Sarra Cannon's Blog, page 28
April 8, 2012
Cover Reveal: Heather McCorkle's To Ride A Púca
Heather: I'm so excited to share the cover of my young adult historical fantasy novel, To Ride A Púca, with you. I've been waiting for so long to reveal the news and the cover that it's been driving me crazy! This novel is special to me, as many of you know, because it felt like my heart and soul has gone into it. It isn't a part of the channeler series, though it is a tie-in novel as it's about one of Eren's ancestors. This is a stand alone of a very different flavor and I hope you love it a...
April 6, 2012
And The Winner Is…
Jamie Blair!!
Congratulations Jamie! You are the winner of the DEMONS FOREVER cover reveal giveaway! Jamie wins the very first free copy of Demons Forever, which I will personally mail out as soon as the book is complete and ready to be published. In addition, you will receive three awesome YA books: Become, Bloody Little Secrets, and Open Minds. I know you'll love them!
Thank you so much to everyone who entered and left comments and supported me throughout this giveaway. You guys rock! It...
April 1, 2012
DEMONS FOREVER Cover Reveal and Giveaway!!!!
Demons Forever will be the 6th and final book in the Peachville High Demons series. I am so excited to be one step closer to finishing it. Last week, I finished the rough draft, but there is still much work to do. But you came here today to see the final cover! I won't keep you waiting! Here it is:
What do you think?? I hope you like it as much as I do! I honestly think it's one of the prettier covers in the series. Please leave a comment and let me know if you like the cover. (By the way...
March 30, 2012
Rough Draft Complete!!!
Yay! This morning, I finished my rough draft for DEMONS FOREVER!!
This is an exciting step for me, because it means that I've worked through the issues I wanted to figure out in the story and now I am almost ready to start on my second draft. I've talked about my writing process before, but just as a refresher, I'll mention my next steps:
Rough Draft (complete!)Marinating time – this is where I reflect back on what I've written so far and fill in any gaps or figure out parts of the story that...March 26, 2012
Wrapping up My Rough Draft
This is hopefully the week I finish the rough draft for DEMONS FOREVER! I set my goal at 60,000 words even though I know the final book is going to end up more like 80,000. Of course, what I write in the rough draft is more like my version of exploring what might happen in the story. It's a way for me to play around with different ideas and see what works. Then, when I finish the rough draft, I take some time to let it all marinate before I start over completely with the second draft of the b...
March 22, 2012
Guest Interview up on Crazy Four Books Today!
Hey everyone!
Just popping on real quick to let you know that I was interviewed by Brenda over at Crazy Four Books today!! She's also giving away a copy of Beautiful Demons as well as some other great ebooks in her current blog hop. I hope you'll stop by and just say hi or enter for a free ebook.
March 14, 2012
Demons Forever – Rough Draft Update
After my beach weekend, I feel rejuvenated and excited about the final book in the Peachville High Demons series! Don't get me wrong, I've always been excited about the book, but it's a love/hate relationship I think. Love because I love these characters and this world. With every book, it reveals more of itself to me. Hate because I don't want it to end.
It's so sad to be working on the book and knowing that these are the last weeks I get to spend with Harper. Since this is my first series...
March 9, 2012
My Blog Has Moved!
The Sweetie Chronicles is now my main blog over on the new site and you can find it HERE. Today's post? Mini Beach Retreat Weekend, where I talk about unplugging from the real world and heading to Myrtle Beach for the weekend to work on Demons Forever.
My Indie Writer Resources blog is found HERE. All on the same website now! There are resources there like links, walkthroughs, my word meter, and now a separate blog just for those writing type topics.
I hope those of you who have followed me here and have enjoyed reading my blog will move over to the new site with me! I'll still probably post a few reminders here just in case, but largely my blog has officially moved. Please come check it out!
Mini Beach Retreat Weekend
I figure it's past time to get serious about this rough draft of Demons Forever! I've been spending more time thinking about it than actually working on it, which in a way IS working on it, but I know that now it's time to get some words on paper and test how this final book is coming along. Especially since I'm determined to have it published before the baby comes in June.
On the other hand, focusing on the story while there is so much going on in my personal life has been a struggle. I need ...
March 4, 2012
Free Preview of Michelle Muto's DON'T FEAR THE REAPER
*I wanted to announce that my blog has a new home at my brand new website! I've been working on this website for a while, and I was happy to have it finally go live this weekend. I am migrating my blog over there as well, so please check it out HERE. For this week, I'll probably be posting my blog both here and at the new site as we transition over.
I am so excited to have the very talented YA author Michelle Muto on my blog today. She has been nice enough to give us a free preview of her book DON'T FEAR THE REAPER. Here is a brief description of the book:
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.
Doesn't that sound awesome? Just wait until you read this first chapter! You will want to scoop it right up.
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 an afterlife. If God existed, I was convinced he had given up on me. Not once did I sense he'd heard a single one of my prayers. I wasn't asking for the world—I only wanted to know if my sister was safe and at peace. What was so hard about that?
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.
I recited the line from Psalms 23 again. It had become my personal mantra. It would have been easier to OD, I suppose. But I felt closer to my sister this way, to suffer as she'd suffered.
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.
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