Cloud Nine Girl

I’m am proud to introduce The Mind’s Eye, a YA Historical Paranormal book by K.C. Finn. I’m sure after reading the excerpt below, you’ll be just as excited about this new book as I am. So take a peek. And don’t forget to sign up for some free stuff below.
~Erika

Title:  The Mind’s Eye

Author:  K.C. Finn

Published:  April 1st, 2014 by Clean Teen Publishing

Word Count:  86,000

Genre:  YA Historical Paranormal

Content Warning:  Mild Violence

Recommended Age:  16+

Synopsis: A girl with a telepathic gift finds a boy clinging to his last hope during the war-torn climate of Europe, 1940.

At fifteen, Kit Cavendish is one the oldest evacuees to escape London at the start of the Second World War due to a long term illness that sees her stuck in a wheelchair most of the time. But Kit has an extraordinary psychic power: she can put herself into the minds of others, see through their eyes, feel their emotions, even talk to them – though she dares not speak out for fear of her secret ability being exposed.

As Kit settles into her new life in the North Wales village of Bryn Eira Bach, solitude and curiosity encourage her to gain better control of her gift. Until one day her search for information on the developing war leads her to the mind of Henri, a seventeen-year-old Norwegian boy witnessing the German occupation of his beloved city, Oslo. As Henri discovers more about the English girl occupying his mind, the psychic and emotional bonds between them strengthen and Kit guides him through an oppressive and dangerous time.

There are secrets to be uncovered, both at home and abroad, and it’s up to Kit and Henri to come together and fight their own battles in the depths of the world’s greatest war.

Amazon | GoodReads

About the Author:

Born in South Wales to Raymond and Jennifer Finn, Kimberley Charlotte Elisabeth Finn (known to readers as K.C., otherwise it’d be too much of a mouthful) was one of those corny little kids who always wanted to be a writer. She was also incredibly stubborn, and so has finally achieved that dream in 2013 with the release of her first three novellas in the four-part Caecilius Rex saga, the time travel adventure The Secret Star and her new urban fantasy epic The Book Of Shade.

As a sufferer with the medical condition M.E./C.F.S., Kim works part time as a private tutor and a teacher of creative writing, devoting the remainder of her time to writing novels and studying for an MA in Education and Linguistics.

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 Check out the Excerpt:

We spent Henri’s birthday under a tree drinking orange pop and trying to talk about subjects that didn’t lead back to the war. The news of Clive and Ieuan had shaken Leigh out of his selfish reverie, so if one good thing had come from the darkness it was the fact that my brother had finally actually gotten to know Henri. He even sang Happy Birthday in what he called ‘The Proper English Way’, laughing so hard he could barely get the words out for lack of breath:

“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you; you look like a monkey and you smell like one too!”

Henri laughed for the first time in what seemed like forever and a warmth settled in my chest, like things were finally going to get back to normal. When Leighton went to get more pop, Henri came to the tree and sat down beside me, putting a long arm around my shoulders and pulling me in. He kissed the side of my head gently, his warm breath sinking into my hair. He hadn’t tried to kiss me properly again even when there had been opportunity for it, and I was sort of grateful for that. As much as I wanted to feel that tingling, only-us-in-the-world sensation again, right now the atmosphere just wasn’t right. But we were always close to one another when we had the chance, I had gotten so used to his arms around me that it felt like some part of me was missing when he wasn’t there.

“I’ll have to go into the village tomorrow,” he whispered, “to pass my enlistment papers to the right people.”

An invisible blade sank slowly into my fragile heart, but I had always known this day was coming.

“It’ll take them a while to process it,” I said hopefully, “I bet they’ve already got loads of boys waiting to go to basic training.”

“Perhaps,” he said softly, his lips still resting against my head.

I turned sharply to face him, searching his deep brown eyes. “I don’t want you to go,” I said, racing to find his hand to hold it tightly.

“I won’t really be gone,” he replied, “You’ll always be able to find me.”

“That’s not the point,” I said, my curls shaking as I trembled, “This is dangerous Henri, this is war.”

“You forget where I’ve been already,” he said, turning his face away to focus hard on the distance. He kept a firm hold of my hand and gave it a good squeeze. “You came to my head in the quiet times, the safe times. But I’ve already seen the destruction, the danger and the death, Kit. I think there are two types of people during war: those who see the horror happening and run away, never looking back, and those who want to do something about it.” I felt his other arm pull me in closer against his strong body. “You know which type I am, so you know I have to go.”

I couldn’t say anything, because it was all true.

Don’t Forget to Visit the Official Tour Page for More Information And Of Course, Sign Up Below To Win Some Great Things!

Prizes include the following:

• Readers choice of any Clean Teen Publishing digital book and a bookmark swag pack (INT)

Giveaway is International.

Click the Link To Sign Up. 

Standing at the front of my classroom Wednesday morning, I made eye contact with one of the middle school students seated in a desk. She smiled sweetly and pushed her glasses up higher on her nose.

“Erika?” She asked.

I walked through the center of the room and dropped to my knees near her desk.

“I don’t understand what I am supposed to do right now,” she added, glancing at her assignment.

No, I’m not a teacher.  But I am working really hard to become a Young Adult presenter, and last week I delivered a workshop on Character Development for the Greater Kansas City Middle School Writers Conference. Incredibly honored with the invitation, I faced three classes of 20 middle school students from a mix of schools. I delivered my workshop I wrote on best friend relationships and creating characters that stick. It was really great to feel all that young writing energy, and to see where their minds wandered to solve the scenario with their partners.

“Ok,” I said, glancing over her assigned scene worksheet. “Let’s see, you’re character B. I see you’ve already completed all the questions and created your character. Here’s your assigned scene.” I pointed to the picture of the beach she was supposed to drop her character in and proceeded to read the beginning of the scene. “This is your situation. Now you’ve got a place to start the suspense. Here’s a sample intro sentence to get your mind going if you choose to use it. What else are you confused about?”

“I don’t know. I’m just confused,” she answered.

“Tell me more.”

“Oh, well,” she smiled and I knew her wheels were turning from the sparkle in her eye. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not you. I just get confused about almost everything.”

She chuckled. I chuckled, walking back around the classroom.
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Laney McMann, fellow author with J. Taylor Publishing, is set to launch her second book Torn in the Fire Born Series. If you like Young Adult reads, you’ll love this series.

When can you get it? September 8, 2014

Take a Glimpse at the Back of the Book:

Find Max.

That’s all Layla cares about. Not healing from the Fomore attack. Not finding answers to how she survived a fall that nearly killed her. Nothing will stop her. She will find him. She’ll even pair up with an overbearing Fallen Angel who’s hell bent on making everything harder than it needs to be if she has to.

Protect Layla.

For Max, nothing else matters. Not the bruises covering his body. Not the pain radiating from his broken bones. Not even his hands tied behind his back. He will find a way to save Layla, and the Fomore will pay if they’ve hurt her.

Every. Single. One of them.

In the second installment of The Fire Born trilogy, a new breed of villain looms—one Layla and Max will never suspect, and this killer has nothing to lose. Better yet, with Max and Layla’s deaths, victory is in the grip of the enemy.

Will Max and Layla find each other in time, or is it already too late for them both?

Thanks for stopping in today. Have a lovely rest of your week. 🙂

Have you ever had a day in your whole life, where you find yourself needing a little quiet space? Some way to center yourself from all the commotion around you? Have you ever woken up, had that cup of coffee and still, your energy level  just isn’t there?

When I find myself heading down one or all of these rocky paths, there’s only one thing I can think of that gets me back on track—

Characters, reading, and rereading some of my all time favorite books. It’s the best way I know how to calm my mind and generate new emotion. I can disappear into an imaginary vacation without straining my wallet. And it’s not the plot that drives my escape. I am in love with stories of great character, relatable characters, regardless of whether or not I see life as they do.

So today, I’m reposting my top ten all time character list I shared on a blog with Lola’s Reviews back in December. Most of these characters stem from the YA genre since I read what I’m writing myself. All of them are my favorites.

So Here it is … My Top Ten Character List

1. Claire: The Main Character in The Morganville Vampire Series. A quirky sixteen-year-old girl, highly sheltered by overprotective parents, she’s brilliant. She tested out of the remaining high school years, a Physics genius. The character arc in the first book Glass Houses, blew my mind.  I believed her story. I also feel like I watched her grow up in the series through her Urban Fantasy challenges. Plus, the plot in the book was incredibly creative. Physics and vampires? Wow. I loved it. And I loved every quirky character in the series.

2.Willow: The Main Character in L.A. Weatherly’s Angel Burn Series. I am a fan of angel books.  Willow, by far, topped all the other leading characters in the angel books I’ve read. She’s a girl who doesn’t mind a little car grease on her hands, and can get under the hood and know what to do, well, yeah, amazing! Plus, she is an altruist, a lover of all things people and nature, and a girl with a heart of gold and an incredible backstory.

3. Cole: Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver Series. Reading his character voice for the first time in Linger, taught me the value in motive and character arc. His strong identity showed me the importance in making all characters different in a book, and not just acting different in body language, but sounding different, reflecting the unique needs and wants.  I loved his rough edges. I loved his constant battle between life and death, and of course, the hope Maggie gave me for him.

3. Daphne: The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff. A child from Fallen Angels, she’s a half demon half human girl. Strong. True. She says things with impact. She’s burdened with fear for who she is, knowing someday she’ll experience her true demon power and is terrified she’ll hurt a human. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone, and a demon feeling that way? Wow. She also never experienced being loved and so she, in turn, is afraid of loving anyone. Her story is one of the best and truest character stories I’d seen in a long long time.

4. Rose: The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead. I loved her strong no nonsense attitude. She’s a girl with a fighting soul and heart because she knows of no other life than survival mode. A protector of the elite, she covers her emotion with thick layers of skin. I loved when the layers peeled back and showed us how people aren’t always who they seem to be.

5. Joshua:  Hereafter, by Tara Hudson. He was the love interest, and any character who defies what is normal because they’re so comfortable in their own skin, is a great character to learn from. After his near death experience, he woke up haunted by his attraction to the girl who saved him. A dead girl, who no one else could see.  He doesn’t care how people see him talking to himself, and even kissing the air. He loves her. He’ll do anything to help her find out the truth.

6. Jo: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott. As a thirteen-year-old girl, Jo was the first character I ever remember relating to. I bonded with her voice and I couldn’t stand what happened to her towards the end, unable to finish the book. Years later, I made amends with it. I even watched the movie and loved it. Here’s an excerpt so you can see why too (http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/alcott/lwtext.html):

Really, girls, you are both to be blamed, said Meg, beginning to lecture in her elder-sisterly fashion. You are old enough to leave off boyish tricks, and to behave better, Josephine. It didn’t matter so much when you were a little girl, but now you are so tall, and turn up your hair, you should remember that you are a young lady.

I’m not! And if turning up my hair makes me one, I’ll wear it in two tails till I’m twenty, cried Jo, pulling off her net, and shaking down a chestnut mane. I hate to think I’ve got to grow up, and be Miss March, and wear long gowns, and look as prim as a China Aster! It’s bad enough to be a girl, anyway, when I like boy’s games and work and manners!

8. Patch: The love interest in Hush-Hush, by Becca Fitzpatrick. Sexy, dangerous, I get his bad side. I get his character ARC, too, and I love how he grows in the four books in the series

9. Orual: Till We Have Faces, by C.S. Lewis. Again, she’s a strong girl who doesn’t want to fit into the norm. She has a story, being the underdog and sort of the ugly duckling next to her beautiful sister, and I loved how she fought to be heard.

10. Everafter: This is all time pick-me-up movie. Whenever I’m blue, and I need to switchover fast, I plug in my old VHS tape and watch Drew Barrymore play the best rendition of Cinderella. Sweet, honest, she’s true to herself.

…And I am also just a fairy tale girl at heart. :0)

Happy Monday all. May your week shine bright.