Struggling to settle
into a new school, junior Shannon Colfax finds herself entangled in a feud with
popular football jock Brent Duray after he bullies her autistic twin brother,
Shane. After an unlikely savior comes to her rescue—Brent’s friend, Cody
Williams—the jock and his entourage devise an immediate retaliation plan: Duray
promises to leave Shane alone if Shannon and Cody survive the infamous Paulding
Light Challenge on Halloween night. Desperate for vindication, they take the
dare...but are the local legends truly paranormal, or are they dealing with
something more sinister?
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:Auria Jourdain will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Enjoy an Excerpt:
Shane grunted as Shannon and Cody called out, but he refused
to stop. It felt good to be out of that stuffy old room. The pressure in his
chest had just let up, and it had taken all of his strength to keep calm. When
he heard the hawk soaring above them, he knew. This was the only way to go.
Gazing up at the tall
hemlocks that towered above him, Shane smiled as the birds chirped in the
breeze. With every step he took, the loamy humus sprang up under his feet. He
inhaled deeply, the rich, spicy scent of the pines drifting along with the
afternoon breeze.
Shannon called his name again, and Shane stopped for a
moment to let them catch up. Then, he ran ahead once more. His sister was
getting angry with him, but Shane didn’t care. He focused on the dense trees,
touching and smelling everything in his sights—the white bark of the birch
peeling off in sheets, a stick on the ground enveloped in flaky lichen, a
burned-out log covered in soft, springy moss. Shane shuffled through the fallen
leaves as the earthy smell filled his nostrils, his anxiousness dissipating
with every rustle.
All of a sudden, Shane stopped as a strange and wonderful
euphoria washed over him. Glancing upward, the hawk circled high above his
head, calling out to him. Follow me, Shane…follow me! It was guiding him. With
a crooked grin, Shane nodded. The spirits of the Northwoods were all around
them.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
An avid reader
from an early age, Auria Jourdain has fond childhood memories of spending quiet
afternoons with a book in her hand. She loved the "happily ever
after" sweet teen romances, and when she came of age, she plunged into the
world of historical romance with fervor, transporting herself to a bygone time.
Her favorites were Regency, but as a girl brought up in a common home, she was
disheartened that most of the novels of this era focus on the nobility and
wealth. Auria set out to write her own romance, encompassing her passion for
French Revolutionary history and her innate sense of goodwill for the common
man. An idealist at heart, she writes heroes and heroines that struggle to find
acceptance in their world.
To go along
with this theme, two years ago, Auria wrote a Young Adult novel during
NaNoWriMo for her 17 year old autistic son who is struggling to make his own
way in the world. Looking to educate people about this mysterious disorder, she
wrote Spirit of the Northwoods for him and set it in their hometown in the
Upper Peninsula. Her release coincides with Autism Awareness month, April 2016,
and all proceeds for this novel will be donated to the Autism Society of
America. Auria hopes that someday we can break down the social barriers and
forgo stereotypical judgments that harm our world so that people like her son
can form positive relationships with others.
Auria lives in
the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with her husband of twenty years, her four
children (ages eight to eighteen), and two golden retrievers. A rather new
transplant to the area, she loves the changing of the seasons, and she is
currently working on a contemporary romantic suspense trilogy set in her rough
and rugged homeland. Silence the Northwoods is set at a local ski resort in her
hometown of Ironwood, Michigan—the ski capital of the Midwest. Silence the Waters
takes place during the summer on the dangerous river ways that flow into Lake
Superior in the Keweenaw Peninsula; and Silence the Birchwoods is an autumn
tale set on Sugar Loaf Mountain, near Marquette, Michigan. All three involve
murder, mystery, and romance, of course.
Auria spends
her the long winters plotting and scheming her next book, and in the mild
summers, she and her husband devote every waking moment hiking and kayaking the
Northwoods. An amateur photographer, she lives fifteen miles from the shores of
Lake Superior, and her muse has been piqued by the awe-inspiring beauty that
surrounds her. Although she hasn’t officially acquired “Yooper” status yet, she
can’t envision living anywhere else.
Find me here!
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