Grab My Hand and Lets Make A Stand!

I am PROUD to have joined the Grab my hand- Indie Authors Against Bullying Photo Protest! 

A way for authors, bloggers, and bookaholics to unite against bullying. Bullying has ALWAYS been an issue, and I'm so glad to see people finally standing up together, and making it clear that it IS NOT okay! It is NEVER okay to berate someone else with cruel words, or actions for any reason.

This protest is sponsored by the amazing ladies of Sparring Stepsisters, and is being done with the hope of letting anyone out there who's being bullied know that they are not alone. That there are people who do understand, who do care, and who do want to make a difference for them and everyone like them.

If this is you, speak up, tell someone, and hang in there. I know how hard it can be. I've been there myself, trust me. It's the absolute truth. But, trust me on this too, it WILL get better.

If you would like to grab my hand and stand up to bullying with me, visit the Sparring Stepsisters site, and follow the instructions for printing out and photographing your protest image. Then, stand up with the rest of us, and say NO to bullying!

SPOOKtacular Giveaway!!!!

Zombies, and Scarecrows, and Ghosts, oh my!

'Tis the season for spine tingling tales and Spooktacular Giveaways, sponsored by Prose By Design. Enter to win a copy of Screams in the Night: Tales of Terror, including my latest story, Our Own Worst Enemies, (possibly my favorite thing I've written), and 6 other scaretastic stories!

Just in time for Halloween, win a copy of Screams in the Night: Tales of Terror! It's a scary . . . I mean simple thing to enter, all you have to boo . . . I mean do is follow (not in a stalker kind of way) any of the authors of the story using the Rafflecopter below.

Go ahead and enter . . . if you dare . . . bwa-ha-ha-ha!

Look below the Rafflecopter for the official book trailer and blurbs from each of the stories.

Begins Monday, October 15, 2012

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Our Own Worst Enemies

Zombies suck. Seriously. For the past year they’ve been making Callie’s life a living hell, and things are only getting worse. With the undead population on the rise and supplies becoming scarce something needs to give.

When rumors of an enclave that’s safe and well stocked reach Callie and her neighbor Josh, they decide to brave the dangerous streets in search of some long lost peace.

Will it turn out to be everything they’ve ever dreamed of, or will it be, as Callie fears, too good to be true?

 Watched

Sixteen-year-old Stephanie Beasley has it all. She's a top student, head cheerleader, popular, with a great boyfriend. But she also has it.

It stands in the corner of her bedroom in the dark of night, watching, waiting. Always waiting. Until it follows her out of her room for the first time ever, bringing her terror to a new level.

Soon, Steph is losing sleep, unable to function, stressed about when it will make its move. And when it does, she'll be forced to do anything she must to protect those she loves.

A Tale of Two Cemeteries

It's 2012 in Deadworld, and the ghosts are hungry for a good human haunting. All Charlie Quinn wants to do is keep his cemetery in business and live a normal, honest ghost life. But Julian McNabb, the ruthless owner of the cemetery across the street, always seems to steal his business.

All of that changes when a teenage pop sensation dies and joins Charlie's cemetery, and Charlie discovers that Julian's success has come by some costly means. It's up to Charlie's haunting company and their new employee to keep their business afloat, and stop Julian from taking any more lives.

 The Seance

 Curious fun turns to terror when two young women conjure a playful spirit

from history’s dark side.

 Scarecrows: The Jilted Bride

 Stepping in last minute as best man, because the suit fit, identical twin Jensen faces more than just his recent ex-girlfriend. With anger management issues and parole violations, Jensen lets loose on the straw-stuffed wedding crashers and unavoidably ruins the rented tux.

Wonderful and Bountiful

All Karen wanted to do was visit her parent's graves, but now she is trapped inside the church, surrounded by ghosts that want her body so they can live again.

Will she escape with her body and see her husband Stan again?

 Simon Says

Michael comes from a family of serial killers. They kill those on The List because "Simon says" to. However, Michael has had enough. He wants out.

But not doing what Simon Says may have severe consequences.

To Be Continued!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls . . . Yes, I know I sound like some freaky ring leader. Yes, I know that's weird. No, I do not care. I'm too excited to announce that I am working on a sequel to Temptation. In fact, I'm working on a few sequels, with the goal of turning it into a novella mini-series!!!!

Want to know where Mel, Lucas, and Jason's stories go from here? Well, now you can follow along with the rest of their adventures in the HEART AND SOUL series.

As I see it now, it will probably be a four novella series, and I'm nearly finished with the second installation, entitled Devotion. (At least, the first draft anyway).

In round two, both of our paranormal princes make a return, as well as Mel herself of course, and a few other old friends. Check it out to see how things heat up, cool down, and go from bad to worse for our PG heroine. Unlikely allies, unforgettable enemies, and new weapons that are nothing to shake a stick at.

And, trust me, you are NOT going to want to miss the way this one ends. Just when you think it's over . . . oh no, where would the fun be in that?! ;)

More information about the release date to come. Ya know, when I actually have a freaking clue. For now, enjoy this little teaser. (Keep in mind it's from the original draft of the story and may be altered or removed entirely from the final version.)



*** WARNING WARNING WARNING: Temptation spoilers, so if you haven't read the first book first... well, duh! Get on that, it's only 99 cents, and FREE for Amazon Prime members.




Devotion (Heart and Soul #2) 

"When the ding alerted me that it was time to move on to stage two of what was probably the most epic endeavor I had ever attempted in a kitchen before, I pulled the bacon from the microwave, while simultaneously reaching for the pan. Bad idea. The pan was about four inches closer than I’d expected, so instead of grabbing hold of the handle, my hand slammed right onto the hot metal surface.

“Son of a mother’s, brother’s, sister’s, uncle’s, puppy’s, kitten! Bah!” I jumped from foot to foot, trying to shake away the searing pain in my hand.

Lucas watched my display from the kitchen table, an amused grin plastered to his otherwise perfect face. “And the cheese stands alone?”

Ha-freaking-ha. He was a regular old comedian.

“Forget the cheese; get me an icepack, would ya?”

“Here, let me see that.”

Lucas took my hands in his, and gently pried my fingers away from the injury. An angry red burn ran the full length of my pinky finger. Lifting my hand to within millimeters of his mouth, he blew lightly on the scorched skin before softly pressing his lips to it. I hissed like some kind of demented cat in anticipation of the pain that any contact with the area would unavoidably cause, but it never came.

In fact, the blistering pain that had been there only moments earlier had also disappeared. I glanced down at the unmarred skin of my pinky finger and then back up at Lucas’ smiling face. He had literally kissed it better. There were some definite advantages to having an angel for a boyfriend."

Guest Post and Review!

I was asked by the lovely Michelle to write a guest post for her blog, Michelle's Paranormal Vault of Books. Guest posting is essentially the writing equivalent of public speaking in my opinion so . . . cue freak out!


In my post I decided to address a question that I've been asked multiple times. Two birds, one stone, and all that. So, why do I write YA???

Check out Michelle's Paranormal Vault of Books for the answer to that! You will also find an excerpt from Temptation, as well as her 5 star review!!!

"I really, really liked this short story. In fact, it was such a good story, and the characters were developed so well, I believe the author could go from here and continue the story. I really do. It’s a great idea, and written very well. This short story was in an anthology of many other short stories. And sometimes great work gets buried or passed by because of this. I am glad she decided to put it out on its own. As I think it deserves to get known, and read.

I loved some of the cute phrases the main character used. She was raised to not cuss, so she had some unique funny words she would use. You will see some if you read the excerpt, which is part of the first chapter, so won’t be spoiling anything for you."

A BIG thank you to Michelle!!!! To read the rest please pay a visit to her blog!

What Do You Think?

Today's goal: Organize my life!!! Ambitious I know. That's why I need your help to do it.

Okay, so I'm not that ambitious . . . really I just mean I want to organize my writing life. Now that I'm reaching the end of something I've been working on for quite a while, I'm wondering where to go next. I have several - and by several I mean like 7 different - projects all in different stages of completion. I have this habit of bouncing from one project to another based on my mood, but it's time to get organized.

So, my question for all of you is, what should I work on next? Here's a poll with the different genres I have going. Which do you think I should focus on finishing up next?

Which do you prefer?

Prime Temptation: Free Books!!!

Exciting news for all Amazon Prime members!!! Temptation is now available for free!!!!! How can you say no to that? So, check it out, give it a read, and please, Please, PLEASE review :)







On a side note, you guys totally rock my socks!!! My FaceBook Page is only 33 likes away from a GIVEAWAY! More free books... this really is your lucky day ;) And, just in case that wasn't incentive enough, I'm also going to throw in a teaser from my latest work in progress, Dissidence.

So, hop on that people! All it takes is a few clicks and a few minutes for you to score yourself some free awesomeness!!!

Genre Knowledge

I had so much fun sharing the that last little tid-bit of Dissidence with all of you that I thought I'd do it again. Who wants to know what genre it is??? Anyone? Okay, I'll tell you.

Obviously it's young adult, since that's what I write, but it's also a DYSTOPIAN. In case you're not aware of what that is, other popular recent dystopian titles include 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins, and 'Divergent' by Veronica Roth, among others.

More specifically, dystopian means: of or pertaining to or resembling a dystopia, or the idea of a society, generally of a speculative future, characterized by negative, anti-utopian elements, varying from environmental to political and social issues.

For a better idea, think 'Incarceron' by Catherine Fisher meets 'Matched' by Ally Condie, with a dash of 'Insurgent' by Veronica Roth thrown in. Okay, now mix that all up and see what pops out.

If all you're getting from that blend is a bunch of question marks, don't worry. A more comprehensible description will be headed your way shortly :)

And, don't forget, if we can get my blog followers up to 50 or my Facebook likes up too 100 I'll be sending a GIVEAWAY your way!!!!! So, get clicking people ;)