Blog Tour- THE WINTER PEOPLE by Rebekah Purdy and a Giveaway!

Hey y'all! I'm super excited to have Rebekah Purdy here here today as a part of THE WINTER PEOPLE blog tour! I asked Rebekah for a scene from one of my favorite characters in the book, Gareth, and she was more than happy to share! Make sure to stick around to win a copy of the book!
Haven't heard of THE WINTER PEOPLE? Check it out!

THE WINTER PEOPLE

Author: Rebekah Purdy

Release Date: September 2, 2014

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Pages: 320

ISBN: 978-1622663682

Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble

An engrossing, complex, romantic fantasy perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore or Maggie Stiefvater, set in a wholly unique world.
Salome Montgomery fears winter—the cold, the snow, the ice, but most of all, the frozen pond she fell through as a child. Haunted by the voices and images of the strange beings that pulled her to safety, she hasn’t forgotten their warning to "stay away." For eleven years, she has avoided the winter woods, the pond, and the darkness that lurks nearby. But when failing health takes her grandparents to Arizona, she is left in charge of maintaining their estate. This includes the "special gifts" that must be left at the back of the property.
 
 
Salome discovers she’s a key player in a world she’s tried for years to avoid. At the center of this world is the strange and beautiful Nevin, who she finds trespassing on her family’s property. Cursed with dark secrets and knowledge of the creatures in the woods, his interactions with Salome take her life in a new direction. A direction where she’ll have to decide between her longtime crush Colton, who could cure her fear of winter. Or Nevin who, along with an appointed bodyguard, Gareth, protects her from the darkness that swirls in the snowy backdrop. An evil that, given the chance, will kill her.

Now on to the excerpt!

First of all, I want to thank Jaime for having me on the blog today. She was one of the first people to ever read this story and has been such a cheerleader for The Winter People since Entangled Teen picked it up. One of our favorite characters from the book is Gareth. So when Jaime asked if I’d write something from his point of view, I immediately said yes. So this really short scene below is written specifically for this blog post, from Gareth’s POV (and you won’t find it anywhere else). This particular part takes place when Salome first meets/sees Gareth in the coffee shop. Hope you enjoy! Thanks again, Jaime, for allowing me to stop by and do a guest post ((HUGS)).

The bell above the door in the coffee shop jingled. I lifted my gaze to see two girls walking in. Salome Montgomery. I’d never seen her this close up before. But even so, I recognized her. Her long blond hair cascaded passed her shoulder. Her arms were drawn tight against her chest like a shield, as if she was trying to protect herself against something. As she raised her hooded gray-blue eyes, a slow smile spread across my face.

We all had a part to play. Today, I needed her to see me as dangerous. To get a sense of exactly what stalked the woods around Starlynn Village. Of what lay hidden in the wintry landscape. I took a step closer to the counter.

My coworker waited on Salome’s friend, leaving Salome to me.

“And what can I get you?”

Her glance shifted from my face, to the tattoos on my arms. It was now or never. She needed to be aware of her surroundings. The skin on my arms prickled and I watched her carefully, seeing the color drain from her face.

She buried her head in her hands, visibly shaken by the sight of my tats.

“Salome, hey are you okay?” her friend asked.

“S—Sorry, I’ll have a caramel cappuccino,” Salome said, lifting her head once more.

“Coming right up.” I leaned closer to her. Fear seemed to emanate from her like perfume. Perhaps I’d taken it too far.

“Gareth?” she said aloud, reading my nametag.

“Yeah.” My name on her lips caused goose bumps to break out along my arms. What the hell was wrong with me? Her gaze seemed to undo me. I definitely didn’t need her affecting me like this. I had a job to do and I couldn’t afford to let her get under my skin, pretty face or no pretty face.

“That’s an interesting name.” She stared at me.

She had no idea who I was or what I was doing here. Which was probably for the best. While my coworker Simeon and her friend exchanged numbers, I handed her a cappuccino and a napkin.

“Try and take care of yourself,” I said. My fingertips brushed hers and a strange jolt went through me. I stiffened. Shit. The last thing I needed to do was lose focus of why I was here.

“Um—thanks.” She gave an awkward smile.

“I’ll see you around,” I said.

“Maybe.”

But there was no maybe about it. I would see her again. She had no idea what was going on around her or the threat that lurked nearby. The darkness that was about to be unleashed within the frozen woodland.

“I think I can see why you’re keeping an eye on her.” Simeon’s gaze slid over Salome as she walked out of Perky Joe’s.

My hand shot out and I gripped him by his shirt. “I have my orders. And if you do anything to interfere with her, so help me I’ll make you regret it.”

Simeon pulled free, his lips turning up at the corners. “Just don’t forget what’s at stake here.”

“Like he’d let me forget.” I was well aware of what I had to lose should I fail. My fist clenched at my side, the scent of Salome still hung in the air like a deadly reminder that our clock was ticking—slow, steady chimes, bringing us closer to the end.

Thanks for stopping by Rebekah and I loveeeee this scene!!

About Rebekah:

Rebekah was born and raised in Michigan (just look for the mitten-shaped state on the map). She’s lived there most of her life other than the few years she spent in the U.S. Army.  At which time she got a chance to experience MO, KS, SC, and CA.

She works full time for the court system and in her free time she writes YA stories. Pretty much any genre within the YA realm is game for her, but her favorites are fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, thrillers, light sci-fi, and some time travel.

She also has a big family–she like to considers them the modern day Brady Bunch. When her hubby and her met and got married, he had 3 children from a previous marriage, she had 2 and  have 1 together. It’s a lot of fun though.

And she can’t forget her other family members–yep, they’ve got some pets: 4 dogs, 3 cats,  and 1 turtle. Everyone in the family has one…she won’t bore you all with their names (unless you really want to know). Okay, you talked her into it! Jack, Pearl, Grr…(yes that’s her dog’s name), Callie, Shadow, Mooshoo, Grouchy, and Sorbert. Other than writing some of her other hobbies include: reading (mostly YA of course), singing, swimming, football, soccer, running, camping, sledding, church, hanging with her kids, and traveling.

She belong to a fabulous writing group called YA Fiction Fantatics (YAFF) and you guessed it they all write YA!

REPPED by Jennifer Mishler and Frances Black of Literary Counsel.

And that’s her in a big ‘ol nutshell.

Website /Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

2 Winter Emergency Kit. It will have a $10.00 Amazon gift card, coffee mug, hot cocoa, chapstick, flashlight, gloves and some signed bookmarks. US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the rest of the blog tour schedule HERE!