Friday 27 February 2015

COVER REVEAL & GIVEAWAY - Drawn by Chris Ledbetter @Chris_Ledbetter @evernightteen

Drawn by Chris Ledbetter 
Release Date: 06/08/15
Evernight Teen
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Summary from Goodreads:
Caught between the sweltering fall landscape of Wilmington, NC beaches and southern illusions and expectations, all sixteen year-old Cameron Shade thinks about is art. That, and for Farrah Spangled to view him as more than just a friend. Cameron longs to win her heart through art.

After several warm interactions with Farrah, including painting together at the beach, Cameron discovers just how complex Farrah’s life is with her boyfriend and her family. Following a tense run-in with Farrah’s father, she forbids Cameron to ever speak to her again, but Cameron’s convinced there’s more behind the request.


To impress Farrah with a last-ditch effort, Cameron sketches her portrait. But the sketchbook he uses hides a dark secret. Farrah’s now in grave danger because the sketch he drew of her siphons her real-life’s soul into the sketchbook. Cameron now has twenty days to extract Farrah. To save her, he must draw himself into the book.


If he fails… they both die.





About the Author:
Chris Ledbetter grew up in Durham, NC before moving to Charlottesville, VA in 11th grade. After high school, he attended Hampton University where he promptly "walked-on" to the best drum line in the CIAA. And, without any prior percussion experience. He carried the bass drum for four years, something his back is not very happy about now.

After a change of heart and major, he enrolled in Old Dominion University and earned his degree in Business Administration. He's worked in various managerial and marketing capacities throughout his life. While teaching high school for six years in Culpeper, VA, he taught business management, business law, marketing, and sports marketing, and also coached football.

He has walked the streets of Los Angeles and New York City, waded in the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and climbed Diamond Head crater on Hawaii and rang in the New Year in Tokyo, Japan. But he dreams of one day visiting Greece and Italy.

He's a proud member of SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and a strong supporter of the Need for Diverse Books. As a self-described, young reluctant reader, he writes young adult stories specifically to reach other reluctant readers. As a participant in the prestigious Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program, he was blessed to be mentored by Suzanne Morgan Williams, 2012 SCBWI member of the year.

He now lives in Wilmington, NC with his family, including three cats.

Author Links:
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GIVEAWAY
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Cover Reveal Organized by:

COVER REVEAL & GIVEAWAY - The Hazards of Sleeping with a Friend by Alyssa Rose Ivy





We are extremely pleased to bring you the cover reveal for Alyssa Rose Ivy's THE HAZARDS OF SLEEPING WITH A FRIEND!!
THE HAZARDS OF SLEEPING WITH A FRIEND is a New Adult romance and the fifth book in Alyssa's Hazards Series. Add it to your Goodreads shelf! THE HAZARDS OF SLEEPING WITH A FRIEND will be available March 26th!!

The Hazards of Sleeping With A Friend - Cover
Cover Design: Once Upon a Time Covers
Cover Photography K. Keeton 


About THE HAZARDS OF SLEEPING WITH A FRIEND: 
Warning: Sleeping with a friend might change your life forever. 

Sleeping with Kyle was never in the plans. Pretending to be his girlfriend was one thing, but letting our relationship become anything but platonic was another. The problem with mixing friendship with sex is that inevitably feelings get involved, and when that happens there's no turning back. 

When Kyle's life fell apart around him, I needed to help, but doing that meant opening myself up to the most terrifying thing in the world—falling in love.  


Alyssa Rose Ivy- Author Photo About Alyssa Rose Ivy: 
Alyssa Rose Ivy is a New Adult and Young Adult author who loves to weave stories with romance and a southern setting. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. After years as a perpetual student, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two young children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand. 

Twitter | Author Goodreads | Pinterest | Website | THE HAZARDS SLEEPING WITH A FRIEND Goodreads | Facebook

 

GIVEAWAY

Thursday 26 February 2015

REVIEW - Gideon's Promise by Morgana Phoenix

Title: Gideon's Promise 
Series: Sons of Judgment #2
Author: Morgana Phoenix
Publisher: Fire & Ash Publishing
Release Date: February 21st 2015
Genres: NA Paranormal Romance 
Links: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N
Source: eARC from Author 

Summary:
His love will become her curse.

For centuries, Gideon has kept his secret, knowing that it could mean the life of the woman whose very heartbeat was his reason for living. But when Veil Creatures are slaughtered in their homes by those sworn to protect them, it may be up to him to save those he loves from a fate worse than death. What he doesn’t expect is the betrayal and a choice that could leave his family devastated.

Valkyrie Devereaux believes only in the power of justice, loyalty and obeying the laws of her people. Love was something to be feared and she had been taught long ago that anything that could make you weak, needed to be eliminated. But when she is assigned to join the Casters of the north in hunting down the creatures killing the innocent, even she can’t help the twang of longing for something that goes against everything she was raised to believe was wrong.

Like fire and gasoline, passions collide. Heat erupts as they fight against their desires and their very nature. But a fire like theirs can never be smothered. It can never be stopped. It can only burn to unimaginable heights, but what happens when it careens out of control and destroys everything around them? And who is waiting for that exact moment to destroy the brothers?

She will become his death.


4.5/5

I have been dying to read this book because I LOVED Gideon in Octavian's book. I knew his book would be brilliant, and my god was it. I may have really liked book 1 but I simply adored this book. At the moment Gideon is definitely my favourite Maxwell brother. I have such a weakness for sarcastic, cocky guys. You will all fall in love with this golden-haired charmer who has the biggest heart.
Valkyrie was such an amazing character. I never really knew what to think of her but after getting her back-story my heart absolutely broke for her! She is a tough, loyal, kick-ass warrior but my god what she has gone through was gut-wrenching. Phoenix really knows how to bring on the tears.
The story itself is action packed and kept me on the edge of my seat. We got to learn so much more about Casters, Harvesters, veil creatures, etc. I also loved the little flashbacks we got of Gideon's and Valkyrie's past. It was so great to see how they first met.

Overall this was a fantastic, heartbreaking, nail-biting read with a scorching hot romance and an ending that will have you begging for more. Seriously, how could you end it like that?! My heart has been ripped out of my chest! I need Magnus' book NOW!! 
Now someone pass the cookies so I can eat away this pain.

*I received an ebook copy in exchange for an honest review*



RELEASE DAY BLITZ - The Hidden Library by Heather Lyons (Excerpt & Giveaway) @InkSlingerPR @hymheather













We are dying to jump back down the rabbit hole with Heather Lyons' THE HIDDEN LIBRARY! THE HIDDEN LIBRARY is an Adult Romantic Fairy Tale, full of adventure and fantasy and the second book in Heather’s The Collectors' Society Series! Check out the latest fantastic installment in this series that brings you some of the classics with a twist.

Amazon ** Amazon UK ** Barnes and Noble **iBooks ** Kobo

ABOUT THE HIDDEN LIBRARY: 
Sometimes, the rabbit hole is deeper than expected . . . 

Alice Reeve and Finn Van Brunt have tumbled into a life of secrets. Some secrets they share, such as their employment by the clandestine organization known as The Collectors’ Society. Other secrets they carry within them, fighting to keep buried the things that could change everything they think they know. 

On the hunt for an elusive villain who is hell-bent on destroying legacies, Alice, Finn, and the rest of the Society are desperate to unravel the mysteries surrounding them. But the farther they spiral down this rabbit hole, the deeper they fall into secrets that will test their loyalties and pit them against enemies both new and old. Secrets, they come to find, can reveal the deadliest of truths.  

THL Teaser

EXCERPT:
We are about to open the conference room door and enter the hallway when he stops. He turns to me, his lovely eyes achingly sincere. “I want to take you on a date when all of this craziness is over. A real one. We’ve kind of gone about this all backwards, haven’t we?”
One corner of my mouth lifts up. “Are you saying you’d like to court me?”
There is no playfulness to his face, no quirk to his own lips. My heart flutters at his seriousness. “Yes.”
He wants to court me.
Too many emotions rush around in a caucus race throughout my body. I have no doubts of Huckleberry Finn Van Brunt’s feelings toward me. I understood them two minutes ago just as well as I did this morning when I woke up and from the night before and from the day in Wonderland where he said, in not so many words, that he was falling in love with me.
I told him he was my north star, and meant it. He countered we are binaries.
He and I . . . We’ve never said those words, though, not the ones that truly spell out fragile, deep secrets of a heart and soul. Words so easily and yet unfortunately uttered by many, be it to express their appreciation of fried bits of potatoes to sports teams on the television. Words offered so frivolously about a variety of subjects and yet can be the most difficult, most painful, most meaningful, most cherished syllables we gift another person.
I have said these words before, to another man. Another man I still love. One I know, in the deepest confines of my heart, that I will love until the last breath escapes my body. A man who courted me in secret and then publicly in the face of astonishment, disapproval, confusion, and, in the end, prophesies.
I have willingly given the man in front of me my heart, though, whether he knows it or not. He now holds it in his hands, and while I pray he is my future, there is still a part of me that bucks in conflicted confusion and delight by this declaration of his.
He wants to court me.
And yet, as sweet and romantic as such a gesture might be, I require no such formalities. My affections for Finn Van Brunt have already solidified into something real and wonderful and meaningful.


Don’t miss the first book in this series, THE COLLECTORS’ SOCIETY!
The Collectors' Society front cover

Author PhotoAbout Heather Lyons: 
Heather Lyons writes epic, heartfelt love stories and has always had a thing for words. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. She and her husband and children live in sunny Southern California and are currently working their way through every cupcakery she can find. 
 
Website | Author Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | THE HIDDEN LIBRARY Goodreads

 


GIVEAWAY
THL Available Now

COVER REVEAL - Smother by Lindy Zart









Title: Smother
By: Lindy Zart 
Expected release date: May 21, 2015
Genre: Dark NA, Romantic Suspense
Blurb: 
You won't like me.
I am not the nice girl. 
I am not your friend. 
I don't care about you, but most of all, I don't care about me.
Go ahead, hate me.
We all have secrets.
I have them as well—dark, terrible secrets. 
The only time I can breathe is when I forget. 
I need to be numb. You don't want to know how. 
But as long as I can breathe, the past cannot smother me. 
















EXCERPT:

Her head was throbbing and her mouth tasted like sandpaper. As she walked, she looked up and saw the one person she’d rather not. Even so, her steps lightened, like she was relieved to see him, like he could make it all okay. Save her, redeem her. Wash away the bad. Make her good. Remove the last few hours from her soul.
He was leaving the apartment building as she was stumbling toward it, his stride determined. Her shoes scraped against the pavement and his head shot up, his slate-colored eyes locking on her and taking the air from her lungs. They both paused, lost in what they were looking at. She couldn’t breathe, struck by the sheer power of him, the way he held himself, the look on his face. He could be deadly if he wanted to be, she saw that. There was a dangerous element to him that could be ignored due to his quiet nature. It sent a thrill—part excitement, part fear—down her back.
Ryan honked the horn before peeling away. She flinched at the sound, looking away from Leo, but not before catching his unwavering stare on the sports car as it sped down the street. Her skin was crawling, her insides raped even though she’d never told them no. She wanted to cry, needed to hide.
She didn’t stay immobile long, swaying when a light, chilling breeze pushed at her. The bathing suit was dampening her shirt with cold wetness and she shivered. His eyes darkened as he looked her over, seeing all she’d rather he didn’t. Her crimes were not visible, but even so, he knew them. She wanted to hide from him at the same time she wanted his arms around her so that she could hide from herself, from those men, from every man but him. Nothing about her made sense.
His jaw went tight. “Who’s that?” he ground out.
“No one,” she answered, wanting it to be true. She never wanted Leo to know those men. She wanted to forget them as well.
His mouth pulled down as he studied her. She swore he could see each place they touched her—that he knew what they’d done to her even though she’d never tell a soul.
“Am I fired?” she asked slowly, wishing the drugs would clear completely from her brain, even if just for this conversation.
“Want to be?”
She swallowed, looking down without answering.
Yes.
No.
“Hurting yourself.”
Heat flooded her skin and she snapped her head up to glare at him. “No. I’m not.” I do this to stop hurting.
He moved toward her and she straightened, keeping her gaze on his. His mouth pulled down. “Do things to fly, but you always fall.”
“Shut up,” she whispered, her eyes stinging.
“We all fall, eventually.”


TRAILER REVEAL - I Heart Robot by Suzanne van Rooyen










I Heart Robot by Suzanne van Rooyen 
Published by: Month9Books
Publication date: March 31st 2015
Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Tyri wants to be a musician and wants to be with someone who won’t belittle her musical aspirations.

Q-I-99 aka ‘Quinn’ lives in a scrap metal sanctuary with other rogue droids. While some use violence to make their voices heard, demanding equal rights for AI enhanced robots, Quinn just wants a moment on stage with his violin to show the humans that androids like him have more to offer than their processing power.

Tyri and Quinn’s worlds collide when they’re accepted by the Baldur Junior Philharmonic Orchestra. As the rift between robots and humans deepens, Tyri and Quinn’s love of music brings them closer together, making Tyri question where her loyalties lie and Quinn question his place in the world. With the city on the brink of civil war, Tyri and Quinn make a shocking discovery that turns their world inside out. Will their passion for music be enough to hold them together while everything else crumbles down around them, or will the truth of who they are tear them apart?


TRAILER:


Pre-order: 


AUTHOR BIO:
I'm a YA author with a penchant for the dark and strange. I primarily write speculative fiction but enjoy literary writing as well. I occasionally delve into adult genres too.

I'm a musician and have a Master's degree in music, but I prefer writing strange stories, baking peanut butter cupcakes and playing with my shiba inu. 

I'm repped by Jordy Albert of the Booker Albert Agency.

Publicity manager for Anaiah Press.

Author Links:


Wednesday 25 February 2015

BOOK BLITZ - Shh! by Stacey Nash (Excerpt & Giveaway)







Shh! by Stacey Nash
(Oxley College #1
Publication date: February 23rd 2015
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Synopsis:
Nineteen-year-old Olivia Dean has the perfect reputation, the perfect boyfriend, and an increasingly perfect CV. She has it all, until Christian breaks up with her in public, calling her out as a self-gratifying sexoholic: the kind that plays solo. But Olivia doesn’t masturbate all night — the only thing she does is sleep … right?

Now all the boys on campus seem to want her attention for the absolutely wrong reason — including resident hottie, Logan Hays. He’s pulling out his best moves to gain her attention, so resisting his sexy charm is hard work. With rapidly slipping grades, a disturbingly lurid reputation and demanding parents, Olivia must discover the truth behind her rumoured sleeping problem. If she doesn’t, the perfect life she’s worked so hard for may slip away, including the one person who has Olivia breaking all her rules — Logan.

What do you do when you’re asleep?

***

Shh! is a story about acceptance, learning to trust and in turn love while facing life’s unexpected difficulties.

NB: This book is of a mild heat level, and contains no explicit sex scenes.


Purchase:
Amazon / B&N
















EXCERPT:

At five p.m I was starving. After just the muesli bar for breakfast, I’d skipped lunch to avoid a potential repeat of this morning, which meant my stomach had jumped into full riot mode. Nervous about facing my fellow students, I pulled my big girl panties up and marched myself to the dining hall. It was early, so I wasn’t all that brave, if I were being totally honest with myself. The place should have been near empty.
There were half a dozen people in the common room, watching some crappy reality television show. I scooted around the back of the seats and up into the dining hall. Dinner smelled delicious—burgers—if my senses served me right.
Twirling my meal card around my fingers, I strolled right up to the servery and stood in line. The girl in front of me turned and I tossed a confident smile her way. She smiled back. The line wasn’t moving yet as dinner hadn’t officially started, but people began flowing in, increasing the number of voices in the room. I swiped my clammy hands on my jeans. This was the first time in more than a year that I’d come down to dinner alone. Generally I came with Christian and being alone was a little daunting. It was all cool, though. Savvy should turn up soon, then I wouldn’t look like a loner. She never responded to this morning’s text and I hadn’t seen her since Saturday night, but that wasn’t uncommon if she’d hooked up with a guy. Especially with how busy I’d be this year. She knew my Sundays were reserved for study, so she didn’t usually bother me then, and today we’d been at classes. Still, it was a little weird. She could have at least called to chat about Christian, surely she knew like everyone else.
My tummy grumbled like a truck moving at high speed. I glanced at the clock; it read five-thirty p.m. The line started moving, thank the lord. I glanced over my shoulder, and surprisingly the line curled all the way around the edge of the hall. Everyone had to be famished tonight, not just me.
I kept my eyes to the front and walked through the servery where I built my own burger: meat, egg, tomato, beetroot, no lettuce, and a slathering of tomato sauce—perfect. As I emerged out the other side, my gaze slid over the line, looking for someone who might join me, and the weirdest thing happened. Not a soul met my gaze. It was like they all deliberately looked the other way, or were engrossed in such deep conversation that they didn’t see me.
I’d never had problems with friends. People just … well … they liked me. It had always been that way. I liked everyone, and they all liked me back.
My tummy churned for reasons not associated with hunger. What the heck had I done wrong? I walked over to one of the many empty tables and set my tray down, then flicked my phone out of my pocket and pretended to check my texts. Savvy had replied and I’d missed it.
Sorry I missed breakfast. Catch you at dinner.
A string of girls who I knew—we’d all been freshers together last year—walked right past me, talking softly as if they thought I couldn’t hear, but when people are talking about you, it’s not hard to tell. And those girls were most definitely doing just that. The glances my way every few seconds were a dead giveaway when everyone else in the room was deliberately avoiding my gaze.
I ducked my head, and studied my phone again. Whatever was going on, it was weird. I was the captain of Oxley’s hockey team, netball team, in the social committee, and even campaigning for the university’s student council. I had lots of friends.
Savannah’s giggle sounded like it came from somewhere behind me. Thank gosh. I really needed to talk to her and figure out what was happening. The whispers and stares, the fresher at uni this morning, Dane on Saturday night, sexploits—Oh my gosh. Christian. I glanced over my shoulder, raising my hand to call Savvy over, but my heart dropped into my stomach.
Savvy was attached to Dane’s hip. Her arm hung around his waist and his rested on her shoulders. Christian walked in step with them and the two guys wore massive grins. I hadn’t seen Christian that happy since … well, since I couldn’t remember. I suppose now that I thought about it, lately he’d been kind of cranky and tired. Always tired.
I swung back around in my seat, hoping they hadn’t seen me, and there someone had sat in the chair opposite me: the tool from this morning. He stared like I was some porn star he’d just paid to watch. And he smelled like a brewery; not to mention his eyes looked a little glassy.
Those same eyes locked on my mine and he placed his flattened palm on his chest like he was about to dive headfirst into a heartfelt apology. Which frankly, he owed me. His hand circled over his left pec, going for his heart, but then it moved to the other side and—ohmygod did he just tweak his nipple? My heart pounded a little faster and I glanced away. The entire dining hall looked at us. But he was like a train wreck. I couldn’t stop my gaze sliding back. His hand trailed down his chest and disappeared under the table in the general direction of his groin. He moaned, then his arm started moving slow at first and increasing in speed, all the while his dark eyes held my gaze. Then the crazy guy rolled his eyes back in his head and yelled, “Yes. Aaa—aa—ash. Yes!”
Someone clapped.
He arched his back. What in hell’s name was this freak doing? It was like that old nineties movie where the chick faked an orgasm in the middle of a café, except this was some dude in the centre of the Oxley College dining hall and I wasn’t entirely sure he was faking it.
Spent, he flopped in the seat, his arms hanging beside it, then snapped his head forward again and his face split in a stupid grin as he pushed his chair back, placed an arm across his waist, and freaking bowed.
Everyone laughed.
The whole room full of people thought this idiot was funny.
I couldn’t move. It was as if the air had frozen around me and I was a statue unable to even blink.
“My impersonation of the one and only Olivia Dean,” he shouted, loud enough for the whole room to hear.
Couldn’t the ground just open up and swallow me already? My cheeks burned so hot they should have caught fire. Blood rushed past my ears so loud that I couldn’t hear anything; my stomach lurched.
I was going to throw up.
I needed to get out of there, right now. Whatever held me in place snapped free. I shot to my feet and high-tailed it out of the dining hall, past a million staring faces. The common room was no more than fuzz at the edge of my periphery, Front Courtyard much the same. I cut across the back of block F and made a beeline for K, then darted up the stairs and into my room.
Whatever was going down, it looked like I was the centre of a joke I didn’t find funny or nice.

~~~~~~

AUTHOR BIO:
Writing for the young and new adult market, Stacey's books are all adventure filled stories with a lot of adventure, a good dose of danger, a smattering of romance, and plenty of KISSING! Hailing from the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, she loves nothing more than immersing herself in the beauty and culture of the local area.

Author of the Collective Series; Forget Me Not and Remember Me. And Oxley College Saga; Shh! and Wait!

Author Links:

GIVEAWAY:


BOOK BLITZ - Senior Year Bites by JA Campbell (Excerpt & Giveaway)


Senior Year Bites (The Clanless #1)
Release Date: 07/07/14
Untold Press

Summary from Goodreads:
Senior year is supposed to be fun: boys, dances and graduation. It’s significantly harder to enjoy it when you’re dead.

Thanks to an innocent game of Truth or Dare, I wound up sleeping in a graveyard. Probably not the brightest thing I’ve ever done, but thanks to a couple of well-placed fangs, I’m here to tell the tale.

Vampires might stalk pop culture, but they’re just myths, right? Yeah. Not so much…

Everything seems a lot more difficult when you’re a nocturnal creature of the night, especially school. I was managing, but couldn’t keep it hidden from my friends. Steph decided that we should be cool, like superheroes, and fight crime.

I’m a vampire, not a hero. Living in a sleepy New England town, crime is a little harder to come by. At least it is until a serial killer moves into the area. He’s got the authorities stumped, but then again, the cops don’t have a teenage, blood-sucking, non-hero on their team. It doesn’t take long for me to discover the world is full of monsters. I may be one of them…but will I turn out to be the hero, or the killer everyone is looking for.



Buy Links:

EXCERPT
Chapter 1

I had plans for my last year of college. I was going to find a boyfriend, go to a few dances, and though I hadn't told my mom yet, take some beginning paramedic courses in the spring. I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do with my life–wasn't that what college was for?–but I liked the idea of being a hero, like my dad, saving lives every day. That had been the plan anyway, but a sleepover and a late-night dare had changed everything.
A lot.
"Megan, time for school," Mom called up the stairs.
I peeked out the window, squinting at the sunlight glinting off the windshield of my Jeep. It was too damn sunny for me to get from my house to the Jeep without third degree burns–or worse.
"Honey?"
My newly sensitive ears could hear the soft brush of her socks on the carpet as she walked up the stairs. I crawled back into bed and did my best to look tired and sick. It wasn't hard with my pale skin, and I hadn't been eating well. If I didn't let her get a good look at me, she might buy that I had a cold or something. Another thought tickled at the back of my mind. I could make her think I was sick. I shoved the thought away in disgust. I wasn't going to use mind control on someone I loved.
The door creaked open, and Mom walked in. My heart would have been racing–if it still could.
"Megan?" Mom's voice sounded full of concern.
I groaned and pulled the covers down off my head. "Mmmm?"
"It's time for school. You didn't come down for breakfast." Her flat tone covered her worry with annoyance.
"I don't feel well."
"Honey…."
"I don't." I tried to make myself sound hoarse.
"You've been eating so poorly. Try to eat, and then go to school. I'll write a note for you."
I faked a cough.
Mom sighed. "You've been sick so much recently. Maybe you should go to the doctor."
"No, it's just a cold." I hadn't been "sick" that much. We rarely saw the sun this time of year. As long as I wore sunglasses, a hat, and long sleeves, I didn't burn. It was simply really uncomfortable. I felt horrible for the deception, but what could I do?
"It's beautiful outside for a change. Go outside and get some fresh air."
I panicked at the thought. "No, I just want to sleep." And I did. So very much.
It was hard enough to be awake at all on cloudy days; sunny ones were pure torture.
"Meg."
My stomach sank at the worry in Mom's voice, but I couldn't tell her what was wrong. Not only wouldn't she understand, but I didn't want to end up in the freaking loony bin when I claimed I was something that didn't really exist.
"All right, honey. Sleep well. I'll call in sick for you."
"Thanks." I mentally shrank away from her concern and fought tears of frustration. I didn't want my life to be full of lies, which put distance between us. We had to take care of each other, but I could only hide from her.
She shut my door and left, quiet footsteps strangely loud in my ears. I sighed and pulled the blanket over my head again.
My life changed several weeks earlier at my best friend's ill-fated birthday party. Well, ill-fated for me, anyway. Steph had a great time.
Truth or dare, a stupid game everyone I knew played at least once in their lives. Afraid of the truth, I had chosen the dare–spend the rest of the night in the graveyard near Steph's house. Easy enough, right? Well, it had been up until the point where I was attacked and killed. It wasn't something you normally walked away from, but for better or for worse, I had.
Vampires were in books, movies, and on TV, but I'd never believed they were real. Still, it hadn't been hard to figure out what had happened to me. Dealing with it was another story. It had taken several almost disastrous mishaps–going for a walk in the bright sunshine had been particularly painful–to convince me. Now, the cloudy New England days that had been the bane of my existence provided my only semblance of a normal life.


About the Author:
Julie has been many things over the last few years, from college student, to bookstore clerk and an over the road trucker. She’s worked as a 911 dispatcher and in computer tech support, but through it all she’s been a writer and when she’s not out riding horses, she can usually be found sitting in front of her computer. She lives in Colorado with her three cats, her vampire-hunting dog Kira, her new horse and Traveler-in training, Triska, and her Irish Sailor. She is the author of many Vampire and Ghost-Hunting Dog stories and the young adult Tales of the Travelers fantasy series. She's the editor for Steampunk Trails and a member of the Horror Writers Association and the Dog Writers Association.

Author Links:
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