The Never #newrelease

I love the writing world. I meet so many amazing people and love being able to share in their successes! Today I'm hosting Kristina Circelli whose book, The Never, just released. Take a look and hurry up and buy this thing!

“Out of nothing, we create something.”

Arianna has spent her entire life being called a dreamer, an artist who created a world no one else can see. And for her entire life, she has taken the medication that keeps that world – and the one who brought her there – at bay.

Now an adult, Arianna reawakens that part of herself kept locked away in the darkest corners of her mind. When she hides her medicine from her fiancé’s ever-watchful eye, he returns – the shadow in the night who collects her for an adventure known only in her fantasies.

But something is different about this world called The Never. It is no longer the cheerful place filled with light and laughter that she knew as a child. Now, the sea creatures drag their visitors into the depths of murky waters. The natives battle to the death against the tribe of children. And the pirates, led by the feared captain called The Hunter, seek out Arianna for their own sinister plans.

As Arianna goes deeper into The Never, she discovers just what her connection to the land means – and must choose between her life rooted in reality, and the world where anything is possible.

Find out more about Kristina, or buy the book now!

Email: www.circelli.info  ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Amazon ~ B&N

Read More

OUCH! #indielicious #ya

It's Sunday, so that means another teaser from Shattered Secrets. I'm not editing this book just yet. I've decided to let it sit while plotting/writing book 2. Yep, there will be a book 2. I love these characters way too much to let them go just yet.

Anyway, Boredas and Ruckus--Abby's kidnappers--just left the room for various reasons, and my little fighter is not willing to sit still.

Enjoy!

~I had to escape. Sitting still made me sick, never mind not getting away meant certain death. I inched forward. Falling off the couch would be loud, but maybe they wouldn't hear. One man was out getting firewood—at least I assumed he was—and the other . . . maybe he was gone for a while.

I peered over the edge of the cushions. No dead animals. No food. No knives. Just a dusty, wooden floor that looked like it was built in the 1700's. I wriggled one more inch forward then plummeted off the couch, landing on my right shoulder. Pins and needles shot through it, and I held back a sob.

It's broken. It's broken, and I'm not getting out of here.

Fast-paced steps shook every board I lay on, sending stabbing pains through my arm. I screamed. I let it all out, the fear, the hurt, the anger, the agony—one loud, gut-wrenching wail.~

Yikes. If she ever makes it out of here, she'll need intense pain relievers. Stay tuned for more next week, and make sure to visit the other participants in this weekly hop!

Read More

SOAP for President #vlogoff

Hey, Everyone!

Today is the first ever VLOGOFF. Just a few authors looking to have a little friendly competition. Hey, we're creative, right? Who says all we can do is talk about books? (Though, feel free to talk about my books all you like; I don't mind.)

Anyway, this week's crazy topic was SOAP. If you love my video, make sure you vote for it by commenting. Visit the other authors' blogs, watch their videos, and comment on those if you like them better (Bonnie Paulson, Kristina Circelli, Debra Kristi, Johanna Pitcairn, Verity Linden).

The person with the most votes by Monday wins! And the winner chooses next week's topic. No fame or glory here. Only good old-fashioned fun.

Enjoy the video! And a special thank you to Susie Levine (www.susreviews.blogspot.com) and Kimberly Glenn for providing their ridiculously cheap acting skills to my quest for world laughter. Love you guys!

Read More

Random Acts of Kindness

Well, I decided to share a little love with another giveaway hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Read For Your Future.

I'm not giving away a book this month, but I am giving away a $5 Amazon Gift Card that you can buy a book with!

So, have fun and play along.

~Krystal


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read More

Pass the Ear Plugs! #indielicious

We've reached the third week here on Indie-Licious's blog hop. I'm having fun reading all the entries!

I hope you guys have enjoyed the teasers from Shattered Secrets. I'm going to up the ante a bit this week and show you some interaction between Abigail and her abductors. She not only realized they were a bit too into role-playing games, she also figured out they meant to kill her . . . wasn't hard when they talked about it right in front of her.

Enjoy!

~Footsteps. Heavy, fast footsteps. They stopped right in front of me. A clammy finger trailed from my temple to my collarbone.

Trembling broke free of my control.

"I thought you might be awake. You should not eavesdrop. It is rude."

I opened my eyes and faced the men, anger filling every inch of me. I was going to die anyway. "Kidnapping, stuffing a girl in a trunk, punching said girl and tying her up on a couch with intent to kill her is rude. Me overhearing you say all that is unfortunate."~

Abby is definitely a fighter! Let's hope her mouth doesn't land her in worse shape. Check back next week! And make sure to visit all the other Indie-Licious authors!

Read More

How to Freak Out Your Man

My bedroom was silent except for a constant hissing coming from the bathroom. So I headed that way and found someone had left the faucet running.

Grrr. Ethan must have been in here—or something. People are so wasteful.

I turned off the tap and started for the toilet—

Hiss.

Looking back slowly confirmed the water was once again running. Someone was playing a trick on me.

"TJ?"

The sink mocked me.

"Ethan?"

I took a step and someone lifted up the back of my shirt.

Ghost. I knew it. I'd been trained for this. Swinging my fists through the air, I made contact with the thing I couldn't see, punching, smacking, grabbing. The ghost was stronger than I was, and laughed and laughed, so I called for help.

"TJ, there's someone in the house. There's someone in the house. TJ!"

The ghost pushed me against the wall, but I came back swinging, commanding him to get out, that we were protected, and I would not let him hurt my family.

"TJ, there's someone in the house."

"What? Where? How do you know?" TJ asked, and from the closeness of his voice, we were in the same room. Though alarm rang in his tone, he also sounded tired, groggy.

I opened my eyes and realized I was talking in my sleep. "Sorry. I was just dreaming." I laughed. "Weird one, too."

When I returned to dream land, the ghost left me alone. I'm sure he'll never come back again.

I did kick his ass.

~Krystal 

Read More

It's Sunday? Already! Where did the weekend go? Can I have a do-over?

Anyway, thank you to everyone who stopped by last week and commented on my teaser. I love all the love. :-)

This week, we're picking up about a page down from where we left off. Abby's awake, hogtied, and lying on a very smelly couch.

Enjoy (muahahhaa!)

~ Barely opening my eyes, I squinted around the candlelit room. My stomach churned. Decayed animal carcasses littered the floor. A raccoon or two, maybe a cat or dog . . . .

Maybe the smell wasn't the couch after all?

Empty bags of potato chips, soda bottles, pizza boxes—these things were tossed about. Cleanliness obviously meant nothing to these guys. My hope for survival diminished, deflating my lungs. Hot tears slid down my cheeks, soaking the upholstery beneath me. I didn't care. I wanted to burn this place down, burn it and the people in it—well, the crazies anyway.~

Can you imagine? This girl is on the edge of disaster. Her normally sarcastic demeanor is about to take a dive. Check back next week to see more, and don't forget to stop by the other participant's blogs and comment on their teasers!

Read More

Summertime Dreaming #flashfiction

All I wanted to do was ride my bicycle, but the snow prevented me from stepping foot outdoors until I dressed in layers of warm clothes. I missed the sun, the energizing warmth on my head and skin. I missed the green on the trees and the sounds of spring peepers singing their evening songs.

Last night's storm system packed a powerful punch, blanketing the streets and lawns in a fresh layer of white powder. Ensuring I wouldn't see the blue sky for at least another day while the clouds lazily passed.

Instead of daydreaming all morning, I donned my coat and headed outside to chisel ice off my car's windshield. I had work to do. Bill collectors to pay. Traffic to navigate. And there would be a ton of that. Always.

Snow crunched under the weight of my boots as I plodded to my Jetta. I unlocked the doors and dug around the glove box for my scraper. Service receipts. Owner's Manual. Insurance cards. What's this? Why is my title in here?

Ugh. I had to get better with organization.

Ahh. Finally. I grabbed the purple and clear plastic ice machete and hacked away at the glass while the heater warmed the inside. Once I was satisfied I'd be able to see, I wiped my hands, and went back in the house to grab my purse and coffee.

My husband greeted me in the family room, still in his pajamas, wiping sleep from his eyes. "What are you doing?"

Same thing I do every morning, Pinky: Taking over the world. "Going to work."

He laughed and walked to the kitchen, straight to the coffee pot, then poured me a nice hot mug full. "Do you know what today is?"

"Monday."

Nodding, he held the coffee out to me. "Yes. That's right. But it's something else, as well. Think about it."

The man was off his rocker. Totally looney. "I'm going to be late! Tell me the rest of this joke later."

"Fine, but when you get to work and remember it's Martin Luther King's Day, don't say I didn't try to warn you that the office would be empty."

Sigh. Maybe today would be a good day to get organized. I ran out and turned off my car, removed the umpteen million layers I wore, and went back to daydreaming about the sun.

Summer would be here soon enough. Right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During the Let Me Reintroduce Myself Blogfest, I met Carrie Sorensen. She told me about her weekly picture prompt blog hop. So I decided to join, having no idea it was not only a picture prompt but there were words I HAD to use in my flash fiction piece (Bill, chisel, title, system, bicycle)

I managed to complete an entry. YAY! I had a great time. I think I'll play again next week.

~Krystal

Read More

Uh-Oh #Indielicious

Well, this week kicks off the first ever Indie-Licious Teaser Blog hop. Today I'm sharing more from Shattered Secrets with you. I'm allowed a little more than six sentences, so hang on!

If you remember from two weeks ago, Abby ran away from her kidnapper, into the cornfield, but she's not much of an athlete. After a few falls, she stops to catch her breath and figure out a few things.

Enjoy!

~My lungs burned, and my pulse raced in my ears, thrumming to a beat I'd never heard my blood thrum before. I needed to figure out what direction I was heading. I needed to listen for the highway, for any clue to help me out of here.

"You shouldn't have run," someone behind me said, but it wasn't my captor. This voice sounded deeper, ominous, and very close to my ear.

Warm, humid breath greeted my skin, raising the hairs on my neck.

Shaking rocked my core, and cold prickles of fear raced to my fingers and toes. Turning around wasn't an option. Running wasn't either. He stood too close. If he was armed . . . Oh, God, I really am going to die.

"We were paid to deliver you alive, but no one ever said we couldn't hurt you."~

EEP! This does not sound good for poor Abigail! Make sure you check out the entries from other Indie-Licious authors!

Read More