Writing Wednesday | Prompt 61

5 New Year's Resolutions For Writers

I want to welcome 2015 the right way! If you're into New Year's Resolutions, then you've found the right spot. Personally, I don't think I've ever actually stuck to one, so this year, I'm doing writing resolutions and you guys have to make me complete them. Every month I will do an update on my progress and you can either cheer for me or yell at me. 

For The Love of Ash | Teaser Two

For The Love of Ash

Maggie

I glanced at the white clock on the wall, right beside the refrigerator and saw that it was almost midnight. I spent hours on these damn bills. I piled them up and put them into a plastic bag so I would remember to do the same thing tomorrow night, but actually finish. 

I grabbed a cigarette and lighter from my bag next to the front door and quietly snuck outside. Asher’s room was on the back of the house, so I knew that the smell wouldn’t get to him. 

I lit up and leaned against the wrought iron railing. I left the front door open just a crack. I had this strange dream where I went outside to smoke and suddenly my house caught on fire. But the door locked behind me and I couldn’t get in to save Asher. 

It haunted me. 

BLURB:
Maggie Larken is a reformed party girl. After her parent's death, she's left to raise her nine-year old brother.
Luke Wilson has done everything his parents have ever asked of him. A new teacher, Luke constantly questions where his life is headed.
When Luke and Maggie meet, neither is in the market for a relationship. But sometimes life has other plans. Both navigate new waters as they try to decide where their priorities should lie, while also seizing what they want. 
In this heartbreakingly real tale of love, Maggie and Luke discover what being a family means.

Writing Wednesday | Scribophile

For The Love of Ash | Teaser One

Here's the first snippet from For The Love of Ash which comes out this winter! Maggie and Luke are the main characters. 

Here is the blurb:

Maggie Larken is a reformed party girl. After her parent’s death, she’s left to raise Asher, her nine-year-old brother.

Luke Wilson has done everything his parents have ever asked of him. A new teacher, Luke constantly questions where is life is headed.

When Luke and Maggie meet, neither is in the market for a relationship. But sometimes life has other plans. Both navigate new waters as they try to decide where their priorities should lie, while also seizing what they want.

In this heartbreakingly real tale of love, Maggie and Luke discover what being a family truly means.

Here is the teaser, from Maggie's point of view. (The whole book is).

I was early to get to Western College. My new car was awesome and as I drove down route 15, I blasted the music and sang my heart out. I didn’t want to smoke in my new car, so I sat down on a bench outside of the college and lit up. 

It was a bad habit of mine, but I hadn’t been able to kick it. It helped me cope. Asher sucked his thumb, I sucked on smoke. I couldn’t help it. But I refused to smoke in front of Asher, so I had turned into a closet smoker, only outside when he wasn’t around.

This was my first semester at the school. Luckily, it was a four year college, with the price of a community college, so when I transferred here, most of my credits switched over easily. 

It was different than my last school. There wasn’t much concrete, most of the grounds covered in bright green grass, shaded by giant oak trees. The school was split on two sides of a one lane road.

East campus was smaller, housing mostly art classes. There was only one parking lot, surrounded by concrete circles of grass. The sidewalks were immaculate here, barely any traffic tainting them.

I was on West Campus, the larger of the two. It looked to be brand new, with a full side of glass windows. There was a cafeteria and gym on the bottom floor and computer labs on the top. The library was smack dab in the middle. 

Writing Wednesday | Prompt 60

Writing Wednesday | Prompt 59

Cyber Monday

I have some awesome news for this  AWESOME  CYBER MONDAY!
Every single one of my books will be FREE today only on amazon for kindle. Yep. You heard me right! Get over to amazon and download all of my books for free.  What are you waiting for? Go! 
Here are the links...
The Thousand Year Curse The Curse of Betrayal The Broken Curse
A Reliant Love
Wingless

Writing Wednesday | Prompt 58

A Curse Books Surprise

For TWO days only, all of the Curse Books in the series will be completely free on amazon. Here are the links... This is an awesome chance to grab all the books and read through the series. They're FREE, why not?
The Thousand Year Curse
The Curse of Betrayal
The Broken Curse
Well? What are you waiting for? Go get the books and get to reading! If you're on the east coast like me, it's going to be cold and snowy and rainy. Perfect time to read in bed and snuggle with hot chocolate. GO GO GO!

The Broken Curse | Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

forgotten dream

A wounded man lies on the bed in front of me. I pull a metal rack on wheels towards the patient and pull the lever underneath to lower it. The man is badly beat up, bruises from head to toe. Luckily, the bleeding has stopped so I can begin to clean his wounds. 

Suddenly, the ship rocks, and I’m thrown to the side. A nurse behind me yelps as she falls to the ground. I grab onto the wall to hold myself up and lunge for the supplies from on my rack. The scalpel clatters to the ground and I let it slide as we tilt. I don’t want to fall and hurt myself. 

The ship rights itself, after we’re jostled two more times, and I fix my outfit before anyone notices that my dress shimmied up my leg. I hate that we have to wear white dresses. It’s easily the worst outfit for someone who deals with blood on an hourly basis, but I’m a rule follower.

I go back to bandaging the man in front of me. I dab some disinfectant on a white, scratchy piece of gauze and press it to the man’s forehead. He hisses with the sting I know it brings, but I press harder, knowing the worst of his pain is over. When I pull the gauze back, what I thought was a minor gash proves to be much worse.

I grab my sutures from the tray and string a black line through it. It turns out I have to put seventeen stitches right across the poor guy’s forehead. He shuts his eyes as I string the fourth, and I’m thankful because I don’t have to look at the pain in his eyes and can take my time. I’m putting a bandage over the stitches when a sailor runs into the room, making a loud commotion.

“More coming in. The Alert attacked. Second group is coming in fifteen minutes. Prepare beds.” The main doctor on staff, Henry, rushes around the room and clears those who aren’t badly injured. We have a second room on the ship, but we leave it empty most of the time. Truthfully, it’s been quiet lately and I’ve enjoyed my days staring at the ocean and writing in my journal. I told him to let us have more beds in there, but he didn’t listen to me.

I don’t leave the man in front of me to help Henry prepare for the new group. Instead, I continue to make sure the patient in front of me is comfortable. He’s still asleep and I place a cup of ice cubes beside his bed. 

As I’m gathering my tools, five stretchers of Navy men are wheeled into the room. One dark-haired man is dropped on the bed in front of me. He’s literally thrown over my patient’s legs and left dangling with half his body on one side and half on the other. I glare at the nurse who threw this man down as I try to adjust him so both men can fit. 

“I guess I’m not hurt enough,” my patient says through a wicked smile. He has perfectly straight teeth, and despite the ugly stitches, he’s smiling and I can respect that.

“I’m sorry. If you’d like to sit in the other room, I can check in on you later.” I try to make this experience as easy as possible for the sailors. I hate that they’re usually treated with annoyance. The other nurses, with the exception of Claudia, are self-righteous snobs who hate lifting a finger. I constantly question why they’re in this field. I would hate to be away from my family, at risk. The sailors are men who fight on a daily basis, and these nurses don’t even give them the time of day. 

“It’s you,” the dark-haired man says as he scoots back against the metal headboard, stealing my old patient’s spot. I catch the backside of him as he goes into the second room where he’ll most likely have to sit on the ground. 

“It certainly is. What hurts?” I fix the pillow beneath him, so he’s more comfortable and propped up appropriately. He has captivating eyes. I used to call them hurricane eyes because they’re full of emotion, different shades swirling together like a storm. Eyes I’ve never seen before in a man. They’re so green like the finest emeralds, but with deep evergreen tones underneath. 

“There’s just some wood in my shoulder.”

“Oh God,” I gasp as I notice the large piece of shrapnel lodged deep in his shoulder. I touch the top of his shoulder to feel for swelling, and my fingers sizzle with heat. I look up from his shoulder to his eyes and they hold me. My gut swirls with emotion, but I push it down with a smile as I look away to focus on his injury. 

I ease him forward in the bed and look at the back of his shoulder. Luckily, the hunk of wood didn’t poke through the back. It doesn’t look like there are any splinters, which is another thing in this guy’s favor, but the wood seems to be a good inch or two deep. To be honest, I have no idea how he’s still coherent. 

“Just lie back and relax, and I’ll get you fixed right up.”

I check my tray for tweezers, but as I take them between my fingers, I realize they’re too small to grab ahold of the wood. These are more equipped to pull out a small-grade splinter. I shuffle through my tray for something that will aid me with this shrapnel but it looks like the only thing big enough to tug the wood out is my hands.

He groans as I start to apply pressure to the wood piece. I push his shoulder back with one hand, and tug the wood with the other. My insides swirl with disgust, but like I’ve taught myself, I push it down and focus on this poor, hurt man. 

With the last tug of the wood, blood follows, soaking the entire front of his shoulder in crimson. I grab a white rag from the bed behind me and place it over the open wound, applying pressure to make sure he doesn’t lose any more blood. 

“How are you doing, sailor?” I ask as I push against him.

“I’m just glad I found you, a beautiful, beautiful woman.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure you got here by a dose of bad luck. But, I’ll take the compliment.” I giggle at the way he looks at me with a heated intensity that sears to my core. He grabs my wrist and holds onto me as I press the cloth onto his wound. I smile down at him, not minding his hands on me at all. It seems like I’ve known him forever, because of the way I feel.

When his eyes meet mine, it’s like the purpose to my life has been fulfilled. While I’m not sure how to feel about this instant connection, I don’t question it. Sometimes people come into our life and are just meant to change us. I have a feeling this man right here is going to have an effect on me. 

“Where do you live?” he asks me, his gaze unrelenting. He’s going to need stitches, so I turn back to my table and start preparing another needle and thread. 

“I’m a traveling nurse, so wherever nursing takes me. I don’t have just a single place that I call home. Right now, my home is this ship.” I smile over my shoulder.

“What would you say to staying with me when we get back to port?”

“I’d say you’re crazy to ask me. We don’t know each other.”

“But, will you stay with me?” I don’t answer him right away. I consider my options. To even consider is crazy, yet here I am, doing just that. “Trust me,” he says.

“Okay. I’ll stay with you…” I pause waiting for his name.

“Aristeus,” he supplies, grinning from ear to ear. I shake my head, thinking he’s just delirious. But three weeks later, when we get to port, he’s waiting with his suitcase in one hand and the other outstretched towards me. And what do you know? I take it. 

AMAZON LINK

GOODREADS LINK

The Broken Curse | AVAILABLE NOW

The Broken Curse is now available!!!  Here are the links...
US
UK
CA
First of all, how BEAUTIFUL is this cover? I am absolutely in love with it. I think Laura did an amazing job and it fits right into the Curse Books family, but stands out, too.

After a chain of tragic events, Ryder has lost the true essence of who she is. At the cost of her emotions, she channels anger and frustration to hone her new skills. Her white knight remains by her side, but with light comes dark.

When her mentor concocts a plan to end the curse, Ryder dives in head first, but as the number of demons on Earth increases, Ryder and her friends realize their final battle affects more than just the curse.

In the final installment of A Curse Books, Ryder will decide her future—and accept the inevitable fate her decision brings with it.


PS. Tomorrow and Wednesday, IT WILL BE COMPLETELY FREE!

The Broken Curse | Teaser Five

Here's teaser five. This is a fun one. The new gods are helping our favorite characters from DGA prepare for the war in the Underworld. They're discovering weaknesses. Enjoy...

Alexandros starts slow. He sways from left to right, going from his left foot to his right and back again. His hands come up into fists and he puts them in front of his face like a boxer. Alexandros makes the first move.

He jabs forward and nails Mikey right on the jaw. Mikey teleports around Alexandros and appears on the other side of him. He grabs Alexandros around the neck and starts pulling. But Alexandros easily maneuvers out of his grasp.

Lex bends and flips around. He grabs Mikey’s shoulders and lifts him off the ground, his feet dangling off the ground. Suddenly he’s gone. I look around the room for Mikey, but he’s completely missing.

“Miss me?” His voice rings out from the top of the bleachers behind us. “I can teleport, dude. You forget?” 

But then in the next instant Alexandros is in front of him and has him by the neck. Lex throws him down the bleachers and Mikey’s body skids to a stop at the bottom. Lex leaps down and lands in a crouch. Lex slams his fist so close to Mikey’s face I scream, but his clenched fist breaks into the ground, just millimeters from his cheek. 

“You’re cocky. That can kill you.” Alexandros shakes his head and walks towards the bleachers. His sister pops up from her seat and as they pass, they clap hands.

Don't forget to go to goodreads and add the book to your TBR lists. 
Have you checked out my Wattpad page? DO IT! I have a couple short stories up.

The Broken Curse | Teaser Four

Here is the forth teaser for the Broken Curse! 

Before I know it Kara’s in the bathroom, ready to go. She’s getting good at getting dressed quickly. I grab the handle on the bathroom door when Mikey teleports into the bathroom, knocking me backwards.

“What the hell!” Kara screeches, jumping back when he appears in front of us. She slaps him on the chest while he laughs quietly. My heart is still jumping and I lean against the counter, trying to calm it down. “What if we were changing, you perv!”

“Sorry,” he chuckles, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Where are you guys going?”

“For a run,” I answer.

“Want an escort?” He leans into the sink and sprays some cold water on his face. When he looks back up, his eyes are alert and sparkling. He looks like he’s been rejuvenated by an elixir of life.

“If you get downstairs in two minutes, you can come.”

“I’ll do you one better,” he says, before teleporting out of the room. “Ready,” he answers when he almost instantly teleports back in. I look him up and down and see that the only change is that he has a pair of sneakers on. That was fast.

“Want to teleport down?” Carter asks, appearing beside me. This time, I’m the one who jumps in fright and almost busts my butt on the rug. My heart catapults into my throat, and I almost scream from the suddenness. 

“What is wrong with you people?” I yell, throwing my hands up in the air and shaking my head. I lean against the bathroom sink and have to catch my breath again. 

“Sorry.” Carter and Mikey high five and chest bump each other, nodding their heads with pride.

Don't forget to go to goodreads and add the book to your TBR lists. 
Have you checked out my Wattpad page? DO IT! I have a couple short stories up.

The Broken Curse | Teaser Three & Giveaway

Hello everyone! It's Friday and we know what that means, teaser time! The Broken Curse is coming and next week, I'll post one teaser per day to get us ready! Today I also have a goodreads giveaway to announce. 
Quick reminder: This is not fully edited and the matter is subject to change...

My dream self steps out from behind the tree and jogs over. The boys attacking him are definitely older. They’ve got at least six inches on Atee, and the bulk of a sixteen year old. 

“What’s going on here?” my dream self asks as she steps close to the scene. I follow behind her, knowing now that I can’t be seen. My dream self is confident and isn’t scared of the boys.

“We’re just playing around,” one of the boys answers. He has black hair and green eyes. His eyes are mean, his mouth drawn down in a frown. His voice is snarky, filled with misplaced attitude.

“Why don’t you go find your girly friends to play with. Us boys are busy,” the other one says. This one has white blond hair and a smile that creeps into your skin it’s so evil.

“Leave him alone.” My dream self reaches forward and shoves the blond haired boy backwards. He stumbles and trips over a raised rock.

“Eury.” Atee glares at my dream self, but she ignores him all together. She’s taller than Atee, who’s still a young boy. The boy shoves my dream self back, but she barely budges, standing her ground.

“I guess now’s a good time to call his dad.” She cups her hands over her mouth when the two boys cower. “You guys are little babies. Go play in the sandbox.” She laughs as they run away, the threat of Zeus too much to handle.

“I could’ve handled it myself.” Atee is mad at my dream self for stepping in. 

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Broken Curse

by Taylor Lavati

Giveaway ends November 24, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Writing Wednesday | Prompt 57

The Broken Curse | Teaser Two

I have a super long teaser for you all today! It's from The Broken Curse, which is coming out this month!! Don't forget to pick up your copies of the other two books before this one releases. It's going to be an epic finale as we say goodbye to our favorite characters.

Mikey and Carter connect hands and in the next second appear a hundred feet away. Kara lifts her neon top off her head and jumps into the rolling river. The water is clear and moving fast. I can see the brown dirt and all different colored rocks at the bottom. 

“Come on, Ryder!” she calls to me. I shake my head and smile as she dives under the waist deep water, dunking her head. When she pops back up, she’s completely drenched, water dripping down her face.

I lose track of Mikey and Carter and then in a second, they’re lifting me off the ground.

“No!” I yell through my laughter. “Don’t throw me in! It’s freezing in there.”

“Oh, you’re going in!” Mikey laughs back. 

They don’t throw me in. Instead, I feel them disappear with me in their arms and then we appear just inches above the water’s surface. I yelp as we fall straight into the water. I don’t have time for my legs to catch me so I sink to my butt, practically dunking myself all the way in.

“You jerks!” I joke as I splash the water at their faces. The four of us are all soaking wet. My clothes are waterlogged, but I guess that’s good because they were dirty anyway. I float on my back and look up at the sunny day, the blue sky with cotton candy clouds barely moving. I can feel the heat caress my face and the cool water beneath me is like an ice pack on my sore muscles.

“Do you think we can swim faster than normal people?” Mikey asks as he floats next to me.

“I’d assume so. Although we can’t really test it out here. It’s like three feet deep.” To prove my point, I straighten myself and stand in the shallow water. It only reaches my waist, just licking at my belly button. 

“Come on, let’s race! Who knows? Maybe there are rivers in the Underworld.” Mikey digs his hands into the dirt. He pulls his hand up with a bunch of rocks and they look so smooth in his hand.

    “There are rivers. But none you’d want to swim in.”
Don't forget to go to goodreads and add the book to your TBR lists. 
Have you checked out my Wattpad page? DO IT! I have a couple short stories up.

Liebster Award #4

Hey guys! I've been nominated for another Liebster Award! I love getting these because it allows me to tell you all a little bit about myself. I want to thank @eve patchett for nominating me for the award. I appreciate it. Let's get down to the questions... 

1. Where do you see yourself in ten years?

That's a tough one since I really have no idea, location wise. So instead, I'll go with my hopes and dreams wise... I would like to have a USA Today or NY Times Bestseller. I'd also like to go back to school for a degree in creative writing. But mainly, I want to have kids by then and as long as my family is happy, then I'm all set.

2. Who or what persuaded you to start blogging?

When I finished my first book and had no idea what to do next, I decided that I'd blog about my experiences and hope that someone would find it useful. I never thought that my blog would take off as much as it has and I never expected to continue to blog for this long. But I've really come to enjoy it!

3. What is your favorite food?

I have so many! At this moment, my favorite food is this potato and cheese and tatter tot casserole. It's heavenly. BUT I've been going through this weird lunchable stage in my life and I'm not ending it any time soon. I could each those pizza lunchables for the rest of my life! YUM. 

4. What do you want to do before you die?

I would love to do some more traveling. But as long as I use each day like it's my last and keep on trekking, I'll be satisfied with my life. I don't really like bucket lists. I feel like they usually don't get fulfilled and then you have an empty sheet of paper. Instead, if you want to do something, DO IT!

5. If you could meet one celebrity, who would it be?

That's a toughie. My initial response was Jake Gyllenhaal. He's my ultimate crush for forever. I love him. BUT that being said, I think I might lean more towards Charlie Hunnam right now. I think he's really interesting, he has a good story, and he's freaking HOT. 

6. If you could meet one fictional character, who would it be?

I would love to meet Daryl Dixon. Firstly, he's a bad ass. And also I love his story and I feel like he's such a relatable character. His back story is a little unknown and I'd love to learn more about him. But I do have to say, I'd love to meet a vampire and convince them to turn me :) 

7. What is your favorite band?

Throwback band would obviously be Backstreet Boys. I was and always will be team BSB. But lately I've been loving Five Seconds of Summer. The boys are only 18, but I can still swoon right?!

8. If you could have one super power, what would it be?

I would definitely love to fly. I think that would be awesome and hello, how nice would it be to not have to sit in traffic ever again? I would also like to control some element, like fire or air. Reading thoughts would be really useful, but I'm not sure I'd actually have to do it all of the time. It might get a bit distracting. 

9. Who is your idol?

Ohh. That's a really hard one. Since this is a writing blog, I'll stick with writers. I really admire the pioneers, the originals. Tolstoy, Joyce, Chaucer. Homer and Virgil are my favorites. Right now, in current times, I'd say an author who is making an influence and who I admire is Stephen Fry. While I don't read much of his work, I really like what he's doing with metal health and his advocacy and honesty with bipolar disorder. I think writers can make a difference and this man is proof. 

10. What is your favorite animal?

That's easy. My favorite is a dog, specifically mine, Beau. I think dogs are so loyal and such great companions. I know that my dog is treated like a member of our family. He's royalty. And he's also an awesome friend. 

So I just realized that I answered the wrong questions for Eve! Whoops, but I don't have time to go back over. So I'll ask your questions to those that I'm nominating. Sorry! If I get a chance I'll do another post with your questions.

Here's the next questions.

1. What is the first thing you'd do if you won the lottery?

2.What do you want to be when you grown up?

3. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

4. What do you admire most about yourself?

5. Why did you start blogging?

6. What pet would you own if you could have any?

7. What's your favorite hobby?

8. What would your superpower be? And would you use it for good or evil?

9. What is your favorite dessert?

10. What's your favorite youtube-er?

Here's my list of nominees.

+Ann Smyth 

+Heather Cranmer 

+fran lewis 

+L-Z Liburd 

Writing Wednesday | Prompt 56

The Last Legacy | Teaser One

Hey all! Today I'm dropped a snippet from The Last Legacy. I'm getting this piece work shopped in my creative writing class, so it's going to be even better. But I like this little excerpt. So enjoy!

But what was worse than the bombings was the screaming, and moaning, and crying. I now found myself spending most of my time in my bedroom since it was facing the woods and had only one window. I boarded the window with my kitchen table to block the noises. I hated the cries—hated the torture. I didn’t want to know what was going on, but it seemed I had to face it sometime.

            After six rounds of explosions, the world around me quieted. It was too silent. I was paranoid by this point. I almost came out of my ball in the corner of the room, but then the sirens came. Wailing in the distance and getting closer, cop cars, ambulances and whatever other emergency vehicles zoomed through the streets.

            I could smell burning human flesh nearby, a bitter, vile smell I wished I could forget, but I couldn’t react. I squeezed my eyes shut harder and tried to count to one hundred without the sounds of screaming forcing me to stop.

Writing Wednesday | Prompt 55

Nanowrimo | 2014

The Broken Curse | Alexius and Alexandros

Your first teaser for The Broken Curse is HERE! I'm going to spotlight some of the new characters and give an excerpt of when Ryder first meets them. Today we're shining the light on two of my favorite siblings, Alexius and Alexandros.
Here's the short exerpt.,,
"Ryder, I would like you to meet some of my dear friends. This is Alexius and Alexandros." Professor Onassis gestures to the two nearly identical people standing in front of us. 
Alexius is a dark vixen. Her hair hangs loose in long, black tendrils. Her soft, brown eyes are warm and inviting, and she smiles at me, her perfectly straight teeth white as pearls.
Alexandros is a mirror of Alexius, but his hair is cropped short and a bit darker. He's got deep eyes and tanned skin. He nods his head at me in greeting, but remains guarded, his wall firmly up. 

Don't forget to go to goodreads and add the book to your TBR lists. 
Have you checked out my Wattpad page? DO IT! I have a couple short stories up.

One Fine Blog Award

This isn't my normal Wednesday post; it's better! A shout out to +Rebekkah Niles for nominating me. Thank you, Rebekkah, and I accept whole-heartedly. 

Here's my job: 1. Thank the person who nominated me 2. Tell you 5 things about myself that you probably don't know 3. Nominate some other blogs
So let's get this thing started...
1. My engagement ring has the diamonds from my great-grandmother's engagement ring. We called her Gaga, but her name was Pauline Baldwin. She lived with me when I was very young and died in my house. So...my husband did a pretty good job there. 
2. I am obsessed with Lunchables. I know, I know. They have all these chemicals and are generally awful to consume, but I only like the cheese pizza and the nacho ones. I could eat a Lunchable a day and be completely content. I probably keep them in business.
3. This one is embarrassing, but I still sleep with my baby blanket. He, yes he, just chills in my pillow, but I sleep with him. My husband LOVES this. Can you sense the sarcasm? Anyway, he's my buddy and in really good condition for being 23 years old. Shout out to Blank!
4. My mom, Linda Hutchings, works for Pepperidge Farm. My entire childhood I lived off all things P. Farm. To this day we have cases of goldfish and milanos constantly in the basement. And to this day, every time I go to a Stop and Shop with my mom we have to fix the shelves and make them look pretty. 
5. I have something I've coined as hair ADD. I'm sure most of you know by now but I dye, cut, and style my hair different all the time. My family was happy on my wedding day when I had my normal blonde hair. Not even a week after the wedding my hair was chocolate brown. So yes, I have a problem, and no, I'm not ready to quit yet.
6. I had my real first kiss at a playground (my first first kiss was when I was in 5th grade, but I don't count that) to a kid named Kevin Allen. I think he was my first real boyfriend and this was in 7th grade. It was completely awkward and forced and just weird. 
7. When I was at Eastern CT State University, I met my husband and my best friend. We know that. BUT my best friend lived right next door to me and Chris was just a floor above me. We were in the smallest dorm, only two floors and we were the biggest group of misfits that somehow just fit together. It was easily the best year of my life. 
MY NOMINEES:
+Krista Quintana who's blog is Color Coordinated
+Danielle Rose my editor, from proseandconsediting
+Jesse Kimmel-Freeman from Her own website

The Last Legacy | Serial

A few weeks back I posted an excerpt from a short story I wrote. Surprisingly to me, a lot of people loved it and asked for more. So I got to thinking... To be honest, I can't afford to write another novel right now, between covers and editing and time, I just don't have it in me. But then someone on WattPad suggested writing a serial. I did some research, signed up, and decided to do it!  So, I'm happy to say that I've named the serial and have three episodes already finished! Yes, you heard right. Each episode is 6,000-10,000 words long. It's not edited, but I've self-edited and gone through it. 
The first season will have eight episodes, each in that window above. Each should be treated like a television episode. They have their own arc and plot, but are part of the bigger serial. I will start posting when I've finished them all, that way I can stick to releasing one episode each week. 
To get updates, follow me on WattPad. Here's the link. 

Writing Wednesday | Prompt 54

Friday Fun | October Update

Hey all! I have some really cool news and I'd love your feedback on a few new things I'm doing. I've recently discovered WATTPAD. I had heard of it but never used it. I've posted the first three chapters to all of my novels on there, so if you haven't read the books but want a sneak peak to make sure you like them, then stop on by. Also, I've been doing a lot of short stories for my creative writing class and I've decided to post some of them on watt pad. Most aren't complete, but some are really good stories. So I hope you check those out, too.  Lastly, I've decided to write a serial based on one of my writing prompts. It's called Survivors. After I finish the first season I'm going to post each episode (I'm thinking around eight per season) on Fridays. I'll try to post them here also, but I might just link them. SO.... Follow me on watt pad and check out what I've posted so far. I put up a story I wrote for my class about scene. I'll post it on here, but I really want you all to follow me on there!  WATTPAD PAGE Now, here's an excerpt of the short story. Remember, none of these are professionally edited, so they're just about story, not grammar. Read the rest on my page :)

Pygmalion and Galatea

He tapped his bite-marked pencil on his monstrous, mahogany desk as he awaited her arrival. As usual, his newest bout of interns was late, lazy and lacking. But his father instructed him to go through the motions. It was either listen to father go on about the company or go on about the fact that he had yet to find a wife and create an heir. Little did his father know, he loathed women in general—their wants and needs were foreign to him. He simply didn’t have it in him to fake his way through a relationship just for the sanity of his father.

“Mr. Wyse, the next intern is here.”

“Send him in.” His tone was clipped, hard. His secretary was a real pain the ass woman who’s voice grated on his every nerve. It wasn’t that he hated woman, he just didn’t have the patience to know them. He saw them as one purpose—sex. Random, one night, meaningless, emotionless sex.

A young woman, around the age of twenty five, if he had to guess, sauntered into the room. Her chestnut hair fell down to her butt in soft waves. He expected when he made eye contact that she would avert her gaze to the floor, but she held him with her baby blues, unafraid. He’d never gotten that reaction before. 

“Please, sit.” She did. And he liked that. He liked that she did whatever he said. An unwelcome thought of her face first leaning on the desk flitted its way into his head. But he pushed it away before she saw his discomfort.

“Tell me why you should get this entrance position.”

“Well.” She stumbled over her words and he thought, she is affected by me. “My name is Ginny. I just graduated with my MBA in Business Intelligence. I honestly was surprised when I went through the first round of interviews and got a callback.”

“This isn’t a play. There’s no callbacks,” he spat out. “Who interviewed you before me?”

“He had the same name as you, Mr. Wyse.”

+

If his father was going to throw attractive woman in his face, he would take matters into his own hands. He was only thirty—not old by any means. While he understood his father’s nagging, he also realized that he didn’t have to be married to have a child. So he would figure out a way around all of this. 

He’d create the perfect woman.

“Welcome back, Ginny.” He sat across from her, a stack of papers in front of him. His lawyers drew up some confidential work that he hoped Ginny would agree to. She was as near perfect as he could hope to get. Her long hair was beautiful, her contrasting blue eyes were liquid to him. Plus, he liked the little attitude she carried.

“I’m going to be honest,” she said, “I’m not exactly sure why I’ve been called her. The woman didn’t say it was an interview. I’m not prepared to be truthful.”

“This is a different kind of interview.”

“Okay…” He had to be careful not to scare her off. Being propositioned like this was an awkward task. He wasn’t sure how to begin, only he knew he had to rip the Band-Aid off before she ran away.

“I need you to have a child with me.” She stared at him with confusion written all over her face, from her wrinkled nose to her drawn together eyebrows. Maybe he was a bit too direct. But he didn’t know how else to be.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” 

“After that language, maybe I should be.” She stood from her seat and began pacing the room. He stood and went to stand by her. He took her by the elbow to stop her moving and made her look up at him. “I need an heir. I will compensate you very well. You can be as active or passive as you wish. But I’ll need at least a year of your life.”

“So what you're saying is; you want to use me to have your kid so your company will have an heir?”

“Basically, yes. Also, we’ll have to get married.”

“And why’s that?” She crossed her arms over her chest in disgust.

“My father is difficult. He requires it. We can fake an altercation and get divorced.”

“Why me?”

“You need the money. You’re beautiful. Why not?”

“You know having a kid is a big deal, right?”

“I do.” He nodded in agreement.

Neither spoke again. He wrote down his address and telephone number on a post it note and she left the office, her heels clacking with each retreating step.