Beacon
Ripped Ties, Book 1
By Angela Brown
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Character Interview with Macie Breen:
What word best describes true love? Unexpected
Finish this sentence: When I think of love, I think of __Thane_____
What’s your ideal romantic evening? Enjoying the star-strewn sky at night, cuddled beside Thane, with no interruptions this time.
Did you ever think you’d found that perfect love? What happened? I knew it for a long time. I can’t really tell when during our years of friendship I slipped from adoration to love. I just…knew.
What are the ideal traits you’re looking for in a forever love? Everything that Thane is. Great conversation. Beautiful eyes. Loads of fun to be around. Protective.
What song title best describes your relationship track record? “Nothing but a Good Time,” “Turn Me Loose,” “Shot Through the Heart (You Give Love a Bad Name)”, “Money Talks/Material Girl”, “Looking for Love in All The Wrong Places”? The Colony has all these titles censored. I’ll have to download a Banned Music Library to my holo-rod. Just got to see if the Net pirates have one other there.
What do you find the most appealing about a committed relationship? Thane and I have only had our friendship, but we’ve been committed to it. Having him as my BFF is like having the better parts of me around to energize the rest of me.
Why are you still single? Uh, because no one really likes me, except Thane.
What was your first opinion of each other? I thought he was weird for reaching out to me when everybody else pretty much said, “Screw Macie”. Well, Mayor Killough didn’t, but everyone else did.
What first attracted you to him? His eyes, his beautiful silver eyes. OMG!
What kept you from acting on that attraction? Thane is my BFF. I didn’t want to mess that up, you know.
Who made the first move and what was it? I guess Thane did when he tried to confess something to me, but, wow, did things get all changed up and stuff.
What would you be willing to change to make this relationship succeed? I’d give up my registered status, that’s if The Colony would let me slide on that whole Attendees-are-registered-for-life thing.
What’s the best thing about the two of you together? Breathing him in.
What could stand in your way? Wow, that’s not meant to be a loaded question but… just surviving is a bit of an issue.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Blurb:
They donate blood quarterly and dream of being chosen as Attendees for the Jubilee celebrations, that is, everyone except Macie Breen. With high school graduation near, she’s anxious to ditch the rules in hopes of starting a new life with Thane, an unregistered and also her best friend.
Her hopes fizzle when Macie is selected as an Attendee, forever registered. Any future with Thane…impossible. Being chosen comes with another unexpected price.
Truths about The Colony blaze into ashes and lies when she discovers the vampires haven't kept their part of the bargain. Worst still, Macie’s life unravels as her stint in the city of Bliss forces her to face daunting truths about who, and what, she really is.
Evernight Teen, Released Nov 21st., 73K
Romance, Dystopian, Urban Fantasy, Interracial
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Buy Links:
Evernight Teen Amazon All Romance eBooks
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Excerpt:
As promised, a tent hid in the darkest corner. I could barely make it out. Although my long sleeves kept me warm, the inside of the tent felt cozy, quaint and much warmer since it blocked out most of the wind.
“Didn’t think you’d make it.” He offered me a seat on a pillow. I thought that was nice, because I didn’t much like the idea of sitting on the ground.
“I try to be a girl of my word…I mean, when I can.” Breaking my promise about donating still irked me. All I could do was hope he understood. Although we never promised to share every little thing with each other, we practically did. Keeping the bike incident from him needled at my heart. I wanted to tell him, but I still didn’t know how to explain it.
“You’re right, Macie. We got different situations. I shouldn’t have asked that of you in the first place. I overreacted. I’m sorry.” He pulled his pillow closer and sat beside me. The tent grew warmer all of a sudden.
“Good. I’d hate to lose my only friend over something like that.” I tucked a few loose strands behind my ear. I had my hair down the way he’d said he liked it. That was important to me. He was important to me. Since the day he found me hiding in this very same spot, eight years ago––a little girl crushed, confused, and alone––he’d become so much more than a friend. I wanted him to know, so badly. But how to say it?
I checked out the rest of the tent. Small packs of smoked meat and cheese. Two solar powered holo-visors he probably bartered to get for us, green lit and fully charged. They probably had some cool movie from the banned list on them…hopefully a horror one. There was even a flower. A flower?
“Look, can I confess something to you?” His question pulled me from my little survey and stopped my heart. Maybe I wasn’t alone in feeling something special between us.
“Sure. Go ahead.” I gathered my hands in my lap to hide my trembles. I don’t know why I was so nervous. It was just Thane. Okay, so yeah, maybe that was why I couldn’t still my pounding heart.
He cleared his throat. “I’m not sure how you’ll take it.”
My body fought every command. Don’t look at him. That failed, as my gaze trailed the leanness of his arm. His skin held a soft glow, a moonlit cascade that clung to him like an aura. First time I noticed it.
Don’t stare at him. That failed, too.
He took my silence for listening. “I didn’t know what to expect when I first met you. You were so young, innocent, and beautiful.”
The air grew shallow. A breath stuck in my throat. Don’t look in his eyes. Quicksilver pulsed, radiating as I failed that command as well.
“We’re not kids anymore, Macie. You’ve learned what little The Colony had to say about the vampeer, wights and devil spawn. There’s something else they’ve hidden from you. From all registered citizens. I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time why we met. Just how special you really are. But you won’t want to be my friend anymore once you know the truth. Losing you would be…”
Words trickled from my mouth unfiltered. “I, what do you mean I wouldn’t…”
He turned to me, chewing his bottom lip. The last time he did that was the day I broke first blood.
We were playing at knight warriors, a favorite of ours since we were kids. I thrust my wooden sword forward. It clattered to the ground as I doubled over from a sharp spasm in my stomach. I tried to shoo Thane away, deal with the pain on my own. But, noticing the grimace on my face––I really tried hard to be quiet, but I cried out anyway––he wouldn’t have it. When he glanced at my yellow cargo pants, he chewed his bottom lip, eyes wide. My gaze trailed down to the bloody mess I’d become. My face couldn’t have flashed hotter if I set it on fire.
Now he was doing it again, chewing his bottom lip. What could he possibly have to say? He opened his mouth to speak when the tent flap ripped away. We jerked our heads around to face a tall being covered in shaggy, brown fur from scalp to hoof. A shadowy glow encircled it like a dirty aura. Two arms protruded from both sides. Jagged teeth crowded its mouth. Drool leaked down its chin. Reptilian eyes shone bright white with a red slit down the middle. One set of eyelids blinked side to side as the second set followed up and down. It snarled, spat and drooled some more. My bladder felt one moment away from losing it.
“Frag me,” I whispered, as my world collapsed into a nightmare.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
About the Author:
contemporary - mostly young adult - fill her growing library of books.
Mother to a rambunctious darling girl aptly nicknamed Chipmunk, life stays busy. Her favorite quote keeps her moving: "You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result." ~ Mahatma Gandhi. She's released Neverlove and They All Fall Down of the Shadow Jumpers series, Frailties of the Bond and Atone of the NEO Chronicles, and BEACON, a YA urban fantasy dystopian published by Evernight Teen publishing.
Contact links:
e-mail: tomewriter@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelaLBrownWrites
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ALBrownwrites
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6476148.Angela_Brown
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank so much for letting Macie share a few things on her mind. She's a diffierent kind of gal :-)
ReplyDelete