Blog Tour: Hickey of the Beast - Isabel Kunkle - Scene/Excerpt

Today's tour stop is an excerpt or rather, two teasers taken from Isabel Kunkle's book, Hickey of the Beast. If you are like me, you will enjoy the humour infused throughout the book. You can follow along with the Teen Book Scene blog tour for Hickey of the Beast here.

Enjoy!

No big surprise that I didn't think about the dream, huh? Everything was going really well, so it wasn't like I had anything to worry about. The only thing that creeped me out was when Mom came into my room on Saturday and told me she wanted to keep Rainbow, our cat, indoors for a couple weeks longer than usual. We don't let her out when the students are arriving—too many new people in cars—but we'd always been good after the first weekend, so I asked what was up.

Mom got this sort of having-to-touch-something-gross look on her face. "One of the maintenance staff found a rabbit the other day." She glanced back at Julio, who'd followed her up to my room. "A D-E-A-D one, I mean. They're a little worried that there's a fox or a coyote around—maybe even someone's abandoned dog—and that it's...sick."

I'm not scared of dogs generally, but the thought of having a pit bull or a Great Dane or something running around without an owner was a little freaky. Plus, I knew Mom meant rabies. I really, really didn't want to get bitten by anything with rabies. I hear you have to get about seventeen shots, and they're all in your stomach. "Where'd they find the...rabbit?" I asked.

"Near the old chapel. I'll send an email out to the student body tonight." She patted me on the shoulder. "Don't worry, sweetie. If there's something out there, maintenance will find it in a day or two." Which they didn't, but whatever: rabies is fatal, right? Besides, nobody got bitten, and the whole thing was Mom's job, and maintenance's, not mine. My biggest worries right then were making the JV soccer team, getting a birthday present for Autumn, and the fact that first period bio was going to make us dissect worms at nine in the morning. 

That was pretty much how it went for the next week or two. And then Abby Martell went crazy. pg. 14-15

---------

We were still in Ancient Greece, though it was less mythology stuff now and more actual wars and things. Sparta and the Persians. They always tried to do some kind of Big Theme with freshman history, and this year it was Myths And Foundations. Really, I thought it was more Education That Makes Springden Look Like a Goddamn Day Spa, given the amount of time we spent learning about the Spartan kids having to steal food and survive in the wild with just knives. I'd bet Jenny ten dollars that the "King Arthur and Knighthood" bit in November was going to have a lot about how much it sucked to be a squire.

So I listened and took notes, like usual, and watched Jenny and Mark get into a semi-argument about women in Sparta and whether the warriors had actually, you know, gotten it on with each other, and whether they'd all thought that women were inferior, or what. Jenny was just starting to get that oh-my-God-I-hate-your-breathing-guts look when Ms. Saldiagga stepped in.

"Our sources from that time aren't as accurate as anyone would like," she said, sort of smiling, "so there's a lot of room for debate. Some theories say that Spartan women actually had a surprising amount of freedom compared to, say, the women in Athens—but we're almost out of time for today, and I wanted to discuss your second paper." pg. 32-33


© Isabel Kunkle. All rights reserved.

Hickey of the Beast is a hilarious look at coming of age in a school where there are no secrets, but plenty of mysteries, and where supernatural studies take on a whole new meaning. It's a story about all the things that make growing up hell: boys, history class, annoying little brothers, and saving the world from evil. When the supernatural comes to school, it's no field day - and that's before you factor in homework.

Synopsis taken from Amazon.com.

Blog Tour: Night School - Mari Mancusi - Excerpt & Giveaway

As part of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for Mari Mancusi's Night School, today's stop is an excerpt. Clicking the banner will lead you to the tour details. Enjoy! The giveaway is posted below the excerpt.

“This is so not good. So not good!” Sunny moans as she hits disconnect and sets down her cell phone after leaving her gazillionth message for Magnus to please, please call her. After attending the play, her vampire boyfriend had hopped on his private plane back to New England, where the Blood Coven's headquarters are. He’d be incommunicado, he’d told her, for at least five hours. At the time, it hadn’t seemed like a big deal; Sunny had assumed she’d spend a peaceful night with Mom and Dad—a rare treat—and then jump on a plane herself the next morning to join him back home.

Now everything has changed. Our lives have been flipped upside down. And not being able to share the news with Magnus is tearing Sunny apart. My own boyfriend, Jareth, is also traversing the world somewhere without cell phone service, but, to be honest, I am in no great hurry to mention the skeleton wings in our family closet. I mean, fairy princess? Could there be anything more embarrassing for a self-respecting vampire? After all, everyone knows real vampires don’t sparkle.

After hearing the news, we somehow convinced Mom and Dad to let us out of the condo for a few precious moments of decompression. We’d found a local diner and gotten a booth, each ordering a cup of coffee to keep the waitress Nazi at bay. I’d have preferred a vodka straight up but unfortunately my fake ID was confiscated last night at the Excalibur and also as a vampire I can’t get drunk, so the spirits would be worthless anyway.

“Sunny, relax,” I tell my twin as she bangs her head against the table in frustration. I look around and catch the waitress eyeing us suspiciously from across the room. “It’s going to be okay.”

Sunny looks up, tears streaming down her cheeks. “In what freaking universe do you live in that any of this could possibly be okay?” she demands.

“Uh,” I look down at my mug and notice a faint stain of pink lipstick on the rim. Good point.

“Why does this keep happening to me?” Sunny wails. “First I get turned into a freaking vampire. Now I find out I’m an effing fairy princess!”

“At least you’ll probably find the fairy wardrobe preferable,” I mutter, wishing she’d keep her voice down. “Lots of pink?”

Sunny shoots me a glare.

“All I want to be is a human,” she sniffs. “A normal, everyday human who grows up and goes to college, gets married, has babies and lives in a four bedroom two and a half bath house with an open kitchen, granite countertops and a pool out back. Is that so wrong?”

“It’s pretty specific, but I guess it's not wrong,” I say, reaching out to her, squeezing her hand. “But you know, Sun, we can’t always get what we want.”

“Please don’t start quoting Rolling Stones songs. Seriously, I will stake you.”

I let go of her hand. “Look. You gotta have faith. And no--” I hold up a hand “--I’m not quoting George Michael, so don’t even start. Dad’s working on it and he's assured us that everything will be okay."

“Like how he assured us he’d be there for our birthday last spring?” Sunny asks pointedly. She picks up her cell phone. “I’m going to try Magnus again. Maybe he had a stop-over…”

I give up, pushing away from the table and throwing a handful of change down for my un-drunk, lipstick-stained mug of coffee. “You know you’re not even supposed to be telling anyone any of this, remember? Dad and Mom were both pretty clear on that. They said it could be dangerous.”

“It’s not anyone,” Sunny says, phone to ear. “It’s Magnus. If anyone can help, he can."

“Of course. All while achieving world peace and solving the nation's financial crisis while he's at it, I'm sure," I mutter. To my sister, Magnus is not only coven master, but Superman, Batman, and The Incredible Hulk all rolled into one. But I don't buy it. After all, the guy couldn't even tell that his own freaking Blood Mate was an evil imposter. "I'm going home."

I can hear her scrambling after me as I stalk out of the diner and another stab of pity bites into my gut. I don’t mean to be short with her—she has every right to be upset about the situation. But I hate that she won't let me help her. I’m her twin—I’m supposed to be there for her. Yet all she cares about is her stupid boyfriend. Sigh.

She catches up, but still has the damn phone glued to her ear so I ignore her and cross the street, taking a right into Dad’s condo building. I hear her leave yet another co-dependent message as she steps into the elevator behind me.

“I hope he didn’t get in a plane accident,” she comments worriedly as the doors slide close. Argh. If I didn’t love my hair so much I’d be pulling it out until I was bald right about now.

As the doors slide open on the seventeenth floor, I grab her by the shoulder and turn her to face me. “Look, I know you’re upset,” I say, my voice as stern as I can make it. “But try to suck it up in front of Mom and Dad, okay? They’re doing all they can and Mom’s clearly freaking out. So don’t go and make her feel even worse.”

Sunny scowls. “I won't. Geez. Give me a little credit here."

Shaking my head, I push open the apartment door. Mom, Dad and Heather are curled up together on the couch, eating a big bowl of popcorn and watching that eighties movie Ferris Beuller’s Day Off. Mom bursts out laughing.

"Oh that Ferris!" she says, giggling. "He's such a scamp."

“Clearly freaking out, huh?” Sunny mutters in my ear.

“So, uh, what’s the plan anyway?” I ask. Dad grabs the remote and pauses the movie and the three of them look over at us, surprised.

“Your mother and I are going back to fairyland tomorrow with our Slayer Inc lawyer,” Dad says, “to plead our case. You guys are going to stay here with Heather.”

“What about school?” Sunny asks. “We’re supposed to go back Monday.”

"Consider it a bonus vacation. I’ll talk to your teachers,” Mom replies.

“But I’ve got a field hockey game on Tuesday!”

“Then you’ll have to miss it,” Dad butts in firmly. “I'm sorry, but you can’t go back. It’s not safe.”

“The court knows where you live,” Heather adds. “Their soldiers been watching the house. If you hadn’t had that super security system installed, I’m not sure your mom would have gotten out so easily."

David. I’ve had my squabbles with the guy, but thank goodness he was there for Mom while we were away. I should have never come to Vegas in the first place after he told me she might be in danger. What kind of slayer/daughter does that?

“Then when can we go home?” Sunny cries, sinking to a nearby chair, her face ashen. I realize she’s back to thinking about Magnus again.

Mom rises to her feet and goes over to give her a hug. “I don’t know, honey,” she says, smoothing her hair. “But we’re together and that's the important part. And there’s no way the fairies know we’re here.”

Suddenly, as if on cue, a weird thundering noise assaults the apartment. Like the buzzing of a thousand bees. I look over to the window and my jaw drops as I see a shirtless man hovering outside, peering in...

Beating his wings.

“Um,” I say, pointing. “Are you sure about that?”


© Mari Mancusi

That's it, I'm hooked. Are you? :)

Giveaway

Courtesy of Teen Book Scene, and Mari Mancusi, I have a finished copy of Night School (Blood Coven #5) to giveaway. Thank you, Mari for providing this copy! 

Contest is US/Canada only. Sorry to those of you who are international. :(

Contest ends December 27, 2010.

Giveaway has ENDED. Thank you to those who participated!

Please fill out this FORM to enter. Comments are deeply appreciated, however they won't count as entries. 

Blog Tour: Firelight - Sophie Jordan - Excerpt

Hello all! Earlier this week, Firelight released, and today I have an excerpt from the book to post for Sophie Jordan's blog tour! You can find all of the tour details here. The next stop will be hosted by Katie over at Sophistikatied. You can find Sophie's website here for more information about Firelight, and the rest of the Firelight books.

This excerpt is taken from an uncorrected proof. 

The bell rings, and I’m on my feet with everyone else.

Ferret Eyes turns to me and introduces himself. “Hey.” He nods slowly, giving me a full appraisal. “I’m Ken.”

“Hi,” I manage, wondering if he somehow thought his “double the pleasure” remark won me over.

“Need help finding your next class?”

“No. I’m good. Thanks.” Stepping past him, I hurry to my locker, head down.

Tamra’s waiting for me. “How’s it going?” she asks brightly.

“Fine.”

Her smile slips. “You have to be open to it, Jace. Only you can decide to be happy.”

I work the combination, mess up, and try again. “Enough with the psychology please.”

She shrugs and fingers her iron-flat hair. It took her an hour in the bathroom to accomplish the feat, but she saw it in a magazine and wanted to match the picture. My own red-gold hair trails down my back in a frizzy, crackling mess. Wild with static. Like the rest of me, it misses the mist.

I survey her, so chic in her snug red top, dark jeans, and knee-high boots she bought over the weekend at a thrift store. Several guys walk past and do a double take. She’s at home in this world, not suffering any of my unease, not even pining for Cassian anymore. And I’m happy for her. Really. If only her happiness wasn’t my misery.

“I’ll try,” I promise, meaning it. It’s not like I want to ruin this for her.

“Oh. I almost forgot.” She digs in her satchel. “Look. They’re having tryouts for next year’s cheerleading squad.”

I glance down at the bright orange flyer in her hand and wince at the cartoons of tiny pom-poms and somersaulting, short-skirted girls.

She waggles the paper. “We should try out together.”

I finally get my locker open and swap out textbooks. “Nah. You go ahead.”

“But you’re so”—her amber gaze sweeps over me meaningfully—“athletic.” She might as well have said draki.

I shake my head and open my mouth to stress my unwillingness, then, stop. My flesh shivers. The tiny hairs at my nape prickle in alert. A textbook slips from my fingers, but I don’t move to pick it up.

Tamra lowers the flyer. “What? What is it?”

I stare over her shoulder, down the crowded hall. A warning bell peals, and everyone’s movements become frenzied. Lockers slam and the soles of shoes squeal against the tiled floor.

I remain still.

“Jace, what?”

I shake my head, unable to speak as my gaze darts over every face. Then I find him. See him. The one I sought before I even realized it, before I even understood . . . The beautiful boy. My skin snaps tight.

“Jacinda, what is it? We’re going to be late to class.”

I don’t care. I don’t move. It can’t be him. He can’t be here. Why would he be here?

But it is him.

Will.

He leans against the lockers, taller than everyone around him. Twirly hair Brooklyn plays with the hem of his shirt, shamelessly leaning into him, glossy lips moving nonstop. He smiles, nods, listens as she chatters, but I sense that he doesn’t really care, that he’s somewhere else . . . or wants to be. Just like me.

I can’t look away.

Honey brown hair falls over his brow carelessly, and I remember it darkly wet and slicked back from his face. I remember the two of us alone in a cave, his hand on mine and that spark that passed between us before his face became so stark and angry. Before he vanished.

Tamra sighs beside me and twists around to see. “Ah,” she murmurs knowingly. “Yummy. Too bad though. It looks like he’s got a girlfriend. You’ll have to set your sights on someone else—” Facing me, she gasps. “Jace! You’re glowing!”

That jerks my attention back. I glance down at my arms. My skin blurs in and out, shimmering faintly, like I’ve been dusted with gold.

The draki in me stirs, tingling, yearning to come out.

“God, get a grip, jeez!” Tamra hisses, leaning closer. “You see a hot guy and start to manifest? Have some control.”

But I can’t. That’s what Tamra never understood. When emotions run high, the draki surfaces. In times of fear, excitement, arousal . . . the draki comes out. It’s the way we are.

I look back at Will and pleasure whips through me. And beneath it, fear at what his being here means.

My sister grabs my arm and squeezes almost cruelly. “Jacinda, stop it! Stop it now!”

Will’s head lifts with the suddenness of a predator scenting its prey and I wonder if hunters are really human at all. If maybe they aren’t just as otherworldly as the draki. He looks around, searching the hall as I struggle to get myself under control. Before he sees me. Before he knows.

My lungs start to smolder, the familiar burn catching the exact moment his hazel eyes lock on mine.

The slam of my locker jars me and I tear my gaze off him. To Tamra. Her hand presses flat my locker, her fingertips white where they dig hard into the metal.

The last bell sounds.

With a quick dip, she grabs my books off the floor and drags me toward the bathroom. I glance over my shoulder as bodies empty the hall in a rush of unnatural scents. Perfumes, colognes, lotions, hair sprays, gels . . . they clog my senses. Here, nothing feels real. Except the boy staring after me. He watches. His gleaming gaze following, stalking me like the predator I sense in him. He moves away from the lockers in a loping, catlike motion.

My draki continues to stir, awake and alive at the hungry way he watches me. My skin quivers, the flesh of my back tingling, itchy where my wings push. I keep them buried. Buried, but not dormant.

Tamra’s hand tugs harder, pulling me. And I lose sight of him. He’s swallowed up in the flurry of humankind around me, like so many moths bumping and dancing around a light, congesting the hallway.

But I still feel him. Yearn for him. Know he’s there even when I no longer see him.

© Sophie Jordan. 

Doesn't this make you just want to go out and read this book? I know I am definitely interested in reading this as soon as I possibly can! I hope you enjoyed this teaser! :)