2016 I Heart Indie Finalist, Young Adult Fiction
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I Heart Indie Finalist
ANGELS. A SEER. A SECRET STRUGGLE. Lucy McAllen was your typical snarky teen, until she got shipped off to boarding school in New York City. Now she's unraveling a centuries-old mystery hidden behind the scenes. And discovering powers she never knew she had. Lucy's parents want her to join the elite Nexis Society so she can get into Yale. Lucky for her, the cute Nexis president offers Lucy guaranteed membership. But there's another secret society on campus vying for her allegiance. The Guardians claim Nexis has a bigger agenda than mere Ivy League acceptance. And their leader is just as cute. So why are two rival Romeos fighting for Lucy's heart? Because she's having strange visions of a paranormal variety. Shadows. Prophetic scenes. Angels of pure light. Not your garden-variety daydreams. Maybe she's the Seer, with a gift both societies have waited 100 years to find. Can a girl who sees the paranormal protect her heart and stop one society's twisted plan? If you like intrigue, sass, and life or death choices, The Nexis Secret is for you. This YA Angel Paranormal Romance blurs the lines of teen angst with angels and spiritual warfare. It's a fast-moving, visually-descriptive young adult fantasy full of action, adventure, and romance that really makes you think. Making a splash in Clean Teen Reads, one reviewer called The Nexis Secret, "The best paranormal book of the year." Buy it today for your chance to enter the secret world of The Nexis Society. You'll enjoy The Nexis Secret if you like:
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What People Are Saying
"One of the BEST paranormal books of 2015!"
★★★★★ 5-Star Kindle Review
"Full of intrigue, sass, and life or death choices, The Nexis Secret will keep young readers turning pages long past their bedtime."
Stephanie Morrill, YA author of the Ellie Sweet series
"A YA paranormal romance that blurs the lines of prep school with angels and spiritual warfare, cool battle scenes, and well described abnormal characters, like angels and demons."
★★★★ Janelle Fila, Reader's Favorite
"The premise was interesting from the very first page. I was impressed by the finesse exhibited by such a new author in maintaining a compelling story."
★★★★ Sharon Hughson, Author
"It has scary parts, action, adventure, romance and really makes you think. I couldn’t put it down!"
★★★★★ Lori L., Amazon Reviewer
Enter The Seer's Vault
Behind-the-scenes extras on all the happenings at Montrose Academy. Check out all the latest updates.
FREE EXCERPT from The Nexis Secret
PROLOGUE
A world of white blinded my eyes, but I couldn’t blink. Too much effort. Vague outlines, then silhouettes of color emerged from the whiteness. The ivory outline of a man’s face, his hair glowing like sunshine, his eyes full of light. “It’s going to be okay, Lucy. You’re going to be okay.”
My eyelids sank shut. Too heavy.
The smell of antiseptic singed my nostrils. Faint voices wafted through the background. Mom’s hushed whisper, “I don’t know what to do with her. How can we send her away after this?”
Dad’s low growl, “We don’t have a lot of options.” His muted baritone faded into the darkness.
My eyes fluttered open. A hospital room—finally something normal. So white, but not blinding any more. The same bright-eyed man stared down with golden cat’s eyes, a smile etched into his perfectly-sculpted face.
“Who are you?” I croaked through parched lips.
“I’m here to help. You’ve been through a lot.” With every syllable, warmth twinkled in his clear eyes, soothing my aching head.
“What happened?” I propped myself up on my elbows. Then the white world tilted on its axis. My head thudded back to the scratchy pillow.
“Easy there. You don’t remember the accident?” His smile faded, but no frown lines creased his face. His hand hovered over my forehead. With a light touch, like the wings of a butterfly, his fingertip grazed my temple. "See."
It all came back to me. There they were, on the couch. My boyfriend with his arms wrapped around my best friend. His face smushed against hers, lips locked. I winced. How could they? Acid rose in the back of my throat as tears clawed at my eyes. I’d sprinted out of her house, then hopped into Mom’s Mercedes SUV and sped off. The tires hadn’t peeled out like I wanted. Not even a squeal, how humiliating. So I revved the engine and ignored the speedometer. My hands had trembled so hard the steering wheel shook. When I wiped my eyes I veered off the road—straight into a tree. My head hit the dash, and it all went black.
Instinctively I reached for my forehead, brushing my fingers against the bandage over the laceration at my temple. “Ouch.” Back to reality.
“Major ouch.” The man eased my hand down. “Better get some rest now.”
“Good idea.” I tried to smile, but my lids drooped again. His golden light drifted away.
Swoosh. I jerked awake.
A woman in scrubs drew back the curtain. “Doctor, she’s waking up.”
The sunshine man was gone and the day had darkened.
A light lasered into my eyes. A white-coated bald man flicked a flashlight at me, then withdrew it. “Pupils normal. Hello there, Miss McAllen.”
“Where am I? Where’s my family?” The words gurgled from the back of my throat, as if I hadn’t spoken in days.
“They’ll be along shortly.” His beady eyes peered at me behind frameless glasses. He pulled out a pen and scribbled something on his clipboard. “Do you remember what happened?”
“Kind of, there was some kind of accident.” I closed my eyes. The memory popped and crackled into focus like TV static. “I was upset, I swerved. Didn’t see the tree until it was too late. How bad is it?”
The doctor flipped through the pages on the clipboard. Then a low whistle pierced my ears. “You were unconscious for several hours and you’ve been sleeping for a few days. There’s a severe cut on your head. You lost some blood. Don’t worry though, we fixed you right up.”
“What do you mean?” I clutched the side of the bed and pulled myself up. A shockwave pounded through my forehead, then the room wobbled and I slumped back down. “Like brain surgery or something?”
“Nothing like that.” He dropped the clipboard at my feet and pointed to the IV bag full of clear liquid. “Just fluids to rehydrate you, and a transfusion. Head wounds can bleed a lot, especially if left untreated too long.”
I raked my fingers through my long hair. Whew, it was all still there. I rubbed the dark ends against my lips. Soft, but greasy. “I need a shower.”
“Your head injury required stitches. Eleven, to be precise.” He handed the clipboard to the nurse and she disappeared down the hall. “You rest now. Nurse Sherry will check on you later.”
“Okay, doctor.” As he padded to the door, a chill crept through the empty room. I called out after the white coat. “What about that nice guy who was in here earlier? Is he a nurse?”
“I don’t think you’ve had any male nurses in the three days you’ve been at Cedar Creek. Maybe a tech or something.” He waved and dashed out the door.
Whoever the golden stranger was, his smile made me feel better. Somehow, he was the only one who did. Would anything ever be normal again?
A world of white blinded my eyes, but I couldn’t blink. Too much effort. Vague outlines, then silhouettes of color emerged from the whiteness. The ivory outline of a man’s face, his hair glowing like sunshine, his eyes full of light. “It’s going to be okay, Lucy. You’re going to be okay.”
My eyelids sank shut. Too heavy.
The smell of antiseptic singed my nostrils. Faint voices wafted through the background. Mom’s hushed whisper, “I don’t know what to do with her. How can we send her away after this?”
Dad’s low growl, “We don’t have a lot of options.” His muted baritone faded into the darkness.
My eyes fluttered open. A hospital room—finally something normal. So white, but not blinding any more. The same bright-eyed man stared down with golden cat’s eyes, a smile etched into his perfectly-sculpted face.
“Who are you?” I croaked through parched lips.
“I’m here to help. You’ve been through a lot.” With every syllable, warmth twinkled in his clear eyes, soothing my aching head.
“What happened?” I propped myself up on my elbows. Then the white world tilted on its axis. My head thudded back to the scratchy pillow.
“Easy there. You don’t remember the accident?” His smile faded, but no frown lines creased his face. His hand hovered over my forehead. With a light touch, like the wings of a butterfly, his fingertip grazed my temple. "See."
It all came back to me. There they were, on the couch. My boyfriend with his arms wrapped around my best friend. His face smushed against hers, lips locked. I winced. How could they? Acid rose in the back of my throat as tears clawed at my eyes. I’d sprinted out of her house, then hopped into Mom’s Mercedes SUV and sped off. The tires hadn’t peeled out like I wanted. Not even a squeal, how humiliating. So I revved the engine and ignored the speedometer. My hands had trembled so hard the steering wheel shook. When I wiped my eyes I veered off the road—straight into a tree. My head hit the dash, and it all went black.
Instinctively I reached for my forehead, brushing my fingers against the bandage over the laceration at my temple. “Ouch.” Back to reality.
“Major ouch.” The man eased my hand down. “Better get some rest now.”
“Good idea.” I tried to smile, but my lids drooped again. His golden light drifted away.
Swoosh. I jerked awake.
A woman in scrubs drew back the curtain. “Doctor, she’s waking up.”
The sunshine man was gone and the day had darkened.
A light lasered into my eyes. A white-coated bald man flicked a flashlight at me, then withdrew it. “Pupils normal. Hello there, Miss McAllen.”
“Where am I? Where’s my family?” The words gurgled from the back of my throat, as if I hadn’t spoken in days.
“They’ll be along shortly.” His beady eyes peered at me behind frameless glasses. He pulled out a pen and scribbled something on his clipboard. “Do you remember what happened?”
“Kind of, there was some kind of accident.” I closed my eyes. The memory popped and crackled into focus like TV static. “I was upset, I swerved. Didn’t see the tree until it was too late. How bad is it?”
The doctor flipped through the pages on the clipboard. Then a low whistle pierced my ears. “You were unconscious for several hours and you’ve been sleeping for a few days. There’s a severe cut on your head. You lost some blood. Don’t worry though, we fixed you right up.”
“What do you mean?” I clutched the side of the bed and pulled myself up. A shockwave pounded through my forehead, then the room wobbled and I slumped back down. “Like brain surgery or something?”
“Nothing like that.” He dropped the clipboard at my feet and pointed to the IV bag full of clear liquid. “Just fluids to rehydrate you, and a transfusion. Head wounds can bleed a lot, especially if left untreated too long.”
I raked my fingers through my long hair. Whew, it was all still there. I rubbed the dark ends against my lips. Soft, but greasy. “I need a shower.”
“Your head injury required stitches. Eleven, to be precise.” He handed the clipboard to the nurse and she disappeared down the hall. “You rest now. Nurse Sherry will check on you later.”
“Okay, doctor.” As he padded to the door, a chill crept through the empty room. I called out after the white coat. “What about that nice guy who was in here earlier? Is he a nurse?”
“I don’t think you’ve had any male nurses in the three days you’ve been at Cedar Creek. Maybe a tech or something.” He waved and dashed out the door.
Whoever the golden stranger was, his smile made me feel better. Somehow, he was the only one who did. Would anything ever be normal again?