Raif and Me: Part 4

It's back around to me again.

I've been working with my two friends, Kelly Martin and Wendy Knight, on a pass-around writing experiment. And this story has definitely taken some surprising turns already.

Need to catch up?
Read Part One here.
Part Two here.
Part Three here.

And without further ado, Part Four:

I knew I couldn’t. No matter what the Cooperation said. Not with him this close. Not with the memory fresh in my mind.

“They want you back, Raif.” I whispered it, but I knew they were listening. “They aren’t too particular about how they get you.”

His eyes betrayed no emotion.

“Why now?” It came out a growl that reverberated deep in my own soul. “Six years, Tabitha. That’s how long you’ve been watching me. Why now?”

“I-I-I don’t know.”

He stepped closer.

I couldn’t breathe. I could only stare into his eyes and hope he heard the things I couldn’t say. Not with the Cooperation listening. And shouting. So much shouting.

I knew they were sending back up. I had failed in my task. But I didn't care. I was under Raif's spell. Exactly where I'd wanted to be since the last time he'd held me.

His breath was warm on my forehead. He lifted his hand slowly to my face. I closed my eyes in anticipation of the familiar touch.

The touch I had craved for the last six years.

But it wasn’t familiar.

Instead of the velvet warmth I remembered, the cold distant texture of a black leather glove caressed my cheek. Raif gingerly pushed my hair behind my ear. My eyes shot open the moment I knew, but it was too late. He ripped out the earpiece by its roots before I could react, sending me spiraling into darkness.

I heard a blood curdling scream, then just as I fell into the thick haze of black silence, a whisper that sent a jolt down my spine.

“I’m sorry, my love, but justice will be served.”

Stay tuned for Part Five, coming next week from Wendy Knight.

Raif and Me: Part 1 — a Pass-Around Writing Experiment

Just for fun, two of my friends (Kelly Martin and Wendy Knight) and I have decided to do a pass-around story. I'm starting it off with the section below, and each of them will take a turn picking up where the person before them left off and just take the story where it leads them.

Without further ado, I offer you the first installment of Raif and Me — a Pass-Around Writing Experiment.

Raif Michaelson's routine never changed. On Mondays, he left the house at 8:07 and walked three blocks to the bus stop on the corner of Elm and 17th. He sat with his backpack hugged tightly to his chest and waited exactly six minutes for Bus #12 to arrive. When he boarded the bus, he sat close to the window in the third seat back on the left hand side. Then he read twelve pages in Plato's Republic.

The same twelve pages every Monday.

At the bust stop at 35th and Longfellow, Raif disembarked and walked 132 steps to the Walker Building, entered through the middle doors, stopped and sanitized his hands at Sanitizing Station 4, then disappeared around the corner to the right.

He reappeared at precisely 4:12 in the afternoon, repeated his hand sanitization at Station 4, opened Plato's Republic, and left the building through the single door on the left, walked 137 steps to the bus stop at 35th and Longfellow without looking up from his book once.

Bus #71 arrived nine minutes later. He read fifteen pages in his book — the same fifteen pages every Monday — and was dropped off three blocks from his house at 5:03 P.M.

That's just Monday, but I can tell you that the only thing that changed from day to day, Mondays through Fridays was the pages that Raif Michaelson read in Plato's Republic.

On Saturdays and Sundays he never emerges from his house.

How do I know? That's your next question.

I'm Tabitha Charles. Some might call me a stalker. I prefer to think  of myself as a Raif-ologist.

For the last six years, I have lived and breathed Raif Michaelson. Call it an obsession if you'd like. I've studied him intently. Every move he makes. And what I've found is unwavering predictability.

That's why when Raif Michaelson, dressed all in black, emerged from his house at 7:07 P.M. on Friday, October 31st, I was completely taken by surprise.

I can't wait to see what the next installment holds!

Some time in the next week, Wendy Knight will add her part, continuing the saga. Please look for it on her blog at www.wendyknightauthor.blogspot.com.

WonHundred Word Wednesday: Stalking Ashton

PROMPT: Do you want fries with that?

Ten years. That’s how long I’ve loved him.

He doesn’t know I exist — never once noticed me — but I’ve loved him for ten years… from the other side of my binoculars.

Every day I’ve watched him. Every night I lay awake pondering what I would say to him if he ever were to look my way: “Hello, Destiny. I’ve been waiting for you to walk into my life,” or “Do I know you or have I just seen you in my dreams?”

But no… I took one look in those baby blues and blurted, “Do you want fries with that?”

Check out the others:

Wendy Knight

Kelly Martin

Alison Woods

Jessica Winn

R.K. Grow

StephanieWorlton

Laura D.Bastian 

JaclynWeist

Amryn Scott 

K.R.Wilburn 

LindzeeArmstrong/Lydia Winters 

Kat!e Larson 

MirandaD. Nelson

WonHundred Word Wednesday: Heart Trouble

PROMPT: That's what happens when you follow your heart.

The alarm pierced the air, sending a sudden shiver down my spine. Red-handed. That’s how they’d find me.

Get in. Get the goods. Get out. That was the plan.

But somewhere between picking the lock and making off with the score, my plan had gone horribly awry.I thought I’d had every detail accounted for… everything but my blasted Achilles’ heel.

All my life I’d been told to follow my heart — it would lead me where I needed to go. But I think something is wrong with my heart’s GPS. It only ever leads me to trouble.

Well… trouble and chocolate.

CHECK OUT THE OTHERS:

Wendy Knight

Kelly Martin

Alison Woods

Jessica Winn

R.K. Grow

Stephanie Worlton

Laura D. Bastian

Jaclyn Weist

Amryn Scott

K.R. Wilburn

Lindzee Armstrong/Lydia Winters

Kat!e Larson
Miranda Nelson 

Spotlight: Wendy Knight

Astraea Press is celebrating their first cover reveal; Wendy Knight's Fate on Fire novella, Feudlings in Sight! Available Thursday on Astraea Press, Amazon, and all other major ebook retailers!

Blurb:
Boys of war suck at romance.

Charity Delyle has lived in the shadow of her Prodigy cousin and his powerful Guard since the day she was born. And she doesn’t mind—really. Except that being in Hunter’s shadow means that he can’t see her. And she’d like that to change.

Hunter has one purpose in life: Protect the Prodigy, or die trying. That means a social life, school, and even Charity come last until the war is over. For the most part, he’s okay with that—he can lose everything if he has to…except his seer.

Starting at a new school should be much safer than living in a war-ravaged Carules headquarters. But this new school is different than the others. Friendships are forged and destinies are questioned, and Hunter’s decision could cost them all everything they’ve been hoping for.


Excerpt:
“Okay, do you want to practice the ones we learned last week or just start new ones?” She had carefully color-coded the spell book with sticky tabs — spells they had mastered, spells they had practiced, spells that would come in handy one day — she was very organized. And if the Council ever found out she put sticky tabs in a book that was over three hundred years old, they would kill her completely dead.

“Learn as much as you can, Shane. Gonna be hard to find a place to practice in the mountains of Utah, surrounded by Normals.” Hunter idly traced spells in the air, letting them fizzle and die without igniting them.

“Well, alright.” Charity flipped to the red section — spells that would come in handy one day. She started at the top. “This one is called an Al-able.” The odd word rolled awkwardly off her tongue. “It’s like… it looks like it’s sort of a flat triangle of flames.”

Spotlight: Author Calico Daniels

Please welcome Calico Daniels, 

author of Fried Pickles and the Fuzz.

Gone Muddin’

In many small towns muddin’ is a popular past time for the young’uns. I’ll admit that I have been several times and had a ball J The key to a good muddin’ trip is making sure there is a group with several trucks and at least one with a tow chain or wench. Someone is gonna get stuck J Never fails.

Why in the world would anyone want to you might ask. Well, there is just something very satisfying about slippin’ and slidin’. Jerkin’ the wheel to correct the slide and when you finish…seein’ those trucks COVERED in mud J Silly? Of course. But in small towns where entertainment is hard to find, muddin’ is one of those things that is just pure fun. 

Safe? Well……it carries hazards of its own. Never go muddin’ in a top heavy or jacked up ride. The chances of rollin’ your truck go way up. Muddin’ is really an art that should only be performed in a VERY large pasture where it has already been permitted, the area checked for dangers like fence posts and holes, and the spectators should remain a safe distance from the mud pit J

Aside from that it’s a barrel of monkeys. J

Calico Daniels

Fried Pickles and the Fuzz available now from AstraeaPress,

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever eBooks are sold.

Blurb:

Big Creek might be a stereotypical small town but even they have drama.

Heather loves her little café, and her best customer is the county Sherriff. She’s been waiting months for him to ask her out…maybe she won’t have to wait much longer.

Bronson feels at home in Big Creek even though he hasn’t been the Sherriff for long. Small towns have their perks and a pretty café owner who cooks like an angel certainly doesn’t hurt. Now, if he could only get over his nerves and drum up the gumption to ask her out.

Throw in a gossip mill, a redneck festival and an ill timed attempt to help and you end up with some laughs, some ruffled feathers and a town that is….Redneck Fabulous.

Friday Favorite: Feudlings

Feudlings

by Wendy Knight

This is the first book in the series. I believe the next one is due to come out on August 1st. I so can't wait! Of all the books I've read so far this summer, I LOVE this one the most. And I don't typically go in for this genre, so yeah, that's saying something. Definitely a HUGE recommend on this one!

Here's the blurb:

Nothing makes a new school suck worse than discovering the guy you’re in love with is your prophesied nemesis.

Ari is the most powerful flame-throwing sorceress ever, and her people’s last hope in an ancient war. But she’s also a seventeen-year-old girl, and in her free, not-hunting-nemesis times, she jumps from school to school, trying to figure out regular people her own age and pretending she’ll get the chance to graduate.

Shane lives a double life. He goes to school and masters the art of popularity, hiding the fact that he has a fate with a slim chance of his survival. He’s destined to end a 300 year-old war by killing or being killed. He knows he’s hunted by a powerful enemy who’s not afraid to die. Only problem? He has no idea who that enemy is.

When Ari shows up at Shane’s school, angry and sullen and determined to keep him at arm’s reach, neither of them realize they are supposed to be killing each other, not falling in love. Until Ari does realize it, and she almost dies – by Shane’s hand.

Here's where you can get it:

Amazon                      Barnes & Noble                    Astraea Press

Also available pretty much anywhere ebooks are sold, so if you don't see your preferred retailer above, you're still not out of luck. :) Plus, you can get it in paperback too!

If you're intrigued and want to know more about the Feudlings series or get updates about the new releases, check out the Wendy Knight's Facebook page.

Spotlight: Welcome Bestselling Author Kelly Martin!

Excited Nervousness—AKA my First Book Signing

There are a lot of firsts in life: Your first kiss, first day at work, first child…

But there is one ‘first’ that has my attention at this moment.

My first book signing!

Dun… Dun… Dun…

I figured if I wrote about my nervousness then it might help. It couldn’t hurt, right? No matter your location on the writer timeline, there are events that scare you.

•             First draft written

•             First time querying an agent

•             First rejection

•             First contract

•             First review

•             First bad review ;)

I’ve been through all of those — safely behind my computer screen. (You guys haven’t been able to see my tears, right?)

But in public is different. Public people have eyes trained on you.

‘What if’ no one shows up?

‘What if’ lots of people do and I don’t have enough books?

‘What if’ I say something stupid?

‘What if’ I sit there and look like an idiot for two hours?

‘What if’ more people come than I think?

‘What if’ I’m not ‘professional’ enough (aka have enough ‘swag’ to giveaway or a not nice enough table covering. What? You don’t think like that?)

‘What if’

Two words I should ban from my vocabulary

Just like my first kiss, my first day on the job, and my first child (whose birthday is Friday, btw. She’ll be eight! I’m not sure when that happened.), this first will come and go as well.

I’ll learn from it.

I’ll take pictures.

I’ll smile.

And hopefully…  hopefully, I don’t drag as many books out as I’m dragging in.

Plus, it’s at a restaurant. Maybe I’ll get some food out of it as well (one can always hope)

Is something scaring you? Are you freaking out over whatever step you are at in your writing life? I’m right there with you. Not only am I having my first book signing, but I’m self publishing my first book (my third book released, first I’m self publishing). It’s scary. But it’s a good scary.

This writing thing is supposed to be fun. Remember the first words you wrote? They were fun. The first draft of your first book… Fun. Don’t let the worry take your fun away. Writing is creative. It’s exciting. And never boring (and if it is, just throw a serial killer in your story and keep right on going ;) )

SO, in conclusion, wherever you are in your writing life, enjoy it. Don’t let the ‘what if’s keep you down. It’s an exiting process. Enjoy it…

Says the girl who having her first book signing Sunday. (Okay, that is pretty cool)

Kelly Martin a southern girl who writes... a lot. She is the author of SAINT SLOAN and Grace Award winning, CROSSING THE DEEP. By day, she is a special education preschool teacher. By night, she has her hair in a bun and her fingers on a keyboard. She loves God, is addicted to chocolate, and would rather write than sleep. Kelly loves a good mystery and believes in Sherlock Holmes.

You can find her at kellymartinbooks.blogspot.com

She's also on twitter: twitter.com/martieKay

And on facebook: Kelly Martin, Author

UP NEXT:

THE DECEPTION OF DEVIN MILLER (July 23rd, 2013)

Amnesia took her memories. He took her heart. Who would you trust if you didn't know anyone, but they all knew you?

Wednesday Spotlight: J.F. Jenkins

J.F. Jenkins, author of the Dragon Saga series,the Vala series, and the Battlefield series, is my guest today! Welcome!

The New Year

As the year starts to come to a close, a lot of people look back at what they've accomplished. Looking back on the past has never been my thing, but I can say this was a good year for me. A lot was accomplished, a lot went well, and despite a few hiccups, there was little to complain about. I definitely got a lot of the things I planned on doing last year done, that's for sure. My big one was to laugh when the world didn't end on December 21^st. How about you all? Anyone else get a riot out of that one?

I'm one of those people who likes to look toward the future though. The things that are coming up, the ones that have yet to be achieved, are what push me to keep moving forward every day. As soon as December rolled around, I started getting excited for the new year. I've been planning and organizing for January first. I created a reward system for when I achieved my goals. Maybe it's a little nerdy of me, but I can't help but be excited over this. It gives me so much to look forward to, because I know that when I accomplish, I'm doing something good with my time.

Here are a few of the things I'm looking to doing in 2013:

Finish writing my series, Vala.

Learn how to write some new genres and POV styles, basically expand my writing skills.

Play a lot more video games.

Read more books I enjoy.

SELF PUBLISH. EEEK!

Get more organized around my house.

Become a full time writer!

So what about you? Do you have big goals and big plans for 2013? I've already gotten a couple of those things done already as I have two new releases coming out this year in a different genre than what I'm known for. Don't hold back from achieving your dreams!

As a special treat, Jillian is offering a free copy of her newest release, a short story called The Corruption of Mila. To qualify for the drawing, leave a comment about your goals, hopes, and/or dreams for 2013. We'll draw one at random on Saturday (January 12th).

FROM THE COVER:

Mila takes a hands off approach to dating. She's independent and picky and thinks she knows it all. When her best friend decides to set her up on a blind date with a guy who answers to the name of Jax, Mila decides to take a leap of faith. After all, with a name like Jax, how can he not be a dream boat?

Like most blind dates, however, Jax doesn't meet the expectations that Mila created in her imagination. With how badly she's struck out in her past relationships, is that really such a bad thing?

*****

Looking for more of J.F.'s titles? Check out her Amazon Author Page for buy links and more information!