Music has always played a huge part in my life, and if I had the skills, notes and instruments would’ve been my path. Alas, my singing range is barely an octave, I held first chair flute in middle school and promptly lost it to an overachieving, competitive, music teacher suck-up (no I’m not bitter), my guitar playing frightens animals and children, and while I can play the piano well if I practice my patooty off, mediocre is the best I’ll ever be. Yes, you may take a moment of silence to sniffle for me.
While writing fulfills my need for creativity, music will always be the secret love of my heart, and it’s no surprise that certain songs inspire scenes in my books and help me breathe them to life. Here are a few that helped me color Beautifully Burned.
Broken – Seether
Breathe No More – Evanescence
World So Cold – Three Days Grace
Fire and Fury - Skillet
Breaking Inside - Shinedown
What Have You Done – Within Temptation
So Cold – Breaking Benjamin
Burning Bridges – OneRepublic
Animal I Have Become – Three Days Grace
Monster – Skillet
Footsteps – Pop Evil
Fully Alive – Flyleaf
Cut the Cord – Shinedown
Rise Above This – Seether
Fix Me – Feeding the Wolves
Get Out Alive – Three Days Grace
Good Enough – Evanescence
Animal I Have Become – Three Days Grace
Want my playlist? Here’s the link to my Spotify Beautifully Burned playlist. Happy listening!
Beautifully Burned
The Dreamcaster Series
Book Two
C.J. Burright
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Ravenrock Publishing, LLC
Date of Publication: 8/23/2016
ISBN: 9780996147
ASIN: B01IX4GYAY
Number of pages: 274
Word Count: 74,700
Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde
Book Description:
Grandma warned me to resist him.
I know what he is. Even if he doesn't sparkle in the sun, hiss at holy water, or go by the traditional name of vampire, I know.
He doesn't want or need my blood. He wants my dreams...more specifically, my nightmares. And I've got oodles of those, so many they leak.
He's emotionally scarred, growly, dangerous, and kindles all my senses. Love isn't on his agenda. Having him for a guardian isn't on my list of fun, either. My touch sends him into darkness.
I shouldn't want him.
I can't want him.
But I do.
If I surrender instead of escape, I'll lose everything--my sister, my will, my life. Gran forgot to tell me the most important detail of all: how am I supposed to resist him when he's everything I've ever dreamed of?
Beautifully Burned is told in a dual, third person POV, and may be read as a standalone.
EXCERPT 1
Five steps from her truck, Ella
skidded to a stop. The sexy, sober book lover leaned against the fence a few
yards away, as if he’d been there the whole time.
Her heart somersaulted twice. She
might be tired, her thoughts preoccupied, but no way had he been there a second
ago. Frick. He didn’t look like the type who scared easily and her nearest
neighbor was two blocks away, so screaming would be pointless. With those long
legs, he’d probably won some track medals, which nixed running for it. Her best
bet was to get into her truck, lock the doors, and take off. Chin lifted high,
she finished the short trek to her getaway wagon.
“I must speak with you.” Whether
ordering a Shirley Temple or making soft, unexpected demands in a midnight
parking lot, his gravelly voice was seductive as sin.
Her nerves tightened and she
steadied her hands enough to jam the key in the lock. “Look, it’s late, I’m
tired, and you decimated my maraschino cherry supply. Time to go home.”
He pushed off the fence and
ambled toward her.
Ella struggled to turn the
ancient lock. Stupid rust. “Bartender counselor sessions are closed until
tomorrow. Sorry.”
“I have questions for you.” He
leaned his hip near the tailgate, too close. “They won’t take long.”
“Oh, you’re a collection agent.”
Thank God her voice remained cool and steady enough for the pretense. The truck
lock finally gave with a loud snap. “Check’s in the mail.”
“I’m interested in your dreams,
not your finances.”
A tremor coasted her spine and
she paused, fingers wrapped around the door handle. No way was his dream
comment random, but the press to escape dimmed beneath the desire to hear him
out, to see if someone in the wide weird world had helpful information about
her curse. A little chitchat never hurt anyone, and if he tried anything shady,
she knew how to handle him. Her special self-defense was always ready.
She sucked in a breath. Without
knowing when or how, he had moved closer, so close she had to crane her neck to
look into his face. He smelled faintly of campfire smoke, a fond reminder of
the frequent overnight hiking trips she used to take with Gran and Ginny. Back
then, fire had made her feel warm and safe.
“A moment. Please.” He planted a
hand on the door, keeping it shut and boxing her halfway with his arm. His
‘please’ sounded more like an attempt at manners than a request.
Curiosity warred with concern. If
he wanted to attack her, he could’ve already sliced her, diced her, and left her
for the stray dogs to gnaw on. What did he want to talk about? What words had
the man who lured her mother away used? She wasn’t a mindless sheep, no matter
how beautiful the wolf may be, but there was no denying this man did something
witchy to her blood. She wanted to know why. Maybe that would set her questions
to rest, ease her guilt, cure her curse.
But Ginny depended on her. She
had to play it safe and get rid of him.
Ella shifted and rested her back
against the truck door. He didn’t move, and a secret thrill coiled in her
stomach. Ignoring it, she netted all her emotions and observations, pushed them
to the back of her mind, and focused on his blue sea eyes.
“Go home,” she said in the
hushed, haunting persuasion voice she used on drunks and perverts. “Forget me.
Forget Dany’s exists. Never come here again.”
He went utterly still.
A bewildering stab of loss staked
her chest. She’d never see him again. He’d go back to his life and she’d return
to hers, no harm done, no questions answered. For some insane reason, she
wanted to curl up on the asphalt and have a long, hard sob-fest.
A tiny crease formed between his
black eyebrows, and instead of obeying, he studied her with a scientist’s
concentration. “Are you trying to compel me?” His voice was gently accusing. He
leaned nearer. “I’m V’alkara. I can’t be compelled.”
Ella leaned hard on the cool
frame of her truck. Compel was a good explanation for her uncanny persuasion
powers, and if he recognized it, getting rid of him would be harder than she
thought. “Who are you?”
“Daxen v’al Solanis.” He watched
her, unblinking.
“And V’alkara?” She swallowed the
sawdust in her throat. Was that another word for vampire? “What’s that?”
“Me.” His small smile made a
snarling wolf look friendly. “Ready to talk now?”
“You had all night to talk to
me.”
“I wanted you alone.”
A fire bell warning clanged in
her head, a command to escape, yet she couldn’t peel her attention from his
jaw. Stubble shadowed the hard angles, a darkness contrary to his pale neck.
She had a sharp, nearly overwhelming urge to touch him there, to experience the
disparity of prickly and smooth, to slide her fingers down his throat to the
ridge of his collarbone.
Ella blinked rapidly and gripped
the keys tight, breaking the spell. “Are you trying some hypnotic woo-woo on
me? Not cool. Kindly remove your hand from my truck.”
He cocked his head and his eyes
flashed. “Don’t you want help with your nightmares, Ella?”
About the Author:
C.J. Burright was born and raised in Oregon and loved it so much she never left. While she has worked for years in a law office, she chooses to avoid writing legal thrillers and instead leans toward urban fantasy, paranormal romance, or—since all things medieval and magical fascinate her—fantasy romance. A member of Romance Writers of America and the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal chapter, C.J. also has her 4th Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and believes stories should always include a fight scene, gratuitous or not. In what spare time she has, she enjoys working out, gardening, all things musical, Assassin’s Creed, and rooting on the Seattle Mariners (preferably with wine to curb her outrage when they lose). She shares a house with her husband, daughter, and a devoted cat herd.
Website: http://www.cjburright.com
Twitter: @CJBurright
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/cburright/
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1 comment:
Thanks for sharing my musical sob story. :)
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