Gravel Ghost
Gravel Ghost Series Book# 1
By- Charyse Allan
Genre- YA Thriller
Publication Date- December 16th, 2014
Seventeen-year-old Payton Morros is a killer. Adopted as a child, and groomed into the profession by her new parents, she longs for a normal life. But lethal assassins at the top of their game can't exactly quit their day job. Her only escape from her predetermined destiny is spending time with her best friend Conner, if only for a little while.
When Payton is sent to Chile for an assignment, she discovers a devastating truth that challenges everything she knows about herself and her family. Abandoning the mission, and on the run, she must unravel the secrets of her past before she loses all sense of herself. Or worse, before she jeopardizes everyone she cares about.
Watch the Trailer Here!
And here is an excerpt from Gravel Ghost
I realize he isn't kissing me just because I'm hot or because he wants to get in my pants. No, he's kissing me because he sees me. I'm so unbelievably transparent, and I should feel vulnerable, but him reacting this way makes me feel stronger than ever. I draw warmth and confidence from him.
A light knock on the door forces us to pull apart. His gaze is smoldering, and we're both breathing hard. He tugs my shirt back down then leans his head back against the headboard, trying to catch his breath.
"That's the food." I sound all breathy; I barely recognize my own voice.
Getting to the door, I look through the peephole. You can't be too safe. A tall, thin man with dark hair and skin stands behind a cart of food. He's wearing a suit, which appears to be a hotel uniform, so I feel safe letting him in. Opening the door, he greets me with a smile.
"You ordered room service?" he asks in a thick accent after staring at my bruised cheek for a long second.
"Yeah," I nod, leading him inside the room.
He glances at Conner, and they nod at each other. Unloading the food from the cart, he silently places it on the desk. As he's doing this, I go to the bathroom to get some money from my backpack for a tip.
"Payton!" Conner yells, sounding panicked. There's a grunt then a loud thud.
I reach for the door but jump out of the way, falling into the tub as several bullets pierce the door. Shit! I have to get out of this bathroom. I have to protect Conner; that is, if he's still alive. I shake the thought from my head; I can't think like that. I stay in the tub while more rounds go off, splintering the door and piercing the wall, sending shards of tile and glass everywhere. The shots are muffled; he's using a silencer. He'll have to reload soon…hopefully. That will be my window. I close my eyes and breathe as the last of the bullets come. I can do this. I have to.
My Review
I received a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.
Payton is seventeen years old and she is a killer. She was adopted as a small child and they trained her how to be a killer. Her parents would send her and her four sisters on assignments to kill people that were given to them by their boss. Although Payton was trained to be an assassin she didn't feel that it was right in her heart. But she had been taught that it was ok to kill that they were only killing the bad people. She didn't know what to do she wanted out. She wanted to stop killing people. But when you have been taught something by your parents the people you trust the most and they tell you to do something and you are afraid of what would happen if you disobeyed them then you would more than likely keep doing what they said.
Even though the girls were afraid of what their parents would do if they were ever caught they did slip out of the house sometimes and you know just go hang out where young folks go to hang out. On one of her nights out Payton met a guy Conner whom for some reason unbeknownst even to her she trusted Conner to an extent. She would tell him things about her life that she knew shouldn't but she did anyway. She just needed someone to hold her and love her, someone to show her a little affection.
But then Payton was sent to Chile on an assignment and while she was there she ran into Conner and she couldn't go through with her assignment. When she looked into his eyes she saw in him everything she wanted to be and the life she wanted to live. Payton was one tough cookie but when she looked into Conner's eyes she melted. Payton knew that when the company she worked for found out that she didn't go through with her assignment they would come after her and anybody that was with her. So she and Conner had to go into hiding and try to stay one step ahead of them if they want to live.
I loved all of the characters in Gravel Ghost and can't wait to read more of their stories. I just know that Conner and Payton and her sisters have a lot more they want to tell us. And if you have not read about Payton and Conner then you need to get started on it ASAP!
And here is Charyse's Dream Cast for Gravel Ghost
For Payton, the MC, I would love for Crystal Reed to play her, because she not only looks kind of like what I imagine, but she has also already played a badass chick on Teen Wolf.
For Conner, the sexy best friend, I would say Daniel Sharman is perfect. He looks almost exactly what I imagine Conner to look like, he was also in Teen Wolf and even played as Crystal Reed's boyfriend for a little and he's dreamy!
For Cadmar, Paytons all-too-serious dad, I have to go with Luke Evans. First of all, because yum, but also because I can totally see him playing Cadmar!
For most of these, I based it strictly off of the way the actors or actresses look, so they are closest to what the characters of the book look like as I imagine them.
For Payton, the MC, I would love for Crystal Reed to play her, because she not only looks kind of like what I imagine, but she has also already played a badass chick on Teen Wolf.
Had to go with the sexy surfer pic...you're welcome ;)
For Cadmar, Paytons all-too-serious dad, I have to go with Luke Evans. First of all, because yum, but also because I can totally see him playing Cadmar!
Am I right???
For Scarlet, Payton's hateful mom, I'm going to go with Eva Green. She's not even blond, as Scarlet is in the book, but Eva Green is awesome at playing the bitchy woman.
Finally, for Reiley, the youngest of Payton's four sisters, I'm going with Emma Roberts. She isn't a redhead like our sweet Reiley, but she has that sweet, innocent look, while being able to portray a badass chick and she could probably pull off red hair :)
And here is Charyse's idea of the perfect soundtrack to Gravel Ghost
Because the life of a teenage assassin is extremely complicated, the album I imagine for Gravel Ghost has a lot of my favorite alt rock bands in it, mixed with some romantic songs showing the hope and care Payton has for her relationship with Conner.
The Used: "Listening"
The Used: "Take It Away"
My Chemical Romance: "Vampires Will Never Harm You"
Tegan and Sara: "Walking With a Ghost"
The Postal Service: "This Place Is A Prison"
MIA: "Paper Planes"
Lorde: "White Teeth Teens"
Imagine Dragons: "Demons"
City and Colour: "Confessions"
Lumineers: "Ho Hey"
Florence + The Machine: "Shake It Out"
Lindsey Stirling: "Moon Trance"
Lindsey Stirling: "Crystallize"
Gravel Ghost Character Bios
Payton Morros lives in Colorado and loves the scenery and clean air. While she's one of best assassins in her family, she would much rather pursue a career, which allows her to use her skills in science. She hungers for knowledge and the simple life of the average teen girl. Because most everything in her life is controlled, including her meals, she takes any chance she can get to eat greasy French fries and drink the sweet nectar that is Dr. Pepper. When she isn' on an assignment, she enjoys going on long runs, painting her nails bright colors, driving fast cars and hanging out with her favorite sister, Reiley and secret best friend, Conner. She loves all things girly!
Conner Evans lost his mother at a young age, so he was mostly raised by his dad, who expects him to go to college and join the family business when he graduates. He does have a knack for science and particularly enjoys studying entomology, but he would much rather be caught up in an underground fight. Along with the boys he grew up with, he's training to be a professional cage fighter. Along with fighting, he also loves snowboarding during the winter. He enjoys rebelling in almost any way possible, especially by sneaking into bars with the fake IDs he makes and having a glass of Guinness. He particularly enjoys the bars when he's able to hang out with his very attractive best friend, Payton.
Cadmar Morros says very little of his past, but he's known to be able to kill a man with his bare hands in under two minutes. He is also intelligent enough to have fashioned most of the family's unique weapons. While this cold, calculating man is usually the only one to be seen, he does have a more sensitive, laid back side, who enjoys listening to Frank Sinatra while reading a good classic novel. He also likes to stay current on the latest young adult novels in order to know what his daughters, whom he loves very much, are reading. He may usually be seen eating healthy food, but his secret favorite indulgence is a plate of nachos with pickled jalapenos and a cold beer.
An Interview with Charyse Allan
What inspired you to write Gravel Ghost?
It's nothing extravagant, such as having a dream or anything of the sort. I had just quit a job and was trying to figure things out for my first novel, when I decided maybe I should work on something different to open my mind up a little. I was doing research on up-and-coming young adult genres when I read something about teenage assassins. I saw a lot of other genres that might be a hit, but the assassin thing really stuck with me. After doing some research and deciding what direction I would want to take it, I picked up a pen and pumped out the entire book in under two months. The ease in which it came made me think it was meant to be :)
When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I enjoyed writing a lot when I was in high school, but I had this teacher who told me my writing was just not that great. That kind of put me off and made it so I never wanted to pursue that avenue. But I started reading a lot when I got married and I decided that nothing should hold me back from something I enjoy doing. It was about three years into my marriage, so roughly three years ago that I decided to try my hand at writing a novel.
What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?
I can't even remember the title of the book, but I believe I was six and the book had a cat on the cover. It was the first short chapter book I read and I remember sitting on my dad's lap and reading it to him.
What genre of books do you enjoy reading?
I'm kind of all over the place here. I like to read anything from mysteries to paranormal across young adult, new adult and adult.
What is your favorite book?
Ahhh, this is a hard one! So, if you don't mind, I'll put my favorites in each genre. For young adult, North of Beautiful by Justina Chen has been a favorite of mine for a long time now. In new adult I have read some really amazing books, but I think Deeper and Harder by Robin York are my favorite for now; they both caused major book hangovers! And finally, my favorite adult book(series) would have to be the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning.
You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?
This is another hard one! Based simply on the quality of her writing, her world-building and the way her books have stuck with me for a couple years now, I would have to say Karen Marie Moning. I think I have re-read all of her books at least three or four times a piece.
If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go
I would want to go back to the time Jesus was alive.
and why?
He was such an amazing man, who loved without condition and if you read closely He was great at stumping people with intelligent and sometimes even humorous parables. I think it would have been amazing to have met Him in person and gotten to experience what it was like just to hang out with Him.
When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?
It usually comes pretty easy for me. I do get stuck sometimes, but I don't really allow myself to get permanently stuck. It's usually when I get stuck that I realize I'm taking the book in a direction it shouldn't be going, so I go back to the drawing board and figure out a different path. When I put any words down for a book, I am determined to finish it no matter what it takes. I have found that I have an easier time writing with a pen and paper, than on my computer because I can't be distracted by social media or emails when I'm using a notebook.
Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?
I have two awesome dogs. One is a brindle bull mastiff named Lizzy, she's six and super lazy, but great with our kids and the other is a black German Shepherd named Bella who is only two. I love my big dogs and like to take them on long walks every morning.
What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat?
I love food, like all kinds, especially anything with cheese or chocolate! But my most favorite food that I have loved since I was a little kid is lasagna.
Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author?
My greatest advice is to just do it! If you want to be a writer, but you keep coming up with excuses as to why you haven't written that book, tell those excuses to shut up and let the words flow. My other advice would be to never let anyone or any experience get you down. I went through TONS of rejection, believe me, I counted them all, but I never let those rejection letters or those lost contests tear me down or make me want to quit. I learned from every single experience allowing people to criticise my work and clung to every piece of information I was given. I may have decided to go the self-publishing route, but I know if I hadn't tried the traditional way, I never would have learned the things I know today. Finally, I suggest being thankful to those who help you out along the way. I had so much help it makes my heart want to burst with how much care I was given and I know I could never thank the people who helped me enough, but seriously, a 'thanks' goes a long way!
About the Author-
Charyse Allan grew up in Arizona dancing and riding horses. She is an avid reader, but didn't become one until high school. This is also when she realized her passion for writing, however it wasn't until a couple years into her marriage that she tried her hand at writing a novel.
Website: charyseallan.com or charyseallan.net
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