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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

My Own Mr. Darcy Cover reveal!







After being dragged to the 2005 movie Pride and Prejudice by her mother, sixteen-year-old Elizabeth’s life changes when Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Darcy appears on the screen. Lizzie falls hard and makes a promise to herself that she will settle for nothing less than her own Mr. Darcy. This ill-advised pledge threatens to ruin any chance of finding true love. During the six intervening years, she has refused to give any interested suitors a chance. They weren’t Mr. Darcy enough.

Coerced by her roommate, Elizabeth agrees to give the next interested guy ten dates before she dumps him. That guy is Chad, a kind and thoughtful science teacher and swim coach. While she’s dating Chad, her dream comes true in the form of a wealthy bookstore owner named Matt Dawson, who looks and acts like her Mr. Darcy. Of course she has to follow her dream. But as Elizabeth simultaneously dates a regular guy and the dazzling Mr. Dawson, she’s forced to re-evaluate what it was she loved about Mr. Darcy in the first place.






Karey White grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist.

She loves to travel, read, bake treats, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four great children. She teaches summer creative writing courses to young people and is currently working on her next book.















Excerpt 1

Janessa folded her arms and looked at me for so long I started to squirm. “What?”
“I wish you’d look at yourself. You’re ruining your life with this stupid obsession.”
“I’m not obsessed.” I stood up quickly, nearly tipping my chair over. I rinsed my plate and put it in the dishwasher. I could feel Janessa’s eyes on me the entire time, but I refused to look at her. “And just because I’m not interested in this guy doesn’t mean my life is ruined.”
“Let me guess. Was he blond?”
“Knock it off.”
“Too short?”
“He wasn’t short. I’ve got to go.” I left the kitchen with Janessa on my heels.
“Was he too cheerful?”
“Oh brother. I’m not having this conversation with you.”
Janessa grabbed my arm and turned me toward her. “Yes, you are.”
“I’m going to be late for work.”
“Then we’d better talk fast.”
“I don’t have anything to say,” I said.
“Then I’ll talk. You listen. You have to start giving these guys a chance.”
I folded my arms tightly. “I give them a chance.”
“You give them one date, two at the most. But you’re not really giving them a chance because your mind’s already made up before you even go out.”
I was getting annoyed. “I don’t have time for this conversation again.” Janessa was practically reciting word for word what she’d said after my last date. And the one before that.
“Lizzie. If you don’t want to have the same conversation, do something different. Shake things up a little.” She smiled and did a little shimmy. I refused to smile no matter how silly she looked.
“How do you suggest I do that?”
“If this guy… What’s his name?”
“Chad.”
“If Chad calls you back, go out with him again.”
“I don’t see the point.”
“Did you get a serial killer vibe from him?”
“No, I got a nice-guy-that-doesn’t-deserve-to-be-led-on vibe from him.”
“Nice guys are good. So you’ll say yes, right?”
“If I’m not interested, it wouldn’t be fair to say yes.”
“Oh knock off the baloney. You haven’t been fair to a guy since high school. You’re just afraid if you get to know a guy, you might like him. And wouldn’t that be awful? Was Chad funny?”
“Yes, he was funny.”
“Handsome?”
I sighed. “I don’t know if I’d call him handsome, but he was cute.”
“Cute is good. Especially if he was funny. So go out with him again.”
“You act like it’s all up to me.” I walked to the closet and collected my purse. Like a tiger leaping on her prey, Janessa pounced at the bowl on the entry table and grabbed my car keys. “This isn’t funny, Janessa. I’m going to be late for work.”
“Then let’s make a deal. You agree to go out with him ten times before you toss him aside and I’ll give you your keys.”
“Ten times? No way.”
“That’ll give you time to get to know him.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I’m serious, Lizzie. Ten is a good number. In that amount of time, you can make a real decision. Instead of one based on a stupid movie.”
Now Janessa was skipping through a minefield. “It’s not a stupid movie and I’ve got to go.”
“It’s the stupidest movie in the world if it ruins your life.”
“Nothing’s ruining my life and I’m going to be late. Give me my keys and we’ll talk about this later.” A little tussle ensued as I tried to rescue my keys from her clutches. I almost had them when she darted to the bathroom and shut the door hard and fast, locking it behind her. “This is real mature.”
“I don’t care about mature. You’re my best friend, Lizzie.  I love you and I’m trying to save you from yourself.”
I banged on the door. “Give me the keys. Now.” My voice had become shrieky.
“I’ll give you the keys as soon as you promise you’ll go out with him ten times.”
“I doubt he’ll ask me out again.”
“Why? Were you a jerk?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
I hesitated, knowing I hadn’t been very good company. “I’m pretty sure.”
“If he doesn’t ask you out, you have to ask him.”
“No way am I asking out a guy ten times. No way!”
“You just have to ask him out once. If he doesn’t return the favor you can move on. But you have to be nice to him and give him a reason to want to ask you out again.”
“This is the dumbest idea you’ve ever had.”
“Listen Liz, I’m doing this for you. Give a guy a chance before you give him the old heave-ho.”
I leaned my head on the door. “Just give me the keys. Please.” Now I was whining.
“You’re the one keeping yourself from your keys. And probably true love.”
I looked at my watch. Now I’d have to risk a speeding ticket or get to work five minutes late. I wasn’t sure which was worse—a ticket from a police officer or a tongue-lashing from Delia.
“Fine. I’ll go out with him again if he asks me.”
“And?”
“If he doesn’t ask me, I’ll ask him?”
“Right. And how many times will you go out with him?”
“Way too many,” I said under my breath.
“I can’t hear you.”
“Ten times. If he asks me.”
The door cracked open. “And you’ll be nice to him?”
“Whatever you say. Now give me the keys.”
Janessa emerged from the bathroom and triumphantly dropped my keys into my outstretched hand.
“You’re an idiot,” I said.
“An idiot that loves you and wants you to be happy,” she said. She turned and headed down the hall. “Someday you’ll thank me,” she sang.
“If I don’t kill you first.” I slammed the door behind me.



Excerpt 2

It was a busy Monday morning. I was looking out at the line of waiting customers when he walked in. I gasped, shut my thumb in my cash drawer, and then tried not to cry while Mr. Sandoval from a hearing aid store asked me if I was okay.
When I finished Mr. Sandoval’s transaction, I looked at him again. He was taller than anyone in the room. Of course. His hair was dark and a little disheveled. It was hard to see from where I was, but his eyes looked like they were blue. And best of all, he didn’t smile. He looked gorgeously unpleasant and impatient. He looked around the room and his eyes met mine. Still he didn’t smile. My heart was racing. He looked perfect.
I did my best to time it so I’d be his teller. I went a little too fast with one customer and accidentally shorted her a twenty dollar bill. I tried to concentrate as I corrected the transaction. I slowed way down on the next customer, but just when I thought I was finished and would be able to help him next, my customer asked me to break a ten into change. He walked up to Courtney’s window while I counted out nickels and dimes. Furious, I stomped my foot. Not too loudly but enough to release a little of my frustration.
I listened closely as Courtney helped him to see if I could learn anything, but he hardly spoke. He gave a terse nod when Courtney thanked him for coming in and turned on his heel and left. He had excellent posture and a nice, confident stride.
I finished with my customer, and then before anyone else could step forward, I picked up the phone and dialed Courtney’s extension. She glanced at her phone’s display and looked over at me curiously.
            “Who was that?” I whispered when she picked up the receiver.
“Elizabeth, look how many customers there are.”
“I know. Just tell me who that was.” I watched as Courtney picked up her last transaction slip.
“His name is Matt Dawson.”
“Is he married?”
“I have no idea,” Courtney said.
“Was he wearing a ring?”
“I didn’t look. What’s going on, Lizzie?”
“I just need to know about him.”
“Well, I don’t know anything about him and Delia’s watching us. I’ve gotta go.”
Matt Dawson. Matt. Matthew. Like Matthew Macfadyen. Dawson. It was pretty close to Darcy. The only way it could be better is if his name was Fitzwilliam but I’d never met a Fitzwilliam in my life.
Matt Dawson.
This had to be a sign.  




a Rafflecopter giveaway





My review of Vengeance



Blurb:
In dystopian America, sixteen-year-old Kaleigh finds out quickly what having a big mouth and not enough brains to keep it shut can earn you. A one-way ticket to the work camps that no one even knows exists.

Nuclear war has ravished the nation, and a century later, the survivors are living in an entirely new world. In a society where everything is decided for you, from where you work to who you marry, dissidence is not taken lightly.

But, even inside the camps, Kaleigh’s fiery spirit refuses to be extinguished. In a single moment of defiance, she manages to spark a riot that ignites into a full-blown rebellion.

With growing numbers counting on her, not just for their freedom, but for their very lives, two different boys vying for her heart, and trouble brewing from within the camp itself, can Kaleigh find a way to step up and become the leader everyone is counting on her to be, or will even the most carefully laid plans come crashing down around her?

My Thoughts: I'm a big fan of Jamie. I find her writing fresh and witty. This novel does not disappoint. Plenty of action in Vengeance, and humor!! I could not but help wonder if this was how it was during Nazi German days with its repressive government and totalitarian regime Kaleigh and Connor are the main characters I enjoyed, each are very likable. I also cried for Peter.  This is a story that doesn't disappoint! Jamie as an awesome series going here!!
FIVE Happy Faces!!




Blurb:
Things aren’t always as they seem. In fact, in a world of secrets and lies, almost nothing ever is. But, Kaleigh made her choices and now she has to live with the consequences. 

Haunted by her guilt, Kaleigh is forced to question everything she thought she knew. From friends and foes, to loyalty and love, she’s quickly losing faith in herself and those around her.

Everyone she cares about has been launched to the front lines, but can Kaleigh find the strength within herself to keep fighting? Or, surrounded by loss, deceit, and betrayal, will her fiery spirit finally be extinguished?

Author Bio:
Jamie Canosa is a full time author of YA literature, which she absolutely loves. When she’s not writing or spending time with her family, she can usually be found with her nose in a book. She currently resides in Ravena, NY with her wonderful husband and three crazy kids . . . plus the dog, the bird and the rabbit.
Her debut novel, Dissidence, was published in 2012 along with several novellas, including ‘Temptation’, the first in her Heart and Soul mini-series, and her contemporary NA romance, Fight or Flight.

She currently has several projects in the works. Another (spin-off) contemporary NA romance, Sink or Swim, coming in July, the fourth and final installment of the Heart and Soul series coming in August, and the sequel to Fight or Flight, entitled Now or Never due out this fall.







Author links:






Sunday, June 23, 2013

Wind Warrior by Jon Messenger

6th day of the Clean Teen Publishing post!!


Wind Warrior by Jon Messenger
(NA- Paranormal)
Available Today!

Amazon link:

THE EARTH GIVES WAY TO THE SEA,
THE SEA BOWS BEFORE THE WIND,
THE WIND FEEDS THE FLAME,
THE FLAME BURNS THE WORLD OF MAN DOWN TO THE EARTH.

The sleepy town of White Halls harbors a dangerous secret. On a picturesque street, two houses down from a lovely little park, in a quaint little home with a wraparound porch, lives a family that seems rather normal. Sure, their twenty-year-old son, Xander, still lives at home, but he's going to college and dating the leader of the schools top sorority. It's all very... normal.  However, when a man is miraculously saved from being hit by a bus, Xander's life turns in to the living embodiment of the tornadoes he can suddenly create with a flick of his wrist. Whether he wants this gift or not, Xander must learn to use his new 'super power' quickly if he wants to survive.  For his kind is a dying race, and when this sleepy town has a sudden influx of new, blonde, fire wielders, no one is safe, especially Xander. It doesn't help that one of these blondes happens to be the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Xander can't deny the instant connection he feels to her so, when she tries to kill him, it certainly makes things complicated.
 
Excerpt from Wind Warrior (From Chapter 15, Secondary Characters- Sean and Jessica):
            Sean pulled back the curtain and glanced outside the window for the hundredth time that day.  Nothing obscured his view of the parking lot and the road beyond.  Despite the densely parked cars in the parking lot, he saw no sign of the blonde haired fire wielders who had attacked him and Jessica.  The strangers seemed to have gone as they came.
            He let go of the curtain and let it fall back into place.  Though it seemed as though the Fire Warriors hadn’t followed him to his apartment, Sean refused to let go of the nervous breath he was holding.
            After all the time that had passed since the fire in the park near Xander’s house, no one had heard from his best friend.  On the few rare occasions in which Sean ventured out from his apartment, he had asked some of Xander’s former classmates if they had seen him, which none had.  He hadn’t been to the school nor returned to his parent’s home.  His friend had, for all intents and purposed, vanished.
            Pushing himself off the couch, Sean walked toward the kitchen.  His refrigerator was running dangerously low of food but there was always food to make into a decent snack.  He knew the jokes Xander would make about eating as a nervous habit but Sean felt justified in being nervous.
            As he opened the refrigerator and started pulling out lunchmeat, he heard a gentle knock on the door.  He froze, his hand unmoving around the plastic turkey container. 
            “Go away,” he whispered into the room.
            He didn’t know who was at the door but he honestly didn’t care.  He doubted Xander would knock so gingerly and no one else would be bringing him good news. 
            Sean slid the turkey package out of the refrigerator as quietly as possible and softly closed the door.  Logically, he knew that the person on the other side of the door couldn’t hear his refrigerator closing.  Normal people couldn’t hear that, he had to remind himself.  His best friend could control the wind.  The people that were hunting him could throw fire from their hands.  There was no telling if super hearing was another of their hidden super powers.
            As he reached toward the stack of bread, the same person knocked again at the door.  Glancing around nervously, his eyes fell on the bottle opener magnet hanging from the fridge.  Sean pulled it off the fridge and held it in front of him defensively.  He left the kitchen and walked toward the door.
            When the person knocked for the third time, it seemed far more insistent.
            “Who’s there?” Sean asked, trying to force some mock confidence into his voice.
            “It’s Jessica.”
            Sean visibly sagged with disappointment.  He almost wished it were one of the Fire Warriors.
            “What do you want?”
            “Can you open the door?” she said pleadingly.  “Please?”
            Sean sighed as he reached out and unlocked the door.  As he pulled the door open, he was surprised to see a fairly disheveled Jessica standing before him.  Loose tendrils from her shoddy ponytail hung over her face.  She didn’t seem to be wearing any makeup, aside from the obvious lip gloss that caused the unnatural shine on her lips.  She wore a loose-fitting blouse that was heavily wrinkled.  Sean couldn’t remember ever seeing her looking anything less than fully composed. Despite her obviously harried expression, she still found the reserve to frown at her nemesis.
            “Sean,” she said.
            “Wicked Witch of the West.”
            She opened her mouth to offer a sharp retort but quickly thought better.
            “What are you doing here?” he asked.
            “I didn’t know where else to go,” she admitted sheepishly.
            “You didn’t have GPS on your broom?”
            Jessica smiled humorlessly.  “Are you done?”
            “Not by a long shot,” he replied.
            “Go ahead.  Get them all out of your system.”
            “You figured the inside of my apartment would keep you out of the life-ending rain?  Your flying monkeys ran out of likely candidates to kidnap?  You do realize I don’t even have a dog named Toto, right?”
            “Can I please come in now?”  Something in her voice caught Sean off guard and the humor seemed to bleed out of the situation.  He nodded and stepped out of the way.
            As she entered the apartment, he closed and locked the door behind her.
            She walked a few steps inside before turning toward him.  Glancing down, she noticed the bottle opener in his hand.
            “What’s that for?”
            Sean looked down and seemed equally surprised to see it still clutched in his hand.  “I don’t know.  I figured I could stab someone with it if I had to.”
            “You got that from the kitchen?” she asked.  “Why didn’t you just get a knife?”
            Sean was genuinely dumbfounded by the question, especially since he didn’t have a logical answer.  He tossed the bottle opener onto the couch angrily.
            “Shut up.  You still haven’t even told me why you’re here.”
            “I told you, I didn’t know where else to go.  I’ve been totally freaked out ever since the other night.  I’ve barely slept.  I’ve barely eaten.”  Her voice lowered to a soft whisper.  “I think one of those blonde guys has been following me.”
            “And you came here?” Sean yelled before throwing a hand over his mouth to silence himself.
            “You came here?” he said again in a harsh whisper.
            “I told you.  I didn’t know where else to go.  No one else would believe me if I told them some guy set my car on fire using only his hands.  You have no idea how hard it was to explain what happened to my car to my dad.  I had to give him some totally crazy story about a drunk homeless guy.”
            Sean stormed past her before pausing in the doorway to the kitchen.  “Did you even stop to consider what would happen if you really were being followed?  You could have led them right to me!”
            “Oh, yeah Sean.  You’re practically 007.  Everyone’s trying to hunt…”
            The words faded from her lips as someone knocked on the door.  The stern knock was the complete antithesis to Jessica’s soft knocking from earlier.
            Jessica started to whimper but Sean stepped forward and clamped his hand down over her mouth.
            “Stay quiet,” he whispered.
            Sean slipped past her and eased his way to the door.  Leaning forward, he glanced out the peephole.  The man on the other side of the door was unmistakable.  His close-cropped blonde hair and dark leather tunic looked identical to the man that tried to kill Sean at Xander’s house.
            “Is it?” Jessica asked, leaving the end of question hanging.
            Sean nodded as he inched his way back to her.  The Fire Warrior banged loudly again on the door.
            “Let’s just not answer,” she offered.  “He’ll go away eventually, right?”
            “He followed you here, remember?  If he wants in, he’ll just burn the door down.”
            “Then what to do we do?”
            Sean stroked his hairless chin.  “You’re going to open the door.”
            “Oh no, I’m not!” she replied sternly.  Jessica placed her hands on her hips and flipped the few hanging tendrils of her blonde hair out of her face.  “If you want the door open, you’ll have to be a big boy and do it yourself.”
            Sean frowned.  “You’re going to open the door so that I can attack him.  Unless you want to attack him, that is.”
            Jessica quickly shook her head.  “No, that’s fine.  I’ll get the door.”
            Sean disappeared into the kitchen as Jessica moved to the door.
            “Ready?” she asked.
            Sean leaned around the corner and nodded.  She held up three fingers and silently counted down.  When she dropped the last finger, she unlocked the door and threw it open.
            The Fire Warrior on the other side seemed temporarily startled.  He quickly overcame his surprise and stepped into the room, chasing after the retreating Jessica.
            She stumbled backward and fell into the middle of the room.  The tears already threatened to fall down her face as she stared at the frightening warrior entering the room.
            The Fire Warrior smiled wickedly and extended his hand.  The tips of his fingers ignited as flames danced over his hand.
            “Sean?” Jessica sobbed.
            “Here I am,” he replied, stepping through the kitchen door.  He held up the large red cylinder in his hands and pointed the nozzle at the confused Fire Warrior. 
            “Suck on this, dude.”
            Sean squeezed the handle to the fire extinguisher and the far end of the room was consumed in white powder.  The cloud sprayed over the Fire Warrior, extinguishing the flames on his hand, as he was covered head to toe in white foam.  Sean held down the handle until the small extinguisher ran dry and sputtered in his hand.  As the cloud settled, the entire room was coated in white foam, to include an undignified Jessica who sat sputtering on the floor.
            The Fire Warrior coughed loudly as he seemed frozen in confusion.  Sean paused, realizing that he hadn’t thought through his plan beyond spraying the man with the extinguisher.  Despite him being coated in inflammable foam, Sean was still facing a vastly physically superior man.
            “I really didn’t think this through,” he muttered as the Fire Warrior reclaimed his wits and stormed toward Sean.
            Sean gulped and dropped the extinguisher, as though releasing the weapon would alleviate him of the blame.
            The warrior reached Sean in a few large strides and grabbed him by his shirt.  Despite Sean’s weight, the Fire Warrior lifted him from his feet and pinned him against the wall.
            “Can’t we talk about this?” Sean said meekly.
            The blonde warrior merely growled at him.  The Fire Warrior leaned in, his nose mere inches away from Sean’s face.  Sean could practically see the fire burning behind his dark eyes.
            A hollow thud suddenly echoed through the room.  The smoldering glare in the warrior’s eyes disappeared as his eyes rolled up into his head.  The Fire Warrior pitched to the side, his arms going limp and releasing Sean in the process.
            Jessica stood behind the warrior, clinging to the extinguisher like a club.  She looked nervously at the unconscious Fire Warrior.
            “You think he’s going to be okay?” she asked.
            “Who cares,” Sean replied, laughing nervously. 
            Jessica dropped the extinguisher and smiled weakly.  Sean returned the smile before spreading his arms and motioning her forward.
            “You did great,” he said as they hugged one another in relief.
            For a long moment, they stood straddling the unconscious blonde man, embraced in each other’s arms.  Suddenly, as though remembering her surroundings, Jessica stiffened.
            “You know that we’re only hugging because I’m so relieved to still be alive, right?  Nothing more?”
            Sean nodded quickly.  “Of course.  Sure.”
            “I mean,” she continued, “if it weren’t for the fact that someone just tried to kill us, we wouldn’t even be caught dead in the same room, right?”
            “Sure,” he said softly as he took in the smell of her hair cascading past his face.
            She paused and turned her face toward him.  “Did you just smell my hair?”
            Sean arched an eyebrow as his face flushed in embarrassment.  “No, no, of course not,” he laughed nervously.  “That would have been weird!”
            “This moment’s over,” she said sternly, pushing him back.
            As they separated, Sean inadvertently kicked the unconscious Fire Warrior.  The man groaned softly.  The pair looked at each other again, suddenly remembering what brought them together in the first place.
            “What are we going to do about him?” she asked.
            Sean shrugged.  “I guess we tie him up?”
            “He makes fire out of the air, Sean.  What’s to stop him from just burning through his ropes?”
            “Then we put him in the shower?” he offered.  Her withering stare ended that train of thought.  “No, you’re right.  That was a stupid idea.”
            Jessica shrugged.  “Yeah, but I don’t really have a better one.”

About Jon Messenger:


Jon Messenger (Born 1979 in London, England) serves as an United States Army Captain in the Medical Service Corps. Since graduating from the University of Southern California in 2002, writing Science Fiction has remained his passion, a passion that has continued through two deployments to Iraq, a humanitarian relief mission to Haiti, and an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. Jon wrote the "Brink of Distinction" trilogy, of which "Burden of Sisyphus" is the first book, while serving a 16-month deployment in Baghdad, Iraq.

Wind Warrior is Jon Messenger's break through novel published through Clean Teen Publishing.

Twitter: @JonMessenger
YouTube: Watch the trailer today! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PbsBD3XeT4

Phrase for today: The wind feeds the flame

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Wonderstruck Anthology!!





Wonderstruck Anthology is now available! Get Wonderstruck TODAY from Amazon!


Add Wonderstruck to your Goodreads to be read list

When you look at a picture, what do you see? We gave authors around the world the challenge to write a story based on a set of five images. More than thirty authors rose to that challenge and created an amazing young adult anthology of drabbles, short stories, novelettes and novellas for you to enjoy. Flip the pages and prepare to be Wonderstruck!

Dive into a world where wind is a power that feeds the flames and love makes everything more complicated. A life where a scorned bride can cause a great deal of trouble and a place where silence as you will find out has a lot to say. Find yourself in a future where a powerful enemy can only be stopped by the most dangerous weapon of all: the truth. All of this and more lies within these very pages... Are you ready?

Wonderstruck is Clean Teen Publishing's first break through Young Adult anthology. All stories within this book have fallen within our YA rating scale, however, not all stories have young adult characters. You will find a great deal of entertainment within Wonderstruck that is appropriate for readers of all ages. To view more information on our official content rating system please visit: www.cleanteenpublishing.com

Winning Novella-
Wind Warrior by Jon Messenger  (Clean Teen Publishing Author of Wind Warrior)
The sleepy town of White Halls harbors a dangerous secret. On a picturesque street, two houses down from a lovely little park, in a quaint little home with a wraparound porch, lives a family that seems rather normal. Sure, their twenty year old son, Xander, still lives at home, but he's going to college and dating the leader of the schools top sorority. It's all very... normal.  However, when a man is miraculously saved from being hit by a bus, Xander's life turns in to the living embodiment of the tornadoes he can suddenly create with a flick of his wrist. Whether he wants this gift or not, Xander must learn to use his new 'super power' quickly if he wants to survive.  For his kind is a dying race, and when this sleepy town has a sudden influx of new, blonde, fire wielders, no one is safe, especially Xander. It doesn't help that one of these blondes happens to be the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Xander can't deny the instant connection he feels to her so, when she tries to kill him, it certainly makes things complicated.


Winning Novelette-
Pastiche by Maren Dille     
A punishment far worse than death awaits Alim Hamal. Sylin Incorporated has a particular sentence for their rogue assassins: uncovering the darkest moments in their subconscious, then watching as they relive them through virtual simulation. Only one assassin has ever escaped. Alim plans to be the second.

The simulation demands the truth, something Alim has kept from his employers at all costs. But as his final moments emerge, Sylin will discover that the truth is Alim’s most dangerous weapon.

Winning Short Story-
The Silent Man by Kati Ellis
I thought my time with Silence would be peaceful. Heaven knows I deserve it after all those years of raising babies. Silence, however, had a different plan. If it weren't for Marigold, I don't think I would've seen it. She introduced me to the Silent Man, and Silence, as it turns out, has quite a bit to say.          

Winning Drabble-
A Lady's Revenge by Jennifer Bull
A scorned bride can cause a great deal of trouble...

Wonderstruck Authors (By Last Name)
Radeyah H. Ali           
Drabble~ Magically Fitted

Gabrielle Arrowsmith (Clean Teen Publishing Author of Concealed in the Shadows)       
Drabble~ Joah and the Beacon of Light

Beau Barnett              
Short Story~ Into Eternity
Eric, a widowed paralytic, knows he is dreaming when he sees a younger version of his deceased wife, Jessica, by a lake with his old dog. But the joy of seeing them again is replaced by the pain of knowing they won't be there when he wakes up.

Jennifer Bull               
Short Story~ A Wizard's World
When Jack stumbled upon a strange jar in the middle of the forest he found the one thing he had always wanted—a friend, and now he’ll do everything he can to protect her. Born into a world unlike any other, a world within a jar, Lottie longs to explore beyond her glass home. Little does she know that even the smallest adventures can have dangerous consequences…
Drabble~ Life in a Jar
Drabble~ Round and Round I Go
Drabble~ Once In a Blue Moon

Liana Chau    
Drabble~ Ahead and Beyond

MeMe Collier              
Short Story~ The Fairy Jar
Gracie doesn't believe in magic. Disillusioned by their mother's abandonment, she dismisses her younger brother, Brennan's, claim that he's caught a fairy. But as the invisible Ileana works in her family's lives, memories of their mother's fairytales tug at Gracie's mind. They call into question everything she's come to place her faith in, making her wonder if magic really does exist and if love still lives on after loss.

Leah D.W.      
Short Story~ Watery Grave
There is something in the water...something dark...something hungry...
When Ashlynn escapes from a life of abuse she is thrown into the swamplands rumored to harbor a nightmare. She should have listened to the rumors because there is something in the water...and it loves the taste of human flesh

Julie Gilbert  
Drabble~ Keio and the Farsight Fire

Lisa Goldman             
Short Story~ Oafish Me
In Oafish Me, teenager, Misty, considers herself a social outcast—an oaf—as her classmates remind her every opportunity they get. When Drake, a charismatic and gorgeous new student, stays by her side through their constant ridicule, she discovers she not only longs for a friendship with him but for the first time, a relationship. With her raw emotions on the line, she accepts his invitation to go out but when he takes her to a secluded wooded area, she starts to question if he is her knight in shining armor or her worst enemy.

Dominique Goodall
Drabble~ Fairy Capture
Brenna Harden         
Short Story~ A Warriors Journey

Sandra Havriluk       
Drabble~ Jedidiah

Sacha Hope
Novelette~ Glass Heart
Wolt is a brilliant scientist trying desperately to cure his wife's condition. Doctors suspected she had a type of cancer and their medicines offered little help to the ailing woman. Wolt finds a way to buy time for his wife, but his experiment turns her into something else altogether...

Erin Liles        
Novelette ~ Outside the Walls
Outspoken, seventeen-year-old Jenna hates the settlement she lives in where disagreement is frowned upon. Fed up, she leaves one day, and meets a group of outsiders, only to discover that her home and family are in danger. It is up to Jenna to save them and in doing so, discover what is really important.

B.T. Lyons
Novella~ Heartkeeper Short Story
It only took fifty years for humankind to plummet from the turmoil of a population of ten billion people to a struggling group of two billion trying to figure out how to survive in harmony with the Earth. Under a new, peaceful societal structure, people have relearned their connection with the Land and the spirits of nature that live there. Young Adain has just reached thirteen years of age, and must undertake the dangerous Heart Chase to secure the spirit of an animal that will act as his conscience and companion for the rest of his life. It will be a year of trials and challenges, but the risks to the People may be even higher as someone else binds with an animal spirit that may not have their best interests in mind...

Short Story~ Peace
London in the late 1800's is a dirty, chaotic, and above all, loud place embroiled in a scientific war with neighboring France as each strives to outdo each other with technological wonders. A young married pair of university professionals finds themselves at odds over the benefits of this war: Nigel only wants to see England prevail – preferably through his own inventions – whereas his wife, Christine, dreams of quiet and a natural world that she has only seen in storybooks. Enter a street-side vendor offering “Peace In A Bottle”; this might be the answer to Christine's greatest desires, but it could be the beginning of Nigel's worst nightmare.

Julie Marcinik            
Short Story~ The Executioner
Vivian Fletcher has a gift that’s given her a special place in the kingdom—the King’s personal executioner. Everything and everyone she touches dies. When she finds out that the world she’s living in is full of lies and turmoil, she’ll have to accept her gift and use it to right the wrongs.


Mia Marin      
Drabble~ A Note To My Traveler
Drabble~ A Dear Dalliance

Miranda Maurin       
Short Story~ The Dance of Time
Tabitha and Carter are a little too daring when they run through a tunnel to investigate the mysterious music they heard while running through the woods. The cave is well lit, and the dance looks fun, but they can't seem to stop.

Veronica Morfi          
Drabble~ Shine

Ifeoma Ofuani           
Drabble~ He Would Be Great

Paula Phillips             
Short Story~ Skye in High School Wonderland
It started out just like any normal day for high school Plain Jane Skye Salisbury until tragedy strikes her school and out of nowhere, a glimmering hole appeared. The question on everyone's minds is—what lies at the bottom? Will it be another world or a different dimension?

Jocelyn Sanchez        
Novella~ A World Unlike Mine
What would you do if you could see magical creatures from the early age of five? Well, for seventeen-year-old Tasha it gets pretty difficult when a fairy prince named Thomas appears with news that will change her life forever. But with the help of her best friend and pixie, Seamus, Tasha will find her place in a world so unlike hers. Will she rise to the occasion and become who she was destined to be?
Drabble~ Night
Drabble~ Darkness and Light

Cindy Saunders (Clean Teen Publishing Author of Double Star)
Short Story~ Nirvana
She looked at the picture she’d painted many years ago. It was a magical place—a place inspired by her dreams. Though, tonight it almost seemed... alive, as if it were calling to her.

Clemy W. Thompson            
Drabble~ The Truth

Dana Wright
Drabble~ Fairy Lights



Phrase for today: Prepare to be Wonderstruck!