Teaser Tuesday

I want to post a Teaser, but I have been working on a major spoiler area this week and I'm having a hard time finding something that doesn't scream "alien invasion Earth goes KABOOM" kind of thing.  Well, not quite that since NORMAL has neither aliens or elements of kaboom.  Maybe I need some?  So, what I am left with is a small snippet.

Thanks as always for checking it out!

Sitting in the restaurant it felt strange that the rest of the world continued on while their lives were so out of control. Aly watched as lovers held hands and smiled at each other over meals, people celebrated birthdays and families joined together for happy occasions.  She found their joy to be powerful and attractive.  She eagerly clapped and sang along as the servers carried a cake to a nearby table, singing Happy Birthday as they went.  She hoped it would spark something inside her, some fleeting moment of enjoyment but only a deep numbness filled her, protecting her from the other darker feelings that shared space.  She looked at Andrew and caught him staring at Tanner’s wheelchair and tapping his fingers on his cast absent-mindedly.  Both served as a visual reminder of the scars healing inside them all.

Teaser Tuesday

This is a super short fun scene from Normal with Andrew and Aly - she's not crying!

“I can’t give you this copy, but I’ll send you an advance copy.”

“Can I get an autographed one? I hear those go for big bucks.”

Andrew flopped back into the chair and laughed hard. “I’ll sign a bunch of stuff for you then, put you through college.”

She shook her head. “Oh no, I want a pretty car too, so I’m going to have to ask you to get everyone’s autograph – it’s worth more.”

“Of course. I’ll try and remember that.”

Tuesday Teaser

I'm going to rejoin the living! For today's teaser I went with NORMAL again, and a little snip towards the beginning of the book.

Aly, her little sister Caitlin and Aly's best friend Jeana are hanging by the pool at a resort in Mexico on a family trip.

“What are you two staring at?” Jeana asked as she sat down on the edge dangling her feet into the water. “Ahh, cute guys.” Now only one boy was left standing on the deck; seconds later he jumped in the pool splashing the others. Jeana turned her attention back to Aly and Caitlin and smiled. “Let’s go talk to them, just say hi?”

“Jeana, those aren’t just any guys. Look again.” {Aly is speaking here}

Jeana stared more closely at them, “Well, If I didn’t have a boyfriend I would say that one over there was unbelievably hot, but I have a boyfriend. You could though Aly, so let’s go meet them.” She continued to check them out when recognition shone in her eyes. “Holy shit! Is that the Romans?”

“Yeah,” Caitlin said dreamily.

“We’ve got to go over there. Come on!” She said, clamoring to her feet.

Caitlin’s head whipped to the side to look at Jeana. “No way, are you crazy?”

“Are you? I’ve seen your room, you’re totally into them. Here’s your chance, come on.” Jeana leaned down and splashed water at her.

“No way. I’m out of here.” Caitlin shook her head at Jeana. She walked up the stairs out of the pool to their chairs and started toweling off.

“Your loss,” Jeana called after her.

“Leave her alone, she’d pass out if she came face to face with Tommy or Taylor or whatever their names are," Aly said.

“The twins are Tommy and Tanner. The ones our age are Jacob and Andrew.” She clapped her hands together and said, “You and me then. Let’s go.”

“I’m good. You go ahead.”

“Don’t be lame.”

Aly glared at her. “I’m not lame, you’re just obsessed with finding me a guy.”

“Lame. These aren’t just guys, they’re the most famous guys in the country right now. I think it’s worth you getting out of your funk for.”

“It’s not a funk.”

“It’s the very definition of a funk. You haven’t done anything fun since Paul.”

Aly’s stomach clenched at the mention of his name. She looked at Jeana severely from the top of her eyes. “It’s only been a month. Besides, I wouldn’t call going all squealing fangirl on some rock star types; fun.”

“Come on! Let’s just go meet them. I’m not asking for you to fall in love. Have some fun Aly.”

Aly climbed out of the pool and joined Caitlin at the chairs. She squeezed a little water from her long dark hair, grabbed an elastic from the table and pulled her hair back into a pony tail. “I am having fun.” The stubborn way she said this made it clear she wasn’t convinced herself. She laughed quietly. “Fine, maybe I’m not succeeding, but I’m trying.”

Teaser Tuesday

Well, I'm gonna tease again!

This takes place while Aly and her younger sister Caitlin are visiting Andrew and Tanner on tour. They are checking out the stage when Andrew notices how happy Aly is.


“Well, I was going to tell you later, but, I got into Northwestern and the program!” Her voice shook with excitement. “Architectural Engineering and Design: here I come!”


“I’m so happy for you,” he said. He kissed her forehead and gave her a huge hug. Andrew still had his arms around her when Aly spotted Jacob off to the side of the stage.


Aly stood still and watched him walk towards them. All of her preparation for this moment failed. He looked in her direction and caught her eyes over Andrew’s shoulder. Aly inhaled deeply, she’d forgotten the little details of his face and how handsome he really was. Andrew let go of her and held her at arms length to look at her, noting her instant tension.


His brow furrowed. “Are you okay?” he asked.


“Of course,” Aly said. She stepped back out of his grasp and cleared her throat to regain her composure. The last time she saw Jacob he left her standing on the beach in tears. He smiled at her now but she noticed the smile never reached his eyes. Jacob hugged Caitlin warmly and then greeted Aly by awkwardly hugging her with one arm and a pat to her back with one hand. The kind of half-hug a guy would give a buddy.


“I’m glad you could come. It’s good to see you.” Jacob said. His voice was tight, not the deep rich voice she remembered.


“Jacob, it’s good to see you too.”


He fidgeted with the lanyard around his neck then looked back to the side of the stage. A tall blonde joined them. She stood next to Jacob and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked anxiously from her to Aly and back. Aly almost laughed at seeing Jacob so uncharacteristically flustered, but the sick feeling in her stomach kept her silent. Jacob said, “I want you to meet someone. This is my girlfriend Eryn.”


“Hi Eryn. It’s nice to meet you.” Eryn daintily shook the hand that Aly offered.


Eryn stood formally with perfect posture. “I’ve heard a tremendous amount about you. Andrew speaks of practically nothing else and now I understand why,” She said with an unnaturally exact cadence. “Have you been to one of their concerts before? It is truly wonderful.”


“No, I haven’t. We’re excited,” Aly responded, putting an arm around Caitlin.


“You must be Caitlin, Tanner’s girlfriend,” Eryn said. She extended her hand to Caitlin.


Caitlin immediately blushed. “I’m his friend,” she corrected. Her voice was barely audible. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Teaser Tuesday

I have five minutes left of Tuesday - so I thought I'd participate with a super small snip...


As they walked into the restaurant Jeana tugged on Aly’s hand. Her smile had grown into full-blown gloating. “You can’t escape them now, it’s fate!” She whispered.

Aly sighed. She knew that to some degree Jeana was right. No matter what she did, in just a minute she’d be sitting across the table from four obnoxiously beautiful guys. She felt her skin crawl at the thought. She pulled her hand away and walked faster, putting distance between her and Jeana. She called back to Jeana over her shoulder, “I don’t believe in fate.”

My awesome Wordle!

Teaser Tuesday

From NORMAL:


"How could you do this to my family?" Jacob yelled at Aly as she walked down the hall. He stood in the doorway, blocking entry to her room, with a mix of anger and pain so visible on his face, that it hurt her to see. In that moment she knew she loved him. She knew because more than anything else, his believing that she could do this, ripped her heart out.


"Jacob?" She asked in a voice too quiet to have been hers. "You believe it too? I don't know why I though you couldn't shock me anymore." She stood there in front of him searching his eyes for a hint that he might believe her.


He was shaking with anger. "Shock you? Shock you? I couldn't be more shocked by you Aly. I never would have thought you do this. What is it? Was it for money?" He shook his head. "No, it can't be that, you come from plenty of money. Were you not happy witht he level of celebrity we were providing you?" He dropped his eyes from hers and his shoulders slumped just a little. "How could you hurt us, how could you hurt Andrew like this?"


In any other circumstance seeing him like this, so raw, so vulnerable, she would have rushed at him and pulled him into her arms to try and make it better. Now, it was unbearable. Even though she could see in his eyes the pain and betrayal that was causing him to say such terrible things, she couldn't take another moment. "Jacob, please move," she asked, that unfamiliar quiet voice returning.


He stood there and raised his eyes to hers again, his lips parted as if he was preparing to say something else. Without a word, he dropped his arm and walked down the hall, away from her.


She struggled to slide the card into the door, the tears lining up to fall were blocking her vision. "Come on, come on," she said to the lock. Two more attempts and the heavy door swung open into her room. She took a few steps into the room to clear the door, then pushed back on it with her full weight to close it. As soon as she heard the click, she sunk to the floor in sobs.