YOU in a Book

Remember when you were little and they had those books that you could buy where they inserted your name and other details about you (hair color, pet's name, etc.) into a picture book*?

Well, now they're making them for teens.

I went on over to the Book By You website and had them whip up a preview of my story, starring me, Bella, Edward and Jacob. Behold:

From the jacket flap...

In First Bite, Alicia LibrariYAn is a studious, book-loving high school senior whose safe world is turned upside down when she's drawn to the hero of our story, Jacob Black, an immortal vampire whose dangerous 'unlife' is both frightening and fascinating. Their friends Bella and Edward advise and support this star-crossed pair as they begin a turbulent relationship...

And a preview of the text of First Bite...

Alicia could feel the heavy shelves wobble and tilt precariously. Before she could even think of escaping out from underneath, she heard the sound of sudden footsteps and the slap of wood against flesh. She looked up, surprised. A young man in a dark brown leather jacket smiled at her, one arm stretched mere inches above her head as it held back the skewed bookcase.
“Pardon me,” Jacob murmured with a slight smile, and with a movement as smooth as a dancer’s, he turned and tipped the heavy bookshelves back into their proper position.
Her heart hammering, Alicia scrambled to stand up. She was so shaken she nearly tottered back off her feet, but the stranger reached out to steady her, his touch lasting only seconds. But it was enough.
“Are you all right?”

Like his clothing, his voice was soft and rich. The light fell gently on him almost like an aura—very appropriate for a guardian angel, Alicia thought as she pushed away some messy strands of brown hair from her face. “Thank you,” she said after a few speechless moments, one hand patting her heart to calm herself. “Those shelves could’ve killed me.”
“You should be more careful,” he chastised lightly. “This is an old building that’s falling apart. I advise greater caution.”
“I know. I usually am—careful, I mean—but I was so happy to find this book…” Alicia hugged the red leather to herself, flushing under his piercing brown gaze. Why am I babbling like this? “I didn’t even know you were there. Lucky for me you were, huh? You always keep an eye out for klutzy bookworms?”

“Only when there is need, I assure you.” He smiled, teeth reflecting brightly and his broad shoulders casting a shadow over Alicia. “But you do yourself an injustice. There is nothing wrong with loving books, and you are certainly no klutz.”
The word sounded wrong coming from his lips. He had a strange way of speaking, as if English weren’t his first language, although Alicia couldn’t identify any accent. She grinned at his gallantry but had to blurt, “That’s ‘cause you don’t know me.”

He just smiled again and she was lost in his stare. And for a second she had an odd certainty that he’d argue, But I do know you...

I guess that's supposed to be mysterious and romantic, but it strikes me as a Creepster Alert, if I ever heard one.

Alas, if you want to star in your own YA novel, head on over to Book By You and make your own for the low, low price of $24.95! (Or at least make the preview like I did, inserting the names of crushes, etc., like sixteen-year-old me would've done.)

I never had one of those, but my parents were kind enough to purchase for me the *ONLY*
picture book they could find with a character named Alicia. And for the record, she IS a pest...and so was I.

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.