Saturday, July 16, 2011

First Books and Dyslexia

Elle Fowler (a YouTube beauty guru for those of you who don't watch her videos) talked about her favorite childhood book in a recent post and, well this sparked an idea for a blog post, so I'm just gonna roll with it, cause I don't blog enough.

I didn't read a lot in my early childhood, so almost every book I enjoyed sticks out in my mind. I have dyslexia, so getting me to read was always a struggle. I'm over it now (with the exception of lowercase b's and d's. If they're in a word, okay, but on their own? I really can't tell which is which) but back then I was a very picky reader, and had to be forced to do any reading. I'm kinda really surprised I ever learned how.

As I said, every book sticks out in my mind, and as I look back on them, they all have something in common. They ALL had a paranormal element. I guess that's always been my thing. I know I liked everything paranormal even before I could read. Like Buffy. Which I think started when i was six.

The first books I ever read were scary short stories. I read them over and over again, because they were short, and could hold my attention.


The first Harry Potter book came out when I was in 4th grade...Well I think it did, that's when our teacher started reading it to us anyway. And while I liked the teacher reading it to us, the prospect of reading a book that thick was a little too much for me, so I didn't start reading them until a few years later.

The first books that change my WORLD were the Everworld series by K.A. Applegate. My mom bought it for me to take to camp in 5th grade, because we had to have an hour of rest/reading time a day. Ugh. I dreaded that. They were taking something that was supposed to be fun, and they were putting an hour long torture session in it every day. I could have napped, but I've never been capable of that either. No matter how tired I am. So it was either stare into space for an hour, or read that blasted book. So, grudgingly, I picked up the book. It was the 11th on in the series, so I was more than a little confused. But even with that confusion, the world was absolutely riveting.


As soon as I got home, I begged for the first book in the series. Well, actually, I sincerely doubt I had to beg, considering my mom was probably desperate for me to read something. I finished the whole series before the 12th and final book had even come out. This was the first time I had to drum my fingers, and wait (not so) patiently, for the release of the next book in a series. I hate the way it ended by the way (well...if I remember right. It's been a while).


After that I moved onto the Fingerprints series by Melinda Metz. After that I pretty much read every book with paranormal elements I could get my hands on. Eventually I stumbled into Shattered Mirror by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, which made me a writer, and then a friend's mom loaned me my first romance ever. But those are separate stories for another time. I'm pretty sure I've told everyone about Atwater-Rhodes anyway.

Okay, peoples. I'm done typing. Hope you enjoyed my long pointless post. I guess it kinda does have a point. I guess it tells parents not to give up if your kid is dyslexic. Just keep gun forcing them to read books from different genres, and hopefully they'll stumble into something they can't live without.

Ooh, ooh. I can add a little promo at the end:

Running from an abusive husband, Natalya encounters more than she can handle…especially when she becomes a vampire’s target. Buy Fear of Darkness here.





Friday, July 15, 2011

Fear of Darkness rerelease

Fear of Darkness is out today!

Buy it here

Read the first two chaperes here.

Blurb:

As a Watcher of the King’s Guard, Vahe Patten hunts rogue vampires, ones who break their vampire laws. When dead bodies are left for the human authorities to find, their secret is out, and Vahe takes on the mission by seeking the next victim before the killer does—only to find her blood tasted sweeter than any he’s ever had.

Natalya Woods just wants to avoid her abusive husband and live a normal life, but the small town of Haven has been anything but safe. When she’s attacked in the streets, literally, by the man of her dreams, she finds herself kidnapped and putting her weapon skills to use—surprisingly not on her husband. Attraction and desire throws Natalya and Vahe in a bind as they work together to fight the killer, but will Natalya overcome her distrust of men and allow herself to take the risk to love?

Excerpt:

"Need a hand, Natalya?"

I spun around but before I could even get a word out, I was pressed against the wall with a hand over my mouth. I realized I’d forgotten my gun. I hadn’t thought to put a different one in my other purse, and I should have. Vahe was the least of my problems. Okay, so maybe not the least—a vampire was a big problem, especially if he was the murderer. It was also unbelievable.


"I’m going to take my hand away, and if you scream, I’ll snap your neck. Understand?" I nodded. "Good."


Vahe brushed the scarf away from my neck to reveal his marks. He ran his fingers lightly over my throat. I flinched when he touched the bite. Even with such a light touch, it was painful.


He leaned his face toward me, moved his palm, and then he was kissing me. I hesitated before I gave in to him. The kiss was soft, like he didn’t want to scare me off. So at odds with the threat he’d just spoken. My tongue brushed his fangs, and I broke contact.


He slid his mouth to my throat, and I stood there dazed for a second before I jerked back. I would have slammed my head on the wall, but his hand was between the bricks and me. He tangled his fingers in my hair. His tongue flicked out across the bite mark, and then his mouth clamped down. He sucked hard, making the tiny holes bleed.


I gasped in pain and pushed at his chest. He moaned against my throat and sucked harder. His erection pressed against my stomach. He gave my throat one last sweep with his tongue before he drew back. His eyes were unfocused and his breathing labored. I was glad we were in the middle of the street and not somewhere private. I don’t think anything would have kept him from fucking my brains out, and nothing could stop him from draining my blood.


He cleared his throat. "God, your blood is almost addictive." He shook himself. "Come on. I’ll help you with all this food. I’m surprised you eat so much. You look so thin."


I narrowed my eyes at him and didn’t respond. Seriously, idle chitchat? With a vampire and possibly a murderer. He picked up the food and carried it easily down the street, expecting me to follow.


I raked a shaking hand through my hair. Did I really have any choice but to go with him? It seemed like a bad idea. Before Hollywood had gotten a hold of them, vampires had been considered evil. He’d attacked me. But wouldn’t he have killed me already if he’d planned on it? I followed him before he found a way to make me. I watched my feet as I walked. My heart pounded as I tried to think of a good way to get away from him.


He didn’t struggle to carry the food, but maybe it would take him a few seconds to realize I was gone, drop it, and chase after me. Maybe a few vital seconds were all I needed. I doubted it.


I was starving and wanted to cry at the thought of leaving my food, but I wasn’t willing to go wherever he was leading me.


He stopped abruptly and looked over his shoulder. He arched an eyebrow. "Go ahead. Try running for it. You won’t make it three feet."