THE ‘WHAT IF’ GAME! #whatifgame

This is the 2^nd post of the monthly ‘what if’ game.

Rules are simple: All you have to do is read the below scenario, then imagine it is YOURSELF in there and leave a comment detailing what YOU would do. Not written as a character. But written as yourself.

Okay? Ready?

Here’s your scenario:

Seven pm has arrived. Time for your jog. Seven pm jogging is a ritual of yours (if you’re like me and only jog when desperate for the loo, then just pretend you like to jog). You have your MP3 in your sweatpants pocket, your earbuds tucked into your lugholes, and your hair swept back into a tight ponytail (unless you’re bald). Door’s locked on your way out the house, a couple stretches on the front path that you know the old dude living across the way gets a kick out of spying on, and you’re off.

Less than 100 yards brings you to the park perimeter and you duck through a break in the hedgerow. The burn has already laid claim to your thighs. Your breaths have surpassed the pants of initial exertion and moved into the realm of shallow and regulated. And ACDC is blasting a tune into your ears.

After the soft padding of grass, the path sends jolts through your calves as you pummel the asphalt. One step … breathe … two step … breathe … three step … breathe … four—those tiny hairs smothering the nape of your neck snap upright like an army of downy soldiers.

Your pace falters. You spin around, jog backward, scanning the shadows of the trees to the left of the walkway. Though your vision conjures no images, you just know someone is there.

You whirl back onto your path—but not before knocking the volume right down on Fall Out Boy, now playing—and the rest of the straight stretch is covered with a tilt of your head.

The moment the footsteps fall into pattern to your rear, you capture them. Without intention, your speed picks up.

Boom-boom, boom-boom, the beat of your feet rapidly chased by the pursuing ones gives the impression of a heartbeat not quite sure of its rhythm, the duet growing closer together, the merging leaving you questioning if you’d even heard a second set at all … until the line of lamplight casts the shadow alongside your own.

Without a doubt: you are not alone.

Moronically, you weave a left through the bushes—despite knowing only a far stretch of trees lie that way (because the heroine NEVER acts rationally or responsibly in the movies, right?), and before you know it, twigs are scratching your cheeks as well as threatening to twist your damn ankles as they hang low from above and create a knobbly route beneath your soles.

Your breaths pant from you, their passage burning your chest. Sweat provides a chill across your brow as it connects with the night air to contrast against the heat of panic soaring through your body.

You erupt into a clearing.

Ahead is a man.

You skid to a halt, your squeaked cry penetrating the whump of your coursing blood. As you pivot to kick dust, the the first guy who shepherded you to the clearing stomps to a standstill on your other side.

His face twists in what appears to be temper … but not at you—his blackening eyes are directed only at the new arrival as fangs as long and sharp as leather-work needles shoot down from his gums.

At a deep rumbling to your rear, you whip round again—only to discover the thunderous racket is rolling from the throat of the other dude as he leans forward and bares his shiny straight gnashers.

“Come with me if you want to live,” says Mr pointy-tooth, as Mr Growler snarls out, “Get behind me now!”

So … what do you do? Who are you gonna trust?

Feel free to join in and create your own ‘what-if’s. Simply use the hashtag for posting to Twitter.

Available at the following outlets:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

WHSmith & Waterstones

INTERVIEW: AUTHOR M.L. LACY

Today, I get to share my blog with the delightful M.L. Lacy, author of the Chrysalis series. Here’s a quick look at the cover and blurb before you duck downward to see what M.L. has to say for herself:

All families have secrets.  At 32, Bree Campbell discovers her entire life has been a secret.  A mortal born into a family of Magicals, she begins questioning everything and everyone around her.  The prophecy told at her birth speaks of a Chosen One; the last and greatest of a long line of Chosen Ones charged with saving both the Mortal and Magical worlds.  Bree must face this reality and life with her new family; a clan of vampires protecting her.  The sorceress, Esmeralda, will stop at nothing until this Chosen One is dead.  None could then oppose her and she would be free to rid the world of all mortals.  Will Bree awaken the hidden powers and find inner strength needed to save the world?

Currently available as E-Book. Paperback due for release December 2011.

So, M.L.,Chrysalis is your debut novel. What was your writing process for that? How long did it take from seedling idea to seeing it published?

I sat down and wrote what came into my head. I wrote the initial draft in 30 days. It took me another 3 months to massage it…then I sat back and thought “how can I make this different than anything that’s out there” and it took me another 3 months to polish it.

There are a lot of novels out there about vampires right now? What makes your stand out from the rest? How is it different?

I deal with clans, covens, tribes, families, and relationships that are completely different from the human realm. My vampires live in clans, my werewolves live in packs, and my witches live in covens. All my magicals live in families of one type or another, and those not living in a family, I call the homeless.

That was an interesting concept—the vampires, have gatherings on the spring and fall equinox, and if a homeless wants to join a clan, they have to petition the clan for entry. If the clan accepts the petition, then they vet the homeless individual to ensure they will “fit in” with the clan before they accept them.

My magical realm’s views on intimacy differ greatly from the human realm. They live for centuries, their family ties are strong, and they view that intimacy as a special bond.

I have traditional vampires and the ones I call non-conformists (non-coms for short). They decided to break from the true nature of vampires. They get their drink (which is what I call their liquid food) on a daily basis from the blood banks that several vampire morticians operate. They go out in the daylight. They have a day life as well as a night life.

The magical realm and the human realm in my story are here to keep the world in balance, Esmeralda is threatening that balance, and Bree has to stop her.

Cool. So, are you easily inspired?

I am if I have an interest in the subject.

Do ideas for new stories pop into your head at the slightest prompt whilst mingling with the population of the world or do you tend to sit and plot and scheme before you have a basis for a story?

I’m a daydreamer and when my mind travels, the ideas pop. I’ve so many stories that are waiting in my head to get on paper…and soooo little time. I’m currently working 2 series and I have 3 others on the back burner. I always have the beginning and ending of any story ironed out and what happens in the middle is fun…it’s life and I go with it and let it take me on my journeys. I want all my stories different. I don’t want to get into the cookie-cutter mold.

I love, love, love the cover art for Chrysalis: The Awakening. I’m a big believer of cover art being a conveyer of what’s between the covers. How closely does yours relate to the story (other than the obvious butterfly/chrysalis theme)?

Bree is emerging from the protection of her family as she learns of the prophecy that foretold her birth. She’s coming into her own, she still stumbles but she’s blossoming, as she gains her footing, and she has the courage to push forward by herself if need be. She understands that at the end of her journey, death may take her, but she is courageous in her fight to save the realms.

Blurbs so often tell folk very little about the people who walk the pages. How about you toss out five words that describe Bree.

Trusting, loving, forgiving, courageous, and young-minded.

And can the reader expect a little romance for Bree? Or would that be asking for a spoiler?

I don’t think that would be a spoiler at all. Yes, there is more than a little romance in store for her and that’s something she is going to have to come to terms with, because the magical realm’s views on intimacy differ greatly from the human realm, as I said up above. They live for centuries, and so many come into their lives. The clan hierarchy is different from anything she imagined. However…Bree is not as fortunate as everyone else in the magical realm—she is only allowed seven for her eternity. I wanted this series to be different. I didn’t one the plain and simple, but it is written in a way to make you want to live in that realm, to have that much love, and to be that loved…as well as fighting the evil-doers! Let’s not forget the evil-doers!!

Yeah, those pesky evil-doers often get in the way, eh? Okay, let’s wrap up on an easy one: Shower us in five random facts about yourself.

I was born and raised in Indiana. I love vacationing in Yellowstone; I would live there if I could. I believe in ghosts…would love to talk to one. My favorite type of dog is a Dachshund and I love to write.

Thank you so much, M.L., for joining me today.

What about you guys? Does Chrysalis sound like your kind of read?

You can find out more about M L Lacy and her book series’ at:

website: www.mlllacy.com

Goodreads: M.L. Lacy

Facebook: M.L.Lacy (author)

Amazon: Chrysalis – The Awakening

Note from author: Chrysalis – The Awakening is now available on e-Book through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and all other on-line e-Book sites. I am excited about this saga and I hope you will travel with me as the story unfolds.

Book 2 in the series will be available June 2012.