Reckoning by Molly M. Hall - Virtual Tour and Giveaway

Please welcome author Molly M Hall on her tour with Bewitching Book Tours today for her paranormal YA"Reckoning". The author is awarding FIVE eBook copies of "Reckoning" to commenters on her tour, so make sure to say hello and complete the Rafflecopter giveaway at the bottom of this post!

1. Why YA fiction? What draws you to it?

I love both reading and writing YA fiction because the possibilities are endless. They are in adult fiction, as well, especially with sci-fi and urban fantasy, but the characters are usually much more cynical and jaded. In YA fiction, there is a level of innocence, combined with the idealism and courage of youth that can be very inspiring. It's OK that these characters don't have all the answers, and it's their journey to find them that makes for a very exciting ride.

2. What books were your favorite as a youth and why?

I loved the gothic romances of Victoria Holt, Dorothy Daniels and Kathryn Kimbrough. Anything that featured a big, spooky house, a mysterious stranger, and a lot of unknown danger were my ideal worlds to escape into. Many of those aspects are reflected in my writing today, so they obviously had a great influence on me.

3. What did you want to be when you grew up? Why?

I always wanted to do something creative, so I was very drawn to music, art, theatre, writing, anything that involved the imagination and was an outlet for self-expression and individualism. It is through these lenses that we learn to see the world differently and explore new possibilities.

4. What superpower would you love to have? Why?

My superpower would be the ability to control the weather. It would be awesome to be able to create wind, rain, ice storms, fog, lightning, warm sunny days, anything weather related. I could create the perfect climate for myself, hold back my enemies (because if I have superpowers I'm guessing I have them), wreak destruction or wave my hands, and voila! - Paradise. It would be awesome!

5. Favorite TV show from your childhood?

I loved Scooby-Doo and never missed it on Saturday mornings. That's probably where my love of mysteries and spooky old houses started! Although the antagonists in my writing never end up being the old caretaker wearing a costume!

6. Ideal summer vacation?

My ideal summer vacation would be in Great Britain or somewhere else in Europe, exploring castles, gardens, old cemeteries and historic villages. It's something I've wanted to do since childhood, and hopefully, one day will.

7. You've just won a million dollars and you're not allowed to save any of it. What do you spend it on?

First, I pay for my son's college education. Then, I spend a year in Europe; donate to my favorite charities, and help my family with any of their needs. If there's anything left, I renovate my house to include a really fabulous library just like in the old English estates.

8. Playlist for your current book:

30 Seconds To Mars - Closer To The Edge
Evanescence - The Other Side
Ellie Goulding - Anything Can Happen
Thomas Bergersen - Soulseeker
Colbie Caillat - Fallin' For You
Linkin Park - Castle Of Glass
Dvorak - Symphony No. 9
Saint-Saëns - The Swan
Within Temptation - Faster
Fuel - Shimmer
Creed - My Sacrifice
Daughtry - Long Way

Reckoning (Dark Prophecy, Book 1) by Molly M Hall
Genre: YA Paranormal
Number of pages: 276

Amazon Print, Amazon Kindle 
BN Paperback , Nook 
Smashwords

"They say the truth can set you free. I found out it can kill you."

Seventeen-year-old Kat Matheson has never revealed the dark secret that sets her apart from everyone else: She can see and hear the dead. Until now, she has been able to ignore the strange apparitions and whispering voices. But it may not be that simple anymore. Haunted by eerie visions and increasingly frightening nightmares, Kat begins to fear she may be the target of a dark and ominous force from beyond the grave. Complicating matters is the arrival of her new neighbor, a young man she instinctively distrusts but is inexplicably drawn to. Gorgeous and mysterious, he seems to hold a disturbing knowledge of her long-held secrets.

As she desperately tries to maintain control, events take an unexpected and violent turn. Discovering that nothing is what it seems and that her psychic abilities may involve far more than just communing with the dead, Kat may be forced to confront her worst fears and the powerful curse that controls her destiny.

A gentle breeze moves through the trees and gooseflesh creeps up my arms. I look around cautiously, my ears straining for even the slightest sound. Nothing. No dreaded flashes of a ghostly pink dress. No brain-numbing whispering. Just an empty expanse of green, dotted with trees, the stark silhouettes of houses rising behind.

My phone buzzes again, the vibration rippling through the nerve endings in my hand like a low-voltage jolt of electricity. I feel a sudden desire to fling it as far away from me as I can.

Reluctantly, I look down and click on the message.

RUN

Turning around, I see Rick, smiling back at me, waiting patiently. A scream of anguish and frustration begins to build deep inside of me and I hear a noise to my right, like the whooshing of wings. Jerking my head to the side, my eyes widen in shock, and I duck, narrowly missing a massive black bird as it sweeps past me, angling upward. I think I hear Rick say something, but his words are drowned out by the sound of my pulse pounding in my ears. I glance up, looking for the bird and see a large, dark shape sweeping past the top of the trees. I have no idea how any of it is connected – the girl, the texts, the bird – but instinctively I know they are. And it isn’t good.

I look at Rick again, the wonder and magic of this evening still singing through my veins, and my shock turns to anger. Hot, fiery, rebellious anger. This will not happen. Not tonight.

Clenching my jaw, I glare up at the sky. LEAVE ME ALONE, I scream in my head. Whatever issues this dead girl has, it has nothing to do with me.

Rick begins walking toward me. “Everything OK, Kat?”

I swallow, gathering my emotions back into a tight bundle. “Fine.” I force a smile onto my face, jogging back to him. “Just Rachel sending me another message.”

I step into the pool of light beneath the streetlamp, anxious to leave the darkness behind. Suddenly, the light flickers, an odd sizzling sound emanating from the globes. I stop and stare, watching as several sparks shoot out the sides. The bird, the largest crow I have ever seen, swoops down from the trees, one shining, jet black eye looking directly at me. Sound disappears and time seems to fold in on itself, slowing to half-speed. The same weightless feeling I’d experienced at school creeps over me, and I tense, fighting off the panic.

I stare at the bird, watching it descend lower and lower. It’s wings beat once, moving slowly down and back up again. Sparks continue to jet from the streetlamp, each brightly pointed flash of light spewing out in a torpid, glowing trail, before dropping slowly and silently to the ground. The bird is nearly on top of me. It sweeps past, close enough that I can feel the rush of air beneath its wings, gently lifting my hair. Then it arcs upward, higher and higher, before turning and diving back toward me again, it’s beak open in a silent cry.

I stand and stare, frozen in place, numb with shock and disbelief. My phone vibrates dully in my palm, and I slowly lower my head. As though acting strictly through muscle memory, my thumb pushes the message button.

NOW

I look back up at the bird. Then at the streetlamp. And suddenly, I understand. The obscure text messages melding into clear and precise meaning. But my legs won’t move.

I gasp, inhaling sharply as I struggle to break free of the torpor that has possessed me, and the world abruptly charges back into normal motion, sound and movement taking on a vivid clarity. The bird rushes toward me, it’s head cocked at an odd angle. The sparking and sizzling of the streetlamp grows louder, the globes glowing and flashing like some kind of deranged sparkler on the fourth of July. I take one slow step backward just as the globes explode with a loud bang, hundreds of tiny pieces of glass slicing through the air. I yelp and duck, lunging to the side.

Molly M Hall is the author of Reckoning, the first novel in the Dark Prophecy series. She has spent most of her life in Colorado and currently lives just outside of Denver. She pursued a degree in English Literature at Columbia College, and worked in the corporate world for several years before turning to writing full time.

When not reading or writing, she can be found shopping for awesome boots, listening to music, exercising, working on her very inadequate French, playing piano, or looking for inspiring landscapes to photograph. More at: mollymhall.com

Blog – www.mollymhall.com
Twitter - @mollymhallbooks
Facebook – www.facebook.com/mollym.hall.31
www.facebook.com/pages/Reckoning/457393657635234
Goodreads – www.goodreads.com/book/show/16077558-reckoning

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