THE AWAKENER
Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Clean Teen Publishing
A simple touch will change their lives forever.
Seeing Micah for the first time in years, fifteen year old Eden wants nothing more than to run and hide, but instead in a moment of sheer embarrassment, she throws her arms around his neck; unaware she just changed her childhood friend forever.
With eyes’ opened to the realm of angels and demons, Micah discovers he has become the Seer, called to save the world from an impending fire. Shy and awkward, Eden stumbles through high school clueless her guardian angel shadows her every move, keeping her safe while she unknowingly “awakens” others to their spiritual gifts. Micah will need those Eden touched to complete his mission which began long ago in the ancient City of Enoch and its secret underground temple.
With angels and demons fighting around them, both Eden and Micah must find their own personal courage and faith in order to know what to do for the battle that awaits them, one they must triumph or risk losing everyone they love.
Excerpt From: The Awakener
She bit the inside of her cheek, the instinct to duck behind the two girls intense. Spine tingling with adrenaline, she pushed her glasses up. Down the corridor, sandwiched between two girls and a guy, was her childhood best friend, Micah. Though no longer a lanky boy, she still recognized his light blue eyes. The mop of black hair he had as a kid was now short, little longer than a buzz. Eden was drawn to his smile, even if it was meant for the blonde girl at his side. A good foot shorter than him, the girl craned her neck up as she wrapped an arm around his waist.
Got to be his girlfriend, she decided. A stocky jock-type boy with chestnut brown hair and a tan girl with jet-black hair stood next to them. The jock slugged Micah’s shoulder as his bellowing laugh made its way down the hall to Eden.
Then the scene was gone as jeans and myriad of different colored t-shirts blocked her view. She sucked in a deep breath, her lungs burning from holding it too long. Sweat was beading at the top of her forehead as she prayed she could pass Micah’s entourage unnoticed. If I can’t see him he can’t see me either right? She hoped.
The stair case loomed nearer. I’m going to make it, she thought wishing the kids in front of her would move faster.
“No way dude. Coach always gives you the ball Micah,” a male voice boomed.
Eden glanced over. Micah’s group was directly left of her now.
He hasn’t noticed me, just keep moving, she told herself.
Face ducked down, she lifted her leg up only to have her foot land sideways and to the left. Her weight uneven, she feared toppling over, but a pressure on her left side held her up. Confused, she again attempted to move away, only this time, her body made a ninety degree turn, bringing her a foot away from the blonde girl.
Horrified, Eden’s legs stepped one in front of the other, heading straight towards Micah. Within seconds she stood dead center, stopping his small group of friends short. Sky blue eyes swam in front of her vision before she was lunging forward, throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him.
Funny the things you notice in a moment of sheer humiliation, she thought, as time dropped into neutral, prolonging her torture.
There was a hiss-like sound from the short blonde. Yep, definitely his girlfriend.
A male was chuckling. Not Micah. Must be the jock.
Arms wrapped around her hugging her back. Oh my gosh!
She shifted her weight back, trying to detangle herself from Micah’s arms. Pulling her face away from his neck, the memory of his scent automatically tucked away in her mind, she met Micah’s raised brow line, wide eyes, and even wider grin.
“Eden? Is that you?” he asked, as they separated further.
Aware his hands still held her forearms she was forced to remain and maintain eye contact. She nodded, terrified to speak.
“Wow! How the heck are you? It’s been forever!” Though his face appeared delighted, she couldn’t help but notice how un-delighted his girlfriend was, as her amber eyes glared up at her.
- What was your inspiration behind
The Awakener?
My inspiration began with a dream
actually. I wanted to write a novel but
had no idea where to begin. Then one
morning I awoke from a vivid dream where I saw two teenagers (Micah and Eden)
holding hands and seeing some kind of spiritual being for the first time. I knew then I wanted to write about gifted
teens and their guardian angels. I
remember being all excited and telling my good friend (and author) Gail Wagner
I’d come up with my idea. She said
that’s great as long as it’s not vampires, werewolves, or angels. Little did I know the YA market was already
saturated with angel-themed books. I
didn’t say anything then, but since she was one of my first beta readers she
found out soon enough ;)
Once I realized what I was up against, I
wanted my ‘angel’ book to be different.
So instead of having my protagonist fall madly in love with an angel or
an angel fall from grace for her, I wrote about a teenage girl named Eden, who
thinks there is nothing special about her.
But she is wrong, she isn’t average, she has a unique gift that is so
powerful that she also has an unseen guardian angel following her every move,
fending off demons, and guiding her actions.
At first I just went with the story, enjoying where it took me, then I
quickly realized my angel lore needed substance.
Honestly, I still don’t remember at what
point I stumbled upon the idea of using The Book of Enoch for research. As soon as I did, I was flabbergasted to
discover so much of what I’d already written was backed by this religious
book. I remember calling to my husband
saying, “Oh my gosh!! It has Eden’s guardian angel in here and it fits
everything I described him as!” That’s
when I began to feel like the story was bigger than me and almost asking to be
told!
The name of the series is called The
Watchers of Men, because it delves into the real story behind the fallen
angels. The angels that left Heaven long
before the Flood of Noah and who have been left buried in the earth for
thousands of year, angels known as The Watchers. The Awakener is the beginning of the journey
for Micah and Eden in the ancient war between angels and demons, and in some
cases teenage kids and wicked, fallen angels.
More About Amanda Strong:
Born in Dekalb, Illinois, Amanda Strong has called Utah, Arizona, Hawaii, Virginia and now New Mexico home. Amanda has been spinning tales since she was a child. Her family still remembers finding young Amanda with her bright pink glasses, hiding in random corners of the house while scribbling away in one of her many spiral-bound notebooks. You could say that some things never change since Amanda is still writing today. Amanda began her writing career when she uploaded The Awakener, her first full-length novel, on Wattpad where it received over 430,000 reads in four weeks. She was blown away and humbled by the reader support and feedback she received. Because of The Awakener's success as a non-published book, she was asked to talk on 1400 KSTAR about her story.
In September 2013 Amanda Strong signed with Clean Teen Publishing for publication of The Awakener, which is scheduled to release in late October of this year. The Awakener is the first book in an all-new young adult paranormal romance series called: The Watchers of Men.
When Amanda isn't writing, you can find her chasing her three rambunctious children around the house and spending time with her wonderful and supportive husband. On some occasions you can still find Amanda with her not-so-pink glasses, hiding in a corner reading her favorite young adult fantasy novels or working out only to blow her diet by eating ice cream.
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