Wilde's Fire

The exciting first book of the Darkness Falls series!

Wilde's Army

The second installment of Darkness Falls.

Wilde's Meadow

The conclusion of Katriona and Arland's story.

Monday, February 27, 2012

The Hill #TWC1

"Will you take my hand?"

I don't know why Sean asks. My hand has been his for a year, and I've never refused him, but our relationship should be at the point where he just reaches for me.

I certainly won't mind; his warmth is something I crave, something I can't live without.

Smiling, I extend my hand toward his open palm and slide my fingers between his. He tugs me closer and we walk down the white-sand beach, united.

A warm, ocean breeze blows in my face, making my skin sticky and my hair a matted mess, but I’m not complaining. Sean never has either. We live for the salt life.

He laughs. "Ah, lunch hasn't blown away."

"Lunch?" I ask, leaning back.

Sean points ahead, squinting his eyes against the midday sun. I follow his finger. A red and white checkered blanket is staked to the ground, accompanied by a light tan picnic basket with a rainbow colored umbrella towering above what he calls 'lunch'.

"This is different." I'm not sure what else to say. We've taken this walk every day since we met at work a couple years ago, but he's never done lunch before.

"I can't surprise you once in awhile?" A big, Cheshire grin spreads across his beautiful tan face, lighting up his eyes. He looks like a little boy. "Race ya."

I drop his hand and run off, looking over my shoulder. "Go!"

"You big cheat."

It takes him all of two strides to catch up to me. He slides his arms around my waist and spins me to face him, but we lose our balance and tumble into the sand a good twenty feet from our meal.

"I would have beat you," I say, stifling my laughter.

We lock eyes. His are so big and beautiful, golden brown with flecks of green. Sean clasps his hands around me. "I love you, Maggie."

I could spend eternity in his arms, living moments like these over and over again. And I'd never tire of hearing those words come from his mouth. "I love you, too."

He cranes his neck, surely checking on the status of our lunch. The winds on the beach are unforgiving. Give them enough time and they'll blow anything away.

"How did you arrange all this?" I ask, getting to my feet and offering him a hand.

"I have my ways," Sean says, grabbing hold of me, then he sprints toward the picnic.

"Who's the big cheat now?" I trot after him anyway.

Placing one hand in front of him and the other behind, Sean bows. "My lady. Please, have a seat."

"You're a dork." But I love every ounce of you. "I'll take the shade." I plop down on the cheap, plastic tablecloth he must have picked up at the Dollar store and scoot back. I prefer the sand. "So what's this about?"

He roots through the basket, crinkling bags, clinking bottles, and eyeing everything like he's impressed by the contents. "Turkey sandwiches and Doritos."

"Sean?"

Tossing a bag of chips my way, he laughs. "Tom Myers died."

"Oh my God, Sean. Why are you laughing?"

"Guess what was in his will?"

My appetite is gone. Too concerned for my future to think about anything else, I leave the bag by my feet. "I don't want to play games, Sean. What are we going to do?"

Sitting next to me, Sean crosses his legs at his ankles and rests on his palms. He's way too relaxed about this. Our boss died. How did I not know this? No one said anything at work.

"Maggie, he left The Hill and all his bank accounts to us—"

"Didn't he have a kids?"

"Estranged. You know that. When's the last time any one of them came to help him out when the radiation treatments got too tough?"

Never. That's why Sean and I are always so tired. Our routine has been to work at the surf shop, then home, then shifts with old Tom. Maybe that's why I haven't heard about his passing yet . . . last week when I got a cold, Tom insisted on hiring a caretaker. "So . . . it's ours?"

The boyish look reappears on Sean's face. "On one condition . . . ."

"And . . . ?"

"I already asked you. I've been asking you every day for the last year. Will you take my hand?"

My heart stammers against my ribs, threatening to make me faint. "You want me to marry you?"

"Never any doubt in my mind. I've known since the first day you walked into The Hill looking for a job renting boards. I think it was your cute little southern drawl that did it."

I glare at him. "I did not have an accent."

"You did, and everyone noticed." Sean tips his head back, blinking his sun-kissed lashes at me. "You're kind of leaving me hanging here . . . ."

"I can't believe you felt the need to ask. Of course I will."

To read other author's take on the subject "The Hill", please visit www.thewriterscollection.com

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Six Sunday with a Treat

There are only eight days until Wilde's Fire is released by Noble Young Adult. This time a year ago I was finishing the first draft. Many, many rewrites later, and after working with some amazing beta readers and critique partners, I subbed that book and it was accepted. Many writers work their whole life for an opportunity like this. To say I'm grateful would be an understatement.

I appreciate every one of you who stumbles onto my little pink blog every time I post something new, and I cherish your comments!

Oh, well, now that I'm done being sentimental, I'll paste my Six Sunday lines.

~The squeaking sounds reminded me of bats flooding the navy-blue evening sky, on their way out of their home, looking for food. But something tells me these are no normal bats, and they won't be searching for bugs to eat. "Arland never mentioned bats?"

Cadman glances toward the sky. "There would be no need to; we thought them to be extinct."

More familiar shrieks come from behind us.~

Eeep. Fantasy bats. That cannot be good! And how about that cover?! Awesome, right? Don't forget to check out the trailer.

To read excerpts from other Six Sunday authors, check out the official site.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Where the heck...?

So many of you are probably worried about me. I haven't written a short story in ages. I haven't lined up any snazzy guest posters. No Friday Funnies.

What's wrong you ask?

Well aside from nearly dying from whatever has taken up space in my head, I've been busy prepping for the release of Wilde's Fire. Are you counting down the days? March 5th is right around the corner. That's TEN days from today. Wowza.

It's been an incredible year, and it's only going to get better.

Sunday holds a very special treat for all my fans. I'm going to release the amazing cover for my debut novel alongside the Six Sunday lines! Are you ready?

I am. I'm beaming, can't you see?? :-) (Not quite the effect I was going for, but whatever!)

And, my editor may hate me for saying this, but I'm getting ready to turn in Wilde's Army. That means soon you'll be able to read book 2! And there will be a pretty cover and trailer and squee! (Did I just squee in public?)

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to finish writing book 3.

Wilde's Fire Trailer
Me reading Wilde's Fire's Prologue

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Wilde's Fire TRAILER

That's right, I said TRAILER. I'll try to keep the talking short. As most of you know, Wilde's Fire will be released early next month. I've been trying to hold off on sharing this until the cover was added, but I just can't wait. Check back next week for another special reveal!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday

Well, it's Sunday. One day closer to the release of Wilde's Fire. My hubby and I are spending some much needed alone time in the mountains of West Virginia today. So if I don't respond to your comments, please know that I love and appreciate all of you!

Enjoy!

~Swarms of butterflies take over the free space in my stomach. Being with Arland has been important to both of us; I cannot imagine losing that. I suddenly want more of him, but what if I never get more? What if all there is for us is a cruel war and then death or a forced marriage to someone who scares me? Thoughts I've never had before creep into my mind. "We are alone now," I say, almost too quiet for myself to hear.~

Who wants to guess where that's leading? I'll bet you can't. :-)

To check out other great authors who participate in Six Sunday, visit the official site.

Wilde's Fire Prologue (Read by me)

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Carlyle Labuschagne: Why I Write

What's this? Another YA Author on my blog? It cannot be!

Okay, I'm a bit dramatic. I asked Carlyle if she'd like to pop in and visit with me and my readers to promote her soon to be released novel, The Broken Destiny. And, umm, she said no.

Kidding. Seriously guys, my humor is awful today so I'm going to hand you over to Carlyle before you all go running and screaming away.

~Thank you Krystal for this wonderful opportunity.

Why do I write?

I write because I want to understand others as well as myself. I first started expressing myself at a very young age
though poems, song writing. But finally found my true passion. Novel writing. My first novel The Broken Destiny is, as I am sure many authors can relate to, a combination of my experiences and my world inside my head, understanding myself as well as others, and feeding the passion. Through writing I have learnt a lot about myself
. Finally being able to move on from my mistakes.

The Broken Destiny is about a girl who has to find her true self to unleash her Destiny towards greatness. Every person has good and bad, and everything comes down to a choice, and sometimes making the wrong choice is actually the write choice at the time. To grow, to learn. To love yourself. The only person who can hurt you is you. You are your worst enemy. Don’t change who you are for the sake of satisfying others, in the end it hurts only you. Your path is one of greatness and being true to yourself is the greatest gift you can give yourself and others. But it is often only though experiencing who you are not to know who you are.

To know the light you have to have experienced the dark. But always remember everything no matter how hard - is for a reason. Writing gives me great pleasure and satisfaction. My desire for everyone is to find that one thing and go for it, no matter how impossible it may seem at the time, you will never know if you don’t try, and once you have tried you will know you can never be without it.

~ Don’t be crippled by fear. Let love and passion give you wings ~

Happy writing all,

Carlyle Labuschagne


The Broken Destiny: Book One of the Broken Series
Her desisting is to rise above the fall that threatens her soul; her soul is the key to unlashing a secret weapon. She will become what she hates to save the ones she loves. Through it all she will find herself for that is her destiny. Her Destiny starts with betrayal.

Carlyle was born in Johannesburg South Africa. She speaks Afrikaans and holds a Diploma in Novel writing through the writing school at College SA. Obsessed with trees. Lives to change lives and inspire. Debut Author 2012 with The Broken Destiny releasing April or May of 2012. She works as a PR and Marketing consultant and writes at night.

You can find her on Twitter, CarlyleLabuschagne.com, GoodReads, & Facebook.

~ Well I think her reasons for writing are quite honorable. To love what you do and to hope to inspire others...now that's something so few people can say about themselves.

Thank you for visiting with me today, Carlyle! I can't wait for your book to hit the shelves!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

What to Vlog?

Give me something to vlog about!

*I know the video quality is terrible, but I promise to get better. I'm going to get a Flip camera and brighter lighting. Don't judge!* ;-)

Make sure you leave your ideas for my next vlog post in the comments section!

~Krystal


Monday, February 13, 2012

Valentine #TWC

It's Valentine's Day,
a time for people to show their love in creative ways.
Some sends cards and flowers,
an act flexing their romantic powers.
But I don't care about any of that,
love should be celebrated daily, every moment, at the drop of a hat.
A smile, a touch, these mean so much.
A hug, a kiss, without these our relationship would be amiss.
Don't spend money to prove you care, I'd prefer you run your fingers through my hair.
But if you do insist, there's only one thing I cannot resist:
Chocolate!



To see other author's work on the subject Valentine, visit www.thewriterscollection.com

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday

Hey guys! Happy Sunday. Since you all seem to enjoy the scene where Kate gets punched, I figured I'd give you a little more from that chapter. This is after the madness dies down a bit.

Thank you for your comments every week! Your support means the world to me. And don't forget, Wilde's Fire will be available NEXT MONTH!

Enjoy!

~"I am going to kill him," Arland says, setting me down on the counter.

Before he can go anywhere, I wrap my arms and legs around him. There's no sense in fighting. Yes, Brad is acting like a complete idiot, but we don't need to beat each other senseless over it.

"Why did you try to protect me? You do understand Brad would not have hurt me, do you not?"~

Ahh adrenaline. Arland is mad, but I think any hot blooded man would be a bit perturbed if someone he's supposed to protect just got punched in the eye.

To read other great authors, visit Six Sunday's website for links! *Disclaimer: Not all sites are appropriate for children under 18!*

Saturday, February 11, 2012

The Big Moment!

The moment you've all been waiting for is here. Okay, maybe not all of you, but the moment I've waited seemingly forever for has arrived! I am VLOGGING! So I'm kind of camera-shy and this is my first time EVER recording myself in this capacity--you should see the outtakes!--but I'm giving all my fans, family, friends--whoever interested--a special treat . . . the prologue to Wilde's Fire, read by none other than me.

Enjoy!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Hostages - Friday Funny

You know your child has an addiction when you receive a text message like this one:

We have the lovey! If you do exactly what we say you will see it again lol!!

Followed by a text with this in it:
Just in case you thought we weren't serious.

And since I'm such an expert hostage negotiator, this was my response to these evil people: Keep it. We'll buy another one!

Just so you can all rest easy tonight, the lovey has been returned to its rightful owner. The perpetrators have been prosecuted!



Thursday, February 9, 2012

Getting to Know You

I had an epiphany. Well, not quite I solved all the world's problems kind of epiphany, more the kind of what do I want to ask my blog followers today.

You see, I like people. Often I say the opposite of that, but it's not true. You put me in a room with a bunch of strangers and I swear by the time we're ready to part ways, we'll be friends—or at least exhausted from laughing a lot.

Meeting new people is fun. Learning an individual's history, their likes and dislikes, where they're from, etc, is often what opens our world to new cultures, new viewpoints . . . you get it.

So, I'm asking you to share a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? What do you do? What's your favorite color, favorite book?

I'll start: You obviously all know my name. I was born in Illinois, but my parents had their own epiphany and moved us to Texas when I was at the ripe, young age of six months. Although I lived in Texas until the age of sixteen, I consider myself to be a Virginian. This state is my favorite so far. If I ever strike the book lottery, my husband and I joke that we'll move to Vermont. We'll see. It's gonna be hard to pull me away from Virginia.

I'll leave my day job out of this. I'm an author. This is what makes me tick. My favorite color is purple. My favorite book of all time is The Hobbit, but The Hunger Games trilogy is my favorite series of modern times.

I think that's a good start. So tell me about yourself. I really want to know!

~Krystal

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Guest Blog: Jess Wentz

Today I have a special guest with me: Jessica Wentz. Jess has been a long time supporter of mine. She's always retweeting my posts and chatting with me on twitter. So it's only fair I reciprocate. We're breaking her guest appearance cherry! Make sure you leave her LOTS of comment love and check out her blog!

~Ok... first I would like to thank Krystal for asking me to do this for her! It's my first time being a guest blogger for anyone, and I'm really excited to be doing it!! Now... what to talk about.

I thought I would write about what made me finally want to publish a book. I've been writing since about the age of ten, and have always kept it very close to me. There has always been this nagging feeling in me that I've never been good enough to publish anything. I can honestly say that even my husband didn't read my work, because it was just too private for me to share with him.

I knew that I had wanted to publish something, as I have so many stories started in my computer, but have never finished. I'm sure there are ones that don't make any sense, but like most writers, I would get an idea in my head and have to write it down. Once I started, I usually knew if it wasn't going anywhere, and still, when I go back and read them, know where I wanted to go with them.

The reason why I finally decided to publish, was two people gave me the push I needed. The first one was my husband, who after seeing me drifting a little bit, told me to publish something, as I'm always sitting at the computer writing. The second was Raine Thomas, who told me to go for it after I said that my husband had planted the seed. It took off from there, and I bought a writing program designed for writers, and got down to business. I must say my story has changed about ten times and will probably change a lot more before I'm done, but I'm loving every frustrating, nail biting minute of it! My characters are constantly telling me how to go, and I follow their lead.

One thing I forced myself to do was share my work. I have been emailing my WIP to Raine, and getting her feedback. She has been a godsend to me, and given me such great advice writing wise. Also, it's great to have fresh eyes seeing it when I've been looking at it for four plus hours!! Before this, I had never shared my work with anyone, because it terrified me to do it. I had visions of them hating what I was writing, and telling me it was awful. There is still a part of me that thinks that, and I don't think that will ever change. It's just great to know that I've made myself get over that hump of keeping my writing to myself.

I'm hoping to have my book written, edited and have the book cover done by the end of the year. That's my goal for 2011! Now, I'm hoping my children can allow that goal to happen...

Thanks again, Krystal for asking me to do this!!

~

You're welcome, Jess. Thank you for sharing such an intimate part of yourself. We all have our different reasons for writing and publishing. It's good to hear your husband is so supportive of you. Now hire a sitter and finish that book!

Jess is a mother of two amazing boys, and has been married for ten, almost eleven years. She's in the process of writing her first book, which has been a dream of hers since childhood. Jess also has a book blog, where she reads and reviews books. Please check it and follow if you have a chance. jessbookblog.blogspot.com

Monday, February 6, 2012

LIES #TheWritersCollection

*Disclaimer: This post is full of lies.*

I look forward to waking up every morning before the sun rises. Parting ways with my bed is potentially the best thing I'll do all day. I don't need sleep. I don't like sleep. Once I shower and say goodbye to the family I don't love, I know my day is destined to get better. Sitting in my car for over an hour with perfect strangers, while commuting fifty-miles to Washington, DC, brings me joy. I cannot deny it.

Once I walk into my office and see hundreds of papers stacked on my desk, I smile. Ahh. This is the life. Seven hour days should be increased to ten. I'd be more productive, and then I wouldn't be forced to go home where I do nothing but play stupid games with my family. And don't even get me started on cooking and cleaning for the heathens. Why did I have kids again? I should have just purchased a small apartment in the city so I could be at my employer's beckon call.

Last year I wrote a novel or two. What the hell was I thinking? I hate writing. Then I made the mistake of submitting it to a publisher . . . and they accepted my crappy work! Maybe they're insane too? An enemy of mine suggested I become involved in social media to help promote my worthless second career. My dismal success with Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger further explain why I hate her.

Pushing paper is what I love. Not my family. Not writing. Not the sunshine or the birds soaring through the blue sky on warm summer days. I want to be chained to my desk the rest of my life, slave to other people's hopes and dreams. That life keeps me grounded, prevents me from allowing my imagination to run wild.

Who needs creativity? Who needs freedom? Who needs time with their family and friends, time to get lost in books, time to fall asleep on white sandy beaches?

Not me, folks, and I bet not you either.

To read other author's personal take on the topic LIES, go to www.thewriterscollection.com

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday

BIG NEWS!!! Wilde's Fire is now CONTRACTED with Noble Young Adult! Don't have an official release date yet, BUT I can say it will be soon. YAY!

So this is a continuation from where we left off last week.

Enjoy!

~For a moment everything and everyone disappear. The only things I can see are Brad’s fist, his anger and his broken heart. I cannot allow this to happen. I have to stop him before this situation gets any uglier. With hopes to bring Brad out of his fury, I push myself in front of Arland.

My former best friend’s fist slams into my left eye.~

Well, bet you all didn't see THAT coming?! To read more Six Sunday greatness, make sure you check out the official site! *Disclaimer: Not all sites are appropriate for children under 18.*

Friday, February 3, 2012

Friday *Yawn* Funny

This week should have been epic. My book is moving right along through edits. Soon I will have a cover to look at, and drool over. There's a tentative release date in sight. So I should be all *squeeee* . . . not *yawn*. But I had the flu last week. I may still have the flu. I'm not sure. All I know is I want to close my eyes and sleep for three weeks straight.

But there's no time for that. I have a book trailer to finish. Originally I was going to hire a production company to film a really amazing movie-like trailer for Wilde's Fire, but now there's not enough time. I'm doing this myself. And let me tell you folks, it's kind of fun. :-)

Look for it here, on my website, YouTube, Facebook--I know you get it--everywhere!

So for now I leave you with today's Comic Strip based on how I feel. Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Data Threats

Last week I received a notice from AT&T about my data usage. Apparently I'm in the top 5% of all users. Of course they suggested I use WI-FI to avoid slowed Internet speeds—

WAIT! WHAT?

Years ago my husband and I stood in line for over four hours to purchase our first iPhones. I remember making a ridiculous comment about how I'd never use or need all the features of the phone and even considered getting a Blackberry Curve.

Thank God that didn't happen.

My cell company used to offer Unlimited Data plans—actually they forced us to sign up for the limitless services. Bet AT&T regrets that now. But this all brings me back to my frustration.

Why on Earth would they reduce the quality of service to people who use their phones the way Apple intended? It hardly seems fair. I stream Pandora in my car during my fifty-mile commute to work. I stream Pandora at work because we aren't allowed to use our organization's network. Makes sense. No big deal. I have my phone, unlimited data, all the good stuff.

I have all my author gadgets linked to my phone . . . my multiple e-mail accounts, Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, GChat, the list goes on and on. I need my iPhone for all it's worth.

But AT&T wants to punish me.

If their network can't handle me, maybe they need to fix their network. I certainly shouldn't receive "reduced Internet speeds" because I use my phone to its full potential.

Right? Right? Does anyone agree with me here? They sold me unlimited data, they advertise 3G speeds . . . why should I get anything less?

My name is Krystal Wade, I have an iPhone 4S and I'm proud to be a data hog.

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