By Blood
(By Blood, #1)
by Tracy E. Banghart
Publication date: February 18th 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publication date: February 18th 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal
For 17-year-old Emma Wong, spending a summer in England should be a dream come true. Gorgeous scenery? Check. Lots of hot guys with accents? Yes, please.
Throw in an estranged mom, annoying new stepdad, and drooling baby half-brother, and it’s a disaster even her favorite cherry red leather jacket can’t fix. Even worse, there’s (hot) live-in research assistant Josh to contend with. The only thing more embarrassing than drunk-kissing him hours after they meet? Knowing he’ll be witness to her family’s dysfunction all. summer. long.
But when Emma meets a mysterious girl who happens to be a Druid, her vacation suddenly promises to be far more intriguing than she anticipated. Powerful rituals, new friends, an intoxicating sense of freedom...and Simon, the sexy foreign stranger she was hoping for. It’s all a perfect distraction from dirty diapers and awkward family dinners.
Trouble is, intriguing doesn’t often mean simple. And Emma is about to discover just how not simple her life really is.
By Blood is a novel about the ways that blood can bind us to others – or tear us apart.
Throw in an estranged mom, annoying new stepdad, and drooling baby half-brother, and it’s a disaster even her favorite cherry red leather jacket can’t fix. Even worse, there’s (hot) live-in research assistant Josh to contend with. The only thing more embarrassing than drunk-kissing him hours after they meet? Knowing he’ll be witness to her family’s dysfunction all. summer. long.
But when Emma meets a mysterious girl who happens to be a Druid, her vacation suddenly promises to be far more intriguing than she anticipated. Powerful rituals, new friends, an intoxicating sense of freedom...and Simon, the sexy foreign stranger she was hoping for. It’s all a perfect distraction from dirty diapers and awkward family dinners.
Trouble is, intriguing doesn’t often mean simple. And Emma is about to discover just how not simple her life really is.
By Blood is a novel about the ways that blood can bind us to others – or tear us apart.
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Moon Child
(By Blood, #2)
by Tracy E. Banghart
Publication date: August 16th 2013
Publication date: August 16th 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal
Before Emma's adventures in Oxford, her best friend Diana came face-to-face with a killer...
Diana Calvert is so over high school. Who cares if Olivia hates her? And David needs to forget about having a crush on her STAT. Even Emma’s crazy fashion choices can’t keep Diana entertained. All she can hope for is a dance scholarship to a college as far away as possible from too-small, too-boring, too-nothing-ever-happens New Freedom, PA.
Then Diana meets Nicholas Woodhaven. He’s pale, angry…yet weirdly charming. The more time they spend together, the more she wonders who – or what – he really is. Because he isn’t anything like the other guys she knows. Not with the whole only-going-out-at-night thing. And living with his creepy aunt. And not going to school.
Just when Diana thinks she’s got Nicholas all figured out, people in her small, nothing-ever-happens town start dying. She has to wonder – can she trust him? And even more alarming – could she be next?
A murder mystery with a paranormal twist, Moon Child is best read under the covers with a flashlight...if you dare!
Diana Calvert is so over high school. Who cares if Olivia hates her? And David needs to forget about having a crush on her STAT. Even Emma’s crazy fashion choices can’t keep Diana entertained. All she can hope for is a dance scholarship to a college as far away as possible from too-small, too-boring, too-nothing-ever-happens New Freedom, PA.
Then Diana meets Nicholas Woodhaven. He’s pale, angry…yet weirdly charming. The more time they spend together, the more she wonders who – or what – he really is. Because he isn’t anything like the other guys she knows. Not with the whole only-going-out-at-night thing. And living with his creepy aunt. And not going to school.
Just when Diana thinks she’s got Nicholas all figured out, people in her small, nothing-ever-happens town start dying. She has to wonder – can she trust him? And even more alarming – could she be next?
A murder mystery with a paranormal twist, Moon Child is best read under the covers with a flashlight...if you dare!
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AUTHOR BIO
Tracy E. Banghart is a cheesy movie–loving, fantasy football–playing (go Ravens!), globe-trotting Army wife who began “practicing” her craft at the age of five, when she wrote her first story. She loves visiting the international friends she met while pursuing her MA in Publishing and spends a portion of every summer at her family’s cabin in Canada, where she finds inspiration and lots of time to relax on the dock. She lives with her husband, son, two lazy dogs and one ornery cat. When not writing or spending time with her family, she is on a mission to bake the perfect cupcake.
LINKS
Excerpt From Moon Child
While Nicholas gets settled, I pull on my ballet shoes. I don’t get nervous much anymore when I dance, but I’m definitely a lot more aware of him than I was of Emma. Okay, understatement. It’s like there’s a huge neon sign flashing “CUTE BOY HERE” above his head. Before my nerves have a chance to throw me completely off balance, I turn on the music.
The dance starts out with some classic ballet moves to go with the romantic strains of the flute. I move gracefully, feeling the music pull my muscles into the proper positions. This is my place to feel strong, beautiful. I curve my arm above my head and then stretch it forward and my body follows, expressing all the yearning and sadness of the music. The song then transitions into a more up-tempo, modern sound and I flit around the room, my feet barely touching the floor. Everything fades away, all but the music and the feel of my muscles stretching, reaching, striving.
When the song softens into silence, I am breathing hard and there’s a thin film of sweat along my back underneath my sweatshirt. Nicholas doesn’t clap. He just stares at me, a slight smile forgotten at the edges of his lips. Finally, he stands and walks towards me.
“You are very talented.”
I can feel the blood rush to my face but it’s already warm from the exertion, so I figure – hope – he won’t notice the blush.
I wipe a hand along my hairline, trying to be discreet about it. Though really I don’t care too much if he sees me sweat. When I dance, when I feel my body move exactly the way I want it to, I know who I am and nothing else matters.
“Thanks. I hope I’m ready for Friday. Mom wouldn’t let me go to my lesson tonight.”
He remembers his forgotten smile and widens it. “I’m sure you’ll do a great job. You look beautiful.” He brushes a strand of my hair out of my eyes and tucks it behind my ear.
His fingers are still cold from being outside, and his touch burns against my hot skin. He puts his other hand against my cheek and its coolness feels wonderful. I stare into his clear blue eyes. His hair ripples down to his shoulders and frames his face in shadow. It looks so smooth and soft I ache to touch it. Must be the conditioner.
But it’d be weird if I did actually reach out to touch it. Wouldn’t it? What would Emma do in this situation? Should I run my hands through his hair?
The seconds stretch sinuously into minutes as we stand there, looking at each other, neither brave enough to lean into that last small space between us. His hand very gradually warms until it feels like it belongs there against my cheek.
The squeak of the basement door opening breaks the spell. My eyes snap to the bottom of the stairs, waiting to hear footsteps, and Nicholas’s hand drops away.
Mom calls, “Dee-Dee, you almost done? You should probably start heading to bed soon.” I pray that she’ll stay upstairs in the doorway. She can’t see that there’s someone else in the room from up there.
“Yeah, Mom! I’m almost done. I’ll be upstairs in a minute!” I yell. I turn back to Nicholas when I hear her walking away, but the room is empty.
“Nicholas?” I look around but there aren’t any shadows for him to hide in. I walk to the door and step outside, shivering in the cool, damp air.
“Nicholas?” I whisper again. The rain has stopped, but the wind still blows. I can feel the front moving through; soon the breeze will dry out the air and the stars will come out. By morning it will be clear and cold. I hear nothing but the sloughing of the wind. Disappointed, I step back into the doorway.
A hand grabs my arm and my breath hisses in my mouth. Holy crap.
Nicholas whispers, “You were right. You’re not clumsy,” against my ear.
Then, in the dark and the wind, he kisses me, his lips cold and hard against mine. It only lasts a moment before he disappears, but I’m left panting, as if I’ve been dancing all night.
Tour Giveaway
Grand prize giveaway
Prizes:
1) (US only) SIGNED paperback copies of BY BLOOD & MOON CHILD + $20 Amazon, B&N or Smashwords gift card
2) (US & INTL) (2 winners) paperback copies of BY BLOOD & MOON CHILD + $10 Amazon, B&N or Smashwords gift card
3) (US & INTL) (2 winners) E-copies of BY BLOOD & MOON CHILD + $5 Amazon, B&N, or Smashwords gift card
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ReplyDeleteHope I can win :-D
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