The One Song that Epitomizes Cascades of Moonlight (Book #1 in The Parker Harris Series)
The moment I saw this topic, on a list of suggested guest posts, I knew I had to write about it. Music has inspired many scenes in my books. There was a song that almost sounded as though it was written with Parker and Quinn in mind. After I wrote Cascades of Moonlight, I came across it on my iPod and it made me do a double take as I listened to the words. I had to play it on repeat several times and each time I could see Parker and Quinn's story play out in my mind. It's a country song by Lady Antebellum called Can't Take My Eyes Off You.
I know that the bridges that I've burned
Along the way
Have left me with these walls and these scars
That won't go away
And opening up, has always been the hardest thing
Until you came
Along the way
Have left me with these walls and these scars
That won't go away
And opening up, has always been the hardest thing
Until you came
The first verse of the song (listed above) speaks to Parker's struggles with becoming a werewolf and how she pushed everyone away (burning bridges per se) to keep her secret. She put up walls, refusing to make new friends or let anyone in. Being turned into a werewolf left her with physical and emotional scars that will never heal. Opening up, sharing her secret, has been impossible. Quinn comes into her life and he's able to break down her walls and help her open up to new possibilities.
So lay here, beside me, just hold me, and don't let go
This feeling, I'm feeling, is something I've never known
And I just can't take my eyes off you
And I just can't take my eyes off you
This feeling, I'm feeling, is something I've never known
And I just can't take my eyes off you
And I just can't take my eyes off you
The refrain (above), in true romance fashion, speaks of how safe she feels in Quinn's arms. The first time she is experiencing feelings of love, the way she gets lost in him. She is always watching him. She speaks of his dimples, his adorable half smile, his emerald green eyes, his movements, and his body. She seems to never take her eyes off of him when he is around.
I love when you tell me that I'm pretty
When I just woke up
And I love how you tease me when I'm moody
But it's never too much
I'm falling fast, but the truth is I'm not scared at all
You climbed my walls
When I just woke up
And I love how you tease me when I'm moody
But it's never too much
I'm falling fast, but the truth is I'm not scared at all
You climbed my walls
The second verse (above), speaks to their relationship quirks. Parker has a tendency to fly off the handle when she is stressed out or scared. More than once, she lashes out at Quinn and he loves to tease her until he can force a smile out of her. Quinn is the first one to get through to Parker. He convinces her to let him in, he 'climbs her walls' that others can never seem to breach. I can't think of a more perfect song than this one to describe the first book of the series. Heck, there's no way I could've written a more perfect song than this one!
Cascades of
Moonlight
The Parker Harris Series Book 1
Pages: 259
Publication Date: May 13, 2012
***UPDATED VERSION 07/11/13****
Parker Harris was a normal
teenage girl with a normal teenage life. That was true until two years ago when
she was bitten by a werewolf, forcing her to endure the painful shifting each
month during the full moon. She has kept this secret from everyone she loves.
One day a stranger enters her small town and knows this secret. Nothing ever
happens in the small town of Cascade Idaho, and new people rarely move in, but
its Parker's senior year now and two new faces show up in town. Shortly after their arrival, there is a
brutal murder which becomes the first in Cascades history.
Dreams,
Spells, and Moonlit Tales
The Parker Harris Series Book 2
Pages: 278
Publication Date: December 18, 2012
Parker Harris desires a normal life, but it's just not in
the cards for her. Parker is a werewolf. She has been for three years now. It’s
the summer after she graduated high school and she is preparing for college. If
only grades and college classes were her only worries. Parker and Jackie are
trying to mend their fractured friendship from her betrayal. Jackie and
Mitchell are working on their relationship, fighting jealousy and trust issues
of their own. Quinn, a vampire, is the love of Parker’s life. He begins to look
into his family’s past and what he finds is not pretty. In fact, it could mean
the end for his relationship with Parker. A mistake from Parker's past is
revealed and proves to be more enormous than she realized. Dreams—Parker is
having dreams and visions of Will. She can’t decipher real from illusion it
seems. Spells—Charisma, a new friend to the group, brings magic into the fold.
Moonlit Tales—it seems that the full moon is not only a time for Parker to feel
the pain of shifting. It’s also a time for unexplained occurrences and secrets
being revealed. Can Parker and Quinn's love survive the obstacles they
encounter? Is Jackie trustworthy? Are Parker’s feelings for Mitchell becoming
too strong for her to ignore? Dreams, Spells, and Moonlit Tales summarize the
events of Parker's life in this book.
The Dark
Moon
The Parker Harris Series Book 3
Pages: 251
Publication Date: May 5, 2013
This book picks up from
the moment we left off in book two. Quinn received a call from Parker stating
Will is alive. Quinn drops everything to rush to her aid. Will he make it in
time or will his father stop him? Parker and Mitchell's feelings are not going
away and they begin to take a toll on Mitchell's relationship with Jackie.
Everyone seems to have a secret they are keeping from Parker and it seems they
have feel "there's something she should know" and now is the time.
Parker is overwhelmed with all the new information coming her way. Parker's
secret life as a werewolf is on the brink of being exposed.
The Cold Moon
Novella
The Parker Harris Series Book #3.5
YA Paranormal
Releasing: Aug 22
This is a story told from Mitchell's point of view. This is
Book 3.5 in The Parker Harris Series. This novella is broken into three parts:
The Change: In this portion we will learn what events happened leading to
Mitchell's change into a vampire and how he dealt with it. Lupita and Fangs:
The story of how their friendship blossomed into something more. What Happens
Next: The lead in to the spin-off series, The Crispin Sinclair Chronicles.
We'll learn what happened to the fab four after The Dark Moon ended. We'll also
meet a new character who will be pivotal to Crispin's story
The
Shimmering Pool
The Crispin Sinclair Chronicles Book #1
(spin-off from Parker
Harris)
YA Fantasy
Releasing: Oct
Crispin Sinclair isn't your average teenage boy. He
inherited precognitive dreams from his mother who died during childbirth. His
other unique quality was inherited from his father; Crispin is a werewolf.
Growing up as a supernatural being in a world that doesn't know they exist is
difficult to say the least. Crispin's been lucky that his family is made up of
supernaturals; witches, vampires, and werewolves. As he begins to obtain his
werewolf abilities, his life will be thrown into turmoil placing everyone he
loves in danger.
Amytha Roberts feels like the most ordinary girl in the
world. She was adopted at age five but not by your traditional idea of parents;
her mom's a werewolf and her dad's a vampire. Amytha's best friend Crispin is a
werewolf with futuristic dream abilities, while she is a normal sixteen year
old girl surrounded by paranormal beings. Stories of Amytha's past begin to
surface causing her family to investigate more into where she came from.
Crispin and Amytha take turns telling this story of being in
a family that you choose, being abnormal in a normal world, and the importance
of friendship. Together they will go on adventures into a faraway place where
they'll encounter new creatures and discover truths they never imagined.
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