Blurb
After
losing her job and her boyfriend, Holly returns to her parents’
farm. Embarrassed and hopeless, she doesn’t expect to bump into a
forgotten childhood friend that wasn’t supposed to exist. Ivy is
not only a dryad, but she lives in the pine trees Holly’s family
grows to sell at Christmas. As the old friends reconnect,Ivy not only
shares her strong opinions, but gives Holly a charm that will change
both their lives. As days melt into weeks and the seasons change,
Holly’s life magically turns around. Christmas not only brings
surprises, but a choice for the human woman. What’s more important:
stability, success, and love, or keeping a promise to an old friend?
Excerpt:
“What
do I do with it?” I asked. I told myself I was just playing along,
suspending reality to make Ivy feel better. Although if that was the
case then perhaps I should have really examined the fact that Ivy was
real and not me suspending reality to make myself feel better.
“You
hold it now until it gets to know you. You keep it safe in your
possession and it shall bring you ease and grace,” the tree sprite
giggled.
“And
that really works?” No matter how I tried I couldn’t hide my
skepticism.
She
turned up her pointed nose. “How else would I have survived so well
with murderers on the loose? It’s worked for a good long while.”
I raised an eyebrow as a sly grin spread just a little too far across
her face to make the smile look human. “Do you remember when I
snuck to school with that sapling you took for show and tell?”
The
next smile didn’t hurt quite as much as I traced the delicate edge
of the tiny plant with the pad of a finger. The petaled head shivered
and softly brushed against my calluses. “I thought everyone was
going to have a heart attack when you burst out of the thing and
started singing to everyone! Mrs. Robinson finally played it off as
the whole class playing a trick on her. We had to go without milk
time for a week.” I’d gotten in so much trouble with my parents
for lying in school and saying that I had a magic plant. Given that I
was adamant that I’d been telling the truth, it was a hell of an
ordeal for a six-year-old.
“’Twas
so much fun!” Ivy paused mid-pirouette. It was downright disgusting
that she could hold the arabesque for so long and not even wobble or
suffer a leg cramp. “Though I would not want to live in such cold
halls all the time.” She paused and took a long breath, much longer
than I or any other human could possibly inhale. Before my eyes her
skin became greener, infused by the crisp clean air. “You need to
be in the trees, Holly. Mortals refuse to understand that they must
live where things grow. Now that you’re home, let’s play!” She
leapt over my head and landed effortlessly beside her home tree,
staring at me expectantly.
Maybe
it was being back home or maybe it was just being back in the good
fresh air, but her suggestion made me giddy. It suddenly sounded like
the exact prescription I needed, the one thing I’d been missing
through all those frustrating years. My fragile mind and heart
demanded an escape. They couldn’t take any more disappointment, any
more expectations or responsibility, and they especially couldn’t
take any more reality. I nodded and tucked the strange clover deep in
my pocket. The breeze had dried my tears and the heavenly scent of
grass and pine put the sudden urge to run in my feet. Suddenly the
heavy air and the blazing sun didn’t matter so much and my
anxieties were willing to take a momentary backseat to the chance to
goof off for an afternoon. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” I
hesitated, hand still at my pocket.
Ivy
flashed a bold grin and stretched up on her toes; her fingers wiggled
over her head, making her resemble an odd, scrawny plant. “With you
here? Of course! Just remember to come look after my tree when the
murderers come around the winter harvest time. You can even help me
choose which tree will be my final home so you’ll know where I’ll
be.” The words were no sooner out of her mouth when she tore off,
dodging branches and bark as quick and swift as a deer. I groaned as
I pulled myself to my feet and tumbled after her, muscles screaming
at the sudden exercise. Still, I found myself laughing the entire
time.
Holly
and Ivy available at:
Mocha
Memoirs Press Store: http://mochamemoirspress.com/holly-and-ivy/
Barnes
and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/holly-and-ivy-selah-janel/1113879563?ean=2940015795950
Author
Bio:
Selah
Janel has been blessed with a giant imagination since she was little
and convinced that fairies lived in the nearby state park or vampires
hid in the abandoned barns outside of town. Her appreciation for a
good story was enhanced by a love of reading, the many talented
storytellers that surrounded her, and a healthy curiosity for
everything. A talent for warping everything she learned didn’t
hurt, either. She gravitates to writing fantasy and horror, but can
be convinced to pursue any genre if the idea is good enough. Often
her stories feature the unknown creeping into the “real” world
and she loves to find the magical in the mundane.
She
has four e-books with No Boundaries Press, including the historical
vampire story ‘Mooner’ and the contemporary short ‘The Other
Man’. Her work has also been included in ‘The MacGuffin’, ‘The
Realm Beyond’, ‘Stories for Children Magazine’, and the
upcoming Wicked East Press anthology ‘Bedtime Stories for Girls’.
She likes her music to rock, her vampires lethal, her fairies to play
mind games, and her princesses to hold their own.
Catch
up with Selah and all her ongoing projects at the following places:
Blog
–
http://www.selahjanel.wordpress.com
Fandom
Scene Column
– http://www.fandomfestblog.com/blogs/selah-janel
Facebook
Author Page
– http://www.facebook.com/authorSJ
Facebook
Book Page
– http://www.facebook.com/intherednovel
Goodreads
- http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5622096.Selah_Janel
Amazon
Author Page
-
http://www.amazon.com/Selah-Janel/e/B0074DKC9K/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1346815995&sr=1-2-ent
3 comments:
The book sounds really interesting.
I can´s stop watching this wonderful images..
Book sounds interesting!
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