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Bewitching Book Tour, book promo, giveaway, guest post, Hidden Salem by Kiki Howell, promo, witches
I’m delighted to have Kiki Howell here today, talking about her new novel Hidden Salem. There’s also a giveaway at the end of the post: enjoy!
One of the first places I visited in Salem, MA was the the Charter street burial ground, historically known as the Old Burying Point. I read that it is the second oldest *recorded* burial ground in the United States. Buried there are such notable figures as Samual McIntire, Giles Cory’s second wife, Lt. Col. John Hathorn (better known as “the hanging judge” – the one judge who never repented for his actions during the hysteria), and a passenger on the Mayflower.
I can’t really explain what it was like to walk through the place, just the city, let alone one of its cemeteries. Even the first trip in, in the daylight, being a bit sensitive to energy *winks* I didn’t expect to turn around to the second row of graves and get the feeling that three of them, now unmarked by weathering, were once my neighbors. Names came to me, a flash of an old street… I don’t know, who can explain such things, right? I always just try to go with it, not dwell on things too much. I think some of this type of attitude comes out in my main character in the novel I wrote inspired by this trip.
For the rest of that first walk around the cemetery, I had tears burning the back of my eyes from time to time. A young man who was just sitting among the graves even asked
me if I was okay at one point. Truthfully he seemed to appear and disappear out of nowhere, so much so, that I had to ask those I was with if they’d seen him too.
The whole experience left me a little raw, on edge. But, I knew I’d gone to Salem for a story, didn’t know where the inspiration would come from, and I trudged on through. In the back of the cemetery was a tree, one that seemed like it had a protective branch over the graves beneath it. Something about the image stuck with me for a long time, and it even became the backdrop for one of the last scenes in my novel, Hidden Salem.
Of course, the trip we took there at night on the Haunted Footsteps tour, well there were orbs and all involved. Stick with me on the tour to read about that part of the trip.
Hidden Salem
Kiki Howell
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Mitchell Morris Publishing Inc
ISBN: 9781937629281
Number of pages: 332
Cover Artist: Tara at http://fantasiafrogdesigns.wordpress.com/
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/lgy8wgA3bDI
Book Description:
Intuition alone brought Makayla to Salem, Ma in search of a story, but her research has her confronting more than she bargained for. With her empathic gifts stronger in Witch City, she physically suffers, landing her literally unconscious in the arms of both Noah Ayers, local cop and Dylan Baines, local history teacher. Yet, it is Lauri, a witch who owns a local shop, who teaches Makayla about who she is and what she can do.
Unfortunately for all of them, Makayla also stumbles upon a coven in the woods practicing a dark magic ritual. Now they are after her, threatening her life and the lives of those she has quickly come to care about. Immersed in things she never expected, like an old legend and necromancy due to residual hauntings, the race is on to stay safe from the coven and protect her heart from a certain sexy cop.
But, is Lauri correct in thinking Makayla might just have encountered the only real witch in Salem in 1692? And, do they share the same bloodline?
Reviews:
“Richly vivid and captivatingly engrossing, Hidden Salem is a mesmerizing tale that blends an eerie historical past with a rather terrifying present. Kiki Howell brings the fascination of the witches of Salem – both past and present – to a brilliant level, adding liberal doses of sensuous love, suspense and murder to provide a hard-to-put-down, provocative and memorable story that you don’t want to miss.” ~ April Pohren, Cafe of Dreams Book Reviews
“Kiki Howell spins a tale that will bewitch your heart and leave you wanting more.” ~ Misty Rayburn – Top Shelf Book Reviews
” I really enjoyed reading Hidden Salem. You see a lot of books about the Salem Witch Hunt. This one is really different and I just really loved the characters and how they interact with each other. I enjoyed this paranormal. Had the right amount of suspense and love interest. “ ~Crystal, Romancing the Book
About the Author:
Ever since she was young, Kiki Howell has loved to listen to a well-woven tale with real characters, inspired plots, and delightful resolutions. Kiki could spend hours lost in a book, and soon she knew that creating lives, loves, and losses with just words had to be the greatest thing that she could do. To that end, she pursued her study of literature and writing, earning a bachelor’s degree in English. She then followed in a Master’s program in Creative Writing.
She has now had over thirty stories published between eleven different publishers. She could not be more thrilled or grateful to see her creations polished and out in the real world. In May, 2011, Kiki was chosen as an Ohioana Book Festival author for her novel, Torn Asunder.
http://www.facebook.com/kikihowell
http://authorsbyauthors.blogspot.com
Don’t forget to enter the awesome Rafflecopter giveaway here!
Jen McConnel 