So Susan is here to tell us about promoting books and her experiences. đ
This past year I have had the pleasure of doing presentations about writing to students in several grade levels. Iâve also spoken to a writing group made up of adults. I can ramble all day, especially when it comes to talking about something I loveâtelling a story. But Iâm more of a one on one kind of person. Speaking in front of any group that numbers more than a handful of people is a first for me, and I was a more than little nervous about making the experience beneficial to those in the audience as well as to me.
I neednât have worried about the students. The class had written some excellent questions to ask me about writing. Several of them were reading Hunger Games and Divergent. It didnât hurt a bit for them to know Iâd read the books and enjoyed them. We had a lively discussion about the characters, which of them were their favorites and what drew them to each of them. We discussed action and plot and what makes a story good. The writing group was interested in the process of publishing with a small press and hearing the process.
Doing promo work for Not Long Ago and for In My Own Shadow has been a lot more fun than I expected. As I said before I get to talk to people about something I love to do. Iâve done blog swaps and made new friends. The camaraderie Iâve experienced with other authors has been great. They are more than willing to share experiences. I am able to relive the excitement of signing my first contract, seeing my cover for the first time and all the ups and downs in between. It gets me excited about my current projects all over again and starts my brain churning with new ideas.
Itâs so encouraging to see there are readers who love to get lost in another world just like I do â especially the young ones.
Who is Susan Royal:
Born in west Texas and raised in south Texas, Susan makes her home in a 100-year-old farmhouse in a small east Texas town that comes complete with a female ghost who has been known to harmonize with her son when he plays guitar.
Susan is married, with three children and four grandchildren. Her family is rich with characters, both past and present. She spent her childhood listening to her grandmotherâs stories of living on a farm in Oklahoma Territory with three sisters and three brothers and working as a telephone operator in the early 20th century. Her father shared stories of growing up in San Antonio in the depression, and through her motherâs eyes she experienced how it felt to be a teenager during WWII.
Her newest, In My Own Shadow, is a Fantasy adventure/romance. Her first book, Not Long Ago, is a time travel adventure/romance. Both ebooks are available through MuseItUp/Amazon/B&N. She is currently working on a sequel to Not Long Ago, because her daughter insisted there was still more of Erin and Griffinâs story to tell, and she was right.
LINKS
In My Own Shadow (fantasy, adventure, romance)
Not Long Ago (time travel, adventure, romance)
Both books available at MuseItUp, Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
http://susanroyal.moonfruit.com
http://susanaroyal.wordpress.com
Read an excerpt from In My Own Shadow:
A frantic sprint down the hall from my office brought me skidding to a stop in front of the elevator doors just as they whispered shut. The clock on the wall read half past five. Damn. Too much time spent in the restroom trying to make myself presentable. All because Carrie had conned me into another one of her blind dates. And with her cousin, no less. Â Why today of all days? Iâd overslept and come to work resembling the undead from a zombie apocalypse movie. Tension knotted in my stomach. I punched the button beside the stainless steel doors and paced, remembering my conversation with her over lunch.
âI know losing your dad has been awful,â sheâd said. âBut, maybe itâs time you started moving on with your life.â Carrie couldnât possibly have understood the burden of guilt that seemed to grow heavier every day. Dad and I had a terrible argument just before he died, one we never had the chance to resolve, and it still ate at me. Carrie hadnât given up until Iâd agreed to meet her cousin in the lobby after work, a decision that plagued me for the rest of the afternoon.
What was the guyâs name again? I couldnât even remember.
When the doors finally opened to an empty elevator, I hurried inside, pulled out my cell, and stared at the screen. Carrie hadnât returned any of my calls. She probably didnât want to give me the chance to back out. My friend knew me only too well. Unlike her, I was no good at small talk. What if her cousin wasnât either? My stomach twisted even tighter. If thatâs all we have in common, itâs going to be a long evening. By the time I got to the ground floor, Iâd chewed my bottom lip raw.
The lobby was empty, and my heels echoed against the marble tiles. Her cousin must have gotten tired of waiting and left. I squeezed my eyes shut and pinched the bridge of my nose. Carrieâs going to kill me. Sheâd never believe I hadnât done this on purpose just so I wouldnât have to go out with her cousin.
Someone coughed. I jerked my head around to see a man standing near the reception area, a canvas duffel bag at his feet. Â Thatâs got to be him.
My heart thudded with relief. âSorry Iâm late. I hope you havenât been waiting long.â I motioned toward the rain spattering against the windows. âThis weather is awful, isnât it?â
The man watched me with a self-assured air that left me feeling like an awkward teenager.
So much for witty conversation.  At least Carrie hadnât exaggerated when she said he was good looking. His sensitive mouth held the only trace of softness in a finely chiseled face. Broad shoulders and powerful hands. He would have been right at home on the cover of a sports magazine. Was I drooling? âUmmâŚâ His intense stare made me squirm. âI should introduce myself. Iâmââ
âLara. My name is Rhys.â We shook hands briefly while his eyes flickered over me. My height intimidated some men, but it didnât seem to bother him. âI never imagined youâd be soââ
âDonât bother with flattery. Surely Carrie told you Iâm immune.â The grin across my face was so he would know it was a joke, but his stern expression remained unchanged.
Doesnât this guy know how to smile? âUmmâŚMy carâs across the street. We really should go before it starts pouring again.â
Without a word, he grabbed his bag and followed me through the big glass doors. The wind had picked up, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Streetlights flickered on, a halo of light crowning each pole. We crossed the street and hurried toward my car parked beneath one of the lights in the middle of the empty lot.
I stuck my umbrella under my arm and dug in my purse for the keys. âDo you like Italian food?â
Rhys drew his eyebrows together and frowned slightly.
Doesnât he understand plain English? Funny how Carrie never mentioned he was the silent, brooding type.  Iâd get even with her for this. âOkay, what about Chinese? Thereâs this great little place not too far from hereâŚâ
He jerked his gaze away from mine and stared into the darkness behind me.
A finger of cold traced its way along my spine. âDid you hear something?â We were alone in an empty city parking lot after dark. Not the safest place in the world.
He grabbed my arm. âQuiet.â
I flinched in surprise and pulled away. Rhys was beginning to give me the creeps. âWhat is it? Did you hear something?â
He pointed toward the back of the parking lot where lightning flashed, touched the ground and disappeared. Two dark shapes burst from the shadows and advanced across the asphalt without a sound.
Rhys dropped his bag and stepped in front of me. Chills raced across my arms. I backed into my car with a thud and gripped my umbrella so tight it made my hands hurt. No time to call for help. Weâd have to defend ourselves. But how?
One of the men threw a punch at Rhys, who caught it with his open hand. He used the momentum to throw his attacker off balance and slammed him against the car beside me. Before the guy hit the ground, Rhys whirled to face ninja number two, who charged. With his left forearm, Rhys blocked and returned his kick. The man sidestepped, and Rhysâ foot missed the mark.
By this time the first guy had stumbled to his feet. He staggered over to Rhys and grabbed him from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. The other guy slammed his fists into Rhysâ stomach, making him double over and gasp for breath.
It was up to me to do something fast, or Rhys was going down. With my heart pounding in my ears, I darted behind the guy holding him and kicked him in the back of the knees. He buckled and released his grip on Rhys. Before his attacker realized what had happened, Rhys had grabbed him by his collar and head butted him with a sickening crunch. The man howled, blood spurting from his nose.
Both men turned and fled back into the darkness. My umbrella slipped from my shaking hands and clattered to the pavement. Who were these men with strange tattoos covering their faces? Gang members? Muggers?
This time it was me that grabbed Rhysâ arm. âAre you all right?â
âDonât worry about me. Letâs go.â
After I fumbled with the keys and unlocked the car, he yanked the passenger door open, threw his bag in the back seat and jumped inside. The automatic locks clicked while the engine coughed and sputtered to a start. With my hands in a death grip on the steering wheel, I drove through the entrance and made a hard right, my rear tire rolling over the curb.
A few blocks away I tried to hand Rhys my cell phone, but he wouldnât take it. âDidnât you see those guys?â They had eyes like sharks, their pupils almost completely dilated. âThey must have been on something. We need to call the police.â
He shook his head.
âWhat, then? Have you got a better idea?â
âDrive to your place.â
He didnât get any argument âsomething totally out of character for me. Shock, maybe? Everything had happened so fast, it almost didnât seem real. Accelerating, I switched lanes to pass a slow driver and watched my passenger from the corner of my eye. He should have been breathing hard after being punched in the stomach, but he wasnât even winded. And he didnât seem upset or surprised by anything that had happened. He only stared through the car windows, focusing on the darkness around us.
Carrie, youâve got one strange cousin.
* * * *
We rushed inside my apartment. I slammed the front door and twisted the deadbolt, listening to its comforting click. The shadowy apartment was filled with normal noises like the hum of the refrigerator, water dripping from a faucet and the furnace running. I flattened a hand against my chest as my thudding heartbeat slowed to normal.
Home safe. Everythingâs okay.
Someone pounded the front door three times, rattling the hinges. Every nerve in my body hummed with electricity. I tiptoed closer, placing a cautious eye against the peephole. A man well over six feet tall stared back, his pale skin a contrast to the wild, dark hair falling past his shoulders. Wide shoulders under black leather gave the man a lean look. He had classic features and a narrow face. Very handsome, except for eyes that glittered with something cold and unyielding. Shivers began at the nape of my neck and traveled over my entire body.
âLara, let me in. I must speak with you,â he said, but the words didnât come from his mouth. They came from within my own mind.
I gasped and turned to Rhys. âH-heâs talking to meâŚfrom inside my head.â
âBlock him.â Rhys dug his fingers into my shoulder. âThe longer you allow him access to your mind, the more dangerous it becomes.â
âIs that you, Guardian?â The manâs mouth split into an evil grin, revealing blinding, white teeth. âAre you taking up new duties these days?â
âLeave her alone.â Muscles bunched along Rhysâ jaw. âShe doesnât know anything.â
The manâs chuckle seemed to vibrate from somewhere deep inside his chest. âIf that is true, then why are you protecting her?â
I narrowed my eyes at Rhys. âWhat the hellâs he talking about? Is he high on something?â
âIgnore him.â Rhys grabbed my arm and pulled me into the kitchen.
Inside my head, the oily voice took on a coaxing tone. âRhys is being overprotective. He takes things far too seriously. I mean you no harm, Lara. All I need is a little information.â
Rhys stretched out his hand. An orange dot appeared and hovered above his palm. In an instant, it became a streaking light, burning into my refrigerator and creating a jagged hole. âMy God, this canât be real.â I gasped and moved closer, staring. âW-whatâs going on?â
My visitor hammered at the door once again, so loud my temples throbbed with the sound. This time, the distraction was welcome, because it helped drive the sound of his voice from my mind and served another purpose as well. I lived in a quiet, respectable part of town. Surely one of my neighbors had already called the police. All we had to do was hold off a little longer.
Only Rhys had other ideas. He shouldered his bag and made his way toward the gaping hole heâd somehow created. Just before he passed through, he turned. âGive me your hand.â
I hesitated and raised my eyes to his. Letâs face it. Just the idea of stepping through my refrigerator made my heart bounce like a yo-yo.
âCome on. He isnât going to leave until he gets what he wants.â
âWhat does he want?â
Rhys clamped his fingers around my wrist. He bent his head as though moving against a hurricane force wind and dragged me through the opening. I struggled for air, but none of it reached my lungs. This must be what it feels like to drown. My heart accelerated, one beat at a time, and my vision clouded with spots.
No more than a few seconds could have passed before we burst through to the other side and stumbled across a thick carpet of leaves. Behind me, my kitchen wavered like a mirage, its familiar colors fading to gray. The tear Rhys had made grew smaller, shrinking until it disappeared and left me staring at a dense wall of foliage.
With my first few gasps, my lungs had felt like they were on fire, but at least I could breathe again. After being deprived of oxygen, the fresh air made my vision swim. My knees buckled and I would have fallen if Rhys hadnât grabbed my arm.
âRelax. It only makes things worse if you fight it.â
âYouâve done this before?â
âYes.â
âDo you ever get used to it?â
âSooner or later.â
Unsure whether to puke or pass out, I leaned over and braced my hands on my legs, waiting for the nausea to subside. After a few breaths, the dizziness cleared enough for me to raise my head. We were standing in a grassy clearing alongside a meandering gravel path that disappeared into shadows in both directions. Dense woods shrouded in darkness crowded the other side of the path.
We werenât outside my apartment.
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