kelly said

WOOHOO! We made it, fellow A to Z bloggers!

Z is for Zealously waiting to reveal L.S. Murphy’s debut urban fantasy young adult novel, REAPER! The novel won’t be available until JAN 2013 through J.Taylor Publishing, but I’m one of the specials who get to share the cover and the back of the book — a blurb long enough to entice, hehe!

There’s no way sixteen year old Quincy Amarante will become the fifth grim reaper. None. Not over her shiny blue Mustang. Her Jimmy Choos. Or her dead body.

She’s supposed to enjoy her sophomore year, not learn about some freaky future Destiny says she has no choice but to fulfill.

It doesn’t take long for Quincy to realize the only way out of the game is to play along especially since Death can find her anyway, anywhere, anytime. And does.

Like when she’s reassuring her friends she wants nothing to do with former best friend Ben Moorland, who’s returned from god-knows-where, and fails. Miserably.

Instead of maintaining her coveted popularity status, Quincy’s goes down like the Titanic.

Maybe … just maybe … that’s okay.

It seems, perhaps, becoming a grim reaper isn’t just about the dead but more about a much needed shift in Quincy’s priorities—from who she thinks she wants to be and who she really is.

WOW! What’dya think?

I don’t know about you but I can’t believe we have to wait for JANUARY 2013! hehe!

If you’d like to add REAPER to your goodreads shelf, click HERE.

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Y is for Yardwork, as in, it’s springtime and the hubs and I have been taking advantage of this great weather! Whee! We’ve been digging holes for trees, rototilling for a new lawn, and yeahhhh, finally getting that little back deck I’ve wanted for oh so long. Hooray!  So, here’s me sharing a bit of my non-writing life with the trees pre-planting as well as our deck waiting to be installed (complete with boss-dog supervising, hehe!).

So, has the weather been nice in your area? And if so, what have you guys done to kick-start your Spring?

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Woot! Welcome fellow A to Z bloggers!

Today, X is for X-MEN! omgosh, I’m such a fan of Stan Lee’s X-MEN that even before the movie came out in 2000, the hubs and I were talking about who’d we cast for the various roles.

I was so happy to see Patrick Stewart (Capt. Picard from Star Trek) playing Professor Xavier!

I didn’t expect Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. I heard they were originally going to cast Dougray Scott (Sean Ambrose from Mission Impossible II) in the role, and I’m glad they didn’t. Sorry, DS, but I just don’t see you playing the fearsome Wolverine as well as Hugh Jackman did.

On my list for Storm, I had selected Angela Bassett. In my humble opinion she has that certain poise that I always saw in Storm, that calm demeanor hiding the inner fight for control over her emotions.

I’m a fan of James Marsden, but not for the role of Scott Summers. Sorry, but JM didn’t seem tall enough to play opposite Jean Grey. I had Tom Welling (Clark Kent from Smallville) playing Cyclops in my mind.

To be honest though, I would have seen these movies no matter what the critics said, hehe! The characters and their background stories are so fascinating, I’ve enjoyed each X-MEN movie that’s come out, as well as the individual director’s takes on a comic classic.

Do you guys envision your dream cast for your favorite (comic) book to movie adaptation? If so, have you been pleasantly surprised or dragged down into the depths of disappointment?

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Howdy there! Wheee! We’re so close to the finish for the A to Z challenge!

W is for White Stripes!

I hope you don’t mind me kicking back and sharing some of my favorites with you

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Woohoo! I’ve been waiting since 21 letters ago on the A to Z blog challenge for this day!

V is for VERY excited to reveal an excerpt from my story in TIDAL WHISPERS!

But first, I’d like to take a moment and introduce you to my lovely anthology-mates!

• Headliner, Jocelyn Adams’s, The Undergarden is a touching story that explores the depths of love shared over a lifetime between two unlikely friends — this one is best read with a tissue handy. She is also author of SHADOWBORN, the anticipated follow up (due Oct 2012) to her debut novel The Glass Man.
• Julie Reece’s story, Heart’s Desire is a beautiful tale about love and loss and having the courage to follow your heart. Her novel, CRUX, will debut in July 2012 and has a wicked cool book trailer that can be viewed HERE.
• Claire Gillian’s story, The Sweetest Song has  an interesting twist and definitely leaves the reader wondering what kind of note the story will end on. Her debut romantic suspense novel, The P.U.R.E. is out NOW! woohoo! and you can check out an excerpt HERE.

hehehehehe! I’m grinning like the Cheshire Cat because I’m the luckie duckie who gets to share book space with these supremely talented ladies!

OK, whew! Now, the moment I’ve been waiting oh-so-long to share with all of you! An excerpt from my short story, Pearl of Pau’maa, featured in J.Taylor Publishing’s TIDAL WHISPERS anthology.

PEARL OF PAU’MAA

The cold current exhausted Harmon like no battle ever had. That frigid band of ocean coursing through the Ladali Trench blued the peach of his skin and shriveled the long dorsal fin stretching down his tail. He could handle the intense pressure—accustomed to swimming at all depths—but the Trench waters squeezed precious heat from his blood.

The cold reminded him that he wasn’t a regular to the chilly offshoots of the ocean—a soldier, not a scoundrel. He had honored his people, serving his time in the 7^th infantry, in the bright, warm surface waters of the Pau’maa Rim. Not down in the murky nadirs with the thugs and crooks of the sea.

Like his brother Creeb.

Harmon clawed through the water, savoring the heat of anger pumping through his body.

Once I have the curve of my mother’s heirloom pearl in my palm, he thought, my brother’s wrongs will be brought to order.

He pinged the dark waters, outlining the trench walls. He was getting closer.

#

Miki hugged herself, trying to press down the fear bumps prickling her bare arms. Her toes gripped warm sand, clinging to the beach, worried it would be the last time she’d ever be free to stand there.

If Taigo or any of his friends notice me, she thought, he’ll make sure I never see the shore again.

She gazed at the ocean, marveling at how it spread beyond the horizon’s curve. The salty mist on her face awakened a longing in her heart . . .

excerpt ©2012 Kelly Said 

There it is! the first 250 or so words of my short story!

Thank you so much for stopping by! TIDAL WHISPERS will be available JUNE 2012.

So, I have to ask because I’m anxious to know, what’d you think?

20 Comments | In: A2Z, J.Taylor Publishing, PEARL OF PAU'MAA, TIDAL WHISPERS | tags: A2Z, J.Taylor Publishing, PEARL OF PAU'MAA, TIDAL WHISPERS. | #