Showing posts with label Sasha Hibbs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sasha Hibbs. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Character Interview from Black Apocalypse, Book 4 of the Vulcan Legacies series by @SashaHibbs

Thanks for visiting with us today!  
We're thrilled to have an appearance from Sasha Hibbs as she interviews 
her character Laurel, the Angel of Faith from the Vulcan Legacies series.


Q: (Me) It’s my understanding that you’ve been, um, dead throughout this whole ordeal. How does it feel to finally be heard? *I watch the blonde-haired Seraph take on a knowing look. I’ve been forewarned that she has the gift of foresight*

A: (Laurel) It’s been a long road. You can only imagine what it was like to see into the future and know if I didn’t somehow alter the course of things, my daughter, Ally, would ultimately lead to the destruction of the world. 


Q: (Me) Yeah… I honestly couldn’t imagine. So, it’s my understanding that you had to
sacrifice-- *she cuts me off*

A: (Laurel) Sacrifice? What have I given up that any other mother wouldn’t for the opportunity to see their child live? My soul mate? My life? My chance to reenter the Gates? You forget, that I am also the Seraph of Faith. And faith is something I’ve never had to sacrifice. It’s the one thing that I’ve always had. I knew everything would work out in the end, I was only powerless to be there physically to see it done. 


Q: (Me) So you really had your work cut out for you prior to your, um, death? *I cough nervously. Who wants to point out that someone is dead?* 

A: (Laurel) In a way, but the Apocalypse is something that I knew was coming for a millennia so I honestly had plenty of time to lay the groundwork to save all those I loved. 


Q: (Me) It must’ve been hard to know those you loved doubted you, thought you were a traitor. How did you cope with it? You know… seeing all but being powerless to defend yourself? 

A: (Laurel) It was hard, but I had time to brace myself for the hard times. You know, the times when those you loved most doubted you. It was hard to watch my daughter go through her trials and tribulations. One of the hardest parts was knowing that Michael Blackwell had to die in order to restore the balance. 


Q: (Me) Yes, I heard about that. Wow… so before we go, I want to thank you for your time. I know it’s borrowed now only through the courtesy of the Authority. But I wanted to ask you… Now that the Apocalypse is over, what does the future hold? *Laurel smiles at me, and it’s warm and genuine. She knows (of course) that I am aware of her ability to see into the future.*

A: (Laurel) The Apocalypse is over, but there were so many aftermaths. People lost their lives, families were left to grieve. Some of us had to say goodbye knowing that it would be a lifetime before we would rejoin those we loved and lost. But for those that remain, let’s say someone like Vulcan, the journey isn’t over. It’s just beginning. 


*I watch her in a flash of what looks like lightening simply disappear*



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Black Apocalypse
The Vulcan Legacies, 4
Sasha Hibbs
                                                                                        
51,000 words
YA Paranormal Romance
Evernight Teen Publishing

Resurrected from the dead, Michael Blackwell is enraged and heartbroken to find Ally—the girl he loved—in the arms of the very man that killed him as a human. In Michael’s eyes, Ally’s betrayal is absolute. But there is more than meets the eye when it comes to the man who killed Michael, and even more with the girl he thought he knew. 

Black Apocalypse is a journey full of heartache and redemption where the past weaves an uncertain future. Can Michael forgive Ally for her betrayal? Can Ally finally embrace who she is destined to become to save them both? 

Who is the elusive Seraph, Laurel? Who was the Devourer before his colossal fall from grace? What decisions did they make together that altered the course of history? Shocking revelations, prophecies fulfilled, a war where not everyone will make it out alive...the final installment in the Vulcan Legacies will leave you breathless. 
14+ due to adult situations

Buy Links:   Evernight Teen    Amazon   


Excerpt:
He glanced at her silhouette. She stood beside him quietly, a tear streaking her pale face, one silver line visible against the cold wintery night.
“Will you dance with me?” Abaddon said, turning her back to face him.
Ally spoke with her body. She shivered as she turned to him, reaching out and lacing her fingers through his.
Abaddon responded by pulling her close against him, removing his hands from hers so he could wrap them around her, holding her tight and praying for the courage to see his task through.
The Seraph told him, told him what he must do. In his broken mind, the pieces lay jagged and strewn, but he was putting them together, regaining the memories he’d lost through the blinding rage of his illusion.
But Ally was real. He was holding her in his arms, and she came to him with trust, with patience, while he tried to regain the memories from his human life, ones that would guide him on the path he was supposed to be on now.
But as he held her in his arms, she felt so fragile, so breakable. He could hear the soft thrumming of her heart. The beat was uneven, a rhythm that reminded him of the last remnants of life.
Ally was dying. She was his soulmate and the beat of her heart gave him all the courage he needed. He wasn’t going to kill her. He was going to save her.
Abaddon slowly broke away from her, keeping her at arm’s length. Her light was dimming, but there was the faintest glimmer in her eyes that held hope for him. She would be strong enough to endure what he was getting ready to do to her. She had to be.  
Abaddon brought his wrist up to his mouth, extended his canines and pierced his flesh. As blood rushed up to the surface, he gazed into her eyes.
He parted his lips, ready to speak, to tell her it would be okay, but was silenced by Ally resting a single finger against his lips.
“Shh,” Ally whispered.
Her gaze told him that she knew what was happening. She wouldn’t fight him. He could see that she would trust him, blindly put all her faith in him, was truly ready to walk down an unknown path with him.
He watched in awe as she circled her cold fingers around his wrist and brought it up to her lips. She locked gazes with him and he could feel her taking his essence into him. She ended by gently kissing his wrist where the wound was. She swept her hair to one side, exposing her neck up at him.
Abaddon felt a warm tear run down his cheek.
“It’s okay, Michael,” Ally said, her voice so little. “I’m ready.”
He unfurled his wings, pulled her against him tightly, lowered his lips to hers, and in his mind he whispered the words from a song, a song from a long time ago that meant so much to him then and even more to him now.
“I've waited such a long time for you,” he said. He softly caressed her lips with his, savoring the feel of her against him, the kiss he’d waited a lifetime and beyond for.
He raised his gaze back to hers, brushing a wisp of hair away from her eyes, cupping her face. “A lifetime,” he said, as he brushed soft kisses along her temple, her cheek, her jawline, back to her trembling lips. Thinking back to that night long ago, he lived the words of that song, held nothing back for what he felt for her.
Abaddon could see the tears standing in her eyes. He kissed them away, their salt lingering on his lips. He drew her closer into him so that he could feel she was real, she was in his arms, her life in his hands.
And through her tears, he could see the relief, he could see the hope, he could see her love staring back at him. His heart hammered in his chest, that muscle giving way to a new life, a life that only love could give.
He brushed his lips against hers again and again, whispering those lyrics so appropriate for them, for their life, their death, their love against a world that, like her essence, was fading fast. “You’ll always be mine.”
With shaky hands, Abaddon pulled her down to the ground with him. Cradling her in his lap, he grazed his canines against her throat. “I need you,” Abaddon whispered, as Ally laced her fingers through his hair, pulling him down to her vein. She arched her back, pressed up against him, encouraged him to drink from her, to take her to where he’d been.
Abaddon exhaled against her skin. With one hand holding her head and the other pressed firmly into the small of her back, he pierced her, sunk his teeth into the soft flesh at her neck. He took her into him, her blood coursing through him, sating a hunger for far more than sustenance. In her blood was the story of their life, the answers he sought, the lyrics to their own song.
Abaddon could feel the life slowly fade from her, could hear her heartbeat slow. Removing his canines, he drew back from her. Her head lolled to the side, her pupils beginning to fix. He brought her lips back to his, kissed her gently.
As Ally’s last breath escaped her body, Abaddon clutched her tightly to his chest, a crimson tear falling against her, he whispered into her ear, “Hurry back to me.”


About the Author:
By age 5, Sasha Hibbs' favorite movie was Gone With the Wind. By age 12, she completed her 7th grade book report on the sequel, Scarlett. By 18, she met and married her very own Mr. Rhett Butler and as it turns out, she never had to worry about going back to Tara to win the love of her life back. Fortunately, he stuck with her.  
With a love of all things paranormal, the ambiance of the South with its gigantic antebellum mansions and canopies of Spanish moss, and a love for her husband’s rich storytelling of blacksmiths and the mythology surrounding their origins, it wasn’t long until the world of her debut novel, Black Amaranth, was born.
When not working her day job as a nurse, you can find Sasha dreaming of her next beach trip, reading the latest YA novel, and drinking more white chocolate mocha than she should.  
Sasha lives in mountainous West Virginia with her husband, Tim, and their two daughters, Aeliza and Ava. She is currently hard at work on her next novel.
 
BLOG     WEBSITE


Friday, August 28, 2015

Guest Authors: Melissa Frost and Diana Stager with Summer Crush Anthology


Today we have two of Summer Crush's authors 
Please welcome guest posts from Melissa Frost and Diana Stager  
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Melissa Frost

Where My Pen Name Came From – For my young adult titles, I wanted to use a pen name to separate them from my more adult works. It was something I deliberated over for quite a while. If I was going to write under another name, I wanted something I still felt an attachment to. I’d thought of using my maiden name, as my mother always said she wanted to see that name on a book cover because I’d been writing since I was very young. My maiden name seemed hard to remember, though. In the end, I went with something very special to me – my son’s middle name.
So when you see Melissa Frost on the cover of my stories, it is in honor of my little prince, Marshall Frost Hosack. It is a name that definitely holds meaning for me and makes me smile every time I see it. I don’t think I could have picked a better name!

Here is a little bit about my story, Forbidden, which is featured in the Summer Crush Anthology (under the name Melissa Frost):
The new guy in town has a bad reputation and a bad boy demeanor to go with it. Even so, Olivia can’t help feeling drawn to Gavin. Can she convince her mother he’s not the delinquent everyone believes, or will his past tear them apart?

Excerpt:
 “Looks like you could use some help.”

Olivia gave a yelp of surprise and spun toward the yard behind her where the voice had come from. Through the dim lighting from the house’s front porch, she could see a dark figure leaning up against the porch’s railing.

The person pushed away from the railing and started in her direction. Taking a nervous step backward, she spoke to the approaching stranger. “I-I’m fine. Really.” Her mother had taught her to be cautious around strangers, and it was a lesson she wouldn’t soon forget.

“You don’t look fine.” The person stepped into the light from the street lamp, and Gavin Meyers came into view. She didn’t know if she should feel relieved it wasn’t a strange adult or frightened that it was the troubled teen who already made her nervous.
“I … I …”

Gavin sent her a dry look and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “You want me to change that tire or not?”

Oliva hesitated. She wasn’t sure why. He hadn’t done anything but offer to change her tire. Still, his reputation made her nervous. He’d brought a weapon into a fight. He was dangerous.
With a sigh of annoyance, he moved forward and dropped to a crouch next to her blown tire. “Do you have a spare?”

She bobbed her head. Then, realizing he couldn’t see her, she said, “Y-Yeah. In the trunk.”
He climbed to his feet and made his way back to the trunk. Smacking his hand against it, he said, “Pop it for me.”

Doing as he’d asked, she watched warily as he tugged out the spare tire and the jack. She wasn’t sure why he was helping her, or what he expected in return. That last concern had her extremely on edge.
Leaving the trunk open, he made his way back over to the rear tire and began jacking the car up off the ground. “Let me guess,” he said, voice conversational. “You heard what a bad dude I was, and you’re too much of a conformist to form your own opinion. The way rumors spread and multiply in small towns, I wouldn’t doubt if you thought I killed someone.”

As he spoke, he began loosening the bolts on her tire. “Do I about have it right?” He looked up with an amused grin before returning to the tire. When she didn’t answer, he continued. “Bet I could peg you easily enough, too. Captain of the cheerleading squad, everyone loves you, and you have a whole flock of preppy boys following you around drooling at your feet. In a nut shell, your life is so damn perfect.”

Olivia scowled, not liking him turning things around on her. She was vice-captain, not captain. And her Biology teacher last year hadn’t seemed to care for her much if her B- was any indication. “You don’t know me,” she said darkly.

“And you don’t know me.”

Author Bio:

Melissa grew up loving young adult novels and continues to immerse herself in the current authors on the market. In the fifth grade, she won a writing competition to work with children’s author Colleen O'Shaughnessy Mckenna, and it inspired her to write stories of her own. She never looked back.

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Diana Stager



Don’t judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.
I’m not sure where the saying came from but I think most people have heard it. The sentiment is relevant to so many situations and that’s partly what inspired me to write Taking the Plunge about a teenage mom. Though I have not walked in those shoes, I’ve known others who have and I’ve seen the way they are treated. People make assumptions all the time without ever knowing the full story.
Jessica, the heroine of my story, finds out how people judge her from the moment she gets pregnant. Her parents assume she’s a sinner; the women in the swim class think she’s trying to scam the system; even the hero makes the mistake of presuming too much. Jess hasn’t had an easy time of it but she’s doing the best she can while struggling against what other people think of her.
I wanted to create a story that was realistic, with realistic characters facing everyday challenges. A teen mom isn’t your typical protagonist. In fact, many readers probably won’t be able to identify with her. But telling this story gives the reader a chance to walk in those shoes and maybe understand the world a little better.
Everyone deserves a happy ending.

Blurb


Overwhelmed and alone, Jessica is a teenage mother struggling to give her son the best possible life. Erik, a lifeguard at the local pool, never expected the girl of his dreams to have baby in tow. They have issues, but will it keep them from pursing the relationship, or are they willing to take the plunge?


Excerpt
The smell of chlorine was giving me a headache. Too late, I remembered why I hadn’t been to an indoor pool in years. I hovered at the side of the pool with Emmett clinging to me as his gaze darted around. I’d never taken him swimming before so the whole experience was new for him. We had to wait while the classes ahead of ours finished up and there was a small group of women standing near me, each with a child clutched in her arms.
Glancing at the other moms, I guessed that the one closest to my age was still around ten years older than me. One woman looked almost old enough to be my mother. Assuming she’d had me at the same age I was now. That made me stop for a moment. When I was thirty-four, I’d have a seventeen year-old at home. A seventeen year old who would be well schooled in birth control because I damn well would not be a grandmother before I turned forty at least.
The oldest mom looked me up and down and then turned away in disgust. Two of the others were eyeing me and whispering. The knot in my chest tightened and I wondered if I should just leave, but before I could make a decision, the current occupants of the pool started to exit in droves. Maybe I could just follow them out.
Just as I was about to turn away, I saw him.
He strode toward me with the most adorable lopsided grin, his wiry arms clutching a clipboard to his chest. His muscular, hairless chest. I glanced away as heat flared throughout my body and my cheeks burned.
“Hi ladies.” Oh God, even his voice was sexy. “My name is Erik and I’ll be your instructor for Moms and Tots Swimming. I just have to take attendance and then we can get those munchkins into the pool.” He started to rhyme off names and I gave a feeble wave when he called mine. Then he set the clipboard down and led us down the pool ramp and into a shallow pool just off the main one. The water was warm, but it still helped to cool me off, especially since I had to focus on not letting my kid drown.
We gathered in a circle and he led us through a couple rounds of “The Wheels On The Bus” punctuated by blowing bubbles into the water and babies crying. I got a perverse thrill from watching the lady who’d been giving me dirty looks try to wrestle her screaming child into the water. Emmett was smiling and gurgling his happy little baby sounds. Score one for the teen mom.
As we played around, I continued to shoot glances at Erik. And I could have sworn he was checking me out, too. It had been a long time since I’d gotten any attention from a guy and remembering the last time brought me down like a lead balloon. After that I tried to ignore Erik and the way my insides fluttered whenever our eyes met. Fluttering insides led to trouble.

Bio
Diana has been telling stories all her life and she finally figured out how to get them on paper after her education, family, and career pushed those writing dreams to the backburner. She lives in southern Ontario with her husband, 2 kids, and 2 fur babies.


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Summer Crush
A Multi-author YA anthology
Sasha Hibbs  *  S.D. Wasley  *  Melissa Frost  *  Diana Stager  *  Deanna Dee  *  Bridie Hall

Summer Crush: A wonderfully romantic boxed set of Upper YA short stories by today's hottest authors.
Summer is the time for lazy days at the beach, sun-kissed hair, flip-flops, and sizzling nights with a new crush.  Those stolen glances and first kisses can quickly spark a flame. However, the road to love isn’t always a smooth ride.
Every Summer has a story, whether it’s a second chance on love, seeing a friend in a different light, or taking a step in a new direction with someone special. Love and long days create endless possibilities, but can a summer crush really last?

Buy Links:    Amazon     Evernight Teen
Follow the tour HERE

About the Stories: 
Sutton Summer by Sasha Hibbs After breaking Dylan’s heart last year, McKenzie returns to Sutton Lake for another summer. McKenzie realizes love was in front of her the entire time, but is it too late for Dylan to forgive her?

Exquisite Torture by S. D. Wasley Stuck at his Gran’s house in a deadbeat town for the entire summer, things suddenly don’t seem so bad when 16 year old Ryan meets gorgeous Connie. But why is she so cagey about where she lives? Is there something more to Connie than he first thought?

Forbidden by Melissa Frost The new guy in town has a bad reputation and a bad boy demeanor to go with it. Even so, Olivia can’t help feeling drawn to Gavin. Can she convince her mother he’s not the delinquent everyone believes, or will his past tear them apart?

Borderline Love by Deanna Dee Nearly drowning wasn’t part of Dalya’s vacation plans. Neither was being rescued by a guy with a perfect six pack and a haunted look in his eyes. Mason reminds Dalya too much of her over- protective older brother, but when he offers to teach her to surf, she can’t say no. Can Dalya get past her frustration with her brother to realize how much Mason means to her?

An Ocean of Their Own by Bridie Hall Lola spends her days trawling the sand dunes in search of the perfect subject for her art. She finds it in a solitary, beautiful girl. Sarah doesn’t just fill the pages in her sketchbook, she enchants Lola’s heart too. But how can Lola tell her family about Sarah?



 About the Authors
Sasha Hibbs is a nurse living in mountainous West Virginia with her husband, two daughters, and lives in her own imaginary world where she’s plotting her next story. 

Diana Stager is a teacher who writes in her spare time and lives with her husband and kids in Ontario, Canada. 

Deanna Dee is a full-time writer living in sunny North Carolina, where she takes full advantage of the beach whenever she can. 

S.D. Wasley is an author, copywriter and daydreamer living in Western Australia where she wrangles chickens, cats, dogs and children on a daily basis. 

Melissa Frost is a young adult author who lives near Pittsburgh PA with her husband, their son Marshall, and their soon to be daughter Adalynn.

Bridie Hall is a translator and editor who spends every free minute writing and reading.


Giveaway:    $25 Evernight Teen Gift Card

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