Guest Post: Jennifer Hotes

Weaving the supernatural into a contemporary story.

At its core, Four Rubbings is a story of friendship, unceasing love and the innocent mistakes that scar us forever. When the reader meets Josie Jameson, it has been six years since the death of her mother. She leads her three best friends to the same historic Seattle cemetery where her mother is buried to make tombstone rubbings on Halloween night. Under the guise of fun, Josie hopes their field trip will connect them with the spirits. She asks her friends to seek a grave using their hearts, then try to connect with the deceased before taping paper on the grave’s face and rubbing it with black chalk. The friends journey four ways into the cemetery grounds. Josie, intending to rub her mother’s grave, is distracted by a stray cat and follows him into a part of the cemetery that people call the “Ghost Forest.” Instead of rubbing her mother’s grave, she feels called to a grave like no other. No name or date is carved into the strange blue stone. Instead, it is decorated with unusual symbols. And with that simple action, rubbing that grave with chalk, Josie unleashes an ancient magic.

In the months to come, while her friends uncover mysteries associated with their graves, Josie is terrorized by nightmares and dark visions and feels sick with guilt that she didn’t try harder to connect with her mother on Halloween.

When I first drafted Four Rubbings, I dragged my daughters to countless cemeteries to find the actual graves, tombstones and names that appear in the book. Three of the graves came quickly, but the fourth one never felt quite right. It felt forced, and too cozy and too tidy. I was forcing myself on the story, so I pulled back and left the book alone for a time. Then, I had a nightmare like none other. I woke up coated in sweat and with a picture of a black-haired woman racing through my brain. In the dream, I crouched behind a bush and watched her bury something secret below a massive cedar tree. I could only grab fuzzy details because the moonlight was bright, but not bright enough to see clearly what it was she buried.

When I woke, I knew I’d been introduced to the fourth grave in Four Rubbings. It was the grave that should have never been touched, the mistake. Josie will pay for that mistake for years to come and readers will have to follow the trilogy to its end to see whether dark magic or light will win out and if Josie can survive the battle.

 ——————————————————–

About the author:

Encouraged by her mother-in-law, Elizabeth A. Hotes, who told her to create something Jennifer Hotesand share it with others, Jennifer writes and illustrates to keep her memory alive.

To date, Jennifer’s favorite medium is pen and ink, but she also loves to paint a wall or canvas.

Her works have been featured at benefit art auctions, adorned the walls of public spaces, graced  homes and enhanced books with vibrant covers and internal illustrations.

Four Rubbings is Jennifer’s first novel, though she’s busy writing the second book in the Stone Witch Series presently. Four Rubbings is great for readers that enjoyed the Harry Potter series, and has been a fun book club pick across the country. The author loves Skyping into book clubs, so email her and ask – she may just surprise you with a cyber-visit!

Social Media links:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Blog

———————————————————–

Four Rubbings

 

Title: Four Rubbings, The Stone Witch Society Book 1

Author: Jennifer L. Hotes

Genre: young adult gothic thriller

Publisher: Booktrope Publishing

 

 

 

Halloween.

The night the barrier between the dead and the living is as thin as muslin. Fourteen-year old Josie, haunted by the death of her mother, leads her best friends to an ancient cemetery to rub graves. Convinced she will come away with proof of her mother’s spirit at last, the evening takes an unexpected turn as the teens gravitate four ways into the haunted grounds.

Set against the backdrop of the rainy Pacific Northwest, four graves will be rubbed, touching off a series of events that will rattle their once mundane lives. From the lonely World War II hero to an accused witch, the people buried beneath the stones have stories that need an ending.

The journey to unravel the mysteries leaves the friends wondering if the graves would’ve been better off left alone.

———————————————-

Book links:

Goodreads

Amazon

————————————————-

Giveaway

giveaway swag pack - Four Rubbings

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***All images and wording were provided by the publisher. Moonlightreader is not responsible for this giveaway.***

Twisted Reflections Release Day Blitz

Twisted Reflections Cover

Alexis Davenport is learning to come to grips with her ability to travel through time, but she still hasn’t been able to stop the evil Drifter and his Master from trying to alter the past.

When she travels back to ancient Egypt, Alex gets a most unexpected surprise; she meets someone who can help her figure out how to use her powers, another Traveler like herself.

But can Alex learn how to control her gift before Drifter finds a way to stop her from meddling in his Master’s plans?

Twisted Reflections is the highly anticipated Book Two, in The Adventures of Alexis Davenport Series.

————————————————————–

Author Bio:

Shay West was born in Longmont, CO and earned a doctorate degree in Human Medical Genetics from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical. Dr. West currently lives in Shay West PictureGrand Junction, CO with her two cats. When not writing novels, she plays with plushie microbes and teaches biology classes at Colorado Mesa University. She is the author of the Portals of Destiny series and the Adventures of Alexis Davenport series. She has also been published in several anthologies: Battlespace (military sci-fi), Orange Karen: Tribute to a Warrior (fundraiser), and Ancient New (steampunk/fantasy).

You can find Dr. West and more of her work at Shay-West.com.

Facebook

Twitter

Google Plus

Goodreads

————————————————————-

Add Twisted Reflections to your Goodreads Shelf

——————————————————————

*Purchase Links*

 Amazon

Barnes & Noble

New Release: Dangerous Reflections

Dangerous Reflections

 

Alexis Davenport wants to go home. She hates her new school, her mother for moving her away from her friends, and her father for walking out.

To make matters worse, Alex is haunted by images of strange girls reflected in her mirror. It’s bad enough juggling homework, a relentless bully, boys, and a deadbeat dad; now, she must save the world from an evil presence hell-bent on changing the past – and our futures. Who knew her A+ in history was going to be this important?

———————————————————————-

Author Bio:

Shay West was born in Longmont, CO and earned a doctorate degree in Human Medical Shay West PictureGenetics from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical. Dr. West currently lives in Grand Junction, CO with her two cats. When not writing novels, she plays with plushie microbes and teaches biology classes at Colorado Mesa University. She is the author of the Portals of Destiny series and the Adventures of Alexis Davenport series. She has also been published in several anthologies: Battlespace (military scifi), Orange Karen: Tribute to a Warrior (fundraiser), and Ancient New (steampunk/fantasy).

You can find Dr. West and more of her work at Shay-West.com.

 

Social Media Links:

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Google +

Goodreads Author Page

Goodreads Book Page

Purchase Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

 

 

 

Tales of Aradia: The Last Witch Review

 

Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Tales of Aradia:  The Last Witch

Author:  L.A. Jones

Published:  2012 by CreateSpace

Genre:  Young Adult, Teen Fantasy, Paranormal

Buy: Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

Unknown to the humans who hanged innocent people at the Salem Witch Trials, real witches of the hidden race were slaughtered on the belief that they had betrayed the hiddens to the humans. Not one witch survived the genocide, or so it was believed for more than three hundred years. One day a girl named Aradia moves to Salem, Massachusetts, and all that changes.  

(Blurb from Goodreads)

——————————————————————————————

Ross and Liza are coming home from a doctor’s appointment in which they just got bad news; the chances of them ever having children are slim to none.  Driving home they almost get in an accident and swerve off the road.  With the car now broken, Ross decides to look for help and hears a baby crying.  Long story short, that baby becomes their daughter, the child that they wanted but couldn’t have, Aradia.

This was a good book.  I liked how Aradia knew she was special, but didn’t know why.  She has no clue that she’s a witch, and it takes them moving to a town of other ‘hidden’ beings to figure out what she is.  The story had a nice flow and kept me interested and wanting to go back for more.

However, Aradia did get on my nerves.  Her sense of humor was pretty dry, and I kind of felt embarrassed for her on occasion when she tried to be funny.  She felt a little immature as well, but it is a young adult book and she is a young adult.  So it was just her personality, and that’s fine, she just got on my nerves a bit.

It wasn’t just Aradia who got under my skin; it was her friend Roy too.  I just wish he had more self-confidence; the lack of it was unappealing.  But again, they are young characters.  I’m hoping that he’ll gain some confidence through the series.

Another little thing that stuck out to me was the mentioning of CVS.  This was when Aradia had just moved to Salem, Massachusetts and she was talking to a student at her school.  She was telling him to pick up some medicine.

“Pick some up on the way home.  It’s easy to find.  They’ll have it at CVS.”

“What’s CVS?”

“Oh, right.  Um, Walgreens?  Any drug store (—)”  (location 31 on Kindle)

Again, this does not affect my rating; I’m just throwing it out there.  I’m from the area, and I promise, we know what CVS is (and Walgreens too).  Lol.

Besides Miss Aradia not being my favorite person, she did grow on me, and I did enjoy the story.  All in all, a good young adult book and I recommend it.

 

My Rating:  3 1/2 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****     

You Are Mine Review

 

Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  You Are Mine

Author:  Janeal Falor

Published:  2013 by Chardonian Press

Genre:  Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult

Purchase You Are Mine from Amazon

 

 

Wow.  I love it when I’m pleasantly surprised by a book!

You would not want to live in this society, especially as a woman.  Women are property.  They are left in the dark (legitimately), aren’t allowed to sit down in certain situations like waiting for an appointment, are physically punished for the most mundane things, and they are just treated so awful it will make you sick.  But stick around, because even though all that occurs it is really a good book!

It’s Serena’s 17th birthday and she is getting her blood examined.  This will tell her father and other warlocks (potential husbands) how much magic she has (which is useful to know for any baby warlocks she might have) and therefore how valuable it will be to marry her.  It’s not long before Serena has an intended husband lined up.  She is at a tournament where warlocks from all over duel with one another.  Serena’s future husband loses the dual, and therefore she is now property of one of the barbaric Envadi clan!  Chancellor Zade (Envadi) proves to be much different than Serena is used to, but that doesn’t keep her off her toes.  After all, he might just be testing her to punish her later.  Is Zade as nice as he appears, or does he have an ulterior motive?

You know one reason I loved this book was because it wasn’t like Zade jumped in and saved Serena.  Yes, he did make her life easier a bunch of times, but it wasn’t like halfway through the book he proclaimed his undying love for her.  He didn’t.  I actually wasn’t sure whether he had feelings for her or not until the very end.  I love that!

Serena was such a strong character.  She would often take punishments from her father to protect her 13 other sisters.  The poor women in this book.  As if they weren’t scared and tortured enough; if they make their owner angry enough, they can become tarnished; tattooed, barren, and worthless.  In fact, Serena meets and makes friends with a tarnished woman, and she learns that things aren’t always as they appear.

Maybe reading this review makes the book seem a little dark, but I didn’t feel depressed after reading it; I felt intrigued.  Perhaps it was Serena’s strong attitude; for a bunch of times I didn’t know if I could live through what she went though.  And Serena’s sister keeps her company a lot and helps keep the book uplifting because Serena has someone to confide in.  And the fact that it’s not an immediate romance, but there is substantial character development is another huge plus for me.  And lastly, the ending.  The ending was not what I expected at all, and that’s one of the reasons I liked it.  If you couldn’t tell by now, I really enjoyed this book, and I’m looking forward to reading more from Janeal Falor.

 

My Rating:  4 1 /2 out of 5 stars

~Pam

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****