Happy Book Birthday to Amy Christine Parker

Amy's book, Gated, has been released into the wild today. And to celebrate, I am hosting a giveaway for my books as well as hers in a huge contest. Check out the prizes below, and make sure you enter on the right hand side of the page. 

One winner receives all of the following - autographed paperback of Legasea and bookmark, ecopy of Spirit World, Spirit World bookmark and sticker, The Caged Graves bookmark, autographed bookmarks by J. A. Souders for Renegade and Revelations, autographed copy of Gated, Gated shirt, bookmarks, and owl bracelet.

 

Cut Scene from Spirit World

Spirit World is Riesa's story, but in earlier drafts, her best friend Connor took a front seat in many of the scenes. As I brought the story forward, Connor slipped into the background more and more. Here is a scene that I still believe happened in her story, but it got pulled out so I could focus on other things. It's the story of her first kiss.

***

Connor rolled on the living room floor laughing, empty soda cans at his side. I sat cross-legged next to him doubled over in hysterics. Our homework lay on the coffee table, set aside for more important things, like fun. “I’d totally forgotten about that,” he said.

“That’s because you weren’t the one waiting outside the school for two hours in the middle of the night, in the freezing cold with a backpack full of clothes and a teddy bear in your arms.”

 

His body shook with more laughter. “You came and got me though, and after wandering around town for an hour, we got too cold and had to go to the fire station and ask for a ride home.”

“And we told them to bring us here,” I said, my words tumbling on top of his, “because we figured we’d get in less trouble than at your house.”

“I remember now.” His laughter faded and turned into a kind of quiet happiness. “It was the first night I ever stayed here.”

“Was it?” I asked.

“Yeah, it was late so your mom called my parents and told them she’d bring me home in the morning.”

I smiled, reliving the feeling that night had given me. He had been willing to run away with me, knowing we wouldn’t actually go anywhere, and he would have to bear the wrath of his parents the next morning. Not everyone has a friend like that.

“There’s one thing I’d never forget about that night though,” he added thoughtfully.

“What do you … ooh.”

The memories clicked together and I knew exactly what he was talking about. Long after my mom had gone to sleep, Connor and I sat in the living room talking about nothing in particular. We were twelve and both fairly innocent, so I was surprised when he asked me, “Have you ever kissed anyone?”

“No,” I answered. “Have you?”

“No.” A moment of silence. “Do you want to try it? You know, for practice?”

“Okay. What do I do?”

“Just close your eyes.”

I did, and for about two or three seconds, I felt his lips pressing warm and soft against mine.

Then he pulled back and curled up on the couch under his blankets. I went upstairs, and we never talked about it again.

At the time, it hadn’t seemed like such a big deal. But the memory of it now, coupled with the sweet look in his eyes, sent confusion rippling through my mind.

I looked down at the floor, and he changed the subject. “I can’t believe we actually thought we could run away.”

I picked at an odd-colored section of carpet, wishing I could have that innocence back, just for a moment. “We thought we could do a lot of things.”

 

***

 

If you'd like to win a copy of Spirit World, along with some other great prizes, check out the Rafflecopter on the side.

Short Story: Mars's Story

When I was writing Spirit World, I did a few shorts so I knew the background on my characters. This one is for Mars, Irish, and V.

1964

Kenny doesn’t remember coming to the orphanage. He has always been there. And for all he knows, he always will be.

Every day he stares out his window, through the bars, to the other kids playing basketball. He notices the asphalt is broken and the weeds poke through. Wonders what it feels like to run on it. Knows that it’s pointless to wonder. They would never let him play. Not anymore.

He used to play with them, but when he was six, he asked them about the strange voices in his head, and what they did whenever they heard the voices. They ran away and told The Ladies.

The Ladies gave him his own room with special windows, because he scared the other kids.

He is ten now, and allowed to come out for meals and supervised recreation, but he doesn’t. The other kids call him “Crazy Kenny” and sing mean made-up songs. So he stays in his room and reads.

The Ladies get him any books he wants from the library. They feel bad he doesn’t have any friends, but they’re scared of him too.

He reads mostly ghost stories until a new girl, who doesn’t know his nickname, comes up to his window and says, “Hi.”

He says nothing. He doesn’t usually talk to the other kids and has forgotten how.

“I’m Irish. The other kids won’t let me play. Will you come out?”

He does. They sit on the broken asphalt, playing jacks.

He practices talking with her. Discovers she makes him good at it.

The basketball rolls through their game and a kid yells, “Hey, Crazy Kenny!” holding his arms out for the ball.

Kenny throws it back, but then Irish asks, “Why did he call you that?”

He shrugs. “Ghosts talk to me.” He had figured that much out from the library books.

“Really?” She sounds amazed, not scared.

It’s a first for Kenny, so he tells her all about Sam and Lily, the two ghosts who talk to him.

She listens, laughs in all the right places.

He’s happy. Maybe for the first time ever.

She tells him stories about her favorite planet, Mars. How she would like to live there one day, what she thinks it will be like.

Really she just wants to escape. Her life has been very wrong lately. That’s why she loves his stories, and why she loves to tell hers.

A few weeks later, a knock sounds on Kenny’s door. It’s Irish, telling him The Ladies have found an uncle, and she’s going to live with him.

His world crashes.

For a solid month, Kenny stays in his room.

When he comes out, he asks The Ladies to get him some books on Mars.

He reads them all, the factual ones, as well as the made-up stories. The ones with people living there are his favorite. That way, he can imagine he’s there too. With Irish.

He sits re-reading Podkayne of Mars and hears another knock at his door. It’s a lady. Not one of The Ladies. Not as old as them either.

“Hello, Kenny,” she says. “My name is Vermillion. Can I come in?”

“Yes.”

She sits in his comfy chair by the window. He sits on the bed, legs dangling over the edge.

“I want to talk to you about the voices you hear.”

He rolls his eyes. He’s heard this before. The Ladies used to send strange people in here all the time to talk. He thought they had stopped.

“Your friend Irish told her uncle about you, and he called me.”

He almost cries, afraid they’re going to send him away for scaring Irish, even though he didn’t. “I’m not crazy,” he pleads.

“I know you’re not. I’ve come to help. Irish’s uncle had a brother, Calvin.” His name chokes in her throat. “He was gifted like you. Like me, too.” Her eyebrows lift while she waits for him to understand what she’s telling him.

Slowly, he accepts the truth. “You believe me?”

She doesn’t answer his question. Instead, she asks a new one. “Would you like to come live with me?”

“Why?” He’s still suspicious.

“Because I can teach you all about the Spirit World.”

He’s intrigued. “Will I get to see Irish again?”

“If you like.”

That settles it. But he has one more question. “Can I call you V?”

She considers it. She’s never really felt like a Vermillion. And she wasn’t Millie anymore either. “Yes, I think I would like that very much.” She stands and holds out her hand. “Are you ready, Kenny?”

“Call me Mars.”

And they walk out the door.

Big Announcement

This week my novel, Spirit World, was acquired by Entranced Publishing. Here is the description:

Riesa Adair knows that hearing voices is not a sign of sanity, so somewhere between her summer in a mental institution and her stepfather’s brutal attempt at an exorcism, she learned to keep quiet about it. But just because she denies the voices, it doesn’t mean they’ve gone away.

In fact, when a trio of Ghosts yank her into their world, Riesa realizes just how far they'll go to reach her. And they're the helpful ones. On the bad side, a megalomaniac Fire Spirit has taken an interest in her, because according to the Ghosts, Riesa's part of an ancient prophecy that's granted her special powers. Her ability to shift between worlds is exactly what the Fire Spirit needs to break through to the human world and gain control of it. Even worse, her abilities complement his. He's fire and she's ice. Combined, they would be unstoppable.

Unwilling to join him, but unable to resist the power which could end her stepfather’s “cures,” Riesa wavers. But when the Fire Spirit grows impatient and kidnaps her best friend, the one boy who loved her even when everyone else thought she was crazy, her choice becomes clear. It's time to see what happens when fire and ice collide.

I am very excited about this and will post the release date and cover as soon as I have them available.