The V Mafia is honestly one of the coolest things I've had the honor of being a part of. Normally, I don't do street teams and all that because it's just too much to keep up with. But this fambam thing we've got going on over at the #VMafia is pretty darn sweet. And it's seriously such an honor.
This morning, I woke up to an email from the V Mafia with an excerpt that I cannot wait to share with you (one that i cannot get enough of right now -- so good).
Funny story I've got to share with you. It might not be that funny but you know, just laugh (at me) anyway. In the email, it said: excerpt #2. My eyes couldn't help but zone in on the number 2. I thought I was a bad fambam member because I didn't get excerpt #1 because you know, then I couldn't share it with you. I just kept thinking, "Did I miss something? Where's excerpt #1?" I went to Victoria Scott's website and frantically searched her blog for posts that could have mentioned an excerpt with the #1 following it, lol. I was so lost and confused but that might have something more to do with my sleeping pattern that caused me to not think so clearly. ;p Anyway, I eventually gave up looking and I just asked the genius.
If you are still completely aware of who this infamous Dante Walker is, well then sit back and get comfortable because you guys are going to become best friends right after this. You'll want to jump his bones probably as much as he wants to jump your... hahaha!
Okay, before I say anymore about this excerpt (like the fact that i love it so much and that it totally made my whole day), I should probably share it with you so you'll know what I'm talking about.
THE COLLECTOR: A DANTE WALKER NOVEL
Second excerpt release—January 10, 2013
Apparently, Charlie Cooper doesn’t
have a car. But don’t worry, she
tells me, we can walk to school from here.
Thrilling.
It’ll only take a
few lifetimes, what with her mad limp and all.
Charlie
carries a brown lunch bag in one hand, and every few minutes she digs Skittles
out of her pocket and pops them into her mouth. I have no idea how this girl
survives high school. She’s a disaster. It’s kind of tragic. Why is she still
alive while I’m a walking corpse?
I can’t stop
staring at her mouth. It’s the only part of her that’s passable yet it never
stops moving.
“Don’t
you think?” she asks.
I
meet her eyes. “What?”
She
nudges me with her shoulder like we’re long lost pals. “Someone’s been
daydreaming. Want some sugar?” Her open palm is a stained Skittle mess.
“I’ll pass,” I
answer. I’m not sure how this chick stays so tiny. She eats like a
hippopotamus. Deep in my pocket, I rub circles over my lucky penny. I’m trying
to figure out how to corrupt this girl, and she keeps asking me questions.
Focus, Dante.
I narrow my eyes
and do what I’m trained to do. At first, her body is exactly the same, short
and skinny, like a weed that needs plucking. But then it changes. The familiar
warm yellow light crawls over her skin and flickers.
Ah,
soul light. If I could drink it, I would. The color of a human soul is the same
for everyone. It’s the seals that make the difference. I count how many she
has, then clench my hands into fists. There are twelve seals on her soul. Only
twelve. And they’re not even big. Great. I’ve come to collect Mother Teresa.
Still,
the fact that she has even twelve seals means Boss Man has probably had Charlie
watched for some time, or at least the Peachville area. Looking at her, his
reasons are lost to me. But it doesn’t matter. I’ve got to collect her either
way. If I don’t and she dies, she’ll go to Judgment Day, and Boss Man obviously
doesn’t want to take chances.
Inspecting
her soul closer, I notice some of Charlie’s seals are dark blue, others green
or orange or whatnot. Every collector can place seals, and you can tell who
sealed a soul by the color. Most of hers are green. That’d be Patrick’s work. Naturally,
I was the one to train him.
Her
soul is clear of any of my red seals. But that won’t last for long cause Papa’s
come to play. “How much further?” I ask.
“Just
on the other side of this hill,” she chirps. “Like I was saying, I’m not sure
if you’ll be able to enroll this late in the semester, but at least you can see
the school and stuff.”
“I
wouldn’t worry about it.”
Charlie
glances at me, and her eyes crinkle at the corners. “I think you’re nice,
Dante.”
“That’s
cause I am nice.”
She
looks ahead and walks in silence for almost a full minute. It suddenly feels
strange to be near her and not hear her speak. The massive trees hang in a
canopy over the road, stretching to greet one another. Their leaves are dead.
Toothy
Jack O’ Lanterns sit on porches and watch us pass. One looks like it’s mocking
me, so I flip it off. Charlie sees me. She throws her head back and laughs long
and hard. The sound startles me.
I wonder what it
would feel like to laugh like that—with complete abandonment.
First of all, Dante Walker. I am (already) so in love with him. I mean, right now it's not like lovey-dovey love (because you know, I hardly know much about him, lol) but I just love him so crazy in the sense that I can so see myself being friends with this dude. I mean, hello -- he's high larious and I'm high larious (cue laughter here); we would always have a heckuva time together. The Mother Teresa line had me keeling over with laughter and I especially loved when he said Papa's come to play -- UNF! Oooh, and I totally SALTS when he said "Boss Man's reasons were lost to him." That was just too funny to me. See? I just know I'll be head over heels for this guy. Bad boy he is and *gasp* I have a closet full of 'em. ;) I love me some bad boys!
I just want to say to D-Dub: prepare yourself because your world's about to be rocked to its core. Or... at least, I think it will be. ;p
Lastly (... or not; can't decide yet if i have more to talk about, lol), Charlie and Dante. Haha, this one probably makes no sense but it's like this guys: 2 + 2 = 5. With this one excerpt, we get a glimpse of the two main characters and it's not a lot to go off of but if what we've seen of Charlie is how she is throughout the book and Dante... well, we can bet everything we own that he'll be like this for majority of the book, lol, then I really can't wait to read and see how Dante's going to fall in love with her. GASP. Dante? Love? Dante Walker? No way! But I call way. I call yes-all-the-freaking-way.
I think it will be so cute and epic. Oh no, my hopeless romantic side is coming out. But I mean...
Note: I haven't read this book yet (although, i'm so dying to) so all of this is just what I'm hoping for or what I'm assuming will happen. I could be wrong (most likely am) at all of this but hey, a girl could dream, right?
Okay, now that I've cleared that I can go crazy. Anyway... *pulls thought back* But I mean... obviously something bigger is at play with Charlie Cooper. That's why Boss Man wants -- might even need -- her within ten days. Dante is such an interesting and fun character. I wish I could have been inside Victoria Scott's brain when she was writing this book. He has this cocky know-it-all/I-don't-really-care attitude going on but I think when he meets Charlie, he's going to realize things about her that will shock him and leave him amazed (not to mention he might even discover her importance to Boss Man and his intentions which i'm hoping will lead to him wanting to protect her from all the bad things) and then BOOM, BAM, POW, she'll get his heart racing and he's going to feel all the things and then... *sigh* it's going to be epic. Really epic, guys.I am so excited... I really can't even.
Okay, enough of my rambling and gushing. What did you guys think of this excerpt!? Don't you wish you had this book in your hands like today? I sure as heck do. I know I talked a lot throughout this post but really, all I want to know (i am so lying. i want to bounce thoughts with you... but if you don't, i understand) is what you think of Dante and Charlie and The Collector. Leave me comments with your feels!
Title: The CollectorAuthor: Victoria Scott
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release date: April 2, 2013
Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence has made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple, weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.
Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:
Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within 10 days.
Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky, Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect—he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector, and uncover emotions deeply buried.
About the author:
I’m a YA writer with a die-hard affection for dark and humorous books. My work is represented by the fabulous Laurie McLean of Larsen-Pomada literary agency. I have a master’s degree in marketing, and am a member of the Writers’ League of Texas and Teen Shiver.
My first YA book, THE COLLECTOR, will be published by Entangled Teen, April 2013. It is the first book in a trilogy. My second YA series will begin with THE BRIMSTONE BLEED and is being published by Scholastic in spring 2014.
I currently live in Dallas with my husband, Ryan.
Find The Collector Fansites online: Twitter | Facebook
P.S. I ran across this review on The Collector's Goodreads page and after reading it, you guys have to promise me that you'll read it. I promise it will be the best thing (besides my post, of course ;p) that you read today. Here's the link: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/407756994. After you read it, come back and tell me that it was definitely the second best thing you've set your eyes upon today. ;) *giggles* Happy reading!
P.S. I ran across this review on The Collector's Goodreads page and after reading it, you guys have to promise me that you'll read it. I promise it will be the best thing (besides my post, of course ;p) that you read today. Here's the link: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/407756994. After you read it, come back and tell me that it was definitely the second best thing you've set your eyes upon today. ;) *giggles* Happy reading!
GIRL, THIS POST IS BASICALLY WHAT I LOVE ABOUT YOU AND THIS BOOK. Also, you're totes highlarious, I think you and Dante might need to have a highlarious-ness face off!
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