I'm excited to be participating in the Grace Doll blog tour with an excerpt from Grace Doll by Jennifer Laurens.
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About the Book
Title: Grace DollAuthor: Jennifer Laurens
Release Date: August 2012
Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing
Genre: YA Fantasy
Grace Doll had everything a girl could want: Fame. Fortune. Beauty.
Everything except, of course, her freedom. So when a powerful movie producer forces an experimental treatment on Grace--one that's purported to make beauty immortal--she stages her own death to escape him.
With the help of trusted friends, Grace slips into hiding. She's forever flawless, forever young and forever pursued by her past.
But when a stranger arrives on her doorstep, holding the key to a life she thought she'd left behind, Grace must decide between the safety she's known... and embracing the role she was born to play.
Excerpt
Grace Doll by Jennifer Laurens
She blinks rapidly. Is she holding back tears? Of course she is. She’s looking at a photo of her grandmother—or mother— who’s dead.“Do you know why he’d keep that photo in a safe deposit box?” I ask.
As if clearing away an unsettling memory, she shakes her head.
“He had me draw it once.”
Her eyes flash to mine. “He had you draw this photo?” she murmurs, eyeing the picture again.
“Yeah. I was thirteen. He had it locked in a drawer in his office at home. Maybe it was taken somewhere special. It had to have meant something. Do you want it?”
She extends the photograph to me. “If he kept it locked away, it must have meant a lot to him. You should keep it.”
I take the photo. “Maybe it’s worth something.”
Her eyes turn cold.
“Look, I realize she was your—whatever relation Grace was to you—but that photo…the fact that it meant something to Dad…doesn’t matter to me. If you want it, take it because I’d sell it just to spite him.”
Her brows crease. As if she has to work her mind, body, and soul into believing my words she cradles the photograph to her chest, studying me. “You really do hate him, don’t you?”
I don’t respond. Can’t. Her gaze tumbles emotion into me and I cross my arms over my chest, clear my throat.
Finally, she exits the kitchen, heading to the living room. She crosses to the fireplace stopping at the edge of the hearth. Is she mourning her loss? Does she miss Dad?
Flames stretch and crackle, the orange hot reflection colors her skin. Without another glance at the picture, she tosses it into the fire. Lavender blue sparks mingle with the orange flames. The photograph curls in on itself. Grace’s beautiful face burns to black. A pang of remorse races through me.
She takes a deep breath. The tightness in her brow and lips begins to fade.
“Did you hate her too?” I ask.
Flames pop and snap. Her eyes don’t break from mine, and my heart notches to a pound, waiting for her answer.
“Yes.”
About the Author
I write YA books. Whatever my heart desires, I write. I don't have someone over my shoulder, in some office somewhere telling me what I can and cannot write. Or should and shouldn't write. I listen to my heart, the center of my muse, and trust my instincts.
I've written since junior high school. An only child, I grew up writing big stories about big families. I also write YA under the name of JM Warwick. My hometown of Palos Verdes, California figures in much of my work, as does my current home of Pleasant Grove, Utah and other favorite places. I love to travel.
They say "write what you know" and I do. I am a mother, I have six children, five cats and a huge doberman/dane dog. I have a supportive husband and we've been married 25 years. Our lives, though challenging with a handicapped child who has autism, are centered in our family.
My life experiences have worked into all of my novels. Some more heavily than others, but parts of me are in each story. I love stories rich in family drama, where family members overcome obstacles through love and miracles.
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Thanks for taking part in this tour :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for participating!
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