Six Sentence Sunday: A Changed World

 

I'm still hard at work on my dystopian-themed novella. In this world--our world--a lot has changed after the solar storm. Here's an example of how much:

After I gave my best friend Harry a brief rundown about Ian, he asked, "So what kind of kinetic is he?"

Harry, a guy with longish hair and a goatee, had come to the bar where I worked after I sent a runner to ask for a meeting. Calling would have been more convenient, but the only people with telephones anymore were government, law enforcement, fire stations and hospitals. The rest of us had to use couriers. The days of cell phones and email were over, at least until communication satellites were back in place, which wouldn't happen any time soon.

        "I don't know yet," I told him.

And The Winner Is...

As you can see, the catty club was very eager to choose the winner for a signed copy of DARKEST KNIGHT. They crowded each other, trying to be the first to select one lucky reader. Teddy is on the far left (he weighs 35 pounds, by the way), Sammy squeezed in next to him, and Cody is on the other end. Such curious felines. Oh, that extra paw you see on the left? That belongs to my dog. Kinsey didn't want the cats having all the fun, but dared not stick her nose in the middle of the feline frenzy.

And the winner is...

They picked 2. :)

Patricia Stoltey and Ashley Clough

Congratulations, Pat and Ashely! I'll get in touch with you to get your mailing addresses and promise to get books to the post office early next week.

Enjoy your weekend!

DARKEST KNIGHT Updates!

I get butterflies every time I think about DARKEST KNIGHT's debut on Friday, March 23. Wow! I can't believe release day is almost here.

On Wednesday I was interviewed for the Good Morning Central Oregon TV talk show that will air on Friday, March 23, the same day DARKEST KNIGHT will appear on store shelves. The show's host, Kristi Miller, read the book and she gave it a glowing review. She's awesome! I'll post the video clip of the show on my blog as soon as I get it.

Then on Saturday, March 24, I'll be reading and signing books at Barnes & Noble here in Bend at 2:00 p.m. Yay! If you're in the area, please drop in to say hello.

I have lots of blog appearances coming up with some fun interviews and guest articles. Here's the schedule:

Kinley Baker
March 19

Urban Fantasy Reader
March 21

My Bookish Ways
March 23

Susan Spann
March 23

Aaron Michael Ritchey
March 28

Romancing The Genres
March 29

Cats, Books & More Cats
April 2

Harlequin's Paranormal Blog
April 6

 Don't forget that today's the last day you can enter the drawing to win a signed copy of DARKEST KNIGHT. Just leave your name and contact information in the comments of the contest post.

Thank you, everyone, for your awesome support! Hugs!!!

Six Sentence Sunday: Chasing Sunstorms

The manuscript I took six sentences from last Sunday has to be put on the back burner for awhile. I need to focus all my attention on my novella that will appear in Harlequin's upcoming End Of The World Anthology. The title is SUNSTORM and it's about the aftermath of the biggest solar storm in history that devastates the planet in 2012. My heroine is a storm chaser who's able to predict any kind of storm before it happens. In this scene, she's having a premonition of an upcoming storm:

It began as blustery gusts, and the pleased looks on people's faces expressed their relief. I had to agree with them. The air seemed inert on most days, so having it brush through my hair like ghostly fingers felt wonderful. Scraps of paper and dead leaves blew across the street and collected in dry gutters. Women had to hold down their skirts and dresses to keep them from flying up over their heads. What started out as laughter quickly turned to shouts of alarm as tree branches, cardboard boxes and garbage cans rolled over the ground at incredible speed.

The anthology will be out sometime in 2013.

DARKEST KNIGHT Contest for a FREE BOOK!

I have sample books I'm just dying to give away! So I'm having a contest this week. Just leave a comment with your contact information if you'd like to enter. The book won't be in stores until March 23, so now's your chance to be among the first to get it.

I'm limiting the contest to the continental U.S. due to the high cost of postage. I may do and ebook contest as well, but it's not easy getting the ebook coupons, so please bare with me. If you can live with a paperbook, I'd love it if you entered.

I'll keep the contest open until next Friday, March 16. Then I'll have one of my cats draw names. They're really good at it, and it's fun to watch. A little catnip always helps with the entertainment factor. :)

I'll be signing books at the Barnes & Noble in Bend, Oregon on Saturday, March 24, at 2:00, so I'd love to have a few Oregonians drop in to fill the chairs.

If you'd like to read a sample, you can check out the first chapter of DARKEST KNIGHT here.

More Art: Fashion Photos!

These obviously are not photos of real people, it's all simulated in 3D. I love fashion photography so this is how I pretend.

Six Sentence Sunday: Mo'o Manu

I've been hearing about this fun thing call Six Sentence Sunday, so I thought I'd play. Not that I don't have tons of other things I've thought about to blog. *cough* my nose is growing *cough*

So, from my work in progress--which is still very wet behind the ears--here are my six sentences that appear in chapter 2:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My grandmother made a loud trilling sound with her tongue and a winged lizard the size of a pigeon flew in through the open window to land on her hand. The creature's scales were the color of rainbows and its feathered wings shimmered opalescent in the light of an oil lamp. It chittered and blinked long lashes at my grandmother, who cooed while running a finger gently over its shiny head.

"Hello, Farrah," I said to the mo'o manu, or lizard bird to those unfamiliar with these animals. They were fairly common in the mirror world, and this one had been domesticated years ago. She'd been with our family for three generations.