Happy Mardi Gras, Sixers! Things are in full swing here on the Gulf Coast. In fact, I’m probably at a parade as you read this … (which means my comments will be late–sorry!)

So, in honor of all those beads and dubloons, here are six sentences from Want, part of which takes place at a Mardi Gras parade and ball in Mobile, Alabama (yes, we celebrate it here, too!).

Below, our main character Julianne has arrived at her parents’ Mardi Gras society’s annual ball with two very worried men:

I, on the other hand, am on top of the world. I look like a million bucks and I’m about to enter the year’s biggest party with two of my favorite men, one on each arm. It doesn’t get better than this.

The ball is completely over-the-top, like someone took a circus, an aviary and a Broadway production and smashed them together. Add a touch of Creole seasoning, et voila. You’ve got the annual bal masque of the Mystics of Dardenne.

In case you’d like a tiny bit more, I also posted a snippet in honor of Valentine’s Day here. (And if you really like what you’re reading, please add Want to your to-read list on Goodreads.)

As always, please visit the other #sixsunday participants. We come from all genres and write about everything under the sun!

Have a great week and laissez les bon temps roulez!

In honor of Valentine’s Day, here’s just a teeny-tiny snippet from Want, my older YA out June 7. I’ve redacted a character’s name to avoid spoilers!

I turn to [redacted], whose heavily lidded eyes tell me exactly what I want to know.

“Kiss me?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Just before our lips touch, he grins and whispers, “No biting this time.”

Hope everyone has a great day!

I had such a great response to “Aftertaste” last week on Six Sentence Sunday, that I’ve posted another six from it today. It’s a free short story that will be released (probably in May?) before Want, which comes out June 7. It’s written from a different character’s POV and dovetails with a scene from the book.

It doesn’t really need any set-up, except to say that the narrator is 28 and the girl is 17.

I take a deep breath, turn the corner, and there she is: Julianne.

Long legs, long hair, long, graceful fingers twined in the sheet I draped over her after she crashed on my sad futon. I’m still not clear on why she showed up at my place in the middle of the night, barely dressed and rambling an apology, but I couldn’t turn her away. I don’t have much to offer, but whatever she was looking for, she must have found it because, next thing I know, she’s curled up and purring in her sleep. I did take the liberty of tucking a strand of that flaming hair behind her ear. Maybe that’s where the red (so much red) in the dream comes from.

I’d love to hear what you think. And when you’re done, please visit fellow #sixsunday participants here or search the hashtag #sixsunday on Twitter. There are some amazing writers who take part and they represent just about every genre.

Woo-hoo!  It’s cover reveal day! *throws confetti*

All week, YA book blogs have been revealing a piece of the cover.

• Monday, the first piece was posted on Hypable.
• Tuesday, the second piece was revealed on Mundie Moms.
• Wednesday’s piece can be found on Girls in the Stacks.
• Thursday’s piece can be found on The Readiacs.

Now, the entire thing is posted at Novel Novice & Inkspell Publishing!

It’s so surreal to have a character in your head for months, years, and then see her on the screen! There’s so much symbolism in the cover, and I can’t wait to talk about it with you. Just, not yet.

Please, go check out the cover and then tell me what you think!

Special thanks to Hypable, Mundie Moms, Girls in the Stacks and The Readiacs for hosting the reveal, and none of this would be possible without Sara at Novel Novice. Hats off to designer Najla Qamber for working so hard to get the cover just right. She’s amazing!

Not wanting to ruin my string of YouTube hits, here’s one of my favorite ’80s song (remember that video?!), as interpreted by North Koreans on accordions. Yep, accordions. It’s even better than that commercial of the chick who trained her dog and parrot to sing it. I DARE you to make it through the whole thing without cracking up! *wipes tear*

Today is Day 4 of a week-long cover reveal for my older YA book Want, which comes out June 7.

All week, YA book blogs have been revealing a piece of the cover. The entire thing will be posted Friday on Novel Novice and Inkspell Publishing.

• Monday, the first piece was posted on Hypable.
• Tuesday, the second piece was revealed on Mundie Moms.
• Wednesday’s piece can be found on Girls in the Stacks.

Today’s piece can be found on The Readiacs!

Want is also on Goodreads (I will smooch you if you click “to read”) and I have this shiny, new author page.

I don’t have a Muppet flail video like yesterday for you, but here’s my all-time fave YouTube hit … EVER. It NEVER gets old. *snort*

Huzzah! It’s Day 3 of a week-long cover reveal for my older YA book Want, which comes out June 7!

All week, YA book blogs will be revealing a piece of the cover. The entire thing will be posted Friday on Novel Novice and Inkspell Publishing.

• Monday, the first piece was posted on Hypable.
• Tuesday, the second piece was revealed on Mundie Moms.
• Today’s piece can be found on Girls in the Stacks. (Can you hear me squee-ing?!)

Want is also on Goodreads (I will smooch you if you click “to read”) and I have this shiny, new author page with an embarrassingly large picture of me. Alas, there is no setting to change that. Trust me, I looked.

And because the week is half over, I leave you with this:

It’s happening!

Today is Day 2 of a week-long cover reveal for my older YA book Want, which comes out June 7.

All week, YA book blogs will be revealing a piece of the cover. The entire thing will be posted Friday on Novel Novice and Inkspell Publishing.

Yesterday, the first piece was posted on Hypable.

Today’s piece can be found on Mundie Moms. *fangirl squeal!*

Go, go, go! (And then come back and tell me what you think!)

It’s happening!

*jumps up and down*

Today is Day 1 of a week-long cover reveal for my older YA book Want, which comes out June 7.

All week, YA book blogs will be revealing a piece of the cover. The entire thing will be posted Friday on Novel Novice and Inkspell Publishing.

Today’s piece can be found on Hypable.

Also, I just found out yesterday that Want is up on Goodreads, so please feel free to go mark it as “to read.”

Go, go, go!

Another Sunday, another six sentences! I realized that if I keep posting excerpts from Want, by the time it comes out in June, I’ll have given away the whole thing! So, here are six sentences from “Aftertaste,” a short story that will be available for free (not sure when). It’s told from a different (adult) character’s POV.

The first time was the worst. I woke up clutching sweat-soaked sheets. I flipped on the light to make sure. It was so real, so pleasant, and then so very wrong and horrible. It was the night after I found her purple and pliant in her studio. She’d curled into me like a kitten, then pinned me in place with a look and a desperate gesture.

You can see the other #sixsunday participants here.

If you’ve been reading any of my Facebook posts lately, you know I’ve been petting and staring at Want‘s cover since I got it. Now I can finally share it with you! Thanks to Sara at Novel Novice, pieces of the cover will be revealed Feb. 6-10 on the following blogs. Then, the entire cover will be posted Fri. Feb. 10 at Novel Novice and Inkspell Publishing.

• Mon. Feb 6: Hypable
• Tues. Feb. 7: Mundie Moms
• Wed. Feb. 8: Girls in the Stacks
• Thurs. Feb. 9: The Readiacs
• Fri. Feb. 10: Novel Novice & Inkspell Publishing

There’s so much symbolism in the cover that I just can’t wait for y’all to see it! Designer Najla Qamber did a fantastic job working everything in. Be sure to check the blogs each day and let me know what you think!