Story Saturdays

Summer!

     School has officially ended and everyone is running haywire trying to find something to do with their time. Or, you might be one of those who has too much planned for the summer. You'd love to switch places with the person who is utterly bored because they have plenty of time on their hands. Whoever you are, here are some book excerpts for you to enjoy for some of my WIP's that I'll be working on this summer, though I can't promise they'll come out this year, as I am currently in the process of finishing two books, writing four more, and beginning rough drafts for nine others.
     And more ideas are constantly popping in my head.
   
     First off, I'd like to reveal the final edit of my Atlas Cain cover. I hope to be editing the book by Christmas, but we'll see how my summer series is coming along by then.

Atlas Cain

             Suddenly, my thoughts are broken my the news streaming through.

“In other news, Jonathan Perez is under suspicion for the murder of seventeen-year-old Shelby Murdock. However, police are only keeping him overnight, due to the fact there is no solidarity evidence to incriminate Perez.”

I stare numbly at the screen as they show a picture of Shelby Murdock. She looks almost exactly like me.

I gasp as the realization hits. A realization I’d denied for as long as I could.

He was back for me.

“Police say to be on the watch for Perez. Police investigations are being held and they request the public report any suspicious findings immediately.”

I’m sucking in ragged breaths as I try not to pass out. Jonathan’s back. I never thought he’d be back. Never thought he’d find me. But, he is and he did.

Immediately, I’m off my bed and heading out to my car. Screw Atlas. I need that studio. And I need it now.

In minutes, I’m parking my car and pushing my way through the doors to the locker room.

I change.

I stretch.

Then I go looking for Atlas. I need a target. I need to punch and hit and do some major damage to someone's face.

He’s in his office on the phone, but hangs up when he sees me. I can tell he’s confused as to why I’m there, but I need something.

“I need you.”

And here are some books that will be being worked on over the summer and some excerpts from them:

The Perfect Now

"There are many things that test the validity of your beliefs. Likewise, there are a great many things that shape your beliefs, worldview, and structure or deplete your cognition. One of these things is the way you see happiness.

Happiness - a noun meaning ‘the state of being happy’, according to Google - greatly differs from Joy. Joy, also awarded the pleasure of being a noun, differs from Happiness in the way that it is the feeling of great pleasure and happiness, it isn’t the state of being happy. We have all felt Joy at least once in our lives, whether it was for a lengthy period of time, or simply a few moments.

I’ve had moments. I’ve grasped onto those moments with an iron grip, trying to make them last, afraid of letting them go. They never stay. They fade away like a leaf in the wind, reminding me of the void I’d felt, yet suppressed, during those few moments of Joy. I no longer want Joy. It leaves a craving inside of you that is unsated. I want Happiness. Miles of Happiness covering my life like cement on a paved road.

Everyone wants Happiness. “The pursuit of Happiness” is the emblem of the American Dream, everyone striving, fighting for the pursuit of happiness that the goal of finding happiness becomes muddled, tainted by the fight, until happiness is a dream and joy is a reality.

Little bits of Joy.

But I want an eternity of Happiness. A perfect now that I can enjoy, instead of simply a substantial future.

Because life is too short to be anything else."

And here's the first book in a dystopian trilogy I'm beginning which is the head-off of another dystopian trilogy my cousin and I are co-authoring.

Syndicate

"The government has symbols. The symbol represents who the United States are as a nation and what they stand for. Well, we have symbols too. Our symbols are close to the government's; to wear a foreign tat is considered treason. But, our symbols, well... they mean something entirely different.
Our symbols look like a modified version of theirs. Our meanings? Well, let's just say they're closer to rebellion than modification.
We do this to set ourselves apart. And, if we get caught, we can just say we're being 'creative'. Call it cowardice or whatever you want, but this is how we survive while we fight. We can't get caught. Not yet. All our memories, our security information, our lives are on the computerized ink which stains our wrist as a symbol.
There's only one person who does the symbols our way, so we know who's on our side. But someday, we won't know. The government will figure it out and our syndicate will be infiltrated. Someday, we won't know the good from the bad. And when that day comes...
Lord have mercy on our souls."

Story Saturdays

I'm so excited for the release of my new book! And I'm pretty sure the rest of you are tired of waiting. So, for being such good sports, I'll give you some teasers and more book suggestions you can read while you wait.

Cinderella in the Surf by Carly Sims

Kindle: $2.99

Rachel West loves the water. It feels like she's been surfing since before she could walk. But when a horrific accident ruins her love for the sport, she's not sure how to stay afloat. 

Walker Gracin is a southern guy on vacation for the summer when he meets Rachel, a pretty, broken ex-surfer, and he's determined to show her she can have a life free from the sea. 

But when Rachel's faced with an impossible choice -- get back on her surfboard or give up her dreams forever -- she risks losing everything she and Walker worked to build. 

Can Rachel overcome everything that wants to keep her down or will she sink under the pressure?

Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker

Kindle: $7.99

The future changes in the blink of an eye . . . or does it?

Miriam is a Saudi princess promised to another, a pawn in a political struggle that could shift the balance of power in the Middle East.

Seth is a certified genius with a head full of numbers, a life full of baggage, and an attitude born on the waves of the Pacific.

Cultures collide when they find themselves thrown together as fugitives in a high-stakes chase across Southern California. A growing attraction and a search for answers fuel their fight to survive . . . but with no sleep and a massive manhunt steadily closing in, their chances of surviving any future are razor thin.

These are two wonderful books that I recommend you to read anytime you get the chance. Blink of an Eye is, hands down, one of my favorite books. I recommend these two authors anytime you get the chance. 

Along with these two novels, I also have an excerpt from a few more of my books. At this point, I just have story-lines, so, it will be awhile before they're out on e-book. The writing has begun, but, as I said, it will take some time. These books aren't intended for younger readers as the novels hold mature content and topics.

Remember Me

Flat.

Just like the earth was once believed to be shaped. Just like a failed souffle. And an opened soda. Flat like a deflation. Like a tire. Flat like someone without a depth of character. Flat like a line. A line you had to walk to remain standing if you didn’t want to fall into an abyss. Flat like a line. A line between life and death. A line which appeared in a cold, clean, pristine, hollow hospital room the instant someone you loved was no more.

Flat. Just like me.

I didn’t want to be flat. I wanted to be remembered, but I’d done nothing worth remembering. At least, nothing worth savoring. Oh, I’m sure I’d be remembered for things I would love to change, to forget. But, I knew I’d never be remembered the way everyone one wanted to be remembered. No, I’d be forgotten just as billions of others had been all because I was just me. Mistakes and all. I’d never done anything worth anything. And the day I died? Well, that was my biggest regret. Not dying, everyone has to die. I just regret dying forgotten.

No one should die forgotten.

The Regret Message

Aug. 26, 2014

Dear Lilly,

It’s a funny feeling when you finally accept things as they are. You still have this lingering, nagging doubt in your mind that the peace you feel won’t last. And maybe it won’t. But, I hope it does. Everything from the past two years has been tearing me up inside and I could use some peace right now.

Right about now, you’d probably feed me some psychological babble about how things are meant to be and and that crap. Whatever. I never did believe you when you said that anyway.

I miss you. I guess that’s a given as how I’m writing this letter to you. But I do. I miss the way you smile. The way you laugh. The way you always had my back and I always had yours. I miss the way you call me out on my junk. And, honestly, I just miss you. All of you.

I know I screwed up in the end and I regret that everyday. There are a lot of things I regret. I regret how stupid I was. That I didn’t listen to you. That I acted like I didn’t care. I did. Maybe that’s where I went wrong. I cared too much. But, they say you can’t care too much about someone.

There are some things that I don’t regret, however. The first day I met you. Our first kiss. Man, that was something, wasn’t it? (I guess you don’t have to agree, but I know you know it was).

So, I guess this is what I’ve become. A boy resigned to writing you bittersweet regret messages sent to you on a piece of recycled wood otherwise known as paper by the supreme populous.  

And that’s about as good as it gets, unfortunately.

Because you’re there, and I’m here, and all I’ve got is our memories.

Finally - 6 Weeks and 4 Days Left!

The Playbook (July 1st)

Finally! I have gotten the hard cover and two paperback covers of my book! Yay! I'm doing some final editing, but this book will be out on e-book in Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and an assortment of many other companies July 1st. It will be on sale for $0.99 for two weeks, before the price will go up to $2.99 permanently. So, get it while you can! Likewise, a sample of Book One in the TimeKeeper's Chronicles, Key of Time (The first 100 pages),

Key of Time (May 30)

will come out on e-book May 30 for free! The full copy is due to come out sometime in September, along with a couple of my other books (ssshhh! They're secrets!). All I can say, is that one of them is a WIP, and the other is a short story that contains some very heavy content and not suitable for children. It is very controversial and deals with some mature situations and events.

So, all you patient waiters, thank you so much for your support and cheering! I finally made it and have to say I am quite pleased of myself. The wait is almost over and soon, very soon, you'll get to reap the fruits of my labor!!

Click the link below. It's a promo slide for The Playbook. I have to apologize about the sound. For some reason, it isn't working, but I'm trying to fix that. Enjoy!


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Just for Laughs

Here's a song that I was listening to and it made me laugh. It's full of really cheesy pickup lines and music video is even cheesier. (Like REALLY cheesy). If you want to watch something cute, then this is the video for you:

Story Saturdays

     I know it's been a while since I last posted, and I apologize. Today, I'm introducing a new book I'm writing and a few others by author friends of mine.

Crumble

     The first book is about Tatum King and how drastically her life changes when she gets on the wrong bus.
     All her life, all Tatum's only ever wanted three things in life: get an art degree, make something of herself, and live up to her family's expectations. But, life seems like it will only offer her three of these dreams.
     Tired of being unable to live up to expectations, Tatum lets go one night with her best friend and somehow ends up in a bus, where she falls asleep. The next morning, she's hit with three realizations: she never got home, there's a drunk, arrogant jerk mere feet from her makeshift bed...
     ...And she's more than three-hundred miles from home and well on her way to New York.
 
      Nash Phillips hates the band's after-parties. The only upside to the whole ordeal is the fact that there's free beer and his choice of women. Not that they actually help anything. When Nash wakes up the morning of his Rock Out Roadshow tour, he's got one helluva migraine, no recollection of the previous night's activities, and a petite blond crashing on his couch - one he didn't screw, for once. One who also has no idea who he is. And they're in the middle of nowhere.
   
     As Tatum's world crumbles around her and Nash's career falls to pieces, can they help each other pick up the pieces, or do two broken things destroy each other?

Atlas Cain

     Bethany Duverne had it all - status, money, friends, boyfriend, looks. Until her world came crashing around her ears.
     Now, she lives in the shadows, haunted by a past she can't change and a ghost she can't escape. Instead, she finds comfort in the few friends she does have, her boxing lessons, and being invisible.
     But that all changes when her past returns to do more damage - and there's no running this time. She's trapped.
     Until she meets Atlas Cain, the popular boy who's got his life together... Golden Boy. But, as she gets to know him, she realizes his life isn't as great as it seems.
     And maybe, just possibly, he might be her only hope.

And here are some books by authors I would recommend:

The Academy by Emmaline Andrews

Where things are not always as they seem…

My name is Kris Jameson and I’m a student at the Royal Academy. I’m at the top of all my classes, what they call a “model student.” There’s only one problem—the Academy is an all boys school and I’m a girl.

It started as a prank when I took my brother’s place. But things got complicated when I caught Broward, the school bully, in a compromising position. They got even worse when I was assigned my roommate—the handsome but enigmatic North who saved me several times from the bully’s attacks.

Now the consequences of my deception are coming back to haunt me. The penalty for fraud at this exclusive school is much worse than simple expulsion—I could lose a hand. Worse, so could my beloved brother.

With so much at stake, it’s imperative that I keep my secret safe. And the person I’m closest to, North, is the one I have to be most wary of.
The trouble is, I think I’m falling in love with him…

American Girl on Saturn by Nikki Godwin

The summer after graduation is supposed to be that first real taste of freedom - but not for eighteen-year-old Chloe Branson. Just as that breeze of freedom is making its way into her galaxy, her secret-service-agent dad drops a meteor-sized bomb of bad news on her and her sisters. An attempt has been made on the lives of Canadian boyband, Spaceships Around Saturn, during their USA tour, and the guys have to go into hiding ASAP. The only problem? In the midst of the crisis and media frenzy, their dad volunteered to hide the guys...in their house. 

Six-year-old Emery is as ecstatic as any self-proclaimed Saturnite would be, but Chloe and her seventeen-year-old sister Aralie watch their summer plans crash and burn like a falling star. The SAS guys aren't happy with the situation, either. Bad boy Jules picks fights with Aralie about everything from his Twitter followers to his laundry, and heart-throb Benji can't escape Emery's fangirlisms for more than three minutes. 

But after the super-cute Milo kisses Chloe during a game of hide-and-seek, she finally understands what Emery means when she talks about SAS being "out of this world." If this is what Saturn feels like, Chloe doesn't want to come back to Earth.

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.