B Is For Broken Hearts

Day 2 of the A-Z Challenge:
I had WAY too much fun with this one...

B Is For Broken Hearts

"Oh, I wouldn't mind, Hazel Grace. It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you."

--Augustus Waters, From The Fault In Our Stars

(Can you even read that quote without bursting into tears? If so, then you haven't read the book, and you are missing out.)

"It shattered something inside me that hadn't been broken before."

--Ruby Oliver, The Boyfriend List

"Have you fallen in love with the wrong person yet?"

Jace said, "Unfortunately, Lady of the Haven, my one true love remains myself."

"At least," she said, "you don't have to worry about rejection Jace Wayland."

"Not necessarily. I turn myself down occasionally, just to keep it interesting.

--Cassandra Clare, City of Bones

"I don't want to be a man," said Jace. "I want to be an angst-ridden teenager who can't confront his own inner demons and takes it out verbally on other people instead."

"Well," said Luke, "you're doing a fantastic job."

--Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes.

"The boy never cried again, and he never forgot what he'd learned: that to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed."

--Cassandra Clare, City of Bones

'He does something to me, that boy.Every time. It's his only detriment. He steps on my heart. He makes me cry."

--From The Book Thief

"Theoretically, Blue Sargent was probably going to kill one of these boys."

--The Dream Thieves, Maggie Steifvater (Best first line of a book EVER)

Logan: "I thought our story was Epic, you know. You and me. Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined, bloodshed. Epic."

Veronica: You really think a relationship should be that hard?

Logan: No one writes songs about the ones that come easy.

--Veronica Mars

And of course, the epic heartbreak that is 

Chuck

What are your favorite heartbroken moments?

A Is For Ana

For the month of April, I will theoretically be participating in the A-Z Challenge. I say theoretically because I don’t have any idea where I’m going to find the time for this, but I had such a great time last year, I’m going to give it my best shot.

The Challenge is to write a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, one a day, taking Sundays off. That’s 26 posts this month! This year, each blog post is going to center around the theme of Love. I picked that topic because it is a perennial favorite of mine, plus I’ve learned so much about writing love this year. I’m looking forward to the chance to pull it all together.

With no further ado...I bring you the letter A.

A is for Ana.

Ana is the character I write in the Prophecy Breakers series I write with Sheena Boekweg and Sabrina West. The first book, Alchemy (which also starts with A!) is exceeding all our expectations at Amazon (which also starts with A!). You can buy it here, and at the moment it is only 99 cents.

We are nearly finished with the first draft of the sequel, Pyromancy, which is the most fun I have ever had writing a book, and also the most traumatic. I’m not the kind of person who does this, but more than once in the past few months my husband has shaken me awake because I’ve been sobbing in my sleep, and it’s all because of Ana.

To me, Pyromancy is Ana’s love story. I can’t tell you who she falls in love with, because I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but it is glorious, except when it isn’t, and it often isn’t. But there is something about Ana’s love story in Pyromancy which blows the socks off the romance in Alchemy (which was still loads of fun), and that something is:

The equality of the characters. 

As a beginning writer, I often set up my characters with disparate amounts of power. Ana’s first love, James, for example, had already established himself as a key player in the world of magic before Ana arrived on the scene as the only unmagical student. Seb, on the other hand, was so head over heels in love with Ana that it often seemed like she had all the power. But in Pyromancy she manages to level the playing field, which makes for such deeper love--I can’t even tell you. You’ll just have to trust me. This notion will change every future book I ever write. 

I searched for a spoiler free excerpt about the romance to share with you, but they don’t exist. So instead, here is an excerpt about Ana coming into her own power. This is a scene about Zach teaching Ana to defend herself with a knife:

"Slide the blade. Don't hack it like that. Pretend I'm a loaf of bread. If you hit the bread with the knife you're just going to squish it flat. If you want to slice me, you've got to slide your blade in circles. Little circles."

I fell onto the mat, laughing so hard it hurt my sides. "Is this how you win all your knife fights, Zach? Incapacitate people with a comedy show?" He flicked my neck with his practice blade. "And you're dead." He sat cross-legged on the mat next to me. "This isn't funny, Ana. It's serious business. James is furious with me for letting you carry around a knife."

I wiped the chalk line off my neck and smeared it on his leg. "You are being terribly brave then, risking the wrath of the all-powerful James Mariani. Because you know he is the master of everything I say and do."

Zach rolled his eyes. "You seem to be channeling your inner Juliette. A little less sarcasm and a little more fighting please."

"So basically just continue channeling Juliette then?" I said, and he grinned and helped me up. I stood in the blocking stance he had shown me, and he walked in a circle around me. If this had been our first practice session, I would have concentrated on standing exactly the way he expected, but it had only taken a couple of sessions with Zach to learn that every move he made was either an attempt to distract me or an attack. Sure enough, as he moved out of my peripheral vision, he tried to kick my legs out from under me, but I had already darted out of the way. I pivoted around, and for the first time ever, my knife made a chalk line on his arm.

Six Word Saturday, March 22, 2014

Depressing view from my front door:

I was walking through the woods today, and the snow was so hardpacked that I thought to myself, "This is almost like walking along the beach. If I close my eyes, I can imagine." 

Well guess what? My imagination is not that good, apparently.

Want to play along? All that's necessary to participate is to describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words. For more information, try clicking here. 

Six Word Saturday 3/8/14

It's spring! Kids are playing badminton!

Want to play along? All that's necessary to participate is to describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words. For more information, try clicking here. 

We Have A Winner!

Rachel Sanford won the $10.00 amazon gift card

and

Shelly Hammond won an ebook of Alchemy

Congratulations! 

And thank you to 
I am a Reader not a Writer and Jinky is Reading

for hosting the Leap Into Books Blog Hop.

It was amazing.

Six Word Saturday

I just found this awesome blogging meme that I think might be what I'm looking for! First of all, trying to keep a description of my life to just six words each week seems close to impossible. I tend to be what you might call wordy. Or verbose. Or prolific. Which is why I don't write about my life very often. It takes too long. Plus this seems like such a fun group of people. I'm excited to be a part of it. So...six words to describe my week. This week has been all writing the most gooey scenes in the most fun book of my life. So this is part Six Word Saturday/ part teaser:

Sweet dreams, Ana. I love you.

Click here for the full list of people participating in Six Word Saturday.

Leap Into Books Blog Hop with a Giveaway

Welcome to the Leap Into Books Blog Hop

I am so excited to be participating in the second annual Leap Into Books Blog Hop. This blog hop has over 150 bloggers that our each offering their own prize package. You have the chance to win a ton of prizes! Good luck on all your entries!

Co-Hosted by I am a Reader not a Writer and Jinky is Reading.

This hop starts on February 28th and runs through March 7th.

Giveaway Details

Good luck and happy winning! 

Please share this post with other people who might be interested in entering. Also “hop” around to the other sites participating in the Leap Into Books Blog Hop!

And now time to get hopping…. Remember each blogger will have their own entry guidelines for their prize package. You will need to enter on each blog to be eligible to win their package. There are some truly fabulous prizes, so look around!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Release: Guardians by Lola StVil

It all ends now.

Purchase on Amazon US Purchase on Amazon UK Purchase on Nook

About Lola StVil

Lola was seven when she first came to this country from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She attended Columbia College in Chicago, where her main focus was creative writing. In addition to plays, she also writes screenplays and short stories.

She has been commissioned to write for ABC, CBS and Princeton University. She won the NAACP award for her play "The Bones of Lesser Men". In addition to being nominated for LA Weekly awards. Her work has also received positive reviews from The LA Times, Variety and LA Weekly.

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Guardians Series

Book 1: The Girl The prophecy says I will fall in love with team leader and Angel, Marcus Cane. The prophecy also says that our love will cause his mission to fail and end the world. Whatever. This human is not worried. Why? Because I do not intend to fall in love with Marcus. The truth is I hate him. I hate his warm brown eyes with flecks of gold, his chiseled face and broad shoulders. I hate how over protective he is just because a few thousand demons are after me. In fact, I couldn't care less about Marcus or his perfect telekinetic girlfriend. And when I see him holding her, I don’t die a little inside…

Add to Your Goodreads Shelf | Purchase on Amazon

 

Book 2: The Fallout

Just because she has wings, doesn’t mean she’s an Angel…

It's front page news on every Angel gossip rag:“Marcus & Ameana: Gone The Way Of “Brad & Jennifer.”So, Who Is The “Angelina?” Emmy Baxter—a mere mortal!” Ameana tries to avoid her ex and his new love by focusing on the other evil out to destroy the team. But soon her pain turns to fury. And before the end…a girl plots revenge, a leader is on the edge and an Angel falls. Add to Your Goodreads Shelf | Purchase on Amazon  

Book 3: The Turn

There. Will. Be. Blood. After the Council hands down a severe punishment, A Guardian declares war on the Angel world.

Before the end Lives will be lost Love will be tested And blood WILL flow... Add to Your Goodreads Shelf | Purchase on Amazon    

Book 4: The TriplexThe team finds the locaton of the Triplex, but in order to destroy it and save the world, a horrific decision must be made. Can Marcus do what he needs to do in order to complete the mission? Or will his heart get in the way...Add to Your Goodreads Shelf | Purchase on Amazon

       

Book 5, Part 1: The Quo

WARNING: This book contains a scene in chapter 20 that is for mature audiences only. Readers can skip this chapter without missing any info vital to the plot. A team divided. A leader in turmoil. A love tested. Now, it's the heroes who need saving Add to Your Goodreads Shelf | Purchase on Amazon  

Book 5, Part 2: The Lyris The end of the world is not coming; it's here An impossible decision... A massive war... A Guardian silenced forever... (Please note chapters 29 & 30 are for mature audiences) Purchase on Amazon

Book 6, Part 1: The Shoma In order to reunite the Council and save both our world and theirs, the Guardians need to assemble three missing pieces of an ancient relic called The Shoma. But their search is derailed by their love lives and entanglements. Surrounded by evil and under the threat of annihilation our lives depend on this one team. But with all the sex, scandal and secrets, who has time to save the world? Purchase on Amazon  

Short Stories (THIS BOOK HAS SPOILERS, SO IT IS BEST READ AFTER BOOK 1 (The Girl)) Please note this is a book of short stories about the Guardians and their lives before the mission. This book is 20k words long and has nine short stories including *Julian's Core *Rio's secret crush *Julian & Femi's first meeting *The days & nights of Tony-Tone and more...

Add to Your Goodreads Shelf | Purchase on Amazon

Short Stories From Book 5

Can't get enough "Guardians?"

Read these short stories AFTER reading book 5 part 2 and find out:

Why Marcus made the decision he did at the end of book 5.2

How Jay and Miku hooked up for the first time

and where Mouse came from!

Purchase on Amazon

 

Teaser Tuesday

I've been in a slump since publishing Hidden Magic on Friday. That book has been a huge part of my life for so many years, and now it has left my heart and gone out into the wide, wide world. I know I should be actively marketing it, but I need a few days to just let it be gone, to figure out what I'm going to do with that empty space in my heart and life. It's terribly exciting, and yet every once in a while I also find myself in tears for no good reason.

Here is a scene from Hidden Magic, which is on sell at amazon. For a couple more weeks, you can buy the ebook for only .99 cents and the soft cover book is just $9.99. 

I chose this teaser because Jessica wanted me to show the world that there was more to my book than romance:

He’d only learned how to shapeshift this year, and he wasn’t very confident at it yet, but adrenaline made up for lack of skill. As the strange lion sprang, Arram shifted into the shape of a dragon. He hadn’t had the time or the proficiency to think about what he would turn into, but had simply hoped for something big. A dragon though? Arram hadn’t even realized such a thing was possible. How ironic.

Arram slammed into the cat, which landed on its back. With amazing grace it twisted back onto its feet and sprang again--this time at Arram. They rolled, and one of its claws raked Arram’s arm, one of the few spots his scales did not protect. He roared in shock and pain, and tried to bite the cat’s throat. Quickly he realized his mistake. The cat was too agile, and Arram was much clumsier than any dragon he had ever met. He needed to rely on his superior size, so he locked the cat in a tight bear hug and began pummeling it with his claws, a move no real dragon would be caught dead using. Whenever the lion tried to bite his throat, Arram managed to block it. The lion was bleeding from several gashes, but thankfully, it hadn’t been able to hurt Arram again.

Arram growled, deep in his throat, and to his surprise, sparks shot from his mouth, reigniting a patch of blackened groundcover. The cat let out a primeval roar in response. Arram roared back, more carefully this time, and managed to pick up the whole animal and throw it. It yelped in pain as it hit a tree, and took a long moment before it sprang back into a crouch. But this time, Arram didn’t wait for the attack. Taking the offensive, he lunged for the cat, who met him halfway. Before he even realized what was happening, Arram’s claws had ripped a deep gash from the cat’s throat to its stomach. It lay there, thrashing on its back. Arram was torn between revulsion at the thought of killing something so helpless and a desire to end its suffering. He lumbered towards it on all fours and roared again. Dragon instincts took over, and soon the animal lay dead on its back. The whole fight had taken only a few minutes.

Arram turned to face Jenny, who was stamping out the fire, her face white with shock. “Arram?” she whispered, and took a deliberate step toward him.

She looked pale and frightened, and he longed to put his arms around her to comfort her, but given how much magic shapeshifting used up, he might be a dragon for a while. Jenny’s hand stroked the scales of his back tentatively.

To his relief, shifting back was not as complicated as he’d thought it would be. He even remembered to make sure he was fully clothed when he returned to his normal body. Jenny, looking more frightened than before, threw her arms around his neck and then pulled back, touching his arm gingerly. “You’re bleeding,” she said, showing him her own hand, which was now covered in his blood. She swayed and sank to the ground.

Feeling a little lightheaded himself, Arram sat on the ground next to her, and gathered her into his arms, murmuring, “Jenny, Jenny, you’re all right.” She pulled away, her eyes darting around frantically.

“It’s you that’s hurt,” she reminded him. “You need a bandage. Take off your shirt.”

Hidden Magic Book Release and Signing!

I have the coolest friends ever. They let me live out a life long dream: a Book Release Party and Book Signing rolled into one. It felt very surreal to see all those people I loved, mixed with a few strangers and realize they were there for ME, to celebrate that I had written a book. This book:

Buy at amazon

Toward the end, completely unexpectedly, I was asked to talk. I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous that I was shocked that anyone would ask me to speak at my own Book Signing, but really...anyone who knows me knows that I do a lot better with the written word than the spoken word. But these crazy people really intended for me to say something! Luckily, there were a lot of questions, nearly all of them about this book:

Buy at amazon

I guess it is a tradition now, that when I publish a book we get a cake from The Bankery in Skowhegan, Maine. The cakes are incredible. People just stood around staring at this one. It's gorgeous stuff:

from The Bankery

I even did a book reading, which was awkward, but fun: I read the section where Nico and Mariah demonstrate what happens when two dravani fall in love:

 A smattering of pictures. If I get more, I will add them.

Hidden Magic Release!

Purchase ebook on Amazon
Purchase soft cover book on Amazon

When Jenny has the opportunity to spend the summer with her sister, a small slice of freedom is all she's really hoping for. Instead she finds something else altogether: electricity.

That's what Jenny feels when she looks at Arram. She knows he’s drawn to her too, but the mage-in-training does his best to hide it.

Stung, Jenny turns to Arram's former best friend, Jack. But Arram and Jack's rivalry is much darker than Jenny suspects, and so are Jack's intentions. Soon she's caught in a mystery of old murder, ancient prophecies, and magic hidden where no one has thought to look.

When Jenny uncovers a secret magic, she is offered two choices. Arram wants her to do the safe thing. Jack wants to show her the easy way out. Whatever Jenny decides, her life will irrevocably change.

Either way, freedom may be the one thing Jenny can never have.

Excerpt

Jack put his finger to his lips and motioned toward an empty bedroom across the hall. Not knowing what else to do, she went in, her heart thudding against her ribs. “Jack,” she whispered. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

“What? No welcome home kiss?” His voice was mocking.

Trying to keep her voice steady, she said, “So Arram was right. You do want to kidnap me after all.”

“Kidnap you?” Jack looked horrified. Underneath the horror though, Jenny could see that his eyes were sparkling with mischief. “I should have known Arram would fill your head with something stupid like that. No, you wonderful, impossible girl, I’m here to rescue you.”

Website   Facebook   Goodreads

Here is a list of the blogs that will be helping me to spread the word:

http://thepassionatebookworms.com
http://rosecaceres.blogspot.com
http://feedyourfictionaddiction.blogspot.com
http://missriki.com
http://beckysbarmybookblog.blogspot.co.uk
http://margayleahjustice.blogspot.com
https://rachschmidt.blogspot.com
http://www.cover2coverblog.blogspot.com
amethystdaydreams.blogspot.com
http://www.mmbearcupoftea.com
Thegirlbookaholic.blogspot.com
http://fromthebootheelcottonpatch.blogspot.com
http://lauriethoughts-reviews.blogspot.com
http://addicted2bookreviews.blogspot.com/
http://mommyslatenightbookup.blogspot.com/
http://www.tispyink.blogspot.com
http://eatsleepread88.blogspot.com
http://www.immabeama.blogspot.com/
bkwrm29.wordpress.com
http://cusebookgiveaways.us
http://ellelainey.wordpress.com
http://www.erinoriordan.blogspot.com
http://blackrose886.wordpress.com/
http://themusingwriter.blogspot.com
Https://pwrspot.blogspot.com
http://dalenesbookreviews.blogspot.com/
www.truleevsspot.wordpress.com
http://www.bookishtreasures.blogspot.com
Http://christydilg.wordpress.com
http://michelle-willms.tumblr.com
paranormalromancefanforlife.blogspot.com
http://www.houseofmalfunction.com
http://rosebeps.blogspot.it/
http://jeanzbookreadnreview.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.inkkreviews.com
http://booksbyagmoye.blogspot.com
http://www.boekwegbooks.com

http://theprosers@blogspot.com
http://www.rrdcwd.blogspot.com/
http://pebbleinthestillwaters.blogspot.com
http://fabulousandfun.com
http://donniedarkogirl.blogspot.com
http://mythicalbooks.blogspot.ro/
http://rachschmidt.blogspot.com
http://www.whatsbeyondforks.com
http://booksandtheirworldlyrealm.blogspot.com/
www.pratr.wordpress.com
http://www.juliedarley.com
http://www.yanovelreader.com
http://www.mybookcrushes.wordpress.com
http://youngadultbookaddict.wordpress.com
http://www.theothershelf.com
http://www.afangirlsobsession.wordpress.com

Teaser Tuesday

I need to figure out how to make Teaser Tuesdays work for me. Most indie authors do them, and I am joining their ranks rather reluctantly. I don't mind sharing. Not at all. It's just that the things I write seem very jarring to me when taken out of context. So I'll keep experimenting with it, but in the meantime, here's my very first Teaser Tuesday! This is from Hidden Magic, which will be released on Friday!)

     “Arram.” Melinda tugged on his pant leg.     “What?” he asked, bending down to look at her face to face.     “I’m not going to marry you.” She looked into his eyes soberly.
     “Why not?” he asked.      Jenny leaned forward on the couch and covered her eyes with her hand.     “Because you’re going to marry Jenny, and I’m going to be your bridesmaid. Me and Jenny worked it all out, ‘cause Christopher said you’ll be old and ugly before I can get married. And bridesmaid dresses are prettier than dumb old white.”     “You and Jenny worked this out?”     “Yes,” Melinda said. “Are you mad at me?”     “Oh no. It sounds like a very good plan. Thank you for finding me someone else.”     “You’re welcome.”

Hidden Magic Cover Reveal with a Giveaway

Hidden Magic

by 

Melanie Crouse

Release Date: 

Friday, November 24

From the back cover:

Jenny feels trapped by her overprotective family. When she has the opportunity to spend the summer with her sister, a small slice of freedom is all she's really hoping for. Instead she finds something else altogether:

Electricity.

That's what Jenny feels when she looks at Arram. She knows he’s drawn to her too, but electricity doesn't seem to be enough to entice the brilliant mage-in-training.

Stung, Jenny turns to Arram's former best friend, Jack. But Arram and Jack's rivalry is much darker than Jenny suspects, and so are Jack's intentions. Soon she's caught in a mystery of old murder, ancient prophecies, and magic hidden where no one has thought to look.

When Jenny uncovers a secret magic, she is offered two choices. Arram wants her to keep her safe. Jack wants to show her the easy way out. Whatever Jenny decides, her life will irrevocably change.Either way, freedom may be the one thing Jenny can never have.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Thanksgiving!

For Family Home Evening on Monday, we each filled out a list of 100 things we were grateful for. I was trying for some shock value, and thought the kids would freak out at the idea of 100 things, but they said, "OK, and started writing. I had to stop them. "Wait!" I said. "There are categories!"
We really only had to think of 10 things in each category.

I got the idea at the Red Headed Hostess, though I changed several of the categories. Here are the ones we used:

1. Things (Items) you are thankful for
2. People you are thankfrul for
3. Things people have made that you are thankful for
      *This was hard to explain, but I meant books, movies, songs, art...stuff like that
4. Memories you are thankful for, distilled into a word or two
5. Things about yourself that you are thankful for
 6. People who have gone before you that you are thankful for
7. Things you have a testimony of that you are thankful for (things you know)
8. Things that have happened this week that you are thankful for
9. Things about today that you are thankful for
10. Things about your family that you are thankful for

The Red Headed Hostess has a very cute paper you can print out for your 100 things.

I had thought of sharing some of the highlights from the 600+ things we came up with, but I changed my mind. Instead, I want to tell you how grateful I am for my family, and the great attitude they have when  I try out silly projects like this. I am incredibly blessed by their goodness every single day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Long Beach, California, Part 4

I got home late last night, and let me tell you, my trip to California already seems like it happened ages ago. So quick! Before it fades completely, here are the highlights from the last two days.

1. Roger's conference ended at noon, and I knew that whatever we decided to do, it would involve a lot of walking, so I didn't do much...a little hot tubbing, a doomed-from-the-start search for something to watch on TV, a few minutes of reading. And boy did I call it.

Our day went like this: Roger wanted to go to Huntington Beach, which was 1.5 hours away by bus, with one transfer. The concierge gave us one set of directions, but the bus driver told us he was wrong and gave us different directions. She was wrong, and we found ourselves stranded. I knew exactly what to do--wait for the next bus and continue on our merry way. Or take the route the bus driver thought we wanted, and see what happened next. But this was Roger's one chance for some fun, so, knowing exactly what he would decide, I let him take over. We walked. It was an adventure--a "let's see where this bike road takes us", "let's see where what's over this next hill," "darn it's too late for lunch, but here's a granola bar to tide you over until we find a place to eat dinner" kind of an adventure. We ended up on Seal Beach, and even found the delicious Crema Cafe again (it was closed. Sigh).

My favorite part of the adventure was watching a huge group of pelicans dive into the water over and over again. Plus the beach was awesome, although a cold wind was blowing. My least favorite part of the adventure was a muscle spasm in my left calf for the first leg of the journey. Luckily it went away before our walk home. 

2. Halloween in CA. From what I saw of Halloween in CA, it consisted of children going from store to store with their parents, and getting candy if any happened to be left. Then they all went out to dinner at a restaurant. Those poor kids--I wondered if they had any inkling of the bounties my own children were getting here in Maine.  Speaking of which--it was harder than I'd thought it would be to be away from my kids for Halloween. I MISSED THEM. It sounds like they had a ball though.

3. The next day we had to be up at 4:00 so we could get to the airport. We got on the plane without incident, and it wasn't until we landed in Chicago that we found out that shortly after our plane took off there was a shooting at the airport and the whole thing had to be evacuated. So glad I missed that, and so glad that we were able to make our connection and get home on time. I was terribly anxious to see my family, and although of course we could have survived without seeing each other for awhile, I'm more grateful than I could say that we got home a little earlier than I'd even expected. And you know what? I think they missed me too.