Living the Obsession {Guest #Author: Shea Berkley + #Giveaway}

Oct 252011

SheBerkley Obsessions are a fact of life. Okay, not a terribly unique observation, but it’s one we try to overlook because, let’s face it, we can get a little testy when one of our obsessions is pointed out to us. Like the other day. This guy, we’ll call him Dude-who-insists-on-pointing-out-my-obsessions-until-I-want-to-smack-him-in-the-face (ahem, or maybe just Dude), decided to point out an obsession I have.

I love Coca Cola. Not Pepsi or RC or any other specialty cola. I love Regular Coca Cola. None of that sissy diet stuff or the caffeine free caramelized water they pass for cola. I want the stuff that burns going down my throat and kick-starts my heart with an artificial substance that is totally legal. (Amen) Why? I like it… nay, I need it in a totally non-addictive way. (I can quit any time I want to. I can. Really.)

I’ve tried to deny my need, but it’s no use. How can I when the first thing I do when I wake up is head downstairs, load up the ice and listen to the fizz and pop as I pour myself a coke? Mercy! It’s happiness in a glass. The Coca Cola ad executives guarantee it. Seriously. Commercials don’t lie.

On the obsession scale, coke (the drink) isn’t that life altering. Yet, there are some obsessions that can change the course of your life in ways you could never imagine. Sometimes for the good, many times for the bad. In my book, The Marked Son, Dylan (my hero) finds his own addiction in the form of love.

Here’s a quick excerpt from The Marked Son

Nothing feels better than touching Kera. I hold her close, feeling her heart beat behind her ribs. The heat of her hands on my chest is impossible to ignore as I kiss her, teasing her lips, and ultimately torturing myself until my control is almost gone. I pull away, putting my forehead to hers, and silently count to ten. Counting to a hundred wouldn’t help. Holding her intensifies my feelings of recklessness.

I can’t let go.

I pick her up. You’d think her dress, with its yards of material would be a problem, but it isn’t. Not for her. She wraps her legs around my waist and rakes her hands through my hair. I place my head on her chest and close my eyes. The rapid beat of her heart matches my own. The scent that engulfs her is as heady as the feel of her in my arms.

“You smell like summer and—” I search for the word that describes the scent pulsing under her skin. It teases me with every breath and touch. Naming it is driving me insane. It’s one I haven’t smelled on her before, yet it’s a scent that’s all too familiar to me, like summer and… “—sadness.”

She captures my lips with hers and slowly slides down my body until her feet touch the floor. Our kiss deepens, her embrace turns desperate. Her kiss fills with misery. The room turns hot, too claustrophobic. I can’t think. I try pushing her away, but she clings to me. Her breathing quickens, and she shivers within my arms. I sense real fear in her. Though she protests, I finally manage to step free. One, two, three steps back, separate but still connected. I can’t stop staring at her, wanting her. She’s like…

A drug.

Dylan loves Kera–not just loves, but completely-unequivocally-adores-and-must-be-around-her-at-all-times loves Kera. He’s obsessed. It’s his nature, one he never understood fully until he met Kera, and now that he knows, it’s almost impossible for him to deny his need. He fights with it all the time, knowing in his heart that his obsession, if left unchecked, will cause more harm than good.

And it does, because Dylan isn’t perfect. His obsession to be with Kera, to possess her love and be loved by her, upends the realm of Teag and changes the lives of nearly everyone around him. He causes a mess on an apocalyptic scale, something he never intended. So what’s a guy who’s in love with the girl of his dreams supposed to do?

Easy. He has to learn to control his out-of-control nature and fix the disasters that are starting to seep into the human realm. Yeah, right. Maybe not so easy, but it’s a challenge Dylan takes on.

The thing I love about Dylan is his solid core of goodness. He takes responsibility for what he’s done and tries to make amends.

Obsession is rarely healthy. I should know. My cola and I go waaay back. Dude-who-shall-not-be-named kinda has a point. It’s time I started weaning myself from the happy juice’s seductive grasp. I’ll be a healthier person for it. And though it’s hard to believe, I’ll probably be a happier person for it too. Wish me luck.

I’d like to thank the Book Faery (aka Farrah) for inviting me here today. I had fun. I hope you did too.

Want to know more about Shea and her righteously-awesome stories? Connect with her at: Facebook / SheaBerkley.com / Goodreads / RubySlipperedSisterhood.com / Twitter

Seventeen‐year‐old Dylan Kennedy always knew something was different about him, but until his mother abandoned him in the middle of Oregon with grandparents he’s never met, he had no idea what.

When Dylan sees a girl in white in the woods behind his grandparents’ farm, he knows he’s seen her before…in his dreams. He’s felt her fear– Heard her insistence that only he can save her world from an evil lord who uses magic and fear to feed his greed for power.

Unable to shake the unearthly pull to Kera, Dylan takes her hand. Either he’s completely insane or he’s about to have the adventure of his life, because where they’re going is full of creatures he’s only read about in horror stories. Worse, the human blood in his veins has Dylan marked for death…

Title: The Marked Son (Keepers of Life, #1)

Author: Shea Berkley

Genre: Young Adult

Length: Novel – 334 pages

Release Date: August 2011

ePub ISBN: 978-1-937044-00-8

Print ISBN: 978-1-937044-01-5

THE LOST PRINCE coming August 2012, and THE BASTARD KING coming August 2013!

THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Thanks to Entangled Publishing and Shea Berkley, we’re giving away ONE e-copy of the book The Marked Son. Open internationally now through November 31st!

Just leave a comment for the author to enter!

Of course we’d LOVE it if you (for extra entries but not a requirement):