Harper Madison isn't like other girls. She has extraordinary powers, but her inability to control them has gotten her kicked from so many foster homes she's lost count. Shadowford Home is her last chance, and she hopes Peachville High will be the fresh start she needs. But when evidence ties her to the gruesome murder of a Demons cheerleader, Harper discovers this small town has a big secret.
Short Excerpt:
The tone of his voice turned my body to melted chocolate. I steadied myself against the wall, afraid that if he moved any closer, I really would melt. I felt his nearness in my bones, a vibration of warm, flushed energy.
"You better get inside," he said, checking his watch even though it was probably too dark to see the time. The way he raised his arm and leaned forward brought his chest so close to me, I wanted to run my hand along the rippled muscles I felt certain I would find underneath his black t-shirt. "It's way past your bedtime."
My heart beat so hard in my chest my ears were filled with the loud thumping sound of it. I dipped under his arm and pushed open the barn door, grateful for the refreshing rush of cool, night air.
"I won't tell if you won't," I said.
"Your secret's safe with me," Jackson said. He drew an X over his heart as I ran toward the house, disappearing into the shadows.
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Becoming a Demons cheerleader was the last thing Harper Madison expected when she moved to the small town of Peachville. Now that she's an official member of the squad, her training can begin. Only, this is no normal group of cheerleaders. Harper isn't there to learn dances and cheers. She became a cheerleader in order to finally learn how to control the magic inside.
The Peachville Demons cheerleading squad is really a training ground for a powerful coven of witches called the Order of Shadows. The training opens up a new world for Harper. It's a world of beauty and magic beyond her wildest dreams, but also a world of pressure and impossible expectations.
A world where every secret hides an even darker secret.
Short Excerpt:
Lark smiled mischievously, like she had a secret.
"What?" I asked.
"Watch," she said. She slid off the bed and sat down in the center of her floor on a square pink rug. She crossed her legs and set her hands palm up on her knees.
I felt a tingle of energy on the tiny hairs on my arm. I didn't know whether to sit down with her or back away.
Her eyes closed and her lips moved silently. There was movement in the air that lifted my hair slightly off my shoulders. Underneath where Lark was sitting, the pink rug slowly turned a color of teal as bright as pictures I'd seen of the Caribbean ocean. The color crept outward from her in a circular pattern, like a drop of water spreading on a napkin.
The dark wood furniture suddenly became shiny white. The polka-dot bedspread turned black with teal and white stripes, the color perfectly matching the newly teal rug on the floor. Other details of the room changed too. Like the lamp on her bedside table. I watched as it turned from a wooden base with a pink shade to a tall chrome base with a shimmery white shade. When the circle of color reached the edges of the room, a bright white paint climbed up the walls, replacing the pink that was already there. One wall became a teal accent wall.
Less than ten minutes after Lark sat down, the entire room transformed in front of my eyes. I stood, open-mouthed, staring at each changed detail.
"You like it?" She opened her eyes and stood, hand on one hip, surveying her work.
"Like it? This is incredible." I walked over to the bedside table and touched the lamp to make sure it was real. The chrome base was cool to the touch and very much real chrome.
"How did you do that?"
"It's called a glamour," she said.
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So far, life in Peachville has been tough for Harper Madison. She's survived attacks on her life, learned how to control her magic, and met the most gorgeous boy - who also happens to be a demon. After her latest stunt at Brighton Hospital, the Order of Shadows is determined to tighten their control on her life. So when a future Prima from a nearby demon gate comes to town, she and Harper decide to use magic to switch places at a party. All Harper wants is to have a little fun.
But the night will end in blood.
And Harper will find out the attack was meant for her...
Excerpt:
The room was dead silent. No one moved. I stood and walked over to the coffee table where an array of snacks was laid out. I grabbed a grape and popped it into my mouth. As I chewed, no one dared even breathe. I hoped they couldn't see how badly my hands were shaking.
"You guys are all so anxious for me to trust you," I said, meeting each person's eyes as I looked around the room. I certainly had their undivided attention. "But how can I do that when you obviously don't trust me?"
"You haven't earned that trust," the elderly woman said.
"You haven't either," I said. Someone behind me sucked in a quick breath. "Ever since I got to this town, you've all been lying to me. Why should I obey your orders and follow your rules when you refuse to tell me why you really want me to stay safe? You act like you care about me as a person, but all you really care about is yourself."
"Wait a second," Mrs. Ashworth said, standing again. "You're completely out of line here. I won't allow you-"
"I know who I am," I said, cutting her off. "I know I'm the Prima. I've known for a while now." I looked over at Mayor Chen. "And don't worry. It wasn't Lark or any of the other girls on the squad who told me."
"Jackson," someone whispered.
"Traitor."
The room broke out in murmurs.
"It wasn't Jackson either," I said.
"Then who?" Sheriff Hollingsworth asked.
"Morgyn Baker."
"Impossible," the elderly woman hissed.
"Before she died," I said. "She told me about how the Order's been using Shadowford as a way to look for me. You find girls with magical abilities who are in the system because their mothers are dead or they're too much to handle. Then, you bring them here, drug them, and test them to see if they are your beloved, long-lost Prima."
The room erupted in protests and questions.
"I thought you had this under control," one woman in a pink dress said to Mrs. Ashworth. "We should have told her right from the start."
"What are we going to do now?"
"This girl is out of control."
My ears couldn't latch on to every outburst, but one in comment particular caught my attention.
"She's just like her mother."
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In Peachville, there's a fine line between good and evil.
That line is about to be crossed...
Excerpt:
"What are you thinking about?" Jackson asked. He'd stopped rowing.
By my guess we were somewhere out in the middle of the lake, far from the shore now.
"I was thinking it's no wonder my mother loved to be out here," I said. "It's so peaceful. Ever since I came to Peachville, my life has been nothing but noise. Out here, it's quiet."
"I know what you mean," he said. "I come out here a lot to just get away from it all. So I can be still for a while and think. I love that you see it the same way I do."
I smiled at him. "What kind of things do you think about when you're out here?"
"You," he said, lifting an eyebrow and making me laugh. Then, his face grew more serious as he looked out over the water. "And I spend a lot of time thinking about home. About Aerden and my family. I wonder whether we'll ever go back there again."
My heart ached for him. I felt pulled in two directions. I could hear in his voice how much he missed his homeland. I wanted him to be happy. But at the same time, I didn't want to lose him.
"Tell me about your home," I said.
Jackson looked up at the stars and was quiet for a long moment. For a minute, I thought he wasn't going to answer my question, but then he started talking.
"There are no stars where I come from," he said. "But there are seven moons and seven suns, each one a different color. And there are no alligators."
A large smile spread across my face, and I playfully slapped him on the knee.
"What else is different?" I asked.
"In places, the shadow world looks just like this world. There's green grass and trees and birds. But where I'm from, the ground is one long sheet of shiny obsidian glass." He waved his hand out over the water. "Like this, in a way, only solid beneath your feet. We call that area the Black Cliffs, because of the jagged cliffs of black rock that look out onto the ocean."
I listened in awe. It was hard to believe he came from a different world. When I looked at him, I felt that we were the same. I had so many questions about what his life was like there, but I didn't interrupt. I just let him talk.
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The mysterious virus spreads faster than a nasty rumor, killing billions within weeks. Soon, Parrish is forced to come to grips with the death of her parents and the realization that nothing will ever be the same again. And just when things can't get worse, the dead begin to rise, feasting on the flesh of survivors.
In order to be reunited with her sister in New York, Parrish must embark on a perilous journey. Along the way, she teams up with four others whose destinies, like hers, are connected to the mysterious virus. Because unlike the Black Death or the Spanish flu, this virus has a supernatural source, and Parrish and her friends slowly discover that they alone have the power to rid the earth of this great evil.
PANDEMIC is an 90,000 word Young Adult Urban Fantasy about a group of teen heroes who must come to terms with their new magical abilities while trying to survive the zombie apocalypse.
They are about to find out that zombies are the least of their problems.
Set for release in 2012.