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Please make welcome Shari Nichols, author of Witch
Hunter, The Ravens Hollow Series, Book 1, an erotic, Paranormal romance.
Date of Publication:
November 19, 2014
ISBN: 9781419991882
Number of pages:194
Word Count: 90,000
Giveaway! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter at the end of
this post for a chance to win one of five ecopies of Witch Hunter.
Book Description
Determined MBI (Magickal Bureau of investigations)agent Alex
Denopoulos will stop at nothing to catch a killer, including recruit notorious
felon, Willow McCray to work for the agency. The lines between duty and passion
become blurred the more time he spends with the sultry witch. In the midst of
the investigation, they succumb to the dark edges of desire, placing both their
lives in danger. Alex will risk more than his badge to keep her alive.
Kick-ass witch Willow must use her powers for good if she
wants to stay out of Hellios, a mage prison for those who have broken the
Wiccan Rede of ‘Harm ye None.’ Willow never expects to fall so hard for Alex, a
mortal with a penchant for justice and a deep seated hatred of witches. Though
a future together seems impossible, she doesn’t want to let him go.
Can she vanquish the evil surrounding them and give Alex her
mind and body before she loses her heart and maybe her soul?
Let’s hear from Shari Nichols…
In a desperate attempt to catch a killer, a special agent
hires a notorious felon to come work for the agency. In the midst of the
investigation, they succumb to the dark edges of desire, placing both their
lives in danger.
WITCH HUNTER is chock full of witches and demons, set in the
fictional town of Ravens Hollow, where magickal creatures co-exist with humans,
and not always peacefully. Ravens Hollow emerged as a sanctuary where witches
eventually settled after the Salem Trials. These strong women cultivated spells
and charms around the town and honed their magick to protect themselves against
future enemies. Eventually, this knowledge was passed down to future
generations of witches through spell books known as Grimoires, which my
heroine, Willow uses to help fight a killer. Plot lines involving magick,
legends and myth intrigue me on every level.
So it wouldn't exactly be a stretch to say that when the
Harry Potter books and movies came out I was hooked, not only by the characters
and the great story lines, but by the lore surrounding Hogwarts. JK Rowling has
a flair for submerging the reader into the world she creates, one in which I
frankly never want to leave. My goal was to create that same level of fantasy in
WITCH HUNTER only for adults. One of my favorite scenes to write was when a
small group of witches from a coven that the killer has targeted get together
and try to divine his location using magick. I get to showcase their abilities
all at once, which is a lot of fun! There’s a Tarot card reader, a medium, a
tea leave reader, a seer with the unique ability to see images in a cauldron of
water using candle wax, and a witch who can detect images in a magick mirror. I
think this sets the tone of the story and immerses the reader into the world of Ravens Hollow.
I’m envious of any character that has magickal abilities.
Willow is both psychic and empathic and is also preternaturally strong. She can
sense the good and the bad in people, which is a double edged sword at times.
The downside of her gift is that she can tune into the victim and sense what
she feels at the time of the murder. This helps the agency that recruits her in
catching the killer, but it tortures her throughout the story.
My villain is a Fae, a breed within this world of magickal
creatures that’s not only ruthless, but capable of heinous acts against witches
and impossible to kill. All of the demons in the story are special agents, good
guys. I’ve taken the notions of good creatures, such as fairies and evil ones,
such as demons, and turned them upside down, which, I hope the reader will find
interesting. All of the characters will hopefully have their own stories eventually.
Cassie, a witch who’s also a medium is the first one to befriend
Willow amongst a tough group of ladies in the coven that Willow is recruited to
protect. She’s not only kind, and honest, she also works with the police to
help find missing children and runaways using her gift of clairvoyance. She’s a
modern day Long Island Medium. She stars in Book 2 in the Ravens Hollow Series and
what I'm currently working on at the moment.
Teague, another character from WITCH HUNTER is a demon special
agent who will hopefully be in Book 3 in the series. I love him
because he's as sexy as he is tough and he knows how to put his partner, Alex,
the hero, in his place. He will get knocked on his ass, quite literally, when
he comes face to face with the female that tempts him like no other and steals his
heart. I enjoyed writing this character because he has a wonderful sense of humor
and a sense of fun and lightness, despite the chaos going on around him.
The coven where most of the story takes place is chock full
of interesting and beautiful witches. I hope each and every one of these women get
their own story, although that would be a lot of books to write. Thank you so
much for having me.
Excerpt
Willow took a sip of her margarita and glanced down at
Alex’s big hands, tanned and sprinkled with a smattering of dark hair. Funny,
she never found a man’s hands sexy. Suddenly her mind filled with images of
Alex trailing those big, masculine hands over her body. She wondered if he fit
the stereotype. Big hands, big…
“You never did answer my question. Are you considering
taking me up on my offer?” The sound of his voice pulled her from a host of
fantasies. Willow dug her nails into her palm to get her head back in the game.
She shouldn’t be thinking about this man in such a raw, sexual way.
“Why not? My car’s parked in the back.” She probed through
the nearby crowd to check if Alex came here with bodyguards. A virtual
cacophony of conversations invaded her thoughts, but nothing about protection
for Alex. Once she got him alone, she’d take her chances and pray she wouldn’t
be outnumbered. “Then let’s get out of here. Unless of course I’ve got some
competition.” He motioned over her
shoulder to the incubus whose head now lolled forward over the bar.
“I think you’re flying solo here.” She’d set her trap and
let the consequences be damned. She rubbed her finger along the rim of the
glass and licked off the salt.
She lifted the glass to her lips, savoring the tangy flavor
of margarita mix along with the zing of tequila as it slid down her throat.
Headrush. No surprise there, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept or
eaten in the past forty-eight hours, existing on a combination of raw nerves and
pure adrenaline.
“You missed a spot.” He ran his thumb along the seam of her
lip. He put it to his mouth and licked. “Mmm, sweet.” Her plan didn’t involve
foreplay…but damn he was hot. In another time and another place she would be
seriously into this guy. Too bad I might have to kill him.
About the Author
Shari Nichols grew up in a small town in Connecticut where haunted houses, ghosts and Ouija boards were common place, spurring her fascination with all things paranormal. Ever since she read her first Barbara Cartland novel, her life-long dream has been to write sexy, romantic stories. Shari has been married to her own alpha hero for twenty-two years. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, going to the gym, or hanging out with family and friends.
She lives in New Jersey with her husband, two teenagers, and
her adoring golden retriever. Shari graduated from Rider University with a
degree in Business Administration. After spending several years in the grind of
Corporate America, she quit to stay at home with her kids. Now she’s thrilled
to spend her days in sweats, eating chocolate while pounding on her keyboard to
create her next novel.
Her first book, Witch Hunter has been contracted with
Ellora’s Cave Publishing. Her next book, another steamy, romance, will venture
into the world of ghosts and haunted inns. Shari is a member of Romance Writers
of America, New Jersey Romance Writers, Liberty States Fiction Writers and
Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal Romance Writers.
Posts
6 comments:
Thank you, Sky for having me. I love your blog!
Thanks, Shari! My pleasure. :-)
Excellent excerpt, Shari! Tantalizing!
Thank you, EJ! I appreciate it! xoxo
A fantastic post thank you.
Thank you, Mary! So kind of you to say! xoxo
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