After Christmas Special!

As I'm trying to clear out my end of the year inventory, I'm putting my books on sale!

This sale is only THROUGH MY WEBSITE. Perilous is going for $9.99 and Altercation for $10.99! THIS INCLUDES SHIPPING AND HANDLING!

My website does not yet reflect the sale prices, but you'll see it when you go to check out.

Once the books are gone, the sale's over! So hurry on over!

Dark Eagle

The Dark Eagles:First Flight 

by David R. Smith

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Presenting THE DARK EAGLES.

A new book for middle grade readers. Especially boys!

“The book was wonderfully written. It is a book for all ages and gender. Boys may like that it is from a young man's point of view with all the adventure. I enjoyed the character development and the friendships formed from the adversity they faced.”

The Book Rack, Arcadia, CA

The Dark Eagles:First Flight
A Tale of Adventure and Freedom
Kief loves exploring the rugged mountains on his horse, Natch, with his
best friend Tarc.  But when he receives a mysterious map on his birthday,
left behind for him by his dead grandfather, Kief is thrown into an
adventure beyond even his imagination.
Leaving home to pursue his childhood dream of attending the merchant
academy on the coast, extraordinary events unfold propelling Kief, along
with his friends and his map, toward the same perilous destiny.

 

 “Author David R. Smith does a fine job with his dialogue, which flows smoothly and wittily throughout. His interactions between characters are genuine, and the portrayals of his young female characters in particular are refreshing.”

The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT

About the Author: David R. Smith

David was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and spent most of his childhood on
a farm in Heber City, located in the Wasatch Mountains. He loved exploring
the mountains on his horse looking for adventures to follow. Growing up,
he wanted to be a movie director and used his own Super 8 camera to make
silent movies with his friends and brothers and sister. Instead he earned
a Bachelors in Engineering at the University of Utah. While there, he met
the love of his life, Jenelle, and they were blessed with three amazing
sons: Josh, Tate, and Porter. David later earned his Masters in Business
Administration from Northwestern University and pursued a path in the
corporate world. But his creative side continued to tug at him for years
until finally through the encouragement of his wife and boys, he realized
that it’s never too late to follow your dream. So David set off to write
an epic adventure of a boy and his horse and created a story of freedom,
adventure, love, courage and sacrifice. When he's not writing, David
enjoys outdoor activities with his family, and especially loves surfing
with his three boys in Southern California where he resides.

Visit the website: http://www.thedarkeagles.com/

Blog Tour Schedule for The Dark Eagles: First Flight
12/5/12       www.ordinaryhappilyeverafter.com
12/6/2012    http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com
12/7/2012    http://gettingyourreadonaimeebrown.blogspot.com/
12/10/2012    http://mybookaday.blogspot.com/
12/11/2012    http://moniquebucheger.blogspot.com/
12/12/2012    http://www.tanyaparkermills.com/
12/13/2012    http://debbiesinkspectations.blogspot.com/
12/14/2012    http://davidpowersking.blogspot.com/
12/17/2012    http://renaeswritespot.blogspot.com/
12/18/2012    http://www.rashelleworkman.com/
12/19/2012    http://tamarahartheiner.blogspot.com/
12/20/2012    http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/
 
1/2/2013    http://rachellewrites.blogspot.com/
1/3/2013
1/4/2013    http://whynotbecauseisaidso.blogspot.com/
1/4/2013
1/5/2013    www.astorybookworld.blogspot.com

The Orange Tomato

Brazil has a lot of fruits that we don't. During the time I lived there, I fell in love with the variety of exotic fruits, some of which I've never seen in the US, even though I know in some place they must be available. Passion fruit? Oh, if I could only get my hands on some fresh ones!

One time I thought I found seriguela in the grocery store, a fruit that looks like a tiny orange and has a nice big pit in the center. I bought several, eagerly taking them home to try. To my dismay, they were just kumquats! As of yet I haven't found a useful purpose for this fruit that is mostly peel and seed.



A similar thing happened to me a few weeks ago. I spotted what looked like the wonderful caqui, a fruit that looks like an orange tomato, but soft, juicy, and oh-so-sweet. I eyed it warily in the grocery store, unable to find any label for what it was. Finally my curiosity won me over, and I bought several. In the check out line, they rang up as persimmons, and my heart sank. Once again, I'd mistaken an American fruit for a Brazilian one.

When I got home, I bit into one. To my surprise, it tasted just like a caqui! Quickly I pulled out my dictionary and looked up persimmon. It is a caqui! They're the same fruit!

I can't believe I grew up in the south and never saw/tasted a persimmon until I went to Brazil. But let me tell you, I am so thrilled to have found them here!

Now if only I could find acerola, pinha, and jabuticaba! we'd be great. Though I can do without pitomba and caju.

Launching a Business

I've officially launched my home-based bakery.

While it doesn't affect most of you because you don't live near me, and as of yet I don't ship pies, I am beyond excited for this development. I've been working on it since July, building my repertoire and becoming more comfortable in the kitchen. The best experience came from making pies for a local restaurant where I also wait tables.

I'm quitting my waitress job so that I can focus more on my pies.

I can't believe I made my first pie just two years ago. Something crazy took over after that, and I love doing them. I have a pie crust sitting in my fridge, just waiting to be rolled out and turned into something. I can hardly wait to peruse my recipes and figure out what I'm going to experiment with this time. Really, why did it take me 30 years to find my niche?

Of course this isn't the end. Until I have a commercial kitchen, I can only make non-perishable pies (the kind you can leave on your stove for five days after Thanksgiving). Someday I'll have a second kitchen and I can make cheesecakes and cream pies and all those especially wonderful things. And someday after that, I hope to open an actual bakery.

Not just a bakery, of course. A bookstore too, where I will sell the very best of indie and small press books, the ones you can't find at Barnes and Noble. And I won't do consignment. I would never do that to the poor author.

My home-based bakery is called The Reading Kitchen, in honor of that expectation. Though I'm not yet operating a bookstore out of my house (and probably never will), I'm already giving book recommendations and hopefully pointing people in the direction of authors and titles they've never heard of.

And check out my webpage! Newly created, just a week old. I'm on facebook too. I'm so excited! And if you're ever passing through Arkansas, give me a call. I'll bake you a pie.

Teen Angst

Breaking up is hard to do, even when you're a teenager stuck in a national forest with no real social life. The scene was cut because it slowed down the action in Perilous. Now this particular confrontation between Jaci and Ricky happens in Altercation. But I loved the emotional tension between them in this scene. Just have to share it.

Chapter 25

Jaci worked on the fish in silence, using a flat rock as a table and another as a knife.

“Hey.”

She glanced up briefly to see Ricky approaching. Leaving the raw fish on the stone, Jaci flattened herself on the river bank to wash her hands in the running water. “Yes?” She fought to keep her tone neutral.

“Now that we’re with your friends, you’re just going to ignore me?”

“I’m not ignoring you.” She stood up and wiped her hands on her jeans, which were already caked with mud anyway. “I don’t want to cause any problems.” She needed to get away from him.

He stopped her as she started past, grabbing her forearm. “I just spent three days with you. Now it’s like I don’t know you.”

Jaci kept her eyes on the ground. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Did I imagine it? I thought we connected back there.”

Jaci’s head shot up. Anger flashed through her, anger that he dared insinuate a stronger link between them. “I don’t know how we can connect, Ricky. You always pull something like this.”

His brows knit together. “Like what?" 

Did he think she hadn't seen him with Amanda? “You know what I'm talking about.” Her face burned as the words slipped out of her mouth. Just saying it implied that she cared, and she so didn't want him to think that.

“You mean Amanda? We went on a walk, that’s all.”

Right. She knew all about his walks. “Did you kiss her?”

“Uh, what?” he said, face flushing.

Why did she have to be right? “You did.”

“No! No, I didn’t. Your question surprised me. Why would you ask that?"

What could she say? She couldn't exactly admit to spying on him.

He answered for her. "You knew we kissed before.”

That about summed it up. “Yeah.”

He let go of her arm. “Sorry.”

Her throat ached. “That’s okay, Ricky. I won’t come between you.” She started past him again.

“She’s not the one I want, Jaci.” His voice made her stop. “I was stupid. I’m a guy.”

She turned around. “I’m not the one you want either, Ricky. So let’s just keep our distance here.”

Hope for Joplin

For my Joplin book, that is.

Things are looking good. I had a publisher request the first chapter. The first chapter was the hardest for me because I had to set up these seven women and somehow establish them as different people, with different personalities, when all they are doing is waking up and eating breakfast. And nothing exciting happens.

It was good enough. The same publisher then asked for a second chapter, but not chapter 2. This time they wanted a chapter from when the tornado hit.

I sent that, and I'm excited. I'm hopeful. Another publisher has asked for the full, which I'm busily reading through and checking over and hope to have off soon. Or not. The holidays are upon us, so we'll see.

I had the opportunity to meet with one of the women I interviewed, and it was a very personal, moving experience for me. I really want this project to succeed.

I'll keep you posted!

Defining the Relationship

In this scene, Jaci and Ricky try to figure out how their feelings for each other fit into their lives. They've been alone together for several days now.

Chapter 25:  What's up with us?

Jaci was up before Ricky in the morning. She went and sat by what was left of the coals from their fire the night before. She felt blindsided, caught off-guard. Who knew she’d be spending days alone with a boy who made her heart jump?

A sound behind her made her turn. Ricky gave her a smile and sat down cross-legged next to her, his knee bumping her leg. “You look deep in thought.”

She exhaled. “Yeah.” She cocked her head to look at him. He stared up at the sky, his mind apparently drifting also. “What are you thinking?” 

He blinked and gave her a quick grin. “If I have to be stuck with someone, at least it’s you.”

The comment irked her. “Whatever, Ricky.” She stood and started down the river bank.

He caught up with her. For awhile the only sound was him tearing apart a branch. “You’re hard to read, Jaci.”

She arched an eyebrow. Did he think he was easy? “I’ll take that as a compliment.” What about him and Amanda? What did he really think about Jaci? “Amanda really likes you.”

He grunted. “Of course she does. What’s not to like?”

"And?"

"And what?" 

Did he have to make everything so difficult? “And do you like her?”

He glanced at her. “Hey, I told you already. She created the whole thing between us. It's not real."

“And you haven’t given her any reason to believe it is?”

Something flickered in his hazel eyes. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face. “Um. No.”

Every word he said just made her angrier. Jaci stopped and crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want out of life, Ricky?”

He tossed the branch into the swirling water and stared at it. “I want to live it. I'm tired of other people's expectations. No one should make decisions for me.”

He had a seriousness about him that reminded her of Neal. “Is that what you think’s been happening?”

He heaved a sigh and shook his head. “Let’s keep walking.”

Jaci arched an eyebrow. More intrigue. “Okay.”

Ricky tapped her knuckles with his finger, then interlaced her fingers with his. Jaci tried to pull her hand back, but he squeezed tighter.

"Why won’t you let me hold your hand?”

Jaci's face burned. "You might get ideas." Like you did with Amanda. "I'm not that kind of girl." 

His eyes roved over her face. “You think holding hands is bad?”

She smirked. “No. There’s nothing wrong with holding hands, per se. But it leads to something more.”

“Like kissing?”

She fanned her face with her free hand. “Yes.”

“And kissing’s bad.”

“No, no, no.” She kept her eyes straight, afraid he’d read her thoughts. “But it’s special. I don’t want to kiss just anyone.” She risked a glance at him, but his face was blank.

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Jaci frowned. “Is that all you have to say?”

He shrugged. “Hey, it’s new info. I’m just thinking.” He looked down at his hand, intertwined with hers. “Is this okay?”

Yes! “Um.” She forced the words out. “No, not really.” 

Ricky dropped her hand. “All right. I get it. You’re saving your hand-holding for someone…special.”

Ouch. Jaci stared ahead, not sure how to respond.