Heather Lyons's Blog, page 12
June 13, 2013
I'm in the mood for a GIVEAWAY! (UPDATED)
Hello lovely readers!
As of today, A MATTER OF HEART is set to release in 12 days! Woo hoo!! I am so, so excited to share this book with you all. In the course of the Fate series, this is one is aptly named because it is the heart of Chloe's journey. I feel I need to stress that, while the first book in the series was a YA novel, AMOH is New Adult and contains new adult themes--therefore it's suitable for 18+. Chloe is 18 and 19 in this book, no longer in high school, and is living and working in the adult world. That said, I really look forward to hearing what you all think of it!
Which brings me to two related things . . .
First off, the first book of the Fate series, A MATTER OF FATE, is currently on sale for a limited time at Amazon and Barnes and Noble for $0.99! If you haven't gotten it yet, here's your chance. It's got lots of good things going in it, like action and suspense, magic and hot boys. Here's what I Heart YA Books had to say about it in their review:
"A Matter of Fate is an emotional roller-coaster. I could not put this novel down after reading the first chapter. Heather Lyons grabbed me be the heartstrings with Chloe, Jonah, and Kellan, and she didn't let me go."
Because I love me a good contest, I thought--what better time to run one than right before AMOH releases! So, here's the deal: this contest is open internationally to anyone who leaves an honest, valid review of A MATTER OF FATE on either Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Here's what's up for grabs: an autographed copy of A MATTER OF FATE plus a $10 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winners choice--US residents only). Or, if you're an international winner, an e-ARC of A MATTER OF HEART (yep!) plus a $20 gift card to Amazon.
Sound good? Here are the deets on the contest:
** Read A MATTER OF FATE.
** Leave an honest, valid written review of A MATTER OF FATE on Amazon and/or Barnes & Noble. We're not talking War & Peace length (unless that's how you roll with reviews, then feel free to go for it!)--just something that lets me know what you truly think about AMOF. I love me some Goodreads reviews, too--but for this contest, there must be reviews left on Amazon and/or B&N as well. Side note: If you choose to post a review on Amazon and Goodreads, for example, it can be the same one. All you have to do is copy and paste it from one site to the other!
** After that's done, go to the Google Docs form for the giveaway HERE and paste the URL link for your review. If you've posted honest reviews in multiple places, choose the main one (i.e. Amazon or Barnes & Noble) to link. Oh! I almost forgot there's a BONUS!! If you leave written reviews for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, AND Goodreads, you will get an extra entry in the contest.
** The winner will be chosen at random and notified by email within one week of close of contest 7/15/13). The prize package will be shipped within two weeks of notification.
Enter to win HERE!
Buy A MATTER OF FATE at the following places:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
As of today, A MATTER OF HEART is set to release in 12 days! Woo hoo!! I am so, so excited to share this book with you all. In the course of the Fate series, this is one is aptly named because it is the heart of Chloe's journey. I feel I need to stress that, while the first book in the series was a YA novel, AMOH is New Adult and contains new adult themes--therefore it's suitable for 18+. Chloe is 18 and 19 in this book, no longer in high school, and is living and working in the adult world. That said, I really look forward to hearing what you all think of it!
Which brings me to two related things . . .
First off, the first book of the Fate series, A MATTER OF FATE, is currently on sale for a limited time at Amazon and Barnes and Noble for $0.99! If you haven't gotten it yet, here's your chance. It's got lots of good things going in it, like action and suspense, magic and hot boys. Here's what I Heart YA Books had to say about it in their review:
"A Matter of Fate is an emotional roller-coaster. I could not put this novel down after reading the first chapter. Heather Lyons grabbed me be the heartstrings with Chloe, Jonah, and Kellan, and she didn't let me go."
Because I love me a good contest, I thought--what better time to run one than right before AMOH releases! So, here's the deal: this contest is open internationally to anyone who leaves an honest, valid review of A MATTER OF FATE on either Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Here's what's up for grabs: an autographed copy of A MATTER OF FATE plus a $10 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winners choice--US residents only). Or, if you're an international winner, an e-ARC of A MATTER OF HEART (yep!) plus a $20 gift card to Amazon.
Sound good? Here are the deets on the contest:
** Read A MATTER OF FATE.
** Leave an honest, valid written review of A MATTER OF FATE on Amazon and/or Barnes & Noble. We're not talking War & Peace length (unless that's how you roll with reviews, then feel free to go for it!)--just something that lets me know what you truly think about AMOF. I love me some Goodreads reviews, too--but for this contest, there must be reviews left on Amazon and/or B&N as well. Side note: If you choose to post a review on Amazon and Goodreads, for example, it can be the same one. All you have to do is copy and paste it from one site to the other!
** After that's done, go to the Google Docs form for the giveaway HERE and paste the URL link for your review. If you've posted honest reviews in multiple places, choose the main one (i.e. Amazon or Barnes & Noble) to link. Oh! I almost forgot there's a BONUS!! If you leave written reviews for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, AND Goodreads, you will get an extra entry in the contest.
** The winner will be chosen at random and notified by email within one week of close of contest 7/15/13). The prize package will be shipped within two weeks of notification.
Enter to win HERE!
Buy A MATTER OF FATE at the following places:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
June 7, 2013
I'm in the mood for a GIVEAWAY!
Hello lovely readers!
As of today, A MATTER OF HEART is set to release in 18 days! Woo hoo!! I am so, so excited to share this book with you all. In the course of the Fate series, this is one is aptly named because it is the heart of Chloe's journey. I feel I need to stress that, while the first book in the series was a YA novel, AMOH is New Adult and contains new adult themes--therefore it's suitable for 18+. Chloe is 18 and 19 in this book, no longer in high school, and is living and working in the adult world. That said, I really look forward to hearing what you all think of it!
Which brings me to two related things . . .
First off, the first book of the Fate series, A MATTER OF FATE, is currently on sale for a limited time at Amazon and Barnes and Noble for $0.99! If you haven't gotten it yet, here's your chance. It's got lots of good things going in it, like action and suspense, magic and hot boys. Here's what I Heart YA Books had to say about it in their review:
"A Matter of Fate is an emotional roller-coaster. I could not put this novel down after reading the first chapter. Heather Lyons grabbed me be the heartstrings with Chloe, Jonah, and Kellan, and she didn't let me go."
Because I love me a good contest, I thought--what better time to run one than right before AMOH releases! So, here's the deal: this contest is open internally to anyone who leaves an honest, valid review of A MATTER OF FATE on either Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Here's what's up for grabs: an autographed copy of A MATTER OF FATE plus a $10 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winners choice--US residents only)? Or, if you're an international winner, an e-ARC of A MATTER OF HEART (yep!) plus a $20 gift card to Amazon?
Sound good? Here are the deets on the contest:
** Read A MATTER OF FATE.
** Leave an honest, valid review of A MATTER OF FATE on Amazon and/or Barnes & Noble. We're not talking War & Peace length (unless that's how you roll with reviews, then feel free to go for it!)--just something that lets me know what you truly think about AMOF. I love me some Goodreads reviews, too--but for this contest, there must be reviews left on Amazon and/or B&N as well. Side note: If you choose to post a review on Amazon and Goodreads, for example, it can be the same one.
** After that's done, go to the Google Docs form for the giveaway HERE and paste the URL link for your review. If you've posted honest reviews in multiple places, choose the main one (i.e. Amazon or Barnes & Noble) to link. If you've left a review in the past (pre-contest), link that one! Oh! I almost forgot there's a BONUS!! If you leave reviews for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, AND Goodreads, you will get an extra entry in the contest!
** The winner will be chosen at random and notified by email within one week of close of contest 7/7/13). The prize package will be shipped within two weeks of notification.
Enter to win HERE!
Buy A MATTER OF FATE at the following places:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
As of today, A MATTER OF HEART is set to release in 18 days! Woo hoo!! I am so, so excited to share this book with you all. In the course of the Fate series, this is one is aptly named because it is the heart of Chloe's journey. I feel I need to stress that, while the first book in the series was a YA novel, AMOH is New Adult and contains new adult themes--therefore it's suitable for 18+. Chloe is 18 and 19 in this book, no longer in high school, and is living and working in the adult world. That said, I really look forward to hearing what you all think of it!
Which brings me to two related things . . .
First off, the first book of the Fate series, A MATTER OF FATE, is currently on sale for a limited time at Amazon and Barnes and Noble for $0.99! If you haven't gotten it yet, here's your chance. It's got lots of good things going in it, like action and suspense, magic and hot boys. Here's what I Heart YA Books had to say about it in their review:
"A Matter of Fate is an emotional roller-coaster. I could not put this novel down after reading the first chapter. Heather Lyons grabbed me be the heartstrings with Chloe, Jonah, and Kellan, and she didn't let me go."
Because I love me a good contest, I thought--what better time to run one than right before AMOH releases! So, here's the deal: this contest is open internally to anyone who leaves an honest, valid review of A MATTER OF FATE on either Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Here's what's up for grabs: an autographed copy of A MATTER OF FATE plus a $10 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winners choice--US residents only)? Or, if you're an international winner, an e-ARC of A MATTER OF HEART (yep!) plus a $20 gift card to Amazon?
Sound good? Here are the deets on the contest:
** Read A MATTER OF FATE.
** Leave an honest, valid review of A MATTER OF FATE on Amazon and/or Barnes & Noble. We're not talking War & Peace length (unless that's how you roll with reviews, then feel free to go for it!)--just something that lets me know what you truly think about AMOF. I love me some Goodreads reviews, too--but for this contest, there must be reviews left on Amazon and/or B&N as well. Side note: If you choose to post a review on Amazon and Goodreads, for example, it can be the same one.
** After that's done, go to the Google Docs form for the giveaway HERE and paste the URL link for your review. If you've posted honest reviews in multiple places, choose the main one (i.e. Amazon or Barnes & Noble) to link. If you've left a review in the past (pre-contest), link that one! Oh! I almost forgot there's a BONUS!! If you leave reviews for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, AND Goodreads, you will get an extra entry in the contest!
** The winner will be chosen at random and notified by email within one week of close of contest 7/7/13). The prize package will be shipped within two weeks of notification.
Enter to win HERE!
Buy A MATTER OF FATE at the following places:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
May 31, 2013
Playing For Keeps by Emma Hart Cover Reveal + Excerpt!
From New York Timesand USA Today bestselling author, Emma Hart, comes the second book in The Game series, and the story everyone wanted after The Love Game…
She's in love with him.
He's trying not to love her.
One night changes everything.
Aston Banks never meant to get close to Megan Harper – not even for that one night. Haunted by a childhood he refuses to face, he knew she could break through every wall he’d ever built and tear them down without even realising she was doing it.
Betraying Braden by starting a relationship with Aston wasn’t on Megan’s to-do list, but the second she sees a glimpse of someone other than the arrogant ass she’s come to know, she can’t walk away.
Aston’s childhood is worse than Megan ever guessed, but as he tries and fails to push her away, it’s clear her love is stronger than the demons that cling to him every day. And now, because of it, he finally has to deal with what he’s buried deep down.
What he doesn’t want to face. What he’s fought against for so long.
And they have to do it all without Braden finding out.
Keeping a relationship secret has never been harder.
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**This book can be read as a standalone novel, but reading The Love Game (The Game, #1) beforehand is advised.)
GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17341528-playing-for-keeps
EXCERPT: Disclaimer: This is from the unedited version of the book, and is therefore subject to change or removal before publication.
MEGAN
“If you’re trying to hide, babe, then you’re failing. I can see you.” Aston’s words crawl over me in a smooth caress, making my throat dry up and my blood boil simultaneously. “Why would I be hiding?” I sit up and look forward, determined not to meet his eyes. He shrugs a shoulder carelessly, twirling a pen between his fingers. I catch his every movement from the corner of my eye. His eyes are burning into the side of my head - they’re begging me to turn, begging me to look. “Because you want me so badly you can’t bear to see me,” he says in a dramatic tone with a touch of arrogance. My back straightens. “Clearly someone has been feeding your ego again,” I reply dryly. “Because I don’t remember ever telling you I want you.” His bicep brushes mine as he leans forward. “Is that so?” he asks, his voice low and barely perceptible. I fight the urge to drop my eyes to the desk. “Damn right it is.” A fingertip trails down the back of my arm, the tingling feeling making me fight against a shiver. “I think you’re wrong,” he whispers. “Because I’m pretty sure you said you wanted me on Saturday night – right before you dug those nails of yours into my back and wrapped your pretty little legs around my waist.” My head snaps round to him, and our faces are inches apart. His lips are curled in a slightly smug smile, and I hate the fact that’s where my eyes fell first. I drag them away from his mouth and across the sharp planes of his face until they meet his smoky eyes. I remember why I didn’t want to look at him. His eyes have the power to entrance me and to break me. Right now it’s the former – the silvery hint at the edge of his iris pulling me in and holding me captive. I remember why, from the first touch of his lips against mine on Saturday night, nothing could have stopped us happening.
About Emma:
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By day, New York Timesand USA Today bestselling New Adult author Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to a terrible two year old and growing bump, due September 2013. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of juice and writes books.She likes to write about magic, kisses and whatever else she can fit into the story. Sarcastic, witty characters are a must. As are hot guys.
Emma is currently working too many books to even count - including Playing for Keeps, the companion book to New York Times and USA Todaybestselling novel, The Love Game. She likes to be busy - unless busy involves doing the dishes, but that seems to when all the ideas come to life.
Find Emma online at:Blog: http://www.emmahart93.blogspot.com/Fa... www.facebook.com/YAAuthorEmmaHartTwit... @EmmaHartAuthorGoodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6451162.Emma_Hart
May 27, 2013
Cry Me A River by Devyn Dawson Cover Reveal!
Cover RevealCry Me A Riverby Devyn Dawson
Caide Palmer, Emerald Isle's resident chef and grieving father. Everything in his life is turned upside down when his ex-girlfriend Heather dies from an accidental overdose. She left behind their eighteen month old daughter. Heather's parents filed for emergency custody of baby Lucy. Now Caide is in the fight of his life to raise his daughter to the best of his ability. The courts order Caide to attend parenting classes and Al Anon meetings. It is there that he meets twenty-two year old River. She is drawn in by his story, and she wants to mend his grieving heart. Will Caide allow River in to his world, or will he find his role as single father is to be faced alone? There's something about her that he wants to save. Can they really save each other?
Cry Me A River is a New Adult book with sexual situations and explicit language. If you've ever mourned the loss of someone you loved, Cry Me A River will show you that love can conquer when you meet the right person. Available July 2, 2013.
Add to your TBR list Cry Me a River
The author Devyn Dawson is from Oklahoma, but she kicks up her boots in New Bern, NC. She spends her days writing about the characters who live in her head. Devyn has been intrigued by the young adult world and is now branching out to new adult. This is her first non-paranormal book. Although the characters are fictional, grief of losing someone you love is drawn from her own experiences of death and loss.
Stalk Devyn's website
Devyn's Blog - tons of giveaways!
Amazon
Young Adult Books by Devyn
The Legacy of Kilkenny - book oneThe Seduction - book 1.5Malevolence - book two
The Light TamerEnlightenedLight Bound - Summer 2013
The Wisdom SeriesTrust - book one Winter 2013
New Adult Books
Sapphire, A Werewolf Love Story
May 1, 2013
Featured Book: CATALYST by Jennifer Snyder!
Release Day Blitz for CATALYST by Jennifer Snyder!
Sometimes who we really are lies buried just beneath the surface…
After learning she’s inherited a house in the beachside town of Soul Harbor, Georgia, Addison Harmon and her best friend decided to take a much needed vacation before the pressures of life after high school suffocate them too heavily.
But what Addison finds isn’t a chance to recoup from a bad break up and hang out with her best friend while she decides what she wants to do with her future. What she finds is Kace Sullivan—a sexy guy she can’t seem to get enough of—someone who with one touch reveals a seductive world full of magick and secrets Addison isn’t sure she’s ready to be a part of.
(New Adult/Mature Young Adult: Contains sexual situations, mild language, and underage drinking.)
Purchase Link:
Amazon
(Note: B&N and Smashwords links posted on Author's blog)
Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing new adult and young adult fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.
Blog, Twitter, & Facebook
Sometimes who we really are lies buried just beneath the surface…
After learning she’s inherited a house in the beachside town of Soul Harbor, Georgia, Addison Harmon and her best friend decided to take a much needed vacation before the pressures of life after high school suffocate them too heavily.
But what Addison finds isn’t a chance to recoup from a bad break up and hang out with her best friend while she decides what she wants to do with her future. What she finds is Kace Sullivan—a sexy guy she can’t seem to get enough of—someone who with one touch reveals a seductive world full of magick and secrets Addison isn’t sure she’s ready to be a part of.
(New Adult/Mature Young Adult: Contains sexual situations, mild language, and underage drinking.)
Purchase Link:
Amazon
(Note: B&N and Smashwords links posted on Author's blog)
Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing new adult and young adult fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.
Blog, Twitter, & Facebook
April 26, 2013
Win a paperback of A MATTER OF HEART!
Hello lovely readers! The second book in the Fate series, A MATTER OF HEART, will be out in just under two months, on June 25th. Yay! You can win a paperback of it over at Goodreads, where I'm giving away two signed copies (to be mailed out around release time). The contest is open to US residents only--eek, don't hate me, international readers. Just know there'll be plenty more opportunities to win AMOH coming up in the next few months!
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Goodreads Book Giveaway
A Matter of Heart by Heather Lyons Giveaway ends May 26, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win
Just a quick reminder, you still have a few days left to win a signed bookmark (see post below). This contest IS open internationally. :)
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Goodreads Book Giveaway
A Matter of Heart by Heather Lyons Giveaway ends May 26, 2013. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win
Just a quick reminder, you still have a few days left to win a signed bookmark (see post below). This contest IS open internationally. :)
April 23, 2013
contest! contest! win a signed bookmark!
I got these nifty bookmarks to give to people during book signings and all, but then I got to thinking, I've got some really great fans who may not necessarily live near any of said book signings, etc..., who might actually want said bookmark, so I decided to have a little contest here to pass out a few of these bad boys (signed, of course). Right now, I have a limited number of bookmarks on hand, but hopefully I'll be getting buckets more this summer, and will be able to have a much larger contest later on to pass out much more.
Fancy double-sided bookmarks!
Speaking of swag, I'll be getting more (i.e. more than just bookmarks) this summer to coincide with book signings/the release of A MATTER OF HEART--which, so soon, right? June 25th? I'm so excited to share this book with y'all. Seriously.
Oooh, and be on the outlook later this week for the opportunity to buy a signed/personalized paperback of A MATTER OF FATE here on the ol' Heather website. I'll let you guys know when that goes live!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Fancy double-sided bookmarks!Speaking of swag, I'll be getting more (i.e. more than just bookmarks) this summer to coincide with book signings/the release of A MATTER OF HEART--which, so soon, right? June 25th? I'm so excited to share this book with y'all. Seriously.
Oooh, and be on the outlook later this week for the opportunity to buy a signed/personalized paperback of A MATTER OF FATE here on the ol' Heather website. I'll let you guys know when that goes live!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
April 7, 2013
A MATTER OF FATE Exclusive--Jonah's POV of [Spoiler!]
Over on my facebook page this week, readers were polled on which scene of Jonah's they wanted to see this weekend. And the one with the winning votes is . . .
*drumroll* and SPOILER WARNINGS FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT READ AMOF
Callie's visit!
You guys are such the rabble rousers! Ha! No, in all seriousness, I figured this would be the one you guys would pick, because many of you figured Jonah had some 'splaining to do (or at least, this is what I assumed by the messages and emails I get from people saying WHY JONAH, WHY?!). In any case, I'm glad to finally show Jonah's POV on how this all went down and what was going through his head when he--well. You'll have to read below.
A quick note on this . . .
I wrote out--I guess it's a novella, really--Jonah's POV of AMOF when I was working on early drafts of A MATTER OF FATE because it helped me understand his character better. AMOF and the rest of the Fate series are obviously Chloe's story, as they're told from her perspective, but in many ways, the series is also Jonah's and Kellan's stories, too. While their POVs are not featured in the series (at least so far, and probably never), I do write their perspectives often for my own writery needs and will offer them up at times to you guys. What this means is, this piece is pretty much unedited and unpolished.
Okay, that said, here you go--Jonah's POV of Callie's visit.
Once more, if you haven't read A MATTER OF FATE, look away now, because THERE BE MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!
* * * * * * * * * *
Callie has the audacity to say, “Surprise!” I sort of choke as I look around, trying to determine if I’m on one of those prank shows like “Punked” or “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” despite this being, in absolutely no way, funny at all. Fucking surprise, all right. “What are you doing here?” She stands up and stretches, her long arms pulling the hem of her shirt up so it flashes small slices of pale, smooth skin. Horny Jonah of two years ago might have found that tempting, like she’s probably assuming, but all I can think now is: oh hell no. “I told you. I’m here so we can talk.” Again. Is there somebody nearby filming this? This is a joke, right? “We have nothing to talk about, Cal. We’ve been over this a hundred times now.” She's pissed. “I disagree.” I want to slam my head against something. Why do some people insist on doing shit like this? Relationships, no matter what, will never work if only one person has feelings. Cal definitely still has feelings for me, but mine are exactly where they ought to be: friendship, nothing more. I realize this, standing there and watching her attempt to shift herself into some kind of sexy pose that she thinks will tempt me. I am no longer attracted to her at all. I am no longer confused at what level my love is for her. She is my friend, or at least, someone who was once my friend, and nothing more. So I say, more gently than I probably should, “We’re over, Cal.” Her lower lip trembles, but the stubborn streak in her doesn’t let her back down. “I disagree.” “There is nothing to disagree with, Cal. I am in love with Chloe. She’s my Connection. There is nothing that could ever change that fact.” Okay. Now the tears come, and my self-loathing kicks into overdrive. I am reminded of when that guy made fun of her, the one who thought she was worthless because she wasn’t Magical, and of how her tears, so rare, had always been able to break me. Because Callie, for all her bravado, has a very sensitive heart, and I hate thinking anything could wound it. Me included. It is nowhere nearly enough, but again, I apologize even though it’ll never change my mind on going back to her. “You’re such an asshole,” she snarls. “You led me on for years!” I did. And she’s right. I am an asshole. “You always defended me, even to the Old Man. What was I supposed to think? You’d tell him that me being a non meant nothing to you. You’d tell anyone who would talk shit about me that.” “It’s because it’s true,” I say, coming closer like an idiot, and she swats at me. “I’ve never cared that you’re a non.” “We’ve had sex. You were my first.” She jabs a finger out at me. “You took my virginity.” Finest moment? So not here. “You told me you loved me!” Fuuuuuck. “Callie—” “YOU TOLD ME YOU LOVED ME.” How do you rationalize these things, Jonah, I want to ask myself, but I know there’s nothing really valid to say at all. Because I was a dick? Because I was confused? Because I was young? Take your pick. “I always thought you were different than Kel when it comes to this sort of stuff,” she seethes, “but you know what? YOU ARE JUST. LIKE. HIM.” Hey now. “That’s not true—” “How many other girls did you screw, huh, Jonah? How many other girls did you lie to when you said you loved them?” Whoa. “None, Callie.” I try to capture her flailing arms, but she’s a strong one. “Liar.” “Will you just lis—” “I hate you. I really, truly hate you.” She does. In this moment, she really does. And it makes me incredibly sad that one of my best, oldest friends feels this way towards me. I love Chloe, but I spent three years with this girl, and even more having her in my life. “I’m sorry,” I say softly, and her arms still. Her dreams, the one of her and me together, are finally, finally dying. And I’m sad about it, which is really messed up. I mean, I should be happy, right? That Cal is finally getting it through her thick skull that we’re over? But right now, I’m sad, and it’s complex and messy and a whole host of other feelings that are too hard to separate. Maybe if my brother was here, he could do it for me, but I’ve got him blocked out, and it’s just me and Callie. No one else. Not Kel. Not Chloe. Not Astrid. Not the Old Man. Not anyone. This girl has been my friend for a long time. I think back to the first time I saw her, all scrawny and heartbroken and little, and I immediately felt protective of her. She was my friend. She was a kindred spirit. She’d lost her parents. I’d lost my mom. She could understand my pain, and I got hers. And over the years, despite the messy feelings that grew between us, there was always that core component, that foundation we shared. We were friends. We understood one another. I never should have stepped over the line that separated friendship and love. She would’ve moved off of me, I’m sure of it, and we would probably, to this day, still be close, just like she and Kel are. And I mourn that relationship, because I do love Cal. I wishwishwish I could go back in time and fix all of this. Everyone always remarks on how put together I am, but the joke’s on them. I’ve always had issues. I’ve just hidden them better than others. And in that fragile, needy state, I leaned on a girl I knew I’d end up hurting. Because I was selfish. Callie is crying, her heart breaking over and over again, and I feel like crap, like a total heel, worse even. Like the asshole who played with his friend’s heart carelessly and is now seeing the outcome of such actions. I am gutted. I am a jerk. “I miss you,” she whimpers, her sobs gutwrenching and broken, even as she holds them back. She hates looking weak in front of anyone. “Gods, I miss you so much.” I am so sorry, so very, very sorry to have done this to her. Callie deserves love, lots of it, because she’s a good person. She’s smart, and sweet, and tenacious and so loyal and caring to her friends she’d do anything for them, no questions asked. And I’ve crushed this part of her, this fragile web of trust and first love, and I know it’s on me. She handed me her heart, trusted me with it, and I broke it without any hesitation. I tell her I miss her too, because it’s true. I miss the Callie who I used to spend hours with, sometimes saying nothing at all with. I miss the Callie who I climbed trees with, baked cookies with, and surfed with. I miss the Callie who would listen when the grief over my mom’s loss was too much to bear, and the Callie who would simply hold my hand in silence when I needed it. I miss the Callie who shared her mother with me, the one who laughed with me and my brother, the one who stood by us when our family crumbled down around us. I miss my friend. I miss the girl who has been there for me for most of my life. “I hate what’s happened between us,” she says, still crying. “I hate being this girl, the one who’s standing in front of a guy who doesn’t want her anymore, and begging. I’m not that girl.” “You’re not,” I tell her. Because she isn’t. “I miss you, and I’m so angry that this all happened. I wake up most mornings, wishing it was a bad dream, but it’s not. I know that. And I feel so confused, so fucking blown away by all this, Jonah. Why is it I keep losing the people I love? It’s like I’m cursed or something.” I step closer and she pulls towards me, like we’re magnets. I hold out my arms and she steps into them, like a million times in the past, and there she is, Callie, my friend, my ex-girlfriend, and it’s so familiar, like reliving a moment in the past. “You’re not cursed.” “My parents . . . you . . .” Oh, Jesus. The guilt is crushing now. “You still have Astrid. And Kel. And me. You haven’t lost me, not really. Just because we’re not together anymore doesn’t mean we can’t be here for one another as friends.” Her silent sobs wrack her body; it shudders against me and I’d give anything at this moment to stop her pain. “I love you, I love you, and it’s not the same, it’ll never be the same.” Her voice is barely a whisper. “Gods, why does it have to hurt so much? Why?” But I don’t know any more than she does. I may be an Emotional, I may be able to instill these feelings in others, but I don’t get why hearts have to break so painfully. It’s like a sick joke on all of us. Love can inspire such wonderful, blissful feelings, and then, once it’s gone, the worst emotions possible. Depression, hopelessness, pain . . . two sides of a coin. And because love is so rare and precious, we risk this without question when any day the tides could turn. I kiss my friend, in her hair, like I’ve done countless times before. And she relaxes against me and for just this moment, I let myself remember what it was like between us. “I can’t believe I’ll never kiss you again,” she murmurs, and I feel her heart crack again, and it presses against me in such painful ways. “That you’ll never be mine again.” She’s accepted that all of her dreams of what could’ve been are now no longer. She moves in my arms, her breath shuddering hard. “Do you think, maybe . . . just one last time? One last kiss?” I feel it, plain as day, that she understands it’s over. One kiss . . . Kisses can be such innocuous things. Mothers kiss their children every day. Friends kiss each other in greeting. Strangers can kiss hands during an introduction. Lovers kiss in both passionate and comforting ways. But they can also be extremely meaningful. Kisses are, in many ways, both greetings and farewells. It’s time to say farewell to my friend. One kiss, I think, is nothing if it helps give her the closure she wants. So I give it to her, no questions asked, just as she’s given me her trust and love over the years in the same way. When our lips touch, there is no spark, no addictive passion that once would have led to more. I do not think of how this kiss can lead to others, how it can lead to strings and complications and confusion. But there is something there—there is familiarity. I know these lips, I know how they feel against mine and I know what they once symbolized. What they once inspired. And my mind flashes back to kiss after kiss, and then memory after memory, of the times we’ve spent together, good and bad, happy and sad, and I come to some acceptance, too. I’ve loved this girl—not so much ever the sensation of being in love with her, but love, genuine, solid love, and it means something. And, like Callie, I am ready to close the door to future possibilities. I’d thought I’d done that, but in my rush to Chloe, I hadn’t. Not really. Certainly I’d come to understand that Cal and I were over, and I would never second guess that, but in that haste, I didn’t actually put my feelings for Cal to rest. Now, here, I have. One kiss. That’s all it takes to let go of my friend. I let it happen, let our lips move together, with the full knowledge that this is the last time. And then . . . The pull tugs at me. Oh, fuck.
Callie is yelling something, but my mind is simply short circuiting. Chloe is here, holy fucking shit, did she just see all that? How long has she been here? OH MY FUCKING GODS, DID SHE JUST SEE ME KISS MY EX-GIRLFRIEND? Chloe is bolting, and the feelings radiating out from her nearly bring me to my knees, but all I can think of it is that I have to get to her, have to explain, because she will understand if I tell her just what went down, she has to, right? RIGHT? But she’s moving away from me, and she yells at me to not say anything, and my terror goes sky high along with the tree she explodes, and then the fence, and I pause long enough to knock away something that’s about to hit my face, and then she’s gone, she’s gone, CHLOE IS GONE. I find myself on the ground, pieces of fence all over me and Cal is kneeling down next to me, trying to dig me out, and she’s nearly hysterical, and then Giules is here, saying Chloe just nearly caused a wreck as she sped away, and it’s all just too much. I have to go after her. “Lay still!” Giules barks. “You’re bleeding, caro mio!” Who cares? But when I try to get up, she forcibly makes me stop. “Get the fuck off me!” I yell at her, but then, there’s Cal, also forcing me down. “Jonah, just listen to Giules—” I blast them, as hard as I can with any emotion I can get at, but it’s like that’s short circuiting, too, because while they sway and loosen their grips for a second, they recover and once again begin ordering me around. “You will hold still,” Giules continues ruthlessly. “I need to figure out—” This time, I muster enough to stun them and then I run out into the front yard, but like Giules said, Chloe is long gone. I run back into the house to grab my keys and phone, but Giules and Cal catch me before I can leave. Giules grabs my arms and shakes me, hard. “You aren’t going anywhere!” “I need to go find Chloe!” “Whatever just happened, whether you two had a fight or what, Chloe just lost control! I don’t care if she is your Connection, caro, but you are going to let her be until she gets herself under control! We do not need a wildcard Creator right now!” Fighting her is useless, because my hand is starting to throb, and the various cuts and bruises are stinging so badly that it’s taking too much to focus and fight at the same time. But I call Chloe, because I have to, and it rings and rings and only goes to voicemail. I beg with her, plead, to call me back, to talk to me, to tell me where she is so I can go get her, but . . . but . . . No answer. The next thing I know, Cora is in the living room, and she’s saying something about broken bones, and who gives a fuck, but then she’s doing something to me, and no matter what I try, no matter how hard I fight, she wins.
*drumroll* and SPOILER WARNINGS FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT READ AMOF
Callie's visit!
You guys are such the rabble rousers! Ha! No, in all seriousness, I figured this would be the one you guys would pick, because many of you figured Jonah had some 'splaining to do (or at least, this is what I assumed by the messages and emails I get from people saying WHY JONAH, WHY?!). In any case, I'm glad to finally show Jonah's POV on how this all went down and what was going through his head when he--well. You'll have to read below.
A quick note on this . . .
I wrote out--I guess it's a novella, really--Jonah's POV of AMOF when I was working on early drafts of A MATTER OF FATE because it helped me understand his character better. AMOF and the rest of the Fate series are obviously Chloe's story, as they're told from her perspective, but in many ways, the series is also Jonah's and Kellan's stories, too. While their POVs are not featured in the series (at least so far, and probably never), I do write their perspectives often for my own writery needs and will offer them up at times to you guys. What this means is, this piece is pretty much unedited and unpolished.
Okay, that said, here you go--Jonah's POV of Callie's visit.
Once more, if you haven't read A MATTER OF FATE, look away now, because THERE BE MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!
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Callie has the audacity to say, “Surprise!” I sort of choke as I look around, trying to determine if I’m on one of those prank shows like “Punked” or “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” despite this being, in absolutely no way, funny at all. Fucking surprise, all right. “What are you doing here?” She stands up and stretches, her long arms pulling the hem of her shirt up so it flashes small slices of pale, smooth skin. Horny Jonah of two years ago might have found that tempting, like she’s probably assuming, but all I can think now is: oh hell no. “I told you. I’m here so we can talk.” Again. Is there somebody nearby filming this? This is a joke, right? “We have nothing to talk about, Cal. We’ve been over this a hundred times now.” She's pissed. “I disagree.” I want to slam my head against something. Why do some people insist on doing shit like this? Relationships, no matter what, will never work if only one person has feelings. Cal definitely still has feelings for me, but mine are exactly where they ought to be: friendship, nothing more. I realize this, standing there and watching her attempt to shift herself into some kind of sexy pose that she thinks will tempt me. I am no longer attracted to her at all. I am no longer confused at what level my love is for her. She is my friend, or at least, someone who was once my friend, and nothing more. So I say, more gently than I probably should, “We’re over, Cal.” Her lower lip trembles, but the stubborn streak in her doesn’t let her back down. “I disagree.” “There is nothing to disagree with, Cal. I am in love with Chloe. She’s my Connection. There is nothing that could ever change that fact.” Okay. Now the tears come, and my self-loathing kicks into overdrive. I am reminded of when that guy made fun of her, the one who thought she was worthless because she wasn’t Magical, and of how her tears, so rare, had always been able to break me. Because Callie, for all her bravado, has a very sensitive heart, and I hate thinking anything could wound it. Me included. It is nowhere nearly enough, but again, I apologize even though it’ll never change my mind on going back to her. “You’re such an asshole,” she snarls. “You led me on for years!” I did. And she’s right. I am an asshole. “You always defended me, even to the Old Man. What was I supposed to think? You’d tell him that me being a non meant nothing to you. You’d tell anyone who would talk shit about me that.” “It’s because it’s true,” I say, coming closer like an idiot, and she swats at me. “I’ve never cared that you’re a non.” “We’ve had sex. You were my first.” She jabs a finger out at me. “You took my virginity.” Finest moment? So not here. “You told me you loved me!” Fuuuuuck. “Callie—” “YOU TOLD ME YOU LOVED ME.” How do you rationalize these things, Jonah, I want to ask myself, but I know there’s nothing really valid to say at all. Because I was a dick? Because I was confused? Because I was young? Take your pick. “I always thought you were different than Kel when it comes to this sort of stuff,” she seethes, “but you know what? YOU ARE JUST. LIKE. HIM.” Hey now. “That’s not true—” “How many other girls did you screw, huh, Jonah? How many other girls did you lie to when you said you loved them?” Whoa. “None, Callie.” I try to capture her flailing arms, but she’s a strong one. “Liar.” “Will you just lis—” “I hate you. I really, truly hate you.” She does. In this moment, she really does. And it makes me incredibly sad that one of my best, oldest friends feels this way towards me. I love Chloe, but I spent three years with this girl, and even more having her in my life. “I’m sorry,” I say softly, and her arms still. Her dreams, the one of her and me together, are finally, finally dying. And I’m sad about it, which is really messed up. I mean, I should be happy, right? That Cal is finally getting it through her thick skull that we’re over? But right now, I’m sad, and it’s complex and messy and a whole host of other feelings that are too hard to separate. Maybe if my brother was here, he could do it for me, but I’ve got him blocked out, and it’s just me and Callie. No one else. Not Kel. Not Chloe. Not Astrid. Not the Old Man. Not anyone. This girl has been my friend for a long time. I think back to the first time I saw her, all scrawny and heartbroken and little, and I immediately felt protective of her. She was my friend. She was a kindred spirit. She’d lost her parents. I’d lost my mom. She could understand my pain, and I got hers. And over the years, despite the messy feelings that grew between us, there was always that core component, that foundation we shared. We were friends. We understood one another. I never should have stepped over the line that separated friendship and love. She would’ve moved off of me, I’m sure of it, and we would probably, to this day, still be close, just like she and Kel are. And I mourn that relationship, because I do love Cal. I wishwishwish I could go back in time and fix all of this. Everyone always remarks on how put together I am, but the joke’s on them. I’ve always had issues. I’ve just hidden them better than others. And in that fragile, needy state, I leaned on a girl I knew I’d end up hurting. Because I was selfish. Callie is crying, her heart breaking over and over again, and I feel like crap, like a total heel, worse even. Like the asshole who played with his friend’s heart carelessly and is now seeing the outcome of such actions. I am gutted. I am a jerk. “I miss you,” she whimpers, her sobs gutwrenching and broken, even as she holds them back. She hates looking weak in front of anyone. “Gods, I miss you so much.” I am so sorry, so very, very sorry to have done this to her. Callie deserves love, lots of it, because she’s a good person. She’s smart, and sweet, and tenacious and so loyal and caring to her friends she’d do anything for them, no questions asked. And I’ve crushed this part of her, this fragile web of trust and first love, and I know it’s on me. She handed me her heart, trusted me with it, and I broke it without any hesitation. I tell her I miss her too, because it’s true. I miss the Callie who I used to spend hours with, sometimes saying nothing at all with. I miss the Callie who I climbed trees with, baked cookies with, and surfed with. I miss the Callie who would listen when the grief over my mom’s loss was too much to bear, and the Callie who would simply hold my hand in silence when I needed it. I miss the Callie who shared her mother with me, the one who laughed with me and my brother, the one who stood by us when our family crumbled down around us. I miss my friend. I miss the girl who has been there for me for most of my life. “I hate what’s happened between us,” she says, still crying. “I hate being this girl, the one who’s standing in front of a guy who doesn’t want her anymore, and begging. I’m not that girl.” “You’re not,” I tell her. Because she isn’t. “I miss you, and I’m so angry that this all happened. I wake up most mornings, wishing it was a bad dream, but it’s not. I know that. And I feel so confused, so fucking blown away by all this, Jonah. Why is it I keep losing the people I love? It’s like I’m cursed or something.” I step closer and she pulls towards me, like we’re magnets. I hold out my arms and she steps into them, like a million times in the past, and there she is, Callie, my friend, my ex-girlfriend, and it’s so familiar, like reliving a moment in the past. “You’re not cursed.” “My parents . . . you . . .” Oh, Jesus. The guilt is crushing now. “You still have Astrid. And Kel. And me. You haven’t lost me, not really. Just because we’re not together anymore doesn’t mean we can’t be here for one another as friends.” Her silent sobs wrack her body; it shudders against me and I’d give anything at this moment to stop her pain. “I love you, I love you, and it’s not the same, it’ll never be the same.” Her voice is barely a whisper. “Gods, why does it have to hurt so much? Why?” But I don’t know any more than she does. I may be an Emotional, I may be able to instill these feelings in others, but I don’t get why hearts have to break so painfully. It’s like a sick joke on all of us. Love can inspire such wonderful, blissful feelings, and then, once it’s gone, the worst emotions possible. Depression, hopelessness, pain . . . two sides of a coin. And because love is so rare and precious, we risk this without question when any day the tides could turn. I kiss my friend, in her hair, like I’ve done countless times before. And she relaxes against me and for just this moment, I let myself remember what it was like between us. “I can’t believe I’ll never kiss you again,” she murmurs, and I feel her heart crack again, and it presses against me in such painful ways. “That you’ll never be mine again.” She’s accepted that all of her dreams of what could’ve been are now no longer. She moves in my arms, her breath shuddering hard. “Do you think, maybe . . . just one last time? One last kiss?” I feel it, plain as day, that she understands it’s over. One kiss . . . Kisses can be such innocuous things. Mothers kiss their children every day. Friends kiss each other in greeting. Strangers can kiss hands during an introduction. Lovers kiss in both passionate and comforting ways. But they can also be extremely meaningful. Kisses are, in many ways, both greetings and farewells. It’s time to say farewell to my friend. One kiss, I think, is nothing if it helps give her the closure she wants. So I give it to her, no questions asked, just as she’s given me her trust and love over the years in the same way. When our lips touch, there is no spark, no addictive passion that once would have led to more. I do not think of how this kiss can lead to others, how it can lead to strings and complications and confusion. But there is something there—there is familiarity. I know these lips, I know how they feel against mine and I know what they once symbolized. What they once inspired. And my mind flashes back to kiss after kiss, and then memory after memory, of the times we’ve spent together, good and bad, happy and sad, and I come to some acceptance, too. I’ve loved this girl—not so much ever the sensation of being in love with her, but love, genuine, solid love, and it means something. And, like Callie, I am ready to close the door to future possibilities. I’d thought I’d done that, but in my rush to Chloe, I hadn’t. Not really. Certainly I’d come to understand that Cal and I were over, and I would never second guess that, but in that haste, I didn’t actually put my feelings for Cal to rest. Now, here, I have. One kiss. That’s all it takes to let go of my friend. I let it happen, let our lips move together, with the full knowledge that this is the last time. And then . . . The pull tugs at me. Oh, fuck.
Callie is yelling something, but my mind is simply short circuiting. Chloe is here, holy fucking shit, did she just see all that? How long has she been here? OH MY FUCKING GODS, DID SHE JUST SEE ME KISS MY EX-GIRLFRIEND? Chloe is bolting, and the feelings radiating out from her nearly bring me to my knees, but all I can think of it is that I have to get to her, have to explain, because she will understand if I tell her just what went down, she has to, right? RIGHT? But she’s moving away from me, and she yells at me to not say anything, and my terror goes sky high along with the tree she explodes, and then the fence, and I pause long enough to knock away something that’s about to hit my face, and then she’s gone, she’s gone, CHLOE IS GONE. I find myself on the ground, pieces of fence all over me and Cal is kneeling down next to me, trying to dig me out, and she’s nearly hysterical, and then Giules is here, saying Chloe just nearly caused a wreck as she sped away, and it’s all just too much. I have to go after her. “Lay still!” Giules barks. “You’re bleeding, caro mio!” Who cares? But when I try to get up, she forcibly makes me stop. “Get the fuck off me!” I yell at her, but then, there’s Cal, also forcing me down. “Jonah, just listen to Giules—” I blast them, as hard as I can with any emotion I can get at, but it’s like that’s short circuiting, too, because while they sway and loosen their grips for a second, they recover and once again begin ordering me around. “You will hold still,” Giules continues ruthlessly. “I need to figure out—” This time, I muster enough to stun them and then I run out into the front yard, but like Giules said, Chloe is long gone. I run back into the house to grab my keys and phone, but Giules and Cal catch me before I can leave. Giules grabs my arms and shakes me, hard. “You aren’t going anywhere!” “I need to go find Chloe!” “Whatever just happened, whether you two had a fight or what, Chloe just lost control! I don’t care if she is your Connection, caro, but you are going to let her be until she gets herself under control! We do not need a wildcard Creator right now!” Fighting her is useless, because my hand is starting to throb, and the various cuts and bruises are stinging so badly that it’s taking too much to focus and fight at the same time. But I call Chloe, because I have to, and it rings and rings and only goes to voicemail. I beg with her, plead, to call me back, to talk to me, to tell me where she is so I can go get her, but . . . but . . . No answer. The next thing I know, Cora is in the living room, and she’s saying something about broken bones, and who gives a fuck, but then she’s doing something to me, and no matter what I try, no matter how hard I fight, she wins.
April 4, 2013
A MATTER OF HEART teaser!
So, over on my facebook page, I promised people Chapter One if we got to a certain number of likes. And amazingly, during big A MATTER OF FATE sale (still going on until tonight at Amazon and Barnes & Noble!) and the fantastic giveaway over at Natasha Is A Junkie's blog (which you must read, because it's such a great book blog--also, she's got an exclusive excerpt from AMOH up right now!), we got there. WOW!
Before I give you the opening to the second book of Chloe's story in the Fate series, I want to mention a new challenge to my readers and fans! Once we get to 1000 likes over on fb, I'll write an exclusive scene from any character other than Chloe's POV that takes place during A MATTER OF FATE, before, or the few months in between AMOF and A MATTER OF HEART. I'll put up a poll to vote on and see which person you guys want to hear from. This could be from Jonah or Kellan, but you've also got a ton of other people to pick from, like . . . Karl, Moira, Cora, Raul, Alex, Giuliana, Iolani, Astrid, Kiah, Zthane, Meg, Lizzie, Graham, Callie, Abigail, Noel . . . All have back stories that I've actually thought about. Ha! Sound good?
Okay, I give you . . . the beginning of A MATTER OF HEART!
(now the fine print--subject to slight changes as this is prior to official printing)
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Chapter 1
But . . . I’m only eighteen. You expect me to do that at eighteen? This is what I want to say, or rather shout out-loud, but I’m pretty sure that excuse would go over as well as somebody tossing a bag of kittens over a waterfall. Plus, I’m pretty new at this whole Council thing and don’t even know if I’m allowed to agree or disagree when it comes to matters such as these. I’ve been to all of four meetings so far, but until today, they were sedate enough that I’d fallen asleep in one. Ok, two. I know I ought to be more involved, considering people acted like I was the second coming in the midst of her grand debut into Magical society, but it’s a lot to take in, being responsible for trillions of beings on six different planes of existence. I’d even go as far to say it’s totally overwhelming. I suppose, back when I used to imagine what it’d be like when I was a seated member, I expected serious debates. Strong convictions. Moral righteousness yet fair decisions. And those things are present during meetings, but when the topics are whether or not a river ought to be diverted or dried up or a forest fire needs to be started to help promote new tree growth, the shine of being in charge of the universe wears off pretty quickly. In the last month, I haven’t been asked to do anything further than introduce myself and give a short speech, written by my Intellectual father to replace the one I’d agonized over a good three days prior. Since then, I’ve sat in a surprisingly comfortable chair and listened for hours to Council members of varying tiers and crafts drone on about matters that affect their various planes of existence. I voted when asked, but as it’s done electronically, that doesn’t even require my voice. These meetings only exacerbate my feelings of inadequacy about joining the Council so early. Most Magicals, once eighteen, spend two years at the University of Annar taking tailored classes suited to honing their crafts and then another two years as an apprentice under a seasoned Magical before going to work, let alone joining the Council. But I hadn’t been afforded that luxury. I was told that, five days after I graduated high school, I was to report to my first official meeting in Karnach, the gorgeous and imposing rotunda which houses not only the assembly rooms but all Council member offices. I would be allowed a single class per semester, totaling four over two years if my schedule permitted, but there would be no internship. Which is unfair and, the more I think about it, fairly irresponsible of the rest of the Council, considering I’m one of their big guns—a Creator, one of only two currently in existence. Speaking of . . . nearby, Kleeshawnall Rushfire lets loose a round of his typical snorting/coughing sounds which act as nails on a chalkboard for those of us seated by him. Afterwards, he pulls out a crusty handkerchief to wipe a gob of far-too chunky phlegm from his chin. I try not to cringe, but man, is it hard. After shoving said handkerchief back into his shirt pocket, the ancient Faerie barks out, ignoring the heated debate I really ought to be paying closer attention to, especially as it concerns me, “What does it take to get something other than sludge in my coffee cup?” The Elf next to me, a Storyteller named Etienne Miscanthus, attempts to smother his burgeoning laughter. He’s been pretty nice to me so far, which has been really comforting as my seat is nowhere near anyone I know. As for myself, I worry that my face shows the perverse fascination I have towards Rushfire. “Jackals! All of them,” the Creator who once might’ve been my mentor comments loudly. Spittle decorates his wiry beard and moustache. Then his rheumy eyes swivel towards me. “You’ll see, missy.” He thrusts a cup adorned with a bright yellow happy face, a bullet hole bleeding out on top, in my direction and shakes it until coffee splatters down his shirt. “Give ’em an inch, they’ll take a mile. Ask me to do them favors, do they, and give me this . . . this . . .” He pulls the cup back so he can peer within. “Shit, is what it is!” He slams it back down on his table. “I repeat, what does it take to get a decent cup of coffee around here?” Etienne bursts into full-fledged laughter. In front of us, an extremely good looking Goblin only a couple years older than me turns and stares, equally horrified and amused. Rushfire sneers at them, snarls “whippersnappers,” which only serves to incite another round of laughter, and then promptly falls asleep. Behavior like this highlights why I’m the one who’s going to be tasked with overseeing an atoll’s destruction on the Goblin plane rather than Rushfire. He’s old, nearly senile, and extraordinarily nasty. So, I get why my name’s being thrown around. But it doesn’t make it any easier to accept. “This is ridiculous,” a familiar voice argues. I search the crowded assembly until I find Astrid Lotus, the Council’s lead Seer. She is standing, hands planted on her desk. Somehow, even though she’s not moving, the dozens of metal bangles she always wears clack together loud enough to rise above the arguing. “We shouldn’t even be thinking about sending out an eighteen-year-old to do such a feat before she has a few years under her belt!” “The atoll no longer serves its area any purpose,” a sour looking Dwarf named Endolff Strikertree counters. He’s standing on his chair; all he needs is a toga and his Marc Antony act will be complete. “What’s your objection, Lotus?” The bracelets jingle as Astrid rights herself. I’m struck by her Elvin beauty, much like before when I met her last year after my parents forced me to visit in an effort to get me back on whatever track they thought I needed to be on. “No other Council members are ever asked to do complex tasks within their first few years. And yet, we suddenly break tradition and expect Chloe to do so simply because she’s a Creator?” Another voice rises above the mix. “She’ll do it if told so.” This one I know all too well. It’s the same voice I’ve heard all my life, reminding me how I better live up to my responsibilities or I’ll embarrass the family for, I don’t know, centuries or something. I find my father, still seated, open books spread across his desk. He pushes his glasses up his nose without even sparing me a glance.“Noel, whether or not that is the case,” Astrid says, “I’m shocked that, as an Intellectual, you’re ignoring how this goes against our bylaws and traditions.”He glares at her. I dig that she glares right back. “I absolutely agree that this atoll needs to be dealt with; there’s no doubt about that. But it must be Rushfire, not Chloe.” Her eyes find mine. They’re soft and sympathetic, which surprises me despite her gentleness at our last meeting. “At least, not yet.” At the mention of his name, Kleeshawnall Rushfire releases a deafening rip of a snore. The Goblin in front of me—I think his name is Mac?—bursts into laughter once more, as does the Storyteller. In fact, they’re both laughing so hard they’re practically crying. Several other people nearby are also cracking up, but the rest of the Council seems to be merely exasperated over Rushfire’s apparent lack of interest in the matter. “Honestly, Lotus,” Endolff Strikertree barks. He motions towards the slumbering Faerie. “You want to entrust my plane to the hands of—” “Don’t say it,” Astrid warns. “Kleeshawnall Rushfire has served this Council for nearly two hundred years. He deserves your respect.” The man in question snores again, this time adding a bit of drool to the phlegm in his beard. Try as he might, Strikertree can’t hide his disgust as he regards Rushfire. “Lilywhite will be fine. The Guard assigned to her can walk her through what she needs to do.” His dark eyes find me; they’re so piercing, I fight the urge to shrink in my seat. You’re first tier, a little voice in my mind whispers. It’s Caleb, an old friend from California who also happens to be my secret Conscience. Never show your fear; they’ll eat you alive if you do. Challenge accepted. I stare right back at the Dwarf, hoping he sees a girl ready for anything, even though I’m quaking in my Uggs.I can do this, I think. My attempts must be successful, because he looks away first. “She’s been under the Guard’s care for nearly a year anyway.” Thanks, dude, for reminding everyone I had to be babysat for my entire senior year of high school back on the Human plane. Like it isn’t humiliating enough that I’m the youngest person in the room and they’re debating whether or not I’m seasoned enough to work. “Graystone will oversee the mission, despite the terrain,” Strikertree continues. “They have a good enough working relationship—his presence ought to make her feel more comfortable.” I try not to roll my eyes before I search through the crowd. Karl Graystone smirks back at me before rolling his own eyes. I start to wave hi, fighting back a giggle, but then reflect that a Girl in Charge, sophisticated and ready for whatever Fate and/or the Council dishes out to her, might not do that with everyone watching, even if it’s at someone she practically considers her brother. Working relationship, indeed. Astrid tries her best to argue against me going out and wreaking destruction on my very first Council mission, but in the end, her voice is amongst the minority. Great. Just . . . great. As the meeting ends, the Elf next to me leans over and grins. “Welcome to the glory that is the Council, pumpkin.”
* * * * * * * * * *
A MATTER OF HEART will be out on June 25, 2013 via Cerulean Books on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Stay tuned later this month for an opportunity to win a copy of AMOH!
Before I give you the opening to the second book of Chloe's story in the Fate series, I want to mention a new challenge to my readers and fans! Once we get to 1000 likes over on fb, I'll write an exclusive scene from any character other than Chloe's POV that takes place during A MATTER OF FATE, before, or the few months in between AMOF and A MATTER OF HEART. I'll put up a poll to vote on and see which person you guys want to hear from. This could be from Jonah or Kellan, but you've also got a ton of other people to pick from, like . . . Karl, Moira, Cora, Raul, Alex, Giuliana, Iolani, Astrid, Kiah, Zthane, Meg, Lizzie, Graham, Callie, Abigail, Noel . . . All have back stories that I've actually thought about. Ha! Sound good?
Okay, I give you . . . the beginning of A MATTER OF HEART!
(now the fine print--subject to slight changes as this is prior to official printing)
* * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 1
But . . . I’m only eighteen. You expect me to do that at eighteen? This is what I want to say, or rather shout out-loud, but I’m pretty sure that excuse would go over as well as somebody tossing a bag of kittens over a waterfall. Plus, I’m pretty new at this whole Council thing and don’t even know if I’m allowed to agree or disagree when it comes to matters such as these. I’ve been to all of four meetings so far, but until today, they were sedate enough that I’d fallen asleep in one. Ok, two. I know I ought to be more involved, considering people acted like I was the second coming in the midst of her grand debut into Magical society, but it’s a lot to take in, being responsible for trillions of beings on six different planes of existence. I’d even go as far to say it’s totally overwhelming. I suppose, back when I used to imagine what it’d be like when I was a seated member, I expected serious debates. Strong convictions. Moral righteousness yet fair decisions. And those things are present during meetings, but when the topics are whether or not a river ought to be diverted or dried up or a forest fire needs to be started to help promote new tree growth, the shine of being in charge of the universe wears off pretty quickly. In the last month, I haven’t been asked to do anything further than introduce myself and give a short speech, written by my Intellectual father to replace the one I’d agonized over a good three days prior. Since then, I’ve sat in a surprisingly comfortable chair and listened for hours to Council members of varying tiers and crafts drone on about matters that affect their various planes of existence. I voted when asked, but as it’s done electronically, that doesn’t even require my voice. These meetings only exacerbate my feelings of inadequacy about joining the Council so early. Most Magicals, once eighteen, spend two years at the University of Annar taking tailored classes suited to honing their crafts and then another two years as an apprentice under a seasoned Magical before going to work, let alone joining the Council. But I hadn’t been afforded that luxury. I was told that, five days after I graduated high school, I was to report to my first official meeting in Karnach, the gorgeous and imposing rotunda which houses not only the assembly rooms but all Council member offices. I would be allowed a single class per semester, totaling four over two years if my schedule permitted, but there would be no internship. Which is unfair and, the more I think about it, fairly irresponsible of the rest of the Council, considering I’m one of their big guns—a Creator, one of only two currently in existence. Speaking of . . . nearby, Kleeshawnall Rushfire lets loose a round of his typical snorting/coughing sounds which act as nails on a chalkboard for those of us seated by him. Afterwards, he pulls out a crusty handkerchief to wipe a gob of far-too chunky phlegm from his chin. I try not to cringe, but man, is it hard. After shoving said handkerchief back into his shirt pocket, the ancient Faerie barks out, ignoring the heated debate I really ought to be paying closer attention to, especially as it concerns me, “What does it take to get something other than sludge in my coffee cup?” The Elf next to me, a Storyteller named Etienne Miscanthus, attempts to smother his burgeoning laughter. He’s been pretty nice to me so far, which has been really comforting as my seat is nowhere near anyone I know. As for myself, I worry that my face shows the perverse fascination I have towards Rushfire. “Jackals! All of them,” the Creator who once might’ve been my mentor comments loudly. Spittle decorates his wiry beard and moustache. Then his rheumy eyes swivel towards me. “You’ll see, missy.” He thrusts a cup adorned with a bright yellow happy face, a bullet hole bleeding out on top, in my direction and shakes it until coffee splatters down his shirt. “Give ’em an inch, they’ll take a mile. Ask me to do them favors, do they, and give me this . . . this . . .” He pulls the cup back so he can peer within. “Shit, is what it is!” He slams it back down on his table. “I repeat, what does it take to get a decent cup of coffee around here?” Etienne bursts into full-fledged laughter. In front of us, an extremely good looking Goblin only a couple years older than me turns and stares, equally horrified and amused. Rushfire sneers at them, snarls “whippersnappers,” which only serves to incite another round of laughter, and then promptly falls asleep. Behavior like this highlights why I’m the one who’s going to be tasked with overseeing an atoll’s destruction on the Goblin plane rather than Rushfire. He’s old, nearly senile, and extraordinarily nasty. So, I get why my name’s being thrown around. But it doesn’t make it any easier to accept. “This is ridiculous,” a familiar voice argues. I search the crowded assembly until I find Astrid Lotus, the Council’s lead Seer. She is standing, hands planted on her desk. Somehow, even though she’s not moving, the dozens of metal bangles she always wears clack together loud enough to rise above the arguing. “We shouldn’t even be thinking about sending out an eighteen-year-old to do such a feat before she has a few years under her belt!” “The atoll no longer serves its area any purpose,” a sour looking Dwarf named Endolff Strikertree counters. He’s standing on his chair; all he needs is a toga and his Marc Antony act will be complete. “What’s your objection, Lotus?” The bracelets jingle as Astrid rights herself. I’m struck by her Elvin beauty, much like before when I met her last year after my parents forced me to visit in an effort to get me back on whatever track they thought I needed to be on. “No other Council members are ever asked to do complex tasks within their first few years. And yet, we suddenly break tradition and expect Chloe to do so simply because she’s a Creator?” Another voice rises above the mix. “She’ll do it if told so.” This one I know all too well. It’s the same voice I’ve heard all my life, reminding me how I better live up to my responsibilities or I’ll embarrass the family for, I don’t know, centuries or something. I find my father, still seated, open books spread across his desk. He pushes his glasses up his nose without even sparing me a glance.“Noel, whether or not that is the case,” Astrid says, “I’m shocked that, as an Intellectual, you’re ignoring how this goes against our bylaws and traditions.”He glares at her. I dig that she glares right back. “I absolutely agree that this atoll needs to be dealt with; there’s no doubt about that. But it must be Rushfire, not Chloe.” Her eyes find mine. They’re soft and sympathetic, which surprises me despite her gentleness at our last meeting. “At least, not yet.” At the mention of his name, Kleeshawnall Rushfire releases a deafening rip of a snore. The Goblin in front of me—I think his name is Mac?—bursts into laughter once more, as does the Storyteller. In fact, they’re both laughing so hard they’re practically crying. Several other people nearby are also cracking up, but the rest of the Council seems to be merely exasperated over Rushfire’s apparent lack of interest in the matter. “Honestly, Lotus,” Endolff Strikertree barks. He motions towards the slumbering Faerie. “You want to entrust my plane to the hands of—” “Don’t say it,” Astrid warns. “Kleeshawnall Rushfire has served this Council for nearly two hundred years. He deserves your respect.” The man in question snores again, this time adding a bit of drool to the phlegm in his beard. Try as he might, Strikertree can’t hide his disgust as he regards Rushfire. “Lilywhite will be fine. The Guard assigned to her can walk her through what she needs to do.” His dark eyes find me; they’re so piercing, I fight the urge to shrink in my seat. You’re first tier, a little voice in my mind whispers. It’s Caleb, an old friend from California who also happens to be my secret Conscience. Never show your fear; they’ll eat you alive if you do. Challenge accepted. I stare right back at the Dwarf, hoping he sees a girl ready for anything, even though I’m quaking in my Uggs.I can do this, I think. My attempts must be successful, because he looks away first. “She’s been under the Guard’s care for nearly a year anyway.” Thanks, dude, for reminding everyone I had to be babysat for my entire senior year of high school back on the Human plane. Like it isn’t humiliating enough that I’m the youngest person in the room and they’re debating whether or not I’m seasoned enough to work. “Graystone will oversee the mission, despite the terrain,” Strikertree continues. “They have a good enough working relationship—his presence ought to make her feel more comfortable.” I try not to roll my eyes before I search through the crowd. Karl Graystone smirks back at me before rolling his own eyes. I start to wave hi, fighting back a giggle, but then reflect that a Girl in Charge, sophisticated and ready for whatever Fate and/or the Council dishes out to her, might not do that with everyone watching, even if it’s at someone she practically considers her brother. Working relationship, indeed. Astrid tries her best to argue against me going out and wreaking destruction on my very first Council mission, but in the end, her voice is amongst the minority. Great. Just . . . great. As the meeting ends, the Elf next to me leans over and grins. “Welcome to the glory that is the Council, pumpkin.”
* * * * * * * * * *
A MATTER OF HEART will be out on June 25, 2013 via Cerulean Books on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Stay tuned later this month for an opportunity to win a copy of AMOH!
April 3, 2013
Cover Reveal for A MATTER OF HEART!
Today, I am thrilled to be able to finally share with y'all the front and back covers for my upcoming book, A MATTER OF HEART. This is the second book in the Fate series (A MATTER OF FATE is the first one) and will be released on June 25, 2013.
First, the blurb:
No longer in high school, Chloe Lilywhite is now living and working in Annar, the Magicals’ city-state plane of existence. Since moving, she’s joined the Council, gone on missions with the Guard, moved into her own apartment, and enrolled at the University of Annar. Plus, she’s happily engaged to be married to Jonah Whitecomb, the literal man from her dreams, not to mention her Connection. While she still struggles with aspects of her craft, Chloe feels like she’s finally coming into her own, especially after a difficult year that had her questioning nearly everything in her life.
After a brutal attack by the Elders, her life is turned upside down once more. Accusations fly throughout the Council and Guard, forcing Chloe to confront her worst fears about what’s she’s capable of as a Creator. And then there’s the matter of Kellan Whitecomb, Jonah’s twin brother and Chloe’s ex, who resurfaces after disappearing months before. Although Chloe chose Jonah, and despite their best efforts, the two find it hard to stay away from one another.
But no matter what Fate throws at her, Chloe is determined to take charge of her life, even as it begins to spiral out of control.
And now, the covers! Here's the front:
And now the back! (shown exclusively here on the have you met heather blog!):
Carly Stevens did the design (photo is stock)--she's super awesome and easy to work with and really has a fresh eye towards things (Did I mention she's freelance? Yep! Check out her site!). She hand drew the type for the title, which is totally gorgeous and unique. Plus, I love the symbolism of the clouds and Chloe's focus that Carly captured here, because it hints at Chloe's journey in this story.
Oh! And a big FYI: ebooks for A MATTER OF FATE are on sale for today for 99 cents! Less than a dollar! You can't even get out of Starbucks with a drink for that amount, unless you ask for a glass of water, I guess. But AMOF has intrigue! Hot twin guys! Action! Snark! Romance! Did I mention hot guys? Which are all way better things than only a glass of water from Starbucks. Well, okay, water is important and without it you'd die, but go ahead and get yourself a copy of AMOF to read WHILE you drink that glass.
First, the blurb:
No longer in high school, Chloe Lilywhite is now living and working in Annar, the Magicals’ city-state plane of existence. Since moving, she’s joined the Council, gone on missions with the Guard, moved into her own apartment, and enrolled at the University of Annar. Plus, she’s happily engaged to be married to Jonah Whitecomb, the literal man from her dreams, not to mention her Connection. While she still struggles with aspects of her craft, Chloe feels like she’s finally coming into her own, especially after a difficult year that had her questioning nearly everything in her life.
After a brutal attack by the Elders, her life is turned upside down once more. Accusations fly throughout the Council and Guard, forcing Chloe to confront her worst fears about what’s she’s capable of as a Creator. And then there’s the matter of Kellan Whitecomb, Jonah’s twin brother and Chloe’s ex, who resurfaces after disappearing months before. Although Chloe chose Jonah, and despite their best efforts, the two find it hard to stay away from one another.
But no matter what Fate throws at her, Chloe is determined to take charge of her life, even as it begins to spiral out of control.
And now, the covers! Here's the front:
And now the back! (shown exclusively here on the have you met heather blog!):
Carly Stevens did the design (photo is stock)--she's super awesome and easy to work with and really has a fresh eye towards things (Did I mention she's freelance? Yep! Check out her site!). She hand drew the type for the title, which is totally gorgeous and unique. Plus, I love the symbolism of the clouds and Chloe's focus that Carly captured here, because it hints at Chloe's journey in this story.
Oh! And a big FYI: ebooks for A MATTER OF FATE are on sale for today for 99 cents! Less than a dollar! You can't even get out of Starbucks with a drink for that amount, unless you ask for a glass of water, I guess. But AMOF has intrigue! Hot twin guys! Action! Snark! Romance! Did I mention hot guys? Which are all way better things than only a glass of water from Starbucks. Well, okay, water is important and without it you'd die, but go ahead and get yourself a copy of AMOF to read WHILE you drink that glass.
