Almost to Hallowed Hills

My heart was hanging heavy, due to the longing of my fingers clicking away on my MAC becoming ever so overwhelming. Only a week now since I made my return to the writing "stage", following an albeit brief absence, I am writing diligently. I honestly did not realize just how important my characters had become to me. I was feeling as though I had abandoned them in limbo! Not to mention, I was missing my blog! That's right, writing in the vast spacious portal of the internet, where I am never certain if my words are reaching anyone, due to lack of comments, I missed the routine and release. So tonight I decided to switch up things and not leave you with a quote at the end, but with my work. So take your time and read, please leave your comments!! I want to know your opinion and if you don't know how to leave a comment here, tweet me or comment in Facebook.

Now, in efforts to get you all into the spirit of my end goal here is a brief synopsis of my  novel. The title is Hallowed Hills and it is a four part fantasy fiction series.

The setting is a quaint small New England college town, where most people who live there appear normal. However, somethings in Hallowed Hills are not what they appear to be.
 
Young Jonah MacAllister will discover the truth about his family's connection to the town and it's founders. Jonah will begin on a quest with Raven Salome and try to solve a centuries old question that has haunted some members of this town. Legends that were told to them as children will link them to the past and discover truths about their present, finding that destiny has many hands in their lives.

There is murder, witchcraft and family secrets revealed as the search for the answers begins and will forever change Raven and Jonah.

Now to entice you more here is an excerpt from the book;(I will post more if there is only demand for it

Springtime in New England was just what the natives needed after a harsh winter. It was an unseasonably hot and humid day for this time of year. The unexpected heat wave was a drastic change that none of the students were ready for. Usual morning rumblings of being in school were met with some lighter affect since it was Friday, officially marking the beginning of the weekend. Two more weeks of school and they could begin to embark on truly enjoying the rare weather, a preview of things to come. 

Eighteen-year-old Jonah McAllister was a tall athletically built young man with shaggy ashen blonde hair, that always appeared tussled. His very casual demeanor, made others consider him an introvert. While opening his locker before morning class, he listened to his best friend Lucas Campbell go on about his latest dilemma.  Lucas and Jonah had been best of friends since Jonah came to live with his grandparents. A car accident had killed his parents when he was merely six years old. The boys had met in first grade when Lucas was evading the substitute teacher after pulling a prank in class. It had always been that way with them; whenever the two boys had gotten into mischief, it had been at the encouragement if not the complete folly of Lucas.

“This is bullshit! Complete bullshit!” Lucas protested, “You realize if I fail gym this cancels any plans for our summer?”

“Our summer? You mean your summer, cause I don’t have a thing to do with your gym class bro.” Jonah teased.

“Come on man, who else are you going to chill with, your gramps?” Lucas sneered.

Jonah glanced over his shoulder and could see Raven and Astrid approaching. “Well you better get with the make up classes,” he stated as he closed his locker, ”Because I don’t see Astrid as the forgiving type if you screw up her summer by doing gym over again.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Astrid inquired, as she grabbed onto Lucas’s hand. Astrid had been dating Lucas since the Winter Formal. Jonah found their pairing a little unusual since she, like her twin Autumm, was studious. Like many of the residents in the small town of Hallowed Hills, the twins descended from a family that had resided in the hamlet for centuries. The Goodwynne’s owned the local market close to the center of town.

Slightly startled, Lucas gave Jonah a sharp look to stop talking. “Nothing babe,” he replied, “Just talking about finding a way to get cool ASAP!”

“For real. It is way too hot for me,” Astrid began, “I can’t take another day of listening to these teachers while I am sweating to death!”

“Plus look at what it’s done to my hair!” she whined.

“You’re beautiful babe,” Lucas cooed, gently placing his hand on the nape of her neck, pulling her towards him and kissing her forehead affectionately.

“Hey Raven,” Jonah spoke as she opened her locker, three down from his own.

“Hi,” she whispered quietly, not looking up.

Raven Salome was the opposite of her best friends; she, like Jonah, was more subdued and she conveyed an intensity, as if driven with purpose. Whereas her best friends Astrid and Autumm were petite brunettes with brown eyes, Raven had hair black as her name implied and the bluest of eyes. She was tall and could possibly have been a wonderful athlete, but never felt the compulsion to participate in competitive sports. The Salome women could have been noted for their beautiful exotic looks and, had Raven been from any other family she surely would have been the most sought after of girls. Even though her lineage went back to the founder’s of Hallowed Hills, many in the community still ostracized them. This was mostly due many small town rumors and innuendos.

Raven’s grandmother Edith Salome was perhaps the most legendary one in the family, known for her eccentric way of dress with long robes and odd talismans that hung from her neck. She did not hold her tongue, often speaking her mind too freely; over the years people had even claimed that she was a witch. Utter nonsense was what Jonah thought of it now, but when he was younger he had hopes of catching someone leaving the Salome residence on a broomstick.

Serena Salome, Raven’s mother, was thought to be a flighty and promiscuous woman. Following high school, Serena left town for a short time, only to return pregnant and without a husband. This only gave people in town more fuel to gossip. It was however, the inexplicable and strange goings on that were in addition to the townsfolk continued speculation regarding who the Salome women really were for centuries.

Similar to Jonah, Raven was the third wheel in Astrid’s romance with Lucas, which gave them an opportunity to get know each other better over the recent months. A girl he had once viewed as strange was an amazingly calm presence in the group, balancing the erratic foolishness of Lucas and temperamental Astrid.