Hello, lovely peeps. I'm so thrilled to have been tagged by the magnificent Lynette Sofras with "You've got the LOOK." Lynette is not a magician, although some might argue (I'm one of those) that this is exactly what she does with her fiction.
The concept of this tagging is to take my latest work in progress or current manuscript and search for the word "look" then post some of the surrounding
text/paragraphs and tag 5 authors.
I chose Avenger, book 2 in my "sweet" paranormal romance trilogy, Unsettled.
In Avenger, Luke is the spirit hunter dispatching rogue spirits back to the Laymour. Laymour is the Northern Star in human lingo, it's also where spirits await judgement. They either go to Hell or get a second chance to rectify their errors through reincarnation. Needless to say, spirits destined for Heaven, never pass the Laymour.
Avenger is scheduled for a January release, and since I don't have the cover art yet, I'm sharing Luke's image as he will appear in the coming-soon-book trailer.
Blurb:
Luke has two purposes, hunting spirits and avenging his own death.
Pru has one goal, to return to
her body, especially now that Luke is interested in her. Her memories of his
shady past haunt her and keep her on guard around him.
Ignoring his teen infatuation
with Pru, Luke looks for ways to exorcise her, while she must face the fact
that she might never be united with herself again.
Amidst rogue spirits, ferocious
drug smugglers, and unbendable celestial rules, Pru and Luke’s love demands a
sacrifice that can snuff out their rekindled romance before it has even begun.
When Luke has to decide between
his conflicting desires, which path will he choose?
And will the sacrifice be worth
it?
Excerpt:
“Luke?” Pru blinked, not believing her eyes. Occasionally,
memories of her teen crush pushed through her mind for no reason and she used
to push them back. She couldn’t do that now, those memories were in the front
seat because he was standing right in front of her.
He just had to develop a voice
that dripped awesomeness.
Pru shook her head. What’s wrong with me?
Luke gawked at her, his hands tucked casually into pants pockets.
Pru had the impression he wasn’t as nonchalant as his appearance implied for
meeting the girl who—according to him at the time—qualified to enter a
mind-fuck contest.
“What are you up to?” He barked at her.
Definitely tense. She chose to ignore his rudeness. “You can see me?” She
rushed toward him then halted as memories of previous attempts to touch others surfaced
in her head. They were nasty experiences that left her reeling with emotions
alien to her.
“Are you looking for a place to stay?”
She tucked a runaway strand of hair behind her ear and frowned. “What
do you mean?”
Slowly, he said, “Are you up for a stay?” His voice had an edge to
it, one she didn’t trust.
Eyes narrowed, she said, “I’m not homeless. Your hostility doesn’t
make sense.”
He lowered his head and shook it. Perhaps if she explained her
situation, he might know what she should do. “I guess I should be grateful for
meeting someone. It’s been very lonely. No one to speak to—”
“And no one to possess.” A vein throbbed in his jaw.
She took a step back. “Possess?”
“Since I’m the only living person who can see you, I suggest you
drop the innocent act.”
People gawked at him and changed paths as they neared him. It didn’t
seem to bother him that others thought he was talking to himself.
Pru laughed, pointing a finger at herself. “You think I’m dead?”
“I know you’re dead,” he said through gritted teeth and
pulled his hand from his pocket. “Time to send you home.”
Home was too far away, way beyond her lifeline’s limit. An ache pulsed
in Pru’s chest and birthed a fury that paralyzed her with its intensity. Instead
of facing her, Luke swiveled about, his gaze following a woman pushing a baby stroller.
Pru ceased to exist for him and that infuriated her even more. She stomped a
foot. “You don’t even know where I live.”
He kept looking at the other woman.
“I’m talking to you, Luke. Look at me.”
He tilted his head as though tuned to something else. Finally, he
said, “Yeah, I see that.” His eyes flicked back to Pru. “I’ll have to give this
one a rain check then.” Smirking, Luke lifted his hand and saluted her. “Catch
you later, sunshine.” With that, he followed the other woman.
“Don’t call me that,” Pru shouted and dashed after him. After few strides,
her breath caught and her steps faltered. Like a lasso, the invisible lifeline
tightened around her mid-section, constricted her chest, and snatched her back.
She had overstepped her boundaries.
I hope you like the excerpt.
It's time to pass on the torch to 5 authors who I believe do possess The Look. They are:
