Why should I provide my email address?

Start saving money today with our FREE daily newsletter packed with the best FREE and bargain Kindle book deals. We will never share your email address!
Sign Up Now!

Free Kindle Nation Shorts – October 24, 2010 – A Letter and Excerpt from Portal: Book 1 of the Portal Chronicles, by Imogen Rose

By Stephen Windwalker
Editor of Kindle Nation Daily ©Kindle Nation Daily 2010

Imogen Rose, author of the magical and wildly popular Portal Chronicles series of romantic time travel novels that have earned nearly 100 5-star reviews from Kindle readers, has a triple treat for us today. First, she has carefully chosen a generous 6,000-word free excerpt from Portal as today’s Free Kindle Nation Shorts excerpt. Second, she introduces it with a fascinating letter written by the series’ youthful and very appealing protagonist, Arizona. And last but not least, her low promotional price of just 99 cents for Portal means that readers can purchase and download both of the first two novels in the series — Portal and Equilibrium — for a grand total of less than $5!

or
Click on the titles below to download the complete novels, Portal and Equilibrium, to your Kindle or Kindle app for just 99 cents!
 
PortalPORTAL
(Book 1 of the Portal Chronicles)
by Imogen Rose
4.5 out of 5 stars – 109 Reviews
Kindle Price: $0.99
Text-to-Speech: Enabled 

Come Find Me Two Years Ago…

Six words that propelled ice hockey playing tomboy, Arizona, into an alternate dimension.

She suddenly found herself in the past. In one moment she went from being an ice hockey playing teenager in New Jersey to a glamorous cheerleader in California. She found herself transported from a happy life with her dad, Dillard, to a new, strange one living with her mother whom she hates. Apparently it’s a life she’s always lived in.

Everyone knows her as Arizona Darley, but she isn’t. She is Arizona Stevens.

As she struggles to find answers she is certain of one thing- that her mother Olivia, a brilliant physicist, is somehow responsible. .

PORTAL is the story of the repercussions of Olivia Darley’s attempt at creating a perfect world for herself and her children. Arizona’s quest for answers threatens to undermine the seemingly perfect world that her mother has so carefully constructed.

PORTAL is the first book of the Portal Chronicles. Fans of time travel, romance, and the supernatural will enjoy Arizona’s quest for answers.

EQUILIBRIUM

(Book 2 of the Portal Chronicles)
by Imogen Rose
5 out of 5 stars – 25 Reviews
Kindle Price: $3.99
Text-to-Speech: Enabled 

It’s not every day you see a naked body slumped by the side of the road…

This ominous sight is just the beginning of a mystery that will span two dimensions.

When California teen Arizona Darley and her siblings go missing, their mother, Dr. Olivia Darley, discovers that the time-travel portal she invented has been hijacked.

Is the hijacker responsible for the disappearance of her children? Have the children been transported to another dimension? If so, the police and FBI will never be able to find them, and Olivia Darley must find a way to rescue her children on her own.

How will she do this without access to the portal?

EQUILIBRIUM is book two of the Portal Chronicles. 

excerptA Brand New Free Kindle Nation Short:
A Letter and Excerpt from 
Portal
 
Book 1 of the Portal Chronicles

By  Imogen Rose

Copyright 2010 by Imogen Rose and reprinted here with her permission.
Once upon a time… around two weeks ago, my life changed completely. Two weeks ago I would have said, I’m Arizona Stevens from Princeton, New Jersey. I go to Princeton High where I am the only girl who plays ice hockey for the varsity team. I have straight brown hair and I smell most of the time-from hockey.
Two weeks later, well, everything has changed. I’m still hazel-eyed, five-foot-two Arizona. However, I’m now Arizona Darley. I suddenly live in Mountain View, California. There has been a significant change in my general appearance. In addition to now being blond and resembling an awful Barbie doll, I do smell a lot better. I also seem to have turned into a cheerleader somehow. Well, I did have change that bit, super quick, I can’t cheer.
The reason for this change? Well, that’s not totally clear yet. I woke up in this new life two weeks ago, totally unprepared! After having taken my SAT’s for the upteenth time in Princeton, I got into my dad’s car and by the time I woke up I was in my mom’s Hummer in Mountain View. I somehow had woken up in a completely different life. Sheesh! Now, I have a new dad-Rupert. And a new older bother-Harry. Mom is still the same, as is my little sister, Ella and my dog Gertrude. The weirdest thing is that everyone around me know me as Arizona Darley. I have also somehow woken up In the past… not very far into the past, just eight  months, but still….
It didn’t take me long to figure out that my mom was responsible for this sudden change in my life. Mom, apart from being really annoying, is also a quantum physicist. It turns out that she constructed a portal, yes some kind of time travel contraption and transported me to her new life in Mountain view! I still haven’t gotten to the bottom of all the whys and hows, but I will! For now, I am stuck here, in my alternative life, until I can find a way back to my real life. It’s not all bad, though. My alternative life came with one big advantage-Kellan. For someone who’s never been into dating before, I can’t really explain my deep attachment to Kellan….

Read the whole story in PORTAL, Portal Chronicles Book One … including this excerpt
Chapter Three

I woke to the sound of my iPhone alarm, it was already five. I was apparently still in Barbie Arizona land. I had decided to wake early, as I’d no idea what was expected of me. Or how long it would take to get to school. I got up and printed off a map of Mountain View High so that I wouldn’t be totally lost once I got there, if I got there.
What to wear? I thought jeans and a t-shirt would be the safest way to go. I threw on a worn out hoodie to disguise myself as much as possible. I wanted to keep a low profile, which was not going to be easy with this Barbie hair. I tied it in a ponytail and stuffed it down my back. Much better. I decided that I couldn’t really head to school in flip flops, especially with pink-tipped toe nails. After rummaging around in the closet, I found a pair of muddy, black sneakers and put those on. Perfect. I grabbed my backpack and shut the door, after throwing a backward glance at my once tidy room. Well, it was back to being a mess, nothing a shut door couldn’t deal with.
I put my ear to Ella’s door and listened for morning sounds. I could hear music, so I knocked and opened the door. She was sitting on her vanity chair, drowning herself in lip-gloss. She turned around and stared at me with a bemused grin.
“What’s with the new look, Arizona? You look ridiculous.”
“What’s so ridiculous about it, Ella?” I demanded angrily.
She shrugged. “What did you do with your hair? You always wear it down!”
“Well, I feel like a change,” I said defiantly.
“Are you ready for breakfast, Ella? What time do you want to leave the house and head to school?” I asked changing the subject.
“Dad said that he would drive me on his bike this morning so I’m going with him. But I’m ready for breakfast now, let’s go.”
I was slightly concerned at Ella’s obvious distaste in my attire. What if the school kids here dressed a certain way and I’d got it totally wrong. I would stand out and that’s the last thing I wanted-attention. I looked over to see what Ella was wearing. She was wearing a pair of blue skinny jeans with a Juicy t-shirt and Uggs, so I couldn’t be that far off the mark. She was just being a pain, as usual. I was not about to start worrying about the way I dressed!
Mom and Rupert were already sitting at the table sipping coffee and pouring over newspapers as we got to the kitchen. I spied an Ames Research canvas carrier by the door, stuffed full of papers.
“Good morning, girls,” they both said in unison and looked at me with puzzled expressions. They thankfully managed to keep their thoughts to themselves. I had obviously dressed unlike Barbie Arizona normally did. Well they’d just have to deal with it for now.
“I have an early meeting, so I’ve got to rush off. Dad’s taking you to school, Ella. So, Arizona, you’re off the hook. You can head right to school this morning. Give Simla a call though, she may want you to pick her up. She got her car taken away from her last night by her mom. I don’t know the details. Rup, meet me for lunch?”
He nodded, stood up, gave her a hug and kiss. She was dressed in a pair of black slacks, a cream Chanel jacket and carried her cream Kelly bag (or old lady bag, as I like to call it) – her usual uniform. She grabbed her keys and the Ames canvas bag from the floor, blew us kisses and left.
“Arizona, can you walk Gertrude before you head off? I filled your Jeep with gas last night, so you are ready to go. Drive carefully, and I’ll see you back at the house at five. I’ll pick Ella up from school and she can hang out at the studio for a while.”
I nodded at Rupert as I went to get Gertrude’s leash, and headed off for a walk with her. A Jeep – I just couldn’t wait. I went back to the house to gather my stuff once I spied Ella and Rupert leave on his bike. I put some more food and water down for Gertrude and then went over to the garage. To the Jeep! I was beyond thrilled. I had been driving with my learners permit in Princeton for a while, but I’d never driven on my own.
The Jeep was parked in the garage, a bright yellow Wrangler. So much for keeping a low profile! There was a huge Spartans sticker on the back window. Well, at least it was clear that I was heading off to Mountain View High school this morning.
I programmed the directions into the GPS system, drive time 35 minutes. School started at 7:30 AM, I had plenty of time, but it would be good to be early. This was a first, driving by myself with no one in the passenger seat constantly nagging at me. It felt wonderfully freeing. Just me in this awesome Jeep! I could drive anywhere I wanted to, no one could stop me.
I turned the knob to the radio, but couldn’t get it to work. I decided to figure it out later. Perhaps I should head to New Jersey instead of this school. It was very tempting; I even had my own credit cards. I guessed it was about three thousand miles away? It would take me three or four days….
I drove on, without noticing my surroundings, concentrating on the GPS directions. I arrived at Mountain View High in no time, found the parking lot, parked and sat in my car watching the other students arrive. It dawned on me that I had completely forgotten to call Simla. What would she be doing here anyway? She should be back in Princeton wondering what happened to me. I’d try calling her later.
The kids arriving at school looked normal, no odd-looking vampires or werewolves. A bit disappointing really, a lone hockey playing Edward Cullen would’ve been nice. I was in the twilight zone after all. I wondered if I could take a vampire out on the ice. Of course I could!
The buses arrived, standard issue yellow school buses. As I watched the kids leave and head into the building, I decided to follow the crowds in. After quickly locking the car door, I hid under my hoodie and ran to mingle with the crowd. Keeping my head low, I stumbled my way through the throng wondering how I was ever going to find my locker, that’s if I even had one. My hood was suddenly yanked back by someone behind me, exposing me to the world! I turned around in fury, ready to floor who ever it was- Simla.
“Hey, why didn’t you call me? I was forced to take the bus this morning!” Then she looked at me curiously, “Are you hiding from someone?”
I shrugged off her question. ” What’s up with your car, Simla?”
“Did your mom not give you my message?” she asked irritated.
I shook my head, “I guess she forgot.”
Simla proceeded to bring me up to date with her car woes. Something about a bad grade on the trig test (didn’t we do trig last year?) and then telling her mom that she was going to drop out. I stopped listening, she sounded so different, so whiney. It seemed like her car had been confiscated for a week and by the sound of things she expected me to drive her around. Well, she was going to have to re-think that. I had other things to do, I think….
I noticed a lot of  “Hi, Arizona” coming from all directions. I guess everyone knew me. I put on my best sunshine smile and waved a hello in all directions, trying not to offend anyone. I had no idea who these people were.
“Arizona, could you do my trig homework tonight? I want to sneak out and hook up with J?” Simla asked as we walked along the corridor.
“I guess,” I said hesitantly wondering who J was. I had no idea what I had to do myself this evening.
“Simla, come walk with me to my locker, I want to show you something.”
She looked excited. I let Simla get in front of me and I followed her to my locker. I quickly took some books out of my backpack so both my hands were occupied.
“Can you open it? My hands are full.”
I watched her turn the combination lock, same numbers I always used, great!
“So, what do you have for me?” she asked as two girls I had never seen in my life before came over, hugged me and grabbed my arms.
“Come on, we’re late!” the taller one said as she pulled at me.
“Later, Simla,” I shouted as I was dragged along the corridor. Hopefully she’d lock up for me. I turned around and did a “lock my locker” impression with my hands at her. She looked annoyed.
“Are you ready for the game tonight, Arizona? It’s so exciting!”
Game, what game? Was I due to play in an ice hockey game? I had no idea where my kit was. Possibly at the back of Mom’s Hummer, there was a lot of hockey stuff there.
I nodded at the two girls wondering who they were. I tried to get a closer look at them as we hurried along the corridor. Platinum blondes, very pretty, designer jeans and tank tops. Lip gloss that put Ella’s to shame. Fabulous heels. I guessed that these were my two BFFs and guessed that I normally dressed like them. No wonder Ella had been horrified.
“Yes, very exciting. Remind me, where we’re meeting?” I asked.
“Oh, the usual place,” said the taller of the two.
I instinctively knew their names, Maria and Ali and I felt comfortable with them. There was no awkwardness when Ali, the taller blonde, pulled lip gloss out from her bag and dabbed it onto my lips. It was mango, very pleasant.
She kissed my forehead and said, “See you at lunch!”
I smiled and waved at her. I noticed heads turning as she walked up the corridor toward her classroom. Not surprising really, she was amazingly beautiful.
Maria looked at me and said, “You look a bit different. Is everything ok? Did you hurt your feet?” She pointed at my dirty black sneakers perplexed.
“I think I may be coming down with something so ignore me today.” I offered as a sad excuse for my obviously shabby look.
“I hope you’re going to be ok for the game?”
“Don’t count on me, I’m feeling a bit nauseous.”
“Oh, you poor thing, I’ll keep an eye on you during our classes, nudge me if you need to go to the nurse,” she said kindly as she took me by the elbow and led me toward another corridor.
“Thanks, Maria,” I said gratefully. I followed her along the corridor, acutely aware that we had the same effect as Ali when we walked along. Lots of head turning, staring and a lot of “hellos.”
“How’s the new dog?” Maria asked as we walked along.
New dog? Did she mean Gertrude? Gertrude wasn’t new.
“Gertrude?”
“You named her Gertrude? That’s so cute!”
“Gertrude’s fine,” I said as we passed a group of girls who all turned around to me.
“There you are, Arizona!”
Yes, indeed, I thought to myself, here I am apparently, though I should be in Princeton….
It was the debate team by the looks of their t-shirts. One grabbed my arm and murmured, “Meeting at 1 PM, Dinner Hall, don’t forget to wear your t-shirt.”
I smiled and whispered, “Ok” as I hurried to follow Maria around a sign that read Science Quad. I followed her into a classroom, careful to not look at anyone and sat down on the seat next to hers. I watched her get her books out of her backpack, physics, great! I had never been in a physics class. I looked at the calendar, October 6th 2008. The last time I had been at school it had been June 5th, 2009. I guess the calendar was wrong. I quickly checked the date on my iPhone. It was October 2008. I felt a chill. How had I not noticed that before?
“Put that away, Arizona. You don’t want it taken away!” Maria hissed.
I quickly threw the phone back into my backpack, setting it on vibrate first. Not sure why, as it had been spookily quiet in the last few days.
“When did your mom give you the cell phone back? It’s great, we can text again,” she said.
The class went silent as a stubby, middle-aged woman entered the room.
“Dr. Lee is away at a conference today, so I will be substituting. My name is Mrs. Shire. Take your books out and read Chapter Three.”
I turned the pages until I got to Chapter Three and stared incomprehensively at the words. I had no idea what it all meant, it might as well have been in Spanish, which I totally suck at. I would read this later at home. I spent the time studying my fellow students instead. I looked around as much as I could.
There were fourteen students in this class. On the other side of Maria, was a girl with a Debate Team t-shirt. She winked at me as she caught me glancing over at her. She was Asian, very pretty with striking blue eyes. I instinctively knew that her name was Lily. She was sitting next to another Asian girl, also pretty; she smiled at me too… Amanda. There was one more girl in class, way at the back so it was difficult to turn around and get a good look at her. She was bent forward peering over her book, ear buds on. Her hoodie was so far down her face that I couldn’t make out her features. I had no idea who she was.
Maria nudged me. “She’s new,” she whispered. “Her name is Ariele and she is apparently from New Jersey.”
Ariele? From New Jersey? Could it be my BFF from Princeton? She was moving to California. How awesome! I felt both excited and scared, a shiver ran down my spine and I trembled. Maria looked at me with concern. I shook my head to indicate I was ok, and made sure not to look at Ariele again. I wasn’t sure how to handle this yet. I wondered if Ariele had seen me? She probably wouldn’t recognize me anyway with this ridiculous hair.
Of the nine boys in the class, four were Asian and three from India. None of them looked up from their books once, totally entranced by Chapter Three, whatever that was about. The other two boys were sitting right behind me. One yanked at my hair. I turned around – Justin!
“Can you drop Simla off at my house later?” he asked in a hushed voice.
“Simla? Why?” I asked bemused. They had never given each other the time of day before.
I couldn’t help but notice the boy sitting next to Justin. He was staring at me with a smirk that really riled me.
“What’s your problem?” I demanded challengingly as I scowled at him.
I could hear a sharp intake of breath from him as he shrugged his shoulders and whispered, “What’s up, Shrimp?”
Shrimp? I stared at him in disbelief and then turned back to Justin.
“Talk about it later, Justin,” I whispered.
I turned around again and pretended to read, but I could feel the boy next to Justin glowering at my back. I couldn’t help looking back again and caught his stare. He was breathtakingly attractive and so familiar, although I couldn’t place him.
“What’s up with you and Kellan?” Maria asked in a whisper.
I shrugged. In all honesty, I hadn’t a clue. At least I knew his name now. I’d have to figure out the history later.
The bell sounded and it was time to move classrooms. I quickly checked my schedule hoping it was something easy: computer lab, perfect.
“Come on,” said Maria.
Good, I thought to myself. She is in my next class as well; I’d just follow her. We walked past the swimming pool and gym, around the library to the computer labs. Someone shoved passed me roughly and I dropped my bag. I saw Ariele hurry along ahead, without looking back. Maria helped me retrieve my bag and then we rushed along to class.
Computer lab was a breeze. It was fun and passed quickly. Then it was time for lunch. The cafeteria was just across from the computer lab. Maria and I crossed the hallway, but I stayed half a step behind her so I could follow her lead. Justin got to the door first and held it open for us.
“Ladies,” he smiled.
We walked toward Ali, who was already sitting at a table with a bunch of girls. There were two empty chairs for us. I threw my bag on one of them and made my way to the fruit counter. I picked up a banana, an apple and a drink of water. I was more nervous than hungry, having to deal with the girls at lunch.
And, of course, there was the upcoming “game” to fret about. I glanced quickly around the cafeteria trying to get some bearing. This place was definitely cliquey. I could easily make out the different groups. I looked over at mine. Now, I was worried. The softball team maybe… a very glamorous softball team?
The girls were deep in conversation about the game when I sat down. I listened trying to understand what they were talking about. Why didn’t I have any instinct about this?
“Well, I guess at the end of the day it’s really up to Arizona, she’s the vice captain and Julia is off sick, so I guess Arizona is in charge,” Ali said looking at me expectantly.
I nearly choked! I had no idea how to respond. “Ali, to tell you the truth, I’m not feeling that good today, slightly nauseous. Could you take over?” I suggested hoping for the best.
“Sure thing, will you at least come and watch?” she asked obviously delighted at being put in charge.
Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap