I met Heather Allen as a teacher in South Orlando. I'm so excited for her accomplishment in publishing the Just Breathe Trilogy, which culminates with Forever Breathing. Congratulations, Heather!
Today, I'm posting an excerpt and Heather's playlist for Forever Breathing. Enjoy!
Ever Harding has finally found where she belongs, with Jack
in the sea. Just when she thought she could start her new life, a new threat
forms on the horizon. She must make her biggest choice yet. Is she willing to
risk everything to save the love of her life and all she holds dear?
James discovers yet again that his purpose is greater than
anything he could ever imagine. He thought he had it all figured out, but sometimes
things can be very deceiving. Is he willing to stand up for all he believes is
right?
In the final book of the ‘Just Breath’ trilogy, Ever and
James find themselves not against each other but fighting together to preserve
the freedoms of others. Will they be able to defend the right to choose when
the odds are hugely against them?
The Teaser:
I turn a corner and find myself greeted by the point of
a spear. The shock that I just about swam into this spear quickly turns to
anger. I’m about to hit someone or at the very least yell at whoever would
allow this when my eyes roam over the small, milky, white hands holding onto
the end of the spear. My eyes follow the small arms up to meet clear, scared,
green eyes. She is just about the cutest girl I have ever seen. I’m taking her
in as she speaks to me in a sweet voice and all I can do is grin.
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
I just stare at her and my upturned mouth goes
completely dry. How this is possible under water, I have no idea but I feel as
if cotton is filling my cheeks.
She repeats her questions with more anger, “What are you
doing in these caves? Who are you?”
I try and clear my throat to find my voice. I must look
like such a prick grinning at her like this but it’s all I can do. She is so
adorable and holding that spear that is almost too big for her. I’m entranced and I can’t pull myself out.
As I speak, I push the point of the spear away from my
face to avoid any mishaps.
Finally my voice cracks as I introduce myself, “Hi, my
name is James.”
“Why are you here?”
I have to be careful with the answer to this one. If she
is a Lior, I could be in big trouble. I look her up and down trying to decide
which side she might be on. Her fin is an array of blues and greens shimmering
with the movement of the water around us. She is wearing a blue bikini top but
it’s partially covered by her long dark, almost black, hair. I look back up
into her face and notice a straight perfect little nose and small pink lips.
I decide to chance it. She looks like she could be on
either side.
“I’m looking for the Erebus that live here…”
She cuts me off breathlessly, “Why do you want to see
the Erebus? Did Roman send you?”
And the spear swings back into my face, inches away from
my cheek.
I push it away with more resistance this time and smirk
at her, “Hey, watch it with that, you could put an eye out.”
She frowns and raises her voice slightly, slowly
enunciating each word, “I asked, why. do. you. want. to. see. the. Erebus?”
I want to just laugh at the feistiness of this girl but
that will probably get me poked with that spear. I’m truthfully not even sure
she could do any damage, she’s so petite.
“I’m not a threat, I can guarantee that. I just want to
talk to whoever is in charge. “
She snidely asks, “What makes you think I’m not in
charge?”
I can’t help it; a small chuckle escapes my lips. The
spear swings back around and sticks a few inches into my arm. I watch, shocked
as blood seeps into the water. I know this is nothing to my body because of my
healing abilities but she doesn’t. I’m about to go off on her when I watch as
the spear falls to the floor and her hand covers her opened mouth. She
obviously didn’t mean to hurt me. Her eyes are so worried. She surprised herself more than me. I decide
to have a little fun. Putting on my best
agonized look, I grab my arm as if in pain. I’m enjoying this way too much.
She swims over to me and places her hand on my arm. A
jolt shoots straight through my arm causing me to fall back against the wall.
The look on her face is sheer disbelief. Whether it be that she unintentionally
hurt me with the spear or the obvious electricity that just seared my skin, I
don’t know.
I ask, “What was that?”
She shakes her head not seeing me as if lost in thought
for a moment.
Finally, she focuses on me and swims slowly toward me
again. I’m reluctant to let her get closer. I take my hand off of my arm having
forgotten about the spear injury and open my mouth to ask again about the
shock.
She glances to my arm and her features darken.
“Were you faking that I hurt you?”
I look surprised and realize it’s all healed up.
I shake my head, “No, I…uh… it was just a tiny flesh
wound.”
She comes closer still, examining my arm without
touching me. She looks up into my eyes and claims, “But I saw blood, a lot of
blood and…”
She reaches out to touch it and I flinch, waiting for
the shock again. When her finger grazes me, a jolt shoots up my arm but it
feels good and it doesn’t last. It turns into something else. I feel the energy
travel to my neck and down my fin. Her finger lingers on my arm and it’s as if
we’re frozen for a moment. When she pulls her hand back, I feel as if a part of
me was just taken away, the warmth is gone and I suddenly want it back.
Get a grip, James.
What the hell is wrong with you? Oh yeah, that’s right, you chose to follow
crazy girl down here and now you’re in over your head, way deeper than ever
before.
She looks at me suddenly scared and speaks up disturbing
my thoughts, “Where is the cut? There should be a cut. I saw the spear go into
your arm.”
I shake myself out of the moment and attribute it to
stress. I’m just stressed about everything and I’m imagining things.
I answer her with as much authority I can muster, “I
need to talk to someone in charge. It’s important.”
She frowns, looks down it seems as if she’s deflated and
turns, swimming back around the corner from which she came. I follow her and
kick myself silently for that whole fiasco. I can’t let anymore girls affect
me. I’m here for a much bigger reason.
Heather
Allen is the author of Just Breathe, Barely Breathing, and Forever Breathing.
Heather lives in sunny Florida with her husband and three children. She has
dedicated her life to education for the past fifteen years with a Bachelors
Degree in Elementary Education and a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership.
She finally realized her dream of becoming an author only recently. She savors
every moment on this new journey and continues to touch the lives of children
now, not only through teaching but also her books.
You can find Heather:
Twitter:
@kelconcar
Forever Breathing Buy
Link:
