Writing News: For My Country: An Excerpt and Cover Love: The Wicked Within

For My Country is book three in The Sacrifice Series and one of the things I enjoyed about writing it was that I had set this novella in my homeland of Jamaica. While the first four novellas will not be released until later this year I'm excited to share with you an excerpt from For My Country.

Excerpt

Chapter One

Violet stared at her hand in horror. A slanted number five had appeared out of nowhere on her palm. She looked at her parents celebrating New Year's and pretended to be interested in the festivities.

“2013 is here!” Mother declared, waving a brightly coloured cloth around. Father just smiled and watched her jump around, but his face changed when saw his daughter.

She ignored him and ran a finger along the number. Her skin didn't feel any different. Same texture, except now there was number in the middle of her palm. Perhaps this was the painless version of being marked a young nubile black slave whose owner branded teenage girls through magic and existed in the land of Nowhere. If Jamaica was being taken over by an invisible overlord, he must have a twisted sense of humour.

“What’s the matter?” Father asked. “You look upset.”

Violet opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by a burst of screams. Confusion morphed into horror when the source was discovered to be the television showing live coverage of the New Year's Celebration at Hellshire Beach. Enormous waves rose in the air before crashing onto shore. The once jubilant celebration had transformed into a disaster movie. Party goers and news crews were screaming and running for cover as the sea claimed unlucky victims as its own. By the time calm was restored, the beach looked abandoned.

Suddenly, a creature rose from the depths.

“Is that...is that a giant...a super giant octopus?” Violet choked out.

“The Kraken,” my father awed, “I read about it, a creature from Norse Mythology.”

“Norse wha...? Trevor, you read too damn much,” Mother stuttered, and then rebuked him.

The Kraken raised its tentacles and shrieked, causing more huge waves. A screaming female straggler barely escaped being crushed.

Violet wondered if this was the end of the world. The Mayans were wrong but maybe they were coincidentally right about one thing. 2013 was not Earth’s good year. Or maybe this was more biblical. Like Moses and the ten plagues. Was this the start? But what could be next? Would sirens and the minotaur make a guest appearance? And what did the number on her palm mean now?

“Citizens of earth, you have been judged.”

She jumped. The words seemed to come from the television. But the only thing present was the creature. “Holy shit, it talks. That thing is talking!”

“Vi, watch your language,” Mother said.


Violet knelt in front of the screen. Was this Kraken the source of the number on her palm? Now she worried that she just might be numbered for lunch.

She jumped when the phone rang.

“Hello,” Father answered. “Cheryl, calm down. What, you're saying a monster showed up near your beach house? But you’re abroad in Florida; this thing is here at Hellshire Beach.”

Violet covered her mouth to suppress a scream. If her aunt was seeing it too, that meant one thing. The Kraken was projecting itself worldwide.

End Excerpt

So? Did you enjoy it? Let me know your thoughts.

Cover Love

Today I'm showing the cover for The Wicked Within by Kelly Keaton. There is no blurb yet but the book's coming this September. I think the cover looks lovely and dark. The bright and dark colours contrast to create an eye catching cover. And the fact that you can't see the female's full face adds to the mystery.

Goodreads