Let me begin with a big thanks
to Elaine for allowing me to guest host today. I am honored to be here! My
second YA novel, Spell Struck, Book 2: The Teen Wytche Saga, released
July 18th. The first book in the series, Spell
Check, debuted in 2012.
Every writer needs a muse. I had a muse — an excellent muse.
She resembled my daughter. Okay, she was
my daughter, which proved quite useful since I write Young Adult fiction.
We entered an unspoken deal. My daughter would pretend to listen
while I worked out plot details on street corners — as long as the corner was
within a block of the mall and the outing involved shopping. She would pretend
I wasn’t eavesdropping during the daily school carpool drives as long as I
disguised my characters enough that her friends and nemeses wouldn’t recognize
themselves.
I used a map of her middle school to create Jefferson High,
the high school setting for the first two books of my Teen Wytche Saga. Book
three, which I’m currently writing, switches to a fictional setting inspired by
her high school. The whole muse deal seemed to be working out splendidly.
One slight blip: my daughter grew up and went off to
college. Muses aren’t supposed to age out! Isn’t Muse a life-long position?
Luckily, I get to do author school events. While I tell the
students about my journey as a writer and give them writing tips, one part of
my brain memorizes what the kids are wearing and how they interact with each
other. Maybe I should prop up a sign next to my cover art poster. Wanted: A teen
muse. No experience needed. Must be at least two years from high school
graduation.
Meanwhile, I think I’ll volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club
of America.
Spell
Struck, Book 2: The Teen Wytche Saga
What if the one person who saw
through your lies and loved you, harbored a secret that could cost you
everything?
Back Cover Blurb
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.
About Ariella
Ariella
Moon writes about magic, friendship, and love in Spell Check and Spell Struck,
Books One & Two in The Teen
Wytche Saga from Astraea Press. After a childhood spent searching
for a magical wardrobe that would transport her to Narnia, Ariella grew up to
become an author and shaman. Extreme math anxiety, and taller
students who mistook her for a leaning post, marred Ariella’s teen years.
Despite these horrors, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of
California at Davis. She now lives a nearly normal life with her extraordinary
daughter, shamelessly spoiled dog, and an enormous dragon.
Buy Links
Astraea Press
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Where to Find
Ariella Moon
Website:
http://www.ariellamoon.com/
Thank you, Elaine, for allowing me to guest host today. And thanks for describing Spell Struck as "YA At Its Finest." You made my day!
ReplyDelete~Ariella
My daughters, aged 25 and 29, provide me with ideas for my younger heroines. They also read my stories and help me see things from their points of view. And now I've got step-grandchildren in their twenties, so I'll be picking their brains, too! Do you have any nieces you could enlist?
ReplyDeleteThank you for coming!
ReplyDelete