Marie Lavender's "Second Chance Heart"

Hi guys! Today, I welcome author Marie Lavender. We're featuring her latest release, Second Chance Heart. Check out these wonderful meme's she's created that include excerpts. Great idea, Marie!

 

 

 

 

Blurb:

 

After a wild storm forces her to take shelter in a small town inn, Dana Nelson thinks that all she has to worry about is a brief stay before she heads back to the city. She gets far more than she bargained for…

The last thing she expects is to run into an old flame, and even worse, the man who broke her heart twelve years ago. She’s sure that the only thing remaining between them is a strong attraction for another.

She can’t be more wrong…

The more time she spends with Vince Reynolds, the more she begins to believe she can trust him again. But, can she put her faith in the one man who captivates her, body and soul, or are some wounds too deep to heal?

 

 

 

 

Author Bio:

 

 



Bestselling multi-genre author of UPON YOUR RETURN and 21 other books. Nominated in the TRR Readers' Choice Awards for Winter 2015. Poetry winner of the 2015 PnPAuthors Contest. The Versatile Blogger Award for 2015. Honorable Mention in the 2014 BTS Red Carpet Book Awards. Finalist and Runner-up in the 2014 MARSocial's Author of the Year Competition. Honorable mention in the January 2014 Reader's Choice Award. Liebster Blogger Award for 2013 and 2014. Top 10 Authors on AuthorsDB.com. Winner of the Great One Liners Contest on the Directory of Published Authors.

Marie Lavender lives in the Midwest with her family and three cats. She has been writing for over twenty years. She has more works in progress than she can count on two hands. Since 2010, Marie has published 22 books in the genres of historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, fantasy, mystery/thriller, literary fiction and poetry. Her current series are The Heiresses in Love Series, The Magick Series and The Blood at First Sight Series.

A list of her books and pen names are as follows:

Marie Lavender: Upon Your Return; Magick & Moonlight; Upon Your Honor; Second Nature; "Lovers Like Us" (featured poem from the book anthology, Poets & Writers in Action); A Little Magick; Second Chance Heart

Erica Sutherhome: Hard to Get; Memories; A Hint of Scandal; Without You; Strange Heat; Terror in the Night; Haunted; Pursuit; Perfect Game; A Touch of Dawn; Ransom; Leather and Lace

Kathryn Layne: A Misplaced Life

Heather Crouse: Express Café and Other Ramblings; Ramblings, Musings and Other Things; Soulful Ramblings and Other Worldly Things

Wow. What an amazing writing career so far. Keep it going, Marie!

Folks, check out all these links! Marie's everywhere! Be sure to visit her website and her blogs. :D

http://marielavender.com/
http://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/
http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/marie.lavender.58
https://www.facebook.com/MarieAnnLavender
https://twitter.com/marielavender1
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MarieLavender/posts
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/marie-lavender/27/187/10ahttp://amazon.com/author/marielavenderhttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6938764.Marie_Lavender
http://authorsdb.com/authors-directory/1578-marie-lavender
http://www.pw.org/content/marie_lavender
http://manicreaders.com/marielavender/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJu8HjRVYCFOqcIoX6ZxdqQ/videos

 

 



Kelly Abell's "Secrets of a Wolf"

Say Hello to Kelly Abell, writer of romance, romantic suspense, and paranormal romance. This is one busy lady! Welcome to the blog, Kelly!

 

 

 Kelly is the author of eight novels.  She writes young adult thrillers as well as adult romance, romantic suspense and paranormal romance. She writes about gripping characters in tense situations that keep a reader turning the pages.  She also spends a great deal of time helping other writers through her blog Write with Kelly (www.writewithkelly.wordpress.com), as the Vice President of the Paranormal Romance guild and a member of the Florida Writer’s Association.

When not writing, Kelly enjoys spending time with her husband of 30+ years and her two college age children, when they find the time. She lives in Florida and enjoys all that living in the sunshine state brings, boating, fishing, beaches, theme parks, and more. Her loves to read (what a surprise!) She likes Thrillers, Romantic Suspense, and Romantic Comedy.

Today, we focus on her upcoming release, available for pre-order now, Secrets of the Wolf, which is the first book of a series she calls, "Guardians of Spirit Rock". Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Check out the blurb here:

A tragic event ruins Daphne Valentine’s career as a K-9 cop and department veterinarian in Seattle. Devastated, she escapes to Spirit Rock, South Dakota, to start over as the vet for an animal wildlife rescue park. When she arrives, nothing goes quite as planned—especially when she meets her new boss for the first time and she’s almost stark naked. Not the greatest first impression…or is it?

A confirmed bachelor, Cameron Gray is shocked at his instant attraction to his new employee. He soon learns she carries quite a bit of extra baggage, but even so, his desire to possess the sexy vet ignites him with a need he and his wolf can’t ignore. But all is not what it seems…. What exactly drove Daphne to leave her successful career and move to Seattle?

When dangerous poachers bring the two together in the line of duty, Daphne discovers Cameron’s secret, forcing her to question every decision she’s made since arriving in Spirit Rock. Will the tender new love they’ve found be enough to hold them together or drive them apart forever?

 

Join the Gray brothers in Spirit Rock, South Dakota. Gifted with the power to shift into their own unique spirit animal, they have been bestowed with the enormous responsibility of watching over their ancestral canyon. Their strength and conviction will be tested…as will the depth and breadth of their heart and soul.

 

 

 

 

This looks like one exciting adventure. Jump in on the ground floor with the first book in the series. Preorder today!



 

Buy Link

http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Wolf-Guardians-Spirit-Rock-ebook/dp/B01A2HI0JS/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1451850386&sr=8-13&keywords=secrets+of+a+wolf

Contact Links

 

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/KellyAbellAuthor/?ref=hl

Twitter

www.twitter.com/kellyabellbooks

Blog

www.writewithkelly.wordpress.com

Website

www.kellyabellbooks.com

Kelly is also a graphic artist, guys, so go visit her here:

www.selectografix.com

Thank you so much, Kelly! Much success to you on this brand new series!

Mythbusters: The End of an Era of Calculated Chaos, Maniacal Mayhem, and Blowing Sh*t Up

As with any good television series, an audience is dragged in kicking and screaming, or at least, being anchored with high expectations for some damn solid entertainment. Few shows last more than a few years, as their premise wears thin, or their cast or production team changes. Enter unto the world of television, Jamie Hyneman (below, right) and Adam Savage (the other guy). Together with the help of narrator, Robert Lee, the Mythbusters were unleashed.

 

 

The balls to the wall insanity through science long term adventure (B2WITSLTA for short) began in January of 2003 with, of all things any male human of any age will eat insects to see, jet engines strapped to a Chevy Impala. From there, the first season kept me stupidly hysterical while at the same time educating me with...say it. SAY IT! Science! That first season set the formula for years to come: Myth explained, problem described on blueprints, sometimes solved on said blueprints, then to the build, and onto experimentation, where we were shown whether the myth was 'Busted', 'Plausible', or 'Confirmed'.

 

Season one's jet car, exploding toilets, pissing on the third rail, the escape from Alcatraz, and other things that may come in handy in a pinch, were covered that magical year. Season two carried right on with the carefully calculated madness. The ancient death-ray, beating a radar detector, salvaging a pleasure boat with ping pong balls and other things that made you smacking your forehead for not discovering, hypothesizing, and solving the issue yourself over the weekend came to our television screens. It was freaking magic!

 

On it went. The adventure and excitement, the running for cover and blowing sh*t up, and the education-almost-by-accident formula kept us all enthralled.

 

Then, 2005 happened.

 

For the first time at the forefront, the trio that were only seen in glimpses and credited as 'builders' in the credits, were knighted and given magical hosting powers. Kari Byron was there from the beginning, floating in the background and doing a lot more than just tinkering like Tinkerbell. Tori Belleci was also a builder from season two on. Then, there was Grant Imahara, another builder brought on in season three.

 

 

 

Viewers that paid little attention to these three were taken aback by this sudden stellar propulsion. I remember thinking something like...

 

 

 

Little did we know at the time that true scientific magic was going to come together to make the already amazing show something really special. While Jamie and Adam were the obvious head honchos, Byron, Imahara, and Belleci were never pressed into the background again. While their tasks may have been considered secondary to any given episode, they quickly made it clear that they were every bit as mythbustery as a mythbusting Mythbuster could become.

 

The series carried on with the five and we tuned in faithfully to see our favorite quintet play with the laws of physics, gravity, chemistry, aerodynamic principals...and blow sh*t up. They sparked the imagination of countless people, hopefully more in the positive sense, and became themselves, a linchpin of pop culture. So popular and quotable had they become, that even I got into the meme game, where I mashed Mythbusters in with a heavy dose of "Star Trek".

 

 

 

We Mythbusters Faithful were blissfully happy in our accidental education.

 

And then people happened.

 

In 2009, the Mythbusters set off a mass amount of a high tech explosive that shook the town of Esparta, California and broke some windows. Big Boo-Mother-Flippin'-Who! Am I right? What's a little broken glass in the name of science?

 

In December of 2011, there was a minor incident involving a cannon. It was the result of a great many variables lining up to kick the show's ass and again blemish their reputation. A cannonball was fired in the wrong direction, blowing through a house in Dublin, California and damaging a minivan.

 

Okay, so, no joke, I guess, but mistakes happen, and Mythbusters was always a game with high stakes. Perhaps these incidents were the beginning of the end of the era, or perhaps it was the rising cost of the cast, and/or insurance, but whatever it may be, all things must pass. At the end of the August, 2014 episode, "Plane Boarding/Bite the Bullet", it was formally announced that Byron, Imahara, and Belleci would not appear again. I remember being shocked, upset, and rather beside myself over this hammer-blow of an update.

 

With the three 2005 additions now gone, the thirteenth season of Mythbusters seemed like an empty nest. While there were glimmers of the original greatness, "The Hyneman and Mister Savage Show" seemed off. It started wrong, with a poor premise of testing stunts from "The Simpsons" and misfired throughout the rest of this year. For crap's sake, the 6th episode was testing the stunt featured in "The Blues Brothers", where they spun the car in a 180 to park in front of the Chez Paul and whether or not drift racing was quicker than traditional racing.

 

This went on for the entire hour.

 

Still, even that episode was fun to watch. It was like spending time with your grown-up high school friends after they sent their kids to bed. They had to be quiet to make sure that they didn't wake anyone up, but they're still your friends and still fun.

 

No, there won't be another show like it unless a miracle happens and everyone is hired back and allowed to party like it's 2-0-0-5, but what are the chances? Not good.

 

After fourteen seasons, the show will end where it began, with our dynamic duo of utter madness and nearly fearless shenanigans at the helm. So, for the Mythbusters Faithful, we'll watch and hope they go out with a bang, not a whimper. In any case, we are better, smarter, and more inquisitive people because of them.

 

 



 

 



My Teenage Christmas Ritual

Born in 1970, it certainly takes minimal mathematical skills to come to the conclusion that I was a teenager in the 1980's. It was a wonderful, strange, confusing, stressful, and often, heartbreaking time of my life. I'm glad for it, I sometimes want the magical ability to go back, and I'm glad that I can't.

Having lost my right eye in a household accident when I was four meant that I did not play sports in high school, stood out from just about everyone else and, therefore, was about as popular as rabies. I did manage to get along with just about anyone that bothered to speak to me, though that happened rarely, as I kept to myself. There were a decent amount of people I considered my friends at the time, mainly because they would have a decent conversation with me, or allow me to be funny. The pretty ones known as, 'girls', would usually just smile and nod politely.

There were a few bullies here and there, mostly left over from 'Junior High', which is what the kids today call 'Middle School', but they never caused me as much trepidation as the ones that seemed to waver back and forth between being friendly and being asses. I never knew where I stood with those people and they added to my stress greatly.

As for dating, I didn't. I had asked a few girls out early on in my Froshman (Yeah, I used an 'o' in that word. Deal.) and Sophomore years and quickly got the weirdness out of the way once I got shot down. Then, I just sort of gave up. It's not like I knew what in the world I would have done if one of them had answered in the affirmative.

Anyway, when the weather turned cold and the "Big Four" happened, attitudes of my schoolmates would change. There were smiles, costumes, gags and candy at Halloween, extra days off and family trips around Thanksgiving, the same around Christmas, but with gifts, and the anti-climatic, but still joyous New Year's Day. Even my fellow students who were on the fence with me as to whether they were dicks or not, generally weren't for that time, and the stress was off. We could smile, laugh, be stupid, and go home at the end of the day.

Christmas vacation, to me, meant a lot of time without my friends, save for one, and that was only for a brief time, as his family spent time elsewhere for Christmas. Yes, Gianfranco (a.k.a. John) Del Core, I'm lookin' at you, my bruddah. Love you and miss you. How's Canada? :D

Anywho...I got through the quiet times during the Christmas holiday with the help of music and video games. Mostly music. I listened to a great variety of things in my teenage years and still do. At the time, the '80's pop, hard rock, and metal got equal attention, but I spent a lot of time with the oldies as well, primarily The Beatles, especially around the holidays. I spent a ton of allowance money on vinyl records and many of them were of The Electric Light Orchestra, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Billy Joel, and pretty much the usual suspects. There were a lot of Beatles albums, too. These artists would come to my rescue, soothing that feeling of belonging nowhere. When I was at school, I wanted to go home, when I got home, I wanted to be at school. I think we all know that feeling.

In my little bedroom in the townhouse in Schiller Park, Illinois, I hung a string of Christmas lights, using paint-destroying Scotch tape, which was the standard at the time for my collection of posters and such. The string would start from one wall, dangle across the doorway, and continue around the head of my bed. It was an expensive string at the time, being about $15 for the 100 lights with every other one being a randomized blinker. It gave my little room a festive, if not a little bit melancholy, fluttering glow that I reveled in as I listened to whatever it was on my headphones while I cranked away at some Colecovision game, seated in my brown bean bag chair.

Invariably, late into night, I would move to my bed and listen to music on my big bulky Realistic Nova 16 headphones until I fell asleep. Usually, I'd get in a couple albums of some kind, before passing out completely. But, on Christmas Eve, if it was spent at home, I would pick a quirky little Beatles collection, entitled: "The Beatles Reel Music".

With the lights twinkling, I'd lay serenely, listening to the fourteen tracks and contemplating all sorts of things, like what my friends or perceived friends were doing at that moment, or perhaps what the girl or girls that I liked were up to. I would think about my distant future, my meager past, and wonder what I was yet to receive for Christmas. You know, all that teenager stuff.

Ah, those fourteen wonderful tracks. Amidst all the Christmas music on the radio, these classics I clung to like a child would a teddy bear.

I never felt more at peace.

Now, I'm 45 years old and life, of course, is a lot more complicated and dynamic in its ups and downs. Successes are celebrated no matter how small, and losses felt more deeply than ever before. There's a lot going on in the world, much of it wonderful, the rest horrifying. We're inundated with bad news on the television, mindless crap on the internet, and all on top of our daily routines, all of which are stressful. I highly recommend taking an hour or maybe an evening, picking out your favorite classic album or albums, a nice set of headphones (ear buds if you have nothing else), and let yourself go back to a time when your world was mostly unexplored. Do it this Christmas time. Just a little time for yourself. You know you deserve it.

May your holidays be peaceful, joyous, and full of love.



Say 'Hello' to Deborah Melanie

Hello, everyone! On the blog today, I am featuring author Deborah Melanie her latest novel, "Vivian's Vampire". Please welcome her and have a read of the exciting excerpts.

 

 

 

Blurb

She’s got a scythe, a severed head and she’s looking for love. 

Waitress Vivian Shawcross loves a costume party. When Halloween comes along, she can’t wait for the spooky fun to start. However, a mix up over her costume and a road diversion, are just two of the mini disasters she encounters en route to her ghostly night out. Stranded in a remote English village, isn’t her idea of fun, but when a gorgeous vampire is thrown into the equation, Vivian discovers that her fun night out has only just begun.

Excerpt One

 “Would you like a scythe? I’ve got a beast of a one here.” She watched him hold up the gleaming article, its silver blade, a fitting embodiment of cut and thrust. “It’s the best I can offer at this stage.”  She pursed her lips together in what she hoped was a display of annoyance.  He sighed. “A bloody head and the scythe? I’ve done a great trade in bloody heads this week.” She watched him reach under the counter, before holding aloft a bearded man, his mouth held open in a gaping ‘O’ shape. Proudly he displayed it to her, the blood dripping from the neck area, as it swung to and fro. “Personalise him. Give him a name. Let the accessory work for you. Picture it, scythe in one hand, head in the other. Don’t tell me it’s not a look the men folk wouldn’t clamour for.”  She felt her face flush red with frustration.  “Right then, scythe, head and I’ll upgrade you to the black velvet, hooded gown, with inside iPod pocket. Now I can’t say fairer than that.”  “Fine.” Vivien tapped her foot, her impatience obvious. “It will have to do. You need to know something though, Alex. I’m not happy. I’m your best customer. In fact, sometimes I think I’m your only customer. There’s never anyone in here, apart from me.” “That’s because I’m a discerning shopkeeper. I’ll have you know, I’m rather choosy when it comes to my clientele.” 

“There’s a recession on. You can’t afford to be choosy. You know I have great faith in you, Alex and I’m here without fail at all public holidays and celebrations, yet I can’t see how dressing as Death will win me over more men than the Sexy Black Cat costume. I had my nails painted in gothic black and even bought some PVC boots from the kinky shop around the corner. Even the boots won’t save this outfit. ” Shrugging his shoulders, Alex escorted Vivian around to the dressing area of his costume shop. “What can I tell you, Darling? It was an honest mistake. Rest assured, you’re going to rock this outfit.” “And how can you be so sure?” Vivian felt defeated, even before she tried the costume on. Her heart had been set on being dressed as a Sexy Black Cat and hopefully landing herself a gorgeous hunk of a date for the evening. “I know because you’re the sort of girl who can turn a disaster into a triumph. Any man worth his salt is going to love you in this outfit. There’s much more to you than PVC. Don’t sell yourself short.” 

Excerpt Two



She turned to the severed head on the passenger seat. “Looks like it’s you and me then, Bob. How are you at witty conversation? Not so hot eh? Well, that’s all right. We’ll be boogying the night away before you know it. And if you’re a good boy, I’ll even buy you a drink.” She turned the wheel to the left and saw a speed sign for 30, indicating that yet another village was around the corner. “I should have invested in Sat Nav, Bob,” she informed the head. “How’s your map reading? Ah, no need. I can see the sign. We are currently traveling through…” she squinted at the “Welcome To” sign. “Hell. Hell?” She stamped her foot on the brake, checked her mirror and reversed. Winding down the window confirmed her fears. Sure enough the cheerful road sign, decorated with seasonal hanging baskets, informed her that she had arrived in Hell.

Deborah writes stories describing life in England, with a backdrop of rolling hills and beautiful landscapes. She loves to write about small market towns and close knit communities .

Her stories are contemporary romance, with a little sugar and a little spice. Her stories often combinine her interests in the paranormal, comedy and food. 

Deborah is a keen photographer who loves to be creative and has designed many book covers, for independent authors and an established publishing house.

  

   

   

    

Click the flags to purchase the book in the US  or UK

Thank you, Deborah Melanie for being on the blog today. This looks like one fun read, guys. Don't pass it up! Until next time, take care, everyone!

What Should Be Bothering VW TDI Owners

I woke up this morning to find a Volkswagen ad on my Fb page. I noticed the '3.3k' total of comments and became curious about what was being said. I was horrified to see all the pro-VW and 'f**k the EPA' comments among them. It's terrible to see so many people missing the point on this deceptive software issue. A lot of comments were from owners bragging about some pretty impressive MPG numbers. While it may be true that the cars use the diesel fuel more efficiently, the end result is the introduction of NOx in the atmosphere, which is BAD for ozone, contributes to visible smog, and is BAD for people with emphysema or chronic bronchitis (me being part of the latter).

Now, anyone that knows me understands that I love cars and am extremely loyal to my American-built Subarus. I love my ridiculously reliable, comfortable and indefatigable AWD Outbacks, but even I would question my loyalty if they had pulled such shenanigans. I believe VW to be an overall decent company that has made some fantastic cars over many a decade and I sympathize with loyal VW owners that bought one of these NOx-ious vehicles (even some diesel Audi owners are getting the news that they have the bad chip---Yes, they are the same company), but if they don't understand the horrifying implications of such a deep level of corporate fraud that allows dangerous pollution to be added into our atmosphere, I have to wonder about our future.

I admit, great fuel economy would be hard for me to turn my back on. I love my car, and it would be fantastic if its range would be greater. However, it would be devastating to me if I found that the company was buying my loyalty through fraud and damaging the air that everyone depends on to live. All car companies want to make their owners happy by delivering more than what they promised. They want to make that car that delivers magical gas mileage, incredible reliability, and heart pounding performance. At the same time, they have to sell enough of them to stay in business, so they have to deal with a bunch of different countries with a dizzying amount of different, perhaps conflicting, laws.

It's impossible to please everyone on this rock, but a company shouldn't resort to fraud to circumvent laws created for the good of the Earth and the quality of human health. VW TDI (diesel) owners need to understand the seriousness of the issue and become educated on the particle, NOx, that their cars are exuding. Please check out this link and read the section, "Environmental effects".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOx

Also, check out this article by Forbes:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2015/09/23/dieselgate-what-vw-tdi-owners-should-know/

I give VW of America a lot of credit for taking responsibility and promising to take action to correct the issues. See the link for a word from the CEO:

http://www.vwdieselinfo.com/?cid=sem_w9QQH23Q_10254433533_c

So, there you have it from every side. I believe the problems will be corrected and that the majority of the VW organization wants to do business ethically and has been for years. For those owners that wish to remain ignorant or evenly oddly defiant of the issue, well, that's up to you.

Peace, kids.

Jennifer Foxcroft with Her Debut Novel

On this Monday blog, I am happy to welcome Jennifer Foxcroft and her first novel, Sanquine Mountain--Book One in the Camazotz Trilogy

 

Author Bio:

Sanguine Mountain—Book One in the Camazotz Trilogy—is the debut novel of Jennifer Foxcroft.

 

Jennifer was born and raised in Australia. She spent her youth dreaming of far away lands and the crazy critters that inhabit them. When she wasn’t swimming in the backyard pool or training the family pet to ride a bicycle, she would visit those magical lands and accompany her characters on their exciting adventures. Even as an adult, her daydreaming of fanciful lands never ceased. To this day, she regards herself as a teenager trapped in an adult body. This series is a glimpse of the characters and places she often visits.

 

Jennifer adores animals of all shapes and sizes, so it’s no wonder her first series features shape shifters.

 

 

Sanguine Mountain blurb:

Connie Phillips has never told a lie—until now.

 

An anonymous letter shatters the world Connie thought she knew and trusted.  The news that her parents aren’t really her own leaves her angry, devastated and alone.  The search for the truth leads her down a dark, desolate forest road where she meets a boy in the shadows who has secrets of his own.

 

Rockland’s life has been ruled by an ancient curse since the day he was born.  Forever labeled a misfit and a rebel, he is desperate to convince his leaders that integration with the modern world will be the salvation of their kind—not their demise.

 

After their worlds collide in the middle of a dark forest, Connie and Rocks strike a deal to help each other find the answers they both need—away from her lying parents and the judgmental sneers of his colony.  But can they find love on their journey to discover who they are and where they belong in the world?

 

 

Teaser from Sanguine Mountain:

We stay holding each other for a while and it’s nice. He’s warm. It’s so easy being with Rocks even though I barely know him. He smells of the forest or the moon. It’s weird to think he could smell like the moon, but his scent is clean and fresh. I bite the inside of my cheek and pray he can’t read my mind. The last teenage boy I was this close to didn’t smell this good.

Rocks suddenly jerks back. He’s out of my reach. His eyes are giant and dark, full of fear and something I can’t describe. He grabs the fob watch from his waistcoat pocket and the silver lid clicks open. The noise seems loud against the night.

“What’s wrong?”

“Shit.”

“What?” My blood pressure is suddenly at ‘run, girl, run’ level again. Regardless of the connection I feel, I don’t know this boy at all.

Anguish is the only word that I can use to describe the look contorting his features. I want to tell him he’s scaring me, but I think he knows.

He grabs the back of his neck with both hands and looks up at the sky before squeezing his eyes shut. His muscles are taut in his arms as though he’s trying to hold on to something invisible I cannot comprehend. What the hell?

He twists at the waist left and right, repeatedly. He’s breathing loudly in through his nose and out through his mouth. He folds his bent arms around his head, but the tension is still visible. Then he doubles over and takes a loud deep breath. When he stands, he flicks his hair back and looks deep into my eyes. I can’t breathe.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, and then he’s gone.

Rocks has vanished.

He was standing in front of me a second ago; now he’s gone. Simply vanished into thin air before my eyes.

I look around. No hot, Goth guy to the left, or right. Jumping off the car, I peek around the bumper, expecting to see him crouching in the darkness. But he has simply vanished—without a trace. This isn’t possible.

Am I losing my mind?

I’m suddenly aware again of the isolation of this dark stretch of forest road. My parents think I’m at Tiffany’s house painting our nails, and I just revealed a hell of a lot of personal information to a complete and utter stranger, regardless of whatever my gut was telling me. I can almost feel Horror Movie Girl’s disapproving glare.

My chest tightens indicating a need for my inhaler, but my lungs aren’t wheezing. Where did he go? How could I be talking to a six-foot-whatever giant boy and have him disappear INTO THIN AIR?

“Rocks?  Rocks, please.”

An owl hoots overhead.

The cool air chills my skin. All I can hear in my ears is the hammering of my heart. I close my eyes and focus on my breathing.  Something isn’t right. I need to take control, fill the water tank, start my car and get the hell out of here. Now that I’m still and a smidgen calmer, I swear someone is watching me. Spinning around, I’m convinced I’ll come face to face with Rocks. Mere inches from my face, movement catches me off guard and I scream.

 

 

Links:

Twitter:   https://twitter.com/MsJenFoxcroft

 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jenniferfoxcroft.author

 

Website:  http://jenniferfoxcroft.com

 

GoodReads:  http://bit.ly/1GD44b3

 

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1Gk34Z6