Monday, June 23, 2014

Returning to Sleepy Hollow

I'm working on the second draft of Return to Sleepy Hollow, trying to meet a September deadline. But I thought my readers might like a small taste of what's to come. If you've read Sleepy Hollow and were left hanging, grab a hold of this:

(WARNING! Contains Sleepy Hollow spoilers.)



RETURN TO SLEEPY HOLLOW

February 1794

He was there again…just below. I awoke as always to the power of his presence.
My bare feet hit the cold floor. One peek—just one—out the window.
The steam from Mrs. Allsopp’s kitchen collected in this room—this small room—causing deposits to form on the panes. Seeing out was like looking through damp feathers. That, and the added frost, made spying difficult. But he was there, in the torch-lit alley, his shadow bleeding onto the snow.
It’d been three years since I’d seen this horseman. The Horseman. And, as then, his hand reached out, summoning me to him. Katrina.

            A chill deeper than the winter cold embraced me and I wore it like a second skin.
Three times now he’d appeared since I fled to Philadelphia.
Why here? Why now?
Why me?
But whatever the reason, he wanted me—a want so strong, I could barely resist.
Where would he take me?
His gloved fingers summoned me like willows waving in a breeze.
Katrina.
He sat proud in the saddle, his shoulders broad—an obsidian hole where his head should rest. Snapping back his cape, he tilted his hand that I might easily take it. How freeing it would be to throw myself onto the back of his horse and let him whisk me away.
He waited…wanted.
Katrina.
“What’s out there?” The voice startled me, causing me to whip around. Violet, the girl I shared the room with, sat up, her silhouette resembling a keyhole in the dark.
“Nothing,” I answered. It was true. For when I turned back, he was gone.
She rustled the covers, lying back down. “Sleepwalkin’ again?”
It was my best excuse. “Yes.”
I took one last look out the window, knowing tomorrow it would only be a dream—a ghost lingering in my weary mind.
I crawled under the covers, gooseflesh prickling my skin. Though a vast distance divided us, Sleepy Hollow would forever haunt me.
 ~*~*~

Monday, June 16, 2014

The Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn't Fly

I received a copy through NetGalley, and wow, I'm so glad I did! Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn't Fly is a unique mixture of fantasy and fun. Mary's a cool protagonist with a true teen voice. Her quirky personality and cute observations kept me smiling throughout the book. It's one of those books I wish I had written.

Highly recommend.    
     


Friday, June 6, 2014

Pulled A Switcheroo

Okay, I did it. I changed the title of Severed to Sleepy Hollow. That had been the working title while writing it, but for some dumb reason I thought duplicating the movie title (this was before the TV show was even pitched) was a bad idea. 

I'm glad I changed it back to its working title. And I like the new font on the book cover.





Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Review: Dark Metropolis by Jacyln Dolamore

Sixteen-year-old Thea is struggling with her mom—a mom who’s ailing from “bound sickness,”  caused by folk magic performed when she married Thea’s dad. But Thea’s dad is dead…or so she thinks. One night, while working her waitressing job at the Telephone Club, she meets Freddy, a boy who has the magic touch. When Thea brushes against his hand, she has a vision of her father rising from the dead.



Dark Metropolis, loosely based on the 1927 sci-film Metropolis, is filled with magic, necromancy, zombies, and mystery. Pretty much my kind of book.


Sunday, June 1, 2014

No More Snipe-Nosed Ichabods

Characterization is easier for me when I have a visual. Take a peek at how I saw Ichabod Crane while writing Severed. Keep in mind, my Ichabod is only 21.



Here's my Katrina