Shades of the Future Guest Post and Giveaway!

People like to ask me how I come up with characters. At the risk of sounding a bit off kilter, I have to tell you I don’t always start with a clear picture of my characters. Once I start on a story plan, they sometimes just sit down with me and introduce themselves. I think the best way for you to understand what I mean is to meet the main character from Shades of the Future, Mariah Davis. She’s dying to take over the keyboard and chat with you.

Hi everyone! My name’s Mariah Davis and have I got a story to tell you. I was in the White Cottage Diner with my friend Hayley Bayless one morning, and we found these terrific sunglasses. Have you ever heard of Dita? They make sunglasses that cost hundreds of dollars.

This really cute pair was sitting in the booth. No one ever claimed them, plus no one in Honey Creek could afford a pair like that, so we figured they were left there by somebody just passing through. The weirdest thing happened when I put them on.

I could see things in the future. Not things I wanted to see, mind you, just random things. Now Hayley couldn’t see anything. They only worked for me.

So one day I was wearing them while I was driving, and I heard a truck honk, long and hard. I saw this big rig coming down the wrong side of Highway 22. I freaked out, slammed on my brakes, and pulled off onto the dirt shoulder. When I pushed the glasses up on my head, nothing was there except the blue sky and empty road. It was totally freaky, but that’s not the weird part. The weird part was, when I was sitting there letting my heart rate get back to normal, a red Peterbilt came barreling down the road, on the wrong side! It would have crushed me to bits if I hadn’t been on the shoulder already.

I came to hate those sunglasses. They showed me things I didn’t want to see. They also showed me things that I would change if I could, but I found out I can’t change the future. So I figure, what’s the use in knowing the future if you can’t change it? Believe me, when I saw my future accident, I did everything I could think of to stop it.

Once my disaster happened, I didn’t think Kevin would love me anymore. I mean, why would he? So I broke up with him and said some really mean things to make him hate me. That’s the only way I could make him leave me alone. I didn’t want to be a burden on him. Plus, the things I saw in the sunglasses proved I was right to push him away.

Anyway, all those sunglasses ever did was cause me bad luck. So I got rid of them. I put them in a place where no one will ever find them again. At least I don’t think anyone will find them. You haven’t seen them, have you?

Mariah is a force to be reckoned with, and her personality guided the story.
If you’d like to read more of Shades of the Future, you can download sample pages or buy the book from these online retailers:
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Shades-Future-Honey-Creek-ebook/dp/B008L1PQ0Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1342622859&sr=8-2&keywords=shades+of+the+future

B&N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shades-of-the-future-suzanne-lilly/1112092900?ean=2940014608800

Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=shades+of+the+future

Turquoise Morning Press http://www.turquoisemorningpressbookstore.com/products/shades-of-the-future
I love connecting with readers. You can find me online at these sites:
Suzanne Lilly Website: http://www.suzannelilly.com
TeacherWriter Blog: http://www.teacherwriter.net
Suzanne Lilly Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/SuzanneLillyAuthor
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5258804.Suzanne_Lilly
Twitter: @suzannelilly http://twitter.com/suzannelilly
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-Lilly/e/B006HY79IY
Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115758832631616324955/posts

One last note:
I’d like to let everyone know I’m on tour through the month of August, and I’ll be giving one commenter a free pair of designer sunglasses from Shoebuy.com. I just can’t guarantee if they’ll show you the future like Mariah’s did. You can get the schedule of my blog tour stops at http://suzannelilly.com/blog-tours/.
Thank you so much for having me on your blog today!
Summary:

What would you do if you could see your future? Would you accept it or would you change it?

Mariah Davis loves animals, running, and her hunk of a boyfriend, Kevin Creamer. Everything looks bright for her until the day she finds a pair of sunglasses that allow her to see the future.

When she glimpses a disaster looming, she tries to avoid it but fails. She has a car accident that lands her in a wheelchair, smashing her hopes for a running scholarship to the veterinary program at Ohio State University. She pushes Kevin away, thinking he’ll want to end their relationship now that she can’t walk.

Will she ever learn to trust and love again? She could search for an answer in the sunglasses. But she’s afraid what they reveal might destroy her.

Excerpt:

Mariah scooted closer to the inside of the booth to read the digital display. As she slid across the red vinyl seat, something poked into her thigh.

“Hey, somebody left a pair sunglasses here.” She picked them up, rubbing her leg where the frame had left a dent in her skin.

“Those are nice,” Hayley commented between fries.

“These aren’t random sunglasses. These are Dita Aviators.” Mariah turned them over, checking the thin metal frame to make sure she hadn’t bent it. She held them up to the overhead light. The lenses were clean and unscratched. “Plus, they’re like brand new.”

“Let me see them.” Hayley took the glasses out of her friend’s hands and started to put them on.

“Give them back,” Mariah told her. “Your hands are all greasy and cheesy. Not to mention saliva-y.”

Hayley laughed and handed the aviators back across the table to Mariah. “When I have clean hands, I’ll try them on. They’ll look good on me.”

“You think? How do they look on me?” She put them on and a warm tingle of fun washed through her veins.
Bio:

Suzanne Lilly is a writer at night and a teacher by day, which is why she’s known online as the TeacherWriter. Her articles and stories have appeared in numerous places online and in print. She writes light romance, young adult, and middle grade novels. When not busy with words, she enjoys swimming, hiking, reading, fine arts, and cooking. She lives in California with her family and furry friends and has yet to feel an earthquake.

You can follow her on Twitter as @suzannelilly, visit her blog at http://www.teacherwriter.net, or her author website at http://www.suzannelilly.com.

Author website: http://www.suzannelilly.com
TeacherWriter blog: http://www.teacherwriter.net
Fridays at Honey Creek blog: http://www.honeycreekbooks.com
Suzanne Lilly at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5258804.Suzanne_Lilly
Follow @SuzanneLilly on Twitter: http://twitter.com/suzannelilly
Available at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-Lilly/e/B006HY79IY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_2 and most online book retailers in digital or paperback.


Suzanne will be awarding pair of designer sunglasses to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour (US/Canada only), and a $10 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn host.