I've always loved Coming Attractions...

As a kid, I would sit in the theater and wait, as excited about the sneak peeks at new movies as I was about the show I was there to see. Sometimes the previews were for movies I knew about, but other times what I saw was a complete surprise, and the combination of images, music, and teaser left me over-the-top excited for what was coming next. (For the record, this addiction to sneak peeks also applies to TV shows: Lost wasn’t over until the previews aired!)

What would it be like, I sometimes wonder, to get Coming Attractions for more than just fiction? What if we got them for life? What if, the second we met some really awesome guy, we got a quick peek into the future and knew if we were on the edge of a thrilling romance, or an absolute horror show?  Seems like a pretty awesome idea to me.

But life doesn’t play like that, at least not for most of us. But throughout history, there are those who do get sneak peeks into the Future. From the Oracle of Delphi to Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce to Jean Dixon or James Van Prague, Alison Dubois (of Medium fame), their stories have always fascinated me. In days gone by they were called seers or prophets. These days they tend to get the label of psychic—or fraud.

What would it be like, I’ve often wondered. What would it be like to know something really bad was going to happen—a plane crash or a house burn, a teacher die? What if the disjointed scenes played through your mind like Coming Attractions, sometimes for friends, sometimes for strangers?  What if you could walk into a falling down building, and see the past? What would it be like to be labeled a fraud?  What would you do?

What could you do?

It’s from all these questions, from the lure of the Unexplained and the thrilling possibility of the Unknown, that the Midnight Dragonfly series was born. As soon as the character of sixteen-year-old psychic, Trinity Monsour, came to me, quite literally in a dream, I knew I had to write her story. I couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to know things you weren’t supposed to know—that no one, at least at first, believed. That’s a pretty huge burden, especially for a high school student trying to settle into a new city and a new life, figure out why the truth about her birthright has been kept from her, and whether she’s really falling in love with the totally wrong guy. But that’s exactly the situation Trinity finds herself in.

From precognition to dream interpretation, telepathy, empathic ability, and communicating with the dead, hypnosis, mind control, and even Ouija boards, the Midnight Dragonfly series explores the frontiers of the human mind, and the ties that bind us all.

Glimpses. That’s all they are. Shadowy premonitions flickering through the farthest reaches of sleep. Some are terrifying: a knife lifting, a girl screaming, a body in the grass. But others— the dark, tortured eyes and the shattering kiss, the promise of forever— whisper to her soul.

They come without warning. They come without detail. But they always mean the same thing; the clock is ticking—and only Trinity can stop it.

Live the Mystery

Haunted Destiny, Griffin Teen, a free short available via all online booksellers

Shattered Dreams, Griffin Teen, on sale now via all online booksellers

Broken Illusions, Griffin Teen, on sale now via all online booksellers

Fragile Darkness, Griffin Teen, available for Pre-Order

Pre-order your copy of Fragile Darkness now and receive a signed bookplate and bookmark! Simply email me (ellie@elliejames.net) a copy of the transaction and mailing instructions, and I'll drop a bookplate and bookmark in the mail!

Visit my Facebook page for more fun contests! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Midnight-Dragonfly-Books-by-Ellie-James/154988421236309

Shadow Waxing

Happy almost Halloween, everyone!

In honor of the upcoming creeptastic holiday, we at TeenShiver have decided to tantalize your tastebuds for terror over the next three days.

My short story, called Shadow Waxing, is a demented and creepy flash fiction piece I wrote some five years ago (one of the first things I ever had published in a now defunct e-zine). It's not so much about the unknown, as turning what you think you've figured out on its head.

I hope you enjoy it!

Shadow Waxing

By A.G. Howard

“Your head looks like a friggin’ pumpkin.”

Sarah ignored Nick’s snipe. Her boyfriend always got an attitude after a run-in with Jack Daniels. Her feet scraped the basement floor. Dirt grated between her wiggling toes. She steadied the swinging lamp over her head, capturing the yellow halo of light inside her glassy eyes. With a nudge, she shifted the blonde wig over her scalp and stood back to study the result.

Nick lingered behind her. His whiskey-soured breath tangled with the familiar fray of chemicals and melted beeswax.

“You gonna put some more clothes on?” he asked. “Not that I’m complaining. I like this look on you. Always have.” One hand cupped her bare shoulder -- sliding down, nice and slow. Fingers squeezed too hard, leaving an imprint of jello-like contusions on her bicep. “Oops.”

She shoved him back, grunting. Bewitched by liquor, he fell into a dust-backed chair and laughed, gray eyes twinkling.

Sarah assessed the damage to her arm. She would have to fill in the gaps. Her teeth pressed like a vise against her tongue until she tasted blood.

Nick was up again, hiccupping. His muscular arms captured her waist. “How about a dance then?”

A powerful spin slammed her into the wall, face first. The jolt slung her wig across the room. She stuck to the dry wall, then dragged with a thump to the stone floor.

Turning herself over, Sarah felt along her flattened nose. It hung to one side like a decapitated mushroom, and her waist slumped at an awkward angle. Her stomach lurched.

“Sorry.” Nick stood over her, his jaw firm with sincerity. “Guess I don’t know my own strength.”

“Jerk.” Her tongue snagged on the word, rolled it around and dropped it again, this time with full conviction.

“Aw, c’mon. For the past two weeks you’ve been down here in the shadows. Playing with your little friend. What about me? I need some attention, now and then.”

He retrieved the blonde wig and dropped it on his head. Riotous black curls exploded from beneath the wig’s seams, framing his exquisitely Greek features. He was almost too beautiful to be a guy.

A flash of desire lapped through her, but she kept it at bay. Nothing was more important than her work.

“Seriously. Let’s have some fun, baby…” Nick grinned, dragging a finger along her lips. “You can shape me into whatever you want.”

Mesmerized by his dimples, she kissed his fingertip. He tasted salty and faintly sweet, like a pear soaked in brine.

Remembering her nose, Sarah slapped his hand away. She popped the sagging feature back into place, pressing until it melded to her face, straight and natural. The rest of her face was still a disaster. The wall had scraped off her cheeks, leaving gaping holes.

Nick slipped the wig from his head, gaze stalled on her disappointed grimace. He held the hair in his left hand like a dead animal. “All right. No playtime. I get it.” He groaned. “Let me help you, at least.”

He caught her wrist and tugged to lift her. She yelped as her elbow snapped off, attached by just a thread to her arm.

“Crap.” He dropped the wig and stepped back, palms up in resignation. “Ruined everything, didn’t I?”

Tears rimmed Sarah’s lower lids. This would take days to fix.

Nick’s dark lashes cloaked his eyes. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.” He vanished outside of the circle of light, fumbling for the stairs.

Sarah wanted to scream. She would have to buy more wax … construct an entire arm and a new face. Not to mention straightening out the spine. She’d basically be starting from the beginning.

She only had one chance to impress the wax museum with her expertise. She hadn’t told the interviewers any details about her project, just that she was making a woman. She’d hoped by accomplishing a self-portrait, she’d gain an edge over the other applicants. But at this rate, she would never get any kind of sculpture done by tomorrow morning.

If only she didn’t have to start from scratch.

“Nick, wait…”

He paused on the first step. She bit her lip, tracing the jagged edge of her elbow. You can shape me into whatever you want, he’d said.

“Come here.” Sarah tossed the busted arm across her waxen doppelganger. With a paint brush, she slicked some warm wax over her fingertip. Once dry, it easily passed for a wax figure’s digit.

“What is it?” Nick asked, stumbling back into the light’s halo. His shoes scuffed the gritty floor. He was so drunk he almost tripped. Good thing he hadn’t gone all the way up the stairs. He’d surely have fallen and broken his neck.

Sarah smirked. “You forgot something.”

“Oh, yeah?” Particles of dust floated around his beautiful face. He drew her into his arms, smiling. Sarah stroked the brillo of his chin. She’d have to shave that.

On her toes, she pulled up to his height. “Yeah,” she said between kisses. “What say you go upstairs and bring down some drinks? We’ll have a real party.”

With a lopsided grin, he spun around, nearly losing balance, and tromped unevenly up the stairs.

Sarah waited next to the swinging lamp until he was three steps from the top. She tugged the chain, blanketing the room and stairway in pitch darkness.

Several banging thumps, followed by a sickening crack, poisoned the silence. Turning on the light, Sarah knelt next to Nick’s lifeless body, twisting his lopsided neck to a more natural position.

She snuggled the blonde wig on his head and tucked his dark hair underneath. It was the perfect fit.

She'd always said he was too beautiful to be a guy.

Pick Your Poison

Last Thursday kicked off season 3 of The Vampire Diaries with old hotties and new love triangles (Hello, Wolfboy Tyler). And tonight, when episode 2 airs, I'll be curled up on the couch, wide-eyed and mouth-breathing at the man candy. Go ahead, call me desperate. But when my vampire boyfriend finds out, he’s going to so pissed. “But which vampire is your bf?” you ask.

Exactly.

My friends and I have long and heated arguments about what man from the cast of TVD we’d most like to magically appear on our doorstep. Eyes are rolled, words are tossed like daggers, hair gets pulled, and in the end, we’re no closer to a unanimous decision. So I’d like to ask for your help. If you would, please announce your love and devotion for one of the two (delicious) Salvatore brothers and put this battle to bed, already.

Do you go for good(ish) boy, Stefan? I wouldn’t blame you if you did. He’s loyal, sexy, and fiercely protective of me…I mean Elena.

Or do you go for bad boy, Damon? He’s smoking hot, naughty in all the right ways, and fights to protect a girl that isn’t his.

Obv, my vote is for Damon. But I mean, we’re married, so maybe I have to say that.

What about you? Speak now or forever hold your peace. ;)

Shivery September Releases

Here are just a few Shiver-worthy books releasing this month that we are looking forward to at Teen Shiver! Click the book images to be taken to their individual pages!

 Teen Shiver's own Trinity Faegan, The Mephisto Covenant, Sept 27 2011, EgmontUSA

Sasha is desperate to find out who murdered her father. When getting the answer means pledging her soul to Eryx, she unlocks a secret that puts her in grave danger—she is an Anabo, a daughter of Eve, and Eryx’s biggest threat.

A son of Hell, immortal, and bound to Earth forever, Jax looks for redemption in the Mephisto Covenant—God’s promise he will find peace in the love of an Anabo. After a thousand years, he’s finally found the girl he’s been searching for: Sasha.

With the threat of Eryx always looming, Jax knows he has to keep Sasha safe and win her over.  But can he? Will Sasha love him and give up her mortal life?

 Enthralled, by Teen Shiver's own, Rachel Caine, Rachel Vincent, and a WHOLE lot more awesome authors! Sept 20, 2011 by HarperCollins

A journey may take hundreds of miles, or it may cover the distance between duty and desire.

Sixteen of today’s hottest writers of paranormal tales weave stories on a common theme of journeying. Authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Melissa Marr return to the beloved worlds of their bestselling series, while others, like Claudia Gray, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl, create new land-scapes and characters. But whether they’re writing about vampires, faeries, angels, or other magical beings, each author explores the strength and resilience of the human heart.

Suspenseful, funny, or romantic, the stories in Enthralled will leave you moved.

 And check out these other shiver-worthy September releases, some by fellow TEXAS YA authors!

Now we want to know...what are YOU looking forward to reading this month?! Let us know in the comments, and spread the author love!

Writer's Block Sucks. Need a Cure?

Those of us at Teen Shiver are insane.
Literally, clinically insane. Why? Because we are WRITERS. We hear these nagging, haunting voices in our heads, and so we write about them to stay ‘sane.’

Sometimes writing is AWESOME. It’s fun. It’s super creative. It keeps us company, and when we wake up in the morning, we just cannot WAIT to get to work on the WIP and bust out some serious word count.

But what about the other times?

Say, when we get up at 11am and our brains are fuzzier than a peach… We sit down to write, open up that mother document, and then……crap. NOTHING comes out.

Or maybe something does come out, and it looks a little like this:

“Insert hilarious quote here.” or “Make reader get pissed here because so and so does this here.” or “insert 59k words here….skip to ending. THANK GOD ITS OVER.” “Blah, blah, blah, I wonder if my agent is even reading this section, blah blah, blah, omg need more chocolate, blah blah blah, time for some more ice cream.”

Ever have that problem? You start a WIP. You love it, you hate it, you scrap it, and then start all over again because NOTHING works. It is JUST THAT AWFUL.

So what is the problem? Is it fear? Have you fallen out of love with writing?! (GASP! NEVER!) I’ve always believed that Writer’s block is a bunch of crapolagranola. I’ve always thought that if you have ideas and stories to tell, then you will never have a problem with them. But guess what? I was WRONG!

WRITER’S BLOCK IS REAL. AND TERRIFYING AND EVIL. Kill it while you can!

I freaked out when I realized this. I sat on the couch and moped and ate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. I talked to my dogs a little too often, saying “TELL ME WHAT TO WRITE, CANINE!” I walked once around the block. Took a nap. Took another nap. Walked around like a zombie for a week, asking everyone at the bookstore “WHY?! WHYYYYYY?!” while shaking them.

And then….and then…….the light from the gods of writer heaven shone down on me while I was shoveling down ice cream watching reruns of LOST, because that is exactly how I felt…..and finally, FINALLY….

….I realized what the problem was…

I have discovered what lies in that black little heart of Writer’s Block. It isn’t that you suck at writing. Trust me, your words are sooo beautiful. Take them to a cathedral and read them, you’ll see. It will make a nun cry. It isn’t that you have a horrible idea. We’re sure the idea totally rocks, and I’m sure that your characters are hilarious and angsty and there’s hot boys and all that stuff that YA is full of (which we love, btw. Not complaining).

if you are experiencing this…FEAR NOT……

Here’s what we’ve discovered at Teen Shiver. Writing MUST come from the heart. If it doesn’t, your words will come out muddled and not so pure, like that water bottle you once left in your car on a super hot day. It just doesn’t taste right when you come back to it. There’s that nasty tang of plastic, and the heat isn’t helping. We all have those ideas that we think “hey. this could sell. Like REALLY sell. But oh…I’m not so into it…Oh well, I’ll write it anyways..” Stop right there. don’t write it. Do NOT even think about it. Don’t write for the current market. Remember, that most of the books selling like hotcakes right now, were actually sold 2 or 3 years ago. Editors are more likely than not, wanting something else by now.

If you love your WIP and it’s not treating you quite right, never wants to cuddle or play card games instead of watch football…oh wait. Writing. This is not about men. this is about WRITING….yes…

Take a break. Find a way to inspire yourself. Listen to music. Talk a walk. Sit down in front of the mirror and talk about your characters. Libba Bray suggests INTERVIEWING your characters. This is an awesome way to figure out what’s inside of them, what makes them tick, and it reallly helps get the creative juices flowing. Write something else! Journal! Make a fancy paper hat and FLAUNT that thing in public, guuuurl! We are writers. Writing is hard work. But we do it because we LOVE it, and without writing, we would not be who we are. It is time spent alone in a quiet room, or in a cafe drinking too much coffee. It is working things out, getting to know your characters, and finding out ways to get them in trouble, then get them out of trouble, only to put them right back in it again. Don’t give up. Take a deep breath. Hang in there, and know that once your HEART is in the right place, once your heart falls head over heels in love with the story, everything will fall into place. (But don’t forget, it takes a few drafts to get to that sweet spot).

So relax. Breathe for a few minutes. And then, once your heart is ready…

-Lindsay