Within the
Essence (The Division: Book One)
by Connie L.
Smith
$3.99 - ISBN: 978-1-945910-02-9
Buy Links:
As the demons near, the Essences rise…
AJ had never been particularly athletic or coordinated, so waking up
to realize she suddenly has super-human strength is a massive, mind-shaking
shock. Finding that she’s gained a stalker overnight is another mark in the
unusual category, and when she discovers she’s always had the essence of a
werewolf in her blood, her world all but shifts beneath her.
Demons, she’s told, are looming in the world’s future, and the only
hope humanity has of surviving their arrival is if she and teenagers like her
surrender their humanity to dive into their mythical essences. Fairies,
dragons, dwarves, mermaids… The remnants of seventeen different fantasy species
must come to life to save the lives of everyone.
Someway, an army of supernatural teenagers must prepare to meet the
demons escaping from their dimensional banishment, or everything ends. Can these
teens succeed and save the world?
Excerpt:
Even
though she wasn’t searching for a point of focus in her gazing, she soon found
one. The insane stranger from the school’s parking lot was less than ten feet
away and watching her.
AJ
tensed, then twisted to sprint away, but his words kept her in place as he
advanced.
“It
wasn’t intuition,” he insisted. “Like it wasn’t adrenaline. Why won’t you
believe me?”
By
now, he was inches from her, and she still wouldn’t make eye contact.
“Look.”
She cleared her throat after her voice cracked. “I don’t know who you are, or
if you’re stalking me, or what, but you can’t just show up—”
“You’re
in no danger. We’re in a hospital, complete with officers and security cameras,
not to mention patients, staff, and concerned well-wishers.” His lips quirked
into another grin. “No need to create witnesses this time.”
“Just
leave me alone.”
“I
can’t do that.”
“Why
not?” Though she struggled to keep calm, emotion tainted her words.
He
sighed tiredly. “The last time I told you why, you ran from me.”
“Because
it was crazy talk!”
“As
crazy as a girl who can hear whimpers from two floors up? I overheard all of
that conversation earlier, and that’s not counting whatever else you
experienced today. What will it take to convince you something’s different
here?” Reaching out, he took her chin in his hand so he could gently force her
to meet his gaze. “What can I say or do that will get you to listen to me?”
Part
of her wanted to hear him. She couldn’t deny, regardless of trying, that life
had devolved to things impossible over the last twenty-four hours.
Author Spotlight:
Connie L. Smith spends a decent amount of
time with her mind wandering in fictional places. She reads too much, likes to
bake, and might forever be sad that she doesn’t have fairy wings. And that she
can’t swing dance. Much of her preferred music is severely outdated, and as an
adult she’s kind of obsessed with Power Rangers. She has her BA from Northern
Kentucky University in Speech Communication and History (she doesn’t totally
get the connection either), and her MA in English and Creative Writing.
No comments
Post a Comment