A Dream Within A Dream: Speak of the Devil Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the Speak of the Devil blog tour! Today I have an exclusive excerpt to share with you and don't forget to enter both giveaways at the bottom of the post!

Speak of the Devil

Author: Shawna Romkey

Genre: YA Paranormal

Release Date: March 15, 2013

Publisher: Crescent Moon Press

Format: ebook

Buy Links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Description:

What happens when falling in love and falling from grace collide?

High school junior Lily Tyler dies along with her two best friends in a car accident, but miraculously she comes back to life several minutes later. Unable to deal with her loss and her survivor’s guilt, she moves to her dad’s. While there trying to heal from this tragedy and come to terms with the event, she meets some people at her new school who are all too eager to help her. Struggling to fight her feelings for two of these strange new acquaintances, Luc and Mo, she finds out their true identities.

Lily must move on from the past, reconcile her feelings for Luc, and find a way to stop a divine war with the fallen angels, all while trying to pass the eleventh grade.

Things were uneventful really. I went to work, I went to class, I went home. I had small talk conversations at all of those places. I didn’t exactly experience incredible joy and happiness, but I didn’t cry constantly either. I attended a new school with new people, and didn’t have to pass the same row of lockers where Mike’s and Julie’s would haunt me. I kept busy, so I hardly thought of them at all. Doing that kept me at the highest pain free level I’d experienced since the accident. Everything was plain and ordinary.

Until I saw him. As I walked to class in the basement by the theater, I saw a group of people sitting in the space under the stairs. They were clearly artsy types. The girls wore short, pleated skirts, with striped tights, and combat boots. They dressed the same way I had been the night I died, but they weren’t going to a party. They just dressed like that on a normal school day. I envied them. I saw at least three of my cute hats among them, the hat which I hadn’t had the guts to put on again since my drive to KC.

The boys were grunged out in torn jeans, heavy metal t- shirts, biker gloves with the fingers cut out of them. A bevy of activity and sound came off of them. They were right next to the classrooms by the theater so I had to guess they were theater kids. Every one of them sought attention, admiration, and validation from the others. They spoke to one another with big gestures and loud voices. They laughed big laughs and feigned shock and surprise at each other's stories. They were over the top, most of them.

One of the girls stood on the stairs as though she were performing to those on the floor. Clearly in the middle of a great story, she continued on her rant, and the others quieted to listen. A guy near the wall scooched down to lie on the floor with his head on his backpack, closing his eyes, not interested. One of the shorter girls who had crazy, wild, curly dark hair jumped up to add to the story, and the noise and activity erupted from all of them again, except the one sleeping in the corner.

But then there he was. He sat on the floor, his knees pulled up in front of him, hands casually resting on them. He wore ripped jeans, like the others, worn black Converse All Star sneakers, and an army flak jacket. He had dirty blond hair that hit his shoulders, tussled and random.

I couldn’t see the color of his eyes, but he looked at me, locking on me and almost targeting me, like he’d found something he’d been searching for. His gaze didn’t let up, and he watched me as I approached the stairs, carrying my books close to my chest. I glanced down, sort of embarrassed, as usual, my face blushing, but I could feel his eyes following me. The image burned in my brain. His stare and the slight smile on his face as he nodded absently while the girl with the crazy hair told some sort of dram-tastic tale. But his eyes were on me.

I’d walked past cute guys before. I’d had cute guys look at me before. But there was something about this brief moment in time that left a literal impression on my brain, some intensity or importance, some heat. Something about it, and I knew it would be a snap shot in my memories I’d never forget. I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again, but the strength in that look touched something deep inside me. It touched my soul.

I continued to class and kept my head down. He was staring at me! That hot guy — no he’s more than hot — that perfect boy with endless eyes was watching me. Wasn’t he? No. That couldn’t be.

Full of yourself much? I figured it was nothing and hurried to beat the third period bell.

Shawna grew up around farms in the heart of Missouri but went to the University of Kansas, was raised in the US but now lives on the ocean in Nova Scotia with her husband, two sons, two rescue dogs and one overgrown puppy from hell. She’s a non-conformist who follows her heart.
She has her BA in creative writing from the University of Kansas where one of her plays was chosen by her creative writing professor to be produced locally, and two of her short stories were published in a university creative arts handbook. She earned her MA in English from Central Missouri State University where she wrote a novel as her thesis.
She’s taught English at the university and secondary levels for close to twenty years and can’t quite fathom how all of her students have grown up, yet she’s managed to stay the same. She’s a huge geek and fan of Xena, Buffy and all kick ass women, and loves to write stories that have strong female characters.

Shawna Romkey, Author of Speak of the Devil Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon