Book Give-Away in Margie's Honor

I've used the past few blog entries to introduce members of Writers Cubed, an amazing group of writers dedicated to giving back to the writing world. I'd like to continue with my good friend, Margie Jordan.

*I'M GIVING AWAY "CLOCKWORK ANGEL" IN MARGIE'S HONOR! You'll find details at the end of this post.

Margie Jordan, YA author and lover of all things action related, was born and raised in a small town one would call a quaint mixture of Andy Griffith and The Barrio, Spring Lake, Utah. She spent her childhood jumping from too-high branches in trees, rock climbing with no ropes, toilet papering the neighbors, and creating Indiana Jones-like obstacles courses, as well as dancing, singing, and acting. This mixture of salty and sweet has shaped her into the writer she is today. Margie graduated from UVU with a BS in Education and a minor in technology. She currently serves as a Literacy Coach for her local school district and lives in Spanish Fork, Utah with her husband and three children. With one ridiculously great manuscript under her belt, Margie is excited to add to her ‘finished’ stories.

Margie is constantly smiling and cracking jokes. She's saucy and snarky but at the same time, thoughtful and humble. I don't know how she pulls it off, but she totally does. She sees things that I don't see, constantly giving me a new perspective on a subject or character. Her writing is loaded with edgy voice that makes you laugh out loud.

She has one completed manuscript that she's currently agent shopping entitled DECEPTION VIRUS. It's a high-action, Dan Brown-for-teens novel, packed with surprising twists and turns, not to mention a killer romance . . . literally.

Here's a brief summary.

Lou had no reason to question the story of her father's sudden death in a car crash. That is, until her mother was taken hostage. With the help of her two best friends and the hot new kid from school, she must follow cryptic clues planted by her deceased father. She learns of her father's development of a fatal, uncontrollable biological weapon called the Deception Virus. In this high action, high romance tale of deception and science Lou must unlock her father's clues, save her mother, and keep the Deception Virus out of evil hands. She does this all while trudging through a tough grieving process for her lost father. Margie once described it as "grieving on steroids."

This only gives you an unworthy glimpse into Margie's "smart YA" tale. I had the hardest time trying to decide what excerpt to give you. I had to find something that wouldn't give away some major plot twists while showcasing her writing. I got so caught up in the manuscript that I ended up reading most of it in the process. Deciding between yummy romance, some killer action, and one of the many hilarious exchanges between Lou and her two best friends, I settled on this.

Setting the stage: Lou is captured by the CIA who is holding her illegally in a cell. They're using isolation tactics to get her to crack and give up important information. Enjoy!

Lou didn’t know when she fell asleep. She had been drifting in and out for how long? Days? Weeks? This room was her life. With nothing to do but lay, pace, and think, thoughts began to jumble. When she started the ‘One Hundred Bottles of Beer’ song in her head—a song she hated—Lou knew she was losing it.

She had heard about and seen solitary confinement on T.V. shows and movies, had watched as people became crazy, ripping their hair out and talking to themselves. There is no way it is actually that bad, she told herself then. What kind of person loses it just because he has to be alone?

Well apparently, she was that kind of person. Every passing hour made her skin itch a little more and the walls shrink to a little less. She tried to breath and clear her thoughts, but couldn’t. The next time she heard someone say they were ‘bored out of their mind’, she would pummel them. That is, if she ever got out of here.

The only memories that eased her mind were the ones of Jay. Just having him around as a figment of her imagination was calming. She missed him more and more, until it turned into a hollow ache that wouldn’t subside. First dad, then mom, then . . . everyone and everything.

She started pacing again, around and around the bed. Meal built upon meal. Besides the granola bar, they had also given her a peanut butter sandwich and some stale Cheetoes. At one point, they slipped in a microwavable Hot Pocket she couldn’t even finish eating because the outside burned her tongue and the inside was still frozen. By the time, a slice of Tostino’s pepperoni pizza slipped in, she pretty much begged to talk to someone.

“Hey you, with the food,” she shouted. But no one answered. She smelled herself. Whew, she was ripe. If she didn’t get a shower soon, she was going to gag on her own stench. However, she did shovel down the pizza and sip from the water bottle they sent with the meal.

She looked around at the empty food containers and water bottles and thought, ‘Are they ever going to come and pick this stuff up?’ Her closet room looked like a garbage dump. The toilet needed some serious cleaning.

More time passed. A couple more “meals”, if you could call them that, came through the door. Still no word. No contact with anyone. Lou started singing songs to herself and reciting old school memorizations. She actually yelled when she couldn’t remember all the words to the Gettysburg Address and had no way of finding out what they were. “Abraham Lincoln would never have done this to a seventeen year old girl,” she said out loud.

More quotes about freedom ran through her mind, until she thought of the perfect one. Lou stood up on the cot, as if addressing a throng of admirers. She bowed a couple of times to each side, cleared her throat, and said, “In the words of Patrick Henry…” She put her hands up and down as if shushing a crowd. “I know not what others may choose, but as for me—“ She yelled the ending as loud as she could “Give me Liberty or Give Me Death!” She stood, panting with the injustice in her heart.

Suddenly, her foot slipped off the edge and she landed with a bump on the mattress. Lou waited to see if anyone would come. She counted seconds, then minutes. Nothing! Lou finally turned on her side and curled up into the fetal position.

She closed her eyes and whispered into the white room, “I hate you right now, dad. I felt bad about saying it before. But I finally think you deserve it. Why would you do this to me? First, you were never around when I most needed you to be. Then you ended up getting yourself…” she trailed off and let the anger grow. “Now you’ve just deserted me. You could at least come out and defend yourself. Come on. At least have the courtesy to be angry back. I’m waiting for you to come yell at me.”

He didn’t answer. Of course.

Check out Margie on her blog at Spin Me Write Round. It's a guaranteed laugh. I promise. Become a follower of her blog and mine before the last day in October and post a comment here to let me know you have, and I'll enter your name in a drawing for Cassandra Claire's new book, "Clockwork Angel." Make sure to include your email with your comment.