As part of the YA Indie Carnival this week, we are writing about characters from our books who would be the ultimate competitors in the HUNGER GAMES.

This one is so easy, it’s almost embarrassing. Drake, from the Forbidden Trilogy, would obviously kick major butt in The Hunger Games, especially if Sam’s life were on the line. (But he’s got a healthy self-preservation instinct going as well, so you totally don’t want to get on his bad side!)

Where to begin. Drake is A) Wicked strong and B) Controls minds. So… yeah, no brainer. I mean, do we even need a discussion about this? Oh, and he’s also hot. Tall, blond, chiseled with piercing blue eyes and a California surfer tan. Granted, this wouldn’t really help him in the actually killing part of the competition, but he’d charm the pants off of any ladies around!

If you need further convincing, here’s a sneak peek from Forbidden Fire, book 2 in the Forbidden Trilogy that will be available on Amazon this Tuesday, March 27th.

Brad cleared his throat and fidgeted with his hands. “Right. Okay. Um. So, if you’ve been following my blog lately, you know I’ve made some pretty wild claims about some friends of mine who escaped a secret organization using paranormal powers. I have here Sam and Drake. Sam can read minds, but how do you prove that on air? But Drake here, he can not only control minds, but is ridiculously strong. That’s much easier to demonstrate, so here we go.”

Drake looked to Brad for the go-ahead, then put his hands out for each of them to step. When they had their feet on his palms and their arms on his shoulders, he lifted them from the ground until they had to bend over to keep from hitting their heads on the ceiling.

The professor sucked in his breath. “Astonishing.”

Drake didn’t break a sweat.

He lowered his arms slowly to keep them from toppling off. Drake reached for Sam and steadied her once they were both on the ground.

Brad stepped forward with wobbly legs. “There you have it, folks. What normal man could do that without so much as a blink? Want to see more? Follow us.”

Brad walked around and took the camera off the stand and ushered Drake outside. Everyone else trailed after the camera.

“Now Drake will do another demonstration of his inhuman strength. Drake, can you please go lift that car?”

Drake’s mouth curved into a half smile. Would Brad think of nothing to challenge him?

He reached under the belly of the Ford Taurus and lifted it like anyone else might lift a skateboard. Even Sam stared wide-eyed, mouth agape, as he stood there holding the car over his head.

After the strength demonstration, Brad interviewed Sam and focused on the pregnancy and her escape. Drake sat next to her and held her hand, but had little to contribute to the conversation until the end.

“And Drake, when you and Sam were finally about to escape, what made you decide to use mind control on Sam?”

Drake’s blood pressure shot through the roof. Was Brad trying to start a fight?

“I had to protect her and our baby. I had no other choice.”

The interview ended.

Drake stood and clenched his fists. “Brad. Kitchen. Now.”

***

Wouldn’t you want him on your sides in a race for your lives?

Now for some exciting news: (And shhh… don’t tell anyone until Tuesday) but my publishers are offering 9 books FREE on Tuesday, March 27th, including the first book the Forbidden Trilogy, Forbidden Mind, and the first book in my children’s illustrated fantasy chapter book series, Lexie World.

Now, I know that if you haven’t already read Forbidden Mind, you probably won’t be able to wait until Tuesday, so you can click on the titles, or the book covers to the right, and get it now, if you want. I won’t be mad. But just know it’s there on Tuesday for free if you want, and you can pick up Forbidden Fire, fresh off the press (so to speak) while you’re there. Exciting, isn’t it?

Now, which character from which book do you think would make a winning contender in the The Hunger Games?

And while you’re at it, check out the other YA Carnival peeps and see who they’ve selected this week!

1. Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series 2. Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3. Heather Self 4. T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5. Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga 6. Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy
7. Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog 8. K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
9. Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series 10. Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
11. Dani Snell’s Refracted Light Reviews 12. Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey / Callum & Harper
13. M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping 14. Laura Elliott, YA & MG Author
15. Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls 16. Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler
17. Gwenn Wright, author of Filter 18. TG Ayer
19. Melissa Pearl, Author of The Time Spirit Trilogy 20. Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga
21. Roots in Myth, PJ Hoover 22. Courtney Cole Writes