Butterflies and Post-It Notes

July 21st is nearing!! Grab supplies like you're a nutball on December 20th!! Ahhhh.

Okay...It's not a huge day in time for the rest of the world...just me. And my supplies consist of hand sanitizer, tissue packets, highlighters, diaries, mini lunch boxes, sports bottles, and a few other things with my promo stickers on them.

So what is July 21st?

It'll be the first time I appear with my Vista-Printed banner that says "Local Young Adult Author Gin Price". It'll be the first time I stand behind my swag and do a mental dancing ritual in hopes of reeling in interested Tweens and Teens and even Adults, convincing them I'm the next Big Thing and my book is worth buying. This event is the digital equivalent to a book signing, and if no one comes over to my table...I'll probably crawl under it.

The feeling is good fodder for book writing, though. As a teen, I had many moments where I wanted to sink into the floor--and as an author, it can only benefit me to take another trip down Humiliation Ave looking for that "Oh yeah, this is what high school halls felt like" memory.

I'm only being partially over dramatic. LOL In truth, what I'm feeling is the butterflies of the unknown, but also dragonflies of extreme excitement...and well...maybe a few panicky moths--which would account for all the post-its with abrupt last minute instructions I have around my house like a sadistic (and colorful!) scavenger hunt from hell.

Here's hoping I navigate successfully and arrive at the event with everything I need.

You can help! Just head on over to the Romeo District Library on July 21st between the hours of 12:00 p.m.--3:00p.m.

New Website Finally Up!!

My goodness! I can't believe how long it took me to get the website up. Just the basics so far, but, yay!!

www.ginprice.com has arrived, and, over time, it will improve! :)

Tagged Sample Chapter One

The first chapter of my debut YA novel Tagged...available at NobleYoungAdult.com, Amazon, Barnes and Noble. Thanks for taking a look...Cheers.

Chapter One

I wasn't gonna make it.

I had a stitch in my side as wide as the distance between the Pizza Pie Pagoda and the apartment roof we ran across, so the chances I'd screw up and smack my head against the concrete waiting below looked pretty good. The waist of my yoga pants began to unroll, the fabric sliding down with every pump of my aching legs, and I had to waste precious energy to pull them up. But if I didn't, and I stepped on a hem, I'd stumble.

Stumbling would be bad—like lose a tooth on the balance beam the day before prom bad. Already, I could feel the quiver of fatigue in my knees.

"He's gonna catch me; he's gonna catch me," I chanted between panted breaths.

Though I'd spoken more to myself than my companion, Surge answered anyway. "Nah, baby-girl, you got this. Shoulder, hip, thigh, then roll up and walk away. Daily cake."

I grunted. Easy for him to say. This current fiasco made it five consecutive hours of balls-out athletics for me, while he was on hour two and only slightly less out of breath than when he'd started.

"Get back here!" The voice behind us bellowed, closing in.

I threw off my rhythm a fraction to look behind me. "Damn, he's on us. How'd he get up here so fast?"

"You realize I had you this time, right?"

Appalled at my friend's attempt to claim a victory when the game clearly had been called due to weather conditions—it was raining cops—I ran faster, pushing myself beyond my limits toward the roof's edge. I didn't care if my pants fell around my ankles mid-flight; I was going to win our little game today and moon the world doing it.

But first, I had to stay out of jail.

"Whoa! Come back." The cop yelled. He sounded more concerned now than angry.

Too late. There was no coming back once we'd made the decision to run.

"Boosh!" Surge yelled as we both hopped the lip of the roof and leapt across the expanse between the buildings, sprawled out and reaching through the air like action heroes.

Unlike the movies, none of my jumps ever happened slow enough for me to process the danger. I committed to the plunge and depended on ingrained knowledge to take over.

The Pizza Pie Pagoda building came up fast. I crouched at what felt like the right time to absorb the shock and let my exhausted body fall forward and to the side. The remaining energy of the landing pushed me into a side-roll, taking the impact from thigh to shoulder until the momentum brought me to my feet again.

Surge's landing was swankier than mine, but for once, he didn't gloat. Probably because we didn't have time.

"You kids all right?" The cop called from the building over.

We didn't take the time to answer him. We just waved off his concern and ignored his repeated command to give ourselves up. Surge grabbed my elbow and helped me to the side of the pizza place facing the maze of alleyways. From there we were able to Cat off the roof with a quick hang and an easy jump.

"How you doin'?" Surge asked, once we'd put distance between the cop and us.

"Well, I worked my butt of in gymnastics practice, ran around the mall with you, only to get kicked out because of your food-court tabletop trick—"

"You gotta admit that was swank," he interrupted. "How was I supposed to know they were gonna call in the real blue?"

"And now I've spent the last ten minutes upgrading from a trespassing ticket to an arrest."

"Only if we got caught, which we won't. So's you owe me five bucks." He grinned at me, and I couldn't help but return it.

"We ain't off main, yet." I slapped his extended palm away. "When I'm home and couchin', you'll get your five."

I tugged off my hoodie as we walked, stuffing it behind a dumpster to come back for it later. We knew the drill. You didn't walk around wearing the same colored clothes after a cop was running you down. The next corner you turned would probably have you stuffed in a squad car before the first lie left your mouth. Changing shirts wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Besides, with my hoodie on, most cops mistook me for a guy anyway. I guess they thought girls had better things to do than monkey around the cityscape.

"Damn, there's the cop," Surge said.

I looked down the block from where we stood and frowned. He didn't seem to notice us any more than he noticed the other pedestrians, but to be safe, I tugged Surge into the coffee shop.

The few tables the dive had inside were up front with a window view, while racks and racks of tee shirts and other gift items created an aisle to the registers in the back. Outside, loitering public filled a few more two-seater tables, making blending in a little easier.

"I guess we take a timeout for refreshments," I said.

Surge paced, lips pursed, looking out the storefront. "He's gonna keep circling and look in here eventually. Not sure stopping was a good idea this time."

"Hey Surge," a girl called out from behind us.

I turned and nodded a greeting at Ramona as she chatted Surge up. Dressed in her coffee shop apron and visor-hat, she was clearly working the counter.

Wenda, her best friend and my gymnastics nemesis, walked up and stood next to her. We were all on the same team, but no one would know it the way the two acted—except we were both wearing our Kennedy Gymnastics Team T-shirts.

"Hey guys," I said, trying to be a beacon of polite through the thick fog of seething hatred. Ramona attempted a smile but settled on a grimace. Wenda didn't seem capable of scraping the bitch off her face.

"Ramona-girl, you think you could get us out the back of this place?" Surge asked.

On tiptoes, Wenda whispered something in Ramona's ear while never taking her eyes off me.

Subtle.

"I can take one of you through—" Ramona started to say.

Surge snorted. "Forget it."

"No, no." I knew this was a good opportunity to draw less attention to ourselves. "Surge, you go out the back, and I'll go out the front." I smiled my second best smile at Wenda, while still talking to Surge. "We'll meet up at the library and finish what we started earlier."

His glare at the two girls melted as he turned to me, and I suspected he did that on purpose to show anti-bitchery support. "Oooh. I accept your challenge! I'll even beat you there." He winked and then turned to Ramona. "Lead the way, mama."

With Ramona taking Surge out the back, Wenda and I were left standing there. "Guess I'll see you next practice." I said.

"Oh didn't you hear? We're gonna do individual practices until coach returns from her vacation."

Odd. I hadn't heard, but I wasn't exactly surprised. At regionals last season, I made a few enemies by pushing all the girls hard to perform better. I did the same thing at the earlier practice, so I suspected some of the girls might be mad at me. Now I had my suspicions confirmed.

"Well, then. See ya at school."

"Whatever." She did the hand brush-off thing and turned her back on me, cutting me down without saying another word.

Shaking my head, I turned and left the coffee shop.

No one had ever looked at me with such hatred before, and I couldn't figure out where it had come from. I knew gymnastics competition pitted us against each other, but it seemed like there was more to her attitude than just rivalry. Whatever. I couldn't puzzle through her bullshit when I still needed to get a few blocks away to avoid a tour of the city jail.

Losing my concern for Wenda was easy once I was on my way to the library, Freerunning again. No troubles or stressful thoughts stood a chance against the heart-pumping adrenaline rush that was Parkour.

I raced down streets, using the objects in my way to increase my pace instead of slow me down. I swung under a metal railing and leaped over its paralleled twin. I jumped over a fire hydrant and the three bikes locked on the rack right next to it, all without choking up.

The seamless movements made Surge's head start ineffective, and as I rounded the corner on the last block to the library, I caught sight of my friend a block parallel.

At the same time, he noticed me.

He laughed across the distance, and the challenge within it spurred me on. "Oh you are so gettin' shown," I promised quietly, forcing my legs into motion.

So close, so close! If I could get to the lion statue first, I'd get the prize, but Surge wasn't going to make it easy on me. We both ran full speed, coming closer to each other and to our destination.

I vaulted over one wide-stone railing, Kong-style, with my feet straight out in front, ready to catch me for my landing.

I didn't expect anyone to be standing there.

Six Sentence Sunday

This is only my second time posting for Six Sentence Sunday. Since I will be swamped this weekend, I'm doing a scheduled post, so I hope it turns out right. Last time I did it, it posted on the right day, but had the date I'd written it up top. LOL

If you'd like to check out other Romance authors and some YA authors Click Here to find the Six Sentence list. You won't regret it! I've found great reading material in the snippets provided.

This excerpt is from my brand new YA Thriller release Tagged (formerly On Edge) from Noble Young Adult. It's a new style West Side Story tale with Graffiti Artists and Parkour Traceurs (if you're not sure what Parkour is, YouTube and you'll be amazed!) The buy link is on the side if it sounds like something you might be interested in.

Scene: Traceurs Surge and Emanuella have their Freerunning game interrupted by the blue.

Six Sentence Excerpt:


"You realize I had you this time, right?"
Appalled at my friend's attempt to claim a victory when the game clearly had been called due to weather conditions—it was raining cops—I ran faster, pushing myself beyond my limits toward the roof's edge. I didn't care if my pants fell around my ankles mid-flight; I was going to win our little game today and moon the world doing it.
But first, I had to stay out of jail.
"Whoa! Come back," the cop yelled, sounding more concerned now than angry.
Too late...there was no coming back once we'd made the decision to run.






Thanks for taking a look!

Release Day for Tagged!

I'm so excited! Tagged is out today!

I'm going to link to the page at Noble Young Adult...when it becomes available on the Kindle, I will link to that as well.

For now...and if you always can...buy direct from Noble. ::winks::

Check Out The Banner! Lucy Monroe's Reader Fitness Program!

I'm so very excited to announce that I will be a team captain for Lucy Monroe's Reader Fitness Program! This is a great and timely opportunity for anyone looking to shed some pounds or just get fit!!

Dieting isn't easy. And neither is staying in shape. <---Gee Thanks, Captain Obvious.

However, when you have a group of people cheering you on, both can be easy--er, I promise.

Think of a club or organization that you joined and note how inspired you felt to keep at your hobby, career, interest, than you were before you joined.

Never joined a club or organization? Ask yourself how much more inspired you would feel with a group behind you, supporting and encouraging you.

It's the same idea here.

Lucy is doing a great thing by putting together a bunch of captains who are ready and eager to be the head of the cheering section as we all drop a few pounds and gain better health habits in the quest to look better naked!--or maybe that's just me. Honestly, my quest is to stop looking like a muscled linebacker sans muscles in pictures. (Stop tagging me in Facebook pictures when I look Moo-tastic--yes I mean you family! Key-rimeny.)

Despite my current bad habits, I've actually been quite healthy and in shape for the past 2 years, I just let a busy schedule get the best of me for the past 6 months. Now I'm going to use this opportunity to implement a healthy plan and stick to it with the help of my crew.

Come join me! Click on the banner...find out more information and let's get started!

Tagged Sold!

Yay! Tagged was picked up by Noble Young Adult, the publisher willing to take a risk on an unconventional theme. Parkour/Freerunning! My admiration for this athletic state of mind stems from a place of inability. I wish that I could move as these men and women do. With fascination I've watched videos, stalked websites, and dreamed. There's nothing so freeing, so liberating as fluid motion--it's like a coupling with the environment, a dance with obstacles, turning them into partners--I could spend hours throwing out poetry...

...or I could simplify it all by saying...Freerunning is wicked cool.

On top of that majestic world, I added in the beauty of street art. From the dawn of man, we've drawn on walls, left our mark.

In my opinion, nothing could compliment a spiritual athletic movement more than the high of the freedom of expression with the promise of artistic immortality. Graffiti!

Bringing the two things together I admire most from the outside looking in, I present to you my homage.

TAGGED:

Blurb:

When a graffiti artist wants you dead, you’re Tagged.

The economic strain hits home like a bat upside the head, forcing two rival schools to merge on neutral ground. Emanuella “LL” Harvey knows it’s only a matter of time before students start dropping like pants on prom night. Her brother and Parkour tribe want her to fall in line and unite behind their claim for top spot, but to support them, she’ll have to betray her heart. She’s fallen in love with her brother’s biggest enemy—because she’s suicidal like that.

Graffiti crew leader Brennan “Haze” Craig claims he has no interest in gang violence or aspirations of “Writer” infamy.  He just wants her.  But when masterpieces of LL start popping up on the streets, all fingers and evidence point to Haze, and to protect her, her hot-headed brother declares war.  Trying not to add names to the student memorial wall, LL must discover the truth behind who wants her dead before she’s TAGGED for good.