Book Excerpt: Bad Girl Gone

Awakening

When I tried to remember exactly how I came to be lying in the cold black room, my mind couldn’t focus.
I could feel myself slowly climbing upward, clawing my way out of the clutches of a nightmare. This was usually a good feeling, because you knew you were just dreaming, and the nightmare was over. Except this time it wasn’t. My hands felt clammy. I gripped the sheets until I knew my knuckles must be white. Help me, I thought. Somebody please help me.

I had no idea where I was, and for a terrifying second I couldn’t even remember who I was. But then I remembered my name. Echo. Echo Stone. My real name is Eileen. When I was a toddler, I waddled around repeating everything my parents said and they called me “Echo,” and it just stuck.

Remembering my name and how I got it kick-started my brain. I knew who I was. I remembered that I was sixteen years old and lived in Kirkland, Washington, with my mom and dad. It was all coming back to me. Mom was a dentist and Dad taught middle school English. Good, I could remember parts of my life. But I was still in a dark, cold room and had no idea how I got there. I held back a scream, my chest tightening. Don’t lose it, Echo, keep it together, I told myself. Calm down, think good thoughts.

I pictured Andy, my boyfriend. Six feet tall, broad shoul- ders, blue eyes, and long golden-brown hair. He loved to feed me cookie bites and called me his rabbit. I called him Wolfie. Sometimes he got the hiccups for no reason at all and usually laughed them away. Thinking of Andy momentarily made me feel warm inside, even though the room was freezing.

Where was I? I was shivering and yet also bathed in sweat, my skin slick with it. I clutched for my trusty Saint Christo- pher necklace. But it wasn’t there. Mom gave it to me to protect me when I traveled. Would it protect me now? I would never have lost it. The chain must have broken. And then I had an ugly thought. What if someone had ripped it from my neck? I shuddered. Where are you, Andy? I need you!

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VALERIAN: CITY OF ALPHA Mousepad and Art Print Giveaway!

Valerian

To celebrate the mobile game release of VALERIAN: CITY OF ALPHA, the official mobile game of the feature film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Spil Games is offering us a giveaway!

It is the official mobile game of Luc Besson’s upcoming sci-fi movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets starring Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne. The legendary director is famous for creating sci-fi blockbusters including The Fifth Element and Lucy.

The film has been described as visually spectacular and the mobile game creates an engaging experience that will draw players into the Valerian universe.

Valerian: City of Alpha was built from the astonishingly intricate backstory created for the movie. Gamers get to explore that super cool universe for themselves.

“Spil Games has successfully captured our movie in a mobile game,” says Virginie Besson-Silla, the movie’s producer. “What we see is an immersive experience that Valerian fans will have fun with.”

The movie is set on the astonishing City of Alpha — an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and culture with one another.

The mobile game begins 590 years earlier when Alpha is still just a space station. The aim is to explore and discover the aliens and planets that will come to be featured in the movie. Players must complete exciting missions, connect with alien species and come up with strategies to help them create the knowledge-sharing metropolis. The ultimate objective is building for themselves the biggest and best version of the City of Alpha.

Much more than just a game of a movie

• Revel in stunning artwork
• Explore the entire universe in which the movie is set
• Connect with mind-blowing alien cultures and snag their technologies
• Create the Alpha metropolis — your imagination is the only limit
• A unique combination of city building, exploration and diplomacy

IOS download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/valerian-city-of-alpha/id1161756765?ls=1&mt=8
Android download link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spilgames.Valerian

Valerian

Valerian

Courtesy of Spil Games, I have a Mousepad and Print (see above) for one (1) lucky winner!

Contest is open to US residents only. No PO Boxes please. To enter, just fill out the form below. Contest ends August 18. I’ll draw a name on August 19, and notify winner via email.

ENTER DAILY TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING!

Good luck!

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Box Review: ThinkGeek Capsule – July 2017

From the site: “We’re ThinkGeek. We enjoy movies, books, and long space walks outside the vehicle. We want everyone to embrace their inner geek, and the ThinkGeek Capsule is our monthly mystery box that gives you the fun of a blind box with the security of knowing you’re getting gear hand-selected by ThinkGeek. Each ThinkGeek … Read more