Element, Part 2 by C M Doporto Giveaway

Genre: New Adult Sci-Fi/Romance (ages 16 and up)

ISBN: 9780988829947

Number of pages: 238

Word Count: 69,382

Cover Artist: Amygdala Design

Book Trailer: 

http://youtu.be/fNNZRfGUMTM

Purchase Links:

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DCCPHAQ

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1115590037 

Book Description:

College student, Natalie Vega, struggles in her quest to learn how she can have a normal life, which includes her boyfriend Ryan, and also help the world that has been experiencing the effects of global warming. While her supernatural powers are unknown and are a secret to most in the world, an evil business tycoon learns of her abilities and has other plans for Natalie and his empire.

Excerpt:

Chapter 1 – What Has She Become?

Natalie paced back and forth. “What am I going to do? What’s wrong with me? It’s been over twenty-four hours and I’m still not back to normal.” Natalie looked at Ryan, seeking reassurance that everything would be okay. Deep down she had a feeling that she may never be the same again.

  “Natalie, please don’t get so upset. We’ll figure this out.” Ryan told her what she wanted to hear but she refused to allow herself to accept it completely. Maybe she lacked faith or recognized reality when she saw it. Regardless, this was her new world. 

She floated over to the patio doors and moved back the blinds, peeking outside.  Students walked up and down along The Drag, the main strip in front of the University of Texas campus. She longed to be outside with them. “Am I ever going to be normal again?” She let out a long and drawn out sigh, and buried her face in her hands. Her glowing green fingers reminded her of what she had become.

“Look at me, I’m a freak!” She turned around and shook her hands in the air.

“No you’re not.” He reached for her hand. She yanked it away before he could touch her.

 “Don’t. I’m not safe. Look what I did to your couch and carpet.” She glanced down at the scorched leather that outlined where she sat and the burned-in footprints on the rug.

Ryan shrugged his shoulders, like it was no big deal. Why was he taking this so calmly? Her body turned to fire for goodness sake!

“I know you won’t hurt me.” Ryan took another step forward. He put on a fearless smile.

“Of course I won’t hurt you. At least not intentionally, but I could accidentally.”  She turned away, on the verge of tears. She longed for him to hold her, caress her, and comfort her. He couldn’t and that’s what upset her the most.  At least she had one thing to be grateful for: he stood by her side and she wasn’t in this alone. She admired him for being so brave and understanding.

At first, she didn’t think he would be, especially the way he freaked out at the lake. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for him to come to his senses and realize that despite what she looked like on the outside, on the inside, she was still Natalie.

“I know, but I can’t help wanting to hold you in my arms.”

She glanced up at him. “You have no idea how bad I want that.  I’m so scared.” Her voice trembled and she swallowed hard.

“Don’t worry, beautiful, I’m not ever leaving your side.  I promise.” Ryan took another step forward. She sensed the sincerity and truth coming from his heart. Hopefully, he would not prove her wrong and stay true to his word.

“You promise?” She had to hear it one more time.

“Yes, Natalie, I promise.  Besides beautiful, I’m tough. You can’t hurt me.” He pounded his chest with his fist, like Tarzan.

She giggled. Leave it to Ryan to make her laugh and smile. However, it didn’t change the fact that she had the capability to hurt him physically and that scared her to death.

“Natalie, I mean what I say. I really do want to be here for you… help you find out why this happened and get you back to normal.  I need you more than you know. I’m in love with you.”  Ryan inched his way closer to her.

Natalie warned him to stop by holding up her hand. “I’m in love with you too and I can’t stand us not being able to touch. I want to be in your arms, feel your lips against mine, and hear your heart beat when I lay my head against your chest.  I can’t and it’s killing me. But I can’t risk hurting you. If I did something to you accidentally, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” Tears poured from her eyes but dissolved immediately into her body of flowing energy.

“Please don’t cry. It breaks my heart to see ya this way.” His eyes filled with tears and his voice escalated. He shoved his hands through his hair and tugged. He turned around, hiding his face from her. It tore her apart to see him tear up in front of her. She swallowed back the grief and allowed her eyes to dry.

His hands dropped from his head and he turned around. He took a moment before saying anything. “I want you to know that it’s just as hard for me as it is for you. I want to hold you so bad and tell you this is all a dream.  But I can’t and it’s killing me too.  You already know how hard it is for me to control myself around you. For whatever reason, I feel more attracted to you now than ever before. It’s like your scent draws me to you. That’s why I’m willing to risk hurting myself to be able to kiss and touch you.” Ryan walked back to her and reached for her arm once more.

She jumped back. “No! Don’t Ryan. It’s too risky.” She continued to back away from him until she pressed against the patio doors.

“I’m sorry. I won’t try to touch you unless you want me to. I have faith that we will get through this. We will find out why this happened and we will be able to hold and kiss each other again. Regardless, I’m never leaving your side. I love you too much.” He smiled gently at her and took a step back. He rested his open palms against his thighs, inviting her to take his hands into hers.

About the Author:

CM Doporto lives in the great state of Texas with her husband and son enjoying life with their extensive family along with their Chihuahua, Mexican Redhead Parrot and several fish.
She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from The University of Texas at Arlington. She briefly worked in the area of Public Relations and Advertising and then pursued a career in the field of Human Resources. CM considers herself a life-long learner and returned to school and earned her Master of Art's Degree in Organizational Development from Dallas Baptist University.
She writes Young Adult and New Adult Sci-Fi/Urban Fantasy stories about ordinary women who do extraordinary things, become a heroine, and find love along the way. CM is a member of Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and Romance Writers of America and is associated with the Young Adult Special Interest Chapter.

Web/blog: http://cmdoporto.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/cmdoportowriter

Twitter: @cm_doporto

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/cmdoporto

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/cmdoporto

Amazon Author Profile: http://www.amazon.com/CM-Doporto/e/B00AVZJ8DO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Giveaway:

Giveaway runs 6/12/13 – 6/30/13 and is open to individuals 16 years and older and international as well.

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Book Tour: Element, Part 1 by CM Doporto Interview & Giveaway

 
Genre: New Adult Sci-Fi/Romance (ages 14 and up)

ISBN: 978-0-9888299-2-3

Number of pages: 169

Word Count: 45,807

Cover Artist: Amygdala Design

Book Trailer:  http://animoto.com/play/Zl4rnzUbmbjoI4kloNQdJw

Book Description:

College freshman, Natalie Vega, offers to be a test patient for several vitamins and supplements created by Kronberg Laboratories, a large pharmaceutical company where she interns. Immediately her body starts going through physical changes but when she runs into her former high school crush, Ryan Garrett, she is unaware of the life altering affects he will have on her.

Excerpt: 

CHAPTER 1 — NEW BEGINNINGS

“Ladies and gentlemen we are approaching a storm and it’s going to be a little rough until we clear it.”  The captain announced and then paused before continuing. “Please stay seated and turn off all electrical devices immediately. Thank you.”

Natalie looked out the small oval window. Raindrops smeared across it, dancing their way to the side. Lightening flashed and she shuddered. She didn’t mind flying but she could do without the terrible storm. For a moment, she wished she would have taken the later flight, but she wanted to get back early since classes resumed tomorrow. She reminded herself that she had a great Spring Break in Chicago with her family and ending it with her cousin’s fairytale wedding made it all worth it.

A sudden jolt called her attention back to the situation at hand. She looked out the window again. The plane shook and rattled as it flew on the edge of thick, dark clouds. Within seconds, darkness consumed the plane and the day turned into night. Out in the blackness of the sky she could see powerful flashes of light stretching out like tentacles waiting for the plane to enter. She pulled the blanket closer to her, clutching it up against her chest, somehow hoping it would calm the drumming of her heart.

“What the —” she blurted out when the plane hit another patch of rough turbulence.  She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

A horrible rumble echoed through the plane, and it wavered from side to side. Gasps and sighs along with people begging and pleading to God were heard throughout the plane. She swallowed hard, feeling the vitamins she took ten minutes ago ease their way up. Without warning, the plane dropped several feet. Her heart hit the bottom of her stomach. Gasping for air, she struggled to catch her breath. An alarm sounded and emergency instructions echoed through the overhead speakers. She grabbed the arm rests and her body stiffened. Her eyes stayed fixed on the flashing red and white lights above her head. Please God, don’t let me die! Please.

“Natalie… Natalie, wake up. You’re having another nightmare.” Lise shook her several times before she finally awoke.

“What?” She sprung up from her bed. Sweat trickled down the sides of her forehead and she breathed heavily.

“You’re okay. It was just a nightmare.” Lise sat down next to her.

It took a few seconds for her to realize that she had been dreaming. She wiped the sweat away and the pounding of her heart turned into slow thud.  She lay back on to her pillow and took a few deep breaths. “I don’t know why I keep having these darn nightmares.”

“Well I do.” Lise replied.

Natalie looked at her. “You do?”

“Uh, yea… because you said you nearly died on that plane. It’s post trauma you’re experiencing.”

Natalie swallowed hard. She couldn’t be experiencing post-traumatic stress because only soldiers suffer from things like that, right? “No, I don’t think so. I mean, it was horrible and scary but—,”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Lise’s eyes softened.

“What is there to talk about?” Natalie sat back up. She hadn’t told anyone the full details about what she experienced, including her parents. She wasn’t about to tell Lise either.

“Sometimes it’s good to talk about horrible events. It can help you get over them.” Lise played with the edge of her t-shirt, rolling it up.

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.” She glanced over at the clock on the window seal. “I guess we should start getting dressed.”

Lise turned and looked at the clock. “Crap, I don’t want to be late.”

Natalie threw back the covers. “Neither do I. First impressions are everything.”

Interview:

1.     Where did you get the idea for the novel?

Element has special meaning to me because it was my husband’s dream that he shared with me. When he told me about his dream, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The next week we went on vacation and when we returned, I had the entire plot and characters written out.

You may ask, what was the dream about? My husband dreamed that every time he came near me his pheromones would change me into a female Hulk. The male Hulk would sense me and come after me. My husband and I were constantly on the run but couldn’t be apart because of the love we had for one another. The problem was if he was near me, I changed, so it made it difficult to be together.

I took that dream and created the plot for Element. I obviously had to come up with something different than the main character turning into a female Hulk, unless I wanted Marvel coming after me.

2.     Your title. Who came up with it? Did you ever change your title?

***spoiler alert*** I was looking for a word that described what the character, Natalie Vega, had turned into. Element, just stuck in my head and I knew that’s what the characters in the book would refer to her as when she’s in her transformed state.  No, I never changed it.

3.     Which came first, the title or the novel? 

Once I wrote the first few chapters, I named the book.

4.     Since becoming a writer, what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you?

The Eslites, hitting the Top 100 Free Best Seller’s List for Teen Sci-Fi and remaining there for over a month.

5.     What book are you currently reading or what was the last book you read?

I’m currently reading The Host. I like to read the book before I see the movie. The previous book I read was Beautiful Creatures.

6.     What was your first book that you ever wrote (very first one you wrote, not published)?

An adult romance version of Element.

7.     What is your writing process?

I’ve written from two different processes. With The Eslites, I did some research and light plotting and then sat down and wrote the story in eight hours. For Element, I did quite a bit of research, plotting, character development, and scene layout.

8. Who are your favorite authors of all time?

Jessica Shirvington, Amanda Hocking, Lauren Kate, Kerrilyn Sparks and Sherrilyn Kennyon

9.     At a book signing, do you just sign your name or do you write a note? How do you come up with stuff to say?

I’ve not done a live book signing since my books are only available in eBook format. However, I recently signed up with Authorgraph, which allows you to do a digital signature, and I did write a note along with signing my name.

10. What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I love a clean house and good food but I hate to clean and cook but do it anyways.

11.   How do you react to a bad review?

Before I developed some thick skin, I cried.

Then after a day or so I got mad, knowing how hard I worked on the story.

Then I realized everyone is entitled to their opinion and they are just that, opinions.

12.   How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?

I don’t think I really celebrated, which is sad now that I think about it. I just remember my husband and I hugging and giving thanks.

About the Author:

CM Doporto lives in the great state of Texas with her husband and son enjoying life with their extensive family along with their Chihuahua, Mexican Redhead Parrot and several fish.

She writes Young Adult and New Adult Sci-Fi/Urban Fantasy stories about ordinary women who do extraordinary things, become a heroine, and find love along the way.

Web/blog: http://cmdoporto.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/cmdoportowriter

Twitter: @cm_doporto

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/cmdoporto

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/cmdoporto

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C3JDUJ4

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/300956

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/element-part-1-cm-doporto/1114967480?ean=2940016746135

Giveaway:

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