Save Me

by Jenny Elliott

  I think the hardest thing was enhancing the romance while still keeping David’s actions above reproach, which is easier said than done when you’re working with a nontraditional student-teacher relationship. But I’m happy with what we came up with and I’m excited to see what people think.

  HW: I am proud of the changes you made with both those relationships. What was it like for you getting the edit letter?

  JE: It was daunting, but you were very kind, telling me not to panic and whatnot. And you are a really great fit for me as an editor because you were so specific in what you ask for in the changes you want, so I don’t stress and pull my hair out thinking there’s five different ways I could try to accomplish what she asked. And what does she want me to do, you know? You spelled it out specifically. We had really constructive talks. Poor thing, I kept you on the phone for I think two hours both times. We got the answers and I think we got everything in the right direction and it really wasn’t that bad. It was a good experience.

  “The Writing Life”

  HW: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

  JE: I was just e-mailing and reminiscing with a friend recently, and I remembered that I wrote in journals since kindergarten, and I loved reading, and when I was in fourth grade I decided I wanted to write a book. But I was so intimidated by the scope of the project that I thought I needed to enlist a couple of helpers, and I think there were two girls that I asked to help me write a book, but I only remember one specifically. They were really excited at first and we came up with this outline and we started writing it, but their enthusiasm waned pretty quickly and mine never did. I kept trying and kept going; it was what I looked forward to the most every day. I think that’s when I got the gist that storytelling in some form or another was what I wanted to do.

  HW: What’s your process? Do you outline things? Do you just sit down and start writing?

  JE: I’m a huge outliner. I think that’s one of the first things that made me feel comfortable when I came back to fiction writing. I took a hiatus for a while before coming back to fiction. I thought, Wow, how am I going to organize this whole book that I’m envisioning? Then I found Randy Ingermanson’s snowflake method and that saved the day. It presents just a skeleton, but there are techniques for fleshing it out. And I swear by Larry Brooks’ Story Engineering, it is like the bible for me in making sure that I have my story laid out the way I want it. Those are basically the things I stick to the most, the blueprints, I guess.

  HW: Do you ever get writer’s block?

  JE: Oh, yeah. I get scared often that my well of ideas is going to dry up forever. And I just throw whatever issue I have at my subconscious and ignore it completely and do something else. You know, like go to a movie, or something that will stir creativity or let me totally escape, like reading a book. And invariably in that half-awake, half-asleep state, when it’s still dark outside, I’ll wake up. Inspiration will strike, though I wish it’d strike at an opportune time in the afternoon, but nighttime’s usually when it does. Then, I’d get out a notepad and a pen that I kept by my bed, though half the time, I couldn’t even read what I’d written later on. I can never remember what I was thinking when I’m in that state, anyway. But now, they have phones and I can tap out something that’s pretty understandable to me anyway, much to my husband’s chagrin. My phone’s always the first thing I grab in the morning.

  SAVE ME

  Discussion Questions

  1.   The title of the book is Save Me. Who do you think is being saved? Who is doing the saving?

  2.   Cara and her mother have always had a close, honest relationship, but then Cara defies her mother to be with David. Do you feel that Cara’s mother was right to protest their relationship? Did Cara make the right choice when she decided to be with David anyway?

  3.   Rachel and Cara are best friends at the beginning of the book, but once Rachel starts dating Ethan, she pulls away and changes dramatically. Is this situation something that you’ve seen happen in real life?

  4.   Food is a unifying theme in this book. Cara bonds with her mother over cooking, while Rachel rejects gifts of food while possessed. Can you think of other instances in the book where food is important? Do you use food as a bonding tool in your own life?

  5.   Garren says that angels can only act as guides unless their help is requested in order to preserve free will. Are there scenes in the book where things turned out better because of Garren’s advice? Are there any places where people made the wrong choices?

  6.   Despite the drastic change in Rachel and the strange occurrences she has noticed, Cara has a difficult time believing in the ideas of magick, witchcraft, and demons. Do you think that this is a realistic reaction? What would you have done in Cara’s place?

  7.   Cara loves the ocean and whale watching, but after being knocked overboard, she’s afraid to go out again. Have you ever had a bad experience ruin something you love?

  8.   In Save Me, you have two hot new guys who come into town and who are in love with the heroine, yet it is not a typical love triangle. Did you enjoy both of these relationships, or were you disappointed that Garren and Cara’s love was not romatic?

  9.   Amber, who is upset about losing her boyfriend, is possessed by the demon of revenge, while Rachel, who is upset that Cara has drawn the attention of both of the new guys, is possessed by the demon of jealousy. What demon do you think possessed Ethan? Could you pinpoint other characters’ fatal flaws?

  10. Rachel and Ethan quickly return to normal after their exorcisms and Cara easily forgives Rachel for the things she said and did while possessed. But Amber suffers for the things she did, as the consequences of her spells turn against her. Why do you think her situation is different?

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  First rule of dealing with vampire bodyguards?

  Don’t fall in love.

  Aspiring designer Caitlin Holte’s whole world has been turned upside down, and that was before she accidentally attracted the attention of a demon. Fortunately, her hot, bad-boy neighbor Adrian—who also happens to be a half-demon vampire—has appointed himself her bodyguard. But, when their pretend relationship starts feeling a little too real, Caitlin starts to wonder if she needs him to protect her—or her heart.

  I WAS WARM. That was all that mattered. I was warm and perfect and sleepy. So, when the soft “Caitlin” floated past my ear again, I wanted to ignore it, to snuggle deeper into the blankets and dream. But someone whispered my name again, and a stubborn part of my brain felt obliged to acknowledge it.

  “Hmm?” I mumbled.

  “So, you are alive,” the voice said. It sounded an awful lot like Adrian. Which was silly. Why would Adrian be in my bedroom? Ridiculous.

  “What are you smiling for?” he asked as I wriggled my head under his chin.

  “You smell good,” I mumbled into his collarbone. After all, it didn’t matter what you told people in dreams. In dreams, if nowhere else, you should be honest. I pressed my cold nose against his warm neck and wrapped my dream-arm around Dream-Adrian’s waist.

  He was surprisingly solid.

  “Caitlin, you need to wake up now. It’s four-thirty.”

  “Nurrr.”

  “Come on, Caitlin, up,” he murmured. His hair tickled my face and I scrunched up my nose. Burrowing closer to the source of heat that was Dream-Adrian, I realized that my shirt was sliding off one shoulder—which was weird, because my pajama shirt wasn’t large enough to slide off my shoulder. I reached up and felt the fabric at my neck and realized that it wasn’t the heavy cotton I was used to, it was angora. I sure as hell didn’t own any angora. In fact, I only knew one person who did own angora.

  Slowly, I opened my eyes.

  It was dark at first, and I wasn’t completely sure I’d actually opened them. Then
the hazy form of Adrian’s face materialized above me. I was huddled, leech-like, along the right side of his body.

  I blinked.

  “You all right?” he asked after a moment.

  I blinked again. He was still there.

  And I still had my arm wrapped around his waist and my leg hooked around his knee.

  Oh, dear god.

  “How do you feel?” Adrian tried again, starting to look concerned.

  Stupid.

  “Fine,” I mumbled, my voice hoarse and froggy as I disentangled my limbs from his until we could both sit up.

  “We need to get you back to Trish’s,” he said, already scooting away, dragging his legs over the edge of the bed and walking to his desk and …

  … taking his clothes off?

  I watched, absolutely fascinated, as he tossed a pirate shirt onto the back of his chair and pulled on a black sweater that clung to his body like Saran Wrap. He swiped a hand through his hair and scanned the floor, looking for something.

  Maybe I was still dreaming.

  I wanted to ask what time it was, why I was here, why I needed to go back to Trish’s, why, why, why, what, where, when, how? but my tongue was all sloppy and I couldn’t form any coherent thoughts.

  He looked for something in a drawer, found whatever it was, and took off his pirate pants.

  Oh, my god, he took off his pirate pants.

  He was dressed in nothing but a sweater and tight, black boxer briefs. Even in the dim moonlight, I could see that Adrian wasn’t just in shape; he was built. Decathlete built. FIFA World Cup soccer champion built. Not bulky, really, but solid. Just muscles for days, lean and beautifully arranged. I was staring, and I didn’t care. He didn’t seem to notice, however, and slipped on a pair of jeans.

  I must be dreaming. Not only had I been mostly naked in Adrian de la Mara’s room, Adrian had been mostly naked in Adrian’s room. I mean, that made sense, since it was his room, but I was there, and what the hell was happening?

  “I don’t have any boots your size,” he said, turning to face me once more, “but I stole these from my aunt. They’re probably a couple sizes too big, but it’s all I have.”

  He held up a pair of sandals, but I wasn’t really looking at them, not when the image of his mostly naked body was burned into my retinas like a film negative.

  “You’re not really awake yet, are you?” he asked.

  I blinked at him.

  He stared at me and said, “Hmm” in a low, rumbly sort of way.

  I blinked again, pinching my eyes shut and then opening them wide. The room came into a bit clearer focus. Slowly, I sat up, the wide neck of his sweater slipping over my shoulder again.

  “Adrian,” I said, over-pronouncing his name.

  “Yes?”

  “Your house?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your room?”

  “Yes.”

  I looked down at myself. I was practically swimming in the clothes I wore.

  “Your pajamas?”

  He smiled. “Yes.”

  “Time?”

  “Four-thirty.”

  “A.M.?”

  “Yes.”

  I touched a hand to my head. “Jungle Juice?”

  Adrian tried to suppress another smile. “Yes.”

  “Ah,” I said, as if that one word summed up everything that had happened over the past five hours. A moment passed as we stared at each other. “I don’t really know what to say right now.”

  “How about I go grab you something to eat while you think about it?”

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  He left and I was grateful I had a moment to pull myself together.

  How stupid did I feel? You got drunk, I told myself. You got drunk and Adrian had to drag you all the way to his house so you wouldn’t embarrass yourself. And then you cuddled with him.

  Jenny Elliott is a lifelong resident of Washington State and lives in Spokane with her husband and four kids. Writing fiction is her favorite method for avoiding insanity. Other avoidance techniques include reading, playing Scrabble, and browsing social media sites. Save Me is her first novel.

  A SWOON READS BOOK

  An Imprint of Feiwel and Friends

  SAVE ME. Copyright © 2015 by Jenny Elliott. All rights reserved. For information, address Feiwel and Friends, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

  ISBN: 978-1-250-06147-8 (Trade Paperback) / 978-1-250-06179-9 (ebook)

  First Edition: 2015

  eISBN 9781250061799

  swoonreads.com