Well, since it's Teaser Tuesday...

Since everyone calls Tuesdays "Teaser Tuesday," I decided to give you all a few teasers from my WIPs. =] =] =] The first one is from my first book in the Dark Nature Novels, and the second is from the first book in the Night Guardian Series.

Shadow Rose--

“You smell wonderful, did you know that?” Someone in a deep voice said above me.

My eyes stayed closed. I could feel someone lifting my arm into the air and the soft inhaling on my skin. A shadow fell over my face and the inhaling continued at my hair.

“I know you are awake, my rose,” The man whispered softly in my ear. “I can hear your heart beat faster than before,”

Crap, I thought. He was a vampire and he wasn’t mine. The ground under me shifted and I realized that I was lying in a bed. I opened my eyes and my breathing hitched up a notch. The man’s face was so beautiful, so familiar…

My eyes widened in fear. I had seen this man before, in my dreams that turned to nightmares. His ebony black hair combed back without a strand out of place. His white skin looked normal and his cheeks were rosy, both indicating that he’d (gulp) eaten recently. Fluorescent blue eyes traveled from my face down my body. His licked his thin pink lips excitedly and I cringed in fear. A single tear fell from my eye and his nostrils flared at the new salty scent.

He gazed into my face with curiosity. “Do you know me?” He asked.

“No,” I said.

“Are you sure?” He asked leaning closer to my face.

I shook my head. “I know what you are,”

My voice was shaky. I did know him. He was my attractive nightmare. The guy Philip turned into at the end of my recurring dream- the guy that killed me.

Striker: The Night Guardians--

...he heard the most horrifying sound of his life, his wife’s blood curdling scream. With a warrior’s call, he stabbed the demon called Oliver in the throat and pinned him into the wall. The demon’s eyes and mouth gave off flashing orange lights as the demon’s soul burned and returned to its hell home and its body incinerated. William kicked his blade off the wall and ran into the kitchen to see his wife lying helplessly in a pool of her own blood.

William dropped his sword, stumbling backward away from his wife; he fell straight into the demon’s outstretched claws. Grief made him forget his task and purpose. He tried to push his way out, but there was nothing he could do; the demon called Slade, grabbed him and bit into his neck violently. The demon’s venom washed through William’s veins and he collapsed on the kitchen floor. It burned through his insides, making his blood boil and his muscles convulse in agony. He didn’t dare scream...

So how were they? Do the teasers make you want to read more or throw your head against a far wall to get away from them? Feedback needed and thanks for reading!

The Body Finder Author Kimberly Derting's Huge Ginormous Giveaway!!!

      Kimberly Derting, the author of the best-selling YA novel The Body Finder, is hosting a huge contest on her blog (Link at the bottom of post and on left sidebar)! 

      First prize winners will receive an ARC of her upcoming novel (and sequel to TBF) Desires of the Dead, a signed copy of THE BODY FINDER, and a complete Desires of the Dead swag pack (including a signed DotD poster, bookmarks, stickers, rubber bracelets, and buttons). Second prize winners will receive
a signed copy of THE BODY FINDER, an ARC of UNEARTHLY, and a complete DotD swag pack. Third prize winners will receive an ARC of THROUGH HER EYES, a $15 gift card to the online bookseller of your choice, and a complete DotD swag pack. So no matter what, everyone is a winner!! 

       I for one, am extremely excited about this contest because I ADORED The Body Finder. It was a wonderful story complete with the right amount of twists and powers you would expect in a book about finding the bodies of the dead.

For more details and info about the rules and regulations about the Desires of The Dead contest/giveaway, go to: http://kimberlyderting.blogspot.com/2010/12/big-frickin-huge-ginormous-desires-of.html

The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus) by Rick Riordan

     Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly? Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out. Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god.

(Summary courtesy of Goodreads)

     The Lost Hero is book one of a new series from Rick Riordan as a continuation spin-off of Riordan’s best selling series Percy Jackson & The Olympians. It takes place two weeks after The Last Olympian (PJ & O) left off, where Percy and his friends successfully lead a group of demigods against the Titan king Kronos and saved Mt. Olympus from crumbling out of its refuge in the sky.

      In the story, Percy has gone missing and Jason magically appears at the same time with no memory of who he is or how he got there. All Jason knows is his name, there’s a golden coin in his pocket that turns into whatever type of sword he needs for the occasion and that he suddenly knows random facts about Roman gods and their attributes. He has no idea what is in store for him when he arrives at Camp Half-Blood, haven for the children of the gods.

      I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. It was not only a continuation of one of my favorite book series, but also a breath of fresh air with new characters and new prophecies to be fulfilled. I enjoyed the (although brief) appearances of my favorite characters (Annabeth, Chiron, and Thalia etc) from the original series. They kept me involved with the story because I wanted to know how much of an asset would they be to it.

      The plotline was pretty great. I love how Riordan uses the actual story/timeline that the Greek myths take. For example, in PJ & O the storyline was that the Titan lord Kronos tried to overthrow his Olympian children and regain the stem of power, which is exactly what the myths said happened millennia ago. After the Titans were defeated again, Gaia (the personification of earth and mother of Kronos) became angry at her son’s defeat and went back to Tartarus to rebirth her nastiest children, the Giant Lords to do what Kronos could not in The Lost Hero. All of this was written as myths and Riordan revamped them to fit into modern times which works so well.

       I am very excited for the next book in the series (Son of Neptune), which will have me jumping for joy as Jason and his friends go on a quest to find Percy, son of Poseidon! I recommend this to anyone who has ever read the Percy Jackson series and both to anyone who enjoys reading about the Greek gods and their children.

Four stars

Clarity ARC Giveaway!!

Author Kim Harrington has been so kind to have a giveaway for her debut Young Adult novel CLARITY!

Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch an object and the visions come to her. It's a gift.
And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case — but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother — who has supernatural gifts of his own — becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?
Due out March 1, 2011.

The winner will receive the Clarity ARC and some Clarity bookmarks (all signed). A Clarity sticker, gift shop souvenirs from Cape Cod (because the novel takes place in the tourist area of Cape Cod), and even a top secret Clarity playlist complete with itunes gift card!

I've signed up to see what she sees... will you?

To sign up click here>>> http://kimharrington.blogspot.com/2010/12/clarity-arc-giveaway.html

Nanowrimo!

Hey guys I completed Nanowrimo! 50,037 words to prove it! It was a long and hard process but I managed to get through it with sheer luck and coincidence! lol I'm a little excited but I'm not going to do a victory dance just yet.
I have decided to make every month like NaNoWriMo for myself in order to push out the manuscripts that I had been working on previously. They need some non-grammar love at the moment- I believe that that was holding me back- and there is no turning back. Shadow Rose is already at 34,145 words and Striker is at 8,145.  My goal for the month of December is to write at least 2000 words a day for Shadow Rose.

Wish me luck! :)