Tempting Death
Elizabeth Holloway
(The Grim Trilogy #1)
Publication date: May 30th 2016
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
The truck should have turned Libbi Piper into a Libbi pancake, but a mysterious boy named Aaron saved her life. The problem? Aaron’s the local Grim Reaper. The bigger problem? He saved Libbi’s life so she can take over his job.
Libbi has just days to choose between dying like she was supposed to or living a lonely life as Death Incarnate. The choice only gets harder when she learns Aaron’s reasons for wanting out of the whole morbid business. Basically, his job sucks.
Still, when Aaron looks at her, there’s something more in his eyes. Something dark and secret. Something he’s hiding. Libbi will be damned if she’ll die without figuring it out. And she’ll be damned if she lets him go.
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EXCERPT:
The creep is back.
I may not be able to see him, but I know he’s here, somewhere. Call it intuition. Or maybe it’s just the eerie memory of when the guy stared me down last night. I don’t know, but I’m not taking any chances.
I hunch over my history final and release my thick hair from behind my ears. It swings forward like a dark-brown curtain and hides my face.
Show’s over, buddy.
I can’t look around, not with Mr. Winkler on “cheater duty.” Hopefully, the guy will get bored and go wherever the hell he went last night when he took off.
The final is what’s important. I need to focus on this test.
I read the next question on the page, but the loser’s gaze bores through my dark shield of hair and my arms erupt in gooseflesh. Before I can skim the multiple choice answers, my eyes betray me and shoot up to scan the classroom.
Mr. Winkler sits at his desk scratching at some poor schlub’s paper with his red pen of doom. His bald head gleams in the harsh fluorescent light. God, I hope it’s not my paper he’s destroying. I can’t afford another bad grade in this class.
I quickly scan the rest of the classroom through the part in my hair, but everyone is working. Eerie feeling or not, nobody’s looking at me.
But I know someone is watching. Just like last night, I can feel his stalker stare.
This is ridiculous. I shake my head and rub my arms to dispel the goose bumps. This guy has freaked me out so much I’m imagining his eyes on me now. I don’t have time for this. I have an exam to finish.
The tip of my pencil hovers over the letter C, and something in my peripheral vision shifts. I snap my head up and finally see him.
The guy I caught staring at me at the art show last night, the guy who warned me something bad was going to happen to me today, stands at the tiny rectangular window in the door. He tilts his head and his ice-blue eyes lock on mine, sending a shiver through my body.
Shake it off, Libbi, I tell myself. He’s just a crazy boy with a crush.
Actually, with his tousled black hair and his nose pressed against the glass like that, he looks a little like a lost puppy. If he wasn’t so creepy, I’d almost feel sorry for him. But couldn’t he choose a better time than the middle of my history final to eyeball me? Plus, he said he wanted to talk to me alone, and this is most certainly not alone.
I point to my partially finished test and mouth, “Final exam.”
He nods. A half-smile lifts the corners of his lips.
“Bye.” I wave my hand.
“I need to talk to you,” he mouths.
“No,” I reply, but he continues to stand at the door.
Dude, catch a clue already. I spin away from the door, sneak a peek at Mr. Winkler, and shove the eraser of my pencil between my teeth. I yank the eraser out of its metal holder and flick it at the back of Haley’s head. Her chair squeaks as she jumps and whips around to glare at me.
“What?” she whispers.
“Look.” I point over my shoulder with my pencil to the classroom door. “That crazy guy I told you about is at the window.”
We turn to the door together, but the window’s empty. He must be a shy creeper.
“Where?” Haley says.
“Never mind. He’s gone.” I slump back in my chair. At least I can finish my test in peace.
Dreamcast
I admit it! I have gazed off into space when I should have been writing (don’t tell my editor) and dreamed of the actors that should play my characters, in the remote chance my book is made into a movie. My only defense is I’m not the only author who’s done it, and I won’t be the last.
Since I’ve obviously thought about this far more than I should have, I might as well share my dreams with you fine folks.
Libbi Piper
Physical description: Petite but curvy, brown wavy hair, bright green eyes, round face
Libbi’s a hard character to cast. Obviously, I need to think about her physical appearance, but she’s also smart, snarky, and not afraid to stand up for the people she loves, or something she believes in. That’s why I picked Emma Roberts to take the lead as Libbi Piper.
Aaron Shepherd
Physical description: Tall and lean, black hair that falls over his forehead, deep blue eyes, pale skin, a little shadow of scruff on his cheeks and chin
I’m not gonna lie. I’ve had this actor pegged to play Aaron ever since I saw him in Warm Bodies. Granted, he doesn’t say a whole heck of a lot in that film, but I love his ability to express so much in the subtlest of gestures and grunts. Aaron is wordier than that, obviously, but he still holds a lot back. I think Nicholas Hoult would play him beautifully.
Kyle Dennis
Physical description: muscular drummer’s build, blond wavy hair, dark-brown eyes
Kyle Dennis is probably more difficult to cast than Libbi. He has so many layers and wears his (often intense) emotions on his sleeve. The actor who plays him not only needs to look the part, he needs to have the ability to play a wide range of emotions. I’d love to see a young Alex Pettyfer in the role. Never mind the fact that Emma Roberts dated him at one point and they probably wouldn’t want to work together. This is a fantasy cast, after all.
That’s enough of my dreaming. If anyone has read, or is planning to read Call Me Grim or Death Becomes Me and would like to give me your dream cast suggestions, I would love to hear them. Leave them in the comments here, or tweet them to me @eholloway300.
Author Bio:
Elizabeth Holloway is a writer of young adult fiction living in Southern Pennsylvania with her two teen children and their growing number of pets.
In addition to writing, she is a registered nurse, an avid reader, an out-of-practice artist, a karaoke singer, and a music lover. She is still trying to decide what she wants to be when she grows up.
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