Category: Writing

Less than one week until the launch of The Defiance!!

I am so excited for you all to read it. In the meantime, here’s another teaser from the book. Leave a comment here on the blog about the teaser, (or about whatever is on your mind), and I’ll randomly choose one commenter to receive a free ebook of The Defiance.

Teaser from The Defiance:

The morning passes quickly. There was more wood to move into the storeroom in the caves this morning, new stores of salt meat and dried beans to deliver, and our herbalist, Marjoram, told me she has some poultices and teas she wants me to bring in. Marj was underprepared for the accidents and illnesses resulting from such a long confinement last time. She won’t make the same mistake again.

There’s plenty of space in the storeroom—it was almost empty by the time we left the caves after the Reckoning. It’s an easy job to stow the supplies neatly along the natural stone shelves. My stomach rumbles, anticipating a midday meal, as I cross the cavern to the storeroom carrying the second-to-last load of wood. Even the lingering stench of crampberries doesn’t deter my appetite.

 “Fennel.” The word whispers across the cave.

 I freeze. “Who’s there?”

 “Stay away from the Lofty. Groundlings and Lofties aren’t meant to be together. You’ve been warned.”

 I can’t tell anything about the speaker—man, woman, their age. But quiet as the person’s words are, it’s hard to miss the implied threat. I drop most of the wood, keeping one thick log as a potential weapon. The person is between the passage out and me.

 I hold the log firmly in front of me, trying to tame my wild breathing so I can hear. Fear strangles my thoughts. An indefinable amount of time passes. Finally wrestling the courage to move, I step forward, keeping the log at the ready.

 And I cough.

 The air is wrong, and not simply human-waste wrong. Something else. There’s light where there shouldn’t be, and . . . smoke. That’s what I’m tasting and smelling.

 There’s a fire in the passageway, and it’s blocking my way out. Terror doesn’t steal through me. It rips my head off.

(Made by my talented children.) Check it out!

I’m getting really excited for the release of The Defiance, the sequel to The Scourge, on July 29th. I’ve been working long hours, polishing up the manuscript before it’s converted to an ebook file. My editor, Lindsey Alexander, had amazing feedback for me. It wasn’t just food for thought; it was a table groaning with helpful criticism.

When I got edits back before publishing The Scourge, I suffered from a fledgling author’s fear and defensiveness. This time around I welcomed the critiques with a hearty pat on the back. After a year and a half of absorbing the periodic critical review on Amazon, Goodreads, and book blogs, I would much rather be able to identify and fix problems now.

I know I still won’t get it exactly right, but trust me on this: I’m doing everything in my power to make The Defiance the best book it can be.

Here’s one of my favorite passages, a small morsel for you to taste (I’ll release an excerpt every week until release day):

Only the odd snore rumbles from the other shelters as I crack the door open and slide out. The forest isn’t so quiet. Crickets hum hypnotically, leaves shift and sigh in the breeze, and frogs and bats keep the time with their cries. If the greenheart trees offer the forest its scent and flavor, then its animal inhabitants provide the tune.

I slink like prey from dark spot to dark spot, minding the sound of my steps. There’s probably a Groundling guard somewhere. The moon illuminates the path, so I walk under the shade of the tree branches. There’s a luster ahead.

For a long time I thought the water hole glowed. Calli finally told me the moon—which I’ve heard can be as slim as a curled-up leaf or as spherical as a stone—reflects in the water hole below. It seems unfair, somehow. The sighted see not only the fickle moon, they see two.

The water sweeps softly onto the shore, then recedes, dancing with itself, careless who hears it. I hold under the cover of the forest, soaking in the sounds and scents of the night.

After a few minutes, I hear more deliberate movements in the treetops: the low thump of quiet footsteps along the walkway overhead. They stop above my head. A soft birdcall greets me. I wave, letting them know it’s safe.

The rope ladder dives toward me, bumping against the tree trunk as it falls, and I steady it as Peree descends. My heart pulses in my chest as he draws near. I feel like I’ve stolen these moments with him, moments we’ll have to eventually give back. I don’t want to steal time with him. I want it to be ours to keep.

Hello again, faithful blog readers! I have another cover to reveal this week, after THE DEFIANCE (yipee!)

I’m thrilled to host Kristi Helvig, a fellow YA author and Denver psychologist (how’s that for weird similarities?), as she reveals the cover of her debut novel, BURN OUT. I was honored to be able to read an ARC of the novel. It was like a female-centric remix of Star Wars: A New Hope with a gun-toting, kick-butt heroine, Tora, who’s like a female Han Solo. Seriously. Awesome.

BURN OUT releases in April 2014, but it’s available for pre-order now on Amazon, if you so choose . . . hint hint. Here’s the cover and blurb:

Most people want to save the world; seventeen-year-old Tora Reynolds just wants to get the hell off of it. One of the last survivors in Earth’s final years, Tora yearns to escape the wasteland her planet has become after the sun turns “red giant,” but discovers her fellow survivors are even deadlier than the hostile environment.

Author Bio:

Kristi Helvig is a Ph.D. clinical psychologist turned sci-fi/fantasy author. She loves all things strange and fantastical, and has a slight obsession with space monkeys. Kristi resides in sunny Colorado with her hubby, two kiddos, and behaviorally-challenged dogs.

Links: website|Facebook|Twitter

I’m SO excited to share the cover of THE DEFIANCE (Brilliant Darkness, #2) today!

Suspicion Trust. Fear Compassion. Hate Love.

Fennel and Peree learned the truth: the Scourge, and their world, is not what it seems. Now they need to convince their people that everything they believe is a lie.

An impossible task, especially when someone seems resolved to try anything—even arson and butchery—to destroy Fenn and Peree’s new bond and crush the frail truce between the Groundlings and the Lofties.

Unable to tell friend from foe and with the Scourge pushing both groups to the breaking point, Fenn must again decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice to ensure the people of the forest’s future.

Only this time, the price of peace may be too high to bear.

Isn’t it gorgulous? I adore the color, the ominous feel, and that Fenn and Peree are both represented. But they aren’t alone … One of my favorite things about it is the shadowy figure just to the left of Fenn’s hip. I love that detail.

The cover was designed by Robin Ludwig Design Inc.  who also did the cover for THE KEEPER. She is so great to partner with – quick, professional, and she works with my vision for each cover.

I’m working on finals edits on the manuscript and plan to release THE DEFIANCE in ebook format on July 29th. The print version will be available soon after. Stay tuned for excerpts over the next few weeks until release day!

The Scourge is available for purchase in paperback from Amazon or Barnes and Noble! My proof copy looked beautiful, and it was an unexpected pleasure to hold the print copy in my hands. I’ve also put The Scourge and The Keeper on Authorgraph. Visit Authorgraph if you’d like your ebook version signed.

On to sequel news . . . I will reveal the cover of the sequel to The Scourge on July 3rd. The title is The Defiance (Brilliant Darkness #2) and the release date for the ebook will be late July or early August, with print copies available soon after. I’m very excited for you all to read it!