Welcome to Sortilege Falls
by Libby Heily
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: YA Fantasy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Sixteen-year-old
Grape Merriweather moved to Sortilege Falls expecting a fresh start and new
friends. But things are never quite what they seem in this sleepy Missouri
town. Her math teacher looks like a witch, her school is being stalked by a
vampire, and Grape could swear the town’s garden gnomes are moving. None of
that compares to the small group of teenage models, blessed with otherworldly
beauty, who rule Sortilege Falls. Even the adults are powerless to tell them
no. When the models fall ill from a mysterious disease, all of the town’s
secrets start leaking out. Grape is determined to help her new friends, but searching
for the cure might just get her killed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
Grape Meets the Models:
Grape’s entire body stiffened as she looked up from
her phone. Five of the most beautiful people to ever walk the earth stood
scattered around two Porsches. Did I walk into a photo shoot?
“I mean, gross.”
The words came from an impossibly beautiful girl.
Loose, raven-black locks fell over her shoulders, the tips lingering above her
full bosom. Grape could almost hear the sizzle and static of her electric blue
eyes. The sun had kissed the girl’s skin lightly, leaving a glow that made the
air around her shimmer. Her pouty, pink, full lips begged to be kissed, though
the guy standing behind her, his arm draped over her shoulder protectively,
warned off all who would be so bold.
The boy behind her, if anything, was even more
handsome than she was beautiful. Muscle stacked upon muscle until his clothes
had no choice but to hug every inch of his body. His dark eyebrows and strong
jaw lent him a tough look, one that was backed up by the playful anger in his
eyes.
The raven-haired goddess turned and embraced her
beau, her face tucked away into the heat of his chest. He sat propped up on the
hood of a yellow Porsche, the sleek lines of the car offset by the disdain on
his face. They were so incredibly, delightfully gorgeous that even though he
looked as if he had seen a cockroach instead of a human being, Grape’s heart
still melted at the sight of them.
“I think she’s in love.”
Grape snapped her gaze away from the Adonis with
the nasty temperament and turned toward the twin boys standing in front of a
black Porsche. Her eyes bounced between the two, taking in every perfect
feature. Flawless, rich, dark brown skin. Sparkling hazel eyes. Muscles so
tight that you could bounce a quarter off their abs, or arms, or anywhere on
their bodies, really. They looked as perfectly engineered as the cars they
stood by. But it was their lusciously long eyelashes that sent Grape swooning.
Men were not meant to be this pretty.
“Leave her alone, guys.”
Grape’s head spun. Each person she saw was more
beautiful than the last, and the redheaded girl standing off to the side was no
exception. The baggy jeans and generic T-shirt she wore did not detract from
her creamy skin and full lips. Her large brown eyes fascinated Grape—red flakes
glimmered from inside each caramel-colored orb.
The air felt charged with a million volts. Her
thinking grew cloudy. Were these angels? Was she daydreaming? How did anyone
get to be this beautiful? She could sense their hostility, but something inside
her felt warm and gooey. Snap to, Grape, she told herself. They want to hurt
you.
“Awww, look. It likes us,” the twin with the goatee
said. The clean-shaven twin’s face softened. Was that pity she saw in his hazel
eyes?
“Stop being mean,” the redhead said, sounding more
bored than angry.
“I’m not being mean. Where’d you buy that shirt?”
Goatee asked. His quiet tone was laced with thorny edges.
Grape swallowed hard. The fuzz inside her head
abated. Focus, she told herself, feeling like an idiot. “I don’t know. Kohl’s
maybe.” She glanced down at her blouse. The shirt was a birthday present from
her mother, and she wasn’t sure where it came from, but since her mother did
most of her own shopping at Kohl’s, it seemed like a pretty safe guess.
Goatee turned toward his brother and smiled. “Pay
up.”
Clean-Shaven shook his head at her as if she’d
named the wrong store on purpose. He pulled a thick wad of cash from his
pocket, peeled off a twenty, and handed it to Goatee. “I was sure it came from
Kmart.”
“Why does it matter where I bought my shirt?”
The raven-haired girl glanced out from her hiding
place in her boyfriend’s embrace. “It just looked familiar. I wore the same
shirt. Three years ago.” She smiled, but there was no kindness when she bared
her teeth. “Before it was a knockoff.” The girl hid her face against her
boyfriend’s pecs. Their chests rose and fell at the same time, breathing as
one.
“Okay. Well, I don’t really buy designer clothes.”
Grape wanted to have a witty comeback, but she still wasn’t sure where the
insult lay. Did they or did they not like the shirt?
What the hell is wrong with me? Of course they’re
making fun of me. Why aren’t I angrier?
“She means she modeled the design,” the redheaded
girl said, cutting her eyes to the couple.
“You’re a model?”
The brothers snickered. “Pretending she doesn’t
know who we are, that’s so cute. Is that the new fad amongst the Normals?”
Clean-Shaven asked.
“I don’t understand anything you just said.” Grape
felt completely out of her depth. This was the school parking lot, but she
might as well have been on Jupiter.
The redhead took a step toward Grape, shooting a
nasty glance to the others crowded around the cars. “Don’t worry about it.
They’re just teasing.”
“I thought about modeling.” Grape hadn’t meant to
say that, but no one else spoke, and she felt like she had to say something.
Her skin grew hot. She knew she was was blushing beyond red and into crimson
mode. She’d practiced runway shows off and on in her bedroom since she was
twelve, but she had never told anyone she wanted to be a model. Ever.
“Ow,” Grape cried, only then noticing that she had
twisted her ring so hard it was actually cutting into her finger. A tiny drop
of blood oozed out and fell to the pavement below.
“Aren’t you a little fat to be a model?” the
boyfriend asked. His voice sounded like pure honey even when he spoke acid.
“You think I’m fat?” Grape stared down at her flat
tummy. No one had ever called her fat before. There was still a bit of room in
the waistband of her size four skirt.
“I’m just saying you could stand to lose a few
pounds, unless you want the runway to collapse.”
“Ouch, Adam.” Clean-Shaven punched the boyfriend
playfully on the arm.
Goatee winked at Adam. “My boy calls it like he
sees it, and he sees a chunky monkey.”
“I’m well within my weight range.” She could feel
her voice growing high-pitched. Damn nerves. These people were jerks.
“Of course you are, you look great,” the redhead
told her. “These guys just don’t how to joke around without being completely
mean.”
“We aren’t joking,” Adam said, giving his
girlfriend a quick kiss on the top of her head.
Goatee pulled out his car keys. He turned his back
on Grape, tired of their new toy.
“Whatever. Class is about to start. Are we skipping
or staying?”
“Skipping,” the raven-haired girl peeked out to
say.
Adam
looked Grape over and made a face as if he’d smelled something terrible. “Yeah,
I think I’m done for the day, too. I feel the need to hit the gym.”
She rubbed her hands over her stomach but it still
felt flat like normal. What were they seeing that she wasn’t?
“The shirt looks nice on you,” Clean-Shaven said
before climbing into the driver’s seat of the black Porsche.
“Like a muumuu on a water buffalo,” Goatee added
and hopped into the driver’s seat of the yellow Porsche. The couple got into
the back of his car and huddled close together.
“Mandy, you coming?” Goatee asked.
“No, I have a test,” Mandy, the redhead, said.
“I’ll see you later.”
“Suit yourself.”
Grape waved stupidly at the drivers as the engines
revved. You look like a goober, she told herself, but she could not stop
waving.
“Move.” Mandy grabbed Grape by the arm and pulled
her toward the sidewalk.
Grape tried to shake her arm free, but Mandy’s grip
was surprisingly strong. “Let go of me.”
Mandy stared at her with an I-told-you-so look as
the Porsches sped off, right through where Grape had been standing.
“Oh my God, were they going to run me over?”
“Not on purpose. I’m sure they just forgot you were
there once they started their cars.”
“How?”
Mandy shook her head. She stared after the Porsches
as they pulled into traffic and sped away. Finally, she turned back to Grape
and offered her an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that.”
“Which part?”
“All of it, I guess.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and
Links:
I
was born during a blizzard. I’m told it was pretty cool but I have no memory of
that time. I grew up in two tiny towns in Virginia and spent most of my
twenties moving around the US. I’ve lived in Virginia, Florida, Missouri, and
Washington. I’ve settled down, for now, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
I’m
a writer and improviser. I studied acting in college but spent more time
rewriting lines than memorizing them. My first play, Fourth Wall, was produced
my junior year. Since then, I’ve written several full length plays, one acts
and screenplays. I started writing fiction in my late twenties. Now, I focus
mainly on novels but still dabble in theater.
Fun
facts about me: There are none. I’m sorry to disappoint you so soon. But, I do
love to read, write, and run. My hubby is my favorite person on earth. Dogs are
my second favorite. All dogs. I love orange juice, especially when it’s mixed
with club soda. Carbonation is better than alcohol. Jaws is my favorite movie.
Everything I’ve said so far is true.
Awards:
Puschcart
Prize Nomination for “Grow Your Own Dad” – Published by Mixer Publishing
Semi-finalist
Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference – “STUFF”
Honorable
Mention The Ohio State Newark New Play Contest – “The Last Day”
Contacting
Libby:
Snail
Mail:
PO
Box 58251
Raleigh,
NC 27616
Libby
on the Web:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/libbyheily/
Twitter https://twitter.com/libbyheily
Purchase
Links:
Barnes
and Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/welcome-to-sortilege-falls-libby-heily/1123755970?ean=2940153003634
Smashwords
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/634244
Behind
the Scenes Info:
“Welcome
to Sortilege Falls” is my second novel. My first, “Tough Girl” was about an
eleven-year-old who is slowly starving to death and loses herself in an
imaginary world to combat the misery of her life. I wanted to write something
happy after that and WTSF is about as “happy” as my writing gets. The idea was
to come up with a main character whose very name sounds like a smile, thus
Grape Merriweather was born. Stories grow and writers hardly ever end up
writing the book they intended. That is definitely true with WTSF. My “happy”
story grew to encompass the themes of beauty worship, celebrity, as well as
delving into the mysterious relationships between child stars and their
parents. In the beginning of the novel, Grape is new at school and eager to
impress. She was popular back home and has never had trouble making friends.
She spends over an hour the night before trying on outfits and picking the
perfect one for her first day. But she is ignored by students and teachers
alike. Everyone is too caught up with the beyond gorgeous models to bother with
one new student. We discover this weird world along with Grape and I tried to
stay true to her voice. It was very important to me that Grape wasn’t perfect,
that she partially fell under the Models’ spell as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Libby will be awarding a
$10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the
tour.
Thanks for hosting! The book is currently free on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting! And the ebook is definitely free right now. I wonder if any of your readers have had an encounter with beauty/celebrity worship?
ReplyDeleteGood having you here today. Great to find out book is free right now.
ReplyDeleteThanks JC! I hope your readers download and enjoy!
Delete