Edge of Mercy is on Amazon!

Let's Go!  Edge of Mercy is LIVE and available for purchase at Amazon!  Barnes and Noble and Kobo are coming soon, and though you can get it on Smashwords, I'm still waiting for premium status so that it will be sent to Sony and Apple.

Woot!  I'm so excited!  Come on, world, tell me you love it!

Charlie hides her true identity, but her very presence places everyone around her in danger. With no other choice but to remain where she is, she stays with a community that might not be as benevolent as it appears. In this new and dangerous version of the world, where a friend might be an enemy and an enemy might be a friend, seventeen-year-old Charlie protects her baby sister and herself from grotesque monsters outside the community as well as human ones inside. Will the truth she discovers about her protectors save her or ultimately doom her to a fate worse than death?

Amazon Buylink

Smashwords Buylink

BN Buylink: Coming Soon

Kobo Buylink: Coming Soon

Happy Reading and Writing!

C. C.

Six Sentence Sunday--Edge of Mercy

Wow! Barring any technical difficulties, Edge of Mercy, releases Tuesday, July 31st.  That's this Tuesday!  Oh, happy day!  I'm so excited for others to read about Charlie.


I've posted excerpts from Edge of Mercy on my other blog, but here are six more sentences from the story.  If you want to read earlier snippets or the short introductory fiction story I published, you can find them here (from two weeks ago on this blog), here and here.  Otherwise, let's get to the good stuff.  In this scene, Charlie describes the monstrous Draghoul fighting to get inside to attack the people hiding:

I’d seen them up close, and they were beyond frightening. Their exteriors weren’t much different from when they were human. And they were once human, as unbelievable as it was. But the transformation into a monster was permanent and dreadful. The pale sallow skin, the glazed, souless eyes, the malicious teeth were a vision I would never forget. The fact they used to be people we knew, some we loved, made the sight of them all the more devastating.

Read more Six Sentence Sundays here, or sign up to participate next week. Hope you have an enjoyable Sunday.

Happy Writing and Reading,

C. C.

Charlie hides her true identity, but her very presence places everyone around her in danger. With no other choice but to remain where she is, she stays with a community that might not be as benevolent as it appears. In this post-apocalyptic romance where a friend might be an enemy and an enemy might be a friend, seventeen-year-old Charlie protects her baby sister and herself from grotesque monsters outside the community as well as human ones inside. Will the truth she discovers about her protectors save her or ultimately doom her to a fate worse than death?

Come Find Me at Darkling Delights

What's the appeal of the dystopian genre? Stop by Darkling Delights to weigh in today as I guest blog.  I'll also be sharing an excerpt from Edge of Mercy.  Stop by if you get a chance:

http://t.co/VclMmHFJ

Happy Reading and Writing,

Cherie/C. C.

Six Sunday--Edge of Mercy

Good morning!  Thanks for stopping by my tiny slice of the internet.


I've posted excerpts from Edge of Mercy on my other blog, but this novel will be released at the end of this month, so here are six more sentences from the story.  If you want to read earlier snippets or the flash fiction piece I published, you can find them here (from last week on this blog), here and here.  Otherwise, let's get to the good stuff.  This is a short but tense scene early in the book when this small group of survivors are under attack:

He pulled one of my hands free from my ear and asked, “It’s worse than before, right?”

Before? Before what? Before tonight? Before I stumbled through the community gate? Before the world turned to blood, survival, and hiding at night, always hiding at night?

Read more Six Sentence Sundays here, or sign up to participate next week. Hope you have an enjoyable Sunday.

Happy Writing and Reading,

C. C.

Charlie’s true identity is a secret, but her very presence places everyone around her in danger. With no other choice but to remain where she is, she stays with a community that might not be as benevolent as it appears. In this riveting scene from a post-apocalyptic romance where a friend might be an enemy and an enemy might be a friend, eighteen-year-old Charlie must protect her baby sister and herself from grotesque monsters outside the community as well as human ones inside. Will the truth she discovers about her protectors save her or ultimately doom her to a fate worse than death?

Big Reveal for Edge of Mercy

____________________________________
<-------------What do you think of the cover?

Literally, just a couple weeks away from the publication of Edge of Mercy.  My excitement is building, but like any major project, there have been a few issues along the way.  Not the least of which was creating my second cover ever and then losing it to the computer gremlins.  Yeah, I get why people pay for book covers.  Next time...next time.  Yet, I think it was for the best because it gave me a moment to step back and think through the process a little more.  I really, really like the finished product I was finally able to SAVE today, but I'm definitely still learning.  Here's a little more about Edge of Mercy:

Charlie’s true identity is a secret, and her very presence places everyone around her in danger. With no other choice but to remain where she is, she stays with a community that might not be as benevolent as it appears. In this post-apocalyptic romance where a friend might be an enemy and an enemy might be a friend, seventeen-year-old Charlie must protect her baby sister and herself from grotesque monsters outside the community as well as human ones inside. Will the truth she discovers about her protectors save her or ultimately doom her to a fate worse than death?

Happy Reading and Writing,

C. C. Marks

Six Sentence Sunday--Edge of Mercy

I might look like a Six Sunday noob, but I've actually participated for a while as my alter-ego, Cherie Marks, and I'm preparing to release a different genre from my usual, so today I want to give C. C. Marks some exposure.  I've posted excerpts from Edge of Mercy on the original blog, but this novel will be released at the end of this month, so here are six more sentences from the story.  If you want to read earlier snippets or the flash fiction story I published, you can find them here and here.  Otherwise, let's get to the good stuff:

Screeches and clangs bombarded the combination wood and chain link fence around the outside of the brick structure. We cowered in windowless cells inside. My hands firmly planted over the sides of my head, I couldn't force myself to pull them free. I was certain our security was solid. The fence was electric and the building reinforced from the inside, but tonight, something was different. The creatures never attacked with this much intensity, this much ferocity, and a wish to crawl into the deepest, darkest hole and hide there until it all ended crept over me.

It would end. It always ended.

Read more Six Sentence Sundays here, or sign up to participate next week. Hope you have an enjoyable Sunday.

Happy Writing and Reading,

C. C.

That All-Important Cover

So I was at the Barnes and Noble that sits a hop, skip, and a jump away from me yesterday.  And, all those lovely books were calling my name.  I even picked a few up and stroked their covers, you know, just to make them feel special and all.  Unfortunately, my money and time budgets are super-tight right now, so I had to ignore the pleas of those gorgeous books and place them firmly back on the shelf for some other lucky person to pick up and love.  It was hard, but I was there on business, not pleasure.

The covers were my real focus.  I'm cover shopping right now for Edge of Mercy.  I have in mind what I want it to look like, but I wanted to double-check to see if my vision was the popular vision.  Now, don't get me wrong, I don't follow the fads--anymore.  But, I certainly don't want to shoot myself in the foot by putting up a cover no one would take a first, second, or any look at.  It needs to pop, look good as a thumbnail.  Let's face it, it needs to beg a reader to stop, not to keep on browsing, but to 'pick me, pick me!', much like the ones I had to reluctantly put back.  Not such a tall order, right?

Yep, I know I'm on the right track, but now I just have to find that perfect combination of irresistible and can't-look-away-ness (I might need to work on my vocabulary too :0) ).  At any rate, I really like this kind of research.

Happy Reading and Writing,

C.C.

Hello, World! C.C. says Hi!

Bam, Bam, Toast and Jam!  C. C. Marks is stepping out into the literary world.  Coming soon, Edge of Mercy will be available on the 'Zon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords (which will distribute to Apple, Sony, Diesel, and a few others).

I'm getting great feedback from my Beta readers and all the pieces are falling into place.  Great cover, which I'll reveal here and on my alter-ego's blog.  I'll also be trickin' out this blog to make it more beautimous for all and beginning to spread my presence like peanut butter on the bread of the Internet.

Along the way, I'll be stopping by other blogs and doing what I can to introduce Charlie, Thomas, and Zeke to the world.

Come back when you can,

C. C. Marks