{"id":714,"date":"2017-12-11T12:40:02","date_gmt":"2017-12-11T17:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=714"},"modified":"2024-02-04T15:02:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-04T20:02:15","slug":"tmsc-news-12-11-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/tmsc-news-12-11-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"*The Most Special Chosen* News 12-11-2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div><p>It&#8217;s been a while since my <a href=\"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/tmsc-news-10-27-2017\/\">last series update<\/a>. There hasn&#8217;t been a lot of news recently. I&#8217;ve been reviewing and editing\u00a0<em>The Most Special Chosen<\/em>. I&#8217;ve been making a lot of minor edits, and even re-writing some sections completely.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m currently editing the last chapter before I do a final scrub-through and send it back to my publisher for round 2. I have to admit, I&#8217;m really happy with the edits. They&#8217;ve really improved the story, and the writing is much improved as well.<\/p>\n<p>Part of the need for re-writes is an ever-changing society. Statements, ideas, and themes that were perfectly acceptable when I finished the story over four years ago are now somewhat iffy, so I&#8217;ve changed them.\u00a0Anyone who picked up a copy of the self-published version a few years ago will want a new copy.<\/p>\n<p>As a &#8220;thank you&#8221; for reading my blog, here&#8217;s a sneak peek of the story.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Chapter 1 (abridged)<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It takes every ounce of my self control to not slam my books down on the table as I reach Shawn. To avoid getting thrown out of the library, I plonk them down lightly and drop into a chair with a sigh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Bad day?&#8221; Whispers Shawn, my best friend of eight years. &#8220;I thought it was going to be great.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I schlump forward and rest my chin on my hand. &#8220;It was supposed to be, according to my intuition. That&#8217;s why I dressed nicely.&#8221; I gesture vaguely to my outfit with my free hand. I have on a pair of black, knee-high, leather boots; black leggings; and a lightweight, crimson sweater dress that accentuates my curvy figure. I only wear a little makeup to set off my brown, almond-shaped eyes. I&#8217;ve left my copper-colored hair long and wavy, hanging to my hips.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The only thing <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">special<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about today is that I&#8217;ve been rather hot.&#8221; Southern California just isn&#8217;t very cold in November.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;I thought you said your intuition is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">never<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> wrong.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;It&#8217;s not, I just&#8230;&#8221; I shrug, unsure how to finish that sentence. My intuition hasn&#8217;t been wrong once in my entire life, and ignoring it has always been to my detriment. I can&#8217;t understand how it&#8217;s suddenly wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I watch Shawn as he turns back to his studying. He hasn&#8217;t changed much since high school. His soft, dirty-blonde hair hangs to his ears; huge, horn-rimmed glasses hide his startling green eyes; and his nose is a little too big for his face. He&#8217;s not ugly, but he&#8217;s no model, either.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look up<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My intuition, the same strange whisper I&#8217;ve heard at various points in my life, speaks again. I obey instantly. Perhaps this is the something special I&#8217;ve been waiting for.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I catch sight of the most gorgeous guy I&#8217;ve ever seen around the many bookcases and quickly sit up straight. He&#8217;s perfect! Imagine if he&#8217;s \u2014 No, Lys<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My movement catches Shawn&#8217;s eye. He peers over his shoulder, following my line of sight, then turns back, rolling his eyes. &#8220;What is it with you and guys in black? Especially ones that look like \u2014 &#8220;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My sharp look shuts him up. He knows better than to discuss <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in public. But I have to admit he has a point. I glance back at Mr. Gorgeous. He does look like \u2014 Dammit Lys! They don&#8217;t exist.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I try very hard not to stare and fail miserably. He has shoulder-length, jet-black hair that looks almost blue in the light; large, ice-blue eyes; round, sensual yet masculine lips; a square jaw that somehow doesn&#8217;t look chiseled; a mustache that grows into a short goatee; and lovely, olive skin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He rounds the last bookcase and I can see he&#8217;s wearing a black, form-fitting shirt that hints at washboard abs; black leather pants; a floor-length, black, leather, trench coat that accentuates his broad shoulders; and combat boots. He must be at least six feet tall and he walks with a deadly purpose. He&#8217;s exactly what I&#8217;ve always imagined. Everything about him screams dangerous; and the effect is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mesmerizing<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He&#8217;s obviously looking for something \u2014 or someone. Probably a girlfriend. I&#8217;m still ogling him when his gaze suddenly meets mine. I see a brief flash of recognition, but I know I&#8217;ve never seen him before. His eyes dart down and back up, and I have an irrational desire to pull my neckline down just a bit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His grin is sinful. It promises wicked things, and I want to find out exactly what they are.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I drop my gaze to Shawn who&#8217;s making kissy faces at me. My glare could freeze fire. He stops. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The guy walks up and stops next to me. &#8220;Hello.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oh holy mother! His voice is deep and sensual and has an accent that sends shivers down my spine. It envelops me. I look up at him and become enraptured by his smile.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s been a while since my last series update. There hasn&#8217;t been a lot of news recently. I&#8217;ve been reviewing and editing\u00a0The Most Special Chosen.<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/tmsc-news-12-11-2017\/\">Keep Reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">*The Most Special Chosen* News 12-11-2017<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109,3],"tags":[185,7,10],"class_list":["post-714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exalted-bloodlines","category-news","tag-my-books","tag-the-most-special-chosen","tag-update","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Z77k-bw","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":561,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/tmsc-news-10-27-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":714,"position":0},"title":"*The Most Special Chosen* News","author":"Rachel","date":"October 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been a while since I updated you all on\u00a0The Most Special Chosen. It's just over 4 months to its release date, and I'm really started to get excited. As you may recall, it's in editing with my publisher, and I'm waiting for recommendations. Beta Readers In the meantime, I've\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Exalted Bloodlines&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Exalted Bloodlines","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/exalted-bloodlines\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2011,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/tmsc-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":714,"position":1},"title":"The Most Special Chosen, Pt. 1","author":"Rachel","date":"September 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is WAY late, but, finally, here it is, the history of The Most Special Chosen. Learn about all of the iterations it's gone through.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Exalted Bloodlines&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Exalted Bloodlines","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/exalted-bloodlines\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"TMSC 1st Edition","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1stEdition-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/starting-from-scratch\/","url_meta":{"origin":714,"position":2},"title":"Starting from Scratch","author":"Rachel","date":"June 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Several months ago, Burning Willow Press accepted\u00a0The Most Special Chosen for publication. As a result, I had to take it down from all sites, as, legally, I can't have it for sale while under contract with a publisher. Rather than fret, I decided to view it as a chance to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Burning Willow Press logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/bwpSm.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1991,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/tmsc-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":714,"position":3},"title":"The Most Special Chosen, Pt. 2","author":"Rachel","date":"September 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Alright, here's part two of the history of\u00a0The Most Special Chosen. This time I actually tell you how I got published.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Exalted Bloodlines&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Exalted Bloodlines","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/exalted-bloodlines\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/new-logo\/","url_meta":{"origin":714,"position":4},"title":"Out with the Old, In with the New.","author":"Rachel","date":"July 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Next up\u00a0on the re-branding front: a new Exalted Bloodlines logo. \u00a0As much as I love the old sun and moon logo, I have to admit that it doesn't really represent the series as a whole. When I first designed it, I was focusing more on the first book, as it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Exalted Bloodlines&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Exalted Bloodlines","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/exalted-bloodlines\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Exalted Bloodlines Logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/19657458_913875285418004_5289121967188039551_n-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2089,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/fates-kiss\/","url_meta":{"origin":714,"position":5},"title":"The Story of Fate&#8217;s Kiss","author":"Rachel","date":"September 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I've told you the history of *The Most Special Chosen*, and now here's the story behind *Fate's Kiss*. I hope after reading you'll support the *Summer Heat* charity anthology.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Exalted Bloodlines&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Exalted Bloodlines","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/exalted-bloodlines\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":715,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714\/revisions\/715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}