Twitter

I know it may not seem like a lot to some of you, but I am nearing the 1000 mark for followers on Twitter.  Considering that I started out with a big fat ZERO not so many months ago, I'm quite pleased with this milestone.  At any rate, I'm doing a giveaway for the event.  My 1000th follower will get free Kindle eBook copies of BLP1, The Reaping, Madly, Wiccan and Caterpillar when they tell me who sent them in my Twitter direction.  Now for the person who sent them, he or she will receive a signed copy of both Blood Like Poison: For the Love of a Vampire and The Reaping.  How's that for appreciation?  Good enough?  I sure hope so. 

Thanks to everyone who is gracious enough to follow me and read my work.  I love you all more than I could ever say:) 

Madly Chapter 13, a Thanks and Jennifer

Let me first start off with an apology for the flaw in the most recent print edition of Madly and Wolfhardt.  It has come to my attention that chapters 12 and 13 are identical.  I'm posting the correct chapter 13 below and I'm fixing the problem today.  This was a limited edition and I've spoken to most of those who have one about rectifying the situation.  Thank you all for being so awesome about it and you know I plan to make it up to you:) 

I'd also like to thank everyone who came out to see us Plumes in Florida.  It was a great pleasure to meet you and I hope to hear from each of you sometime soon. 

Lastly, I'd like to give a special shout out to Jennifer.  You are the most amazing reader and fan, and I thank you for being so supportive and awesome!  I looked for you before we left on Tuesday night.  I wanted to give you a BOcabulary tee-shirt, but you'd already left.  If you want to e-mail me with your address, I'd be happy to send you one.  It would be an honor for you to wear a Blood Like Poison tee:)

Happy Sunday, y'all!  I'm off to try and catch back up on Gravity.  Wish me luck!!

SPOILER ALERT!!

The following contains a HUGE spoiler!  If you haven't read Madly, STOP NOW!!!

MADLY AND WOLFHARDT

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The click of the switch seemed extraordinarily loud and I flinched when the light blazed brightly into the darkness of the room.  At that moment, I felt like exactly what I was—bait!

I moved in front of the window, much as I’d seen Kellina do in the vision the Seers had given me.  I puttered around the room as if I was readying myself for bed.  After a couple minutes, I returned to the lamp, to the window and, with another deep breath, I perched on the side of the bed and turned the light off with an ominous click.

And then we waited.  And waited.  And waited.

I was listening so closely for sounds in the house that I could hear the crickets outside, even through the thick glass of the closed window.  Other than their song, however, there was nothing to hear but the beat of my heart pounding furiously in my ears.

Once again, I heard the rustle of Jensen’s pants as he moved across the room toward me.

“You can try again in a few minutes,” Jensen whispered.  “But this time, after you cut the light off, walk quietly over and stand beside the closet door.  That way, when Wolfhardt comes in, I’ll be between you and him.”

“Ok,” I breathed, now glad that Wolfhardt hadn’t come the first time.  If he’d leapt into the room, he would’ve had a clear straight line to me where I sat on the bed.  It rankled that Jensen hadn’t thought of that a little sooner. 

It was blunders like that that made me miss Jackson even more.  He would’ve been thinking of my safety from every possible angle, start to finish.

Jensen moved back over into position.  I heard the hushed tones of him whispering communications to the others and then it was silent once more—just me, my pulse and the crickets.

I waited for a few more minutes and then I stood and repeated the entire process again—and got the same result.  When Wolfhardt hadn’t shown up after another ten minutes of sitting in the dark, waiting, I felt the first pangs of frustration. 

We repeated the process a third time, also with no luck.  The Sentinels, of course, were like robots.  They weren’t feeling antsy or annoyed; they could probably wait all night and never say a word.  But not me.  I was quickly reaching my boiling point.

My movements were a little sharper, my inner monologue a little more aggravated as I went through the motions for a fourth time.  When I snapped off the lamp, I paused, growling under my breath before creeping over to stand beside the closet door.

As they had each time, my ears strained to pick up any extraneous sounds, hoping upon hope that Wolfhardt would take the bait.

And this time he did. 

My first clue of his approach was the warming of my bracelet against my skin, almost as if it was powering up for the fulfillment of its mission.  My second clue was hearing the monster himself as he neared the room.

The soft, quick puffs of sniffing penetrated the silence.  They were followed by one sharp snort and then…nothing. 

My heart banged ruthlessly against my sternum as adrenaline flooded my body, making me feel jittery and jumpy, ready to run.  My eyes, having adjusted somewhat to the dark, were trained on the edge of the door, expecting to see Wolfhardt’s snout appear at any moment.  What I wasn’t expecting to see was movement inside the closet to my left.

There was a shift in the shadows, as if something black was filling the already-dark, empty mouth of the closet.  I looked and saw a form lowering itself down from the upper shelf inside the walk-in space.  Panic rose in my throat, threatening to suffocate me, but not before I sucked in a deep breath, preparing to scream my head off. 

Something shot out of the closet toward me.  A large hand clamped down hard across my mouth, smothering the scream before I could sound the alarm.  I reached up to grab at the thick wrist attached to the hand when words at my ear sent goose bumps of recognition skittering down my arms.

“Quiet, Princess.”

It was Jackson.  He whispered the words so slowly and his voice was so low I could barely hear him.  But I heard enough to know that it was him.  My body filled in the rest of the blanks.

My knees felt rubbery with relief and I wanted to turn and throw myself against him.  Luckily, the part of me that was still thinking rationally reminded the rest of me that we were at a critical juncture in the apprehension of our first escaped Lore, so I resisted the urge.

Oh-so-quietly, Jackson removed his hand and stepped in front of me, his body completely shielding me from the rest of the room.  Unfortunately, Jensen didn’t know that Jackson had arrived, so when he moved in front of me, it startled Jensen.  Reflexively, Jensen turned to attack.

Everything that happened next was a blur.  It happened so quickly, it seemed that one minute I was appreciating the heat from Jackson’s body pressed tightly to my front and the next I was screaming for them not to hurt Wolfhardt.

When Jensen turned on Jackson, it alerted Wolfhardt, who charged through the door—teeth bared, ears back, hackles up—ready to defend himself.  I stood with my back pressed to the wall, paralyzed by fear when I saw the big beast leap into the room.

As Jackson and Jensen wrestled, one of them accidentally hit the door and it slammed shut with a loud bang.  That left me trapped between the wall and the wolf with nowhere to go.

Wet, quivering lips pulled back even further from long white teeth that glistened in the low light.  The mirrored eyes of the wolf met my terrified ones.  A low growl sounded in the back of his throat and his eyes shifted to Jackson and Jensen where they tussled.  My eyes didn’t follow.  I couldn’t look away from Wolfhardt.

In my peripheral vision, I saw one of the big men get thrown to the ground in short order, the victor rushing quickly to my side.  I was awash with relief when I saw Jackson appear beside me.  He was staring murderously at the wolf. 

I saw the wolf’s eyes flicker from Jackson to me and back again, and then another growl rumbled in his barrel chest.  As I watched him, I couldn’t help but feel that there was something hauntingly familiar about his eyes, something that no longer made me feel threatened.

Like the flash of lightning in a midnight sky, recognition struck and the fear inside me abated.  I gasped when I realized where I’d seen those eyes.  Though I didn’t understand how it could be, I knew the identity of the descendant Wolfhardt had come to awaken.  And that’s why I couldn’t let them hurt her.

It was Kellina.

The bracelet heated in recognition of the Lore, threatening to burn the skin on my wrist.  Stunned by the new development, I paused, and it was that fraction of a second that could’ve cost us the entire operation and the life of my friend.

As if in slow motion, I saw Jackson crouch ever so slightly, preparing to spring forward.  Rashly, I grabbed his arm, screaming one word into the confusion of the night—No!

The uncertainty in that moment, the hesitation in that one short heartbeat, was all she needed to escape. And she did. 

Turning, Kellina sprinted across the width of the room and leapt through the window.  With the loud crash of breaking glass still ringing in our ears, Jackson and I stood, unmoving, as she dropped out of sight, falling toward the unforgiving hardness of the earth.

It was as if life suddenly rushed back into our bodies at the same time.  Simultaneously, Jackson and I both moved—he to the door, I to the window.   I heard him shouting commands to the other Sentinels and, despite his questionable status among them, they obeyed him without question. 

As they scrambled about, I leaned through the window to scan the ground for Kellina’s broken wolf-like body.  But it wasn’t there.  Frantically, I searched the tree line for her, my eyes stopping with relief on a long, fluffy tail as it disappeared into the forest.

“Jackson, she’s headed for the woods,” I called as I ran toward him at the door.

“She?” he asked as we made our way quickly down the stairs.

“It’s Kellina.  She’s Wolfhardt.”

“How?  Are you sure?  How can that be?”

“I don’t know how, but I’m absolutely positive.  We have to get to her.”

Together, with a small army of Sentinels trailing behind us, we ran across the yard and into the forest in search of Wolfhardt.

As the woods widened, spreading out before us to the left and to the right, so did the Sentinels.  They fanned out, two-by-two, to cover more ground as we went.  Jackson and I took off at a run toward the path.  We hadn’t gone far when something pale darted through the woods in front of my eyes.  I didn’t need to ask if Jackson saw it.

Speeding up, he veered slightly left, heading straight for a curve in the path up ahead.  He was trying to get in front of whatever was running parallel to us through the trees. 

All of a sudden, I saw Jackson cut sharply right, leaping off the ground and hurling his body through the air just as a shape rounded a huge oak tree.  I heard a grunt as the two bodies tumbled in a tangle of limbs to the ground.

“It’s me,” a muffled voice said as Jackson rolled on top and sat up.  “Ahh,” it screamed in agony.

I recognized that voice.

“Jackson, let him up.  It’s Aidan!”

After a split-second pause, Jackson came fluidly to his feet, extending his hand to help Aidan up.  When Aidan was on his feet, Jackson turned to resume his chase through the forest.

“Come on,” he called back to me.

“Jackson, wait!” Aidan yelled, holding one arm across his stomach as if he was in pain.

Jackson stopped and turned around, but didn’t come back.

“Not now, Saint.  Madly, come on.”

“I can help you find her,” Aidan blurted, huffing heavily. 

On that note, Jackson did return.

“How?”

Aidan waved Jackson off. 

“Just trust me, I can.  I have one condition, though.”

“No, there’s no ‘just trust me.’  You tell me how or I’m leaving right now.”

Aidan sighed, an angry exhalation that bled into a loud cry of agony. 

“I’ll be able to track her,” he said through gritted teeth.

“How?” Jackson asked again, still skeptical.

“Because in a few minutes, I’ll be a wolf, too.”

If he’d reached out and slapped me, I couldn’t have been more surprised.

“What?  Aidan, why?  How do you know that?  You can’t know that?”

“Yes, I can, Madly.  I can feel it.  I’m changing right now,” he said doubling over with a groan.

“But you have to have blood to…to…”

My heart skipped a beat at the thought of Aidan killing someone to get what was necessary for full transformation.

“Not when you’ve been bitten.  Wolfhardt completed the curse when he killed the blacksmith.  Now, anyone exposed to the saliva is cursed as well.”

“Then, Aidan, you shouldn’t be out here.  You need to be somewhere safe, somewhere you can be protected and where you can be monitored.”

I didn’t want to add that he needed to be somewhere that everyone else would be safe from him, too.

“When I realized that Kellina was the Wolfhardt descendant, I knew I had to help her.  I couldn’t let you kill her.”

“How did you find out?”

“When the moon rose, something inside me started to react to it, started to change.  It was like all of a sudden I could sense something familiar in her, something I’ve not sensed before.  As the moon got higher, Kellina’s eyes changed, like she wasn’t Kellina anymore.  It was like there was someone else in there with her.  I didn’t really put two and two together until she left.  She hadn’t been gone long when I heard a howl and it called to me.  Like…” Aidan paused, cringing as his muscles bunched and squeezed, his forehead shining wetly in the light of the bright full moon.  “It’s hard to explain, but you’ve got to trust me.  I just knew.”

“But Aidan, you can’t be out here.  Someone could get hurt.  You could get hurt.” 

“I don’t care, Madly.  She’s my mate.  She’s all I care about.  I love her and I can’t live without her.  I don’t even want to.  I have to do this.  For her.”

I understood that.  I felt nothing less than that very same desperate bond to Jackson.  It made no sense and it cared not for the comfort or preferences of the Mer.  It was a supernatural tie, one that selected us, not the other way around. 

Of their own accord, my eyes darted to Jackson.  He was looking at me, not at Aidan, his expression indecipherable.

“Can you run?” I asked Aidan, my eyes still on Jackson.  When Aidan didn’t answer, I looked back to him.

Aidan’s mouth was open in a silent scream, his eyes wide and glassy. 

“Aidan!”

He bent forward sharply and I heard a nauseating snap that sounded like bone breaking.  Aidan fell onto his knees, pulling in agitation at his shirt as his agony finally made its way into the air in a loud cry of torment.  Jackson and I stood helplessly by as an amazing transformation took place right before our very eyes. 

Aidan’s spine bubbled and stretched as his ribs flared into a deep barrel shape.  His shoulder blades dropped down and moved forward, his arms lengthening and his elbows popping outward.  With a muffled crack, his hips and pelvis shifted, pulling his legs beneath him in a crouch.  A throaty whine slipped through thinning lips as Aidan’s nose thickened and elongated. 

Coarse, dark blond hair began to push its way through the fabric of his shirt and shorts until Aidan was covered in fur from his rapidly growing ears to the base of his spine and beyond, where the hair thickened into a bushy tail.

When his body finally quieted, Aidan shook, his muscles twitching in succession from his nose to his tail in that uniquely canine fashion.  As he moved, his shiny coat shimmered in the dim light.  I was mesmerized, absorbed by every detail of his appearance. 

With one quick jerk of his head, Aidan looked up at me, his eyes the same hazel they’d always been, something in them still eerily familiar.  Unsteadily he rose on his now-hind legs until he towered far above my head.  Then, with a grunt, he let himself drop back onto his front legs.  They still looked somewhat arm-like, only now they ended in long bony digits tipped with sharp claws.

With a meaningful look at Jackson, Aidan put his nose to the ground and took off like a shot, leaving us to try and keep up.  Luckily the uneven terrain provided a bit of an equalizer, slowing a newly-wolfen Aidan down a bit, too.

Aidan stopped just ahead of us and we slowed in response.  Jackson looked left and right, scanning the forest for signs of Wolfhardt.  The tiniest of movements teased my peripheral vision and I turned my head sharply left.  There, looking at us through two enormous trees, was Kellina. 

“Jackson,” I whispered.

Keeping my eyes on the other wolf, I saw Jackson shift subtly in my direction so he could see around the trees. Kellina didn’t move.  It was then that I realized that she wasn’t watching us; she was watching Aidan.

“Aidan,” I whispered.

Aidan’s head snapped up and he thrust his nose into the air.  I knew the instant he caught her scent.  He growled, a low rumble that I felt in my feet as if it vibrated the earth beneath us. 

Slowly, Aidan moved around in front of me.  Gradually, I shifted back until I was standing beside Jackson and we were both facing Kellina.

Aidan stilled and the forest fell silent around us, not even the creep of creatures to disturb the moment.  I knew instinctively that a wealth of communication was passing between him and Kellina, but it was her distraction, her fascination with Aidan, that proved to be her downfall. 

As she watched him, the Sentinels had just enough time to maneuver into a position that made escape for Kellina impossible.  When they struck, descending upon her, she had nowhere to go.

She struggled ferociously, prompting two more Sentinels to step into the fray.  It was difficult to see what was going on, but when Kellina yelped, I could only assume that the Sentinels were gaining the upper hand. 

At her distress signal, Aidan growled and lunged forward.  But Jackson, ever ready and always a step ahead, quickly grabbed Aidan by his thin midsection and pivoted, throwing him to the ground. 

Jackson lay with his thick upper body across Aidan’s, his legs pinning Aidan’s to the ground, effectively subduing his struggles.  When Aidan continued to growl and snap, Jackson moved slightly to secure his head.  Aidan seized the opportunity, opening his big jaws and biting at Jackson.

“Ohmigod, Aidan! No!” I cried, rushing forward.  “Jackson don’t let him bite you.”

With lightning fast reflexes, Jackson managed to avoid Aidan’s glistening teeth until he was able to secure his head safely.  The entire time, my heart felt as if it was going to batter its way out of my chest like a jackhammer.

The Sentinels pressed on until Kellina was contained.  Though she continued to snap and snarl viciously, I saw no other movement.  From the ground, Aidan began to whine, ceasing to struggle beneath Jackson’s heavy body. 

When the sounds of thrashing and scuffling stopped, a forlorn howl erupted across the forest, drawing all our eyes to Kellina.  The sound was so woeful, it made the hairs on my arms stand up.

Within seconds, Aidan chimed in, the two howls dancing through the crisp night air like two secret lovers, seeking comfort in each other’s arms.  I looked back to Aidan, my heart breaking for him, and saw that his features were slowly returning to normal.

Beneath the cover of Jackson’s body, I could see Aidan’s arms and legs returning to limbs that looked familiar, the claws shrinking back into closely shorn fingernails.  Within a minute or two, he looked like the boy I’d grown up with, the boy who was supposed to be my prince.

Jackson lifted himself off Aidan and helped him up, Aidan closely examining his skin, temporarily bewildered by the sudden change. 

“Stay here,” Jackson ordered Aidan.  As he walked by me, he murmured, “Be right back.”

Jackson jogged over to the group that was standing near Kellina and her captors. He spoke quietly to them, gesturing toward Aidan a couple times.  When he was finished, he motioned to me as the Sentinels made their way to Aidan. 

Confused, I walked to Jackson, nervously fingering the hot band around my wrist.

“What do we do now?  How do I get Wolfhardt into the pearl?”

There was a long pause before Jackson answered me, a pause where he watched me in such a way that I knew I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

“Madly, you know I would never hurt someone if I didn’t have to, right?”

I frowned.

“Of course I know that.”

“And you know that I would never recommend any unnecessarily harmful actions unless there was absolutely no other way, right?”

“Jackson, I know that.  What are you getting at?”

He paused again. 

“When the Lore were captured in olden times, most of the human bodies they inhabited didn’t survive the… the… extraction.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, still confused.

“Madly, there is a good chance that we won’t be able to save Kellina when we take Wolfhardt.”

“What?”  I whispered, certain I must’ve misunderstood his meaning.

“Kellina might die.  But, Madly, we have to remove Wolfhardt.  We have to,” he reiterated.

“I know that, but…”

“You know if there was any other way, I would take it.  But there’s not.  I’m sorry, Madly,” he said, reaching out to brush a wayward strand of hair from my cheek.  “This is the only way.  It’s our only chance to regain Atlas.”

I closed my eyes, covering my quivering lips with my hand. 

“Jackson, we can’t let that happen.  I can’t kill Kellina.  I…I just…”

“I’ll do everything I can to save her.  You know I will, but we may not have a choice.”

The Plumes Do Florida

Okay, this Sunday I will be leaving South Carolina to venture down to Orlando to meet up with all the lovely ladies (and gentleman) that comprise the Paranormal Plume Society.  This picture is the original group, but now it will include the likes of the extremely talented Shelly Crane, Addison Moore and Courtney Cole.  YAY!  We'll be attending some functions at several local schools and then doing book signings in the evenings.  In and around all of that, hijinks and fun will ensue:D  What else would a lively bunch such as the Plumes do when we're away for a few days together?  LOL  Needless to say, I'm very excited!!

Until then, I'll be working on finishing up the last 1/3 of GRAVITY.  In light of all the things I have yet to do this week, I'm not sure I'll be able to get it completed before I go, but I'm going to try.  It's my goal to at least get it done and out to my beta readers.  That way, when I get back I can begin editing it, get it published that following week and then resume work on MADLY book 3.  I hope to be so settled, so back into my old routine, so recovered from the holidays that I'll be able to work on two books at once again.  If that's the case, I'll be working on MADLY and the second and final book to WICCAN.  That's the plan anyway, what I'm hoping for *crosses fingers* 

Thank y'all for being so incredibly awesome and patient while I get my mojo back.  I'm feeling almost normal these days and look forward to February being like a sigh of relief as far as being back to the old me.  Yep, can't wait!

Happy reading, y'all, and have an amazing week!

YA Indie Carnival- What Reading Teaches

It's Friday again.  YAY!  I must admit I'm glad to see this one arrive.  Not that I don't like every other Friday, but some are much more of a relief.  And this one certainly is.

So today's topic is:

What Reading Teaches A Writer

Well, the answer to that is simple--pretty much everything.  The basics of language and grammar and communicating via the written word are obviously first obtained in school.  Then, if you're anything like me, the vast majority of it is soon forgotten.  I couldn't tell you what a dangling participle is if my life depended upon it.  What I can tell you is that it's not as gross as it sounds.  *insert weak laughter here*  Okay, so I can do better than that, but maybe it kept you awake amid the talk of school and English classes.  I was afraid you might need a little something  to keep you from nodding off.  Anyway, I think reading is what gives legs to all that you learned in school and then teaches you all sorts of other things.  It teaches a writer how to build a realistic world, even if it's a foreign one, how to form compelling characters, how to construct an exciting plot and how quickly to race toward the climax.  It teaches us how to engage people and excite them, how to tickle their imagination and tease their senses.  I think reading is very important to a writer and I'm not sure there have ever been any successful ones who didn't.  Writing is one of those professions where you don't have to have formal training, but I think what you do have to have is experience, only this experience comes in the form of visiting other people's worlds, meeting their characters, becoming invested in their lives and in the outcome of the story.  That is the most invaluable experience any writer can have, in my opinion.  But, then again, that's just my opinion.

What are your thoughts?

Now, I have a couple of announcements before I send you off to visit the other carnis.  There are two books being offered for FREE on Amazon right now.  Did you get that?  They're FREE!  That's worth spreading the word about, right?  Right.  So I hope you will.  Tell everyone.  Hopefully they'll thank you and run right off to the computer to download their little hearts out.  That's what I'm hoping anyway.  And thank you in advance for telling everyone you see--even if they don't have a Kindle.  LOL 

Blood Like Poison by yours truly is available until midnight on Monday and The Understorey by Fisher Amelie is available until tomorrow night.  Go get 'em and then let us know how you liked them when you finish.  We'd certainly appreciate it:)

Also, Dani over at Refracted Light Reviews will be hosting our own Patti Larsen's Family Magic Tour along with a giveaway so go check it out here

That's it for me.  TGIF and, as always, happy reading!

Dani Snell Refracted Light Reviews
Patti Larsen Author of The Ghost Boy of MacKenzie House, The Hunted Series and the Hayle Coven Novels
Courtney Cole Author of Every Last Kiss, Fated, Princess, and Guardian. Also a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Fisher Amelie Author of The Understorey, as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Laura Elliott Author of Winnemucca as well as 13 on Halloween, book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series
Amy Jones Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Rachel Coles Author of Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Whistles, Beergarden, Plagues, Bees of St. John, and Mushrooms
T.R. Graves Author of Warriors of the Cross
PJ Hoover Author of Solstice, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, The Necropolis
Cheri Schmidt Author of Fateful, Fractured, and Fair Maiden
Lexus Luke Author of Manitou, The Sky People Saga
Suzy Turner Author of December Moon and Raven
K.C. Blake Author of Vampire Rules
Gwenn Wright Author of Filter
Kimberly Kinrade Author of Bits of You & Pieces of Me and Forbidden Mind
Madeline Smoot Author of Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
Cidney Swanson Author of Ripple series
Heather Self Blogger, Reviewer and upcoming Indie Author
Heather M. White, Author of The Destiny Saga
Melissa Pearl, Author The Time Spirit Trilogy
T. G. Ayer
Bryna Butler, Author of Midnight Guardian series

YA Indie Carnival- Books I'm Grateful For

Well, after some seriously crazy holidays, we're back!  Back on the merry-go-round, back to regular life, back to writing, which is something I'm particularly grateful for.  But that's not what I'm here to talk about today.  Today our topic is:

Books I'm grateful for and why

My answer is actually fairly simple, as all my most influential books seems to point to one thing--LOVE.  Love in all its forms--unconditional, self-sacrificing, happy, tearful, painful, perfect, blissful, tumultuous, satisfying.  There aren't enough adjective to describe love and here's where I got my first tastes of it.

My first favorite book for pretty much every reason ever is, of course, the Bible.  It was the first book I ever owned in life--literally. It was a sweet little zippered, illustrated gift from my parents.  I still have it.  Yes, it has my baby scribble in it.  Yes, it has my learning-to-make-my-letters scribble in it.  Yes, it has some fairly intuitive notes as I learned to actually pay attention in church in it.  Most importantly, though, it has all the life lessons I'll ever need to learn in it.  And it taught me about love.  Real love.  The kind that puts other's needs above your own.  The kind that always does the right thing, even when it hurts.  The kind that is as unconditional as we as humans can experience it.  The kind that's as unconditional as God Himself can give it.  That kind of love.

My second favorite book was Cinderella.  Yep, the original Cinderella.  The one with the golden spine.  I had it memorized.  Mom said she could never skip anything because I'd know and I'd make her read it the right way.  Apparently we even got to the point where I would to read it to her--even before I could actually read.  I guess in retrospect that should have been a big clue as to where my life would go.

My third favorite book was, as you've heard me say before, The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen Woodiwiss.  It was this most amazing historical romance with a fascinatingly fierce leading man, an outrageously strong leading lady and an awe-inspiring epic love story expertly woven between them.  If you've never read it and that sort of thing is your cup of tea, I highly recommend it!  To me, books like that--stories like that--never get old.  

My fourth favorite book, which I wasn't even going to mention, is one that introduced me to the gut-wrenching kind of love that many authors choose to write about.  *cough cough* Nicholas Sparks *cough cough*  It was a little book called The Thorn Birds by  Colleen McCullough.  It's a love story. It's a heartbreaking love story that has haunted me since my first exposure to it.  It's one of those books where no one gets the happy ending.  Everyone does what's right rather than what love demands and they all die miserable.  Well pretty much.  It's fabulous, don't get me wrong.  I'm just not an unhappy ending kind of person.  Or even a bittersweet ending kind of person.  I like the ride-off-into-the-sunset, happily-ever-after kind.  Period.  But I can still appreciate the other kinds.  And they still make an impression.  And this one did.  But I still prefer the rainbows and roses.  I get enough of reality just living life.  I don't need an extra dose of melancholy in my entertainment.  Thanks, but no thanks. 

Okay, so there you have it.  These are just a few of the books I'm most grateful for.  I'm sure you have your own stories, so by all means, leave me a comment and share.  I'm all about hearing your stories, as those of you who chat with me know:)

TGIF y'all!  Hope your Friday the 13th is a little spooky...in a good way.  Happy reading!!!

Go check out my fellow carnis' book choices!!

Dani Snell Refracted Light Reviews
Patti Larsen Author of The Ghost Boy of MacKenzie House, The Hunted Series and the Hayle Coven Novels
Courtney Cole Author of Every Last Kiss, Fated, Princess, and Guardian. Also a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Fisher Amelie Author of The Understorey, as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Laura Elliott Author of Winnemucca as well as 13 on Halloween, book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series
Amy Jones Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Rachel Coles Author of Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Whistles, Beergarden, Plagues, Bees of St. John, and Mushrooms
T.R. Graves Author of Warriors of the Cross
PJ Hoover Author of Solstice, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, The Necropolis
Cheri Schmidt Author of Fateful, Fractured, and Fair Maiden
Lexus Luke Author of Manitou, The Sky People Saga
Suzy Turner Author of December Moon and Raven
K.C. Blake Author of Vampire Rules
Gwenn Wright Author of Filter
Kimberly Kinrade Author of Bits of You & Pieces of Me and Forbidden Mind
Madeline Smoot Author of Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
Cidney Swanson Author of Ripple series
Heather Self Blogger, Reviewer and upcoming Indie Author
Heather M. White, Author of The Destiny Saga
Melissa Pearl, Author The Time Spirit Trilogy
T. G. Ayer
Bryna Butler, Author of Midnight Guardian series

Too Many Resolutions! Make it Stop!

I don't really do New Year's resolutions per se, I just always have several things that I want to improve upon or begin or quit shortly after Christmas. Like eating pounds and pounds of chocolate for instance:D  LOL  It just so happens that these revelations and epiphanies somewhat coincide with New Years.  This year I'm totally overcome with resolutions, epiphanies and revelations.  Sheesh!  I didn't realize I was such a train wreck last year:D  hehe  Anyway, this year the holidays were particularly hard on my inspiration and creativity.  I've started 4 different books and have not a single title completed and ready to publish, so I'm sure it goes without saying that part of my 2012 resolution is to find my muse, wrestle her to the ground, drag her back by her hair and settle down into my groove.  Some days I think I'm back on solid ground.  Other days, not so much.  I'm still sticking with the plan, though, which is to finish and publish GRAVITY, the new book I'm working on, then finish MADLY book 3 then start on WICCAN's second and final book and then (maybe, probably, hopefully) the second of Cat's NINE LIVES.  That's a pretty ambitious plan, right?  Yeah, I know.  But I published 9 books last year, so I don't think what I'm aiming for by summer is in any way NOT do-able.  I just think I'm gonna have to tighten the time belt a little.  And that goes for the chocolate one, too.  DANG IT!!

I hope y'all had amazing holidays and that 2012 has started off in a most phenomenal way and only gets better with each passing day.  I figure it this way: as long as we have hope that tomorrow will be awesome, we're good to go, right?  Right.  I mean, seriously!  Where would we be without hope? 

Happy 2012 everybody!!

Secret Santa & Grand Prize Winners!

Alright, folks, the day has finally arrived.  The winner for my Secret Santa giveaway as well as the Grand Prize winner have both been randomly drawn and the winners are...

*drumroll please*

*yes, I have a flair for the dramatic- it can't be helped*

Bearrocks101 for my giveaway and Vanessa Eric for the Grand Prize!

CONGRATULATIONS, y'all!  I truly hope you enjoy your books.

Bearrocks101, please contact me at m.leighton.books@gmail.com within 48 hours so that I can get your books to you.  Vanessa, Laura Elliott will be getting in touch with you and then each author will get her book(s) to you individually:)

Christmas is a short two days away and I hope it is the most amazing day of the year for y'all!  Don't forget the reason we celebrate Christmas and by all means enjoy the good food, the great family and all the wonderful blessings we have. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS and, as always, TGIF and happy reading!!