Overcome Your Sedentary Lifestyle By PJ Sharon ~ GUEST POST

Overcome Your Sedentary Lifestyle

(A Practical Guide to Improving Health, Fitness, and Well-being for Desk Dwellers and Couch Potatoes)

By PJ Sharon

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Guest Post:

5 ways to Improve Posture
By PJ Sharon

Hi Crystal,
Thank you for hosting me today. I’m happy to be here to share some healthy posture tips with you and your readers.

Through my work as a physical therapist assistant, massage therapist, personal trainer, and yoga instructor, I’ve seen the results of poor posture and the muscle imbalances inherent in being a “chronic sitter”. Neck and back pain, numbness and tingling in the hands due to carpal tunnel or thoracic outlet syndrome, tendonitis of the hand, wrist, elbow, or shoulder due to repetitive strain, and a host of other health problems can be attributed to poor posture and prolonged sitting. Living with this type of chronic pain makes it nearly impossible to consistently function at a high level, accomplish the goals we set for ourselves, or achieve our dreams.

The good news is that these problems, if caught early and treated properly, can be alleviated with a little prevention, proper workstation set-up, and simple exercises. As such, I’m committed to helping people overcome their sedentary lifestyles in this age of digital overload. Before I get to the fun stuff, let me explain the mechanics of why good posture is so important.

Without being too technical, we need to understand that the body is a finely tuned machine which requires balance to function optimally. When all is in correct working order, the muscles are balanced, the fascia (connective tissue) is without restriction, and the spine remains in proper alignment. We call this neutral posture. Imagine though, if you’re sitting all day in front of a computer screen—a position we are clearly not made to remain in for extended periods of time. The weight of our head on our shoulders—as our eyes focus on the task before us—draws us slightly forward. Our natural inclination is to keep our eyes level and steady on our screen, so as we allow our shoulders to round, the head to tilt back, and the chin to jut out, our spinal alignment is compromised all the way down to our tailbone. No more neutral position.

This loss of structure—over time—is the perfect set up for chronic pain to develop.
Clearly the message is: Fix your posture!

I know…I’m over simplifying the problem and realize it’s an uphill battle, but one well worth fighting. Consider this. Your head weighs between eight and twelve pounds (depending on how big your brain is or how thick-headed you are). Relatively, it’s about as big as a bowling ball. If you hold a ten pound bowling ball in close to your chest, it doesn’t weigh that much, but extend it six or eight-inches out in front of you and try to hold it there, and you’ll get an idea of how much harder your neck and upper back muscles have to work to keep your head on your shoulders when you aren’t in good alignment.

Understanding how the body works and moves is essential in correcting bad habits. We can learn to protect ourselves by changing how we move, moderating the stresses we place on our bodies, and being mindful of maintaining a neutral spine whenever possible. This awareness alone will go a long way toward keeping you pain free and healthy for the duration of your sitting career.

So here are my five tips for improving your posture.

Tip #1
Know where good posture is. If awareness is half the battle, education is the other half. Being mindful and checking in frequently will only get you so far if you don’t know what correct posture feels like. When sitting, your ears should line up over your shoulders and your shoulders should line up over your hips. If you aren’t sure if you are in correct posture, stand up against a wall with head, shoulder blades and hips touching, then step away and try to maintain it.

Tip #2
Move and stretch frequently. Okay, Captain Obvious, you say. So why don’t we do it? We live in our heads—that’s why. When we’re focused on a task, we forget to move. Time passes and we aren’t aware of our bodies until they are screaming for relief hours after we’ve sat down. Set a timer, download a stop watch app, or simply set time limits for your sitting activities. Check the clock when you sit down and make a conscious decision to take stretch breaks every half hour. Yes! Every 30 minutes! It really only takes five minutes or less to perform a few posture fixers like shoulder shrugs and rolls, neck range of motion exercises, or hip flexor stretches.

Tip #3
Modify your work station. If you’re in pain and suffering, the first thing you need to look at is your work set up. Are your desk, chair, computer, keyboard and mouse in the right position or are you working on your laptop and being inhaled by your couch? Google ERGONOMICS and check out the parameters of proper work station set-up. Small changes can have amazing results. A wrist rest, foot support, or even improved lighting can make a difference. Don’t put this off! Check to make sure you aren’t harming yourself when a simple correction will fix the problem. I talk about this at length in my book, OVERCOME your SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE.

Tip #4
Strengthen your postural muscles. I know this seems like another obvious fix, but let’s face it, if you aren’t an “exercise person,” the mention of lifting weights or doing a few push-ups might send you into eye rolling mode. The truth is, there are a few very simple—no weights required—exercises that can make a huge difference.

Bank Robber Stretch 


Scapular Squeezes  


Bicep and Pectoral Stretch

Tip #5

Foam Roller- You can pick up a foam roller at most sporting goods stores these days for less than $20. There are a ton of exercises and treatment techniques you can do to alleviate tight muscles and relieve pain caused by trigger points, but one of my favorite uses is what I call the “chest opener”. Simply lie on the foam roller the long way so that your entire spine and head are supported. You may need to place a small towel under your sacrum for comfort. Allow your arms to rest out to the sides on the floor with palms face up. This stretch opens the chest and increases extension of your thoracic vertebrae, which tend to lose mobility with prolonged sitting and forward head/round shoulder posture. Relax here for about five minutes and do this several times per week.

What are your favorite tricks for maintaining your health and beating your sedentary lifestyle?


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Blurb:

Is a sedentary lifestyle killing you? Are you gaining weight, developing neck pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, back problems, or other health issues that are interfering with your ability to achieve your goals or live life to the fullest?

Sedentary Lifestyle Syndrome (SLS) ™ is one of the fastest growing health care crises of our time. In this digital age of techno-overload, where most of our waking hours are spent sitting, or otherwise “connected” to some device, we are quickly realizing the negative effects. If you can answer yes to the following questions, you may be suffering from SLS.
· Do you sit for at least 4-6 hours per day without adequate breaks?
· Have you gained significant weight from lack of exercise and poor nutrition?
· Do you suffer from headaches, fatigue, listlessness, and lack of motivation?
· Have you been diagnosed with one or more health issues aggravated by prolonged sitting and lack of movement? (ie: Obesity, depression, heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome)

Overcome Your Sedentary Lifestyle is the practical guide you need. Author and Holistic Health Care professional, PJ Sharon, includes tips to keep you healthy—even if sitting is in your job description. Ms. Sharon offers easy to implement solutions for proper work station set-up, exercises for injury prevention and treatment, and a practical plan for self-care success—whether you’re perched on the couch, or on the way to fulfilling your dreams.

Isn’t it time for you to stand up for your life?

E-Book ISBN: 978-0-9969289-0-8
Print ISBN-13: 978-1519110503
ISBN-10: 1519110502

Amazon Buy Link 

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Author BIO:

In addition to authoring award winning young adult novels, PJ Sharon owns ABSolute Fitness and Therapeutic Bodywork, a private practice massage therapy and personal training business in East Granby, CT. With over twenty-five years in the health and fitness industry, Ms. Sharon offers a multidisciplinary approach to wellness.

As a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA), Massage Therapist (LMT), Certified Personal Fitness Trainer (CPFT), and Yoga Instructor, Ms. Sharon brings a wealth of knowledge to her clients and workshops. A graduate of Springfield Technical Community College and the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy, Ms. Sharon also holds certifications as a trainer through the NFPT and teaches therapeutic yoga. A Black Belt in the art of Shaolin Kempo Karate, and former figure skating and power skating instructor, Ms. Sharon’s passion for holistic health and healing comes through in her writing—whether she is penning romantic and hopeful stories for teens, or sharing her wisdom and experience with clients and workshop attendees.

When she’s not writing, or spreading the love through her practice, she can be found kayaking in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, and renovating an old farmhouse with the love of her life.

Author Links:
E-mail | Website | Twitter | Facebook | Newsletter 

BEACHED by Brenda Beem ~ GIVEAWAY ~ GUEST POST

BEACHED

Knockdown, book 2

by  Brenda Beem

Giveaway: $25 Amazon Gift Card. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter.

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Guest Post by Brenda Beem:

I’m so happy to be here today. Thank you so much for having me. 
I live in the Seattle, U.S.A. area, taught school, have three children, and like to sail the Pacific Northwest waters. I love stories where kids create and figure out ways to survive in strange new worlds.
I thought I’d share a few of my favorite lines from my new novel, “Beached,” with you today.
Background. In my first novel, “Knockdown,” a group of kids survive a world disaster on a sailboat. In “Beached,” the second novel, the kids have arrived at a safe island. Or so they think.
Excerpt from the first pages of “Beached.”:
When the rowboat was about a hundred feet away, the scruffy guy rowing bellowed, “Get your captain. We need to speak to him.”
Dylan and I locked eyes. He was eighteen. I was sixteen. We’d survived a tsunami and a thousand miles of rough seas. We’d been threatened by the Coast Guard, a motorcycle gang, and an Ice Age. 
Dylan and I were the captains. 
It was so fun writing about these two characters. In the first novel, Knockdown, they both  lost a loved one. Dylan got drunk for days. And Toni, who is sixteen years old and Dylan’s little sister, has to step up and take over the boat during a storm.
In a later scene in “Beached,” most of the kids are camping on the shore of the island. Toni hears voices coming up the trial. Her boyfriend, Takumi, is walking with a girl they have all just met. A beautiful Goth girl.
Excerpt from beginning pages of  “Beached”.
The important thing was that the danger to us was over. I was being silly. Takumi
had the right to laugh with Kat. I wanted him to laugh.
I just wanted him to laugh with me.
And lastly, a couple of lines near the end of the novel. The youngest member of the crew has been held for ransom. One of the islanders wants the sailboat. Takumi, Toni’s boyfriend comes to the rescue.
Excerpt from “Beached,” near the end.
Takumi hurried over to the tree and returned, seconds later, with a spear gun. 
Kat raised her eyebrows. “Umm. Hate to tell you, but pistol beats spear gun.” 
I hope these few lines give you a taste of what you will find in my novel. I’ve tried to balance the life and death drama of the story, with a dash of humor, and a pinch of romance.
Thanks again for having me.
Brenda Beem

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The first book in the series, KNOCKDOWN, won first place at the Houston Writers Guild.

Toni and the young crew of the sailboat, Whistler, have just found a safe harbor. Or so they thought...

They may have survived a tsunami, but they’re racing ahead of an ice age as they continue the frantic search for their families.

The island they’ve anchored near is anything but safe. Dangerous men lurk nearby—along with snakes, stingrays, and sharks. An island girl threatens to destroy Toni and her boyfriend’s relationship, the youngest member of the crew gets lost in a narrow dark cave, and Zoë is more annoying than ever.

Will Toni and her crew survive the island and its treacherous waters? 

YA Contemporary Suspense
Released: October 30, 2015

14+ due to sexuality and adult situations 

Buy Links:  

EvernightTeen | Amazon | AllRomance eBooks

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Excerpt:

Makala struggled in Jeremy’s arms and whimpered.

Ayoung couple standing at the edge of camp stepped forward. “We came here to make sure the gun didn’t fall into the wrong hands.” The young woman stared at Jeremy. “You’re the wrong hands. Put the gun down before someone gets hurt.”

“Enough!”
Jeremy turned in a slow circle, the pistol still pointed at Makala. “Listen up! I’m going down to the beach and tell the kids on that boat that if they want their friends back, they’ll have to give us the sailboat. Anyone who helps me can come with us. If you try and stop me, the girl gets hurt.”

The young couple shook their heads and backed away.

“Help us!” I pleaded.

A man with a beer belly shook his finger at me. “This is your fault. You brought the gun to our island.”

My mouth dropped open. “The convicts brought a gun here. If we hadn’t shown up, they would have made your lives miserable.”

A young man with a beard stepped toward Jeremy. “Come on, bro. Hand over the gun.”

Jeremy aimed at the sand in front of the young man and pulled the trigger.

I held my hands over my ears.

Makala and Sophia screamed.

Jeremy turned the gun on the young man. “If you aren’t with me, you should leave.”
 

The young man raised his hands in the air. Most of the group gathered on the beach followed his example. After a few minutes, one by one they left. 

Kat, her father, and six of the younger guys stayed. The young guys shifted from one
foot to another. I wanted to scream. We’d saved these people from the convicts.
We’d risked our lives for them.

Jeremy signaled for us to start moving. “Head to the beach. I’ll follow with Makala…
Anyone makes a wrong move, the girl gets a bullet.” Kat and her father started down the path. Four island guys followed after them. Two held tightly onto Nick’s arms. Angelina stayed close to Jeremy and Makala.

Sophia clung to her father’s leg.

“You!”
Jeremy pointed the gun at me. “Take my daughter’s hand and make sure she doesn’t fall.”

I reached for Sophia. She screamed, “Mommy!” and darted off into the woods before
I could grab her.

“Stop her!” Jeremy yelled at me.

“No!”
Sophia’s mother arrived back in the clearing. “I heard the gunshot. I’ll find her. We’ll meet you on the beach.”

Jeremy stared at his wife. “If you don’t show up, I’ll come looking for you. Don’t let that happen.”

She took off after her daughter. “Sophia, it’s Mommy. Where are you?” Her cries grew faint as she moved farther and farther away.

While we hiked down the steep path, we peeked through openings in the trees and brush, and watched Whistler’s progress. I kept shaking my head. How had my plan failed so badly?

When we got to the beach, I couldn’t take my eyes off Whistler. It was sailing too fast. It should have lowered its sails and needed to drop anchor.

I limped faster. “Kat, they aren’t slowing down. Something’s wrong.” Kat and I began to run. The others followed close behind.

“Slow down!” Jeremy yelled. I didn’t know if he was talking to me or to the boat. I ignored him and moved as fast as my ankle would allow. When we got to the shore, I stared in horror. The sails were still up. The boat was headed straight for the beach.

Without thinking, I limped into the water and headed to the spot where Whistler would
crash. Kat and her dad pulled me back. “You can’t stop the boat!”

“It’s going to hit the beach! We have to do something.” I screamed. “Dylan! Takumi! Drop the sails!”

No one answered. I could see people on deck, but it was so dark, I couldn’t tell who.

Whistler was only a few yards off the beach.

A shot rang out from the boat.

Loud voices began arguing.

Dylan yelled, “Grab the day anchor!”

Whistler kept coming.

The sails were still up.

The hull of the boat hit the rocky shore.

There was a terrible crunching sound. The bow was held fast. Whistler was beached.

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Author bio:

Brenda has always lived in the shadow of Mt. Rainer, a rumbling volcano, and the many waters of the Pacific Northwest.  

Her idea of heaven is a book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.  

She now lives on Lake Washington, close to Seattle, with her husband. She loves to kayak and watch the resident eagles soar. Her sailboat, Whistler, is in a marina a short ways away. Summers are spent sailing the inland seas of Washington and Canada.

Website: http://www.brendabeem.com

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rock Me Two Times By Dawn Ryder ~ Rock Band ~ GUEST POST ~ GIVEAWAY

Rock Me Two Times

Series: Rock Band, Book 1

By Dawn Ryder

5 copies of ROCK ME TWO TIMES by Dawn Ryder will be given away during the tour. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter.

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Guest Post:

Sexiest Rock Stars (And What Makes Them So Hot!) with Dawn Ryder

Rock Stars…some are just lick-able….

Let’s face it, there is something about a man in leather, who can bring a stadium to its feet. I know there are all sorts of different music out there but heavy metal in all its formats has a certain, gut-wrenching appeal that just gets girls wanting to squeal. So here’s one of my favorites:

Tim McGraw – Fine, he isn’t a heavy metal musician, but he is absolutely lick-able. There are a lot of reasons that I find this man fascinating, one of which is his music writing range. Everything from songs about ‘being a bad boy but a real good man’ to something soul wrenching like ‘Live like you were dying.’ The music moves something inside me and that was exactly what I wanted to come across in this book,Rock Me Two Times. I wanted to take readers to the person behind the fame, the one that struggles with self-esteem like every one of their fans and also has to contend with the fact that because they are at the top, they know everyone is going to judge what they come out with next. Sure, I wanted Syon to be a strong hero type, but I also wanted the reader to see that he had a need for a soul mate too.

There are so many types of passion, and music is one that the world stops and listens to. If I’m lucky, someday, one of my books will captivate a reader just as completely as some of the great songs out there that everyone knows.

Dawn Ryder

DawnRyder.com

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Summary:

First in Dawn Ryder’s sizzling new Rock Band series.

Rock star Syon Braden writes and plays the most extreme—and profitable—music from the depths of his shredded heart. He’s got a double platinum record, adoring fans, and success for his band Toxsin—but it’s what he can’t have that he craves. Custom leather designer Kate Napier has her sights set on success, and that means keeping irresistible rock stars like Syon out of her bed. The chance to tour with the band and provide them with a fantastic custom wardrobe is too major an opportunity to turn down. But immersion in the dark, wild world of Toxsin on tour means Kate’s about to get rocked…hard…body and soul.

ISBN: 9781492616764

Pubdate: November 3, 2015

Genre: Erotic Romance

Imprint: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Buy Links:

Amazon | B&N | Indie Bound | iBook

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Excerpt:

The Staples Center was roaring.

It sounded like a tsunami coming in, or a freight train passing three feet in front of her face. It was more than sound; there was a vibration that traveled through her body, all the way down to her bones. There was a current in the air that practically crackled with excitement.

The bodyguard-slash-security guy showed Kate up to a private box. She followed because she didn’t want to squeal like a little girl and ask to be taken home.

She’d never lost her head like this before.

It was embarrassing on an epic scale. She was pissed at herself for rolling over so easily for a man who wouldn’t recall her name by the end of the night.

The box had plush seats and an open rail overlooking the stage. The lights went down, and the drummer started up. The beat was infectious, taking over her heart until she was sure the muscle was keeping the same rhythm.

The crowd roared again, thrusting their hands up into the air as two guitars joined the drummer. Her nipples puckered again, her memory offering up an image of Syon arching back as he played those final chords. It was like he was pushing the music out of himself, almost as if he were giving birth.

On stage, he was just as raw.

Syon took command of the space completely. The audience ate him up.

And were they screaming. Syon worked them just as skillfully as he did his guitar. He really was lord of all he surveyed. Kate discovered herself leaning forward, being drawn toward the spellbinding energy pulsing on the stage. Sitting still was impossible; her body wanted to move in time with the notes Syon was wringing out of his instrument. She became fixated on his hands; the way he worked his fingers was downright dominant.

Her teeth were clenched  by the time the last song finished, she was panting softly and felt wrung out.

But it was fucking wonderful. She was drifting on a high and collapsed back into her padded chair, her composure scattered around her like fall leaves. She felt spent but amped up at the same time.

Fangirls were definitely climbing the respect ladder in her book.

Okay, so she was drooling over a rock star like some high schooler, but at least B.O.B.—her battery-operated boyfriend —was waiting for her at home. All in all, the buzz was worth the slightly stinging blow to her pride, because in some corner of her mind, she believed she should be grown-up enough to realize fantasies weren’t mature. So disappointment wouldn’t stalk her in the wee hours of the night.

A hollow feeling in her gut warned her she was hoping in vain.

As Syon and the rest of the band left the stage, Kate indulged herself in a long moment of reflection. Syon had worked that guitar until it wailed. He had to be hell in bed if he applied even half that effort to pleasing his partner.

“So, what’d you think?”

She jumped, grabbing the armrests of the movie theater-style chair. Her eyes popped open wide, and her belly did a triple flip when she found Syon watching her.

“Ah…” Her tongue suddenly felt like a wad of cotton in her mouth as she scrambled to stand up and turn around to face him. “It was fantastic…”

He grinned at her, a huge, arrogantly pleased expression that showed off his perfect teeth.

God, she wondered if he knew how to bite…

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 Author Bio:

Dawn Ryder is the erotic romance pen name of a bestselling author of historical romances. She has been publishing her stories for over eight years to a growing and appreciative audience. She is commercially published in mass market and trade paper, and digi-first published with trade paper releases. She is hugely committed to her career as an author, as well as to other authors and to her readership. She resides in Southern California.

Social Networking Links:

Website: http://www.dawnryder.com/  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mary-Wine-133965836120 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dawnryder_write

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/853496.Dawn_Ryder

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Emerald Bound By Teresa Richards ~ GUEST POST ~ GIVEAWAY

Emerald Bound

By Teresa Richards

Giveaway:   $20 Amazon Gift Card. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter. 

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Guest Post:

Hi everyone! I’m Teresa Richards and my debut novel, Emerald Bound is now out in the world. Emerald Bound is a dark YA retelling of the fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. Here’s my super-short twitter pitch so you can quickly get the gist of it:

A semi-reformed stalker. A down-and-out princess. Together, they must stop an enchanted, power-hungry emerald.

And, okay, here’s the official blurb in case you want more:

A princess, a pea, and a tower of mattresses. This is the sliver that survives of a story more nightmare than fairy tale. 
Maggie Rhodes, high school junior and semi-reformed stalker, learns the tale’s true roots after a spying attempt goes awry and her best friend Kate ends up as the victim of an ancient curse. At the center of the curse lies an enchanted emerald that has been residing quietly in a museum for the past fifty years. Admirers of the gem have no idea that it feeds on life. Or that it’s found its next victim in Kate.  

Enter Lindy, a school acquaintance who knows more than she’s letting on, and Garon, a handsome stranger claiming he knows how to help, and Maggie is left wondering who to trust and how to save her best friend before it’s too late.

If only Maggie knew her connection to the fairy tale was rooted far deeper than an endangered best friend. 
*

I am so excited for you all to read it! Having my baby out there is all kinds of terrifying and all kinds of exhilarating, all at the same time. This is the first stop in my week-long blog tour to celebrate the release of Emerald Bound. What better way to celebrate than with a little glitz?

One of the earliest scenes I wrote for this book was the one where Maggie attempts to sneak into the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC to steal the emerald that holds her friend captive. In preparation to write this scene, I visited the museum to scope everything out. My favorite area of the museum (Maggie’s favorite as well) was the national gem collection on the second floor. I based my descriptions of the cursed emerald that causes so much trouble for my characters on the MacKay emerald necklace, which I fell in love with during my visit. Here’s a picture of it—isn’t it gorgeous? 







There were so many other amazing jewels there. I don’t wear much jewelry (aside from earrings—I love earrings), but one visit to the national gem collection, and I was pining for a giant necklace full of sparkly rocks.

Here are some of the other gorgeous items on display:













The Victoria-Transvaal Diamond













The Hope Diamond














The Carmen Lucia Ruby


I could go on and on. But I’m sure you’re wondering… is Maggie successful in her attempt to steal the gorgeous yet cursed national treasure? Does she get distracted by all of the sparkly things around her and forget why she’s there? What will happen to her friend if Maggie turns into a jewel-crazed zombie, ogling the Harry Winstons and French crowned jewels along with the rest of the museum’s patrons?

Sorry, but I can’t spoil it for you. I just can’t.

But I can tell you I had so much fun taking this fairy tale and twisting it up to create Emerald Bound. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Oh, and next time you’re at the Smithsonian, maybe keep your distance when you’re admiring the emeralds. They’re a sneaky lot.


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BLURB:


A princess, a pea, and a tower of mattresses. This is the sliver that survives of a story more nightmare than fairytale...

 Maggie Rhodes, high school junior and semi-reformed stalker, learns the tale’s true roots after a spying attempt goes awry and her best friend Kate ends up as the victim of an ancient curse. At the center of the curse lies an enchanted emerald that has been residing quietly in a museum for the past fifty years. Admirers of the gem have no idea that it feeds on life. Or that it’s found its next victim in Kate.
 Enter Lindy, a school acquaintance who knows more than she’s letting on, and Garon, a handsome stranger claiming he knows how to help, and Maggie is left wondering who to trust and how to save her best friend before it’s too late.
 If only Maggie knew her connection to the fairy tale was rooted far deeper than an endangered best friend.

Fantasy, Romance, Suspense
Evernight Teen Publishing ~ 83,000 words
Editor's Pick

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Buy Links:  

Evernight Teen    Amazon

Follow along with the tour HERE

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Excerpt:

A part of me died long ago.
It was the part of me that feels, and it was Calista’s fault.
What happened tonight was nothing new—innocent victims welcomed into our home, not knowing they would never leave. I learned long ago I could not help them, so I stopped trying.
But this time something was different. This time I was awake, burning with a gut-wrenching guilt, as the next victims slept downstairs. This time I knew the victims. And they didn’t deserve what was coming.
It had always been hard for me to make friends. I’d been called loner, loser, outcast, and freak. Even still, I remembered Maggie offering to show me around when I first transferred to their school. Through her, I met Kate and Piper. The three of them were always nice to me, while other kids kept their distance and spread rumors behind my back. I told myself I didn’t care—I wasn’t like them.
But being a loner was lonely.
So tonight when I saw Maggie and her friends here, something inside me snapped. Or, perhaps it was the dead piece of me coming back to life. Now I cared desperately about what was happening in the room below mine.
But there was still nothing I could do.
Calista usually lured in victims from out of town to avoid arousing suspicion. Pregnant ones were a particular favorite—easy prey, she called them. But Maggie and her friends came here all on their own. The opportunity was too good for Calista to pass up.
Everyone thought Calista was my mother, but she wasn’t.
Back in my day, almost four centuries ago, Calista had an alternate method of luring in victims. She and her husband, Theodore, advertised for hired help with their inn. The number of parents willing to sell their daughters into a life of servitude in exchange for a forgiven debt or a clean slate was staggering.
My father was one of them.
By the time my mother found out what he’d done, it was too late. There was no escape. I was bound.
My story was well known in this land, whispered as a bedtime tale to ease children into sleep. But, just like any other story passed down through time by rumors and idle gossip, the fragment that survived was woefully incomplete. It began something like this:
There is rumored to have been (once upon a time, of course) a princess, a pea, and a tower of mattresses.
That much was true, though in actuality it was only one mattress, not twenty. The pea was also real, though most would call it a precious stone—an emerald, to be precise.
The gem that sealed my fate was now in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. Calista was furious when she found it missing. She thought I’d stolen it until she remembered my limits. The identity of the true thief remains unknown.
Even though the emerald is no longer in our possession, we are still bound to it, as it is bound to us. Admirers of the opulent necklace where it rests don’t understand it. Like me, the gem is a prisoner, struggling against its fate.
Even now, centuries later, I don’t understand all the details of what happened to me that night. But it began with a troubled slumber on a bed of enchanted emeralds.



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About the Author:

Teresa Richards writes YA, but loves anything that can be given a unique twist. Her zombie stories 'Are You My Mombie?' and 'The Zombie Code' can be found in Z Tales: Stories from the Zombieverse by The Fairfield Scribes.
When Teresa’s not writing, she can be found either chasing after one of her five kids, or hiding someplace in the house with a treat her children overlooked. Emerald Bound is her debut novel.
You can connect with her on twitter @BYUtm33 or at authorteresarichards.com.





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