It’s been four long years since Linda Bloodworth released her first book, A Raven’s Touch. Today, I’m revealing two new covers for her with special news to follow!
A Raven’s Touch
Justice St. Michaels has a secret. Not only is she the Heaven’s chosen one, but none of her friends are even human. Justice meets mysterious stranger, Darien Raventhorn who says she holds the key to his curse. To avenge a family death, Justice must embrace her birthright, and slay a demon before all Hell breaks loose.
A snippet of A Raven’s Touch:
It started two days ago.
Every night, I hoped to wake up in my bed. Instead, the sound of rushing water always caught my attention. Tiny droplets of mist kissed my skin. Pine needles pricked my bare feet as I shuffled along. This certainly wasn’t my bedroom. The ever-shifting twilight surrounded me. What was I doing in the Rouge Valley forest, again?
A streak of pain crackled through my body, and my head snapped forward. I let out a scream as my back burned like it was on fire. A flock of small birds took to the sky, causing the leaves to shudder. I hugged myself as if I could stop the throbbing. My entire body felt like a fresh wound. With tears in my eyes, I looked up to the Heavens for guidance, but the silence was deafening. To my left, little feet hopped through the bush. I could only imagine what I must have looked like, with long, black hair strung about my pale face, and the dark circles I’d had of late. I’d run away from me, too.
I staggered and wobbled my way to the closest tree, since my feet were half-asleep and not cooperating. The minute my back made contact with the rough bark, a fresh surge of pain bloomed, and I breathed fast and hard to stop myself from passing out.
“Please, just stop,” I begged through the tears.
For a blessed moment, the pain subsided. I let out a deep breath of gratitude. Slowly, something trickled down my back. That didn’t feel like sweat. My hand scrambled like a live wire to investigate. Immediately I felt my fingers become covered in blood, and the rich smell of copper flooded my senses. My fingers circled around to find two bone-hard lumps. Investigating further I felt around them, and I figured they were each the size of a split English muffin. Not too large, but definitely there. I was bleeding again.
“What the…?” I pushed myself off the tree, and my stomach churned from the wet-Velcro sound.
The sun was starting to peek through the tall pines. I was about half a mile from my house. I stepped away from the tree and bit back the urge to throw up. I didn’t even want to think about my blood- crusted back. I had to get home. Every bone in my body wanted to rest, but there was no way I was staying here. Thank goodness the county voted for street lamps, or I really would be lost. My shadow on the pavement stretched far and danced out to the next spotlight. The one-dimensional version of myself was footloose and fancy-free. What I wouldn’t give to not have dangerous night-walking spells.
Soon enough, I was walking up my driveway and heading for the side door. My hand wrapped around the handle, and I quietly pushed the door open. Living in the boonies, we’d never locked our doors, and at this point, I was grateful for small favors. I avoided the squeaking tiles and tiptoed up the stairs to my bedroom, then headed straight into my bathroom. I stripped off my clothes, leaving them like a breadcrumb trail to the shower. As I tried to remove my T-shirt, I winced; my back muscles hurt so bad I almost screamed out. Finally, I managed to shimmy the shirt over my head. The back was ripped and reeked of copper. Wrinkling my nose in disgust, I balled it up and tossed it in the garbage. (more…)
Christa Simpson 