Withering Hope
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo Only $0.99 for a limited time! EXCERPT: (Aimee’s POV) “Aimee?” “Tristan.” The word comes out almost like a cry. In the faint moonlight coming in through the windows, I see him leaning on the seat in front of me, hovering over me. I imagine his dark brown eyes searching me worriedly. “Are you hurt?” “Just my temple, but I’m not bleeding,” I say, running my fingers over the tender spot. I assess him next. It’s difficult given the dim moonlight. His white uniform shirt is smeared with dirt, but he appears unharmed. I turn my head toward the window. I can’t gauge anything outside in the darkness. “Where are we?” I ask. “We landed,” Tristan says simply, and when I turn to look at him he adds, “… in the rainforest.” I nod, trying not to let the tight knot of fear in my chest overtake me. If I let it spiral out, I may not be able to control it. “Shouldn’t we … like… leave the plane or something? Until they rescue us? Is it safe for us to be inside?” Tristan runs a hand through his short, black hair. “Trust me, this is the only safe place. I checked outside for any fuel leaks, but we’re good.” “You got out?” I whisper. “Yes.” “I want—” I say, opening my seatbelt and trying to stand. But dizziness forces me back into my chair. “No,” Tristan says, and he slumps in the seat opposite mine on the other side of the slim aisle. “Listen to me. You need to calm down.” “How deep in the forest are we, Tristan?” He leans back, answering after a long pause. “Deep enough.” “How will they find us?” I curl my knees to my chest under the blanket, the dizziness growing. I wonder when Tristan put the blanket over me. “They will,” Tristan says. “But there is something we can do to make it easier for them, isn’t there?” “Right now, there isn’t.” “Can contact someone at base?” I ask weakly. “No. We lost all communication a while ago.” His shoulders slump, and even in the moonlight, I notice his features tighten. His high cheekbones, which usually give him a noble appearance, now make him look gaunt. Yet instead of panic, I’m engulfed in weakness. My limbs feel heavy. Fog settles over my mind. “What happened to the engine?” I whisper. “Engine failure.” “Can you repair it?” “No.” “There is really no way to send anyone a message?” “No.” As if in a dream, I feel Tristan put a pillow under my head and recline my seat.
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The Warrior Prophet
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo Grab book 1 – The Watcher – for only $0.99 for a limited time! -- EXCERPT: He tucks his wings into himself, but they are still so close I could touch them. He walks a small circle around me. Still a dance. “That’s very different,” he says. “I don’t see how. I am human. They are my people.” He bends forward until his face is inches from mine. “Your mother had passed. You needed me. We’re allowed to appear when we are needed.” “Really?” My eyes search his for a sign—any sign—of feelings for me. “She died ten moons ago.” Did only pity bring him? “Why did you stay?” His voice is music, and his energy hums through me, making me bold. I couldn’t imagine him needing anyone, least of all me. With a smile, I glance at him and hold up the feathery filament. A small piece of his magic, its light sparkles and plays along my hand, the lines of his throat and jaw, the front of his tunic. “If I return this,” I say. “What will you give me in exchange?” “Well.” He frowns and thoughtfully strokes his chin, but his eyes are still smiling. “What do you want? Riches and jewels aren’t mine to command. I am but a humble servant.” “Can you make it rain? It would be good for my father’s crops.” “You know I cannot,” he scolds. “Doing so would be interfering.” I do know, but enjoy the game, the way he looks at me as though he sees something hidden deep inside me, the secret of who I am. “How about a kiss?” I ask. He casts his gaze to the ground and bows his head. “Of course. A blessing.” He rests his hands on my shoulders, and even that light touch scorches me. White-hot like the sun. Closing his eyes, he leans in to kiss my forehead, but I want a real kiss. Not the kiss of an angel, but of a lover. I rise to my toes, lifting my chin, and press my lips to his.
GIVEAWAY! Competing with the Star
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble EXCERPT: Then the most beautiful sound in the world came along—the final bell. I grabbed my bag and rushed out the door to my locker, where I ran into Reagan O’Hara, Nick’s gorgeous ex-girlfriend. “Watch where you’re going, spaz,” she said, glaring at me. “Exactly where are you in such a hurry to get to anyway? I can’t imagine that you’d have plans.” I could have said, “Off to meet my boyfriend, you know, the guy you used to badmouth me to,” but no, I took the high road and said, “Excuse me,” and kept going. “Whatever, loser,” she said. My shoulders tensed. As I tried to ignore her and tell myself it was just jealousy, I couldn’t pretend that her words didn’t hurt. I had been considered kind of a loser at my old school in Goodacre. I had had one super close best friend who I did everything with, Lexi Irvin, and when she moved to Dallas, it was as if I had been abandoned. So yeah, I had felt like a complete loser in Goodacre, but now I was here in Grand Haven, with new friends and a new positive outlook on life. I had a new best friend, Charlotte Lidstrom, and had become friends with former teen TV star Simone Hendrickson and her best friend, Asia Milanowski. It could be intimidating hanging out with Simone since she was popular, pretty, and famous. Sometimes I felt invisible next to her, and unfortunately, hanging with Simone sometimes meant spending time with people like Reagan or Simone’s other friends, Pilar Ito and Morgan Kemp. Morgan was the ultimate mean girl. I swear, even if she told me she loved my outfit and was hooked up to a lie detector test saying she was telling the truth, I still wouldn’t want to risk it and I’d go home and change. But today I was not going to worry about Morgan, Reagan, or any of that. I was just going to focus on my first date with Nick. Until I rounded the corner and ran into Simone, who was waiting for me at my locker with Morgan and Pilar. “Hey, Hadley,” Simone said. “Wanted to return your lucky bracelet. Let’s hope it helped me pass my math test.” She handed me my heart and natural stone charm bracelet and I slid it on my wrist. Morgan looked down at my hands and made a face. “Why are you wearing such dark nail polish?” she asked me. My face got warm. “I thought the color was pretty when I saw it in the store. I’ve never seen this shade of purple with so much blue in it.” “Guys aren’t into weird nail polish colors,” Morgan said as she fluffed her long curly blonde hair with her red polished fingers. Great, so even my nail polish was wrong. Could I do anything right? “Here comes Nick,” Pilar said, and the girls all got quiet. “Hey, guys,” he said, coming up and nodding at them. I started to curl my fingers under so he wouldn’t notice my dark polish—the color that up until a few minutes ago I thought was unique and beautiful was now making me feel like a little oddball. “Cool color,” Nick said. “Huh?” “I like the blue. It’s very you,” he said, and then he reached over and intertwined his fingers with mine. Take that, you dark nail polish haters. Simone played with a strand of her long blonde hair, but didn’t say a thing. “Yup, we thought we’d go over with you guys,” Morgan said, smiling up at him with her gleaming white teeth. Wait, what? No, not cool. This was our first date and I knew I’d feel awkward talking to him around a group—a group judging me on what I said, did, and apparently even the colors I wore.
GIVEAWAY! Title: Girl Departs Three, Part 1
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