A Happy New Year to You!

A wish to everyone that is so kind to follow my blog for a very happy new year.  And in the case of my fellow authors...a year of published manuscripts!

Crush by Lacey Weatherford

Crush by Lacey Weatherford

Crush was a surprise for me.  I am going to place this Novel in the New Adult catagory due to one of the characters being older, however it does take place in a high school.  Cami is the main character, a nerd by association but a hot one.  The new guy in school arrives, Hunter, and immediately feels an attration.  The prologue to the book tells us that a boy died of a drug overdose during a dance.  Hunter is the bad boy...introduced as the guy looking for a hook up and some good drugs.  But when he ends up sitting behind Cami in almost all his classes, due to the alphabetical order of things, he finds himself drawn to her.  Cami, being a good-two-shoes, as Dace prefers to call her, frowns upon his partying ways but feels the same uncanny attraction.  The antagonist in the story is Cami's childhood friend Clay decides he wants to be more that friends and begins to persue her.  There is a huge twist in this book that I can't tell you but it is worth the time to find out.  I really liked how the author wrote the character of Hunter.  Occationally there were times I thought the writing left the realm of teenager, but overall it fetl connected to the characters.
I give it three out of five stars.

Fade (The Ragnarok Prophesies) by A.K. Morgen

Fade (The Ragnarok Prophesies) by A.K. Morgen

I have had this book on my kindle for awhile, I love the cover art and that drew me to buy it.  This is a New Adult book, the characters being in college.
I had the opportunity to read a little excerpt of this book before it was published and I have to say the small changes that were made were exactly what was needed to draw the reader into the story.  The main character is a girl named Arionna.  Arionna's mother dies and she goes to live with her father in a small college town.  The death of her mother is a thread through the story but is not a primary story line.  Ari's first day on campus leads her to Dace.  Dace is mysterious and of course beautiful and most importantly connected to Arionna in a way no one is really sure about.  I loved how the author used mythology to tell the of the past that drew these characters together and slowly divuldges bits of information to add characters and suspense of the story line.  This book takes a new look at shifters and there place in the world.  The characters were vivid and I felt like I knew them.  Dace was developed in a way that we all wish a boyfriend would be.  My only complaint about this book is that it leaves us with a cliff hanger and I can't find any information about whether the author is currently writing the sequel.  If not...I encourage her to begin.  If in the midst....please write faster! 

My Favorite Mistake by Chelsea M. Cameron

I found this book when I was lurking around the NA Alley blog.  I have to say my new favorite books are New Adult.  My Favorite Mistake falls into this catagory.  Along the lines of Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, this book follows the girl hates boy, boy challenges girl, girl falls for boy pattern.  Although that is greatly simplifying the plot and it works very well in this book.  Taylor, the MC, has a past that has made her leary of men.  Hunter the protagonist also has a past and isn't willing to open up, using a quick wit and smart ass attitude to deflect any questions.  When Taylor and her room mates are one room mate shy in their campus houseing, Hunter gets assigned.  To make matters worse they are going to have to share a bedroom.  Taylor's past rears its' head through violent outbursts and after barely an hour together she welcomes Hunter with a left hook and a knee to the balls. Watching these two grow in their relationship and discover they each have a past that has made them vulnerable and in need of love, is intensly fun and Hunter grabbed my heart. I have to commend the author for her writing. I loved the quick banter between the characters as Hunter chips at Taylor's walls and Taylor never backs down, shooting his crap right back.  A sucker for good dialogue...I couldn't put the book down.  The story line is quick and adds twists and turns to a well used pattern in romance.  I highly recommend this title. 

Correction on Voting Location

Thank you to Aldrea, "thank you", my NaNoMo book Screamers is under Speculative Fiction/ Sci Fi.  Vote! Vote! Vote! Yeah!

Curiosity Quills NaNoMo Contest

The NaNoMo contest at Curiosity Quills is gearing up!  You have until December 28th to vote for your favorite entries.  I would greatly appreciate anyone who would like to got to their website, to the NaNoMo tab and find my entry under Urban Fantasy called Screamers.  Votes would be appreciated so I can move on to the next round. 

Got back into the gym which means I GET TO READ!

Going to the gym for me doesn't only mean I am being honest when I go to the doctor and he asks me if I exercise, what it means is I get an hour, YES! an HOUR of uniterrupted time to READ!  Yeah!

So I was lucky enough to win a copy of EVER, from Jenna Russo herself after she chose the title of my NaNaMo manuscript as her favorite in a blog hop.  By the way the title was Screamers.

Anyway, I zipped through it in no time.

REVIEW OF EVER, by Jenna Russo

Ever, is the story of a seventeen girl whose best friend Frankie died in a car accident, but has chosen to stay with her in her house instead of moving on. Frankie has been in her house for two years and Ever is kind of hitting her limit with her pent up feelings.  She's holding onto a love she knows she can't have while longing for a real life, solid, boyfriend.  But as we all know...be careful what you wish for. I do not usually read ghost stories so was curious how I would like this one.  Well I loved it and I am frustrated that I went to Jenna's blog and saw her word-o-meter and discovered she isn't done with the sequel yet.  Ah! 

The story draws you in from the get go.  The writing is great and the banter between the characters is entertaining.  The over all story is suspenseful, you know that something is up with the hot new neighbor and you want to yell out for her to stay far away from him but you aren't sure why.  Toby and Frankie, the boys in the book are decribed in a way that I wanted to know them.  I was a little jealous that Ever had two hot, caring guys drooling over her.  This book has twists and turns and builds the tension adding conflict with a variety of characters and always having that tension fall back to Ever having to deal with it.  Even though the ending sets up a perfect sequel it didn't leave me hanging in a way that I felt I had unanswered questions...well I do but so does Ever so I guess we will suffer together until the sequel comes out.
Definitly recommend this for you book shelf.

Book Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

It was hard, but during NaNoMo I was reading The Raven Boys.  I need to begin my review by recommending Maggie's blog.  She has a great sense of humor and recently has really been trying to reach out to the youth that are reading her books.  Highly suggest stopping by.
On to my review.  Basically I loved it.  I do not know how she does it but she totally made me fall in love with her characters.  I was emotionly connected with them and through the book she throws in twists and turns that grab your heart and squeeze.  I really liked that she did her research and went more for a supernatural thread as apposed to the shifting theme of her last series I read (although I equally loved those books.)  The idea of reading of palms, ley lines, and ancient powers, was a fresh idea that I really enjoyed.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention one little complaint and that is....dare I say it....I didn't like the ending.  Or more accuratly I didn't like the last sentence.  It just ended.  There were loose ends and I was a little confused as to what had happened, (I don't want to elaborate because I don't want to be a spoiler) and the last sentence seemed akward.  It did leaving me drooling for a sequel but also scratching my head saying "what".  I envy Maggie's writing style and know it is a good...no.... great book when I can't get it out of my head.  Five stars definitly.

And you are....

1. How many speeding tickets have you gotten?
Three and that is only because the small town I live in has quotas for the police.  Sadly I got two on the way to church. 

 2. Can you pitch a tent?
Tent?  After going through survival training just give me some pine needles and tree boughs and I'll make my own tent!  Ha ha!  But when back in civilization I can put up a tent even when the hubby forgets the stakes.

3. What was your worst vacation ever?
We were on a weekend away with the kids and had left the hotel to goof off, returning late into the evening, and discovered that the hotel had shut down.  New management came in and closed the hotel.  Which was probubly a good idea since we had ran back at lunch to see a drug deal going down...however they locked everyone out of the hotel.  All our stuff was locked in the office and no one was there.  We called the police and the nice officer told us if it was him he would break in, but of course he couldn't advise us to do this, but was nice enough to drive away so we could.  My huband and son borke the door down and got our stuff.  But it was a busy weekend and midnight and we couldn't find a room anywhere cheap so ended up in a honeymoon suite in a super fancy (great use of adj.) place.  The kids thought it was awesome!

4. What was the last thing you bought over $100?
My puppy Dasy and she was worth every penny.  Does the new carpet we have to buy now count too?

5. We're handing you the keys to what?
The door to my FREEDOM so I don't have to work and I can stay home and Write!!!6. What was the last meal you cooked that made even you sick?
Well, I have problems with my immune system and am constantly developing new allergies to food so it isn't uncommon for me to cook something and my face to swell up and I have to get the epi pen out.  The last thing I cooked was paella with quinoa and spent the night throwing up.

7. Fill in the blank: Oh my gosh! Becky, look at her butt! It is so big. She looks like a ?  Not sure about this one.  I don't often look at womens butts.  Mens most certainly but womans...not so much.

8. What was your first car?1984 Chevy Cavelier.  Stick shift. I thought I was so awesome!!

9. Your best friend falls and gets hurt. Do you ask if he/she's okay or laugh first?
I tend to not be too sympathetic.  So I would probubly stand and stare blankly at her.

10. What's the worst song ever?
Putting on the ritz by Taco
Hate Hate that song

The power of Arthur...yes the children's book character

In beginning a  new unit on Narrative writing in my 2nd grade class room I have the students watch a variety of Arthur cartoons.  Arthur experiences very normal things in these videos.  One he wants a puppy and figures out a plan for getting a dog.  Another he gets glasses and another takes place on picture day and his best freind Francine has a very bad hair day.  Each of these videos shows the kids that even their simpliest day has the potential to be a story if they look at the events through the eyes of a writer.  After we watch the initial stories we then watch Arthur Write a Story.  In this one he takes one of the events from earlier...getting a puppy and writes a story.  Here is the connection to my own writing and publishing companies.  Arthur gives a very nice story to his friends to read and they all have advise.  The first friend tells him a story is not interesting unless it has romance, so he adds romance.  Another tells him a good story has aliens so he adds aliens, you get the idea.  So by the end of the video Arthur has lost HIS story and created a random story that has all the elements the friends wanted but lost his voice and his heart.  Sometimes I feel that when we jump through the hoops of writing and publishing this happens to us. I have had a variety of writing partners that have shifted my story and I have to step back and say no, this isn't the story I wanted to tell.  Funny how a childs cartoon can help me remember I need to please myself in order to be proud of whatever I put out there.

I did it! I made it! Whooop Whoop

Doing a happy dance around my kitchen as I type.  I had planned out my day tomorrow to finish the last 2000 words and then sat down and BAM! I finished.  Nothing better than seeing that WINNER sigh flash across my page.  YIPPEE

I'm not sure I'll make it!

I'm at 37743 words and I have three days left.  Sickness, thanksgiving, college son returns...so many interruptions but I will not give up until the last minute has passed.  Only 12,257 words left. ") That is 5000 words a day.  I CAN DO IT!

Writing Class

Spent the day in an inservice for writing for elementary students.  Love to hear the ideas we are given to make students love to write. Exposing them to great literature, lots of opportunities to write, all good ideas...but I have to say I believe that everyone can write but not everyone is a writer.  I think it is important to give kiddos the skills and not fight them to develop a passion.  Not everyone has stories screaming to come out.

First Sentences

I am currently a part of a workshop on the blog Ink in the Book, wonderful workshop!   We are currently working on first lines of our WIP.  Which I agree is so!! so!! important when pulling your reader in.  However the process makes me think Hmmmm?  We are all working so hard at developing this beginning but REALLY, how many books have we read that you think "Is anything ever going to happen?  Who are all these characters?  What is going on?
I especially had to stop and wonder after I was reading Twitter and one of the authors I follow was asking if the current book she was reading ever got better.  All the responses were just keep reading....it picks up in the middle...  Don't give up it starts slow.  And I had to again ask REALLY?  Are we really giving these authors a free pass at boring beginnings?
So today I am sending out a great big ATTA BOY to my fellow authors who are working so hard to write a beginning that catches us and won't let us go!  Keep up the good work.  And I send extra magical wishes to all of you that a publisher will read your beginning and love your story.  

Books for a Good Cause

To help out the American Red Cross and so many of the people who suffered through Hurricane Sandy go to Curiosity Quills or Shanon Bayliss's blog for titles where the authors have agreed to give 50% of the procedes of sales to help those in need.  Books are available thorugh Amazon but check out all the titles available.  Big thanks to the authors!

NaNoMo Chugging along!

Couldn't believe I was two days in and I got sick!

Ryan Winfield: South of Bixby Bridge

So I found this book on the side of my Facebook page.  I didn't realize someone could advertise their book there but Hey! it got me to go find it on amazon and put it on my kindle.
This is an adult book with very adult topics.  Primarily about a man who has just finished rehab and is looking for a way back into the world.  I liked the book and had a hard time putting it down.  Very vivd language and description and I actually felt really bad for the guy and wanted to yell "Stop!  Don't do it! Things will get better!"  What I found odd was the style of writing.  It was written in a "tell voice"  as if the author, or the guy is telling us the entire list of events.  It actually is only the span of a few weeks and it seems like a lot longer.  He will write....and then so and so said.  Instead of actually having them say it.  Not a quotation in sight.  At first I thought, how in the world did a publisher let him get by with that?  They are always harping on show don't tell.  Well he does show and the farther into the book I got the more I realized how important that it was down this way.  It is really like he is telling this story of the horrible path he is going down.
I would recommend this for a reader of a bit more steamy novels.  I found the writing style interesting and the events believable.  It was refreshing to read a coming to terms with yourself book from a man's point of view.

Operation Agent

Things that make you go Hmmmm....

I sent a query and first chapters of to a publisher that requested New Adult books.  They asked for revisions, asked for chapters, kept me waiting for a little bit.....then sent me a very nice email that said they don't represent Contemporary.  Wouldn't they have noticed the genre in the query and the first pages to have saved us a lot of time and anxiety?

NaNoMo

Day three and I am averaging 1000 words a day.  At this rate I won't finish until December 5th which is past the deadline so I think I need to step up my volume!  I am going to set a goal to write for at least an hour every morning before work.  If sleep doesn't interfer I should be able to do it!

NaNo Writing Month

Super excited to start this tomorrow!  Fingers get ready...set...and GO!

Welcome Super Villians!

Query:

Dear Super Villain,

Emma’s life is far from perfect.  The system had made sure of that.  If living in a residential group home wasn’t bad enough, her love for the bad boy of the school, Luke, solidifies her place as an outcast.  Growing up without parents had been tough, but even Emma knows love isn’t controlling or jealous.  When a boy who flirts with her is killed, Emma knows Luke had to have been involved.

Pulled into a world of Native American legend, Emma’s powers of telepathy begin to emerge.   Able to hear the thoughts of those around her would be an advantage, that is if Luke wasn’t able to block her.  As her powers grow stronger she learns Luke is a Skinwalker—a witch who alters his shape to wreak havoc on humans.  Disguised as a raven, Luke watches, waiting until Emma turns nineteen so he can reclaim the powers that are rightfully his, even if it means killing everyone in his way.  When Emma meets Solomon, a young medicine man, he offers her protection. But knowing what happened to the last person she befriended, she pushes Solomon away.  When the connection with Solomon becomes too strong, Emma knows she can’t turn her back on her first chance at love.  She must learn to use the powers she’s been entrusted with to defeat Luke, or risk losing Solomon's love.   IT’S YOU is a NA Romance, that tells the story of healing, with a supernatural thread driving the story.  It is complete at 96,000 words.

 Thank you for your time and consideration

 First Page:

 

         Eighteen Years Ago

            The sides of the cave dripped as the storm blew in sheets of rain. Thunder boomed outside, echoing through the hollow darkness.  The room was small, lit only by sconces attached low on the wall.  Five men stood unmoving, clad in tribal brilliance, their long black hair swayed slightly with the cold breeze.  A crumpled figure lay before them, his skin glistened with a dampness. The man shifted, strong black wings emerged from his back, pumping as he struggled to his knees.  Hands bound behind him, he used his shoulder to wipe the blood from his mouth.

            “Untie me.”  His voice reverberated through the hollow cave.

            “You have to take responsibility…,” one of the men spoke.

            “Untie me!” he yelled.

            The men lifted their heads to the heavens.  A voice echoed through the walls.  “Your gifts will be taken for the duration of your punishment.  You will live among the Earth dwellers until your trial.  Take this time to redeem yourself.”

            The man pumped his wings again, a powerful current of air circled the cave.  “You cannot judge me.  I will not live among them.  I will not live as one of them.”

            “The choice is no longer yours.  It was not the intent of your gifts to use them for your own pleasure.  You were sent to protect the tribes, not abuse them.”  The voice grew stronger at the man’s defiance.

            “My gifts will find me.  They call to me.  They cannot be hidden. What has been given to me will not be taken away.”

            A bolt of lightning struck his chest.  With a guttural growl he arched his back, clenching his jaw, refusing to show pain as his heart was removed and his powers stripped. 

“They are no longer yours.”  The voice echoed through the cave.

                                                           

  Chapter 1

           

I threaded my fingers through my long blonde hair, lifting it off my neck to pull into a ponytail. I cringed when my fingers grazed the greenish purple bruise at my temple.  Luke and I had gotten into another argument and I’d gotten to cross country practice late.  I hurried to catch up with the pre-workout stretches.    

            “Holy crap Emma what happened to your head?”  My best friend and running partner, Greg, looked over from where he sat on grass.

            “Luke and I bumped.”  I settled in the cool grass next to him.

            Greg let out a loud laugh.  “What where you guys doing?”

            “Not what you’re thinking.  It was an accident.”  Or at least that’s what I’d convinced myself.

“So are you two…like dating?”  Greg stood up and placed his hand on my shoulder for balance while he stretched his quads.

            “I’m not sure we’re officially dating.  The Ridge frowns on fraternizing.”  The Ridge was the group home where I’d lived since the eighth grade, when my last foster home fell apart.    

“Fraternizing?  What are you?  Like eighty?”

I shrugged.  “That’s their term so it probably came from someone who was eighty.”

“Em, you’ve spent every waking moment with him this summer, and when you’re not with him he’s texting you to find out where you are. That is the definition of dating.  Or at least stalking.”  Greg’s words faded as he took off running, leaving me behind. 

Forbidden verbs

My son is in college and taking an English 101 class.  His professor has what are called forbidden verbs.  Which in old school terms would be your linking verbs, is, are, has, had, have...Now I understand that they are not the strongest of verbs and she is trying to get the kids to make their sentence more interesting.  But to ot use a single forbidden verb in a four page compare and contract essay is asking a lot.  She will go through the paper and number the verbs,  each one being a point off the total score.  I have been paying attention to books I'm readng and wonder how it would look if we didn't use these verbs.

REVISIONS!

 

Thank you for the wonderful comments.  I have revised and tried to tighten it up a bit more.  I put the prologue and then a page of the story.

Prologue

            The walls of the cave dripped as the storm blew in sheets of rain. Thunder boomed outside.  The room was small, lit only by sconces attached low on the wall.  Five men stood unmoving, clad in tribal brilliance, their long black hair swayed slightly with the cold breeze.  A crumpled figure lay before them, his skin glistened with a dampness. The man shifted, strong black wings emerged from his back, pumping as he struggled to his knees.  Hands bound behind his back, he used his shoulder to wipe the blood from his mouth.

            “Untie me.”  His voice reverberated through the hollow cave.

            “You have to take responsibility…”  one of the men spoke.

            “Untie me!” he yelled.

            The men lifted their heads to the heavens.  A voice echoed through the walls.  “Your gifts will be taken for the duration of you punishment.  You will live among the Earth dwellers until your trial.  Take this time to redeem yourself.”

            He pumped his wings again, a powerful current of air circled the cave.  “I will not be judged by you.  I will not live among them.  I will not live as one of them.”

            “The choice is no longer yours.  It was not the intent of your gifts to use them for your own pleasure.  You were sent to protect the tribes, not abuse them.”  The voice grew stronger at the man’s defiance.

            “My gifts will find me.  They call to me.  They cannot be hidden. What has been given to me will not be taken away.”

            A bolt of lightning struck his chest.  With a guttural growl he arched his back, clenching his jaw, refusing to show pain as his heart was removed and his powers stripped. 

“They are no longer yours.”  The voice echoed through the cave.

                                                           

                                                                 Chapter 1

           

I threaded my fingers through my long blonde hair.  Lifting it off my neck, I pulled it into a ponytail. I cringed when my fingers grazed the greenish purple bruise at my temple.  Luke and I had gotten into another argument and I’d gotten to cross country practice late.  I hurried to catch up with the pre-workout stretches.    

            “Holy crap Emma what happened to your head?”  My best friend and running partner, Greg, looked over from where he sat on grass.

            “Luke and I bumped.”  I settled in the cool grass next to him.

            Greg let out a loud laugh.  “What where you guys doing?”

            “Not what you’re thinking.  It was an accident.”  Or at least that’s what I’d convinced myself.

“So are you two…like dating?”  Greg stood up and placed his hand on my shoulder for balance while he stretched his quads.

            “I’m not sure we’re officially dating.  The Ridge frowns on fraternizing.”  The Ridge was the group home where I’d lived since the eighth grade, when my last foster home fell apart.    

“Fraternizing?  What are you?  Like eighty?”

I shrugged.  “That’s their term so it probably came from someone who was eighty.”

WEEK 2 First Pages

I put the prologue in even though when we submit they recommend we don't.  And the first chapter.  Thanks ahead of time.

Prologue

            The walls of the cave were dripping water as the storm blew in sheets of rain. Thunder boomed outside.  The room was small, lit only by sconces attached low on the wall.  Five men stood unmoving, clad in tribal brilliance, their long black hair swayed slightly with the cold breeze.  A crumpled figure lay before them, his skin glistened with a dampness. The man shifted, strong black wings emerged from his back, pumping as he struggled to his knees.  Hands bound behind his back, he used his shoulder to wipe the blood from his mouth.

            “Untie me.”  His voice reverberated through the hollow cave.

            “You have to take responsibility…”  one of the men spoke.

            “Untie me!” he yelled.

            The men lifted their heads to the heavens.  A voice echoed through the walls.  “Your gifts will be taken for the duration of you punishment.  You will live among the Earth dwellers until your trial.  Take this time to redeem yourself.”

            He pumped his wings again, a powerful current of air circled the cave.  “I will not be judged by you.  I will not live among them.  I will not live as one of them.”

            “The choice is no longer yours.  It was not the intent of your gifts to use them for your own pleasure.  You were sent to protect the tribes, not abuse them.”  The voice grew stronger at the man’s defiance.

            “My gifts will find me.  They call to me.  They cannot be hidden. What has been given to me will not be taken away.”

            A bolt of lightening struck his chest.  With a guttural growl he arched his back, clenching his jaw, refusing to show pain as his heart was removed and his powers stripped. 

“They are no longer yours.”  The voice echoed through the cave.

                                                           

                                                                 Chapter 1

           

I threaded my fingers through my long blonde hair, lifting it off my neck, I pulled it into a ponytail. I cringed when my fingers grazed the greenish purple bruise at my temple.  Luke and I had gotten into an argument and I’d gotten to cross country practice late.  I hurried to catch up with the pre-workout stretches.    

            “Holy crap Emma what happened to your head?”  My best friend and running partner, Greg, looked over from where he sat on grass.

            “Luke and I bumped.”  I settled in the cool grass next to him.

            Greg let out a loud laugh.  “What where you guys doing?”

            “Not what you’re thinking.  It was an accident.”  Or at least that’s what I’d convinced myself.

“So are you two…like dating?”  Greg stood up and placed his hand on my head for balance while he stretched his quads.

            “I’m not sure we’re officially dating.  The Ridge frowns on fraternizing.”  The Ridge was the group home where I currently lived.    

“Fraternizing?  What are you?  Like eighty?”

I shrugged.  “That’s their term so it probably came from someone who was eighty.”

“Em, you’ve spent every waking moment with him this summer, and when you’re not with him he’s texting you to find out where you are. That is the definition of dating.  Or at least stalking.”  Greg’s words faded as he took off running, leaving me behind. 

            I jumped up and ran after him. I matched my short strides to his longer ones.  Greg was tall and lanky, the perfect body for cross country.  I was a good head shorter, making each of his strides equal to two of mine. My phone buzzed in my pocket.  Announcing a new text.

            “Is that your phone?” Greg asked.  “Why do you have your phone when you’re running?”

            “Luke gets mad if he can’t reach me.”  I pulled my phone out, texting while I ran.

            “That’s not normal.”  Greg didn’t seem too happy with my answer.

            “You don’t like him?”  We headed into the woods beside the school to begin a five mile run for the day.

            “I don’t know him and he doesn’t want to know me.  The way he looks at you is creepy.  Like he knows something no one else does.  Does it matter if I like him?  I’m not dating him.”

The path evened out as we came out the other side of the trees.

 “I want you to like him. You’re my best friend.”  Greg had been my friend since I was placed in the group home.

Greg stopped short.

I ran a few paces, then turned around and jogged back to him. “What?”

            “Emma you need to be careful.”

            I jogged in place, trying to keep my muscles loose.  “Careful of what?”

            “Just be careful.  Sometimes people aren’t what they seem.”

            “Like he’s a mass murderer disguised as a high school senior?”

            “You never know.  He does live…” Greg’s voice trailed off.  “Just be careful, Em.”

            “He does live where?!  At The Ridge?  That’s what you were going to say—wasn’t it?  Because everyone at The Ridge is a screw up right.”  I shoved him.

            I’d been in foster care or groups homes for as long as I could remember.  I didn’t know my parents.  They’d abandoned me when I was little.  There had been a few families that jumped at the chance of adopting a tiny blonde haired, blue eyed, little girl…but every time I got close to getting a family something happened.  One of the parents died in car accident another was diagnosed with cancer.  If they had other children, they didn’t like me.  I was known in the system as bad luck and eventually everyone stopped trying and just stuck me in a group home. 

            “Don’t do that.  You know I don’t think you’re a screw up.  Just be careful.  You don’t know him that well,” Greg said.

            “I know he’s had it tough.  His dad was horrible to him.  I know he gets angry.”  I knew Greg was just watching out for me.  That seemed to be what he did.  Grateful for his concern, I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed.  “I’ll be careful.”

            “That’s all I ask.  Now let’s get this run over so you’re not late for your date.”  Greg gave the top of my head a friendly kiss before he left me standing on the trail. 

            Greg and I finished our run in record time.  The school was deserted as we jogged through the parking lot.  We’d added distance to our runs, pushing ourselves to get qualifying times for districts.  Everyone else stuck to the required three miles. 

            “Keep up that pace and you two could be on your way to State.”  Coach Hawkins stood at the locker room and called out as we approached.  “Districts only two weeks away and I see both of you winning your races.” 

            “Thanks coach,” My cheeks ached with a smile that stretched to its limit.  Greg and I had worked since our freshman year to make it to State.  My dream was to get a scholarship, even though I’d never really expected it to happen.

“State here we come!” Greg picked me up and twirled me around in a tight hug.  “Let’s celebrate!  Pizza at Orlando’s?  Drinks on me.  Well only if it’s water.”  He set me back on the ground and waited for my answer, his smile matched mine.

“I can’t.  I have my date, remember.” 

Greg’s shoulders slumped.  His smile wavered.  “That’s okay.  Maybe later.”

“Yeah.  Maybe tomorrow.”  I tried to sound upbeat but I didn’t look forward to asking Luke if I could celebrate with Greg.  He was already irritated about my work-out schedule and how much time I spent away from him.

“Tomorrow then.” Greg gave me a quick pat on the arm before we headed into our separate locker rooms. 

I was walking on air when I left the locker room, but stopped when I saw Luke standing casually against my car.  Dressed in baggy jeans and a leather jacket, his black hair messy in a stylish way, he looked like he jumped out of a magazine. 

            “Hey.” Self-conscious of my sweaty t-shirt and ratty sweats, I hesitated.  In my hurry I hadn’t taken a shower.  I knew I reeked. “You won’t believe what coach just told me.  He said Greg and I could make it to State this year…”   My voice trailed off.  Luke’s expression was tight.  I touched his arm.  “You surprised me.  I thought you were back at The Ridge.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t know you were waiting.”

            “What were you doing with Greg?” His voice had a cold edge.

“Running?”  Was this a trick question?  I had just finished my workout.

            Luke’s eyes darted around the parking lot. “Practice has been over for an hour.”

            “We run extra.  The coach said we…”

            The crack of the slap echoed through the empty parking lot.  I was knocked to the ground. My face throbbed, the sting of the slap burnt like fire.  This time there was no doubt in my mind. He’d hit me and it wasn’t an accident.

Luke knelt beside me and grabbed my arm. “Stay away from him.”

 I moved my jaw back and forth, checking if anything was broken.  The iron taste of blood filled my mouth.

“Who?  Greg?  He’s my running partner.”  I grabbed the bumper of my car and tried to pull myself up.

“Quit.”  His fingers slid into my hair, tugging against the rubber band holding my pony tail.  “Quit the team.”  My head fell back with the tension.

“I’ve worked the last three years to make state.  I can’t quit.  We’re going to Districts.  Coach thinks I have a chance.”  Was he on crack?  What the heck was he talking about?    

“Don’t be ridiculous.  You won’t win.”

His words hit me harder than the slap.

“I might.”  My voice was small.  Everything I cared about had been taken from me.  Running was the only thing I had.

“Greg’s using running to keep you away from me.”  He slid his hand to cup my jaw once more.  “I’m sorry I hit you.  You know my temper.  You’re my world Emma.  I can’t lose you.”  He placed his lips against mine.  “I’ll die without you.”

I leaned into his kiss.  “I won’t quit.”

He trailed kisses across my tear stained face. He stopped at my ear and whispered, “I’ve search a long time for you.  You’ll quit.”