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Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Spotlight: Spell Fire by Ariella Moon
Today, I'm hosting fellow Astraea Press author, Ariella Moon. Ariella has a new YA fantasy out, the 3rd book in her Teen Wytche Saga, that will make a great holiday read.
About
Ariella Moon
Spell Fire
By Ariella
Moon
Can two people forge a future when
their secret pasts collide?
New school.
New friends. New reputation. High school sophomore Ainslie Avalon-Bennett works
hard to hide her Crazy Girl past. But as long as her best friend’s
disappearance remains unsolved, she can’t shake the depression and
obsessive-compulsive disorder that once landed her in a mental ward.
Ainslie’s
tenuous control over her life shatters when her warring parents ditch her at
Christmas. While they take a cruise to “work things out,” Ainslie must spend
the holiday in Palm Springs with her aunt and uncle, owners of a struggling
Mystery School and occult store. Plunged into the world of fire fortunes,
dragons, entity eaters, and an ailing spell book, Ainslie is well beyond her
comfort zone. Then she meets a boy who spikes her pulse and calms her OCD. But will she lose him once he discovers her
past? Or will his deadly secret, hidden in plain view, be their undoing?
Excerpt
I found a patch of sunlight where I could sit with
my back against the wall and pulled out The
Scarlet Letter. I kept my head down while Uncle Esmun arrived and took his
seat. Years before Sophia's disappearance and my descent into the rabbit hole,
I had sat in on a few of Dad's business meetings. I knew the protocol. Be quiet
and inconspicuous. Don't interrupt the adults; they have important business
matters to discuss. Only these adults were discussing the tarot cards they had
drawn from a deck in the center of the table.
I tried to concentrate on Hawthorne's book, on
Hester's vengeful husband who'd practiced medicine under an assumed name. But
Hazel was telling the rest of the group she had just returned from Cornwall,
England and had brought each of them a gift. I wondered what it could be.
Seashells? Photos of quaint cottages?
ʺI have a pixie for each of you.ʺ
Right.
Like you could get those past customs.
ʺHow nice of you, Hazel,ʺ Aunt Terra
said.
I thought back to what I knew about pixies. Weren't
they supposed to be a) extremely troublesome and b) not real?
Hazel sashayed up to each Board member, starting
with Cerelia, and acted like she was putting a pixie in their hands or on their
shoulder. As she progressed around the table, some members oohed and aahed as if she
was a three-year-old showing off a crayon drawing. When she approached Evie's
grandmother, the tote vibrated, rattling the glass table. Hazel faltered, her
expression uncertain. She dropped back, and the rattling stopped. Brimstone
smells hissed through the closed zipper. Cerelia shrank back.
Evie's grandmother pointed a warning finger at the
tote. ʺStop it. Don't be rude.ʺ
My jaw dropped. Thor glanced at me, then flicked
his gaze back to the tote. It stopped emitting smoke.
Uncle Esmun rubbed his nose. Hazelʹs head
wobbled as if she were figuring out her next course of action. She still cupped
her hand as if she carried an invisible pixie.
Hello!
Did you not notice the real magical object in the room?
Seemingly unable to drop the pretense, Hazel
advanced toward the alientologist. He ignored her and scribbled in his little
notebook. Thor politely rebuffed her. Both rose at least twenty degrees on my
Guy Approval Meter.
I checked my watch. The meeting had started forty
minutes ago. Nothing had been accomplished. No one had addressed the tote
situation. My face warmed again. I shifted position. Instead of sitting against
the wall with my legs straight in front of me, I sat cross‑legged and
hunched over my book. A tugging sensation rippled between my shoulder blades.
Thor glanced my way.
The more I thought about how much Aunt Terra and
Uncle Esmun must need every cent the store and mystery school could generate,
the more energy swelled behind me. Warmth radiated from my face. My whole body
felt as if it was glowing. I tried to distract myself by flitting back to my
book and my lengthy homework assignment list.
I couldn't concentrate.
Hazel had reached Aunt Terra and delivered what I
hoped was the last pixie. She pivoted and spied me. The energy behind me
compacted. It crackled with huge warrior/ninja/dragon chi — alert and ready to
strike. The thought of straightening up and backing into it set the fine hairs
on my forearms and nape on end.
Thor's eyes met mine. Our gazes locked, and I swear
he did a Zen mind meld. Soothing waves of chi — energy — flowed through me. The
brimstone stink evaporated, replaced by the calming scent of lavender and sage.
Hazel's gaze swiveled from me to Thor, then back to
me. Looking buffeted by an unseen wind, she silently returned to her seat.
The corners of Thor's full lips curved upward. Two
urges warred within me — the desire to leap across the room and kiss him, and
the urge to arch my neck and breathe fire.
Thor's smile widened.
The
Teen Wytche Saga by Ariella Moon
Spell
Check
Spell Struck
Spell Fire
Spell Struck
Spell Fire
Ariella Moon writes about magic, friendship, secrets, and
love in Spell Check, Spell Struck, and Spell Fire, the first three books in The Teen Wytche Saga from Astraea Press. After a childhood spent
searching for a magical wardrobe that would transport her to Narnia, Ariella
grew up to become a Reiki Master, author and shaman. Extreme math anxiety and
taller students who mistook her for a leaning post marred Ariella’s youth.
Despite these horrors, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of
California at Davis. She now lives a nearly normal life with her extraordinary
daughter, two shamelessly spoiled dogs, and an enormous dragon.
Connect with Ariella Moon
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Hi Ariella, congratulations on the third book in your series. What are you planning next? :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen! I am currently revising a middle grade trilogy set in medieval Scotland and Fairy. But I'm also doing research for the next book in the Teen Wytche Saga. I ended Spell Fire on a giant hook. I don't want to keep people waiting too long!
ReplyDeleteKristin, thank you for hosting me today on your lovely blog. I am so pleased to have you as my guest on http://ariellamoon.blogspot.com/ Good luck with your new book, Marry Me.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your releases! High school is such a rough time in one's life, I'm not sure I could survive it again. It takes a special person to understand people at that age.
ReplyDelete