Delightfully Witchy
A Delightfully Witchy Novel
Book One
Acacia K. Parker
Genre: Paranormal Romance /
Action and Adventure
Publisher: Parker Publishing
Date of Publication: 9/14/2017
ISBN: 978-0-9989444-4-9
ASIN: B071SLRNVS
Number of pages: 417
Word Count: 135,000
Cover Artist: Acacia K. Parker
Tagline: Not everyone is good at being a witch.
Book Description:
Looking for true love? Having dreams you need to recall more clearly? How about that pesky curse that just won’t go away? Let Delightfully Witchy Herbal Shop conjure up the perfect charm for you!
Meet Emerson Harper—herbalist, shop owner, witch—exceptional at the first two, not so much on the last. She finds there are perks to living a quiet life, especially when those perks involve Lincoln Summers walking into her shop asking for a rare Stone. Powerful, wealthy, and famous, she finds it hard to resist selling him what he seeks when those dazzling blue eyes of his linger a little too long.
What Lincoln failed to mention, however, is someone evil is looking for the Stone; a witch who now has Emmie in his sights. Luckily, Emmie made more of an impression on the sexy stranger than she realized, and when he comes to her rescue she finds herself suddenly pulled into Lincoln’s world of dark magic and buried secrets.
In the fight to reclaim their lives—and save the world from a deranged witch hell-bent on destruction—Emmie is thrust into a journey of mystery, peril, and self-discovery, only to learn that sometimes . . .
All magic needs is a little push.
Amazon
What Is It About Delightfully Witchy That Makes
It So Special?
I have to admit, Delightfully Witchy was a huge risk for me - not
only does it entail characters I didn't know for long, I was moving into a
genre I hadn't expected to get into ... ever.
Here's the backstory: I'd just finished writing my debut novel
RECESS (which will be re-released for a second edition at the end of this
month), I realized I was burnt out. I'd been writing it for years - over and
over and over again - and while I loved the story and the characters, I needed
a break. A break for a writer, though, can mean death (in a very
nonliteral sense of the term). I recognized that a break for me actually
meant a break not from writing, but from the series - I needed a breather, but
I didn't want to stop writing.
Much like most other things in our lives, writing is like a muscle
- you have to keep doing it to get better and stronger.
So, after I finished RECESS (for the first time), I sat down and
thought about what I could do to keep that muscle working. I knew a few things;
I didn't want to do another dark series - I wanted something light, fun, and
sexy as hell. I wanted to stay in the paranormal realm, and I wanted to create
a world much like our own with an added kick - witches.
Boom. Out came Emerson Harper - a witch who isn't good at being a
witch.
Emerson is very unlike most of the characters I've thought up in
my head - she's not always put together, she's a bit awkward, she's not
powerful or strong, and she's unsure of herself. But, somehow, I knew I needed
to tell her story just the way she was ... flawed, imperfect, yet beautiful in
her own right.
And I think that's why Delightfully Witchy is so special to me.
It's my first novel in the paranormal romance genre, and as I wrote her story I
quickly realized how much I loved this world I'd
created. I couldn't believe I hadn't dabbled in it before, and I wondered why
I'd waited so long to try my hand in a genre I read quite often. Plus, I love
Emerson - she was so much fun to write as - and it was exciting to write as a
character who is so different than my main protagonist in RECESS. In truth, I
think Emerson may be one of my favorites (but don't tell any of the others
that).
While I openly admit I'm not perfect (and the story isn't either),
I ended up falling madly in love with Delightfully Witchy for more reasons than
I can explain here. I wanted action and adventure mixed with some seriously
sexy scenes and a plot that will keep you guessing until the end. I'm not sure
if I managed it (I hope I did), but either way ... the story ended up fixing
itself a special place in my hear that I don't think is going to go away
anytime soon.
Excerpt:
I awoke
screaming and scared, feeling like I was locked in that trunk again, bound and
unsure of the outcome. I was dazed. I knew I was awake, but it was still hard
to tell what was real. I felt the mattress underneath me, and the clothes that
smelled of spices and were faintly musky and sweaty. There was a light beside
the bed I could turn on to show that I was perfectly safe. None of that
mattered, though, because I was frantic, tears falling down my face, trying to
get out of the confined space that had me caged in.
Someone was
talking to me, calmly and evenly. Whoever it was grabbed my arms and lifted
them, moving me so my back was to a chest, clearly not my sister’s. I yanked my
arms to get free, but whoever had me was too strong, the voice continuing to
speak, telling me I was all right, that I was safe, and there wasn’t anything
to be worried about.
“Emmie, it’s
just a dream, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Lincoln. It was
Lincoln’s voice that finally trickled through, and I realized where I was. He
had his arms wrapped around me, holding me still so I wouldn’t hurt myself—or
him, for that matter. My head was somewhere near the crook of his neck as I
craned it back, looking up at the black ceiling, its endless depths forbidding
and ominous. Tears fell, my breathing was labored, and my heart raced. He never
moved, even as my legs kicked the blankets away, hating myself for allowing
this to happen.
When I finally
got myself to calm down, Lincoln turned me and without a word pulled me into a
hug. I wrapped my arms around his waist, listening to his heartbeat as it
hammered violently in his chest. With his head resting on mine, I barely felt
the stubble scratching at my forehead, abrasive but welcome.
“You scared me.”
His voice was throaty, like he’d just woken up himself. “Are you okay?”
“I think so,” I
managed to say, pulling back, noticing the light on the nightstand was on, dim
in the darkness. “I’m so, so sorry. That was—”
“Expected . . .
considering.” He shrugged, his hand on my shoulder as I wiped the tears off my
face.
“I guess it’s a
good thing I don’t sleep naked,” I giggled, trying to lighten the mood.
“I think that
depends on who you’re asking.” He smirked.
And I blushed,
of course. I was feeling all warm and cozy with his hand still on my shoulder
and then I noticed he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Good Lord. Trust me, it was
everything I ever thought it would be. No, it was definitely better. He was
perfect; chiseled chest, washboard abs, thick arms, and a dark line of hair
leading from his belly button until it disappeared underneath his pajama pants.
I’m pretty sure if I kept looking I was going to start drooling, literally, and
that would be . . . just no.
“What are you
thinking about?”
“Nothing! It’s
nothing.”
“It doesn’t look
like nothing,” he said, raising his brows.
“It’s not
important,” I answered nervously, biting my lower lip.
“Are you sure?”
“Yep.” I nodded.
“I’m sure.”
“Ok.” He
squeezed my shoulder lightly.
Acacia has been what some may call a "gypsy" for most of her life. With her father serving in the Air Force for twenty years, she's enjoyed many different homes in many different states, with a decent portion of her life lived overseas in Germany. Always one to be creative, she has been drawing since she could write, and writing has become a passion of hers since her teenage years where she discovered she loved telling stories and creating eccentric characters.
Currently residing in Phoenix, AZ with her husband Shawn and their two golden retrievers, Boomer and Sookie, the duo find any excuse to enjoy the weather (when it's permitted), and you can often find the them scuba diving (their favorite place is the Florida Keys), hiking, visiting one of the many beautiful lakes Arizona has to offer or finding winding, dirt roads to discover. Unfortunately, it's not all fun and games. A good chunk of Acacia's time is taken up to complete her Bachelors in Business Management at Grand Canyon University - although procrastination does ensue.
In her writing adventures, Acacia hopes that one day her stories may inspire others to follow their dreams - no matter how crazy they may seem.
No comments:
Post a Comment