Midweek Mayhem: Signing books and pitching dragons...holla! :D #RT2013 #PlayListVid

Working it out…

• (NEW) Monday I spotlighted author S.X. Bradley's Unraveled! A dark and twisty YA mystery...heck yes! On my TBR list for sure!! Check it out here!
• (NEW) Today I interviewed a lovely friend and talented author Heather Van Fleet! Read here!
• (NEW) I can't believe the RT Booklovers Convention is almost here!! I fly out to Kansas City, MO in FOUR days!!! Come see me! I'll be signing Witch Way to Turn on Thursday, May 2nd at the EXPO! here :)

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The Becoming Playlist!

Wanted to share some of the songs that inspired me as I wrote Becoming...this song always makes me think of Taylor singing to Zoe... Erm, an angrier girl version tho :P
Heart on Fire by A Life Divided 
 

 

Hearing voices…

Cover art by Danielle Fine

• My dark and gritty new adult urban fantasy with cursed dragon shifters, titled Becoming, is currently with my amazing editor!!! So excited to make this story sparkle and then pitch it at RT and RWA soon! Agents, you're gonna want this story...like super bad! Just sayin' ;D
• Check out my stunning cover inspiration (right side above this paragraph) designed by the talented Danielle Fine!!! 
• (Read fave sentences from chapter 5 here) Today I'm gonna share just a few sentences from chapter 6 that my editor loved :D The sentences don't have anything to do with each other.
• Twitter pitch: After a transplant gives Zoe a dragon shifter’s heart, she learns that her online boyfriend is her donor and...a girl.

♥ (Zoe's POV) For a few seconds no one stood under the enormous breezeway but the two of them.  
♥ (Zoe's POV) Wanting filled his eyes, and need lifted his brow, but something else lingered in his controlled expression and subtle smile.  
♥ (Zoe's POV) She’d never been into girls. Never had a curious thought. Never wanted to touch the soft strands of another girl’s hair. Never wanted to feel another girl’s lips pressed against hers, until… 
♥ (Taylor's POV) Couldn’t she have just this one happiness? A moment to enjoy and remember without it being corrupted by murderous temptation. 
♥ (Zoe's POV) Taylor shook her head and smiled—a stunning grin that made Zoe’s words melt away.  
♥ (Zoe's POV) The anxious pounding of Zoe’s heart settled to a sure and steady beat 
♥ (Zoe's POV) Zoe nestled into the petal-like caress, closing her eyes and letting her imagination run wild with thoughts of Taylor’s lips soft and sweet against hers.  
♥ (Zoe's POV) Fireflies flapped in her stomach, lighting up every nerve-ending. Her lips tingled as she parted them, hoping. 
♥ (Zoe's POV) The fireflies in her stomach ignited, flew through her veins and tingled in forbidden places. Here and now were the only options. No worrying about living in the moment, because this moment was all she ever wanted to live.  
♥ (Zoe's POV) Being held captive by Taylor’s kiss was the first time she’d ever felt truly free.
♥ (Taylor's POV) Beauty’s touch couldn’t mask the pain of the beast’s need.

Dragon update... Round one of edits on the last 100 pages of Becoming has begun!! Guess what?? I finished the Becoming prequel on Monday!!!! Ahhh, so excited!! It's nearly 9k words and all from Taylor's POV--let's face it, we all know she's my fave :P Gotta ♥ a dragon! 

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Cover art by Danielle Fine

Waiting game...

• On week #8 of waiting to hear back from a lovely agent who is reading Running From Shadows.
• Partial requests from two agents for Becoming! Squee!!! On week #3 with one awesome agent, and week #4 with the other awesome agent!! *fingers and toes crossed* 

Reading...

Cover art and editing by Danielle Fine

• Currently I am beta-reading for a fantastic friend and writer... Katheryn! Hooray for grim reapers!!
  
• Finished reading Tsavo Pride by Laura Diamond! A fantastic short story, young adult, horror read with werelions! Check out the stunning cover here >>>>
• 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 three 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...

My current read...

The hubs and I met up with my cousin, her hubby and their adorable two-year boy for some fun in the sun over the weekend...only the sun decided to come out and play the day we left :P Saturday it was too chilly to get in the ocean, so the boys played shuffle board while the girls played table tennis :) I'll admit... I lost >.< *needs a rematch* lolz Ohh, and btw, shuffle board is way harder to play than it looks...just sayin' :P

Ahhh, the randomness y'all have come to expect...my toes in the sand. Huh, just noticed I'm nearly as white as the sand...obviously I need more time in the sun! ;)

Me just chillin'...before we left the beach on Sunday...it was sooo windy!!! Which I gotta say, is uber annoying for someone with bangs...I know, real problems, right? :P

So this painting was in the Mexican restaurant where the hubs and I stopped for lunch on our way home on Sunday. How cool is that?! I was taken by it, so... Picture! :D

Completely random pic from last week...action shot with Rusty pup!! Ohh, Rusty Factoid... Rusty pup is actually his Twitter/Facebook stage name :P His legal name is Russel 'Rusty' Bynum. Buuuut actually the hubs and I call him one of the following: Bunny, Horsey, Kitty, Pony or Bug...normally I always call him Bunny or Bun. Erm, so, he answers to just about anything. Why yes, yes he is a very confused pup! ;)

Author Spotlight: @SusanXBradley hijacks my blog with a dark and twisty YA mystery! #UNRAVELED #EvernightTeen

***Hello my darlings! Today author S.X. Bradley takes over my blog to spotlight her latest release... Unraveled! Check out this dark and twisty YA mystery!***

Blurb:
Sixteen year old math whiz, Autumn, spends her days reading about serial killers and dreaming of becoming an FBI Profiler. She never dreams her first case will be so personal. Her world is shattered when she comes home from school and discovers her murdered sister’s body on the living room floor. When the initial evidence points to a burglary gone wrong, Autumn challenges the police’s theory because of the personal nature of the crime. Thinking that finding the killer will bring her family back together, she conducts her own investigation using her affinity for math and forensics, but her plan backfires and her obsession with the case further splinters her family. When her investigation reveals the killer is someone she knows, Autumn offers herself up as bait and sets a dangerous trap to unmask his true nature and to obtain a confession for her sister’s murder.
 

Buy Link ~ Website ~ Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook  

Happy Monday. First of all-thanks to Karen for let me hijack her blog today.

One of the most common questions I get about my YA mystery, Unraveled, is where did the idea for the story came from. I love talking about this because I can remember it so clearly.

I was a senior in high school (yes, many moons ago) and we were hanging out at South Padre Island in Texas for Spring Break. I grew up about an hour away from there, so it wasn’t as big of a deal to go as it is today. Anyway, a friend told me a story about one of my classmate’s older sisters. Supposedly, the sister was murdered in the family home a few years ago, and they’d never caught the killer. She didn’t know if it was true or not, and to this day I still don’t know if it’s rumor or fact.

I was already a Nancy Drew wanna-be and devoured mystery novels, but this story really struck something inside me. The fact that it was unsolved, and that no one could answer the question why the sister had been home during a school day, stayed with me for decades.

I’d always known I’d wanted to be a writer, but I’d never seriously pursued. I finally had a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting with myself and said ‘either do it or stop whining about it’. No more excuses-it was time to put my butt in the chair and write.

By that time, I’d fallen in love with the YA genre and knew I wanted this novel to be a YA mystery. Enter Autumn. She’s a math nerd, wants to be in the FBI, and reads about serial killers. I had an idea of her in my head, but it took me several drafts before I really knew her and her voice. I also began researching and was stunned to find out that people in my life had lost sisters to murder. I was more compelled than ever to share their story in the pages of Unraveled.

Many, and I mean many, agents and publishers thought the book was too dark but I never gave up on it. I also was never tempted to lighten the mood of the book because that would dishonor the victims and I wasn’t going to do that. Enter Evernight Teen. They were a new imprint of Evernight and they were looking for dark, gritty fiction. Finally, a publishing home that would embrace the book as it was written.

Ideas can come from anywhere. I’m like an idea hoarder. I like to mix and match and throw in the unexpected. Challenge yourself to look at something and turn it into a story. You never know where it can lead-that’s the beauty of writing.

I hope you enjoy Unraveled and thanks again for having me as a guest on your blog.

S.X. Bradley Bio:

Susan grew up in South Texas, about ten miles from the U.S.-Mexican border. As a child she spent the summers in Mexico with her grandparents and extended family. During these vacations, she frequently created mysteries for her siblings and cousins to solve. These mysteries were her first stories. Nancy Drew soon became her childhood hero and inspiration to write mysteries for young adults.

Her greatest joy is her daughter who is quite the storyteller and likes to come up with the characters’ names for mom’s stories.

When she’s not writing or studying, you can find her looking after her personal mini-zoo which consists of two fish, one thief of a dog, and some hermit crabs.

Susan loves estates sales, traveling, spending time with her family, and discovering new books at the Columbus Metropolitan library.

Susan graduated from the University of Texas, is currently pursuing an MFA from Seton Hill University, and dreams of one day owning a touch screen murder board like the one on her favorite TV show, Castle.

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Excerpt from Unraveled:

“Autumn, yesterday you had told us that when you arrived home the front door was open. Is that correct?”

I leaned in toward the voice recorder on the table and said, “Yes.”

“Are you positive about that? We interviewed some of the neighbors, and none of them saw an open front door at your house?” No doubt Mrs. Jimenez had told them that. Now that she was retired, she had nothing better to do than watch her neighbors. I wondered if she had mentioned seeing anything to Detective Kasanoff. Maybe she saw something unusual that day, a stranger in the neighborhood, a suspicious car, anything.

“The door looked closed, but when I touched my key to the lock, it opened.”

“Do you know who was the last person to leave the house that day?” I looked over at my parents. Mami had her head buried in her hands. She shouldn’t be here, hearing about all of this. Papi had his arm around her and gave me an encouraging smile.

“I was.”

“What time did you leave that morning?”

“About 8:00 a.m.”

“Did you leave through the front door?” I didn’t like where this was going.

“Yes, and I locked it behind me,” I offered before he had a chance to ask the question.

“How can you be sure? Look, I know how it is. It’s easy to get on autopilot in the morning. You do the same thing every morning, you get into a routine.”

I looked him straight in the eye and said, “I don’t forget things, Detective. I know I locked the door that morning.” He studied me for a moment and flipped through his papers.

“That’s right. Here it is. You’re some kind of math genius. You almost made the US Math Olympiad Team last year.” I wanted to reach across the table and strangle him. Someone had butchered my sister in my own living room, and he was reading up on how I’d choked on a freaking geometry question during last year’s Math Olympiad final round and failed to make the team?

“I’m gifted, Detective. I’m not smart enough to be a genius.” He broke into a smile. The first I’d ever seen from him.

“Is there really a difference?”

“Yes, about five IQ points.” He wrote something down.

“Let’s move on. You said you had come home because you’d left your math questions on the kitchen table that morning. Is that correct?” “Yes.”

He lifted the folder up and produced some papers that were protected in a plastic bag. He placed them in front of me. “Are these the questions you were referring to?”

I looked at my parents, and both of them had their eyes glued to the plastic bag in front of me.

Without touching the bag, I looked at the front page and saw the first question. It was the Bernoulli equation question that Celeste had asked me that morning over breakfast.

“Yes, those are the ones.”

“Care to know where we found them?” What did he mean? I’d left them on the kitchen table when I went to brush my teeth after breakfast.

“On the kitchen table?” I asked, trying not to sound sarcastic.

“No. In your backpack. The backpack we found at the scene yesterday.” He looked over at my parents this time. My eyes grew wide, and my mouth fell open.

“Mr. or Mrs. Covarrubias, did either of you put these math papers back into Autumn’s backpack after breakfast?” Papi left for the bakery every morning at 5:30 a.m. so he wasn’t even home. Mami had left right after Celeste and I had eaten because she had a dentist appointment. Maybe Mami’d seen the papers and stuck them in my backpack. Celeste had left about ten minutes before me. Her boyfriend Voss had swung by to pick her up. He did that every day.

“Mami, did you put the papers in my backpack?” Her eyes were swollen, and I swear she was two seconds away from passing out. Her gaze wandered around the room until it fell on me. She shook her head. My heart sank.

“Then it had to be Celeste. She must have put them in there.”

“Her fingerprints weren’t found on the papers.” How was that possible? The oils from her hands would have been transferred onto the paper if she’d stuck them in my backpack. It couldn’t have been her then. That left no one, and I had no answer. That wasn’t good.

“Autumn, look, I’m going to be honest with you. There are some things that just don’t add up here. We have witnesses that say you and your sister were arguing at school that morning and that she looked very upset. Care to explain what that was all about?”

I could feel the cell doors closing in around me. This was a witch hunt, and I was about to be burned at the stake.

My parents were staring at me, begging me with their eyes to explain what was going on. The question mark stabbed my heart. They knew that Celeste and I hardly ever fought. The last time had to have been when I’d accidentally given her a black eye when I was five and was trying to learn to hit a baseball.

I looked at the detective and said the only thing I knew to say. “Detective Kasanoff, I want a lawyer.”