Showing posts with label excerpt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label excerpt. Show all posts

Sunday, May 19, 2013

The Saturday Six (Two)



I know this is a day late, but there was lots of craziness due to Graduation day.  This is my second Saturday six, but in actuality, I guess you could call it a Sunday Six.

  1. Monday was something for me.  I had my last college exam and jumped for joy for being done with psych research methods, which, out of the equivalent for each concentration, majority of Brockport college students say it’s the worst and there are apparently horror stories about it, according to a professor friend of mine.  Afterwards, I stopped by the women studies department, and spent some time there for a good hour, that made my positivity shoot up even though we talked about some rough subjects.  Ran on four hours of sleep all day, but my good friend Amber gave me a shot of perspective and hope and light to hold onto for some of my darker spots that I don’t talk about often. 

    The rest of the day went decently, I finished packing everything that I sent home on Tuesday, had a light dinner with my suitemates that I hadn’t had a chance to do all semester, and then went out to wing night at my friends’ and mine favorite bar in my college town.  No, we didn’t really have wings due to the timing we had, but it was good.  I even got a grilled chicken sandwich with hot sauce…wasn’t fried and oh my, how my stomach appreciated that!  My best friend, her boyfriend, and I all ordered ourselves some voodoo buckets to drink (which is just a step up from a rum bucket), and my other friend got me a whiskey sour because I won a bet the week before.  Yes, rum and whiskey, thought me just a vodka woman, didn’t you? Haha. If it tastes good and my body doesn’t reject it, I’m content. 

    The surprise to me of the night though?  My friend who ordered me my whiskey sour, we were supposed to split the check…and she nabbed it before I could look at it.  Whipped out her debit card, and handed it all to the waitress, denying me the ability to pay!  They laugh and wonder why I still react in shock.  Truth is, most of the time, I’m used to paying for myself.  And for others at times, and then I’m lucky to have a few handful of friends I truly don’t mind paying for because they pay me back in some form and things even out.  However, when friends won’t take my money, I’m floored.  I know I work hard and am now officially unemployed, but unless you’re family, paying for me and not expecting me to pay back is still something I will meet with surprise.  That’s what happens when I do whatever I can not depend on others.  Which…when the time comes and I can afford it, I’m getting my own place.  Please let that not be a year from now!

  2. I sent most of my stuff home on Tuesday, to my parents’ house.  It was weird to be living in my dorm room with the absolute bare minimum, and the lack of the homey feeling that I’ve always brought to my living quarters.  I felt like, if I were to close the doors, my voice would start to echo!  Which is funny because…the room is pretty damn small; smaller than my room at my parents, by at least a few feet, but it does have a higher ceiling, and FLOOR SPACE. When I move back, while dad’s gone for a few days and I’m alone during the day…I get to spend time trying to reconfigure my bedroom so that there will be walking space and so I can access what I need until I accumulate enough money to get my own place and move.  Seriously, before I sent the stuff home, between my belongings from growing up alongside my belongings that I’ve been storing to go towards my future first apartment, I only had an aisle to walk from my door to my window (thankfully, alongside my bookcases so I can still be granted my literary need) and a small path to my bed.  Let’s see how bedroom tetras goes this summer!

  3. Thursday, I gave my last college presentation, which was on 1960s girl groups and perception of equality.  I also handed in my last paper.  Needless to say, I hope the people that lived in the same building as me, weren’t irked by the amount of Shangri-las music I had going all morning.  I love me some Shangri-las, you know “Leader of the Pack” and “Sophisticated Boom Boom.”  You don’t know sixties music, get your butt to youtube or whatever music searcher you have, and look them up.  Unless you have a bad love story, which also has a key of the stereotypes of “good girl” and “bad boy,” and the story of yours is in a slump or questioning area, then don’t listen to the first.  It’s fantastic, but it’s sad at the same time.  You want something to smile to or sway your hips to though, listen to the latter.  I mean, if a song that says “stand up straight like your back’s against the wall, and move your hips” doesn’t do something…well, find something that will.
     
  4. Also, on Thursday, I received quite an unexpected surprise!  My college’s literary magazine came out with this year’s edition. I didn’t know whether or not they were even doing it anymore, because of some issues that had arisen last year, causing publication to not happen.  The last publication, was two years ago in May 2011.  I was published in that one, for my poem entitled, “Jenn,” which was about losing my one cousin who I miss dearly.  This year, I was published again!  This time, for my poem “In Bed With The Devil” about my first time with someone dear to my heart, although if you want more about the man, sorry, I don’t even know we stand after all of these years. Just enjoy the poem.  The other piece, is a chapter excerpt from my one novel that has been in progress for a long time, entitled Pieces of Jade.  Oh, and the magazine, it’s FREE, so if you happen around The College at Brockport in the next year, or have connections, get yourself a copy of Jigsaw.  I’ll tell ya though, I was floored when my one friend brought me over a copy, because I didn’t know there was going to be anything this year, and I also didn’t know I was in it.  I had submitted last year but when the magazine fell through, I forgot about it.  It’s a nice little feather to put in my cap.

  5. Friday was my last “family” gathering of friends.  My best friend, Christine French braided my hair, and then her, our friend Kammie, and I all went over to her boyfriend’s for dinner and movies.  We talked, we laughed, we picked on each other, I got a tour of the house (honestly, flat screen mounted to bedroom ceiling above bed, I don’t understand).  We watched a little bit of Liar, Liar and a South Park movie, and all of the (third installment I believe) of Jackass.  The latter is what got me actually laughing, especially due to my stress levels and all that jazz, my friends admitted that I was like a wall lately to most things funny.  Oops. We enjoyed ourselves though, granted, I really could have gone for some chilled red wine that night.

  6.  Saturday, MAY 18TH, I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts degree.  I honestly don’t even remember too much right now, I was tired, hot, and quite sore.  It is now all a blur, but the senator even stopped by, and thank goodness I was not one of the students standing when he got up to speak.  Long-winded.  And I had my friend M. R. Bryant by my side during it all, which is good, because thousands of people were in the room, and…that’s a bit stifling for me.  Four years, more credits than I needed, and three concentrations….I am now an alumni, with another chapter of my life behind me and the future’s path’s beneath my (slightly bruised) feet.  Voila, je suis ici, j'ai conquis et je trouverai la vie!

    ~Count your blessings, and whether things are bad or you’re doing well, find something good and hold on!

    Much love!

    ~*~Alyse~*~

Monday, December 24, 2012

Announcing Lucifer by Annabell Cadiz! Excerpt and Cover Reveal...coming to you January 31, 2013



Hey, do you know what’s coming out a month from now? My lovely author friend, Annabell Cadiz’s brand new book, Lucifer, the first book in the Sons of Old trilogy is coming out January 31, 2013! I have the honor to give you all the first look at the cover reveal and share with you an excerpt. I hope you all give her a look and start the New Year out by adding this to your list of must reads!



So what is this book about, you ask? Check out the synopsis provided to me:



Have you ever wondered what could be hiding in the shadows?

Well, for eighteen-year-old Zahara Faraday, she doesn’t have to wonder. You see she comes from a lineage of Light Witches, those who have chosen to help protect and serve between the supernatural world and the human world. The only problem is Zahara, like her father Solomon, is as human as a human being can be whereas her mother, Mia, and her Aunt Catalina, were born as Light Witches. As a family they hunt down rogue supernaturals—creatures who harm humans or who have committed an act against their kingdom. 

Zahara’s hunting skills are usually kept dormant since her parents would prefer she live life as a normal human girl without knowledge of the supernatural world. She plans on doing just that—except when she finds a couple being attacked by fairies, she has no choice but to step in. Before she can return to pretending to be blissfully ignorant, Zahara encounters a problem she isn’t the least equip to handle: Bryan Hamilton, the good looking new co-worker she has to help train. In a heartbeat, her best friend, Becca King, has set her up on a double date with herself and her new crush, Rekesh Saint-Louis, who happens to be the most powerful leader of the biggest Imago Coven in South Florida –supernatural creatures with the ability to control water . . . and suck out human souls. 

Zahara has no time to focus on how she’s going to explain her double date with her best friend and the enemy they have a tentative truce with to her parents because soon one of the members of Mia and Catalina’s coven is found murdered with a strange tattoo of a snake with wings carved into his arm.

Zahara is then thrown into a whirlwind battle with an angel determined to have revenge against God, an Imago coven she doesn’t think they should trust, and slew of dream-eating fairies and powerful Nephilims, hybrid children of angels and humans, more than happy to rip her to shreds.

Normal just got a deadlier definition.



Do I still hold your interest? Want more? Go inside Lucifer for a sneak peak!



“Care to dance?” Bryan asked, already leading Zahara to the dance floor.

She pulled him back and shook her head. “I’m the worst dancer! My feet, hips, and body don’t know how to coordinate well together, so I wind up looking like an ostrich trying to bust a move.”

Bryan laughed and pulled her onto the dance floor. “Whether you look like an ostrich or a ballerina dancer, you’re still the best lookin’ one here.”

He spun her around and placed his hands on her hips, attempting slowly to move her in the same rhythm as his own. At first Zahara’s body moved stiffly, even under Bryan’s warm and smooth hands, which were sending shivers creeping up her spine and around her midsection; she couldn’t stop looking around the club. Stuck in between a group of scantily clad teenage girls who kept dropping to their knees and bouncing back up, a giggling mass of hysteria, and a Spanish couple pressed so tightly together their dancing came off as borderline sex, Zahara felt like an alien. Even the hyena-sounding girls–who Zahara was pretty sure, were all buzzed and quickly heading to being drunk—moved with more skill than she possessed.

But Bryan pressed her closer against him and placed her arms to circle his neck from behind. He moved a little faster and Zahara fell into step, laying her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes to drown out the crowd. She focused on the hard muscles of Bryan’s chest, his heated breath against her hair, and his fingers gripping her waist. She absently wondered if it was wrong that an angel was dancing inside of a club full of youth, and if this was as weird and exhilarating for him as it was for her. Bryan spun her around to face him and kissed her. He wasn’t as gentle as he usually was, digging his hand into her hair and nibbling on her bottom lip. Zahara whimpered and moved her fingers underneath his shirt, digging her fingers into his back.

Bryan pulled back and laid his forehead against Zahara’s, his breath ragged and intense enough to set her on fire. “You’re making this difficult.”

“Making what difficult?” Zahara huffed.

“Leaving you.” Bryan closed his eyes and kissed her again.



Now here’s some fun quotes, in case you weren’t already intrigued.



 “Enough with the games, I know what you are, Nephilim and if you make one move, I promise I will crave you open.” ~Zahara



“You caught me, I was definitely dreaming of you. If I remember correctly, you were frolicking on a beach, wearing a pretty skimpy red bikini and some kind of flower in your hair. Gotta say that was the best dream I’ve ever had.” ~Bryan



“Time is endless for a being such as I. Power is the only master I trust.” ~Lucifer



 “All those night long phone calls! All those secret visits to my house! All those secret walks! And you’re fond of me! You think I’m being over dramatic! How about I break your face open for over dramatics!” ~Becca



“Solomon, you will remember that although I agreed to ally myself and my coven with yours, that does not mean you have any semblance of authority over me. We have a truce, and I conduct my own actions as I see fit, whether that involves Becca or not.’



‘And you remember I will take your coven down the moment you step over the line,” Solomon hissed.” ~Solomon and Rekesh



Drum roll please…presenting the cover!


I hope you all like the cover, and that you all add this to your reading lists. And, in case you were wondering about the author herself, here she is!


 About the author:



Annabell Cadiz was born in the sweltering heat of South Florida. She was raised surrounded by Puerto Rican chefs and band of siblings that weren’t all related to her. A self-proclaimed nerd and book-a-holic (her room does hold much evidence to prove her claims are justifiable), she created TeamNerd Reviews to showcase her EXTREME love for novels where, along with her best friend, Bridget Strahin, she hosts book reviews, interviews, giveaways, Indie Shoutouts and much more. She also blog tour services for authors. She also had the pleasure of being published in three separate issue of Suspense Magazine. She also adores Cinnamon Teddy Grahams, has an addiction to Minute Maid Orange juice, and is a proud Jesus Freak. She is working on getting LUCIFER, the first book in SONS OF OLD TRILOGY ready to be published JANUARY 31, 2013. 

Where to find the author:


Thursday, October 18, 2012

Excerpt from Pieces of Jade: Jade's Vows



            From the moment you entered my life, it felt like I had finally begun to live.  You’ve given me hope, belief, and faith that there is something bigger than just breathing and living minute by minute.  You’ve helped me to learn what is inside my soul, as well as opened my eyes as to why I am here on earth.  It is love.  There are not enough words or time in a single moment, to explain the extent of how much you matter to me.  You have enveloped so much of my heart, that if you were to disappear, the world would fade to a dismal atmosphere and music would fall on deaf ears.
            Today and for always, I make these promises to you.  I shall remain honest, loyal, and true.  You will always have me as your friend and you will never be completely alone.  I will be your confidant, the one by your side, the one to see you through the dark and celebrate the beautiful.  I will take care of you, even when you don’t want it; I won’t give up on you.  You have my heart, my soul—and a love like ours, it can’t ever be eradicated.