Title:
Allusive Aftershock
Author: Susan Griscom
Genre: YA
Publisher: Amber Glow Books
Release Date: December 18 2012
Editions/Formats Available In: Print and Amazon Kindle
Synopsis:
What happens when a major earthquake changes life as you
know it and the boy you thought you hated ends up saving you? Three times!
Courtland Reese is the guy everyone hates and makes fun of
because … well, he is weird. He communicates with animals. Strange or
interesting, seventeen-year-old Adela Castielle can’t quite figure out, but
when he saves her from being trampled by her own horse, she begins to
understand him a little better and wants to learn more about him. But, Max--her
best friend/dream
guy/someday-to-be-her-husband-only-he-doesn’t-know-it-yet--hates Courtland with
a passion. Adela wants to know why, except neither boy is talking. When Max
leaves her stranded in his parents' wine cave with his worst enemy, Courtland,
after what the experts are calling a “megathrust” earthquake, Adela starts to
question her loyalty to Max as steamy kisses in a dark damp cellar only fuel
her emotions with more conflict. But does she really have time to worry about
that when fire, destruction and mayhem surround her?
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Author Bio
I daydream often. If I didn't write, I think my mind would
explode from an overload of fantasy and weirdness. To the annoyance of my
friends and family, my characters sometimes become a part of my world. During
my childhood, I would frequently get in trouble in school for daydreaming.
Eventually, my vivid imagination paid off and I had the privilege of writing
and co-directing my sixth-grade class play--a dreadful disaster; though not
from my writing, of course, I must blame it on the acting.
The craft of writing, although dormant for years, never
really left me. Many years later, and with the help of technology, I let my
imagination run wild again.
Born in a small town in Pennsylvania, I enjoy writing about
characters living in small quaint towns. I tend to lean toward the unusual and
spooky. I read all genres but I love reading paranormal romance and like
writing in that genre.
My paranormal playing field delves into a different milieu,
abandoning vampires and werewolves, but not discounting them. Someday I might
like to write a novel about vamps and those furry creatures. But for now I like
the bizarre mixed with romance. A strong hero or heroine confronted with
extraordinary forces of nature, powers and capabilities gets my blood running.
I live in Northern California with my very romantic husband,
my small yippy dog, Riley, and my humungous black cat, Saké. My family consists
of his and her children; four wonderful sons, one beautiful daughter, and seven
grandchildren. My greatest love in life is my family and those large and ever
growing holiday dinners.
I enjoy traveling. I hate running, but do it once in a
while. Reading and writing are my favorite pastimes.
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Excerpts
Excerpt 1:
As Courtland stood, the legs of his chair scraped along the
floor and the back of his knees pushed it out of the way of his tall frame. His
dark green hoodie hung loose and unzipped, his jeans sat low on his waist. His
hair was slicked back away from his face, different from the normal way it
usually fell over his forehead, giving him the appearance of an ancient Native
American warrior. If I wasn’t already in love with Max and Court hadn’t been so
mean to me the other day, I might actually think he was hot, the way he walked
up to get the book without saying a word, his gait easy but cautious as he
sauntered past Max’s desk. One never knew what Max might do and Courtland had
been the brunt of his antics more than once.
“Stop by the library on your way back and pick up a couple
of the books they have on earthquake preparedness. There should be a good
selection on the subject. Ask Mrs. Snow to help you; she’ll steer you in the
right direction.”
Courtland strolled out of the room while Mr. Montgomery
continued his talk about earthquakes.
Sometimes I felt sorry for Courtland, the way some of the
kids made fun of his keen intuition with animals. This morning, I was still too
mad at him to care much about that, though. My mind wandered back to Big Blue.
I really wanted to ride him—maybe today would be a good time to do it. If Max
rode with me, Courtland might stay clear. I scribbled a quick note in my
binder, ripped the page out, folded it into a little square and handed it to
Max while Mr. Montgomery wrote something on the board. He read it and folded it
back up before sticking it under his history book. After flashing a smile at
me, he nodded.
I sat doodling on the paper in front of me, making little
swirling designs I thought might look good on a book cover, half listening to
Mr. Montgomery when I felt a brush of material glide over my arm. I looked up
to see Courtland as he strolled past me, back from his trip to the office.
All of a sudden, my
desk jolted
Excerpt 2:
With no electricity, I could barely make out the two figures
standing by the door to the cellar. If not for the half moon, I would not have
been able to see them at all. I stepped up to them and realized they were
staring up at the sky and my eyes naturally followed their gaze. I had never
seen such an awesome sight. Without any city lights for miles and miles, the
stars in the sky were unusually bright and plentiful. A truly beautiful sight.
“Wow,” I whispered, standing between Max and Court. Out of
the corner of my eye, I noticed Court’s focus change and he stared down at me.
There was something strange about the way his eyes bored into me, as if he
could see into my soul. I waited for him to look away but he held his gaze on
me while I pretended to marvel at the sky. I’d never seen him stare at me that
way before and I got nervous. My fingers fidgeted with each other and I clamped
two of them in my other hand to steady them. If I hadn’t known better, I never
would have guessed in a million years he had injuries. His eyes stayed fixed on
me with an intense tenderness I had never seen from a boy before. Maybe
Courtland Reese wasn’t so bad after all. Standing between the two of them in
all their glorious hotness had my stomach doing flip-flops. I knew it was wrong
to think these things under the circumstances, but maybe my mind just needed
the distraction … or confusion. I loved Max, but I was beginning to like
Courtland too. Man, I was in so much trouble.
Excerpt 3:
“I’m so sorry, Adela. I’m so sorry.” His soft voice barely
registered in my ear while he stroked his hand over my head, trying to comfort
me. I didn’t want comfort. I wanted to find my mom. I wanted her arms around
me, rocking me the way she did whenever I became upset or sick. My legs buckled
under me, and I collapsed to the ground. Max held on and sank down with me. We
sat on the pile of my broken home. “I’m pretty sure she’s not here.” He
continued, “I think she went to Sacramento with your dad.”
I sniffled, hoping Max was right. I knew we couldn’t search
through this on our own. I just wanted to try.
I don’t know how long we sat there while I leaned against
Max’s chest—could have been a few seconds, could have been a few minutes. It
felt like hours. I dried my cheeks with the sleeve of my sweater but couldn’t
lift my head from the comfort of Max’s embrace.
I thought about how I’d just used my sweater to wipe my
tears and nose and sighed as I sniffled. Speaking softly into Max’s shirt, I
said, “My mom would cringe if she saw me do that. She’d say, ‘Adela, stop, get
a tissue. You’re going to ruin your sweater.’”
“Ah, you’re right, she would. Are you going to be okay?”
“No, but what choice do I have? I can only pray she’s with
my dad and they’re okay—and hope Ambrosia and Aaron survived. We need to find
them.”
“Right. First let’s find something for your hand.”
“My hand?”
“Yeah, look.” He placed his fingers around my wrist, turning
my hand over; blood covered my entire palm. I stared at my blood-soaked hand as
if it belonged to someone else. “When did I do this?”
“You fell when you were running toward the sweater.”
“Oh yeah, right, I fell.” I shrugged. “There’s a lot of
blood, but it doesn’t hurt.”
“It will once the shock wears off.” He found a small
dishtowel under the ramshackle pile of debris in the kitchen area and wrapped
the soft cloth around my hand, tying a knot at the backside. “That should be
tight enough to stop the bleeding. Let’s go to my house. My folks can help us.”
Excerpt 4:
An explosion burst through the air and I almost jumped out
of my skin. I turned toward the noise and stared in horror at the sight of the
Arco gas station completely engulfed in flames. The fire immediately spread
into a clump of trees between the station and the half-demolished grocery store
about six feet from where Max stood.
“Max!” I screamed and leaped up forgetting about the
clenching in my stomach.
Max hurried back and grabbed my hand again. We ran, hopping
over broken brick, concrete, glass, and wood from collapsed buildings, swerving
between and around abandoned cars stopped or smashed along the road. Max never
let go of my hand. Trees and buildings consumed in flames glowered around us,
the heat almost too much to bear. The scent of gas permeated the air along with
the muck of smoke and debris. Water spewed up from a broken fire hydrant,
knocked on its side by the delivery truck now perched on top of it and I gasped
at the sight of a bloodied man’s head hanging out the window.
I wanted to be home more than anything now. Did we even have
a home? Were my mom and dad okay? The twins? What about Big Blue? I fought back
tears, trying to convince myself they were all fine and probably wondering
where I was. I squeezed my eyes shut to picture my mom pacing the living room,
worrying and telling my dad they needed to find me.
All of a sudden, we stopped running. I glanced up to see why
and gaped with horror at the road in front of us. The broken asphalt had
buckled into a pile about twelve feet high, obstructing our way. The crumbled
debris from the buildings on both sides blocked the entire area. With the newly
formed abyss in front of us and the out-of-control inferno behind us closing in
fast, we were trapped.
This or That Interview
This or That
Questions
a)
Paperback
or Ebook? Both. It depends
on the situation. I do mostly read on my iPad, however, there are times when a
paperback is needed, like floating in the pool or indulging in a bubble bath.
b) Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
c) Laptop or Desktop? Desktop
d) Liquor or Wine? Wine
e)
Summer
or Winter? Summer
f) Day or Night? Night. That’s when I get to relax and sometimes
some of my best ideas come to me during the night.
g) Cash or Debit Card? Credit card all the way. To my
husband’s dismay, I never have cash.
h) Birthday or Christmas? Both. I love presents and
surprises.
i)
Talk
or Text? Text. I really hate
to talk on the phone. J
j)
Gum
or Candy? Candy
k) Coffee or Tea? Both
l)
Dog
or Cat? Both
m) Long hair or Short? Both, but right now I have short
hair, having recently cut it from being down to the middle of my back.
n)
Sing
or Dance? Dance, I cannot
carry a tune.
o) Fruit or Vegetable? Fruit
Rafflecopter Giveaway!!!
My first trilogy came out in
November, 2011. It has been a wild ride swimming in this indie river and I have
loved so much of it. I have learned so many amazing things and met so many
great people. It has totally solidified the fact I want to be a writer for as
long as I possibly can!
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