check out the Blog Tour & Giveaway! #teenreads #scifi #romance #ya http://wp.me/P1J9jx-bs
THAT'S NOT ALL:
Every week all comments are entered to win some great swag too! THIS WEEK'S SWAG: GROOVY NASA TRAVEL MUGS, real meteorite fragments, signed bookmarks, Griffith Park Observatory pen & postcards, Apollo 40th Anniversary commemorative coin and MORE! Check out the weekly swag here: http://wp.me/P1J9jx-bs

THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY OPEN UNTIL MARCH 5! 6PM PST. 1 swag winner will be picked. Open internationally!

To find out where in the world Laura is and more about her upcoming books, visit her blog Laurasmagicday: http://laurasmagicday.wordpress.com/ <http://laurasmagicday.wordpress.com/> and friend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Laura.A.H.Elliott... <http://www.facebook.com/Laura.A.H.Elliott.> If Twitter is your thing she's @Laurawriting <https://twitter.com/#!/Laurawriting> . Or, drop her a line at elliwrite [at] yahoo [dot] com.
Laura is a plume-carrying member of THE PARANORMAL PLUME SOCIETY <http://www.theplumessociety.com/> , and is also a member of The YA INDIE CARNIVAL <http://yaauthorclub.blogspot.com/>  & THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST YA AUTHORS <http://pacificnorthwestyaauthors.wordpress.com/> !

Guest Author--Michelle Muto

I'm so excited for y'all to meet the author I'm hosting today.  Her name is Michelle Muto and she is the author of both Don't Fear the Reaper and The Book of Lost Souls.  She's here today to give us a chapter from Don't Fear the Reaper . 

First of all, let me tell you a little about Michelle.  She has always loved storytelling. When she was a child, her favorite stories were of monsters and things that lurked in the dark. Telling stories often frightened her classmates and got her into a lot of trouble with her teachers. They had no sense of humor.

As an adult, Michelle traded her love of writing for the corporate life where she was an IT professional. Today, she's doing what she loves best - writing and storytelling.

Michelle grew up in Chicago, but currently lives in NE Georgia with her husband and their two dogs. She loves scary books, funny movies, sports cars, and chocolate.

Michelle is also a fellow Paranormal Plume and I got to meet her. Y'all, she's A-MAZING!!

Now, take a look at this frickin' awesome cover and incredible description! 



Grief-stricken by the murder of her twin, Keely Morrison is convinced suicide is her ticket to eternal peace and a chance to reunite with her sister. When Keely succeeds in taking her own life, she discovers death isn't at all what she expected. Instead, she's trapped in a netherworld on Earth and her only hope for reconnecting with her sister and navigating the afterlife is a bounty-hunting reaper and a sardonic, possibly unscrupulous, demon. But when the demon offers Keely her greatest temptation—revenge on her sister's murderer—she must uncover his motives and determine who she can trust. Because, as Keely soon learns, both reaper and demon are keeping secrets and she fears the worst is true—that her every decision will change how, and with whom, she spends eternity.

And now...the teaser!!
First Chapter Teaser: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for they are with me. 
I repeated my version of the psalm as I watched the ribbon of blood drift from my wrist. I'd hoped it would be a distraction—something to stop me from wondering what my sister's dying thoughts had been. Exhaling slowly, I let the emptiness consume me. 
Jordan had kept my secrets and I had kept hers. In the end, it came down to just one secret between us that took her life. Now, it would take mine. I should have said something, but nothing I said or did now could bring her back or make anyone understand what she meant to me.
Are you here, Jordan? Are you with me? Tell me about heaven...
I told myself Jordan was gone, never coming back, but her memories continued to haunt me. I had no idea if there even was
She should still be here. It wasn't fair. 
I'd been the difficult one—much more than Jordan. For a while, I'd even gotten into drugs. Mom and Dad had worried I'd get Jordan into drugs, too. But I wouldn't. Not ever. Besides, that part of my life had been over long before Jordan's death. A small gargoyle tattoo on my left shoulder was all that remained of my previous lifestyle.
Mom and Dad started treating me differently after Jordan's funeral two months ago. She and I were twins, so I understood how hard it was for them to look at me and not see her. Sometimes, they wouldn't look at me at all. Mom went to the psychiatrist, but no one asked if I needed to talk to someone about what happened. No one asked if I needed sleeping pills or antidepressants. Yeah, sure. Don't give the former addict pills of any sort. 
Not one person saw the all-consuming suffering that gnawed at my soul. Why couldn't anyone see? Jordan had been more than my sister—she'd been my Samson, my strength. I would have done anything for her, and yet, I'd failed her. I wasn't the one who'd killed her, but I might as well have been. How could I ever live with that? My heart had a stillness to it since her death. 
I shall fear no evil.
I couldn't very well recite the first part of Psalm 23 because it said I shall not want, and I did want. I wanted to go back in time. I wanted my sister back. Clearly, goodness and mercy were never going to be part of my life ever again. In my mind, I saw myself walking through the iron gates of hell with demons cackling gleefully all around.
I didn't want to die. Not really. I was just tired and didn't know of another way to stop the pain. Doctors removed a bad appendix. Dentists pulled rotten teeth. What was I supposed to do when my very essence hurt, when the cancer I'd come to call depression made every decent memory agonizingly unbearable? 
Before I'd gotten down to cutting my wrist (I managed to only cut one), I'd taken a few swigs of Dad's tequila—the good kind he kept in the basement freezer. I'd used another swig or two to chase down the remainder of Mom's sleeping pills in the event I failed to hit an artery or vein. Then I'd set the bottle on the ledge of the tub in case I needed further liquid encouragement. Instead of using a knife or a razor, I attached a cutting blade to my Dad's Dremel. The Dremel was faster, I reasoned. More efficient. 
It would have been easier to OD, I suppose. But I felt closer to my sister this way, to suffer as she'd suffered.
I recited the line from Psalms 23 again. It had become my personal mantra. 
The words resonated in my parents' oversized bathroom. I'd chosen theirs because the Jacuzzi tub was larger than the tub in the hall bathroom. Jordan and I used to take bubble baths together in this same tub when we were little.
Innocence felt like a lifetime ago. I searched the bathroom for bubble bath but came up short. Soap might have made the laceration hurt more so it was probably just as well. Besides, the crimson streaming from my wrist like watercolor on silk was oddly mesmerizing. 
The loneliness inside proved unrelenting, and the line from the psalms made me feel better. I prayed for the agony inside me to stop. I argued with God. Pleaded. But after all was said and done, I just wanted the darkness to call me home.
I tried not to think of who would find my body or who'd read the note I'd left. I blamed myself not only for failing Jordan, but for failing my parents, too. 
My lifeline to this existence continued to bleed out into the warm water. Killing myself had been harder than I'd imagined. I hadn't anticipated the searing fire racing through my veins. I reached for the tequila with my good arm but couldn't quite manage. Tears welled in my eyes. 
Part of me foolishly felt Jordan was here. The other part feared she wasn't.
Give me a sign, Sis. Just one.
I imagined seeing my parents at my funeral—their gaunt faces, red-eyed and sleepless. How could I do this to them? Wasn't the devastation of losing one child enough? 
No. Stop. A voice in my head screamed. Don't do this. Don't. Please...
I shifted my body, attempted to get my uncooperative legs under me. I could see the phone on my parents' nightstand. I could make it that far. Had to. The voice was right. I didn't want to do this. I felt disorientated, dizzy. Darkness crept along the edges of my vision. Focusing became difficult. A sweeping shadow of black caught my attention. Someone stood in the bathroom—not my sister. A man. Had I managed to call 911? I couldn't remember getting out of the tub. And why'd I get back in? Did I use a towel? 
Mom is going to be pissed when she sees the blood I've tracked all over the bedroom carpet. 
"I'm sorry," I told the man in black. 
"It's okay, Keely. Don't be afraid." Not my father's voice. It was softer, with a hint of sorrow. Distant. Fleeting. Later, I'd feel embarrassed about this, but for now I was safe from the nothing I'd almost become. My teeth clattered from the chill. My eyelids fluttered in time with my breaths. The tub water had turned the color of port wine. The ribbons, the pretty, red watercolor ribbons were gone.
Dull gray clouded my sight.
A voice whispered to me, and my consciousness floated to the surface again. 
"—okay, Keely."
Cold. So cold.
"I'm right here."
There was no fear in me as the man bent forward, his face inches from mine. He was my father's age, and yet strangely older. His eyes were so...blue, almost iridescent. The irises were rimmed in a fine line of black, and the creases etched at the corners reminded me of sunbeams as he gave me a weak smile. The oddly. Dressed. Paramedic. A warm hand reached into the water and cradled mine. My fingers clutched his. I sighed, feeling myself floating, drifting. Light—high and intense exploded before me. No! Too much. Too much! I shuddered and labored to catch my breath, but it wouldn't come. 
Finally, the comfort of darkness rose to greet me.
Where to buy/download sample chapters:Amazon USAmazon UKBarnes & NobleiTunesSmashwordsCreatespace
Connect with Michelle:BlogFBTwitter

YA Indie Carnival- Name That Tune

This week at the carnival is all about music.  Now, I must first say that I think music MAKES television and movies.  Seriously, they can add so much emotional depth to a scene--suspense, sadness, happiness, excitement.  Steam.  Those are the ones I like best, the songs that go with steamy scenes.  I guess because I write romance, I have a soundtrack that plays in the back of my head almost constantly when I write a love scene.  The thing is, it is all my own.  It never has a title or a performing artist.  It's just music that I hear, playing along in the background, underscoring my characters' love and desire for one another.  If I COULD listen to music while I wrote, I totally would.  But the thing is, I CAN'T.  Literally.  The music consumes me and I can't focus on what I'm writing.  I would love to be one of those people who has to write with mood music playing.  But, alas, *sigh*  I'm not.  I have to have complete and utter silence when I write.  Now what goes on in my head is a different story.  But ambient noise has to be kept to a minimum and, unfortunately, that includes music. 

One of these days I'm going to do a playlist for one of my books.  Maybe even the one I'm working on now.  All my characters love music and I used to write songs into some scenes so you'd know what was going on in their heads, in their lives, in their hearts.  But since then, I've learned that doing that is bad writerly etiquette so I stopped.  The songs still play in my head, though.  And one day I'll make a list for you so you'll know how it feels to be completely immersed in the characters the way I am when I write them.  I must admit, it's pretty dang cool:)

A good example of this is the masquerade scene in Blood Like Poison: Destined for a Vampire.  When I wrote it, "Sweet Dream" by Beyonce was playing in the background.  I'll post the trailer here along with that scene to see if you can picture it as clearly as I did.  I gotta tell you, writing that scene was amazing!  So here.  See what you think.  The timing may be off just a little.  It's hard to get the length just right, but you get the gist.  Or at least I hope you get the gist:)



The loud music faded into the familiar thump of a not-quite-slow song.  Its beat brought to mind steamy nights and writhing bodies.  The sensual rhythm called to many of the people surrounding Savannah, beckoning them to the dance floor.  Scary couples and gruesome groups started to move in unison to the heavy bass.  I searched the made-up and masked faces for Savannah until I located her bright, serpentine halo.  She'd been lassoed into a dance by a dead cowboy I recognized.  He sat three rows behind me in study hall.Suddenly aware of being the lone person not on the dance floor dancing, I turned to make my way around to the refreshments table.  I was skirting the writhing mob of dancers when I felt a familiar tug in my belly.I stopped in my tracks and looked around.  Immediately, my heart sped up, banging like a drum, keeping time with the erratic expansion of my lungs as I grew more and more breathless.I searched the faces for the one that occupied far too many of my thoughts, but I didn't see him.  I could've almost convinced myself that I'd been mistaken, but the magnetism that I felt intensified with every breath, assuring me that it was no mistake.  Those invisible strings were pulling me, no dragging me into the middle of the crowd, where bodies were crushed together so tightly they moved as if they were one.Weaving my way through perfumed and cologned figures, I felt like I was getting lost in the fray when I saw a tall, darkly cloaked figure watching me through a break in the mob.  He was dressed as Dracula.  His robe was ebony satin with a blood red lining and the hood that covered his head shadowed all but his mouth.  My breath hitched in my throat and burned in my lungs.  My pulse thumped wildly and my skin tingled in response to a presence that I couldn't forget.  It was Bo.  Beneath the hood that concealed most of his face and the cloak that concealed most of his body, I knew it was him.  I'd know him anywhere.  I'd love him always.I could see only his handsomely square jaw and chiseled mouth.  My eyes hungrily memorized the lips that I'd never forget the taste of.  I felt like I'd been starved of them for far too long.  As Bo's hand rose slowly from his side, reaching out to me through the crowd of bodies, the words to the song carved themselves onto my heart.  Bo was both my sweetest dream and my most beautiful nightmare.Without hesitation, I stepped forward and slipped my hand into his.  A little bolt of electricity shot up my arm when our skin made contact.  Bo pulled me to him and I inhaled, reveling in the tangy scent that had teased me for what seemed like forever, and probably always would.  Bodies brushed me from every angle, every direction, but the only thing that I felt was Bo pressed to my front from chest to thigh.  I looked up into the most consuming eyes I'd ever seen and I fell into them, sinking into the only place I ever really wanted to be.  I saw Bo's lips move and, even above the music, I heard his whisper.  "I never thought I'd get to love someone so beautiful," he said.  The words echoed through my soul and warmed me to my toes.  With Bo staring down at me, his words in my ears, his body moving gently against mine, it was the most surreal moment—dream-like, so much so I never wanted to wake from it.The music surrounded us, wrapping us in a pulsing cocoon of privacy amid the sea of bodies.  I laid my palms flat against Bo's chest as one of his hands snaked around my waist.  The fingers of his other hand teased the skin of my arm as they made their way up to disappear beneath the hair at my nape.  I felt them tangle in my hair and then curl into a light fist.  With one quick tug, Bo pulled my head to the side as he bent toward me.I gasped when I felt his hot lips at my throat.  I pressed my body closer to his, running my hands down the sides of his firm abdomen.  I felt the hard muscles contract beneath my fingertips as Bo's breath hissed through his teeth.Lyrics about guilty pleasure wove a sensual web around us.  My blood heated with thoughts of Bo's skin on mine, covering me, sliding against me.  The friction of Bo's body rubbing against mine, moving in time with the music, sang along my nerves and turned my core into a raging inferno.  When I felt his tongue licking at the pulse that beat violently beneath my ear, I had to bite my lip to keep a moan from escaping."There's no one like you," he said, his lips tickling my sensitive skin as he spoke.  "There's no taste like you," he sighed, trailing his tongue up to tease the lobe of my ear, drawing it gently into his mouth.  "No feel like you," he moaned, his hand moving to the base of my spine and pressing my hips into his.  "There's no one that I need like I need you."My insides melted.  I wanted to cry with the pleasure of it, the bitter-sweetness of it.  I couldn't imagine ever wanting someone as much as I wanted Bo.  I didn't think my heart could take it without exploding.  I would gladly give up years of my life to be with him, if only for a little while.  In the end, I knew it would be worth it.Bo raised his head to look at me, his eyes searing me with a heat so intense, I felt it in my stomach.  Without a word, he tightened his hold on me and lifted until my feet were several inches from the ground and my chest was plastered to his.  Slowly, he turned and walked out of the crush, away from the crowd.  He carried me toward a deserted corner of the gymnasium and into a short, dark hallway that led to a door that emptied out onto the stage in the auditorium right next door.The music still thudded in my chest, obscuring the excited patter of my heart.  Bo walked to the back of the hallway, to its blackest point, and stopped, pushing me up against the wall and holding me there with his body.   And then his mouth was devouring mine.As his tongue tangled mercilessly with mine, I grabbed his shoulders and held on tight.  I felt his hands at my thighs, his fingers working the material of my dress up until I could feel skin on skin.  I wanted Bo so badly it almost hurt.  I wanted more.  I wanted it all and the frustration of it was killing me.At first, the scream sounded like it came from somewhere inside me, like the cry of my body for Bo's attention suddenly became audible.  But then I heard the music die and an uncharacteristic hush fall across the gymnasium, which lay only a few feet away.

All right, y'all go check out the other carnis.  As always, happy reading and TGIF!


Dani Snell Refracted Light Reviews
Patti Larsen Author of The Ghost Boy of MacKenzie House, The Hunted Series and the Hayle Coven Novels
Courtney Cole Author of Every Last Kiss, Fated, Princess, and Guardian. Also a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Fisher Amelie Author of The Understorey, as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Laura Elliott Author of Winnemucca as well as 13 on Halloween, book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series
Amy Jones Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Rachel Coles Author of Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Whistles, Beergarden, Plagues, Bees of St. John, and Mushrooms
T.R. Graves Author of Warriors of the Cross
PJ Hoover Author of Solstice, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, The Necropolis
Cheri Schmidt Author of Fateful, Fractured, and Fair Maiden
Lexus Luke Author of Manitou, The Sky People Saga
Suzy Turner Author of December Moon and Raven
K.C. Blake Author of Vampire Rules
Gwenn Wright Author of Filter
Kimberly Kinrade Author of Bits of You & Pieces of Me and Forbidden Mind
Madeline Smoot Author of Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
Cidney Swanson Author of Ripple series
Heather Self Blogger, Reviewer and upcoming Indie Author
Heather M. White, Author of The Destiny Saga
Melissa Pearl, Author The Time Spirit Trilogy
T. G. Ayer
Bryna Butler, Author of Midnight Guardian series

Sealed with a Kiss and Transfer Student Cover Reveal

So, my lovely friends in the Paranormal Plume Society and I are doing a series of blog posts about our first meaningful kiss.  For some, that was their first actual kiss (trust me, y'all don't want to read about mine!).  For others, it was the first kiss they shared with their soulmate.  Many of them have been sweet, many of them have been funny, but all of them have been entertaining.  No pressure on me, right?  Not at all!  'Cause you know, I'm bringing up the rear of this thing.  And no, we don't need to talk about how fitting that is.  *ahem*  Anyway, first I need to set the stage for y'all by telling you a little bit about how my relationship with my husband began. 

Year: circa 1980
Location: Smalltown, USA
Setting: The "neighborhood"

I met my husband when he and his family moved into our close-knit community.  We called it the "neighborhood."  We were both still practically in diapers.  Well, pretty close anyway.  Maybe riding tricycles.  Yeah, that's better.  Less creepy.  Anyway, being kids, it didn't take long for him and his brother to come out and play with us.  And, being kids, it didn't take long for us to take them in as one of our own.  Right off the bat, I thought he was cute.  He was super tan and had gorgeous brown eyes.  He could run really fast and he had superhero sheets (I found that out the completely innocent way).  I thought his brother was really weird, though.  And I told him so.  I mean, he always had a Kool-Aid mustache.  That's weird, right?  Right.  Well, needless to say, it wasn't the ideal start of a friendship, to insult someone's family.  Thirty-some years later, that's still true.  The brother still has a Kool-Aid mustache. 

Nah, I'm kidding.  About the mustache part.  The part about my husband being cute is still true to this day, as is the part about it being a bad idea to insult someone's family.  Anyway, just about the time we all learned to get along, my family up and moved to a different state.  Sounds like that should be the end of our story, right?  Wrong. 

Fast forward six years and we were already moving back.  By that time, my future husband and his family had moved to a neighboring town.  That was all right, though, because our schools played each other in sports, so I still got to watch him run up and down the basketball court.  And that was nice!  Have I mentioned that my husband has spectacular legs?  No?  Well, he does.  But that's neither here nor there.  And yes, you should totally stop visualizing him in shorts.  It's freaking me out a little.  hehe

Now, fast forward ten more years.  My childhood neighbor and playmate had graduated highschool, a year behind me I might add (I have a bit of cougar blood, if I've never mentioned that before), and gone off to college.  Pre-law no less.  I guess it goes without saying that he's wildly intelligent.  *waggles eyebrows* Anyway, he was home for the summer in 1997 when we happened to run into each other in a video store.  There was instant attraction.  We flirted a little and teased each other over who had the greater vocabulary.  The word that I pulled out to win that battle was "antithesis."  Yes, I still remember it.  Strange beginnings, I know, but intelligence is second only to humor on my list of soulmate must-haves.  And he had both.  In spades.  So anyway, what did I do when I found this jewel?  How did I go about making him mine?  I set him up with my best friend, of course.  I know what you're saying.  WHAT?  Yep.  It was my strange way of putting him to the test.  I wanted to see if he'd go out with her.  And guess what.  HE DID!   I suppose by all rights, our story should end right there. 

But it doesn't. 

Fast forward a couple weeks to the night of the Holyfield-Tyson rematch.  I was having friends over to watch it on Pay-Per-View.  My best friend came.  Of course.  And she brought him.  Of course.  We both behaved ourselves.  We were casual.  Non-flirtatious.  But there was something there.  I mean REALLY there!  The more everyone talked, the more I realized we had practically everything in common.  Only he was now dating my best friend.  What was up with that?  Oh, that's right.  My bright idea.  Grrrrrr!

Fast forward another couple weeks.  Things weren't working out with him and my best friend, yet I was still friends with them both.  It seemed only natural that he would be able to talk with me about what went wrong, right?  Right.  Only he didn't.  Oh, we talked all right.  But very little about my best friend.  We talked about everything else.  We watched movies and hung out and we laughed and laughed and laughed some more.  And sparks flew.  But neither of us made a move. 

Until One Fine Day. 

No, not one fine day.  Well, I guess it was one fine day, but I meant the movie, One Fine Day.  With George Clooney.  I had watched it and was going on and on about what a good kisser he undoubtedly was.  I mean, he really got in there and went to town on Michelle Pfeiffer!  Well, my future-husband took exception to my gushing, citing that his prowess was equal to if not superior to the yummy George Clooney.  My only thought was to wonder when in the devil was he ever gonna prove it.  But I didn't push it.  And sometimes patience is a virtue.

That very evening I got a late-night knock at my door.  Who could it possibly be?  You got it.  It was him.  No, not George Clooney!  Sheesh!  But, to me, it was someone even better.  And what did this magical man bring me?  A THESAURUS!  Now I know that sounds laughable to everyone reading this, but if you knew me at all, you'd know how terribly appropos that gift was.  Not to mention that it was a direct reference to our very first re-re-re-acquaintance.  At any rate, he delivered his very thoughtful gift, dropping it off and announcing that he had to leave.  But, but, but...  How could I salvage this moment?  What could I do?  Well, I could walk him out, see him off properly, like a nice girl would.  Yeah, that's what I'd do.  So I did.  And that's when it happened.

The night was warm and balmy.  The purple-leaf plum at the corner of the house was still in bloom and the sweet fragrance hung in the air.  I was wearing silk pajamas that whispered when I moved.  He was wearing shorts that made his butt look perfect.  He stopped on the first porch step and turned around.  I leaned against the column right in front of him.  And then, citing his need to show George Clooney up, he kissed me.  And I mean he REALLY kissed me!  I'm talking the hands in my hair, stars in my eyes, curls in my toes kind of kiss.  You know, the kind that tells you there's something special between you, something that will last forever.  I still smile every time I think about it, mainly because I'd say he was right.  I think he does have a little som'n som'n on George Clooney.  The G-man could never have kissed me like that.  And I wouldn't have wanted him to.  After all, I had my Prince Charming.  And he'd brought me a thesaurus.  What more could a girl ask for?

So that's my story. I'm sure y'all have your own, so speak up!  Leave it for the rest of us to read.  It is Valentine's Day after all, and this stuff is like crack for me, so spill it!  And if this one's not enough for you, go back through the last 13 days' worth of posts and see what my awesome friends have to say about the subject.

Also, go ALL THE WAY DOWN to the bottom of the page because I have an especially sweet Valentine's Day treat--the cover reveal for Laura A. H. Elliott's upcoming release, Transfer Student.  Check it out before you go!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, Y'ALL!  Go get your kisses!

February 1st Abbi Glineshttp://www.abbiglines.com/February 2nd Tiffany King http://authortiffanyjking.blogspot.com/February 3rd Shelly Cranehttp://shellycrane.blogspot.com/February 4thFebruary 5th Amy Joneshttp://amyjonesyaff.blogspot.com/February 6th Addison Moorehttp://addisonmoorewrites.blogspot.com/February 7th Carol & Adam Kunzhttp://cakunz.blogspot.com/February 8th Courtney Colehttp://courtneycolewrites.wordpress.com/February 9th Nichole Chasehttp://nicholechase.blogspot.com/February 10th Fisher Ameliehttp://www.fisheramelie.comFebruary 11thFebruary 12th Laura Elliot http://laurasmagicday.wordpress.comFebruary 13th Michelle Muto http://michellemuto.wordpress.com/
TRANSFER STUDENT COVER REVEAL & GIVEAWAY

TWO WORLDS. TWO TEENS. ONE WISH.TRANSFER STUDENT is a science fiction Freaky-Friday romance/adventure about two normal teenagers struggling to survive high school and deal with their parents… typical rites of passage. The twist? One teen is an alien from the planet Retha. In a galactic teleporting experiment gone wrong, Ashley, a Beverly Hills High surfing fashionista, and Rhoe, the biggest geek on planet Retha, swap lives. Only by surviving life as their biggest nightmare do Ashley & Rhoe discover their dreams. How far would you go for someone you love?

WIN TRANSFER STUDENT BOOKMARKS SIGNED BY AUTHOR LAURA A. H. ELLIOTT!
To enter to win all you need to do is tweet this & follow Laurasmagicday:
Nothing says #ValentinesDay like an alien #romance! TRANSFER STUDENT Cover Reveal! #TransferStudent #teenreads #kindle http://laurasmagicday.wordpress.com/
The first 100 tweets/followers win!
TRANSFER STUDENT BLOG TOUR: LEAP DAY, 2012 - MARCH 20th
AND STOPS HERE [INSERT YOUR DATE ON THE BLOG TOUR HERE]!
Giveaways include free ebooks of TRANSFER STUDENT, Amazon gift cards & weekly surprise gifts that are out of this world!
TRANSFER STUDENT RELEASE DAY: MARCH 20th

Gravity

Love is irresistible.  Gravity is undeniable.
Holy men have foretold their birth for thousands of years.  Supernatural creatures have awaited it for thousands more.  Now, in the presence of an eclipse, three souls mature for a single purpose—to fight.  They must fight for their lives, for their freedom and for the liberation of everyone possessed of a second nature.   ********Peyton Giles's world is turned upside down when she learns that everyone in her life and in her school is much more than they appear, she most of all.  Peyton is the one person in all of time and history powerful enough to bring peace to the darkness and to the light.  Not knowing that her powers could kill her, however, Peyton nearly loses her life only to have her brother's best friend save it.  Drawn to him in ways she can't explain, Trace is the one person that she literally can't live without.  Her soul is tethered to her world through her connection to him.  Without it, she will die. 
For the most part, Trace Kramer had always steered clear of his best friend's sister.  Until now.  He never would've expected that Peyton would hold his life and his future in her hands the way she's always held his heart.  But she does. 
 Peyton and Trace soon learn that love and fate aren't easier than duty and destiny, at least not when you're being hunted.  Together, they are more powerful than any other creature on the planet—and more valuable—but apart, neither can survive to fight for freedom, for the only life they've ever known and for the lives of everyone they've ever met. 
Their need for one another is undeniable.  Their love for one another is irresistible.  But can it endure all that they must suffer?
Find out on February 17th.

YA Indie Carnival- Some Like It Hot!

All right, ladies and gents, I'm practically drooling over today's post topic, so I'm gonna get straight to the point.  Why?  Because right after this, I'm gonna beat feet over to all the other carni blogs to read their excerpts, too.  Squeeeee!

Today's topic is...

*drum roll please*

Some Like It Hot!  Steamy scenes from our books.

As you all know, I love me some steam!  Whew!  Heck, who am I kidding?  I live for it!  I make a concerted effort to keep my books clean, as they are YA, but my heart really lies with those intense romantic moments where intimacy and love collide.  Ahhhh, yep, I like it hot! 

*stares off into space, lost in thought*

What?  What happened?  Oh, right.  Steamy scenes.  Gotcha.  So, I'm posting a scene from the third book in my Blood Like Poison trilogy.  I think it speaks for itself, so without further ado, I'm bringing the steam!

Rather than tearing my clothes off and whisking me away on a wave of sensual satisfaction, Bo tore open his wrist and held it to my lips.  Without hesitation, I touched my tongue to the trickle and lapped it up, reveling in the taste.  I closed my eyes to savor the flavor.  There was no comparison to blood that came from Bo.  Not even Cade's delicious fluid could compete with the sweetness that pumped through Bo's veins.As I suckled greedily at his wrist, Bo walked me backward to the bed.  When the backs of my knees hit the mattress, I stopped.  Bo took his wrist from my mouth and covered my lips with his own.  He wanted me.  Badly.  I could taste it as plainly as I could taste his blood.  And, somehow, it was even more delicious, even more irresistible.  When I felt his hands at my waist, I didn't hesitate to lift my arms as he pulled my shirt up over my head.  Then his lips were on mine again, devouring me.His hands roamed up and down my back until they stopped once more at my waist, coming around to my belly.  I felt his fingers working loose the button and zipper of my jeans.He leaned back to look at me and then dropped to one knee to pull off my shoes before he eased my pants down my legs.  Obligingly, I stepped out of them.  Bo's eyes never left mine as he stood.Bending, he swept me up in his arms and laid me gently back on the bed, my head resting once more on the mountain of pillows.  The stimulating rasp of velvet against my naked skin sent a cascade of chills skittering across my chest and belly.  Backing away, Bo reached for the hem of his own shirt and peeled it off, revealing to my starving eyes the pale, smooth skin that covered his muscular chest and stomach.  When he reached for the button of his jeans, he paused.  My eyes flew to his and I saw the blaze of my own desire reflected there, scorching in its heat and intensity.The grate of metal teeth drew my eyes back down.  I was immediately mesmerized by the play of muscles in Bo's arms and abdomen as he unzipped his jeans and bent to remove his shoes.  When he straightened, he didn't take off his jeans.  Instead he crawled up onto the bed and took my foot in his hand, pressing his lips to the arch.  His eyes didn't leave mine as he licked and nipped his way up the inside of my leg.When he laid my leg back on the bed, he trailed the fingers of his other hand up the inside of my right thigh, gently spreading my legs so he could stretch out on his belly between them.  Heat swept through me as I looked down at Bo's burning eyes where he hovered only inches from the place I needed him most.  As I watched, he pulled his lips back from his razor-sharp teeth and then drove them into the tender skin of my groin.  A shower of fire and light exploded inside me and I closed my eyes and let the pleasure consume me.I could barely breathe, the sensation was so incredible.  The intimacy of it, the bliss of it was so intense that all thought was washed away by wave after wave of ecstasy.When Bo's mouth moved from my leg, I felt his lips graze my left hand.  I opened my eyes a crack and saw a golden band encircling my ring finger.  My befuddled mind wondered over it for just a moment before it returned to Bo as he kissed his way up my body.Stretching out atop me, Bo nestled his hips between my thighs as his mouth covered mine.  I tasted the delicious flavor of my own blood when he slid his tongue between my teeth to tangle with mine.Shifting his weight to one side, Bo's knowing fingers teased a trail from my throat to my shoulder where he eased my bra strap down.  His lips followed the path with feathery kisses all the way to my breast.  I couldn't hold back a moan as his skilled tongue adored every inch of flesh he revealed.  A liquid heat began to bubble just below my navel.  I knew instinctively that this was our moment.  This was our time—the right time.  Reaching behind me, Bo unclasped my bra and quickly dispatched the material.  He leaned back, his eyes roving over my bare breasts causing a flush to spread across my chest.  "You're so beautiful," he whispered reverently.  "Perfect."    His fingers slipped beneath the band of my panties and he worked the silky material down my legs until he was once again at my feet.  Tossing my last piece of clothing aside, Bo slid from the bed and stood, worshipping me with his eyes as he pushed his jeans down his legs.  He straightened and stood perfectly still as I raised myself onto my elbows to memorize every detail of his flawless naked form.I felt as though I would burst when Bo set one knee on the bed and crawled back to me.  He eased himself down between my legs, covering my body with his.  The feel of his skin shifting against mine sent a gush of steamy desire pouring through me.  Every nerve in my body was screaming out for his touch.  I ached in ways I'd never ached before, ached in places I'd never ached before.  I was alive with need.  When I opened my mouth to beg, to plead with Bo to put an end to the unbearable want that flooded my body, he smothered my plea with his lips.  His kiss was deep and fiery with passion.  It drove me to the brink of a need so desperate, a desire so overwhelming that it stole my breath.  Bo's lips left mine as he positioned himself over me.  With an intensity that seemed to singe my very soul, he gazed unblinkingly into my eyes, and in that time, a space no longer than a single heartbeat, our thoughts were one.  In my head, I heard a word as if we'd both spoken it aloud.  "Forever" echoed through my mind and through my heart as Bo joined his body to mine in one smooth motion.  With that one action, in that one moment of the most intense ecstasy I'd ever experienced, he sealed our fates.  He sealed our fates, our bodies, our lives, our love and our future.
To read more, you can purchase this book on Amazon or on Barnes and Noble

Now, head on over to check out the rest of the fab posts by my carni friends.  That's where I'm going!

TGIF, y'all!

Dani Snell Refracted Light Reviews
Patti Larsen Author of The Ghost Boy of MacKenzie House, The Hunted Series and the Hayle Coven Novels
Courtney Cole Author of Every Last Kiss, Fated, Princess, and Guardian. Also a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Fisher Amelie Author of The Understorey, as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Laura Elliott Author of Winnemucca as well as 13 on Halloween, book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series
Amy Jones Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Rachel Coles Author of Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Whistles, Beergarden, Plagues, Bees of St. John, and Mushrooms
T.R. Graves Author of Warriors of the Cross
PJ Hoover Author of Solstice, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, The Necropolis
Cheri Schmidt Author of Fateful, Fractured, and Fair Maiden
Lexus Luke Author of Manitou, The Sky People Saga
Suzy Turner Author of December Moon and Raven
K.C. Blake Author of Vampire Rules
Gwenn Wright Author of Filter
Kimberly Kinrade Author of Bits of You & Pieces of Me and Forbidden Mind
Madeline Smoot Author of Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
Cidney Swanson Author of Ripple series
Heather Self Blogger, Reviewer and upcoming Indie Author
Heather M. White, Author of The Destiny Saga
Melissa Pearl, Author The Time Spirit Trilogy
T. G. Ayer
Bryna Butler, Author of Midnight Guardian series

Twitter

I know it may not seem like a lot to some of you, but I am nearing the 1000 mark for followers on Twitter.  Considering that I started out with a big fat ZERO not so many months ago, I'm quite pleased with this milestone.  At any rate, I'm doing a giveaway for the event.  My 1000th follower will get free Kindle eBook copies of BLP1, The Reaping, Madly, Wiccan and Caterpillar when they tell me who sent them in my Twitter direction.  Now for the person who sent them, he or she will receive a signed copy of both Blood Like Poison: For the Love of a Vampire and The Reaping.  How's that for appreciation?  Good enough?  I sure hope so. 

Thanks to everyone who is gracious enough to follow me and read my work.  I love you all more than I could ever say:)