Always and Forever (Secrets of Shadow Hill)
Twin sisters Ava and Hannah were ripped from their peaceful seeming
lives into a whirlwind of attacks and war only to learn the
real truth
about their existence.
Nothing was as it seemed anymore and may never be again.
They had
already lost their father in childhood now they have to cope
with their
mother’s kidnapping as they watch those sworn to protect
them risk their
lives.
Excerpt:
Ava
““Listen,
you had better get back home. I will walk you out of the
woods, but you should
not come here at night anymore, it is not safe.” he said.
Just
then I realized that he was not from Bricktown, not even New
Jersey. It sounded
like he had an Irish accent just like my mother’s. His words
flowed off of his
tongue like a gentle stream.
“Thank-you
for your concern, but I am familiar with this area. I’ll be
fine. Where are you
from anyway? I haven’t seen you here before,” I asked.
I
don’t know why I didn’t feel more scared of this stranger
who acted so
curiously. He had the opposite effect on me making me very
calm.
“I
am visiting family. My name is Dalton.” He answered shortly
and grabbed my arm
and started to lead me back through the forest. His grip on
my arms sent
unexpected chills through my body.”
S.P Cervantes
lives in Orange County, California with her husband and
three children, where
she is a teacher. She enjoys spending
time with her family, writing, reading, and running, but is
always thinking of
an idea for her next novel.
S.P. Cervantes is
the author of the highly rated New Adult Romantic Fantasy
series Secrets of
Shadow Hill. “Always and Forever” and “The
Prophecy” are the first two book in the series that are
available now.
The third book in the series, “War of
Wizards” will be released in
2014.
S.P. Cervantes
also has a contemporary romance series, A Broken Fairy Tale,
in the works and
will be releasing the first book of the series, “Dust to
Dust (A Broken Fairy
Tale)” in spring of
2014.
To connect with
S.P.
Cervantes:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/spcervantes
Goodreads: http://www.spcervantes.com
Amazon
Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00AXKVE6G
Excerpts and Guest Post Topics for Always and Forever (Secrets of Shadow
Hill,#1)
Excerpt #1
Dalton
“I
don’t have time for proper introductions. My sister-in-law Contessa has arrived
from America and alerted me of a serious situation.” Connor turned gesturing to
the enchanter besides him. “She has informed me there are girls that are in
grave danger. They are my granddaughters and thought to be Chosen Ones, as you
are Dalton, but have not yet realized their powers. Their mother, Victoria, was
a student here and was married to my son Balthazar.”
Connor
motioned for us all to take our seats as he hastily tried to fill us in on a
decade of Shadow Hill history.
“The Sabatino coven has somehow been made
aware of the girls’ existence and are planning to take them. Contessa is sure
their goal is to enchant them to join their coven. This is something they had
tried to achieve with my son Balthazar and that was how we lost him.” Connor’s
eyes filled with rage, but his voice remained calm.
Excerpt #2
Dalton
I
stood motionless watching her as she lay peacefully, giggling quietly to
herself as she dreamed. I noticed for the first time the delicate dimples she
had when she smiled. The sun was beginning to set and the air had more of a
chill than when we got here. The time had melted away.
My
thoughts were quickly interrupted by a loud growling sound. It went from
sounding human to a deep, foul terrifying rumble of excitement. I knew
instantly that was our enemy. I wondered what form they had taken to capture Ava.
The Sabatinos rarely did anything in their human form. They thrived on the fear
they instilled in their victims by changing forms.
Ava
sat up quickly, ripping her earphones off and threw them an inch from where I
was hiding. Her eyes were full of fear.
Suddenly
an enormous creature emerged from the clearing charging straight to Ava. My
heart raced as I quickly ran from the opposite side of the clearing as fast as
I could to get there before the creature had. Although I could run much faster
than a mortal, so could this creature if it were truly a member of the Sabatino
coven. This was going to make for a much more difficult fight.
The
creature was closing in on Ava quickly with evil red eyes fixated on its prey. I
wasn’t sure if I could make it in time. Overwhelming fear shot through my
entire body. I wasn’t just failing Connor, I was failing our coven.
Ava
stood frozen. I started to yell for her to run when she suddenly lifted her
shaking arms and yelled at the creature. Right then the creature was frozen in
midair and Ava fell to the ground unconscious.
Excerpt #3
Ava
““Listen,
you had better get back home. I will walk you out of the woods, but you should
not come here at night anymore, it is not safe.” he said.
Just
then I realized that he was not from Bricktown, not even New Jersey. It sounded
like he had an Irish accent just like my mother’s. His words flowed off of his
tongue like a gentle stream.
“Thank-you
for your concern, but I am familiar with this area. I’ll be fine. Where are you
from anyway? I haven’t seen you here before,” I asked.
I
don’t know why I didn’t feel more scared of this stranger who acted so
curiously. He had the opposite effect on me making me very calm.
“I
am visiting family. My name is Dalton.” He answered shortly and grabbed my arm
and started to lead me back through the forest. His grip on my arms sent
unexpected chills through my body.”
Excerpt #4
Ava
Dalton
brushed his hand slowly across my temple, down my cheek, and lifted my chin to
him so I was looking into his deep blue eyes. I stared at him not knowing what
to do or say.
He
leaned in even closer, his mouth pressed against my ear again as he whispered, “They
have powers that can take away your free will, make you do anything they want
you to. No matter what you see or hear, you have to wait for Aiden.”
I
was terrified, my heart racing so frantically I thought I could actually throw
up. I didn’t know what to do. Everyone I ever cared about was in grave danger,
and I had to sit still in a tree and do nothing. How did I manage to get
Patrick mixed up in all of this? I should have known he would come and talk to
my mom. Now it’s going to be impossible to get away clear and free.
I
gently pulled my head away from Dalton’s ear, turning my face to his. Our eyes
met with such desperation, I lost my train of thought. He leaned in towards me
with one arm wrapped around my waist and the other bracing us against a branch.
Dalton’s mouth was an inch from mine. I could feel his warm breath on my lips.
“Please
protect them,” was all I could say.
Excerpt #5
Dalton
I
couldn’t wait any longer. I kissed her tender lips, feeling shocks shoot
through every inch of my body. She did not pull away. She melted into my
adoring arms, moving her lips in perfect unison with mine. Our emotions were
pouring into each other as we embraced afraid to let go.
I
kissed her forehead taking another deep breath, inhaling her sweet scent.
“I care for you Ava. I have never felt this
way about anyone. I don’t let myself care about people the way I care about
you. I will always protect you and never hide anything from you.”
She
looked up at me with the most exhilarating smile. Those dimples drive me crazy,
“You
don’t know how much that means to me. I feel the same way about you Dalton. I
feel guilty for feeling this way, but I can’t ignore it anymore.”
With
that she was kissing me again, in my arms becoming lost in the moment. A sense
of calm besieged my body.
Excerpt #6
Ava
I
was bawling. I couldn’t speak as I leaned my forehead on Dalton’s chest. I
couldn’t even think as my fear overwhelmed me. The tears easily flooded from my
eyes.
Dalton
hugged me as we sank to the floor. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered as he
brushed my hair off my face.
I
got a little angry as I sobbed. “No Dalton, you don’t know if it’s going to be okay,
so will everyone stop saying that. I’m not two!” I had to stop this crying and
channel it into anger…power!
Excerpt #7
Ava
Dalton
grabbed my hand giving it one last loving squeeze as he followed Connor through
the door; I brushed my hand one last time across the woven bracelet that was so
Dalton. Hannah and I gave each other a nod as we were ready to face our
destiny.
The
shadowy cool room was like none I had ever seen. Aged stone walls were plainly
decorated with rod iron sconces and golden candelabras. There was not one lamp
in the room to give us light. There was only one piece of furniture in the
room, an enormous golden ornate table filled with wizards.
Excerpt #8
Dalton
I
looked up to see the exit through the dark smoke before me. But standing before
the door was Olivia. She was free from the spell Ava and the others had put her
under giving me hope that they had escaped.
Olivia’s
voice one again slithered. “Did you really think we would let you get away? Ava
and Hannah are ours!”
She
pointed her wand at me before I could react, sending paralyzing pain through my
body. I dropped again to my knees, with Patrick still unconscious, crashing to
the ground.
I
couldn’t move as Olivia came closer, with each step making the unbearable pain
worse. It felt as though every limb was laced with razor blades, not missing a
spot as they sliced through my body.
Olivia
stared at me seemingly unaffected by the ruble crashing down around her. “Your coven
will not stand a chance against us now. You will be finished!”
The
pain was so intense I could do nothing but yell in agony. Not only the pain
from my tortured body, but knowing that I could not save Hannah and Ava.
Excerpt #9
Dalton
Ava
looked more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Aiden and I looked over
at each other in disbelief. The long green carpeted isle seemed too long for me
to wait to put my arms around Ava. Her sinfully draped dress swept back and
forth across the floor as her long golden hair was loosely braided down her
back. I was right; the diamond headpiece was the perfect accent to her
impeccable gown. Her skin seemed luminescent, sparkling in the light that
surrounded her perfect body. I looked over to see an equally transfixed Patrick
staring lovingly at Ava.
Excerpt #10
Ava
Our
eyes were glowing with power. The earth began to shake as our enraged bodies
moved slowly in unison towards our attackers. The shield that had kept us
invisible was now a glowing fireball blasting our enemies as they came close. My
fear was now replaced with such overwhelming anger and fury as I watched Dalton
fall to the ground unconscious.
We
both stopped our advance and repeated a spell we read only one time that night
in the Luminary Room.
“The light of the world, the prince of peace,
destroy all those who wish us defeat.”
Glowing
fire shot from our bodies with such force, all who meant us harm was thrown to
the ground, trapped in a shield of fire.
Guest Posts
10 Things You Didn’t Know about S.P. Cervantes
1.
I am a 3rd grade
teacher and a writer. I wanted to become
a teacher because I had so many growing up who did not nurture my talents. I strive every day to make my students see
they are all special.
2.
I am a twin. I have twin daughters. My twin sister also has twins. Yes, we multiply in our family.
3.
I did not like to read growing
up. Catcher in the Rye was the
first book I actually read all the way through and loved.
4.
I am addicted to reading. I have a constant battle going on between
wanting to write and wanting to read.
5.
I still consider myself a Jersey
Girl even though I have been in California longer.
6.
My favorite pizza place in the
world is called Strawberries in New Jersey.
I eat it every time I visit.
Pizza is one of my favorite foods.
7.
Dalton is a family name. I always wanted to one of my children Dalton,
but settled with naming my first character.
8.
I am deathly afraid of
flying. I go back to NJ to visit my
family at least once a year, and nearly have a panic attack every time.
9.
I LOVE to run! I have always been an athlete, but didn’t
start running until three years ago. Now
I’m hooked!
10. I have a rare condition called exercise induced anaphylaxia, which make
#9 tricky and life threatening. If I eat
meat (any kind) before exercising (any kind…use your imaginations) I can have a
severe allergic reaction.
A Day in the Life of S.P. Cervantes
Being a mother of three, a wife, a
teacher, and a writer is all about balance.
During the summer I am markedly better at all of the above. I have time
to be with my kids, clean, cook, and develop new lessons for the school year.
My life during the school year is
hectic. Every morning I wake up at
5am. I check emails and read up on blogs
for good books to read. I like to see
how authors are promoting their books since I am new to the publishing world,
and early in the morning is the best time for me to check some sites out.
After getting my kids ready for school, I
spend my day teaching and prepping lessons.
When I get home the crazy begins.
Between shuffling my son to his after school activities and entertaining
fur year old twins, I take a break from it all and go on a jog. I get some of my best ideas for my stories
while running and listening to music. I
find myself laughing, crying, and sometimes stopping to type an idea on my
phone while running. I am not sure why I
get my ideas while running or right before bed, but there it is.
Weekends
are where I get most of my writing done.
My husband always allows me an entire day to hide away, ignore my kids,
and write. It is in those moments that I
feel free to express myself without worrying about the clock or interruptions.
Every
night, after I tuck the kids into bed, I either spend an hour or two writing or
reading. It is a constant battle because
there are way too many amazing books out there to read, but I have just as many
floating around in my mind begging to be told.
In
between the craziness, I find time to research marketing, ideas for my book,
and even time for my husband. It’s a
crazy life, but I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Well, maybe to be a NY Times best seller!
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