Darknight
The
Witches of Cleopatra Hill
Book
2
Christine
Pope
Genre:
Paranormal romance
Publisher:
Dark Valentine Press
Date
of Publication: 6/5/2014
ISBN:
978-0692217504
ASIN:
Number
of pages:
Word
Count: 90,000
Cover
Artist: Indie Author Services
Book
Description:
Kidnapped
by a rival witch clan, Angela McAllister envisions a dark future for
herself until she discovers her captor’s brother is the unknown man
who has haunted her dreams since she was a child.
Forced
to re-evaluate everything she’s ever known about the Wilcox
witches, Angela begins to explore the powerful connection that binds
her to Connor Wilcox, despite the generations of hostility between
their families and the disapproval of those closest to her.
And
when a dark, malignant force arises, Angela knows she must draw on
her growing powers as prima to protect enemies and allies alike…even
if her choice threatens to tear her new and fragile love apart.
Darknight
is the second book in the Witches of Cleopatra Hill, a paranormal
romance trilogy set in the haunted town of Jerome, Arizona.
Excerpt
From Chapter 1
“So
you talk to dead people?” he asked.
“Yes,
I communicate with earthbound spirits, if that’s what you mean by
ghosts,” I said primly.
Once
again, he didn’t rise to the bait. “That’s interesting. And no,
to answer your previous question, I’ve never seen her. No cold
spots, no personal items moved around, no nothing. Not that my talent
is conversing with the spirit world.”
“And
what is your talent, Connor?”
A
cloud seemed to pass over his face, but then he replied, his tone
casual, “Nothing so spectacular, I assure you.”
“Well,
it has to be pretty good, to be able to hide the fact that you’re a
warlock.” That was something which had been troubling me ever since
I realized he’d managed to hide his true identity so well.
Normally, I should have sensed that he was a member of a witch clan
from the very moment I met him, even if I couldn’t have known he
was a Wilcox. But I’d felt nothing. He’d seemed like a civilian
to me…up until the moment he bent down to give me the consort’s
kiss.
Voice
even, he replied, “That wasn’t me. That was Damon’s spell.”
“Damon’s
quite the multi-tasker, isn’t he? Any other little tricks I should
know about?”
He
gave a humorless laugh. “A few. But I don’t think we need to talk
about that now.”
“Fine,”
I said. I could tell from his expression, the tight look to his
mouth, that he wouldn’t appreciate any prodding on that subject
from me. “But we do need to talk, don’t you think? I mean, last
night you said we would ‘hash this over in the morning.’ Well,
it’s almost noon, and you haven’t said much of anything except to
tell me where the bagels are.”
Surprisingly,
he said, “You’re right. Take these” —and he handed the white
paper bag holding the sandwiches to me— “and I’ll get some
plates and water and stuff.”
The
first floor of the apartment was pretty much open-plan in style,
except a few closed doors that might be a guest bath and a coat
closet. The dining area sat just on the other side of the bar of
granite that acted as a sort of separator from the kitchen, so I went
there and settled myself in one of the heavy wooden chairs. Like the
table, they were simple, almost rustic in appearance, but that didn’t
fool me. I’d spent too much time shopping for furniture recently
not to know that they, like almost everything else in the apartment,
had not been cheap.
Connor
came out of the kitchen carrying a couple of glasses and a bottle of
Evian water, along with some brown earthenware plates. He set
everything down at the table, then seated himself across from me.
Probably just as well that he didn’t sit directly beside me; one
brush of his knee against mine under the table, and I would’ve been
in serious trouble.
After
he sat he busied himself with pulling the paper napkins and the
sandwiches out of the bag, not really looking at me as he set a
sandwich wrapped in white paper down on my plate. “I didn’t know
what you’d eat, so I got you smoked turkey with provolone. Hope
that’s okay.”
“It’s
fine,” I said. The bagel notwithstanding, I was ravenous. Probably
my body trying to make up for all the energy it had lost last night
through stress and sleep deprivation.
He
poured some water into my glass, then did the same with his. After
that there wasn’t much left for him to do except eat. He began to
unwrap his sandwich.
“Eat
first, then talk?” I asked. It was pretty obvious that he really
didn’t want to have this conversation.
Something
that was almost but not quite a sigh escaped his lips before he set
the sandwich back down on his plate. “I just want you to know that
none of this was my idea.”
“I
had a feeling,” I said wryly, “considering you can barely even
make yourself look at me.”
This
time he did glance up, and I had to hold myself steady as the eyes I
had dreamed of so often met mine, and held. The muscles in his jaw
visibly tightened. “I want to look at you,” he said. “It’s
just…dangerous.”
About
the Author:
A
native of Southern California, Christine Pope has been writing
stories ever since she commandeered her family’s Smith-Corona
typewriter back in the sixth grade. Her short fiction has appeared in
Astonishing Adventures, Luna Station Quarterly, and the journal of
dark fiction, Dark Valentine. Two of her short stories have been
nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
Christine
writes as the mood takes her, and her work includes paranormal
romance, and fantasy and science fiction/space opera romance. She
blames this on being easily distracted by bright, shiny objects,
which could also account for the size of her shoe collection. After
spending many years in the magazine publishing industry, she now
works as a freelance editor and graphic designer in addition to
writing fiction. She fell in love with Sedona, Arizona, while
researching the Sedona Trilogy and now makes her home there,
surrounded by the red rocks. No alien sightings, though...not yet,
anyway!
Giveaways
1 – prize pack containing $25 Amazon gift card plus ebook copies of both Darkangel (Book 1) and Darknight (Book 2) in winner’s choice of formats (.mobi, .epub, or .pdf)
3 – prize packs containing a $10 Amazon gift card plus ebook copies of both Darkangel (Book 1) and Darknight (Book 2) in winner’s choice of formats (.mobi, .epub, or .pdf) a Rafflecopter giveaway
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