Story Saturdays

     I've just started a new book and come out with the cover for it and another book, which are shown on my WIPs page. It's not been completed, but here's an excerpt from the book. In summary, the story follows the summer Aidan Lindsay and Julienne Schaffer meet and how one tragic accident could keep them apart.

And, as I’m standing on the rock, watching the waves bash against the stones, I feel the rush of wind rushing around me, tearing parts of me in different directions, I realize they are holding me, keeping me grounded when they should be ripping me apart and carrying me away. And, maybe that’s what love is like: supposed to be unraveling, untangling you. But, when it’s right, it grounds you, holding you in place and strengthening you, helping you stand. This is love. Love is this: love is like the holding winds.

Thrilling Thursdays

Consuming Reading

Read, read, read, read, read.... 
     If you are anything like me, you love reading. You could eat books up like a drug. You could breathe them like oxygen. You could spend hours upon hours reading them. They're your best friends. 
     Especially Fiction.
     Ahh.... good ole' fiction. Always been there for you. The romance when you lack it. The action when you're bored. The horror when you... 
     Let's not finish that thought.
     You've always had your books as your companions. They don't argue with you. They don't complain. They don't whistle those annoying jingles when they're having their annoyingly optimistic days. They just feed you what you want and you eat. Them. Up. Why?
     Because it's so much better to live in a fantasy than reality.
     Is it not? Reality is hard. Brutal. Tragic. Hardly ever gives us what you want because we are filling our desires with lesser wants instead of filling it with the One who will satisfy us. 
     If you're anything like me, reading - books, can easily become the idol in your life. I know it has for me. Many times. It's so easy to be consumed by the fantasy, the story that starts, goes, and ends the way you want. So why not just spend all your time in fantasy land? Besides the obvious necessity for food, drink, and the fact everyone seems to believe it's unhealthy.
     To be disconnected from the mission field God's placed you in by ignoring it because it isn't the way you want it is purely selfish. I know so many times I struggle with keeping my reading time to a reasonable amount. Same idea when it comes to what I read. It's so easy to drift off into La-La Land and ignore everything I don't like. But, because of this, reading had become my god. It had taken the place of God in my life. Instead of turning to Scripture or praying when I was in a pickle, I shut out the world and surrounded myself with books. Fiction especially. Fiction was my go-to source. 
     Obviously, this wasn't healthy. Not only was I running from my problems, but I was trying to find satisfaction in something mediocre when I can find true, fulfilling satisfaction in Christ. John Piper, a pastor and theologian who I highly recommend, said, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." Is having an unhealthy addiction to reading glorifying God? Absolutely not. Our sole purpose for being on this earth is to glorify the LORD. We, as Believers, are ambassadors for Christ. We demonstrate Christ through our actions. We show others who God is by how we behave. What kind of example are we if we are constantly immersing ourselves in things of the world, slowly tearing down the suit of armor we were given to protect ourselves from the Flesh? 
     Besides being an example, being consumed by fiction reading is unhealthy for our spiritual life. How can we grow in our faith if we are taking minimal action to strengthen ourselves? Moreover, how can we grow if we are constantly filling ourselves with things that are tearing down our spiritual strength? Things that, instead of building us up mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, are tearing us down, feeding us our fleshly desires. Phillipians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things". Is what you're reading pure? Honorable? Just? Lovely? Strengthening your faith? Think on these things.
     Please don't hear me saying "Reading is sinful! Don't read!" On the contrary, reading is something wonderful, a gift God has given writers to be able to create a world worth reading about. Even I - especially I, love reading what I like to call "Brain Candy". I'm not saying you have to be extremely theological and philosophical, it's perfectly fine to give your brain a break. But, it becomes detrimental to your spiritual health when it becomes consuming, taking the place of God in your life. 
     Recently, I read a book by A. W. Tozer titled The Pursuit of God. In this book, Tozer talked about how, so many times, we separate the sacred from the secular. We have a habit of becoming legalistic and looking at things through black and white lenses. Instead, we need to see everything as sacred. As Christians, we're born again and, instead of asking "is that bad?" or "is that good?" we need to ask "will this glorify the LORD?". So many times, we think of life as a checklist: 1. God  2. Family  3. Church  4. Friends and so on. Instead, we need to look at it as slices of a pie:
     As you can see, God, in the center of our lives, is touching everything in our lives. He isn't first, He's the center. He is. His is our life. 
     So, as you pick up your book to begin your second four-hour session of addictive reading, think about whether what you're reading is glorifying God. Whether your reading session have become a drug, an escape from your life, or if they're a harmless way of relaxing. Think about this. And, if your answer is reading has become your idol, then consume yourself in God's word. Fill that satisfaction in Him instead of finding a lesser substitute. 

Story Saturdays

      A few of you have asked for the code to my latest book updates, but didn't receive anything after the first week. For that, I apologize. I've been having some technical difficulties with the downloads. So, I'm now posting a new code which will allow you to download the latest chapter updates for my book, The Playbook. Just add the number of the last chapter you downloaded and you will receive the next few chapters (for example, if you have the first six chapters, put 6 at the end of the code and you will receive chapters seven, eight, and nine). Email this code to me (email found on my CONTACTS page) and you will receive your chapters by mid-week. Again, I'm so sorry. Enjoy!

Code: U52f3c8R
cpattersonbooks@gmail.com

Happy New Year!

     Welcome to 2014! If you are reading this post, you have officially survived the previous year - resolutions (or lack thereof), and all. To kick start this new year I'm introducing a few series that will be coming in the years to come. I have always been interested in anything science-fiction or dystopian and am using this opportunity to write present to you several upcoming dystopian books. 

Falling World Trilogy:

Book 1: As the World Falls

Book 2: As the Earth Shatters

Book 3: As the Universe Crumbles

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."