There’s
a couple days left to get in on my GoodReads giveaway of a paperback copy of
Practically Dreaming. Just follow this link to sign up! In addition to the
book, you’ll get a handful of swag and a book tote I had printed especially for
this book release.
While
you’re over at GoodReads, please do me a huge favor and vote for Practically Dreaming
in a list of “Good Books to Read in 2012.” I’m currently #7 on this list! Just
click on the tan button just underneath the book title that says “vote for this
book.” Get me to #1 and I’ll hold another giveaway here on my blog for a copy
of the Practically Dreaming ebook!
Want
to check out a little excerpt? As you probably know, I’m a huge
fan of manatees and whales and especially sharks. I’ve been thinking about
them a lot because last week was Shark Week – a holiday around my house that
ranks only just second to Halloween! So with that in mind, I hope you enjoy this
scene, in which Lachlan takes Tierra diving:
Tierra looked around her again and spotted a swirling school of tiny grey fish moving
quickly in a group. She had never tried to connect with a fish’s mind and
wasn’t even sure she could, but she reached out now. At first, she didn’t think
it would work. Fish didn’t see those same mental pictures cats and dogs and
birds did. They didn’t feel emotion in the way people understood it. A fish’s
dominant sense was instinctual. It took Tierra a moment to recognize it because
instead of a picture or an emotion coming from the fish, she simply felt an
overwhelming imperative. This instinct was far more overriding than any she
might feel now, which would be tempered by intellect. What she got from the
school was a single thought, as if shouted from a megaphone. It translated
roughly to something like “swim fast!”
She
would have turned and fled as well had she not recognized it as an alien
thought. The question of what had triggered the flight instinct made her wonder
if she should do some flying of her own. She tensed her muscles to swim toward
the surface, but Lachlan’s hand on her arm stilled her. She turned to look at
him, saw him staring at something in deeper water, and turned to see what he
was watching.
The
queasiness she’d felt on the boat slammed back into her along with a colossal
dose of adrenaline. Her breath came faster and bubbles from her regulator
streamed toward the surface. She looked up, seeking the outline of his boat.
They had come away from it quite a bit. Retreat was out of the question. She
wasn’t as fast as the shark swimming out of the shadowy depths of the ocean.
Lachlan
got her attention and pointed to the reef beneath them. A couple more hand
gestures and his message was clear. Their best chance was to sink to the ocean
floor and remain as still and calm as they could. She nodded and Lachlan took
her hand and slowly began to move both of them to the sea floor.
What kind is it? Tierra wondered. Grey,
reef, white, blue, bull, thresher? A part of her believed it was imperative she
know the exact type of shark about to eat her. Maybe it was just a way for her
mind to make sense of the situation. She had always been one to rationalize her
fears. This particular fear, however, was about seven feet long, a dusky dark
brown color, and headed straight toward her. Its massive head swung back and
forth in the current.
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