Halloween Character Booktacular with (Gretchen McNeil) + GIVEAWAY!

Oct •  12 •  2012

Hello! Today I have another awesome excerpt from Ten! Loved this book soo much 🙂

Author links:
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Halloween, 2011 Jenny stood frozen in the hallway just outside Teddy’s room, body tense, feet rooted to the floor. The sound she’d heard from downstairs was louder now, and what she’d thought were the bumps and thuds of her little brother playing in his room after bedtime now appeared less innocent. As she gazed at him from the doorway, Teddy lay curled up in his Avengers comforter, eyes closed, chest heaving slow and steady as he slept. Alone. But Jenny could still hear the footsteps. Footsteps. Yes, that’s exactly what they were. Heavy, plodding footsteps pacing back and forth across the floor of her kid brother’s room, slightly uneven with a hiccup between every other step as if the person making them walked with a limp. Person? Jenny swallowed, her throat parched and raspy. No “person” made these footsteps, unless Jenny had developed a sudden case of cataracts. Her eyes took in the entire length of Teddy’s room, illuminated by the dullish blue glow of his night light, and nothing moved. Not even a flutter from the curtains, yet she could clearly make out the steady canter of the limping footsteps. She could actually trace them from left to right across the room, pausing for a split second at the closet door, then retreating to the other side of the room, pausing again at the edge of Teddy’s bed. Rinse, repeat. Jenny couldn’t pull her eyes away, her brain desperate to see something moving in the near darkness, unable to grasp what might be happening in her house. Then, as suddenly as they began, the footsteps stopped. Silence descended upon the house. Jenny
continued to stand in the bedroom doorway, sweat beading on her upper li, despite the cold. Jenny realized she was shivering; all the warmth had been sucked out of the house. That’s when she felt it. A bony hand gripping her shoulder. Jenny swung around and— Meg dropped her pen on the bed as her cell phone purred from the nightstand. Once, twice, three times in rapid succession. She sighed and closed her writing journal, then reached across a stack of pillows and picked up her phone. Three texts, all from Minnie, and as she held the phone in her hand, debating whether or not she actually wanted to read Minnie’s drunk texts from her boyfriend Gunner’s Halloween party, the phone vibrated again. More messages. Meg sighed. Typical. She swiped her finger across the screen, and Minnie’s texts began to scroll. MINNIE: OMG, I can’t believe you’re not here. What were you thinking? MINNIE: And don’t give me that bullshit about being sick. What am I, stupid? MINNIE: The whole football team’s here. And half the cheerleading squad. This is the party of the century you’re missing! Meg laughed to herself. There was no place on the planet she’d less rather be than at Gunner’s party. Because if Gunner was there, his best friend T.J. would be, too. And Meg couldn’t handle that. It was bad enough that Minnie was dating Gunner as a means to get closer to T.J., worse that Meg had been forced to listen to her best friend go on and on and on ad nauseum about T.J. during the last few months. It wasn’t that Meg didn’t like him. Nope it was much worse than that. Meg was in love with T.J., too. She’d been hiding it from Minnie for so long it had become her baseline. Minnie would rhapsodize that someday T.J. would realize she was the perfect girl for him, and Meg would just nod and smile, all the while indulging in her own fantasies about T.J., his gorgeous dimpled smile, how his lips would feel pressed against her own… In private, she could handle it. She could put on her game face when it was just the two of them hanging out. But at party after Minnie had downed a few beers? No way. Meg discovered first hand that spring just how painful it could be to watch Minnie throw herself at the boy Meg was in love with. So Meg’s coping mechanism? Fake the stomach flu, stay home, and write a new short story. Buzz, buzz, buzz. Great. Minnie was in rare, needy form tonight. MINNIE: I seriously have the best costume here. Sexy Alice in Wonderland FTW! MINNIE: T.J.’s here. Of course. OMG, he’s doing like a Johnny Depp pirate thing that is SO FUCKING SEXY. MINNIE: I’ll send you a photo of us, okay? Let me find him. Sexy pirate thing? Meg dropped her phone on the bed. It buzzed almost immediately with new texts. Part of Meg desperately wanted to see the photo, a mash up of her love for Johnny Depp and her love for T.J. Fletcher. Then again, did she really want to see Minnie in her sexy Alice dress which barely covered her ass, thigh highs and pushed up cleavage, draped seductively over T.J.’s arm? She wasn’t sure she could handle that. Again. Buzz. Buzz. Dammit. MINNIE: Huh. Can’t find him. I swear T.J. was here a minute ago. MINNIE: OMG, if he took off with that slut Brenda Raines I’m going to kick both of their asses. T.J.: Are you home? Meg froze. T.J. was texting her? On Halloween? While he was at the “party of the century?” A warmth spread across her chest, all stupid and silly and delicious in the way only a text from T.J. Fletcher could make her feel. With a trembling hand, she picked up her phone and typed, “Yeah.” The doorbell rang almost immediately. Meg caught her breath. Could it be T.J.? Meg’s dad stuck his head out of his bedroom door just as she stepped into the hallway. “Trick or treaters?” he said, pushing his thick glasses up the bridge of his nose. “At this hour?” “I’ll get it, Dad,” Meg said, hoping her voice didn’t sound too anxious. He shrugged, and ducked back into his room. Thank God. If it was T.J. at the door, the last thing she needed was her dad hovering around her. Meg reached the door and realized her heart was thundering in her chest. She needed to calm down. It’s not T.J., she said to herself. Just a late trick or treater, like Dad said. But as Meg switched on the porch light, she caught sight of a hat through the beveled glass windows in the front door. A tri-corner night. Like a pirate.
Giveaway!

Giveaway:
  • 1 Copy of Ten
  • 1 Winner will be picked
  • Ends October 19, 2012
  • Hosted by author
Rules:
  • To Enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below
  • Must be 13 years of age or older
  • Contest is open to EVERYONE!!!!!
  • Winner will be announced on the blog via Rafflecopter
  • Winner will be notified by email
  • Do NOT put your email in the comment section
  • Check out my Contest Policy



a Rafflecopter giveaway
DON’T FORGET! 
You can enter to WIN a KINDLE + $25 Amazon Gift Card just for following the tour! 
We have 33 awesome Halloween scenes to feast your eyes on! 
 You can find the schedule and enter to win on either of these links
 ABLR and GCR!

Good Luck and Happy Reading!

11 Comments

  1. Maji Bookshelf
    Oct 12, 2012

    Thanks so much for a chance to win this book! LOVED the trailer when i watched it a couple of days ago, so been hyped up! Thanks!!
    – Farah @ MajiBookshelf

  2. Vivien
    Oct 12, 2012

    I really loved this book. I was lucky enough to get an ARC. Such a page turner!!

  3. Ah! I am so curious about this one. Thanks for the giveaway!

  4. Texas Book Lover
    Oct 12, 2012

    I have heard great things about this book!

    Thanks so much for the chance to win it!

  5. Christina Fiorelli
    Oct 12, 2012

    This sounds awesome and I LOVE the little tale included in the post:) Thank you so much:)

  6. Hollow May
    Oct 13, 2012

    Ahhhhhh! I love that excerpt =D
    Thanks for the giveaway

  7. Jessy
    Oct 13, 2012

    Sounds like a great read. Thanks for the excerpt.

  8. Amy
    Oct 14, 2012

    I love this prequel story. This was such a fantastic book. I need to get a Hardcover copy of it. I only have it on my nook.

  9. Genevieve Tilley
    Oct 15, 2012

    Sounds interesting! Thanks for the peek!

  10. Lawren Bokman
    Oct 15, 2012

    Awesome giveaway and cool cover

  11. Ryan Snyder
    Oct 16, 2012

    😀 i want to read this so bad!