(Emerge #1)
by Melissa A. Craven
Release Date: April 1st 2015
2015 Dante Rossetti Awards Finalist
2015 International Book Awards Finalist
2015 USA Best Book Award Finalist
Allie
Carmichael has always believed life is simple.
You’re
born.
You
live.
You die.
She has no
cause to believe that equation works differently for her, but there has to be a
reason the world treats her like a pariah.
When an
unexpected move to Kelleys Island brings Aidan McBrien crashing into her life,
Allie is thrown by his reaction. He doesn’t shrink from her touch. He doesn’t
stutter or make a quick exit. He smiles and welcomes her into his circle of
friends, who aren’t exactly comfortable with Allie, but they seem to get her in
a way most people don’t.
Finally, Allie
has a real shot at normal and rides that high right up to her sixteenth
birthday when she wakes in agony—an experience Aidan insists they have all
faced. She struggles in ignorance, uncertain of what is real and what isn’t.
When she emerges, Allie is different. She has always been different, but even
among her extraordinary friends, she and Aidan are special.
As Allie
struggles to maintain her tenuous grasp on the power that threatens to
overwhelm her, she worries she will lose herself in this strange new world. A
dangerous world where she will have to fight tooth and nail to defend the power
and freedom that is her birthright.
…only Allie
hates to fight.
Emerge: The Awakening is on sale
for $1.99 during the tour!
Emerge: The Edge is on sale for
$0.99 during the tour!
Amazon.com/EmergeTheEdge
As a student of architecture and a huge Art Deco fan, it blows my mind that I did not know about this hidden gem right under my nose. I recently discovered an article about the Detroit-Superior Avenue Bridge connecting the West and East banks of the Cuyahoga River. The Bridge practically ran through my living room and I never knew there was a secret, subway level that was closed in the early fifties.
A Sneak Peek at a Special Location in the Next Emerge
Book
Cleveland
might seem an odd choice of location for an Urban Fantasy, but it was my home
for nearly a decade and one of my favorite places in the world.
As a student of architecture and a huge Art Deco fan, it blows my mind that I did not know about this hidden gem right under my nose. I recently discovered an article about the Detroit-Superior Avenue Bridge connecting the West and East banks of the Cuyahoga River. The Bridge practically ran through my living room and I never knew there was a secret, subway level that was closed in the early fifties.
Needless
to say, the interior designer in me was intrigued. What I wouldn’t give to take
a tour of this place! But I live in Atlanta now, and that’s a long trip to go
look at some old bricks.
For my
current work in progress, I have plans to feature
this location for a very important section of the book. I originally planned a
different location, but I was never happy with it and as a result, that part of
the book was moving slowly for me. I lacked the inspiration to move forward
with it and was really stuck on my progress. Since
discovering a setting that truly inspires me, I’m now excited to work on this
part of the book. Inspiration is half the battle. Forcing it when you aren’t
feeling it will always show through in the writing so I’m thrilled with the
latest addition to the Emerge setting.
Check
out the pictures below. Can you take a guess at what a group of young Immortals
might be up to in a place like this?
Melissa A. Craven (the "A" stands for Ann—in case you
were wondering) was born near Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to Cleveland, Ohio at
the age of seventeen. She still thinks of Cleveland as home, so it was only
natural for Emerge to take place there.
Today, she is back in
Atlanta—for some reason she can't seem to stay away from the ungodly heat that
makes her long for things like "lake effect snow" and wind that will
knock you flat.
Melissa decided a long time ago that the “life checklist” everyone else was clutching so tightly in their fists, just wasn’t for her. She does everything backwards because she is weird like that, but then, she is an artist and artists are notoriously "unique" and "quirky."
She is an avid student of art and design, and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of West Georgia in 2009. She worked as an interior designer for several years, but she's always thought she might like to be a writer when she grows up.
In her spare time, if she has any, she enjoys shopping for derelict furniture she refinishes to exercise the interior design part of her brain.
Melissa decided a long time ago that the “life checklist” everyone else was clutching so tightly in their fists, just wasn’t for her. She does everything backwards because she is weird like that, but then, she is an artist and artists are notoriously "unique" and "quirky."
She is an avid student of art and design, and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of West Georgia in 2009. She worked as an interior designer for several years, but she's always thought she might like to be a writer when she grows up.
In her spare time, if she has any, she enjoys shopping for derelict furniture she refinishes to exercise the interior design part of her brain.
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“No one has ever
understood me like you do, Allie” Aidan said. “But you’ve only seen me with my
family. Wherever I go, other Immortals are cold and distant. Some actually
think I should be controlled, like I couldn’t possibly be trusted with this
much power.
“My training is
brutal, and I’ve tried to shield that from you for as long as possible. I’m in
pain most of the time because I have to work so hard to stay one step ahead. If
I slack off for even a day, I could lose control. It’s just so exhausting! I’ll
be a target before I’m thirty and I know I have to be ready to defend myself
from those who would take what’s mine, but sometimes I’d gladly give it all
away. I hate teaching Chloe, and now they have me working with Graham,
too. I don’t want to be this authority figure to my friends, but Dad insists I
take a leadership role. He claims people will always look to me for guidance
and I need to learn to shoulder that responsibility now. I just wish I didn’t
have to practice on my friends.”
“I know you hate
it.” Allie was so glad that he was finally letting it all out. “But you’re a
natural leader. The others respect you, yes, but they love you, Aidan. And
don’t ever forget, I don’t see you that way. So when it gets to be too much,
I’m here. You can’t keep it bottled up like this. I had no idea you felt such
pressure!”
“Allie, you’ve
been a godsend for me these last months.”
“But you’ve been
so preoccupied with taking care of me and helping me through all of this, you
haven’t thought of yourself and what you need. It’s time you stop focusing on
me so much. I’m doing okay now, Aidan. You got me through it. Let me be here
for you now.”
“I’m a fixer,
Allie. Taking care of others is what I do. I don’t know how to turn it off.” He
shrugged. “You know I’ve not always dealt with this life very well. You’ve
heard the stories about me before you came along.” “But that’s when everything
changed. I had an equal. For the first time in my life, I could be with another
person and not feel their fear and discomfort. I love you, Allie. I can’t help
it, it just feels so damned natural.”
“Aidan, I—”
“I need you in
my life. In whatever way you’ll have me,” he said in a rush. “We could be
amazing together, I know it and you know it, but you have so much on your
plate. It’s too much. I get that now,” he said miserably. “It was selfish of me
to push so hard so soon.”
“Aidan Loukas,
you are the most selfless person I know! It’s difficult to put yourself in
someone else’s shoes and I’m just as guilty of that as you are. It’s been all
about me for months and I haven’t stopped to think about how this has affected
you too. You know how much you mean to me. I love the closeness we share and I
crave it just as much as you do. In a different way, I suppose, but that’s not
fair. I don’t know if I can explain my feelings well enough for you to
understand, but—you and I—it’s just too much. I don’t want to be that girl
who’s nothing without her boyfriend. I want to be a reflection of what I
love—of who I am on my own, not just an empty echo of who I love. Does that
make sense?”
“You think I’d
overwhelm you?” he asked.
“We’d overwhelm
each other.”
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