And the Winners Are . . .

Countdown to Exile--1 day!

First, for more Exile reviews, check out the following:

My Love Affair With Books

YA bibliophile

Sugarpeach


And for another Exile guest post (Aurelia & I are rather fond of this one):

The Neverending Bookshelf


The winners for the advanced reading copies of Exile are ...


For Option 2 (Name your cat. And tell me his or her special talent): Michelle!

Michelle's answer:

My cat, Belle (who I’m totally just realizing has a namesake who also shares her interest…Hint: Disney princess), has a knack for reading…or maybe just nudging books with her little pink nose until she can get them to pop open. Then she sits on them. I’m thinking she might be lucky enough to have the ability to absorb knowledge through osmosis. Wouldn’t surprise me. (She’s staring at me looking very smug right now). Lucky cat.


For Option 1 (If a very strong female character started talking to you, what would her particular strength be?): Lacey!

Lacey's answer:

I walk into the coffee shop, the scent of coffee beans lingers in the air. I survey the room before taking a seat by the window where I look out at the soft rain hitting against the window. I sigh before pulling out My laptop and turning it on. As I was waiting for my old machine to boot up, I heard footsteps walk up to me and ask if she could sit down. I nod my head, briefly lifting my eyes before concentrating on my computer once more.

"School work?" She asks.

I sigh once more and look up and my eyes nearly pop because sitting across from me is Grace, THE GRACE. She looks exactly as the Grace in my story, she even sounds like how I would imagine her to sound like. I stare at her in wonder, it takes all my willpower to stay rooted in my seat.

"Are you alright?" She asks, her eyebrows lift in concern.

I nod my head, "Your Grace, " I mutter out.

She smiles. "Yes, your Grace, my creator."

I take in a deep breath, I must be losing it, I HAVE to be losing it.....

"Can you tell me what my greatest strength is?" She asks challenging me.

I nod my head in excitement, "Of course....your greatest strength is the ability to comfort your family and friends by putting up a false shield and convincing everyone else that they're okay and you're okay... You create an appearance of togetherness. You're the leader,their guardian angel that leads them out of the darkness....but deep down, you're suffering. You're eyes show it, but you're intelligent enough to avoid any long periods of contact.... But I think your greatest strength can be your own downfall, but isn't that like that with every strength? Doesn't every strength end in turmoil eventually?" I ask, my mind rambling on and twisting down rocky and cloudy paths....

Grace just sits there and shrugs, "I suppose so..."

I stare at my computer that is now booted up, the screen glowing back at me, demanding me to put in a password before it'll proceed forward.With frustration I slam the screen back down and stare over at Grace. She is growing uneasy. I have unrattled something inside her; I have started her downfall and I can do nothing but watch her shatter as she tries to put everything back together, but I smile. I know her; I know she will fix this because, unlike her, I know her ending.

I pack my laptop back in my bag and get up from the table, I can see that Grace has finally shattered all she is going to. She gives me a brief smile before poofing into golden dust and floating out the opened door to the coffee shop as a customer came in. I wasn't sad to see her go; I'll be seeing her soon in my story. I'll fix everything because her strength will manifest into something greater. I leave the shop and see the rain finally stop and the sun try to break through the clouds. I push back my bangs and walk down the sidewalk, thinking of only Grace.


Congratulations Michelle & Lacey! Wonderful answers!