Shattered
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. C. Lee McKenzie will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Courage put Libby Brown into the final selection for the Olympics, but betrayal crushed her spine and her chance at the Gold. Now she has two choices, use her courage to put her life back together, or remain shattered forever.Read an Excerpt
I knew hearts didn’t stop beating until you died, yet I was certain mine had just stuttered to a halt. I couldn’t breathe. My lungs refused to expand. My throat went dry. I’d planned most of my life for this one year. I’d worked out, built my strength, gone to ski camps, kept at it until I’d made it through the selection process—until I’d almost made the US Olympic slalom team. I had my passport. I’d packed my bags weeks ago. Now, my mother was telling me I couldn’t do what I’d lived for all these years?
My heart kicked in and air filled my chest. “Shut up! Shut up!” In my mind, I screamed, but that’s not the way I heard my voice. Shut up sounded like a whimper.
“Libby, stop.” Dad was back, his hand on my shoulder, his face filled with pain. “Please, stop.”
His calm presence and the terrible sound of his plea brought me up short.
I gulped back the ragged clutch that filled my throat. “Why? Why can’t I ski with my team?” Then I glanced down. Mom was lying across the foot of the bed. She was lying across my legs, and I didn’t feel the weight of my mother’s body.
About the Author: I’m someone in love with the English language...well, any language for that matter. How did we decided to use words, intonation, structures to communicate? Does our language come from our culture or does our culture come from our language? I love to drive people nuts with questions like this.
I have a background in Linguistics and Inter-Cultural Communication, but these days my greatest passion is writing for young readers. My young adult novels are Sliding on the Edge, The Princess of Las Pulgas, Double Negative, Sudden Secrets, and now Shattered, A Story of Betrayal and Courage. Sometimes I write Middle Grade Fantasy and have four of those stories published.
When I’m not writing I’m hiking or traveling or practicing yoga or asking a lot questions about things I still don’t understand--like what is language anyway?
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Libby faces many challenges and this story focuses on how she reacts to these obstacles. It will be interesting to see how her story unfolds.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy the story. Let me know what you think! Oh, and I found your Pinterest page and followed you. Great to be connected.
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you, C. Lee! Congratulations on your release of Shattered, I enjoyed the excerpt and your book sounds like a thrilling read! Thanks for sharing it with me and good luck with your book and the blast! Have a wonderful holiday season!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stormy. I appreciate your comment a lot.
DeleteSounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rita. It's being well reviewed, so I hope that continues.
DeleteSounds like a good book. I like the cover.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I was really pleased when the publisher showed this one to me. It was the first draft, too!
DeleteI'm enjoying my visit here today! Great to connect with you and your readers. Thanks for the opportunity,
ReplyDeleteWith the Winter Olympics on the horizon this is a timely read. Caught my attention.
ReplyDeleteYes. I've got my eye on those games. Maybe they will stir some interest in Shattered. Thanks.
DeleteThis is an awesome book, cool to learn about it! Cheers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Calvin.
DeleteWhile virtually everyone can understand the struggles with physical injuries, I think the strength shown this summer concerning an athlete's mental health is an amazing sign that we are beginning to feel that the health of the mind is just as important as that of the body.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds interesting
ReplyDelete