M.E. Author: Take a look at Author Elise Stokes excitings YA series, appropriate for readers ages 12+

Featured Book of the day-

Cassidy Jones and The Secret Formula

(Cassidy Jones Series)

Featured Author- Elise Stokes

~Bio~

Elise Stokes lives with her husband and four children. She was an elementary school teacher before becoming a full-time mom. With a daughter in middle school and two in high school, Elise's understanding of the challenges facing girls in that age range inspired her to create a series that will motivate girls to value individualism, courage, integrity, and intelligence. The stories in Cassidy Jones Adventures are fun and relatable, and a bit edgy without taking the reader uncomfortably out of bounds. Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula, Cassidy Jones and Vulcan's Gift, and Cassidy Jones and the Seventh Attendant are the first three books in the series. Book Four, Cassidy Jones and the Luminous, will be released in 2014.

Description- Cassidy Jones and The Secret Formula

One Girl. One Accident. One Incredible Superhero.

Cassidy Jones is your typical fourteen-year-old-- that is, until a seemingly harmless accident in the laboratory of a world-renowned geneticist turns her world upside down.

Discovering incredible strength, speed, and enhanced physical senses that defy logic, Cassidy embarks on an action-packed adventure that has her fighting for answers...and for her very life.

Excerpt-

Chapter Nine: A New Friend

Summary: Cassidy takes Emery into her confidence.

We sat on opposite benches, our knees a foot apart.

Emery watched me curiously while I considered

how to start. I resorted to small talk.

“Uh, Emery, so where do you live?”

“We rent a condo near Wallingford,” he answered

patiently, making no attempt to elaborate.

“Oh.” I touched my forehead. “Were you born in

Seattle?”

“No, Washington, D.C.” Placing his forearms on

his knees, he leaned forward. “How did you hurt your

forehead?”

I dropped my hand. “Funny. That’s what I want to

talk to you about.”

Intently looking at my face, he waited for me to

continue.

I touched my nose. “Before yesterday, I had freckles.

They were light, but they were there.”

Narrowing his eyes on my nose, he attempted to

decipher.

Taking a deep breath, I continued, “Sorry, that didn’t

make any sense. Let me put it this way—I had freckles

when I went to your mom’s lab with my dad.”

His expression became so intense, frightening

almost, that I hesitated. My feelings about him were

conﬂicted. He made me uneasy. Everything about him

was so foreign.

Emery’s voice took on a soothing tone. “I understand

that you injured your head in my mom’s lab. Please, tell

me how. You can trust me. I want to help you.”

I searched his eyes. It was difﬁcult to penetrate

through the blackness, adding to my unease. “I don’t

think you can.”

Impulsively, or maybe intentionally, he grabbed

my hand, holding it between his. “Please, tell me,” he

repeated.

I took another deep, tortured breath. “Your mom

had something cooking in beakers on that Bunsen

burner near the coffeemaker. While Dad interviewed

her, I sat on a stool next to them. The stool collapsed

and I fell, knocking everything over onto the table.

When the liquids ran together, they formed this white

cloud, and I breathed it in. It’s difﬁcult to explain exactly

what happened. My whole body felt like it was on ﬁre,

melting from the inside, and then everything went

black. I guess I passed out or something. Afterward, I

was…changed.”

“What do you mean by ‘changed’?” he asked, slowly

and calmly, squeezing my hand.

Pulling my hand from his grip, I lifted it to my fore-

head. “When I passed out, I hit my head on the edge of

the counter. My forehead split, or at least, that’s what

Dad and Ben said, and with all the blood, I don’t think

they were wrong.” My ﬁngers trembled against the

gauze. “The doctor at the ER said it was only a surface

wound. He thought Dad and Ben had been fooled by

the blood, thinking it was worse than it really was. He

put a bandage over it and this gauze.”

Emery’s gaze ﬁxed on my unsteady ﬁngers, watching

as I pinched the surgical tape and hesitantly pulled the

gauze away, exposing my forehead. His eyes ﬁlled with

disbelief.

“How did this happen, Emery?”

Shaking his head, his gaze dropped to his hands in

his lap.

Quiet minutes ticked by. With each passing one,

I sank deeper into despair. When I couldn’t take

the silence anymore, I pleaded, “Please, Emery, say

something.”

“Be patient. I’m thinking.”

“Well, think out loud.”

Smiling slightly cock-eyed, he said, “Trust me, you

don’t want me to do that.”

Does he think this is a joke? Furious, I slapped the

gauze on my forehead. “Trust you? Apparently that was

a mistake.” Abruptly, I stood up, causing the swing to

sway.

“Cassidy, sit down,” Emery commanded calmly.

Glaring, I sat. I had nowhere else to go.

“Trusting me is the right thing to do. Aside from

my mom, I’m the only other person who understands

anything of depth about Formula 10X.”

“Formula 10X?” I said with hope. “That’s what was

in the beakers?”

“Yes, or at least, a variation of it. I don’t know for

certain, because she kept her latest experimentation

with the formula undisclosed.”

“Why would she keep it a secret from you?” I asked,

truly interested.

He smiled to himself. “That’s the way she is. I assume

she wanted to prove out her new theories before bring-

ing me back in.”

Strange, I thought. He says this like he didn’t ask her

about it. Why wouldn’t he ask? “Well, she did it. It works.

I’m living proof she succeeded.”

“No, I don’t think she did,” he disagreed, sounding

regretful. “How the formula has affected you would not

have been her intention.” Pausing, he looked thoughtful.

“However, it’s premature for me to come to that con-

clusion until I know precisely how you’ve been affected,

or changed, as you put it. Tell me everything.”

“Everything” poured out at once. I ended my

twenty-seven-hour saga with this: “At the police station,

I thought you’d ﬁgured it all out. The way you looked

at me all intense, it seemed like you guessed everything

that was going on.”

Shaking his head, Emery smiled. “Though I admit I

did ﬁnd your behavior odd, I wouldn’t have guessed this

in a million years.”

Despite the situation, I laughed. He found my behavior

odd? I also thought the “million years” was an exaggera-

tion. I had a feeling Emery wasn’t in the dark about

anything for long. “Okay, now you know everything.

What do you think?”

Silence was his only response as he studied my face.

His scrutiny reminded me of his mother’s—clinical,

detached—like he observed me under a microscope.

This was disturbing, to say the least.

My brow furrowed. “Stop staring at me like that. I

know I’m a freak.”

“Cassidy, you are not a freak,” he contradicted, his

expression softening. “Don’t ever say or think that. I

certainly don’t view you that way. I’m only astounded

by how you’ve been affected. From a scientiﬁc perspec-

tive, it’s impossible.”

“It can’t be.” My eyes welled. “Look at me.”

Alert to the coming despair, Emery placed a reas-

suring hand on my shoulder. “But that doesn’t mean we

won’t ﬁnd a solution. I promise you, we will.”

Emery spoke with such earnest conﬁdence that I

couldn’t help but believe him. Nodding agreement, I

dabbed my wet eyes with my sleeve.

Dropping his hand from my shoulder, he said in a

formal tone, “Allow me to tell you about Formula 10X.

It’s a type of gene therapy containing a variety of animal

DNA, among many other components. My mom’s goal

is to ﬁnd a way to manipulate these DNAs to beneﬁt a

human recipient by choosing genes that represent dif-

ferent strengths of the nonhuman and infusing those

genes into the weakened cells and tissues of the human.

For example, a human who is crippled would perhaps

be infused with puma genes, since they are known for

their agility and strength. The goal is not to make the

human like the puma, but to restore the human’s func-

tion and health within a normal range.”

“Well, why am I like a puma, then?”

“I don’t know exactly. Obviously, by your intense

physical reaction when initially exposed, something in

the formula overloaded your nervous system. Maybe

10X affected you so extremely because you’re a young,

healthy girl who received the formula in its entirety.

What I mean is, you would have never been a 10X

candidate, since you suffer none of the disabilities and

ailments an appropriate candidate would. Also, the

recipient would have been administered the formula

in small doses, tailored to their needs. Your exposure

was radical, and now you’re experiencing the full potent

affects of 10X. Do you understand?”

I nodded. “I think so. It’s like a glass half ﬁlled with

water, slowly having more added until it reaches the rim.

I was already a full glass, and 10X was an entire pitcher

poured into me at once.” Dread brewed inside me as I

continued. “And now that the water has spilled, there’s no

way to tell where it will go or what will happen to it.”

“That’s one way to look at it,” Emery said, dismally

looking at the woods. For several seconds he didn’t

speak, lost in thought.

During those quiet seconds, I stared at the ground,

not thinking, only waiting. When I felt his eyes on my

face, I looked up. His expression was determined.

“None of this makes sense, but obviously, it isn’t

impossible. As you pointed out, you’re living proof.

Since it isn’t impossible, there is an answer and solution.

Tell me again, in detail, what you experienced when the

liquids converged.”

Quickly, I explained again. Finishing the account, I

held my breath expectantly.

Smiling slightly, he shrugged. “I have nothing.”

My breath rushed out in an offended gust. “What?

Do you think this is a game or something?”

“No,” he quickly clariﬁed. “I’m sorry, Cassidy, that

came across as glib. I truly have nothing, and it frus-

trates me. I understand the compounds turned to a gas,

but I have no idea why. And I have no idea what they

formed or why your nervous system reacted so violently

when you inhaled the gas. There has to be an unknown,

a catalyst that pushed everything over the edge. What

that catalyst is, again, I haven’t a clue…Cassidy, are you

listening to me?”

Actually, I wasn’t. A black cat near the path leading

to the woods had caught my eye. Low to the ground,

it focused intensely on something in the tall grass.

I recognized what it was doing because I had done it

myself. The cat was hunting, stalking its prey. After

commando-crawling toward its victim, it sank low in

the grass, anticipating the kill. Opportunity arrived.

Black fur gracefully glided through the air. The cat

easily landed on the unfortunate victim: a brown ﬁeld

mouse.

I watched the cat excitedly toss the mouse in the air,

remorselessly tormenting its victim. Dread slid through

my stomach. “Emery, you mentioned pumas. Do you

think there was cat DNA in that stuff I sucked in?”

Turning back to him, I saw that he had been watch-

ing the cat, too. He replied, “She experimented with

feline DNA.”

I took this as a yes. Oh, geez.

“There is another thing I’ve noticed different about

me,” I began hesitantly. Emery looked back at me, and

I could feel my cheeks warm under his gaze. I really

didn’t want to bring this up, but thought I should after

what he witnessed at the sports ﬁeld. “I don’t usually

have meltdowns. I’m not one of those emotional girls…

at least, I wasn’t…I have no idea why I started bawling

like that.”

His response wasn’t hesitant at all. “The changes

you’ve experienced are not only physical, but chemical,

so it stands to reason you will be more prone to mood

swings and extreme reactions. And it will be more difﬁ-

cult—how should I say it?—to shove feelings down.”

I stared at him in surprise. He had pegged me. I

was the queen of shoving down unwanted feelings. “If

you’re right, Emery, poor me—poor everyone.”

To this, he only smiled, and then said, “It’s about

time you showed me what you can do.” Glancing across

the sprawling lawn, his eyes settled on a couple lying

together on the grass. They were far enough away that

their facial features were indistinguishable. “Tell me

about them.”

Rising to the challenge, I adjusted the couple until

they appeared a few feet away. On their stomachs, they

turned their heads in so they were nose to nose.

“Okay, the guy has shoulder-length, brown—”

Emery interrupted, squinting his eyes. “You’ll have

to do better than that. Even I can see his hair.”

“Well, can you see he has a silver hoop through

the right side of his bushy, black unibrow? And there’s

a mole smack in the middle of his left cheek.” I gri-

maced. “Geez, he should have that removed. Okay, his

girlfriend has multiple piercings. She looks like a pin

cushion. There are three small hoops through her left

eyebrow. One. Two. Three. No, four diamond studs on

the left side of her nose. Gross. A gold hoop hanging

between her nostrils—”

With a look of distaste, Emery cut in. “You’ve con-

vinced me with vision. All right, they appear to be

talking. Can you hear what they’re saying?”

“No prob.” I smiled conﬁdently, weeding through

surrounding noise. After a moment, I tuned into the

man’s husky whispers. “Okay, got them. He’s saying—”

My jaw dropped. Immediately, I severed the connec-

tion, but not before turning bright red.

Emery laughed hysterically.

Still blushing, I watched him sternly. Every time he

looked at me, he laughed harder. Child prodigy or not,

ultimately, boys will be boys.

Taking a deep breath, he suddenly composed

himself. “Sorry, Cassidy, but your expression was hys-

terical. You’ve convinced me that you heard them.” He

grinned.

In response, I scowled.

“Again, I apologize,” he repeated with an amused

grin. “All right, let’s move on to another test.” Scanning

the park, his gaze settled behind me. “Don’t turn around.

Behind you, that toddler is now eating something.”

Closing my eyes, I sniffed the air. There were so

many competing scents. “Is it sweet?” I asked.

“Yes, it is.”

Nodding, I took in a deep breath. Distinguish-

ing scents, I pinpointed a sweet, edible one close by.

Opening my eyes, I grinned. “My, you’re tricky, Emery.

First of all, that isn’t called eating. That’s called drink-

ing, and he’s drinking apple juice.”

Emery gave me an impressed look. “I can’t see the

juice box from here, so I’ll take your word for it.” Grab-

bing my hands, he stood up, pulling me to my feet.

“Now, let’s test strength.”

“Are you asking me to toss you off here or break

your ﬁngers?” I teased, slightly squeezing them.

Grinning, he pulled his hands away. “Deﬁnitely not

the ﬁngers, and I think tossing me from this swing is

too public, though I admit it would be a good show.”

He nodded to the woods. “We’ll ﬁnd something more

discreet in there.”

While following the path through the woods,

Emery’s eyes roamed for that something discreet. About

a hundred feet in, he suggested, “Let’s get off this main

path. Over there.” He pointed to a thinly trodden trail

cutting through thick growth.

Following Emery, we pushed our way through the

growth. Obviously, no one had come down this over-

grown trail in a while. I got the brunt of the overgrowth

as the branches Emery pushed forward sprung back at

me. After getting slapped in the face with one, I was

prepared to demand that I lead, when Emery said, “Yes,

this will work.”

Stepping into a clearing, he pointed to a fallen tree

twenty feet ahead.

Smiling, I decided to show him leaping before

strength. “Stand back,” I warned, pushing him aside.

Then, running forward, I leaped for the target. Leading

with my right foot, my body glided easily through the

air. The exhilaration I had felt while speeding around

the school track returned, and that strange, pent-up

feeling released. For whatever reason, this very unnatu-

ral thing felt as natural as walking to me, and incredibly

freeing, as if I had been meant for this.

My right foot touched the top of the massive trunk,

and my left pulled in next to it. The landing had been

perfect, steady and strong, without even a hint of

balance loss. Pivoting on the trunk to face Emery, I

smiled smugly.

Walking toward me, he exclaimed, “That was incred-

ible. You move like a cat.”

His praise wiped the smile off my face. “Cat,” I

grumbled to myself. “What’s up with the cat theme?”

With a sigh, I hopped down next to him. “I suppose you

want me to move this.” I patted the thick tree trunk.

Emery examined the area around the tree. “It appears

safe. I don’t see any danger if you disturb it. First, make

sure there isn’t anyone nearby.”

My ears quickly searched. “All clear,” I announced,

moving up to the trunk.

Emery stepped back, his face shining with anticipa-

tion.

Resting my palms against the trunk, I prepared to

move the giant tree. Pulling in a breath, I pushed. The

tree was heavy, but with exertion, the giant’s resistance

gave way. I rolled the trunk up out of the indented

ground. From underneath, something scurried up the

trunk near my left hand. Squealing, I jumped back. The

thick trunk rolled back into its resting place.

Emery grinned. “It was only a lizard.”

“I hate lizards.” I shuddered. “The nasty thing almost

ran over my hand.”

“Ironic. You can push ﬁfteen hundred pounds, and

you’re scared of a little lizard.”

I gasped. “One thousand ﬁve hundred pounds?”

Surveying the tree, he nodded thoughtfully. “At

least.”

The information stunned me. “Okay, then. What do

you want me to do next?”

For the next couple of hours, Emery sought out all

kinds of challenges, from moving boulders and leaping

into trees, to distinguishing sounds and scents. He even

had me describe in detail what tree bark looked like

microscopically.

Something else took place during this time. My

unease around Emery disappeared. In fact, it amazed

me just how comfortable I felt around him. Though he

was my age, he had none of the uncertainties we teens

are usually plagued with. For the most part, I walked

on eggshells around girls my age. Saying or doing the

wrong thing could trigger an instant “girl war.” Even

though my friends weren’t petty, instinctively, I was

careful. The boys weren’t as sensitive but were every

bit as gossipy. So in general, I watched my back, never

letting my guard down. It was exhausting. With Emery,

I believed I could be myself, say the wrong thing, do the

wrong thing, and he wouldn’t hold it against me. He

really was a breath of fresh air.

After testing senses, strength, and agility, Emery

announced, “It’s time for speed. Let’s see how fast you

can go through these woods.”

Back at the main path, we parted ways. The plan was

for Emery to go to one entrance and me to the other.

After listening to be sure the coast was clear, I would

tune in to him where he would be looping a countdown

out loud. From my end of the path, I tuned in to the

woods. All I heard was Emery’s looping countdown.

Positioning myself to run, I listened.

“. . . Three, two, one—”

I took off at a mind-boggling speed. Within seconds,

I stood before Emery. Wide-eyed, he stared at me like

he’d seen a ghost.

“Unbelievable,” he uttered above a whisper.

His reaction made me edgy. “How fast do you think

I ran?” I asked, attempting to sound casual.

“My guess would be forty miles per hour. Imagine

how fast you would be on a solid, straight surface. I’ve

never witnessed anything like this.” His mouth pulled

down in the corners.

With an anxious feeling in my gut, I studied him.

His face held no expression, as if he wore a mask to hide

real emotions. The more I looked at him, the more I

believed the emotion he hid was fear. If he’s terriﬁed of

me, everyone will be, I anguished.

“What do you want me to do now?” I said

sheepishly.

“Nothing,” he answered, distracted. “Let’s head

out.” He motioned for me to walk ahead.

With Emery following silently behind, I walked in a

daze. I assumed he had me walk ahead to keep an eye on

me. I am the most dangerous thing out here, I bitterly told

myself. I’d make me walk ahead, too, and—

Something scratchy brushed my cheek, interrupt-

ing the thought. Reﬂex kicked in, and before a second

passed, I was crouched on a tree branch, looking down

at Emery. Smirking, he waved a dry tree branch in his

hand.

“What’s the big deal?” I snapped, hopping down.

Tossing the branch, he stated, untroubled, “I

assumed you would react that way when startled. We’ll

have to work on those involuntary reﬂexes.” With a

grin, he added, “We can’t have you jumping up in trees

in public.”

Glaring hard, I grumbled, “Nice. Real nice.” With

my shoulder, I shoved past him, stomping down the

path.

“I couldn’t have taken you off-guard if I warned you

beforehand,” he called after me. “For your protection,

I needed to know how you would handle it.”

I spun around. “For my protection? Don’t you mean

for yours or for the innocent public’s?”

He grinned with understanding. “Oh, you think I’m

afraid.” Walking toward me, he continued, “Cassidy, I’m

fascinated, hardly afraid. Not of you, at least. I am con-

cerned about you being exposed, though.” He stopped in

front of me.

Glancing up at him, I asked, “So you think I should

keep this a secret?”

Alarm washed over his face. Abruptly, he grabbed

my upper arms. “Cassidy, you can tell no one about this.

Absolutely no one.” Bending close to me, he searched

my eyes. “Do you understand? No one can know. Not

your parents, not anyone. Keeping this a secret is not

only for your safety, it’s for your family’s safety, too.”

My eyes widened. “Why would my family be in

danger?”

“Think, Cassidy. Whoever has my mom will want

you. You are Formula 10X, and they would view you as

a nonentity, something to be acquired. Your personal

value and rights would mean absolutely nothing to

them. You would become a lab rat. Imagine what they

would do to you.”

I tried not to.

“If they become aware of your existence, they’ll do

anything to get you. People like this have no bound-

aries. Everyone and everything becomes free game

for them to get what they want. That includes Nate,

Chazz—”

“Stop,” I interrupted, shaking my head to dislodge

the terrifying images. “I get it. I won’t tell anyone.”

After quick scrutiny, Emery released my arms. Calm

replaced the alarm on his face. I believed this expres-

sion was his standard mask. For a moment, I studied the

mask that showed no signs of strain or worry. As far as

facades go, it was a solid one, but I wasn’t fooled. I knew

the turmoil that had to be going on underneath.

“Emery, I’m sorry about your mom,” I said for the

ﬁrst time.

Tightening his lips, he nodded acknowledgment.

“Do you know who has her?”

He stared off into the woods. “No, but I know she’s

alive.”

“Please forgive me, Emery.” The words wanted to

stick in my throat. It was wrong to ask, but I had to.

“But how do you know?”

Looking back at me, he stated matter-of-factly,

“She’s too valuable to kill. They abducted her because

she has something they want. The fact that I’m here

talking with you means she must be cooperating to

some degree. It’s unfortunate.”

It took me a moment to decode his meaning. “You

don’t want her to cooperate, even if it means she’s pro-

tecting you? What is it they want from her?”

His smile was a mix of sadness and resentment. “I’ve

already told you. They want you. Formula 10X. It is

incredibly lucrative, and yes, I want her not to cooper-

ate, no matter the sacriﬁce. In the wrong hands, 10X is

detrimental to the world. Visualize an army of you.”

“But they don’t know about me.”

“And I plan to keep them ignorant.”

Staring up at him, I let his words sink in. He plans to

protect me. I’m not alone. With this realization, I threw

my arms around his neck, like he was a life preserver.

“Thank you,” I said in one grateful breath, tightening

my arms.

Grabbing my biceps, he attempted to loosen the

hold. “A little tight,” he choked.

“Oh.” Blushing, I released him.

Rubbing his neck, he smiled with ease. “You have

quite a grip.” Noting that my cheek shade deepened, he

continued, “Please, don’t feel embarrassed. I understand

how scared you are. I promise you, though, everything

will be all right. You will be all right.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, believing every word.

As he continued to smile, a curious glint appeared in

his black eyes. “My mom will shed light on the situation

when we get her back,” he said in a casual tone.

Knitting my brow, I rewound his previous state-

ments to ﬁgure out what I had missed.

Reading my expression, his smile broadened. “Oh,

I didn’t I tell you, did I? You and I are going to ﬁnd

her.”

Reviews-

"Brimful of danger, secrets, a bit of romance and fun, this debut author's entertaining plot and well-drawn characters not only is all it promises to be, but will leave readers looking for more.." -- Gail Welborn, Examiner

"Elise Stokes ranks up there with other YA masterminds!" -- Kitty Bullard, Great Minds Think Aloud

"Can I vote now for a movie on this series? With the adventure, the mystery and Cassidy's super powers, Elise Stokes has delivered everything that a young reader could hope for." --Stephanie Laymon, Five Alarm Book Reviews

Amazon geo links-

Cassidy Jones and The Secret Formula - http://ow.ly/sDyhv

Cassidy Jones Vulcan's Gift - http://ow.ly/sDy9K

Cassidy Jones and the Seventh Attendant - http://ow.ly/sDyqI