In the Going Down In Flames series, Jaxon Westgate is the son of the man Bryn’s mom jilted. He’s been raised to despise her because she damaged his family’s reputation and standing in the dragon community. He insults her, and she shoots a fireball at his head. After they’ve faced trials together, they come to an uncertain sort of mutual … Read More
Trial By Fire
I feel like sharing today, so here is the rough draft version of the first chapter of Book 3 in the Going Down In Flames series, Trial By Fire. “Jaxon, I swear to God, if you don’t stop bitching, I will set your hair on fire.” Bryn spoke through clenched teeth as she smiled and nodded at the students … Read More
Brain Candy – Revisited
Wednesday snuck by me this week, so I’m revisiting a past post about why I write what I write. What do you want from a book? I want a fast-paced, fun, roller-coaster-ride of a read. Do you like cliffhanger endings? In one of my favorite series, The Morganville Vampires, every book ends with a main character dying or on the … Read More
All that Glitters
I was lucky enough to be asked to do an interview for Glitter magazine. Today I’m sharing the questions they asked and my answers. You can find the link to the original article at the end of this post. GLITTER: Tell us 5 random facts about yourself. CHRIS: I have 3 dogs, so my entire house is furry and so … Read More
Author Nerves Explained by Supernatural Gifs
How does an author feel the day before a book release? Bridges Burned releases tomorrow, so I thought I’d explain author nerves through Supernatural gifs. At first, you’re excited that your book is about to be released into the wild. Then you click over to Goodreads to see if anyone with an advanced reader copy has … Read More
Just One More Page Takeover
Tonight I’ll be taking over the Just One More Page Facebook page. Stop by https://www.facebook.com/1morepage at 7pm CST and leave a message for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card. During the Takeover I’ll be sharing some of my favorite lines from Going Down In Flames and Bridges Burned. I’m sharing a few here too. I hope they … Read More
Polyvore: My New Addiction
I recently discovered Polyvore. It’s kind of like Pinterest, but it lets you create collections of clothing or furniture or just about anything else you want. Here is an example. I dream of one day walking a red carpet wearing a fabulous dragon ensemble. The odds of this happening are zero to none. But just in case I get the … Read More
Going Down In Flames on Zazzle
After much cursing and a few glasses of Moscato, I was able to create a storefront on Zazzle. If you are interested, you can buy shirts, necklaces and about anything else you might want with the Going Down In Flames Logo. I’ll be adding more products in the future. If there is something you want, but don’t see, please leave a … Read More
Snippets from Bridges Burned
You may have noticed my site has a new color scheme. I’m trying to go for something a little less eye-bleeding, but I love color. If you’ve seen the photo of my banner you’ll notice my walls are turqouise. At least the ones in the foyer and kitchen are. You can see a slice of the opposite wall which is … Read More
Scenes from Bridges Burned
Here is one of the many opening scenes that didn’t make it into Bridges Burned. Sometimes getting the opening right is the hardest part. 🙂 In her head, she imagined someone trying to explain the bizarre events in her life, “Surprise, you’re a shape-shifting dragon and you’re being blackmailed into attending the Institute for Excellence, where you’ll learn to control your … Read More
Bridges Burned-Another Scene Bites the Dust
I love how this scene highlights Jaxon and Bryn’s frenemy type relationship. The scene was part of a sub-plot in Book 2 which was vetoed. I may find a way to add it to Book 3. Until then, I thought I’d share it here. Bryn checked the time on her bedside clock. It was half past two. “Curfew doesn’t start until 8pm. We … Read More
Bridges Burned-cut scenes
I’m editing book 2 in my shape-shifting dragon series, Bridges Burned. Scenes are being cut and changed. I am drinking wine, eating chocolate, and hugging my shitzu. Here is a scene that won’t make the final cut. Bryn sipped her lukewarm coffee and grimaced. Yuck. She could ask for a refill, but doing anything that required her to stay at … Read More
Dragon Fashion Finds
It’s no secret that I like dragons. Whenever I’m on Pinterest I scan for dragon sculptures, dragon mugs, dragon furniture, etc. Today I discovered Polyvore, which has a ton of cool dragon stuff. It’s a bit pricey, but it’s fun to look at. All of these items can be found here: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/shop?query=dragon&.search_src=masthead_search What is the coolest dragon item you’ve ever come … Read More
My Crazy Summer
This was an exciting, crazy summer. I got on a plane by myself and flew to Nashville for the #UtopYA2014 conference. It was awesome and inspiring and exhausting. Then I took a plane to Las Vegas for the Entangled publishing conference. It was also awesome and inspiring and exhausting. I wish the two events hadn’t happened back to back because … Read More
Creative Process Blog Hop
Amanda Troyer wrote a post about her creative process and tagged me in it. http://goo.gl/aE01ss 1) What am I working on? The second book in my shape-shifting dragon series, Bridges Burned, is on my editor’s desk, so I’m working on book three of Bryn’s adventures. I’m also working on a New Adult book which is kind of like The Matrix … Read More