Being a witch is the last thing Hannah wants…

The young adult novel, set in present-day Annapolis, Maryland (lots of scenes are set at the historic sites in my hometown), focuses on Hannah Fitzgerald, a sixteen-year-old Chesapeake witch. And even if being a witch sounds super cool, it’s the last thing she wants.

Hannah, the thirteenth great-granddaughter of the Wizard Earl Fitzgerald, has always known she was descended from a royal legacy of dark magic. Although a stranger to her coven in Annapolis, she is no stranger to grief and denial. However, when an ancient prophecy reveals the rise of a young, powerful witch and the impending death of another, she realizes she can no longer afford to suppress the magic that has taken away so much. She seeks out the frighteningly scarred, yet mysterious W, a Calvert descendant, who is destined to change her life, but even he cannot prepare her for the danger that lies ahead.

Enemies will hurt her. Loved ones will make her vulnerable. And the impending prophecy that drives her to unleash her magic will cause her to unearth the sins of the past and doubt any promise of a future. Without knowing whom her true rival is, Hannah isn’t certain she’ll survive, and if she loses, she may lose everything, including the ones she loves.

On Amazon now–BEWITCHING HANNAH. Click here: Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leigh Goff is proud to be an Annapolitan. She’s a member of SCBWI and a graduate of the University of Maryland University College. Fun fact–she is the eighth great-granddaughter of a seventeenth century Chesapeake witch.

Her second young adult novel, BEWITCHING HANNAH (2017), which is set in Annapolis, provides an enchanting twist on the Beauty-and-Beast theme. Her debut young adult novel, DISENCHANTED (2015), reimagines the legacy of a wicked Wethersfield witch in the present-day life of her sixteen-year-old descendant, Sophie Goodchild.

Calling all YA fantasy fans, Disenchanted, is on sale (ebook $.99 and paperback $12.95)! Get it while you can…

Blurb:

A forbidden love. A dark curse. An impossible choice… Descended from a powerful Wethersfield witch, sixteen-year-old Sophie is struggling to hide her awkwardly emerging magic, but that’s the least of her worries. When a dangerous thief tries to steal her mysterious heirloom necklace, she is rescued by the one person she’s forbidden to fall for, a descendant of the man who condemned her ancestor to hang. He carries a dark secret that could destroy them both unless Sophie learns how to tap into the mysterious power of her diamond bloodcharm. She will have to uncover dark secrets from both of their families’ wicked pasts and risk everything, including her soul to save them from a witch’s true love curse, but it will take much more than that.

About the Author:

Leigh Goff lives and writes in Annapolis, Maryland.  She is a University of Maryland University College graduate, a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and a volunteer with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She is also the eighth great-granddaughter of an accused witch from the Chesapeake area.

Purchase Disenchanted

 

About The Mystery on Lost Lagoon:

Legend has it… if you go onto Lost Lagoon, you never return.

Nikki Landry and her friends are off on a quest to track down the prehistoric-looking bird that’s been flying around a nearby swamp island. However, their plans get sidetracked when they meet a stranger in their small town who seems to have some secrets to hide.

The sleuthing group soon learns of a legend about a hidden lagoon. Is it all connected? Before they can find out, they are kidnapped by a mysterious scientist on a mission of his own.

Is there any truth to the legend that says if you go onto Lost Lagoon, you will never return? Is the eerie whirlpool that sits waiting to suck you in really a passage to another world?

Join Nikki, her friends, and one neurotic parrot, as they discover the truth behind the Mystery on Lost Lagoon.

Follow the Book Tour:

https://saphsbookpromotions.blogspot.com/2017/11/schedule-mystery-on-lost-lagoon-nikki.html

Book Details:

Purchase from Mirror World Publishing

Read an Exclusive Excerpt:

Nikki and Tim snooping around the mad scientist’s camp boat.

We got to a place that was covered in brush and thick with willows. We slowed down so we could examine the situation.

A wooden ramp lay between us and the deck of a tiny floating camp. It was way smaller than my houseboat. Either side of the ramp was filled with black water and weeds.

“His truck isn’t here,” Tim whispered. “I saw it leave out earlier.”

“Probably when he went to pick up his order at Big Red’s.”

“I never saw it come back.”

“Maybe he had other errands to run,” I said. “Or realized some of his order was missing and went back for it. I’ll just leave it on his deck.”

I stepped onto the rickety ramp. The boards were rotting and barely hanging together.

“We’d better go one at a time,” I said.

Snooper suddenly began barking wildly and ran ahead of us, almost knocking me into the unknown witch’s brew below.

“Come back Snoop!” I yelled.

He didn’t turn around, but ran right up to the door and began scratching against it.

I hurried after him and tried to grab him, but he ran back and forth on the deck barking and snarling.

“What’s wrong with you, you crazy dog?” I got hold of his collar. Surely no one was home if they didn’t come out to see what the ruckus was about. Then Snooper laid down on the wood planks and whined. “You sure are acting strange.” I rubbed his head, as Tim stepped onto the deck behind me.

I knocked on the door. “Mr. Beekers,” I yelled. “I have a package for you.”

I walked over to a small window and peeked inside. “I don’t see anyone. I guess I’ll just leave it here.” I held the package in my hand. “I hope it’s nothing edible.” I looked around wondering if gators might crawl up to eat anything left outside.

“Just put it on that bench there,” Tim said. “He’ll get it when he gets home.”

I took one more look through the window and thought I saw something move through a ray of light. I jumped back. “I think someone’s in there.”

“Are you sure, Nikki? How could he get here without his truck?”

“Maybe it broke down, and he walked home.” I knocked again on the door. Then I put my ear against it.

“Poo-Yai! Go away, and don’t come back!” a scratchy shrill voice yelled.

Snooper barked sharply.

I jumped back so fast I bumped into Tim, who almost fell off the deck. I turned and ran down the ramp, Tim right behind me. When I got to the road, I looked back to see Snooper still barking at the unopened door.

“Come on Snooper,” I yelled. “Get over here.” I patted my leg as a signal.

He barked a couple more loud yaps, then turned and met me at the road.

“Who was that?” I squealed, as we trotted down the small road leading back to Tim’s house.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But I think we need to stay away.”

Meet the Author:

Behind Every Legend Lies the Truth!

Rita Monette was born and raised in Southwest Louisiana. After retiring from her “real” job as an administrative assistant for the State of Michigan, Rita began doing what she always wanted to do…write and draw. Her stories are set in the beautiful, yet mysterious, bayous and swamps of her home state. The Mystery on Lost Lagoon is the fourth book in her Nikki Landry Swamp Legend series, which is based on her childhood. Rita now lives with her husband, four lap dogs, and one lap cat, in the mountains of Tennessee.

Connect with Rita:

Website:

http://www.ritamonette.comFacebook:

https://www.facebook.com/RitaMonetteBooks/Amazon US:

https://www.amazon.com/Rita-Monette/e/B00APOURBI/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1508786247&sr=8-1Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6580833.Rita_MonetteBlog:

http://ritamonette.blogspot.ca/Publisher Website:

http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com

 

In Bewitching Hannah, my new young adult fantasy romance, the historic Annapolis Tea Party has a mysterious connection to the witches in Annapolis, and it is the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the event described below that marks the climax of the story.

In defiance of British Parliament’s Tea Act of 1773, the Sons of Liberty in Boston boarded a ship filled with tea and set it ablaze. Ten months later, Annapolis patriots denied Parliament’s right of taxation and followed suit.

It was October 1774, and the Peggy Stewart brig arrived in Annapolis from London…loaded with tea. Since this was not the first time the owner, Anthony Stewart, had tried to import banned goods, he decided in order to unload the two thousand pounds of tea, he would pay the tax.

Colonial Annapolitans rushed into a rage and demanded Mr. Stewart be publicly punished by tarring and feathering him. They protested in front of his house, threatening his life and his family. A local committee of Maryland citizens decided the best course of action was to burn the Peggy Stewart and her cargo in the harbor.

The night of October 19th, 1774, several patriots including Charles Ridgely accompanied Mr. Stewart on board the brig. Mr. Stewart hesitated to touch his torch to the ship until Mr. Ridgely warned him that if he didn’t, his life would be in danger. The ship and her cargo burned and sank in the harbor, thereby entering the Annapolis Tea Party into the history books.

Eventually and in fear for his life, Mr. Stewart relocated to Nova Scotia, Canada. As for the ship, according to the Maryland Historical Society Library, the Peggy Stewart‘s remains lay beneath what is now Luce Hall at the U. S. Naval Academy.

In the excerpt below, Hannah talks about her fear of October 19^th—the date of the upcoming tea party reenactment.

EXCERPT:

“I want to assume you found the trunk key I left for you, and you’ve been studying your father’s notes from the attic. If you’ve been up to anything more than that do not tell me,” Aunt J said.

“I have been reading his notes.”

“Good. Keep doing that, but you should know something else. Your father’s ring, the one on your hand—there is more to it than meets the eye. Your father was working on its secret before he died, but he never figured it out.”

“He always told me it held a secret and secrets would reveal themselves to me once I proved worthy.”

“That’s true, and I have a feeling you’re exactly the worthy kind of witch that ring deserves. You need to pick up where he left off. Uncover its secret. You might need it.”

I stared at the Fitzgerald crest, the weight of my heritage falling heavy on my shoulders. “The way you say it scares me.”

“You need to be scared.” She stared straight ahead, but her knuckles on the steering wheel paled white as she gripped it harder.

“How much time do you think I have?”

“I don’t know. Momentous events surrounding witches usually occur during planet alignments or natural disasters.”

I wasn’t clairvoyant like Mrs. Meier, so predicting a volcanic eruption or tidal wave was out of the question unless the date came to me in a fog-free dream. However, I wasn’t counting on that. I reached for my phone and Googled “upcoming astral events.” I scrolled through the list. My eyes nearly popped out of my head—one impending big, amazing, blood moon-slash-total lunar eclipse. With anxious fingers, I checked my phone calendar. The eclipse was occurring on October nineteenth, the night of the tea party re-enactment. I swallowed the lump in my throat and slipped the phone back in my pocket. Aunt J would be there with other members of the coven for the painting unveiling and everyone else in town for the re-enactment. I sighed, frustrated. “Can you drop me off at Mateo’s.”

“Mateo? We’re talking about your actual life, not your social life.”

“I promised him.”

She frowned. “If you prunus domestica to consider what I’ve told you.”

“I promise that, too.” We parked in front of Mateo’s house. I waved goodbye to Aunt J and dashed to the front door.

Summer greeted me with a huge smile. “Come in. I’m glad you’re okay.” Her gaze drifted to the cloudless blue sky. “Why do you look so damp and disheveled?”

I sighed, filled with frustration and stress. “Long story.”

“Mateo’s in the backyard. He’s been waiting to show you his stupid sacred treasures,” she said as if it wasn’t a big deal to anyone except Mateo. She pointed to the sliding glass doors. “He’s out there, but come back when you’re done.”

“Sure.”

Mateo, sitting at the sunny picnic bench in the middle of the yard, eyed me up and down. He set his small brush down. “You look like you got in a fight with a fish and the fish won.”

“Maybe I did.”

“Seriously?”

I shrugged. “Emme.”

“She doesn’t know when to quit, does she?”

“That’s for sure.”

He puttered around with a shell thingy. “So you gonna tell me exactly what happened after you left the beach by the cliff?”

I slid onto the bench opposite him. “Stupid really. Went to the pond, got distracted, and fell into a drainage ditch.”

He laughed. “I’m serious.”

“Me, too. Fortunately, I didn’t die there.”

“What had you so distracted you didn’t see the ditch?”

“Siris, my raven showed up.”

He looked up from cleaning. “I thought familiars were supposed to be helpful.”

“He was helpful. It was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“So what happened?”

I pressed my lips together, not sure how he would take the news. “That’s where William found me.”

BEWITCHING HANNAH

Being a witch is the last thing Hannah wants…

Sixteen-year-old Hannah Fitzgerald has always known she was descended from a royal legacy of dark magic. Although a stranger to her coven in Annapolis, she is no stranger to grief and denial. However, when an ancient prophecy reveals the rise of a young, powerful Chesapeake witch and the impending death of another, she realizes she can no longer afford to suppress the magic that has taken away so much. She seeks out the frighteningly scarred, yet mysterious W, a Calvert descendant who is destined to change her life, but even he cannot prepare her for the danger that lies ahead. Engaged in a deadly game and not knowing whom her true rival is, Hannah isn’t certain she’ll survive, and if she loses, she may lose everything, including the ones she loves.

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