Excerpt from an all new In The Dark

The darkness held no sign of life. Memphis’s muscles tensed as a cold breeze flew past her.

Her lips twitched in pleasure as tingles of electrical current slithered from the nape of her neck, down her spine, and caught fire at the clawed fist of the griffin tattooed at her hip. The image had started out as what she believed was a birthmark of an eye, but over the years had spread into the griffin. With each kill, another element of the beast appeared.

Laughter erupted on all sides of her and she braced for battle, her hand on the hilt of the short dagger sheathed on her thigh. Just as the first shadow shifted into a crouch, a strong hand grasped hers and pulled her at top speed out of the dark alley.

She tried dragging her feet, but the body attached to the hand must have been solid muscle and outweighed her by at least fifty pounds.

“Dammit, let go.” She yanked her hand, but only managed to have the hold tightened. She knew you never pulled against the hand but pushed into it, but at the angle she was currently in, she couldn’t do that.

“Don’t be stupid,” the deep, masculine voice said, sending a purely sensual shiver through her system. He stopped long enough to look over his shoulder at her and say, “Little girls shouldn’t play in dark alleys,” and he was tugging her behind him again.

Given in to the knowledge that she couldn’t very well fight with this idiot-turned-hero around, she raced with him up a flight of stairs, through a hall, and back down another flight. Out the door, back into the night and on the street, they ran for a few miles before a click sounded in the silent night air and a car door slung open.

“Get in,” the dark knight yelled.

With a half sigh, half laugh, Memphis slumped into the passenger seat of a very clean, very sleek sports car. He hit speeds over one hundred miles per hour as he made his way through the sleepy streets of Austin. Working on finding some sort of gratitude that might displace her anger, she sank back into the leather seat and studied the man by the console lights. Dark hair, black as pitch, hung loosely over a high forehead and curled at his neck and around his ears. A square jaw, clenched in what seemed to be anger, added masculinity to high, defined cheekbones.

Her heart sputtered in her chest, caught in a frenzy of longing and fear, two feelings she had no use for. A normally brilliant mind blanked. He was beautiful. Not in a pretty, female way, but in a god-fallen-to-the-earth kind of way. And the sense of recognition stunned her. But how? If she’d ever laid eyes on him before, she’d have remembered. There wasn’t a woman alive that wouldn’t have a clear recollection of this strong man.

After what couldn’t have been more than minutes, he slowed and glanced at her. “What the hell where you doing out this time of night?”

She raised a brow at the growl of anger in his voice and bit back a laugh.

“Have you any idea how dangerous it is to walk around a place like that in the light of day, better yet on a moonless night?”

Excerpt from an all new Legend of the Protectors

Sweat pours down my back as I run through the woods behind Paw-paw’s house. The fist clenching my heart takes hold of my lungs, making it nearly impossible to continue. My legs weigh a ton and I feel as if I’m running on the beach instead of pine needles and grasses.

The growl behind me is human. Or at least not quite animal. Laughter mixes in with the burst of wind rushing past my ears. A hiss of a name teases me.

My bare feet land on prickly cones and branches reach out to grab my hair and scratch my bare skin. I realize now I’m naked and embarrassment flutters close behind my fear. A fear that pushes me forward though my lungs burn.

Whatever’s behind me, man or monster, stops and I feel a sense of relief. But it only lasts for a second. My legs move slower, and a tug on my stomach tries to wrench me back. Almost like an invisible rope has lassoed me and is yanking me from behind.

I try to scream, only to find I have no voice. The darkness has eaten all sound and light.

Excerpt from Strange World

Thunderous horns and people hollering echoed around Lexi as she stumbled along the walkway. Flashing signs and steel buildings pressed ominously against her spirit. She did not understand what life-force sustained this planet, Earth. Concrete and steel could not breathe. The humans had to receive oxygen from somewhere. The processes on this planet were similar to those on her own, carbon dioxide and oxygen exchanged through plants. But there were no plants here.

A bell jingled and caught Lexi’s attention. The window to a building had cut flowers and small plants in bowls behind it, but that could only maintain the people behind the glass. What kept the people on the street alive?

“Hey! Watch it!” a husky voice yelled as a hand grabbed her arm.

Lexi looked into the Greater’s odd eyes and smiled. How peculiar—they stayed the same color, no matter his emotion. She tilted her head and studied his features. Hair, the color of straw, blew around on his head. Dull grey eyes stared back at her. A tuft of hair touched his bottom lip, but the rest of his face was hairless.

Strange.

A couple of contest that may interest you…

The first one I want to let you know about is over at Kidlit.com. It ends Jan. 31st and is for MG and YA finished novels. They MUST be completed manuscripts. The rules are simple and listed here, along with the prizes. 1st place is a 15 page critique of your work. So send you manuscripts to mary at kidlit dot com with Kidlit Contest in the subject line.

The second is by Sourcebooks. They are launching a new young adult imprint called Sourcebooks Fire and is hosting a contest for YA writers. For more information, check out Georgia McBride’s blog. Contest runs from Feb. 1 to Feb. 28, 2010.

Just a Kiss

Cóir’s breath caught. Her heart leapt as Seth’s fingers shimmered up her arm. Closing her eyes, she took in the heady smell of pine, lavender, and man.

“Open your eyes.” Seth’s lips brushed the corner of Cóir’s lips. “Look at me.”

Without hesitation, she obeyed, staring into the cool steel-blue eyes.

One strong hand slid down her back, fingers spayed, and tugged her closer as the other fisted in her hair. Everything she’d learned over the years insisted she stop the intrusion. Run, her instincts prompted. But her body ached to close around him and give herself into the promise of pleasure.

“Kiss me,” Seth whispered.

As if under a spell, Cóir snaked her arms over his shoulders and around his neck, bringing his mouth to hers. Eyes open, she watched his eyes darken as she parted her lips and traced the tip of her tongue over his teeth.

(Exert from a WIP)

All I want for Christmas

Okay, so I want an agent, to be published, and have millions reading my work. :)
But to get us all thinking of our characters: What do your characters want most this holiday season?

Vote on a Query

Okay, here are two different starts to my query. Let me know which you like best, or if I can improve on either.

Seventeen-year-old 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 Cherokee Protectors, 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, local hottie, Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Clearwater, but also to one of the monsters. And this man-monster has the power to control her dreams and influence her feelings.

Second one:

Driven into a lust for blood and for the monster hunting innocent people in her dreams, seventeen-year-old Samantha Sanders discovers her nightmares are more than mere imagination. The monsters are real. And one is stalking her every move. When she learns she belongs to an ancient line of Cherokee Protectors who fight the monsters from legend, her fears spike. That is until one of the Protectors takes an interest in her and teaches her how to defend herself and others. In the process, her heart is left unguarded and she falls into the pitfalls of young love.