Putting a Face to the Name

Do you ever wish you could project the images of your characters in your head to paper? Not just cutting out models or actors that come close, but the exact image you have. Some of you, I know, are talented artists and can do just this. But not me. I can do graphic design with existing objects and fonts and manipulate pictures to an extent. I have absolutely no artistic talent, though.

There are several things in my books that are completely made up by me. I don't mean the story (or...besides the story, which is pretty obvious). I mean actual objects, animals and paranormal creatures. That's why I love writing fantasy - you can create new types of creatures, objects, magical spells, words and even worlds. But there are some I'd really love to see an actual picture of. Just to know what it would look like if it were real.

Well, I was blessed to have won a contest and the prize was a drawing of one of my characters by the extremely talented Elizabeth Mueller (she did a version of Tristan for the Halloween contest a couple weeks ago). For my prize, though, I had her draw a creature that I've been dying to know what it would really look like.

Here's what she came up with:

And go here to find out what it is.

Thanks, Elizabeth!!!

Harleys, Books, Kindle & Other Ramblings

Starting tomorrow, life gets even crazier than it has been for the next 10 days. Tomorrow I'm taking off with The Man and some friends to Biketoberfest in Daytona. Anyone familiar with the world of Harley-Davidson and motorcycles knows that Daytona Bike Week and Sturgis Bike Week are the two BIG rallies of the year. But Daytona has a smaller one, called Biketoberfest that's supposed to be more fun because it's not as huge. I'm excited for a real break...and possibly a beer or two. ;-)

I've been trying to figure out how to take advantage of this trip because, you see, Tristan (aka Mr. Beautiful up there in that picture) rides motorcycles. He has a crotch-rocket (well, um, two, if you think about it...ROFL...er, sorry, as you can tell I'm ready for a break!) and a Harley, which he and Alexis ride on throughout Promise. But I just can't see myself walking up to biker dudes and chicks, asking if they'd like to read my book. So, the idea of how to do a tie-in is still germinating and will have to wait for the next rally.

But while writing this, I had a great idea for the Halloween Hop contest. Too bad I can't enter my own contest, though. Maybe one of you lovely readers will take the hint of Tristan and motorcycles and run with it... Remember, a Kindle is up for grabs!

Speaking of the contests, I've seen many tweets, FB and blog posts about them. I'm eternally grateful, but not all of you who have spread the word have entered the Birthday Bash giveaway. The one where you get entries for tweeting and posting! If you're going to do it, you may as well enter the contest for books and swag! Don't forget, you can enter that one as many times as you want by filling out the form each time you tweet or post about the contests.

As for the Halloween Hop, just put the link of where you'll be posting your entry in the linky-thingy. The more people who sign up there, the better the prize (like that Kindle).

Okay, real quick, other things going on next week, in case I'm somewhat absent:

• My usual bi-monthly trip to Orlando for the day-job will keep me up there through the end of the week. Because I have to be back there for...
• Florida Writers Association Conference! Next weekend. I'm so excited for my first big conference. PLUS, Promise is a finalist for the Royal Palm Literary Award. I find out next Saturday night if it won.
• While I'm sitting in my hotel next week, I'll be Skyping for the first time with a book club. They're all the way in Minnesota! I'm chewing my nails about this. I hope they're nice. I think they will be, based on the hostesses.

So, yeah, lots of ramblings of my chaos. But it's all exciting stuff. Oh...one more thing. Twitter Party tonight!! Hosted by Jess at Confessions of a Bookaholic and Lisa at A Life Bound by Books. Starts at 9 p.m. ET, at #HauntedHalloween. They're giving away books, swag and Halloween goodies. I'll be there. I wonder what other authors will be. Follow @TotalBookaholic and @BoundbyBooks

Have a great weekend, everyone!!

Life Happens & TWO Contests Coming!!

Have you missed me this week, lovely followers? I apologize for being absent, but I suppose it's better than being boring. LOL Not that life has been boring. Not. At. All. So here's the deal...

This week:

• Craziness in the day job. It's GOOD craziness, but it's meant lots of focus there and break-up in the routine.
• What little time left over has been used wrapping up Purpose edits so I can get ARCs ordered by next week, which means next step is formatting and finalizing the cover.
• Add on top of that - a call yesterday afternoon from son #2's football coach...from the ER...son broke his arm in practice. :( Everything drops to take care of him.
• And to really top it off - my grandmother has been in the hospital for a week and it's not looking good. She's being going through chemo and has complications. She's fought various forms of cancer for over a decade, but my heart and soul are sad because I fear that she's tiring of the battle.

I ask for your prayers, thoughts, good vibes, etc., for my son, my grandmother and my own sanity. Thank you in advance!!

Now onto the fun stuff... I had hoped to post this today, but focus has been fleeting with everything going on. So the official post will go up tomorrow.

TWO Major Contests!!!

What's up for grabs? Let's see...books...swag...maybe an iPod Shuffle...maybe even a Kindle 3 or a Nook. A K3?!? A Nook?!? Yep, that's right. So stay tuned, pay attention and come back tomorrow to get the deets on how you can be a winner. (Hint: For an eReader, you'll need to put a little thought and creativity into it, but I "Promise" it will be fun!)

Five for Friday - Promise Special!

It's a holiday weekend! Woot! Three days to do whatever we want. Yeah, right. More like two days to catch up on all the crap we didn't get done this week and, if we're lucky, an actual day off on the third. That's how my life is anyway. Has been since...oldest son was born nearly 18 years ago. LOL

I do have "work" to do, but it's mostly writing-related, so I'm not complaining (except for the clean the bathrooms and dust part - blech).

How about you? What do you have going on? Here are some suggestions:

1. Drink a beer or share a bottle of wine with friends or neighbors.
2. Eat a hot dog or bratwurst hot off the grill.
3. Sleep in.
4. Go to the beach or the pool one last time.
5. Read Promise! Use this coupon code TP46E at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/19238 to download Promise for only $2.99!!!!  Coupon expires Monday, so don't delay! Formats include Nook, Sony Reader, Apple iPad, Kobo, Diesel and HTML.

Bet you'll have it done by the end of the weekend. :) Enjoy the long weekend, whatever you do!

Five for Friday

What a moron! Flake, idiot, dork, dumbass. That's me. Somehow, I totally missed Tuesday this week. Where did it go? *searches around* Huh, there it is. Right where it should be. On the calendar three days ago. And I didn't post a Teaser Tuesday. Oops.

I shall make up for it now and combine it with Five for Friday...because I'm about to miss Friday, too. Gasp! No. Skipping. Friday! Second best day of the week (I get to sleep in on Saturdays, so it's like Friday but better).

I don't know that these are really much of a tease, but I'd still like to share. And hopefully they'll get you excited for Promise. I posted the first four songs on the Promise playlist here and here. So here are the rest. And it even includes a bonus #6, you know, to make up for my Tuesday brain fart.

Except for the last one, explained below, these are all songs that I used to put me in the mood for writing and editing different scenes in Promise. There are others, but these all go with the story.

And the bonus wraps up Promise and leads you into Purpose. It's a recent release, so I didn't use it in writing Promise, but it's perfect for the two books together. And so, it's my new favorite song.

Now...could someone please tell me how to embed a playlist into blogger? I'd be eternally grateful! Thanks!

Share Your Darlings Blogfest

It's another blogfest! Yay!!! I love these, if you haven't noticed. They're fun to participate in, you get to know other writers and I always find it interesting how so many writers can tackle the same theme in so many different ways.

Of course, this one isn't written around a theme. It's simply about sharing those scenes we love but had to cut from our stories because they didn't pull their weight in moving things along. This is from Promise (which comes out in July, by the way...and you can pre-order here... Oops! Sorry! But it's my blog so I can throw in a little self-promo if I want. Haha). Anywaaaayyyy...onto the set-up.

In the first two chapters (found here), you meet Alexis and she meets Tristan, who is seemingly perfect in every way (on the surface, anyway). For a variety of reasons, Alexis has a hard time trusting anyone, but she really wants to trust Tristan...even when her mother doesn't. When mom goes out of town for a weekend, things start heating up between Alexis and Tristan. I wrote this whole glorious weekend they spent together - sweet and lovely and a dream-come-true for Alexis.

It gave some character insight, but, alas, this part, in particular, just didn't do enough. There's a little of it still in the book, but not the whole, sweet thing. This scene takes place on Sunday, the last day of their time without mom breathing down her back. Tristan is about to take her on a motorcycle ride - until now, she'd only been on the bike for a couple blocks at a time.

“You’ll want to put on jeans and real shoes. No flip-flops for this ride,” he said to me. I hurriedly changed and pulled my hair back.

We cruised the streets of Cape Heron, and then headed for I-75. Holy crap! What am I thinking? I momentarily panicked as I realized I had absolutely no control over my situation. I had put my life into his hands. I squeezed my eyes shut and held on tightly, my muscles tense like a taut rubber band as the wind rushed against my face and the sounds of cars and trucks seemed way too close. Exhaust fumes and the faint smell of hot rubber filled my nose. My knuckles were white by the time we exited the highway and I breathed a sigh of relief that we survived.

Now that it felt safe to keep my eyes open, I noticed we were headed to a barrier island. At the slower speed and with less traffic, the ride was spectacular, especially once on the island. The sun shone brightly in the clear October sky and I could smell the oily warmth rising off the pavement, as well as the salty sea air and meat on the grill from a distant restaurant. I leaned over and held onto Tristan, resting my head against his shoulder, as we cruised parallel to the Gulf of Mexico, enjoying the view. He stopped the bike in a small beach parking lot and we sat there, looking over the sugary sand and steel-blue water, watching as pelicans dive-bombed for their food. A couple of dolphins jumped and twisted in the air, playing with each other.

“Nice, huh?” Tristan asked.

“Perfect,” I breathed. I was still close against him, my arms wrapped around his waist. He held my hands in front of him.

“Let’s take a walk and stretch our legs, then I’ll take you to dinner at a cool little place I found a couple weeks ago.”

We held hands as we walked along the beach and I couldn’t help the smile that was pasted on my face. Every time I looked at Tristan, he, too, was grinning.

“You like it here, don’t you?” I asked.

He looked down at me. “I like being with you. It makes me…happy.”

“Me, too.”

He squeezed my hand. “Hungry?”

I shrugged. I could be whatever he wanted me to be at that moment. As long as it meant more time with him. “Sure.”

He took me to a little hole-in-the-wall tiki bar and grill for dinner. It literally had a big hole in the wall – one side was open to the outside. When we walked in, several people – employees and customers alike – gave us a warm hello, like we were old friends. A couple of TVs silently displayed news and sports, while Jimmy Buffet sang “Margaritaville” from a boom box. Painted oars, lobster baskets and other boating and beach paraphernalia decorated the three solid walls. Tristan led me to a faded wooden booth by the wide opening, holding his hand out for me to take a seat. He slid in next to me, instead of sitting on the other side, and put his arm around me, holding me close. I warmed inside, totally content. From where we sat, we could see a canal outside the restaurant lead west about two hundred yards to the Gulf. A couple of boats pulled up, their owners and mates coming for drinks and dinner.

“Know what you want?” Tristan asked after we studied the stained paper menu for a few minutes.

“Hmm…I think the shrimp combo.”

He stood up to place our order at the bar and I took the opportunity to use the bathroom. When I came back to the table, I had to stifle a giggle. He held a purple crayon in his hand, drawing something on the white paper tablecloth, like a little kid. When I looked, I realized it was me, drawn from memory.

“Nice,” I murmured.

“Yeah, well, sorry you’re purple.” He chuckled.

I glanced at the two other crayons on the table.

“At least I’m not green.”

He laughed.

“Purple’s good. It’s my favorite color,” I added.

“Ah. Good to know.”

I drew him next – a stick figure. It was the best I could do, I told him. He laughed and hugged me, apparently forgiving the fact that I wasn’t multi-talented like him. We played a few games of tic-tac-toe and hangman – he beat me at the first and I beat him at the latter – while we waited for our dinner. The bartender brought our food to us.

“Oh, now, hold on a minute. We can’t ruin that,” she said when she saw Tristan’s crayon drawing of me. She put our food down on the next table and quickly replaced the paper tablecloth with a blank slate. She took our old one and disappeared with it. She brought back my drawing, cut out in an oval from the rest of the tablecloth, and handed it to me, her eyes crinkling at the sides with a smile. “Here you go, hon.”

The people there were quite a bit older than us, but friendly with everyone who walked in. It was apparently a popular gathering place for the locals. When Tristan told them we’d recently moved to the area, they told us about good and bad beaches and restaurants and the best places to go on a boat or a motorcycle. Their stories were humorous and we laughed a lot.

That evening I learned what it was like to feel normal. In fact, I forgot for a while that I even had any weird quirks. Nobody treated me like an outsider and I didn’t feel the need to make myself blend into the scenery. I didn’t worry about my wall or who I couldn’t trust. For once, I was completely at ease.

After we finished eating the best seafood I’d had since moving there, Tristan moved over to the other side of the table so he could have clean, blank paper. He went to work with a red crayon and drew a portrait of the bartender/waitress. When he was done, he threw some money on the table and held his hand out for me to go. I quickly wrote “Thank you!” by his drawing, then walked out with him, arms around each other’s waists. I felt like the heroine in a movie…with a “happily-ever-after” ending, of course. I ignored the poke in the back of my mind – the one that wanted to tell me that my ending could never be happy.

Five for Friday

I'm feeling a little brain-dead after all the excitement this week. So I'm keeping it simple (but hopefully not lame haha).

Five things you should know about Promise:

1. It's not, I repeat NOT Young Adult. Older YA readers will enjoy it (and some have already), but if you're looking for a squeaky-clean book for children, this is not it. There seems to be a misconception that it's YA and I don't want parents mad at me for exposing their innocent kids...or readers writing about how shocked they were with it.
2. It's basically a prologue for the rest of the series. Part of the misconception might be because Alexis is 18 when the story starts. By the end, she's 20 and very much an adult through the rest of the series. Promise introduces the characters and some of the mythology, while sharing the love story between Alexis and Tristan. I'll be doing a guest post for Tynga's Paranormal Summer Fest on June 23rd, with a more in-depth explanation.
3. Promise will be available widely starting the end of July, including on Amazon.com (paperback and Kindle), Borders.com, BarnesandNoble.com, iTunes/iBooks, Smashwords, etc., as well as through indie and chain bookstores.
4. But, you can only pre-order Promise through the website: www.IHavePromise.com.
5. All pre-orders will be signed and include a discount coupon for an e-book version, so you can keep your signed copy pretty and nice.

Next week may be a little crazy. I'm making my bi-monthly trip to Orlando for the day job, along with everything else going on in prep for Promise's release, while also working hard on Purpose. Knowing the ending of Promise, I'm pretty sure readers will be anxious to know what happens. (I'll be hiding in a bullet-proof safe room until book two's release.) So, if I'm a lame-o blogger next week, at least you've been warned. :-) Have a great weekend!

Not-So-Enlightening Conversation With Tristan

Hello, real-lifers, it’s Alexis again. Yes, I’m still here, even after what I did Monday and Tuesday. So either Kristie doesn’t know yet that I posted two whole chapters of Promise or just doesn’t care. I guess we’ll find out soon. I’m a little giddy today. Tristan’s here! Yes, he still makes me giddy. That’s a good thing, considering we’re supposed to spend forever together.

I’ll start by telling you a little bit about the true love of my life. First, he’s absolutely beautiful. Yeah, you probably get that already, with all the gushing I did over there. But I can’t help it. And he’s much more than just good looking. He’s an amazingly talented artist and a math geek, too. He likes to cook, ride motorcycles and watch sunsets on the beach.

Tristan: Sounds like a personal ad. Except the math part. That’s not very sexy.

Me: Even the math part’s sexy about you.

Tristan: Haven’t we had this conversation before?

Me: Um, yes and no. We had to delete that scene.

Tristan [frowning]: Too bad. I kind of liked that scene.

Me: Don’t worry. There’s still lots of kissing and, um, other stuff. So, well, [trying to be sneaky here] what were you like as a kid?

Tristan [answers with a scowl]

Me: Okay, fine. I know you don’t like talking about your past. What do you want to talk about?

Tristan [smiling now]: You.

Me: Today is about you. What’s your favorite memory?

Tristan [huge grin]: Hurricanes.

Me: Hurricanes?

Tristan: Specifically, Hurricane Alexis.

Me [blushing profusely]: Um, yeah…well, they don’t know that part yet. And if we’re not careful, that might become a deleted scene, too.

Tristan: Right. I certainly don’t want that to happen. No secrets out of these lips. All of my favorite memories would get us in trouble, though. I guess there’s the time you threw the dart at me. Or our first sunset. Ah. Our first kiss. That’s an excellent memory.

Me [grinning]: Yes, it is.

Tristan: And then there was kicking Edmund’s ass.

Me: That’s a horrible memory!

Tristan: I would have never let him hurt you, my love.

Me: So sex and violence? Those are your favorite memories? You are such a man!

Tristan: Most definitely. [He winks. And if you don’t know what that does to me…shiver.]

Me: You’re avoiding the real you.

Tristan: We’re both pretty good at that, aren’t we?

Me: Yeah, I guess we are. So, real-lifers, you’ll just have to read the books to know more. Maybe Kristie will bring us back sometime, if you ask her nicely.

This Blog Has Been Jacked

Ahem. Um…hello? [Tap, tap, tap] Is this thing on? Oh! Uh…hi. I’m, uh, looking for my author. Do you know her? Her name’s Kristie. I’m Alexis, from Promise, and I kind of need her right now. Have you seen her? No? Well, crap.

See, we’re working on the next book, Purpose, and she’s left me in the middle of a big crisis. In fact, it’s absolute hell for me and I’d really like to get past this part. Yeah, we’ve already finished it once and I know things will get better, but I just really hate getting stuck back here again. It nearly kills me every time we go through it. And now she’s left me here, about to lose my freakin’ mind.

[Sound of a document opening.]

Oh. Hold on a sec. Maybe that’s her.

[Document closes.]

Son of a witch! Yeah, that was her alright! She opened the file for just a minute, said something about having to live her real life for a while and I’d just have to wait, then closed it again. So now I’m supposed to just sit here and wallow in my misery until she decides she has time for me again! She has these things called day-job clients and real kids and trying to get stuff done for Promise’s release. Apparently all stuff that’s more important than us right now. Doesn’t she know I’m on the verge of insanity?!? The nerve!!!

Well, I’ll show her! Since I’m a little on the crazy side anyway, I’m jackin’ the blog this week. Yep, it’s all mine. I’ll plead temporary insanity when she returns. It’s her fault, anyway. She put me in this mess.

Hmm...I better not go too crazy. After all, I’m a writer, too, and I know exactly what happens to characters who misbehave. Not even I’m safe. I know all about changing points of view in the middle of a book or series just so you can off the MC. [gulp] Kristie wouldn’t really do that, would she? I kind of like living in her head and I think she likes me, too. I’m not positive, though. I mean, if you knew the things she put me through… She’s horrible sometimes! Like right now, when I’m suffering through the darkest days of my life. Huh…maybe she’s really a bitch.

[Looks around, sees the sidebar.]

Oh, well, she looks nice. And she has a lot of friends, so she can’t be too bad. Oh! Look! There’s you! Look at all you real-lifers with your cute smiles and safe lives. Must be nice. Trust me. No matter how tough your life seems, it’s nothing like ours. I’m sure you don’t have demons chasing after you and your loved ones. Well, not real, physical ones that growl and bite and tear off body parts. Oops. I better watch what I say. Kristie would kill me if I give anything away. I mean, actually kill me.

So…what are we going to do this week? I guess I can start by telling you a little about me. I’m not really good at that, though. Maybe that seems weird, since you’ll be learning all about me in Kristie’s books, and they do get extremely personal. I mean, very close-up, with Tristan and me. [blushes] But, admittedly, those are my favorite parts. [shy grin]

Um…about me…well, what do you want to know? Why don’t you ask the questions and I’ll answer them this week. I can probably get Tristan to come over, too. Can you say yummy? Hmm…maybe I don’t want to share after all. We’ll, see…

If we have time before Kristie comes back and discovers what I’m doing, I’ll introduce a couple other characters this week, too. And they can probably tell you more about me than I can. So, if there’s anything you want to know, now’s the time to ask. We have to be careful and not give away too much – none of us want to be killed off – but since I’ve just been left hanging here, I’m willing to take a few chances. Maybe next time Kristie will think twice before leaving me like this again, the little witch.

Feeling It…Or Not

This week is crazy-busy with dayjob business and a little fun Wednesday night – 30 Seconds to Mars at the House of Blues in Orlando. I’m terribly excited for this concert. I fell in love with the band about a year or so ago, while writing my first novel. Their newest album could be the soundtrack for the third book, which has been started but put on the back burner.

Right now, I’m working on fleshing out the new PURPOSE. It’s funny how things have evolved since I first decided to write fiction again. I started with a character sketch and free-writing and it grew out of control, like a snowball during the Snowpocalypse. The first scene I wrote, which was just as an exercise, became the basis for what will be the new PURPOSE. It’s nothing like it was then. The characters didn’t even have names yet and now their story has changed almost completely, but the premise remains.

As it started coming to me, I realized I needed to know the story behind the story. It was originally just for my own benefit, but so much happened that I needed it for the rest of the “real” story to make sense. So, it became Part I. And now it has become PROMISE, a book by itself. I see PROMISE as a prologue to the rest of the series, though it is an interesting, fun, romantic and exciting tale of its own.

In PROMISE, Alexis starts at eighteen, fresh out of high school, relatively naïve and innocent. By the end, she’s twenty and “all grown up.” PURPOSE picks up later and she’s in the middle of a personal crisis. It’s an extremely emotional time for her and the first ten (or a hundred) times I went through this part, I felt just as emotionally caught up in it and was drained by the time I pushed through it. Even when it had set for a month or more, I’d still feel the emotional turmoil she was going through when I went back to it.

Now it’s set for nearly two months while I’ve been busy preparing PROMISE for publication. And I’m having a hard time getting caught up in the chaos of her life. I think it’s because my own life is so chaotic right now, but in a good way, where in hers, it’s not so good. I’m too distracted to immerse myself fully into her head and heart.

For now, it’s okay. By being able to look at it more objectively, I’m able to see what scenes can be or need to be moved around, expanded, heightened, etc., to create the full plot and character arcs for a book. Being able to add 30,000 words to a manuscript is like putting me in a candy store. I’m a (not-so-recovering) wordaholic. I usually have to cut, cut, cut. Now I get to add, add, add. But just because I get to write so many new, shiny words, doesn’t mean every single one doesn’t need to count. So, being able to view the story from this distant perspective is a good thing. For now.

I just hope when it comes to actually writing those new words I can re-enter Alexis’s mind and heart. I made my first readers cry. I want to make them cry harder…not yawn or (gasp!) throw the book down out of annoyance or boredom. They need to feel what she is feeling, which means I must feel it first.

Have you ever found yourself not quite feeling the intensity that is necessary for the task at hand? It doesn’t even have to be writing or revising. Various areas of our lives and jobs require different levels of emotions and involvement. What do you do to become more immersed in the moment or situation? How do you put yourself in the right emotional and mental state?

*Image found here: http://dark.pozadia.org/wallpaper/Emotional-Darkness/ 

This is it!!!

Big news. Big, BiG, BIG news! I’ve been holding back on posting this. The decisions were made a couple weeks ago, but then I had a panic attack. How would we get it all done? Are we sure we can do this? Am I freakin’ crazy?!? Then I calmed down and knew yes, my team can do this. Because we rock like that.

Then I had stage fright. Do I really want to announce this to the whole world???? That makes it so real. A commitment. A we’re-going-to-do-this-if-it-kills-us kind of thing.

But at some point I just have to say it, otherwise, no one will ever know, right? And if no one knows…yeah, that’s just not good marketing.

So here it is.

The. Big. Announcement.

What: PROMISE

When: July 30, 2010

Who: Me, You & the Whole World (I’m aiming high!)

WOOHOO!! Yes, this is it. My first book, PROMISE, will be published on July 30, 2010!

You might be confused by the title, because the original book had been PURPOSE, then when I split it, the working title of the first book was PATIENCE. But after some discussion of various ideas, PROMISE nailed the book perfectly. And it was funny, because that one little word changed my feelings about the split. Yes, I still wish it could be read all together like it was meant to be. But now that I have a title that pulls together the Big Idea of the book, I feel so much better about it being on its own.

Thank you to all of my readers and commenters for helping us pinpoint a date. Your replies to this post made a difference. We figure a month after Eclipse’s release, the excitement will have died down and fans will be looking for something new to latch onto. Hopefully, it will be PROMISE.

For those who know me personally, the date has meaning. But it’s also a very special one for my characters. I took a page from J.K. Rowling and gave significance to this date. And secretly, I’m hoping the book launch will take the spotlight off of the personal meaning of the day, which I wish would stop coming around so dang quickly every year.

So, what is PROMISE? Here’s the (nearly) final blurb:

When Alexis Ames is attacked by creatures that can’t be real, she decides it’s time she learns who she really is, with or without the help of her mother, who guards their family’s secrets closely. After meeting the inhumanly attractive, multi-talented Tristan Knight, however, Alexis retreats behind her façade of normalcy…until she discovers he’s not exactly normal either. Then their secrets begin to unravel.

Their union brings hope and promise to her family’s secret society, the Angels’ army, and to the future of mankind. But it also incites a dangerous pursuit by the enemy – Satan’s minions and Tristan’s creators. After all, Alexis and Tristan are a match made in Heaven and in Hell.

What do you think? Does it grab your attention? Does it spark your interest? Does it say enough? And the big question: Does it make you want to read it?