Showing posts with label Cover Reveal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cover Reveal. Show all posts
Friday, October 9, 2015
M9B Friday Reveal: Cover Reveal - Return of the Jed (DEAD JED 3) by Scott Craven with Giveaway #M9BFridayReveals
M9B Friday Reveal: Cover Reveal - Return of the Jed (DEAD JED 3) by Scott Craven with Giveaway #M9BFridayReveals
Welcome to this week’s M9B Friday Reveal!
This week, we are revealing the cover for
Return of the Jed (DEAD JED 3) by Scott Craven
presented by Month9Books!
Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!
With seventh grade behind him, Jed jumps at the opportunity to spend the summer in Mexico with his dad. But there's just one catch: Luke and Tread get to tag along.In Mexico, fitting in might be easier than Jed imagined, with holidays such as Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Here, a rising 8th grade zombie boy and his zombie dog won't draw that much attention.But then Tread unwittingly sets off Mexico’s Chupacabra Defense Network and Jed accidentally collides with a bus. So much for blending in. The unusual pair catch the eye of a professional wrestler, who challenges Jed to a fight!Their antics manage to capture the attention of a doctor whose knowledge of the undead causes Jed to question his very existence. Is this the answer Jed's been hoping for since his parents sat him down for the "you're a zombie" talk? Jed may have finally found a way to be normal, but at what cost?Dead Jed: Return of the Jed is book 3 in Scott Craven's humorous and heartwarming series about surviving middle school, fitting in, and embracing one's differences - even if you are a zombie.
Return of the Jed (Dead Jed 3) by Scott Craven
Publication Date: December 15, 2015
Publisher: Month9Books
Proud graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, have one son who will turn 18 in March 2013, now a features writer for The Arizona Republic.
Complete the Rafflecopter for a chance to win!
Monday, September 21, 2015
{Cover Reveal} Restoration (The Revelation Series #5) by Randi Cooley Wilson #Restoration
WOULD YOU RUN
WOULD YOU FIGHT
WOULD YOU FALL TO FATE
If
your heart was full of love, could you give it all up? Eve Collins
will do anything to save those she loves, especially her gargoyle
protector and mate, Asher St. Michael. With the world crumbling down
around them, Eve and Asher must face the final battle between darkness
and light. One that will end in great sacrifice.
When
the skies darken and love in it’s truest form is tested, would you
run? When death becomes silence and battle lines are drawn, would you
fight? If you had to sacrifice, to save the one you loved, would you
fall to fate? Would you dare to let it go?
The End, Begins.
Pre-Order From Amazon: September 15, 2015
Releasing: November 30, 2015
Releasing: November 30, 2015
About the Book:
Barnes and Noble: http://www.
Amazon:
Smashwords:
Goodreads Add to TBR:
About the Author:
Join the Twitter event on Monday 9/21 @ 4pm PST/7pm EST.
There will be trivia, prizes, & fun convo about the books!
There will be trivia, prizes, & fun convo about the books!
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
{Cover Reveal} Taking the Ice (Ice #3) by Jennifer Comeaux @LadyWave4
Taking
the Ice (Ice #3)
Release
Date: 08/31/15
Summary
from Goodreads:
Olympic rings and an engagement ring.
Courtney Carlton is ready for both.
She and her boyfriend Josh have skated together and dated for four years, and
they’ve reached a critical point in their partnership both on and off the ice.
With the Winter Games coming up and their career nearing an end, they are
fighting to win a spot on the Olympic team, something Courtney has dreamed of
since she was ten years old. She also has another wish she hopes comes true
soon. She’s waiting for a marriage proposal from Josh that she expected to
happen by now. Will she realize either dream or will her heart be broken from
disappointment?
About the Author
Jennifer Comeaux is a tax accountant by day, writer by night. There aren’t any ice rinks near her home in south Louisiana, but she’s a diehard figure skating fan and loves to write stories of romance set in the world of competitive skating. One of her favorite pastimes is travelling to competitions, where she can experience all the glitz and drama that inspire her writing. Jennifer loves to hear from readers! Visit jennifercomeaux.blogspot.com for contact information and to learn more about her books.
Author Links:
Friday, August 7, 2015
{Cover Reveal} Touching Fate by Brenda Drake
Touching
Fate
by Brenda Drake
Release
Date: 10/13/15
Entangled
Teen: Crave
Summary
from Goodreads:
Aster
Layne believes in physics, not psychics. A tarot card reading on the Ocean City
Boardwalk should have been a ridiculous, just-for-fun thing. It wasn't. Aster
discovers she has a very unscientific gift—with a simple touch of the
cards, she can change a person's fate.
Reese
Van Buren is cursed. Like the kind of old-school, centuries-old curse that runs
in royal families. Every firstborn son is doomed to die on his eighteenth
birthday—and Reese's is coming up fast. Bummer. He tries to distract himself
from his inevitable death...only to find the one person who can save him.
Aster
doesn't know that the hot Dutch guy she's just met needs her help–or that he’s
about to die.
But
worst of all…she doesn't know that her new gift comes with dark, dark
consequences that can harm everyone she loves.
Brenda Drake, the youngest of three children, grew up an Air Force brat and the continual new kid at schooluntil her family settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Brenda’s fondest memories growing up is of hereccentric, Irish grandmother’s animated tales, which gave her a strong love for storytelling. So it was onlyfitting that she would choose to write young adult and middle grade novels with a bend toward thefantastical. When Brenda’s not writing or doing the social media thing, she’s haunting libraries, bookstores,and coffee shops or reading someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment).
Author Links:
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
{Cover Reveal} Day 2 of Science Geek Appreciation Week with Author Kelly Oram -- Cover Reveal for The Libby Garrett Intervention
When Libby's behavior spirals completely out of control, her best friend Avery Shaw and the rest of the Science Squad stage an intervention hoping to cure Libby of her harmful Owen addiction. They put her through her very own Twelve Step program—Owen's Anonymous—and recruit the help of a sexy, broody, hard-as-nails coffee man to be her official sponsor.
...
Adam Koepp has watched Libby Garrett for years. How could he not notice the sassy girl with the purple skateboard and helmet plastered with cat stickers? But in all the years he's crushed on her, Libby has failed to take notice of him. Why would she when he was just a nobody high school drop out who served her apple cider several times a week? Especially when she was hooking up with a guy like Owen Jackson—a guy with a college scholarship and more abs than Kyle Hamilton.
Adam finally gets the chance to meet Libby when his co-worker Avery Shaw recruits him to take Libby on the journey of a lifetime. With his ability to play Bad Cop and his experience with the Twelve Step program he's the perfect candidate to be Libby's sponsor. But will he be able to keep his personal feelings out of the matter and really help her the way she needs? And will Libby hate him when he forces her to take an honest look at herself?
Teasers
Libby
Avery sighed. “This isn’t an attack, Libby, it’s an intervention.”
My head snapped Avery’s direction. “Homegirl says what?”
Avery smiled again, but this time it was full of determination. “You have a problem, Libby. We’ve all come here tonight because we love you and we’re worried about you.”
“Okay, someone definitely cooked up something special in the chem lab or something. You’ve all officially gone mental. I’m not on drugs.”
Avery shook her head. “But your relationship with Owen is just as destructive.”
I’d heard enough. “An intervention?” They were comparing me to a drug addict and saying Owen was my crack? “I came here to apologize to all of you and this is what I get?” I jumped to my feet. “This is such equus ferus feces!”
I bolted for the door and got about three steps before Adam intercepted me, blocking the way like a lean, tattoo-covered wall of attitude. He stood in a typical bouncer’s stance with his feet shoulder width apart and his arms folded across his chest. Though he wasn’t particularly tall or bulky, he was still intimidating. I glared up at him. “And you’re a gluteus maximus!”
Adam’s face pulled into a frown and he looked to the group to translate. Aiden grinned. “That’s Libby speak for ‘This is horse shit’ and ‘You’re an ass’.”
Adam brought his gaze back to me, and I kept up my glare, refusing to take it back. I waited for him to flip out on me, but was shocked when his lips twitched as if he was fighting a smile. I had to be wrong, though, because there was no way this jerk had a sense of humor. “Get out of my way.”
He face hardened again. “You sit that luscious little gluteus maximus of yours back down on that couch right now,” he said, “or I’ll put it there myself.”
It really does not happen often, but I was rendered completely speechless. I was also unable to move, save the way my eyes tripled in size as I gawked at him. He gave me a dry look and added, “Capisce, Cider Chick?”
Adam
When I looked at Libby, she shrugged as though she was as helpless in this situation as I was. “Help me, Coffee-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.”
It was so Libby.
“Okay.” I prayed I wasn’t making a huge mistake.
Kate and Avery both squealed and pounced on me, giving me hugs. I was still wary, but their energy was contagious and I cracked a smile.
“Thank you, Adam,” Avery said. “You really, really are the best. Is there any chance you could get started tomorrow? Libby managed to say no to Owen tonight, but if we don’t help keep her distracted tomorrow, she’s going to end up in his very expensive hotel suite tomorrow night.”
And just like that, all my reservations about this disappeared. I was all in, and failure was not an option. Libby was never going to end up in that jerk’s bed ever again if I could help it. “Tomorrow’s as good a day as any. I’m off work at two.”
Libby was already at the door trying to escape, but she stopped before turning the knob. “Actually, I need you ready to go at seven thirty in the morning. Avery already cleared it with your boss. He was more than happy to take your shift. He said he’s been trying to get you to take a vacation day for months.”
My head reared back. “You cleared my schedule tomorrow?”
Libby looked me right in the eyes and grinned wickedly. The smile did something to my insides. “You’re mine tomorrow, Coffee Man,” she purred jokingly.
I stopped breathing. Hers. Yes. Yes I was. Heaven help me, but I was hers. This was so bad. If I wasn’t careful Libby Garrett was going to break me. I had to take control of this situation fast. I don’t know what kind of look I had on my face when I stalked across the room toward her, but her eyes widened and she backed up until she bumped into the door. “You’ve got that all wrong,” I said, placing my hand on the door beside her head, trapping her in front of me.
I’d meant to intimidate her a little, but when she sucked in a breath and shivered, I lost control again. I leaned in a little too close and my next words accidentally came out in a possessive growl. “Starting tomorrow, Cider Chick, you are mine.”
Coming October 24th!
Available for preorder now at:
Amazon * iBooks * Kobo
Special preorder price of $2.99.
(Two dollars off the normal listing price of $4.99)
This follow-up companion novel to The Avery Shaw Experiment can be read as a stand alone. (But where's the fun in that?) The Avery Shaw Experiment is only $0.99 right now. So why wait until October to meet Libby when you can fall in love with her right now for only a dollar?
For more bonus material, teasers, games, and chances to win things like signed books and swag stop by the Facebook event, happening now through Friday.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Kelly wrote her first novel at age fifteen--a fan fiction about her favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which her family and friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and likes to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, four children, and her cat, Mr. Darcy.
Connect with Kelly
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
{Cover Reveal} Black Five by J. Lynn Bailey
Black
Five
Release
Date: 11/17/15
Poorhouse
Publishing
400
pages
Summary
from Goodreads:
No one ever accused Penelope Jackson of being
normal, nor did they suspect the dark secret she kept. A dangerous web of
deceit and secrecy unravels when news of a stranger’s death puts Penn on a
collision course with the very person she’s been hiding from her whole life.
Her fragile world is shaken to its core with the sudden arrival of Vacavious
and she soon discovers the bizarre and magical world surrounding her seemingly
ordinary life.
No one is who they claim to be, including those closest to Penn. A mysterious
security detail emerges from the shadows scrambling to protect her as powerful
forces await the fall of her protective veil on her eighteenth birthday.
Penn prepares to fight against unseen evils before it’s too late. The world of
Nighmerianotte and its population depends on her survival, for she is the
Sanguine, the Black Five.
I'm a mother of two beautiful children and a wife to
an adorably supportive husband. Seriously, he's adorable and tall. Really
tall; he's my high school sweetheart. I'm also a mother of two fur children who
are extremely needy, Leo and Vinni.
I live with my family in a small town tucked away in
the redwood forest located on California's northern coast.
I'm quite boring. But in case you're wondering, you can see what my loves, my loathes and things you may not know about me by clicking the menu above.
I'm quite boring. But in case you're wondering, you can see what my loves, my loathes and things you may not know about me by clicking the menu above.
Author Links:
Friday, June 26, 2015
M9B Friday Reveal: Cover Reveal and Chapter Reveal for Into The Dark by Caroline Patti with Giveaway #M9BFridayReveals
M9B Friday Reveal: Cover Reveal and Chapter Reveal for Into The Dark by Caroline Patti with Giveaway #M9BFridayReveals
Welcome to this week’s M9B Friday Reveal!
This week, we are revealing the cover AND Chapter One of
Into The Dark by Caroline Patti!
Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!
A girl’s sweet sixteen party is supposed to be among the most memorable events of her life. But on the night of hers, Mercy Clare wakes in the waiting room of a hospital with no memory of how she got there. To make matters worse, she’s wearing something she’d never be caught dead in: her best friend Lyla’s clothes.
Mercy’s nightmare is just beginning. The doctor arrives to tell her that it’s she who lies in the hospital bed waiting to die. A trip to the bathroom confirms Mercy’s fears, as Lyla’s face stares back at her and Lyla’s curvy figure pokes through her tight clothes.
But finding out what’s really going on won’t be easy. Because if Mercy wants her body back, it might just cost her Lyla’s life.
Title: Into the Dark
Publication date: August 18, 2015
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Caroline Patti
Publication date: August 18, 2015
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Caroline Patti
Amazon | Kobo
Chapter One
Mercy
A TV, bolted high on the wall, buzzes in the background, the faint sound of the local news reporter’s voice robotically reciting the events of the evening. “One dead and another in critical condition … ”
The waiting room is empty of people. Plastic chairs line the walls. Magazines are strewn about. How did I get here?
The news reporter continues to speak. “What appears to be a suicide occurred tonight in the alley behind local watering hole, Wally’s Pub. Closed for a private party, owner Kate McCrimons had no comment on tonight’s event. Relatives of the victim, high school teacher Matteo Andreas, were not available for comment.”
It’s all coming back to me now. The party. The alley. Seeing Mr. Andreas with the gun in his mouth. Oh God.
“Hey, you’re awake.” Jay stands before me holding two coffee cups.
“Did you bring me here?” I rub my temples with the palm of my hand. My head is pounding.
“You don’t remember?” Jay’s eyes narrow and tiny creases indent his furrowed brow. He doesn’t look at all like his normal goofy self. His brown eyes are concerned and focused intently on me.
I close my eyes and hold my head in my hands. “I feel sick.”
“Kate is on her way,” Jay continues. He sits down next to me and sets the cups on the table. “Just a warning, she’s pretty freaked out.”
Tiny waves of nausea roll in my stomach. My mouth is dry and parched. “I’m gonna throw up.”
“Shit.” Jay jumps from the chair. I can hear him scrambling around the room. The noise is making me feel worse.
Something bangs into my legs. I open my eyes just a little to see a garbage can. Jay sits back down next to me and holds my hair back as the contents of my stomach empty. My stomach clenches as I grip the sides of the can. I hate throwing up. I hate the convulsions, the acid taste that fills my mouth, and the way a single strand of spittle dangles from my lip like I’m a drooling dog. Luckily, this is happening in front of Jay so it’s only moderately mortifying. Having known him all my life, he’s seen all sides of me: the good, the bad, and the worse.
“Here.” Jay slips a napkin into my hands. He rubs my back lightly. “Should I get a doctor?”
Jay kisses the top of my head and I flinch. My head snaps up too quickly and I stare at him while the room around me sways. “What are you doing?” I have to close my eyes again as another wave of sick crashes over me.
He takes his hands off me. “What?”
“Why’d you kiss me?” I peer at him sideways.
“I’m sorry.” He says it like a question, and then he looks at me like I’m nuts. “I was just trying to make you feel better, Ly.”
“Okay, but … ”
He called me Ly. As in Lyla. My best friend Lyla. “Why are you calling me Ly?” My pounding head cannot take this conversation.
“That’s what I always call you.” Jay shakes his head. His mop of curls swishes along his forehead. He brushes it out of his eyes by raking his hands through his hair. “How much did you drink tonight?”
I’m not quite sure.
The smell of my own sick is singeing my nostrils so even though it makes the room spin, I raise my head to look at him. A few strands of long, dark hair fall across my face. Hesitantly, I reach up and pull a clump around so I can see it better. My eyes cross as I stare at the nearly black hair. What the hell? Frantically, I pick at it, like an addict with a fixation.
“Lyla, what are you doing?” Jay asks.
I drop the pieces of hair and smooth them back. “Nothing.”
“You’re acting really weird.”
I’m acting weird? He’s the one who keeps calling me Lyla for God’s sake!
“Here you guys are!” Lyla’s older sister, Kate, speaks with an exasperated tone. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. There’s like sixty waiting rooms in this place.” She takes one look at the garbage in front of me and exhales, annoyed. Being a bar owner means Kate has plenty of experience with vomit.
“You okay?”
Slowly, I nod as I slide the can away from me with my feet. She sits in a chair just across from us. “I brought you some clothes.” She holds out a brown paper bag to me and waits for me take it.
“Don’t give me any grief about what I picked. I was in a hurry.” Kate’s appearance is frazzled. Deep brown curls spill forth from the messy bun of hair piled on top of her head. Her feet jiggle up and down. Kate always fidgets when she’s nervous.
In the bag I find Lyla’s “Crazy for Cupcakes” tee, a pair of jeans, and some flip-flops. Why did Kate bring me Lyla’s clothes?
“Do we know anything?” Kate asks.
“No,” Jay tells her. “We’re still waiting for the doctor.”
“Is Eric here yet?” Kate asks about my dad.
“Not yet,” Jay answers.
My dad is on his way. Relief sinks in knowing that in a few minutes I’ll be able to hug him and he’ll make everything okay again.
“You want some coffee?” Jay reaches for the cup and holds it out to Kate. He gestures toward me as he says, “I got it for Ly, but I don’t think she wants it.”
I do not. I hate coffee.
“Sure.” Kate takes the cup and sips slowly. She gives me a reproachful look when she says, “You drink too much coffee as it is.”
I start to protest, to tell them both that it’s Lyla, not me, who insists on stopping every morning at Peet’s, but Kate quickly adds, “Well, go change. This isn’t exactly the place for heels and cleavage.”
Cleavage? I look down and see what she means. I’m busting out of the seams! This isn’t my dress. This is Lyla’s dress. I would never wear a dress like this. For one thing, it’s pink. And it looks like dip-dyed ace bandages wrapped around my body. I hold the bag close to my chest hoping to conceal my heaving flesh. Wait. I don’t have heaving flesh. And I don’t have raven hair. Something is very, very wrong.
“Okay.” As I stand to go, I teeter on Lyla’s five-inch stilettos. Jay catches my elbow and steadies me.
“You need some help?” he offers.
“I got it.” I think. I cannot get away from them fast enough.
Not only do I feel like I’m going to vomit again, but I also feel like I’m having a mental breakdown. My hair is a different color. My breasts are like cantaloupes. I’m not wearing my own clothes. I swallow hard to push down the panic and a touch of bile.
Kate eyes me suspiciously. “Do you want me to come with you, just in case? You don’t look so good.”
“I’ll be fine,” I say, hoping to reassure both her and myself. I don’t have much confidence that I can walk far in Lyla’s shoes. For a split second I think about going barefoot, but decide against it. Luckily, it turns out the bathroom is just across the hall.
Lyla’s dress clings to me like Saran Wrap. I must look like Bambi learning to walk as I concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. The carpet of the waiting room isn’t that treacherous, but the slick, overly polished hallway isn’t as forgiving. My left ankle rolls and I stumble just as I reached the bathroom door. Damn!
The bathroom is dark. I flip the wall switch and the light flickers, groans, and burns nearly out, casting a ghoulish yellow glow of light over the room. “Great.”
I grope my way toward the sink. It is then that my eyes adjust to the dark, and for the first time I see my reflection. Only it isn’t my face peering back at me. It’s Lyla’s, my best friend since the third grade. Leaning in closer, I stare, mouth agape, into the mirror. Her blue eyes are rimmed with multiple coats of black eyeliner. The red of her lipstick is faded, leaving her lips with only a hint of berry stain. My hands explore, skimming the sides of her cheek, hoping, praying that at any second the illusion will shatter. Despite my desperate hopes, the reflection never morphs from Lyla’s into mine.
I rack my brain trying to piece together everything that happened tonight. It’s my birthday I suddenly remember. We were having a party at Kate’s bar. A party I didn’t want. Lyla had talked Gage into being my date. Well, more like forced. But we were having a good time. He’s really nice. I went outside; I remember that part. And my teacher was there, that letch Mr. Andreas, and he grabbed me. He kept saying all this weird stuff to me and I tried to get away and that’s when Gage came out and started yelling at him. Mr. Andreas had a gun. And he … and he …
I remember the sound of the gun going off, and the brief second of relief I felt when I realized he hadn’t shot Gage. But then I saw all the blood. There was so much blood.
I stagger backward knocking into the stall door. It swings open and I drop to my knees over the toilet. I heave and heave, but nothing comes up. I curl into a sitting position. My fingers knot into my hair.
When I finally stand up, I expect—okay hope—that everything will have returned to normal, that I’ll be me again, and that seeing Lyla was just some sort of weird post-traumatic stress thing. But when I look in the mirror, I don’t see me. I see her.
This isn’t possible. There’s no way. I must be dreaming.
That’s the only explanation. This is just a dream. A very strange, twisted dream.
But it isn’t a dream. I press my hand to the mirror. It’s solid. It’s real. This is really happening.
“Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” I curse as the mother of all freak-outs rumbles inside me. What am I supposed to do now?
Mercy
A TV, bolted high on the wall, buzzes in the background, the faint sound of the local news reporter’s voice robotically reciting the events of the evening. “One dead and another in critical condition … ”
The waiting room is empty of people. Plastic chairs line the walls. Magazines are strewn about. How did I get here?
The news reporter continues to speak. “What appears to be a suicide occurred tonight in the alley behind local watering hole, Wally’s Pub. Closed for a private party, owner Kate McCrimons had no comment on tonight’s event. Relatives of the victim, high school teacher Matteo Andreas, were not available for comment.”
It’s all coming back to me now. The party. The alley. Seeing Mr. Andreas with the gun in his mouth. Oh God.
“Hey, you’re awake.” Jay stands before me holding two coffee cups.
“Did you bring me here?” I rub my temples with the palm of my hand. My head is pounding.
“You don’t remember?” Jay’s eyes narrow and tiny creases indent his furrowed brow. He doesn’t look at all like his normal goofy self. His brown eyes are concerned and focused intently on me.
I close my eyes and hold my head in my hands. “I feel sick.”
“Kate is on her way,” Jay continues. He sits down next to me and sets the cups on the table. “Just a warning, she’s pretty freaked out.”
Tiny waves of nausea roll in my stomach. My mouth is dry and parched. “I’m gonna throw up.”
“Shit.” Jay jumps from the chair. I can hear him scrambling around the room. The noise is making me feel worse.
Something bangs into my legs. I open my eyes just a little to see a garbage can. Jay sits back down next to me and holds my hair back as the contents of my stomach empty. My stomach clenches as I grip the sides of the can. I hate throwing up. I hate the convulsions, the acid taste that fills my mouth, and the way a single strand of spittle dangles from my lip like I’m a drooling dog. Luckily, this is happening in front of Jay so it’s only moderately mortifying. Having known him all my life, he’s seen all sides of me: the good, the bad, and the worse.
“Here.” Jay slips a napkin into my hands. He rubs my back lightly. “Should I get a doctor?”
Jay kisses the top of my head and I flinch. My head snaps up too quickly and I stare at him while the room around me sways. “What are you doing?” I have to close my eyes again as another wave of sick crashes over me.
He takes his hands off me. “What?”
“Why’d you kiss me?” I peer at him sideways.
“I’m sorry.” He says it like a question, and then he looks at me like I’m nuts. “I was just trying to make you feel better, Ly.”
“Okay, but … ”
He called me Ly. As in Lyla. My best friend Lyla. “Why are you calling me Ly?” My pounding head cannot take this conversation.
“That’s what I always call you.” Jay shakes his head. His mop of curls swishes along his forehead. He brushes it out of his eyes by raking his hands through his hair. “How much did you drink tonight?”
I’m not quite sure.
The smell of my own sick is singeing my nostrils so even though it makes the room spin, I raise my head to look at him. A few strands of long, dark hair fall across my face. Hesitantly, I reach up and pull a clump around so I can see it better. My eyes cross as I stare at the nearly black hair. What the hell? Frantically, I pick at it, like an addict with a fixation.
“Lyla, what are you doing?” Jay asks.
I drop the pieces of hair and smooth them back. “Nothing.”
“You’re acting really weird.”
I’m acting weird? He’s the one who keeps calling me Lyla for God’s sake!
“Here you guys are!” Lyla’s older sister, Kate, speaks with an exasperated tone. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. There’s like sixty waiting rooms in this place.” She takes one look at the garbage in front of me and exhales, annoyed. Being a bar owner means Kate has plenty of experience with vomit.
“You okay?”
Slowly, I nod as I slide the can away from me with my feet. She sits in a chair just across from us. “I brought you some clothes.” She holds out a brown paper bag to me and waits for me take it.
“Don’t give me any grief about what I picked. I was in a hurry.” Kate’s appearance is frazzled. Deep brown curls spill forth from the messy bun of hair piled on top of her head. Her feet jiggle up and down. Kate always fidgets when she’s nervous.
In the bag I find Lyla’s “Crazy for Cupcakes” tee, a pair of jeans, and some flip-flops. Why did Kate bring me Lyla’s clothes?
“Do we know anything?” Kate asks.
“No,” Jay tells her. “We’re still waiting for the doctor.”
“Is Eric here yet?” Kate asks about my dad.
“Not yet,” Jay answers.
My dad is on his way. Relief sinks in knowing that in a few minutes I’ll be able to hug him and he’ll make everything okay again.
“You want some coffee?” Jay reaches for the cup and holds it out to Kate. He gestures toward me as he says, “I got it for Ly, but I don’t think she wants it.”
I do not. I hate coffee.
“Sure.” Kate takes the cup and sips slowly. She gives me a reproachful look when she says, “You drink too much coffee as it is.”
I start to protest, to tell them both that it’s Lyla, not me, who insists on stopping every morning at Peet’s, but Kate quickly adds, “Well, go change. This isn’t exactly the place for heels and cleavage.”
Cleavage? I look down and see what she means. I’m busting out of the seams! This isn’t my dress. This is Lyla’s dress. I would never wear a dress like this. For one thing, it’s pink. And it looks like dip-dyed ace bandages wrapped around my body. I hold the bag close to my chest hoping to conceal my heaving flesh. Wait. I don’t have heaving flesh. And I don’t have raven hair. Something is very, very wrong.
“Okay.” As I stand to go, I teeter on Lyla’s five-inch stilettos. Jay catches my elbow and steadies me.
“You need some help?” he offers.
“I got it.” I think. I cannot get away from them fast enough.
Not only do I feel like I’m going to vomit again, but I also feel like I’m having a mental breakdown. My hair is a different color. My breasts are like cantaloupes. I’m not wearing my own clothes. I swallow hard to push down the panic and a touch of bile.
Kate eyes me suspiciously. “Do you want me to come with you, just in case? You don’t look so good.”
“I’ll be fine,” I say, hoping to reassure both her and myself. I don’t have much confidence that I can walk far in Lyla’s shoes. For a split second I think about going barefoot, but decide against it. Luckily, it turns out the bathroom is just across the hall.
Lyla’s dress clings to me like Saran Wrap. I must look like Bambi learning to walk as I concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. The carpet of the waiting room isn’t that treacherous, but the slick, overly polished hallway isn’t as forgiving. My left ankle rolls and I stumble just as I reached the bathroom door. Damn!
The bathroom is dark. I flip the wall switch and the light flickers, groans, and burns nearly out, casting a ghoulish yellow glow of light over the room. “Great.”
I grope my way toward the sink. It is then that my eyes adjust to the dark, and for the first time I see my reflection. Only it isn’t my face peering back at me. It’s Lyla’s, my best friend since the third grade. Leaning in closer, I stare, mouth agape, into the mirror. Her blue eyes are rimmed with multiple coats of black eyeliner. The red of her lipstick is faded, leaving her lips with only a hint of berry stain. My hands explore, skimming the sides of her cheek, hoping, praying that at any second the illusion will shatter. Despite my desperate hopes, the reflection never morphs from Lyla’s into mine.
I rack my brain trying to piece together everything that happened tonight. It’s my birthday I suddenly remember. We were having a party at Kate’s bar. A party I didn’t want. Lyla had talked Gage into being my date. Well, more like forced. But we were having a good time. He’s really nice. I went outside; I remember that part. And my teacher was there, that letch Mr. Andreas, and he grabbed me. He kept saying all this weird stuff to me and I tried to get away and that’s when Gage came out and started yelling at him. Mr. Andreas had a gun. And he … and he …
I remember the sound of the gun going off, and the brief second of relief I felt when I realized he hadn’t shot Gage. But then I saw all the blood. There was so much blood.
I stagger backward knocking into the stall door. It swings open and I drop to my knees over the toilet. I heave and heave, but nothing comes up. I curl into a sitting position. My fingers knot into my hair.
When I finally stand up, I expect—okay hope—that everything will have returned to normal, that I’ll be me again, and that seeing Lyla was just some sort of weird post-traumatic stress thing. But when I look in the mirror, I don’t see me. I see her.
This isn’t possible. There’s no way. I must be dreaming.
That’s the only explanation. This is just a dream. A very strange, twisted dream.
But it isn’t a dream. I press my hand to the mirror. It’s solid. It’s real. This is really happening.
“Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” I curse as the mother of all freak-outs rumbles inside me. What am I supposed to do now?
Caroline T Patti is the author of The World Spins Madly On and Too Late To Apologize. When she’s not writing, she’s a school librarian, mother of two, wife, avid reader and Green Bay Packer fan. You can chat with her on Twitter:@carepatti or find her on Facebook.
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{Cover Reveal} The Way To Never (The Never Trilogy) by O.E. Boroni
The
Way To Never (The Never
Trilogy)
by O.E. Boroni
Release
Date: 07/25/15
Waves Corporation
Summary
from Goodreads:
When falling out of love, refuses to become
an option…
Nathan Roque first met Lenora Baker, a beautiful, exasperating, and bitter girl
when she was just fifteen years old. He fell so deeply in love with her that he
suspected that in his lifetime, nothing else could ever mirror the kind of commitment
that she drew out of him. But she is left heartbroken when an unfortunate
incident drives them apart.
Thirteen years later, he sets out to reach out to her when he can no longer
resist the consuming thoughts of her that have haunted him for so long.
However, the same demons that caused him to let go of her in the first place
are still holding him back. But when he is thrust into a situation where he has
no choice but to become professionally involved with her, a Pandora’s Box of
angst, resentment, and passion is unleashed . Now they are forced to make the
decision on how to proceed. But will it justify the one that they made in the
past, or will it mock it?
Book One:
(cover linked to Goodreads)
I currently live in England. My days are spent in the Project Management field while my nights are spent with books. I'm either reading them or writing the ones that I want to read. My favorite things and in this particular order are books, Korean dramas, ice cream, and people who smile through everything. I consistently tell people that these are the four things they need to be happy but do they believe me?
No! Well I believe me, and you should too.
No! Well I believe me, and you should too.
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