Diane Rapp's Blog: She's a Mystery and Science Fiction Writer! - Posts Tagged "ya"

Lauryn and Tessa must find the missing wolf:

Amber? Where are you? Tessa’s mind called out.

You must be near, Amber answered. Pain lanced through Amber’s body and Tessa doubled over as an echo of the pain shot through her own chest.

Lauryn steadied her sister as the icy wind penetrated their cloaks like paper.
The wolf’s mind felt weak, not a good sign! Remembering Amber’s intelligent eyes, her gliding gait, and her unfailing courage, Tessa’s ring glowed hot in her hand. Both girls “saw” Amber’s memory of the attack.

They inched their way along the snowy trail, their hands and feet numb. Lauryn forced blood to circulate through their cold limbs and prayed she could use the same energy to help Amber.

The trail widened. The bush where Amber hid was nearly buried under a snow drift but they dug through and crawled inside the hollow. As Tessa stroked the whimpering wolf Lauryn opened her locket and used her healing power to stop the bleeding.

Lauryn sighed. “She lost a lot of blood. I’m not sure she’ll make it.”

Tessa’s eyes filled with tears. “Help me keep her warm while we wait for the storm to stop. She doesn’t want to die alone.”

Tessa stroked Amber’s head as Lauryn spread their cloaks over their bodies. They huddled together and shared body heat as snow drifted against the bush. The heat from their breath formed a thin film of ice and trapped their warmth…When Lauryn opened her eyes, she found Tessa holding Amber’s cold body.

“What happened?” Lauryn asked. The wolf was dead but when Lauryn tried to touch Tessa’s mind she found it barricaded. “Don’t cut yourself off from me, Tessa. Amber knew you tried to help her, and I just want to help comfort you.”

Tessa nodded. “I know. She’s not in this body, so let’s get out of here.” She covered the stiff body with a blanket and sliced at the icy roof with her knife. When they climbed out of the snowdrift, snow collapsed through the opening.

Be sure to visit the other authors blogs to read more excerpts from their books. And go to www.booksafire.com to find two daily Free or discounted books.

Calinda B http://blog.calindab.com/?p=1421

J. Heather Leigh http://jheatherleigh.blogspot.com/p/b...

Charles Dougherty http://www.clrdougherty.com/p/excerpt...

Tami Kidd http://www.tamikidd.com/?page_id=5

Jennifer Donohoe http://wp.me/p2zxAX-4Q

Reb MacRath www.rebmacrath.blogspot.com

Donovan meets the wolf, Kriegen, for the first time:

It was not a wolf of earthly variety but Donovan’s mind labeled the creature a “wolf” in honor of the animal it most resembled. The lean well-muscled canine body looked similar to its cousin. The head looked long and narrow with alert golden eyes and pricked ears that shifted with each new sound. The eyes displayed an intelligent depth of expression.

He noticed a marked difference between this wolf and its earthly cousin. The creature stood on its hind legs, easily the height of a healthy grizzly bear. Although it was more slender than a bear, its muscled limbs looked formidable. With almost scientific detachment, Donovan noticed elongated front paws as the wolf extracted a deadly blade from a sheath strapped to its rib cage, a challenge on any world.

Donovan met the wolf’s steady gaze, his thoughts racing. An intelligent species, this wolf looked ready to fight. What rotten luck! I wish I could communicate. How can I avoid bloodshed?

“Greetings friend,” he said in a nervous croak.

The sound caused the animal to shift its stance. Donovan thought he saw curiosity in the alert eyes. If any creature on this world had the right to be called king, this regal animal was the one.

We accept acknowledgment of our superiority and spare your life.

The message formed inside Donovan’s head, not in words, but mental impressions that he translated into words.

The wolf sheathed his blade and “spoke” again. We are Kriegen, leader of the Forest Guardians. The wolf lowered his body to all fours.

Donovan sat—a fortunate choice as he later learned—since a standing position offered challenge. To avoid battle a weaker creature observed a subservient posture.

Be sure to visit the following links to read excerpts from other authors in Books-a-Fire. www.booksafire.com

Calinda B http://blog.calindab.com/?p=1421

J. Heather Leigh http://jheatherleigh.blogspot.com/p/b...

Charles Dougherty http://www.clrdougherty.com/p/excerpt...

Tami Kidd http://www.tamikidd.com/?page_id=5

Jennifer Donohoe http://wp.me/p2zxAX-4Q

Reb MacRath www.rebmacrath.blogspot.com

Dragon Defense
The dragon, Blaze tries to rescue prisoners from a mountain stronghold:

The sunrise illuminated a peculiar object that dangled below a large dragon. As the boat flew across the sky, superstitious villagers dashed into their mountain huts to escape the dreadful sight. The flock of dragons disappeared behind a mountain before people in Asbohar took notice.

Blaze carried the small red boat proudly in his talons as Felesia rode on his back. Swirls of red, gold, and blue moved across his billowing wings as the dragon squadron formed a large V across the sky. When Blaze reached the balcony filled with humans, his eyes swirled with concern, but Felesia sent him mental messages.

From inside the boat Brandon shouted and people retreated behind the door. The balcony barely seemed large enough, but Blaze lowered his burden and opened his talons. A gust of wind lifted his body away from jagged sandstone rocks overhead and children peeking out from behind the door gasped. The dragon crowed to his flock and circled overhead.

When Brandon stepped from the boat onto the balcony, he felt immense relief to be away from those talons. He turned as children rushed through the door and caught his breath. A stunning vision of lithe beauty stood before him with bronze rays of sunrise shimmering across jet-black hair and ivory skin. Her ebony eyes threatened to capture his soul as they held his gaze.

“You must be Shariel,” he said in a breathless gush.

She nodded and coaxed children toward the boat. “Shouldn’t we hurry?”

Brandon pushed windblown hair away from his forehead and flashed a beguiling smile, the one guaranteed to make a girl’s heart flutter. “I’m here to serve, milady.” He hefted small bodies into the boat.

“Take a seat on the benches or the floor and tie a rope around your waist. Ten go on each trip.”

Wide-eyed children followed orders while they stared at dragons overhead. “Don’t be afraid. Send the dragons mental pictures of bright colors and they’ll be friendly. How many of you can see color in the dragons’ minds?”

Several hands shot up, including older children who stood waiting inside the door.

“Felesia sends pictures and the dragons respond. That small dragon is Flash. She’s Felesia’s special friend and loves children.”

Shariel smiled as Brandon helped the children relax. He caught a glimpse of her smile and nearly choked. “Will you go in the boat?” he asked.

“No. Jordan wants me to ride on the back of a dragon. I communicate with wolves, so I might be able to speak with dragons. Besides, I need to keep the guards under control until the last minute.”

“I’ll wait and help you climb onto the dragon.” Brandon glanced at a vacant-eyed guard, who stood inside the door. “Is he all right?”

“He thinks it’s still dark outside and feels sleepy. I inherited the power of mind control from my father and I’m using it today.”

Brandon blinked. “Your father’s Jarrack?” he asked. He saw a frown tremble across her lips and decided he must make her smile again.

Children and adults filled the boat. Blaze folded his wings and dropped in a breathtaking dive toward the balcony, triggering screams from frightened humans. At the last moment the dragon unfurled his great wings, opened his talons, and grabbed the spar. He swiftly carried his prize away from the rugged cliff.

The boat rocked. Voices squealed but Blaze carried the burden with a steely grip and soared high above the foothills.

Felesia sent pictures to the wild mind. Blaze recognized the landscape he’d seen as a fledgling and stretched his neck into the wind. He banked to find a new thermal and let the warm air lift his body.

When the giant dragon swooped down to grab the bar, Brandon ducked. He stood open mouthed when Blaze angled away from the rocky cliff face and a smaller dragon landed on the balcony.

Brandon helped a tall boy climb onto Flash. He looped a long red rope around the dragon’s neck and tied it around the boy’s waist. “What’s your name?” Brandon asked with a grin.

“Duncan.” The boy’s lips curled into a timid smile.

“This dragon is Flash. Send her pictures of the spaceport with your mind and hold on tight!” Brandon shouted and gave the boy a “thumbs up” salute. The dragon launched from the balcony and Brandon heard a peal of laughter from Duncan. There was no time to waste as another dragon landed.

Dragons knew how to conserve strength and seldom pumped their wings. Dazzle flanked Blaze with Jordan riding on her back. He greeted her with swirls of gold and orange and saw Flash fly nearby with a small human on her back. The boy waved at people riding in the boat. Blaze heard shouts of encouragement and felt Dazzle’s pride as he carried the burden.

The dragons enjoyed this new game.


Visit www.booksafire.com to find two new discounted or free books every day until May 31. Be sure to visit the following links to read excerpts from other authors in Books-a-Fire.

Calinda B http://blog.calindab.com/?p=1421

J. Heather Leigh http://jheatherleigh.blogspot.com/p/b...

Charles Dougherty http://www.clrdougherty.com/p/excerpt...

Tami Kidd http://www.tamikidd.com/?page_id=5

Jennifer Donohoe http://wp.me/p2zxAX-4Q

Reb MacRath www.rebmacrath.blogspot.com

Are you tired of blood, guts, gore, and scenes that might make grandma (or even grandpa) blush?

The authors of Clean Indie Reads have joined together to promote books that you’ll be happy to share without blushing.

We’re running a one-week sale from Sept. 18 to 25. Every book shown on the following website will be on sale at 99 cents or possibly FREE.

No contests to enter or hoops to jump, just click and buy. Worry-free reads at rock bottom prices. Support Indie authors by buying a “clean” read today. Website link: http://bit.ly/16KkZqi

Books-a-Fire group sale

The Books-a-Fire authors are back with more fabulous deals and NEW books to buy from Oct. 23 thru 29. There are no gimmicks or hoops to jump, just incredible prices on every single book. Just point, click, and buy books in every genre for just 99 cents each.

YES! All 46 books on the page are priced at 99 cents to make your shopping easy and affordable. For less than the price of a dinner out, you could buy every single book on the page.

To make it really easy, we've also created categories. Click your favorite category at the top of the page and see all the books that are on sale in that category. Load your Kindle with all 46 books and enjoy a quiet read now that the kids are back in school. You've had a hectic summer so treat yourself to a good book today! Go to www.booksafire.com

Cassidy Jones and the Seventh Attendant by Elise Stokes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A great adventure filled with mummies and other monsters!

This week I yielded to a guilty pleasure by diving into another Cassidy Jones adventure. I admit that I'm a grandmother, but I still really enjoy the antics of this redheaded superhero. (Okay, so I'm also a redhead and understand why she blushes so easily.) Here is a series I can honestly recommend to my granddaughter and know we will actually have something to talk about besides her favorite pop stars.

Cassidy gets sucked into a situation where she must lie to her best friend while stalking his dubious father. If she tries to keep any more secrets, I think her brain will explode--metaphorically speaking. Cassidy must also deal with the ups and downs of teenage romance--a mean guy stalking her, a friend who might be romantically attracted to her, and the hunky guy she's head over heels about--yeah, I remember how difficult it was to navigate through teenage relationships. I feel relieved that I don't need to deal with teenage hormones any more, but I appreciate Cassidy's situation.

To make being a teenager even more difficult, Cassidy must "deal" with super villains and the scary monsters they create. Can she survive the venom of a deadly bite while dodging bullets? Reading the adventures of Cassidy Jones is definitely a guilty pleasure, even for a grandmother. Good thing I can recommend it to my granddaughter--girls should have super heroes to root for too. Read these books and you'll understand what I mean.




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My forehead’s throbbing. One minute this girl is yelling at me for giving up and the next, she’s laughing. Whiplash.

I squint my eyes at Danielle and whisper with my lips firmly in place, “I will never give up.”

Her voice is high and cheerful, “So what’s your plan?”

Johnny Boggs is a teen with trouble to spare who has learned one thing in life - trust no one. Paranoia befriends him as he moves into his fifth foster home and discovers no one appears as they are, his dreams are not just dreams, and he is supposedly the Prince of Shamayim.

On Johnny’s sixteenth birthday, fate requires him to leave the protection of this world but allows for him to choose to reign over the light or turn to the darkness. A vicious competition begins as two kingdoms fight for his loyalty while two beautiful girls, Danielle and Shay, fight for his attention. Time is running out; a decision must be made. Johnny finds it impossible to resist the beauty of his dreams, nor can he turn away from the one who has his heart.






Footsteps enter my bedroom and approach my bunk. Not. Right. Now. I pretend to be asleep. A cold chill covers my body, making every hair stand on end. Then the bedroom door slams shut. I’m not in the freaking mood! Expecting to see one of my annoying foster brothers, I jerk my head toward the door and punch my fist into the mattress. “What!” I yell out, but no one’s there.

My eyes dart all around the room. Maybe there’s a draft, or someone shut another door causing this one to slam. Doubt it. I’m sure it’s just JC and Miguel trying to get even. “Hilarious, guys, I’m so scared. Now get the hell outta here.” I throw my pillow at the door and myself back on my bed.

An abnormal silence plays with my mind. I decide to reach for my headphones, but I can’t move. My heart jumps. No matter how hard I flex, my arm is stuck to the mattress. My lungs suck in air while every other organ aches under the pressure. An uncontrollable trembling takes over. What. The. Heck. Is. Going. On. My eyes blink over a hundred miles per hour. I can’t move, I can’t speak, I can’t, and then I realize I only have one ability left—sight.

Next to my bed stands a huge man with solid black corneas full of swirling dark fog in his vacant orbs, the Hollow Man. He’s staring me down again, but this time we’re the only ones in the room—no queen, no Camaro, no Mom. This can’t be real. It’s just another one of my crazy dreams. I go along for the ride, like I have a choice. The Hollow Man stands there clenching his fists, causing his abnormally large pecs to flex. My heart races, and my stomach threatens to return my lunch. An intense pain surges as he’s controlling every cell in my body without touching me.

The Hollow Man speaks, “Prince, why are you lying here as if you are a helpless child?” He turns off his death stare, and I feel an instant release followed by the familiar ache of a four-hour football workout in the Texas heat. Is this guy serious? Prince? And how am I supposed to fight something that isn’t really there? My chest tightens, and I try to wake up.










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Brave New Girls: Tales of Girls and Gadgets by Paige Daniels

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Grandmothers will want to share this with their girls

This is such a clever anthology. I remember growing up in a world where girls were never good at math and science, so I made sure to hide my report card (with its straight As) from friends on the bus. I loved school, excelled at math and science, but felt embarrassed to let anyone know. The most popular girls looked beautiful and tried to sound dumb. UGH! If we'd had stories like the ones in this book to encourage us to stretch our brains and do incredible things, just think how much more we'd have accomplished.

Women fought to be equal in everything and made fantastic strides. Too bad many of their preconceived ideas of which subjects they'd tackle left them out in the cold. As the world changes and girls read incredible stories like the ones in this book, their self images will allow them to tackle any kind of problem with gusto.

I found it interesting that many of the short stories in this collection were written by men. They obviously want their daughters to live in a world where anything is possible for them. Kudos! I'm going to make sure my granddaughter reads this collection. Yes. I'm a grandmother and writer, and I enjoy reading YA fiction because it's full of life. Get a copy of this book for yourself and then share it with your favorite girls.



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