White Witch Pond by Jody Kihara

White Witch Pond
by Jody Kihara

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Paperback Release date: August 2011
Publisher: Star Magnolia Publishing
Genre: Witches, YA
Paperback: 174 pages
Rating: 5

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Shaya Solen’s walk home from school takes her past an eerie pond, where one day she finds an old bracelet made of raven feathers. Soon, strange events begin to unfold: a shadowy figure glimpsed across the water, ominous nightmares haunting Shaya, and rumors of a witch who once drowned in the pond.

With the discovery of a strange family connection to the witch, Shaya is drawn into a mystery that must be solved before the approaching Halloween, which is the thirteenth anniversary of the witch’s death – and Shaya’s birthday.

Amusing quote:
Microfiche. What the heck was that? It sounded like something a spy would use.
- location 822, chapter 9

My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): bracelet
Great ghost-witchy quick read for the Halloween season!

A bit of mystery and local history create a spooky ambiance for this story.

The Pond
~*~
* review copy courtesy of author, pond image from author's site

* read Jody's guest post: Fireside Chat starring characters from this book

* part of August Thrills-n-Chills event

* part of the White Witch Pond blog tour, October 9-22 by Lightning Book Promotions!


Scheduled Tour Dates:
October 9th – Reflections of a Bookaholic
October 10th – The Novel Student
October 10th – Book Sake
October 11th – Cleverly Inked
October 12th – My Life With Books
October 13th – A Book Lover’s Diary
October 14th – Everything to do With Books
October 14th – vvb32 Reads - this is the spot
October 15th – Pages of Gold
October 16th – Write-To-Read
October 17th – Once Upon A Twilight
October 18th – Can’t Put It Down
October 19th – Book & Movie Dimension
October 20th – Kristin Can Read
October 20th – Rachel’s Book Reviews
October 21st – Bittersweet Enchantment
October 22nd – Purple Jelly Bean Chair Reviews

--~ Book Giveaway courtesy of author ~--
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to signup to win a copy of this book
5 winners get to choose print or ebook

White Witch Pond - Fireside Chat

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by Jody Kihara
~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
Hi everyone!

Velvet invited me to do a guest post with a ‘fireside chat’ featuring some of the characters from my novel White Witch Pond.

The characters:
Shaya Solen - the main character
Kim and Brianne - her best friends

The chat takes place after the novel ends.

Hope you enjoy!

--Jody

~*~
The fire gave a loud crackle, making Shaya jump. She glanced over at her two best friends. Their faces glowed eerily in the firelight. Brianne looked every bit as nervous as Shaya, but Kim smiled.

“This is a bad idea,” Shaya said. “Like, really bad.”

Kim smiled more widely, and in the flickering shadows, her smile looked almost evil. “Scared?” She picked up the Ouija piece and waved it towards Shaya.

Shaya flinched away. “No, I’m not scared, it’s just… this isn’t something to mess around with.”

“Oh, it’ll be fun. Right, Bri?”

Brianne’s smile looked forced. “Sure,” she said brightly. She didn’t sound convincing.

Shaya shook her head. “Forget it, Kim, I’m not doing it. I’m going home.”

“What?” Kim dropped the Ouija piece. “Oh, come on Shay, it’s just a game. You don’t really believe in this stuff, do you?”

Shaya didn’t answer.

“What?” Kim asked. “What? Oh, come on Shaya, you have to tell us what’s going on. You’ve been acting all jumpy lately. Ever since Halloween, and you didn’t even go out at Halloween. And the night I wanted to shortcut past the pond, you had a total freaky fit.”

“Kim, I did not have a freaky f―” Shaya stopped and sighed. They were her best friends; maybe it was time she told them the truth.

“Okay,” she said. “Fine, I’ll tell you. But first I have to ask you… do you believe in ghosts?”

Brianne groaned. “Oh, that’s the lead-in to every ghost story in existence. Here’s where you try to scare Kim for trying to scare you.”

“Great, you already don’t believe me.”

“Sure we do!” Kim said. “I totally believe in ghosts. In fact…” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I see them.”

Brianne frowned, unsure whether this was a joke or not. Kim picked up the Ouija piece and held it in front of one eye so that the glass centre made her eye look huge. “They’re everywhere!” she hissed.

Brianne squealed with laughter, and Shaya sighed. “Forget it,” she said.

“Oh, come on!” Kim said. “I was just joking. Okay, seriously. I’m listening now.”

Shaya looked into the fire. This was going to be every bit as tough as she’d expected. “Do you remember the story about the lady who drowned in the pond?” she asked, turning back to her friends so they could see she was serious.

Brianne shrugged. “Sure, everyone knows that story… some lady who was some kind of witch drowned in the pond years ago. End of story.”

“No,” Shaya corrected. “Beginning of story.”

Brianne sighed. “Oh, you are going to tell a ghost story. Guys, you both know I hate scary stuff, even made-up stories. Can’t we just watch a movie? A non-scary one?”

Shaya clenched her jaw. This was why she hadn’t tried to tell anyone; there was no point. They wouldn’t believe her.

“Tell me,” Kim insisted. “I want to hear it. What was her name?”

“Forget it,” Shaya said, looking back into the fire and wishing she could take her own advice. She wished she could erase the whole episode from her memory.

“Um, Brianne?” Kim whispered after a minute. “Whatever Shaya’s going to tell us… I’m pretty sure it’s true.”

“Why?” Brianne asked.

“Take a look.”

Shaya turned her head to see where Kim was looking, and glanced down at the Ouija board. The Ouija piece was moving. By itself.

And it was spelling out letters: A-I-L-I-S-H.

She was back.

~end

Guest post created for August Thrills-n-Chills event by Jody Kihara, author of White Witch Pond
© 2011. All rights reserved.

Visit Jody:
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~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
by Jody Kihara
~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
READ more about these characters here...

--~ eBook Giveaway courtesy of author ~--
White Witch Pond
by Jody Kihara
signup to win this ebook

~*~
* image source campfire

* stay tuned: the White Witch Pond blog tour is coming October 9-22 with a giveaway and other details about this book -presented by Book Promotion

~!~ August Thrills-n-Chills schedule ~!~

In My Mailbox - 8.14.11

Bought:

The San Francisco Cliff House
by Mary Germain Hountalas and Sharon Silva
- a coffee table book
- loving the old pics

Free from Smashwords: beware some offers are for a limited time

Bruce Howard
Gentleman with Brass Knuckles
by Emmanuel Obi, Jr.
-noir
For Review and giveaway:

Lucky Charm
by Marie Astor
courtesy of author
Thanks Marie and Bels!
-romance

White Witch Pond
by Jody Kihara
courtesy of author
Thanks Jody!
-paranomal
-thriller
signup to win this ebook here

Stanley Seagull
by Cathy Mazur
courtesy of author
Thanks Cathy!
-birds

The Book of All Things
(Vol. IV)
by David Michael Slater
courtesy of author
Thanks David!
-fantasy
signup to win this as well as ebooks 1-3 in the series

Life Is But A Dream
by Brian James
ARC courtesy of publisher
Thanks Ksenia!
let me know if you would be interested in reviewing this ARC

My Life Undecided
by Jessica Brody
courtesy of publisher
Thanks Ksenia!

Every Savage Can Reproduce
(Pride and Prejudice-inspired Science Fiction)
by Enid Wilson
courtesy of author
Thanks Enid!

~*~
Bookie Brunch schedule
Now follow me to the Bookie Brunch meeting later this morning which I AM HOSTING!

YES, I AM HOSTING! - here

Bookie Brunch Question of the day:
Are you likely to read an e-book with an appealing cover or
does the description/synopsis of an e-book weigh more heavily?

~*~
* get a heads up on free or discounted ebooks from Books on the Knob

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways to you

* image from Leafcutter Designs - world's smallest postal service and you can get a letter kit at Chronicle Books

* In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren and inspired by Pop Culture Junkie. A post where we share books acquired via mailbox, library, store, etc.

Watch out: White Witch Pond

White Witch Pond
by Jody Kihara
Paperback release date: September 2011
Shaya Solen’s walk home from school takes her past an eerie pond, where one day she finds an old bracelet made of raven feathers. Soon, strange events begin to unfold: a shadowy figure glimpsed across the water, ominous nightmares haunting Shaya, and rumors of a witch who once drowned in the pond.

With the discovery of a strange family connection to the witch, Shaya is drawn into a mystery that must be solved before the approaching Halloween, which is the thirteenth anniversary of the witch’s death – and Shaya’s birthday.

EXCERPT:
Shaya hurried along, hands jammed in her pockets, shoulder bag swinging against her side. As she passed a tangle of bushes to her left, something dark on the ground made her slow her steps. She stopped and crouched down.

It was a circular object, and appeared to be made of feathers. Shaya reached out for it, and just before she touched it, her spine prickled.

Quickly, she glanced around. No one else seemed to be in the park apart from her and Dev, and he was every bit as far back as before. No doubt he was trying for real, now, to annoy her. Telling herself the chill up her spine was only the result of the cold wind, she reached out and touched the small, black hoop.

“Mine,” a voice whispered.

Shaya sprang back. “Who’s there?”

She looked around again. The voice had sounded like it came from behind her, but the path was deserted. “H― hello,” she said nervously.

No answer came.

Shaya bent down towards the hoop again. It appeared to be some kind of bracelet, and half of it was pressed into the ground, as if someone had stepped on it. The part sticking up had an oily sheen to it, the feathers glinting blue-black in the fading light. Taking a breath, Shaya reached out and snatched it up.

“It’s mine.”

This time she cried out in alarm.

The bracelet went flying from her hand as she whirled around. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw what looked like a cloaked figure with long, matted hair standing on the far side of the pond. But when she looked back, it was gone.

READ the extras about this book

--~ eBook Giveaway courtesy of author ~--
Win a copy of this ebook!

Open to all.

Offer ends: August 31, 2011

TO DO:
Visit Jodi's site and tell me something you found of interest.

AND, leave your email (if I don't already have it)

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Contest has ended - winner is here

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~*~
* stay tuned: the White Witch Pond blog tour is coming October 9-22 with a giveaway and other details about this book -presented by Book Promotion

~!~ August Thrills-n-Chills schedule ~!~