Excerpt
Nathan leaned closer and I fought the urge to step back. “You are playing a dangerous game, Selah. Deny God’s will, and I shall request an official inquiry into that incident with Oliver Trumble. From what I heard the boy was near dead when you reached him.”
“Don’t be absurd,” I snapped. “He fell out of an apple tree and hit his head on a rock. Being knocked unconscious is a far cry from near dead.”
Nathan narrowed his eyes. “His older sister has a different story. She used the word miracle to describe what you did.”
“You are quite mistaken, Mr. Crowley. I can no more bring back the dead than you can.” I lifted my chin and forced a curt, derisive laugh. “Phoebe Trumble will say anything to get attention. I did nothing other than wait for Oliver to wake up before ministering to his scrapes and bruises.”
Nathan didn’t respond at once, and I thought the conversation over when he grabbed my arm, pulling me to him. “Be my wife, Selah Kilbrid, or I’ll have you charged for a witch.”
I tried to wrestle free, but he held tight. “Find one person who will stand against my father. Go ahead and cry witch. No one will believe you.”
“You foolish girl. Once your father dies, there is no one left to protect you. Even if you don’t hang, the wheat would rot in the fields from want of men willing to work for a suspected witch. Brighmor would be bankrupt within a year, two at most. Do you think your cousin would be so eager to honor your engagement under these altered circumstances?”
The initial shaking had spread far beyond my voice until I trembled from head to toe with suppressed fury. “Is this how you go about doing God’s work? By threatening to slander my name to force me into marriage?” Fight as I might, his grip remained steadfast on my arm. “Let me go!” Stomping down on his shiny black shoe, I dug my heel into the top of his foot. He grunted in pain, and I stumbled back a step, surprised by the sudden freedom.
Savage anger burned in Nathan’s eyes, turning his face an ugly shade of red. “I am prepared to do whatever it takes to have you for my wife. This Sunday we will stand and state our intentions to marry. Refuse and I’ll assume it’s because you’re a witch and unable to marry a man called of God.”
Despite my desire to say something more, like blasting him with every curse I had ever heard, my throat grew too tight for words. Silence pursued and he did not attempt to stop me a third time when I pushed by and started again toward home.
“Don’t be absurd,” I snapped. “He fell out of an apple tree and hit his head on a rock. Being knocked unconscious is a far cry from near dead.”
Nathan narrowed his eyes. “His older sister has a different story. She used the word miracle to describe what you did.”
“You are quite mistaken, Mr. Crowley. I can no more bring back the dead than you can.” I lifted my chin and forced a curt, derisive laugh. “Phoebe Trumble will say anything to get attention. I did nothing other than wait for Oliver to wake up before ministering to his scrapes and bruises.”
Nathan didn’t respond at once, and I thought the conversation over when he grabbed my arm, pulling me to him. “Be my wife, Selah Kilbrid, or I’ll have you charged for a witch.”
I tried to wrestle free, but he held tight. “Find one person who will stand against my father. Go ahead and cry witch. No one will believe you.”
“You foolish girl. Once your father dies, there is no one left to protect you. Even if you don’t hang, the wheat would rot in the fields from want of men willing to work for a suspected witch. Brighmor would be bankrupt within a year, two at most. Do you think your cousin would be so eager to honor your engagement under these altered circumstances?”
The initial shaking had spread far beyond my voice until I trembled from head to toe with suppressed fury. “Is this how you go about doing God’s work? By threatening to slander my name to force me into marriage?” Fight as I might, his grip remained steadfast on my arm. “Let me go!” Stomping down on his shiny black shoe, I dug my heel into the top of his foot. He grunted in pain, and I stumbled back a step, surprised by the sudden freedom.
Savage anger burned in Nathan’s eyes, turning his face an ugly shade of red. “I am prepared to do whatever it takes to have you for my wife. This Sunday we will stand and state our intentions to marry. Refuse and I’ll assume it’s because you’re a witch and unable to marry a man called of God.”
Despite my desire to say something more, like blasting him with every curse I had ever heard, my throat grew too tight for words. Silence pursued and he did not attempt to stop me a third time when I pushed by and started again toward home.
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: May 19th 2014
Blurb:
Pennsylvania, 1730
Selah Kilbrid keeps a dangerous secret: she has the power to heal.
A direct descendent of the Celtic goddess Brigid, it's Selah's sacred duty to help those in need. But as the last of the Goddess Born living in the New World, she learned from an early age to keep her supernatural abilities hidden. The Quaker community of Hopewell has always been welcoming, but there's no doubt they would see her hanged if her gift was revealed.
When a prominent minister threatens to try her with witchcraft unless she becomes his wife, Selah has only one hope--that her betrothed, a distant cousin from Ireland, arrives as planned. Marrying Samuel would keep her secret safe, preserve her sacred bloodline, and protect her from being charged as a witch.
But when news of Samuel's death reaches the Colonies, Selah is truly on her own. Terrified, she faces an impossible choice--forfeit her powers and marry the loathsome Nathan? Or find an imposter to pose as her husband and preserve her birthright?
Selah Kilbrid keeps a dangerous secret: she has the power to heal.
A direct descendent of the Celtic goddess Brigid, it's Selah's sacred duty to help those in need. But as the last of the Goddess Born living in the New World, she learned from an early age to keep her supernatural abilities hidden. The Quaker community of Hopewell has always been welcoming, but there's no doubt they would see her hanged if her gift was revealed.
When a prominent minister threatens to try her with witchcraft unless she becomes his wife, Selah has only one hope--that her betrothed, a distant cousin from Ireland, arrives as planned. Marrying Samuel would keep her secret safe, preserve her sacred bloodline, and protect her from being charged as a witch.
But when news of Samuel's death reaches the Colonies, Selah is truly on her own. Terrified, she faces an impossible choice--forfeit her powers and marry the loathsome Nathan? Or find an imposter to pose as her husband and preserve her birthright?
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Author Bio
Kari Edgren did not dream of becoming a writer. Instead, she dreamed of everything else and was often made to stay inside during kindergarten recess to practice her letters. Despite doting parents and a decent school system, Ms. Edgren managed to make it through elementary school having completed only one book cover to cover – The Box Car Children, which she read approximately forty-seven times. Things improved during high school, but not until she read Gabrielle Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude in college, did she truly understand the power of a book.
Ms. Edgren aspires to be a Vulcan, a world-acclaimed opera singer, and two inches taller. She resides in the Pacific NW where she spends a great deal of time torturing her husband and children with strange food and random historical facts. Ms. Edgren hasn’t stopped dreaming, but has finally mastered her letters enough to put the stories on paper.
Ms. Edgren aspires to be a Vulcan, a world-acclaimed opera singer, and two inches taller. She resides in the Pacific NW where she spends a great deal of time torturing her husband and children with strange food and random historical facts. Ms. Edgren hasn’t stopped dreaming, but has finally mastered her letters enough to put the stories on paper.
