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. 

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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