Nathaniel West’s mother is dead,
his father a lost cause. Anger has become a way of life, until he
meets and
falls in love with Cora Ewell. Only Cora has a secret, one that could kill them
both.
An age old dark magic resurfaces
and it becomes a race against time for Cora and Nate to find the long buried
secrets to saving everyone they love and each other.
After a near fatal accident
leaves Nate in limbo, he must find a way to get through to Cora before time
runs out and she is forced into life eternal with the evil wizard, Elias
Stafford.
Author Bio:
Danielle Belwater adores the
concept of true love and thoroughly believes everyone has their Prince Charming
or Snow White out there somewhere, even if they have to fight demons, ghosts,
and wizards to find it.
Danielle has been having a love
affair with words since she was young and in primary school, writing some
rather imaginative tales. This love has followed her into adulthood.
She lives in rural South
Australia with her husband, young daughters and way too many animals to
mention. She spends most of her time dreaming up characters, stories, ghostly
tales, and watching Firefly re-runs. She
also cooks the odd meal for her family to avoid them looking like skeletons at
official author functions!
Danielle is passionate about
reading and her interests include pretty much anything with words from rolling
four volume epics to the daily newspaper.
Excerpt
PANTSING – Is not something to do
with your underwear.
“Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Well, which one? What are you?” As if my
entire writing career would be judged on this one answer.
“Huh?” Was my response when I
first started moving in author circles. I protectively clutched my trousers,
worried that any second someone would grab them from behind and I’d find them
down around my ankles.
Much to my dignity’s relief, this
was not the case and I got to keep my pants where they belonged.
It is, in fact, a term coined
from the phrase “flying by the seat of your pants”; the art of writing a book
with no clear direction or plot. Letting characters lead you where they will
and see where you end up.
To me, the whole concept of
‘pantsing’ was enough to push my heart rate through the roof and reach for the
paper bag. I like structure, a clear vision, direction. It’s the way I roll.
It came as a complete shock to me
when my characters had very different ideas to mine and from what I discovered,
they don’t take no for an answer.
Many times during writing “Of Fire
& Roses”, I would be heading down a clear path. I knew exactly where I was
going. But if I took my eyes off Nate or
Cora for a few seconds, all hell would break loose and I’ve got a great big
plot twist staring back at me. I’m sure I heard them laughing at me from behind
the page.
But overall, I think it has made
it a better book. It keeps the reader guessing and the story fresh.
So I have learnt to embrace my
inner pantser, even if I do have to put the reins on her from time to time! It
can be very liberating and exciting to find out where your characters want to
lead you.
Excerpt
I came to stand on the branch that I would
jump from. Holding on to the branch above me, I edged my way out to the dangled
rope. With one hand, I grabbed the rope and pulled it toward me. I inched back
a few steps to give myself a decent amount of swing room. The rope was fraying,
coarse, and rough in my hands. I could hear loud shouts and whoops of
encouragement from below, but I blocked them out, shut my eyes…then jumped.
Free…Swinging out in the air, I
forgot everything in that brief moment of peace. Letting go of the thick rope
for that split second of suspension, I felt like I was flying. Then, I was no
longer flying. I was slamming—slamming into the cold, glassy lake. The impact
shattered every cell in my body as the pain of hitting a sheet of solid water
turned me to jelly. Then I was under. I opened my eyes. Murky darkness
surrounded me.
I don’t know how far I was
submerged but I could see rays of sunlight piercing through the surface into
the depths. I waited for the moment my feet would hit the bottom so I could
push off and resurface. Feeling the sludgy sand between my toes, I closed my
eyes again and prepared to launch myself skyward. I don’t know why, but my feet
were stuck. Something cold and slimy had wrapped itself around my left leg,
tendrils crawling like ants around my calf. All the air in my chest escaped in
a single cloud of air bubbles making a frenzied dash for the surface.
Kicking and flapping about, I tried to
dislodge whatever had caught my foot. I needed air but every time I opened my
mouth it filled with the ceaseless rush of muddy water.
Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t
panic! I crunched myself into a ball and stretched my arm down in a vain attempt
to remove whatever it was that had the vice grip on my ankle. I wrapped my hand
around the offending root that held me. Terror stopped my heart and froze my
blood, and my eyes shot open. Clamped around my leg was a grizzly,
white-knuckled hand extending out of the lake floor. I struggled and fought to
pry the digits loose. It was no use, my ankle was locked fast, and I had
nothing left.
Given the go-ahead, the murky
liquid hungrily searched for any way to penetrate and take over my body. A
thousand knives pierced through me as I battled for every last scrap of oxygen.
My arms and legs spasmed once, then twice, then stopped fighting and went
deathly still. An ethereal calmness took over. I knew right then I was dying. I
thought of Cora, imagining her warmth and fire, and I found peace. I pictured
her arms wrapped around me, holding me tight forever and never letting go.
CONTACTS & SOCIAL
MEDIA
Web: http://www.daniellebelwater.com
E: daniellebelwater@gmail.com
Blog: http://daniellebelwater.blogspot.com.au
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/DanielleBelwaterAuthor
Twitter: @DSevenwaters
Wattpad: http://wattpad.com/DanielleBelwater
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/DBelwater/
Web: http://www.daniellebelwater.com
E: daniellebelwater@gmail.com
Blog: http://daniellebelwater.blogspot.com.au
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/DanielleBelwaterAuthor
Twitter: @DSevenwaters
Wattpad: http://wattpad.com/DanielleBelwater
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/DBelwater/
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