SPELL CHECK
TEEN WHTYCE SAGA
ASIN: B0071B6500
Series: The Teen Wytche Saga
Publisher: Astraea Press
Pages/File Size: 207pages/4511KB
Formats Available: Paperback, E-Book, AudioBook
BLURB from Goodreads
Ever since Evie’s photojournalist dad died, paralyzing fear prevents her from picking up a camera. If Evie can’t pull it together, she’ll lose her position as Yearbook Photo Editor and suffer academic failure. Even worse, Evie risks losing Jordan, her secret crush. Despite a falling out, Evie never forgot Jordan. Now they are lab partners and the chemistry definitely sparks between them. But Evie’s supposed friend, Parvani, wants Jordan for herself. Parvani possesses a brimstone-hissing spell book. Soon the moon will be in the optimum phase for a binding love spell. To save Jordan, Evie must join forces with Salem, the school Goth. The clock is ticking. Can Evie get her mojo back in time to check this spell?
EXCERPT
About ten minutes into
class, while Mr. Esenberg wrote on the board, I heard Jordan slide his
feet under my desk. My breath wedged in my throat as the tips of his size nine
high-performance sneakers nudged the heels of my shoes. Could the girl in front
of me hear my heart thudding? Should I move my feet forward?
My feet tingled and refused
to move. A blush blazed across my cheeks. I struggled to pay attention to Mr.
Esenberg without making eye contact. Forty minutes passed, the bell blared, and
I had no idea what had transpired. Hopefully, my notes will make sense.
I think I took notes.
Jordan slid his feet back
and thudded his book closed. We both bent down and reached for our backpacks.
His leaned against mine. Our hands brushed and our heads were so close I could
smell his herbal shampoo.
Students walked past us. I’m
sure some of them were talking to each other or flipping open their cell
phones. But it all faded away along with the smell of chalk, highlighters, and
sweat. Everything receded except the warmth of Jordan’s skin, his cinnamon
gum-scented breath, and the heart-stopping rush sprinting up my arm.
“Evie?”
We jerked apart. Seeing
Parvani in the doorway looking hurt and shocked snapped my senses into hyper
focus. Conversations sounded extra loud. Colors seemed too bright. It felt
like a movie had started, full blast, in a hushed theater. I grabbed my
backpack, stood up, and tried to look innocent. “Hey,” I said, a little too
loudly.
Parvani adjusted her
designer frames further up her nose. “My mom just called. She’s going to pick
me up and drive me to the hospital. We have to drop off the pillows I made.”
Parvani glanced at Jordan
as he rose from his chair and stood beside me. I wondered if he knew she made
heart-shaped pillows for women who’d had mastectomies. The pillows kept
seatbelts from rubbing against the stitches, or something. I should
think about building my résumé for college. Besides, I’ve heard helping others
alleviates depression.
“Could you tell your mom I
don’t need a ride?” I heard a definite edge to her voice.
“Sure.”
Jordan slung his backpack over
his shoulder. “How’s it going?”
Parvani acted startled,
like she had just noticed him. But her voice softened. “Oh. Hello,
Jordan.” To me, she said, “Thank you. Goodbye.”
Unease spider-walked down
my spine. I took a step toward her, trying to close the chasm that had sprung
up between us. “Talk to you later.”
Parvani didn’t reply. She
just left, her long black hair swinging across her shoulders.
Jordan fell into step
behind me. “Did I miss something? Is she all
right?”
He sounded like the old
Jordan—the sensitive, pre-Smash Heads Jordan I had grown up with. Since I
couldn’t give him the obvious and correct answer, I spun through possible
alternatives.
Loud static from the
school’s public address system blasted my eardrums, followed by the school secretary’s
voice. “Evie O’Reilly. Please come to the office. Evie O’Reilly. Please come to
the office.”
I froze. My flushed cheeks
grew hotter. Every kid crossing the field had heard my name. Cold fear formed
bricks in my stomach. What if something had happened to Mom?
SPELL STRUCK
TEEN WHTYCE SAGA
Series: The Teen Wytche Saga
Publisher: Astraea Press
Pages/File Size: 221pages/421KB
Formats Available: E-Book,
BLURB from Goodreads
What if the one person who saw through your lies and loved you, harbored a secret that could cost you everything?
Goth outcast, Salem Miller, believes her love spell failed until Aidan Cooper arrives at Jefferson High. When he chooses her over the popular girls, Salem knows magic brought him. But can she summon enough wizardry to save her sister? Salem fears Amy’s next suicide attempt will succeed. Magic brought Aidan. Maybe it can cure Amy. Salem’s last hope lies hidden within a damaged grimoire, nearly destroyed by a wrongful love spell. Was her rightful love spell enough to restore it?
Newest Jefferson High transplant, Aidan Cooper, doesn't expect to be attracted to a goth. Then he realizes Salem is throwing a glamour—pretending to be something she’s not. Guess it takes one to know one, since his whole life has been a lie. But if his kidnappers discover he's broken their No Attachments rule, he'll never see Salem again. Worse, he’s terrified they’ll harm her when they discover she possesses the ancient grimoire. To protect Salem, Aidan must destroy the grimoire, and escape his captors.
While Salem races to unlock the Get Well Spell, Aidan scrambles to overcome his past. With their star-crossed paths at odds, will time run out for both of them?
EXCERPT
Aidan lowered his hand. His finger
pressed against my skin, shooting a delicious tingle up my arm. When I didn’t
move away, he hooked his finger over mine. My breath caught. We stayed, frozen,
hyper-focused, for what seemed like three lifetimes. Then Aidan trailed his
fingertips across the back of my hand. The soundtrack, popcorn smells, and
theater audience melted into the background. The world narrowed down to the
unspoken grief and need entangled in Aidan’s touch.
I rotated my hand so my palm faced
upward. Aidan hesitated. Our gazes locked in the flickering light. The spell
link humming between us lit up like blue lightning. At least I think it was the
spell link. Aidan plunged his fingers between mine. Our palms pressed together,
igniting a current. Air shuddered from my lungs. Magic rippled from us in
successive waves.
My heart stuttered. My breath ceased.
Every cell within me vibrated. Troops of fairies or dragonflies took flight in
my lower abdomen. It’s possible blue lightning shot from my boots.
Good thing I wasn’t holding the popcorn.
SPELL FIRE
TEEN WHTYCHE SAGA
Series: The Teen Wytche Saga
Publisher: Astraea Press
Pages/File Size: 252pages, 516KB
Formats Available: E-Book
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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 disap-pearance 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 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 Thor, a seventeen year-old dragon shaman. He spikes her pulse and calms her OCD. But will she lose him once he discovers her past? Or will Thor’s deadly secret, hidden in plain view, be their undo-ing?
PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
What is your name, where
were you born and where do you live now?
My name
is Ariella Moon and I was born in the middle of a snowstorm in Boston. Now I
live in Southern California. This summer the temperature reached 122 degrees
Fahrenheit!
Did you always want to be a
writer? If not what did you want to be?
At one
point I had wanted to become a college professor. I have a Master’s Degree in
Art History. I took a year off to try and become pregnant before starting a Ph.D.
program. Beautiful Brilliant Daughter was born, and my life changed course. But
I have always loved to write, and my writing skills helped me tremendously in
college.
When did you first consider
yourself as a "writer"?
I won a
national essay contest in sixth grade. That did it. I was hooked!
Did it take a long time to
get your first book published?
Forever!
The biggest surprise was when a senior editor at Scholastic took it to
Acquisitions where it was ultimately turned down. The man who vetoed it said it
couldn’t be included in the Scholastic school book faires because it contained
“witchcraft.” I, my agent at the time, and the senior editor were dumbfounded.
Didn’t that whole Harry Potter franchise work out pretty well for them? Now I
can laugh about it.
Do you work another job as
well as your writing work?
I am a
shaman and Reiki Master and have a shamanic healing practice. This year I also
worked as a psychic on a police case, which was interesting and horrifying.
What is the name of your
latest book, and if you had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would
you say?
Spell
Fire, Book 3: The Teen Wytche Saga. Teen tries to hide her mental illness but
her life spins out of control when her parents ditch her at Christmas.
Who is your publisher? or do
you self publish?
My publisher
is Astraea Press.
Which of your books were
easier/harder to write than the others?
I loved
writing Spell Struck. I think I channeled the whole thing. And I totally fell
in love with the hero, Aidan.
What can we expect from you
in the future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different
genre?
I have
at least two more books planned in the Teen Wytche Saga. I also have a great
medieval trilogy, which I am revising right now.
What genre would you place
your books into?
Young
Adult.
What made you decide to
write that genre of book?
My
daughter has been an advanced reader since a very young age and I found it
difficult to find big stories for her. So I began by writing the medieval
trilogy for her. By the time she reached middle school, the market for YA
contained very dark subject matter. I wanted to offer teens something more
hopeful and romantic. The Teen Wytche Saga deals with some heavy issues,
including mental illness, child disappearances, and the death of a parent, but
none of the books are too dark.
(My daughter has always been an advance reader too so thats how I ended up reading YA to see what was ans was not suitable. though my daughter is 17 now and certainly doesn't need me to censor her reading anymore I still love YA titles!~Jeanz)
Do you have a favourite out
of the books you have written? If so why is it your favourite?
Spell
Struck is my favorite book so far. To paraphrase one reviewer, it has plot
twists at every turn, grabs you emotionally, and doesn’t release you until the
very end. (LOVE that review!)
Do you gift books to readers
to do reviews?
Sometimes
my publisher gives books to readers for reviews. Spell Check was one of two featured books of the month for October
on the Astraea Press Book Club (Facebook). The entire month readers/reviewers
were able to obtain free pdf copies to read and review.
Do you read all the reviews
of your book/books?
I read
all the reviews I can find. I have been very lucky. So far, I’ve received
excellent reviews. Reviews are so important! I am grateful to everyone who has
taken the time to write and post a review.
Would you ever ask a
reviewer to change their review if it was not all positive about your
book/books?
Probably
not. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. All I ask is that they read my
books with an open mind.
How do you come up with the
Title and Cover Designs for your book/books?Who designed the Cover of your
books?
The
fabulous Amanda Matthews designed the current covers for the Teen Wytche Saga.
Author Jane George came up with the title, Spell
Check. From there, Spell Struck
came easily to me. Spell Fire was more
difficult because I was so attached to its original title, Ditched for the Holidays.
Have you ever suffered from
a "writer's block"? What did you do to get past the
"block"?
When my
house is extremely messy, you know I am on a writing roll. When the place is
spotless, you can be certain I am either suffering from writer’s block, or I
just couldn’t stand the dirty sinks and dust any longer. Besides cleaning, I
catch up on social media and promotion. That way, I feel I am still supporting
and advancing my writing career. Pinterest is my favorite online diversion. I
believe Pinterest and Fairy are on the same time/space continuum. Enter either,
and hours, days, or years past before you escape.
What do you do to unwind and
relax? Do you have a hobby?
I walk
my dogs two to four miles a day. Some nights are dedicated television viewing.
I get a lot more writing done in the summer when it is too hot to walk the dogs
and there is nothing on television. I love to read, but sometimes my eyes need
a break.
Have you ever based
characters on people you know or based events on things that have happened to
you?
There is
a part of me and/or my daughter in many of my characters. My books are
populated with characters that I formed by melding together people I know or have
known. In Spell Fire, the board
meeting scene at the mystery school was influenced in part by actual events.
Which format of book do you
prefer, ebook,hardback, or paperback?
Personally,
I love paperback. But I am so grateful for e-readers because they encourage
readers to buy more books and try new authors.
Do you have a treasured book
from your childhood? If yes, what is it?
I loved
C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia.
What do you think about book
trailers?
I love
book trailers! Unfortunately, the only one I have out right now features the
original cover for Spell Check. I am actively looking for someone to do
trailers for me.
Do you or would you ever use
a pen name?
Ariella
Moon is my pen name. Ariella is also the name given to me when I became a Reiki
Master. I grew up on Moon Drive, and, of course, the moon plays a vital role in
magic.
Where can readers follow
you?
There
are lots of ways to follow and connect with me!
And any other information
you wish to supply?
I would
like to extend my heartfelt thanks to you and other bloggers who encourage
reading, and promote new authors. Thank you! ~ Ariella
Moon
Thank you for taking the time out from your schedule to take part in this Interview for me, my blog! and it's readers! ~ Jeanz
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