The Burning of Isobel Key
By Jen McConnel
By Jen McConnel
Genre: Contemporary,
New Adult
Publisher: BrightFish
Press
ISBN: 978-0615684680
Number of
pages: 290
Word Count:
64k
Cover
Artist: Heidi Sutherlin
Book
Description:
When Lou
travels to Scotland, she's a mess. She is twenty-six, unemployed, and unsure of
herself. It doesn't help that she's traveling with Tammy, her best friend, who
is everything Lou is not.
At first, the trip pushes Lou towards the brink of depression, but then she meets Brian, a handsome local tour guide. When Brian tells the tourists about the countless witches burned in Scotland, Lou starts to listen. And when she discovers information about Isobel Key, one of the victims of the seventeenth century, Lou finds renewed purpose.
She sets out to learn the truth of the condemned witch, but she isn't prepared for the knowledge that waits for her. Lou must face her demons if she has any hope of righting the wrongs of the past.
At first, the trip pushes Lou towards the brink of depression, but then she meets Brian, a handsome local tour guide. When Brian tells the tourists about the countless witches burned in Scotland, Lou starts to listen. And when she discovers information about Isobel Key, one of the victims of the seventeenth century, Lou finds renewed purpose.
She sets out to learn the truth of the condemned witch, but she isn't prepared for the knowledge that waits for her. Lou must face her demons if she has any hope of righting the wrongs of the past.
CHAPTER ONE The
Burning of Isobel Key
“I quit!” Lou’s words echoed around the checkout line, and customers craned their necks to see what was happening. Red in the face, Lou looked down at her register in embarrassment. Her manager patted her shoulder.
“Let’s go back in the office to talk about
this.” He turned, expecting her to
follow.
“No!” Louder than she’d intended, Lou
stood her ground. “You heard me. I’ve had enough of this store.” As she spoke,
she tossed her nametag on the counter.
An errant brown curl flipped over her eye, and she pushed it away. Under the shocked gaze of her manager and the
curious stares of a snake-like line of holiday shoppers, Lou fled.
Once she was outside in the bitter
December wind, she headed for the nearest T stop, acting out of habit more than
conscious thought. She’d walked this
easy route between the bookstore and the T for the past four years, and her
body took over while her mind churned.
She had a college degree, for Pete’s sake! Cum laude from Duke University had
landed her a job selling books and stationary to the snobby suburbanites
outside of Boston. Sighing, she paid her
fare and took her seat on the train bound for the city center.
Suddenly, the weight of what she had done
hit her, and she buried her face in her hands.
What was she thinking, quitting her job like that? Lou replayed the afternoon in her mind. Nothing had happened today that hadn’t
happened a thousand other times. Maybe
it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back: four years of
answering bizarre questions and customers who were always right had finally
taken its toll on her psyche.
But now what would she do? Lou wasn’t a person who acted on impulse: she
was cautious and considered her options.
And now she was unemployed the week before Christmas. Lou slumped in her seat. Unless she figured something out, and fast,
she might have to move back in with her family.
It wasn’t that Lou had anything against her family, not really: her
parents had adopted her shortly after her birth, and they’d never made her feel
like anything but their cherished only child.
But Lou was almost 27, and it had never been part of her plan to live at
home after college. Part of her plan:
that was funny, she thought. It sounded like she’d ever had a plan.
Sure, she always knew that she’d attend
college after high school. With parents
who had both made careers in the medical field, Lou had never doubted that
she’d follow their lead and soak up as much education as she could. Money wasn’t an issue, so when she turned 18
and Duke University accepted her, she thought it would be ideal. She moved to North Carolina and spent four
years studying the liberal arts, unable to decide on a tangible career path. Nothing seemed to fit, and even though she
earned her degree, she didn’t really know what she was going to do after
college. It was lucky that her best
friend needed a roommate in Boston, Lou mused, or she might have ended up back
with her parents four years ago.
Shaking her head, Lou glanced up as the
train rolled to a stop. Standing
unsteadily, she tried to ignore the raging pity party in her mind. As the doors
whooshed open, the cold winter air assaulted her again. For the first time she realized that she’d
left her coat behind in the employee lounge.
Hesitating for a moment, Lou considered taking the train back and
getting her things.
“There’s no going back,” she
whispered. Even the excuse of her coat
might be enough to put her back in her manager’s office, begging for her job
back. Shivering, Lou hurried up the
stairs and out of the tunnel. The old
black light posts were swathed in candy cane stripes, and every window she
passed displayed some holiday decorations.
What a time to be unemployed, Lou thought sourly as she buzzed the
doorman at her apartment.
Unlocking the door on the seventeenth
floor, Lou called out nervously, “Hello?
Tammy?” Her roommate didn’t
answer, and Lou felt relieved. She
wasn’t ready to face anyone yet, not until she’d figured out her next
step. Checking the kitschy clock on the
wall of the hallway, Lou realized it was only a quarter after four. Tammy wouldn’t be home ‘til seven or
later. Relaxing, Lou stacked her boots
neatly in the hall closet and headed to the kitchen.
The sleek, modern kitchen was a mess:
remnants from Tammy’s last party were still strewn across the stainless
countertops. Sighing, Lou plugged in the
electric kettle and searched for a mug.
While she waited for the kettle to whistle, she started to tidy up. She loaded the dishwasher carelessly and
overfilled the soap container, but when she was done the room looked much more
presentable. Satisfied, Lou added a
packet of hot chocolate to the mug.
After a moment’s hesitation, she stirred a hearty dollop of vanilla
vodka into the chipped Disney World souvenir.
Leaning against the counter, Lou studied
the apartment. The kitchen was open to
the rest of the space, and from her vantage point, Lou could see the living
room and the stairs that led to her lofted bedroom. She sighed, wondering how much longer she’d
get to enjoy this apartment with her best friend. Her parents had helped her out with bills
from time to time, but Lou felt certain that all assistance of this kind would
stop if they found out she was no longer employed.
“What’s the matter with me?” She wondered
out loud, tears in her eyes. Taking her
mug, she crossed to the living room and flopped down on the fluffy red sofa. She began flipping aimlessly through the
stack of magazines on the coffee table.
Suddenly, her cell phone buzzed in her
pocket. Glancing at the cracked screen,
Lou saw that it was Tammy calling.
Sighing, she flipped the phone open.
“Hello?”
Tammy’s voice was crackly but
excited. “Lou? Guess what? You’ll never guess what
happened!”
Lou sighed, annoyed. “What?”
“They gave me an account!” Tammy squealed in delight. “Did you hear?”
“Tammy, that’s amazing!”
“And the best part is, guess where the
account is based? Guess!”
Not wanting to play games, Lou asked,
“Would you just tell me?”
“Scotland!
Isn’t that awesome?”
Stunned speechless, Lou just stared at the
phone.
“Lou! Louisa! Are you still there?”
She shook herself. “Yes, I’m here. Tammy, that’s great!”
“I know! They want me to go over there
next week to check things out and meet everybody.”
“But isn’t next week Christmas? What about your family?”
Tammy laughed. “They won’t care. But Lou, wouldn’t it be perfect to spend
Christmas in Scotland?”
Lou agreed that it would be. She ignored the small bubble of jealousy
starting to form in her heart.
“Tammy, I’m really excited for you.”
“For us, you mean.”
“What are you talking about?”
Tammy’s voice broke into a garbled stream
of words.
“Tammy!” Lou shouted. “I can’t hear you.”
“In the T…we’ll talk… home…”
The cell phone made a crunching sound and
the call dropped. Lou looked at her
phone and leaned back into the couch cushions.
Wasn’t it just like fate to give Tammy something so wonderful, she
mused, when she was so miserable?
Sniffing, Lou drained her cup of spiked cocoa and headed upstairs to lie
down.
I’m really excited that Dana let me
drop by today. Thanks for sharing your
blog followers with me!! I’ve got a treat in store for y’all: a
deleted scene from my debut novel, THE BURNING OF ISOBEL KEY. This one didn’t make the final cut, but it
hints at some things that DO happen over the course of the novel. I hope you enjoy!
Maybe Tammy was right, and a fling on vacation would be just
the thing she needed. She stared
hungrily at Brian’s posterior for a moment, but then reality set in and she shook
herself.
There was nothing to be gained from wasting time thinking
about something that was impossible. It
was obvious that as long as Tammy was around, Brian would never look twice at
her. This had proven the case countless
times in her life, and although it chafed Lou, she was used to the way men fell
for Tammy. Her best friend was gorgeous;
Lou would be the first to admit that.
And Tammy wasn’t scared of men: she’d
never let a silly thing like fear stop her from telling a guy she was
interested in him.
With a sigh, Lou reached the top of the cliff behind
Brian. He turned to her and grinned.
“All right then, Louisa?”
She nodded, inching further away from the rocky edge of the
cliff.
Brian looked around at the tourists, counting them quickly
under his breath. “That looks like
everyone!” He called cheerily. “How
would ye all feel about stopping for a wee snack?”
His suggestion was met with exhausted cheers. Brian grinned and waved his arm towards the
bright yellow tour bus.
“All right, then, all aboard.”
Lou hung back, lost in thought. Tammy pinched her arm.
“Come on, Lou, I’m starved.”
Lou looked at her friend and forced a smile. “Me too.
That climb really took it out of me!”
Tammy laughed, dusting Lou’s pants with the palm of her
hand. “You look like it. Some food will make you feel better.”
As they boarded the bus, Lou glanced at Brian and quickly
lowered her eyes. She wasn’t sure food
would fix the way she was feeling, but she didn’t want to tell Tammy that.
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The Review:
This book was great on many levels. I loved the bounce between historical and present day. Both characters are ones I grew to care about and as the pages turned, drew closer into each of their stories.
Isobel was a healer in her time and had to face things that took immense amounts of courage. Lou is trying to find her feet and nothing seems to fit. Not work, not her family, not her new religion or the trip to Scotland with Tammy. When the past and present collide the book really takes off and I had a hard time putting it down to do things like...work. Lol. Witch trials have always held a bitter pill and a fierce burn of anger for me at the way healers and women who cared for others or were different were treated. This book really shows all of that with an added twist that will appeal to readers of both young adult and women's fiction.
I give kudos to Jen McConnel for writing a wonderful book that shows how witches of the past and of the present are often misunderstood and treated like outcasts when they are often the most gentle and healing individuals you will ever meet. Learning from her bio that she writes for magazines like Sage Woman makes my heart happy.
5/5
I want to read more from this wonderful author!
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This book was great on many levels. I loved the bounce between historical and present day. Both characters are ones I grew to care about and as the pages turned, drew closer into each of their stories.
Isobel was a healer in her time and had to face things that took immense amounts of courage. Lou is trying to find her feet and nothing seems to fit. Not work, not her family, not her new religion or the trip to Scotland with Tammy. When the past and present collide the book really takes off and I had a hard time putting it down to do things like...work. Lol. Witch trials have always held a bitter pill and a fierce burn of anger for me at the way healers and women who cared for others or were different were treated. This book really shows all of that with an added twist that will appeal to readers of both young adult and women's fiction.
I give kudos to Jen McConnel for writing a wonderful book that shows how witches of the past and of the present are often misunderstood and treated like outcasts when they are often the most gentle and healing individuals you will ever meet. Learning from her bio that she writes for magazines like Sage Woman makes my heart happy.
5/5
I want to read more from this wonderful author!
Author Bio:
Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. Since then, her
words have appeared in a variety of magazines and journals, including Sagewoman,
PanGaia, and The Storyteller (where she won the people’s choice
3rd place award for her poem, “Luna”).She is also an active reviewer for Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), and proud member of SCBWI, NCWN, and SCWW. She lives in North Carolina, where she teaches writing at a community college.
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