Photo courtesy "Bixo" from Stock Xchg
Every Monday I'll treat you to a Mystery Date with a character from one of my romantic or erotic fiction novels!
This Week's Mystery Date:
Who: Budding candle shop entrepreneur and soon-to-become Wiccan Justine St. Clair
What Book She's In: THE WICCANING, a paranormal romance in progress
Where She Lives: fictional town of Greenview in Northern California
Why She's So Fascinating: Justine is struggling to put her life in order after the string of miscarriages that not only ended her dream of being a mother, but her marriage as well. The last thing she needs is a romantic entanglement, yet a chance encounter opens her body and soul to the meaning of true passion. Rion seems like everything she ever dreamed...until she discovers he is allied with witchcraft.
Her night of misguided passion leads to the shocking news of another ill-advised pregnancy. When a series of mysterious messages leads her to the conclusion a curse may be responsible for her prior losses, her best hope of saving her unborn child is to become the last thing a "good" girl ever dared.
A Memorable Moment with Justine St. Clair:
Two weeks had come and gone since the day she'd been rushed to the hospital. Two weeks of occasional cramping but as of yet, no more bleeding. Something horribly wonderful had happened to her that day, or wonderfully horrible. Either way, whatever was going on wasn't natural. And it had saved her from her usual fate―temporarily, at least.
She sat cross-legged atop her down duvet and pulled the towel from her head, a third thought swirling just overhead.Rion.
That day as she'd crumpled on the sidewalk, doubled over with the pain she knew meant another pregnancy was over, she'd been surrounded by the most incredible feeling. A woodsy, pure smell wafted to her, followed by a tingling warmth that outshone even the bright, hot summer day. A shimmer surrounded her, like a mirage of welcome water in the midst of a molten desert. The sensation infused her with a sense of well being, permeating down to a molecular level. All the way through to her child. The same feeling she'd had the night she and Rion had created that child.
Though she knew it was just her imagination, she could almost sense Rion's presence with her. In any case, by the time she'd reached the hospital the stabbing pains had subsided, and when they'd put the doppler over her abdomen she'd had the biggest shock of her life and broke down in sobs.
The baby still lived.
Are you cursed? Suffering the heartache?
Ironic, finding that message right as she'd been wracked with an all-too-familiar pain. Though the pain had faded, the message stuck. A curse.
Something about that word resonated in her spirit. Her miscarried babies had not shown any obvious malformation, and both she and David passed the usual battery of medical tests. Her mother would call her ridiculous for thinking such things, but the idea of a curse made a kind of wild sense.
Regardless, Justine had pushed aside the weird message to juggle the needs of her pregnancy and business. The doctor had ordered strict bed rest for ten days, and she'd reluctantly closed Candlescapes for two. Miresa was a life saver, taking paid leave to run the store. Her mother might have helped, but Justine wasn't ready to explain why she was suddenly bedridden. Still, when Miresa's paid days were up Justine had to retake the reins earlier than the doc's mandate. She'd sat in the shop in a rocker with her feet propped up, giving customers a vague story about a bad ankle.
All thoughts of that message had been forgotten until she'd stopped for groceries on the way home her first day back, when a flyer sticking to the windshield caught her eye as she drove away.
Only You Can Save Your Child.
--from THE WICCANING
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How You Can Get Her Story: Stay tuned!
2 comments:
Whoa..I'm staying tuned. That was an amazing hook and got my interest. Awesome, Lisa!!
Thanks so much! I'm stoked that you enjoyed it and thought the excerpt "hooky." LOL
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