Good Morning Everyone!
Today I am participating in a Novel Publicity blog tour for Moa by Tricia Stuart Shiu's book Moa!
Its about a girl who visits one of my many desired vacation spots- Hawaii!
You can win many prizes by clicking on the above banner!
If the banner does not link right, just click here!
Here is an excerpt from the book that was provided by Novel Publicity.
Eighteen-year-old, Hillary Hause’s left thumb searches
frantically to turn on the “I’m Okay to Fly” hypnotherapy recording. Her nerves
on edge, fuchsia fingernails press into the blue pleather armrests of her
airplane seat.
“No spells can help you now,” she whispers to herself under
her breath—then checks to see if anyone notices. Nope, they don’t.
The plane lifts through the early morning, gray fog of
California, “June Gloom” giving way to the azure sky, and Hillary covers her
curly brown head and retreats beneath the questionably clean plane blanket
cranking the volume to drown out the drone of the engines.
“Outer shell close to breaking.” This time she doesn’t care
if anyone hears.
I hover just beyond her “outer shell”—a movement in the
periphery, a faintly familiar scent, a fond memory just beyond recognition, a
non-human observer. Before the week is up, Hillary will save my life, as I will
hers. But, for now, more about Hillary.
The drink cart rolls past the blanket, which has, by now
become a moist steamy cave.
“Hey, freak. I hope your plane crashes.” The memory
reverberates through her brain despite her attempts to distract herself with
the hypnotherapy recording. She increases the volume, but the ugly
conversation, which occurred just before school ended, still haunts her mind.
“I guess the only people they check on those flights are the
suspicious ones,” Krystal Sykes, a bully from her home room, leans in as
Hillary hastens to grab books for her next class. Krystal, also a senior, has
hounded Hillary since the first day of freshman year and this is the final day
during the final hour at this tiny high school of 376 students —where everyone
knows everyone else’s business.
“Look, Krystal.” Hillary turns her eyes toward the sneering
blonde. “It’s the last day of school, we’ll never see each other again. Can you
give it a rest?” These are the most words the two young women have exchanged in
the entire four years of high school.
A look of shock replaces Krystal’s smug snick, “Oh, so now
you talk.” She leans in, so close that her spray tan becomes a patchy
Impressionist painting. Her pores are blotched with cakey, two shades too dark
powder, her unblended cream eyeshadow creases across the center of her lid and
her tropical breeze flavored breath threatens to strangle the words right out
of Hillary.
“I know all about your witchcraft practices and have made a
few spells of my own. Trust me. You’ll never make it to your sister’s house in
Hawaii.” Krystal’s backpack jingles and Hillary watches her spin around and
skip down the hall.
Hillary is not a witch. She has, however, carefully crafted
a “shell” to protect herself from bullies like Krystal—who, as far as Hillary
can tell—is not a witch either. She has watched Krystal throughout elementary,
middle and high school and has not been able to discern whether or not she
practices witchcraft. No matter what Krystal’s background, her intent is to
harm. And there is nothing worse than a spell with an aim to hurt. Hillary has
had no choice but to remain in a constant state of defensiveness.
The twenty-minute recording ends and Hillary falls into a
troubled sleep—feeling every bump and hearing every creak of the plane.
With about an hour left in the flight, Hillary awakens with
a “turtle headache.” Hillary’s older sister Molly taught her this term which
means a headache caused by sleeping too long underneath the covers of one’s
bed.
Sadly, Molly lost her husband, Steve, last year in an
unfortunate surfing accident. The throbbing pain in Hillary’s left temple could
be the result of remaining submerged beneath an airplane blanket and wedged
between the window and armrest, or it could be from worry about how Molly and
her niece, Heidi are dealing with their devastating loss.
Disoriented, Hillary pokes her head out just in time to
glimpse puffy clouds and sparkling sea below. A flood of excitement and sheer
wonder flows through Hillary in the form of a tingle from her head to her toes.
And then, a lovely thought: “...And for an Everlasting Roof, The
Gambrels of the Sky...” She will enjoy this plane ride, thanks in part to Emily
Dickinson.
Information about Moa, its sequel and the author!
About
Moa: Eighteen-year-old, Hillary, anticipates adventure as
she embarks for trip to Honolulu, but gets more than she bargained for
when Moa, an ancient Hawaiian spirit, pays her an unexpected visit. Get it
on Amazon.
About Statue of Ku: The
second book in the Moa Book Series, "The Statue of Ku" follows
Hillary and Moa as they jet to Egypt on the Prince’s private plane to
reclaim Moa’s family heirloom, the inimitable statue of Ku. Get it
on Amazon.
About the author: Tricia
Stewart Shiu combines her addiction to the written word with her avid interest
in the healing arts and all things metaphysical in her novels Moa
and Statue of Ku and looks forward to finding new
ways to unite her two loves. Visit Tricia on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.
Thanks for reading!
