A Teen's Tale #1: The Boy Who Forgot

Mike ran out the door after his brother Chuck on a dark, cold morning. They had almost missed the bus again, so they were running down the driveway before the driver slammed the door and drove off without them. Mike thought "Man, it is fricking dark out here. I can't see crap.". He tripped a couple more times, and finally sat down in his seat. As he sat there he realized it was quiet. It's NEVER quiet on the bus. What the hell was going on? He had his eyes closed because he was so tired. Finally he hears:

"Mike?" spoken softly by his brother Chuck.

"Yeah, what Chuck? I'm trying to nod off here, you know.", spit out Mike.

"Okay, but I have to ask you something. Where is your head?" he whispered.

"My head? What the hell are you talking about?" Mike yelled.

"You have no head. It's like it fell off your neck or something. Man, this is REALLY freaky." said Chuck.

Mike tried to open his eyes, and nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing. He slowly reached his hands up to where his head was suppose to be. Wait a fricking minute, he thought, "I was talking to Chuck wasn't I?"

"Chuck?" he whispered.

"Yeah, Mike, what?" he replied softly.

"You can hear me, so how I can be without a head?"

"Well, it's kind of weird, but I'm hearing you in my head."

"Oh."

He realized then that all he could hear was Chuck's "voice", but nothing else. No head. No Ears. No Head. No mouth. Damn, his mom was SO going to kill him.

"Mike, mom just called me and said I had to tell you something." whispered Chuck.

"Great. Was she mad?" questioned Mike.

"Well, she was actually giggling. But you know mom, she's always had a warped sense of humor.", Chuck answered.

Chuck snickered, but it had an edge of hysteria in it, as he told Mike:

"She wanted me to tell you, word for word that "I KNEW one day you would leave your head at home. Didn't I always tell you that you would forget your head if it wasn't attached? Now get your butt back home and let me attach your head to your body. Geesh, Michael, what am I going to do with you?"

Mike thought to himself, "Moms. Why do they always have to know everything? It really sucks."
Written by B. Hyde, inspired by her 15 year old.

Review: Some Girls Bite

Some Girls Bite: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel
Author: Chloe Neill
Trade Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: NAL Trade

Summary: Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was Merit’s. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker—and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.

I've been following Chloe Neill's blog for a little while now, but I hadn't been able to pick up her first book until last week. I knew it would be witty and entertaining, but I didn't expect it to be thought provoking. I'm not sure if the cover mislead me, or if it was something I may have read about the book along the way. Some Girls Bite IS witty, but it also has elements involving friendship, loyalty, family, love and desire. We meet the characters, make a few guesses and then find out we are SO wrong. I laughed a lot, but my heart also broke for Merit, and I was on the edge of my seat as her decisions were made. The author made her characters come alive for me.

Merit is her own person because she's had to fight against family expectations her entire life. Her grandfather, a retired cop, and her roommate are really her only emotional support. Her life is turned upside down, and shaken up like a chocolate malt, but without the malted goodness. Suddenly she's got vamps who want her body, her loyalty and her frig is stocked with bags of blood. She's not having a good time, and the surprises just keep coming.

I highly recommend Some Girls Bite for fans of urban fantasy and paranormal romance. I can't wait to read the second book Friday Night Bites and see what happens to Merit and her friends next.

You can read the first chapter and a deleted scene here: http://chloeneill.com/sgb.htm

Chloe Neill's blog is a great read too. It's here: http://chloeneill.blogspot.com/

~Moonsanity

Our First Short Story

After writing non-fiction for over 20 years I wrote my first short story with the help of my partner in crime parenting and writing, my husband Chuck. We wrote it for the Zombie Romance Challenge from M. Jones, editor of The Random Eye. You can read An Affair to Dismember here.

This is the first time we've worked together and I was pleasantly surprised. We each contributed different things to the story, and liked what the other corrected and wrote. No whining, pouting or anger was involved in the finished product.

I hope you enjoy it, and if you have anything you think would have worked better in the story please let me know. It's a learning process for both of us.

Oh, here is a picture of Arch Rock, which is in our story:)


~Moonsanity

In My Mailbox: November 15, 2009

It was a party in my mailbox this week.

I won first place in the The Completely Out-of-Control, Over-the-Top Book Giveaway put on by Chris from http://www.stumblingoverchaos.com/! I was the first to be able to choose five books from her list and they came this week!

Bitten (Women of the Otherworld)
Minion (Vampire Huntress Legend, Book 1) by L.A. Banks
Through a Crimson Veil (Crimson City) by Patti O'Shea
The Iron Hunt (Hunter Kiss, Book 1) by Marjorie M. Liu
Rogue (Werecats, Book 2) by Rachel Vincent

I also received my copy of Cheating, Death by Teel McClanahan that I won as a First Reader on Goodreads. Here is a bit about the book:

When the walking dead fill the streets, who can cheat death? Who can survive? Featuring a zombie outbreak that devastates Denver, an indecisive adulterer, and a series of violent, disturbing, and perhaps even heart-rending events of the sort you'd expect when the dead rise up to eat the living, Cheating, Death is a roller-coaster ride through a horror show both of death and of the heart.

I also won a copy of the ebook The Dancing Dead by Grace Mahoney from Nicole Hadaway's FreE-Book Friday on her blog at http://nicole-hadaway.blogspot.com/. She does this every week so be sure to stop by.

I received a cool book from Paperback Swap. It's a trade paperback of:

Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta

Finally, I won the anthology Fantasy with stories from Christine Feehan, Sabrina Jefferies, Emma Holly and Elda Minger and it arrived this week. I participated in VampChix Halloween Vamp Bash in October, which as a blast!

I have my reading cut out for me this week, plus I finished a couple great books that I need to review this week.

For more more In My Mailbox fun drop by The Story Siren!

~Moonsanity

Musical Interlude: Coheed and Cambria

Coheed and Cambria is one of my favorite bands because of their sound, but also their originality. Their CD's are considered concept albums. The lead singer, Claudio Sanchez, has created a science fiction storyline which he's called The Amory Wars. It's partially published in a series of comics written by Sanchez and illustrated by a couple of different illustrators. This video is from the 2003 CD. I love the vampire theme!

Blood Red Summer from In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3:



~Moonsanity

Steam Punk Dress-Up: Do You Dare?

Do we ever really grow out of playing with paper dolls? Better yet, do we ever grow out of dressing up virtual paper dolls in Steampunk themes? NO WE DON'T!

Next time you have writer's block, or just a little time on your hands head on over to play dress-up. It's free and it's fun.

First, we have the Victorian Dress-Up Doll ala Gail Carriger, author of Soulless. Don't forget the round Steampunk style glasses! http://www.orbitbooks.net/soulless/

Next we have Clockwork Couture from artist Annie Stegg, complete with moving illustrations and cool music: http://www.anniestegg.com/clockworkcouture.php

While there you can also play with the Polka Dot Pirate. She has some awesome clothing and eye patches! http://www.anniestegg.com/polkadotpirate.php

Come on, you KNOW you want to play!
~Moonsanity

Review: Intertwined

Intertwined
Author: Gena Showalter
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Harlequin

Summary: Like most teens, Aden Stone has friends. They just happen to be the four human souls living inside him.One can time travel. One can raise the dead. One can tell the future. One can possess another human. And they’re causing him all kinds of trouble. All he wants is peace.Then he meets a girl who quiets the voices, whenever he's near her. Why?

Initially, I was suppose to review Intertwined for Blog With Bite, but it took almost 2 weeks to get it from the library. Apparently, the center that bags the books for delivery to our libraries flooded! I missed the group review, but enjoyed this Young Adult book so much I had to review it.

Intertwined is a fitting title because it describes the plot perfectly in one word. The four people we are introduced to in the book are somehow connected. Why are they drawn to each other? Is it love? Physical attraction? Could there be metaphysical elements involved? That's what we find out as the plot unwinds.

Gena Showalter did a wonderful job portraying the feelings of the characters for each other without giving in to cliches or sexually explicit scenes. When I read a young adult book I always keep in the back of my mind that my 15 and 16 year old could be reading it too. I'm always hearing from older Twilight fans who are frustrated there wasn't more sex in the books. If I want sex there are oodles of adult romance books out there that will do the trick. Young adult books are just that: YOUNG adult. (I will get off my soapbox now and back on track.) Intertwined has romance, but it also has lessons for teens about the consequences of betrayal and casual sex mixed in with adventure and mystery.

The four main characters, Aden, Mary Ann, Victoria and Riley, are all struggling with who they are, and what is expected of them. They are thrown together through unexpected and difficult circumstances. Mary Ann has a 15 year plan. She thinks she knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. Anything outside her plan, even her boyfriend, is a distraction. Aden has no plans because each day is a challenge for him; to survive in a world where no one understands him. They are really at opposite ends of the spectrum, yet they are drawn together.

Intertwined has unique characters, mystery, adventure and romance. It's not just another teen romance where the author threw in a few paranormal elements within a typical young adult plot. I also loved that it's not a Twilight or Vampire Diaries copycat. While reading it I was touched by the characters and wanted them to figure out their place in life, and with each other.

I would recommend Intertwined to teens 14 and older. It does have subject matter concerning teen pregnancy and drugs. I think teens that enjoyed Twilight or any of the other paranormal teen romances would love the book. I also thought it would be equally interesting to boys or girls since most of the book is from Aden's viewpoint.

Unraveled will be the title of the next book in the series. I'm really looking forward to reading it, though I imagine it will be awhile before it's released. This is going to be a fantastic series, keeping us all on the edge of our seats.

There is a sweepstakes going on until November 16th, 2009. Go here if you haven't entered yet: http://harlequin.promo.eprize.com/intertwinedsweepstakes/ There is also an instant matching game you can play daily.

~Moonsanity