ONE TINY LIE pre-release excerpt! (and happy Victoria Day to my fellow Canadians)

Okay! It's time for an OTL excerpt! It's so hard for me to cut the chapter off where I did. I just want to share the entire thing but... only 21 more days! (per the little counter widget on the side of my blog, which you are more than welcome to steal!)

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Three ~ The Beast

There are about five seconds of calm and blissful ignorance after I crack my eyes open. Five seconds when I stare at the white ceiling looming not far from my face, as my eyes adjust to the dim light, as my brain just sits idly, waiting for the neurons to start firing.

And then the avalanche of confusion hits.

Where am I?

How did I get here?

What the hell happened?

I roll my head and find my sister’s face only a few inches away. “Kacey?” I whisper.

She moans, and my nostrils catch her rank breath. I cringe and turn away. Too quickly, it would seem, as a sharp, stabbing pain pierces my brain. I cringe a second time.

We’re in my dorm room. That much, I can quickly deduce by the cramped space and a few personal belongings. But I don’t remember coming home.

What do I remember?

My hand slides feebly up to my face to give it a good rub while I pick through my foggy memory, trying to piece together the night… Bits of blurry images flicker so faintly that I’m not sure they’re real. Shot after shot. After shot. Orange, blue, green . . . Kacey and me doing the robot on the dance floor? I groan and immediately wince at another throb of pain in my head. God, I hope not. From there . . . nothing. I remember nothing. How can I not remember anything?

Kacey moans again and I’m assaulted with another wave of that foulness. Swallowing several times, I accept that my breath can’t be much better and that I would kill for a bottle of water. I push my sheets off my body with slow, uncoordinated kicks.

And I frown as I take in my exposed flesh. Why am I . . . Oh, right. I was wearing that stupid toga last night. That doesn’t explain why I’m in nothing but panties now, but my head hurts too much to think about that . . . Whatever. It’s only my sister. And Reagan, but she’s a girl.

I struggle to sit up, groaning as I push my hands back through a mess of knotted hair, squeezing my temples to relieve some of the pressure. And why does my head feel ready to burst! I think if someone walked in here with an axe, I’d stretch my neck out for a clean cut.

There’s already a vile taste in my mouth when a surge of nausea hits me. I need water. Now. With shaky arms and legs, I rock my body around and down, not wasting time with the ladder and hoping I don’t step on Reagan’s head. If I can just make it to the mini fridge and chug a bottle of cold water, I’ll feel better. I know it…

 A second later, as my feet hit Reagan’s plush white shag rug by the bed, I get my second shock of the morning.

An ass. A male ass. And it’s not just an ass. It’s everything. There’s a very large, very naked guy sprawled out on Reagan’s bed, his legs and one arm hanging off the edge. By the mess of honey-blond hair poking out from beneath the covers in the corner, I can see that Reagan is buried somewhere in there.

I can’t stop staring. I’m standing there in nothing but underwear, the room is spinning, my mouth tastes like I drank sewer water, and I’m frozen, focused on this naked man in front of me. Partly because he’s the last thing I ever expected to see when I climbed down. Partly because he’s the first naked man I’ve ever seen. Partly because I’m wondering what the hell he’s doing here.

And . . . what is that on the top of his left ass cheek? My curiosity overtakes my shock as I step forward cautiously, hesitant to get too close. It looks like . . . a tattoo. It’s red and puffy. I’ve seen pictures of fresh tattoos and that’s what they look like. Like, really fresh. It’s a fancy scroll font and it reads “Irish.” Irish? I frown. Why is that word jogging my memory . . . ?

The floor creaks as my weight shifts, startling me. I abruptly back away. The sudden movement makes the crammed room spin. Water. Right. Now. With wobbly legs, I stumble toward the fridge and my robe that hangs on a hook by the door. Unfortunately, our dorm rooms are tiny and, let’s face it—I’m an ox in a closet when I’m nervous. My back slams into Reagan’s dresser, hitting it hard enough to knock over an array of her glass perfume bottles. I hold my breath, hoping the loud noise isn’t enough to wake up the naked giant.

No such luck.

My heart stops beating as I watch the guy’s head roll over to face out. He cracks open his eyes.

Oh. My. God.

It’s the Jell-O thief. It’s Ashton.

 AHHH... WHY is Ashton there? WHY is he naked and in her roommate's bed? WHAT HAPPENED? You can find out on June 11th, when ONE TINY LIE releases! 
Do you want it to magically appear on your e-reader? Click one of these links to pre-order it and, poof!

AMAZON |  BARNES & NOBLE | iBookstore  |  Books-A-Million  |  Bookish

Ten Tiny Breaths Audio book GIVE-A-WAY!

A few weeks ago, Simon & Schuster emailed to tell me that the audio book for TTB would be releasing shortly.

What?

Audio book?

I've never listened to an audio book before and now MY book was being made into one!



Have you ever listened to an audio book?  Here's a sample...





Want the whole book?

Well... here's your chance! I received codes for a few free copies. I'm keeping one for myself. It'll be perfect for when I jump in my car and drive twenty-four hours to Florida, because I'm really missing those armadillos and lizards right now. Even the gators.

And this pelican.

 

Basically, I'm looking for any excuse to leave for Florida AND listen to Ten Tiny Breaths.

Anyone else need an excuse to take a long drive? I'm giving you one! Enter for your chance to win one (1) of two (2) Ten Tiny Breaths audio books. I'll draw the names in one week. GO!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

ONE TINY LIE -- One Tiny Teaser to kick things off!

 

So, we are less than a month away from the release of ONE TINY LIE! I am typing from my rental home in Florida, on the tail end of my family vacation. I have to return to reality tomorrow. It's sad... but it means we're that much closer to JUNE 11th! Here's a little tiny teaser for the book. I'm posting an excerpt next week so stay tuned!

 

 

You can pre-order OTL here

Causal Enchantment Cover Re-designs and ANOMALY cover REVEAL!

I started talking about a cover re-design for my YA Paranormal fantasy series back in November... and here we are, in May. That should tell you how hard this decision was to make. I love my original covers. They're colorful and unique.

BUT...

I LOVE the new ones that Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations designed for me. We worked together to come up with a theme that fits beautifully with the series. Sarah is brilliant, in case you guys didn't  already know. Give her room to "create" and she will wow you.

So, now I have 3 cover re-designs AND the cover and description for the fourth and final book, ANOMALY, to share with you!

 ANATHEMA:

ASYLUM:

 

ALLEGIANCE 

 

What do you think? I think Sarah did a FANTASTIC job!!

Now... for the cover and description of ANOMALY, coming this fall (no official date set. I could be persuaded with copious amounts of chocolate to set one. But, then I'd have to work all of that chocolate off my a$$ and that would delay my writing... so, it's best that you don't bribe me).

Description:

She was merely a pawn in their game.

And then something happened.

Once the fragile, naïve human, Evangeline has become altogether … different.

A being who holds formidable power, she may be the key to changing the course of fate.

Or she could be the final nail in the world’s coffin.

But Evangeline doesn’t know exactly what she is, what she can do. She knows only that she has to stop an enemy far worse than the Sentinel and the sorceresses—one driven by revenge.

And he’s hunting the man she loves.

As Evangeline fights to keep Caden alive and the human population from eradication, she can’t help but sense the imminent doom.

Find out if fate will prevail in the harrowing conclusion to the Causal Enchantment series.