Please help me welcome Author Natalie Roers to my blog today!
About
the Author:
A veteran writer, voice artist,
and on-air personality, Natalie Roers has been the host of hit radio and
television shows in just about every region of the United States.
She also owns her own voice-over
business where she creates everything from songs and ringtones to commercials
and sound effects for clients around the globe.
A journalist by trade, Natalie is
excited to venture into the world of fiction and hopes to raise money and
social awareness for worthy causes with each book she writes. She lives with
her husband Cory, and son Austin, in Columbia, South Carolina.
Local Television Personality
turned Author Aims to Teach Empathy to Young Adults through Writing.
After working as a news broadcaster for over a decade,
Roers says she felt compelled to use her writing as a way to reach out to young
adults. "While there are overwhelmingly more positive stories involving
teens in the news, it's the tough ones that stick with you-think Columbine, Steubenville
Not only is Roers' novel a tool in reinforcing empathy through the story itself, but a percentage of every dollar Natalie makes will be donated to anti-bullying organizations.
Lucid
by
Natalie
Roers
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
Genre: paranormal fantasy
Print ISBN: 978-1-60619-027-2
eBook ISBN: 978-1-60619-026-5
May 15, 2013 ebook
July 15, 2013 print
Pages: 168
Book
Description:
Disfigured at birth and
ostracized at school, Travis Hunter dreams of acceptance and secretly yearns
for the affection of a beautiful young woman named Corrine. When a mysterious
doctor promises to help Travis through something called lucid dreaming, Travis
gets more than he ever bargained for and soon finds himself learning the
secrets of love and life in a fantastic unconscious world.
Chapter excerpt:
Reviews
"Roers' debut novel heralds
the arrival of an intelligent, heartfelt voice in the world of young adult
fiction. The rich characters, emotional complexity, and confident prose are
matched only by the landscape of dreams that Roers sets them against... a
landscape brought vividly to life by the author's seemingly boundless
imagination. This is a novel that respects its readers as much as its
characters, and that's a beautiful rarity." ~ Mike Flanagan, Filmmaker,
Absentia and Oculus
"Natalie Roers' debut novel
is both riveting and relevant. More than a paranormal/fantasy/thriller, this is
a complex tale that cuts to the very of heart of issues facing young adults
today. Well sculptured characters and powerful imagery propel Roers' fascinating
narrative." ~ Jason Tinney Award-winning freelance journalist, musician,
actor and the author of the story collection Bluebird.
"Lucid is an interesting
story and a fun read." ~ Amy Carol
Reeves, author of Ripper and Renegade
"Natalie Roers' voice is
amazingly confident for a first novelist. Her journalist's eye for human detail
draws you in, and makes you care about the people who populate the LUCID world.
The more I got to know them, both awake and asleep in the world of lucid
dreaming, the more time I wanted to spend in their world." ~ Jeff Howard, writer for Film District and
Focus Features.
Promo Blurbs:
50 Word Promo Blurb
Disfigured at birth and ostracized at school, Travis
Hunter dreams of acceptance. When a mysterious doctor promises to help Travis
through something called lucid dreaming, he gets more than he ever bargained
for and soon finds himself learning the secrets of love and life in a fantastic
unconscious world.
150 Word Promo
Blurb
Being hailed by critics as an intelligent new voice
in young adult fiction, Roers' debut novel tells the anything but ordinary,
coming of age story of a small town, teen aged, misfit named Travis Hunter.
Disfigured at birth and ostracized at school, Travis
dreams of acceptance and secretly yearns for the affection of a beautiful young
woman named Corrine. When a mysterious doctor promises to help Travis through
something called lucid dreaming, Travis suddenly finds himself ushered into a
secret society called "The Lucid", a collection of social outcasts
like himself, who have created their own world inside of dreams.
When Travis discovers he is able to bring Corrine
into these dreams, he gets more than he ever bargained for and soon finds
himself learning the secrets of love and life in a fantastic unconscious world.
An instant classic, Lucid is a timeless story of
self-acceptance with a fresh paranormal twist.
250 Promo Blurb
Heavily based on the intriguing and relatable real
world phenomenon of lucid dreaming (the ability to control ones' dreams),
Roers' debut novel tells the anything but ordinary, coming of age story of a
small town, teen aged, misfit named Travis Hunter.
Disfigured at birth and ostracized at school, Travis
dreams of acceptance and secretly yearns for the affection of a beautiful young
woman named Corrine. When a mysterious doctor promises to help Travis through
lucid dreaming, Travis suddenly finds himself ushered into a secret society
called "The Lucid", a collection of social outcasts like himself, who
have created their own world inside of dreams.
When Travis discovers he is able to bring Corrine
into these dreams, he gets more than he ever bargained for and soon finds
himself learning the secrets of love and life in a fantastic unconscious world.
With the doctor serving as their guide, Corrine and
Travis embark on a powerful and often painful journey of self-discovery in
order to unravel the mystery behind the lucid world and the people who inhabit
it. The plot thickens when a destructive outside force uncovers their abilities
and will stop at nothing to steal their power.
Debuting during the height of the anti-bullying
movement, Lucid is a timeless story of self-acceptance with a portion of the
author's proceeds being donated to bullying prevention efforts.
Excerpt:
I gave her a funny look and
loosened the drawstrings. A dark green stone
fell out into my hand. It had little red splotches on it and
was hung with three
small chains from a silver crescent that looked like the
moon. The metal of the
crescent looked very old, as if it had been pounded by hand.
“You made me zink of it when you
mentioned your dreams earlier.” Kelly
said. “I zought you might appreciate it.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a talisman. According to
legend, it was originally used by da Lucid as a
gateway to da dream world.”
“That’s really cool,” I said,
“What’s it got to do with me?”
“Talismans are very magical. Dey
have da power to make extraordinary
transformations. Why don’t you keep it for a while? See how
it works?”
“Oh, come on,” I disagreed. “You
don’t really believe that, do you?”
Doctor Kelly smiled. “I believe
very much in powerful transformations.”
Corrine’s breathing quickened and
she pushed against my chest to break
the hold.
Not wanting to let go, I grabbed at
her waist again, but she stopped me.
“What did you do that for?” I
asked, my voice low and raspy. Even I couldn’t
tell if I was asking why
she kissed me or why she had stopped.
Corrine stepped back even further
and looked down at her legs.
That’s when I saw it. The shin of her left leg was starting
to fade.
“Travis, I don’t know you,” she
said softly. “If this is real, though? If it’s
really real, like you say it is? I want to meet you. Do you
understand me? I
want you to come and find me as soon as you wake up.”
The light around us changed. It was
sunset. Amazing reds, golds, and
purples, streaked across the sky.
books to the front of the store. She had a huge smile on her
face. Although I
couldn’t hear through the glass, it looked as though she was
singing. She was
so caught up in whatever she was listening to, or whatever
it was that she was
thinking about, that she didn’t once seem to notice me
standing in front of the
window. For a moment, I let myself believe I was the reason
for her distraction.
I watched with amusement as she
carefully and methodically set out new
hardbacks on the wooden display shelf. You could tell just
by the way she
handled them how much she cared about the stories inside. As
the normalcy of
the task sank in, so did the absolute absurdity of me being
there. Corrine was
going on about her life and I was watching life from the
outside. She was like a
beautiful butterfly inside of a glass case, and I was the
grubby kid who leaves
nothing but fingerprints behind, imagining what it’s like to
actually touch
something so perfect.
Nothing had changed.
Satisfied with my mission and the
acceptance of our respective roles, I took
one more appreciative look and turned to go. But as I did, I
realized that
someone had been watching me while I had been watching her.
the bird. The scales were very hard but smooth to the touch.
It was the coolest
thing!
But as its eyes turned up to me, I
felt my stomach drop. The bird’s eyes
were made of stone! They were dark green with blood red
spots—exactly the
same as the talisman.
“Isn’t it amazing?!” she exclaimed.
“I made it!” Corrine swelled with pride at
the proclamation.
“You made what?” I stammered,
trying to collect myself.
“Here, I’ll show you how it works.”
With the bird cupped in one palm, she
took one of my hands with her own and placed it over the
bird. “Think of
something,” she whispered.
“What?”
“Close your eyes, and concentrate
really hard on something. Think of
anything you can hold in your hand.”
I gave her a sideways stare and
reluctantly closed my eyes.
“Are you thinking of something?”
she asked.
“Give me a second,” I said. It was
hard to think about anything except her
hand on top on my own. It was intoxicating-the warm
sensation of where our
skin made contact, the spaces between her fingers. I could
hear her inhale and
exhale, and I knew without even looking at her that her eyes
were closed as
well.
She knew who I was! I could see it. She recognized me! It
was real.
“The bird! You made the bird!” I
bellowed. “It was yellow and its eyes were
made of stone!”
Corrine shook her head back and
forth in disbelief. As I staggered toward
her, she tripped backwards and fell into the line of coffee
pots behind her.
“What the? Grab him!” I heard John
yell.
In all the excitement I had
forgotten there were other people in the room.
“The guy’s gone nuts!” Terry
screamed.
I felt their arms grab me from
behind.
Marissa, who had been watching the
scene unfold in stunned silence, now
ran to Corri to help her to her feet. “Get him outta here!”
she yelled.
John and Terry started to pull me
back by the shoulders. I swung around
and hit Terry square in the face. The smacking sound that my
hand made
against Terry’s cheek shocked them enough to let me go for a
second.
The enormity of what I had just
done didn’t register at all.
I rushed forward, completely out of
control. But as I got closer to Corri, her
image started moving away from me. Terry and John had lifted
me clear off the
ground. They were carrying me by my arms, backwards, out the
front door.
There was no pain as my body
slammed against the cold cement outside.
Adrenaline was coursing through my veins. The feeling was in
every part of
my body: every finger, every toe, was alive and on fire.
to brush over the topic. “It was just nice being able to be
ourselves, ya know?
No fears, no consequences, no regrets. It’s such a
significant word, isn’t it?”
“What word?”
“Lucid. It means to have a clear
perception of things. Don’t you think it’s
funny that it would take a dream for us to see clearly?”
Corrine placed her coffee on the ground next
to her. “Like you,” she said.
“Who would’ve known you were like this?”
“Like what?”
“Well for one, you talk!” She
laughed. “I must’ve seen you dozens of times
before. Why don’t you ever say anything to anyone?”
“I’ve been around enough people to know what
they’re thinking when
they stare at me. It doesn’t help me any to hear them say it.”
Corrine reached a hand forward and
touched my knee. “I’m not gonna lie,”
she said. “You do look a little different. You know what
though? I don’t even
notice it that much now that I’m talking to you.”
I looked down at her hand.
She pulled it back. “You should
talk more,” she said, nodding. “Some people
might surprise you. Not all of them…but some.”
Goodreads
Please thank Natalie for joining us today! Check out
her website and book!
Keep Writing!
Jodie Pierce
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