Hysteriata by D.A. Botta
(Elyzian Chronicles #1)
Publication date: March 21st 2014
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult
(Elyzian Chronicles #1)
Publication date: March 21st 2014
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult
Synopsis:
Emily Hobbs is off to Salem State College when a chance encounter with a fortuneteller changes everything. Emily is transported to the realm of Elyzia and learns that she is, in fact, one of the most powerful witches in existence.Madame Lavache, the strict headmistress of Cedalion Covenstead, has her sights set on Emily. In her desperate cling to power, Lavache attempts to protect her tyranny by invoking sinister forces, including bloodthirsty pirates and The Devil himself, to rid Elyzia of the rebellious witch.Along with her companions – an old hermit, a small coven of witches, and their totems – Emily sets out on a collision course with destiny.Just as the tarot foretold.A powerful witchA simple tarot readAnd all hell breaks loose
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Excerpt:
HALLOWMASS
The inner courtyard was decked in lovely ribbons: shimmering gold and black sewn through the arms of the scarce maples and elms. On the center tabernacle sat a large iron cauldron. The flames beneath crackled and spit in yellow and orange. The smoke ascended lazily toward the sky. The calm brooks carefully cradled red tea-lights that floated on lily pads. Their flickers reflected into the gray water, adoringly casting disparate pulses of light and shadow on the mingling persons in attendance.
Lady Nadia dispensed wine into glasses, setting them out full to their brims on a large crescent table of dark mahogany. Lady Kiyomi chatted with Lady Madeline by the cauldron. Lady Lillian greeted and ushered the incoming guests. Madame Lavache and Phaeton stood by the rear entrance, observing the celebration’s start.
The girls in their gowns, the boys in their suits – all of them masked strangers – danced and drank, laughing and watching through peepholes. The night spun in frenzied happy frivolity. The music of the lyre echoed throughout the courtyard over more drinking and dancing in decadent disguise. Yet, more drinking, more dancing, more laughing – all blending together in the merry masquerade.
A young man approached Emily. He wore an ice-blue suit with long coattails. A metallic blue tie clung to his neck and draped down his breastbone over a crisp white shirt. His mask was white with metallic blue etchings on its forehead.
“Care to dance?” he asked, extending his hand toward her.
“Ethan?” Emily replied.
He raised his mask from his handsome face and smiled.
“Pretty useless, huh?” he said, batting his mask with his fingertips.
“I guess so,” Emily responded while removing her mask and setting it gently into the grass. “I’d rather not … dance, I mean.”
“Come on,” he begged playfully. “Just one dance.”
Emily looked to Brenna and then back to Ethan. She defied her tom-boyishness, and allowed Ethan to help her up from her comfortable seat beside Brenna.
“I’ll be right back,” Emily called over her shoulder.
“Have fun!” called Brenna.
The music was soft. Ethan wrapped his arms around Emily’s waist and she rested her forearms on his broad shoulders. They rocked gently together surrounded by the music of the melodious lyre.
Ethan stared into her eyes.
Emily’s eyes shied away.
“You’re beautiful,” Ethan admired.
“It’s the dress, Ethan,” she quipped.
“I don’t think so.”
Emily looked at him and smiled.
“That’s kind of you to say.”
“Sure thing.”
“You remind me so much of my brothers.”
Ethan frowned at his apparent inadequacy.
“It’s a compliment. I love them a lot.”
“I understand. Thanks, I mean. I … appreciate that. I do.”
“Did you just convince yourself of that?” Emily teased.
“I did, in fact!” he played back.
Emily laughed at his wine-induced honesty.
“How many brothers do you have?”
“Three.”
“And which of them do I remind you of most?”
“Toby … my oldest brother. But really, you’re kind of a mix of all three.”
Ethan got quiet.
“You okay?” Emily asked.
“I’m fine. Just thinking …”
“Thinking what?”
“Well … I wonder what the convenstead’s stance on incest is.”
Emily scrunched her nose at him.
She slapped his chest gently.
“That’s awful.”
“I know,” Ethan laughed.
The music stopped, and the two parted.
Lady Madeline made her way over to Emily and sat in the grass beside her. She reached for Emily’s hand and held it tenderly.
“I have something for you,” Madeline confessed.
“What is it?” Emily asked, scrunching her nose.
She placed it in her hand and folded her fingers around it. Emily felt the thin wooden cylinder against her palm. She opened her hand and noticed the branch of sallow, the one she had cut from the tree in The Woodlawns, resting there. It had been shaped and smoothed and lacquered with a dark fragrant oil. Two straight and parallel lines were etched into its base.
“My wand!” Emily squealed.
“I hope you don’t mind that I finished it for you while you were … away.”
Emily kissed her cheek.
“I love it. It’s perfect.”
“As are you, Miss Emily.”
“Thank you so much, Lady Madeline.”
“You are quite welcome, my dear.”
Later that evening, each coven encircled bubbling cauldrons and dreamily relaxed together. Emily peered through the furling gray smoke as it rose off the gurgling water in the cauldron, her brain swirling with too many glasses of white wine. The face was faint but familiar. The red wavy hair, the radiant blue eyes, the beautiful alabaster skin flecked with freckles. Her eyes widened with amazement, and she unconsciously reached toward the smoke.
“Let us bid Merry Meet to our beloved departed,” Phaeton concluded his speech.
“Blessed be,” chorused The Ladies.
A puff of silvery smoke disrupted the vision, slowly morphing the spectral image. Paige’s hair turned brown. The freckles disappeared into more a more pristine and golden complexion. Her eyes transformed from a blue sky to a midsummer field. Her lips grew just a little more generous. Brenna looked back adoringly through the wafts of smoke from the opposite side of the bubbling cauldron. She sent Emily her soft and exquisite smile.
How bittersweet is this magic, Emily thought.
AUTHOR BIO:
D A Botta has written four New Adult Fantasy novels, The Elyzian Chronicles, and has also published a collection of poems There in Them Blues. D A is currently working on a New Adult Mystery series, Seriously Confidant, projected for debut in the fall of 2015. D A is a Fantasy Representative for NA Alley and frequents #NALitChat on Twitter. When not writing, D A plays guitar and dabbles in graphic design. D A lives with his family in Massachusetts.
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Blitz-wide giveaway (INTL)
- Signed copies of all books in the Elyzian Chronicles series
Hi! Thanks so much for having me!
ReplyDeleteI hope your readers enjoy it! :)
You are welcome and I'm sure they will :)
DeleteI love witches. An intriguing cover.
ReplyDeleteMe too and I totally agree!!
DeleteThanks! The creature is called a "Frenzious Scynder" - a cross between a spider and scorpion. The symbol is the pagan symbol of the triple-goddess. :)
ReplyDeletehanks for sharing that. I've never seen one before :)
Delete