A Late Valentines Gift & Baby Shower Giveaway

You love giveaways, right? Well, as per usual (as of 2015), I've got a short free read for you AND an amazing giveaway. 

Firstly, if you missed my announcement about Lightning Quick Reads, let me share again. IT'S A FLASH FICTION BLOG (stories that are 2000 words or less) with 100% free reads. This month has been all about love--whether love between family members, friends, or couples. How about a sample, eh?

The Kiss of Death by Crystal Collier

People crowded against the police perimeter to get a closer look at the twisted metal, broken cable and black smoke. Officers directed traffic away from the billowing wreck. Half the road was blocked by fire engines. Pictures snapped at the train-less overpass and demolished road below.

Miriam stood motionless in the middle of the wreck. High pressured streams of water spewed past in an attempt to quench the flames, blowing brown hair loosely across her face, spray spattering her smart black pants and crimson top. Water pooled in the ruined asphalt, soaking through her new Fendi heels.

She’d boarded the Metra half an hour ago with a copy of Glamour in one hand and coffee in the other. Her greatest worry had been lipstick smears on her teeth or embarrassing herself in front of steamy James Laughlin, again. She’d been excited to spend lunch proofreading the latest articles, or brownnosing with the boss…

A cheer echoed off the overpass.

She blinked. Water dripped from her spoiled business attire, waves of stick-straight hair hanging in her eyes. She brushed the mess back and turned. 

Firefighters recoiled their hoses. White smoke drifted lazily up from around her feet and various other hotspots, stinging her nostrils with embers. A policeman’s whistle pierced her ears as he waved a line of honking cars down a side street. A done-up woman stood in front of a white van with a camera angled at the destruction around her. Another reporter stood half a block away, blabbing his take on the “accident,” a program Miriam would watch tonight, if she wasn’t…

Dead?

She glanced at the overpass, its broken railing and crumbling cement. A gasp pulled her eyes to a sodden woman in her forties with running makeup and a super short skirt. The woman stared at the broken train rail, fuzzy hair hanging half down, the rest clinging to its bun.

Miriam remembered passing her as she moved to the back of the car, thinking it was a crime to wear anything so short…

Behind the woman stood a man in a tweed suit and buggy glasses. His jaw hung. Other disembodied souls filled her periphery, each motionless or in an early stage of realization. Some stared blankly into the distance. One woman had broken down sobbing over a blackened and water-logged lump.

Miriam’s eyes dropped to her feet. She swallowed. Remnants of a crimson silk blouse clung to the ashes--just like the one she was wearing. A metallic stench wafted up at her, mixed with a musky sweetness. 

Her stomach clenched. The gag reflex started at the back to her throat. She bent over and dry heaved.

It was true. She was dead. Deceased. Over...

So any guesses how this could possibly turn into a love story?

READ MORE

(And leave me some comment love, eh?)



And on to the super amazing giveaway!

Last week Jamie Ayres shared her brand new release, 18 THOUGHTS, along with two truths and one lie. Those who guessed the lie were entered into a random drawing for the chance to win her entire trilogy in eBook!  

The game: 

1. Jamie accidentally joined a religious cult for two weeks during her first year of college at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
2. For as long as she can remember, Jamie has always been an avid Star Wars Fan. 
3. She was nominated by her senior class as Most Likely to Warn the World Aliens Are Coming. 

And the lie is:

#2. From all the references in her book, you'd think Jamie is a huge Star Wars fan. But her education of Star Wars did not begin until her first year of marriage, when the hubs took her to see Episode I the night it came out in theaters. 

Way to guess everyone who got it right! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Rhonda Parrish!

Congrats, Rhonda! 

And now for this week's game...

Jo Leigh Harper comes from a long line of trouble-making, white trash stock.

Tanner Coulter comes from a longer line of wealth-creating, blue blood stock.

Jo graduated college top of her class, moving toward a future full of possibilities.

Tanner dropped out of college, trading a law degree for drinking games and one night stands.

A family crisis throws the rich party boy and the poor genius girl together. The attraction is immediate, though neither one is a heart-in-the-sand-drawing believer in true love. But as the summer sun heats up along the shores of the Outer Banks, so does the connection between them. Maybe, just maybe, they can win at love by defying reason.

Get your copy HERE.

Ready to meet this fabulous and incredibly generous author? (Seriously, she deserves a cheese badge. Yup. She's that amazing.) 

Elizabeth Seckman is a wife, a mom, and a believer in dreams. She is a multi-published author and the best-seller on her street. There may not be any other writers on her street, but that doesn’t matter. She still outsells them all. 

She doesn't have a favorite cheese, but loves them all equally, even with jam. And she would eat cheese anywhere, be it land, sea, or cheesy air. Hold the questions, but never the cheese. That you pile on as high as you please!

Elizabeth gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to win a SIGNED copy of DEFYING REASON and a SWAG PACK including bookmarks, pens, and a necklace. (In honor of my coming baby, it's a kind of baby shower prize pack.) (Open internationally.)

You have until Tuesday, March 3 at 1 p.m. EDT to guess. Be sure to come back for the answer on March 4.

TRUTH OR LIE

(Because I'm in the final stages of baby making, Elizabeth decided to share some of her baby facts.)

1. When Boy #4 was born, Elizabeth had a condition known as precipitous labor (or speedy labor). From start to finish, his labor lasted three hours. It was so short, they didn’t even have time to get to the hospital, so he was born on the living room floor.
2. When Boy #3 was born, he was as big as a modest Thanksgiving turkey. That made Elizabeth a freak in the hospital- even the kitchen staff stopped by to meet the woman who had the eleven pounder naturally. 
3. When Boy #2 was born, his name was going to be Colby (like the cheese!), but Elizabeth's mother-in-law loved that named and disliked the name Cole. And she brought Elizabeth's husband a Big Mac (which he didn’t even offer to share!) to the hospital and not her, so she named the baby Cole. 

So which is the lie? Do you like love stories? (Even slightly morbid ones?) Did you read my LQR story and leave me a comment? Have you met Elizabeth before?

VALENTINES WINNERS

You're a winner. It's true. Know how I know? Because you're here, smiling at this post. (And if you're not smiling, fix that right now, buddy--and here's some cheese to help.) 

Today I'm going to introduce you to a few other (TONZ of) winners--including our Valentines Day raffle winners...below, but first, I'm over at 

Tara Tyler's place today talking about Newsletters. Check it out!

AND I'm super stoked today to introduce my buddy, Jessie Anderson and her STUNNING short story, Lemons.

Hi, everyone! Thanks for stopping by to check out the cover. I’d like to thank Crystal for having me.  I’m really excited to share my new cover with you, but first, let me tell you a bit about Lemons, which released yesterday, FEBRUARY 13, 2014. Be sure to check it out on Amazon.

LEMONS BLURB:

They say when life throws you lemons to make lemonade, but when Ally finds herself in the biggest pickle of her life—stranded on an island in the middle of a lake—fruit and veggies are the least of her worries. Now she’ll have to face the harsh realities of her selfish choices, which means dealing with what happened between her parents a few years ago.

Wanna see the cover now? Well, here it is:

If you’d like to know a little more about me and my writing, read on.

My first book, At What Cost was published in 2012. I’ve been writing and writing since then and have nearly completed a dystopian series, which is being sent to publishers. In the meantime, I wrote a short story. Not sure exactly where it came from. I don’t consider myself a short story writer, but hey, when it comes to you, you have to get it out.

Find out more about my writing here:

www.readbetweenthelinesbookclub.blogspot.com (Author blog)

_______________________________________________________

BOOK REVIEW

I was given the wonderful opportunity to review an advanced copy My Bloody Valentine, a story collection by Tiffinie Helmer, Alex Bledsoe, V.R. Barkowski, Erica Hayes, Lizbeth Lipperman, Charlie N. Holmberg, Coreene Callahan, and S.G. Redling. So are you ready for this?

First of all, this is not a young adult collection. So okay, I occasionally read outside my genre (all the time), but typically I stay away from the adult romance stuff...because I'm sensitive and like my innocent perspective on the world. This book was filled with hard decisions, bitter-sweet outcomes, and I would have liked a language filter. Alas... If you're like me, you'll skip quite a few pages in this anthology, but you can read all of Charlie's SALT AND WATER without worry.

Her story in one word: Awesome.

The premise: A slave to a war-torn society for eighteen months, Chellis has been tortured for one purpose: to make her cry, for the healing properties of her tears can mend any soldier’s wound. 

I SO loved Chellis and her keeper, Ahad. The world they occupy is brutal. They should be enemies, but having grown up somewhat sheltered, Ahad is not your typical slaver. The themes of compassion and love stretch well beyond romance, and I wanted the story to keep going. I wanted a whole novel. (Please?) Yes, the story was that great.

Many of the others were well written, but again, read with your adult filter on.

_______________________________________________________

VALENTINES WINNERS

And now for the winners... 

Sun & Moon = Holly Letson

Maguire's Corner = Sarah Chafin

Model Position = Diana Steele Nelson

Three Daves = Trisha Farnan

Masked Love = Samantha Geary Jones

Colors like Memories = Julia Cosgrove

Chasing Anya = Sheri Larsen

Fate Intended = Shelly Hammond

Beyond the Binding and Composers for Relief CD = Mary K. Hill

MOONLESS signed = Elizabeth Seckman

Congrats, winners!

Lastly, because it's Valentines Day, here's a sweet little something for your reading pleasure:

The Kiss of Death

What are you doing with this weekend? Anything romantic? Anti-romantic? Read anything thematically appropriate recently you'd like to recommend? 

Super Short

I'm participating in the Second Summer in the City Blogfest, which is basically a "let's set some goals for June and all support each other" blogfest. =)

So, my current WIP's are Immortal the Musical, Dark Moon, and my kids, of course. (Goals as follows:)
         1. Revise Forever into a blow-your-mind piece of music (-with the help of our kick-trash producer).
         2. Finish revising Dark Moon to third person (as opposed to 1st).
         3. Smooth and submit The Kiss of Death to a writing contest.
         4. Create our home school plan for 2011-2012. (3 kids, 3 grades.)

Is that enough? What are your goals?

It's all about AUDIENCE

Compulsive... That pretty much sums it up.

Haven't kicked this contest bug yet, so I started browsing writing contests. (Chalk it up to the desire for a few more publishing credits.) I found one for WOMEN in flash fiction. Yay! I'm a woman. I write flash fiction! Not only that, I've got this great flash fiction piece my hubby loves. Done and done, right? Without a second thought I hopped on board.

Then I pulled up the fine print: Women's fiction. The audience and JUDGES are all women!

Shoot.

My piece was written for men.

Double shoot.

How important is audience? (Insert pause for pondering now.) You can have the greatest Science Fiction piece in the world, but if the judge/agent/publisher prefers Historical Fiction, your chances of coming off a cosmic conqueror are a whopping zero. It's like feeding dog food to penguins. Nutritious? Maybe, but not for boy-flipper.

Now I've written an entirely new piece of flash fiction, so help a girl out eh? Toss your thoughts and critiques at me on this 750 word rockin piece of WOMEN's flash fiction.

The Kiss of Death

Marian could not have imagined when she boarded the tram this morning that its derailing and subsequent explosion would result in her finding true love.

With a copy of Glamour and coffee clasped in each hand, she had stepped on, prepared for another mundane day at the office. Her greatest worry had been lipstick smears on her teeth, or embarrassing herself in front of steamy James Laughlin, again. She couldn’t wait to spend lunch proofreading the latest articles, or stealing moments with the boss to get ahead…

Each unrealized routine flashed through her mind as she stood with forty-three other disembodied souls. Their blackened and water-logged remains lay between pools of water and twisted metal, like great lumps of coal.

Firefighters cheered at having put out the flame. People crowded against the police perimeter, trying to get a closer look. Reporters blabbed their take on the “accident” to live cameras, a program she’d watch tonight, if she wasn’t dead.

Dead. Terminated. Over.

She couldn’t believe it. Who would turn off the lights she left on at the apartment? Who would feed Mister Puffkins? Who would teach her yoga class on Saturday?

A tall man pushed through the perimeter. His Valentino suit and tie were oddly out of place next to fireman’s jackets and police uniforms.

He didn’t stop to speak with the police or congratulate firemen. In fact, he didn’t acknowledge them at all, and they let him walk right through their ranks. Dark hair, longer on top, flared in a natural wave about his ears. Prominent cheeks drew notice to his perfect nose and pressed lips. His eyes pinched upward at the corners in a happy way.

He halted in front of we disembodied citizens. “All right, line up, fastest to slowest.”

They glanced about at one another in confusion.

“I see we’re dealing with the latter extreme this morning. We haven’t got all day folks.” He pulled a clipboard out of his jacket and tapped a pen to it. “And what I mean by we, is me.”

In their stunned state no one bothered to ask who he was or why they needed get in a line, just did as instructed, like dumb sheep.

Marian stood over her charred body, unwilling to move, listening as the man interviewed the first person in line.

“Name?”

“Roger.”

“Roger what?”

“Roger Marcum.”

“I see. You are forthwith accepted to paradise. Enjoy the free pastries.” His palm slammed into Roger’s forehead, and Roger disappeared. “Next please?”

A woman hobbled forward.

“Name?”

“Edna.”

“Edna what?” he asked impatiently.

“Edna Barrister.”

“Oh Edna, the summer of sixty-seven, really? I’m sorry, but you have earned a place in prison.”

“But, but-”

He smacked her forehead and she disappeared.

“Next?” He smiled welcomingly.

The line steadily diminished, but Marian couldn’t pull away from her corpse. She shouldn’t be here. She should be in Green Lake, Wisconsin, cheering with cheese heads and wishing her younger brother a happy fifteenth.

Regrets: she could have found work near home rather than graduating from college at twenty and taking this Chicago job. She could have left last winter, her first winter here to help Mom close up the craft store for good. She should have told Mom she loved her…

“Ahem.”

She looked up. Steely gray eyes met hers.

“Seems you are the only one who couldn’t find her way to the line.” The man smiled.

Sure enough, the others were gone.

She looked up into his face, worried.

“Oh Marian, what am I to do with you?” His smile had taken a more tender quality, the lines around his eyes squeezing in agony.

“Have we met?”

“You never do remember.” He stared at his feet. “Tragic, but fair I suppose.”

“No, I would remember you,” she protested.

He frowned. “So, shall we start the cycle again?”

“I’m afraid I don’t…”

“A handshake will send you on. A kiss will send you back, but either way I cannot keep you. Which shall it be?”

“You kissed me before?” she asked, surprised.

“Actually, you kissed me.”

She blushed.

“Several times, and we both very much enjoyed it.” He leaned closer. “In point of fact, I made sure you got on that tram. I had to see you again.”

Hopeless romantic and the guardian of life’s door? She was in love.

“Neither,” she whispered.

“Beg pardon?”

“No handshake. No kiss.”

His grin widened. “I dare say that is the best answer yet.”

P.S. Did you notice the cheese reference? =)
P.S.S. If you are having problems with commenting on blogger (as there's been a lot of that lately), please feel free to e-mail me your thoughts: crystal (at) immortalthemusical (dot) com