The Gift: Awakening Archives

Secret Sky Has Launched

November 16, 2018 By JPMcLean 8 Comments

The book that started it all, Secret Sky, has launched. When Emelynn Taylor accepted a stranger’s mysterious gift, she couldn’t know it would hijack her life. Now, it strikes without warning, strips her of gravity and sends her airborne, unchecked. Anywhere. Anytime.

Read the book reviewers call Riveting, Unique, and Addictive.

[bctt tweet="Reviewers call Secret Sky Riveting, Unique, and Addictive. $0.99 for a limited time."]

Everybody wishes they could fly—until it happens.

When Emelynn Taylor wakes up in the emergency room, her injuries present Dr. Avery Coulter with more questions than answers. Who is this guarded young woman? Why was she found in the middle of Sunset Park? How can she have injuries consistent with falling from above the tree line? Seemingly from nowhere? And, more importantly: Why is she lying about it?

The truth is stranger than anyone could have imagined – least of all Emelynn herself.

Nine years earlier, during the same summer she’d lost her father, 12-year-old Emelynn accepted a ‘gift’ from a mysterious woman called Jolene. Now, as she recovers in Dr. Coulter’s emergency room, she’s left wondering if that blessing was really more of a curse. Jolene’s gift planted the seeds of incredible power within Emelynn – but what’s the point of such abilities if you can’t control them? Her emerging gift of flight, for example, nearly killed Emelynn when it sent her plummeting to the sidewalk in Sunset Park. Next time, she might not be so lucky.

But Emelynn is determined to master her abilities, and returns to the seaside cottage where Jolene had once granted her this ‘gift.’ There, Dr. Coulter guides Emelynn in uncovering a secret society of others just like her, who inhabit a mysterious world-within-a-world that challenges everything Emelynn thought she’d known. But the more she uncovers, the murkier the truth becomes. Soon, Emelynn is left questioning the motives of those she’d trusted the most – and is forced to rely on her barely mastered powers in a desperate fight for survival.

Secret Sky is the first book in the thrilling, otherworldly The Gift Legacy series by JP McLean. Seamlessly blending paranormal mystery, fantasy, and romance, this beautifully written and deeply resonant adventure will swoop you into a vivid, new reality and leave your imagination soaring.

Secret Sky will be available for a limited time for $0.99. If you’re missing the first book in the series, now’s the time to grab it.

Secret Sky was formerly titled The Gift: Awakening. If you own the original, congratulations! You now have a collector’s edition. The second stand-alone book in The Gift Legacy series, Hidden Enemy (formerly The Gift: Revelation) will be dropping on November 27. As always, I’d love to hear your feedback. Just hit reply or contact me via the social media buttons.

Get your copy of Secret Sky from your favourite retailer here. And if ebooks aren’t your preference, click on the cover below for more purchase options.

Trick or Treat or Toadstool

October 31, 2017 By JPMcLean 10 Comments

At October’s end, will it be trick or treat or toadstool? The monthly calendar is looking pretty thin, with just two pages left in the year. Where did October go?

Toadstools

We don’t see many ghouls or goblins at our door, but Halloween inspiration pops up in expected places, like pathways. This toadstool is far too spooktacular to be a mere mushroom.

Treat

October started off with a roar, 12^th man roar, that is. We attended the Seattle Seahawks vs Indianapolis Colts game at Century Field (Now called Lumen Field). It was my first live football game, and it was so much more fun experienced from the stands. The crowd is named the 12^th (wo)man because there are 11 players on both offense and defense. The Seahawks 12^th are the loudest in the league and I can now attest to that.

Trick

One thing I wasn’t counting on was not being able to take my purse into the game. Security no longer allows purses, only wallets into the stadium. I had to buy a clear plastic bag, transfer my purse contents into it, and pay for a locker to store the purse until after the game. And even then, when I went through security, they wouldn’t allow me to take in my binoculars’ vinyl 5″ pouch. I had to toss it. I hope I can find a replacement for it. The security people told us this is or will be the new norm for stadiums across the US, so be prepared!

Back home, fall weather has set in. The crab apple tree and russet leaves are providing the exercise, and blazing fires in the evenings are providing the warmth.

In writing news, the outline for the final book in the Gift Legacy series is now roughed in and I’ve started writing. But … given Secret Sky (formerly Awakening) started as a one-off then grew into a trilogy which morphed into a series, I feel I need to qualify final: I’m writing the last planned book in the series.

Happy Halloween!

When you’re tired of raking leaves, take a load off and escape into Emelynn’s world. Get your copy of Secret Sky from your favourite retailer right here! Or click on the image for more purchase options.

Honourable Mention for Awakening!

October 22, 2016 By JPMcLean 10 Comments

Psst? Have you seen the shiny bronze medallion that now graces Awakening’s cover? Last weekend I travelled to the Whistler Writers Festival where the Whistler Independent Book Awards were announced. I’m thrilled to tell you that the judges awarded an Honourable Mention for Awakening. I haven’t stopped grinning since I heard the news.

Here are a few photos from the Festival taken during my wanderings around Whistler Village.

Though it was a soggy weekend, the setting was so beautiful a few drips didn’t ruin a thing. Sadly, my husband suffered a torn Achilles and he’s now in a boot cast, so he was unable to accompany me to the festival. Happily, I was kept company by the terrific writers, readers, and volunteers who make this annual festival a real treat to attend.

(Have I mentioned that I was also kept cozy by the glowing warmth spilling out from the Honourable Mention for Awakening?)

In Lover Betrayed news (formerly The Gift: Betrayal), the manuscript is going through its final edit, the cover is almost done (OMG it’s dark and it’s beautiful) and the book is on track for a November 15 release. I can’t wait to share all of that and more, with you. Stay tuned.

The bones for Lover Betrayed (formerly Betrayal) are buried in Secret Sky (formerly Awakening). If you can’t wait for its release, get your copy of Secret Sky with one click right here. But be careful! I hear it’s addictive. Or click on the image for more purchase options.

Does This Recording Make My Voice Look Fat?

February 4, 2016 By JPMcLean 23 Comments

I’m miles outside of my comfort zone, in an entirely different format, as a matter of fact. I’ve decided to try my hand at audio recording. After all, I’m often invited to read from my books. It’s in that light that I decided to record audio editions of the excerpts from all four books in the Gift Legacy series. But it’s left me wondering if I’m out of my depth with voice recording.

How hard could it be?

Let’s just say it’s been an eye-opener.

I now have a much deeper respect for voice actors who are able to switch up their voices in a variety of ways to speak for different characters. I don’t have that knack. Nor, apparently, do I have the ability to read a simple sentence with the same intonation three times in a row over a very short span of time.

But it has been fun, despite stealing time away from my writing. I’ve learned a lot about mics (dynamic is the type you want for voice recordings) and boom stands (a must for changing positions) and Audacity, an incredibly easy to use and free software program that I would highly recommend for audio recording.

And though I may never do more audio recording than these excerpts, it’s been an incredible experience.

Click here to hear the excerpt for The Gift Awakening. (Update: Awakening is now Secret Sky, but I haven’t yet re-recorded the excerpt.) I’m working on The Gift Revelation right now, and the others will following in the coming days. I’ll put up a link on the “excerpts” page when I’m done.

I would love to hear your opinion of the recording. Whether you find it pleasant, are indifferent, or hear nails on chalkboard, leave your comments below.