The Next Big Thing!

So, I’ve been tagged. Twice. Once by the energetic and always beautiful Debbie Davis, and once by the fantastic Rachelle Christensen. So I figured that even though it’s been a super long time since I played along with games like this, I probably ought to jump in and answer lest I break my string of good luck or something else dreadful.

So here you go. The answers to your most curious questions about the book I just sold to Rhemalda Publishing. (To be released May 1^st, 2013.)

What is the working title of your book?

Descendant

Where did the idea for the story come from?

A long time ago (like, 7 years or longer) I attended a workshop about holistic and energetic healing that involved chakras and crystals, and I thought, “What would it be like for a teenager who had healing powers to live in today’s world?” And then, I drew from memories of my own teen years, how big and huge and heavy everything felt back then. Also, I added in a lot of romance, because I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff, and I think kissing scenes make every story better.

What genre does your book fall under?

Young Adult Contemporary Paranormal.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Okay seriously, I should pay better attention to the actors who are this age, but I just don’t have any idea. That’s why I’m not a casting director. But I’ll tell you what they’ll look like, okay?

Abby, the main character, is really small, about a hundred pounds, with long-ish auburn hair and blue-green eyes.

Kye, Abby’s love interest, is tall, just over six feet, wiry with well-defined muscles, wavy dark-blond hair with sapphire blue eyes and a heart stopping smile.

Is that good enough?

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Seventeen-year-old Abigail Johnson never suspected her Gifts of Healing and Sight came from an ancestor who was killed by a demon, and she especially didn’t understand that the same demon army might someday try to kill her.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Descendant is represented by Brittany Howard of Corvisiero Agency, and will be published by Rhemalda Publishing, May 1^st, 2013.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

This is a really hard question, because the drafts have been so drastically different, that a few times, I pretty much dumped the whole thing and started over completely. The very first, 000 draft, took me a month (NaNo anyone?) but being that it was a complete train wreck, it took me another 18 months or so to rewrite and recompile into a semi-quazi real first draft. (3 ½ more years of editing, too, BTW. And now I will edit even more. Oi.)

What other books within your genre would you compare to your story?

I’m thinking it’s a little like The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller, a little like the TV show heroes, and a little like Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My aunt, and good friend Tova Heaton taught the class (mentioned above) so she played a big part in inspiring me. Also my own unending need to try to help people, try to fix the things wrong in the world, whether it’s within my power or not.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

How about the most recent blurb? (Probably not the cover blurb, but it’s something!) No cover yet, but soon, my pretties. Very soon.  *rubs hands together*

Descendant:

Seventeen-year-old Abigail Johnson is Gifted.

Blessed—or cursed—with Sight and Healing, Abby lives an unsettled life, moving from place to place and staying one step ahead of the darkness that hunts her. When she arrives in Jackson, Wyoming, she is desperate to maintain the illusion of normalcy, but she is plagued with visions of past lives mixed with frightening glimpses of her future. Then she meets Kye, a mysterious boy who seems so achingly familiar that Abby is drawn to him like he’s a missing piece of her own soul.

Before Abby can discover the reason for her feelings toward Kye, the darkness catches up to her and she is forced to flee again. But this time she’s not just running. She is fighting back with Kye at her side, and it’s not just Abby’s life at stake.

I think I'm now supposed to tag other people. I'm not sure how many, but I'm going to guess five, because, well, that sounds like a good number. So I hereby tag Elana Johnson, Jenn Johansson, Karen Hoover, Windy Aphyrath, and Heather Moore because I can't wait to hear about their next big things.

Blogfest: Love at First Sight...or Not So Much.

Okay, I admit I'm not big on blog fests of this sort. I'm not all that comfortable posting portions of my works-in-progress online. Especially ones I'm currently querying.However, in honor of Valentines Day, and because I've had a couple requests for this particular scene, I'm going to make an exception. 

The following excerpt is from a finished manuscript, currently titled GIFTED. The characters, Kye and Abby, are on a bus, on a trip with a large group of kids from school.They don't know each other well, but are extremely comfortable with each other--a phenomenon which is explained later in the story. (Sorry, kids. You only get 450 words!)Abby has fallen asleep on Kye.

My dreams are riddled with Kye and Eric fighting, Kye and me kissing, more kissing, and various other activities that make my heart race and my blood run hot. The strangest part is that it all feels more like distant memories than dreams. I have mixed senses of peace and dread, happiness, and deep, profound sorrow. Then an awful laugh breaks through, rough and mean. Frightening.


When I jerk awake, Kye rubs my arm and smoothes my hair. “Shhh. Just a dream.”


Heat creeps up my cheeks as I lift my head to meet his gaze. Something in his eyes makes me long to stay right here, wrapped in his arms and staring into the endless pools of blue, for the rest of forever.


I tear my eyes away, feeling silly, and glance at his watch. After only an hour, my crush has developed into something far more dangerous. The full moon bounces above the mountains like a glowing eye, a bright ball in the darkening sky, gilding the edges of the distant cliffs. Kye traces circles up and down my arm, and my chest tightens when his hand slides under my chin and tips it up.


Our eyes meet again, and a spark of recognition passes between us, something undeniably strong, and just as unexplainable, and I can’t look away. Can’t break the spell. Conversations buzz around us, but we float in our own little bubble, focused and unmoving for eons of time. His hand moves down my arm until his fingers lace with mine.


He shifts, pulls me closer. His heart beats a quick, irregular thrum under my free hand. “I can feel your heart,” I whisper.


He breathes deep. “Did you feel it skip a beat just now?”


“Your heart didn’t skip.” I try to smile, lighten the mood. Something is happening and I don’t understand what, exactly. “It sped up, but it didn’t skip.”


His expression is serious. “It practically stopped. So did yours, I felt it.” He closes the distance between our faces, and his lips touch mine, soft, experimental. 

This time our hearts stutter together. Kye smiles against my lips, because he knows I felt it too. He takes a breath and leans in again, this time harder, more demanding. We melt together like chocolate and caramel. My mind screams for me to stop, that it’s too soon for this. I don’t know him, not really. But my heart has a different idea, and so do my lips.


When we break apart, I’m trembling. Time feels quick, racing. I have a surge of panic that makes me keep my eyes on him, like I only have so much time to drink him in before he leaves me forever. The idea becomes unbearable, and I catch myself clutching his arms around me.


“You okay?” His voice is breathless.


“Okay?” I shake my head. I’ve completely lost my mind.

To read more entries from the Love at First Sight...Or Not So Much blogfest, check out the full list here.


Have a fab Valentines Day!