Middle ground query

•March 5, 2009 • Leave a Comment

Okay, here’s another go at putting these together. What do y’all think?

When seventeen-year-old Samantha Sanders is forced to move in with her blind Cherokee grandfather, vivid nightmares take her inside the mind of a killer. She dreams of murders that actually happen…while they’re happening.

Sam finds herself in a forbidden relationship with local hottie, Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Clearwater. Soon after, she experiences a terrifying vision of a strange attack on him, through the eyes of his attacker. Flustered, she turns to Andrew for explanation. He reveals her dreams and the attack are related to an ancient line of Cherokee Protectors who fight Flesh Eaters-monsters that look like us, but come straight from the depths of legend. As their descendants, Sam and Andrew are bound by duty to protect others.

Loosely based on the Cherokee Legend The Stone Shield, this young adult urban fantasy LEGEND OF THE PROTECTORS is complete at 97,000 words.

A registered Cherokee, I enjoy studying the history and legends of my people.

Win free books!

•March 3, 2009 • 1 Comment

Go join the contest at If you give a Girl a Pen…

Win the Jennifer Armintrout series, Blood Ties!

Must be 18 or older to enter.

Shortened Query, take 2

•March 2, 2009 • 4 Comments

Thanks Jarucia for your edits. How’s this folks?

Seventeen-year-old Cherokee, Samantha Sanders has vivid nightmares-which take her inside the mind of a killer, as she dreams of murders that actually happen…while they’re happening. She discovers a connection between her dreams and an ancient line of Protectors she belongs to, who fight Flesh Eaters-monsters that look like us, but come straight from the depths of legend.

Sam finds herself, not only attracted to another Protector, but also to one of the monsters. And this man-monster has the power to control her dreams and influence her feelings.

Though I believe LEGEND OF THE PROTECTORS will appeal to the readers who love the romance in Twilight, it is not another vampire story. Loosely based on the Cherokee Legend The Stone Shield, this young adult urban fantasy LEGEND OF THE PROTECTORS is complete at 98,000 words.

A registered Cherokee, I enjoy studying the history and legends of my people.

If you would like to consider my novel, I can be reached at

Shortened Query

•March 2, 2009 • 3 Comments

Is this a better hook?

It’s shorter, for sure. :)

Of Cherokee heritage, seventeen-year-old Samantha Sanders discovers a connection between her vivid nightmares-which take her inside the mind of a killer, as she dreams of murders that actually happen…while they’re happening-and the an ancient line of Protectors she belongs to, who fight Flesh Eaters-monsters, who look like us, but come straight from the depths of legend. Sam finds herself, not only attracted to another Protector, but also to one of the monsters. And this man-monster has the power to control her dreams and influence her feelings.

Loosely based on the Cherokee Legend The Stone Shield, this young adult urban fantasy LEGEND OF THE PROTECTORS is complete at 97,000 words.

A registered Cherokee, I enjoy studying the history and legends of my people.

Help with Synopsis

•February 28, 2009 • 5 Comments

This doesn’t have good voice, and I will work on that, but are the points important? What should stay, and what should go? Any questions you want answered?

Help!

Synopsis:

When her parents are killed in a car accident, seventeen-year-old SAMANTHA SANDERS must move halfway across the country to live with the blind Cherokee grandfather she hardly knows. And after a dream where she finds herself inside the mind of a killer, she’s sure she doesn’t want to stay in Oklahoma.

On her second day in town, Sam gets lost on her way to school. Twenty-one-year old Sherriff Deputy ANDREW CLEARWATER pulls her over and offers his help. As if a police escort isn’t bad enough, Sam is lost in Algebra so she befriends JAMES PETERSON to help her navigate Tahlequah High-and Algebra.

Sam’s grandfather, DON, eats supper a few times a week with Andrew and his mother. When Sam comes along for the first time, one week after her parents’ death, she breaks down. Andrew shows kindness as he consoles her that night, but his behavior over the next few weeks becomes erratic and unexplained, so Sam finds solace in James. Unfortunately, she’s looking for a friend while he’s looking for a girlfriend.

During a backyard game of football on Thanksgiving Day, Andrew tackles Sam, pinning her to the ground. But before he can kiss her, a breeze carries in the overwhelming smell of sweet coconut, an odd odor in Oklahoma. Her mind is overcome by a presence that doesn’t feel human. The game ends when Andrew’s cousins rush her inside.

Darkness takes over, and Sam experiences a strange ability to see through eyes not belonging to her-eyes starving for the destruction of Andrew and his uncle, until a searing pain shoots through her body, ending her vision. Frantic and scared, Sam demands explanations but quickly realizes they are not easy to swallow.

Andrew privately explains the Cherokee Protector Legend. Andrew and Sam both come from a long line of Cherokee’s with special gifts and talents that aid them in destroying Flesh Eaters, monsters of human form. Learning of Andrew’s abilities of speed and strength, and Don’s of visions; sometimes allowing him to see the future and know of the monsters’ presence, scares Sam. Especially since she seems to have a physic connection to the monsters.

Sam, constantly aware of someone watching her, has recurring nightmares, nightmares where she is the monster. And the scary part-she likes it.

Andrew and Sam’s attraction continues to grow and they begin secretly dating. But she still struggles with the advances of James, and now another admirer has emerged from the shadows. COLIN, the all-too-real monster from Cherokee legend who stalks her. But not just in a physical sense. He can penetrate her dreams.

Although bound by his kind to kill her, he becomes obsessed and makes his presence know. And in the end Colin saves her by murdering one of his own.

After the near death experience, Andrew breaks up with Sam, telling her he thinks his attraction is just physical. Heartbroken, but determined to stay strong, Sam turns to James, who’s more than willing to comfort her. Sam doesn’t realize Andrew’s true reasons for leaving her: Don’s visions have revealed that if Andrew doesn’t stay away from Sam, together they would destroy the balance of the Protectors. Andrew is devastated that Sam can’t know he still loves her.

Merging Queries

•February 27, 2009 • 4 Comments

I’ve taken two of the past queries, and merged them. What do you think?

And please, come join the gals at if you give a girl a pen…

New query:

High school and a love triangle are easy compared to what lurks in the mind of seventeen-year-old Samantha Sanders. Vivid nightmares take her inside the mind of a killer, where she encounters a lust for blood and a creature she doesn’t understand. The clincher, she dreams of murders that actually happen… while they’re happening.

Living with her blind Cherokee grandfather isn’t her ideal situation, until she meets young Officer Andrew. Mr. Hottie in uniform, and a friend of dear ol’ grandpa’s. The sun shines a little brighter now, but there’s a slight problem: Sam’s too young for him. At least for a few months until she turns that magical number-eighteen.

To add a little more strife to her life, the nightmares go from freakish dreams, to a vision she’s wide awake for-watching an attack on Andrew, as if she were the monster.

The connection between Sam’s dreams and the reality of her new life, lies in her Cherokee heritage. She belongs to an ancient line of Protectors who fight Flesh Eaters-monsters, who look like us, but come straight from the depths of legend.

To add to the bizarre, Sam somehow finds herself attracted to a man-monster, in real life. And lucky her, not only can he enter her dreams, he can control them.

Loosely based on the Cherokee Legend The Stone Shield, this young adult urban fantasy LEGEND OF THE PROTECTORS is complete at 90,000 words.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Must Brag

•February 24, 2009 • Leave a Comment

Before I add my regular post, I must take a minute and BRAG. Here is an article about my brother Mark. :)

http://www.pbpindiantribe.com/news.aspx?id=152

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He is the Tribal Attorney for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.

Proud of you!

Writing Exercise

•February 21, 2009 • 3 Comments

th_bats

The sky grew darker as the cloud grew and raced toward us. “What is that?” I whispered. I’d watched clouds turn to twisters for three years now, but I’d never seen anything like this before.

“I’m not sure,” Dillon answered. “It almost looks like…” He squinted. “Like birds or something. But there’s got to be millions.”

“Birds? Where did they come from?”

He looked at me and raised a brow.

“Yeah, okay. Guess you know about as much as I do at this point.”

As the cloud flew closer, pings of shock pulsed though my system. What the heck. Birds couldn’t do that. My heart felt as if someone had reached into my chest and squeezed.

“Dillon?” I doubled over and fell to my knees, and looked over to see him on the ground convulsing. What was happening?

Electric vibrations continued to rock my body and I too fell to my side. As the cloud descended upon us, I realized our birds were bats. Hundreds of millions of pudge-nose, vampire bats.

Even in these numbers, they should not have this affect, was the last thought I had before my heart stopped.

Lone Protector

•February 21, 2009 • 2 Comments

I am working on book 2. Editing and doing a major overhaul. Funny how I write romance the first time through and have to edit most of it out, and then go back and add more monster in. :)

I’m a romance writer at heart.

Oh, well.

So I had a comment in spam where someone hated my last post. If he ever comes back here again, I posted that for a contest. ;) Not that I feel I need to explain my post to some poor soul who has nothing better to do than cuss me for my contest entry, but I have heard of search engines. ;)

Anyway, back to Book two. I am losing about six chapters completely, and am excited where book two is going.

Have a great weekend all!

Great interview

•February 20, 2009 • Leave a Comment

Beth Revis has interviewed Cynthia Leitich on her blog. For those of you who don’t know who Cynthia is, she’s the author of  Tantalized and Eternal.

tantalize-big

eternal_cover

Visit Beth’s blog for a chance to win a copy of one of these books, and for the great interview. And then head over to Cynthia’s. And for your FYI, agent Nathan Bransford had this to say about Cynthia’s blog,

“Cynthia Leitich Smith, who runs one of the absolute best writing blogs out there.”

So go check them out!

And have a great weekend!