Falling for Fiction-Tuesday Recommendations & a Giveaway

I am over at Falling for Fiction talking about one of my favorite authors and giving a book away. 

Hope everyone had a great Memorial day weekend. I had a nasty allergy headache and all the writing I planned on doing, did not happen. Magic can not come from mush. Not that my writing is magic, lol. But when you write the same sentence five times you have to walk away and come back later. Like when cotton stops falling from the sky.

Picture removed.

Yes, that is cotton in the water.

That is it for today, I squished most of what was left of my brain into the FFF blog post. Have a good week.

Wilde's Fire Contest-TGT Query and first 500

I have entered another contest. It's to celebrate the 5/13 release of the YA fantasy, Wilde's Fire by Krystal Wade, they are having an awesome editor judged contest with Curiosity Quills Press! The honorable judge will be none other than the Curiosity Quills Acquisitions Editor for Young Adult, Krystal Wade. Check out Sharon Bayliss' blog for all the entries. Good luck to everyone.

So here is my query and frist 500. If you have read this 10 tens and know it by heart, I also posted a Songspiration Post today where I try my hand at writing a song. So you can skip this post and go to that one. ;0)

QUERY:

Kella Davis’ life is as far from heaven as you can get. She grew up in foster care, has no human friends, and her sister thinks she’s a freak. But, Kella has a secret: Her best friend, Gabrielle, is her guardian angel. They fuse into a single being, communicating through feelings alone. With Gabrielle, Kella can fly, kick the crap out of boys, and speak in any language she hears.

When an earthquake hits Haiti, Kella flies in to lend her unique abilities to the rescue effort. After a boy named Asher watches as she brings a little girl back from the dead, he follows her home and she finds herself face to face with the one thing she never knew existed: someone like her.

Asher swoops into her life with his charmingly awkward ways exactly when Kella needs a human friend most. A fallen angel rips Gabrielle from Kella and leaves clues behind which allude that her angel may not be on Earth or in Heaven. And she may not want to be saved at all.

But Kella won’t give up on her best friend, and she refuses to believe Gabrielle would ever betray her. If her angel ceases to exist, Kella will be a shell, forever haunted by what it meant to be something more than human. 

THE GUARDIAN TRIBE is my YA contemporary fantasy complete at 66,000 words, told in the alternating perspectives of Kella and Asher.

FIRST 500:

Warmth trickled up Kella’s arms and flowed to her back, twitching where her tattooed wings connected. She sat on her couch savoring the silence. No Emma yapping. Her sister was peacefully tucked away at school. Her shift at the coffee shack ended so she stole a few minutes to herself before she was due at the restaurant.

Times like this Kella was thankful her life had finally become normal. Her jobs paid the rent and allowed for a few extras. Emma was behaving. The chaos of the last few years shoved in its proper hole. Life was simple.

And boring.

No disasters. No sneaking out at night. No secretly being the hero.

Not that she wanted things with Emma to flare up again. Hell was not worth living through twice.

Kella stretched and glanced at her phone. Twenty minutes before she had to leave. Just enough time to check if there were any new bites on her Craigslist ad. A shiny new helmet was one of the few extras she allowed herself. Hopefully her old one would bring in a few bucks, which could be used to buy some parts for Emma’s Honda.

While signing into her email a headline caught her eye:  A seven-point earthquake has rocked the country of Haiti. Hundreds trapped, thousands feared dead.

The warmth that swirled through her earlier went frigid. That was the end of her boredom.

All the things she needed to do shot through her head.

Text Emma with a lie. It would have to be a good one, Kella never left Emma alone anymore.

Text her coworkers and pull in all the favors she’d stocked piled in case something like this happened.

Did she have her shots up to date? Yep.

Passport? She’d have to check. Usually she didn’t need to show it to anyone, but just in case.

Food pack? She had one stashed in her room. The last time she went somewhere without one she had to eat the local food. Ugh, she would not do that again.

Texts sent, clothes changed, and backpack ready. She’d have to figure out where she could stash her motorcycle, but she’d worry about that when she got to the mountains.

Kella pulled the hood of her sweatshirt a little tighter around her frozen ears after locking her apartment. Hopefully Haiti would be warmer than Portland.

#

The view of Port-au-Prince from above resurrected memories of the dead. Earthquakes were one of her least favorite disasters. She hated the aftershocks.

Survival mode was her specialty. Get in, get out, and stay focused. At least that’s what she told herself as she watched the smoke billow into the sky from fires raging beneath. She coughed at the stench of burnt flesh mingled with fuel and squinted in an attempt to make out what lie below, realizing the dots of dust running around in unorganized pandemonium were people.

One of the structures Kella flew over had a mountain of shopping carts piled around on the broken slabs of concrete.

Songspiration Friday-Do you see me?

When I first started writing it began with me trying to write a song. I did in fact write a few songs. One of which my husband (not hubby at the time.)helped me put to music and I sang for my sister’s wedding. It’s called Jesus’ Princess. I think I’d rather be shot instead of ever watching that video. Not my sister’s actual wedding but I don’t want to see how bad I probably was.

Anyway, I realized that even that song read more like a book than a song should have and that’s why I started writing actual books. How can you get the tint of her hair, the curve of her elbow, the catch in her voice when she’s says good-bye in a song? The really good song writers can in fact do most of that, but I’m not one of them.

Then along came Charlie. She’s one of the MC’s in secret collab project with Kelley Lynn. Oh wait, I just said that out loud. Charlie loves music, she’s not the first MC I’ve ever written that does. In fact a lot of my characters have an affinity for music. Go figure.

During the book Charlie writes a song. Which means I have to write a song. Or at least the lyrics. Dude, writing just a few words is SO hard. Really I’d rather write and 80K word book.

Me writing a song. LOL.

So for your Friday reading pleasure I am giving you a sneak peak into Charlie’s heart. Well and Lucy’s too. That’s her sister and Kelley’s character. She plays the piano. That’s all I’m saying.

Lost in Plain Sight

All of me.
Leaking out.
Sliced open.
For you to consume.
For you to leave.
And never believe.

Do you see me?
Lost, in plain sight.
Do you hear me?
Begging for my life.

Air fills me.
When you’re near.
I disappear.
Heart ripping.
Breath of my future.
Sucking out my past.

Do you see me?
Lost, in plain sight.

Do you hear me?
Begging for my life.


Do you see me?
Do you hear me?

Heart ripping.

Do you see me?

Here is a song that has the musical feel Kelley and I are going for when it comes to the song. I’m not saying that this is the music to these lyrics, because that would be stealing. LOL. Just that this is how the song should feel.

And NOO Cristina, I will not Vlog myself singing this song. It doesn’t really have music to it.

Yanking my Chain

Girl meets boy. Girl falls for boy. Girl follows boy to New York even though she doesn't know him very well only to find out he's really not that into her.

This is the premise for a late 90's early 00's show called Felicity. I saw on Netflix that it was "like" My So-Called Life. So I started watching it.

Then I noticed that JJ Abrams was involved. I should have stopped there. Sorry if you are a fan. But I stopped watching Lost way before everyone was utterly disappointed by his ending. I also watched Alias, but felt it became convoluted after a while.

My biggest problem with the series, Felcity, was how they ripped their characters and their relationships to shreds. You create these characters and make them attracted to each other, but if you put them together too soon then what do you do for tension? How do you make it interesting?

You have them lie, cheat, and generally disregard every part of what loving each other means. By the time you get to finish line you have to drag the relationship across gasping for air not resembling anything close to a loving, caring relationship.

I skipped a ton of episodes and just watched the end because I had to know if they actually had the characters stay together OR break free and go out into the world to find a healthy relationship. (Which I would have preferred.)

It made me think about being a writer. Creating these amazing people and then putting them through hell. That's what you have to do right? Push them to the breaking point then save them in the end. Have you ever written a character doing something just to progress the story, but didn't think about what that really meant for the character? What it would either say about them or how it could affect them.

So where is the sweet middle between being namby-pamby and never putting your characters through anything and dragging them through SO much that by the end of your book they are left a shell of a person or relationship never to heal from the torture you put them through?

I think TV shows are the biggest culprits of this because the have season after season of storyline to fill, but as writers of novels we can do this too.

What are your thoughts? Have you seen a show where you felt the writers went to far with a character? Or that the storyline sacrificed the characters they created? Any books or movies?

Knee Deep Winner and an award.

My wonderful friend Emily!!!! Yes, I used Random Generator so I'm not choosing favorites. Which Emily is one of.

Email me Emily and we'll get your eCopy of this awesome book.  

In other news I was given this lovely award by Sheri L Swift. Thank you Sheri, you're awesome!

Here are the rules.

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.
2. Share 7 random things about yourself.
3. Nominate 7 fellow bloggers for the Beautiful Blogger award.
4. Inform the bloggers of their nomination.
5. Include the award images in your blog post.

Gah, my lazy butt hates #3 but I will do it. First 7 random things about me.

1. I don't like reading Pride & Prejudice.

2. I love avocados
3. I hate Mountain Dew (shh, no one tell Cassie.)
4. I drove from Anchorage, Alaska to Phoenix, AZ after breaking up with my first serious boyfriend. Good thing because I met my husband in Arizona.
5. When I was growing up I didn't want to be a writer. I wanted to Sing/Act/Teach.
6. When I was growing up we owned several different station wagons. One time I accidently opened the door of one of them and almost fell out while we were driving down the freeway. I think I was 7.
7. When I was growing up I visited my mamaw& papaw on their farm in Shangaloo, Louisana and I'd spend most of my day helping my papaw with his worm farm.

Now for seven beautiful bloggy people. I'm going to try to pick people I've never given awards to.

1. Morgan Shamy-Not sure how I didn't know about her sooner, but I love that red head.
2. Amanda Olivieri-Met her thru my wonderful CP Cristina. So happy to have found her.
3. Kyra Lennon-She is a fellow Sebstain lover. YAY!
4. Suzi-Her prom dress for the latest blog hop had me dying.
5. Peaches Ledwidge-Peaches has been around my blog for a long time, but I love her, and I LOVE her name.
6. Darci Cole-I met her on Twitter. Yay! And she is also a member of the Reclusive Writers Club, which I think Morgan started.
7.  Leigh Statham-Also someone I met through Twitter. She calls people on there Twit Heads and I love that. She was one of my cheerleaders during The Writers Voice. Even when I didn't get in.

Alright, so I must go let everyone know what beautiful people they are. Have a great weekend everyone.

Falling for Fiction Mixer

If you don’t already know, I am part of a group blog. We started the blog to support other writers. So far it has been tons of fun, and I really do think we’re accomplishing what we set out to do.

Each month we are planning on have a Beta/CP Mixer. There are TONS of writers out there floating around that are going solo. And let me tell you, when I was writing in my bubble it was easier and harder all at the same time. I didn’t have to question what kind of writer I was because it was just me. My stories were amazing. (Please read with a touch of sarcasm.)

But it was also lonely, and my stories weren't getting any better. Finding a CP can be as bad as dating in high school. Or worse. Dating as an adult when you don’t hang out in small groups of people that must be together whether they like it or not.

The hardest part for me when I didn’t have one was that every blog I visited was already talking about how amazing their critique partner was. This made me feel like everyone was already set. But then I found out that WriteOnCon was doing a critique partner forum where people would post what they were looking for and a sample of their work. I was really nervous, but I found Megan through that forum. And I was completely surprised by how many people were looking. Don't let the blogs fool you.

The biggest thing about finding someone is finding the right person to love your work, but still give you an honest opinion that will make it better. Someone might know everything in the world there is to know about writing but if they prefer reading books that are more like Wuthering Heights and you write like Stephen King, it’s not going to work.

Another thing to think about is time frame. My computer is stuck smack dap in my living room with kids and adults running around all the time. I work full time and I have 2 kids. Plus, I’m writing 2 books at the same time. So can I critique a whole book in 2 days? Probably not. I have come close on a 2^nd read thru but I’m not the fastest CP in the world.  It’s all about what works for you and your partner (s).

Strengths and weaknesses are another huge thing. This one can be tricky. You may not know what yours are. Until I sat down and starting critiquing I wasn’t so sure. Well, I knew punctuation and grammar were a weak point but I didn’t know my strengths. Are you good at pacing? Or looking at the big picture? Do you have a great sense of character?

And last but not least-Personality!! Just like when you are dating, you have to be able to get along with someone that is critiquing your work. Are you okay with long comments that sing you a song when the writing reminds them of that certain song? Do you like to email 50 times a day? Tweet back and forth little encouraging comments? Send texts at 6AM to find out information? (Okay, so this one comes from a collab I’m doing and she lives 2 times zones away. LOL-Love you Kelley.)

I’m just giving everyone some things to think about before the mixer. So if you are looking for a Critique Partner or Beta Reader come join us at Falling for Fiction on Thursday 5/17/12. Finding the right CP could change your life, don't miss out.

Knee Deep by Jolene Perry-Review by ME

If you have followed my blog very long you know I love Jolene Perry. She really is a great friend and I can't say that I'm not biased any time I read her books. But I do LOVE every book I've read so far. Jameson from Night Sky is still one of my favorite book boys. Jo has a way of making characters stand up and walk off the page. The quirks she gives them, or the things they love. Or just the way they talk. Whatever it is she does, they feel like you went to high school with them. 


Here is the Summary--

Shawn is the guy Ronnie Bird promised her life to at the age of fourteen. He's her soul mate. He's more uptight every day, but it's not his fault. His family life is stressful, and she's adding to it. She just needs to be more understanding, and he'll start to be the boy she fell in love with. She won’t give up on someone she’s loved for so long.

Luke is her best friend, and the guy she hangs with to watch girlie movies in her large blanketopias. He's the guy she can confide in before she even goes to her girlfriends, and the guy who she's playing opposite in Romeo and Juliet. Now her chest flutters every time he gets too close. This is new. Is Ronnie falling for him? Or is Juliet? The lines are getting blurry, but leaving one guy for another is not something that a girl like Ronnie does.

Shawn’s outbursts are starting to give her bruises, and Luke’s heart breaks as Ronnie remains torn. While her thoughts and feelings swirl around the lines between friendship and forever, she’s about to lose them both.

Here is my review--
In your life there are people that make decisions you don't think you'll ever understand. You watch them from afar and try to figure out what's going on in their heads. They're strong and intelligent, yet they make bad decisions. Ronnie is one of those people. Jolene, takes you each achingly sad step into the mind of someone that is being abused. You hear each thought of blame. Blame that Ronnie is causing it, and that Shawn is just stressed. It can't be anything more because Shawn is her future, her forever love. During each chapter I finished it thinking, now she will walk away. Now she will tell someone. Now he might really hurt her. And I wanted to shout it at her each time. Tell your parents! But of course I'm just the reader, sitting back watching those decisions unfold. Like a friend would, except I get to hear they whys of her decisions.

And even though this story was about a serious subject Jolene managed to weave a breathtakingly beautiful love story. Incorporating Romeo & Juliet seamlessly. Each line they said to each other, the feelings Luke and Ronnie allowed to blossom during those times gave me a fantastic mental picture of their relationship. Luke isn't perfect the way Ronnie isn't. I yelled at him too. Do something for Ronnie, don't sit back and watch this happen to her. DO SOMETHING. But he was real and true to what people do. And in the end he did what he could.

LOVED this book. Ronnie and her story will be with me for a long time.

Here is all the information you need to purchase Knee Deep. But if you would like a free copy I am giving away 1 eBook copy. All you need to do is leave a comment and I'll pick one winner by Friday. Please note this is an eBook. 


Kindle buy link - $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007XW8JLK/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tributebooks-20

Nook buy link - $4.95
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=dcSBhG3Rj8w&subid=&offerid=239662.1&type=10&tmpid=8432&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.barnesandnoble.com%252Fw%252Fknee-deep-jolene-perry%252F1110433794%253Fean%253D2940014556149iBookstore buy link - $4.99
Coming soonGoogle buy link - $3.79
http://books.google.com/books?printsec=frontcover&id=5FuWiBh0udQC#v=onepage&q&f=false

Smashwords buy link - $4.99
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/155361?ref=tributebooks
PDF buy link - $4.95
https://www.payloadz.com/go/sip?id=1587563

Where I tell you about-My So-Called Life

I am a hypocrite.

Here me out. I preach that I want more books with REAL boys. Ones that don’t have six back abs or flawless looks. Smart guys. That think and talk more. That have quirks and nuances.

I say that I would totally root for the nerdy boy next door. In fact one of my CP’s has written a book about How to Date a Nerd. And I LOVE Zak. He’s the nerdy guy. He’s sweet and loves video games and he’s just full of awesome.

BUT----

Then I watched My So Called Life.

And guess what. There is a nerdy guy that lives next door. His name is Brian Krakow. 

He is in LOVE with Angela. The awkward girl played by the beautiful Claire Danes.

And then there is this guy (Pic of Jared Leto removed.)

He is NOT nuanced. LOL. Well maybe he is, but I think he had a total of 30 lines for the whole 19 episode run. I may be exaggerating. He is the guy that ignores you, messes with your head, wants sex and will break up with you because you won’t. Or at least allow the breakup to happen. He sleeps with your best friend and he most certainly has six pack abs.

And guess who I rooted for all the way through to the last credits rolling?

You’ve got it Jordan Catalano. Come on, look at them! (Pic of Jordan with Angela removed.)

What is my point? I really have no idea. All I know is that I WANT to root for the nerd. And if this were a book, I probably would. And I know that Jordan's character actually had many things they did to make you want him to be better. He did have faults. He didn't know how to express himself. He didn't understand what love was. He just understood what he was taught. They had Angela moon over him ad nauseam so that you might as well. 

So do looks override brain function? Yes, the fact that I watched this originally when I was 15 may have something to do with it. I loved Jordan back that. His eyes are part of my teenage experience. So, maybe I can't have a unbiased opinion. 

Going right along with this theme, I have Nyrae Dawn (She's the one that got me to watch this again on Netflix) over on Falling for Fiction Spotlight Friday. I'm giving away a copy of her book What a Boy Wants. 

Since Friday is usually Songspiration Friday I will leave you with a 30 Seconds to Mars song. Jared Leto aka Jordan Catalano is the front man if you didn't already know. It's long but I think it says it all for me. Just watch him on stage. How can you NOT love that.

Oh, Those High School Dances Blog Hop

This blog hop is hosted by two of my favorite people. Go HERE to Kelley's blog to read her post and see the linky list. And go HERE to Emily's blog for her story and the same list. There are prizes for this. WOOHOO. I doubt I will win because mine is BORING. But it's still fun. 

Here are the rules for participation:

1. Post pictures of your high school dances. (Make sure you tell us which one is you if they're group pictures.)
2. Share with us your funniest high school dance story.
3. That's it!

So drum roll please....................................

I am DYING laughing just looking at this picture. Where the heck did I get the silly wrist flower thingy. I went ALONE. Thanks Mom and Dad. 

So my story is not funny and this is the only school dance I went to so I will just share what my Prom night was like. 

As you can see from above I had the HOTTEST fashion for 1996. Fuchsia baby. And can you see my peekaboo side there? Yup, it was so shear down the sides I couldn't wear undos. Zero panties people. But who cares because I got in my red Chevy Beretta and drove myself to the hotel. I was a small town girl and the streets of the huge city of Little Rock were intimidating, so of course I got lost. Once I finally got there, I found people I kinda hung out with and watched everyone else dance. 

I think I may have danced in a group of girls. Maybe we did the Macarena. I don't remember. I have NO idea who king was, I think it may have been the class president.  Who, yes, was one of the best looking guys in school. (My friend may have had a fling with him during the summer before college, maybe.)

After I hung out there for a while I went to the after prom party at the rec center where they had games and such set up. And I got sick! Boo. I think I left around 11PM and went home. I ended up having the flu or something. 

This is the story of high school for me. LOL. I never liked that many guys at school. Hung out with older people from work. Went to 18 and over clubs in Memphis. Went to parties with my older friends and liked the older guys there. But never really dated them. I was a fringe kind of high school person. I wasn't a dork or made fun of. Just went to school and that's it. 

Now for your viewing pleasure I found this in my album. 

I'm too cute at 19-20, right? 

Now, I am going to go view all the splenderific pictures of you guys. Have a great day!! And thank up Kelley and Emily for throwing this blog hop.

Spectral by Shannon Duffy Review

Today I bring you my Spectral review. Goodreads summary below.

Convinced she’s a part of the witness protection program, sixteen-year-old Jewel Rose is shuffled around the globe with her family like a pack of traveling gypsies. After arriving at lucky home twenty-seven, she stumbles upon a mysterious boy with magical powers claiming to be her guardian . . . and warning of imminent danger. Despite the obvious sparks between them, Jewel discovers a relationship is forbidden, and the more she learns about dark, brooding Roman, she begins to question who she can even believe — the family who raised her, or the supposed sworn protector who claims they’ve been lying to her all along.

As she struggles to uncover who her family has really been running from, she is forced to hide her birthmark that reveals who she is. With new realities surfacing, unexplained powers appearing, and two tempting boys vying for her heart, Jewel battles to learn who she can trust in an ever growing sea of lies, hoping she’ll make it through her seventeenth birthday alive.

Spectral GoodReads page:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13319632-spectral
Shannon Duffy's Blog:
http://1fantasyfairy.blogspot.com/


AND... now for my review. 

We will start at the end. LOL. I loved the almost spy like ending. Jewel is on the run all her life, and when she gets to Florida pretty much all  hell breaks loose as her birthday approaches. But the ending involves kidnapping, escapes via hang gliders and running from mafia like bad guys. The magic is fun and unexpected at times, almost superhero power feeling, instead of spells and incantations. 

I liked the bond that Jewel has with her brother. They are sweet together. Some of the secrets Jewel finds out are really hard to handle because they have to do with her family. And this books shows that family ties can run deeper than blood. 

Spectral was a fun read that will leave you wondering what wil happen to Jewel when she fulfills her destiny as the Spectral.

I have listed all the links below to check out Jewel in Spectral.

Kindle buy link - $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RMZYL4?tag=tributebooks-20

Nook buy link - $4.95
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=dcSBhG3Rj8w&subid=&offerid=239662.1&type=10&tmpid=8433&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.barnesandnoble.com%252Fw%252Fbooks%252F1109953082
iBookstore buy link - $4.99
Coming Soon
Google buy link - $3.79
http://books.google.com/books?printsec=frontcover&id=Ov0LCe_6RY4C#v=onepage&q&f=false

Smashwords buy link - $4.99
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145573?ref=tributebooks
PDF buy link - $4.95
https://www.payloadz.com/go/sip?id=1580735






Spectral GoodReads page:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13319632-spectral
Shannon Duffy's Blog:
http://1fantasyfairy.blogspot.com/

The Writer's Voice Entry

I'm in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I woke up early yesterday, sat at my computer forever last night, and again this morning. But I did it. I'm in the Writer's Voice Contest. Now the 4 AMAZING ladies putting on the contest will go around and pick their team. Yikes! You are allowed to cheer or give me some advice on what you think needs changed. I'm up for anything. 


Here is a link to Brenda's blog, Cupid's Blog, Monica's Blog, and Krista's Blog. They are all agented authors who really give back to our community. 


OK now for the query and first 250. Have a great weekend. And May the 4th be with you.

Kella Davis’ life is as far from heaven as you can get. She grew up in foster care, has no human friends, and her sister thinks she’s a freak. But, Kella has a secret: Her best friend, Gabrielle, is her guardian angel. They fuse into a single being, communicating through feelings alone. With Gabrielle, Kella can fly, kick the crap out of boys, and speak in any language she hears.

When an earthquake hits Haiti, Kella flies in to lend her unique abilities to the rescue effort. After a boy named Asher watches as she brings a little girl back from the dead, he follows her home and she finds herself face to face with the one thing she never knew existed: someone like her.

Asher swoops into her life with his charmingly awkward ways exactly when Kella needs a human friend most. A fallen angel rips Gabrielle from Kella and leaves clues behind which allude that her angel may not be on Earth or in Heaven. And she may not want to be saved at all.

But Kella won’t give up on her best friend, and she refuses to believe Gabrielle would ever betray her. If her angel ceases to exist, Kella will be a shell, forever haunted by what it meant to be something more than human. 

THE GUARDIAN TRIBE is my YA contemporary fantasy complete at 66,000 words, told in the alternating perspectives of Kella and Asher.

 

Thank you for your time and consideration.  I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Jenny Morris

Warmth trickled up Kella’s arms and flowed to her back, twitching where her tattooed wings connected. She sat on her couch savoring the silence. No Emma yapping. Her sister was peacefully tucked away at school. Her shift at the coffee shack ended so she stole a few minutes to herself before she was due at the restaurant.

Times like this Kella was thankful her life had finally become normal. Her jobs paid the rent and allowed for a few extras. Emma was behaving. The chaos of the last few years was shoved down in its proper hole. Life was simple.

And boring.

No disasters. No sneaking out at night. No secretly being the hero.

Not that she wanted things with Emma to flare up again. Hell was not worth living through twice.

Kella stretched and glanced at her phone. Twenty minutes before she had to leave. Just enough time to check if there were any new bites on her Craigslist ad. A shiny new helmet was one of the few extras she allowed herself. Hopefully her old one would bring in a few bucks, which could be used to buy some parts for Emma’s Honda.

While signing into her email a headline caught her eye:  A seven-point earthquake has rocked the country of Haiti. Hundreds trapped, thousands feared dead.

The warmth that swirled through her earlier went frigid. That was the end of her boredom.

All the things she needed to do shot through her head.

Text Emma with a lie.