Welcome to Sortilege Falls
by Libby Heily
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: YA Fantasy
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BLURB:
Sixteen-year-old
Grape Merriweather moved to Sortilege Falls expecting a fresh start and new
friends. But things are never quite what they seem in this sleepy Missouri
town. Her math teacher looks like a witch, her school is being stalked by a
vampire, and Grape could swear the town’s garden gnomes are moving. None of
that compares to the small group of teenage models, blessed with otherworldly
beauty, who rule Sortilege Falls. Even the adults are powerless to tell them
no. When the models fall ill from a mysterious disease, all of the town’s
secrets start leaking out. Grape is determined to help her new friends, but searching
for the cure might just get her killed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt One:
Grape Meets the Models:
Grape’s entire body stiffened as she looked up from her
phone. Five of the most beautiful people to ever walk the earth stood scattered
around two Porsches. Did I walk into a photo shoot?
“I mean, gross.”
The words came from an impossibly beautiful girl. Loose,
raven-black locks fell over her shoulders, the tips lingering above her full
bosom. Grape could almost hear the sizzle and static of her electric blue eyes.
The sun had kissed the girl’s skin lightly, leaving a glow that made the air
around her shimmer. Her pouty, pink, full lips begged to be kissed, though the
guy standing behind her, his arm draped over her shoulder protectively, warned
off all who would be so bold.
The boy behind her, if anything, was even more handsome than
she was beautiful. Muscle stacked upon muscle until his clothes had no choice
but to hug every inch of his body. His dark eyebrows and strong jaw lent him a
tough look, one that was backed up by the playful anger in his eyes.
The raven-haired goddess turned and embraced her beau, her
face tucked away into the heat of his chest. He sat propped up on the hood of a
yellow Porsche, the sleek lines of the car offset by the disdain on his face.
They were so incredibly, delightfully gorgeous that even though he looked as if
he had seen a cockroach instead of a human being, Grape’s heart still melted at
the sight of them.
“I think she’s in love.”
Grape snapped her gaze away from the Adonis with the nasty
temperament and turned toward the twin boys standing in front of a black
Porsche. Her eyes bounced between the two, taking in every perfect feature.
Flawless, rich, dark brown skin. Sparkling hazel eyes. Muscles so tight that
you could bounce a quarter off their abs, or arms, or anywhere on their bodies,
really. They looked as perfectly engineered as the cars they stood by. But it
was their lusciously long eyelashes that sent Grape swooning. Men were not
meant to be this pretty.
“Leave her alone, guys.”
Grape’s head spun. Each person she saw was more beautiful
than the last, and the redheaded girl standing off to the side was no
exception. The baggy jeans and generic T-shirt she wore did not detract from
her creamy skin and full lips. Her large brown eyes fascinated Grape—red flakes
glimmered from inside each caramel-colored orb.
The air felt charged with a million volts. Her thinking grew
cloudy. Were these angels? Was she daydreaming? How did anyone get to be this
beautiful? She could sense their hostility, but something inside her felt warm
and gooey. Snap to, Grape, she told herself. They want to hurt you.
“Awww, look. It likes us,” the twin with the goatee said.
The clean-shaven twin’s face softened. Was that pity she saw in his hazel eyes?
“Stop being mean,” the redhead said, sounding more bored
than angry.
“I’m not being mean. Where’d you buy that shirt?” Goatee
asked. His quiet tone was laced with thorny edges.
Grape swallowed hard. The fuzz inside her head abated.
Focus, she told herself, feeling like an idiot. “I don’t know. Kohl’s maybe.”
She glanced down at her blouse. The shirt was a birthday present from her
mother, and she wasn’t sure where it came from, but since her mother did most
of her own shopping at Kohl’s, it seemed like a pretty safe guess.
Goatee turned toward his brother and smiled. “Pay up.”
Clean-Shaven shook his head at her as if she’d named the
wrong store on purpose. He pulled a thick wad of cash from his pocket, peeled
off a twenty, and handed it to Goatee. “I was sure it came from Kmart.”
“Why does it matter where I bought my shirt?”
The raven-haired girl glanced out from her hiding place in
her boyfriend’s embrace. “It just looked familiar. I wore the same shirt. Three
years ago.” She smiled, but there was no kindness when she bared her teeth.
“Before it was a knockoff.” The girl hid her face against her boyfriend’s pecs.
Their chests rose and fell at the same time, breathing as one.
“Okay. Well, I don’t really buy designer clothes.” Grape
wanted to have a witty comeback, but she still wasn’t sure where the insult
lay. Did they or did they not like the shirt?
What the hell is wrong with me? Of course they’re making fun
of me. Why aren’t I angrier?
“She means she modeled the design,” the redheaded girl said,
cutting her eyes to the couple.
“You’re a model?”
The brothers snickered. “Pretending she doesn’t know who we
are, that’s so cute. Is that the new fad amongst the Normals?” Clean-Shaven
asked.
“I don’t understand anything you just said.” Grape felt
completely out of her depth. This was the school parking lot, but she might as
well have been on Jupiter.
The redhead took a step toward Grape, shooting a nasty
glance to the others crowded around the cars. “Don’t worry about it. They’re
just teasing.”
“I thought about modeling.” Grape hadn’t meant to say that,
but no one else spoke, and she felt like she had to say something. Her skin
grew hot. She knew she was was blushing beyond red and into crimson mode. She’d
practiced runway shows off and on in her bedroom since she was twelve, but she
had never told anyone she wanted to be a model. Ever.
“Ow,” Grape cried, only then noticing that she had twisted
her ring so hard it was actually cutting into her finger. A tiny drop of blood
oozed out and fell to the pavement below.
“Aren’t you a little fat to be a model?” the boyfriend
asked. His voice sounded like pure honey even when he spoke acid.
“You think I’m fat?” Grape stared down at her flat tummy. No
one had ever called her fat before. There was still a bit of room in the
waistband of her size four skirt.
“I’m just saying you could stand to lose a few pounds,
unless you want the runway to collapse.”
“Ouch, Adam.” Clean-Shaven punched the boyfriend playfully
on the arm.
Goatee winked at Adam. “My boy calls it like he sees it, and
he sees a chunky monkey.”
“I’m well within my weight range.” She could feel her voice
growing high-pitched. Damn nerves. These people were jerks.
“Of course you are, you look great,” the redhead told her.
“These guys just don’t how to joke around without being completely mean.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
I was born
during a blizzard. I’m told it was pretty cool but I have no memory of that
time. I grew up in two tiny towns in Virginia and spent most of my twenties
moving around the US. I’ve lived in Virginia, Florida, Missouri, and
Washington. I’ve settled down, for now, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
I’m a writer
and improviser. I studied acting in college but spent more time rewriting lines
than memorizing them. My first play, Fourth Wall, was produced my junior year.
Since then, I’ve written several full length plays, one acts and screenplays. I
started writing fiction in my late twenties. Now, I focus mainly on novels but
still dabble in theater.
Fun facts
about me: There are none. I’m sorry to disappoint you so soon. But, I do love
to read, write, and run. My hubby is my favorite person on earth. Dogs are my
second favorite. All dogs. I love orange juice, especially when it’s mixed with
club soda. Carbonation is better than alcohol. Jaws is my favorite movie.
Everything I’ve said so far is true.
Awards:
Puschcart
Prize Nomination for “Grow Your Own Dad” – Published by Mixer Publishing
Semi-finalist
Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference – “STUFF”
Honorable
Mention The Ohio State Newark New Play Contest – “The Last Day”
Contacting
Libby:
Email:
libbyheilyauthor@gmail.com
Snail Mail:
PO Box 58251
Raleigh, NC
27616
Libby on the
Web:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/libbyheily/
Twitter https://twitter.com/libbyheily
Purchase
Links:
Barnes and
Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/welcome-to-sortilege-falls-libby-heily/1123755970?ean=2940153003634
Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/634244
Behind the
Scenes Info:
“Welcome to
Sortilege Falls” is my second novel. My first, “Tough Girl” was about an
eleven-year-old who is slowly starving to death and loses herself in an
imaginary world to combat the misery of her life. I wanted to write something
happy after that and WTSF is about as “happy” as my writing gets. The idea was
to come up with a main character whose very name sounds like a smile, thus
Grape Merriweather was born. Stories grow and writers hardly ever end up
writing the book they intended. That is definitely true with WTSF. My “happy”
story grew to encompass the themes of beauty worship, celebrity, as well as
delving into the mysterious relationships between child stars and their
parents. In the beginning of the novel, Grape is new at school and eager to
impress. She was popular back home and has never had trouble making friends.
She spends over an hour the night before trying on outfits and picking the
perfect one for her first day. But she is ignored by students and teachers
alike. Everyone is too caught up with the beyond gorgeous models to bother with
one new student. We discover this weird world along with Grape and I tried to
stay true to her voice. It was very important to me that Grape wasn’t perfect,
that she partially fell under the Models’ spell as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY
Libby will be awarding a $10 Amazon or
B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Thanks for hosting! The book is currently free on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting! And the ebook is definitely free right now. I wonder if any of your readers have had an encounter with beauty/celebrity worship?
ReplyDeleteI liked the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteModels? I'll take my chances with the vampires.
ReplyDeleteCongrats
ReplyDelete