New Year, New Books Day 23 (Part 1) Clara Kensie + Run to You

Welcome to Day 23 of New Year, New Books! Today I'm featuring...

1) Clara Kensie

-author of Run to You (February 2014)

Let's all welcome Clara with this extremely awkward gif.

Clara is such a wonderful lady with a really unique book! In fact, Clara's book is split into many parts! The three parts you see listed below are the ones that release in February, and one lucky winner will also be able to receive all three parts to read!

RUN TO YOU PART ONE: FIRST SIGHT (available February 1, 2014)
Part One in the riveting romantic thriller about a family on the run from a deadly past and a first love that will transcend secrets, lies and danger…

Sarah Spencer has a secret: her real name is Tessa Carson, and to stay alive, she can tell no one the truth about her psychically gifted family and the danger they are running from. As the new girl in the latest of countless schools, she also runs from her attraction to Tristan Walker—after all, she can’t even tell him her real name. But Tristan won’t be put off by a few secrets. Not even dangerous ones that might rip Tessa from his arms before they even kiss…

RUN TO YOU PART TWO: SECOND GLANCE (available February 8, 2014)
Part Two in the riveting romantic thriller about a family on the run from a deadly past and a first love that will transcend secrets, lies and danger…

Tessa Carson has unlocked her heart and her secrets to Tristan Walker—but Tristan has secrets of his own, and his might just mean the end of Tessa’s family. Unaware, Tessa embraces falling in love and being herself for the first time since she was attacked when she was only eight years old. But secrets can’t be run from forever, and sometimes love is too good to be true…

RUN TO YOU PART THREE: THIRD CHARM (available February 15, 2014)
Part Three in the riveting romantic thriller about a family on the run from a deadly past and a first love that will transcend secrets, lies and danger…

Betrayed, heartbroken, and determined to save her family, Tessa Carson refuses to give in to Tristan Walker’s pleas for forgiveness. But her own awakening psychic gift won’t let her rest until she uncovers the truth about her family and her past. And Tristan is the only one who can help her sift through the secrets to find the truth hidden in all the lies…

FIVE RANDOM FACTS ABOUT RUN TO YOU:

    1.      At sixteen, the heroine, Tessa, is as short as someone can be on the “normal” scale: four feet, ten inches. Someone once questioned if that height was realistic for someone her age, but both my step-sister Dana and my friend Lisa are 4’10.” So yes, it is.

2.      The hero, Tristan, doesn’t play football, but he is a Green Bay Packers fan. This just about kills my husband, who is a Chicago Bears fan. He feels betrayed.

3.      Tessa’s mother, Wendy, is inspired by Carrie White from Stephen King’s CARRIE, if she had grown up without the religious fanaticism and if she hadn’t gone to prom.

4.      Up until the last moment, RUN TO YOU had two chapters labeled Chapter 36. It went 35, 36, 36, 37… I never noticed, and neither did anyone else, until the copy editor saw it at the very last stage of editing.

5.      My friend Mary told me about the song “Wildflowers” by Tom Petty after reading the original draft of RUN TO YOU, and realizing the lyrics would be perfect for it. That song has since become Tessa and Tristan’s theme song and is mentioned often in the books.

FIVE RANDOM FACTS ABOUT CLARA KENSIE:

1.      I have an unfounded, irrational fear of falling down the stairs. I am constantly warning people to be careful on the stairs. Stop playing on the stairs! Get away from the stairs!!!

2.      My pets, from childhood to current: Whiskey, a white West Highland Terrier; Daisy, a white and brown English Bulldog; Fletch, a black and white Beagle/Terrier/Dachshund mix; and The King of Chaos, a black and white short-haired domestic cat. A psychic once told me that Whiskey, who died when I was eight, still follows me around everywhere I go.

3.      When I’m stressed, I have nightmares about getting lost in labyrinth-like houses, being hunted by zombies or giant rag dolls.

4.      In college, I triple-majored in psychology, sociology, and social services, and I minored in criminal justice. I interned at a residential facility for pregnant and parenting teenage girls who were wards of the state. I loved working there, and I loved those girls.

5.      My favorite outfit to wear is an oversized hoodie, jeans, and my Chuck Taylor All-Stars. It’s pretty much my uniform. I’m wearing it right now. My dentist even commented on it when I went in to get a cavity filled: “Didn’t you wear that same sweatshirt last time you were here?” Why, yes. Yes I did.

**************

I hope you enjoy this short excerpt from RUN TO YOU. Tessa and her psychically gifted family are being hunted by a telepathic killer hired by the government, and they flee from home to home, hiding behind aliases to stay alive. At their latest hideout in a quiet Chicago suburb, Tessa meets a boy named Tristan. This is the scene where he asks her out on a first date:

Tristan and I were so busy talking after our run Saturday morning that I didn’t realize he’d walked me all the way home until we reached my driveway.

“What are you doing tonight?” He lifted his ankle up behind him to stretch his quad.

It was going to be a typical Saturday night for me: I’d stealthily watch my dad for nosebleeds while Mom and I planned next week’s menu and waited for Jillian and Logan to get home, and after our parents fell asleep we’d have a clandestine training session.

But I couldn’t tell Tristan that. “I’m going to the mall,” I said instead. “They’re having a sale on jeans.”

Tristan switched legs. “Instead of shopping, would you like to go on a date with me?”

My breath hitched. “We’re just friends, Tristan.”

“We’re more than just friends,” he said. “And I want to make it official.”

“Make what official?”

“Us. You and me.”

Us. You and me. My heart echoed in rhythm: Thump. Thump-th-thump.

But I couldn’t make us into anything more than what it was now. “We’re officially friends,” I said, digging my toe in the grass and squinting up at him. “That was a big step for me.”

“Can’t you take just one more step?” He held up his thumb and finger an inch apart. “A tiny baby step? Everyone already thinks we’re dating.”

“I—I don’t want people to think about me at all.”

“I think about you all the time. Want to know what I think?”

My answer was a whisper. “Yes.”

“I think you’re amazing. I think you’re beautiful. And I think we should go on a date tonight.”

Thump. Thump-th-thump.

Saying yes meant I’d have to lie to him.

And then one day, I’d have to leave him.

I had to say no.

But he was looking down at me with eyes bright and blue and full of hope. I thought about the past couple Saturday nights, how long and quiet they’d been, how I’d spent the whole time craving Tristan. If I didn’t see him tonight, I’d have to wait until tomorrow. And suddenly tomorrow was too far away.

The word flew from my mouth without permission. “Yes.”

Oh my goodness.

Oh my goodness!

“Yes?” His eyebrows rose a little in surprise. “You’ll go out with me tonight?”

I couldn’t stop myself from giggling. “Yes!”

He lit up from the inside out. “I’m leaving before you change your mind,” he said, and started jogging away backwards. “Pick you up at seven.”

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GIVEAWAY: One winner will receive all three parts of RUN TO YOU Book One! I will order each part of book for you from an e-tailer of your choice, and they will be automatically delivered to your e-reader or app on release day:

RUN TO YOU PART ONE: FIRST SIGHT on February 1

RUN TO YOU PART TWO: SECOND GLANCE on February 8

RUN TO YOU PART THREE: THIRD CHARM on February 15

Rules of Entry:

1.      OPEN INTERNATIONALLY wherever RUN TO YOU is sold.

2.      Don't cheat with your entries, I always check.

3.      The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email, otherwise, I will be forced to pick a new winner.

4.      The winner must provide email address and preferred e-tailer (Amazon, B&N, etc).

5.      The prize will be sent out at the author's discretion.

6.      Take the time to read this post with Clara. Authors are crazy busy and deserve as much love as you can give them.

7.      GOOD LUCK! 

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***Grand Prize Giveaway***

2 Surprise 2014 ARCs + swag

Yep, these will be from my own shelf. Yep, this giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY. Yep, it is a surprise and I am not telling you what the ARCs will be but here's an idea of what MIGHT be in it:

Any of these books are fair game! But in the end, the winner will only get 2. And I promise that the surprise ARCs will be good:)

Here are the rules of entry:

1) OPEN INTERNATIONALLY
2) The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email. If not, I will have to pick a new winner. 

3) The prize will be sent out at my discretion, so I might take me a little longer than a week to get it to you.

4) In order to earn the maximum amount of entries, you can comment on EVERY SINGLE DAY of New Year, New Books!

5) GOOD LUCK!

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