Indigo Incite by Jacinda Buchmann Excerpt & Guest Post

There are no secrets. 

Sixteen-year-old Tyler believed that his extra-sensory powers were a secret, but when his twin brother, Toby, is kidnapped by a covert government agency, he realizes that he has no secrets and he has nowhere to hide. 

He’s not alone. 

Now, to save himself and rescue his brother, Tyler must call upon the help of four strangers. Unknown to each other, Eddie, Liliana, Grace, and Sarah share a common bond. They are Indigo Children. With extra-sensory powers of their own they must unite with Tyler to maintain their freedom. 

Unexpected romance 

They’re on the run. They’re on a mission. Romance is a distraction that Tyler can’t afford. But sometimes the heart has a mind of its own. 

Time is running out. 

Will they find Toby before the agency finds them first? Find out in Indigo Incite, Book One of the Indigo Trilogy.

 

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Indigo Incite Excerpt #1
Toby was curious about something Jesse had said. “Tracker? Is that what you are? Do you go out and track people down?" “I did for a little while, but now, for the most part, I stay here and work with the people they bring in.” “Like me.” “Yeah, like you.” “So, there are others, here, like me? How many?” “Right now…there are ten.” “Were they all kidnapped, too?” “No, not all of them. Some were recruited, but yes, a few were…brought here unwillingly.” “Kidnapped.” “If that’s how you want to look at it, yes. But eventually they all come around when they realize how their gifts can be used to help others. So many of them have never even understood why they have special abilities. They’ve always felt alone, and that’s where I come in. I help them recognize their true potential and help them to see that they aren’t alone, that there are others like them. We become like a family. It’s our hope that you’ll come to feel that way, too. Besides your brother, you have no family. We can offer you a home.” A home.A family. It was a tantalizing idea, but he still couldn’t get over the fact that he had been kidnapped and drugged for the past two weeks. That wasn’t the way family treated each other. Jesse made the whole thing sound like a fairy tale. According to him, he had been whisked away from a life of poverty and had lived happily ever after. Was it really that simple? Toby had his doubts. “I sense that you still have your doubts,” Jesse said, reading his mind. Toby was taken aback. Other than his brother, he wasn’t used to having anyone else inside of his head. “Well, you’d better get used to it,” Jesse said. “There’s no such thing as a personal thought, anymore.” And just remember, they hear every word you say, too. Jesse’s thoughts invaded his mind while his eyes glanced nonchalantly to the camera anchored high on the wall in a far corner. Toby retorted with a silent reply, So basically, the moral of the story is, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Is that it? You’re a smart one, no doubt about that, Jesse thought. He stepped toward Toby, patted him on the shoulder, and then said out loud, “I’ll give you time to think about what I’ve said. I’ll come back later this evening.” He took his bottle of water from the desk, swiped his ID badge, and stepped out. The door automatically slid shut upon his departure, and then Toby was alone in the windowless room. 
Indigo Incite Excerpt #2 
Without thinking, Liliana grabbed Tyler's pillow and swung her legs over the side of the bed, bringing her feet to rest on the rough, threadbare motel carpet. Then she silently made her way to the sofa and knelt on the floor. She lifted his arm and secured the pillow beneath it. With her hand still on his arm, she gave it a gentle squeeze and whispered, “Here ya go.” “What’s this for?” he whispered back. “Maybe I felt sorry for you.” “Oh, so my trick worked? You bought my poor, poor, pitiful me story?” “What?” She snagged the pillow from under his arm and smacked it on his head. Then, she turned toward her bed. He laughed and caught hold of her wrist to stop her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. He tugged on her wrist to pull her down to the floor and then sat up on the sofa. He reached out for her other wrist and held both of her hands in his. The lighting was dim, but she could vaguely see that he had taken his shirt off. She could see the outline of his broad shoulders and muscular arms. His large hands held hers with a firm grip. “I’m sorry,” he whispered again. “Everything I told you is true. Other than my brother, I have no family to speak of. And I swear I didn’t do anything wrong to get sent to military school.” “Well, if you did something wrong or not, it doesn’t matter to me.” “It matters to me that you believe me.” “Why?” “Because…I li—Because I’d like us to be friends.” “I’d like us to be friends, too.” She wondered what he had been going to say. Because I like you? She pushed the thought aside. He squeezed her hands and then released them. “You’d better get some sleep.” “You too.Sleep good…on the sofa.” She laughed softly and then hurried to crawl back under the warm blankets. Sweet dreams, Tyler thought. Same to you, she thought back. As she drifted off to sleep, visions of a shirtless Tyler lying alone on the sofa, were the last images to float through her mind. 
Indigo Incite Excerpt #3 
 I could just drive away, he heard Eddie think. I could keep going, never look back, and pretend we never met. “You could,” Tyler said. “It’s definitely an option.” Eddie looked, as expected, very confused. “I could do what? What’s an option?” “You could drive away and never look back.” “How did you know…?” Tyler shrugged. “My brother’s not the only one with talent. It’s true. You could drive away, pretend that you never met me, but it wouldn’t put an end to all of this. My brother isn’t the one who threw a kink in your plans. The people who kidnapped him are. You’re damn lucky that my brother had the power to contact you. If he hadn’t, you could be in the same position that he’s in right now. The people who took him want you, too. Like it or not, we have to rely on each other if we’re going to make it through this. “Now, I need to get my bag. Can I trust that you aren’t going to drive away once I get out?” Eddie gave him a half smile. “Go ahead. I’ll wait right here.” Tyler checked on Eddie’s thoughts one more time. Once he was certain that his new friend wasn’t going to leave him in the dust, he jumped out of the Jeep and yanked on the door handle of Kirby’s car. It was locked. It couldn’t be. Kirby never locked his car. He walked around the vehicle and tried each handle, but to no avail. Eddie got out of the Jeep and came to stand by his side. “Car’s locked I take it?” “Yeah. He never locks the car.” He slammed his hand on the roof. Eddie sighed. “Just add breaking and entering to my police record, along with kidnapping.” Tyler glanced at him. “You’re going to break in? Do you have a lot of experience with breaking into cars?” Eddie scowled. “No, I don’t. Until I met you, the idea of breaking the law never crossed my mind. Do you see anyone coming?” Tyler peered up and down the aisle of parked vehicles. They were parked in the back of the lot, and thankfully, there was no one around. “Um, nope.Looks clear.” “Good. This should just take a moment.” “What will? What are you going to do?” Eddie grinned. “You and your brother aren’t the only ones with powers. Watch and see.” He placed his right hand, slightly above the handle on the door and placed his left hand near the locking mechanism. In less than ten seconds, Tyler heard the click. “Voila.” Eddie smiled and flourished a hand toward the door. “One unlocked car, as you wished.”

Bio:

Jacinda Buchmann lives in Arizona with her husband and three children. She graduated from Carroll College, in Helena, Montana, with a B.A. in elementary education and later received a Master's degree from Northern Arizona University, in school counseling. After spending several years as a teacher and later a school counselor, she now spends her time writing, any free chance she can get, that is, when she's not spending time with her family or creating a new concoction in the kitchen.

Online Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJacindaBuchmann
Twitter: @JacindaBuchmann
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jacinda-Buchmann/e/B00CTW6DNA/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/jacinda-buchmann

Guest Post:

I recently had the opportunity to speak on a panel with other authors at the LepreCon Science Fiction Convention, in Mesa, Arizona, to discuss the ins and outs of self-publishing. The intricacies of creating a book are seemingly endless and the panel was asked an abundance of wonderful questions, so instead of answering them all here, I will address the first question that was asked, and I will follow up with subsequent questions in upcoming blog posts.

The first question presented to the panel was, "What are the pros and cons of traditional publishing versus self-publishing and why did you decide to self-publish?"

I could probably write a novel on that question alone, but here's the abbreviated answer. Authors who traditionally publish obviously have the opportunity to reach a wider audience a lot easier without having to do all of the work by themselves. The downside? These days it can be extremely difficult to obtain an agent. I have heard from authors who have spent over a year sending out query letters to agents without receiving an offer. I am not that patient. Yes, I wrote query letters to agents, but after two months of playing "the game" I decided that I wasn't going to sit around with a wonderful story on my hands. I had spent two years writing my first story and I wanted to get it into the hands of readers. I didn't want to place the fate of my book with agents who didn't know me or my story. So, I took control and decided to self-publish. By making that decision, I gained a renewed sense of confidence.

The downside to self-publishing is that it is A LOT of work. Writing a novel is only the beginning. Once the story is written, a self-published author must then edit, format, have a cover designed, and market and promote through numerous social media outlets. Once the author moves on to writing the next project, the promotional aspect never ends.

The upside to self-publishing is that the author retains control over the story. If you decided to self-publish, there is no one to tell you that you should change your main character's name or change your own name for that matter. No one tells you what the cover of your book should look like, and no one tells you that you need to have your next book finished in three months. You maintain the freedom over the creativity of your writing world.

 I am thankful to live in a time where I have the opportunity to self-publish, but there is still a stigma over the term self-publishing. Why? Because anyone with a computer can self-publish, there is an abundance of new books out there, not all of which are necessarily as refined, edited, and polished as others, and so unfortunately some people assume that self-published books aren't as good as traditionally published books. In my experience over the past year, the self-published authors I have met are just as professional as the traditional authors I have met. Self-published authors put just as much pride and time into their writing, and are just as talented as traditionally published authors. In fact, I find that I tend to turn to self-published books when I am looking for something to read because many self-published stories are "out of the norm and original" compared to a lot of "cookie-cutter" plots that agents tend to absorb. If I read a self-published book, chances are it's going to be unlike any other book I've read before.

Would I ever try to switch over to traditional publishing? Perhaps. Of course I would love for my books to reach a larger audience, and it would be nice to not have to format my own books and do all of the marketing myself, but for now I love and appreciate the fact that I am my own boss and I have complete control over my stories.

Every author has to discover his or her own way regardless if they are on a traditional or self-published path. For some, they discover success overnight. For others, it might take years. No matter if you're on the freeway to becoming a bestselling author or if you're taking the scenic backroads, it's important to never forget the reason you started writing. Don't forget the child inside of you who once discovered the love of writing and said that you wanted to be an author when you grow up. You know you have a true passion for writing when the characters haunt your thoughts when you're driving or when you wake up at two o'clock in the morning with a brilliant plot. A true passion to writing should never be stifled by your book's ranking on Amazon.

Every day is still a learning experience as I discover the ins and outs of successful marketing and promoting, but in the end the one truth that holds true is that I love to write. I can't imagine not writing, because truthfully I think my mind would explode with the number of characters in my head that want to get their story out. For future or budding authors out there, don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't be an author. If you have a story to tell then start writing. It's a simple first step. Once your story has been written you will find your path if you are determined enough.