Today, I’m thrilled to be
part of my critique partner Vicki Leigh’s CATCH ME WHEN I FALL blog
tour! The book is about seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham, a Protector of the
Night, who has spent two hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans
from the clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears.
I'm so excited to share an excerpt with you!
The
smell of sulfur hit me and my hair stood on end. I uncrossed my arms, opened my
eyes, and grabbed the daggers from my weapon belt. Marlene was still straddled
over Eva, her hands hovering above the woman’s head. The dream she created
shone above Eva’s bed, like a movie projector played video on the wall.
Standing on the balls of my feet, I waited for the attack.
The
first Nightmare entered the room through the wall by the door, its scaly,
humanoid body twisting like a character from an exorcism movie. Stepping toward
it, I gripped my daggers tighter and raised a blade like an American football
quarterback prepping to lob a pass. The beast’s red eyes glowed as it slithered
toward the bed. I wasted no time throwing my dagger. The blade stuck in the
creature’s skull right between the eyes. The glow in the monster’s beady eyes
faded as it crumbled to the floor without a sound.
Grimacing,
I tore the blade out of the Nightmare’s head and wiped the black blood from my
knife before pulling out a lighter and setting the beast on fire. The twisted
body burned as fast as the oil in a Kerosene lamp, then turned to ash. Remembering
how difficult it’d been to get rid of Nightmares’ corpses before someone
invented the lighter, the corner of my mouth twitched. I could build a house
with all the wasted matches.
“Something’s
wrong,” Marlene said, panic coating her voice. “Her mind… it’s like I can’t
pull the memories anymore.”
The
dream above the bed flickered like a television before the power went out. I’d
protected enough people to know what was happening.
“Just
do your best. Give her something to hold onto as she passes.”
Marlene
looked at me, her lips in a frown. This had been her first real case, taking
over when my former partner transferred to a more difficult assignment. “You
mean…”
I
nodded, and Marlene turned away with tears in her eyes.
Maybe
I should’ve been sad, but I’d watched over cancer patients, kidnapped girls,
and soldiers. I’d even protected a little six-year-old boy who died in a coma
after a drunk driver killed him. Eva was my first charge who had lived a full
life and died in her sleep at a normal age. She deserved to go peacefully like
this. And if I were being honest, as someone who had died young—and would
remain so forever—I was jealous.
Turning
away when the scent of sulfur hit my nose again, my eyes searched the room for
the second Nightmare’s point of entry. The monster crept through the far corner
near the window with a snakelike hiss, claws extended from its hands. I waited
until the creature was a little closer to us before stepping forward to throw
my blade.
Its
claws contracted and the Nightmare’s hiss died, but I threw my blade anyway,
ridding the world of one more evil. Still, I knew what had happened, why the
monster was no longer interested in feeding.
Eva
was dead.
About Catch Me When I Fall:
Recruited at his
death to be a Protector of the Night, seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham has
spent two-hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans from the
clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears. Each night, he risks
his eternal life, having given up his chance at an afterlife when he chose to
become a Protector. That doesn’t stop a burnt-out Daniel from risking daring
maneuvers during each battle. He’s become one of the best, but he wants nothing
more than to stop.
Then he’s given an
assignment to watch over sixteen-year-old Kayla Bartlett, a clinically
depressed patient in a psychiatric ward. Nightmares love a human with a
tortured past. Yet, when they take a deep interest in her, appearing in
unprecedented numbers, the job becomes more dangerous than any Daniel’s ever
experienced. He fights ruthlessly to keep the Nightmares from overwhelming his
team and Kayla. Soon, Daniel finds himself watching over Kayla during the day,
drawn to why she’s different, and what it is about her that attracts the
Nightmares. And him.
A vicious attack on
Kayla forces Daniel to break the first Law and reveal his identity. Driven by
his growing feelings for her, he whisks her away to Rome where others like him
can keep her safe. Under their roof, the Protectors discover what Kayla is and
why someone who can manipulate Nightmares has her in his sights. But before
they can make a move, the Protectors are betrayed and Kayla is kidnapped.
Daniel will stop at nothing to save her. Even if it means giving up his
immortality.
Find Catch Me When I Fall Online:
About Vicki Leigh:
Adopted at three-days-old by a construction worker and a
stay-at-home mom, Vicki Leigh grew up in a small suburb of Akron, Ohio where
she learned to read by the age of four and considered being sent to her room
for punishment as an opportunity to dive into another book. By the sixth grade,
Vicki penned her first, full-length screenplay. If she couldn’t be a writer,
Vicki would be a Hunter (think Dean and Sam Winchester) or a Jedi. Her favorite
place on earth is Hogwarts (she refuses to believe it doesn’t exist), and her
favorite dreams include solving cases alongside Sherlock Holmes.
Vicki is an editor
for Curiosity Quills Press and is represented by Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency.
Find Vicki Leigh Online:
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