K.C. Sprayberry's Blog, page 153

Everybody Reads YA ~ Inits

Happy “Everybody Reads YA” Sunday! Today I’m sharing an excerpt from my YA contemporary novel, Inits. Bullies are everywhere—on the corner, the part, via the internet, even in your school.




The first Wednesday in August arrives not with the promise of a day spent in the Recreation Center's pool. No lazy afternoon will float past while I play baseball or football with my buds. Band camp ended a couple of weeks ago, so sleeping until noon is no longer a luxury I indulge in.
Although I know what day it is, I revel in a dream – where I'm Mr. America. I flex my muscles, strut around a stage, and blow away the competition. This is my victory, my way of showing everyone that I'm the best.
All the problems in my life fly away. No one gives me any kind of trouble about my inits, they don't dare.
Nobody messes with Mr. America.

About the Author
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Some of her short stories have appeared in anthologies, others in magazines.




Alex Starkey is a normal teenager with unfortunate initials. Initials which have been his nemesis his entire life. Initials matter when all the kids call each other by them instead using their names.


If that isn’t awkward enough, there’s Payne, who’s made a career out of bullying kids he thinks deserve it. Alex’s inits make him a target. Alex can deal with that on his own, until Payne crosses the line and tries to force him into doing things with long-range consequences. That’s when Alex stands up and faces him down.


Inits 

Book Promotion

There are a lot of schools of thought on how best to promote your book. No one method will work for one author and then automatically work for another. It’s up to you, the author, to find the best way to promote your book, through trial and error.
The first thing you should do is become active with a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account. Yes, I can hear your arguments. Facebook has begun scaling back on how many people see your posts. Well, there is a way to work around that, by setting up an agreement with author friends, to like and share each other’s posts. This isn’t easy but will eventually get you a small following. Posting several times a day with interesting tidbits, not always book related, will also help.
Having Twitter work for you is simply a matter of time. That means time on Twitter. Time developing a following. And time to find the right fans. It will happen, but until it does, you need to use developing trends, promotions of your book several times a day, and your current followers to get the word out.
A blog is a good way to get noticed, if it remains active. That means in addition to crowing about your latest book, you need to connect your blog posts with Twitter trends—Sunday Blog Share, Monday Blogs, Tuesday Book Blobs, and Wednesday Blogs (all with a hashtag, #, and the words written all as one). This will get your blog into groups you wouldn’t have normally thought of accessing and will get you new followers.
What you shouldn’t do is sit behind your monitor to whine and complain how nobody on social media cares about your book. Believe me, that will not get you the attention you want. Oh yes, I know very well how many people do that with their daily lives already, but don’t be the author that failed because all they could do is gripe that nobody appreciates their book.
Instead of saying that no one has reviewed your book, try using one of those memes on the care and feeding of an author—I’m sure you’ve seen them in their many varieties. Love the book? Write a review. Feed an author. Things like that. Don’t make snarky comments when you post the meme, just let it do the work. Or make a cute comment like “Pie with books is good. Maybe a blackberry/apple pie. I like that.” People will be laughing. They’ll remember your name, look for your books. Your mama was right—nobody likes a whiner.
Don’t be put off by all the authors on Twitter promoting their books. They were once in your place, uncertain what to do, screaming terror, “Help! I’m lost!” Dive in. The water is fine.

The Boyfriend

The boyfriend can be a girl’s best friend, or her worst nightmare.
There are guys who will all too willingly make their girl feel good about anything. They’ll buy her flowers for no reason, hold her books at school, even get her a special treat when she’s feeling low. Those are the keepers. These guys have had a great role model to show them how to be nice to their girl.
On the other hand, there are guys who always want to hang with their buds. They’ll demand their girl be nothing more than arm candy, and brag to all who will listen that they’ve trained her very well.
The happy medium is a give and take between the couple, with some bad breaking up the idyllic moments.
Unless you have a boyfriend with a major secret he forgot to share.
Oh, not to mention that you have a secret too, one no one told you about until all hell is breaking loose.
In Family Secret … Times Two, Lan discovers a family legacy no one talked about. And it’s at the worst possible moment, when she’s in a fight for her life. Worse, her boyfriend is the person she’s fighting.
Blurb
A curse uttered in 1422 sets two families against each other—each side determined to destroy the other. Now, Zan Courtland, unprepared for the task, must face off against her foe—who also happens to be her boyfriend.




http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00HQP5W0K

Character Development

One of the best things we can do for our readers is to have well developed characters. I don’t mean describe them from birth to the moment they appear on the page. I’m talking about three-dimensional characters, characters that leap off the page and dance around the room.
How do you do this?
Well, first you have to decide who your character is, what experiences they’ve had to bring them to this point, why they’re making the decisions they are. This means we need more than a physical description, and we don’t need that information dumped into a very long paragraph at the beginning of the book, which the reader will promptly forget once they make it to Chapter Two.
What is character development?
Your characters are like living human beings. They have lives—past, present, and hopefully, a future. Therefore, they will have lived. They will have ups and downs. They will have cheered and mourned. They will have broken bones, tripped over their own feet, and gotten drunk. Your characters are like the people around you and that is where you need to start.
Once you have your characters’ roles set and their names in place, take a trip to the local grocery store, the mall, even that big box store you hate. Become an observer. People watch. Make notes on both mundane and outrageous actions. Show interest in outrageous outfits—Will one of those fit one of your characters?
Now that you’ve got this information, begin to develop a life for your characters. Were they middle of the pack students, or did they stand out as honor roll or the dunce? Did your female lead fight to be part of the football team, because her daddy always let her play in the neighborhood games? Did the male lead go into music because of a love for it or because his mom forced piano lessons down his throat since he was three?
What kinds of hobbies do your characters have? What are their passions, their dislikes and likes both? Do they prefer jeans and a t-shirt or dressing to the nines? Are they a cat person, a dog lover, or do they hate animals?
Test yourself. How many attributes can you give a character? Even the guy who dies in Chapter Five needs to be well developed. Don’t hand out a major spoiler by only referring to him by his name and what’s he’s like in the here and now. Give him a life. Make him worth mourning. That little bit of importance can make or break your story.
Finally, once you have your character’s lives set, begin setting them into the action. But don’t make the mistake of dumping this information all at once. It’s only for background, to be used when necessary.

Everybody Reads YA ~ Evil Eyes

Happy “Everybody Reads YA” Sunday! Today I’m sharing an excerpt from my YA psychological thriller: Evil Eyes. Stalkers can appear in the most unusual or ordinary places, especially when you aren’t expecting one. 


Christine Zephyr puts the keys to her mom’s Volkswagen Beetle in the visor, shoves her bag under the seat, and casts a worried glance at the three small white boxes on the passenger seat.
These started appearing a few days ago, balanced on the ledge of her bedroom window. She’d called the police, but couldn’t turn them in, until today. Now, she has to ask her friends’ advice before going to the police again.
“It’s not happening.” She cups her belly, feeling the tiny bump there, proving that she really is four months pregnant. “There’s so much that I have to tell them, especially how this isn’t the biggest mistake of my life.” Her smile is soft, loving. “Oh, Maia, my perfect little angel. I know that you’re a girl, even though everyone will say I can’t, but I just know you are. Jason already loves you as much as I do.”

About the Author
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Some of her short stories have appeared in anthologies, others in magazines.



Lisa is so ready for a break from the grueling first semester of college. Along with five other friends, she returns to Landry, and hopes to have nothing but fun. Within days, one of the group is the victim of a vindictive stalker, and Lisa herself is now in the man's sights. No matter what she does, she can't shake this person.
Fred has a little problem, but he figures he can take care of it himself, if he achieves fame with his folk rock band, Olney-Oak Lane Sounds. Then he happens to see this beautiful woman, who turns out to be just like every other woman he's met. He takes care of her, and is immediately drawn to Lisa. No one will get between Fred and Lisa, absolutely no one.
On Christmas Eve, Lisa has to fight for her life and sanity after Fred kidnaps her. She turns out to be very different from the other women, in a way he never figured.


Evil Eyes 

Spotlight on Campanelli: Siege of the Nighthunter

Today, we're letting Frederick H. Crook take over the blog. He writes wonderful dystopian science fiction stories set in the city of Chicago.

Take it away, Fred!



About the Author:
Frederick was born in Chicago in 1970 and now lives in Villa Park with his wife, Rae and their three dachshunds. He began by writing fictional works all through high school, but didn’t take himself seriously until 2009, when Frederick began writing his first novel, The Dregs of Exodus, which was self-published in late 2010. This was followed up with another novel, The Pirates of Exodus in 2012.
Throughout that year and 2013, he continued writing and published four short stories in eBook form for Kindle. Runt Pulse, The Fortress of Albion, Lunar Troll, and Campanelli: The Ping Tom Affair.
His third novel, Campanelli: Sentinel, was picked up by Solstice Publishing in late 2014. The novella, Minuteman Merlin, was released for the Kindle by Solstice Publishing in March of 2015 and followed up by his fourth novel, Of Knight & Devil in September. His fifth novel, Campanelli: Siege of the Nighthunter was released by Solstice in March, 2016.
He is currently an editor for Solstice Publishing and working on novel number six, a paranormal historical fiction.




Blurb
June, 2110. A serial killer strikes the populace of the City of Chicago. The first victim is a wanted man by Detective Frank Campanelli’s Sentinel Division. His body had been mutilated and, from the evidence uncovered by forensic genius, H. Lincoln Rothgery, it has been partially consumed. The unknown invader leaves a trail of corpses behind in short order, including that of a homicide detective.
To add to the mystery, the DNA evidence retrieved from a stolen vehicle indicates that the killer is former military, but special encoding prevents the murderer from being identified. Frank’s partner, Marcus Williams, seems to know more about what’s going on than he lets on, until the former Navy SEAL calls in a friend from the FBI to help.
“The Nighthunter”, as the media has labeled him, instills terror and virtually shuts down Chicago. Together, Campanelli, Williams, and the agent must work to capture the enigmatic and frighteningly efficient cannibal.






Excerpt
            Lincoln caught Frank’s gaze. “We found two different types of blood, two sets of DNA in the car.”            “Go on,” McLain prompted.            “Herman Werner’s and the killer’s. No ID’s been matched to his,” Rothgery stated and stood from his chair. He stepped between the two detectives and stepped casually toward the sedan. “The killer’s DNA has been engineered, as has the blood, but there’s no identification to be found in the cells. He is a he and appears to be of military origin, but it goes beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”            “So, you’re telling me that the killer is a soldier. American?” Frank asked as he stopped next to Lincoln and stared at the driver’s seat of the ruined car.            “I can’t even determine that without a serial number, Frank.”            “Soldier or not, Mister Rothgery…how the hell did he get outta that?” McLain asked from Lincoln’s other side. The big man waved his hand over the wreckage as he spoke. “That should’ve been fatal…engineered genes or not.”            “I agree.” Rothgery slid his glasses from his Roman nose and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. “Gherling is still researching the DNA and the blood while Teri is carrying out more tests.”            “You said Werner’s blood was in the car,” Frank stated.            “Yeah,” Lincoln said then nodded. “Not much of it, though. A lot of the DNA we found in it was from hairs in the carpets and seats. My opinion is that he used the car for some time. Months, perhaps close to a year.”            “So, Werner was cut out of the seatbelt…then thrown through the air.” Kirby stepped up to the side of the car and studied the sliced seatbelt. In the bright light, the precision cut was much more impressive.            “Definitely,” H. Lincoln affirmed as he replaced his eyeglasses. “And…before I forget…there are teeth marks on the body.”            “We saw those,” Frank said. He leaned back on the workbench behind him and crossed his arms. “The bites on the shoulder.”            “I’m not talking about those, Frank.”            This took Kirby’s attention from the wreck to the forensic genius. “What are you trying to say, Mister Rothgery?”            “I’m saying he had a little nibble on some muscle tissue while he cut out the heart and liver. It’s also confirmed that the heart and liver were eaten.” Lincoln met the eyes of McLain then looked to Campanelli.            “God,” Kirby uttered and stepped away from the sedan as if it exuded heat.            “How do you come to that, Lincoln?” Frank asked.            “Pieces of both organs were left behind in the car. Nothing more than shreds, really. Seems he had to pick them out of his teeth as he drove.”             Frank lifted his right hand to his chin and rested it, keeping the left arm tucked. “You’re telling me that we have a soldier of unknown origin turned cannibal, running around the streets of Chicago.”            “From everything we’ve gathered so far, Frank, that’s about the size of it.”



Social Media Links:

Campanelli: Siege of the Nighthunter 
Website 
Facebook Fan Page 
Twitter 
Amazon Author Page 
YouTube Channel 

Character Interview—Starlight’s Curse

For the author: K.C. Sprayberry       Talk to us about Starlight’s Curse.
The South is full of mansions of the former glory, some restored to how they were back then, and others left to rot over time. Those homes are the ones that fascinate me, drive me to wonder what stories their walls could tell. Starlight’s Curse was born of a local home that was once beautiful but even more than a million dollars in renovations couldn’t restore to its former glory. Seeing that place, one can’t help but get a creepy feeling… and that was the beginning of Starlight.
Starlight's Curse
2.      Author BioBorn and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Some of her short stories have appeared in anthologies, others in magazines.



  Website/Blog/Twitter links:  
Facebook
Twitter 
Website 
For the character: Jayme BarclayIntroduce yourself to our readers. Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you? 

My name is Jayme Barclay. I grew up in Landry. Went away to college but came back after only a semester. My baby, Tawni, was all I cared about once she was born. Not that some of the old women around here thought the same. They were always giving me trouble about being an “unwed mother.” Everyone wanted to know who Tawni’s daddy was, but I couldn’t let those women destroy his life, like they tried to do to me. No one was going to make me hide away in shame… until that night.
What are your feelings about this story?
We have to tell this story. Everyone has to know, so they realize it’s never all right to accept what you know is wrong as the truth. And to fight for what you believe in. At first, after I lost my baby, I just wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere and join her. But then I found a reason to live, a reason to tell her daddy what I took from him, and a reason to fight back.
How do you feel about being a character in this book?
People won’t see me at my best, but this the time frame of this story was possibly the worst moment of my life. So, I like being a character in this book. Everyone will think I’m a fool at the beginning, for running away and hiding, but I come back and I’m ready to fight to do what’s right. That’s all that counts.


What do you see in your future? (No spoilers please!)
I love my future. And if you want to know why, you’re going to have to read the whole book.
Is there another Starlight’s Curse in the future? Will you be part of it?
Oh, can’t spoil the ending, but honestly… I’m not sure.
Say a movie producer comes knocking. What actor/actress would you want to play you and why?
Poppy Montgomery. She not only looks exactly like me, but her role in Unforgettable is the same kind of person I am.

For the character: Brad PattersonIntroduce yourself to our readers. Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you?

Brad Patterson here. Jock in high school, graduated Purdue with a Criminology degree, and came back home. Boy, was I knocked over with a feather when I saw the girl I’ve always loved had a kid. And there was no daddy around. That didn’t matter to me. Tawni and me? We got along great. She was always like my kid. You should have seen her fishing when she wasn’t but six. Sat for hours until a catfish grabbed her bait. And her mama, what can I say? I’ve loved Jayme since we were both in high school. One day, I’m gonna marry Jayme.
What are your feelings about this story?
I got knocked in the gut by a bunch of stuff that happened in this story. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, should ever go through what Jayme endured. That evil, wicked stepmother of hers deserves whatever happens to her. Nobody hurts my Jayme and gets away with it.
How do you feel about being a character in this book?
Wouldn’t be a book without me. (laughs) Well, I guess it could, but I certainly wouldn’t want to let Jayme handle a situation like she faced alone. Although, cough, cough, I still want pictures of that one move she made. Lots of pictures.
What do you see in your future? (No spoilers please!)
Oh, my future is definitely looking up. Jayme and I… ah, that’ll spoil the ending. Guess you’ll have to figure out where Jayme and I go by reading the book.
Is there another Starlight’s Curse in the future? Will you be part of it?
I’d like to say I hope not, but I’m a cop. There’ll always be jerks in this world trying to make people hurt just because they can. Sure hope there really isn’t another one like what we went through. That just plain hurt.
Say a movie producer comes knocking. What actor/actress would you want to play you and why?
A movie? You mean someone would actually want to make a movie about our story? Well… I think Eddie Cibrian would do a fine job portraying me. Kind of looks like me too.


For the character: Sheriff Big Jake HaskinsIntroduce yourself to our readers. Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you?

 
You want to know about me? I’m just a country sheriff, who grew up on the mountain. Like a lot of mountain folk, I didn’t have an easy life. Big Jake Haskins is my name. And I treat everyone fair, until they break the law. You see, I’m not at all like the typical Southern sheriff. That’s because I made a vow when I was just thirteen, and I aim to keep it the rest of my life..
What are your feelings about this story?
Sorry story, if you ask me. If the sheriffs who’d been in charge when I was a kid had been honest, it wouldn’t have happened. But they were as corrupt as they come, so it was up to me to fix things. Took me forty years to figure everything out, but I’m not someone who gives up easy.
How do you feel about being a character in this book?
Pretty good tale, if you ask me. Kind of glad I got to be in it. As I said, I grew up hard, didn’t ever have much. Thanks to a pretty good bunch of people who believed in me, I’m going places. Might not be too happy about that now, but things will change. They sure will..
What do you see in your future? (No spoilers please!)
Oh, a lot of things. Definitely changes. Can’t say much about that, though. It would give away too much.
Is there another Starlight’s Curse in the future? Will you be part of it?
(Leans back in comfortable chair, shakes head slowly) Now, I’m a realist. Had to be, after what I saw and experienced as a kid. I’d sure like to say there’s no chance of all that happening again. But I know people, and some are pure evil.
Say a movie producer comes knocking. What actor/actress would you want to play you and why?
A movie. Snorts. Who’d want to make a movie. Nods head. Yeah, I can see there being a movie. It’s got all the elements of a good story. Who would I want to play me? Why, that David Boreanaz fellow. You know, that guy who’s in Bones.

Care and Feeding of Your Editor

We all have one once our book has been accepted for publication. The editor is the one person who can help you make or break your book. These hardworking and underestimated people are often dong this as a second job, and they as long or perhaps longer than you do to make your book grammatically correct.
That means there are rules for caring and feeding your editor. And those rules aren’t meant to be broken.
Rule 1: the editor will take their time completing the first round of looking over your book. Be prepared. There will probably be a lot of notes in there. Your first question to the editor will be along the lines of “The editor on chief loves my book. That means they love it as it is. So, put back everything you took out, because it’s important.”
Time to step back. Yes, the editor in chief loved the book. They loved the premise and how you presented it. They may have overlooked incorrect punctuation, grammar problems, even a few spelling problems, because they saw a gem under that. An editor in chief will expect the assigned editor to overcome those issues.
Rule 2: Never, ever, don’t even think about it, lie about your editor when communicating with the editor in chief. Before that individual even begins to formulate a reply, they will contact the editor to see what’s going on. Once they have that information, they will reply to you. If they’ve discovered you’ve stretched the truth, perhaps in an effort to find an editor who will be more amenable to your demands.
That won’t be further from the truth than say, having a top model pose for your cover art. A good editor will be picking apart how your sentences are constructed with an eye on your voice. They will be making sure you haven’t used multiple ways of using an ellipse, or you don’t show a solution before you show the problem. A great editor will catch a name change in the middle of the book that wasn’t corrected. Think of your editor as a virtual Mom. He or she will be making sure that you’ve washed behind your ears and are ready to be seen in public, and they will sometimes step on your toes to do that, but it’s all for your benefit.
Rule 3: Don’t berate your editor, ever. They are human, just like you are. They have private lives that sometimes intrude on their job. They also are doing this job because like you and I, they have a love for the written word and want to make sure published books are done well.
Rule 4: Say thank you. A lot. Remember, this person will be paid for the job, but they are also human and need to hear that while this wasn’t the most pleasant experience in the world for you, you do appreciate what they did to help you have the best book humanly possible.
The publishing world has changed a lot in the last almost two decades. So has editing. The pressure to catch all errors is getting harder every day. This means that you will think your toes are being stepped on but in reality, your book is being polished into the great novel that it is.

Spotlight on Starlight’s Curse

Welcome to the release tour of Starlight’s Curse. Starlight’s Curse is a romantic suspense novel that’s set in the south. It asks the question: What’s behind the secret to the evil haunting Starlight?
Starlight’s Curse releases April 26, 2016


Buy Starlight's Curse here!
Blurb:
The discovery of three teenage girls found hanging from an ancient elm tree, alleged suicides, on the grounds of abandoned Starlight Mansion by a teenage boy sets him on a mission to find the truth. Nearly forty years later, now the sheriff, Big Jake finds himself drawn into the investigation of a mysterious “suicide” and the disappearance of another teenager.
Jayme Barclay sees her fifteen-year-old daughter swinging on a rope from a tree at the mansion the county commissioner is turning into a resort. Brad Patterson loses a piece of himself when he answers the 911 call to get to Starlight on a snowy December night.
A year later, the mystery surrounding Tawni's alleged suicide still haunts both Jayme and Brad. Big Jake has been shackled in this investigation, much like another sheriff so many years ago.
Reluctant teens hold back information, until Jayme returns to the hometown she abandoned, to find the truth. Brad hates that he had to intrude on her grief, but also believes this is his chance to redeem himself for not protecting the daughter of the woman he loves. Big Jake suspects who the killer is and that the person isn’t done yet, but must stand back and allow a younger man stand up against a powerful and corrupt group of politicians.




About the Author:
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Some of her short stories have appeared in anthologies, others in magazines. 



Excerpt:           
Sleet and snow whipped around Starlight Mansion. A young teen, a mere thirteen-years-old, scampered in and around the tree stumps, scooted around boulders filling a former field where corn had once grown tall, and laughed as the winter storm pelted his face and bare hands. Jake Haskins had no problem with the bitter cold. Not one bit. Even the legends surrounding the long abandoned, decrepit mansion didn’t bother him. Being the normally curious boy that he was, Jake crept up on the rear of the fabled house and tiptoed onto the back porch. Planks creaked under his boots, held together with duct tape around the toes. There’d been hints he’d get a new pair tomorrow, if he was good. He figured being good meant staying away from Mama until she cooled off after their earlier confrontation. Of course, she might not cool off much, since their words had been those of an exasperated woman putting up with half a dozen young children and a surly teen stuck in a house that was too small at best. Getting angry with his life had never been something Jake did, but he was fed up with being called a poor pig farmer whose daddy couldn’t rub two nickels together. His dreams were big. Huge, some might say. No one up here on the mountain, with the exception of the Gleasons, had anything but a hard life. They worked from sunup to sundown, Monday through Saturday only to have to start again in the new week. Children went without more often than not, and parents bewailed their lot in life, all the while teaching the next generation to continue the same problematic lifestyle, dropping out of school and taking low paying jobs at the local factories and mills.But not Jake. He’d decided long ago that he’d one day be the county sheriff. He’d be a most excellent lawman, never once lying, or falsely accusing a family of doing wrong because they were dirt poor. Heck, he figured he’d seen enough up here to put the current sheriff, Jameson Emerson Waldon II in prison, if anyone outside Wallis County would believe Jake when he reported the mystifying comings and goings at Starlight Mansion. It was purely wrong for all those men to creep about inside that falling down building for hours on end. And the screams from what sounded like women hurt his ears and his heart. Jake had tried more than once to get the goods on the people Sheriff Waldon brought up here, but had been caught and threatened with the Mountain Home for Unrepentant Boys on more than a few occasions.
Social Media Links:
Facebook 
Twitter 
Website 
Goodreads 
Amazon Author Page 
Google + 
Pinterest 
Manic Readers 
AUTHORSdB 
 

Overcoming Insurmountable Obstacles

An obstacle that seems impossible to overcome can be as simple as passing a test you haven’t studied for. Or it can be as difficult as saving the world. The second one sounds like a lot more fun to teens. And it probably is.
A test you never studied for is a foregone conclusion. You are either going to get very lucky and pass it, or you’re going to fail miserably and have to accept the bad grade. There really aren’t any other options that won’t get you into more trouble than it’s worth.
Now, a world devastating event you have to prevent. That’s interesting. What teen doesn’t want to get involved with saving the world? After all, it’s an automatic excuse out of that test you didn’t study for. It’s a way for your parents to nod their heads and say they knew you were capable of that all along.
Paradox Lost: The Ultimate Paradox pits DJ, Matt, and Elisa against foes they’ve never had to face on their own. They’re at a loss on how to handle things, because Mom and Dad have disappeared. Every teacher they trust is also gone. So, they’re winging things along, hoping they don’t mess up big time and cause the Ultimate Paradox—that by letting their dad die in another time, when they weren’t born yet, they may vanish and all is lost.
Couple all this with the usual misadventures and their inherent animosity toward each other, and there is a good time to be had by all.
Blurb
The past changed the future …                                     . . . the future must salvage the past.
Falsely accused of murdering his father, DJ faces a terrible penalty. That’s the least of his worries—Uncle Toby and his army of Rogues are bent on tearing history apart, and DJ and his allies have to stop them any way they can. But only a True Neutral can save their world, and The First, his family’s ancestor, is long dead. His brother Matt was killed by Toby’s actions, and his sister Elisa is fighting her own demons.
The past created by their uncle needs to be uncreated into what it was meant to be. And these three teenagers, triplets and direct descendants of The First, must learn to ally with each other to correct the errors made real in the past.
And the Gateways reveal themselves as something no one ever suspected….
 

 Paradox Lost: The Ultimate Paradox