Monday Morning Sneak Peek: CHALLENGING DESTINY by Cherie Colyer

Did a weekend of reading leave you wanting more? 
Sneaking peeks of your newest novel from under
your desk at work? 

For the eternal reader...here is your 
Monday Morning Sneak Peek!

Enjoy.

CHALLENGING DESTINY by Cherie Colyer

Logan Ragsdale and his younger sister, Ariana, have been marked, chosen to be unwilling participants in a war between angels and demons.

Logan can sense something's not quite right. Like an unexpected chill on a summer's day, he can feel the unseen closing in. He's had these feelings before and, each time, someone close to him died. He's afraid this time it might just be Ariana.

Logan's fears are soon confirmed when he discovers their new friends aren't human, but rather representatives from Heaven and Hell sent to Earth to ensure he and Ariana accept their roles in an ancient prophecy. Demons want Logan to open the gates of Hell. Ariana has the power to stop them, but if she chooses to side with Heaven to spare the lives of thousands of innocent people, she'll damn her brother for eternity.

Together, they must derail the biblical event if they hope to save themselves and the future of mankind...but what price are they willing to pay to keep the other safe?

www.cheriecolyer.blogspot.com

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | GOODREADS

PROLOGUE

1732

He stood before me. Regal. Proud. No hint of the demon I knew him to be. I knelt on the cold ground behind the blacksmith’s shop. Not out of respect, but because my trembling legs would no longer hold my weight.

“You will do anything?” he repeated, a hint of curiosity in his otherwise bored tone.

I forced myself to meet his gaze. He looked so normal. Like all the other men in my village. He even had a thin scar beneath his left eye. I wondered if he had cut himself in an effort to appear more human.

“If you agree to walk away—to stop pushing for this ceremony you spoke of—yes.”

The man who had turned my life upside down pursed his lips as he appraised me. My heart slammed frantically against my ribs.

I could see in his perfect blue eyes that he was going to agree. My plan to save my brother and me would work.

Dry grass crunched under his expensive brown shoes as he walked slowly around me. “And when Elise comes to you, what will you say?”

At this, I raised my chin. “That I’ve seen the lies in her words, and I will never help her.”

He came to a stop in front of me and offered a hand to help me up. I steeled my breath and took it. I was so close to putting an end to the nightmare I’d been thrust into.

“This is your will, to make a deal with me?”

I swallowed my lingering doubt about what I was doing and replied, “It is.”

With a glint of something untold, he said, “Kira Rose Mercer, I accept your offer.”

I breathed in deeply, relishing the victory. The fall air smelled crisper than it had a moment ago. I took a step back, ready to go home and put the last few weeks behind me.

“Not so fast.” He pulled a silver dagger from his pocket.

“You—you can’t harm me,” I stammered, my mouth dry.

“I’ve no desire to hurt you.” He ran the blade over his palm. A thin line of blood stained his otherwise perfect skin. “The deal must be sealed.”

I had won, I reminded myself. If spilling a little blood would get him out of my life, I’d do it. I held up my hand, flinching when the cold steel sliced me.

“Now what?” I asked.
“We shake.”
The moment his blood mingled with mine, I knew something was terribly wrong. Fire filled my veins, traveling swiftly through me like molten lava. He pulled me even closer.

“You should have chosen your words more carefully,” he whispered gleefully into my ear. “But we will have an eternity to discuss exactly where you went wrong.”

“No!” I screamed, but it was too late. I could feel myself changing in unexplainable ways. A raised red circle pierced by an arrow formed on my forearm, binding me to him forever.

MY PUBLISHING JOURNEY: Author Kat Ross

Have you ever wondered how authors get their start?
How do they get agents?
How do they get published?
Is it luck? Talent? Drive?


This segment is an attempt to satisfy my immense curiosity...to answer the one question I'm dying to ask every author out there: 

How did your book become a book?

Enjoy.

Kat Ross

www.katrossbooks.com

Author of 

SOME FINE DAY

AGENTS

Do you have an agent?

Yes, Jeff Ourvan of Jennifer Lyons.

How many queries did you send?

Believe it or not, none. He was a friend of a friend and I was able to send him my first three chapters straight off. He signed me after reading the full manuscript (which didn't sell, by the way).

If represented, how long did it take to get your agent?

He was my first try – so not a typical experience!

PUBLISHING

Are you traditionally published or self-published?

Traditionally published.

How did you (or your agent) find your publisher?
The traditional submissions process. We had quite a few turndowns, but it finally sold!

How long did it take to find a publisher?
I think it was about 3-4 months.

What do you like about your publisher?
The team is personally very nice and accessible, and they do a good job of cycling in promotions every few months, not just when the book launches.

What do you dislike about your publisher?
Skyscape won't give you ARCs for reviews, which is really a drag.

Did you or your agent hit any snags along the way, and if so how did you overcome them?
My first publisher folded about a month before the book was supposed to come out, but my agent rescued the rights and resold it almost immediately to Skyscape.

Did traditional publishing get your book(s) in Barnes & Noble or other bookstores?
Nope! I never got a hardcover, and the timing of the launch was kinda strange – first ebook, then paperback months later.

Did your publisher produce a hardcover of your book or just paperback?
Just paperback.

Did your publisher create an audiobook for you?
Yep!

Looking back would you do anything differently?
SO many things. I'm still not crazy about the cover, and I think that does hurt the book a lot. For my new series, I plan to self-pub and take back some control over cover, marketing, blurb, promotion – the whole enchilada.

ADVICE

What lessons have you learned? Any advice for those about to go down your path?
No matter what happens, there is always the next book! Keep writing and don't let the inevitable disappointments get you down. Being an author is a long-term game.

Can you provide any names and/or contacts?
Agent: Jeff Ourvan
Publisher: Skyscape

GOODREADS

A generation ago, continent-sized storms called hypercanes caused the Earth to flood. The survivors were forced to retreat deep underground and build a new society.

This is the story that sixteen-year-old Jansin Nordqvist has heard all of her life.

Jansin grew up in a civilization far below the Earth’s surface. She’s spent the last eight years in military intelligence training. So when her parents surprise her with a coveted yet treacherous trip above ground, she’s prepared for anything. She’s especially thrilled to feel the fresh air, see the sun, and view the wide-open skies and the ocean for herself.

But when raiders attack Jansin’s camp and take her prisoner, she is forced to question everything she’s been taught. What do her captors want? How will she get back underground? And if she ever does, will she want to stay after learning the truth?

R&R Challenge Review #3: BECOMING by Debra Kristi

**My Review Style Disclaimer (very official, I know...)
I do not do a 1-5 star rating system with my reviews. Honestly, whether a book is "good" or not completely depends on the reader. A book that I rate 5-stars may end up being a 2-star book for you and vice versa. So really, what's the point of that anyway? In the end, I feel like ratings end up hurting people's feelings, so my reviews will just be my reaction to the book after reading it...

I'm not the best at recaps...I kind of figure the author went through the trouble of summarizing the book the best he or she can with the back cover blurb, so why try and re-word it? That being said, here is what the book is about:

Ana’s world is falling apart. What she thought were dreams start entering her waking life. Eerie shadows hunt her. Her dream guy becomes reality. And strange new abilities begin developing. Ana is becoming something other.

She is determined to find answers, but where to turn? Her mom and best friend are keeping secrets. Her older sister is dead and exists only in her dreams. And her younger sister thinks they are goddesses.

Above all else, dark forces will stop at nothing to crush Ana – to keep her from restoring balance. To keep her from…becoming.

Is love and blood and sisterhood enough to stop the dark secrets and power from destroying her?

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | GOODREADS | WEBSITE

My Review

This book has been my companion for some time now. It stayed with me through holiday madness, two rounds of the flu, and kept me entertained while rocking my baby to sleep. I kind of miss it now that it's not in my purse, night stand, or next to my morning coffee. It's always fun reading a friend's work, because the book becomes a little more personal.

Ana's journey is a mysterious one. After all, she's BECOMING something. What exactly? Not even she knows at first...

It kind of drives me crazy when I'm kept in the dark about things. So it was a little torturous to follow along with Ana...who happens to be, you guessed it, IN THE DARK about a lot of things. It kept me reading, that's for sure. Plus, Debra Kristi has a way with words. I actually dog-eared a few pages with beautifully written sentences.

If you're looking for a full-fledged fantasy with some sexy-eyed love interests. This one is for you!