Chris Cannon's Blog, page 2

Going Down In Flames is in Kindle Unlimited

I’m excited to share that Going Down In Flames is now available in Kindle Unlimited in the United States. If you’re a US KU member you can read for free. If you’re not part of KU, you can ask your library to order a copy of the ebook, paperback, or the audio book. If you’re interested in purchasing the book you can find it in all three forms here.

Already familiar with the GDF 5-book-series? Did you know there’s a prequel? Star Crossed Dragons is the story of how Bryn’s parents met and fell in love. I recommend reading it after you read the series so you can hunt for Easter eggs.

If you’ve read GDF and you’re waiting for the next series featuring Bryn and Jaxon in college, then I humbly apologize for how long it’s taking me to write the next book. My muse has been wandering. I’ve tried luring her back with coffee and chocolate but she’s been a bit flighty. I hope to write at least three books featuring Bryn and Jaxon in college.

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Like Star-Crossed Romances? Read Star-Crossed Dragons.

Ever wonder how Bryn’s parents ended up together? In the Going Down In Flames series I mentioned that they ran away to escape arranged marriage. If you thought Ferrin was obnoxious as an adult wait until you meet him as a teen.

Ice-princess, Sara Sinclair, is the most un-Blue Blue Dragon of her Clan. And now her parents signed a marriage contract to an absolute asshat. Sara has no interest in being one half of a snobby Blue power couple. In fact, all she can dream about is biting her obnoxious fiancé’s head off and burying him in the garden. Since that can’t happen, her future seems like a lost cause, until she meets Ian, a fire-breathing Red Dragon—who is everything her fiancé is not.

Now Sara’s jumped from the frying pan into the fire because dating outside of your Clan is against Directorate law. Ian could be thrown in jail or executed without a trial. But now that she knows what love feels like, she can’t imagine being with anyone else.

Talk about a rock and a hard place…

You can find Star-Crossed Dragons on most major platforms. https://books2read.com/StarCrossedDra...

The post Like Star-Crossed Romances? Read Star-Crossed Dragons. appeared first on Chris Cannon.

.99 Happy Holiday Sale

For many of us this is a strange and different holiday season. I hope that you all find some type of joy or peace. I plan to eat my weight in Christmas cookies and then gripe about my pants not fitting. That’s part of my yearly tradition and I see no reason to give it up now. To help ring in the holiday season, Entangled is reducing multiple books including Demon Bound to .99. If you’re in need of some happily ever afters or you just need an escape from this bizarre dystopian reality we live in you can celebrate the holidays by filling your kindle.

I’m also putting the audio book of GOING DOWN IN FLAMES on sale for 5.99 on Chirp.

The post .99 Happy Holiday Sale appeared first on Chris Cannon.

Sneak Peak at Star Crossed Dragons.

I’m excited to share a sneak peak at the rough draft of Star Crossed Dragons, the prequel to Going Down In Flames. It’s the story of how Bryn’s parents fell in love and ran away together. Star Crossed Dragons comes out in February.

CHAPTER ONE

Sara

Sara sat across the table from her
parents in her father’s study and stared at the marriage petition her father
finished writing. There it was in black and white…her worst nightmare. She was
being contracted to marry Ferrin Westgate…the boy who’d been the bane of her
existence since she was five.

“There has to be someone else,” Sara
spoke in a calm voice. If she yelled her parents would refuse to even discuss
the matter.

“I don’t understand your objection,”
her mother said. “Ferrin’s father is on the Directorate, his family fortune is
second only to ours, and he’s a smart, handsome young man.”

“He’s also obnoxious and arrogant.”

Neither of her parents acknowledged her
complaint. Maybe it was time to try another tactic. She’d play to their egos.
“He goes on and on about how important his family is and how powerful his
father is when we both know the Sinclair name carries more weight.”

Her father puffed out his chest with
obvious pride. “True, but as a young man he might have a hard time dealing with
that fact.”

“It might help if he’d stop talking
about it.”

“Be that as it may,” her mother said.
“The best approach for you is to smile and nod and then change the subject.
Over time you’ll learn how to deal with Ferrin.” She glanced at her husband.
“You’ll have your ups and downs but eventually you’ll come to an
understanding.”

Her father pulled what looked like a
cross between a ball point pen and a knife from his jacket pocket. “I’ll need
to collect a blood sample to submit for testing.”

She wanted to ask how he planned to
collect her blood, but she didn’t want to appear weak, so she held her hand out
palm up. He put the point of the knife against the tip of her ring finger and
pressed the button. The sharp sting of the blade made her wince.

 “That’s all there is to it,” her father said.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have Directorate business to attend to.”

Her mother offered her a tissue which
she held against her finger to stop the bleeding.  Right now her only hope was that she’d fail the
blood test and the Directorate would refuse the contract. At this point she
wouldn’t question a negative result, she’d happily move on to the next marital
candidate no matter who he was. As long as it wasn’t Ferrin.

Her mother spoke in a quiet voice. “I’ve
told you before. Marriage is a business contract that produces children.
Nothing more. Ferrin might be difficult at times, but your children will be
intelligent and attractive. They will carry on our legacy.”

Warm moments with her mother were rare.
“Is there anyone else I could be paired with? Anyone at all?”

“No.” Her mom reached over and touched
her on the shoulder. “Ferrin will be busy with the Directorate. You’ll be busy
raising a family. Once your children are grown you can take up gardening or join
the women’s league.”

She knew her mother was describing her
own relationship which was the standard for Blue dragon marriages. A standard
Sara desperately hoped to avoid.

***

“Sara, didn’t you hear me?” Ferrin
called out.

Of course she’d heard him, which was
why she was currently fleeing the other direction. She ducked down a side
hallway, slipped off her shoes and shoved them into her black leather book bag
as she went, so he wouldn’t hear her footsteps ring out on the marble floor of
the library as she raced for the stairwell door. According to Directorate law
she’d have to marry Ferrin one day, but that didn’t mean she had to spend every
evening with him while they were at school. Just one night. That’s all she
wanted. One night where she didn’t have to listen to how great his family was
or how knowledgable he was about every subject on the entire planet.

The library was normally her sanctuary
but Ferrin had followed her here. Why couldn’t he take a hint? She reached the
door, yanked it open and then closed it behind her as quietly as she could. She
turned to run up the stairs but found her way blocked by a Red male she didn’t
know.

“Everything all right?” he asked.

“Sort of.” She didn’t have time to get
into a discussion at the moment.

He pointed at her bare feet. “What are
you doing?”

“Hiding from my intended.”  And she should not have said that.

“Really?”

“If you’d met him you’d understand.”

“Sara?” Crap. That was Ferrin’s voice.
He was coming toward the door.

The stairwell was devoid of any statues
or closets or anything she could hide behind or in. She eyed up the Red male.
He had the typical Red Dragon Clan coloring and build: broad shouldered, auburn
hair, pale skin, freckles, and green eyes. Right now he appeared amused.

“Ferrin is going to come through that
door in thirty seconds and if I have to spend one more evening pretending to
care about how brilliant he is I will kill someone…probably him.”

“Sara?” Ferrin’s voice was closer.

She was out of options, hopefully this
Red would take pity on her and play along. “If you could just stand there and
be large.” Sara jumped up on the step behind him and tried to make herself as
small as possible.

She heard the door open and pressed
herself so close to the Red she could smell his scent. Blues always smelled
like cold and snow which made sense since their breath weapon was ice. Reds
breathed fire. She’d never been this close to one. He smelled like woodsmoke
and warmth.

 “Excuse me, have you seen a Blue female in
this stairwell?”

“Yeah,” the Red said. “She’s hiding
behind me.”

Sara pressed her lips together to
muffle her protest.

“You have an odd sense of humor,”
Ferrin said.

“So I’ve been told.”

Sara heard Ferrin walk out followed by
the sound of the door shutting.

The young man turned around and grinned
at her.

“You think you’re funny?” she asked,
sounding far too much like her mother.

“Yes, I do.” His grin widened. “I’m
Ian, by the way.”

“Well, thank you for letting me hide
behind you, Ian, but why did you tell Ferrin I was there?”

“I didn’t want to lie.  Besides… I knew he wouldn’t believe me. It’s
not typical ice princess behavior”

She snorted, which was also not typical
Blue behavior. “I might be missing some ice princess genes.”

“I can see that.” He hitched his book
bag higher on his shoulder. “Have a nice night, Sara.”

***

Ian

As Ian walked across campus to the Red
dorm, he thought about the strange Blue he’d met. She had the same golden skin,
blond hair, and blue eyes as the rest of her clan, but she definitely didn’t
act like them. He’d never heard a Blue laugh in public, much less snort. Most
of them were so high and mighty and obnoxious…but not this girl. That would
probably make her life with the egotistical Blue male difficult.

His mind drifted to Amelia, the family
friend he was contracted to marry. She was two years behind him in school, so
she wouldn’t be at the institute until he started his college classes next
year.

Weird to think he was almost done with
high school. Not like much would change is his life. He’d still live in the same
dorm he’d occupied for the past year and a half since he came to the Institute
for Excellence at sixteen like every other shape-shifting dragon. Education at
the Institute was mandatory as soon as a dragon first shifted and came into
their powers. The Directorate and the Institute emphasized the danger of
venturing out in the human population. From the time every dragon was a toddler
they were told horror stories about what humans would do to a dragon if they
ever captured one…dissection in a lab or maybe put on display at a zoo. The
stories were enough to keep dragons close to home. Still he couldn’t help
wondering, what it would be like to go someplace else? Someplace far away where
Blue dragons didn’t decide what was best for everyone.

Maybe he wouldn’t mind school as much
once Amelia was here. He thought of her as a friend. That’s how his parents had
started out…as friends. They were happy. Hopefully things would work that way
with him and Amelia. She’d said he was free to date until she came to school,
but so far there wasn’t anyone he was interested in.

Sara’s face flashed in his mind. Right.
He laughed at himself. Clans might mingle in classrooms…they could be
acquaintances or maybe even friends, but never anything more according to
Directorate law.

He shook his head and broke into a jog.
What was he thinking? Maybe he needed to work out and clear his head. He jogged
across campus keeping to the edge of the sidewalk so he didn’t bump into any of
the other students making their way across campus.  The evening air was cool and crisp. When he
reached The Red Dragon dorm, he slowed to walk.

He opened the door and entered into the
first floor lounge. Ian nodded and said hello to his friends and Clan mates as
he made his way across the room. Students were stretched out on couches in
groups studying or talking. Most of the pool tables were in use. Rather than
staying down here, he jogged up the steps to his dorm room on the third floor.

When he opened the door, the spicy
scent of pizza made his mouth water. Two sausage and mushroom pizzas rested on
the table in front of his roommate Greg. “I didn’t want to go to the dining
hall so I grabbed pizza from downstairs.”

“Works for me.” Ian sat and grabbed a
slice. The mushrooms felt rubbery when he bit down on them but he knew better
than to complain. Part of keeping peace with his room mate was dealing with
mushrooms on pizza. He’d drawn the line at pineapple and this was their
compromise.

“I see you thinking bad thoughts about
my mushrooms,” Greg said around a mouthful of pizza.

“Something strange happened at the
library,” Ian said as a way to change the conversation. He told Greg about
Sara, leaving out her name.

“That’s funny,” Greg said. “I thought
all Blues were happy to be married off according to their bank accounts.”

“I guess not.”

***

The next morning in the line for
breakfast at the dining hall Ian spotted Sara sitting at one of the Blue Clan
tables with a fake smile plastered on her face. She sipped her juice and nodded
and then she caught him looking at her. Her smile became real for a moment
before she returned her focus to the conversation.

Greg poked him in the back. “The bacon
is that way.”

Ian moved forward and filled his plate
with bacon, pancakes, and eggs. He and Greg sat at their normal table in the
Red section.

“Was that the girl you bumped into last
night?” Greg asked gesturing towards Sara’s table.

“How’d you know?”

“I see everything. Blue females never
smile at Red males. And you don’t even know who she is.”

“Sara somebody.” Why was he making a
big deal out of this?

“That’s Sara Sinclair.”

It took him a moment to connect the
Sinclair name to something significant. Wait a minute. “Her dad is the Speaker
for the Directorate.” Which meant she wasn’t just an ice princess…she was the
top tier ice princess of the entire Blue Clan.

“Hard to believe she’s not stuck up,”
Greg said.

Ian shrugged and shoved a piece of
bacon in his mouth. “We’re not all the same. Maybe they’re not all the same
either.”

“Right. We’re different because we have
options. We can go into the military, run our own businesses, or work for
someone else but Blues only play one role. The same role they’ve played
forever. They rule over us and know what’s best for everyone.”

Ian laughed at his friend’s sarcastic
tone. Maybe Greg had a point. Blues were expected to behave one way while the
other Clans had the freedom to choose what they wanted to do. “Would you trade
your freedom of choice for one of their mansions?”

“No, but I wouldn’t mind borrowing one
of their cars. One of those Porsches or maybe a decked out Hum-vee.”

“I’d rather fly.” Ian checked his
watch. “If we eat fast we can take a couple of laps around campus before
class.”

Greg shoveled food into his mouth and
finished a second after Ian did.

“Let’s go.” They stood and headed out
the front doors of the dining hall and then down the sidewalk toward one of the
benches where they dropped their book bags.

Ian focused on the fire burning inside
of him and willed it to grow. Heat shot through his veins as his muscles grew
and shifted, bones extended and snapped into place. He suppressed a growl as
power surged through him and his wings unfurled.

Transformation complete, he bent his
legs and then pushed off into the sky. Using his powerful wing muscles he drove
himself up into the clear blue. Cool air rushed past his snout and slid along
the red scales of his body as he leveled out, allowing himself to glide.

Flying was the best part of life at the
Institute. Flying was freedom. Even when the Directorate or the teachers did
things that seemed unfair there was always flying. When he was in dragon form
powering through the air, his human concerns faded away.

Greg flew past him and performed a
diving roll. Ian copied the maneuver, laughing as the world spiraled. When he
righted himself, he built up some speed and then flew straight up towards the
clouds where he paused for a second before arching backwards so he was headed
straight for the ground. Greg copied his maneuver.

They continued aerial follow the leader
until students poured out of the dining hall and headed toward the other
buildings which meant classes were about to start. Ian landed next to the bench
where they’d left their bags and shifted into human form. He grabbed his bag
and sighed. “Any chance we can ditch classes and keep flying?”

Greg shifted and shook his head. “Nope.
Test tomorrow in first hour. She’ll give the notes we need today.”

Ian didn’t care about getting the
highest grades. He’d noticed people liked you more when they weren’t competing
against you for class rankings. He could give a crap less about Proper Decorum.

When it came to lifting weights or
fighting in a ring, he’d go all out, but that was different than caring about
getting an A instead of a B. B’s were fine. They moved you through to the next
class.

CHAPTER TWO

Sara

If Ferrin didn’t stop talking about how
he planned to be the youngest member of the Directorate Sara was going to fake
food poisoning just to have a few moments to herself. She could go with the old
standard…excuse herself pretending she had to use the restroom, but she’d used
that excuse so often he’d asked if she might need to see a medic.

Maybe she could steer him to another
topic of conversation. “I heard we’re going to have a guest speaker in
Economics.”

Ferrin paused and blinked like he was
confused. “Who?”

“I don’t know. One of the newer
Directorate members is going to give a presentation on each Clans role in the
economy.”

“That’s hardly interesting,” Ferrin
said. “Once I’m on the Directorate I’ll make sure presentations are all about
how brilliant I am…”

Okay. He didn’t say about how
brillliant I am but he might as well have because he was back to talking at
her rather than to her.

She cleared her throat. “Maybe we need
a communication class which teaches the art of conversation. A class that
discusses how it takes two people to have an interesting conversation rather
than one person expounding on what they believe.”

Ferrin tilted his head and stared at
her. “Honestly, if someone hasn’t figured that out by now they probably never
will. Now back to what I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me.”

She pressed her lips together and
fantasized about smashing her cheese danish in his face. Then again that would
be a waste of a perfectly good pastry.

When breakfast ended, she should have
felt relieved and she might have if their first class wasn’t Proper Decorum.
The class irritated her almost as much as Ferrin did. At least the class would
eventually end. How the teacher, Mrs. Silvertrap managed to talk about manners
and place settings and appropriate social behavior for an hour every day was
mind boggling.

Sara had never understood the reason
behind all the fake niceties. If you didn’t enjoy someone’s company why should
you pretend you did? Odds were the dislike was mutual. Being civil she understood,
but pretending to enjoy certain things was a skill she didn’t possess. The only
way to stay awake in class was by playing games. Today she’d count the number
of times Mrs. Silvertrap used the word proper. Ten minutes into class she had
fifteen tic marks on her paper.

“Sara, how many forks are required for
a five course dinner?”  Mrs. Silvertrap
asked.

There was probably an appropriate
answer but Sara went with the obvious. “As many as the caterer supplies?”

Students laughed.

“That is not an adequate answer,” the
teacher snapped.

“Since I won’t be the one counting out
the forks and setting the tables at whatever event I’m planning, I think it
should be,” Sara shot back.

Mrs. Silvertrap frowned. “You might not
be setting the tables yourself, but you will be supervising the staff who does.
It’s important to know these things to save yourself from social
embarrassment.”

“If an inept caterer used the wrong
place settings,” Ferrin spoke in a voice that carried through the classroom.
“Do you believe Blues would dare speak ill of the Westgate who hired them?”

Mrs. Silvertrap took a step backwards.
“Of course not.”

Okay maybe Ferrin had his uses after
all, and he had stepped up to help her so she smiled at him. He nodded at her,
but he appeared annoyed.

After class on their way to Elemental
Science he pulled her down a side hall. His expression was completely serious.
“I interceded on your behalf because I won’t stand by while someone is being
rude, but from here on out you need to think about how your actions reflect on
the Westgate name.”

“Excuse me?”

“The response you gave in class was
beneath your station.”

Wow. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware I’d
been assigned a station that required me to answer stupid questions in a ridiculous
class.”

Ferrin’s eyes narrowed. “You will be a
Westgate and you best learn how to act like one.”

Oh really. She tried to hold the words
inside but the dam of her self control broke and the words poured out.  “Should I tell everyone how great I am and
brag about my father’s second rate fortune?”

Ferrin’s face colored. His eyes went
hard and cold and for a moment he stared at her…just stood there seeping anger
from every pore and then without a word he stalked off.

A thrill of victory shot through her
body quickly followed by the realization that she’d broken a cardinal rule.
Blues never showed negative emotions in public. Never. They could argue using a
normal tone of voice so no one else knew something was wrong. Anyone who’d
heard what she said in that angry tone of voice would definitely know they
weren’t having a pleasant conversation. Holy hell. What had she done? She
backed up and slumped against the wall, closing her eyes. She should not have
said those things…even if they were true.

“Are you okay?” A familiar voice asked.

She opened her eyes and saw the Red
from the library. What was his name…Ivan…no Ian. “Yes. Just wishing I had a
filter for my mouth.”

He chuckled. “I heard what you said,
and you’re not wrong.”

She sucked in a breath and scanned the
hallway. “Did anyone else hear?”

He shook his head. “Just me. I was
coming back from the restroom.”

“Thank God.” Her parents would be
furious if they knew she’s spoken to Ferrin like that.

Ian checked his watch. “We should go to
class.”

He was right. She headed to Economics
with him and took her seat next to Ferrin. This wasn’t the end of the world.
She might be better off if he stayed mad for awhile. At least he wouldn’t
follow her everywhere demanding all of her time.

There was strange squiggling sensation
in her stomach. It felt like guilt. Ferrin behaved the way he did because it
was how he’d been taught to behave. Maybe they could clear the air and come to
some sort of understanding. She’d attempt to be more appropriate in class if he
curbed his…what…bragging…she couldn’t very well say that.

“Today we have a guest speaker,” Their
economics teacher Mr. Clayton said as he stood behind his desk. Like the
wouldn’t notice the Blue adult male standing next to him. “This is Mr. Seaborn.
He’s taken time away from his busy schedule to talk to you about how each Clans
role in our society is vital.”

Mr. Seaborn surveyed the class. “I’d
rather not lecture at you, so I’m hoping you’ll raise your hands and contribute
to the discussion. Let’s start with some basic questions because I’m interested
to understand your perception of our society. And there is only one rule I’d
like to you to follow. You are not allowed to answer questions about your own
Clan.”

Students shifted in their seats. This
felt like some sort of test.

“Let’s begin. What role do Green
dragons play?”

An Orange female named Helani raised
her hand. Mr. Seaborn nodded at her.

“Greens are the most analytical, some
say the smartest dragons so they are our teachers and scientists. They are
gifted in manipulating quintessence so they become medics.”

“Correct. Using their own life force to
heal another dragon is an amazing skill. It’s very important that Greens play
this role. Now what about Orange dragons?”

A Black dragon raised his hand. “Due to
their sonic waves and their affinity with the earth they’re the farmers and the
miners.” He paused. “Orange dragons channel their life force into plants to
help them grow, so why can’t they heal dragons like Greens do?”

Mr. Seaborn smiled. “Quintessence is
the essence of life. All dragons have the ability to manipulate it to a certain
extent, but each Clan has their specialty. Just another example of why all of
our roles are important.  Now, what about
Black dragons?”

Ian raised his hand. “They are the most
creative so they are the artists and entertainers.”

“And Red dragons?”

Ferrin raised his hand. “They are the
strongest so they make up the militia. They’re also the clan that runs most of
the businesses.”

“And Blues?”

A Green male named Einstein raised his
hand. “They are the fastest fliers but that doesn’t correlate to their position
in society. They are the lawmakers and the elite and they have a strong desire
for power and control.”

Blues in the class bristled and
muttered.

“That is an interesting answer,” Mr.
Seaborn said.

“I was going for analytical rather than
polite,” the Green responded.   

“Another trait innate to your clan,”
Mr. Seaborn said. “I’m sure you ruffled the feathers of some of your fellow
students. That is something I am here to discuss today. Blues do control our
society. We, and by we I mean the Directorate, maintain power over the clans to
protect them. Everything we do is done to keep dragons safe and to keep our
society moving forward.”

A Red raised his hand. “My uncle’s
business was taken over by the Directorate for the good of the Clans. Can you
explain that, because I don’t understand why he can’t manage the business he
created.”

“Blues have always been the CEO’s of
companies. Once businesses grow to certain size it wouldn’t be right to expect
a Red to handle that level of commerce,” Mr. Stanborn said.

That was taking condescension to a new
level. Sara raised her hand. “Why couldn’t a Red hire a Green to help teach him
how to run the business?” 

“I’m surprised you’d ask that question,”
Mr. Clayton said. “Since your father is the Speaker for the Directorate.

She sat up straighter. “I would never
ask my father that question because it would make him angry. He might think I
was questioning how the Directorate operates. This is a class. And you’re here
as a guest lecturer so I can ask you. We are here to learn after all, are we
not?

“We are,” Mr. Clayton said. “And I’m
sure you’re not the only student in this room who wondered about that but
apparently you are the only one impulsive enough and secure enough in your position
in dragon hierarchy to ask such an inappropriate question. Mr. would you like
to answer Sara’s question or would you prefer I handle it.”

“The answer,” Mr. Seaborn said in a
less than amused tone, “Is that Blues must maintain control of the economy for
the good of all. If a dragon from another clan reaches a financial level that
exceeds his peers it will cause unrest. Every position no matter what the
career or job description…every Red, Orange, Black, and Green dragon…every teacher,
miner, painter is paid a livable wage. Everyone has enough money to meet their
needs and live comfortably. The wealth of our society is controlled and
maintained by Blues because it’s what we’ve done for centuries and it is what
we will continue to do for the good of all. In the past, before the
Directorate, Dragon Clans fought for territory and resources and treasure. And
when I say fought I mean to the death. Dragons killing dragons for diamonds and
gold and land. Needless deaths are now avoided thanks to the civilizing action
of the Directorate. Each Clan is assigned a role based on its strengths.”

“Reds are the middle class who run the
businesses where we all purchase goods. They are the backbone of the economy.
Black dragons entertain us with their talents and create beautiful works of art
for us to purchase. Green dragons teach us and tend to our health. Orange
dragons produce the food we all need to survive and mine the diamonds and gold which
our economy is based on. Blues control the flow of money and purchase goods and
services thereby supporting the rest of the clans. Our society is based on what
is best for everyone. When a business is taken over or when a marriage petition
is denied, resentment is understandable. But overall, you can be assured the
Directorate is looking out for the welfare of all the Clans.” He checked his
watch. “Now if you’ll excuse me I have another appointment.” He exited the
room.

Ian pointed at Sara. “You’re my new
hero.”

Sara beamed. “I knew I was the only one
who could get away with asking, so I did.”

 Ferrin didn’t comment but if his clenched jaw
muscle was any indication he was less than pleased. Too bad. He gave her the
silent treatment for the rest of the day. Was he mad about what she’d said in
the hallway or because of the way she’d behaved in class?

Honestly she felt bad about what she’d
said to him, so she probably should apologize for that, but she’d never
apologize for asking questions which made him or other Blues uncomfortable.

After their last class they headed to
the Blue dorm. As they walked up the steps people nodded in recognition. She
responded in kind. When they reached her door, she said, “May I speak to you
for a moment? In private?”

He didn’t reply, but he didn’t walk
away either, so she opened her dorm room with the key and headed inside. He
followed. After setting her book bag on the coffee table, she faced him.

“Ferrin, I’m sorry about what I said
earlier. It was rude.” Even if it was true.

He stood there like he was waiting for
more. What did he expect her to say?

“That’s all I had prepared,” Sara said.
“Would you like to add to the conversation?”

“You’re a Blue,” Ferrin stated like
she’d missed an obvious point. “You should act like one.”

“My mother has tried that argument for
years,” Sara forced a laugh. “it didn’t take.”

He reached up to loosen his tie. “Blues
never air their grievances in public. Never. Public perception is vital. If the
other Clans see us arguing then they’ll question how we rule. That cannot
happen. We must present a united front. Do you understand?”

No. She didn’t. No one was perfect.
People should be allowed to disagree or argue in public if they felt like it.
But that answer would lead to more tension between them, and she needed to make
peace with Ferrin because she had to live with him for the rest of her life…so
she nodded.

“And the question you asked in
class…that was wrong.”

Wait. What? “No it wasn’t. I’m allowed
to ask questions.”

“Once again, in private you could ask a
question. Asking those types of questions in public makes you sound disloyal to
your Clan.”

“Are you kidding me? I am loyal to my
Clan. I’m going along with this marriage contract even though it’s obvious we
are incompatible.”

Ferrin dropped his book bag. “Excuse
me?”

“Name one thing you like about me.”

“What?” He seemed truly perplexed.

“On paper we are a good match because
we come from the top two families and our offspring will be attractive and
intelligent, but what do you like about me?”

“This conversation is ridiculous.”

“Please.” She took a step toward him.
“Just one thing. Give me one reason you want to be around me because I don’t
understand. You tell me all your plans for the future but you don’t actually
talk to me.”

“I talk to you all day long,” Ferrin
said.

“No,” Dear god how did he not
understand? “You talk at me. You share your ideas but you never discuss
anything with me.”

He blinked. “You want me to ask your opinion
on things?”

“That would be a good start. We could
take turns picking topics. I …” She didn’t know how to explain. “I want to feel
like you actually like me and not just my pedigree.”

Ferrin ran his hand back through his
hair, leaving it a bit disheveled. “This is absurd. Did you ever stop to wonder
why I was telling you all my plans?”

She shook her head.

 “I was trying to impress you with my initiative.”

“Oh.” She’d never thought of it like
that.

“You did mention my family’s second
rate fortune earlier today,” he said in an amused tone.

Wow. He’d been trying to show her he
was worthy. “Both our families have more money than any dragon could spend in a
lifetime. Your family’s lineage and fortune is impressive. I want to move past
that. I want us to talk more about things we both like. Maybe have a laugh, not
be so serious all the time.”

“I will curb my impulse to talk about my
future plans if you curb your non-Blue behavior in public.”

She was going to let that description
go for the sake of hopefully making this relationship something she could live
with…maybe even enjoy. “I will be on my best Blue behavior if you work on your
conversational skills.”

“Agreed.” He picked up his bookbag.
“I’ll meet you here in an hour and we can walk to dinner together and you can
pick the first topic of conversation.”

“Thank you.” It felt like a weight had
lifted off of her shoulders.

The post Sneak Peak at Star Crossed Dragons. appeared first on Chris Cannon.

Make Me Laugh Wednesday

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted for Make Me Laugh Wednesday. I’m not sure who checks blogs any more. It seems like everyone uses instagram, twitter, and facebook. So maybe I’ll share from those social media sites instead. Here we go.

The post Make Me Laugh Wednesday appeared first on Chris Cannon.

SWEET SUMMER READS SALE .99

Summer is a great time to binge read especially when ebooks are on sale. For a limited time all of my romantic comedies are .99

If paranormal is more your thing Demon Bound and Going Down in Flames are both .99

If you’ve read my books already and are looking to branch out, Entangled Publishing has over 200 books on sale for .99 You can check them out here: https://www.pinterest.com/EntangledTeen/entangled-teen-sale/

I’ve been binge reading Rick Riordans Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard and The Lost Heroes of Olympus series. If you’ve never read his books they are amazing. What have you been reading?

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Beware of Netflix hips

Not sure how we ended up in a world where people are excited to find toilet paper and Lysol. It’s like someone dropped us into a dystopian novel. What are you doing to stay sane? I’ve been bonding with my furry beasts, trying my best to exercise a little bit every day so I don’t end up with Netflix Hips, (a condition where you binge watch television on a daily basis and your hips expand to fill up the available space on your couch) and working on the prequel to the Going Down In Flames series.

What have you been doing? Have you discovered a new book series or a fabulous show on Netflix? I finished watching Upload. It was awesome because I did not see the end coming. I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t seen it, but wow…

I’ve also developed a serious addiction to baking shows, which is not helping with Netflix hips because the shows make me want to bake. Of course if I bake it, I have to eat it.

Leave a comment about something you’re watched on Netflix or your latest read for a chance to win a free ebook of your choice from my collection of books.

The post Beware of Netflix hips appeared first on Chris Cannon.

Going Down In Flames is FREE for Limited Time. Romantic Comedies are on SALE for .99

Need something to read while you’re staying in? Grab your free copy of Going Down In Flames. The first book in the series is free.

Need a reason to smile? All of my Sweet Romantic Comedies are on sale for .99

https://books2read.com/BlackmailBoyfriend

https://books2read.com/The-Boyfriend-Bet

https://books2read.com/BoomerangBoyfriend

https://books2read.com/TheDatingDebate

https://books2read.com/99FakingIt

The post Going Down In Flames is FREE for Limited Time. Romantic Comedies are on SALE for .99 appeared first on Chris Cannon.

Entangled Teen Road Trip Blog Hop.

I’m excited to be part of the Entangled Teen Road Trip Blog Hop. Today I want to share an excerpt from Demon Bound where bookworm Meena tells new guy in town, Jake about her boring Southing Illinois town right before she finds out it’s a hotbed for soul-sucking demons, demon-hunting witches, and vampires who just wanna have fun.

***

Meena

When we were driving down the road I said, “How’d you end up in Crossroads? It’s not exactly a summer destination spot.”

He adjusted the air-conditioning vents, tilting them upward. “My mom claims working for my aunt will build character. I’m pretty sure she wanted to go party and hang out with her new boyfriend and Aunt Zelda was the only one who’d take me.”

I’d been aiming for small talk and ended up with way more information than I knew what to do with. “I’m sorry. That sucks on two levels.”

“It is what it is,” he said. “The cool part is, during the school year my mom doesn’t care what I do.”

“Free-range parenting?”
“Pretty much.”
“How are you related to Zelda?” She was too old to actually be his aunt.
“She’s my mom’s second husband’s aunt.”
I needed a diagram to figure that explanation out, so I went with, “That’s complicated.”
“Family always is. How about you. What’s your story?”

“My family has lived in Crossroads for generations and I have no idea why. I mean if you could pick any place to live, why stay here?” I pointed out the window at the endless cornfields of Southern Illinois. “Apparently, I’m the only one who feels that way. My older sisters have shelves full of pageant trophies and they think a parade down Main Street is an amazing event. I refuse to wear false eyelashes, which is a travesty in my family, and I’d rather read a book than ride on a float.”

“People here ride on floats…for real?”

“Yes and they spend hours making them out of chicken wire and tissue paper, which is also supposed to be fun.” Chalk that up as one more thing I didn’t understand. “One more year of high school and then I’m out of here. Where’re you from?”
“My mom isn’t great at staying put, so I’ve lived in a lot of different places. Some were exciting. Some were dangerous. Some were boring. Crossroads seems like it falls into the safe, but not too exciting, category.”

“I’d call it boring with a huge helping of judgmental. Everyone is expected to behave a certain way and if you fall outside of that norm, people are not pleased.”

“What do you mean?”

I reached over to turn up the air-conditioning and discovered it was at the max. Lovely. “Everyone around here smiles and nods and does the exact same thing everyone else does and pretends to be happy about it. Then half of them, like my dad, go home and drink until they pass out in front of the television.”

“Lots of people drink,” Jake said, a tad too defensively.

This right here is why I didn’t fit in. I should’ve talked to him about football or some other thing I didn’t give a crap about, but nooo…I had to tell him something that bothered me, when I didn’t know him well enough to do that.

“You’re right. They do, but if people liked their lives, I don’t think they’d drink until they passed out every night.”

“I’ve always heard people drink more in small towns because there isn’t anything else to do.” He grinned. “This is the part where you’re supposed to tell me there’s all sorts of cool things to do around here.”

“You are about to be disappointed, unless you think hanging out at the diner, the library, or going to a bonfire is exciting.”

“Bonfires look fun in movies,” he said. “I’ve never been to one in real life.”

“In the fall when the temperature drops, bonfires are fun. It will be eighty degrees tonight. And half the citizens of Crossroads will probably go to a bonfire, sit around a blazing pile of logs, and think it’s a wonderful evening.”

“And you?” he asked.

“I think drunk people are obnoxious and it’s too freaking hot to build a fire.”

He laughed. “So you don’t fit?”

“No. I hide out at the library.” I took the turn onto the road that led to Carol’s house. “I used to try and pretend that I liked all the stuff everyone else did but it was too much work and I wasn’t any happier, so now I do what I want.”

***

We parked and grabbed the packages from the trunk before heading up the steps to the front porch. I grabbed the knob expecting the door to be open. Very few people bothered to lock their doors in Crossroads. If someone invited you to their house it was normally a walk-on-in policy. Then again, Carol was different.

I knocked. Carol opened the door. “Leave the packages on the porch and get in here. Quick.”

We set the packages down and shuffled inside. “What’s going on?” Jake asked.

Zelda stood off to the side holding a Super Soaker water gun. “Sorry about this, kids. We can’t take any chances.” And then she took aim and fired. A stream of cold water drenched the front of my dress and Jake’s shirt.

“What the hell?” Jake sputtered, wiping water from his face.

“Are you insane?” Wait, I already knew the answer to that question. “Why did you do that?”
Carol tossed me a towel and then handed one to Jake. “Since you’re not smoking, we can assume you’re not demons.”

“Why would you think we were demons?” I asked.

“The séance didn’t go well at the Dixons’ house,” Zelda said. “Apparently their oldest son made a deal and then decided he wanted to change his mind.”

“Made a deal?” I said. “What are you talking about?” The towel Carol gave me didn’t do much to dry my dress.

“I’ll explain everything,” Carol assured us. “Give me a minute and I’ll grab you some dry clothes.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her to forget this whole summer job. She must have sensed what I was about to say because she said, “I swear, we were making sure you were safe. We needed to know you weren’t possessed.”

Jake touched my shoulder. “Does any of this make sense to you?”

“No.”

“So it’s not some small-town joke you play on the outsider?”

I shook my head.

“I’ll make us all a nice cup of tea and we’ll explain.” Zelda headed toward the kitchen.

“Tea isn’t going to dry my dress.” I swiped at the soaked fabric and then tossed the towel on the coffee table. “This has been nice. I’m going.”

“You can’t go.” Carol came closer. “I know you think I’ve lost my marbles, but there’s a lot you don’t know about Crossroads. Stay for tea, I’ll pay you for your time, and then you can do whatever you want.”

There was a new hardback book I wanted to order so… “Fine. I’ll stay.”

“Thank you. I’ll be back in a minute.”

If she was really worried, what did that mean? Wait a minute… “You could’ve asked me to drink more holy water instead of giving me a shower,” I called out after her retreating form. She didn’t respond.

Jake looked at me sideways. “You drank holy water?”

“Yes, and I’m sure the tea will be made with it, too. Your aunt might be New Agey, but Carol believes in all sorts of supernatural things.”

“Like?”

I pointed at the jars full of silvery liquid. “Apparently those swirly things are the souls of her enemies.” “Seriously?”

I nodded.

“And you agreed to work for her?”

“It was either this or fast food,” I snapped. “And I’m allergic to hair nets.”

Carol came back carrying two black robes. “Change into these and we’ll put your clothes in the dryer.”

I held the garment at arm’s length. “These aren’t some sort of sacrificial robes, are they?”
“They’re terry cloth,” Carol said. “Sacrificial robes are never made of terry cloth.”
I did not find her response comforting.
“The laundry room is off the kitchen.” She headed in that direction and Jake followed.
Should I stay and ride out this wave of weirdness, or bail? I shivered as the air-conditioning kicked on. First I’d get dry, and then I’d figure out what the heck was going on.

When I entered the kitchen, Carol said, “Jake went in the laundry room, so you can change in the bathroom.” Once I had the too-big robe on and my dress was spinning around in the dryer, I joined the two ladies and Jake at the kitchen table.
“Do not drink the tea,” Jake warned as I reached for my cup.
“Why not?” I peered into the brown liquid.
“There is nothing wrong with the tea,” his aunt chided.

“Trust me. It tastes bad.” Jake seemed serious. “Sniff it first if you don’t believe me.”
I picked up the warm cup and inhaled some of the steam. It smelled like a dusty old spice cabinet. “What’s in here?”

“It’s chamomile clove tea,” Zelda said.
Yuck. I hated cloves. “No thanks.”
“Take one sip,” Carol said. “It helps ward off demons.” And I’m done. “You know, this job may not be for me.”

“Not so fast, I saw you checking out my library,” Carol said. “Take a sip and I’ll give you access to my books.”

Dang. She’d discovered my kryptonite. Maybe I could adjust to her level of wackiness if it meant access to her library. I eyed the brown beverage in my cup. “There’re no souls in here, right?”

“Nope. Just holy water, chamomile, and cloves.”

I put the cup to my lips and sipped, grimacing at the bitter taste.
“Told you,” Jake said.
He wasn’t wrong. I wanted off this ride. “You’ve got ten minutes to convince me that you aren’t batshit crazy.” I set the timer on my cell. “And go.”

“A few years ago,” Zelda said, “Brant Dixon made a deal with a demon and—”

“Wait a minute,” Jake said. “The town is named Crossroads and it has demons? Are you saying this is literally a crossroads where you can find wish-granting demons?”

His aunt and Carol both nodded.
I laughed. No one else joined in.
“Oh, come on.” I pushed to my feet.
Carol pointed at my cell. “Time’s not up yet.”
“Fine.” I sat back down.
“Do you know who Brant is?” Carol asked.
He’d gone to school with my oldest sister. “Sure. Everyone knows who he is.”
“Did you ever wonder how a tall skinny kid became the quarterback and married the head cheerleader?”
I didn’t know much about sports, but most of the football players looked like they could bench-press a car. Brant might be the same height but he probably weighed a third of what most of those guys did. Something didn’t add up. “Are you freaking serious? The idiot sold his soul so he could play sports and date a cheerleader?”
“Loser,” Jake muttered. “If you’re going to sell your soul it should be for something big, like a million dollars or the cure for cancer.”

“Don’t even joke about selling your soul.” Zelda pointed at him. “Demons are always listening and waiting to prey on the weak.”

I took a deep breath and blew it out. “For the sake of argument, let’s say I believe about the demons. Why are you so freaked out?”

“Brant’s mom claimed she wanted a séance so she could ask her great-aunt Betty for a pumpkin pecan pie recipe. Once I summoned Betty, Brant called to his demon. Things went downhill after that. Brant argued that he didn’t owe the demon his soul on account of his wife leaving him. He claimed that voided their deal.”

“And the demon didn’t agree?” Jake said.

“No. He did not, and he expressed his discontent by making Brant slam his head on the dining room table until he cracked his skull open.”

“Oh…well that’s a disturbing visual.”

“And now the demon is mad at me,” Zelda said, “because he thinks I was involved in the deceit.”

“Can’t you tell him you weren’t in on it?” Jake asked.

“Demons aren’t known for being reasonable,” Carol said.
“That still doesn’t explain why you thought Jake and I needed to be blasted with holy water.”

“Demons can hitch a ride with unsuspecting victims,” Carol said. “Bane, the crossroads demon in question, would find the people closest to Zelda and try to use them. So we couldn’t take any chances.”

…

Jake

Aunt Zelda had always been eccentric, but this was overboard, even for her. I’d play along and figure a way out of this mess. “Now that Meena and I have been declared demon-free, what’s next?”

“I’m going to call a lesser demon and hope he’ll help us broker a conversation with Bane.”

Yeah, that sounded like a solid plan. “While you’re doing that, Meena and I will go someplace else.”

“Good idea,” Meena said. “We’ll hang out at the diner. The totally normal, not-possibly-infested-with-demons diner.”

Carol snorted. “Nice try. You’re both staying put until we know it’s safe to leave.”

No, we weren’t. “How long is that going to take?” We needed a reason to leave. “I haven’t eaten lunch yet.”

“Help yourself to anything in the refrigerator,” Carol said. “Don’t open the freezer.”

“Speaking of opening things, you never said if we brought the right packages,” Meena said.

“One problem at a time,” Carol said.

“What did you order?” Meena asked. “I’m asking because I need to know if I should spray my car with holy water.”

“Books and crystals, so your car should be fine.” “Good to know.”
Zelda stood and went into the dining room. Carol followed. She crossed the threshold and looked back at us. “Remember, don’t open the freezer.”

“Got it.” I waited for them to close the door before turning to Meena.

“We’re not staying here,” she said. “Right?”
“No. Any chance our clothes are dry?”
“Nope,” she said. “But I’ll take wet clothes over demon- summoning old ladies.”
I followed her to the laundry room. She opened the dryer and pulled out her blue dress and something made of pink lace. That was interesting.

She held the dress up. “This isn’t nearly dry enough.”

I grabbed my things. My jeans were damp, but not too bad. My shirt was still soaked.

“I’m going to change in the bathroom,” Meena said, and then took off.

I changed in the laundry room. Something that sounded like chanting in another language filtered through the wall. Aunt Zelda was nuts, which was too bad, because I liked her.

I could worry about her mental state later. Right now we needed a way out of here. There was a door on the back wall of the laundry room which was probably a closet, but it wouldn’t hurt to check. I grabbed the handle. Son of a— I yanked my hand back and stared at my red palm. The doorknob was so cold it burned.
“Jake, you should come out here,” Meena said.
I joined her in the kitchen. She wasn’t alone. A dark- haired man sat at the table eating cat treats out of a bag. “Dude, that’s cat food,” I said.

“I realize that.” He tilted his head and stared at Meena. “Do you know who I am?” “No.”

“You told me I was a handsome guy.” And then he meowed.

Meena took a step backward. “You’re Goblin?”

“Whoa!” I looked around for a weapon. “He’s a goblin?”

“No,” Meena said. “He’s Carol’s cat. His name is Goblin.”

“This guy’s a cat?” Just when I thought things couldn’t get any weirder.
“I’m a familiar,” Goblin said.
“Wait a minute,” Meena said. “Does that mean Carol is a witch?”
“Something like that,” Goblin said.
Meena reached up to rub her temples. “I’ve about reached my quota for weird crap today, Goblin. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Well, it would appear that Carol has summoned a demon. I’m not sure it’s going well.”

“We need a plan,” Meena said. “We’ll start with the simplest approach first.” She grabbed her phone and tried to make a call. “I don’t have any service.”

I pulled out my cell. “Me either. Does Carol have a landline?”

Goblin shook his head.

“Back to the original plan.” Hopefully the cat-guy could help. “We need a way out of this house.”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible,” Goblin said.
“Why?” I asked.
“Carol warded the entire house. It’s on lockdown right now.”

“Is that why the door in the laundry room gave me frostbite?” I held out my palm to show the red mark where I’d touched the doorknob.

“That door leads to the basement,” Goblin said.

“We’re not supposed to go in the basement,” Meena said. And then she pointed at Goblin. “Why can’t we go in the basement?”

“There are things locked in the basement you don’t want to deal with.” Goblin held the treat bag upside down over the table and shook it vigorously. Nothing came out.

“There are things up here we don’t want to deal with.” Meena snatched the bag of cat treats from Goblin. “Stop it. The bag is empty.”

“The bag is never empty.” Goblin sounded more upset over this than he did about our situation. “Carol makes the bag full again.”

“I’ll check the cabinets for more treats,” I said.

…

Meena

I was beginning to think Goblin’s mind was more cat than human. When Jake brought a new bag of treats over to the table Goblin reached for it but I was faster. “Let me help you.” Maybe I could bribe him into being helpful. I ripped the top open and put three treats on the table. He ate the first two and then batted the third one back and forth between his hands.
“Goblin.” I kept my tone even. “Where is the back door?” All houses had to have back doors.
“There is no back door. Carol sealed it off years ago.” Goblin stopped playing with the treat as a ripple of something flowed through the house.

“What was that?” Jake asked.
“It felt like invisible ice water,” I said.
“That was power from the rift that Carol and Zelda made,” said Goblin.

Ten minutes ago I wouldn’t have believed that statement, but I was talking to a guy who was a cat, so anything seemed possible. “You know the layout of the house. There has to be another way out.”

“If Carol doesn’t come back, promise you’ll take me home with you. I don’t like being alone.”

“I promise I’ll take care of you.” Not sure how I’d explain the man-cat to my dad, but I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.

Jake came and sat at the table with us. “Let’s focus. How do we get out?”

“The front door opens to Crossroads,” Goblin said. “The upstairs bedroom window leads to Crossroads, too.”

“So you’re saying there are other doors that lead to places besides Crossroads?” Talking to Goblin was like trying to assemble a puzzle.

“The new portal in the living room floor leads to the demon realm,” he said. “And the basement and the freezer are where Carol dries out the demons.”

“Enough riddles.” Jake stood and walked over to the door which led to the dining room. He turned the handle back and forth. “It’s locked, but the hinges are on this side. All I need is a flat head screwdriver and a hammer. We can take the pins out of the hinges and open the door.”

Sounded better than any plan I had. “Okay.” I helped him rummage through the kitchen drawers. A butter knife and a meat tenderizer would have to do.

Jake placed the blade of the knife against the lip of the pin and tapped it up until the pin was almost out. He did the same thing to the other hinges. “Hold the door, Meena.”

I placed my palms flat on the door so it wouldn’t fall on us once it was free. Jake pulled the pins out and the door wobbled and then came loose from the frame.

“I’ve got it.” Jake grabbed the handle. I ducked under his arm and backed up. With one tug, the door came free from the frame.

“You’re handy to have around,” I said.

He leaned the door against the wall. “You can be in charge of the book smarts and I’ll take care of the real- world problems.”

The dining room turned office looked the same as it had the last time I’d seen it. “Nothing seems different in here.”

Another wave of invisible power rolled over me, making me a little woozy. “I don’t like that.”

“You shouldn’t have destroyed the door.” Goblin’s voice came right next to my ear. I jumped.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that. And we didn’t destroy it, we opened it.”

“The doors of this house keep things out,” Goblin said.

“Well, right now they’re keeping us in and we need out,” Jake said.

“You shouldn’t open that door.” Goblin pointed to the door which led to the living room and the front door beyond. Paragraph

“Do you have a better idea?” I asked Goblin. “Because I don’t want to live in this house forever.”
“We should go upstairs,” Goblin said.
And that’s when I realized something. “Where are the stairs?” I hadn’t seen any steps leading up to the second story.

“Behind that bookcase.” Goblin pointed to a tall bookshelf overflowing with leather-bound books and folders.

“We don’t want to go up, we want to go out,” Jake said.

I was torn. “What are the odds that the thing on the other side of the door sending out those pulses of power is friendly?”

“I don’t know, but if it’s that powerful, it probably knows we’re here,” Jake said.

Good point. “If we’re not trying to surprise it, we might as well make a detour upstairs. Maybe we’ll find something useful.”

You can find out more about Demon Bound here: https://books2read.com/DemonBound1

Want to win a ten dollar Amazon Gift Card? Leave a comment about your favorite Supernatural series or share a strange fact about your home town.

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The post Entangled Teen Road Trip Blog Hop. appeared first on Chris Cannon.

Entangled Teen Spring Break Blog Hop!

I’m excited to be part of the Entangled Teen Spring Break Blog Hop. Today I want to share an excerpt from Demon Bound where bookworm Meena talks about her hometown Crossroads, Illinois. Of course this town only exists in the book, but the details about the weather and the surroundings in Southern Illinois come from personal experience.

***

When we were driving down the road I said, “How’d you
end up in Crossroads? It’s not exactly a summer destination
spot.”

He adjusted the air-conditioning vents, tilting them upward. “My mom claims working for my aunt will build character. I’m pretty sure she wanted to go party and hang out with her new boyfriend and Aunt Zelda was the only one who’d take me.”

I’d been aiming for small talk and ended up with way
more information than I knew what to do with. “I’m sorry.
That sucks on two levels.”

“It is what it is,” he said. “The cool part is, during the
school year my mom doesn’t care what I do.”

“Free-range parenting?”
“Pretty much.”
“How are you related to Zelda?” She was too old to actually be his aunt.
“She’s my mom’s second husband’s aunt.”
I needed a diagram to figure that explanation out, so I went with, “That’s complicated.”
“Family always is. How about you. What’s your story?”

“My family has lived in Crossroads for generations and I have no idea why. I mean if you could pick any place to live, why stay here?” I pointed out the window at the endless cornfields of Southern Illinois. “Apparently, I’m the only one who feels that way. My older sisters have shelves full of pageant trophies and they think a parade down Main Street is an amazing event. I refuse to wear false eyelashes, which is a travesty in my family, and I’d rather read a book than ride on a float.”

“People here ride on floats…for real?”

“Yes and they spend hours making them out of chicken wire and tissue paper, which is also supposed to be fun.” Chalk that up as one more thing I didn’t understand. “One more year of high school and then I’m out of here. Where’re you from?”
“My mom isn’t great at staying put, so I’ve lived in a lot of different places. Some were exciting. Some were dangerous. Some were boring. Crossroads seems like it falls into the safe, but not too exciting, category.”

“I’d call it boring with a huge helping of judgmental.
Everyone is expected to behave a certain way and if you fall
outside of that norm, people are not pleased.”

“What do you mean?”

I reached over to turn up the air-conditioning and
discovered it was at the max. Lovely. “Everyone around here
smiles and nods and does the exact same thing everyone
else does and pretends to be happy about it. Then half of
them, like my dad, go home and drink until they pass out in
front of the television.”

“Lots of people drink,” Jake said, a tad too defensively.

This right here is why I didn’t fit in. I should’ve talked to
him about football or some other thing I didn’t give a crap
about, but nooo…I had to tell him something that bothered
me, when I didn’t know him well enough to do that.

“You’re right. They do, but if people liked their lives, I
don’t think they’d drink until they passed out every night.”

“I’ve always heard people drink more in small towns
because there isn’t anything else to do.” He grinned. “This
is the part where you’re supposed to tell me there’s all sorts
of cool things to do around here.”

“You are about to be disappointed, unless you think
hanging out at the diner, the library, or going to a bonfire is
exciting.”

“Bonfires look fun in movies,” he said. “I’ve never been
to one in real life.”

“In the fall when the temperature drops, bonfires are
fun. It will be eighty degrees tonight. And half the citizens
of Crossroads will probably go to a bonfire, sit around a
blazing pile of logs, and think it’s a wonderful evening.”

“And you?” he asked.

“I think drunk people are obnoxious and it’s too
freaking hot to build a fire.”

He laughed. “So you don’t fit?”

“No. I hide out at the library.” I took the turn onto the road that led to Carol’s house. “I used to try and pretend that I liked all the stuff everyone else did but it was too much work and I wasn’t any happier, so now I do what I want.”

***

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