Vigilante Nights
My lucky stars must’ve aligned in my alternate universe. The mystery goddess was catching rays and reading on her eReader on her front lawn. Bookworm? Girls I used to date only read fashion and gossip rags. Her gazed alighted on me, zipped away, head bowed as if she were studying her purple toenails. I climbed out of the Lexus, practicing my most suave moves. My disjointed efforts backfired big time as my knee buckled and I banged my arm on the open door catching my balance. Stars flickered in my vision as I rubbed my elbow.
“School out already?” Her voice carried to me, sultry and hot enough to melt chocolate. The breeze tousled her hair and she made no attempt to smooth it down.
Wow. My tongue got all tied up for the first time ever. I wanted my initial words to be epic. Stupid Epic refused to emerge from the brain sludge. I strolled over to where she sat Indian style on the new lawn in a loose black T-shirt and baggy cargo shorts. “I need to meet the tow to snag my car.”
“Bummer about your Camaro.” Lacking any grace, she stumbled to her feet, brushing grass off the rear of her white shorts, seeming not to care about grass stains. Most girls I knew would’ve beelined it for the closet. Strangely, I liked that she didn’t care. “I’m Tara Harrison,” she added. She sipped green gunk out of a clear plastic cup.
Her name jingled a distant bell. Dad probably mentioned the family to me during my Summer of Delirium—in honor of Silver, my moniker for the worst summer of my life. The parentals used to visit my hospital room and babble about nothing. The pits of despair kept me from remembering much.
My gaze traveled from Tara’s bare feet to her blonde-streaked brunette hair. Weird flutters plagued my stomach. A freakishly intense need to move closer to her kept my feet rooted to the new sod in a fierce battle. “Lucas Alexander. I live next door.”
“I figured as much.”
Feeling the idiot gene sprout, I mentally kicked myself. We traded an easy laugh, and I resisted the urge to scratch my itchy facial scars.
“You have awesome eyes. Like spring grass.” A blush colored her neck, flushed down her chest.
“Uh, thanks.” Total moron reply. Man, everything had changed after the accident. My defective brain couldn’t keep up with the new Lucas Alexander.
“Do you play football?” A breeze kicked up, and Tara brushed a lock of glittery hair off her eyelashes.
Several disconcerted moments slipped by before I realized I wore my football team polo, the first shirt my hands snagged in the closet that morning. Regret radiated through me. I attempted to unclench my locked jaw. Time to bite the bullet. Beranger told me every time I discussed the tragedy, it’d get easier to tackle. Those hundred bucks an hour weren’t a total waste. That piece of advice was worth a bill.
“Used to,” I mumbled, honing in on a beetle crashing into the damp grass.
“Did I say—” Her eyes grew misty. “Oh, I’m sorry. The realtor told us about the . . . about what happened.”
I waved off her concern. “Where you guys from?”
Her full bottom lip trembled. Honestly, I was glad she’d heard the story. Saved me from having to download the gruesome details.
Vigilante Nights
by Erin Richards
Publication date: July 18th 2013
Genre: YA contemporary w/light supernatural element
Synopsis:
A "good boy" will do anything for vengeance when a gang rite kills his twin sister. Will Lucas win, or follow his sister Silver into the darkness?
After a hideous car wreck, Lucas wakes from a coma to find that his world is gutted. Not only is his beloved twin sister, Silver, gone forever, but Lucas is broken in body and spirit. He will never be a college athlete, and is robbed of what he now realizes was the most important bond of his life. Although they weren't identical twins, Lucas and Silver shared a bond so fierce it defied reason, and was nearly supernatural.
After her death, that bond seems to endure when Lucas sees Silver everywhere he turns. Either he's crazy, or Silver is trying to tell him something about the California gang initiation they stumbled into that cost Silver her life. Lucas is bent on revenge, turning on Raymond, Silver's former boyfriend; the one Lucas never wanted her to date. He forms a posse of vigilantes to take out the gangsters responsible for Silver's death, but he risks not only his own life, but the love of the new girl on his block, who knows more about Lucas and Silver than can be accounted for by mere chance.
After bemoaning the lack of young adult books to read, Erin wrote her first novel at the age of eighteen hoping to shift the tide. Then everyday life took its toll on her writerly dreams until 2003 when she couldn’t ignore the writing bug any longer. By then, she had immersed herself in reading adult fantasy and romance novels. Writing paranormal & fantasy romance was a no brainer. Erin has published two adult romance novels: CHASING SHADOWS, a paranormal romantic suspense (EPPIE award finalist and Night Owl Romance 5-Star Top Pick) and WICKED PARADISE, a fantasy romance, released in August 2012. Erin will finally realize her lifelong dream of publishing a young adult novel when VIGILANTE NIGHTS debuts in July 2013.Erin Richards lives in Northern California. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, photography, and American muscle cars.
Pre-Order your copy of Vigilante Nights before its official hardcover release date of July 18, 2013 and get an exclusive gift! Details at: http://www.erinrichards.com
**Giveaway**
$25 Amazon or B&N CG (US & Int’l)
One autographed hardcover copy of Vigilante Nights (US & Int’l) with swag included
Three eBook copies of Vigilante Nights (US & Int’l)
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1 comments:
Thanks for hosting me and Vigilante Nights on your blog today! I really appreciate it!
Erin
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