INTERVIEW and GIVEAWAY
Reach for You
(Dark Heart Book 3)
(Dark Heart Book 3)
by Pat Esden
Reach for You, the third and final book in the Dark Heart series by Pat Esden, will be released on 27 June but is currently available for pre-order. Also available: A Hold on Me (on sale for $2.99 to 2 July; read my blog post) and Beyond Your Touch (on sale for $3.99 to 2 July; read my blog post).
This book tour is brought to you by Bewitching Book Tours. The tour stops here today for my interview with the author, an excerpt, and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
Her passion is her greatest weakness.
His legacy is his prison.
To reunite, both must fight the demons within.
His legacy is his prison.
To reunite, both must fight the demons within.
A world of deception and danger separates Annie Freemont from her mother - and from Chase, the enigmatic half-ifrit with whom Annie’s fallen in love. But she vows to find her way back to them, before Chase succumbs to the madness that threatens his freedom. The only person who can help is the magical seductress, Lotli, a beautiful, manipulative woman ... a woman who has disappeared.
Annie must stay strong, even as the future she imagined is slipping away. With the help of family and friends, she discovers that Lotli is being held against her will, by those who want to exploit her powers. But though weakened, Lotli remains a powerful alley and adversary. A bargain is struck. And now Annie’s only chance to rescue Chase could also tear them apart ...
Loyalties will be tested, walls will be breached, and enemies will be fought, yet Annie’s greatest battle lies within her own heart - to trust her love for Chase to overcome its greatest enemy, and to save those she holds most dear from the terrifying realm of the djinn ...
Chapter 1
We journey. Ceaseless and hungry.
Carved into stone tablet. Tenerife, Spain
Carved into stone tablet. Tenerife, Spain
The campsite was ominously silent. Then a breeze lifted and my ear caught the faint clank and rattle of the bones and knives hanging in the pine trees behind us.
“You don’t think they’re both dead, do you?” Selena whispered.
I scanned the dilapidated camper ahead of us, a do-it-yourself RV created out of an old bread truck. Despite the midafternoon warmth, the doors were shut tight. The tent behind it, barely visible from our angle, bowed under the weight of rain that had pooled in its canopy. There was no campfire smoke. No trampled grass. In comparison to when we’d come here last week, the place looked deserted.
Goose bumps pebbled my skin. I gave the camper another once-over. “Zea was really old and sickly. He could have died—or if the kidnappers came here first looking for Lotli, they could have found him. They might have—”
Selena cut me off with a glower. “You mean, supposed kidnappers.”
My jaw clenched. Yeah, that was exactly what I meant. I understood why my cousin didn’t like that everything we’d discovered pointed to her boyfriend, Newt, being involved in Lotli’s disappearance, and perhaps Zea’s as well. But I thought we’d gotten past that, like a bunch of times already.
I swiveled toward where we’d parked our Land Rover. The Professor stood rooted next to it, a mixture of disgust and apprehension crinkling his face. From his scholarly glasses and sandy brown hair all the way down to his polished loafers, he looked anything but ready for our reconnaissance trip out here on the back roads of Down East Maine. An afternoon of research at Oxford University would have been more appropriate. “You want to check inside the tent while we look in the camper?”
His gaze flicked to the soggy tarps. He cleared his throat, then—as posh as ever—said, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not totally against the idea. But the thought of discovering a rotting corpse is a teensy bit abhorrent.”
“Would you rather discover one in a closed-up camper?” I snapped. It was lucky we’d driven into the campsite from the main road instead of walking like we’d done the last time. I’d assumed the Professor had an adventuresome spirit to go with his young Indiana Jones good looks. Especially since he was an archaeologist, though this summer he was tutoring Selena’s eleven-year-old brother as a favor. Still, and despite how eager he’d seemed to come with us, the Professor had freaked the second we started past the creepy stuff Zea and Lotli hung in the trees to scare people off: the knives and bones, pieces of copper pipe, broken mirrors, and doll parts. Frankly, I was surprised he’d even gotten out of the Land Rover at all.
I pasted on a smile. “Sorry. I don’t much care for the idea myself. Let’s just hope he’s napping or something.”
The Professor wiped his hands down the sides of his chinos. “I truly hope you’re right.”
As he headed for the tent, I tramped toward the camper with Selena close behind. If only Chase were here now. The creepy stuff hadn’t bothered him at all, and the fear of Zea being dead would have only driven him forward faster.
My chest tightened, my longing for Chase aching inside me, raw and unrelenting. If it weren’t for me, he would be here now. Instead, both he and my mother were trapped in the djinn realm, prisoners of his father, Malphic. If it weren’t for me, Lotli wouldn’t be missing either.
“Well?” Selena jerked her head at the camper door. “Are you going to just stand there?”
I raised my hand and knocked. One second passed. Two seconds. I rapped harder. Nothing. I tried the doorknob. It turned beneath my grip. I opened the door a crack, hesitated, and took a deep breath before pushing it open all the way.
A wave of hot, musty air rushed past me as if the camper had been closed up for days.
“Hello?” I said, sticking my head inside. I gave the air a cautious sniff. No dangerous odors, like a leaky gas stove, permeated the air. No rotting-trash smell—or decomp.
Selena nudged my shoulder. “What are you waiting for?”
I swallowed hard and stepped forward.
The place was cramped, a gypsy wagon on steroids. Tassels and prisms curtained the windows, letting only faint streaks of light inside. Miles of fuchsia and turquoise fabric draped the ceiling and walls. Animal skulls, feathers, and nubby candles clustered inside miniature altars. The fridge, table, and chairs, every surface that wasn’t fabric covered, was painted purple or black. Stars decorated the ceiling. An antique bed piled with crimson quilts and an avalanche of pillows took up the camper’s entire backend. It was cozy enough, I supposed. But I couldn’t begin to imagine what life had been like for Lotli, apprenticed to Zea as a child because of her magic abilities, essentially indentured. Not that I thought a devout shaman like Zea would have been cruel to her. It was just so different from anything I’d experienced.
“Zea, are you here?” I called out. “We need to talk to you about Lotli.”
I minced my way deeper into the cramped space, working my way toward the back of the camper. Cold sweat carved a trail down my spine. I crept past a tiny kitchen and dining nook, then the bathroom—one toothbrush in the holder, a washcloth draped over the edge of a yellowed sink.
I returned to the front of the camper and pulled aside the curtain that divided the living area from the bread truck’s cab. Seats for the driver and a passenger, seashells glued to the dash, insulated coffee cups in the holders—
Something brushed the back of my neck.
I yelped and jumped sideways, whipping around to see what it was and smacking my elbow against the wall. Pain zinged up my arm. I glared at Selena, standing barely an inch behind me.
“Shit,” I said, rubbing the sting from my arm. “You scared the hell out of me.”
She gave me a sheepish pout. “Sorry. I thought you knew I was there.”
“I didn’t think you were that close.” It wouldn’t have hurt half as bad, except I was already sore and bruised from being thrown out of the djinn realm earlier in the day.
Her pout transformed into a smug smile and she flipped her blond hair over one shoulder. “Looks to me like Zea and Lotli might have pulled a vanishing act after all. Huh?”
I stopped rubbing. “Or the Professor’s about to find something disgusting in the tent.”
“Want to bet?”
I closed my eyes, struggling to regain my composure. We couldn’t afford to waste time discussing the same thing over and over again, any more than I could have afforded the luxury of staying home to nurse my aches and pains. Chase and Mother were in danger. And I couldn’t go back to the realm and rescue them until we found Lotli. Without her and her flute-magic, it would be too risky, perhaps even impossible to enter or escape from the realm.
I shoved past Selena and strode to the tiny bathroom. “While we’re here, we should find something personal of Lotli’s that you can use to scry and see where they’re holding her.”
Glancing around, I spotted a scruffy hairbrush. You couldn’t get much more personal than that. I grabbed it and brandished it toward Selena.
She stood just inside the bathroom doorway, hands on her hips, eyes narrowed. “Cut it out, Annie, I’ve had enough of you talking like Newt kidnapped Lotli, the innuendos and little jabs. Maybe his family’s hiding something, but Newt doesn’t have anything to do with it. So quit acting like he’s evil, okay?”
I mirrored her stance. “He told you his dad was a stockbroker, that they owned their summer home. Those were lies. His brother is a registered creep. No matter what you want to think: Newt’s not innocent.”
She turned her back on me, her voice bordering on hysteria. “I don’t know why I bothered coming. You’re so, so . . . You always have to be right—” Her voice died and she slowly faced me. Angry red blotches mottled her face. But tears rimmed her eyes.
My anger drained. She didn’t look pissed. She was trembling like she was about to fall apart. Earlier today, when we’d first heard about the lies Newt and his family had been telling, I’d seen something in Selena’s eyes, something beneath her disbelief.
“What is it? Tell me,” I asked gently.
She raked her hands over her face. “Nothing. You just need to trust me. I know Newt couldn’t be involved. And he wouldn’t have let his brother do it either.”
I leveled my gaze with hers and toughened my voice. “What makes you so certain? Tell me the truth, Selena.”
Her chin quivered. “I just know.”
Tucking the hairbrush handle first into my hip pocket, I stepped closer. I pushed her hair back from her face. “You’re my cousin. Please. Tell me.”
“Nothing. He just wouldn’t do it. He loves me.”
“I get that. But—”
She shoved my hand away. “No, you don’t get it. I know he loves me. Like forever.” Her eyes pleaded for me to understand what she couldn’t bring herself to say.
A possibility seeped into my head. My hands went to my mouth, covering a horrified gasp. She couldn’t mean. She couldn’t have. “What did you do?”
“I kind of—I put a . . .” Her voice faded and she looked down at the floor.
“A spell?” A month ago, the idea of witchcraft being involved would never have occurred to me. Now it seemed more than likely.
“You can’t tell anyone. Mom, Dad, Grandfather—they’d kill me.” She curled her arms over her head, her shoulders shaking as she crumpled down against the wall.
I crouched and put my arms around her. “Whatever it is, it’ll be fine. It can’t be that bad.”
“It is,” she sobbed.
Praise for the Series
"What a fantastic ride! Full of mystery, action, and romance." ~ Kim Karr, New York Times bestselling author
"Twists and turns, a hot guy, and a family with too many secrets to count: the perfect read for a dark and stormy night!" ~ Jen McConnel
"A dark and sexy adventure, mixed with a refreshing twist. Well done!" ~ Rachel A. Marks
"Deliciously dark." ~ Publishers Weekly
"A major and unexpected paranormal threat adds freshness to Esden’s page-turner." ~ Booklist
Interview with the Author
Pat Esden joins me today to discuss her latest book, Reach for You, the third and final book in the Dark Heart series.
For what age group do you recommend your book?
I’d recommend it for 17 years and up. It does have some R-rated sexual content.
What sparked the idea for this book?
Reach for You is the third and final book in the Dark Heart series. The idea for it came to me when I began to brainstorm A Hold on Me (Dark Heart, book 1). I wanted the series to end with Annie, the main character, finding her HEA, but I didn’t want it to come easy. To me, the struggles Annie goes through in this book are both emotionally devastating, challenging, and the logical conclusion to the other books.
So, which comes first? The character's story or the idea for the novel?
I get an idea first. Then I play with that seed and create a main character who would be challenged by the setting and situation.
What was the hardest part to write in this book?
It was hard to write the final chapter in Reach for You. I’ve lived with these characters and world for a long time. It was a strange feeling to know I was about to step away from them.
How do you hope this book affects its readers?
I always hope that my novels inspire readers to fight for what they want, no matter how large or small.
How long did it take you to write this book?
I’m contracted with my publisher to write my novels in a nine-month time frame.
What is your writing routine?
I work on my novels for several hours in the morning and then again in the evening. After noon is my downtime.
How did you get your book published?
I went the traditional route. I worked hard on my writing. Queried agents. Signed with one, then my Dark Heart series went out on submission to editors. It was picked up by Kensington Books.
What advice do you have for someone who would like to become a published writer?
Keep working on your writing skills and don’t give up. Grow a thick skin. It may take years, but you will reach your dreams.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
My husband and I are also antique dealers. I love going to flea markets and yard sales with him. I also spend a great deal of time gardening and playing with my Golden Retriever.
What does your family think of your writing?
They are very supportive of my writing career and I’m very grateful for that.
That's great. Did you like reading when you were a child?
As a young child, I much preferred to have books read to me. I loved closing my eyes and pretending I was a part of the story. I discovered the joy of going to a library and picking out my own books when I was probably in fourth grade. That’s when my love of reading really bloomed.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Probably before my love of reading started. I started writing stories and poetry in third grade - not just in school but for fun as well.
Did your childhood experiences influence your writing?
Very much so. I spent a lot of time at my family’s wilderness camp, exploring old house and cemeteries, and in the woods. Those things combined with my love for fairytales and fantasy, sparked my writing style and tone.
Which writers have influenced you the most?
Hmmm. I usually talk about authors who influenced me as a child and teen, but there is one author whose death made me cry. That was Octavia Butler. No question she touched my heart when I was first striving toward becoming a published author.
Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I don’t hear very often. But it truly means a lot to me when readers take the time to say kind things in reviews, emails, or in a comment on my social media pages. Last night, a new reader’s comment on my Facebook page gave me a lift right when I needed it. Writing can be a lonely profession. It’s wonderful to know when a reader connects with your characters and stories.
What can we look forward to from you in the future?
I have a new series coming out from Kensington’s Lyrical Press starting in 2018. The Northern Circle Coven series, set in contemporary Burlington, Vermont, centers around a disreputable coven and the stories of three strong women who are determined to save it and themselves from past mistakes.
Sounds great! Thank you for taking the time to stop by today, Pat. Best of luck with your future projects.
About the Author
Pat Esden would love to say she spent her childhood in intellectual pursuits. The truth is she was fonder of exploring abandoned houses and old cemeteries. When not out on her own adventures, she can be found in her northern Vermont home writing stories about brave, smart women and the men who capture their hearts. An antique-dealing florist by trade. She’s also a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and the League of Vermont Writers. Her short stories have appeared in a number of publications, including Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, the Mythopoeic Society’s Mythic Circle literary magazine, and George H. Scither’s anthology Cat Tales.
The first two novels in her Dark Heart series, A Hold on Me and Beyond Your Touch, are available from Kensington Books. Reach for You (Dark Heart Book 3) will be released 27 June. Her short story, "Black as a Dark Moon, Scarlet as Sumac", will come out this September in the Fragments of Darkness anthology.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a paperback set of the entire Dark Heart series or a gift certificate (US only).
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