The Witches of Dark Root
The Daughters of Dark Root Series
The Daughters of Dark Root Series
April
Aasheim
Genre: Paranormal/Fiction
Publisher: Dark Root Press
Date of Publication: June, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0615819327
ISBN-10: 061581932X
ASIN: B00D6OUDDG
Number of pages: 350
Word Count: approx. 112,000
Cover Artist: April Aasheim
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/klihdS5tQr4
Book Description:
Deep in the forests of Central Oregon is a town called Dark Root,
a place shrouded in secrets, mystery, and witchcraft.
But for Maggie Maddock, Dark Root is also a prison, a place where
she is forced to spend her days working in her mother’s magick shop, forfeiting
any dreams of her own. So when a mysterious stranger suddenly appears and
offers to take her away from it all, Maggie jumps at the chance.
Now, seven years later, a strange phone call sends Maggie back to
Dark Root and she is unprepared for what awaits her: a dying town, a sick
mother, a renewed sibling rivalry, and a past she had hoped to forget.
Part Practical Magic, part Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, The Witches of Dark Root is a tale that seamlessly weaves the normal with the mystical, the mundane with the fantastic. Zipping in and out of time from Maggie’s childhood as an apprentice witch to current day, where Maggie struggles with her increasing powers, as well as family obligations, The Witches of Dark Root is a book rich in both fantasy and heart which will leave readers believing in magic.
Part Practical Magic, part Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, The Witches of Dark Root is a tale that seamlessly weaves the normal with the mystical, the mundane with the fantastic. Zipping in and out of time from Maggie’s childhood as an apprentice witch to current day, where Maggie struggles with her increasing powers, as well as family obligations, The Witches of Dark Root is a book rich in both fantasy and heart which will leave readers believing in magic.
Excerpt:
Harvest Home, Dark Root,
Oregon
October, 1995
“Maggie,
wake up.” Merry jostled her sister, rousing her from her nap on the couch.
Maggie
sat up, rubbed her eyes, and looked around. For a moment she forgot that she was
in the living room of Harvest Home.
“Already?”
Maggie asked, pushing herself onto elbows.
A
loud chime coming from the grandfather clock confirmed that that it was
midnight, time for the ritual. Maggie felt the chill from the open door and
looked around for her sweater.
“We
aren’t supposed to wear anything other than our robes tonight,” Merry
cautioned, but helped Maggie into the sweater, anyways.
“Where’s
Eve?” Maggie asked. If she was going to have to wander the woods in the middle
of the night for some crazy ritual, then Eve better be up, too. Maggie saw her
standing by the door, jumping up and down, not tired at all.
Miss
Sasha and six of her friends emerged from the dining room, talking excitedly
and exchanging knowing glances.
“You
girls ready?” Miss Sasha asked. This was to be their first grown up moon chant
and Miss Sasha could hardly contain herself. She noticed the sweater Maggie
wore over her long blue robe and frowned but didn’t mention it.
Merry,
Maggie, Eve, and Ruth Anne followed their mother and her friends into the
night.
It
was cold and the sisters shivered as they wound their way along an old dirt
road shrouded by trees to a circular clearing, a half-mile away. The girls had
played in the clearing many times during the day, but this was the first time
they had seen it beneath the light of a full moon. The grass looked dewy and
lush as the soft light fell upon each blade, but the trees that surrounded the
meadow looked foreboding and ominous, as if their long, twisted boughs were
ready to snatch the girls, if given the chance.
“What
are we doing here again?” Maggie asked, as they made their way towards the
center of the circle. “...And how long do we have to stay out?”
The
adults moved to a point in the very center of the clearing and the girls
positioned themselves a few dozen feet behind them.
Ruth
Anne surveyed the area and sat, cross-legged, on the moist grass. “We are
rooting out the evil spirits that are trying to infest Dark Root.” Her voice
was as flat and informational as an encyclopedia entry.
She
reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a key-chain flashlight and
a comic book and started reading.
“How
do we do that?” Maggie asked, watching as the elders––five women and two
men––linked raised hands towards the sky.
They
began singing, a soft melodic chant that Maggie had heard before.
Merry
answered, “Every fall, the Council of Seven places a protective spell around
our town. It must be done before the second half of the year begins, on
November 1st. It keeps out the dark energies and ensures that the circle is
strong.”
Maggie
hopped on one foot, and then the other, trying to find warmth in the chill of
the night. “But why do we have to do it now?” she moaned. “When it’s so cold?”
Ruth
Anne responded, never lifting her eyes from her book. “It’s the witching hour.
According to legend, the hours between twelve and three AM are when all things
magical, including witches, are at their most powerful.” She turned the page of
her book and cracked a smile at one of the drawings. “...It’s too bad we can’t
keep out the crazy.”
Maggie
widened her eyes. “But if witches are the most powerful now, won’t the bad
things be more powerful too?”
“I’m
scared,” Eve said, jumping in place as the elders continued their chant. Eve
liked magick, but only the lighter arts, and those that yielded her a reward.
Merry
took Eve’s hand and kissed it, and Maggie latched onto Merry’s other hand.
“I’m
scared, too,” Merry fibbed.
Merry
wasn’t afraid of anything.
There
was a long silence, followed by the heavy beat of a loud drum. Miss Sasha
looked over her shoulder at her daughters, letting them know that it was almost
their turn. They had been practicing the spell for weeks now, and Maggie hoped
she wouldn’t forget the words.
Ruth
Anne set down her comic book and the four girls clasped hands and waded towards
the center of the circle.
Miss
Sasha nodded and the girls began their incantation.
As the Witching Hour chimes
And the whole world sleeps and dreams
We join our hands in sisterhood
Staving back the darklings
The circle stands, its shape eternal
Though the darkness is still beckoning
Our light will ward back the infernal
And shield us from the doomsday reckoning
Maggie
was still tired and stumbled on a few of the words, completely missing some of
them; however, Merry spoke them as loud and clearly as she recited The Pledge
of Allegiance at school. All the while, Eve played with her hair and hardly
tried at all. For her part, Ruth Anne recited the words without emotion,
anxious to get back to her comic book.
“Who
wrote the spell?” Ruth Anne had asked their mother earlier that day while they
were preparing. “It doesn’t sound right.”
“It
doesn’t matter if it sounds right or not,” Miss Sasha had explained. “It’s the
power of words––especially when spoken in numbers––that matters. When we stand
together, no enemy would dare traverse the boundaries of Dark Root.”
Maggie
caught a movement to her right. She thought she had seen a dark form take shape
and then vanish. And then another. Were they coming or going? She couldn’t
tell.
About the Author:
April Aasheim spent
her childhood traveling the Southwestern portion of the United States with her
fortune- telling mother and her get-rich-quick dreaming stepfather. During that
time, April and her family toured with a carnival company, sold bug repellant
door to door, and resided in an abandoned miner’s shack in The Superstitious
Mountains of Arizona.
When April became a
teenager she went to live with her biological father in California. Her father
saw April’s need to express herself and encouraged her to write her stories
rather than tell them. By learning to write April was able to make sense of her
family and the world she lived in. She continues to do that to this day.
April currently
lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband. She is the mother of two incredible
sons and the step-mother to a beautiful little girl. She is the author of
numerious short stories, has contributed to several anthologies, and is the
author of the well-received novel: The Universe is a Very Big Place.
The Witches of Dark
Root is The first in the Daughters of Dark Root series and April looks forward
to writing the second book in 2014.
Website: http://www.aprilaasheim.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AprilAasheim
Tour Wide Giveaway
1 prize back featuring a mug, keychain, pen, signed book and a few assorted other goodies- open to US Shipping
5 Kindle Versions of the book gifted from Amazon
3 Signed paperbacks sent to winner- open to US Shipping
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