Shadow Eyes Anniversary Tour

Shadow Eyes Blog Tour

I had the pleasure of meeting Dusty in August of last year. I read and reviewed her debut novel, Shadow Eyes, and loved it! (CLICK HERE to read my review)I can't believe it's been almost eight months since then! To celebrate her one-year anniversary, Dusty has put together an awesome tour full of exciting Shadow Eyes related posts and of course and
keep reading for a look behind the scenes!

~ Shadow Eyes Behind the Scenes Excerpt ~

"Thank you for hosting me Jill!   And thanks for such an awesome review of Shadow Eyes!  

Ever wondered what goes on in an author’s mind while they’re writing and what all goes into creating the story?  I know.  Scary, right?  I’m going to give you a “behind the scenes” look into writing my young adult urban fantasy, Shadow Eyes.  First, so that the excerpt makes sense, let me give you the synopsis.  Following the synopsis is the beginning of Chapter 6 with numbers that correspond to my comments after the excerpt.  Go ahead, my mind isn’t too scary…I don’t think.

Iris Kohl lives in a world populated by murky shadows that surround, harass, and entice unsuspecting individuals toward evil.  But she is the only one who can see them.  She’s had this ability to see the shadows, as well as brilliantly glowing light figures, ever since an obscure, tragic incident on her fourteenth birthday three years earlier. 

Although she’s learned to cope, the view of her world begins to shift upon the arrival of three mysterious characters.  First, a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows; second, a new friend with an awe-inspiring aura; and third, a mysterious and alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend.

As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, she must ultimately revisit the most horrific event of her life in order to learn her true identity and become the hero she was meant to be.

~ Excerpt from Chapter 6 ~

“So, what did we decide to see again?” Lexi studied the marquee suspiciously. The air was thick with the smell of greasy popcorn, and the crowds of anxious moviegoers clustered together in order to hear themselves talk over the loud chatter. “Please tell me it’s not a horror movie, because I don’t do well with blood and guts.” (1)

She looked queasy at just the thought, and Sam moved to stand by her in a show of chivalry. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure they don’t pick a horror movie.” Lexi casually tried to move away from him and closer to me without speaking, but he followed her like a stray dog who had stubbornly chosen an unwilling owner.

“We could see a romantic comedy,” Josh suggested, peering at me out of the corner of his eye, obviously trying to earn some brownie points.

Tyler raised an eyebrow and smirked at him, implying he had just lost his man card, so Josh hastily added, “I mean, if it’s funny enough, you know. Sometimes they can be really funny…like Hot Date. I heard that was really good.” (2)

“Hasn’t that actress been in rehab recently?” Nicole asked. (3)

“Haven’t they all?” Tyler replied with a chuckle. We rolled our eyes. “Anyway, she’s hot, so what does it matter?”

Nicole smacked his stomach with the back of her hand, her mouth gaping in mock outrage.

Tyler didn’t seem phased and held up his pointer finger in an exuberant number one sign. “One vote for Hot Date!”

“That sounds fine to me,” I said, not wanting to appear picky or troublesome.

The rest of them all nodded in agreement except for Nicole, but once she saw she was outnumbered, all of us staring at her expectantly, she consented. “Whatever. I’m easy. Hot Date sounds good.”

Tyler couldn’t help himself. “So, what you’re saying is…you’re easy and you want a hot date?” He laughed, pointing out her unintentional innuendo as she blushed and smacked him again. (4)

Tyler puffed out his chest and gazed down at Nicole, pretending to be sexy with a suave look and gruff voice. “I think I can comply with that, miss.” (5)

I wanted to join in on their laughter and lighthearted banter, but I just couldn’t shake the disconcerting feeling that I was being watched. I can’t exactly explain how I knew, except that my skin all of a sudden felt cold and tingly as though someone’s stare was afflicting it with venomous frostbite. (6)

I did my best to stifle my panic and spread heat throughout my body by taking Josh’s hand in mine and slowly lacing my fingers through his. He seemed to appreciate this gesture and rewarded me by putting his arm around my shoulders in a soft squeeze and letting it linger there for a while. As he did so, he glanced at me briefly and then gazed forward with a satisfied smile.

The pride he had for me and our relationship obviously made me feel special, but his blanket of warmth only did so much for my rapidly spreading frostbite. I found myself scanning the diminishing ticket line and movie theater’s surroundings for the culprit.

What I ultimately found standing, or slightly hovering, immediately to the left of the ticket booth, sent an intense chill running down my spine. I was left anxious and confused. A cluster of three suspicious-looking dark figures huddled together, somewhat hunched over like they were talking. Their eyes were unmistakably locked on me.

Author Commentary:

(1)  For this scene, I pictured the front of the old movie theater in my hometown - Ponca City, Oklahoma.  We had a newer, bigger theater, but this old one had some sort of strange charm to it, even though the inside was kind of disgusting.  Nevertheless, the image of this older theater standing tall in the dark night with the yummy, but also gross, smell of popcorn in the air set the stage perfectly for the eerie events about to unfold.

(2)  The first time I heard someone use the term “Man Card,” I knew I had to incorporate it somehow into my writing.  It was just two funny.  Tyler, with his goofy and fun personality, was the perfect character for the job.

(3)  Reference to Lindsay Lohan…

(4)  This is totally something my husband would say, except he wouldn’t even need me or someone else to make it that easy for him to come up with such a joke.  He’s just that witty.  And that’s one of the reasons I love him.  J  Actually, a lot of the funny lines remind me of my husband, and some even came directly from my asking him what I should have my character say!

(5)  Even though he’s not a major character, Tyler was truly one of my favorite characters to write.  I had a lot of fun describing his wit and humor in not only his words, but also his facial expressions and body language.

(6)  Being an English teacher, I LOVE figurative language!  I love it when it’s clever and funny, I love it when it’s deep and powerful, and I love it when it gives you an amazingly clearer picture of what’s going on – visually, physically, and emotionally.  Fahrenheit 451, which I teach to my freshman, is one of my favorite books, partly because it is so chalk-full of powerful and poignant figurative language.  I do my best to do the same in my own writing.  I use figurative language, but it’s always for a reason.

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Buy Shadow Eyes at MUSA PUBLISHING

(also available at all major online bookstores)