Lord of the Shifters Blog Tour: Excerpt & Giveaway

Today is my stop on the Lord of the Shifters Blog Tour! Ive got an excerpt from Angela Carie's latest book Dark Horse and a Giveaway! Who doesn't love those?

An excerpt from Dark Horse

One day, I will no longer exist. It’s something we all expect, but do we really ever think about it? I mean, seriously. What will it be like to know that the last breath I’ll ever take is in my lungs at that moment? Once I exhale, nothing will matter ever again. Will I say, “This is it. This is what everyone waits for and I’m on the birth of eternity. Right now”? Every action I take up until that point won’t matter the second after that air escapes my body. Unless I make my actions count.

That day in the future, the day I no longer tread on the earth, I wonder if it will be beautiful. If I die avenging my family’s murder, that would be a perfect death. As long as I fulfill my mission—to ruin the hearts of those shifters who stole the lives of my parents and sister and brother. I’ll hunt them one by one if I have to.

Dark Horse, A Lords of Shifters Novella

By Angela Carlie

Spider Wars: Goodreads

What happens when a species is tired of being stomped on?

Jess' life has never been ordinary. After all, life on the road with an immortal family of gypsies is hardly predictable. Living in the small town of White Salmon, Washington has brought some normality to her life. But when her cheating, sometimes boyfriend, Nicu, gets involved with a group of arachneshifters, life gets a little sticky. Will she be able to save him from the web he's spun? More importantly, how much is she willing to risk to get him back? 

Loramendi's Story: Goodreads

Lora wants nothing more than to be the wind behind sexy windsurfer Chance's sails. But fulfilling that wish just became...complicated. After seventeen years of normal life, someone wants Lora and her family dead. And the attempted massacre isn't nearly as strange as the reason behind it.

Dark Horse: Goodreads

Amethea thought she was the last of her kind, a creature from mythical stories, from light, peace, and magic. But, Amethea isn't a myth, and she doesn't hold any peace in her heart. She watched as her family was murdered for the magic of their horns. She'd give anything to avenge their deaths. She just hasn't figured out how yet.

When she meets another, Cerus, everything changes. Together, they harness more power than Amethea ever dreamed. But is it enough to take down the Lords of Shifters?

We all have demons hidden deep in the crevices of history. Johnnie's have busted out, exposed for all to see. But he doesn't care that everyone knows. Just Jess. She's got a front row seat to the Johnnie's demon show, and Johnnie's about to find out that he hasn't met all of them yet.

Blood Pyre:

Coming 2013

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Giveaway

Your choice of an e-copy of any of the books above (Spider Wars, Loramendi's Story, & Dark Horse)

All you have to do to enter is comment with your email.

*Follower Giveaway of Epicness* Gravity Teaser

Click on the button to find the whole follower giveaway of epicness schedule. Today is all about M. Leighton!  Now I know you all know who that chick is! If you don't, I'm pretty sure you have been isolated from society the last few months!  Anyway Brittni and I thought we would bring one of her old ones back...Do y'all remember Gravity?  Well if your new to this book of hers then check out this excerpt we have for you and don't forget to enter in the giveaway for a paperback copy!

Gravity by M. Leighton

Add it on Goodreads 

Love is irresistible. Gravity is undeniable.

Holy men have foretold their birth for thousands of years. Supernatural creatures have awaited it for thousands more. Now, in the presence of an eclipse, three souls mature for a single purpose—to fight. They must fight for their lives, for their freedom and for the liberation of everyone possessed of a second nature.

********

Peyton Giles’s world is turned upside down when she learns that everyone in her life and in her school is much more than they appear, she most of all. Peyton is the one person in all of time and history powerful enough to bring peace to the darkness and to the light. Not knowing that her powers could kill her, however, Peyton nearly loses her life only to have her brother’s best friend save it. Drawn to him in ways she can’t explain, Trace is the one person that she literally can’t live without. Her soul is tethered to her world through her connection to him. Without it, she will die.

For the most part, Trace Kramer has always steered clear of his best friend’s sister. Until now. He never would’ve expected that Peyton would hold his life and his future in her hands the way she’s always held his heart. But she does.

Peyton and Trace soon learn that love and fate aren’t easier than duty and destiny, at least not when you’re being hunted. Together, they are more powerful than any other creature on the planet—and more valuable—but apart, neither can survive to fight for freedom, for the only life they’ve ever known and for the lives of everyone they’ve ever met.

Their need for one another is undeniable. Their love for one another is irresistible. But can it endure all that they must suffer?

Excerpt  

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I slid from beneath the covers and padded to the window.  When I parted my sheer blush-colored curtains, Trace was standing outside on the lawn, hands stuffed into his pockets, waiting.  He wasn’t smiling.  He wasn’t fidgeting.  He wasn’t frowning.  He was simply watching.

Our house had the old style windows that push out, so I unlatched the right side and pushed it out toward Trace.  He’d apparently taken several steps back after he’d knocked, so it didn’t come anywhere near him.

“What are you doing here?” I asked quietly, hyper aware of what Brady’s reaction would be if he found Trace at my window.  Luckily, Julia was still gone, although I doubt she would’ve cared anyway.  She wasn’t exactly maternal.

I leaned against the window sill, waiting for Trace to speak, but he didn’t.  He just stood perfectly still for about thirty nerve-racking seconds.  

Finally, the light breeze carried his raspy voice to my ears.

“There was something I wanted to tell you.”

“Okay.”

He took one step forward.  “I couldn’t stop thinking about you tonight.”  Another step.  “In fact, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you for a while.”  Another step.  “It’s just getting worse.  But tonight,” he said, taking the step that would bring him within a foot of me.  “There was something else.”

I felt breathless with anticipation.  I saw his honey eyes, turned dark gold in the dim light, flicker to my lips and back.  

“And what’s that?”

“Something I’ve wanted to do for a while, but tonight I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep until I do it.”

“What’s that?” I repeated, my own voice barely a whisper.

“I want to kiss you, Peyton,” he confessed, shifting forward just enough to put his face within six inches of mine. “I need to kiss you.”

Slowly, as if giving me plenty of time to tell him to go home, plenty of time to stop him before he went any further, he raised his arms and cupped my face in both of his hands.  

“I need to kiss you,” he said once more, almost reverentially.  And then, inch by agonizing inch, he lowered his head until his lips met mine.  

As though someone had flipped a switch to turn it off, the world disappeared the instant his mouth made contact with mine.  At that moment, it seemed that all I would ever need to live would be provided through the touch of his skin.  I didn’t have to open my eyes to know that there were threads from our souls stretching from the center of our being and meeting in the air around us.  I could feel them joining us together, bonding us forever.  

Trace tilted his head and deepened the kiss.  My lips fell open and his tongue slipped easily between them.  It slid along mine, teasing me with the sweet taste of his mouth as he moved one hand to the back of my head.

I reached up to hold on to his biceps, needing more contact, but unable to get it with the wall between us.  They twitched beneath my fingertips causing a thrill to race down my spine.  

Much too soon, Trace wrapped up the kiss and pulled his mouth away from mine.  He looked down into my face and smiled, a gesture so gorgeous I thought my heart might stop.  

Happier than I could ever remember feeling, I smiled in return.  But then a sad, troubled look fell over his face like a dark curtain.  And I felt doom knocking at my door.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I also came to say goodbye,” he announced, rocking my world to its very foundations.

“Wh-what?”

“I’m going to find my father.”

“But what about the magic and trying to figure out what’s going on with your mother?”

“I still want to do that, but I just got this feeling in my gut like I should go back to the meadow.  I think my father might be there.”

“Trace, that’s crazy!  What if he’s not the only one there?  What if there is a repeat of last night?”

“That’s a chance I’m willing to take.  This is just something I have to do,” he said, taking a step back away from me.  “I just wanted to see you before I left, just in case…”

“Don’t talk like that!”  I felt almost panicked at the thought of never seeing Trace again.  “This is…it’s…it’s crazy!”

“I know, and if this wasn’t something I truly felt that I had to do, I wouldn’t go.  I’d wait until I had some more answers.  But I just feel like I need to go tonight.”

I let his words sink in as I debated my best course of action.  It seemed, however, that logic and reason and sensibility were all taking a back seat to the overwhelming fear that Trace was walking out of my life forever, that something might happen to him and I’d never see him again.  I knew that I literally couldn’t survive without him. I knew that if he didn’t come back that I would be torn apart by all that was happening around me.  Instinctively, I knew that he had been made specifically for me, and I for him, that we were necessary for the other’s survival.

So I decided to go with him.  

It wasn’t as rash a decision as it sounded.  The realization hit me that I would rather die with him than live without him.  That’s what made up my mind.

“I’m coming with you,” I announced flatly, hoping my tone brooked no argument.

“No, it’s too dangerous.”

“I don’t care.  Two is better than one.  We’re stronger together.  You know that.”

He opened his mouth and started to say something, but he snapped it shut quickly.  I knew what he was doing.  He wanted to argue, he was trying to argue, but he knew it as futile.  He knew I was right.  He knew there was no point in debating the truth of the matter.    

“Out there, I’m not sure I can protect you.”

“Then maybe I can protect you.”

Several emotions flickered across his face in rapid succession.  It was a fascinating display to behold.  And then, with an urgency born of something not from this world, he stepped forward, drove his fingers into my hair and crushed his mouth against mine.  

Desperation was there.  Desire was there.  Strength was there.  Gratitude was there.  So was fear, just a small amount, but it was all wrapped up in something else, something stronger than every other emotion.  It was something solid and eternal, something mystical and surreal, something more important than anything else in our lives.

When he released me, both of us breathless and shaking, I tossed him a quick smile and ducked back into my room to throw on jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt.  Pushing my feet into tennis shoes, I raced back to the window.

Only he was gone. He’d left me anyway.

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Excerpt & GIVEAWAY: The Dreamer by Ariana Zamora

Yesterday I shared with you my interview with Ariana and today I thought I would show you a little bit of the book.  So here is an excerpt and you can find the GIVEAWAY at the bottom of the post 

The Dreamer by Ariana Zamora

Add it on Goodreads | Buy it on Amazon 

SYNOPSIS:

 A murderous power, born of betrayal, was passed down the Jamison line, searching for the one who would bring an end to a timeless agony. It lay dormant, until one day it came across a young, unsuspecting girl in the form of a dream.

      A woman whispers to Anjaleena Jamison in the dead of night, plaguing her mind with terror, and haunting her very soul. No one thought anything of it, except for Grandma Rose - the only other living person who knew the terrible secrets of Bennett Manor. After her grandmother's death, Anjaleena soon finds herself residing in the manor, and discovers the ghost of Julian Bennett – a handsome young man who she can't help but feel drawn to. Soon Anjaleena learns that, in the halls of Bennett Manor, nothing is as it seems. Follow Anjaleena on her journey to the past in THE DREAMER.

EXCERPT 

“Who are you?”

He sat there quietly, staring out into the night. A full minute passed without him responding, and I began to wonder if he'd even heard me. I started to fidget again, playing with

the stray curls that fell over my shoulder. The air between our bodies seemed to thicken, and it felt like I could cut the tension with a knife.

Finally, he tore his gaze away from the pond and stared at me. I leaned back, afraid that I'd said something wrong. He smiled sadly at me, and then began his story.

“My name is Julian Bennett. I am the Master of this manor.”

“Julian,” I repeated, letting the syllables roll off my tongue. “Well, Julian, why am I here? I feel as if I've gone crazy, and would like some reassurance that I'm not completely off my rocker.”

He smiled at me again, looking away momentarily as if lost in thought. Decidedly, he turned back and cleared his throat. “I assure you, your sanity is quite intact. Indeed, you are here with me, breathing the exact air I breathed over one hundred and fifty years ago.”

“Wait...What?!” I exclaimed, standing upright.

He continued as though he hadn't heard me. “The year is eighteen hundred and fifty nine.”

My knees began to wobble, and I had to sit back down to keep from toppling over.

Julian moved to sit beside me, his face suddenly very solemn, and resumed telling his story. “I am twenty two years of age, and tonight, Death will find me.”

He noticed my panicked reaction of glancing around nervously in the shadows, and quickly said, “Don't fear, Anjaleena. There isn't anything that can be done to prevent it. I've lived this night over, time and time again for a century and a half. I understand that this may confuse you, and that the gravity of the situation you find yourself in is possibly quite terrifying. Believe me when I say I'm compassionate about that. But for all this time, I've never been at peace with the end of my world because I do not know what my ending is exactly. Every night I re-live this same party. I am able to touch, taste, smell...everything. I can choose to remain here if I desire, but I am also able to travel to your time. However, I can only do that during daylight hours, and when I do choose to go there, I am restless. Will you help me?”

It took a moment for everything to sink in. I sat there, playing with my hands, wondering how exactly I'd gotten myself into this kind of a situation. I sighed in frustration and said, “Why me?”

“Save for one other, you're the only other living person I've been able to communicate with...on the other side.”

I snorted, comparing 'the other side' to something out of a Star-Trek film. Is that what my life had become? Science-fiction?

He ignored my rudeness. “Every other inhabitant of the manor has been oblivious to my presence. I fear that, if you refuse, I will never know what becomes of me. You are my last hope for peace in the After Life.”

My head buzzed with questions and fear and illogical thoughts. The more I puzzled over everything, the more I could feel the dull pain of an upcoming headache form behind my eyes. I had no idea what to say because I had no idea what to do. My brain was trying to process a million things at once, and no matter how hard I tried to concentrate, everything was still too crazy to even believe...

GiVeAwAy

an ecopy of Ariana's debut, The Dreamer

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Blood Bond Tour: Double Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway

I am super super excited to be participating in this tour! I love this series and if you haven't read them, you really should!  I am a late bloomer for the Dirty Blood series so today I have reviews of the first 2 books for you because I'm still reading Blood Bond! :) BUT I do have an awesome excerpt from Blood Bond just so you can have a little taste of it.

Dirty Blood is FREE on Nook!                                          Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | Amazon

I killed a girl last night. I did it with my bare hands and an old piece of pipe I found lying next to the dumpster. But that’s not the part that got me. The part that scared me, the part I can’t seem to wrap my head around and still has me reeling, was that when she charged me, her body shifted – and then she was a wolf. All snapping teeth and extended claws. But by the time I stood over her lifeless body, she was a girl again. That’s about the time I went into shock… And that was the moment he showed up.

Now, all I can do is accept the truths that are staring me in the face. One, Werewolves do exist. And Two, I was born to kill them.

My Review
In the first few pages of Dirty Blood, I was hooked.  I was sucked into the world of Dirty Blood, and it literally took me 2 pages to realize I wasn't going to be able to put this book down.  The book starts out with Tara kicking butt and then in the middle she's kicking butt and at the end she is still kicking butt!  I love kick butt heroines that know what they want and go for it! Speaking of what she wants... Wes and Tara have this crazy attraction for each other that I love!  They are just what each other needs.  Tara needs Wes to help her discover this world that she is a part of and Wes needs Tara to belong (you will have to read the book to understand what I mean by that)!  They are the perfect match and just in case you can't tell I'm #TeamWes All. The. Way.  If you haven't picked up this series yet, go get Dirty Blood now! I guarantee that you'll like it :)

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Wood Point Academy is not at all what I expected. For one thing, it looks like a cross between military school and Buckingham Palace. Everyone stares, the floors shine so bright you can see your reflection in them from a mile away, and no one smiles. Unless they're kicking your butt in the process.

At least I've got plenty to take my mind off the fact that my psycho cousin, Miles De'Luca, keeps calling and declaring his love and promising to come for me just as soon as he's destroyed anyone standing in our way. Wes isn't going to like that idea. So between Miles, Wood Point's evil welcoming committee, and the drill sergeant hottie trainer from hell, I just keep asking myself, how did I end up here?

My Review
*may contain spoilers if you haven't read Dirty Blood*
I wasn't happy with Tara's mom in this book At. All.  I mean I get it was necessary for the story BUT it seemed like just when Tara had accepted what she truly was and was getting really awesome at what she was AND when Wes and Tara accept that they are totally right for each other and will kick butt together...her mom sends her off.  Then again if she wouldn't have been sent off she wouldn't have met Cambria who is one of the best supporting characters EVER! I love her! She is full of fire and she is an awesome friend of Tara's that sticks by her side.  In this book, we meet Alex.  Now Alex is a great guy it's just that in my eyes Wes is the one for Tara.  At least Alex was bearable so I wasn't annoyed throughout this book.  Alex really does help Tara grow into her position as an awesome Hunter but I'm #TeamWes.  This series only gets better with this book!  Sometimes I feel like 2nd books in series are flops but in this one the series definitely progresses and Tara grows as a character!  I love this series so much!!!

and now for the Excerpt...since this is THE Blood Bond Tour I have for you an excerpt from Blood Bond!!!! Enjoy.

Cambria whistled loud and low as Alex approached. “Trainer boy cleans up good.” 

Alex’s eyes fell on me and swept up and down. I smoothed the silk dress I’d stolen from Victoria. My breath caught a little and I forced it in and out evenly. We’d been training together for weeks now without crossing the line from professional to personal. Somehow, this night felt different. Maybe it was the fact that we’d be leaving tomorrow. A last chance to say everything. Not that I had anything different to say. My heart belonged to Wes. 

Sometimes I wondered if my heart had selective memory.

“Tara.” The way he spoke my name sent a shiver down my spine. “May I have a word?”

“Sure.” I nodded at Cambria and followed him outside. 

Stars twinkled overhead. People milled about in the courtyard; parents gushed over their offspring and couples engaged in a last make-out session before returning home. 

“Can we take a walk?” Alex asked. 

I nodded and fell into step beside him, my heeled sandals making clicking sounds on the sidewalk that wound around the outskirts of the courtyard. Soft, white bulbs strung about the shrubs illuminated the pathway. It was meant to be romantic, but instead, it left my stomach tight. 

The entire month there had been a sort of resigned tension between Alex and me. After the stir caused by Miles subsided, Wes and the others had gone home. School was restored to order. Classes resumed. It all felt so normal. Then there was Alex.

I don’t know what I’d expected my first day back at training. Closeness over a shared near-death experience? Distance caused by the secrets I still kept? I felt neither.

Alex was business as usual. Painfully so.

It was as if none of it had happened. Or as if he’d experienced it all separate from me somehow. He had a singular focus: the hybrids were running around leaving a trail of dead humans in their wake. A fact Alex made painfully clear in his never-ending rants about how he couldn’t wait for the special team selections. He was itching to hunt them. Except, unlike Wes, who’d gone searching for hybrids willing to choose peace over death and destruction, Alex would hunt to kill. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake that. 

“Are you enjoying the party?” he asked.

“It beats running.”

Alex chuckled. “I could’ve converted you if I’d had more time.”

More time. Tomorrow we’d go our separate ways. 

I swallowed against the lump in my chest. 

“Alex …” I didn’t know how to put any of it into words. 

“Kane called me into the office today.”

“Oh.” I stopped. 

We were at the edge of the courtyard now, closer to the trees than the cobbled path. Movement caught my eye. I swiveled, muscles bunching. My body was more alert for danger than my mind, though, because it took me a moment to realize what I was seeing. “Logan?”

He broke from Victoria’s embrace. Even in the dim light, I could see him flush. “Tara, hey.”

Victoria glared at me. “Is that my dress?”

“My wardrobe is gone, remember? And you have more than you need. Doesn’t it look nice?” I pivoted right, then left, showing off the silky fabric that ended a little higher than it should’ve since I was taller than its rightful owner.

“Breathtaking,” Alex agreed.

“Stay out of this, Channing. What are you doing with her anyway? She’s rabid.”

“Lay off, Vic. Summer starts tomorrow. Kick back. Relax,” Alex said. 

“Evil never sleeps,” I muttered. Logan shot me a dirty look. I lifted my eyebrows in mock innocence. 

The animosity between Victoria and I was old news. Since the incident with Miles, and more than that, since the day she’d cried to me about her parents disappearing, there’d been no more exploding bags of dog food. No more shredded clothes or attempts to shave my eyebrows in my sleep. Although, she never missed an opportunity to insult me in conversation, which was almost daily since she and Logan were practically joined at the mouth these days. I figured wearing her clothes was an even trade.

“I was relaxing just fine until you and Barking Barbie showed up,” Victoria said. 

Alex laughed, and this time I shot him a dirty look. “Sorry,” he said, still grinning. 

“Are you guys passing through or should we pick another spot for privacy?” Logan asked, giving me a pointed look.

I opened my mouth, snarky comment at the ready. 

“We were just leaving.” Alex took my elbow and led me away before I could protest. Victoria said something I couldn’t hear and Logan shook his head like he was too beaten to argue. “Let it go,” Alex said as we headed for the woods.

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Hybrids.

If I had to choose one word to sum up all of my problems, this would be it.
Without hybrids, I wouldn’t have to watch my best friend slowly becoming a monster. Without hybrids, I could let go of the mentality “hunt or be hunted.” CHAS wouldn’t be scouring the Earth, intent on slaughtering and using Alex to do it. Without hybrids, I wouldn’t have to be on guard that losing my temper meant losing my shape. There would be no monster inside me, struggling to get out.

Then again, without hybrids, I wouldn’t have Wesley St. John.

Giveaway

since Dirty Blood is currently FREE(ish)
I thought we would do a giveaway of an Ebook copy of Cold Blood and Blood Bond
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ends September 22nd
Just leave me an awesome comment to enter
WITH A WAY FOR ME TO CONTACT YOU

Excerpt from Redemption

Indie Revolution week with Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels is coming to an end so hurry up and enter the 2 giveaways! For the 2nd to last post I'm going to share with you an excerpt from Redemption (book 2 in the Night Marchers series) THEN tomorrow or maybe later today I will share with you the same excerpt in a DIFFERENT POV :O 

Goodreads Summary: He would endure a thousand deaths for her, but would she let him? Torn between two men that love her, Emma Townsend is forced to make choices no seventeen-year-old should ever be forced to make. With her friends at her side, Emma embarks on an adventure full of danger, deceit and betrayal as she tries to redeem Kai, the man who made the ultimate sacrifice for her. When Emma discovers that setting a Night Marcher free is no easy task, she is forced to make a very unlikely alliance. How far will Emma be willing to go to save Kai, and will she be able to do so before it's too late?

Excerpt from:

(REDEMPTION, The second Night Marchers novel.)

Kai's tattoo still stands out dark as night. My heart starts pounding, not entirely with fear though, more so with excitement. I force my eyes to look up now and I see his face. His beautiful face. I knew that I missed him but I had no idea how much. It's as if my heart leaps with joy at the sight of him and my body feels overwhelmed and excited in anticipation of touching him. I run towards him, but he doesn't turn to me. He keeps marching, eyes forward, focused intently on the back of the head of the soldier in front of him.

"Kai!" I yell out his name. I don't know if any of the other Night Marchers have turned to glare at me, I keep my eyes focused on him and him alone. He doesn't turn, but I can see his jaw clenched tight. Against my better judgment I run towards him.

"Kai!" I say out of breath from the sprint. I'm so close to him now that I can touch him. I reach out and grab at his arm. It's cold yet my hand doesn't pass through it like I would envision it would, being that he's basically a spirit. He still doesn't look towards me. Why won't he look at me? "Kai!" I yell in his ear and yank his arm so hard that his step falters and he can't help but look at me.

My breath catches and my arm drops from his as he stares at me, stepping away from the procession. He looks just like I remembered but different still. There is an eerie gleam to his skin that reminds me that he's not human anymore. His eyes are no longer completely grey. They are flaked with black specks starting at the pupils and heading outward. I shake my head as tears start filling my eyes. I'm too late!

"Emma." He says through gritted teeth. I look back into his eyes, hopeful when I hear him recall my name.

"Yes, Kai, I'm here. It's going to be okay. We will get you out I promise!" I say as tears spill down my cheek. I grab at his arm to try and drag him away with me, but he stands firm as if he's made of stone.

I look up into his eyes pleading with him to come back to me. As if the reminder of what we have together could free him from this eternal solitude that he's been condemned to. I don't know if I am just wishing for it, but I think I register a slight softening around his eyes. He's still in there! It was only for a brief flash of a second until his features harden and a look of anguish succumbs him.

"Em-ma." He says my name painstakingly so, as if it takes an overwhelming strength for him to force out the two syllables. The muscles in his body tense up almost to a point of which I think they might explode from within him. He stares at me and as if I'm hypnotized by his eyes, I stare back unable to look away even when it gets uncomfortable.

"R-un" He says through gritted teeth.

Run? I register a slow movement in my peripheral vision and realize that it's his arm moving, the one with the spear!

"R-u-n!" He says forcing the word out of his mouth. With his teeth clenched, a look of pure torture overtakes him.

Pulling my gaze from his might be the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I do it just as he takes his first step towards me. He looks like he's trying to advance against a hurricane. Every movement is counteracted with his suppressed will not to hurt me. He's fighting it! It's a good sign, but he's not strong enough. His hand slowly pulls the spear to where it's pointing at me now.

"Pl-ea-se!" He says urgently, eyes fixated on me.

Tears well up knowing that he can't hold back, he's fighting with all he's got, but he can't stop it. He can't stop the urge to try to kill me. I turn and run from him. I run as fast as I can into the forest and through the trees. I trip a few times but I pick myself back up. I can hear the snapping of tree limbs and foliage behind me. Kai is pursuing me! My heart starts pounding as I realize that this is a very real threat. He might not be able to hold back, I've struck a curse that I can't undo this time.

I don't know when I decided to do it, but I stop dead in my tracks. Something tells me that this is the only way. This is the way it should have been. Kai is a Night Marcher because of me and right now, I have a way to save him. If he kills me, I will switch places with him, freeing him from the prison I condemned him to.

I force myself to turn around slowly, my body is shaking like a leaf. My brain is telling me to run, but I'm fighting against it. I see the flame flicker behind a tree in front of me. It's time. I drop to my knees as Kai steps out from the cover of the tree. His eyes plead with me to run, but I just shake my head and look away, tears overflowing.

I hear him take a step, then another one. Each step takes several seconds. I know he's trying to fight it, but he can't help it.

"Itt's okkay." I manage to stutter out. I close my eyes and a moment later I'm sailing through the air. At first I don't realize what's happening but when I open my eyes, I see the landscape flashing past me upside down. The blood is rushing to my head making me disoriented and dizzy. I try to use my stomach muscles to sit up but it's no use. I realize that I'm hanging over someone's shoulder in a fireman carry as they run wildly away. I have no idea who that someone is.

I crane my head when I hear running feet behind us. Kai! He's chasing us. His face is contorted with anger now. His spear raises and I shut my eyes tight. If this is how it ends, I don't want to see it. A conch shell blows and I look up just in time to see him as he's pulled backwards away from us. It looks as if he's being sucked up into a vacuum. I look into his eyes, which only a moment ago showed anger, now they show worry and panic. I continue to watch him, straining my neck until I can see him no longer.

Giveaway

e-copy of Redemption (book 2 in the Night Marchers series)

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Project ELE Excerpt & Giveaway

Today is SPECIAL! I have for you an excerpt from Rebecca and Courtney's newest novel Project ELE PLUS another giveaway!!! 

Summary:
Who is ELE and can Willow survive her?

    Millions have already died, and thousands more are perishing daily. As a last ditch effort to preserve the human race, the government implements Project ELE and all remaining survivors are forced to turn to F.E.M.A. shelters to wait out ELE's wrath.

    Fifteen-year-old Willow Mosby's life, as she knows it, ends the moment she walks through the shelter's door.  With her family torn apart, Willow has to quickly adapt to the new challenges that shelter life demands.

    Soon after making an interesting discovery, Willow and her new friends start exhibiting strange abilities. With her friends in tow, she embarks on a mission to find out what these new abilities mean and whether they are a gift or a curse. What they don't know is just how dangerous their investigation has become because someone in the shelter wants to silence them forever.

 From the authors of Night Marchers comes a new apocalyptic series with a paranormal twist.

Goodreads | Amazon 

Excerpt from Chapter 1 (six days in line)

Waiting in line totally bites! What's worse than waiting in line? Waiting in line, outside in the stifling heat with escalating temperatures. The only relief being a hand held battery operated fan and a portable misting machine that ran through our daily ration of water in less than two hours.

Beads of sweat drip down my face, causing my eyes to sting. My dad faces his fan so it hits the back of my neck. He always looks composed and collected, but even he isn't immune to this sweltering weather. His salt and pepper hair is plastered to his head with sweat and his usually vibrant green eyes show telltale signs of heat exhaustion.

"They could have at least left the patches up until we had a chance to apply for entry.  Maybe then the heat wouldn't be this stifling." Our neighbor in line, Mr. Leroy mumbles. The patches that cover the holes in the ozone layer is all everyone talks about lately. They are the only thing that keeps us all from burning to a crisp. Mr. Leroy is an elderly man with leathery skin, shiny grey hair and beady brown eyes. He walks around all day in only a pair of plaid boxers and a ‘wife beater’ undershirt. Some of the older women scoff at his choice of attire.  It doesn’t faze him though; he says that dying of heat stroke while waiting in line to see if you pass inspection would defeat the purpose entirely. While I may agree with Mr. Leroy on that part, I have to say that honestly, he gives me the heebie-jeebies. He wears a nasty frown twenty-four seven and always reeks of stinky old man sweat. My mom assures us that he's just a cranky old geezer with a thousand conspiracy theories and that he has nothing better to do other than share them with us. 

"You know Lee, they are doing the best they can. The virus is spreading at rapid speeds and they have no choice but to begin the heating process to stop it." My dad says this, not bothering to remove the annoyance from his voice.

"Is that why they let all of the rich ones in first?" Mr. Leroy asks with a cynical expression. "They've been in there for two weeks already and the rest of us 'lower class' just now got invited to the party."

I catch my dad rolling his eyes behind Mr. Leroy's back. It makes me grin, especially since he always gets onto me when I do it. My parents are none to happy to have Mr. Leroy behind us in line. Up until Mr. Leroy opened his mouth, my parents had done their best to shelter us from the impending doom that we were all facing. Mr. Leroy on the other hand, couldn't care less that we are 'merely' children as my mom would put it. He voices his distaste for this whole situation, which he deems completely the government’s fault, whenever he so feels like it. With him running his mouth non-stop, my parents had no choice but to tell me most everything. My four year old little brother, Sebastian, is too young to understand. At fifteen, I truly feel I can handle the truth. Well, at least I think I can. To be totally upfront, I'm scared to death, but I'm dealing with it the only way I know how: Pretend, I could care less. It's a hard facade to pull off though.

We've had a rather closed off life for the past few years, as have many children. With the fear of the virus looming over everyone's heads our parents had kept us inside our home for the most part. We had stopped going to a formal school by the time I was ten. Now we are home schooled online. Of course I never truly understood why we were forced to stay inside our small home all of the time.  

Millions have already died, with thousands more dying daily. The government was forced to implement Project ELE. Don't ask me who ELE is because I have no idea. I asked my dad once who she was, his expression went dark as he replied, "All you need to know is that you don't want to meet her." I didn't ask him again after that. After all, if ELE scares my dad, I'm sure she would terrify me.

With Project ELE in place we only have another seventy-two hours before the temperatures are predicted to increase above one hundred and seventy degrees, which will most likely kill the remaining survivors outside of the F.E.M.A. shelter. Our bodies are not meant to withstand that kind of heat, neither is the virus. Currently the temperature is at one hundred degrees and some of the people in line have already faded away because of it. Fading away from heat stroke seems like a more pleasant way to die than to experience the excruciating death caused by the virus. It's an eerie feeling watching people that have died being whisked away on a stretcher with a white sheet draped over their bodies.

This shelter is our only hope to survive this thing. All remaining power that wasn't diverted for Project ELE has been re-routed or conserved to run the few F.E.M.A. shelters across the country. The line to our shelter is running at a snail’s pace. There are so many tests stations to go through before people are permitted to enter the shelter where we will supposedly spend the next three years or until they can get the patches back up, whichever comes first.

Before you can enter the shelter they have to verify that you are not infected and that you are fit to survive. Mr. Leroy says repeatedly that this is not the place to bring the weak or weary and it's especially not the place to bring the sick.

This whole business started with the sick. A virus brought forth from a cure. They thought it would work, that it could heal everything. Cancer, diabetes, depression, the flu, even the common cold could be healed by 'The C.U.R.E.' or Counteractive Universal Recovery Elixir.   It did work for several years, until a super virus came along that not even our precious 'C.U.R.E.' could fix. My mom says that we weren't meant to live forever. Not that we could live forever even with the 'C.U.R.E..'  Meaning that we couldn't cheat death by curing everything the world suffered from.

The super virus killed off more than half of the world’s population. No country was safe from this air born virus; it only takes a measly few days to die once infected. In an attempt to kill off the super virus, the United Nations agreed to pull down the patches that they spent over a hundred years perfecting. Obviously I wasn't around when the patches first went up to cover the giant gaping holes in the ozone layer but I heard that it took a tremendous amount of energy and power to put them up in the first place. It is said that the entire world worked together back then and went for a full month without electricity of any sort in order to put the patches in place.  This is another reason why they are diverting all of the energy now and not allowing us to stay in our homes. They need that power to put the patches back up after the warming does its job. On a side note, the project for creating those patches a hundred years ago was also called Project ELE. It's kind of creepy if you ask me.

Scientists anticipate that with the patches gone it will cause a long-term heating of the earth's surface that will hopefully kill off the virus. They aren't sure if the plan will work, but obviously with the temperatures rising daily, it seems to be. They don't know what the long-term effects will be on the planet after they cause this heating, but the United Nations deemed the possible reward was worth the risk.

Giveaway

an e-copy of Project ELE 

a Project ELE bookmark

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Indie Revolution: News on the Home Front

Today I introduce you to Christopher Geoffrey McPherson, author of News on the Home Front!  We are going to start off with a little introduction of the book along with an excerpt and then tomorrow I will share with you an awesome guest post!  And as always don't forget to get in on the giveaway at the bottom of the post! 

Set against a worldwide canvas that includes New York, Paris and Germany "News on the Home Front" tells the story of two women who have been friends since their childhood in West Lake, Maryland. The world war has torn apart their lives leaving each trying to find a way to put it back together. It's been a difficult few years with rationing and shortages starting to take their toll. Carole's boyfriend, Philip, is off to fly for the Army; and Irene has taken a job at the nearby aircraft factory. Carole promised Philip that she would wait for his return from the war -- but circumstances begin to conspire against her. She's waited her whole life for him, but can she make it until the end of the war?

Excerpt 

In this excerpt from the World War Two novel "News on the Home Front," Irene is on her way to the aircraft factory where she has taken a job during the war. Her best friend, Carole, is at home, recovering from an accident. Carole's fiancé, Philip, is about to be shipped overseas.

______________________________________________________

The sleek Rolls pulled away from the Trent estate just outside West Lake as the snow fell lightly around them. Secured and warm in the back of the light grey car, Irene huddled in one corner, her shaved-beaver jacket crumpled close to her bare neck. She turned her head and looked out the steamed windows as the scenery passed by. She sighed heavily as she thought of the holidays just past and her friend, still asleep from the heavy sedative, in the house. She turned away from the window, adjusted her left glove, tightening it around the base of her fingers, one finger at a time.

As the car wended its way through the snow-covered roadway, bypassing the city of Baltimore, she thought sadly about returning to her job. It was not the job which made her sad, it was the thought of another sad Christmas behind her which dampened her spirits. When she left the house this morning she could not bring herself to look at the gaily decorated Christmas tree secure in its own little corner of the huge living room. It hurt too much. At Philip's request, Irene had agreed to stay at the estate for a while until Carole fully recovered from the injuries. After her car dropped her at the plant, she would have the driver go home to assist the maid in packing several bags of her things. Philip suggested Irene take a few days off from work, but Irene refused. Thinking of the women at the plant where she worked, she would feel guilty and not very patriotic if she took even one day off. There had not been one absence by any of the women in her plant for the past 150 days. Carole was in good hands; the plant needed Irene.

And it felt good to be needed. She turned her gaze back to the window and the scenery passing by, thinking of how long it had been since she had been needed by anyone. It had been too long. When word came women were needed to fill in for the men in the military at the factories and plants, she went right down to the first factory she came to and volunteered for work. They needed women for the swing shift and she agreed. Today, however, she had been asked to work day shift. It was a change which threw off her timing. She bristled, at first, at the thought of working in a plant. Her father and brother had been dead for several months; she looked at this opportunity (any opportunity, really) to get out of the house as a godsend. But, a factory?

When she had seen how much she could do for the war effort, however, all doubts she might have had quickly left her mind as she took off her silk jacket, threw it into the assigned locker and got to work. Now, after all these months, she was an important member of a team. A vital member of the working class. She was proud to earn a paycheck. The money left to her by her father and from her brother's insurance was all fine and good; but, to earn a paycheck was different. It qualified her to be a member of society now. And she was proud of it.

Author Bio: I was one of those kids always noodling with words, writing nonsense stories and animal adventures. I got a serious case of the word flu when I was asked to write an article for my high school newspaper. It's a disease from which I have yet to recover. 

In the intervening years, my work has appeared in daily newspapers, monthly magazines, extensively on radio -- and the occasional dalliance with television. I have written advertising copy and radio commercials. There is a bucket filled with awards sitting in my garage and I continue to write, write, write. 

Also featuring my byline are "Forever -- and other stories" a collection of short stories, "The Life Line" the novel of the big one that levels San Francisco, "News on the Home Front" a novel of two friends during World War Two, and "Mama Cat" a book for children. Also, several short plays, a few radio plays and a boat load of radio documentaries. I am currently working on a novel of Paris in the 1920s. 

Giveaway

an e-copy of News on the Home Front

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