Other Projects I'm Working On
"Aquatara - The Water Spirit"
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Progress: 34,000/95,000
Progress: 34,000/95,000
Alone and dying in the middle of the desert isn't the best time to discover you might be a mermaid.
Meaghan Martin as Aquatara
Seventeen, and armed with the clues from a single photograph, TARA sets out on a journey to discover who she is - or rather, what she is. After crashing her motorcycle in the Nevada desert, nineteen-year-old construction worker, QUINTON, comes to her rescue. Together they uncover the startling secrets of Tara's past, and reveal the frightening truths that threaten her very life. But it's not just Tara's past that holds its secrets - Quinton's own heritage puts him at odds with his father, a Hunter, sworn to track down land dwelling water spirits like Tara and return them to the sea.
Liam Hemsworth as Quinton
Refusing his birthright as a Hunter, Quinton will defy his father and do anything to protect Tara - even if it means risking his life in the frigid waters of the Atlantic.
* * * * *
"Forever In My Heart"
Genre: Adult Romance
Progress: 54,000/95,000
*First Place Winner*
in the
First Chapter Contest
at
LDStorymakers Writers Conference 2010
Jake Colton has been living his dream as a country western singer, but after months of being on a tour bus, he needs a break. What he wants is to go home and sleep in his own bed, but thanks to his agent, what he gets is a plane ticket to Ketchum, Idaho to judge an amateur talent contest. The last thing he expects is to hear a tune from his past being performed by one of the contestants--a love song he wrote for the woman he'd planned to spend forever with. The woman who'd disappeared one night with no word and who he thought was dead. Now he'd trade everything he has to get her back, but Annie's got too many secrets to let him into her life--secrets that could ruin her life and the life of her daughter if anyone found out.
* * * * *
"Independence Day"
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Progress: 2500/85,000
*Second Place Winner*
in the
First Chapter Contest
at
LDStorymakers Writers Conference 2011
This book is still in the outline stage.
Here are a few paragraphs from the winning first chapter.
Here are a few paragraphs from the winning first chapter.
While the entire nation is celebrating the freedom of our country, I’m celebrating the freedom of my spirit. Never mind the fact that my body lay in a bloody heap on the kitchen floor. Or that people will be arriving soon for the annual barbeque my parents always host for the occasion—that’s the national holiday, not the occasion of my demise.
Why am I celebrating? Well, the truth is I’ve been looking forward to this day for quite some time. I even thought about trying to hurry death along once or twice, but I always reconsidered. Mostly because I hate pain and I’d chicken out at the last moment.
But now, here it is and I’m thrilled. I’m finally free of a body I hate. You see, at only sixteen, I weigh as much as a linebacker for the New England Patriots, have average skin, average brown hair that never quite goes how I want it to, and nothing about me is beautiful. Well, okay, maybe my eyes, but I think people tell me I have beautiful eyes because they can’t find anything else about me to compliment.
I guess by now you’re wondering why the blood, right? No, I didn’t slit my wrists. Actually, I didn’t try to take my life at all. While Dad went to fill the propane tank for the grill and Mom did some last minute grocery shopping, I was supposed to finish cleaning the kitchen before the guests arrive. Clumsy me dropped the bottle of dish soap on the floor—which exploded over everything. As I stepped through the mess to grab a towel, I slipped on the slime. Next thing I knew, I was flying backward, struck my head on the edge of the counter and fell to the floor. Not exactly a glamorous way to go, is it?
And to add insult to injury, the patriotic sundress I chose to wear this morning flipped up when I landed, exposing my undies—those would be buffalo-butt-briefs to all you skinny people out there—leaving me flashing my red, white and blues. At least I won’t be around to hear the humiliating remarks about that one.
I try to take a step back, but find my spiritual feet are glued to my physical ones. That’s weird. I lift and pull, but it’s like stringy pizza cheese—as soon as I get them a few inches apart, my feet snap back together.
Well, nuts! What I want to do is dance around the room, try out my new freedom. Hey, maybe I can even fly. That would be cool. But nope—I’m stuck.
* * * * *
"J.A.N.E"
Genre: YA Sci-Fi Romance
Progress: 2500/95,000
This book is still in the outline stage. I will post a description later.
Here's the first few paragraphs to wet your appetite.
Here's the first few paragraphs to wet your appetite.
There is no memory of me. No swing sets or sand boxes. No slumber parties. No prom dress or first kiss. No first anything. Nothing but the rote memory of objects that surround me, and a language that stumbles over my tongue with unfamiliarity.
My first new memory? The throbbing in my head when I wake. The searing pain as my eyes crack open to bright lights and blurred images. Muffled voices and whispers about a girl they call Jane.
Is that my name?
“Jay—un,” I try the sound of it on my lips. It tumbles out with my breath, but sounds different coming from me. I try again to form each letter. “Ja—ay—nn.” My fingers reach for my mouth, as if prying my lips apart will help the way they form the word. “Jane.” It’s still not quite right, but it’s my first word and I feel the corners of my mouth curl into a triumphant grin.
Someone steps close—leans over me. A woman, I think. The edges of her face are fuzzy because my eyes still haven’t adjusted to the light. She has long hair that sweeps down toward me. Yes, a woman. I can smell the sweet fragrance of her perfume wafting around me as she draws even nearer.
“She’s awake.”
At first, I think her voice is smooth, but then sense a roughness about it—an authority in its tone. I blink hard and try to make her image sharpen. It helps. I can see she has dark brown eyes and brown hair. Her high cheek bones and tall slender build make her beautiful, even without makeup.
It’s odd to be thinking of such a thing when I should be asking questions. I’m having a hard time focusing—my mind that is. My vision is clear now. I take a deep breath, suck my bottom lip inside my mouth to moisten it, clear my tender throat.
“Where . . . ?” My voice squeaks.
No one answers.
Someone else is watching me now—a man with short gray hair and dark rimmed glasses. His sudden interest startles me at first, but then he smiles and I try to relax. “We should call Aaron. He wanted to be here when she woke.”
Aaron? I search my memory for a face to go with the name. There are no faces—not even my own.
