Book info:
Title: Spells and Sorcery
Author: S. Usher Evans
Series: (Lexie Carrigan Chronicles, #1)
Publication date: October 4th, 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
You have magic.
One sentence, three words, four syllables. Enough to change my life forever. And I’m not talking about the whole spells and sorcery thing.
Lexie Carrigan thought the weirdest thing about her was she preferred watching documentaries and reading the newspaper to reality TV and Twitter. But on the eve of her fifteenth birthday, her aunt and sisters drop a bomb–she’s magical.
Now the girl who never made waves is blowing up her nightstand and trying to keep from wreaking havoc on her school. When a kind stranger shows up with all the answers, Lexie hopes he’ll be able to help her control her newfound powers. But Gavon may not be as kind as he seems, and soon Lexie finds out that being magical is the least weird thing about her.
Spells and Sorcery is the first YA fantasy from S. Usher Evans, author of the Razia series, the Madion War Trilogy and Empath.
Excerpt:
Magic?
Was real?
Not only was it real, but I had it. So did that make me a witch or a wizard or…?
Or nothing. Magic didn't exist.
But it did, because I'd seen with my own two eyes.
I crossed the grassy park, headed for the swing set. I plopped down on the swing and leaned against the chain. After a moment, I began to swing back and forth, allowing my mind to go blank for just a moment. I took a deep breath in and out and stared at the empty suburban streets.
"Yer a wizard, Lexie…" I whispered to myself.
"Rough day?"
My head bobbled up at the sound. An older man stood on the sidewalk. He wore casual khaki pants and a polo shirt, and his salt-and-pepper hair was neatly trimmed. He stood under one of the street lamps, which gave him an almost angelic sort of glow.
"W-what?" I said, realizing he was still talking to me.
"I asked if you were all right," he said, stepping out of the spotlight and closer to the swing set. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Have you ever questioned everything you thought was real?" I asked, for lack of anything better to say.
"Once or twice," he responded with a charming smile. "Mind if I join you?"
I shrugged, and he sat down on the other swing beside me. I might have thought it strange, a middle-aged man on a swing set, but I didn't have a clear definition of weird anymore.
"Want to talk about it?" he asked.
"I doubt you would believe me," I said. "I don't believe me."
"That's a tough spot to be in. Let me guess: did they tell you about magic?"
I nearly fell out of the swing. "W-wait, you know? Does everybody know?"
He laughed, his few wrinkles deepening with smile lines. "No, of course not. Just those of us who have magic."
"A-and how did you know I have it?"
"We can tell," he said. "You'll get there, I'm sure. But I only assumed—teenage girl, looking the way you did, magical…"
I slumped lower against the metal chains. "I wonder what else people are lying to me about…"
"You know about the Easter Bunny, right?"
I sat up, wide-eyed. A man-sized rabbit existed?
"He's not real," the man finished with an amused smile.
"Very funny," I said, clutching my still-pounding heart. "After tonight, I'm pretty sure I'd believe anything is real."
"Magic is real. The Easter Bunny is not. How about we start there?"
Author Bio:
S. Usher Evans is an author, blogger, and witty banter aficionado. Born in Pensacola, Florida, she left the sleepy town behind for the fast-paced world of Washington, D.C.. There, she somehow landed jobs with BBC, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic Television before finally settling into a “real job” as an IT consultant. After a quarter life crisis at age 27, she decided consulting was for the birds and rekindled a childhood passion for writing novels. She sold everything she owned and moved back to Pensacola, where she currently resides with her two dogs, Zoe and Mr. Biscuit.
Evans is the author of the Razia series, Madion War Trilogy, and Empath, published by Sun’s Golden Ray Publishing.
