KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench where, every Wednesday, readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!
THE CHRISTMAS SHIFT by JM KLINE
A Shadow Hills Shifter Story
It’s Christmas Eve, and Holly Barry’s seventeenth birthday. This is the year she will shape-shift for the first time, and she is terrified of what she may change into. The holidays are already a hard time for her, missing her mother’s Christmas cheer. Her embarrassing seasonal name doesn’t help matters. Her dad doesn’t seem to understand Holly’s reluctance, and decorates to his heart’s content.
When Holly shifts into something truly grotesque, she has to find the Christmas spirit. Will she discover it in time to make dreams come true?
(Short Story)
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A Note from JM Kline about The Christmas Shift….
EXCERPT
I followed Dad through the front door. I hadn’t realized it would be so cold outside, and I sat on the heating vent in the living room to warm up. I stared at the over-stuffed brown armchair Dad loved and thought about what my life might be like after I turned seventeen tomorrow.
This was one birthday I’d be happy to skip.
Dad didn’t tell me that we were shape shifters until I started high school. Dad had changed into a bird so many times over the last two years, I’d kind of gotten used to the idea. I wish I’d had a chance to see my mom change. Dad always told me she was the most beautiful swan he had ever seen. It was part of why he’d fallen in love with her.
Really, it wasn’t the shape-changing that scared me. The truth is, I was terrified I’d change into something weird.
I’d been thinking about the worst case scenarios for a while. What if I changed into a shark or something and I suddenly couldn’t breathe? I know they have precautions, like having a nearby pool or something, but what if they didn’t get me there in time? I moved through other terrible possibilities. A cow – I can imagine the taunts now. A vulture – has to be the ugliest bird on the planet. A giant snake. I shuddered at that one. I know a couple of snakes. One of my teachers is a rattlesnake, but they still give me the creeps.
SHIFTING DREAMS by JM KLINE
A Shadow Hills Shifter Story
THE TOWN OF SHADOW HILLS HAS SECRETS….
Nestled in the foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains lays the town of Shadow Hills. Driving through, you would never suspect the town’s inhabitants are anything but normal.
SECRETS THAT CAN BE SCARY….
Tessa Brooks has lived all her life in Shadow Hills. She’s always thought she was just another ordinary girl. She is wrong.
When her parents reveal the town’s Big Secret the day before she’s supposed to start high school, she thinks it’s the worst thing that could ever happen to her…and that’s when things get even weirder.
SECRETS THAT CAN CHANGE LIVES FOREVER….
Tessa tries to balance high school, family, friends, a new maybe-sort-of-boyfriend with new powers and responsibilities she’s not ready to embrace. Her life as she knows it has ended, and a new one is beginning. Whether she’s ready or not.
SHIFTING DREAMS by JM KLINE
A Shadow Hills Shifter Story
A Note from JM Kline about Shifting Dreams….
As a birthday bash bonus, the first book in the Shadow Hills Shifters series is on sale! Get it for just $1.99 today, December 18th! The price goes up to $2.99 tomorrow, before returning to its original list price of $3.99.
Shifting Dreams is a story about Tessa Brooks, who just found out that she was born into a family of shape-shifters. They tell her she’ll shift into an animal on her seventeenth birthday, but she has no idea what she’ll turn into! Of course, as it happens, things don’t go quite as planned. Here is a short excerpt. Enjoy!
SHIFTING DREAMS by JM KLINE
A Shadow Hills Shifter Story
EXCERPT
Everyone left for school and work. Then I got myself ready and walked to the forest on the edge of town. Vin told us we shouldn’t be there, but I had this feeling I couldn’t shake.
I found the clearing, sat down, and waited. I closed my eyes to relax and hopefully get rid of my headache. I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes, it was hot and the sun was shining directly over me.
Apparently, it was all a waste of time. I stood up and brushed the pine needles off my pants. I walked back to the path, watching the ground for giant roots. I knew those suckers were just waiting to trip the unsuspecting and the clumsy. I’d just jumped over one particularly mangy-looking shrub when I noticed there was someone standing on the path.
At first, all I saw were his shoes – big, black zombie-stomping boots. His long legs were covered in dark jeans, which covered a butt that was to-die-for. He wasn’t big and built, but his arms gave me the idea that he worked out in some way. His hair was blond and scruffy and long, just like I liked it.
I must have made some noise just then, because he turned around to see me. I caught the square jaw and yummy lips before I looked up and saw his eyes. They were ringed with emerald and the bright green starburst was flecked with gold.
I knew those eyes. This was my wolf.
I suddenly didn’t know what I was doing there. What if Vin was right and this guy hurt me for coming back into his territory?
I took a step back and he smiled. Ohmygosh. He’s going to kill me and he was going to enjoy it. What was I thinking?
“Hey, I remember you.” He took a step toward me.
Could he smell my fear? Oh, I hoped he couldn’t. I could only stand there and hope he had some other trait. Maybe he could talk to bugs or….oh, why did I have to come here today?
JM Kline, Author….JM Kline was born in Colorado, and was raised to love books by her mom, a published author. While she grew up reading many different genres, anything with paranormal or fantasy elements caught her eye most often. She grew up writing fantastic stories about Rindercella and her Prince, talking monkeys, and fairy princesses.
The Shadow Hills Shifters series is a Young Adult Paranormal series about a small town in the Rocky Mountain foothills. Shadow Hills is a small town where a pop quiz could include multiple choice, essays, or a sudden battle with your best friend!
When she isn’t writing, JM spends her time with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two rambunctious dogs.
See more about JM Kline and her books at www.jmkline.net
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Links to JM’s website, blog, books, etc.
Visit me and sign up to receive blog updates at my website, www.jmkline.net
My holiday short story, The Christmas Shift, is FREE on Kindle through December 19th 2013, so pick it up!
http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Shift-Shadow-Hills-Shifters-ebook/dp/B00AN9928Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387208902&sr=8-1&keywords=jm+kline
The first book in my series, Shifting Dreams, is only $3.99 on Kindle.
http://www.amazon.com/Shifting-Dreams-Shadow-Hills-Shifters-ebook/dp/B00DHIR1VS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1387208922&sr=8-2&keywords=jm+kline
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**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: JM will give away one #FREE signed copy of SHIFTING DREAMS to one of her lucky readers who comments on her Monday Interview or Wednesday Book Bench blogs!! Don’t miss this chance to read this story!! Thanks, JM, for sharing your stories with us!