Amelia’s normal teen world is shattered when a terrifying nightmare awakens the monster inside her. A newfound, insatiable thirst for blood that leads her to drain the school quarterback is only the beginning; she’s horrified to discover that her family and best friend Kendrick have been harboring the secret all along. And is the strangely alluring boy who seems hell-bent on curbing her murderous, blood-filled desires a friend, or foe?
To escape detection Amelia and her twin brother Dorian are forced to move to a new town, and the challenge of a new, exclusive high school where nearly every classmate smells like prey. Including the irresistible Ty, who seems hauntingly familiar, yet darkly menacing …
Amelia’s disturbing dreams and entanglement in a web of forbidden romance render her increasingly powerless against the chilling lies and secrets of vampire power struggles. And, as she soon discovers, vampire politics mixed with outlawed love can be a lethal cocktail.
Falling in love may just cost Amelia everything: her friends, her family...even her life.
**What Lies Inside is going to be FREE on Amazon between 3rd-4th July! Mark your calendar and be sure to grab your copy then if you haven't already!**
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What makes my heroes and villains believable?
Heroes are the do-gooders of the world, the people or creatures that run into burning buildings to save the people they love…or even complete strangers. They fight to be good and for the greater good. But they are not prefect knights on white stallions. They are complex and diverse, each one different to the next. Someone who’s lived a handed-to-them-on-a-silver-spoon kind of life will never have the same drive as someone who has lived through hardship, loss, and tragedy. They are rough around the edges, have agendas and dreams, and past events that drive them to be good…because maybe they weren’t always that way. Because maybe witnessing the horrible things others can do to others or to them, has shown them which side they want to exist and fight on.
My heroes are far from perfect: in personality, physical appearance, in actions whether past or present. Life throws them challenges and they do their best—which is not always the right thing. They are scarred beings that have failed and at times triumphed, that have demons of their own and wrongs to atone for. But at their cores they want to be good. They sacrifice for others. They put their lives on the line for things that matter to them: their friends and family, and their community or race. They rarely see themselves as heroes. Being good is not always black and white. But they want to be, struggle to be, and will survive or die trying to be just that. Good.
Villians are the despised characters we watch and read about, what we label as monsters that strive to be evil and to do bad deeds. They commit heinous acts to achieve their goals and don’t often care who is cut down in the crossfire to do so. They can present themselves under a guise to appear good, or they can reveal their cards from the start…while usually still hiding their evils plans and motives. But are villains purely evil? Are there just bad people who want to do bad because they can? Maybe, but maybe there is more to it.
My villains are not cardboard cut-out evil guys or girls. They don’t strive to do evil just because they are evil. They are hardened by life and their upbringing, by the horrible things they endured growing up that have distorted their perception of what is right and what is wrong. They don’t go against the good just to be bad. They have a plan and an end game. They have their reasons for every act they carry out, no matter how irrational it may seen to us. At times, though, we may understand their point of view, their motivations. As with heroes, not all is black and white. What would you do to save someone you love, to be loved yourself, to be accepted without ridicule, to feel part of something worthwhile and bigger than yourself?
All characters have the potential to be good or bad. No one character is all good or all evil. They each make choices that deliver them from the wrongs they have done, or bury them in deeper in their struggle to achieve what they hold dearest. Believable characters are real and raw, black or white with a lot of grey in between. Their diversity and individuality makes us engage with a book and
their story from the moment we crack open a cover—or eBook—and keeps us hooked until the very end.
**Written By J.L. Myers (Author of the Blood Bound Series) 4/06/2015**
As a child Jessica’s vivid imagination and quiet demeanor led her to the imaginary worlds of books. Even at a young age her love for the supernatural was prevalent, with her first loved books being R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series. Following that she took an interest in other non-fantasy fiction, including Virginia C. Andrews series Flowers in the Attic.
In her teen years Jessica spent many private school hours writing poetry and dark short stories, and took up sketching some of the terrifying things that came from the graphic nightmares she’d grown up with.
As an adult and after meeting the love of her life, Jessica moved to Brisbane, Australia, got married and started a small construction business with her husband. With the birth of her son, Jessica suffered PPD and found escape in her books and their fantasy landscapes. It was in this time that her need to write flourished. In 2009 the decision was made and the first words to her YA novel What Lies Inside were written.
When she’s not writing, Jessica balances being a stay-at-home mum with her families business needs while making time to get to the gym and take family vacations.
Visit Jessica, AKA J.L. Meyers:
If I say Robin Hood I'm getting the best of both.
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