Deal Sharing Aunt: The Skinwalker's Apprentice by Claribel Ortega Excerpt and Giveaway

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

The Skinwalker's Apprentice by Claribel Ortega Excerpt and Giveaway

The Skinwalker's Apprentice

Release Date: 02/24/14

Summary from Goodreads:

“Welcome to The Empire State, where banshees, witches, and skinwalkers wait…”

Margo Pennyfeather is being hunted. The 16-year-old witch has always been an outcast, in her home back in England, and now in the village of East Hampton New York where her family has settled. No one but her family has ever cared for Margo, but now the most important witch in the magic world wants her as an apprentice, giving her a chance to bring her family out of poverty.
Before long, Margo realizes things aren't what they seem, least of all, what kind of witch she really is. Now, the young witch must face a terrifying monster on her own, and the reverberations will reach farther than she could have ever imagined.

More than three hundred years later, in 1984 Emerald Kipp is a high school senior in New York City. A troubled teen with a rebellious streak, Emerald can't seem to figure out what to do with her life, and unfortunately for her, “witch” isn’t one of the available career choices in her guidance counselor’s office. As she struggles to figure herself out, Emerald is faced with the threat of being stuck in school and missing her final summer with her three best friends. Her last year of high school is turning out to be the worst yet, and Emerald thinks it can’t possibly get any worse. Unfortunately for her, she’s dead wrong.
And there’s something else, something far more sinister stirring in Emerald’s world, and she’ll have to believe in herself if she wants to get through it alive.

Two witches, three hundred years apart, one inescapable fate.

The Skinwalker's Apprentice is a prequel to the upcoming novel, Emerald Kipp and The Riddle of The Timekeeper, a terrifying magical scavenger hunt through the gritty streets of 1980’s New York City,set to a killer soundtrack, and perfect for fans of Harry Potter and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Part of The Empire Witches series.

*Available February 24th, 2014 on Smashwords,iBook, Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and more!
(Pre orders available Jan. 20th)

Excerpt

Jackson Darcantel was on his skateboard, heading towards the front entrance of Upperten High School, when he spotted a blue head of hair crawling out of the bushes.

“Emerald?”

She looked up as if it was perfectly normal to be crawling out of the shrubbery and smiled.

“Hey, Jackson, how’s it going?” Emerald popped up and wiped her jeans clean, patting the Walkman on the inside of her oversized army jacket for good measure.

“Are you sneaking out of Principal Grossman’s office already? Sheesh, Emerald, it’s only been THREE weeks.”

“Technically, I wasn’t sneaking out since I was never really inside,” she rationalized, squinting as she said the word “really.” “I was only sort of inside.”

“I’m not even gonna ask what that means. I just know it was something illegal and probably dangerous.”

Emerald smiled. Jackson was one of her oldest friends, and he was used to her getting into trouble at every turn. He was a smooth talker, which came in handy when she was trying to weasel her way out of something. Jackson picked his skateboard up and carried it under his arm, and the two friends walked together. He was much taller than Emerald, almost six feet to her barely five and a half. He wore a cap turned towards the side and a black windbreaker jacket over his dark blue tee shirt and jeans. He looked like a younger version of Denzel Washington. Even Emerald, who thought of him as brother, had to admit he was pretty good looking. She had no idea why Jackson hung around her. Aside from being nice to look at, Jackson was also incredibly smart. He was everybody’s favorite high school senior, and she was on a fast track towards juvie. But they had been friends since first grade, and Jackson saw a side of Emerald that her classmates never got to see. There was more to her than just being the school troublemaker.

About the Author

Claribel Ortega is a graduate of the SUNY Purchase journalism program, and got her start writing for the school’s Independent Newspaper. There, she quickly rose the ranks from editing the student’s often times hilarious ads and ramblings on the back page of the paper to staff and feature writer.

After graduation, Claribel worked as a reporter for The Rivertowns Enterprise, a local paper in lower Westchester County, New York. As a reporter, she enjoyed going to board of education meetings and texting the town mayors about the line at Starbucks.

Today, Claribel works for The Combined Book Exhibit, a book marketing company in Westchester NY.

She lives in New York with her really awesome boyfriend, her suspiciously intelligent yorkie Pancho Villa and is surrounded by an impenetrable fort of books she gets from her job.

“The Skinwalker’s Apprentice” is her first book, and cheese is her favorite food.

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