Book & Author Details:
Family Secrets by Kat Nichols
Publication date: January 8th 2015
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Publication date: January 8th 2015
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Synopsis:
An orphan by the age of sixteen, Sophia Morganthal now lives with her best friend and struggles in a world with no relatives. Midway through her Senior year, Sophia finds herself flying across the country to live with a family she never knew existed. She ends up with more questions than answers when she discovers that not only does she come from a long line of witches but that she must be initiated within the year to prevent a battle for coven leadership.
Feeling more alone than ever, Sophia finds her solace in books. The journals of past initiates provide her with more than she ever wanted to know and make her question the path she’s on. Amidst all of the upheaval in her life, Sophia also finds one source of happiness – Connor. The last thing she needs is more complications, but Connor is the only person who makes her feel wanted for herself and not for what she stands for.
As Sophia learns more about herself, and what being initiated into Blackthorne coven really means, she must answer the ultimate question – would she give up everything for her family?
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Excerpt
After watching Alexa blow up a precious stone, I was a little
hesitant to try. She watched me, her foot tapping the floor repeatedly, until I
picked out a pretty blue gemstone that matched my shirt. I held it in my right
hand, placing my left hand over it just as Alexa had done. Here is where I
thought my previous failed attempts would come in handy since I already knew
what didn’t work. But it didn’t matter much after all. My magic, perhaps
knowing it was about to be used for the first time, was waiting as impatient as
a child kept inside on a rainy day. Unlike those previous attempts, I was
finally able to find it, grasp a tendril and tug lightly. It, whatever it was,
unspooled and began to move towards my hands. I looked up at Alexa, panic
building in my chest, heart beating erratically as this energy moved through my
body. It began to pool in my hands, where I should have been able to send it
into the stone, but somehow it was blocked. My heart continued to race, getting
faster and faster as the energy filled my hands. The pressure built until I was
sure my hands would burst, when Alexa placed a hand on my wrist.
“Relax,” she said. “Let it flow.”
Something snapped in my brain, a mental block I had thrown up
against magic being real, and finally, my power began to pour into the
sapphire. It wasn’t long before I felt some resistance from the stone, as the
energy flow slowed. I pulled back, somehow instinctively knowing how and my
connection to the stone broke. In my hands, I held my very own power stone. Opening
my hand, the gem sat on my palm, pulsing along with my heartbeat. I barked out
a laugh, staring at the stone, then raised my head to look at Alexa.
It was real. It was all real. Everything they told me. I shook my
head, still staring at the stone in my hand. The magic energy had retreated
back into my body, but I could feel it pulsing inside my chest, refusing to be
hidden again, at one time both foreign and completely natural.
Interview:
Tell us about
Family Secrets?
Family Secrets is a young adult, coming of age story
with a magical twist. Sophia moves to Illinois and her whole life is turned
upside down. She meets family she never knew she had and finds out she comes
from a long line of witches. She deals with family issues, meeting new friends
and a cute boy at school, all while studying to pass her initiation.
How did you come
up with the idea for Family Secrets?
Believe it or not,
Family Secrets came to me in one sitting. We’d just formed the Rebel Writers and
NaNoWriMo was about to start, so I decided to sit down to plot out a book. I
locked myself in my bedroom and just put pen to paper. It took a couple hours,
but when I was done I had a very basic idea of what would happen in Family
Secrets.
You’ve mentioned the Rebel Writers. Who are they and
how have they influenced you?
The Rebel Writers
is my writing group. We met as fans of indie author Rachel Higginson, who I
love, and we all decided we’d write our first books together. They are amazing
women and talented authors. If not for them, I never would have finished my
first book, let alone have other books in the pipeline. We got so lucky. They
are my best friends and my sisters. Cheesy, I know!
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
You have to get
out there and mingle with the blogging/writing/reading world. Join discussion
groups, follow Facebook pages, and put yourself out there. It can be time
consuming, time you may want to spend writing, but you
can meet some amazing people. And then, keep going. Don’t stop writing
or reading. If possible, find yourself a good writing group to help keep you
sane. They will understand what you’re going through and can support you in
ways even your best friends and family cannot.
Why do you like
writing YA books?
I know I’m
generalizing here, but for teens, everything is new or fresh, like the tingles
of first love and the devastation of first heartbreak. All of the emotions are
felt so keenly and powerfully. It seems like they experience things on a grander
scale and I enjoy delving into those emotions when writing.
Where
do you usually find yourself writing?
Anywhere I can. I’m a mom with a full time job and a son who
plays three sports. I try to get writing in while I’m at work, on my lunches
and my breaks. Plus, I’ve been known to pull out my laptop at basketball
practice or dentist appointments, anywhere I can get some words in.
Is there a
character that has taken a completely different turn than you originally
planned for it? Characters that you discarded and wrote out or became more
important than you planned?
I’ve often heard authors say that the characters speak to
them or take over a story but I’d never really seen it in action until Ellen.
She’s the cook at Sophia’s new home and like the maids, was meant to be more of
a background character. As I wrote
her, she demanded a much larger role and ended up being a pretty important
person to Sophia.
Do
you have any upcoming projects?
I do! I’m halfway finished with book two in the Secret
Societies collection. Deadly Secrets is a continuation of Sophia’s story and I
plan on releasing in July or early August of this year. I also have the first
chapter of a novella about Sophia’s parents up on the site, Literrater. I’d
like to have it published by the end of the year.
The Secret Societies collection will continue after that but
will tell the story of a different paranormal group and since they all live in
the same area, the stories will intertwine. For example, people in Deadly
Secrets will show up in later books. My goal is that each set can stand alone
as a series, but you can read them all in order to fully understand what is going
on with these groups and the relationships between them. The first set,
Secrets, focuses on Sophia and the witches, and will consist of two full length
novels and one novella.
How can our readers find you?
I can always be
found on Facebook at: www.facebook.com.katnicholsauthor.com.
My website is www.katnichols.com. My
twitter handle is @Author_KatN.
For new release
info, teasers and exclusive giveaways, sign up for my newsletter here.
AUTHOR BIO
Kat Nichols was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. The youngest of four children, she'd been known to play for hours with only a cardboard box for entertainment. Her imaginary friends had friends... and family... and even little cities to play in. As she grew older, she began to put some of these stories down on paper, rather than keeping them in her head.
Writing a novel had always been a dream for her, perhaps an item on her bucket list, but it wasn't until she joined a writing group with other aspiring writers that she finally got to work.When not writing, Kat is reading or driving her son to and from practices and wishing she was reading.It depends on the day.
Kat still lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her wonderful husband, their hilarious son and their sometimes adorable and sometimes annoying cat.
To learn more about the author, please go to www.katnichols.com.
Author links:
Writing a novel had always been a dream for her, perhaps an item on her bucket list, but it wasn't until she joined a writing group with other aspiring writers that she finally got to work.When not writing, Kat is reading or driving her son to and from practices and wishing she was reading.It depends on the day.
Kat still lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her wonderful husband, their hilarious son and their sometimes adorable and sometimes annoying cat.
To learn more about the author, please go to www.katnichols.com.
Author links:
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