I can’t even tell you how thrilled I am today to give you the exclusive cover reveal for my upcoming novel DREAMFALL.

Although I have written horror before, I have never published it, and this is not just horror…it’s YA HORROR! It’s kind of a mix of Flatliners, the Matrix, and Nightmare on Elm Street.

As for how it compares to my other books, I end the acknowledgements with this: “And above all, thank you to my readers…. I handed out virtual tissues for the DIE FOR ME series and virtual crossbows for AFTER THE END. After DREAMFALL, you all deserve a nightlight.

Here is the premise for DREAMFALL:

A radical experiment to cure chronic insomnia goes wrong, and its seven teenage test subjects are plunged into a shared coma populated by one another’s nightmares; those who die in the dream will also die in real life.

Want to know more? Okay!

Sleep comes easily for most people—but it is an unattainable dream for Cata Cordova, Fergus Willson and the five other teens who volunteered to take part in a radical new treatment. They suffer from devastating insomnia and are desperate for help. So desperate that they’re willing to undergo an experimental procedure, which has only ever been tested on one other patient. They’re supposed to be the beta group. But this time, nothing goes as planned….

Soon after the seven of them are put under, catastrophe strikes and they find themselves thrown together in a shared dreamworld with no memory of the experiment or any idea of how they got there. As Cata, Fergus and the others try to figure out what’s happened to them, they come to the terrifying realization that they are trapped inside a world where their worst nightmares come to life. Hunted by creatures from their deepest, darkest imaginations and tormented by terrible secrets they’d rather keep buried, the teens are forced to band together to face their biggest fears. And if these dreamers can’t find a way to defeat them, they won’t have a hope of ever waking up.

So…knowing all that, are you ready to see the cover?

Here it is!

What do you think? Scary much? I am absolutely over the moon about it, and you should see it side-by-side with the proposed cover of Book 2!!! (Oh yes, this is a duology.)

As the weeks tick by until the release of the book, I will be revealing the characters of the story to you one by one. I asked the same artist who drew Juneau and Miles for me (the incredibly talented Len-Yan) to draw each of the characters of DREAMFALL, and as usual, the result is EPIC.

So…dear reader, I am pleased to introduce you to Fergus Willson. He is Beta Subject Two in the experiment. And here are his vitals:

Fergus Willson (Subject 2):
Age: 18
Diagnosed as having narcolepsy with cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucinations, sleep paralysis, excessive daytime sleepiness, and night terrors.

Because of his medical condition, he has to live with his parents. He is a Freshman at a local Connecticut community college. He can’t drive, play sports, or do anything that would endanger him or others if he were to have a cataplexic attack.

Cata’s description of him:
“To my right there’s a boy about my age, maybe a little older. His skin is light brown, and the woman sitting next to him looks like she’s from India. From the way she touches his arm—lightly but protectively—it’s clear that she’s his mother. The boy’s got black wavy hair and is cute in a skater-boy way—if you ignore the dark circles under his eyes and the bruise on his chin.”

INTRODUCING….Fergus:

Isn’t he amazing. I can’t wait for you to meet him in the story. He will give you the feels in so many different ways.

And THANK YOU in advance for helping me spread the news about this book that I am SO excited for you to read!

Are you ready for the DREAMFALL cover reveal? TOMORROW is the big day! Check back here to see it in all of it’s beautiousness. I’ll be giving away a $50 Amazon gift card, answering questions AND introducing you to the very first character: Fergus. Check back tomorrow!

Reader Julia D has the habit of painting the covers of her favorite books in oil paints, and just look at what she did with After the End! Isn’t this AMAZING???

Julia explained to me that she painted with oil paint directly onto the book:

“Oil paint mixes and flows together really well so that how I did the sky. I actually watched someone on YouTube do this! First I did the sky with one solid color, then mixed in yellows and blue while it was still wet. Then the stars with water paint by using a splatter method. Then painted the forest/mountain with just one solid blue and then the trees with a smaller brush.”

Just wow.

She went on to tell me, “My favorite part of After the End is probably when Miles breaks Juneau out of his dad’s house, so adorable, and Miles has my sense of humor.”

The other day I was in the middle of getting my hair cut when suddenly I was gripped by a strange feeling. Like somewhere nearby, something big was going down. Little did I know that a few blocks away, an epic battle was taking place in my apartment. The dispute was over who would be the guardian of my house.

This status had been held for the last three years by Poe, my beloved stuffed raven, bought in honor of his namesake in my After the End series.

But it was about to be challenged by Obi, my new Labrador puppy.

Obi was the newcomer, with only four months under his belt. But he had an advantage. He was alive.

The battle began with a stare-down.

“I haven’t noticed you here before,” Obi commented after eight seconds, irked that he had lost the blinking contest so quickly.

“It’s because Amy puts me on a high shelf when she leaves you home alone,” Poe replied. His beak didn’t move when he spoke.  Obi found that unnerving.

“Oh yeah? Then why didn’t she today?” he asked.

“Probably because she closed the door between my room and your room.”

“What door?”

“The one you just rammed open by throwing your body against it for the last half hour.”

Obi looked over his shoulder at the broken lock. “Oh. That door.” He looked back at the bird. “So, how are we going to settle this thing?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The guardianship of Amy’s house.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re a spazzed-out puppy and I’m a wise old bird. I’ve been on the job here longer than you’ve been alive.”

Obi had been trying to keep his attention trained on the raven, but something was itching right…down… He twisted around and frantically gnawed at the base of his tail. When he finished, he looked back up at the bird. “There can be only one.” His voice was weirdly high-pitched, and he spoke with a strange accent.

“What?”

Obi cleared the phlegm from his throat and repeated, “There can be only one.”

“I heard you the first time, dog. But that’s stupid. There’s plenty of room for both of us.”

“No, it’s true. It’s from a movie. And movies are always true.”

“Highlander is not the source of all wisdom. Do you take your advice from a French guy with a sword and bad hair extensions?”

Obi had no idea what the bird was talking about, but he wasn’t going to let confusion get in the way of his mission. “It’s not from Highlander,” he retorted. “It’s from Star Wars. I should know, I’m named after the guy who said it.”

The bird trained its glass eye on him. Obi flinched. The bird spoke. “First of all, your name is short for Oberon, king of fairies, not Obi Wan Kenobi, Jedi master. Amy just told her kids that so they would agree to the name. And secondly, Jedi Obi never said that.”

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.” Obi’s voice trailed off. The more the bird stared at him, the more unsure he felt.

“Listen,” the bird said with a sigh. “If you said, ‘There is another,’ or ‘There is still good in him,’ or ‘That’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time,’ THAT would be Obi Wan. But ‘There can be only one’ is Highlander.”

“How would you know?”

“Amy watched Star Wars IV, V and VI a million times. I could recite the scripts by heart. I, II and III, however aren’t worth the film they’re printed on. Or would that be chips they’re digitized on? I’m not good with technology.”

Obi was starting to feel like he was in over his head. He scratched his haunch with his hind paw and said the first thing that came into his mind. “Well, I’m bigger than you, and I say there can be only one.”

Quoth the raven, “Nevermore!”

Obi froze and stared at Poe. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know. I just like to say it.”

“Well, don’t.”

“Nevermore.”

“I said don’t say that.”

“Never…”

“You’ve pushed me too far, bird.” Obi, growled, and made a leap for the mantle.

This was all that was left of Poe when I got home.

That, and some weird feathery chunks Obi threw up in the corner of the living room. I cleaned it all up, heart in my throat and tears in my eyes. A mighty battle had been fought, and poor Poe had suffered the indignity of yet another death. I said a little prayer to that Great Raven in the Tree and threw his remains in the big green non-recyclable bin.

I went to bed that night, thinking it was all over. There was no one left for Obi to fight. He had already taken out the beaver skull and the crocodile head from Florida the week before. But I was wrong. It wasn’t over…yet.

When I woke up the next morning, there was a note on the mantle in the exact spot where Poe used to stand guard.

Back in January, I was invited to write a short story for the awesome author-run site The Hanging Garden. I and 8 other YA authors were given 6 gif prompts to choose from. I chose a close-up of waves, and wrote a story about…

Actually, I won’t spoil. But I will say that when I read it to my kids, my daughter ran to her bedroom crying, and my son said, “Mom, that story isn’t for children.” So on that note…enjoy!

KISS THE GIRL

And be sure to check out the other stories by

Zoraida Córdova, author of LABYRINTH LOST cc: @zlikeinzorro
Lamar Giles, author of ENDANGERED cc: @lrgiles
Rachel Hartman, author of SHADOW SCALE cc: @_rachelhartman
Kirsten Hubbard, author of LIKE MANDARIN cc: @kirstenhubbard
Justina Ireland, author of PROMISE OF SHADOWS cc: @justinaireland
Alethea Kontis, author of the BOOKS OF ARILLAND series cc: @aletheakontis
Mari Mancusi, author of the SCORCHED series cc: @marimancusi
Myra McEntire, author of the HOURGLASS trilogy cc: @myramcentire
Chris McKitterick, author of TRANSCENDENCE cc: @mckitterick
Gretchen McNeil, author of RELIC cc: @gretchenmcneil
Sara Raasch, author of ICE LIKE FIRE cc: @seesarawrite
Jessica Spotswood, author of WILD SWANS cc: @jessica_shea
Shveta Thakrar, author of “Krishna Blue” in Kaleidoscope and “She Sleeps Beneath the Sea” in issue 31 of Faerie magazine cc: @shvetathakrar