• Contemporary Romance,  E books

    Too Close for Comfort

    Back in October of 2013, I put up an excerpt of one of my NA novels on this site and other places around the internet. The ebook title is “Before I Let Go” and its the story of a girl who has to drop out of college due to her abusive boyfriend, and how she rekindles a romance with her childhood crush, a young Hispanic male who’s wounded while fighting in Iraq.

    Well, wouldn’t you know it, but this must be a popular concept, because its already been released. By someone else. So either great minds think alike, or what the hell, I dunno.*

    *ETA: Well, this just got more effed up. Seems this same author was called out before regarding plagiarism. However I need to stress it’s my understanding that a premise, or “concept” cannot be copyrighted, so I guess that’s that.

    In any event, I don’t wanna dwell on this. I’m just hoping if it wasn’t a sheer coincidence aka mind hive sort of thing, the author/associates now realize that “borrowing” a premise isn’t cool, and that jumping over to the minority side to get your next new novel can still back fire big time, because the internet isn’t as large as some would like to believe. But what’s more important, is that I didn’t create a Hispanic male lead for nothing. It’s because DIVERSITY IS MY PLATFORM. And it’s not as simple as giving a character an ethnic last name, but part of his/her racial identity imho.

    Here’s my original blurb:

    Twenty year old Skylar Torres is back home, trying to forget a volatile college romance and hoping to reconnect with her first love, Damon Salas.  Twenty three year old Damon doesn’t recall the road side bomb that ended his tour of duty in Iraq, leaving him unable to speak his thoughts as clearly as before. Struggling with his new normal, Damon’s determined to live life on his own terms, and that includes a future with Skylar. But Skylar’s dealing with a controlling ex, while questioning her decision to stay away from Damon, in order to keep them both alive.

    I’m still gonna release my ebook, since I’ve got a digital trail (I entered the excerpt in the Wattpad contest last year). In addition, I believe the writing inside the other author’s book is totally different than mine, though her premise has similar elements. But I’m committed to this story, because I wrote it with two Hispanic leads in mind who were both trying to cope with issues that affect young people today.

     

    Please click the photo if you’d like to check out BEFORE I LET GO:

    Before-I-let-go-with-shadowed-ltrs-small-copy

  • YA Contemporary

    Stick a fork in it, because its done

     

    The Stone Boy is done. Well, as done as I can make it with so many edits that I’ve developed eye strain. And because I didn’t meet my self imposed deadline, I’ve added several thousand more words to the book.

     

    Promo for The Stone Boy

     

     

    The Stone Boy (this is the small sample, Sneak peek)

     

     

    I’m checking to make sure the formatting hasn’t magically shifted from my last inspection. After that, I’m gonna push the button and hopefully, it will be up before midnight tonight.

    Another excerpt from the book:

  • Blog,  E books,  Urban Fantasy,  YA Fantasy,  YA Paranormal

    Darker still

    See the girl in the foreground, the one in front? That’s how I felt yesterday:

    Darker still . . . The Furies

     

     

    Last night I worked on channeling those emotions into a new YA series. ‘Cause that’s what I usually do when I’m upset. I try to be creative.

    I even made up a tag line: The Damned don’t cry, they just get even

    Anyway, I’ve written about five chapters so far. The girls on the cover are sisters. I’m thinking of releasing it as a serial, because there are too many other books that are ahead of this one ready for release. That’s about all I’ll say for now, except WRITE ON.

  • Contemporary Romance,  E books,  New Adult,  Novella

    Graduating to New Adult and pushing buttons

    Writing YA and even Middle Grade is a constant challenge for me. So when I saw New Adult gaining steam, I jumped at the chance to create novellas that feature an older protagonist, but combined romance, race and topical issues.

    Here’s a sneak peek at two that should be ready by February:

     

    Inseparable

    Inseparable ebook cover. New Adult Novella

     

     

    It was just supposed to be a fun night out. But when Nadia’s initially refused entry into the city’s hottest club, the experience becomes her worst nightmare. And when the handsome guy who intercedes is none other than the club owner’s kid brother, little does she know that her ranting tweets detailing how she was unfairly treated will divide a city, and also help her find out whether love really does conquer all. ©

     

     

     

    Unbroken

    UNBROKEN

     

     

    He’s the hope of a small town football team determined to reach the state finals. And she’s the girl he’s been warned about.

    For Alex Campos, becoming the starting quarterback of the Newcastle Coyotes means a second chance. So he’s not about to blow it by falling for the coach’s daughter. But Danni Ahmed’s not a girl who takes no for an answer, especially when their connection is so strong. And not after enduring the town’s obsession with football, until it nearly destroyed her. That’s why she’s determined not to let the same thing happen to the boy she loves. ©

     

    Excerpts will be up the first week of February!