Happy Friday Lovelies!!!
Today I have the joy of presenting the cover for Pauline Creeden's book First Impressions. First, I like to tell you a little more about Pauline - enjoy!!
P.S. Make sure to swing by her pages and say Hello!
First Impressions will be released March 31, 2014
In simple language, Pauline Creeden creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long. Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy. Her books have hit #1 on the Amazon Bestseller List and Armored Hearts won the 2013 Book Junkie’s Choice Award in Historical Fiction. First Impression: A Shadow Maven Paranormal is her first mystery. It’s a dark urban fantasy and will be released March 31, 2014.
First Impression: A Shadow Maven Paranormal
Chira Kelly thought she didn’t need anyone…until she met Ben.
Because of one ugly rumor,
Chira lives as an outcast at her school. Which is fine with her, because she
works better alone. Always has, always will. And at least she has her one and
only true friend, Tasha. When Tasha insists that they join a group to visit a
possibly haunted abandoned old schoolhouse, she's wary, but joins her friend.
Because of that decision, their lives are in jeopardy as a malevolent spirit
targets the group. Tragedies and accidents pick them off one by one, and Chira
finds herself drawn to the one person who can see the truth. But can he protect
her?Chira Kelly thought she didn’t need anyone…until she met Ben.
And now...*drumroll, please* I present to you....
The cover for First Impressions!!!
*Note, this excerpt is from the ARC. It may be changed in the final version*
Ben pulls open the office door and stands to
the side to allow me to go first. The hallway that was empty only a short while
ago is now full of kids and their incessant conversations. With a shrug, I eye
his class schedule quickly. Except for second and sixth period, we have exactly
the same schedule. He’s in all of the advanced classes, too. Only he has gym
for second period, and Latin for sixth – opposite of my schedule, except I take
French.
Piece of cake.
I glance up at him again, and his eyes meet
mine. My breath hitches. Something in his intense gaze makes me feel like he’s
measuring me. And there’s something strange about his eyes. They’re brown, but
I can tell he has colored contacts. Why would anyone color their eyes brown?
Something about the way he’s looking at me
makes my heart flutter. A sniffle escapes me before I can stop it. Ugh. I clear
my throat and start in the direction of first period. “Follow me.”
We elbow our way down the freshman hall
toward the second floor, but before we start up I point down the way. “Do you
know what your locker number is?”
Ben nods and pushes his backpack up on his
shoulder further.
I wait for a second and then smile. “What is
it?”
“706.” He has a slight accent and his voice
is deeper than I expect. I suppress a shiver at the jolt that the musical
timbre of his voice sends through my body. I’m resonating like a tuning fork. I
really want him to speak again with every fiber of my being. What’s with me?
“Uh…okay.” I swallow, trying to regain
composure. And take him to the general area of the locker. “Here it is.”
He looks at it, nods, and returns his gaze to
me.
“I know you don’t have any books to put in
it, but do you want to try out the combination?”
He lifts one shoulder in a shrug and spins
the combo quickly through the three numbers. I purposefully look around so he
knows I’m not peeking. He opens the locker wide, nods toward me and then closes
it again.
“Great. We have first period over here.”
“You and I have the same first period?”
My body vibrates again, and I blink hard. So
glad my back was to him so he couldn’t see the effect his voice has on me. I
swallow and face him. “Actually, yeah. Our schedules are very similar. It’s a
smallish school so there’s only a few tracks that juniors can be on.”
He nods, and his eyes are half lidded as if
he’s bored already.
I lead him toward our class room. “We don’t
really have assigned seats, so you can pretty much sit anywhere you want. I’ll
show you to the gym at the end of class. I have French next, but it’s not too
far from there.”
I lead him to the front of the class, and my
friend, Tasha Brown gives me a wan smile and raises her eyebrows, looking back
and forth between me and Ben. She mouths, Who’s that?
I roll my eyes and put up one finger toward
her to let her know I’ll tell her in a minute. Then I turn to the teacher. I
hand him the schedule from the office. “Hi, Mr. Scott. This is Ben Oscuro, a
transfer.”
Mr. Scott sets down the Mountain Dew he was
drinking and offers Ben a wide grin. He puts a hand out for him to shake. Ben
hesitates but takes the hand in what looks like a firm grip. Mr. Scott shakes
his hand afterward. “That’s some grip you’ve got there.” He laughs and leans
down to the bottom drawer of his desk and hands Ben a Geography text book.
With a nod, I return to Tasha and squeeze
into the desk next to hers. Because I’m at Jackson Hall partially on
scholarship and partially on my father’s insurance money, I’m somewhat of a
social pariah. My only real friend is Tasha, a pariah herself, being one of the
few African-American kids in the school. Still she tends to be more popular
than me, because at least her family does have money. And then there’s that
rumor…
“So who is the new hottie?” Tasha hops up and
down in her seat.
I shake my head at her. “You are one big
hormone, you know that? Sure, he’s cute, but is there any guy in the room you
don’t consider a hottie?”
Tasha scans the room, considering for a
moment with her hand on her chin and a very serious expression on her face. Her
hair is in the typical pigtail braids she usually uses to play up the uniform.
She has on no sweater, and her shirt is one size too small, causing the buttons
at the front to bow and expose part of her red bra. Finally she returns her
gaze to me. “There’s only one guy in here that doesn’t rank hottie.”
“Really? Who?”
She leans in conspiratorially and whispers,
“Mr. Scott.”
I nearly choke on a laugh as I eye the middle
aged, balding teacher at the front of the room. But I have to admit, Jackson
Hall is a prep school. And no one can afford to make their children look their
best more than the wealthy. I guess if I take my father’s words to heart, it’s
better to be the poor kid in the rich kids’ school…than the other way around.
Right?
Tasha’s smile returns and I follow her gaze
to figure out why. Ben Oscuro walks down the aisle between us and takes the
desk right behind mine. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I close
my eyes and take a deep breath. He smells like pine and mint, and it reminds me
of the outdoors. When I open them again, Tasha’s smile has grown impossibly
wider. She leans towards me and whispers, “What was that you said about
hormones again?”
I shove my elbow toward her but she dodges me
with a giggle.
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