by Catrina Burgess
Release Date: October 7th 2015
Full Fathom Five Digital
Summary from Goodreads:
In Awakening, the first installment in the Dark Rituals series, a former healer turns to the Death Arts to seek revenge.
Seventeen-year-old Colina was born a healer. But after a horrific event forces her to leave her clan, she becomes desperate to learn the dark magic of the death dealers, mages who draw their power from the spirits of the dead. Colina was taught to fear and hate death dealers, but becoming one of them is the only way for her to get the revenge she seeks-and the only way for her to survive.
Colina asks a young death dealer named Luke to help her, but he's reluctant to train her in the Death Arts. Little does she know convincing him to teach her will be the easiest part of her journey. To become a death dealer, Colina will need to undergo three dark rituals, each more terrifying than the last. At the same time, she'll have to deal with her growing feelings for her mentor. Too bad the first ritual involves him strangling her to death.
As Colina undergoes the trials, she discovers an untapped darkness within herself. If she survives the horrific rituals and gains dark power, what will she become?
Catrina Burgess' Dark Rituals series originally appeared on Wattpad with over three million reads. Awakening is the first book of four and was named Wattpad's Best Suspense Story of 2014.
Excerpt:
I asked him
to do it…to teach me the Death Arts, I reminded myself. The death dealers
were feared for a reason. Their rituals were barbaric. Their magic powerful. No
one should mess with the spirits of the dead. My shaking hand went up to touch
the tender bruises at the base of my neck.
We
crossed the stream. I could see the lights from Pagan’s house ahead of us.
“Are you all right?” Luke stopped and turned toward me.
“I wish you’d stop asking me that.” My voice was still coming
out in a rasp.
“The ritual can be terrifying.”
“Was it for you?” I asked.
“It was something I’ll never forget. A moment like that never
leaves you.”
“And the person that did it to you, do you still see them?”
He nodded his head. “Often. He’s my mentor.”
“How can you forgive him for what he did?” I demanded.
I hurt him with that question, I could tell. His eyes filled
with a look of remorse when he answered. “By facing what happened and realizing
it wasn’t personal. He wasn’t trying to hurt me. It was a necessary evil. I
asked to be initiated into the Death Arts, and I had to accept all that came
along with it.” He looked up at the stars. “There’s no good or evil to magic.
Each person brings their own intentions, wishes, and dreams to it. Use it for
the wrong purposes and it can become dangerous. It can get out of control—it
can consume you in a way that you can’t stop.”
“And do you know this from personal experience?”
He looked at me again. “No. I never headed down that path. I
always wanted to use my gifts to help people.”
“Death magic to help people?” It was a crazy notion.
He nodded his head. “Yes, it can be used that way.” He abruptly
changed the course of the conversation. “Now that you’ve done the first ritual,
you’ll be able to contact the dead. But killing you and bringing you back was
only part of the ritual to claim your power over death. Next, you have to
commune with the dead. The second ritual is possession.”
I was shocked. “Wh-what do you mean— What do you—” I swallowed,
unable to get the words out.
“Don’t think of it now. We need to go back, and you need to
rest. To get your strength back,” he said.
I took a deep breath and then another. Possession. What did that entail? I had no choice but to continue
and find out.
His expression turned grim. “This next ritual is a hard one. It
won’t be pleasant or easy.”
I couldn’t keep the horror I was feeling from showing on my
face.
And dying was what?
The easy part?
Author Interview:
DO YOU HAVE ANY INTERESTING WRITING QUIRKS?
I liked to write my
scary scenes between midnight and 3 am
WHERE DO YOU GET THE IDEAS FOR YOUR BOOKS?
I often have to research information on the internet or at
the library for certain aspects of my book. But the ideas come from everywhere.
I get ideas while watching the news, sitting in a crowded restaurant, driving
around doing errands, etc...
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO WHEN YOU'RE NOT WRITING?
I run a romance review site. RomanceJunkies.com has been
up and running since 2002.
WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES A GOOD STORY?
That’s a hard one. I know a good story when I read it.
It’s a combo of terrific writing, characters I really can root for, and a
setting that sucks me in. There is nothing better than finding a book that
keeps you up until 3 am reading.
WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR WRITING AWAKENING?
I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue four years ago. For
two years I was too sick to write. Those were two very dark years. When you
have such bad fatigue and your world becomes so very small you can’t help but
have dark thoughts. Every six months I would try to write. And when I was well
enough to start writing again I poured all those dark thoughts, all that angst
I had in my life into a story. I decided to write the story to keep me sane and
to entertain my teenage nieces. And since I’m a huge fan of both stories full
of ghost and magic I decided to put both in my book. Awakening is the first
book in the four book YA series called the Dark Rituals.
About the Author
I've been known to eat pizza and cold Chinese food for breakfast, and I'm the queen of the board game Stratego. I've never been beaten. NEVER!
You can find me online at:
Wattpad // catrinaburgess
Website // http://www.catrinaburgess.com/
Owner/Operator Romance Junkies // http://www.romancejunkies.com I write because it helps keeps the darkness away and reminds me that there is magic in the world. I live with one husband, two dogs, and a cat named Shitty Kitty in a small mining town in Arizona. At night this place is definitely spooky. I swear I've heard the wind giggle, and sometimes there's a very odd breeze. Luckily, I love all things that go bump in the night. I adore old movies. I'm a huge Joss Whedon fan.
RJ Blog // http://www.romancejunkies.com/rjblog/ // @RJBookReviews
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