Weekend Writing Warriors: Crossed the line into Crazyville... RUNNING FROM SHADOWS #8Sunday

Thank you for stopping by. I'm excited to participate with such a fantastic group of writers! Check out other warriors here!

Today I'm sharing from my (unpublished) young adult paranormal romance Running From Shadows, currently being read by a lovely agent!! Squee!! 

Follow Greta Shore (a 17-year-old, black-haired wiccan beauty) and Paxton "Pax" Craig (an 18-year-old, blond-haired college student with a dark secret) as they discover the fate of their forbidden love.

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Set-up (last week)... Greta runs away from her surprise engagement party through the woods. Pax saves her from a shadow demon. Oh, and he's a unicorn! 
Back at Pax's cabin, Greta wants to know why he was out in the woods, but Pax being Pax cleverly sidesteps. And now Greta has this weird deja-vu feeling...

Cover Art by Danielle Fine

That happened all the time. It was one of the corniest pickup lines ever: I feel like I’ve known you all my life. And the way he affected me, the familiarity of his eyes… It was a brain chemistry thing. A stress thing. The forced engagement, attack by a demon and stolen shadow had taken its toll. I’d officially crossed the line into Crazyville.
Still, the calm which radiated from his sparkling eyes to his lopsided grin made me want to tell him everything from my shoe size to my deepest, darkest fears.

Tune in next week to find out more!

Thanks again for stopping by! Your support and feedback is greatly appreciated!

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Because being a warrior is hard work, here's a vid from the Running From Shadows playlist to reward all you sexy, sweaty peeps ;)
 
Tonight by Seether
(Track #18)

 
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Extra! Extra!

*Would you like to see some pics of Greta and Pax? Check them out here! Gotta love Pinterest!! Ooo, stalk me there too, please...uh, here! ;) 

*Self-publishing? Need an editor and cover artist? Check out my uber-talented editor, Danielle Fine, she's wonderful to work with and does exceptional work! Click here for more info! 

*Check out the USA Today recommended book trailer for Witch Way to Turn!! here

Happy Release Day for RESISTING FATE by @HLVanFleet!!! #YAPNR #authorspotlight

Title: Resisting Fate
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Sunshine Press
Release Date: June 28th
 
Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Emmy O’Connell is the epitome of a hot mess.

Her boyfriend’s been shipped out of town to some boarding school four states away. Her step-douche is constantly drunk and badgering her. And then there’s her good-ole-mom… The lady is nothing more than a miserable shell of a woman. She’s turned off all of her feelings and her ability to be a good mother as well, leaving poor Emmy and her four year old brother Jamie to suffer. Life couldn’t get much worse, right?

Enter the elusive, cocky, and oh-so-broody Jack Hartman…

The jerk cousin of her boyfriend becomes Emmy’s worst nightmare…times ten. He’s cruel. He’s insensitive. But he also has this strange little ability over her – he makes her weak in the knees with thea single touch. No matter how miserable or amazing Jack makes her feel, Emmy can’t seem to deny him, especially when he takes on the role of her protector –her pseudo-knight in a black leather coat.

A knight who also happens to ride in on his black Harley, instead of a white horse…

And to make a bad situation worse…

Werewolves and teens shouldn’t mix! But what can Emmy do when she finds herself thrown head first into the center of it all. Can she handle the supernatural mess her life rapidly becomes or will she fight against the inevitable fate her heart desires?


Buy links: Amazon ~ B&N (Bought my copy!!!)

Excerpt:

“That smart mouth doesn’t sit well with me,” he licked his lips. His eyes never wavered from mine.

I nibbled on my lower lip, just as a small smile graced the edges of my mouth. Oh yeah, my bravado was about ready to kick some ass. I think I kind of liked being a smart ass.

“What are you going to do about it Jack?” I inhaled a breath, taking in his warm, delicious scent. My throat went even drier than before. I practically stared holes into his face as I studied every tiny mark, every single scar on his perfectly flawed skin. He was gorgeous, with a little scar here, a little white patch there. His hotness could have left me breathless for days if I kept up my perusal any longer.

And then I blinked, Christ. I knew exactly what had to be done. I had to kiss him. I had to get this itch scratched and then I had to move on. His eyes darkened, his breath was warm and heavy over my face, and he licked his lips. I blinked. Holy-balls… He wanted to kiss me too.

That ever-present electricity running between us wouldn’t stop. If anything, it only increased our pull. I moved in; his lips touching my lips was all I wanted. I needed to feel again, feel it all with a boy who hated me, but apparently wanted to kiss me as badly.

Dryness on dryness soon changed to warmth on warmth, and when I pressed my mouth fully to his, his hands left my neck, and went to my waist. His fingernails dug into my sides and the son of a bitch pushed me away from him.

So there I was, my head tilted to the side, ready, willing, and able to do whatever the hell this moment led us too, and all he could do was chuckle. Yes. Chuckle. He was the biggest rat bastard.

Ever.

Author Bio:

Heather Van Fleet currently resides in northern Illinois, with her three little ladies, Kelsey, Emma, and Isabella, and her fabulous hubby (and high school sweetheart) Chris, with whom she’s been blissfully married to now for ten years. She’s a stay at home mom by day, and an avid and completely obsessive writer and reader by night.

Heather always had a soft spot in her heart for books, and she’s been creating her own little stories since she was a seven year old. But she never really had the confidence or the time to actually sit down and really do something about it, until her youngest daughter was born just two years ago.

Resisting Fate, book one in her Predetermined series, is her young adult, paranormal baby! It’s packed full of wolves…witches…and one sassy little red-headed teenage girl! She had an absolute blast writing it, and can’t wait to share it with the world!


Stalk Heather here...
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

Giveaway!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excited for this!! >>> Cover reveal for ENDURE by @diamondlb!!! #coverart #EtopiaPress #YA #dystopian

Title: Endure (Book One of the Endure Series)
Author: Laura Diamond
Publication Date: July 12, 2013
Genre: YA dystopian

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Justin's anemic blood is a blessing. Or a curse. It all depends on who you ask.

To most of the immortal Vie, his blood is a scourge: untouchable and useless. To some Vie, his blood is a drug. To Justin, it’s something that gets him in a lot of trouble. Being poisoned by a Vie is just one example. His sister getting kidnapped is another. Whether it’s being coerced by a deluded cult leader, or negotiating with Alex—an Vie scientist addicted to Anemie blood—Justin struggles to keep every mutated drop of blood he’s got.

His fight for survival gets more complicated when he meets Alex’s slave, Cara. Despite coming from different worlds, they’re both prisoners, at risk of being drained by a hungry Vie any moment. When she risks her own neck to help Justin find his sister, he's left with a terrifying choice.

Saving what's left of humanity.

Saving his sister. Saving the girl he loves.

Or sticking a stake in Alex’s chest.

Justin can't decide which option will get him killed first. 

Please visit Endure on Goodreads!

About Author Laura Diamond:

Laura Diamond is a board certified psychiatrist and author of all things young adult paranormal, dystopian, and horror. Her Young Adult Paranormal Romance novelette, NEW PRIDE, and novel, SHIFTING PRIDE, debuted late 2012 from Etopia Press. A spin off short story based on the lions of Tsavo, TSAVO PRIDE, is now available on Amazon. Forthcoming novels include EVOKE, Book Two in the ENDURE series, from Etopia Press, and a Young Adult Paranormal Romance, ZODIAC COLLECTOR, from Spencer Hill Press. When she's not writing, she is working at the hospital, blogging at Author Laura Diamond--Lucid Dreamer and renovating her 225+ year old fixer-upper mansion.

Stalk Laura on the web:

Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Facebook Author Page ~ Website 

Amazon author page ~ Goodreads author page 

Midweek Mayhem: She could almost hear the beast laughing at her... LONGING #Snippet4 #DragonsFTW #NORSummerFun

Working it out…

• (Happening) Check it out >>> I'm participating in Night Owl Reviews Scavenger Hunt! Deets here. I'm giving away a signed copy of Witch Way to Turn and a $25 Amazon giftcard!
• (NEW) I've been author tagged! Stop by to find out secrets about my dragons and the newly revealed Pinterest board! Deets here!
• (NEW) Writers helping writers... Fundraiser for Tamara Mataya, who was forced to evacuate her home due to terrible floods that engulfed High River, Alberta, Canada. There's an auction going on and I'm donating a signed copy of Witch Way to Turn with swag, which will include a CD of the playlist. Deets here There are also agent and editor critiques available for bidding! Here

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The Becoming Playlist!

Wanted to share some of the songs that inspired me as I wrote Becoming...This one makes me think of the confusion swirling in Zoe's mind.

Take Me on the Floor by The Veronicas

Hearing voices…

Cover art by Danielle Fine

• My dark and gritty new adult urban fantasy with cursed dragon shifters, titled Becoming, is completely edited!!!!! And I'll be pitching it at RWA in July if I don't have an agent before then...but cross your fingers and toes and eyes and, erm, anything you can cross cos it's with FIVE awesome agents right now!!! :D
• Check out my stunning cover inspiration (right side above this paragraph) designed by the talented Danielle Fine!!!
• Twitter pitch for Becoming: After a transplant gives Zoe a dragon shifter’s heart, she learns that her online boyfriend is her donor and...a girl.

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 ♥Today I'm sharing snippet #4 from the Becoming prequel titled Longing (unedited)! Read Snippets here: #1, #2, #3.Excited for y'all to get to know my dragons better :) 
Longing - Chapter 1 (snippet #4)... 

“Hey, where are you going?” Jeff asked as he sat up in bed. The covers fell back revealing a smooth, bare chest. He pushed his long, brown hair behind his ears. The hair and her vivid imagination had been the only things that got her through last night.

As much as she didn’t like rejecting people, she couldn’t keep seeing him. Bile rose in her throat. She could almost hear the beast laughing at her. It knew she could never be free of it. “This isn’t working out.” She carefully scrunched her mess of blond curls.

************

Cover art by Danielle Fine

Waiting game...

• On week #16 of waiting to hear back from a lovely agent who is reading Running From Shadows.
• Requests for Becoming! Squee!!! On week #11 with one awesome agent and week #2 with another (partial), and week #6 with the three other awesome agents (full)!! *fingers and toes crossed* 

Reading...

• 38% into When It's Least Expected by Heather Van Fleet. Mason!!!!!!! ♥♥♥
• Looking for book recommendations and reviews for your 2013 TBR List? Check out The Perks of Being a Book Nerd! 

Bonus material... 

*Writers, looking for a talented editor? I highly recommend Danielle Fine. She's edited four manuscripts of mine and has taught me so much! I'm a stronger writer because of her guidance. Also, she designed my beautiful inspiration cover art for Becoming and Running From Shadows! Annnnd she created the book trailer for Witch Way to Turn! 
*For more information on Dani's editing services, cover design, book trailer creation and website design stop by her site >>>> here!

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Random Alert! Alert. Alert. Alert... 

Rusty pup says "hi."

Rusty pup attacked me whilst I was watching TV on Monday night :P

Okay, lemme tell ya...that Mocha Iced Coffee is freakin' amazing!! It tastes like uber caffeinated chocolate milk... Nom!

Last week at work the USS Enterprise made its final voyage into the shipyard near where I work...she was the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Really cool to see :)

Tag...I'm it!! Sharing secrets and revealing the #BECOMING Pinterest board!! #dragonsFTW #excerpt

Cover art inspiration by Danielle Fine

Hello, my darlings! I've been Author Tagged!

So imma it now :P I've been tagged by my lovely friend, Carey Heywood. Her most recent release is Him, which is on my TBR list and should be on yours too! The cover is sexy hawt and the premise sounds fantastic! Check it out here: Amazon, B&N and follow Carey on Twitter and FB cos she rocks!

On to the question portion of today's post :P I'll be talking about my unpublished New Adult urban fantasy, which I pitched at the RT Bookslovers Convention in April and got several full requests and a possible mentorship! Squee! Am totally waiting patiently to hear back! *pulls out hair and continues to check email at least once an hour* ;)

What is the working title of your book? 

Becoming (Can I just say, I LOVE one word book titles?!)

 How did you come up with the title?

I'd been tossing ideas at a dear friend for days and kept being shot down :P And then, it happened... I was all: how about Becoming A Dragon. (Which at the time, I thought was literally amazing...couldn't get any better, right?) She's all: What about just Becoming? ZOMG, it had just gotten better. That was it! *happy dance* Book named! Easy peasy :D

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Ooo, yay! This is new info for y'all...as of now only four other people know. Share time! It started with a dragon. I had no idea if the dragon was female or male, but I just knew there was this dragon. An evil flesh-eating dragon who wanted to be good. Then, I told the dragon idea to my awesome critique partner. As we were talking, he mentioned that my heroes and heroines seem to fall for each other too quickly. Well, at first, I was all: Erm, no they don't. Rawr. But then, after I thought about it, I was all: Well, I guess maybe they kinda do. Soo, I thought: how can I keep them from falling so quickly? Then, a thought struck... Bam! What if the heroine (Zoe) thinks she's been pouring her heart and soul out to a guy (Taylor) when really she's been sharing her deepest self with a girl? Brilliant, right? I thought so! ;) Well, how to go about making that happen? They had to be chatting via social media, and then I remembered something that had happened to me once. In one of my online writers groups, I had been emailing a person who I thought was a guy because of their name. Welll, come to find out, this person was actually a girl using a pen name... Boom! Idea developed. After I had that in place, the words just started flowing! And thus... Becoming was born!

What genre does your book fall under?

New Adult Urban Fantasy with heavy romantic elements.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

After a heart transplant leaves Zoe with a dragon shifter's heart, she starts an online relationship only to discover the guy she's fallen for is her donor and...a girl.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Currently, I'm seeking representation from an agency. Full and partial requests are out there with agents now... Fingers crossed!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

About four months. And then months and months of edits :P

****

Thanks again to Carey for tagging me!! I can't wait to share more about this story! I've finished the prequel (titled Longing) and am posting snippets (in order from start to finish) from it on my Wednesday Midweek Mayhem posts. Deets here.

I hadn't planned on writing a sequel to Becoming, but the dragons are talkin', so I gots to listen! ;) Currently, I'm about 4k words into the second book titled Knowing.

Never before seen!!! I just made it public >>>>> Check out my Becoming board on Pinterest! Click here

And now, I shall leave you with a little teaser snippet...

Oh God, there’s her car. Shit. She’s in it. Deep breath, Zoe, you can do this.

Pep talk done, she made her way to the Beemer. Should she go to her dorm or knock on the window of the BMW? What the hell was the protocol in a situation like this?

A breeze nipped at her cheeks, and she leaned into it, let it caress her neck. Zoe dreaded summertime. At least in the fall and winter, being outside was tolerable and, at times, the only reprieve she got from her burning skin.

But Taylor hated the cold, so in the car it was.

She tapped on the passenger window. The blond goddess peered back at her through the glass, a warm smile dancing on her lips before she mouthed, “Hi.”

Zoe opened the door and got in before all the heat got out. “Hi.” She returned the smile. All the anger and worry she’d carried around disappeared with the blink of Taylor’s perfectly curled black eyelashes.

Taylor reached up and started to turn off the heat. Without thinking about it, Zoe touched her palm to the back of Taylor’s hand. “No, it’s okay. I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Taylor asked, not moving her hand.

For a few panicked heartbeats, Zoe wasn’t sure of anything. She hadn’t intended to touch her, and now that she had… Should she pull back first? She didn’t want to. If it weren’t for the drum beating a hole in her chest, this would’ve been the best she’d felt in forever. Her body tingled with a cool anticipation, extinguishing the inferno of pain she lived with.

Weekend Writing Warriors: I didn't need to fall for this boy... RUNNING FROM SHADOWS #8Sunday

Thank you for stopping by. I'm excited to participate with such a fantastic group of writers! Check out other warriors here!

Today I'm sharing from my (unpublished) young adult paranormal romance Running From Shadows, currently being read by a lovely agent!! Squee!! 

Follow Greta Shore (a 17-year-old, black-haired wiccan beauty) and Paxton "Pax" Craig (an 18-year-old, blond-haired college student with a dark secret) as they discover the fate of their forbidden love.

 ****

Set-up (last week)... Greta runs away from her surprise engagement party through the woods. Pax saves her from a shadow demon. Oh, and he's a unicorn! 
Back at Pax's cabin, Greta wants to know why he was out in the woods, but Pax being Pax cleverly sidesteps...

Cover Art by Danielle Fine

The sound of his mug thumping against the tabletop snapped my attention to his eyes, and I hoped he didn’t realize I’d been staring.

“You tell me why you were in the woods tonight, and I’ll tell you how I got the scar.” He winked and threw an arm over the back of his chair.

A simple wink had me practically drooling.

Damn, Greta.

I was one short step away from doodling his name a hundred times in my notebook.

Ridiculous--I didn’t need to fall for this boy. Okay, so he gave me this weird deja-vu feeling…

Tune in next week to find out more!

Thanks again for stopping by! Your support and feedback is greatly appreciated!

****
Because being a warrior is hard work, here's a vid from the Running From Shadows playlist to reward all you sexy, sweaty peeps ;)
 
What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction
(Track #17)

 
**** 

Extra! Extra!

*Would you like to see some pics of Greta and Pax? Check them out here! Gotta love Pinterest!! Ooo, stalk me there too, please...uh, here! ;) 

*Self-publishing? Need an editor and cover artist? Check out my uber-talented editor, Danielle Fine, she's wonderful to work with and does exceptional work! Click here for more info! 

*Check out the USA Today recommended book trailer for Witch Way to Turn!! here

Midweek Mayhem: Eventually she wouldn’t be able to hold out... LONGING #Snippet3 #DragonsFTW #NORSummerFun

Working it out…

• (NEW) Check it out >>> I'm participating in Night Owl Reviews Scavenger Hunt! Deets here. I'm giving away a signed copy of Witch Way to Turn and a $25 Amazon giftcard!
• (NEW)There are not too many of these around lately, but there's a Blog Hop coming July 13-20...still time to sign up! Deets here
• (NEW) Got invited to do a book signing at a high school in Matthews, Virginia in October! Stoked! Join me, won't you?? :)) Deets!

************

The Becoming Playlist!

Wanted to share some of the songs that inspired me as I wrote Becoming...This one makes me think of the dragon raging inside of Taylor.

Headstrong by Trapt

Hearing voices…

Cover art by Danielle Fine

• My dark and gritty new adult urban fantasy with cursed dragon shifters, titled Becoming, is completely edited!!!!! And I'll be pitching it at RWA in July if I don't have an agent before then...but cross your fingers and toes and eyes and, erm, anything you can cross cos it's with FIVE awesome agents right now!!! :D
• Check out my stunning cover inspiration (right side above this paragraph) designed by the talented Danielle Fine!!!
• Twitter pitch for Becoming: After a transplant gives Zoe a dragon shifter’s heart, she learns that her online boyfriend is her donor and...a girl.

♥Today I'm sharing snippet #3 from the Becoming prequel titled Longing (unedited)! Read Snippets here: #1, #2.
Excited for y'all to get to know my dragons better :)

Longing - Chapter 1 (snippet #3)...

Her demon was right. She would never break the curse. Eventually she wouldn’t be able to hold out, and she would become a monster once again.
She shivered as she tiptoed her way to her folded stack of clothes on the desk. One day she would be with someone who’d make her want to rip her clothes off instead of neatly organize them before hooking up. Until then, she wouldn’t wrinkle couture. She pulled up the stockings and boots, hooked her bra and then slipped the turtle neck dress over her head. Yeah, she would get strange looks from people for her outfit choice, but she was used to that. She dressed for winter even during the summer.

************

Cover art by Danielle Fine

Waiting game...

• On week #16 of waiting to hear back from a lovely agent who is reading Running From Shadows.
• Requests for Becoming! Squee!!! On week #10 with one awesome agent and week #2 with another (partial), and week #5 with the three other awesome agents (full)!! *fingers and toes crossed* 

Reading...

• Finished The Hours by Michael Cunningham!! 5 stars!! So intense and beautifully written. Absolutely loved how the three stories were woven together.
• Am reading When It's Least Expected by Heather Van Fleet. ZOMG it's awesome! I sooo love the relationships between the heroine/bff and the twins and the heroine/hero...fantastic!
• Looking for book recommendations and reviews for your 2013 TBR List? Check out The Perks of Being a Book Nerd! 

Bonus material... 

*Writers, looking for a talented editor? I highly recommend Danielle Fine. She's edited four manuscripts of mine and has taught me so much! I'm a stronger writer because of her guidance. Also, she designed my beautiful inspiration cover art for Becoming and Running From Shadows! Annnnd she created the book trailer for Witch Way to Turn! 
*For more information on Dani's editing services, cover design, book trailer creation and website design stop by her site >>>> here!

************ 

Random Alert! Alert. Alert. Alert... 

Zombie flag...what else do you need to know? :P

Turtle fountain!!! *kisses its little cement face*

My future home once my dragons make me gazillions :D

Me and hubs on the back porch of the Biltmore house last week...

An alligator (or wait is it a crocodile??) in the green house at the Biltmore garden.

Loved this tree at Biltmore!

Hi, I'm a cute demon pup who wants a treat...that is all :P