#YA Novel Award Excitement

I am BEYOND excited to share some remarkable news with you all.

My latest YA novel, Oath Breaker, is up for a RONE Award: Best YA Novel of 2017, but I need your votes to help me advance to the final judging level.

Voting for the YA category is open for one week only (Monday 30^th April – Sunday 6^th May 2018) to ensure every category gets a fair chance. You need to register to vote, however, subscribing is FREE and doesn’t require any commitment whatsoever. I’ve subscribed to the Ind’Tale Magazine for the last few years and adore getting their online book review publication – full of every genre of book, articles, and special offers.

It’s then simply a matter of clicking on the little button next to Oath Breaker, hitting VOTE, and then receiving lots of virtual hugs from this eternally grateful author.

Here’s the Link to VOTE between Monday 30^th April and Sunday 6^th May.

Not read Oath Breaker? Let me give you a taster…

Opening Scene from Oath Breaker

The blue flashing lights pulsed through the fractured front window, illuminating the blood splatter on the walls. The click-click of the forensic team’s camera ate into the sterile silence as the officers combed through the living room.

Like something out of a macabre horror show the blood covered everything, coating the threadbare rug in front of the fireplace with its crimson wash. The splintered remains of the coffee table littered the overturned chair, and the smell of death clung to the walls.

I lifted my eyes to look at the police officer who knelt in front of me, his face a mask of professionalism even though he must be wishing he was anywhere but here.

‘Did you see who killed your dad?’ I slowly shook my head as the officer tried to determine what had happened.

‘Someone tried to kill you, miss. I want to help. Did you see who broke in and attacked you?’

I couldn’t answer. The words were stuck in my throat. How could I tell him that my dad was the one who tried to kill me and that a wolf had jumped through the window and ripped out his throat? Who would believe me?

The paramedic dropped a medical kit at my feet and began wiping the blood from my face, the sudden cold of the antiseptic wipe causing an involuntary shudder to run through my bones. The police officer and paramedic exchanged a look. The same kind of look that my teacher and headmaster used to give each other when I tried to cover up the bruises down my arms.

I slumped a little further into the kitchen chair, letting my long dark hair fall around my face.

‘Anything you can give us by way of a description will help.’ The police officer clicked the end of his pen and poised it over the clean sheet of notepaper.

‘Big,’ I managed to say. My lips cracked as I spoke, and I could feel a trickle of blood slide down the side of my mouth. The paramedic wiped it up before moving to the gash on my forehead.

‘It…he was big. Dark hair. Brown eyes.’

The officer noted it down and let out a deep sigh. Not the best description for them to go on, but it was all I could give him. If I’d told him the attacker was hairy, with sharp claws and fangs, the paramedic would have had me committed. I didn’t need to escape from one prison to then find myself in another.

‘It’s late. Who can we call?’ the medic asked as he secured a small bandage to my head. ‘Any family?’

The police officer grabbed the radio from his shirt pocket. ‘I’ve already called social services. As she’s a minor we need to find her a bed for the night. I’ll chase them up.’

‘No!’ I could hear the flicker of panic in my voice as the threat of being sent away loomed. ‘I can call my brother. He’ll let me stay with him. He’s much older than me and has his own place. It’ll be fine.’

They exchanged another look.

‘What’s his number and we’ll call him for you?’

Shit.

I hadn’t seen Zak since he walked out nine years ago. He’d promised to come back for me but he never did. He left me alone with that bastard who called himself our father.

‘I’ll find it,’ I mumbled, standing up and moving towards the living room. The police officer barred the door.

‘It’s probably best that you don’t enter the crime scene, miss. You’ve been through enough tonight already, so why don’t you take a seat and tell me where to look?’

Double shit.

I needed to stall for time. If only someone were willing to lie to the police about being my brother then I wouldn’t have to go with the social worker. Unfortunately, friends were a luxury I never got to enjoy.

My heart beat faster as I wrestled with the possibility of leaving this house. If I went with them, Zak would never be able to find me. I stumbled against the dresser, knocking a vase to the floor with a loud crash.

The paramedic led me back to the plastic kitchen chair and I lowered myself into it, resting my head on the wooden table and letting my long hair fan out around me. The softly murmured voices of the police officer and the medic washed over me as I closed my eyes.

Throat torn open – blood gushing from the wound as it sprayed across the furniture –his eyes wide in shock and panic as he fell to the floor.

Keeping my head on the table, I tuned into the conversations around me. The officers were speculating on the attacker, trying to understand how someone could cause that much carnage.

Strong assailant – nothing missing – bloody mess – no chance of survival.

They went on, talking through all the possibilities. Of course, none of them came close to the truth – how could they?

I squeezed my eyes more tightly shut as I tried to block out the images that danced across the inside of my eyelids. His eyes. The blood.

A man’s deep voice cut through the air and a shudder skittered down my spine. The sharp tone and arrogance reminded me of my father, and I had to lift my head to check he hadn’t risen from the dead.

I opened my eyes and blinked against the stark brightness of the kitchen light.

‘This is Sebastian Roberts, miss.’ The police officer led him into the room.

The well-dressed man filled the kitchen doorway; his dark suit and long overcoat looked as if they cost more than my dad earned in a year. His shoes shone in the bright light of the kitchen, and I instinctively tucked my tatty trainers under the chair.

I figured him to be middle-aged and he had thick black hair that was neatly clipped around a square face. The hard lines of his nose and jaw worked to highlight the cold grey eyes that stared down at me.

‘He says he’s your uncle.’ The police officer gestured for Mr Roberts to take a seat, but he remained where he was, watching me with predatory eyes.

I’d only met this man a couple of times when I was a kid, but the striking resemblance to my father would have convinced anyone that he was who he said he was. They could have been twins apart from the difference in hair colour and the small fact that this man was clean-shaven and professional, and my father had been a drunken mess with a violent temper.

‘We were about to call her brother to come and get her.’

My uncle huffed. ‘If Mia’s brother gets in touch, then do feel free to pass on my details so he can come and visit her at my home.’ Sebastian Roberts looked pointedly at me as he said it, and I understood immediately that I was busted. He knew I didn’t have a clue where Zak was.

Shit.

Blurb for Oath Breaker

Will she follow the pack…

Or will she destroy them

A dead mother.

A violent father.

A missing brother.

When Mia’s father is murdered, it’s her estranged uncle that comes to the rescue, but what he offers her in return for his help could be worse than the life she is leaving behind.

Taken to Hood Academy, a unique school deep in the forest, she discovers friendships, love, and the courage to stand on her own.

As she trains hard, Mia takes the oath that seals her future as a werewolf hunter, but not everyone wants Mia to succeed.

Screams in the night. Secret rooms. Hidden letters. Mia becomes an important piece in a game she doesn’t want to play.

Will the truth set her free, or will it destroy her?

BUY Oath Breaker HERE.

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me. May your day be full of sunshine, your coffee ever flowing, and your positive energy attract all the wonderful things you deserve.