Soulless Blog Tour

Today I'm hosting the very awesome Crystal Collier! She's sharing an excerpt from her new book, SOULLESS, which just came out on Monday. I'm super psyched to read it since I loved the first book in the series, MOONLESS. Check it out!

Title: SOULLESS
Series: Maiden of Time
Author: Crystal Collier
Pages: 263
Pub Date: October 13, 2014
Publisher: Raybourne Publishing
ISBN: 9781629830032

The Soulless are coming.

Alexia manipulated time to save the man of her dreams, and lost her best friend to red-eyed wraiths. Still grieving, she struggles to reconcile her loss with what was gained: her impending marriage. But when her wedding is destroyed by the Soulless—who then steal the only protection her people have—she’s forced to unleash her true power.

And risk losing everything.

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What reviewers are saying:

"5 Stars." - Invincible Love of Reading Book Blog

"I LOVED it! So good. Seriously...exceeded my expectations." -Kristin Smith, advanced reviewer

"Entirely unique and chilling." Gabby @ What’s Beyond Forks

"Unputdownable." T.C. Mckee, BookFish Books

Excerpt:

Mae stood on the brink, arms crossed.

Alexia’s head felt like a pillow full of down, a soft buzzing in her ears, the taste of sulfur at the back of her tongue. “The Soulless—” she warned.

A wicked smile crept over Mae’s face, her blind eyes crinkling at the corners. “I can hear them.” She stepped over the line of white blossoms.

The grass reached for her foot—like iron shavings drawn to a magnet. The stretching plants shriveled and blackened, desiccating and writhing into the dirt. Deadness bled out from the innkeeper across the foliage, spreading like the black fingers of an inky night, but halting along the perimeter Kiren had marked. Like a giant sucking breath, an invisible force drew the color and life out of the earth, pulling it into Mae’s body. Her eyes closed, nostrils flared, chest lifting as though she were breathing for the first time. Death ringed her foot, extending twice the woman’s height in all directions and growing while her skin gleamed and brightened.

A shriek rent the air. The creature nearest Mae collapsed. Those on either side dropped. A fourth and fifth toppled.

Hesitating, Mae retreated back over the line. “Go away. The girl is under my protection.”

The one creature still standing trembled and disappeared in a blinding blur of motion. A wide berth of shriveled nothingness remained, five immobile lumps littering the ground, not a whisper of life stirring them. Mae turned and faced Alexia, her innocence a halo of light against a backdrop of devastation.

Giveaway:

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Get your free copy of book 1, MOONLESS, October 13, 20, 27, 31 or Nov 7.

Author Bio:

Crystal Collier is a young adult author who pens dark fantasy, historical, and romance hybrids. She can be found practicing her brother-induced ninja skills while teaching children or madly typing about fantastic and impossible creatures. She has lived from coast to coast and now calls Florida home with her creative husband, four littles, and “friend” (a.k.a. the zombie locked in her closet). Secretly, she dreams of world domination and a bottomless supply of cheese. 

You can find her on her Blog, Facebook, Goodreads, or follow her on Twitter.

Quick update before I scurry off...

Sorry I didn't blog much last week. My poor Gizmo was sick all week. We started noticing a problem on Monday night and I spent most of my time on the internet trying to figure out what it was with no luck. We finally took him to the vet on Thursday, found out he had a UTI on Friday (do you guys know how hard it is to get a urine sample from a cat? Because now I know), then had to take him back on Saturday for a shot. He actually handled the shot pretty well but he really hates being in the car and being at the vet in general, and was extremely vocal about his disapproval the whole time. I still have to give him oral antibiotics twice a day as well, which is very hard and I now have a wound on my hand to prove it. He does seem to be getting better, though.

So this week I'm hoping to get back into editing. I just have to take the plunge and start doing it. Even if I just get a few things fixed every day, it'll be worth it. I actually don't think I'm going to do NaNo this year--the fantasy story I had in mind still needs a LOT of planning and I don't think I'll get it all done in time (I still haven't named the characters!). Plus I'd rather focus on editing if I can actually get back into it.

I'm hoping to get a book review written for Friday's post. We shall see. If not, then I'll definitely be back on Monday to let you know if I got any editing done or if I failed miserably.

Missing Muse & Shelfie Blogfest

Do you ever feel like your muse has abandoned you? Like they just got sick of your crummy attitude and went away to do something more fun than inspire you? I'm starting to think that might be part of my problem. I haven't been feeling all that inspired lately but I think it goes beyond that. I used to talk to my muse--like actually talk out loud and hear him answer in my head. I can't remember the last time I did that.

Usually on the first Monday of the month Jordan takes over and writes his own blog post. Well, it just feels like he didn't show up. Ideally, I'd like for him to show up every day, but since this is pretty much the only day of the month where he's actually required to do something, I'm wondering if I should put up fliers. Well, here's the best I can do, I suppose:

Missing: Muse
Male, approximately 5' 10"
Somewhere between the ages of 15 and 19, depending on his mood. Probably 15. I have pictured him as old as 35, however, so be on the lookout.
Caucasian, brown hair, brown eyes. Most likely wearing skinny jeans and a gray t-shirt.
Answers to: Jordan, Palmer, or "gorgeous"
Does not answer to: Jojo, no matter how many times I call him that.
Last seen here on September 1. Could be anywhere between his hometown of New York City and eastern Massachusetts, where I live. Or wherever it is that muses go. Is there a muse dimension where all the muses just hang out and laugh at us?

Image credit

Can be lured with sweets. Just stick a cookie or cupcake in your window and he might show up.
If found, please hold hostage and let me know. He WILL try to trick you into letting him go, and will most likely be successful unless you wear earplugs. Or give him the whole batch of cookies.

Anyway, onto something else! I've been procrastinating forever and now it's the last day of the Shelfie Blogfest! Thanks to Tara Tyler and all of the awesome co-hosts for putting this together!

First off, let me say these shelves are a complete lie. It's not as bad as that sounds. I live in a studio apartment so there's not a lot of space. Most of my books are actually in boxes in a storage unit. The books I keep in my apartment are the ones I haven't read or have recently read, as well as my favorites. And all of my writing reference books. I also usually don't get the third shelf--it's home to my fiance's horror movie collection, but I cleared it out and organized all of my books so that they looked more presentable. :P Enjoy!

My sad three shelves. Yes, I own the DSM and a Geometry textbook.

Winner of worst spine goes to The Catcher in the Rye. Surprise--I have none. 

And I originally wasn't going to do a true selfie shelfie because I hate pictures of myself, but I thought literally sticking a costar on the shelf would help me out. He seemed to enjoy it, except for the fact that this was the last picture after about thirty failures...

Sufferin' Subplot!

I know I have a stuffed Sylvester the cat somewhere, but don't ask me to dig it out...

Anyway, today is the first Wednesday of the month so that means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! It's also the one year anniversary for the IWSG website! If you're looking for my submission for The IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond, err, well...I haven't written it yet. I'll go ahead and blame my writing slump, and maybe my tendency to procrastinate. But I can think of several high school and college essays that were done at the last minute and still came out amazing, so this will be my project for the day! I know what I want to write about, at least, so, fingers crossed!

Anyhoo, whenever IWSG day rolls around, I feel like I always waste it. I usually vent about some minuscule problem or dilemma that having just one or two people respond to it makes me feel better or reinforces something that I already knew in the first place. It's great to get feedback, but on a day where I usually get three times the comments, I feel like I should be talking about something more meaningful. So that's what I'm going to try to do from now on.

I've been talking about my editing woes a lot lately. Basically I've been avoiding it like the plague. There are a ton of reasons behind this, but part of it is that I'm having a really hard time figuring out how to fix all of the problems in my novel. I'm starting to think I have to completely scrap the last third of it and figure out how to get to the ending. I've always known how the book needs to end, I'm just not sure I got there in the right way.

A lot of my problems come from the subplot. I think I have two options at this point: either scrap it or find a way to make it reflect the main plot more. There are a lot of parallels in my book--parallel moments, parallel characters, parallel LINES (there's geometry--it makes sense, I swear!). So my subplot should parallel the main plot in some way. I think what I was going for is to show how my main character is constantly manipulating people in some way--so this should go for the minor characters as well as the main ones. But I don't think I got that point across very well.

What worries me is that I can't quite figure it out. Every solution I come up with seems stupid, but I think I'm relying too much on what I've already written. I think up to a certain point it works, but once my MC has made the decision to basically destroy one his friends, it didn't really go where I wanted it to. It ends kind of weakly, and I want my MC to have more control of the situation, and honestly, be a bit more evil.

I'm also worried that having this subplot will weaken the book as a whole. Do I even really need it? I know I need these minor characters to have certain moments happen, but besides that, is it necessary? Do you think subplots just distract from the main plot? Or do they enhance it? I guess that all depends on if they're done right, but I'm still not sure about mine. I think I need to reevaluate why I need it, and try to revamp it so that it makes the story better.

What does everyone think? Are you for or against subplots? And if you'd like to help me brainstorm (and just for fun!)--how would you get revenge on someone who hurt you? 

Hope for Her Release Day Blitz and Giveaway!

BLOG TOUR: SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 3

Hope for Her By Sydney Aaliyah Michelle

Release Date: October 1, 2014

Get it on Kobo: http://bit.ly/HopeKobo

Get it on Amazon: http://bit.ly/HopeAmazon

Get it at Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/HopeBnN

No one ever expected much from him.

Joshua Elijah Griffin, IV is on his last chance. A stint in rehab and a transfer to a new school has scared him into putting his life on track. He’s determined to live up to his family’s expectations, but on the first day of class, Josh meets a girl, and he knows his father won’t approve, but in Carrington, he sees a kindred spirit. He's willing to give up everything to be with her.

No one ever thought she was special.

Carrington Olivia Butler is ready to shine. Always in the shadows of her siblings, she goes away to college to break out of her shell. All Carrington wants is to feel special. Josh's attention is exactly what she craves, but their intense and sometimes volatile relationship is more than what she bargained for.

Josh’s demons return, and Carrington’s feelings fade, but both aren’t ready to give up hope. They give their love one last shot to survive, but hope, may not be enough.

**This book contains adult subject matter. Not intended for young readers.**

~*~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~*~

Sydney Aaliyah Michelle is a New Adult Contemporary Romance writer, a voracious reader and movie fanatic who hails from Texas.

After surviving 5 1/2 years living in China, she had the courage to finally pursue her passion and become a writer.

Sydney has been blogging at sydneyaaliyah.com for three years, where she interviews people about their tattoos, discusses her favorite movie quotes, reviews books (New Adult & only the ones she loves) and journals about her writing and editing process.

Sydney’s self-published debut New Adult Novel Another New Life released in May 2014.

An active tweeter, she is also a JuNoWriMo (2x) and NaNoWriMo (2x) winner who notes the sci-fi action flick “The Matrix” as the best representation of her life in the past. She is now awake.

She can recite the entire script for the 80’s teen comedy/drama “The Breakfast Club” and loves any and everything associated with the Avengers Movie, especially Tony Stark.

When it come to books, Sydney reads different genres, but some of her favorite writers are Stephen King, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Cora Carmack & Emily Bronte. Under the Dome, The Great Gatsby & Wuthering Heights are her favorite books.

~*~EXCERPT~*~

I reached out and grabbed her, wrapping my arms around her waist. She resisted,

pushing and punching my arms and shoulders. I wanted her to fight me. To hit me and scream and show me what I did to her.

After a while, she collapsed in my arms, exhausted from fighting, but her sobs

continued for several more minutes. My neck and chest dampened from her tears, and her whole body convulsed when she released an uncontrollable series of coughs. It shook us both, but I held on tight. The vibration of our bodies glued together made me hard, and I found it difficult to concentrate. I tried to push those thoughts out of my head. I wanted her to understand.

It tore me up to know I caused her an ounce of pain. I held her tight with one arm and stroked her back with the other. Each stroke, her body softened. When her last bit of energy drained, I turned us around and her back was up against my car. I placed my hands on her hips; she whimpered as I lifted her and sat her on the trunk.

Her damp hair stuck to her face, and I pushed it away. I wiped her eyes and lifted her chin.

"How could you leave me like that?" she asked. The desperation in her voice

fucked with my mind. I hated myself.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as my lips sweep across her cheek. She tensed. I

expressed my gratitude by kissing her other cheek. She whimpered, and my heart

cracked.

I kissed her forehead, dropped my hands to her waist, and her head fell forward without my support.

"Why?" she asked. Her voice sounded defeated, but defiant. She wanted an

answer. She deserved an answer.

"Since I meet you, I've had the time of my life." I kissed her jawline as I placed

my hands on her thighs. “I’ve never met anyone like you before." As my lips moved to her ear, she leaned into me. I pushed her legs apart. I wanted to hold her, get closer to her. She relaxed more with every kiss. "I want to be with you so bad." When I reached her earlobe, I bit it, and she moaned. "But eventually you're going to leave me."

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