Book Cover Winner!

We have a winner for the cover for "A Moment for Eternity"!

Drum roll please...

Thank you all who voted. I loved your input and appreciate your help in this decision. So, without further ado, the winner cover is....

A Moment for Eternity Final Book Cover Reveal

So, I gave you a teaser cover until the final designs for the official cover came in. They are two very different cover choices and I can't decide which one I like better. Maybe you could help me out? I'd love for you to vote and let me know which cover is your favorite! (These covers are for A Moment for Eternity, which is due to come out this fall/winter.) Scroll down and click the link to vote.

And yes, the tree is supposed to be upside down (you'll find out why in the book).

Modern and Trendy

Soft and Surreal

Book Cover Poll

Cover Reveal!

So.... Here's the cover of my new series that you guys have been waiting for!!! Thank you for being patient.
But, now you have to be even more patient (I'm sorry) because the book won't be started until this summer.
Sucks. I know.
However, until then, here's the cover as a little "tide me over" teaser. 

New Books (PLURAL)!

Read for Free!

So... yeah. It's been quite awhile. For that, I apologize. Life has been crazy! I've collaborate with a few other authors and we've published a poetry book called PenRose Poems: Volume I. (Click here to check it out!) It's available at Barnes & Noble, Lulu.com, and Amazon.com. I would definitely recommend checking it out! Even if you don't like poetry, there are some fun pieces in there that I think you readers will enjoy. Or, you could give it as a gift to someone who does like poetry.

Also, I've been working on a new book, A Moment for Eternity. ...

Xavier Thomas has everything. Money. Power. Control. All of that is shattered when he meets an unusual girl with an unusual name and an even more unusual request...

...Tennessee Evans wants to see the world. She's never been on a vacation in all her twenty-one years and she wants to road-trip while she can. When she sees a rich pretty-boy getting his passport, her problems seem solved. She asks him to take her on vacation and, to her utter surprise, 

agrees. However, it's soon apparent that Tennessee and her crazy personality alone with straight-laced Xavier Thomas for two straight weeks wasn't the best idea. 

Or maybe it was....

“Mommy, I’m hungry.”

Xavier shoved his earbuds further into his ears. Waiting in line was one thing, but waiting in line with a child crying in his ear was another. He shifted his stance and attempted to block out the sound best he could. 

“Mommy!”

The woman did her best to hush the belligerent child while remaining oblivious to the dirty looks people were sending her way. 

Suddenly, the child expelled an ear-piercing wail that turned the dirty looks to dark ones. The lady, cheeks stained pink with embarrassment, apologized and swiftly carried her child out. 

“Shoulda done that quite a bit ago.”

At the middle-aged man’s comment, a woman snorted. “Children these days have no sense of respect. So spoiled.”

Though the young boy’s cries were more than annoying, Xavier highly doubted a child barely at the age of two would know the existence of the word respect, let alone have the capability of behaving as such. 

He slid his phone from his pocket and changed the song. People annoyed him. Not all people, but most. He liked order and reasoning and control. It hadn’t taken him long to discover that many times, people didn’t make sense, and more than that, life was very difficult to control.

That didn't stop him from trying, however.

A woman started an argument with her husband. The man’s face became even more drawn as his wife roused herself into an embarrassing frenzy. 

Yes, he most certainly did not care for people.

“153.”

Xavier stood as he heard his number and made his way to the counter.

“How are we doing this afternoon?”

He peered at the woman in front of him. He had always thought it strange that people used the word we rather than you. “I’m not sure,” he quipped. “I’m doing pretty fine. Though, how you’re doing is entirely up to you.”

The woman’s face was blank as she stared at him in confusion. After a beat, she gave a polite laugh. “I’m doing okay as well.” She pulled some papers out and handed him a pen. “Just sign here and… here and then you can go ahead and take a seat.”

Xavier did as she requested and then returned to his seat. Just as he was about to return his earbuds to his ears, a shadow descended over him. He looked up. 

“Mind if I sit here?”

Curly hair and bright eyes stared back at him. The girl was practically bouncing. She wore a shirt too big for her small frame with leggings and sandals. But, what caught his attention, was her smile. Wide and genuine.

Xavier cleared his throat, realizing he’d been staring. “No. Not at all.”

“Thanks.” She unceremoniously plopped down next to him.

Awkward silence ensued and Xavier suddenly wished the crying child was still around.

“How old are you?”

Xavier startled and stared at the girl with wide eyes. “‘Scuse me?”

She laughed and the sound wasn’t polite and reserved like most girls, but it was loud and full, brimming with joy. However, it wasn’t boisterous, simply… unfiltered. He smiled. He had a suspicion that her laugh was much like her personality.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-three. How ‘bout you?”

She grinned, mischievousness gleaming in her eyes. “Don’t you know better than to ask a woman her age?”

His face warmed and he coughed. “I beg your pardon. But, I figured you’d rather me ask then guess.”

“And what would you have guessed?”

He stared at her then. She had the figure of a teen, and her behavior bespoke of youth. However, her eyes held more maturity than he would have expected. “Twenty.”

Her leg began to bounce. “Ooh, you’re good. Twenty-one.” Her hand came out and gestured towards the DMV. “License renewal and all that.” Her head tilted to the side, sending a curl to brush against her cheek. “I’m surprised you didn’t say sixteen or seventeen.”

He shrugged. He would have, but… “Your eyes.”

Her brow furrowed. “What?”

“Your eyes. They seem older than the rest of you.”

A gleam entered her eyes, then, and she smiled, seeming to like that answer. 

That gleam made Xavier uncomfortable, but he decided to ignore it.

He shouldn’t have.

“Wanna go somewhere?”

He choked. “W-what?” 

“Do you want to go somewhere? Anywhere.”

“Are you propositioning me?” Horror colored his tone.
She laughed again and it made Xavier want to smile. “I want to go on a trip. Away from here. And you seem like just the person to take me.”

Story Saturdays

Just Another Poem

So, I know I've been gone for awhile and I apologize. My computer crashed while my flashdrive was plugged in so everything I had been working on was deleted.
Meaning, all the edits for my book.
So, now, I'm having to redo almost two months of editing around my busy school/work schedule. Not fun. But, I came up with this poem a few minutes ago, and thought I'd share it with you all for your enjoyment.
If you want to keep up with more (much more) frequent updates on what's going on, follow me on Twitter! If something's coming up, it's announced on my Twitter ASAP. You also get links and recommendations for other nerd activities, like if an author has an upcoming signing...

So, without further to do, here's my poem.

Things I Love

I love early morning summer,
when the birds are singing loud
and the sky is painted orange low,
casting gilded light across the ground.

I love when water ripples,
sending those shards of light,
like broken glass across the floor,
flitting for my delight.

I love drinking in the blaze of fire,
in the dark of night,
their crackling and dancing slow
right before my eyes.

I love when sunlight streams
through windows all around,

placing the purest of ribbons

all across the ground.

I love being so alone,

bare feet dipped in rivers flowing

woods and animals all around

and a book to tell me where I’m going.

I love fast driving through the country

so all the colors of the trees,

blur to form one bright color

of flowers and grass and leaves.

I love the smell of the great outdoors

just after heavy rain

when everything is pure and clean,

like God decided to start again.

I love the scent of the sweetest pea

and lavender in my shower,

but the scent I love the most of all

is none but the butterfly flower.

I love high places to stand upon

And look upon God’s glory

the feeling of climbing oh, so high

and seeing our smallness in His Story.

I love the minds of others

when I’m able to see in

and battle with the best of minds

to better mine with strengthening.

I love the smell of adventure

as it rumbles through my veins

and fills me with excitement

I know I’ll never know again.

I love new discoveries

and things that make me think

and finding a pattern in chaos

that can change before you blink.

I love asking questions

as annoying as that may be

but questions get you answers

and answers can set you free.

I love brilliant quote.

There’s just something about those words

that make you realize there’s more to life

yet, you can still be understood.

But, more than anything I love,

Is a Love that sets you free

When God sent His Son to die

All for the sake of His own glory.

Story Saturdays

Which Playbook Character Are You?

Fill out the form below to find out which character you are most like!

Thrilling Thursdays - Poem of the Month

The Moor (Written as Said)

by Camilla Patterson

Loik aught athort th' moor,

Betwix th' Laurel Heights,

Where lil' lasses play,

An' lads remorse tha're plight.

Where t'was th' animals reigned,

An' roamed arund so free.

When a'last they came ta' rest

'Derneath th' sycamore tree.

At nights ye're verra tired,

But, canna get ta' sleep,

Fer yer mind aught filled with playin'

Amung th' willows weep.

Claud sailors sail from afar,

Amung th' sea o' green.

Which is splauttered in pinks an' yellow

An' small broun crunchin' leaves.

Ye canna call 'em brigands,

Fer tha's nay what thee're cauld.

Yet, long ago, just once they were,

In the days o' auld.

An' now th' lads an' lasses,

With swords made o' wood,

call out among th' reeds,

Loiking fer Robin Hood.

A red fox acomes creepin' by, 

Loiking fer his food.

Dinna know what lurks ahin,

Amung in th' foul wood.

A hunta' loies in waitin' 

Sittin' on oppu'tunity's door.

Yet, methinks he just likes

Th' silence o' th' moor.

Th' wind behoind me back, 

Th' breeze upon me face,

An' I stand upon th' moor,

'Membran when me visited th' Thrace.

Th' sky with sun a-setting,

Th' scene painted ableize,

T'was a braw sight to behold,

An' left me quite bumbaze.

O, moor, ne'er forget me,

Ne'er me an' mine,

Fer a day'll come

Whence ye'll hear me fechted cry.

Calling aught amung the reeds,

A dagga' in me 'and.

An' I shall slay tha' dragon,

which 'aunts th' magic moorland.