Just one of the lovely giveaways we'll have during the upcoming blog tour for LOST GIRLS. Shown: a lovely pair of "The Raven" writing gloves, made out of soft cotton and covered with sections of Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem. Why this choice? Because swoon-worthy, 17-year-old Dylan is a poet and loves Poe.
LOST GIRLS: The only rule is there are no rules
Thank you to everyone who entered the contest and helped to promote the cover reveal for LOST GIRLS!
THE WINNER IS CATHY A.
CONGRATS AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED!!
ORIGINAL POST:
I'm a girl who's always loved to break the rules. So it makes sense that I'd write a book where breaking the rules is the only way to survive. LOST GIRLS is that book. It’s a YA psychological thriller that combines mystery, romance and danger.
Today, we’re revealing the amazing cover, plus the synopsis and an excerpt.
I’m also doing a Rafflecopter giveaway HERE for a $25 Amazon gift card. So the winner can buy some BOOKS! (We all want more books, right?)
First things first, here's the cover:
(So pretty, right?)
The LOST GIRLS synopsis is below, and my favorite line is ‘The only rule is: There are no rules.’
<b>Book Synopsis:</b> Yesterday, Rachel went to sleep listening to Taylor Swift, curled up in her grandma’s afghan, worrying about geometry. Today, she woke up in a ditch, bloodied, bruised, and missing a year of her life.
She doesn’t recognize the person she’s become: she’s popular. She wears nothing but black.
Black to cover the blood.
And she can fight.
Tell no one.
She’s not the only girl to go missing within the last year…but she’s the only girl to come back. She desperately wants to unravel what happened to her, to try and recover the rest of the Lost Girls.
But the more she discovers, the more her memories return. And as much as her new life scares her, it calls to her. Seductively. The good girl gone bad, sex, drugs, and raves, and something darker…something she still craves—the rush of the fight, the thrill of the win—something she can’t resist, that might still get her killed…
The only rule is: There are no rules.
Book Excerpt: His Harley was parked at the curb, in a pocket of shadow, blocked from the streetlight and behind one of the flowering trees Dad had planted earlier this year. Dylan started to hand me a helmet, but stopped, as if there was something else more important.
“There’s something I have to do,” he said.
I thought maybe he needed to give me a few pointers on how to ride a motorcycle, that I should lean into the curves, that I should hold onto him, that I shouldn’t be afraid because he was a great driver.
I was wrong.
He slipped one arm around my waist and pulled me close, so close that I couldn’t have gotten away if I wanted to, while his other hand cupped my jaw, thumb just below my mouth, long fingers brushing against my ear. “I’ve wanted to do this since you got back,” he said, his voice a low, hoarse whisper.
I wanted to say, me, too, but I didn’t get a chance.
His lips found mine in the darkness where we could barely see each other, where the heat of his body melted into mine. There were two short, gentle kisses as if he didn’t believe I would be here very long, that I might disappear at any moment, and then after that came the third kiss—
The third kiss stole my heart.
And my soul.
I didn’t remember our first date or what we had in common or who was his favorite band, but I remembered this. I remembered a thousand kisses, a hundred nights, a million stars glittering overhead. We leaned into each other, as if we were each drawing an electric charge from the other, as if we’d been unplugged and powerless but now we were stronger, invincible, immortal. The world stopped spinning and we were all that existed; there were no other people, no cities, no countries; there was only this.
His lips pressed against mine, his scent filling the air, his hands touching me.
And then at last, the kiss ended and we stared into each other’s eyes, me remembering, him knowing, both of us breathless.
“I almost lost you,” he said, his words soft as if he couldn’t say them very loud because it would show how strong the emotion was.
“I’m here, I’m safe.”
He shook his head. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he said. “I haven’t always been”—he hesitated—“a very good person. But I’m going to do everything I can to make sure no one ever hurts you again.”
He had a way of enchanting me with his words, maybe it was the poet in him, maybe this was easy for him, but it didn’t matter. I knew he was telling the truth.
I just didn’t know if I wanted to be safe.
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If you want to know a little bit more about LOST GIRLS, check out my Pinterest board! Here’s a link: https://www.pinterest.com/merriedestefano/lost-girls/
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Where You Can Find The Book: Goodreads Book Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29939399-lost-girls
Barnes & Noble Buy Link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lost-girls-merrie-destefano/1123683530?ean=9781633756069
Kobo Buy Link: https://kids.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/lost-girls-27
Entangled Publishing: http://www.entangledpublishing.com
Author Bio: Born in the Midwest, former magazine editor Merrie Destefano currently lives in Southern California with her husband, two German shepherds, a Siamese cat, and the occasional wandering possum. Her favorite hobbies are reading speculative fiction and watching old Star Trek episodes, and her incurable addiction is writing. She loves to camp in the mountains, walk on the beach, watch old movies, and listen to alternative music—although rarely all at the same time. Author Website Here.
Author Group Blog: http://supernaturalunderground.blogspot.ca/
Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/MerrieDestefano
Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/merrie.destefano
Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/816280.Merrie_Destefano
Newsletter: http://www.merriedestefano.com/ (Sign up under the Newsletter tab.)
Guy in the background using the force
Dear Universe of Everything, Just to be clear, I did not order the current 100 degree, hot and muggy weather in Southern California. If I had, I also would have ordered central air-conditioning. But, as you can clearly see by looking at my bill, I didn't order either of these items. I am expecting a full refund immediately. Thank you very much for looking into this matter. I hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, Small Person in Southern California AKA Merrie Destefano
Why I love to write
A writer pal challenged me to write 7 things about being an author. So, here are my completely true and slightly irrelevant thoughts on the subject...
1. Writing is a little bit like time travel. You get to read books that aren't even invented yet.
2. You can kill anyone you want. And not even get in trouble.
3. For a short period of time, the real world can't touch you, because you're fully immersed in an imaginary universe, populated by pretend (but fully awesome) people.
4. You're not done until you're done. Meaning, you can take as long as you want on your first draft. Unless, of course, you're on deadline. Then delete this comment entirely and get to work.
5. You might get paid to make things up. And real, live people might read your stories. And they might even like them. (A lot.)
6. World building is too much fun. There should be a law against it.
7. You get to hang out with other people who write stuff too. And you get their read their stories before they're published. And your friends' pretend worlds become as real as your pretend worlds.
Cute ideas for up cycling old dresser drawers. From Boredom Therapy: http://boredomtherapy.com/repurposing-dresser-drawers/?as=6030585282684&pas=1.
Ravens and wolves, dinner pals.
FACE BOOK PARTY & BOOK GIVEAWAY
Friday, December 12, I'll be joining 12 other authors as we celebrate our final day of the 12 Days of Ebook Cheer with a Facebook party. (Woohoo!)
I'll be hosting from noon to 1 p.m. and, during that time, I'll be giving away some of my books. The entire event runs from noon to 3 p.m and there will be prizes/books given away throughout that time.
Stop by and join in the holiday fun and maybe you'll get a free book!
Cats get it.
Yes, they do. Cats today. Cats tomorrow. Cats forever.
You Never Know Who You'll Meet At The Dog Park
I recently discovered a fellow YA scifi author at the local dog park. (His dog is a 10-month-old Irish wolfhound and beyond adorable and loves to play with our little Sammy Bear.)
Anyway, the author's name is Orren Merton and I wanted to share a link to the first book in his YA series. Check it out--it's really good!!
And just in case you're curious, here's his Irish wolfhound, Reilly...
And here's my Sammy bear...
Reilly is about 3 times the size of Sam, but the two of them play together so well! Must get a photo of them together. When I do, I will share it here. =)
Reblog if you want one of these in your askbox:
- A compliment
- A story
- Why you follow me
- If you met me what would you do
- A cute message
- One thing you want to tell me
- One thing you want to know about me
GREAT RAINY DAY READ
Rainy day outside, so I have every light on and am munching on chocolate.
Looking a great rainy day read?
Check out Greta Boris's latest book, THE WINE AND CHOCOLATE WORKOUT. Only .99 right now.
Hey everyone! The Mermaid Calendar was such a hit last year that I’ve made a new one for 2015! it’s the same format but with all new mermaids - pictures of the printed calendar will be coming soon - in the meantime, you can order it in my Etsy shop! To get a sense of how it’ll look when printed, you can check out photos of last year’s calendar here.