Poetry for poetry's sake

MOONLIGHT

Your soft whispers

are the waves’ voice

spraying on the rocks.

The sparkle in your eyes

is silver moonlight

on the sea.

Your chest

to which I press my cheek,

is summer sand-

and

your love

is found on the salty breeze.

Far gone…

We kissed goodbye,

but never touched,

I reached out a hand

and grasped only mist.

Cross post: Thursday writing prompt

OMG After last week, and the sudden rash of edits I've brought on myself, I'm feeling pretty tapped out. Do you ever get like that? You know our brain is there, because your body is functioning, you're thinking about stuff, but no matter how much poking, prodding, or pleading it doesn't brings about anything useful.

This happened right in the middle of me deciding Screw it, I'm going to write what I want. I had one of those moments at the inception of BROKEN. I was having it again, and it was glorious! I had files open for research, for character names, quotes I liked... *sigh*

Then reality came crashing in. And then I got up this morning and realized today's my day on the Oasis. So... with my brain kinda scrambled, I'm taking the coward's way out and giving y'all a writing prompt, and my take on it.

 

If y'all want to play, please play nicely. Constructive comments to help each other out!

My take:

Dust whisks up with each hesitant step. Dry, raspy whispers drift through the room, loosed by paint peeling from the ceiling. Even with the pitted walls, broken furniture and window panes, it's beautiful. Memories hidden in my blood rise, images of this place in its height of glamor. My heart clenches, fingers drift down to feel the silk of the gown I am not wearing in this life. The moments are so similar--except for decades in between. Then, and now, I wait for Aidan to appear.

He did. I know he will. Hunters never fail. 

God. I never thought, at the beginning of the school year, that I would end up here, so many memories unlocked, with Aidan chasing me, trying to save me from the inevitable.

I thread on creaking floors past the toppled piano, to the hole in the plaster, led by the knowing that sings in my soul. Anticipation rushes through me, a heady mix with the adrenaline of the chase, of knowing Aidan is bound by oath and by blood to stop me, or end my life. The small hole in my jeans rips when I bend down, and red falls to muddy the dust. The box is here, as I knew it would be, the rosewood gleaming through a fine silty layer.

I ache to have that life back, to be what I once was. It only takes opening that box, and using the vial inside.

A crash echoes through the theater, and Aidan's presence races my nerves.

It's now or never. So why am I hesitating?

BROKEN ARC contests & TEASER TUESDAY

I don't think I will ever tire of posting that picture. *sigh* It's just so PERFECT. Trust me, when y'all read it, you will get to a certain point and TOTALLY GET IT ^_^

But, this is more of an update post than a 'Lookit me I have a pretty' post. With the cover revel last week, some mighty fine bloggers launched contests to win ARCs of BROKEN. Are you interested? Want your mitts on a hot-off-the-press copy before most everyone else? Here's a list of the lovely bloggers hosting:

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
WRITING FROM THE TUB
MY BOOK JOURNEY
CHAPTER BY CHAPTER
I LIKE THESE BOOKS
POISONED RATIONALITY
MOONLIGHT BOOK REVIEWS

But hurry some of them end soon!

And because this is fast becoming a semi regular feature on the blog, here's our TEASER TUESDAY snippet frm BROKEN:

The drab gray walls are even more morose with Alex walking away from them. I don’t look at my parents as I follow him to the front door. When he pauses, the rest of the house could fall away into black, the world with it. Alex fills my vision, the resigned expression from dealing with my uptight mother melting into the expression just after the amazement I see every morning. One part tender, one part joy, all of it mine. He laces his fingers in mine, and pulls me closer. Then closer still. Kissing distance. With a motion of his chin he tucks my head to his shoulder and slides both arms around me.

I melt into him, breathing in the warmth of his skin. I can taste the smell of leather and Alex on my tongue. If he kissed me now, I wouldn’t mind. One arm loosens, then he slides his hand up my sleeve, across my shoulder to my chin. With gentle pressure, Alex guides my face toward his.

The look on his face is more intimate than any kiss.

“Have sweet dreams tonight, Emma.”

New post on Old Things

Edits are done with BROKEN, at least the first round. I'm hesitant to jump into my SecretBook until I know what's going on with further edits. The voices are so different, and I don't want to muddle things, so I opened up my favorite YA and started reading yesterday.

Is it sad to admit I got sucked in? I mean, I wrote it, I know what happens. The tension is high from the start, pace is a tight. It's a darker, more vicious world than BROKEN. To compare the two is like comparing apples to oranges. Sucked. Back. In. *sigh*

Chapter One

I bounce my gaze from the red Xs on my calendar, to the scuff mark on my white bedroom door, to the person walking along the shoreline outside. No amount of shuffling around my room puts me ahead of the pain I’ve been trying to outrun. My walls swim, the wood floor rocks. For one brief second I think about yelling for my dad, but I know there’s no help coming from him. He says this misery is all in my head. Well, I wish someone would tell the beast trying to claw its way out of me that it’s just a figment of my imagination.

My knuckles whiten in my grip on the window sill. Sick gurgles rise from my stomach, tight and rolling, threatening to throw back the burger and fries from dinner.

Outside, moonlight halos a guy standing on the beach, face tipped to my window like he can smell my agony. His eyes are feverish bright and boring into me. Go AWAY! I want to scream, but nothing’s coming through my locked jaws. I glare across the yards of beach sand, willing him to leave, but his eyes only open wider and he hunches suddenly like he’s hurting too.

Freak, I think and drop the mini-blinds.

Heat slashes across my body, burning under my skin and ripping free visions of being peeled from the inside. Muscle spasms tug on joints feeling like puzzle pieces in the wrong places. I suck in a rattling breath and stare in horror as my fingers convulse and curl. The lunar misery drives me to my knees, and I sink as the floor pitches and sways in my vision.

This pain eclipses what I’ve suffered before. Unbearable, like bombs going off in my chest and skull.

Daddy, I cry silently, Daddy help!

Somewhere downstairs Dad jacks the TV volume to drown out my moans.

Nerves on fire, every breath searing my lungs, I claw at my curtains for fresh air and snag the cord on the blinds. They rocket up into the housing, then rip from the window and clatter to the floor. My vision tunnels to the source of my personal hell. Hanging fat and full in the autumn night sky outside my window, the moon watches me slide toward a black out. Just before I lose consciousness a wolf’s howl shatters the night.

BROKEN's COVER REVEAL

Isn't it gorgeous??

This is almost perfectly ripped right from a scene in the book. Emma, her dress, the cemetery... I know it wasn't planned that way, but it couldn't be more perfect. It's like the artist  Steven Wood reached into my brain and plucked it out for y'all to see. Eerie, and beautiful! And look at that title!! I friggin love how the artist worked into the cemetery gate! LOVE IT *happy sigh*

And the blurb by Trinity? *dies of the happy*

"Hauntingly beautiful, achingly romantic, and edge-of-your-seat scary..." 

TRINITY FAEGEN, 

author of The Memphisto Covenant Series

There's tons going on today, too.

On top of the cover reveal, we're revealing the first chapter! That's right. I've been teasing y'all with little snippets. Well, today you can read the entire first chapter in a fun and interactive way. Interested in reading?? Start at Trinity Faegen's BLOG, and follow the links!

Interested in possibly getting your hands on a ARC when they're available? There's a chance to win one at these different review blogs!
Down the Rabbit Hole
Moonlight Reviews
Writing from the Tub
Daisy Chain Book Reviews
My Book Journey
YA Reading Group @ Bluewater Waterstone's
Chapter by Chapter
I Like these Books
Poisoned Rationality

Many, many huge thanks go to my editor, Strange Chemistry and Angry Robot, Steven Wood, and all the blogs participating in the reveal today. I'm honored and blessed and humbled by their show of support.

You can add BROKEN to your Goodreads lists HERE
You can preorder BROKEN on Amazon HERE
You can also preorder BROKEN on Barnes and Noble HERE

TEASER TUESDAY: BROKEN "Villainous things"

Well, I am in edits, and having fun remembering the tingly chemistry between Alex and Emma. Scenes pop up and I think, "Aww, I remember this one!" Seeing as I just hit this little tidbit, one of my favorites, I figured I would share it with y'all...

“You’re not,” I stress, “required to open my locker for me, y’know.”

He pauses, cold light hitting the planes of his face. “You’re right. I’m not. But I feel like I should be.”

“Helping a damsel in distress?” I tease.

“Don’t talk like that!” His smile turns devilish, and he winks. “It makes me think about your dress and…” he leans whisper-close and says in a husky voice, “villainous things.”

TEASER TUESDAY: BROKEN lunchroom snippet

Credit for the photo

 Seeing as I'm editing, and just hit this scene, I thought it would be fun to share. This gives you a good feeling for Emma and her friends at Shelley High...

Unedited excerpt from BROKEN:

“Wassup, Em?” asks Bree’s friend Jason Weller, pretty in a not-interesting way, and normally the leading male role in any Shelley High theater production. “You going to the dance this weekend? I hear Bree has some kickass costumes picked out for you guys.”

“I don’t know.” I turn it around on him. “What’s she dressing you as?”

“Oh…” His smile is perfectly practiced when he feigns interest in buffing his nails on his sleeve. “We have a theme this year. It will be ah-mazing.”

With Jason, everything good is “ah-mazing.” And for a straight guy, he has damn good taste. Well, not in girlfriends. When it comes to girls, his taste is somewhere between airhead and bitch. But I don’t judge...