For the first time, T.M. Franklin's action-packed MORE Trilogy will soon be available as ONE combined volume. And for a limited time, you can grab ALL THREE books for only $.99! Pre-order today!
Read on for a little teaser from MORE, the first book in the Trilogy.
Ava Michaels used to think she was special.
As a child, she fantasized about having magical powers . . . making things happen. But Ava grew up and eventually accepted the fact that her childish dreams were just that, and maybe a normal life wasn't so bad after all.
Now a young college student, Ava meets Caleb Foster, a brilliant and mysterious man who's supposed to help her pass physics, but in reality has another mission in mind. What he shows Ava challenges her view of the world, shaking it to its very core.
Because Caleb isn't quite what he seems. In fact, he's not entirely human, and he's not the only one.
Together, the duo faces a threat from an ancient race bound to protect humans, but only after protecting their own secrets--secrets they fear Ava may expose. Fighting to survive, Ava soon learns she's not actually normal . . . she's not even just special.
She's a little bit more.
The Complete Young Adult Fantasy Adventure - For One Low Price!
The Complete Young Adult Fantasy Adventure - For One Low Price!
Were those footsteps?
Ava’s heartbeat quickened, her palms growing moist even in the brisk cold. She flipped the safety off the pepper spray, her thumb poised over the button. As she neared the bridge marking the halfway point to her dorm, she glanced over her shoulder quickly. Seeing nothing, she hurried over the bridge, cursing the burned-out bulb that left it in darkness.
Suddenly, a stifling feeling overcame her—like a dark blanket had been thrown over her head to suffocate her—and she whirled around, her backpack clattering to the ground as she whipped the pepper spray out of her pocket and held it at arm’s length. Ava gulped for air, eyes frantically darting about, and the trembling hand holding the pepper spray flailing as wildly as her gaze. She was sure someone was there. She swore she could feel them. She stood frozen with fear, waiting . . . watching.
After a few long moments, she shook her head, glad nobody had witnessed her desperate panic. With a heavy sigh, she pocketed her pepper spray, embarrassed at her own ridiculousness. She had to stop this nonsense. She was driving herself crazy. It was just a dream making her jumpy, nothing else.
Just a crazy, scary dream.
Ava bent to pick up her backpack, sliding it onto her shoulder as she scanned the horizon one more time. With a self-deprecating chuckle, she turned around to continue home.
Only to stop short in terror.
A man—a huge man—stood before her, mouth twisted in rage. He towered over her, at least six and a half feet tall, his shoulders wide, and arms banded with muscle. Shaved close to his head, his dark hair shadowed his skull, and his intimidating appearance was only enhanced by the jagged scar running down the right side of his face, from forehead to chin. He didn’t wear a coat, only a tight, black shirt and fatigues, black boots on his feet, and a wide leather belt with a mean-looking gun holstered at his hip.
It couldn’t be. But it was.
It was him. The man from her nightmares.
Ava scrambled back, but he reached out in a flash, gripping her upper arms and lifting her up so her toes barely brushed the ground. One hand slid to her throat, and he held her easily, pulling her closer to his frightening face.
“Please,” she begged, the word catching as she fought to breathe.
The man’s glare tightened, and Ava stared in morbid fascination at his mismatched eyes—blue and green—odd and vividly terrifying. She struggled, reaching for her pepper spray, only to have it slip from her fingers as she kicked out at the man.
He responded by laughing humorlessly, flipping her around and banding one arm around her torso. His grip was like iron, and she could barely breathe.
“Please,” she said again, dizziness closing in. “I can’t,” she gasped.
A press of metal to her temple transformed her fearful trembles into horrified shudders. She had no doubt. She was going to die. Her eyelids fluttered shut in defeat as he cocked the gun, the loud click echoing off the trees.
Then, a flash of black, a gust of wind, and suddenly she could breathe again. The man’s grip loosened, but he didn’t release her.
“Damn you,” he growled. “Stay out of this!”
Ava pushed him, her efforts in vain, as he hitched her up in response, tucking her under his arm like a bag of groceries. She kicked her legs, flailing desperately as the man spun about, pointing his gun into the darkness.
“Show yourself, you coward!”
The same flash of black, another blast of wind, and Ava fell to the ground, her head cracking on the concrete. She curled onto her side, moaning, lifting a hand to the back of her head, and squinting in shock at the blood that came away, streaking across her trembling palm.
Low grunts and the crack of bone on flesh floated on the air toward her, muzzy with her disorientation. She tried to focus, but could only make out two dark figures exchanging blows. Ava tried to sit up, but collapsed back onto the icy ground, overcome by a shock of dizziness and nausea.
Suddenly, the two dark beings seemed to meld into one, and in the next moment, she felt herself floating. She blinked; a face took form above her briefly, the features cast in shadow.
“Do I . . . do I know you?” she mumbled, fighting for consciousness.
“I’ve got you,” a low voice replied, and Ava nodded as a cool palm stroked her forehead, and the darkness consumed her.
-MORE, Chapter 4
T.M. Franklin writes stories of adventure, romance, & a little magic. A former TV news producer, she decided making stuff up was more fun than reporting the facts. Her first published novel, MORE, was born during National Novel Writing month, a challenge to write a novel in thirty days. MORE was well-received, being selected as a finalist in the 2013 Kindle Book Review Best Indie Book Awards, as well as winning the Suspense/Thriller division of the Blogger Book Fair Reader's Choice Awards. She's since written three additional novels and several best-selling short stories...and there's always more on the way.Web Site | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Amazon | Google+ | Goodreads
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