Epic Thursday: Featuring Yours Truly

This week I am featured on Amber’s Epic Thursday. Where you will get to read the Epic Quill Scene. Check it out and leave some comment love!!

A Midsummer’s Nightmare

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY Kody Keplinger!!!

Today is the official release day for A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHTMARE

Whitley Johnson’s dream summer with her divorcé dad has turned into a nightmare. She’s just met his new fiancée and her kids.

The fiancée’s son? Whitley’s one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin’ great.

Worse, she totally doesn’t fit in with her dad’s perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn’t even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she’s ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn’t “do” friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn’t her stepbrother…at least, not yet.

It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.

A Midsummer’s Nightmare is available where books are sold.

To learn more about Kody you can visit her website Here.

She also Tweets.

I am a HUGE Kody Keplinger fan. I own all three of her books in both Kindle and hardcover. She is an awesome YA writer.

Other Titles include:

SHUT OUT

Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it’s a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part, Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy’s car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend’s attention.

Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all. She and the other players’ girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won’t get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don’t count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. And Lissa never sees her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling, coming.

ALSO, the ever-so-famous…….

THE DUFF
(Designated Ugly Fat Friend)

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “Duffy,” she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren’t so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

There you have it. Happy Book Birthday, Kody!! And everyone have a great Tuesday!

Ciao <3
Angela

Teaser Tuesday

(how amazing is that video?! Seriously, I have chills)

I am now in the thick of revisions for my newest book CINDERELLA’S GLASS STILETTO, the story of a nomad teen and her suicidal half-sister who arrive at a boarding school in Germany only to learn their classmates are characters from storybooks.

In the teaser below, Norah meets Wolf for the first time. This is from my first chapter and one of my new favorite scenes. Keep in mind this is still rough and needs some polishing.

Without further ado, meet Wolf:

A loud creak of the door drew my attention to the boy entering. An ice pack covered his left eye and blood dried beneath his nose. His glare burned the carpet as he sat in the chair across from me.

The leg of his dark corduroy pants hiked up when he leaned down to tie his black combat boots. Dark brown hair fell in waves along his face, stopping at his chin. My eyes trailed his long, built physique until I spotted the wolf on his forearm—mouth open, fangs exposed in a defensive manner. The drawing looked too permanent to be marker. The edges were feathered and worn, like something that’d been on his skin for years.

“Is that real?” I motioned to his forearm.

“As real as the sun.”

I crinkled my nose. “Why’d you pick a wolf?”

He shrugged and the icepack fell, showing off the beginning of what would be a nasty black eye. “He tells me what to do.” Well, that made perfect sense.

“Did he tell you to get that black eye?” I asked. “No offense, but it looks like you lost.”

He chuckled and rubbed one hand over his jaw. The stubble made him appear older than a guy in high school, plus he was tall, with broad shoulders and muscles made to crush bones. “You never saw the other guy.” The light bounced off the wolf ring on his index finger. His dark eyes trailed over my body, as if he were seeing me for the first time. “You the new girl from the states?”

“One of them. How’d you know?”

“People talk.”

No matter how many schools I attended, knowing people talked always made me cringe. “What did they say?”

“They didn’t say you’d be dirty.”

“Well,” I crossed one leg over the other and shrugged. “Life is full of disappoints.”

“Touché.” A devious grin twitched at the edge of his lips. “What’d you say your name was?”

“I didn’t.”

“Right.” A chuckle, deep and low rumbled in his throat. “I’m Wolf.”

I narrowed my eyes, holding in a smile. Wolf, really? That was his name. Man, he really embraced the whole wolf-name-look persona. “Creative.”

“Isn’t it?” I held in the ironic laughter as Wolf stared me down, again, his eyes held mine as if testing to see who’d break first. “So, you gonna tell me your name or are we going to keep going back and forth like this. Not that I mind the banter. Our chemistry is undeniable.”

“Chemistry?” I flinched. “There’s no chemistry.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” His rested his elbows on his knees and leaned closer to me. My throat tightened. Heat flowed from his body to mine like a wave slamming me against the back of the sofa. “The truth is always hard to accept. Especially when it’s this good.” He gestured to himself.

My jaw dropped. “What are you insinuating?”

Wolf leaned back, a tight smile playing with his lips. “Oh, you know.”

~~~

I hope you enjoyed a bit of Norah and Wolf. I post one liners from time to time on  Twitter, so if you aren’t follow me, you can find me at @angela_francis.

Oh, but I can’t sign off without reminding everyone…

 PRETTY AMY by Lisa Burstein is out now!

Amy is fine living in the shadows of beautiful Lila and uber-cool Cassie, because at least she’s somewhat beautiful and uber-cool by association. But when their dates stand them up for prom, and the girls take matters into their own hands—earning them a night in jail outfitted in satin, stilettos, and Spanx—Amy discovers even a prom spent in handcuffs might be better than the humiliating “rehabilitation techniques” now filling up her summer. Worse, with Lila and Cassie parentally banned, Amy feels like she has nothing—like she is nothing.

Navigating unlikely alliances with her new coworker, two very different boys, and possibly even her parents, Amy struggles to decide if it’s worth being a best friend when it makes you a public enemy. Bringing readers along on an often hilarious and heartwarming journey, Amy finds that maybe getting a life only happens once you think your life is over.

Lisa is awesome, so please check out her book. Its amazing. And I love supporting rock star writers…you should too.

Happy Tuesday.

Ciao,
Angela

Splintered by A.G Howard

Guess what ladies and gents?

The cover for Splintered by the amazing A.G. Howard is HERE!! Not only that, but there are some fantastic giveaways…and who doesn’t love giveaways? I know I do.

For sixteen years, Alyssa Gardner has lived with the stigma of being descended from Alice Liddell — the real life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s famed novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. But cruel jokes about dormice and tea parties can’t compare to the fact that Alyssa hears the whispers of bugs and flowers … the same quirk which sent her mother to a mental institution years before.

When her mother takes a turn for the worse and the whispers grow too strong for Alyssa to bear, she seeks the origins of their family curse. A set of heirlooms and a moth tied to an unusual website lead Alyssa and her gorgeous best friend / secret crush, Jeb, down the rabbit hole into the real Wonderland, a place more twisted and eerie than Lewis Carroll ever let on.

There, creepy counterparts of the original fairytale crew reveal the purpose for Alyssa’s journey, and unless she fixes the things her great-great-great grandmother Alice put wrong, Wonderland will have her head.

How AWESOME does this book sound? Not only does this book look fantastic, but the author is a rock star and I urge everyone to check it out and her, because I love supporting awesome authors and she definitely is one.

Want to know more about A.G Howard?

Check out her Website, Blog, and Twitter

Oh, contests, yes.  She is giving away some fantastic goodies. Go Here for more information on how to win a white rabbit journal, white rabbit bookmarks, and an autographed bookplate.

Before you leave, hop on over to Amazon and pre-order SPLINTERED.

Well, that’s all!!

Have a great Tuesday.

Ciao <3

 

 

Love on the Rocks

The stories were mistaken. True love didn’t triumph over all. True love was sold to the highest bidder.
- The Scarlett Lullaby

Side note: The above link/video is a clip of the song DROWING by Particle Blue, the band I am in DROWNING is a song on our EP which you can buy on AMAZON & iTunes. PS, my husband is the one playing lead geetar

I’m behind on the Teaser Tuesday, but I wanted to post a small clip of my current novel THE SCARLETT LULLABY, a young adult urban fantasy twist on the fairytale Sleeping Beauty. Current status: working on my query. Hoping to be done by the end of the month!!

 I hope you enjoy the small sample!

“I thought you’d know better by now.” The book slipped to the ground as Sebastian leapt to his feet. A long white robe draped the man before him. Despite the flecks of gray, his short blonde mimicked Sebastian’s. As did his grey eyes.  “Why are you doing this to yourself, again. It pains me to see you hurt. We hoped once you learned of her vacant memory you’d come back to us—back home.”

“She’ll remember.” Though he wasn’t sure if he believed that, especially after speaking with Wrenée, but he had to try.

“Please, son, come home. Save yourself the heartbreak. I spoke to the other elders, with little effort, we can sever the bond between you and the princess, and you can be free. Live with us, marry, and not be a slave to your charge.”

Sebastian’s anger flared. How dare he march in out of nowhere and speak of such blasphemies. Only once had a Beskyddares cut ties with their charge. The trial took months and even afterward, the Beskyydare was never the same. He lived and died miserably. And who would he possibly marry when he heart had been given away so long ago?

“I will never abandon her,” Sebastian growled. “One hundred years and I’m still as loyal as I was the day she first became mine. I’m sorry, father, but that shall never change.”

Sebastian could hardly believe what his father asked of him. To leave the one person he loved. To leave all he knew. Growing up, the mission had been embedded in his mind. They come first. Yet his father, an elder, longed for Sebastian to be selfish and leave her.

“The truth is,” his father said. “Scarlett doesn’t know who you really are or your past together. You have a chance here, one to start anew and permit her live a life without the barriers of forbidden love. One hundred years or not, Scarlett is still the daughter of the highest king.  And you, Sebastian, are a mere Beskyddare unworthy of someone with her ranking. Princesses marry princes, not servants.”

No matter how Sebastian spun the cards, he knew what his father said was the truth. The stories were mistaken. True love didn’t triumph over all. True love was sold to the highest bidder.

For more information see my BOOKS/PROJECTS page

Ciao

Angela

A Thousand Years

So I realized I haven’t blogged since September. Ouch, not good Angela! Life has been pretty hectic these last couple of months. The band takes up most of my weekends (if you like Christian music, check out Particle Blue, we have a free download right now! Plus, you can hear me sing a little. Fun? Yes!)

As for writing, much hasn’t changed since September. I’m in my last round of edits and finding some betas to take a read through. So far the feedback has been awesome. I’m really excited about this one and can’t wait to start querying in January! The fun part of edits is rebuilding chapters from the ground up. You read the chapter and you’re like, wow, this just isn’t working, so you scrap it and start over. The result up to this point has been awesome. I love my rewrites even though they mean I have to adjust a lot of other parts, but oh well!  Here is a little about the book I will be querying! Super excited. I made a cute mock cover too. Woot, Woot!

The only thing worse than seeing the past and the future, is trying to figure out your own. Which is exactly what sixteen-year-old Scarlett Lux is trying to do. But every time she gets close, Konstantine—Majester of The Society of Assassins—sends one of his minions to capture her.

 Lucky for her, Mason Salvatore, an assassin royal, and the mysterious Sebastian Andersson are ready to spring into action to keep her alive. The problem with two hott guys hanging on your every move? Whenever they are in ten feet of each other a fight transpires. But there’s no time for jealousy and kissing (even though Scarlett can’t seem to stop); not when Konstantine is trying to kill her for her light—the power to melt the barriers between realms—a power Scarlett doesn’t know she posses.

Now, Scarlett has to hurry to uncover the past before it kills her.   

The Scarlett Lullaby is a twist off the classic fairytale Sleeping Beauty with underlining themes from Helen of Troy.

Want to see a little teaser?? Well, glad you asked!
Here is a little sample of part of the first chapter from Mason’s POV.

Inhaling deep, Mason’s mind swirled, voices buzzed, and scents trailed through his nose until he found the odor—decaying corpse, whisky and cigars—of his target. Upstairs in the VIP lounge Giovanni caroused with two blondes. The excitement and adrenaline thrashed through Mason. It’s go time.

He loved his job.

Mason turned to Leighton, but kept a keen eye on the rest of the place in case other vamps were patrolling the premise. “He’s upstairs, but not alone. Two blood–lovers, plus the entrance is guarded. ”

Black velvet ropes and a large bodyguard kept stragglers from sneaking into the VIP lounge. The only way to reach Giovanni was up the winding staircase. Leighton seemed to notice that too.

“What’s the plan, boss?”

With Mason’s height going unnoticed seemed nearly impossible. Why all assassins were over six feet tall was beyond him. It made sneaking around much harder. Except the females, who resembled runway models with their long legs and slim build.

Mason pressed his palm against the thick stone walls. They dated back fifty years or older, when the nightclub probably functioned as a office and not a place the undead dwelled. Nevertheless, the cracked foundation proved to be sturdy enough to travel through.

 “Pose as one of Giovanni’s blood banks,” Mason said, backing away from the wall. “The guard won’t let you in otherwise. I’ll meet you up in time to slice and dice.”

“Are you sure the walls can handle it?”

 “Yep,” Mason nodded. “Let the games begin.”

After Leighton sauntered toward the guard, Mason found the washroom. Luckily the stall against the wall was unoccupied. Mason tried to avoid molding at all costs—it sucked and took more energy than he cared to use. But he didn’t have time to fret, the clock was ticking. With his back against the cool concrete, he closed his eyes, and took a deep breath—allowing the process to begin.

The stone drew him in, wrapping around him like a fleece blanket. Concrete poured into his veins, filling each crevice blood touched. No longer human flesh, he and the rock become one. Pain seared throughout him. The first time Mason molded, he swore the process would kill him. Now it was like dipping a hand in ice then into bubbling wax. After awhile you only felt numbness.

And a little piece of Scarlett…

The eerie silence continues as Scarlett stares at the man in front of her. Anxious to find something—anything—to focus on, but molten silver takes the place of true human flesh. After six months, he has yet to fully materialize. Today his hair mimics the sun as it cast rays of light down upon the sand. She imagines his hair would be coarse and thick between her fingers.

 Grey shadows drip from his outline, exposing a creamy complexion. Scarlett’s eyes travel along his body and grab onto every crevice of his form. Finally they arrive at his face; those fierce iceberg eyes pour into hers, like she’s drowning in an ocean.  The tide snakes through and pulls deeper until she breathes nothing but him.

 Unable to resist, Scarlett steps forward and touches him—brightness bubbles through her desperate for an escape. She holds a hand in front of her face, mesmerized, as her palm burns golden. Slowly, brightness weaves into the air, tinged with lilac, indigo and ivory.

Scarlett swallows, instead of fear, she feels whole, as if a void inside of her is filled. She giggles and the pretty light buries beneath the surface, hiding like a gopher from his shadow.

 “Dance with me, skönhet.”

 He draws her attention back to him and a frown twitches at her eyebrows. Has he forgotten they are unable to touch? He glides close; his gaze never escapes hers. Those delicate eyes of his resemble frost melting off a windowpane in winter. Scarlett imagines his skin is like satin. Even the hairs on his arms are soft and thin, like the web of a spider.

 “You must believe,” he whispers, the closeness of his mouth teases her.

 She nods, knowing she believes each word he speaks to her. “I do.”

 The blurry image flickers as Scarlett holds out her hand. His grip is like thick glass. With one hand on her clothed hip, he hums—the melody sweeter than a nightingale’s song. He twirls Scarlett in; the wintry aura he releases sends her sinking again. His hand travels across her neck, into her hair and down her side as they dance.

“Where are you, skönhet?”  His voice hums, deep and familiar. She adores how he regards her as skönhet. Which she learned means, Beauty in Swedish. 

 “I’m here,” she whispers.

 His silvery head shakes, “No, skönhet. Don’t you want to be with me outside your dreams?”

 “More than anything in the entire world.”

 Her love for him steals her breath away and every moment they are apart Scarlett weakens. Pain wrenches through her as they dance because she realizes soon she’ll awaken, and he shall be nothing but a dream—a dream she wishes were real life.

 “I’ll find you soon. Min sovande skönhet,” he says. “I promise you,”

 Wishes fill her soul to one day feel his lips against hers. Praying she will be able to memorize what he looks like instead of a shadowy figure with a glass body.

 “Scarlett.”

 Her name repeats. Then a pull, and like a plunger to her soul, a force drags her away.

 That’s all for now folks.

If I don’t post again, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 

I may not post again till after then, must get this book perfect!!

Ciao~

Angela

Trailer Park Dreams

Reposting some of the trailers for COLLIDE that I did last summer. check them out. I had an amazing cast  and crew. (FYI, I did the voiceovers)

Reminder, these are PG-13

“Nobody Needs to Know”
Lucas’s dark past doesn’t stop Madison from falling for him. Regardless of how her friends try to reach out to her, she can’t turn back now. She trapped, suffocated by Lucas. Maddie fears there’s only one out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFNxpkGoxfs

“Truth or Lies”
All-Star athlete, Lucas Valentino has his eye on Madison, the ‘drama freak’. But he has a reputation, one Madison is well aware of, plus, her best friend has had a thing for him since elementary school. Against her better judgment she finds herself curious about him, but is it all a joke, like the ones he used to play on her in middle school?

Watch past credits for a suprise…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piuUmrp-gns

“Ever-Changing Moments” - MY FAVORITE
There aren’t too many moments in a lifetime you can honestly say, that’s when it all changed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v_vX-WNoh4

“Sleeping Awake”
Some things aren’t what they seem. Madison and Lucas are one of those things. For years, Drew was the only man in her life, and with the dangerous arrival of Lucas, Drew finds out some unsettling news. Madison is faced with a tough decision.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOvmserm3fk

 

 

Shout out to my crew

Dustin Holton
Torrey Taylor
Christina Johnson
Jordan Weber
Savannah Fuss
Austin Hammesfahr
Candice Brown

StandAsOne Productions
SBN Studios

Hope you enjoy!

Cell Block Tango

I’ve had Cell Block Tango from Chicago in stuck in my head for like a week. Everywhere I go, I’m like “He had it comin’ , he had it comin’” people probably think I’m insane, but at least I haven’t started dancing randomly…yet.

I think writing and constructing a concept from scratch is a lot harder than editing.  I’m working on my first paranormal book. No vampire or werewolf love, lol. But a concept I hope is fresh and new, though it’s rare to find too much now-a-days. And I’m not writing it because of the fad of paranormal, I’m writing it because the idea wouldn’t leave my head. I read a book written in third person. Most of what I read is first, but after reading it, I thought, hrm, maybe I should try it, just to see if I’m any good.

So not only am I branching out from contemporary high school dramas, I’m taking on a new style of writing and it’s a blast. It took me a few months to hammer in the story, bouncing between different ideas until the right one hit me. Think a super twist on my favorite fairy-tale Sleeping Beauty meets Revelation. It’s fun and exciting with character that challenge me daily. Especially the guys I’m writing. Sometimes I wish I didn’t know their back stories, because I’m so excited about them I want to open the can of worms I can’t. lol.

Update on my book out to query THE PROS AND CONS OF BREATHING: Things are going well, and I’m loving the feedback so far. I got a full from a really amazing agent so keep your fingers crossed.

If you haven’t already, check out my book trailers for COLLIDE at www.youtube.com/angelhett and let me know what you think. I put them together with the help of MMJoe with StandAsOne Productions. (I did the voiceovers)

Saturday Josh and I celebrated our 6 year anniversery. just think, if we hadn’t met at one of Carissa’s infamous parties 6 years ago, we might not be getting married in 134 days…I’m not excited or anything…lol

And I saw this at Downtown Disney and i want it so bad, not only for the wedding but it’s so cute!!

Here is a short Teaser Tuesday from THE PROS AND CONS OF BREATHING.

“Actually, Ariel is Owen James’s sister,” Liam said.

Rhea moved her arms on her hips.

“Ew, didn’t you end up in rehab?” she asked. “Ohmigosh, yeah, I heard about you.” She said to me, then turned to Liam. “It’s nice to see you doing charity work now.”

“Just ignore her, Ariel, her thong must be in a bunch.” Rachel gritted her teeth together, but Rhea didn’t seem to notice; instead her brassy eyes were on Liam and me.

“I’m not wearing any, so that wouldn’t be a problem,” Rhea retorted, her eyebrows flashed at Liam and his hand left the small of my back. He shook his head and looked down at the ground. “You always liked that, didn’t you, baby?”

A smile crept across my lips. “Wait, I think I heard about you too! You were the whore my brother dated last fall, right? The one he screwed and dumped in the same night, yeah, that’s definitely you. He was right, you look kindda loose.”

 

I chose this scene because i know how much Ryann loves it. lol.

Ciao~

Angela

Dirty Little Secrets – Teaser Tuesday

In this Teaser Tuesday excerpt from THE PROS AND CONS OF BREATHING, the first day of school has finally arrived–and the secrets begin to unfold. Ariel learns that Liam isn’t the guy she thought he was.

 

Zoey was sitting at a table when I walked into Study Hall. I slammed my books down grabbing her attention.

“Why didn’t you tell me Liam went to our school?” I asked.

She shrugged, “I didn’t think it mattered.”

My jaw dropped, “we hug out for like a month, and you couldn’t mention it?” I said, stammering to speak. “Did you know he played football for Clearwater? Owen pretty much hates him!”

I started pacing, pulling at the root of my hair.

“Listen, Ariel,” she said. I stopped and turned toward her. “I didn’t realize I had to give you a family tree every time I introduced you to someone.”

Liam walked in. I groaned, irritation twisting in me. I stood at the table. He came over and sat across from Zoey, with a cocky grin. Ugh! I was so annoyed. I pivoted away, wishing I had long hair to toss over my shoulder—but it was gone now. I sat beside Devin, continuing to pull at my scalp.

A few tables over, Zoey pinned a few poofy strands back, and adjusted the crystal choker around her neck. It seemed everyone around me was keeping secrets. I was beginning to wonder if anyone told the truth anymore.

 Devin smiled wide, her pearl white teeth shining through the plush pink lip gloss.

“I have the 411 on the new guy,” she said.

I wrinkled my brows, tearing my eyes away from him.

“Lay it on me.”

She hunched forward, causing her dark hair to fall over her tiny, round shoulders.

“He’s an only child, he loves the color blue, he dated some girl two years ago, but they are so over, and apparently, he was expelled from Clearwater,” she said, taking a deep breath.

“Expelled?” the words fell out of my lips, my mind racing. I wondered if it had to do with football and that scholarship to camp he lost.

 “Ouch, new boy is totally macking on you!” she squealed.

My eyes followed hers to where he was sitting. Liam’s book was wide open, and he was looking right at me—those metallic eyes burning my skin. My face felt hot.

“Word on the street—and when I say street, I mean Miss Gordon’s filling cabinet—is that his mom died two years ago,” she said, whispering.

“How?” I asked.

“Cancer,” she said. “I guess she was sick for a while, and he took care of her. Isn’t that sweet?”

I bit down on my lip, and tried to comprehend that kind of pain—the kind that wallowed inside for months, just anticipating the death of someone you love. I couldn’t fathom waiting for my dad to die—taking care of him all those months.

There was so much I didn’t know about Liam and his life. Was he in pain? Did he ever get over it—and if he didn’t, would I? Suddenly his Jekyll and Hyde behavior between me and the world seemed to make sense. It was a defense mechanism, like my drug usage.

“Girlfriend?” I asked.

“No,” she said, flatly.

“Gay?” I asked.

“Definitely not gay,” she said. “Apparently, he’s waiting for something.”

I shook my head, what?

“You learned all this from his file?”

She rolled her eyes laughing, “of course not, silly. I made a call to a friend at Clearwater.”

“You have friends there?” I asked.

 “You know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

Thoughts. comments, suggestions?

Ciao
Angela

Teaser Tuesday

Here is a teaser from THE PROS AND CONS OF BREATHING. In this excerpt, Ariel goes back to school hoping everyone will forget  about her past with drugs, and rehab. But not everyone is willing to look past it.

By second period blazers were off and ties were loosened. I tossed mine in my bag and released a couple of buttons on the top of my blouse so I was more comfortable. I couldn’t handle listening to everyone gossip about me, so I asked for a hall pass and wandered aimlessly around to a bathroom—but not any bathroom—the one on the third floor way away from the first floor History Wing so it would take forever to get back.

I went into the bathroom. Nikki and Bridget were standing in front of the mirror.

“Wow, look who had the guts to come back,” Nikki said.

“Rehab wasn’t fun enough for you?” Bridget added.

I placed my hands on my hips.

“That was eight months ago, are you really that stuck on the past?” I said.

“No, just your self-destruction,” Nikki said. “Oh, by the way, do you know where we could score some candy cane?”

Bridget snickered, “yeah, I heard you’re still part of the champagne club.”

The laughed, sounding like a group of hens. I should have been nice, walked away, like the shrinks told me to do, but they didn’t know my school. If you didn’t stand your ground they’d devour you.

I swallowed hard, and regained the strength and attitude I needed to do this.

“You know, Bridget, you should pay less attention to me, and more to your boyfriend—who, if I heard correctly is cheating on you with Melody Taylor.”

 Bridget’s jaw dropped.

“Psycho druggie,” Nikki muttered.

I left Bridget stunned. Maybe her boyfriend was cheating on her, maybe he wasn’t, either way, they didn’t have any right to harass me. I glanced behind me as I walked out of the bathroom. As I turned back around, I slammed right into something hard. I stumbled backwards.

His hand latched onto mine, pulling me up into him—our bodies right against each other—so close not even a pea could fit in.

 “We have to stop meeting like this,” Liam said.

My heart started racing. I tried to keep my breathing under control but all I seemed to focus on was his hand clasped around my arm, and his other hand sitting on my waist, it felt heavy – like a weight.

His chest was barely inches away from mine but he didn’t look nervous, like I’m sure I did, instead, he looked, what….amused? I swallowed and tried to open my mouth, praying that whatever came out didn’t make me sound like a complete idiot.

“I’m really not this clumsy.”

I swallowed again, trying to lube my throat so it didn’t sound so scratchy. He smirked.

 “If you say so,” he said, his voice deep and alluring.

His metallic eyes seemed to melt as he gazed into mine. He released my arm and took a step back to put more space between us. He raised his left eyebrow and cocked a smooth smile that made my stomach tighten. As a reflex I went to stuff my hands into my pockets only to remind myself that this stupid skirt didn’t have any.

The moment of attraction passed, at least, I hoped it did. Then I remembered how he acted toward my brother. Did he know we were related when we first met? I mentioned Owen on several occasions. How could he keep that from me?

   “You knew Owen was my brother the whole time, didn’t you?” I asked

 He laughed in a low voice and shook his head gently.

“Maybe,” he said.

I crossed my arms, “Why didn’t you say something?”

 “If you knew who I was, you would have stayed away, right?”

I furrowed my brows, “maybe.”

“There’s my point.”

I crossed my arms, “that makes no sense!”

“Let’s say, just for shits and giggles, that I liked having you around. Then you learn that your brother has it out for me, and you stay away.”

“So what?” I asked. “Then I stay away, how does that affect you?”

He smiled, his lips inching up his cheeks into a wide smile. Was he….was Liam blushing?

“Well, then I wouldn’t get the chance to…”

“Excuse me,” assistant principal Williams said, coughing to grab our attention. “You two need to go back to class. This isn’t social hour.”

I groaned, and glared at Liam before I took a step backwards and trotted down the stairs. 

I kept it short today. Any thoughts, comments, suggestions…

Ciao
Angela