The Shelf : Cursed's book release was postponed due to unavoidable circumstances. [Sad Face] Very disappointing for me, but c'est la vie.
I also have not posted my book spoilers as promised [Double Sad Face]. So let's fast-forward it....the revised book release date for
The Shelf 2: Cursed is Oct. 12, 2014.
Here is the first chapter for my readers:
[So at the end of the first book, Bri and Korey finally admitted that they were in LOVE, Gerald finally admitted that he was CRAZY and under the control of the demon that was stalking Bri. Korey gives his life protecting Bri.....Bri defeats Gerald/ demon!....stabs hims with one of the Artifacts....Korey reveals himself to be immortal....Gerald's body disapears while Bri is in shock over Korey's resurrection]
Caught up yet?
Jump into the next book....
The Shelf 2: Cursed (a novella)
A delusional teen undertakes the aid of a demon to win the
heart of a boy she is convinced is her brother come back to life.
7 months after THE ordeal….
Bri
It was amazing how different
the world seemed when someone hadn’t seen it for a while. Things that she would have previously found
exciting and engaging, she found loud and over-the-top. Stylish clothes were
either too restrictive and stifling, or too thin and revealing. Even her friends’ jokes weren’t funny; they
were sad and edged with double meanings.
Bri Brewley sighed. Beside her, Chas Elliot grinned. “So-ooo, this is the third sigh for the night…I’m
sensing that I’m not great company, huh?”
He still wore his trademark king-of-the-senior-class grin, but Bri heard
the real question beneath his light words:
‘Are you okay?’
Instinctively, she reached to sweep
her thick hair behind her ears, forgetting that it was pulled back as tight as
she could get it. Dropping her hand back
to her side, she just shook her head.
“No, no, you’re fine, Chas. I’m really
glad that you invited me out tonight.”
“Cool. Deanna and Rob are going to be here any
minute, don’t worry.” The screams from
the carnival rides around them almost drowned out his words. Colored lights fell across his face in a
kaleidoscope of patterns and Bri watched them for a second, thinking that they
were like life.
Changing patterns that wouldn’t
stay the same.
This time she caught the sigh
before it slipped her lips. This wasn’t
working, she didn’t belong here. Time to
go home. Looking up at her friend, she
started, “Chas, I-,”
A high-pitched squeal cut her
off. “Briiiii!” Turning towards the commotion, Bri barely had
time to blink before she was wrapped in Deanna Rubaine’s tight embrace.
“Hey, Deanna.” A pale smile fought its way to her lips, as
she quickly pushed her friend away from her chest. That was one secret that she didn’t need
ANYone to discover. “Hey Rob,” she
nodded at the silent guy hovering in the background with a friend. Now, she really did smile at the thought that
fleeted through her brain. Her friends
Deanna and Rob Tandall were the best of friends,
and off-again, on-again boyfriend-girlfriend.
Eyeing the unfamiliar chunky girl (well really, more voluptuous than
chunky, Bri had to admit) that Rob’s arms circled, she had to assume that he
and Deanna were off-again.
When she’d spoken to them all last,
Rob and Deanna had been hot-n-heavy.
Bri shrugged lightly. ‘I guess things change.’ It wasn’t as if she could blame them. Six months ago, they’d all gone through some
hell. Losing two of their best friends
to a supernatural impossibility had been crazy.
Enough to make anyone want to make a complete change in their life. Six months ago, she’d been hot-n-heavy with
someone herself. Now, if she never saw Korey
again for the rest of her life, she’d be happy.
And she firmly instructed her skin
to stop tingling at the thought of seeing him
again. Besides, Chas was the real victim
in all of this; he’d lost Shanice, his girlfriend since childhood. ‘Imagine,’
Bri mused, ‘Chas decided to take me
out to cheer me up. He has to feel sad
that we’re all together minus Shanice.’
If he did, he was doing a good job
of hiding it. In fact, the thing that
clued her in to his heavy heart were the few long glances that he made off into
the crowd.
“Really Bri?” Deanna made a face as she eyed Bri’s clothes. “What’s going on here?”
“Deanna!” This was Rob.
“Give her a break.” Then he and
Deanna exchanged a long stare, before Deanna gave Bri a tight smile and fell
silent.
It was okay; Bri knew what she
wore. Loose gray sweatpants instead of
her usual extra-tight skinny jeans; a plain, over-sized white t-shirt instead
of a skimpy tank top; no jewelry, no makeup.
Even her hair was bland, scraped back tightly into a bun. No thick raven-black curls falling around her
face.
Without Deanna’s comment, Bri knew
what her friends saw: a boring plain Jane, not cute, definitely not sexy. ‘Well,
that’s the new me,’ she shrugged, ‘not
sexy. What good does it do anyway?’
Pointless. What chance did a girl without a heart have
of falling in love? Absolutely
none. And that was what she had to live
with since the incident. Her life was
basically over.
A couple appeared through the crowd
and walked toward them. Tall and
striking, they swung their linked hands as they walked together, laughing. Bri frowned as she realized that they were
headed right for her group of friends.
But the flickering carnival lights hid their faces.
And then she froze as the pair was
suddenly at the edge of their group, and she could see them perfectly. The girl was a bubbly sprite, with
bone-straight black hair swinging below her shoulders and perfect white
teeth. Bri didn’t have a clue who she
was. And she didn’t need to either. She had no intention of getting to know her
any better, regardless of the fact that Deanna, Chas and Rob all greeted the
new girl with smiles.
If she still had a heart, it would
have broken. Slowly. Even though it was all her fault for pushing
him away after the incident….
Nevertheless, hurt coursed through whatever
was left of her as she watched the guy quietly slip his hand out of the bubbly
sprite’s grip and just stare back at her.
Her stomach churned and suddenly, the harsh press of reality crushed her
from every direction: the ugly clothes she’d worn tonight….. the cute, girlish
outfit the tall girl sported……Korey’s last words to her, ‘Call me sometime when
you feel like being around people again,’…..Korey’s expression now as he stood
in front of her, obviously in love with another girl.
Korey….the person her heart solely
belonged to, and the reason it was in the possession of a crazy, vengeful
demon.
Chas squeezed her arm,
snapping her out of the haze. “Bri, you
remember Korey, right? This is his girlfriend
Leilani.”
