Callie Didn't Die

The third book in the PERILOUS series is under contract with WiDo Publishing right now (yay!) and I'm so super excited about this book. In fact, as I read through my previous books, I'm a bit sheepish at how much I've improved as a writer. That's a good thing, right?

But anyway, I recently reread PERILOUS just as a refresher while writing the third book. And one interesting tidbit keeps sticking out in my mind, and I finally decided to write a blog post about it.

Originally, Callie didn't die.

For those who haven't read the book, Callie is one of the four kidnapped girls who dies in chapter three (so I'm not giving anything away, in case you were worried). Before I rewrote the story to include her death, Callie had a life. In fact, she was the main character. She had interests and hobbies. She even had a budding love life, as Neal (one of the characters in the book) was specifically written to mirror Callie's responsible, protective personality.

In the end, I killed her off because she was too perfect. Her fatal flaw was her lack of flaws. But what if--what if she hadn't died?

I was halfway through ALTERCATION (book 2) when I killed her off in book one, and her character got cut out. She never made it home. She never saw her mom or dad or little brother again. She never met Neal, and he never gets the chance to know what feelings he might have developed for her.

I just keep wondering. What if she had lived? How would that have changed Jaci's story? Amanda's story? Neal's story?

If you've read the books, do share your thoughts. I'd love to know what you think.

We Have a Date!!!

Source

I'm thrilled to announce the official release date of Altercation, the sequel to Perilous!

Are you ready???

Drumroll!

June 5!!!

I know you've all been sitting on pins and needles waiting, right? :)

So I've been sitting here trying to think of what teaser I should use. It was easy with Perilous; the first page had an intense hook. With Altercation, I think the best hooks are midway through the book, but I can't use them. They give away too much of the book. 

I'll probably stick with the first page. In the meantime, I think it's time I came up with a sort-of back cover blurb.

The FBI promised Jacinta Rivera and her friends that they were safe. Jaci wants desperately to believe them, but weeks of hiding from their kidnapper have left her wary. Locked away from the public eye, Jaci looks forward to a few days of healing before finally getting home to her family. And there's a lot to heal from, starting with the murder of her best friend and ending with her father's disappearance.

Plans change when a betrayal lands her back in the grasp of her kidnapper. Even if she manages to escape, she has her doubts that she'll ever be able to piece together her broken life.

Yes, it's rough, I know, but it's a start! I'll make changes as we go along, so give me feedback. And let me also add, this book is EVEN BETTER than the first. I hope you're excited!

First Week in the Fire

Last week I presented the second draft of Altercation to my review group. I am so stoked by their reviews because, though they weren't raving and glorious, they have given me a definite direction for draft#3.

Things they like:
1) The detective. Nice voice.
2) The girls' relationship with each other.
3) The hook of the kidnapping case

Things they didn't like:
1) setting. No descriptions.
2) Too many fragments in thoughts.
3) A bit confusing. What are the cases, anyway?
4) Not as strong a hook in chapter 1b.

The first three objections in the things they didn't like are easily rectified. #4, not quite so. I'm struggling with this, how to make the book suspenseful right off the bat. Because, kind of like in the sequel to The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Altercation starts out where all is well. The girls have been rescued. It's kind of a play by play of life in government custody, before everything goes wrong in about chapter 7. If I start the book in chapter 7, with everything going wrong, I know my readers will roll their eyes and wonder how on earth this could happen--again.

Kind of like in Catching Fire. If we had jumped right back into the same setting as The Hunger Games, we would have said, "Lame." (Maybe some of us did anyway.)

So, even though none of you have read the book, what do you suggest to help make it a page turner? I'm starting draft #3 today.