Congratulations to the following 3 authors, who have each won a 5-page critique from me!
They are:
1. #4 FERAL PRIME, YA Science Fiction
2. #27 THE SORCEROR'S WARNING, MG Fantasy
3. #29 TIME PASSAGES, YA Contemporary Fantasy
Winners: Please email me at authoress.edits@gmail.com for submission instructions.
A huge thanks to everyone who entered--and keep those critiques coming!
Miss Snark's First Victim
Showing posts with label grab my heart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grab my heart. Show all posts
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Grab My Heart Critique Guidelines
The entries are up, so have at it! I couldn't help but notice the hefty amount of fantasy included here. (That's not a complaint! I mean, I write fantasy. Just an interesting observation!)
I won't be leaving critique, but I WILL be choosing my 3 favorites, each of which will receive a 5-page critique (privately). Look for that announcement tomorrow!
Guidelines for Critique on MSFV:
*I can't possibly read every comment. If you ever see a comment that is truly snarky, please email me. I count on your help.
I won't be leaving critique, but I WILL be choosing my 3 favorites, each of which will receive a 5-page critique (privately). Look for that announcement tomorrow!
Guidelines for Critique on MSFV:
- Please leave your critique for each entry in the comment box for that entry.
- Please choose a screen name to sign your comments. The screen name DOES NOT have to be your real name; however, it needs to be an identifiable name. ("Anonymous" is not a name.)
- Critiques should be honest but kind, helpful but sensitive.
- Critiques that attack the writer or are couched in unkind words will be deleted.*
- Cheerleading IS NOT THE SAME as critiquing. Please don't cheerlead.
- Having said that, it is perfectly acceptable to say positive things about an entry that you feel is strong. To make these positive comments more helpful, say why it's a strong entry.
- ENTRANTS: As your way of "giving back", please critique a minimum of 5 other entries.
*I can't possibly read every comment. If you ever see a comment that is truly snarky, please email me. I count on your help.
Grab My Heart #36
TITLE: Hunting Legends
GENRE: YA Urban Fantasy
Raid has no idea he’s falling for the girl of his nightmares when Azrielle, a human-cockatrice hybrid with a lethal gaze, infiltrates his elite squad of teenage monster hunters. Her objective is to stop the rising body count—not flirt with the enemy. If her identity is exposed, she’s dead.
Fastest way to a guy’s heart is a bullet between the third and fourth rib. Knife works too, but it’s slower, messier, and requires close range. I don’t need either. I’ve got something better.
Static crackles over the comm in my ear as I tail a group of humans creeping through the French Quarter ruins. If they see me, they’re dead. Dressed in black gear, the Venators think they blend with the dark as if night vision goggles aren’t a thing, glowing green in the middle of the road through my NVGs. They should know better than to hunt us in our territory. No way they’re reclaiming this city. It belongs to Legends, ‘monsters’ like me. More than eighty miles from the nearest functioning civilization, light pollution can’t touch us out in the Dead Zone.
Clouds cloak the sky, hiding the moon and stars, threatening luke-cold January rain. Won’t be enough to drop the temperature. Sweat collects at the nape of my neck, humidity weighing down the air in my lungs. I miss snow and ice.
These humans are all that stand between me and freedom. Seven bodies left. I already eliminated the other two units. Kills still fresh in my system, phantoms of their dying heartbeats echo in my chest. Finish this one last mission and my service debt—or rather my father’s—will be fulfilled. Do this and I’m done. No more Shade and their self-righteous crusade of noble intentions that lead straight to the graveyard.
GENRE: YA Urban Fantasy
Raid has no idea he’s falling for the girl of his nightmares when Azrielle, a human-cockatrice hybrid with a lethal gaze, infiltrates his elite squad of teenage monster hunters. Her objective is to stop the rising body count—not flirt with the enemy. If her identity is exposed, she’s dead.
Fastest way to a guy’s heart is a bullet between the third and fourth rib. Knife works too, but it’s slower, messier, and requires close range. I don’t need either. I’ve got something better.
Static crackles over the comm in my ear as I tail a group of humans creeping through the French Quarter ruins. If they see me, they’re dead. Dressed in black gear, the Venators think they blend with the dark as if night vision goggles aren’t a thing, glowing green in the middle of the road through my NVGs. They should know better than to hunt us in our territory. No way they’re reclaiming this city. It belongs to Legends, ‘monsters’ like me. More than eighty miles from the nearest functioning civilization, light pollution can’t touch us out in the Dead Zone.
Clouds cloak the sky, hiding the moon and stars, threatening luke-cold January rain. Won’t be enough to drop the temperature. Sweat collects at the nape of my neck, humidity weighing down the air in my lungs. I miss snow and ice.
These humans are all that stand between me and freedom. Seven bodies left. I already eliminated the other two units. Kills still fresh in my system, phantoms of their dying heartbeats echo in my chest. Finish this one last mission and my service debt—or rather my father’s—will be fulfilled. Do this and I’m done. No more Shade and their self-righteous crusade of noble intentions that lead straight to the graveyard.
Grab My Heart #35
TITLE: How to Save a Friend
GENRE: MG Contemporary
Sixth grade was supposed to give Felicity bravery. It gives her a mess. The new president of the Northern States wants to deport the ‘Southies’, immigrants from the Southern States.
Then Felicity gets in the middle of it. She makes friends with a wisecracking Southie named Madrid. Staying friends requires bravery—or foolhardiness, with the imminent deportation.
But she can’t just walk away.
HOW TO SAVE A FRIEND is middle-grade contemporary fiction with a twist. It is 40,000 words.
Some people say it began when the election did—when every person in the country heard and saw who was going for the top. Others say it started when the final candidates were picked, and the promises started to happen.
For me, it started when I came to breakfast one morning, following the smell of scrambled eggs. My parents were smiling, and I knew what had happened. I knew before I looked at the newspaper dangling from Dad’s grip. I knew before I read the blaring headline.
COREY BARDATOKEN WINS IN LANDSLIDE!
In presidential election, the country chooses The Honest Way.
It was my first real election, since I was seven during the last one. I was eleven then, my twelfth birthday drawing nearer as fifth grade drew to a close. But though I watched the men debate on television, I had no clue what was really going on. I barely knew who the candidates were, much less their campaigns.
My parents had voted for him. They thought he was the best option, and fooled themselves into thinking that meant good.
At my school, if the election came up at all, everyone would just say what their parents had said. Almost all the kids said their parents were voting for the Bard.
The Bard was his nickname.
GENRE: MG Contemporary
Sixth grade was supposed to give Felicity bravery. It gives her a mess. The new president of the Northern States wants to deport the ‘Southies’, immigrants from the Southern States.
Then Felicity gets in the middle of it. She makes friends with a wisecracking Southie named Madrid. Staying friends requires bravery—or foolhardiness, with the imminent deportation.
But she can’t just walk away.
HOW TO SAVE A FRIEND is middle-grade contemporary fiction with a twist. It is 40,000 words.
Some people say it began when the election did—when every person in the country heard and saw who was going for the top. Others say it started when the final candidates were picked, and the promises started to happen.
For me, it started when I came to breakfast one morning, following the smell of scrambled eggs. My parents were smiling, and I knew what had happened. I knew before I looked at the newspaper dangling from Dad’s grip. I knew before I read the blaring headline.
COREY BARDATOKEN WINS IN LANDSLIDE!
In presidential election, the country chooses The Honest Way.
It was my first real election, since I was seven during the last one. I was eleven then, my twelfth birthday drawing nearer as fifth grade drew to a close. But though I watched the men debate on television, I had no clue what was really going on. I barely knew who the candidates were, much less their campaigns.
My parents had voted for him. They thought he was the best option, and fooled themselves into thinking that meant good.
At my school, if the election came up at all, everyone would just say what their parents had said. Almost all the kids said their parents were voting for the Bard.
The Bard was his nickname.
Grab My Heart #34
TITLE: Next To Me
GENRE: YA Gothic Ghost
What if you made a promise to someone but 170 years later, you broke it?
A small blackboard sign outside O’Neill’s Irish Pub, on the opposite side of the road, caught my eye. It read: Trouble sleeping?
“Ah! Yer man? He’s proving right popular there today. Straight on and down the stairs,” he said pointing straight ahead. “Now, would ye care for a pint or a bit of carvery?”
“No, thank you,” we replied in unison.
Cautiously we made our way down a set of narrow wooden stairs and noticed the door at the bottom. The lighting was poor, and the bulb emanated a reddish glow that reminded me of an Indian restaurant we used to frequent regularly on Lexington Avenue that had since shut down. God, how I missed that butter chicken dish.
I put my hand to my nose; the stench of urine was overpowering. Mom made a sick face and pointed to a sign saying ‘toilets.’ Ugh.
Softly, Mom pushed down the handle of the door and stepped inside the room, I followed her and spied a massive man with his back to us. Empty cans from a party the night before littered the floor and the room stank of stale beer.
His black hair was shaved to the scalp and his head was shaped like a full moon. He rocked gently back and forth in a trance-like motion as he talked to someone behind a pillar; hidden from view. I could hear her soft sobs and I watched as he comforted her. I felt awkward. We stood there for a few minutes until Mom decided the stench was too awful to bear and stomped over to a chair not far from where the others sat.
The man instantly swung around to face us.
GENRE: YA Gothic Ghost
What if you made a promise to someone but 170 years later, you broke it?
A small blackboard sign outside O’Neill’s Irish Pub, on the opposite side of the road, caught my eye. It read: Trouble sleeping?
“Ah! Yer man? He’s proving right popular there today. Straight on and down the stairs,” he said pointing straight ahead. “Now, would ye care for a pint or a bit of carvery?”
“No, thank you,” we replied in unison.
Cautiously we made our way down a set of narrow wooden stairs and noticed the door at the bottom. The lighting was poor, and the bulb emanated a reddish glow that reminded me of an Indian restaurant we used to frequent regularly on Lexington Avenue that had since shut down. God, how I missed that butter chicken dish.
I put my hand to my nose; the stench of urine was overpowering. Mom made a sick face and pointed to a sign saying ‘toilets.’ Ugh.
Softly, Mom pushed down the handle of the door and stepped inside the room, I followed her and spied a massive man with his back to us. Empty cans from a party the night before littered the floor and the room stank of stale beer.
His black hair was shaved to the scalp and his head was shaped like a full moon. He rocked gently back and forth in a trance-like motion as he talked to someone behind a pillar; hidden from view. I could hear her soft sobs and I watched as he comforted her. I felt awkward. We stood there for a few minutes until Mom decided the stench was too awful to bear and stomped over to a chair not far from where the others sat.
The man instantly swung around to face us.
Grab My Heart #33
TITLE: The Quicksilver Conspiracy
GENRE: Adult Fantasy
When 16-year-old Kira’s best friend dies, Kira - convinced she is still alive - goes to the castle where she disappeared to rescue her. But to save her friend, Kira must kill an undead spirit, a choice that will destroy the magic protecting their city and Kira’s one chance to erase a memory she is desperate to forget.
“Come on, G. No one is going to die tonight.” Jerril Menkaure made another swipe for the ring of cast-iron keys, her electric blue nail polish leaving a trail of iridescent sparks in the dim sitting room.
Her goyle’s ears flattened against his head, and he hopped backwards, barring the way to the locked door her brother had strictly ordered her to stay away from. In his hard, dark eyes, the reflection of candle flames flickered.
“Nothing terrible happened when you broke me out of my room, did it? No monsters showed up then.”
Talons clutched the key ring tighter to the goyle’s chest. A string of harsh, staccato chirps burst from his mouth.
“But nothing’s here now. It’ll just take us a couple minutes in the library. In and out. I promise. If you can’t smell it -”
A fierce hiss startled her to silence.
“Yes, I know everything here stinks to you. But trust me, if it’s in there, it’ll smell worse than anything else. You can find it before she shows up.”
G’s eyes bulged, and with a snap, his leathery wings spread to their full span.
“So now you’re just going to leave me to do this alone? You know if Jord said to stay out, that’s a good sign this is where he’s hiding it.”
With an explosive pop, G shifted into a foot-high woman with long black hair, bloodshot eyes, and fangs curling over her lips.
GENRE: Adult Fantasy
When 16-year-old Kira’s best friend dies, Kira - convinced she is still alive - goes to the castle where she disappeared to rescue her. But to save her friend, Kira must kill an undead spirit, a choice that will destroy the magic protecting their city and Kira’s one chance to erase a memory she is desperate to forget.
“Come on, G. No one is going to die tonight.” Jerril Menkaure made another swipe for the ring of cast-iron keys, her electric blue nail polish leaving a trail of iridescent sparks in the dim sitting room.
Her goyle’s ears flattened against his head, and he hopped backwards, barring the way to the locked door her brother had strictly ordered her to stay away from. In his hard, dark eyes, the reflection of candle flames flickered.
“Nothing terrible happened when you broke me out of my room, did it? No monsters showed up then.”
Talons clutched the key ring tighter to the goyle’s chest. A string of harsh, staccato chirps burst from his mouth.
“But nothing’s here now. It’ll just take us a couple minutes in the library. In and out. I promise. If you can’t smell it -”
A fierce hiss startled her to silence.
“Yes, I know everything here stinks to you. But trust me, if it’s in there, it’ll smell worse than anything else. You can find it before she shows up.”
G’s eyes bulged, and with a snap, his leathery wings spread to their full span.
“So now you’re just going to leave me to do this alone? You know if Jord said to stay out, that’s a good sign this is where he’s hiding it.”
With an explosive pop, G shifted into a foot-high woman with long black hair, bloodshot eyes, and fangs curling over her lips.
Grab My Heart #32
TITLE: Strange Occurrences
GENRE: YA Fantasy
Spooky just wants to lay low and get through a program for delinquents. But boot camp exceeds her worst expectations when an ancient god emerges from the wilderness and kidnaps her for entertainment. She strikes a deal for her freedom that either kill her or deliver everything she’s ever wanted.
Something brushed Spooky’s elbow. Luke slipped a piece of paper into the palm of her hand.
A note. A passed note, like the ones she’d shuttered back and forth between two friends in her freshman year English class.
It was old school, but she couldn’t help but smile. The camp confiscated personal devices and restricted the use of pens, so this was the first message she’d received all summer. Luke would have had to think ahead about giving her this. She wanted to read his face as much as the words he had put on paper, but she kept her eyes trained on the front of the cafeteria.
“And that’s our inspirational quote for this evening!" Izeah Dodgson said into the mic. His bald head was as shiny as the lacquered wood floors that Spooky herself polished twice a week. "Now, I have one more announcement, and I don’t want anyone to be alarmed: last night's patrol came across an animal inside the fence. It was not definitively identified, but it was large enough to cause some concern. Now, now.” He raised his hands as if to quiet the room of campers, none of whom had made a sound. “This is exactly why we have the fence in the first place.”
The fence wasn’t really designed to keep things out. Spooky had seen the exposed bars and chain-link before her parents brought her through the gates. The plastic sheeting that made it impossible to climb only ran along the inside.
GENRE: YA Fantasy
Spooky just wants to lay low and get through a program for delinquents. But boot camp exceeds her worst expectations when an ancient god emerges from the wilderness and kidnaps her for entertainment. She strikes a deal for her freedom that either kill her or deliver everything she’s ever wanted.
Something brushed Spooky’s elbow. Luke slipped a piece of paper into the palm of her hand.
A note. A passed note, like the ones she’d shuttered back and forth between two friends in her freshman year English class.
It was old school, but she couldn’t help but smile. The camp confiscated personal devices and restricted the use of pens, so this was the first message she’d received all summer. Luke would have had to think ahead about giving her this. She wanted to read his face as much as the words he had put on paper, but she kept her eyes trained on the front of the cafeteria.
“And that’s our inspirational quote for this evening!" Izeah Dodgson said into the mic. His bald head was as shiny as the lacquered wood floors that Spooky herself polished twice a week. "Now, I have one more announcement, and I don’t want anyone to be alarmed: last night's patrol came across an animal inside the fence. It was not definitively identified, but it was large enough to cause some concern. Now, now.” He raised his hands as if to quiet the room of campers, none of whom had made a sound. “This is exactly why we have the fence in the first place.”
The fence wasn’t really designed to keep things out. Spooky had seen the exposed bars and chain-link before her parents brought her through the gates. The plastic sheeting that made it impossible to climb only ran along the inside.
Grab My Heart #31
TITLE: CANDLE IN THE WIND
GENRE: YA thriller, diverse
For most of her life, seventeen-year-old Espie Hernandez’s life has revolved around El Padre and the cult-like compound he rules. She prides herself on being loyal, and truly believes, as El Padre preaches, that those outside the compound, The Others, want to destroy them. But then she sees things that make her question El Padre. Soon she finds herself in the unthinkable situation of being banished from the compound forever unless she can bring proof of the weapons The Others are stockpiling to use against them. When she finds The Others she also finds that nothing is quite how it had been portrayed. Who is it that wants to use the weapons? The Others, or El Padre? Espie has to decide who to trust, her leader, or Phoenix, the Other boy who offers her kindness. Time is running out. As everything she’s been taught is torn apart, she still needs to find the strength to look inside for what really matters.
Why did I come again?
The old building creeped me out, but I had no idea that what was about to happen there would change my life, my whole world, forever. Weather-beaten, the wood sagged as if resigned to its fate. Shadows flirted through cracks in the boarded up windows. The house slumped in defeat. I shivered, pulling my hoodie closer but warmth eluded me. The desert nights were brutal even within El Compuesto, the compound where we were confined. My sister Xochil had snuck out earlier, which only increased the anxiety growing inside me.
No longer did it feel right to sneak out after curfew. Doubts resurfaced. Doubts I didn’t want to address. I only wanted to save my sister from doing something stupid.
Why did the leaders insist we had to share a vidcom?
GENRE: YA thriller, diverse
For most of her life, seventeen-year-old Espie Hernandez’s life has revolved around El Padre and the cult-like compound he rules. She prides herself on being loyal, and truly believes, as El Padre preaches, that those outside the compound, The Others, want to destroy them. But then she sees things that make her question El Padre. Soon she finds herself in the unthinkable situation of being banished from the compound forever unless she can bring proof of the weapons The Others are stockpiling to use against them. When she finds The Others she also finds that nothing is quite how it had been portrayed. Who is it that wants to use the weapons? The Others, or El Padre? Espie has to decide who to trust, her leader, or Phoenix, the Other boy who offers her kindness. Time is running out. As everything she’s been taught is torn apart, she still needs to find the strength to look inside for what really matters.
Why did I come again?
The old building creeped me out, but I had no idea that what was about to happen there would change my life, my whole world, forever. Weather-beaten, the wood sagged as if resigned to its fate. Shadows flirted through cracks in the boarded up windows. The house slumped in defeat. I shivered, pulling my hoodie closer but warmth eluded me. The desert nights were brutal even within El Compuesto, the compound where we were confined. My sister Xochil had snuck out earlier, which only increased the anxiety growing inside me.
No longer did it feel right to sneak out after curfew. Doubts resurfaced. Doubts I didn’t want to address. I only wanted to save my sister from doing something stupid.
Why did the leaders insist we had to share a vidcom?
Grab My Heart #30
TITLE: The Salem Witch Detectives
GENRE: Adult Fantasy
Merilyn Bookwright would prefer to hang the witch hunters plaguing Salem, but witches rarely get what they want in colonial New England. Yet the sheriffs searching for witches have forgotten the oldest wives' tale. Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it.
Merilyn Bookwright has never wanted to kill anyone, much less in front of her daughter, but the shout, "Be careful! There's a witch on the loose!" reminds her that neither God nor fate has ever shown much concern for her wishes. Taking them into her own hands, Merilyn pulls Gwenifer close, while the Puritans skitter away from the sheriffs, each person staring at their neighbors with expressions that all ask: "Who?"
For those few seconds, everyone is a suspect. Anyone could be next on the judges' list.
To lessen the chance she's put on it, Merilyn shrieks, "Please save us from the witch, Sheriff Corwin!" and faints alongside Gwenifer, who mimics her mother without instruction. It's what every witch learns before they can be trusted with magic. Although her daughter's heart beats hard enough for Merilyn to feel through her hug, Gwenifer wiggles forward to spy from beneath her bonnet as well.
The ever-smiling Sheriff Corwin and his team of witch hunters sweep past, checking the other women in the marketplace. The plain wool dress so many wear hides the wolf among the sheep until the accused reveals herself by running toward the docks.
"Don't let her reach a boat!" Sheriff Corwin says, charging after his prey, but even the largest sailors scatter before her, no more willing to fight a witch than a mouse would a serpent.
GENRE: Adult Fantasy
Merilyn Bookwright would prefer to hang the witch hunters plaguing Salem, but witches rarely get what they want in colonial New England. Yet the sheriffs searching for witches have forgotten the oldest wives' tale. Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it.
Merilyn Bookwright has never wanted to kill anyone, much less in front of her daughter, but the shout, "Be careful! There's a witch on the loose!" reminds her that neither God nor fate has ever shown much concern for her wishes. Taking them into her own hands, Merilyn pulls Gwenifer close, while the Puritans skitter away from the sheriffs, each person staring at their neighbors with expressions that all ask: "Who?"
For those few seconds, everyone is a suspect. Anyone could be next on the judges' list.
To lessen the chance she's put on it, Merilyn shrieks, "Please save us from the witch, Sheriff Corwin!" and faints alongside Gwenifer, who mimics her mother without instruction. It's what every witch learns before they can be trusted with magic. Although her daughter's heart beats hard enough for Merilyn to feel through her hug, Gwenifer wiggles forward to spy from beneath her bonnet as well.
The ever-smiling Sheriff Corwin and his team of witch hunters sweep past, checking the other women in the marketplace. The plain wool dress so many wear hides the wolf among the sheep until the accused reveals herself by running toward the docks.
"Don't let her reach a boat!" Sheriff Corwin says, charging after his prey, but even the largest sailors scatter before her, no more willing to fight a witch than a mouse would a serpent.
Grab My Heart #29
TITLE: TIME PASSAGES
GENRE: YA Contemporary Fantasy
ABOUT TIME + THE GOOD PLACE. With her guardian angel’s help, 16-year-old Gemma changes the past and saves her murdered boyfriend—but doesn’t anticipate bringing his killer back too. Now, she must thwart the murderer and reclaim her lost love before her old memories fade, along with her happy ending.
Exiting the BART station, I book it three blocks to the deli, late for work again. A breeze too cold for August blows in my face, making me hunch into my jacket, and low-hanging clouds, floating overhead like clumps of dirty cotton balls, do nothing to lighten my mood.
This early, the taquerias and fruit markets along Mission Street are still dark, but light glows from Poulsen’s Bakery. The delicious aroma drifting into the street reminds my stomach I skipped breakfast this morning. Baking bread and spices. Cinnamon.
A memory hits me. Ben and me and a bag of cinnamon rolls. “Still warm, Gemma.” Buttery and sweet, we cut first period to eat them in the park. A cop car drives by and we duck behind the picnic table, fingers entwined, choking back the laughter. It’s so vivid, I’m back there, feeling Ben’s cinnamon-scented breath on my cheek, tasting the sugar on his lips. Remembering feels like a stab to the gut now, raw and fresh, because Ben is gone.
“Good morning,”
The voice comes out of nowhere, jarring me back to the present. A boy pads along beside me. Tall and dark, a ring of keys jingles on his belt loop.
We’re alone on the street, with the deli still several doors down. I have zero interest in talking, so I smile, nod and walk faster. Take the hint, dude.
Nope. He quickens his pace to keep up. Why do boys think they can invade a girl’s space anytime they feel like it?
GENRE: YA Contemporary Fantasy
ABOUT TIME + THE GOOD PLACE. With her guardian angel’s help, 16-year-old Gemma changes the past and saves her murdered boyfriend—but doesn’t anticipate bringing his killer back too. Now, she must thwart the murderer and reclaim her lost love before her old memories fade, along with her happy ending.
Exiting the BART station, I book it three blocks to the deli, late for work again. A breeze too cold for August blows in my face, making me hunch into my jacket, and low-hanging clouds, floating overhead like clumps of dirty cotton balls, do nothing to lighten my mood.
This early, the taquerias and fruit markets along Mission Street are still dark, but light glows from Poulsen’s Bakery. The delicious aroma drifting into the street reminds my stomach I skipped breakfast this morning. Baking bread and spices. Cinnamon.
A memory hits me. Ben and me and a bag of cinnamon rolls. “Still warm, Gemma.” Buttery and sweet, we cut first period to eat them in the park. A cop car drives by and we duck behind the picnic table, fingers entwined, choking back the laughter. It’s so vivid, I’m back there, feeling Ben’s cinnamon-scented breath on my cheek, tasting the sugar on his lips. Remembering feels like a stab to the gut now, raw and fresh, because Ben is gone.
“Good morning,”
The voice comes out of nowhere, jarring me back to the present. A boy pads along beside me. Tall and dark, a ring of keys jingles on his belt loop.
We’re alone on the street, with the deli still several doors down. I have zero interest in talking, so I smile, nod and walk faster. Take the hint, dude.
Nope. He quickens his pace to keep up. Why do boys think they can invade a girl’s space anytime they feel like it?
Grab My Heart #28
TITLE: The Forgotten Name
GENRE: YA Fantasy
When Quinn Garner was ten years old, he traveled to another world and stole an evil king’s magic. Seven years later, Quinn is forced to return to face the king when he rises again. Only, Quinn has no memory of this other world or the strange magic he once controlled.
The King of Nightmares stared out at a crumbling world from the highest point of a castle in the sky, awaiting news from his spies that even then were scouring the world for signs of the thief. Savior they called him. Hero. As if he was anything more than a common thief, as if he’d done anything short of stealing their world, tossing them aside as if they were nothing.
The thief had come like any other, in the dark of the night. His legend spread fast and the world bent to his whims. The magic that the king had spread through the world – millions of dark threads that let him see and feel and hear everything, keeping the world and its people under his control – had slipped away. Not one by one. Not slowly, over time, as the king worked to keep them. But overnight. All at once. One day, he was ruler, king, god. The next… he was nothing.
The king’s fists tightened as he turned to pace. He would be nothing no longer. He was still weak, still without power, but he was so much more than a simple thief. He knew better now. Years had passed and he was stronger, smarter. He understood his enemy. He knew what he had to do. It’d all be so simple, in the end.
It was time for the king to rise again, and the thief — the hero — would lose this time.
GENRE: YA Fantasy
When Quinn Garner was ten years old, he traveled to another world and stole an evil king’s magic. Seven years later, Quinn is forced to return to face the king when he rises again. Only, Quinn has no memory of this other world or the strange magic he once controlled.
The King of Nightmares stared out at a crumbling world from the highest point of a castle in the sky, awaiting news from his spies that even then were scouring the world for signs of the thief. Savior they called him. Hero. As if he was anything more than a common thief, as if he’d done anything short of stealing their world, tossing them aside as if they were nothing.
The thief had come like any other, in the dark of the night. His legend spread fast and the world bent to his whims. The magic that the king had spread through the world – millions of dark threads that let him see and feel and hear everything, keeping the world and its people under his control – had slipped away. Not one by one. Not slowly, over time, as the king worked to keep them. But overnight. All at once. One day, he was ruler, king, god. The next… he was nothing.
The king’s fists tightened as he turned to pace. He would be nothing no longer. He was still weak, still without power, but he was so much more than a simple thief. He knew better now. Years had passed and he was stronger, smarter. He understood his enemy. He knew what he had to do. It’d all be so simple, in the end.
It was time for the king to rise again, and the thief — the hero — would lose this time.
Grab My Heart #27
TITLE: THE SORCERER'S WARNING
GENRE: MG Fantasy
After his mother’s death, 12-year-old Prince Agmund thinks life can't get any worse. He's wrong. When a sorcerer makes a blood-magic pact with a dead tyrant, Agmund endures racial slurs, his human father’s rejection, and his kingdom’s hatred. And if he helps others like him fight an enemy they can’t see? He could lose his life.
Prince Agmund waited while the fire’s warmth cloaked him in sweat, and an idea simmered inside his head: he hated his father. He took a shaky breath. “What do you mean I can’t see her?”
King Ulrich sat slumped against his throne, watching the glow fade from the only windows in the room. “We don’t know much about the ellyll. There are no guarantees her…illness…is not contagious.”
“Your healer hasn’t gotten sick.”
“He’s human, and I’m sure he is taking every precaution, as should you. You’re twelve, not a baby anymore. Think about what’s at stake.”
“It’s only a matter of time!”
King Ulrich closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. A low crackle in the fireplace broke the silence, but the king never moved. He sat that way for a long time before opening his eyes again.
“No.”
“Father, didn’t you hear me?” Agmund’s voice was a muffled squeak.
“There’s no need for you to visit. All she does is sleep.”
The king kept talking, but so much heat flooded Agmund’s body, he thought his head would explode. He bit his lip. That healer might do something for her, but he'd have to figure out why she was sick in the first place. Her people drew power from nature itself. They lived for centuries unless they died in battle or were grieving. She hadn’t been sad, had she? Agmund wiped his slick palms on his tunic, hoping it stained the fabric.
GENRE: MG Fantasy
After his mother’s death, 12-year-old Prince Agmund thinks life can't get any worse. He's wrong. When a sorcerer makes a blood-magic pact with a dead tyrant, Agmund endures racial slurs, his human father’s rejection, and his kingdom’s hatred. And if he helps others like him fight an enemy they can’t see? He could lose his life.
Prince Agmund waited while the fire’s warmth cloaked him in sweat, and an idea simmered inside his head: he hated his father. He took a shaky breath. “What do you mean I can’t see her?”
King Ulrich sat slumped against his throne, watching the glow fade from the only windows in the room. “We don’t know much about the ellyll. There are no guarantees her…illness…is not contagious.”
“Your healer hasn’t gotten sick.”
“He’s human, and I’m sure he is taking every precaution, as should you. You’re twelve, not a baby anymore. Think about what’s at stake.”
“It’s only a matter of time!”
King Ulrich closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. A low crackle in the fireplace broke the silence, but the king never moved. He sat that way for a long time before opening his eyes again.
“No.”
“Father, didn’t you hear me?” Agmund’s voice was a muffled squeak.
“There’s no need for you to visit. All she does is sleep.”
The king kept talking, but so much heat flooded Agmund’s body, he thought his head would explode. He bit his lip. That healer might do something for her, but he'd have to figure out why she was sick in the first place. Her people drew power from nature itself. They lived for centuries unless they died in battle or were grieving. She hadn’t been sad, had she? Agmund wiped his slick palms on his tunic, hoping it stained the fabric.
Grab My Heart #26
TITLE: Mirror Breaker
GENRE: YA Fantasy/Science Fiction
Emery Glass is a Mirror Maker. She can create a mirror and walk through the reflection into an alternate reality. To return, she simply breaks the mirror, and the reflection world ceases to exist. When Emery’s sister disappears in the Mirror World, Emery will do anything to find her: break the rules, design illegal mirrors, even face being exiled from the Ward.
My little brother, Gates, lied about me dying. Of course, it’s best everyone thinks I’m dead, and he’s smart enough to know that. Every week, they air my story on WatchBank. Sometimes it flashes twice a week on the com-screens distributed around The Shadows. Many of the sector’s worst criminals live there. I suppose they think I’m famous amongst the villains.
In the nicer areas of the ward, such as Glass Hill, it’s broadcast at least once a month on the cyber kiosks. It looks out of place mixed in with the stories that spotlight first-class citizens. Or the celebrity webcasts. That’s probably why they keep it minimal in these areas.
Other than high society gossip, the kiosks run government propaganda. Hype pieces about magic and the evil it brings. Abolition. Revolution. Segregation. Anti-succession. With elections coming soon, the political ads can drive even the kindest people over the edge.
Now that I’m a fugitive, I have to work on a new disguise. I hope I can come out of hiding soon and live life again. Being the most hated girl in the world isn’t easy. Well, maybe not the world, but it might as well as been the entire universe. That’s how I feel.
The sun glistens off the river. Early morning is my favorite time of day. Gates will be here with whatever food he’d scavenged from the table without notice. I somehow make every crumb count.
GENRE: YA Fantasy/Science Fiction
Emery Glass is a Mirror Maker. She can create a mirror and walk through the reflection into an alternate reality. To return, she simply breaks the mirror, and the reflection world ceases to exist. When Emery’s sister disappears in the Mirror World, Emery will do anything to find her: break the rules, design illegal mirrors, even face being exiled from the Ward.
My little brother, Gates, lied about me dying. Of course, it’s best everyone thinks I’m dead, and he’s smart enough to know that. Every week, they air my story on WatchBank. Sometimes it flashes twice a week on the com-screens distributed around The Shadows. Many of the sector’s worst criminals live there. I suppose they think I’m famous amongst the villains.
In the nicer areas of the ward, such as Glass Hill, it’s broadcast at least once a month on the cyber kiosks. It looks out of place mixed in with the stories that spotlight first-class citizens. Or the celebrity webcasts. That’s probably why they keep it minimal in these areas.
Other than high society gossip, the kiosks run government propaganda. Hype pieces about magic and the evil it brings. Abolition. Revolution. Segregation. Anti-succession. With elections coming soon, the political ads can drive even the kindest people over the edge.
Now that I’m a fugitive, I have to work on a new disguise. I hope I can come out of hiding soon and live life again. Being the most hated girl in the world isn’t easy. Well, maybe not the world, but it might as well as been the entire universe. That’s how I feel.
The sun glistens off the river. Early morning is my favorite time of day. Gates will be here with whatever food he’d scavenged from the table without notice. I somehow make every crumb count.
Grab My Heart #25
TITLE: DEREK HYDE KNOWS SPOOKY WHEN HE SEES IT
GENRE: MG Paranormal
ADDAMS FAMILY meets GHOSTBUSTERS when twelve-year-old Derek confronts headless ghosts at Hyde’s Funeral Home & Used Coffin Outlet run by his mortician parents, Jack and Formalda. The ghosts' young son wants revenge for losing his haunted home, while Derek desperately tries to keep out of the embalming room—as a client.
There are far worse things in life than being raised in a funeral home. For example… um…
Okay, here’s one. You could have your brains eaten alive and slurped down by cranky, overworked zombies who haven’t had their morning coffee.
Or how about this? You could be stuffed into a spin dryer at Leo’s Laundromat & Hideous Stain Removal Service and set to Extra Dry/Huge Load.
But Derek Hyde wasn’t eaten and he definitely wasn’t spin dried, either. Just driven to the narcoleptic town of Littleburp in the family car (actually, an old yellow school bus), and then to a really unfortunate and grossly undesirable address: 1313 Slimeytoes Lane.
As the bus splashed its way through a beautifully timed thunderstorm on the worst day of Derek’s life (so far), his mom and dad worked at keeping his spirits up by singing their favorite, most embarrassing song: Poopy Head, Poopy Head, Don’t You Be a Poopy Head.
It didn’t help.
It was bad enough his parents dragged Derek out of his seventh grade class and away from all his friends to limp across the country in a broken-down bus on this Journey to Nowhere. Much worse was the notion of moving him into a spooky old manor house they planned to convert into a funeral home.
Because his parents were funeral directors. Morticians. Undertakers.
On this blustery autumn day, Derek watched through rain-streaked windows as they screeched to a halt in front of the scariest mansion he’d ever seen.
It had towers. With turrets.
GENRE: MG Paranormal
ADDAMS FAMILY meets GHOSTBUSTERS when twelve-year-old Derek confronts headless ghosts at Hyde’s Funeral Home & Used Coffin Outlet run by his mortician parents, Jack and Formalda. The ghosts' young son wants revenge for losing his haunted home, while Derek desperately tries to keep out of the embalming room—as a client.
There are far worse things in life than being raised in a funeral home. For example… um…
Okay, here’s one. You could have your brains eaten alive and slurped down by cranky, overworked zombies who haven’t had their morning coffee.
Or how about this? You could be stuffed into a spin dryer at Leo’s Laundromat & Hideous Stain Removal Service and set to Extra Dry/Huge Load.
But Derek Hyde wasn’t eaten and he definitely wasn’t spin dried, either. Just driven to the narcoleptic town of Littleburp in the family car (actually, an old yellow school bus), and then to a really unfortunate and grossly undesirable address: 1313 Slimeytoes Lane.
As the bus splashed its way through a beautifully timed thunderstorm on the worst day of Derek’s life (so far), his mom and dad worked at keeping his spirits up by singing their favorite, most embarrassing song: Poopy Head, Poopy Head, Don’t You Be a Poopy Head.
It didn’t help.
It was bad enough his parents dragged Derek out of his seventh grade class and away from all his friends to limp across the country in a broken-down bus on this Journey to Nowhere. Much worse was the notion of moving him into a spooky old manor house they planned to convert into a funeral home.
Because his parents were funeral directors. Morticians. Undertakers.
On this blustery autumn day, Derek watched through rain-streaked windows as they screeched to a halt in front of the scariest mansion he’d ever seen.
It had towers. With turrets.
Grab My Heart #24
TITLE: Seeking Stanley Derringer
GENRE: YA Romance
After Tab’s crush crushes her, she dreams of a boy who’s desperate to find her, discovers he’s alive, and sets off to find him. SEEKING STANLEY DERRINGER is Jane The Virgin meets the Holy Grail quest, a YA romance set in a Berkeley alternative school and a Detroit garage.
It was the end of a Sunday lunch shift at Tia’s Tacos. I watched two women linger over a shared enchilada. I tried not to stare at the one with her back to me, tattooed up to her sleeveless tee, who tenderly fed the last forkful to a woman holding a baby.
What was wrong with me? I didn’t want a baby. What did they have that I didn’t have?
Oh, yeah. Each other. Someone to love. A soul mate. In other words, everything.
“May I?” I asked the couple as I reached for their empty plate. I laid the check in the middle of the table. The woman holding the baby tucked her into a fabric sling.
“Your baby’s so cute,” I said. “What’s her name? Or his?”
“Harmony,” the baby woman said. She eyed my thumb as my hand passed in front of her face. I could always tell when somebody noticed. My thumbs were shaped like little square paddles because of brachydactyly, an inherited trait. Mom thought I got it from my bio dad but I’d never met him so I never really knew.
Tia watched from the door to the kitchen. Her arms strained with the weight of a full bin of mole sauce. She groaned as she plonked it on the prep counter.
“I can do that! Sit down!” I hurried to fill bins like I was supposed to between customers. Instead, I’d been reading Parzival, about a naive knight on a quest.
GENRE: YA Romance
After Tab’s crush crushes her, she dreams of a boy who’s desperate to find her, discovers he’s alive, and sets off to find him. SEEKING STANLEY DERRINGER is Jane The Virgin meets the Holy Grail quest, a YA romance set in a Berkeley alternative school and a Detroit garage.
It was the end of a Sunday lunch shift at Tia’s Tacos. I watched two women linger over a shared enchilada. I tried not to stare at the one with her back to me, tattooed up to her sleeveless tee, who tenderly fed the last forkful to a woman holding a baby.
What was wrong with me? I didn’t want a baby. What did they have that I didn’t have?
Oh, yeah. Each other. Someone to love. A soul mate. In other words, everything.
“May I?” I asked the couple as I reached for their empty plate. I laid the check in the middle of the table. The woman holding the baby tucked her into a fabric sling.
“Your baby’s so cute,” I said. “What’s her name? Or his?”
“Harmony,” the baby woman said. She eyed my thumb as my hand passed in front of her face. I could always tell when somebody noticed. My thumbs were shaped like little square paddles because of brachydactyly, an inherited trait. Mom thought I got it from my bio dad but I’d never met him so I never really knew.
Tia watched from the door to the kitchen. Her arms strained with the weight of a full bin of mole sauce. She groaned as she plonked it on the prep counter.
“I can do that! Sit down!” I hurried to fill bins like I was supposed to between customers. Instead, I’d been reading Parzival, about a naive knight on a quest.
Grab My Heart #22
TITLE: BOUND BY EARTH
GENRE: YA Fantasy
Seventeen-year-old Zaina has no desire to leave her tribal home. Staying means she can spend more time with an afrit named Tasdemir, the elemental earth spirit who protects the valley where she lives. But then Tasdemir disappears, throwing the valley’s natural balance into chaos. If Zaina can recover the afrit, she may be able to save her tribe and the valley.
The tree was full of goats.
Zaina locked eyes with the closest, a male who was perched several feet above her head on a thorny branch, chewing his cud and glaring at her balefully.
Zaina matched the heat and disgust in his gaze with her own. “Get down.”
The goat considered her command, pausing in his methodical chewing. It was all the warning she received. Moments later, he spat haughtily in her direction.
Zaina ducked, missing being pelted by a whistling kali seed by inches, but she was not quick enough to evade the rest of the cud. The slobbery, oozing mess landed on her shoulder, coating the ends of the scarf she had wrapped around her hair. Zaina wrinkled her nose as the glob slid lower, onto her sleeve. It was pungent, the odor made stronger by the heat of the sun overhead.
Planting her feet in the dusty ground, Zaina threw her head back and met the goat’s eye again. A giggle at her elbow drew her attention away from her quarry, and she turned her hard glare on a new victim.
Her younger sister lifted her chin in response and didn’t wilt like Zaina was hoping. “Were you expecting something different to happen?”
Zaina bit her tongue and stomped over to the lowest branches, brushing her stained shoulder and scarf as she did so. “Let’s try something else.”
GENRE: YA Fantasy
Seventeen-year-old Zaina has no desire to leave her tribal home. Staying means she can spend more time with an afrit named Tasdemir, the elemental earth spirit who protects the valley where she lives. But then Tasdemir disappears, throwing the valley’s natural balance into chaos. If Zaina can recover the afrit, she may be able to save her tribe and the valley.
The tree was full of goats.
Zaina locked eyes with the closest, a male who was perched several feet above her head on a thorny branch, chewing his cud and glaring at her balefully.
Zaina matched the heat and disgust in his gaze with her own. “Get down.”
The goat considered her command, pausing in his methodical chewing. It was all the warning she received. Moments later, he spat haughtily in her direction.
Zaina ducked, missing being pelted by a whistling kali seed by inches, but she was not quick enough to evade the rest of the cud. The slobbery, oozing mess landed on her shoulder, coating the ends of the scarf she had wrapped around her hair. Zaina wrinkled her nose as the glob slid lower, onto her sleeve. It was pungent, the odor made stronger by the heat of the sun overhead.
Planting her feet in the dusty ground, Zaina threw her head back and met the goat’s eye again. A giggle at her elbow drew her attention away from her quarry, and she turned her hard glare on a new victim.
Her younger sister lifted her chin in response and didn’t wilt like Zaina was hoping. “Were you expecting something different to happen?”
Zaina bit her tongue and stomped over to the lowest branches, brushing her stained shoulder and scarf as she did so. “Let’s try something else.”
Grab My Heart #21
TITLE: Violet Ray and The Magnetic Pole Reversal
GENRE: MG Science Fiction
When a cosmic event crashes the Earth’s power grid, a young scientist and humanoid cat must stop invaders from destroying their island to control the world’s energy.
Violet woke with a snort. She sat up and looked at her hands. The same. She pulled up her sleeves. Her arms had the same orange freckles and dark brown skin. Maybe…she took a quick peek under her shirt. Not yet.
Jumping out of the large clamshell bed, she ran into her dressing room. She threw off a dirty lab coat hung on the mirror and looked intently. She bared her teeth and stared with big, green eyes at her freckled face and unruly purple hair. Tying her hair on top of her head, she turned away. Nothing has changed!
Disappointed, she grabbed the closest lab coat on the floor and slipped into sneakers. Putting her pants over the shoes proved cumbersome. When she stopped to take off the shoes first, she thought, There’s still the whole day! Maybe something will happen when her mother was there. She liked to observe everything “to experience the science.” Violet was used to being examined every minute of the day.
Bounding down the DNA spiral stairs, she spotted her mother’s black-haired topknot in the lab and ran over to her.
“Good morning!” Violet said cheerfully, scanning the dozens of beakers on the silver lab table. She picked up a beaker with shimmery ooze moving slowly around inside. “This is almost ready.”
Her mother, wearing a crisp, white lab coat looked over Violet’s crumpled lab coat with a wild print of amoebas before she took the beaker. “No working today. I have a surprise.”
GENRE: MG Science Fiction
When a cosmic event crashes the Earth’s power grid, a young scientist and humanoid cat must stop invaders from destroying their island to control the world’s energy.
Violet woke with a snort. She sat up and looked at her hands. The same. She pulled up her sleeves. Her arms had the same orange freckles and dark brown skin. Maybe…she took a quick peek under her shirt. Not yet.
Jumping out of the large clamshell bed, she ran into her dressing room. She threw off a dirty lab coat hung on the mirror and looked intently. She bared her teeth and stared with big, green eyes at her freckled face and unruly purple hair. Tying her hair on top of her head, she turned away. Nothing has changed!
Disappointed, she grabbed the closest lab coat on the floor and slipped into sneakers. Putting her pants over the shoes proved cumbersome. When she stopped to take off the shoes first, she thought, There’s still the whole day! Maybe something will happen when her mother was there. She liked to observe everything “to experience the science.” Violet was used to being examined every minute of the day.
Bounding down the DNA spiral stairs, she spotted her mother’s black-haired topknot in the lab and ran over to her.
“Good morning!” Violet said cheerfully, scanning the dozens of beakers on the silver lab table. She picked up a beaker with shimmery ooze moving slowly around inside. “This is almost ready.”
Her mother, wearing a crisp, white lab coat looked over Violet’s crumpled lab coat with a wild print of amoebas before she took the beaker. “No working today. I have a surprise.”
Grab My Heart #20
TITLE: Forgotten Love
GENRE: Adult Romance
Summer Hamilton wants to start over, but her panic attacks and flashbacks from an accident haunt her. When Rafe Bryant strolls into her life, she knows the hot biker is trouble. But at every turn, he’s there, and the sparks between them are irresistible, until she remembers her forgotten love.
Laughter filled the Italian bistro La Rosa’s in the North End of Boston along with the mouthwatering odors of garlic and tomatoes making Summer Hamilton’s stomach rumble. Sipping her iced water, she eyed the menu for the hundredth time. She knew exactly what she wanted because she was a creature of habit and loved chicken parmesan, but she held off giving her order waiting for her husband to arrive. Replacing her glass on the small white linen covered table, she twisted her wrist to study her Rolex—he was late, very late.
Surveying the various tables, she passed the time playing a game imagining the stories behind each group or couple near her at the popular restaurant where glasses clinked in celebration. She idly picked out a shy couple on a romantic date looking nervous, a couple celebrating their first wedding anniversary eyes glued on each other oblivious to their surroundings, and large families celebrating a birthday—all making memories. Rolling her wedding band around her finger, she wondered if tonight would be a good memory, a year from now.
Organizing this evening was her last attempt to salvage her marriage, and yet again, she sat alone uncertain as to whether he would even bother to arrive. Pulling her phone from her purse, she clicked to check if there were any messages—nothing. Outside the rain splattered on the steamy glass window and people charged down the sidewalk carrying umbrella’s trying to avoid getting soaked.
GENRE: Adult Romance
Summer Hamilton wants to start over, but her panic attacks and flashbacks from an accident haunt her. When Rafe Bryant strolls into her life, she knows the hot biker is trouble. But at every turn, he’s there, and the sparks between them are irresistible, until she remembers her forgotten love.
Laughter filled the Italian bistro La Rosa’s in the North End of Boston along with the mouthwatering odors of garlic and tomatoes making Summer Hamilton’s stomach rumble. Sipping her iced water, she eyed the menu for the hundredth time. She knew exactly what she wanted because she was a creature of habit and loved chicken parmesan, but she held off giving her order waiting for her husband to arrive. Replacing her glass on the small white linen covered table, she twisted her wrist to study her Rolex—he was late, very late.
Surveying the various tables, she passed the time playing a game imagining the stories behind each group or couple near her at the popular restaurant where glasses clinked in celebration. She idly picked out a shy couple on a romantic date looking nervous, a couple celebrating their first wedding anniversary eyes glued on each other oblivious to their surroundings, and large families celebrating a birthday—all making memories. Rolling her wedding band around her finger, she wondered if tonight would be a good memory, a year from now.
Organizing this evening was her last attempt to salvage her marriage, and yet again, she sat alone uncertain as to whether he would even bother to arrive. Pulling her phone from her purse, she clicked to check if there were any messages—nothing. Outside the rain splattered on the steamy glass window and people charged down the sidewalk carrying umbrella’s trying to avoid getting soaked.
Grab My Heart #19
TITLE: V.O.L.T.
GENRE: YA FANTASY
Throttled with grief from her boyfriend’s death, Seventeen-year-old Sam is given an opportunity to see him in an eccentric city called VOLT but as she sets out, with two other teens grieving lost ones, the lies that hold her life together sabotage her efforts to find him.
My fingers caress the nearest cloud to me. The wisps of cottony fluff are the gentlest texture imaginable. Beauty this resplendent is reserved for those who see the world in its true form - through shards of distorted glass, through shrieks of light and darkness, through chaos, and madness.
This is my existence. My reality is wrapped in white, soft all over, and a cacophony of sounds assault me. Yet, it’s silent at the same time.
A pink fleshed baby piglet wiggles its twisted tail to where I sit. My lips part in a strain to smile. Except the task is too great. My mouth collapses back to nothing as I sit perched on the billowy cloud.
A consuming pain shatters the peace around me. It’s a razor slicing through delicate skin, drawing crimson droplets so bright it aches to look away.
My cloud dissipates into a fine mist. I contemplate what’s before me.
I stand, nearly nose-dive to the wood floor in my living room, but straighten before I collide. With my long legs, I pace from the black sofa to the bay window overlooking the front of our house.
I peer out for the tenth time in the span of a few minutes. The lawn is bare and in need of watering. Dying from lack of nutrients and care. Weeds suffocate the delicate fuchsia flowers that once blossomed like proud exhibitions of beauty that once lay inside the house.
I’m hopeful Ryan’s beaten-up car will come spluttering to a stop in our circular driveway.
GENRE: YA FANTASY
Throttled with grief from her boyfriend’s death, Seventeen-year-old Sam is given an opportunity to see him in an eccentric city called VOLT but as she sets out, with two other teens grieving lost ones, the lies that hold her life together sabotage her efforts to find him.
My fingers caress the nearest cloud to me. The wisps of cottony fluff are the gentlest texture imaginable. Beauty this resplendent is reserved for those who see the world in its true form - through shards of distorted glass, through shrieks of light and darkness, through chaos, and madness.
This is my existence. My reality is wrapped in white, soft all over, and a cacophony of sounds assault me. Yet, it’s silent at the same time.
A pink fleshed baby piglet wiggles its twisted tail to where I sit. My lips part in a strain to smile. Except the task is too great. My mouth collapses back to nothing as I sit perched on the billowy cloud.
A consuming pain shatters the peace around me. It’s a razor slicing through delicate skin, drawing crimson droplets so bright it aches to look away.
My cloud dissipates into a fine mist. I contemplate what’s before me.
I stand, nearly nose-dive to the wood floor in my living room, but straighten before I collide. With my long legs, I pace from the black sofa to the bay window overlooking the front of our house.
I peer out for the tenth time in the span of a few minutes. The lawn is bare and in need of watering. Dying from lack of nutrients and care. Weeds suffocate the delicate fuchsia flowers that once blossomed like proud exhibitions of beauty that once lay inside the house.
I’m hopeful Ryan’s beaten-up car will come spluttering to a stop in our circular driveway.
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