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Sunday, July 31, 2011

Six Sentence Sunday

This week is from my re-issued and re-worked Love Beyond Time. Available here. Please join all the authors from Six Sentence Sunday as we celebrate and share our writing.

She belongs to you, and I leave her in your care, Kal.


The thought came from nowhere and he quickly pushed it away. Kal had no time for anything else that could be construed as strange at that moment. She was not his, she was human and she was, at the very least, pushing every protective urge in his body. He had to be careful or he might start howling at the sky.


"Whoever chased you has left."



Saturday, July 30, 2011

Release Day! Love Beyond Time!

Yay! So I'm so excited to introduce all of you to The Outsiders! The first book in the series, Love Beyond Time, has released today! If you are interested, you can buy it here. Or from Third Party sellers.

Born one half of a perfect pair, Kal has spent his life believing his other half is gone. But when fate thrusts Isabelle into his arms, he will have no choice but to become the man he was destined to be. That is, if he can battle his own demons first.



Not willing to accept her heritage as an Outsider, Isabelle tries to hide from the truth. But when Kal’s life is on the line, she will have to step forward and embrace her powers or watch everything she has come to love disappear.

Excerpt--

Abraxas Moore stared one more time at the unforgiving clouds forming above him. The weather would soon become perilous, and he knew he had very little time until they caught him. Even the Green Hills, the place that had sheltered him and his kind for centuries--their home--was no longer safe.

The rain that he was sure would start at any moment would not be life renewing. It was not a sign of rebirth, and he knew with a near perfect certainty it was not even natural in its origins. Rather, it had been conjured by those who sought to kill him as a means to draw him out into the open. They hoped he would make a mistake and fail at his task. Then they would be able to trap and kill him.

Most disturbing, however, was he knew they would succeed in their task.

His role as leader of his people, not one he ever truly sought, weighed heavily on him that night, and he knew not even the love of his wife, Niki, would sustain him through what was to come. The prophecy was no longer something that would eventually happen, but was actually occurring in front of his eyes.

Time had finally caught up with them.

After centuries of very little change, his people were facing almost immediate destruction, and it had fallen to him to somehow find a way to help them survive what would be certain annihilation.

Ironically, the storm that had come out of nowhere this evening had been the final sign he needed to indicate their impending doom. When an Outsider stopped being able to predict the weather then it really was the end of the world.

How would humanity last even another decade without them around to silently keep the balance of lightness and darkness in order? His people had thrived, for centuries by walking the lines of grey that fell between the two extremes of Good and Evil. They kept order and balance in their little space in the universe.

They always had and he had hoped they always would.

Oh sure, they may have slightly pushed things towards the side of Good whenever possible. They were, after all, not Gods or Deities who could see the fabric of time and know the outcome of decisions they made before they made them. They were humans--of a sort--with another power, another layer, to their minds that allowed them to see what most humans could not--all things were connected.

Time, energy, life, and even death all flowed on the same strings of current, like a sound wave or an electrical wire, and they had been used or manipulated by his people since the dawn of time to keep things in order. This had been their sacred duty since creation, and it was the obligation they would all be forfeiting with their deaths in no short amount of time.

Without them, it was likely there would be chaos. Humanity would fall in this dimension. Chaos. Enslavement. Famine. Death. Evil would finally win its battle to control all things. Good would stand no chance of prevailing because they wouldn't see the 'bad guys' coming until it was too late to stop them.

His people had forgotten they were not Gods. He was to blame for this, as he was to blame for so many other mistakes over his short reign. If there was a way to fix things, he would gladly do whatever it took to complete the task. But alas, the chanting had stopped for him, and he knew he was out of the precious currency known as time.

Even transporting backwards into the past seemed to be out of the question. It was as if a wall had been erected to keep his kind from reaching back to that moment when all things had gone awry.

He should have been paying better attention.

Clenching his fists at his side, Abraxas stomped across the grass from his small cottage home towards the top of Windfelt Hill. What would the local population think when the barriers fell and they suddenly realized they had been living side by side with unknown people for generations?

The wind blew, pushing his blond hair into his face and since he couldn't see, it made it exceptionally hard to proceed to his destination.

It was absolutely essential he get up the hill before the sun went down and he was plunged into darkness. He needed to place his ritual staff upon the hill and call to the heavens for help. That is if they hadn't abandoned him and could still hear his pleas for his people. Was anyone up there still listening to the Outsiders or was it too late?

The grass chomped below his feet. It was still winter, and spring hadn't made its first pushes to thaw out his part of the world. Ice sat atop the grass, changing its color from its natural green to a more transparent blue. It crunched below his well-worn boots. Niki had started mending them, begging him to actually acquire a new pair, before she had taken off with their daughter to hide with the others.

Perhaps he should have stopped her, but it had seemed futile. Let them go. Let them all go and see if we can hide the children was what he had ultimately decided.

Finally reaching his destination, Abraxas stopped to look around him. He had known the top of this hill intimately since he was a child.

Windfelt Hill was the outer ring of their boundary. To cross over the top of the barrier and over to the other side was to cross into the land of humanity. No amount of power, his or anyone else's, could shield his people for very long from the humans if they crossed this hill, which was why in the past only a select few were chosen to make the trek.

Last month, all of his people, with the exception of him, had opted to cross. His job wasn't done. He didn't have the luxury of leaving. Not until he had exhausted every option. If the Darkness knew where they were, then it was time to be somewhere else. They had decided their strength no longer held in numbers but in small hidden groups that were far from each other, far from the hills and woods that had hidden them and nourished them. It was their last desperate attempt to keep this annihilation of their people at bay and it made him crazier than he cared to dwell on that the whole of their society had opted to run away than stay and fight. Why was he the only one who could see it was better to stay and fight than turn and run?

He wondered how they were all faring out there in the world and once again he felt the pull to Niki and the unrelenting desire to throw away all of his responsibilities and join her in her hiding place. So maybe he wasn't that different from the others when it came down to it. He wanted the family life too. Their daughter was a month older and she aged without him there to watch her do it. A lump formed in his throat and he swallowed it away. He had thought they would never have children. They should have been too old. One lone tear slipped from his left eye and he brushed it away. She was growing up without him and it truly made his insides burn.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

CONTEST!! NAME TWO CHARACTERS!


Have you read my YA series? Yes? AWESOME. No? Well, now would be the time. Why you might ask? Because I am running a contest. E-mail me and tell me who the love of Rachel's life is and why. I will enter you in a contest to name in the third book in the series. Two major characters. A male and a female and only YOU will know who they are ahead of time.

Interested. E-mail me at rebecca@rebeccaroyce.com Winners will be selected randomly from the answers received.

How Much is Too Much?

Right now, I am currently writing four series. One of them has two books left in it (Westervelt). One of them has three books to go. (Warrior). One of them has six books (Outsiders) and one has an indefinite amount (Conditioned.)

What is my problem, you might ask? My muse always wants to be writing all of them at the same time. Realistically, this doesn't work for me. I have to concentrate on one thing at a time or everything goes askew. Its just too much for me to handle that degree of focus.

How about all of you? If you write, can you write more than one thing at a time? Can you read more than one book?

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Monday, July 25, 2011

Pink Eye

AHHH! My house has been infected with pink eye. AHHH. Yuck. Gross.

Okay, back to being Mom and capable of handling all manner of disgusting

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Six Sentence Sunday


Buy it here.


To whom it may concern,

All children who show the list of symptoms below are to be brought to one of six safe houses to be observed, protected, and trained to behave in humane, normal, and productive ways.

Some of the symptoms of this illness are, but not limited to:

Psychic visions—including any and all predictions of the future

Mind control

Telekinesis

Pyrokinesis

Telepathy

If your child has these or any other symptoms of abilities not considered normal please bring them to the addresses listed below.

Be warned: Any parent, guardian, or relative who fails to bring an infected child for examination will be arrested, their wages will be seized and they and their family will be considered a hostile person with terrorist intentions against the United States.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Waiting...

I am sitting here in my house waiting for an installation. I have been waiting ALL DAY.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Happy Birthday Annie Nicholas!

Today is Annie Nicholas' birthday! To celebrate, I am giving away the ENTIRE Westervelt series. Come by her blog for a chance to win.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Getting My Nails Done

Two nights ago, my husband and I ended up watching a really incredible documentary on HBO called Mann v. Ford. You should check it out here. I would. however, recommend that you don't watch it right before bed like we did. It's disturbing because it's real and, in my case, it's very close to home as the place where these people lived is not that far away from me.

The lead attorney on the case is a very beautiful blonde woman who happens to be brilliant, capable, and on top of her game. That is the most important part--her brilliance. But, having said that, she has red painted nails. I mean bright red painted nails that are so striking that my husband, who usually doesn't notice these things, commented on them because they were so strikingly out there.

The documentary takes place over a long period of time and from start to finish the attorney has these bright, red painted nails. The filmmakers must have been captivated with them too because they do make some obvious moves to show them to us. In a book, if I want my reader to notice something I mention it. In a film, they show it. Same point.

But it occurred to me that those nails really must be her 'thing' because otherwise no one would have them so consistently painted that color all the time. I kind of thought it was cool.

Yesterday, however, after I dropped my oldest son off at an activity that I needed to pick him up from an hour and a half later, I had some time to kill. Seeing a nail salon across the street from the place, I decided to go in and have a mani/pedi. (Manicure, Pedicure for those of you who don't speak 'girl.') Maybe I had nails on the brain from the night before.

As I stood next to the counter picking out the color I wanted on my hands and feet (yes, I got matching) I realized I had to decide what my 'thing' was. Did I want to be a red nailed girl? No. That wasn't me. I would spend all day very self-conscious that everyone stared at my nails. And then what if I had something on my hands? You can see how it is that I am really, really not a red nailpolish person.

It turns out, when it comes down to it, I am a pink nail polish person. Its light, gentle, and it doesn't turn too much attention onto me. I think its pretty. Its just enough to make me feel dressed up and not so 'out there' that anyone is going to think I'm making a statement.

Because in real life, I'm kind of a wallflower. I like my writing to make my statements for me. On the page.

Pretty heavy for just getting my nails done, huh?

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Come to Paranormal Romantics

Hi everyone,

Come to Paranormal Romantics where my friend Carrie Ann Ryan is writing about becoming a writer.


Rebecca

Monday, July 18, 2011

Can I just give birth already?

Lately, my work in progress has been reminding me of the end of my three pregnancies. If you've had a baby, perhaps you know what I'm talking about. If not, please let me explain.

By the time you get to the end of your pregnancy--at least for me, I'm sure there are some women out there who do not feel this way--you are so unbelievably ready to give birth and get your body back that you just want to beg the baby to please get out. Get out. Get out. Get out. At least I did.

That is how I am feeling about my work-in-progress. I know what has to happen. The characters know what has to happen. And yet, nothing is happening. The writing is slow. The characters are frustrated with me. I'm frustrated with them.

So, I need to ask: Can I just give birth already?

Sunday, July 17, 2011

The Saga of the Appendix...Continued

So, my son was brought upstairs to have surgery. I was still all alone and feeling very much like I might lose it at any moment. I'd been told that he had to have his surgery the old fashioned way because he was too small to have it using laproscopy.

But, as we going upstairs to the OR my friend who is a doctor in the hospital appeared in the hallway. She'd left her family and come to sit with me during the surgery. I couldn't believe it. Seeing her was such a blessing. I wasn't alone. They took my son back to operate on him and shortly after both my Aunt and my brother arrived. I can't tell you how incredible it was to see all of them, to feel like I wasn't alone in the universe.

The surgery took one hour and then the recovery began. To say that he had a bad first night would be an understatement. The poor guy just didn't feel good at all. He screamed that he was in horrific pain even though he was on morphine and slept in between screaming bouts. I, obviously, didn't sleep.

Finally, at six in the morning, he seemed to be pretty alert and the nurse asked him if he'd like to try to an ice pop. He did. But he couldn't keep it down. It was a long morning. But around twelve in the afternoon he finally managed to keep down clear liquids and then eventually solid food. His energy level picked up and by the late afternoon they sent us home.

My husband arrived around two in the afternoon, having crossed the country to get to us. By the time he came, my son was already up and in a good mood. My brother had spent the morning with us, which was a huge help.

I'm so grateful for friends and family today. I'm feeling really lucky. Today, my son is in a pretty good mood. He's walking a little bit tentatively but he's happy and he's here.

Now, if I could just manage to stop feeling so stressed. Best to all of you.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

The Appendix or Wow Did That Really Happen?

My almost 4 year son bursts off the bus from camp every day so excited to see me and tell me all of his stories. Except for yesterday. Instead of his usual burst of energy, he seemed tired. He walked kind of hunched over and when he got in the house he complained that his stomach hurt as he burst out in tears. Now, he is apt to complain when he doesn't get what he wants, sometimes he might even throw a tantrum, but once we didn't know his arm was broken for twenty-four hours because he doesn't cry about pain.

And yet he was crying on the couch. So, I took him to the hospital. By the time we arrived in the ER, he seemed fine and I felt crazy. Probably, I was wasting everyone's time bringing him in and it was going to turn out to be a big bunch of nothing. He told the nurse in triage that he had no pain and she sent us back to chairs.

Finally, when a bed opened up, we were seen by a very nice ER doctor. She felt his stomach, he didn't really complain, and she told me she was more concerned about other things than the appendix but she wasn't convinced it was any of them and I was pretty sure she was getting ready to send us home. I asked about doing an ultrasound. She was skeptical that it was needed and told me she debated it in her mind. I got pushy. In a polite way. We were not leaving without the Ultrasound. My insurance would cover it and if, for some reason, it did not I would pay the bill.

We waited in the room for the ultrasound with my son becoming more cranky with every hour that passed. I wasn't sure what was going on. He hadn't had dinner. Maybe he was just hungry. But, I wasn't sure. Finally, we saw the ultrasound technician. She wasn't taking pictures but five minutes when she pointed at the screen. "Do you see that?" She asked me. I wasn't sure what I was looking at. "That doesn't look right to me and look how he's bracing his leg when I touch him there." I looked down. It was subtle but he was doing it. She told me she wanted to pass it along to the radiologist.

Let me back up and tell you that my husband was on a business/pleasure trip in Texas when all of this was going on. The first flight he could get on was the next morning. Whatever happened, I was on my own. I'm used to making decisions for my kids. I do it all the time. But not of that calibre. Whenever something huge like that has happened and had to be decided, my hubby has always been right there to stand next to me. I could call him but he wasn't going to get there no matter how much I wished he could.

After a while, we were sent back to the ER. My little guy fell asleep in his bed, his skin a decisive shade of red that I didn't like. He didn't have fever. Why was he so red? Pain, the nurse whispered to me. The ER doctor still didn't know if the appendix had to come out. She wanted to order a CAT scan. I was so confused and started to get a little bit emotional about it. This was my child, I was all alone, and the radiologist thought it was appendicitis. What was going on here?

Finally, she called my pediatrician. His doctor wasn't on call that evening but I adore the doctor who was (they are in the same practice) and she told the ER doctor to go ahead and call the pediatric surgeon who was on call. They did. He took one look at the information and thought it was clear cut. My son needed his appendix out right away.

More tomorrow....

Friday, July 15, 2011

Wipping my Work in Progress

Dear Work-In-Progress

I intend to get control of you today.

Thank you.

Rebecca Royce

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Its A Mom Thing

The above image is a picture my six year old took using my husband's computer. Isn't that cool? I thought it was so I decided to share. Its the top of his head. Anyway, it makes me smile but it might just be a 'Mom' thing. I do tend to think that he's terribly clever.

What amazes me about my children--and this is very basic stuff--you're going to be like 'duh' Rebecca--is that Ralph and I had three children. We are the same people each time and yet our children couldn't be more different from each other. I don't just mean physically. Their personalities are so completely varied.

I know some of this is created by birth order. Some of it is the things happening in life all around them but some of it is just who they were from the moment they were born. My oldest they induced because they decided they didn't like my blood pressure. He was full term. It took the longest time to have him. Why? I am convinced it was because it wasn't his own idea. To this day, he doesn't like to do things until he is good and ready. If he's forced forward before he wants to be, he resists. He pulls back.

My middle child came into this world with eyes wide open looking around and I would swear seeing all of us. He is still the most likely to throw himself over the side of a bench just to see what would happen. As a baby, he never slept. He would be asleep for fifteen minutes and then wake up crying for hours. They said he had colic. I believe he did. Now, however, he still doesn't want to miss out on anything. If we were to let him, he would run to the ground until he collapsed to not have to go to bed just in case anything was happening.

The baby needed to be held more then the other two combined. At almost two, he is still the one most likely to grab my leg, to get nervous about new people. He is the most attached and not just because he happens to be young. It is just his personality and always was.

The characters in my books are like this for me. I can have an idea about how something is supposed to be but if it is not their own idea than I end up having to do it their way. Otherwise the books don't get written.

My children--all created by my husband and me (and some help from the divine)--are their own people. My characters are the same way.

Happy Day everyone!!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Angel's Wolf Has Released

I am so happy to announce that Angel's Wolf: The Westervelt Wolves Book 6 has released!! If you are interested in purchasing the book, if can be found here.

Angel Kane has always known who her family was and why she was hidden away from them in New Orleans. Now on the run, the last thing she wants is anything that could potentially get in the way of the plan she’s made for herself. That is, until she walks into a truck stop in New Jersey and encounters Parker Liberty—the wolf fate has picked out to be her perfect mate.

Parker Liberty hasn’t uttered a word in almost forty years. Not since the horrible day he watched his father murder his mother on the island of Westervelt. He ignores his inner wolf and contents himself with expressing his inner emotions through his tattoos. But when a pair of witches almost kill Angel, he will return to Westervelt to save her.

Meanwhile, Westervelt is under constant attack from Kendrick Kane, the pack's former Alpha, whose evil knows no bounds. His ultimate goal is to see all of his children dead --and that includes his daughter, Angel. It is questionable whether the Westervelt pack can even survive the week. Angel and Parker’s arrival will either turn the tide of the war or end the pack forever.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Six Sentence Sunday

Well, in honor of Angel's Wolf coming out TOMORROW (WOO HOO) I thought I would do one more week of six sentences from it.

It had been two decades since Parker Liberty had given into his wolf’s demand to shift.

Let me do it. Let me do it.

He’d taken two running steps when he agreed. His wolf was right. This was going to require some canine assistance, especially since the two criminals hauling away his so-called mate smelled like wolves to him.

It was a good bet they would shift and if they were going to do it, then he needed to do it too.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Woke Up With A Plot Bunny This Morning

I had very intense dreams last night. Basically, I got to see a whole new story that I want to write. But, I don't have time to write it right now. It's a very good plot bunny. So, I'm going to put it away right now and come back for it another day....

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Attention Authors...

Paranormal Romantics, the other blog where I contribute, is looking for guest bloggers. Contact me for details!!


Rebecca

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

YA Blog Stomp Starts

Hey guys! Decadent Publishing's YA Blog Stomp has started! Come by and win prizes! Here is the link. My books will be part of it later on but today is the amazing book Fallenwood!

New Cover Goodness!

I love this cover!!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy Fourth of July~


Hey everyone,

If you are celebrating, have a Happy Fourth of July!

Rebecca Royce

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Six Sentence Sunday

Coming July 11th...the sixth book in the Westervelt Wolves series.

It's time to meet their sister.

She’d been told her whole life she was special and not necessarily in a good way. Growing up, the women of the New Orleans pack who had raised her, each taking a turn handling her, had loved to tell her the story of the Kane family and the way their wolf pack had turned on their mated women. She shivered at the thought.

If the stories were to be believed, her six brothers still roamed around their island in Maine looking for more women to butcher. So she certainly couldn’t take Parker there for help. A bunch of raving wolves were not going to be able to work magic on him.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

I missed day 4 of RWA

So, you may have heard if you follow me on twitter (rebeccaroyce) that I got sick and had to go home from RWA. I officially missed the last day, which made me sad. (Hence the face above.) Instead, I spent the day doing some writing and resting.

But, what did I learn? Well...a lot. I took a Body Language class where I learned about vulnerable areas in relation to flirting. I learned about light versus dark paranormals in the industry. It was wonderful. I also made some wonderful friends and toured around a city I take for granted because I live so close to it.

Wonderful experience and I highly recommend if you are thinking of going to RWA you do.

Friday, July 1, 2011

RWA...Day 3 Recap

So, I will give a brief recap of RWA day 3 but I have to preface this by saying that I left early because I have a nasty cold and I wanted to get home to my bed. I was lucky...I live very close to NYC and I was able to jump in my car and leave. I know some others who live further away are not feeling so hot and are still stuck in their hotel rooms. I feel for them. And I miss my friends!!

But, I started the day at a very interesting seminar run by four AVON authors. It was about light paranormals versus dark paranormals. Three of the authors wrote dark series and one wrote a light series. There was a lot of really interesting questions and discussion. Basically, it comes down to this. If you write a light paranormal series it can't be entirely 'light.' There has to be something pressing, something the readers can get really invested in even as the characters are 'light.'

I, however, write dark paranormals and I was incredibly interested in that aspect of the discussion. And (*Squee*) Pamela Palmer answered one of my questions and signed a book for me. I'm still jumping up and town about it. At this point, however, I realized that I still had a boa (don't ask) that a new writer I had met named Tara had given me to hold the night before. I quickly ran up to my room so I could return the boa to her. This is easier said than done. (See the earlier comments about the elevator in previous posts.) I retrieved the boa and was back in the elevator when I looked over and there was the amazingly famous author Rebecca York. I became tongue tied and could think of nothing to say. So, I looked down at the boa looked back up at her and proclaimed that the boa was not mine. She smiled and told me that at this conference it wasn't out of place. That got a double *squee* (internally, of course) from me.

Then I returned Tara her boa and ended up leaving because I felt so sick. I am missing my friends and wishing I could be there with all of them. Hope you ladies are still having fun!!