Tag: ya

Midnight Child, YA Indie Carnival

YA Indie Carnival: Gobble! Gobble! A Thanksgiving Story

This week the YA Indie Carnival is dishing up Thanksgiving stories. Since both sides of the family are headed over the river and through the woods to my house for the holiday, I have a full plate (pun totally intended). Therefore, I decided to post early and to share this “deleted scene” from Midnight Child which will be available in February 2012. It’s a sweet exchange between Keira Ryan and her father, August. It takes place on the Thanksgiving holiday between the end of Whispering Evil and the start of Midnight Child. I really hated cutting it, but had to sacrifice it for the overall pacing of the book. Oh well, at least you can enjoy it as an appetizer. Have a Happy Turkey Day and don’t forget to count your Blessings!

thanksgiving Bryna ButlerExplaining Thanksgiving

“So let me see if I’ve got this right.”

“Okay,” Keira said.

She was grinning a bit. Thanksgiving seemed like a perfectly simple concept, until she had to explain it to a guardian.  Unfortunately for her, her father spent most of his life on the other side of the barrier that separated the human world from the mogdoc threat. He was having some trouble understanding human traditions. Then again, for those like August Ryan, all human traditions were odd.

“The holiday consists an extravagant meal consisting of whole turkey with stale bread shoved inside and orange squash dessert topped with a white icy fluffing,” he grimaced. “That doesn’t sound appetizing.”

“Icy fluffing? You can’t be serious.”

“Right, you called it something else. I believe it was cold fluffing…no, cold whipping!”

“Cool Whip…close enough.” Keira smiled and jumped down from the kitchen countertop on which she was perched. “And, it’s totally awesome. There’s also sweet potatoes with marshmallows and pecans, real mashed potatoes, and this sugary cranberry stuff that’s yum-delicious.  Before we dig in, we go around the table and talk about the things that we’re thankful for.”

“Like family?” August asked.

“Like family,” his daughter agreed.

Need a second course? Follow these links to Thanksgiving stories…

1. Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series 2. Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3. Heather Self 4. T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5. Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga 6. Darby Karchut, author of GRIFFIN RISING
7. Lexus Luke 8. PJ Hoover, Author of SOLSTICE, Blogging at ROOTS IN MYTH
9. Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy 10. Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
11. K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed 12. Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series
13. Courtney Cole, author of The Bloodstone Saga 14. Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
15. Dani Snell’s Refracted Light Reviews 16. Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
17. M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping 18. Abbi Glines, author of Breathe and The Vincent Boys
19. Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind 20. Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
21. Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler 22. Nicole Williams, author of Eternal Eden, Falling Eden
23. Gwenn Wright, author of Filter 24. TG Ayer
25. Melissa Pearl, author of Golden Blood 26. YA Fantasy

Going on this week…

Laura A. H. Elliott Interview & Winnemucca, a small-town fairy tale giveaway until November 24! Click here to read & enter.

Kimberly Kinrade, author of Forbidden Mind, is hosting an epic Paranormal Turkey Tour this Friday through Sunday! 3 days. 4 YA paranormal novels. 5 chances to win up to $200! Just go to http://KimberlyKinrade.com for details! Forbidden Mind was just awarded the 2011 Forward National Literature Award! Learn more about this YA paranormal thriller/romance here.

Melissa Pearl, YA author of Golden Blood has just started a new blog called YAlicious. It’s a blog to celebrate YA fiction and aimed at teens and readers of YA. Swing on by and check it out!
In preparation for December’s release of Guardians of the Cross, author T. R. Graves is sending out a coupon which will allow the most-recent edition Warriors of the Cross Click here to downloaded for FREE. Enter coupon LY87N good through 12/20/11.
Books I and II in The Raven Saga (Raven & December Moon) by Suzy Turner, are now available in paperback! Get your copy from Amazon now.The Valkyrie Novels, a series of 3 novels- Dead Radiance, Dead Embers and Dead Chaos, by T.G. Ayer will be published in 2012 by the amazing team at Evolved Publishing. See T.G. Ayer’s announcement here!

YA Indie Carnival

For 11/11/11: Eleven Reasons Readers Will Love Indie Books

On this 11th day, of the 11th month of the 11th year of the century, the YA Indie Carnival presents Top 11 Lists. My list-“Eleven Reasons Readers Will Love Our Books”.

11. Because you can enter Cheri Schmidt’s giveaway until Nov. 20th to win signed copies of The Fateful Trilogy AND have Cheri donate books to your library

10. Because we write about some awesome, kick-butt heroines like Charmian in The Bloodstone Saga, Corinne Driscol of the Chronicles of Corinne, and Keira Ryan in the Midnight Guardian Series

9. Because the greatest love stories are cloaked in danger like in The Ripple Series and Eden Trilogy

8. Because we could all use a little magic in our daily lives: 13 on Halloween, Warriors of the Cross, The Understorey

7. Because in books…nothing is ever as it seems like in The Raven Saga, The Sky People Saga, and Solstice

6. Because who doesn’t like haunting hotties…check out these leading men: Jack in Vampires Rule, Bo in Blood Like Poison, William in Whispering Evil, and Griffin in Griffin Rising

5. Because sometimes we’re in the mood for a good short story like Into the Ruins: An Anthology of New Beginnings or The Glassheart Chronicles

4. Because we find inspiration when the wallflower steps out from the shadows like Liv in Soul Quest

3. Because one word can say it all… Run … Missing … Breathe

2. Because everyone can use a little (or alot) of romance in their life

1. Because if you are reading this post, you enjoy the FREEDOM of expression. Many men and women bravely fought to secure this freedom for YOU. If you haven’t already done so (or even if you have, it would be nice to do it again), THANK a Veteran!

And check out the rest of the acts at the YA Indie Carnival…

1. Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series 2. Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3. Heather Self 4. T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5. Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga 6. Darby Karchut, author of GRIFFIN RISING
7. Lexus Luke 8. PJ Hoover, Author of SOLSTICE, Blogging at ROOTS IN MYTH
9. Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy 10. Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
11. K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed 12. Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series
13. Courtney Cole, author of The Bloodstone Saga 14. Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
15. Dani Snell’s Refracted Light Reviews 16. Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
17. M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping 18. Abbi Glines, author of Breathe and The Vincent Boys
19. Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind 20. Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
21. Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler 22. Nicole Williams, author of Eternal Eden, Falling Eden
23. Gwenn Wright, author of Filter 24. Abbi Glines: Breathe, The Vincent Boys, Existence
25. Be Afraid!
YA Indie Carnival

Best Indie Scares

YA Indie Carnival fans, you’re in for a special treat this week. It’s Best Indie Scares…BOO!

I’ve got two for you, a recommendation and an excerpt.

1) The Recommendation

For a chilling Halloween read, check out Beyond the Veil: A Ghost Story Anthology by fellow indie carnival author Rachel Coles. I highly recommend it. I remember reading the story Kisses on my iPad in bed one night and had to turn it off because I was getting the heeby-jeebies from every shadow in the room. It’s great.

2) The Excerpt

Thought I would also include a scary short that I’ve written. This is one of my favorite scenes from the Midnight Guardian series. Keira shares this guardian bedtime story with Colby in Of Sun & Moon. Enjoy!

Once upon a time…

A band of explorers were returning home after a long journey. Their expedition had taken more than two decades to complete. They now were making their way through Greece. Once they reached Athens, it would only be a few days more by ship to reach their homeland. When they, at last, reached the city, the weary travelers sought supplies and a night’s refuge before embarking on the final leg of their journey.

They found the city of Athens to be glorious and progressive. The citizens welcomed the strangers with open arms, even though they were creatures, like none they had ever seen before. Mogdoc was the name they grunted. The guttural name bubbled up from the primordial mud out of which they crawled. Of course, that’s not how they made their first impression.

They looked like monsters, but they were not judged on appearance. The kind-hearted people embraced their differences and took them in. They gave them warm food, cold drink, and soft beds. The mogdocs, no longer thinking of home, found excuses to stay first one night, then another, and another.

On the third night, the mogdocs were the special guests of a general in the Athenian army. The youngest female mogdoc, equivalent to a human of 6-years-old, had become fast friends with the general’s daughter. They spent every waking moment together. They skipped arm-in-arm, shared toys, and even played tea party with sweet drink and cake. On that night, the third night, the young mogdoc snuck out of bed for a midnight snack. She crept down the stairs, stole an apple from the kitchen, and slipped into the rose garden. To her astonishment, her friend, the general’s daughter was already there. The young girl was seated on a concrete bench at the garden’s edge. As the mogdoc got closer, she could see that the girl was crying. A rose thorn had pierced her finger. The tiny mogdoc took her finger, pulled out the thorn, and sniffed the blood.

In those days, mogdocs carried pouches of healing herbs. The elder mogdocs still carry them today as a reminder of this story. This young mogdoc had one and immediately delved into it. She pulled out some sweet smelling herbs and wrapped them around her friend’s finger. This made the young girl feel better. She hugged her mogdoc friend before returning to bed.

The next morning, the girl told her father of how the curious stranger had nursed her finger. The general was delighted and in gratitude invited the mogdoc clan to extend their stay. So, over the next few days, the mogdocs continued to stay at the general’s home. The children’s midnight meeting in the garden became a nightly occurrence. On the sixth night, the mogdoc was the first to arrive in the garden. The human girl skipped to the bench. The young mogdoc smiled at her friend and offered her a bite of her midnight snack. The general’s daughter screamed in horror. There was no apple. That night’s midnight snack was a human infant, blue and drained of blood. The young mogdoc took delight in the girl’s fear. She slashed the girl’s neck and fed from her friend until she was no more.

This story has been handed down from generation to generation as a testament to the manipulative nature of the mogdocs and the evil found in even the youngest of their kind. The mogdoc child had befriended the human girl to gain access. She had played tea party to sweeten the blood. She had healed her a few nights before out of greed, in order to save every drop of blood until the time was right.

If you dare for more scares, check out these other YA Indie Carnival blogs:

1. Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series 2. Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3. Heather Self 4. T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5. Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga 6. Darby Karchut, author of GRIFFIN RISING
7. Lexus Luke 8. PJ Hoover, Author of SOLSTICE, Blogging at ROOTS IN MYTH
9. Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy 10. Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
11. K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed 12. Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series
13. Courtney Cole, author of The Bloodstone Saga 14. Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
15. Dani Snell’s Refracted Light Reviews 16. Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
17. M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping 18. Abbi Glines, author of Breathe and The Vincent Boys
19. Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind 20. Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
21. Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler 22. Nicole Williams, author of Eternal Eden, Falling Eden
23. Gwenn Wright, author of Filter 24. Abbi Glines: Breathe, The Vincent Boys, Existence

HAVE A HAPPY & SAFE HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!  ~Bryna

YA Indie Carnival

Dad Steps Out for Halloween

My boys at HalloweenThis week the YA Indie Carnival presents childhood memories of Halloween. While most of mine center around trick-or-treating, my favorite memory is actually about my Dad.

My father, like most men from his generation, is always serious and professional to a fault. For him, emotion and fun are private things. My finest proof of this is the time that we went on vacation and he wore a dress shirt, dockers and penny loafers…to the beach.

When I was a girl, the methodist church that we attended would hold an annual costume party. One particularly cold Ohio October, Dad shocked us all by boldly announcing that he was dressing up. This was unheard of. He gathered my little sister, little brother, and me in the living room to unveil his costume. He prefaced the impromptu family meeting by saying that he wanted us to see it ahead of time so that we wouldn’t be scared.

Suspense hung in the air like a London fog as he carefully pulled the zipper open on the suit bag. He was taking his time. He loved the drama even though he would never admit it. As the zipper slowly cleared its path, we saw it. Bright blue fur popped free.

“What is that?” my brother asked. We were all thinking it, but he was the only one brave enough to ask.

As it turned out, Dad used his connections as a professional advisor for agriculture and conservation to borrow the “Litter Critter” mascot costume. For those of you who don’t know or don’t remember, the Litter Critter was the predecessor to modern recycling efforts, an electric blue gorilla that urged kids in the 80s to stop littering.

My brother and I thought it was hilarious. My sister cried. She was only about three years old and the Litter Critter wasn’t the friendliest looking beast. The mascot often scared little kids.

After he removed the mask, she settled down. We all pulled on our costumes and piled in the car. It was a short drive to the church which was surrounded by a dense woods. When we got within a hundred yards of our destination, Dad pulled the car off the road and turned out the headlights. He hopped out and told my mother to move over to the driver’s seat and go ahead without him.

“Tell them I couldn’t make it,” he said and jogged between the trees until he was swallowed up by the night.

Mom shrugged and put the car into gear. She was already in the loop. However, the three of us in the back seat were completely bewildered. We begged her to stay and wait for him to come back. It was too far for him to walk home.

However, she knew better and proceeded on. We arrived and quickly found our friends. About twenty minutes later, a strange electric blue creature jumped into the party. It moved like an animal, certainly not like my father. He never broke character. I had visions that the real Litter Critter found my father in the woods and took his place. Surely this maniac wasn’t the prim and proper man that I knew.

In the end, everyone was laughing and trying to figure out the identity of the mysterious creature in attendance. It wasn’t until service the next morning that he revealed himself to everyone’s astonishment.

If you liked my childhood Halloween memory, you’ll love these from my fellow “carnies”…

1. Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series 2. Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3. Heather Self 4. T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5. Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga 6. Darby Karchut, author of GRIFFIN RISING
7. Lexus Luke 8. PJ Hoover, Author of SOLSTICE, Blogging at ROOTS IN MYTH
9. Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy 10. Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
11. K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed 12. Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series
13. Courtney Cole, author of The Bloodstone Saga 14. Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
15. Dani Snell’s Refracted Light Reviews 16. Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
17. M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping 18. Abbi Glines, author of Breathe and The Vincent Boys
19. Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind 20. Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
21. Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler 22. Nicole Williams, author of Eternal Eden, Falling Eden
23. Gwenn Wright, author of Filter 24. Abbi Glines: Breathe, The Vincent Boys, Existence
25. Ten Things Authors Should Know About Social Media
YA Indie Carnival

I’m running off to join the carnival

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No, I’m not training for the flying trapeze. I am thrilled to announce that yours truly is the newest author to join the 2011 YA Indie Carnival.

What’s the YA Indie Carnival? That’s a great question. How did you get to be so brilliant?

Every Friday, participating authors will be posed a topic to blog about. I’m in some great company; including, Courtney Cole (I just finished her book Every Last Kiss and loved it), Patti Larsen, Laura A. H. Elliott, Cheri Schmidt, Kimberly Kinrade, Wren Emerson, Amy Jones, T.R. Graves, J.L. Bryan and more. Take a look at the full list of participating authors.

Check back on Friday and join the carnival fun…red nose and rainbow wig optional.