April 26, 2011

Teaser Tuesday! Featuring Elle Beauregard

Shift


When Leah’s inability to control her new-found skill nearly sends her into a full blown shifter-tantrum in front of the entire high school, even she has to admit that the last week of school is no place for a new shape-shifter. 

Keeping her new, unpredictable shape-shifting skills a secret is paramount, so Leah agrees to spend her summer vacation with her eccentric Aunt Cecelia, a fellow shifter who lives in the deserts outside Tubac, Arizona. Begrudgingly at first, Leah learns what it means to be a shifter, discovering that, in nature, her kind is not as rare as she first thought. While coming to terms with her new identity and learning to control her skills, she meets the son of her Aunt Cecelia’s life-long friends. But Drake King is different from other boys, and not just because he is a shifter. When cornered by a pack of wild dogs one night in the unfamiliar desert, Drake reveals an additional, extraordinary gift that saves Leah’s life.
Amidst rumors of rogue shifters who have broken their oath and revealed themselves to the public—threatening the tenuous new life Leah has just begun to love—she and Drake embark upon a journey that will redefine them as individuals and forever solidify them as a pair.


Excerpt:
“Follow me,” Cecelia said when I came out of the nothingness of the shift.

I stood and followed her toward the bathroom.

She turned back to me, a little tense.  “Close your eyes.”

I did as she asked.  She took my hand and guided me until my fingers found the counter’s edge.  Was she about to let me see myself in the mirror?  I was so excited to see what I looked like with this amazing, fair skin and red hair!

“Okay.”

I opened my eyes to see someone else standing in the mirror. She wasn’t me at all.  There wasn’t any of me left.  Nothing. It wasn’t me, with red hair and fair, freckled skin.  It was the girl from the advertisement, as if she’d come alive and crawled out of the magazine.

Before I knew what was happening, I started to cry, my breath catching in my chest.  But I couldn’t look away.  I didn’t quite believe that was my reflection.  I didn’t believe that the person looking back at me was me at all.  It had to be some kind of trick.

The edges of my vision grew dark and suddenly the floor felt like it was moving.  I blinked, squeezing my eyes shut, my fingers tightening around the edge of the counter.  When I opened my eyes again, the darkness had encroached further, but still I couldn’t look away.  The only way I knew that girl was me was by the fat, wet tear that I could feel rolling down my cheek and see running down hers.

“Leah?” Cecelia’s voice was tense and firm.

My head was light and the floor continued to roll.  I felt my knees give out.



Social media & Web links:
SHIFT: www.smashwords.com/books/view/53300
Twitter: @ellebeauregard 

2 comments:

Jenn Nixon said...

Thanks for stopping by Elle! Great excerpt!

Elle Beauregard said...

Thank you for having me! I'm thrilled! And I'm so looking forward to hosting your guest post on Creadium in May!