Juliana Stone

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Saturday Snippet, This Week: <b>Outtakes</b>
Saturday, June 13th, 2009

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Todays snippets are Outtakes! I had nothing to offer this week but below are links to all the other authors taking part! Grab a coffee and settle in for a fun blog hop!

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Cynthia Eden
Victoria Janssen
Lauren Dane
Leah Braemel
McKenna Jeffries
Moira Rogers
Sylvia Day
Vivian Arend
Mark Henry
Shelley Munro
Jaci Burton
Mandy Roth
Eliza Gayle

Friday Video Blog: Let’s just be Nice People
Friday, June 12th, 2009

Getting into the Groove
Thursday, June 11th, 2009

Ever have a problem getting into the groove? You know, whether it’s the writing thing, housework, day job?

I’ve had one heck of a time the last few weeks trying to get my word count in. Don’t know what the problem is really. I suspect part of it is the fact that I’m waiting to hear back on another project and I’ve been distracted with that. Part of it is that I have a lot of other stuff I needt to get done and it’s weighing on me. You know. Real life stuff.

I have to say I was starting to panic. I thought. Is this what writers block is? But no, that wasn’t it. I knew what I wanted to write. I knew where my story was headed. I just, couldn’t. Get. It. Done. Now, I am the type of writer that needs a deadline. I need to have that time crush to get my ass in gear.

But still, I found the word count wasn’t getting anywhere near where I wanted it to be. Too Many Distractions.

Twitter….oh my lovely twitter. How I resisted your pull for months. And now, I’m sucked in but good. Refresh and Twitter really make me happy.

Facebook….you’ve still got me, but alas Twitter is now taking up some of the time I used to devote to you. Still love ya, but just not as much.

Nationals….can’t wait, can’t stop thinking about it.

Blip Tv…..I find after much horror, I actually dont’ mind the sound of my voice or my image on the puter…..I love making videos….Miss Dane, why did you lead me down this path?

Anyway, at the end of the day these are just excuses.

I am happy to report that once again the words are flowing. I’m not sure what the heck was up. I do know that I had a lightbulb moment recently, where I realized that A) I’m a writer. For like, real…so B) this is no longer a hobby but a job. I have contracts to fufill. and what this means is C) sometimes I just have to suck it up and work through the process even when it seems to be against me.

Cause that’s what writers do….right?

Congrats and a Tuesday video
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

congratulations to Lea for commenting on Cynthia Eden’s blog and winning a copy of her forthcoming book, Midnight’s Master. It’s tuesday and because I love Adam Lambert and this song, enjoy!

GUEST BLOGGING AT CYNTHIA EDEN’S TODAY
Monday, June 8th, 2009

Hey everyone, today I’m guest blogging over at Cynthia Eden’s. She has a new release this month, and I will be giving away a copy of her latest to a random commentator!

Midnight Masters

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She’s running an event, 30 Days of Demons and I’m blogging about how a demon became the anti-hero in my young adult book! See you there!

Saturday Snippet,  this week:<b>Fight Scene</b>
Saturday, June 6th, 2009

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This week, my excerpt is from the current Jaguar Warrior’s book I’m working on. It’s Skye and Jagger’s story. I’m well into my first draft and please bear with me…this is unedited! That being said, in this particular scene from the first chapter, Skye has been cornered by two enemy warriors, it’s do or die… Please remember to click on the links below to blog hop and enjoy many more scenes from other writers as well!

“We know exactly who you are, Skye Knightly,” He laughed once more and she felt every single hair on her body rise as the danger of her situation tripled, “and we know what you are.”

Skye bolted, leaping over the large boulder that stood between the cave and her body, reaching deep into her satchel as she crested the rock to land hard, knee deep in rushing water.

A splash sounded behind her, and she whirled around, releasing a deadly blade in a hard arc that struck the jaguar dead center in its massive chest. The beast roared in fury and the man at its side snarled in rage as he too, jumped towards her, his anger and bulk carrying him forward in a rush.

Skye tried to twist away, but the warrior was too powerful and his momentum crashed his large body into hers, knocking them both into the fast moving water that fled the cave. Her head went under and she sputtered wildly as she came up for air, her feet churning fast in an effort to get away from her enemy.

His fist came from nowhere and connected with her head in a hard ringing slam that brought stars to her eyes. She flew back and once more was under water. Skye kicked with all her might, hoping to ride the current over the falls, and felt tears of frustration rise as a painful grip wove its way around her calf. She was hauled out of the water, and thrown back onto the embankment beside the mouth of the cave.

To the large furious man above her, she weighed little more than a doll. His heavy frame covered hers, the muscled thighs gripping her body as his hands encircled her head. Her arms were trapped against her sides and the sheer weight of him made breathing difficult. Skye ceased her struggles, aware that it both inflamed and excited the man as evidenced by the growing hardness against her body.

His eyes were as black as tar but the tinge of blue light that shone from behind them was eerie and he smiled at the fear that briefly graced her features. He ground his body against hers, laughing as she bucked her hips, the reaction instant as a sickening lurch went through her.

“You’re not going anywhere bitch.”

His hands tightened cruelly against her cranium but Skye held on and uttered not a sound as he continued to apply pressure, his fingers sharp with their claw like nails, biting deep into the skull. She watched in silence as his eyes began to shimmer and the blue light that lit them churned brighter and morphed into a deep red color.

His mouth opened to a slash of white teeth and his tongue reached down towards her. He growled, menacingly and Skye tried to arch away, but she was held fast, and she shuddered as he licked her face from her forehead down to her chin.

She was gonna be sick. She could feel her gut rolling over as a mixture of dread and fear settled in the shadows of her soul.

“It’s a shame really, how this night will end. You taste like the sun. And make no mistake, I will taste every inch of you, but first I need to know where the portal is.”

“Screw you, asshole.” Skye spit in his face and cringed, expecting some sort of physical retaliation. Instead laughter echoed across the stillness of the night.

She closed her eyes as he howled at the top of his lungs, “The jaguar will once more feast upon the flesh of the eagle.” He moved slightly and she was able to breathe a little easier, “but first things first.”

The bile that had been sitting at the back of her throat rose quickly and even though Skye was a warrior in her own right, an Eagle Knight, she felt shame wash over her at the fear that began to beat through her body as his eyes raked her curves.
Her mind began to close in on itself and a vision of her father drifted past her eyes. How had it come to this?

Her father’s eyes sliced through her, full of love, encouragement but alive with the fire of battle. It was all she needed and once more she began to struggle against the monster. A surge of adrenalin rushed through her veins as her heart answered the call, and she continued to struggle, ignoring his harsh laughter.

Her blue eyes sought the black of his and her hatred for the jaguar sizzled. “I will never submit willingly to such filth.”
“I wouldn’t dream of you submitting willingly…that would take all the fun out of it, don’t you think?” His laughter fell over her like sharp glass and she felt the heat of his breath on her face.

Skye closed her eyes. She wasn’t strong enough, physically to defeat the bastard on top of her. She braced herself and sought the place of calm and tranquility that resided in her mind. He would use her body, but she would plot and find a way out of this.

There was no other option.

An unholy roar rent the air and bounced off the rock face as it slid out into the night. It was full of power and Skye felt the warrior atop of her still. Something new stalked this evening and she waited, hoping an opportunity for escape would present itself.

Her eyes cracked open and she watched as a furious snarl erupted from the man on top of her. His large hands ground their way into her skull once more and he cracked her head hard against the rock she lay against. The pain was immediate and Skye felt her sanity slip away as the scent of blood filled the air. A deep sadness leeched from her heart into every cell of her body, but she could do nothing about it.

She would fail her father and their people.

And she would die this night.

The following authors are taking part today!

Shelley Munro
Anya Bast
Cynthia Eden
SJ Day
Vivi Anna
Jaci Burton
Mandy Roth
Michelle Pillow
Juliana Stone
Moira Rogers
Sacha White
TJ Michaels
Maura Anderson
Beth Kery
Jody Wallace
Eliza Gayle
Kelly Maher
Elisabeth Naughton
Taige Crenshaw
Beth Williamson

Friday video Blog: Random musings and bad hair…oh and a pj party!
Thursday, June 4th, 2009

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Don’t forget Saturday Snippets tomorrow!!!!

Blogging at The Bradford Bunch
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Hey all! A few things….

I’ve over at The Bradford Bunch today blogging about my random thoughts! Stop by if you feel the need to give me some love!

As well, make sure to stop by this Friday for my new weekly video blog. I’m going to do one each and every friday and promise that they will be somewhat entertaining! Gotta keep up the those DaneHart women!

Then Snippet Saturday! This weeks theme is Fight Scene! Should be very cool!

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Have a good one!

Hammer Time Again!
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

Hey all! Once again my buddy and fellow vocalist from Sexytime has written a guest blog! Enjoy!

Escape Reality with these Shows!

Most of the people who watch reality shows on a regular basis must really want to escape reality.

I am convinced of this. How else would you describe a person who watches the reality show Mr. Personality? First of all it’s hosted by Monica Lewinsky, who has a female contestant pick one guy out of 40 or more who wear nothing but a mask, or so I was told. Which makes sense….Monica’s personality was often judged by what we couldn’t see but could only imagine. So she was perfect for working with someone to try and pick a mate who liked to use props.

But if truth be told, I would have rather tuned into a “reality show” that had a blind-folded Monica trying to guess where a cigar was made.

Okay, maybe this doesn’t tickle your interest, but what do people find “real” in this world of reality television? For example;

Who wants to Marry My Dad? Another show that should have been put back in the classifieds under “Looking for a Mate” or something. If the dad really wanted to get married, why didn’t they just take him to Russia? What a waste of time…..so much for letting things happen naturally. How about a show called “Who wants to date my Dad”. Let’s take this thing in baby steps shall we?

Armed and Famous? First of all, pretty liberal use of the word “famous”. Latoya Jackson? Out of the 10 famous Jackson’s, isn’t she like #13? Anyways the show was about these wannabes working on the law enforcement somewhere in Indiana. How about Gary, Indiana? Let’s see them do a night shift there. Of course, most of them would know the ins and outs of law enforcement considering you needed a mug shot to be on the show. And LaToya getting tasered…..priceless. What they needed to do is scrap their original line-up and put Nick Nolte, Glen Campbell, Lindsay Lohan and Keifer Sutherland on the beat……..arresting people trying to steal airplane bottle out of the local liquor joint. That might have been real. And think about the car chases? Wouldn’t that be something?

Girl has to find out which Guy is Gay? I forget the actual name of the show, but this one didn’t need to take 3 months did it? How about 3 minutes? All they needed to do was put on Morrisey and the guy who danced the best to it…….well……….you could narrow it down couldn’t you?

The Biggest Loser? My daughter told me I should put on more weight and go on the Biggest Loser to make the family some money. Enough said.

The Real Housewives of Orange County? More like the real cost of divorce and cosmetic surgery. Everytime I catch a bit of this show, I’m waiting for Bob Barker to come out of their room and kiss them. They can’t work the washing machine, they can’t cook, they drink shots off their chest and they jump off their roof to get into their jeans in the morning…….I’m thinking they need a pimp.

Flavour of Love? For a guy who could eat a cob of corn through a snow fence, he sure can get the drag queens can’t he? Nice message…..look like you just got hit by a truck wear a clock on your chest and you sir are the right catch for a woman anytime! And he gets a girl called “New York” famous who works her way into three “reality” shows of her own……one being New York Goes to Work…..where the audience picks one out of three jobs she should go apply to. I’ll help her with this one…..since you made out with Flavour Flav…..you could probably clean the cheese graders for a local pizza parlour. Those things are just a bitch to clean aren’t they?

Who’s Your Daddy? For some women, this is more a shame than a reality show, not to mention a very confusing time on Father’s Day. So, let’s just leave it for the DNA to decide and shut the cameras off. Please. Didn’t we try this already anyways? Where is Jerry Springer these days?

Amish in the City? With all due respect, unless there is a candle party in the city somewhere, these people should not be forced to survive out of their element, should they?

The Littlest Groom? I guess it’s better than the trying to find the ugliest bridesmaid. I just think that it’s kind of sad when he and his wife are searching every arcade for the right gumball machine when they go look for his ring.

Temptation Island? The reality of this show is that you don’t need to go to an island to test how faithful you are to your mate, or vice versa. Most people already got put through this. It’s called their “stag night”, which usually ends with each couple covered in real cheap baby oil. And if you want to know if you passed the test, just check eveyone’s cell phone camera that went with you. This might be the only time where a picture tells the real story.

Married by America? More like who did America fall in love with. I thought this was called American Idol? Maybe I’ve got the two shows mixed up. Anyways, if you want to put them together, make sure you go get them a gift when they register at Wal-Mart. We’ll see how interested you are then, if you are so sincere at playing the part of Cupid.

Who wants to Marry a Millionaire? Probably everyone. That way they can divorce them and get half.

Confessions of a Teen Idol? Never saw this one, but I’m guessing that one of the confessions was that after wearing pop bottle glasses and pouring ketchup on his french fries, he finally admitted that he really didn’t know what kind of ketchup it was because he just couldn’t see. And who told that kid how to spell Oscar Meyer? That, I want to know!

You may or may not agree with me on my spin and take on these shows, but these reality shows and others like them are just a cheap way of exploiting people to get high ratings for those who produce them. It’s so sad. And the suggestion here is that the more un-realistic your show is, the higher rating you will receive by those who quite frankly want to escape the normality of their own lives.

I mean, I guess in their world, you can only watch CNN for so long.

SATURDAY SNIPPET, This Week: <b>FIRST KISS</b>
Saturday, May 30th, 2009

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Ah, First Kiss. That amazing physical connection that can rock your world. And the first one is oh so speical! Who can forget that kiss from The Notebook? One of the best kisses evah!

Welcome to another Saturday Snippet. I chose a first kiss from a Young Adult novel that I wrote entitled, Ravyn’s Fall. Ravyn is a young novice angel who’s made a deal with a demon, in order to escape the upper realm so that she can live as a human for one full year. In this scene she’s had a rather tramautic evening and surprisingly, it’s Ezekiel, the demon who comforts her. He’s so not what she’d envisioned for her first kiss, but nothing is as it seems and sometimes you just gotta go with the flow! Enjoy! and remember to click on the links at the bottom of the excerpt so that you can blog hop once more and read a wide variety of offerings!

“Who’s there?” I whispered, not realizing I’d held my breath until Ezekiel stepped towards me and I let it out in a loud rush.

Did he hurt you?

His voice echoed softly in my mind and I shook my head slowly, trying hard to remember, because I knew something had happened. Something bad.

“Why are you here?” I asked instead, still trying to decipher the images and emotions that were running wild inside of me.

Did he hurt you?

His words were stronger now. I looked up into his eyes. Ezekiel had moved closer until he was only inches from my body. He was angry and for whatever reason, his dark mood only made me feel worse.

I shook my head slowly, trying to clear the fog and then, like a small crack my mind opened and memories began to filter through, some clear and some not so much. I began to remember and I felt ill.

Jacen. And what he’d tried to do.

“No, he didn’t hurt me. I mean, I don’t think he did.” Ezekiel’s eyes narrowed, as I continued, totally confused. “What happened? It was like I was outside of myself. Like I had no control. I felt sick and he…he wanted to…”

I couldn’t go on and remained silent, my words stuck at the back of my throat as a river of emotion clogged my airway.
“Did you have anything to drink at the party?” Ezekiel asked softly.

My eyes widened, insulted that he’d even think I’d try alcohol. “No! I would never…I only had soda.”

Ezekiel let out a harsh breath. “He slipped something into the can, Ravyn.”

I didn’t know what to say to that because it just seemed so unbelievable to me.

“He drugged you. Guess he thought you’d be an easier target.” Ezekiel’s face darkened. “I warned you about him.”
His words lashed at me and I felt them like a physical blow.

“That’s not possible…he wouldn’t.” I stood on shaky legs, nodding my head back and forth.

I could feel the tide turning and my fear loosened, letting my emotions wash over me like a tidal wave. I couldn’t be sure what set them off. Was it the fact that I’d come so close to disaster in only two short weeks of being here? Or was it Ezekiel’s disapproving tone that got to me. As if it was in some way my fault.

It didn’t matter really. I only knew I’d never felt so incredibly alone in my entire life. Not even when I’d spent three years observing in the Arctic. Not even then.

A tear slowly slid down my cheek and my eyes dropped to the ground. A deep sadness welled up from my chest and I found it hard to breathe.

“I just…” I couldn’t articulate what I was thinking. My knees buckled and I would have fallen flat on my face but Ezekiel moved with preternatural speed and his arms caught me. Again.

I rested my cheek against his chest and listened in silence to the heavy beating of his heart. It was a steady rhythm, almost hypnotic.

His arms were tense. I could feel that he was uncomfortable. I should have pulled away. This I knew, but I wanted, no, I needed some form of comfort. I felt like I’d utterly failed.

What would my father say if he knew what I had done? What I had come so very close to losing?

“I just wanted a kiss.” I don’t think I knew I’d spoken the words aloud until I heard Ezekiel gasp slightly. But there they were. Out in the open.

I looked up at him and the two of us regarded each other in silence for several long seconds. His body felt so strong and safe.
He started to say something and then stopped. His dark eyes glowed slightly and small sparks of red lit them from behind. He looked dangerous. Mesmerizing.

My hands crept up until they were resting against the pulse that beat at his neck. I could feel the strength that flowed through his veins and I thought, for a brief second that I should be very afraid. That this demon could do far more harm than someone like Jacen Kennedy, every could.

But I felt safe. In his arms.

My eyes settled on his lips. They were strong, delicious looking. So very kissable.

Without thought and acting purely on instinct, I stood up on my tip toes as my hands crept even higher, to lock around the back of his neck. I didn’t know what I was doing. It was as if my body was possessed by something other than myself.

Was it the heat of the moment? The fact that I’d come so close to the edge of darkness? Was that why I was behaving so erratically? Was I mental?
I didn’t know and I didn’t care. I only knew that I was going to have my first kiss.

And it was going to happen now.

I applied pressure to the back of his neck and my eyes flew to his as I felt his hesitation, but then he was lowering his head.
And his mouth was against mine. So very soft, like a whisper. Our energies, incredibly different and unique collided and electricity tingled its way down my limbs. I could feel the heat of his body and the feather like touch from his mouth was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.

It was heavenly, unexpected.

And so very, very sinful.

COPYRIGHT@JulianaStone2009

The following authors are also taking part:

Lauren Dane
Cynthia Eden
Vivi Anna
SJ Day
Moira Rogers
Mandy Roth
Anya Bast
Viv Arend
Beth Williamson
Elisabeth Naughton
Michelle Pillow
Jaci Burton
Taige Crenshaw
McKenna Jeffries
Sasha White
Victoria Janssen
Shelli Stevens
Maggie Robinson
Maura Anderson
shelley Munro
Jodi Wallace
Eliza Gayle
Kelly Maher