Conversation with Best-selling author SOMAN CHAINANA

What types of challenges wait for Sophie and Agatha in Book 2?

Without giving away any spoilers, I want Sophie and Agatha to face themes in each book that we tend to think about in black-and-white terms. In Book 1, they face Good and Evil, and reveal the immense shades of gray between those two words. In Book 2, they do the same to Boys and Girls. And if it sounds like I'm going to get in a lot of trouble for it, well… Mischief is my favorite pastime.

In terms of their character growth, I think readers of Book 1 have asked me all the right questions: What is Agatha thinking, knowing what she gave up? And what is Sophie thinking, knowing her own crimes? The delicious part of Book 2 is that neither girl can really share their answers with the other, without opening up old wounds. 

If you had to live in a classic fairytale world (from books or movies), which would you choose?

I'm going to cheat and choose a world that isn't technically fantasy at all. One of my favorite books is From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by EL Konigsburg. In the book, two children run away and take up secret residence in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I couldn't think of a place more stirring and fun, because as a child, you're often kept behind ropes at a museum and berated with reminders: NO TOUCHING, NO RUNNING, NO EATING, NO COUGHING, TALKING, SNEEZING, OR HAVING ANY FUN AT ALL. As you can tell from the world of SGE, I'm not a big fan of… rules. To get to just roam free in the Met and play seems like the greatest fantasy possible.

Why do you think these books have found such a strong international audience? Have you gotten to engage with any international fans? Any memorable fan reactions?

If it was up to me, I'd spend every day of the year traveling to see readers around the world. The support for THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL has been staggering -- and my favorite thing to do in the morning is check the Good and Evil scoreboard on the homepage of www.schoolforgoodandevil.com. Each day, the five highest Good and Evil soul scores from the "Are You Good or Evil" online school entrance exam are posted on the site, along with the city and country the reader is from. Without fail, it's a smorgasbord of users from around the world. I'm looking at it right now: Idaho, Los Angeles, Dubai, London, Canberra, Pakistan, Brazil… 

I'm at a loss to explain it, except for the fact that the kids seem to love the idea that in the SGE world, they can be truly themselves. You don't have to be perfect. You don't always have to do the right thing. You can just be 'human' and won't be subjected to an unrealistic moral at the end of the story.

As for engaging with international fans, I answer every letter I get from around the world, post every piece of fan art we receive, and occasionally Skype with classrooms in different countries. And for Book 2, I'll be on tour this spring and summer to Canada, England, and no doubt more countries to come. The book will also start being translated into a ton of different languages over the next year.

How have the characters evolved?

For a while, I know there’s been a fair bit of debate online over whether Agatha and Sophie would even be in the sequel. After all, the end of book 1 should have been their happy ending. But questions remain: What is Agatha thinking, knowing what she gave up? And what is Sophie thinking, knowing what she’s done? The delicious part of Book 2 is that neither girl can really share their answers with the other without opening up old wounds.

What do you do when you get writers block?

I don't really get writer's block, honestly, because there's always a way around a problem. But usually writer's block means you're coming at a problem from the wrong direction or you have a faulty assumption. Taking a day off or a long yoga class inevitably solves it without too much stress.

What advice can you give to young budding writers?

Read your work out loud to an average teenager. If they fidget after the first paragraph or look bored, then you need to keep working on that opening until they ask “What happens next?”. Character, story, theme… that all comes later. First you need the voice that feels authentic, that draws people in.

Which countries would you travel to if you could go anywhere in the world?

I'd love to go to Argentina, Greece, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, and Sweden… We're working on the School for Good and Evil movie script at the moment, and I'm tempted to artificially include random locations, if only to ensure I get to see them. I always say I'm going to travel more -- but always end up where I should be, perhaps. In my comfy white reclining chair in New York, writing more big adventures for Sophie and Agatha.

Reviews:

“Soman Chainani's whip-smart debut, guaranteed to make any little girl think twice about wanting to be a princess. If I could bewitch you all to read it, I would. Grade: A.”

– Entertainment Weekly

“A funny, frightening and fully satisfying novel that explores the meaning of true love and the vast gray area between good and evil.” – San Francisco Chronicle

“This marvelous fantasy reinvents the fairy tale and explores the mythic power of fairy tale images, heroism and gender roles, while offering marvelous entertainment at the same time.”

– Buffalo News

“A droll fairy tale of sorts with appeal for all ages…quite funny and already optioned by Joe Roth, the producer of “Oz the Great and Powerful.” – New York Daily News

“Although many have tried, no writer has quite been able to reach the ‘top rung’ on the ladder when it comes to the ‘best’ in tween fantasy (top spot being held by Harry Potter)…until now. This is a fairytale/adventure/thriller/fantasy with humor and characters readers will never forget, and everyone from tweens to adults will want to walk in this world.” –Authorlink.com

“THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL is a fun and exciting read, incorporating elements of beloved fairy tales and putting a modern twist on others.” – Teenreads.com

Buy links:

Amazon Book 1: http://www.amazon.com/School-Good-Evil-Soman-Chainani-ebook/dp/B009NF6FYI/ref=twoen-20

Amazon Book 2: http://www.amazon.com/School-Good-Evil-without-Princes-ebook/dp/B00DTT8D7G/ref=two-en

Watch the book trailer:http://shelf-life.ew.com/2014/03/18/see-the-trailer-for-a-world-without-princes-the-sequel-to-the-school-for-good-and-evil-exclusive/

#Excerpt: THE GATEKEEPER by J.A. Templeton

Book & Author Details:

The Gatekeeper by J.A. Templeton
(Otherworld Series #1)
Publication date: May 1st 2014
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Paranormal Romance

Synopsis:

Ever since I can remember, I’ve had strange dreams that always came true, and experienced terrifying powers that set me apart from everyone else.

It’s not until my eighteenth birthday do I begin to understand what those dreams mean. When my grandfather is attacked and left for dead, I am thrust into the Otherworld—a medieval-like land of beautiful immortals with amazing gifts. One of these immortals has stolen the key between the realms, and it is up to me, Brynne Davies, the next gatekeeper, to reach the key before the power struggle that exists in the Otherworld occurs on earth.

Complicating my task are the members of the Royal House of Parthas, especially the king’s brother, the handsome Murdoc, Warlord of the king’s army, and then there’s the charming Fae prince who seems to always be one step ahead of me.

Time is running out for me to find the key and close the door. If I don’t, the world I left will never be the same…because of me.

The Gatekeeper (Otherworld series, #1) is a New Adult Fantasy/Paranormal Romance.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14289574-the-gatekeeper?ac=1

Purchase:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Gatekeeper-Otherworld-1-J-Templeton-ebook/dp/B00K0UGV5S/ref=two-en

AUTHOR BIO

I wrote my first young adult novel over ten years ago, and took a slight detour from writing YA to publish nineteen adult romances. Now, I'm following my heart and writing in the genre I've been passionate about for so long, and about characters who don't exactly fit into any specific box.

Aside from writing and reading, I'm obsessed with history, love research, traveling, and riding motorcycles with my hubby, my first and only love, who stole my heart when I was fourteen and he was eighteen (yes, he robbed the cradle). I am also a medium, which gives me a unique perspective when writing about the paranormal and characters like Riley, who can see, hear, and feel spirits.
I'm passionate about books, and I'll never tire of writing love stories.

Author links:

http://www.jatempleton.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/JA-Templeton/124655067647202?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/JATempleton

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5005267.J_A_Templeton

Excerpt:

The smithy was stifling hot. Gareth had thick and curly reddish-brown hair. Wet with perspiration, he was busy pounding out horseshoes as if his life depended on it. He abruptly looked up and his eyes widened. “My lord, I fear I do not yet have the sword ready.”

Murdoc smiled reassuringly. “I am not here for the sword, but rather to make a bracelet for Parthas’s newest arrival.” He motioned to me. “Gareth, this is Brynne. Brynne, may I introduce Gareth.”

Gareth appeared relieved as he glanced at me, and quickly hid a smile. “His lordship is quite skilled with iron and fire, Miss Brynne.”

“Aye, I believe you,” I nearly shouted, feeling ridiculous the second the words were out because Gareth’s brow furrowed. It didn’t help when he and Murdoc shared an amused smile.

To Gareth’s credit, he didn’t let his gaze move past my chin. I wished I could have changed into another gown because I looked a mess. Aside from my appearance, I was glad to be in Murdoc’s company.

“Do not boast of my skills too much, my friend,” Murdoc said, taking a leather apron from a spike on the wall. He tied it around his waist and then reached for my hand, sliding his fingers and thumb around my wrist.

His touch was electric and it stunned me. I felt that casual touch all the way to my toes.

“I need to measure for an accurate fit,” he said, and I looked up at him, at the way his long lashes cast shadows on those model-like cheekbones. I swallowed a sigh.

“Very delicate,” he said, catching me staring at him. He didn’t move, just watched me for a moment before letting his hand fall away.

I had to remind myself to breathe as he took a step away from me.

He immediately set into motion by grasping a set of tongs, then heating a rod of iron over the fire.

I stood watching for a few minutes, then feeling ridiculous, I decided to take a seat on a nearby bench. I had to admit—Murdoc intrigued me. He was a walking contradiction. Everything about him screamed intimidation, and yet here he was—Parthas’s ominous warlord—taking time out of his day to make a bracelet for a girl he had just met. Which made me wonder—did he have a woman? He wore no ring. Then again, I did not know Parthas customs.

Murdoc glanced up at Gareth, who kept his gaze averted, but the blacksmith’s lips quirked nonetheless. Gareth then turned away and made himself busy cleaning up the metal shavings in the work area, humming all the while.

A light breeze rushed through the smithy, and I watched as the wind ruffled Murdoc’s hair. The shirt he’d slid on hung loosely at his waist and over his butt.

And he had a nice butt. Once again, I forced my gaze away from his smoking-hot body.

I couldn’t afford to start crushing on anyone in Parthas. Time was ticking, and I had to get in and get out, and back to Pops.

But that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy the eye candy while I was here.

Murdoc kept reaching for different tools off of a wooden rack to twist and bend the metal. It was amazing to watch him at work. After ten or so minutes of meticulous detail, the bracelet was finished and Murdoc set it to cool on a rack.

Putting the tools away, he brushed a hand through his hair just as another strong breeze blew through the shop window, and a stray lock fell over his right eye.

I don’t know what possessed me, but I stepped close, reached up, and brushed the strand away. Murdoc’s hand flew up and caught my wrist in a firm grip.

I gasped, surprised by his reaction. “I only wanted to get the hair—”

He immediately loosened his grip. “I apologize, Brynne. I am not accustomed to being touched.”

Not accustomed to being touched? Was he serious? Something in his eyes made me believe he was completely serious…and why did I find that so sad? Maybe because my grandfather had never let me go to bed without tucking me in with a kiss on the cheek and telling me that he loved me.

Murdoc stared at my lips—almost as if he was going to kiss me.

“My lord,” a guard yelled from the door.

Murdoc blinked and took a step away from me. “Aye, Cameron. What is it?”

“There is a caravan coming, and they are flying the colors of the House of Zaphyr.” Cameron flashed a grin. “Your betrothed will be at the castle gate within the hour!”

Your betrothed? As in fiancée?

Murdoc was engaged.

 

New #YA #fantasy release: BILLY: DESTROYER OF POWERS by Michaelbrent Collings

Book blurb:

"The third time Billy died, the world died with him."

***

The world is in chaos, and Death is on the rise.

The evil Mordrecai has cut down the Greens. Life is ebbing, and all the world is at risk. Billy’s friends and family are being taken from him, and all he can do is watch.

Now he must embark on his greatest, and final, quest. The search for his father, for his King. For Arthur, the White King of old.

But the earth is dying. Mordrecai is coming for him.

Will the Weapons of Power be enough to fight him off?

Will Billy have the strength to do what must be done?

Or will Death rule over all?

Amazon buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Billy-Destroyer-Powers-The-Saga-ebook/dp/B00JV8OU80/ref=twoen-20

Start at the beginning of the series with Billy: Messenger of Powers:

 

"BILLY WAS ONLY FOURTEEN YEARS OLD THE FIRST TIME HE DIED."

And with those words begins the bestselling saga of Billy Jones.

Billy, like many of us, leads what he believes is a fairly normal life: trying to get through school, trying to deal with his first crush, and trying to avoid the bullies who seem intent on trying to prove he can be flushed down a toilet. But all that changes (or at least some of it) when Billy discovers that Powers walk among us.

These Powers (what you or I would call witches or warlocks) have divided into two camps: the Dawnwalkers, dedicated to the protection of humanity and the secrecy of the world of the Powers; and the Darksiders, who want nothing more or less than complete control of the world and the enslavement of all humanity.

For years the Darksiders and Dawnwalkers have lived in a state of uneasy truce: ever since the last War of the Powers, when the evil Darksider Wolfen was defeated and banished, cast out of the world of the Powers and ordered never to return.

But now there are whispers. There are stirrings. Portents.

Wolfen has returned.

The Darksiders are on the rise.

And Billy is the only one who can save the world.

 Amazon buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Billy-Messenger-Powers-Saga-ebook/dp/B003K16OMY/ref=twoen-20

 

Author bio:

Michaelbrent Collings is a #1 bestselling novelist and screenwriter. His bestsellers include Strangers, Darkbound, Apparition, The Haunted, The Loon, and the YA fantasy series The Billy Saga (beginning with Billy: Messenger of Powers).

He hopes someday to develop superpowers, and maybe get a cool robot arm.

Michaelbrent has a wife and several kids, all of whom are much better looking than he is (though he admits that's a low bar to set), and much MUCH cooler than he is (also a low bar).

Michaelbrent also has a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/MichaelbrentCollings and can be followed on Twitter through his username @mbcollings.

Follow him for awesome news, updates, and advance notice of sales. You will also be kept safe when the Glorious Revolution begins!

 

#Review: PEACEFUL GENOCIDE BY JA Reynolds

3 of 5 stars

Mitzi is not happy to be in another study to test her memory. She's not like other people, she's gifted and remembers everything, every detail, every place, every conversation from her entire life. When she meets 3 other kids in this newest study, fellow teenager Deuce and younger kids, Ralph and Paisley, she's determined to stay as far away from them as possible. However, the study stresses team work and the physical demands the researchers put them through makes it impossible to complete the tasks alone. Because Mitzi has a bad attitude, none of the other kids believe her when she starts to realize that something is very wrong with this study. What happens next is shocking.

This story starts out very well. The author does a good job of characterizing Mitzi as an angry embittered teenager who because of her bad attitude has a hard time connecting and trusting others. As her back story is slowly revealed, the reader begins to understand why Mitzi acts the way she does. Deuce is the typical high school football star who works hard, achieves his goals and expects to do great things with his life. He's exactly the kind of person that Mitzi wants nothing to do with. This is related very well throughout the story and was refreshing to see that it was not the typical depiction of a boy/girl relationship. Ralph and Paisley have their own skills, but they're secondary characters in this inventive story. A few criticisms - I had figured out the plot about 1/2 way through the book and the last third of the book was riddled with typos and missing/wrong words. The story also ends on a major cliffhanger which I'm not a fan of and I'm afraid that I'm not intrigued enough with Mitzi and Deuce to buy the next book. 

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Book & Author details:

Peaceful Genocide by J.A. Reynolds
Publication date: November 25th 2013
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Mitzi and Deuce can recall how many drops of water were on a leaf from a rainstorm five years ago and conversations from last week, month, or year. They have the ability to remember every second of everyday—since birth.

This gift has blessed Mitzi with a history of being sexually assaulted by researchers and abused by her own parents. She trusts no one. Likes no one. Deuce, however, is a high school standout. His gift has made him a superstar on the football field and his memory promises him endless opportunities.

When they both end up at an Alzheimer’s research facility under false proviso, they quickly realize this place isn’t what it seems to be. They endure crazy military-style tests, are forcefully drugged, and complete real-life simulations that haunt them. Mitzi and Deuce have no idea what the researchers want to do with them or their memories. But one thing is clear: the researchers will go to any lengths to get what they want.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18499632-peaceful-genocide?ac=1

Purchase:

--Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Peaceful-Genocide-J-Reynolds-ebook/dp/B00GA9JBCI/ref=twoen-20

AUTHOR BIO:
JA Reynolds lives in the Midwest with a normal family, raising a normal daughter, with some abnormal pets. It’s extraordinarily ordinary.

Author Links:
Blog:  http://www.jareynoldsbooks.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaauthor
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/JA-Reynolds/430107783757165?ref=hl
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18499632-peaceful-genocide

Giveaway:
Tour wide giveaway Prizes - open to US and Canada: 
-A Kindle Fire and 
10 signed copies 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

#Excerpt: AFTER THE CURTAIN FALLS by Ainsley Shay

The moment is perfect to lean in and kiss her. And I badly want to put my hand on her cheek and bring my lips to hers.

Addison looks at her wrist, my fingers still there. “I should go,” she says shattering my thoughts.

I slide my hand from her wrist, along her palm, lingering on her fingertips with my own. Looking up into her eyes, I ask, Are you sure you want to?”

She meets my eyes. “No.” Her voice whispers the simple word I was hoping she would say. “But they’re expecting me down there.” My stomach aches when she starts to get up. “Thanks for catching me when I fell.” She brushes the sand off her dress and walks through the wheat grass toward the shore.

~~~

“You’re a freak like me,” Naya says, no doubt present in her tone.

Shaken by her word choice, but intrigued to know why she’s chosen it, I ask, “Am I? And how do you know that?” I swallow nothing, feeling my throat constrict as I wait for her answer.

With concern on her face, her lips purse, and she shrugs one shoulder. “I just know.” She touches my arm, leans into me and whispers, “As a friend, just be careful. The people here,” she looks to her left and then to her right, “well…they aren’t very nice to our kind."

Book & Author Details:

After the Curtain Falls by Ainsley Shay
Publication date: January 31st 2014
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Erik never had to be anything other than a freak…until now.

Two hundred fifty-three days is a long time to fake being normal when night after night you perform miraculous feats on stage in a freak show. Thousands have paid to witness the miracle, suspecting nothing more than a hoax. But it is very real and it is slowly destroying him. Erik is weakened to the point where he’ll stop performing and start going to school for the first time ever—in his senior year. His only goal is to rebuild his strength so he can return to the stage and perform doing what he loves most in this world. What he didn’t plan for was the appearances of beautiful Addison and mysterious Naya. Now, unfamiliar feelings and bizarre new friendships threaten to unbalance Erik’s future as a miracle-performing freak.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20617601-after-the-curtain-falls?ac=1

Purchase (book is on sale for 0.99c during the blitz!):

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/after-the-curtain-falls-ainsley-shay/1118400664?ean=9781939588029

http://www.amazon.com/After-Curtain-Falls-Ainsley-Shay-ebook/dp/B00I4HE1L0/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1392927507

AUTHOR BIO

Ainsley Shay avoids insanity by living mostly in the fiction world. She believes surrounding herself with positive people, and strives for balance in everything. She owns more jeans with rips and holes than without; and has recently found the magic of patches. For her, reading or writing the perfect sentence is better than the smoothest piece of dark chocolate melting in her mouth. She is a deltiologist for pure enjoyment, not for the study of. She longs to move north one day, even though she hates the cold. (Go figure!) So, for now, she continues to live in warm south Florida with her incredible husband, three beautiful daughters, and two lazy cats. (We won’t mention the dog.)

Author Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7789269.Ainsley_Shay

http://ainsleyshay.blogspot.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/ainsley.shay

https://twitter.com/ainsleyshay

 

Book Tour: GLISTENING REBELLION by Jill Cooper

 

Sci-fi Dystopian (Sequel to Glistening Haven)
In Glistening Haven, Jenna Morgan fought to uncover a government conspiracy. In Glistening Rebellion, she fights for her life. New Haven 57 is opening for business—bigger landscape, nicer homes, and tougher reconditioning techniques that will make resistant glistenings docile.

A caravan of glistenings from overcrowded concentration camps are enroot to their new home. For Jenna Morgan it’s the final job before she retires forever to a happy low key life. When the escape glistenings from New Haven 56 attack, a simple transportation job turns into life or death. Jenna does the unspeakable and is pulled back into a fight she wants no part of. With an assassin on her tail, her loyalties are questioned. She will need to decide once and for all, which side she’s on as she teeters on the brink of full out war.  

 

Buy on Glistening Rebellion and Glistening Haven (Part 1) on Amazon

Put Glistening Rebellion on your TBR list! Goodreads

 

Feb 3rd-Feb 9th Glistening Rebellion will be

99 cents on Amazon!

**********************************

Meet the author

Author of the YA Dream Slayer series, Jill loves to blend horror, comedy, the supernatural, and love, through her novels. A fan of genre blending, her work strives to cross boundries, but most of all strives to entertain. She loves soft cuddly cats, warm blankets, and paranormal romances. Jill resides in Massachusetts, is constantly renovating her home that she shares with her husband, young daughter, and two skittish cats.

 

Follow Jill on Twitter | Facebook | Website

Jill is giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card to one blogger and one reader.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

New #YA Fantasy: BEYOND THREE PATHS by Maureen A Miller

Book Blurb:

Aimee Patterson is coming home...but this time she is not alone.

After spending years in space on an alien ship, Aimee Patterson is finally coming home. But this time she is not alone. Her lover Zak wants to meet her parents, and her friend Raja wants to experience life on Earth. Both get more than they ever bargained for.

Within days of being on Earth, Raja is caught up in an FBI sting operation. She is intrigued by Special Agent Craig Buchanan, but things go horribly wrong. Raja is faced with a dilemma. Save Agent Buchanan’s life or risk revealing her true identity.

It was supposed to be an innocent trip to Earth.... now Aimee, Zak, and Raja are fugitives of the ultimate kind.

Excerpt:

Less than two days after her high school graduation, Aimee Patterson walked her Cocker Spaniel along the pond on her parent’s farm. When Ziggy charged into the woods on the other side, Aimee was paralyzed with indecision. The forest was scary, a dark lair she had avoided since childhood. But she was not a child anymore, and something had caught the dog’s attention. Trailing after him into that bleak stockade...Aimee disappeared from this planet.

She woke up on a spaceship so grand and so far from Earth, never imagining that her adventure in space would last five years. In that time she learned new technology, visited a foreign planet, battled aliens, encountered disease—and cured it. Most importantly, though, she fell in love.

When the adventure was over, Aimee was twenty-two years old and confronted with a monumental decision. Should she remain in the stars with Zak and start their life together, or should she return to Earth to lead a normal existence and comfort the parents who never knew the fate of their missing daughter?

Aimee’s heart yearned for one future, but the burden of responsibility argued for another. The truth was that in order for her and Zak to spend a life together without regrets, they both needed to evolve—to mature.

For five years she did her time on Earth, always looking to the stars at night, waiting for the moment she could reunite with her true love. When that time came, she rejoined the Horus only to discover that Zak was not there. Informed that he had been left stranded on his own planet and presumed dead, Aimee was devastated. 

Foreign planets and even the prospect of death cannot deter a woman in love. Tackling the odds, Aimee mounted her own mission to rescue Zak. Once reunited with her damaged man, she battled at his side against the Korons who sought to annihilate his race. Triumphant, she and Zak reunite with the Horus, but their next stop as a ‘bonded’ couple is Aimee’s home...the planet Earth.

 Only, this time they do not travel alone. This time they have brought someone back with them. The one woman that Aimee can call a friend.

***

Aimee opened her eyes. 

Her body recoiled against the bleak environment.

Murky. Dark. Wet. 

Wet?

With two desperate kicks her head cracked the surface.

At first she thought the Horus had miscalculated and dumped her smack in the middle of the pond on her parent’s property. 

A frantic scan of the area revealed that this was no pond, but rather a sizable lake. 

“Zak!” she cried.

There was no response. There was no sound, save for the distant call of a blue jay and the thunderous pulse inside her ears.

“Raja!” she spun in a tight circle, but the lake was empty and the closest land seemed a hundred yards away.

Submerging again, light filtered through in a strobe-effect as she searched in vain for a sign of Zak. Malicious shadows concealed everything in this netherworld. Gnarled limbs climbed up from the depths, reaching for her. She kicked and screamed, gulping a mouthful of water.

“Zak,” she choked. 

Could they have made it safely to shore already? It was a far better conjecture than the alternative. What if they were not accustomed to water like this? What if the impact was so dramatic it put their alien composition into cardiac arrest?

“No,” she whimpered. 

It simply was not an option to lose Zak—not after everything they had been through together. Not after every obstacle they had overcome. They were bonded. He was her husband now. He was her life, and she would not lose him.

“Zak!” A swarm of gnats took siege on her head. “Raja!”

Part of her wanted to start swimming—but in what direction? If she waded in this spot, then maybe she would have a better chance of locating them.

It had already been five minutes since she first surfaced. Tears now mingled with the mossy residue clinging to her eyelashes. No. No. No. She started crooning. This was not happening. 

How many minutes now? 

Again she dove beneath the surface using her hands when her eyes failed her. Cold water siphoned through her outstretched fingers.

Buy links:

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H9Y3I7M

BN:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beyond-three-paths-maureen-a-miller/1117677801