Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 

As of midnight tonight, the code e44F50 will be in effect to receive three additional chapters for my book The Playbook. Email me the code as well as the last chapter you have downloaded and you will receive three chapters preceding the most recent chapter you have read. This code will work until midnight tomorrow night. 

Enjoy reading and merry Christmas!

Celebrate!

     I officially finished the rough draft of my book, The Playbook and am having it edited. Check for updates to find out when it will be released, either on Amazon, Nook, or Wattpad. The first copy will be free, but for a limited time. Get it while you can! 
     I also began another novel about Whitley Ambrose and her nemesis, Jackson Frederick Tompson III and her endeavors to gain a million of his billion dollars with the help of her best friend and Jack's sister, Halley. Here an excerpt from the first chapter:

                          * * *

Jackson Frederick Tompson.

The Third.

God, I hated that name.

Jack Tompson was what he was known to the rest of us “mortals” at our school in Madison Heights. Jack Tompson: Jerk, Jock, Playboy, Mr. Popular, Mr. I-don’t-give-a-rip-about-feelings (feelings? What are feelings?), Mr. Holy-than-thou (but I have my own standards), Mr. Every-girl-wants-me-and-I-know-it, SuperHottie, and Mr. Rich.

Oh, and his ambitious life goal? Make the life of Whitley Ambrose hell.

That would be me.

How would I describe my relationship with the beloved Jack Tompson? He was the bane of my existence. And that’s putting it romantically.

My mom once asked me if I ever have that one person who I hate with a passion. I told her no. Technically, that’s true. I don’t hate Jack with a passion. I hate Jack with the wrath of ten thousand suns burning in Hell, keeping the devil’s tootsies warm. With a heater. And gasoline. And a wielder. And a hundred of the hottest stars that ever had the pleasure of gracing this almost perfect earth. (Almost perfect because, without Jack, it would be).

See? I don’t hate him completely. After all, I didn’t say a million of the hottest stars - just a hundred. I can have mercy.

You’re probably wondering what course of action Jack decided to take that garnered my unrequited hate. Well, that’s a bit of a longer story. The basic jist? He picked on me.

All.

The.

Time.

Forget I was younger by a year. Forget I had a life I enjoyed living. Forget that we had been good friends up until our fifth birthday - which I had the curse of sharing with him. He decided that, instead of forgetting all about me, he’d leave emotional battle scars all over me and make my social life non-existent.

The day Jack left for college was the day I spent twenty-four hours in my bedroom eating chocolate ice-cream, crying from relief with Halley (well, Halley was crying for other reasons), and singing praises to the Lord, just like Paul and Silas in jail. Thank goodness for Halley. She’s been my best friend since birth. She stuck through it with me throughout all those terrible years. Even letting me host most of the sleepovers at my house. She was a godsend.

There was only one little glitch in our relationship.

She happened to be the sister of Jackson Frederick Tompson. The Third. Hence, the infrequent slumber parties at her house. And, the reason why she was crying when he left for college. The two of them actually had a close relationship. Yet, for some inconceivable reason, Jack chose to love his sister and hate his sister’s best friend. Go figure. Honestly, it wasn’t that big of a deal, the feeling was pretty mutual.

Well, I might have hated him more than he hated me, but that’s just a technicality. Hate is hate.

So, when I found out Mr. I-Have-It-All became a billionaire, because God decided to grace - cough waste - such a brilliant mind on such an idiot of a person, that wasn’t exactly the best day of my life.

It was also my sophomore year in college: the time when I had a totaled car, behind in dorm payments, and was about to order textbooks for my junior year.

Yay me.

It also didn’t help that he was so smart that, not only did he graduate from high school a semester early, but he graduated from college a year early.

And I was still paying for a dorm.

Story Saturdays - The Playbook

Here's a WIP (work in progress) called The Playbook. The story-line follows Skylar Jameson and Luke Rader and a bet. Here's an excerpt from the first chapter:

***

EXCERPT:

     Chapter One

Luke bit his lip as his fists furled. Maddox was beginning to get on his nerves. It was taking every ounce of his self-control to keep from punching the punk's face in.

Also known as his best friend.

Which, at the moment, was getting difficult to remember.

Maddox put his hands up in a defensive, hey-calm-down gesture - something that just annoyed Luke even more. "Look, man. I'm not saying anything one way or the other. I'm just saying you got dumped - for the first time, I might add, and I just wanted to say you might be looking your touch."

Luke knew exactly what Maddox wanted to say, and it wasn't advice. It wasn't like he took the relationship seriously. Sure, he'd cared for Ashton, but his pride was more wounded than his feelings. If he was honest, he couldn't have really cared less, but Maddox' s goading was just pouring salt on the wound. "Bull," he spat, simply because he couldn't think of anything else to say at the moment. For a second his brain went blank. Then, it came back on with a vengeance. Was he losing his touch like Maddox said?

Maddox must have seen the inner conflict, because he smirked. "Really?" He cocked his head to the side in a silent challenge. "Then prove it."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Easy. I'll just pick out a random chick and smile and shell swoon." Now it was his turn to smirk. "I wrote the book on making girls fall in love."

"Perfect! That's genius!"

Maddox' s slow smile made Luke wary, then he realized what Maddox was planning and his wariness turned to annoyance and something akin to horror. "Dude! No. Way. You're insane!" Luke couldn't even believe Maddox had even remembered the Playbook, let alone have guts to bring it up. "Does your thick skull remember what happened the last time we used that piece of crap?"

Maddox laughed and Luke wondered how in the world his best friend could find anything humorous in this topic. "Best day of my life. So, whaddya say? Think you can do it?"

Luke glared at him. "Screw you. I don't need a stupid book to help me get a girl. You, on the other hand," he eyed Maddox up and down pointedly, "May need all the help you can get."

Maddox' s cocky stance became even more pronounced. "You're hysterical," he said dryly. "Look, thirty bucks says you can't get just any random girl even with the help of the book."

He smirks and Luke felt his finger nails biting into his palm. He really didn't have patience for this. "Dude, I'm saving your pockets. Keep your thirty bucks and don't waste my time." He was done with this pointless conversation. He turned to leave.

"Fifty bucks. First girl you cross paths with tomorrow. Woo her and use the book. I. Dare. You."

Luke stiffened in the hall between the showers and the lockers. He told himself that this was a bad idea. Stupid. Immature. Idiotic. He knew better than to take a dare. But, for some reason he couldn't explain, a part of him wanted to go for it. If for nothing else other than the cash. Maybe he needed a challenge, a distraction from the break up. Maybe it was because he knew that, if he agreed, it would get Maddox off his back. Maybe it was because he felt he needed to prove himself. Maybe it was because Maddox' s voice was so annoying, so cocky, that it grated on his nerve and refused to leave him alone. Whatever it was, it was enough to make him stop in the middle of the varsity locker room, turn around and say, "Deal."

So Sweet!

Here's a video I enjoyed watching. This is a high school student, Mike, who wrote a poem that won the Grand Slam Championship and went viral in two days (and you'll see why). This is a different type of poetry called Slam Poetry. It has a style all its own. It's all about expressing yourself. I hope you enjoy it!

Goodbye Summer!

     Ahhh… summer is officially over. As the cold weather sets in, I thank God for the opportunity to experience another warm and delightful summer. But, I also am thankful for the change of weather.
     I was looking through my summer pictures that I had either downloaded or taken, and found this picture. This beautifully created photograph reminded me of the fact that God has the universe in his hand, much like this young girl is holding this sandstone in her hand. It makes my own problems and worries seem so insignificant. Like they can't possibly be important enough to contingencies our Father. And yet, he asks us to - encourages us even. Our Heavenly Father wants to have a relationship with his children. He doesn't want to be the father that is absent from his children's lives, he's the father who wants the best for his children. He loves us and wants what's best for us. Consequently, this means God does what is best for his kingdom - him receiving the glory. Everything that the LORD does is to put his glory on display for the world. And, as his children, we are ambassadors for Christ. We are examples to show the world who Jesus is. This is something I've been struggling with. Not necessarily the part about bringing God glory, but how to bring him glory. Because, sometimes God asks us to do something, to serve him some way that we are afraid to serve him. Yet, we forget that our whole purpose is to bring God glory. It is to love and serve him, to be the sand and let him mold us in his hand until we are useable. John Piper said, "God is most glorified in us when we are moat satisfied him." I believe this white my whole heart. We can try to fill that "God-sized vacuum" in our heart with everything we can think of, but we will never be satisfied until we choose to follow Christ. Until we decide to sacrifice our lives - lives that aren't eve ours; they are the Lord's. And, when that happens - when we relenquish everything in us: our hopes, dreams, friends, family, our stuff - you will be amazed at what God can do.

Over the Fence

     Finn was from New York. He hated small towns. And the town of Carthage, Missouri is about as small as they come. The last thing he wanted to do was spend his summer cooped up in a small own for the summer.
     Until the day he climbs the fence and sees a girl jumping on her trampoline with the sprinkler system going.
     And she's wearing a bikini.
     Suddenly, this summer doesn't seem so bad...

     Finn hated ten things in this world and being stuck in a town the size of his backyard was at the top. "Mom! I'm bored!"
     His mom gave him a disapproving look. One that, In all honesty, made him feel even worse than he already did. Whining definitely wasn't his forte.
     "Griffin Adam Dilpot! You're nearly eighteen years old! Find something to do, or I'll see if your father can get you a job working for Mr. Allan."
     Finn hung his head, ashamed of actually resorting to that low of a tactic. Yet, the burning desire to do something just wouldn't go away. "Fine," he mumbled. "I'm going outside."
     When he opened the door, however, it wasn't the warm breeze that hit him. No, what hit him square in the forehead was hard and left a nasty bruise. Finn let out a shout of surprise as the flying object hit him, bouncing to the ground, and looked angrily around his years for his assailant. Then, he realized that the ball must've come from the neighbor's house. Storming to the dividing gate, he climbed up, preparing the dimwitted numbskull that had dared hit him with the blasted ball a talking to...
     Finn swallowed and all thoughts of the ball or his attacker or what he was even going to say flew from his brain as he swallowed his tongue and looked at his next door neighbor jumping on the trampoline.
     And he found that this summer might not be the waste he thought it would be after all. Because, there on the trampoline, was a girl his age, sun-kissed skin and light brown hair waving in the air as she jumped with abandon and eyes closed. And she was in a bikini.

New Book!

   It's been four years. Four, long years full of love and heartache. Four years since he happened and ruined Natalie Brennen's life. Four years since she learned that love happens despite the circumstances. And three months since he left her life forever, leaving a gaping hole in her heart. 
     Natalie never thought having her life shaken and returned destroyed at the age of fifteen would change her life so drastically four years later. And yet, it does. But, she doesn't talk about it. Ever. Not to her parents, who were her only means of support throughout that those years of terror and trials, even though she was condemned by everyone else, her friends, her family. And yet, she wants to talk about what happened. Why it happened. But they don't. Which makes her wonder, is there anyone she can turn to?

    Quinn killed his parents.
     And now he has to deal with the aftermath. He has to contend with the stares, the whispers, the judgement. Then, he meets Natalie. She's the first person who doesn't ask, doesn't pry. She treats him the same way any normal person would a fellow human being. And for the first time, he's truly happy. He can be himself without worrying about being judged, being made to talk about that day.

     But, he knows something is hurting Natalie deeply. The same kind of pain his secrets cause. And, for the first time in his life he asks himself, should the things nobody talks about actually be talked about?

     And who is Ronan?

Just Some Pics...

Here are some pics I took while I was in the Square. I hope you enjoy!

Book One in New Series: Never Will I Ever (Springhill Heights)

Due to come out on e-book in 2014!

   It's the summer before their senior year when Mr. McKinney offers six teens a chance of a lifetime:
   90 days to play his version of Never Have I Ever. He dares them to do things they've never done before.
   So, Tessa, Paige, Gabe, Zoey, Noah, and Waylon take him up on his offer. This offer includes three rules. They follow the rules, they get the prize. 
   Easy, right?
   Well... then there's the unsaid Rules of Morality - the basic 'brotherly and sisterly love' bit. 
   And that's where things get interesting.

    Welcome to the new Truth or Dare.

                                                                *****

Noah -

I walk into Mark's Bait Shop. Mr. Mckinney called this morning asking if I wanted to do something this summer. I thought I was. But,then again, football, baseball, and track get boring when played everyday. Actually, that's not entirely true, but I was ready for a change in scenery.

He sounded like he was offering. Which, possibly includes him paying. And who was I to argue?

The bell jingles and a man in his fifties with a full, red beard and red mustache with white streaks and twinkling eyes comes around the counter, wiping his hands off on his apron. As if that'll help. The guy reeks of fish.

"Mornin', son. Decide to take me up on my offer?"

I grin and walk over to Mr. McKinney swinging my lanyard around my finger lazily. "That depends. What are you of offering?"

He turns to clean a fillet knife. "Wait'll ‘til the others get here. Then, I'll explain."

I wrinkled my nose. "What others?"

I hear the door jingle and I turn around to see a girl with long, wavy brown hair and chocolate eyes walk in. I'd seen her a couple of times in passing in the hallways at school, but I didn't know who she was.

She comes to stand by me, facing Mr. McKinney, and barely comes up to my chin. I take a subtle whiff of her scent - lavender. I know, because my mom is obsessed with that scent. I close my eyes and inhale, then snap them open when I realize what I'm doing. I sneak a peek at Mr. McKinney to see if he noticed,but he was talking to the girl beside me.

Then, I hear someone say my name. "Huh?"

"Noah, this is Zoey Farrol. Zoey, Noah VanCamp. You two are just a couple of the young 'uns I've invited for this surprise," Mr. Mckinney says as he gestures between Zoey and I.

" 'Sup."

"Hi."

She barely spares me a glance. That fact kind of prices my skin.it shouldn't, but it does. However, it does give me a chance to study her. The way her eyes are like melted chocolate - soft and warm. The way her tiny pixie nose wrinkles when she's annoyed...

"Are you checking me out?" she snaps.

Oh, crap. I flush. Was I that obvious? I guess I was staring, but she wasn't even looking at me! I decided to play it cool. Without missing a beat, I say, "Why? Do you want me to?"

She spins to face me, face beet red, nostrils flaring.

Yeah, she might've been a little ticked. But, she was adorable.

"You're incorrigible!"

"Thank... you?"

She lets out a growl and throws her hands in the air. "Impossible," she mutters under her breath as she storms off.

Whew. What's her problem?

Just then, one of my buddies from football comes in. Gabe. I greet him with the usual. "Hey! Man, wassup?"

I give him a high five, then pull him in for a man hug. "Nothing much. Came here to see what all the fuss over the summer is."

"You too? Dude, I can't wait! Throwing passes to my kid sister gets old real  fast. And everyone else is on vacation." Gabe makes a face. His parents were saving up for his senior trip to Europe, so they weren't vacationing this summer.

"I know what you mean. The parks fun, but..."

Just then, the door jingles and in walks Tessa, a girl I see hanging with Gabe a lot, and another girl I recognize from youth group.

"Hey,guys. Started the party without me, I see." Tessa smirks and Gabe rolls his eyes.

"Oh, please, Tess. We're the ones waiting on you."

Tessa smirks sarcastically. "Cool story, bro. Tell it again."

I speak up. "Actually, we're still waiting on someone. He's supposed to be here by-"

The now familiar jingle rings again and ten eyes turn to watch a kid my age walk in. I recognize him from youth group and my science class. "Hey, Waylon."

"Hey." He gives a half smile, but that immediately wavers as soon as he spots the girl with Tessa. "Hey, Paige,” he says tentatively.

Paige levels him with a glare. "What are you doing here?"

Waylon shrugs. "Mr. McKinney called me."

Paige purses her lips, but says nothing and plops into the chair next to Tessa. I actually feel a bit sorry for the guy to have a girl like Paige hate him so much. But, it's none of my business.

Mr. McKinney choses that moment to come out of the back. "Well, looks like ya'll're here; let's get down to business."

Chairs scrape and squeal as everyone takes a seat and we watch as Mr. McKinney leans against the counter, arms crossed, an unreadable expression on his face. "Whaddya kids say to goin' on a road trip for the summer?"

Murmurs start to ripple across the room. Paige, is the first to answer.

"Sure!"

I give her a sidelong glance. "What kind of road trip?"

Mr. McKinney smiles. "Ah, I always knew you were a bright boy. Well, you see, this trip is somewhat of a scavenger hunt."

Gabe looks around the room, then back to Mr. McKinney. "A scavenger hunt?" Although, he words it more like a skeptical statement.

Mr. McKinney' s smile brightens and he nods. Now, I'm getting wary. All the times Mr. McKinney used... well, unorthodox methods of teaching Sunday school flit through my mind and I wonder what it is this time. "Well, you see, there's this game you have to play on the trip. My daughter calls it Never Have I Ever."

That's when the bait shop erupts.

"Dude! No way!"

"That's a girl's game!"

"Sweet!"

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

"I'm in!"

“That's a great idea!"

"Are you mental?"

It takes Mr. McKinney a full minute before everyone calms down. The only one who hasn't said a word this whole time is Zoey. She's watching everything with an attentive expression and I wonder what's going through that pretty head of hers.

Mr. McKinney speaks up. "Kids, I have modified some rules and, if you'll let me, I'll tell you how this trip is going to take place."

We settle down and focus our attention on the retired Sunday school teacher; for some reason, I have a feeling I know what's coming. "Now, each one of you have wandered into my shop more than twice this summer looking absolutely bored. So, as much as I enjoy your company, I'm giving y'all something to do. I'm sending you six on a two month long road trip to visit as many places as you can in a car. But, you have to play my version of Never Have I Ever." He cocked an eyebrow as if daring anyone to make fun of what he was about to say. "Its called Never Will I Ever."

He pushed himself off the counter, pulled out one of his chairs, and sat backwards in it, propping his elbows on the back and letting his hands hang limp. "You have three rules to this game: one, every time someone says "Never Have I Ever" - which you'll take turns doing after each step is done - it is your job as a group to fulfill that Never Have I Ever and make it so they have done it." He immediately puts his hand up, apparently seeing the wicked gleam in the eyes of Gabe and I. "However, what you say has to be within reason. I'm going to trust you to set those boundaries because you are young adults and should be able to be responsible." He gives us a stern look. "Am I right?"

We nod solemnly. Our version of "proper boundaries" definitely varies. But, I'm smart enough to know what he means.

"Good. Now, feel free to take videos and pictures to your heart's delight. I'm going you a camera so you can document this..." He smirks. "Adventure."

He pauses and reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper and unfolds it before continuing. "Two," he reads. "Every person has one chance to say 'Never Will I Ever'. You use this when announcing things you vow to never do. With. In. Reason. The goal of the game is to get others to do something they never thought they'd do. If you say you won't do something, then the group gets you to do it, you lose."

We think about that for a few minutes. That's it? Those are the rules? "That's easy," I say. "Where are we going?"

Mr. McKinney smirks and hands me a credit card. "Wherever in the good ole USA you want."