It's All in the Details

Time again for Snippet Sunday!

Last snippet from my MG novel, True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) This scene takes place the first day of summer vacation after the fifth grade, a summer of major changes for Jeana and all three of the boys. Wade and Jeana are in the shed behind his house that they used for their Mystery Masters meetings. Wade has just given Jeana the bad news that his family is moving across town, but he also shows her a heart he carved on the shed door with their initials in it and officially asks her to be his girlfriend.

He set the flashlight down and took both of her hands to pull her closer to him. Jeana knew what was about to happen and couldn't believe none of the butterflies had come back to life in her stomach. She wasn't a bit nervous, because she'd been waiting for this to happen ever since the night they'd looked at the constellations together and she'd made her wish on the shooting star. It had taken awhile, but it was finally coming true.

Wade moved his hands to her waist, and she put hers on his shoulders. For a few seconds they just looked at each other, then he leaned toward her and she watched his lids slowly hide the green eyes she loved so much. When their lips touched, she closed her own eyes and tried to memorize every detail about the moment—how soft his lips felt pressed against hers, how fast his heart was beating, the way his arms trembled slightly as they held her close to him, even the clean, soapy smell of his skin and hair. It's not every day a girl gets her first kiss, and Jeana wanted to remember everything about it.

Okay, so we know which boy she likes first, but will it last through high school and beyond? You'll have to read all three books to find that out, and you can buy the True Blue Trilogy here. ;-) And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Change of Plans

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Last few snippets from my MG novel, True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) I said this was going to be the last snippet before I moved on to Book Two in the trilogy, and I also said this one was going to be from Jeana's POV, but I decided to invoke Writer's Prerogative and change my mind about both things. You've met Mickey already, but I thought we needed one more snippet about him to show how important he'll be in the next books. This skips ahead a good deal from the last snippet about him. His family has since moved to Chickasaw because of his dad's new job and he's met Billy Joe, but up to this point in the book, Mickey thinks all girls are silly and giggly, and he especially doesn't understand why Billy Joe and his friend Wade are always hanging around that redheaded girl who thinks all sports are dumb and boring.

My apologies for the extremely creative punctuation, but I wanted to include all of this. I'm also going to put Jeana's poem in the comments so you can see why it made such an impression on Mickey.

Mickey had no idea what was going on—for the first time in his life, his heart was pounding in his chest, and it had nothing to do with baseball.

He'd been sitting in the school cafeteria waiting for the fifth grade honors program to begin, wondering if he might get a P.E. award along with the math award he knew he was getting and laughing at the joke Billy Joe had just told him. When the principal announced that the redheaded girl—her name turned out to be Jeana Russell—was going to recite a poem she'd written, Mickey rolled his eyes and slid down a little in his seat, thinking Man, talk about boring. He folded his arms across his chest and got ready to suffer through some dumb stuff about rainbows or kittens or ponies—or unicorns, what was it with girls and unicorns?

But then she'd started speaking, and Mickey slowly sat up in his chair because every word she said was the way he lived every single day, and it was like she knew he had to work harder and always be better than everybody else at baseball so his dad wouldn’t drink anymore, like she was telling him she wouldn’t think he was weird because all he thought about was baseball and couldn’t settle for anything less than the best.

It was like she was telling him that she understood, because she was the same way.

Mickey watched her face as she said the words that described his life, and he felt his heart speed up even more, because although he'd never noticed it before, now he realized that her hair was the same coppery red color as his mom’s, and the sunlight streaming in the windows behind her made those wispy curls on top of her head look almost like a halo. When she finished her poem, Mickey didn’t think he’d ever seen anything as beautiful as the way her smile lit up her whole face and made it seem to glow like her hair.

For a second he thought she was actually smiling at him, then he realized she must be looking at Billy Joe and Wade sitting in front of him, and his heart stopped pounding then because fear gripped it as he wondered if she liked one of them for more than just a friend. He knew they all lived close to each other and had probably known each other for a long time, but the way she was smiling made Mickey think she might feel something more than friendship for one of them.

He had to meet her and find out.

Uh-oh. Looks like the adolescent love triangle just because a quadrilateral. (Mickey's a math whiz, so he'd appreciate that analogy.) Next week we'll get that glimpse into Jeana's heart as promised. Can't wait? You can buy True Blue here. ;-) And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Stars Fell on Alabama

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Last few snippets from my MG novel, True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) I chose this snippet for two reasons: to explain the significance of the stars on the cover, and to give you some perspective on the major change Wade will undergo between this book and the next one. This scene takes place the day of Jeana's 11th birthday party. Jeana had promised earlier to teach Wade the names of the constellations and tell him the myths behind them as soon as the fall games were over at the ball park behind both their houses. (The park lights would've made it impossible to see the stars.) Edited from the published version to fit our guidelines.

Later that night after supper, she was sitting in her porch swing, trying to decide which one of her new books to read first, when Wade came over holding a wrapped package.

“Oh, I forgot you said I'd get your present later,” Jeana said, her eyes shining in the porch light, “but why didn't you give it to me at the party?”

Wade sat beside her on the swing and said, “Because I wanna ask you something after you open it and didn't want Billy Joe to hear.”

That brought a little tingle to Jeana's spine as she carefully opened the gift that Wade had painstakingly wrapped in white paper on which he'd drawn books of different sizes. They were just crudely-drawn rectangles, and most of the titles were misspelled, but Jeana thought it was the best wrapping paper ever, and when she saw that the gift inside was a rotating star wheel that showed every constellation in the night sky and how to locate them, she gasped with delight.

“Oh, Wade, this is so neat!”

"I thought you could use it when you show me the constellations, and since the ballgames are over at the park now, we can do it tonight if you want to.”

“Okay, sure,” she said, “but if you kept this for yourself, you wouldn't need me to show you anything.”

“Oh yes I would," he said, nodding for emphasis. “There's no way I can figure that thing out by myself, and you always explain stuff better than anybody, Redhot. Like I told you before, you should be a teacher when we grow up.”

I just realized I haven't shared any snippets from Jeana's POV yet, so I'll probably finish with one next week. I'll try to pick one that best shows why all these boys are in love with her at such a young age. Can't wait? You can buy True Blue here. ;-) And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Bros Before Hoes is Easier When Gardening

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

I'm continuing with snippets from my new release, True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Hey, notice that "trilogy" part in the series title? There are indeed three parts to this coming-of-age saga, and the eBooks are now all available! Check out the three gorgeous covers my daughter created for me. I just LOVE them! You can buy one or all of them here, and I'm having a Facebook Launch Party with games and giveaways next Saturday (Oct. 1) from 9-1 Central Time. Come join the fun!

This week's snippet shows another side of Billy Joe, the jokester in the group. He and Wade and Jeana were watching Shane on the afternoon movie together at Wade's house, and Billy Joe witnesses a look Jeana and Wade shared because Wade was trying to hide his tears at the end when Shane left. This part takes place after Billy Joe gets home.

Wade had been his best friend for as long as either of them could remember, but the knot in Billy Joe's stomach made him afraid that was about to change.

Because of Jeana.

Billy Joe had been in love with Jeana since they were four years old and she'd told him he was funnier than Bugs Bunny. She was the smartest girl he’d ever known, but not too smart to like most of the same goofy stuff he liked. She was also the prettiest girl he’d ever seen, but what made her even prettier was that she didn't seem to know it. He loved the way her hazel eyes looked really green if she got mad when he was teasing her—which was all the time—and he loved how she never backed down from an argument, but what he loved the most was her smile and the way he could make her laugh so hard that her eyes almost disappeared.

And he knew Jeana loved him too, but only as a brother. For a while now, he’d been noticing how Wade looked at her when he thought no one was watching, and today he’d seen her looking at Wade the same way. She never looked at him like that, and seeing her look at Wade had felt like somebody punching him in the gut, but the scariest thing was how mad at Wade it had made him feel. What kind of a best friend did that make him?

I think I'll do one or two more snippets from this book before I move on to Book Two. Can't wait? You can buy True Blue here. ;-) And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Tetanus Shots are Important

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

I'm continuing with snippets from my new release, True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Since the snippets from the last two weeks about what Mickey and Wade are dealing with at home have been so sad, I think we need something much lighter this week. I always try to have a good balance of humor and darker issues in all my books. Here's another scene with Jeana, Wade and Billy Joe in the clubhouse, about to sign the honor contracts that bind the members of the Mystery Masters together and swear them to secrecy. Jeana had originally told the boys they had to sign their names in blood and neither of them liked that idea at all.

“I got a better idea when I was reading this afternoon,” Jeana said. “We'll prick our fingers and press them together to mix our blood, but instead of signing our names with it, we'll put our fingerprints at the bottom of the contract under our signatures.” She pulled a hat pin from where she’d stuck it in the collar of her shirt.

“Geez, what were you reading?” Billy Joe said, “Nancy Drew Tortures the Hardy Boys?”

Wade laughed but stopped when Jeana gave him a look.

“No, it was a book about an Indian boy and his white friend who become blood brothers. I like that better. Plus, it’ll take less blood than signing our names, since both of y’all are weenies.”

“Weenies who don’t wanna pass out from blood loss,” Billy Joe said. “Me and Wade got longer names than you, ya know.”

No, that picture isn't a real book. I don't know who did the Photoshopping, but it cracked me up. Next week we'll get poignant again when we take a peek into Billy Joe's heart and see that he's more than just a jokester. Can't wait? You can buy True Blue here. ;-) And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Flip Side of the Coin

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

I'm continuing with snippets from my new release, True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Last week you met Mickey, who pushes himself to be the best at baseball because he loves his dad so much and wants to make him happy so he won't drink. Wade is dealing with some father issues too, but they're a lot different from Mickey's. This scene takes place after Wade is sent to bed early for fouling out of his basketball game, but he sneaks out to meet Jeana and Billy Joe in the clubhouse for their Mystery Masters meeting. His little sister accidentally gets him caught when he comes back in. Forewarning: there's some major creative punctuation going on in this snippet to make it fit our guidelines.

I couldn't find a snippet that applied to today's memorial, but here's a photo to commemorate those we lost.

“Boy, why aren’t you in bed?” Mr. Strickland said as he came down the hall, then he added, “Have you been outside?”

“Yes, sir,” Wade said, backing into his bedroom, “but I only went out for a minute, I had to... go look for something.”

“Yeah, I know what you were looking for—that little Russell girl! Didn't I tell you I was tired of you following her around like a stupid puppy dog?” He unbuckled his belt and walked into Wade's room, shutting the door behind him as he said, “That's probably why you can't keep your head in a ballgame long enough to win. Maybe this'll help you remember how to mind!”

When he came out a few minutes later, Sissy waited for him to sit in the recliner again, then she slipped into Wade's room and ran to where he was curled up on his bed and hugged him as she said, “I'm sorry I got you in trouble, bubba, I didn't mean to.”

Wade hugged her back and said, “Don't cry, Sissy, it's not your fault.”

“Why is Daddy always so mean to you?”

“He wants me to do better at sports—I just have to try harder, then he won't get mad at me.”

I'm sure you can guess that these father/son relationships are going to play a big part in how both boys grow up. Can't wait for the next snippet? You can buy True Blue here. ;-) And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

The Boys of Summer

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Here's the third snippet from my NEW RELEASE, True Blue. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) You've already met Jeana, Wade and Billy Joe. Now meet Mickey, a blue-eyed baseball player whose dad named him after Mickey Mantle. He's only ten like the other three characters, but he's dealing with some pretty deep stuff because of what he sees out on the patio one night when he wakes up and goes to the kitchen for a glass of water. Edited from the published version to fit our guidelines.

Oh, and check out the cover my amazingly talented cover artist made for me! I think she's the greatest, and I'd say that even if she wasn't my daughter. ;-)

His dad stood up and emptied the bottle into the glass, but instead of putting it back down, he stared at it in his hand for a long time, then he slowly went into a windup and hurled the bottle out into the yard like the all-star college pitcher he’d been—before he'd had to drop out of school and get a job to take care of his wife and unexpected baby.

Mickey never said anything to his dad or his mom about what he’d seen. He didn't want to embarrass his dad, and he also felt a little ashamed, as though he’d been spying on him. Sometimes he’d find empty bottles out in the yard and would always put them in the garbage so his mom wouldn’t see them, because he didn’t know whether or not she knew his dad was drinking and didn’t want her to think anything bad about him.

For the next few weeks, Mickey worried about his dad and tried to figure out a way to help him. Then it was time for Mickey’s baseball team to start the new season, and he got so busy practicing that he almost forgot about his dad’s problem—until the night that Mickey hit his first home run of the year and he saw that when his dad picked him up in celebration after he crossed the plate, there wasn't a trace of sadness in his eyes as he looked at his son.

That’s when Mickey knew what he had to do. He'd work harder than everybody else and be the best baseball player in the whole league. Maybe he could even play in the big leagues when he grew up, like his dad had wanted to do—maybe even for the Yankees. Then his dad could be happy all the time, and he wouldn’t need to drink anymore in the middle of the night.

Hey, you knew everything couldn't be all sweetness and light in any of my books. Next week you'll get a peek at what one of the other boys is dealing with. Can't wait? You can buy True Blue here. ;-) And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Puppy Love? Maybe Not

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Last week you met three of the four main characters in True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy releasing next month. (If you missed it, you can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Jeana, Wade and Billy Joe live on the same street and grew up together, but why would two ten-year-old boys hang out with a girl who usually has her nose in a book, hates sports and is pretty bossy? Here's why.

When they left the shed in Wade’s back yard a few minutes later, they blinked as their eyes adjusted to the brightness of the late afternoon sun that was still warm enough for all of them to be wearing shorts in the middle of October—business as usual in Chickasaw, Alabama. The three of them said goodbye at the privacy fence that separated Wade’s yard from Jeana’s. Wade swung the loose board aside so Jeana could slip through, then he and Billy Joe watched until she was safely on her back porch.

They'd been looking out for Jeana all their lives, and neither of them planned to stop anytime soon. Sure, she was bossy and kind of a know-it-all, but she also wasn’t silly and giggly like most of the other girls at school. She was so smart it was scary sometimes, and she’d been making up cool games for the three of them to play for as long as either boy could remember.

Of course, neither of them would ever consider admitting to anyone—including each other—the real reasons they would always look out for Jeana. That was a secret they kept hidden deep in their ten-year-old hearts and only thought about when they were lying awake at night, remembering the way Jeana's eyes looked when she smiled and the way it made her face glow like the strands of her curly red hair in the sunlight. Her smile made them want to be smarter, nicer, braver—someone who deserved the admiration of a girl as special as Jeana.

Those were the things that kept both boys willing to do anything she wanted as long as it meant they got to see that smile again.

Next week you'll meet the fourth main character—another ten-year-old boy named Mickey who's obsessed with baseball, but for a reason you might not expect. And he doesn't know it yet, but he's gonna end up feeling the same way about Jeana. I also hope I'll be able to share the cover art next week too! Please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Close Your Eyes and Go Back to a Simpler Time...

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Switching to a new book this week! If you missed the previous snippets from my YA paranormal thriller After Me, you can read them here.

This snippet is from True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy coming out next month. The trilogy follows the four main characters from fourth grade to college, so the first book is middle grade, the second is YA, and the third book is New Adult. Rather unorthodox, I know, but I've always been kinda weird. ;-) Here's the blurb for book one.

It’s 1972 in Chickasaw, Alabama—a time when kids play outside until the streetlights come on and everyone knows it’s time to go home. Jeana, Wade and Billy Joe have lived on West Grant Street all their lives and have always been best friends, but things start to change the summer after the fourth grade. The boys begin to look at Jeana and each other differently, and puberty is getting close to rearing its ugly head. Can the three of them stay friends, or will someone’s heart get broken? And who is that new boy in Chickasaw with the startling blue eyes?

This snippet is from the first chapter and introduces three of the four main characters. They have a secret club called the Mystery Masters, and this scene is from one of their clandestine meetings in their clubhouse—a shed in one of the boys' back yard. They're supposed to be sharing their most personal secrets then pinky swear not to ever reveal them. Warning: I utilized some creative punctuation.

“My most personal secret is that I hate raisins," Wade said, "they make me puke if I try to eat one.”

Jeana shook her head with a sigh and said, “That’s not a secret, and it’s not personal either—it has to be something you don’t want anybody else to know.”

Wade looked up at the ceiling and said, “Well, I don’t have anything else, so let me think about it a minute.”

“Okay, Billy Joe," Jeana said, "you go while he tries to think.”

Billy Joe smiled broadly and said, "My secret is that I can’t swallow pills. My mother has to crush ‘em up and put ‘em in applesauce for me.”

Jeana sighed again and said, “That’s not a secret either because everybody at school has known that ever since you cut your big toe swimming at H&W last year and your mama brought you applesauce with medicine in it at lunchtime every day for a week.”

Billy Joe rolled his eyes and said, “Okay, then what’s your secret, O Supreme Commander?”

Jeana’s chin lifted haughtily as she said, “Mine is that I’m going to marry Captain James T. Kirk someday.”

The two boys looked at each other, then they burst into laughter.

Jeana's kinda bossy, huh? Come back next week to find out why the boys put up with it. And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Cyber Scum

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Well, folks, we've reached the final excerpt from my YA paranormal thriller After Me. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) I decided to go out with a bang and leave you with a creepy snippet from one of four chapters in the killer's POV. Gotta contrast all that funny snark with some darkness, you know!

The killer's name is Julian Pugh, and he's a pathetic little maggot who likes to play the big man online but is really just a wimpy Mama's Boy who can't stand up to anybody. This scene takes place right after he disposed of Jada's body after he killed her in the beginning of the book and has just returned the Ferrari he lured her with to his employer's estate in Jacksonville's ritzy San Marco neighborhood.

How could he have been so stupid and let her goad him into bashing in her skull before he got the chance to make her do the things he’d wanted her to do? He was supposed to be the one calling the shots, not her. That’s what the gun was for—it always turned them into sniveling little girls begging for mercy, willing to do anything he said if he wouldn’t kill them.

But this time he’d been cheated when the little whore had pushed his buttons and made him lose his temper. Sure, it had felt good to turn that pretty face of hers into hamburger meat, but not as good as the things he’d been planning to make her do.

Julian's fury eased a little as he pulled out of the McCarthy grounds and passed the other mansions on his way out of San Marco. He loved pretending he was house shopping and would someday own one of the huge riverside estates instead of working as a personal assistant to the wealthy men who owned them.

By the time he reached the Interstate on-ramp that would take him downtown, he had consoled himself with plans to amp up the online relationship he’d been fostering with a naughty little thing who called herself WETNWILD16 and had been dropping hints in her messages that sparkly things really turned her on, and Vera McCarthy had a more than ample supply of what she called “disposable” jewelry—complimentary trinkets from upstart jewelers trying to get exposure. She never missed the things Julian pilfered to send to his online sugar babies.

Yes, he’d start this one out with something sparkly, then he’d reel her in with something sporty and fast, and this time he would make sure she stayed alive long enough to repay him for his generosity.

What a scumbag, huh? Wouldn't you like to see him get what's coming to him? Well, you can buy After Me here. :-) And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Stinky Wind Chimes

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Here's the penultimate snippet from my YA paranormal thriller After Me before I move on to the next book. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) This scene takes place when our heroine Jada goes home with her new friend Annalee and meets her mom's worthless boyfriend, Rufus.

Photo by http://l1b3rtypr1m3.deviantart.com/

He raised his hand to hit Annalee, and I literally saw red—the same as when I’d sent Dougie flying into the tree. Before I could stop myself or even think about what I was doing, I had my hand around his throat and pinned him to the wall with his feet dangling ten inches from the floor like stinky wind chimes.

“Big mistake, Rufus,” I said. “Nobody talks to my friends like that, and you’re even stupider than you look if you think you’re gonna touch her. I’m gonna give you exactly thirty seconds after I put you down to get your shit and get out of here for good. If you’re not gone by then, I’m gonna break off two important body parts, the loss of which are gonna keep you from hitting anybody ever again and also from being able to pee without a catheter. You got that, douchebag?”

Even with the red filter over my vision, I could tell his face was turning a deep purple shade that meant he couldn’t breathe let alone speak, but he managed to nod and signal his agreement. I released his throat and he fell to his knees on the floor, coughing and gasping for breath.

“One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi…”

Uh-oh. She's gonna have some 'splaining to do to Annalee after that little episode. Tune in next week for Jada's swan song. I promise it'll be a tune you won't soon forget! Can't wait? You can buy After Me here. And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!


~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Take a Look, It's in a Book

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

We're closing in on the last few excerpts I'll be sharing from my YA paranormal thriller After Me. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Lots has happened since last week's snippet. Jada made a new friend on the school bus, a mousy little bookworm named Annalee, and Jada is surprised to find out how much she wants Annalee to like her. Annalee talks her into going to the school library (a place Jada has never been in until then) at lunchtime and gets her to check out To Kill a Mockingbird. In chemistry class the next period, Jada's plan is to pretend to read after their quiz in hopes that it will make an impression on Lew Stanton, the nerdy guy she's crushing on who can't stand her. But she gets two big surprises: the story grabs her and won't let go, and she has suddenly become a speed reader—another "super zombie power" she doesn't quite understand. Here's the exchange that takes place when Lew asks Jada about the book.

Ben May Main Branch, Mobile Public Library My beautiful home library!

“Hey, the bell rang,” Lew said, "didn’t you hear it?”

I looked around and realized everyone was leaving the room, then I said, “Oh, guess I got distracted by this crazy book. That little Scout chick is a trip.”

He narrowed his eyes and said, “What part are you on?”

“They just found out the hole in the tree is filled with cement.” I stood up and dropped the book into my backpack. “Pretty lousy thing to do if you ask me.”

A slow transformation took place on his face, and I knew he hadn’t believed I was really reading it until then. He was looking at me as though he were seeing me for the first time, and my knees actually got weak when he smiled at me.

And to think it was all because I finally went into a library.

Yep, libraries are magical places for sure. ;-) Next week Jada again gets to use her one zombie power so far that's not quite so nerdy. Can't wait? You can buy After Me here. And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!


~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

You're the Peanut Butter to My Jelly

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Here's another snippet from my YA paranormal thriller After Me. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) As promised, this scene shows Jada meeting her new bestie Annalee, who is nothing like any of the friends she had before her untimely demise.

When I got on the school bus the next morning, the guy I'd tossed across the yard the day before stuck his foot out in the aisle in front of me and said, “Better watch your back, bitch.”

I smiled at him and said, “How’d you get that lump on your head, Tree Boy? Unless you want some foot pain to go along with that headache, you better move that smelly cross trainer outta my way.”

One of his hands wandered up to the back of his head and he muttered something about how I’d be getting mine, but he took his foot out of the aisle and didn’t meet any of the curious looks from the people around him.

“Yeah, I thought so,” I said before walking away and sitting in the first empty seat I came to. I was still snickering to myself when I noticed the girl across the aisle—a mousy little thing wearing clothes that had to have been through at least two previous owners—looking at me curiously. I opened my mouth to ask her what the hell she was looking at, then I changed my mind and smiled at her instead, and she looked startled for a second before smiling back at me.

I tilted my head in Tree Boy’s direction and said, “Hope that guy’s not a friend of yours.”

“Dougie? No way,” she said, frowning at the back of his head, then she leaned toward me and whispered, “You should’ve stomped on his foot.”

Next week we'll see how Jada's new friendship with Annalee affects that crush she has on Lew Stanton. Can't wait? You can buy After Me here. And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!


~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Dang, I Was Hoping For X-Ray Vision!

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

My two-week vacation across the USA was fabulous, but it's great to be back home so I can read and comment on all the other WWW and SS blogs I've grown addicted to! Here's another snippet from my YA paranormal thriller After Me. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Last week Jada found out from Flo about the addendum to her termination agreement that's making her ga-ga over Lew Stanton, math whiz and the captain of the school's chess team. Here's how she discovers another one of her "super zombie powers." Well, maybe not so super.

Since the transdead weren’t immune to accumulated grime, I still had to shower and wash my hair like everyone else, so I got my pajamas and went into the bathroom. While I was standing under the pulsating stream from the massaging showerhead, I realized I missed little things like how good it felt for a hot shower to pound away the tension in sore muscles. I could feel the water hitting me, but I couldn’t tell if it was hot or cold. Apparently, the neurons and synapses of the transdead didn’t continue to transmit the way they did in the living.

Wait, what?

How the crap did I know anything about neurons or synapses? And not only that, I realized I suddenly understood how the whole nervous system operated. Great, my transformation into nerd girl obviously involved more than just crushing on chess players. I was turning into some kind of freaking brainiac myself. The super zombie strength was cool, but this had to be the lamest superpower ever.

Next week Jada meets the new best friend that Flo warned her about in the e-mail. Big surprise—she's nothing like the friends Jada had in her previous life. Can't wait? You can buy After Me here. And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!


~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

You've Got Mail

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Happy Sunday, snippeteers! I'm on my way back home from vacation, but here's the snippet I scheduled before I left from my YA paranormal thriller After Me. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here. Last week, Jada found out that she has "super zombie strength." She thinks that's pretty sweet, but it doesn't explain the weird attraction she feels for Lew Stanton—computer whiz and crazy math watch wearer. According to the Transdead Trustee guidelines, she's not supposed to be feeling any emotions. She e-mails Flo, her Afterlife Advisor, as soon as she gets home (with the subject line: What the hell?) and this is the response she gets. I didn't count the addresses or signature as sentences so this may put me over the limit. So sue me. ;-)

FROM: florence@blueyonder.net
TO: dead_girls_do_it_better@gmail.com
SUBJECT: RE: What the [redacted]?

Dear Miss Gayle:

Apparently, an addendum to your termination agreement was inadvertently left out of your paperwork, and the new objectives were just uploaded today. In addition to your prime directive of finding the man who killed you, you must also learn to handle normal human emotions, since you did not experience them while you were alive. This explains your feelings for the young man you mentioned. Don’t be surprised if you also feel a strong desire to befriend another girl your own age. These things are not negotiable. So, in the vernacular of yourself and your peers, you need to “deal.”

Don’t forget to change your e-mail address to something more appropriate.

Regards,
Florence

Next week Jada discovers another one of her "super zombie powers." Can't wait? You can buy After Me here. And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!


~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

A Particular Set of Skills

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Happy Day-Before-Independence Day! I'm on the road with my family, but I scheduled my snippet posts for the next two weeks before I left. Here's another one from my YA paranormal thriller After Me. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) This week's scene takes place after a jerk named Matt Winston has spread the word at school that "Gwen" used to live on the streets. A guy on the school bus decides to harass Jada about it when they both get off and she discovers her newly acquired "particular set of skills."

He looked me up and down and laughed. “Just trying to make up my mind how much to offer you.”

I put my hands on my hips and said, “Give it up, jerkwad. You wouldn’t have enough if you robbed Bill Gates and won the Nigerian lottery.”

His face lost its smirk, and his hand shot out to grab my wrist as he said, “Don’t get uppity with me, you little tramp!”

Maybe it was because it was the same thing BOSSMAN had called me on the night I died, but his words echoed in my head as though they were being broadcast from a loud speaker. It suddenly seemed like I was looking through some kind of red film or at a TV with the tint turned completely to red. I snatched my arm free and pushed him in the middle of his chest with both my hands, and he went flying backward at least ten feet to thud against a sycamore tree in the yard behind him.

I stared at my hands in amazement and said, “Sweet. Super zombie strength.”

Wonder what other cool things she can do? Stay tuned to find out. And next week you'll get to see what Flo has to say about all of this. Can't wait? You can buy After Me here. And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!


~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Crushing on a Nerd

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

I'm continuing for a few more weeks with my YA paranormal thriller After Me. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Last week Jada arrived at her new foster home in Coconut Grove. This week she's started school in her new persona, but instead of hanging with the A-listers like she did in her former life, she's decided to befriend a group of nerdy guys that she thinks may be able to help her with the online search for her killer. All but one of them are pretty much in awe of her since she looks like she stepped out of a graphic novel. And wouldn't you know it, the one who clearly doesn't like her turns out to be her chemistry partner, Lew Stanton.

I tried to pay attention to what Mr. Forrester was saying about the chapter we were about to start, mostly to keep myself from looking sideways at Lew, but it didn’t work. I couldn’t resist checking out his short blond hair with its razor-sharp part, the way his blue Oxford was buttoned all the way up to his neck, the ring on his left hand with the strange black stone, and the almost manicured look of his fingernails. And instead of wanting to laugh at any of it, I found it all weirdly appealing.

What the crap was going on?

At one point, while I was trying to figure out what the weird numbers and symbols on his watch meant, he looked up from his note taking and said, “What are you staring at?”

“What kind of crazy watch is that?”

He glanced at it and said, “They’re square roots—instead of twelve, it has the square root of 144. They’re the same thing.”

“Yeah, I’ll have to take your word for it on that, guess it's a math thing or something, huh?”

He rolled his eyes and went back to taking notes.

Once again, I need to warn you not to make any assumptions about this guy. Things in my books are not always as they appear at first. For instance, if you think this scene means the book is morphing into contemporary high school drama, next week's snippet will change your mind about that. Can't wait? You can buy After Me here. And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!


~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page