This is one of the sweetest songs I’ve ever heard, and I think it perfectly captures the romance between Layne and Gabriel.

“Everybody” by Ingrid Michaelson

This song is all about falling in love, and it’s completely innocent and lighthearted and, believe it or not, this song was my backdrop for writing about Hannah and Michael. (Don’t tell Michael. He’d be pissed.)

“Good Feeling” by Flo Rida

This song just makes me want to dance and gets my pulse going. Great backdrop for the action scenes.

“Without You” by David Guetta, featuring Usher

Another romantic song that makes me swoon for Layne and Gabriel.

“Love Bites” by Def Leppard

This is one of my favorite songs of all time, because it perfectly captures the pain of first love.

“Your Guardian Angel” by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

This song is a power ballad, and it works for both Layne and Gabriel. I think they’d both say that the other is their guardian angel, don’t you think?

“Mean” by Taylor Swift

This song is all about standing up to bullies—and I must have listened to it on repeat about a hundred times, right along with

“Blow.”

“When She Turns 18” by Christian TV

If there’s ever a perfect song for a boy telling off the father of his girlfriend, this is it.

“Start a Fire” by Ryan Star

This could be Gabriel’s theme song.

“You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” by The Offspring

This song is angry and intense and challenging and is exactly the kind of thing I’d expect Gabriel to blast in his headphones.

“Something Beautiful” by NeedToBreathe

This song is the theme song for the Elemental Series. Any time I need inspiration for a book, I start with this song.

Spirit,

Read on for a sneak peek at

Spirit,

coming in June 2013.

CHAPTER 1

Hunter Garrity woke to the click of a gun.

His grandparents kept a night-light in the utility room, but either it wasn’t working or someone had killed it—his basement bedroom was pitch-black. His breathing was a shallow whisper in the darkness. For an instant, he wondered if he’d dreamed the sound.

Then steel touched his jaw.

He stopped breathing.

A voice: soft, female, vaguely mocking. “I think you dropped this.”

He recognized her voice, and it wasn’t a relief. His arms were partially trapped by the sheet and the comforter; he couldn’t even consider disarming her from this angle.

“Calla,” he murmured, keeping his voice low so as not to spook her. He had no idea how much experience she had with guns, and this didn’t seem like the right time for trial and error.

“Hunter.” The barrel pressed harder into the soft flesh under his chin.

He needed her to move, to shift her weight. Right now, she was just a voice and a weapon in the darkness.

He let out a long breath. “How did you get in here?”