Tonight's teaser is from a short story that is in the anthology "Light in the Darkness" available for purchase now. My story is among some amazing stories from some pretty awesome authors. Make sure you get yourself a copy :-)

All proceeds from this anthology will be donated to Literacy for Incarcerated Teens, a non-profit organization based in New York.

http://ow.ly/AeXkR

Here is the teaser from "Embracing the Gift", my YA short story:

The next morning Callie woke feeling refreshed and energized. She was ready to tackle anything. She didn’t know that things were about to take a strange turn, that her ability to tackle anything was about to be tested. She dressed quickly and made her way down stairs to join her family for breakfast.
“You look lovely, dear.”
She was greeted by her mother who had glanced her way briefly before returning her attention to the meal she was cooking on the stove.
“Thanks, mom. What’s for breakfast?” She asked as she took her seat at the kitchen table.
She smiled at her younger sister as her mom began plating the morning meal. Her sister was two years younger and always eager to hang out with her. It got Callie’s nerves sometimes but she loved her sibling. Their older brother had already moved out of the house, leaving the two of them alone with their mom. Their dad was a truck driver and hardly ever home so it was just the three of them. Callie helped out as best she could around the house between school and her part-time job at the food court in the mall.
“What are your plans today, Callie?” Elisa asked as their mother set a plate down in front of her.
Callie smiled knowingly as she regarded her sister. On the one hand she wanted to go to the costume shop by herself but on the other having a second opinion might prove to be helpful. Like it or not, her younger sibling was a great judge of fashion and would be able to tell her if the costume was too much.
Having made her decision her smile widened as she answered, “I’m going shopping for a Halloween costume to wear to Jessica Hughes’ Halloween party.”
Her sister was practically bouncing out of her chair as if ready to take off that moment to the store.
Anticipating her sister’s question she said, “Would you like to come with me?”
Nearly bursting with excitement Elsa popped up from her seat, ran around the table and gave her sister a fierce hug, “Oh, yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes! Can we leave now?”

© DJ Shaw