Mirror Bound (The Witchling Academy #2) by Monica Sanz --YA - Mystery - Suspense-- ***Excerpt - Giveaway***
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Mirror Bound (The Witchling
Academy #2)
by Monica Sanz
Genre: YA Paranormal/Mystery & Suspense
Release Date: September 2019
Entangled Teen
Conspirator. Failure. Murderer.
Seraphina Dovetail is used to being called all these things. As the seventh-born daughter to a witch, and the cause of her mother losing both her powers and her life, Sera has always felt isolated. Until Nikolai Barrington.
The young professor not only took an interest in Sera—he took her into his home, hired her for his moonlighting detective agency, and gave her the one thing she’d always dreamed of: a chance. Under Barrington’s tutelage, Sera can finally take the School of Continuing Magic entrance exam to become an inspector and find her family. Now if only she could stop her growing attraction to her maddening boss—which is about as easy as this fiery elementalist quitting setting things on fire.
But when ghosts start dragging Sera into possessions so deep she can barely escape, and then the souls of lost witches and wizards appear trapped in mirrors, these two opposites will have to work together to uncover a much deeper secret that could destroy the Witchling world…
Purchase links can be found HERE!
Book One:
Seventh Born (The Witchling Academy #1)
Abomination. Curse. Murderer. All names hurled at eighteen-year-old Seraphina Dovetail. As the seventh-born daughter to a witch, she’s the cause of her mother losing her powers and, in turn, her life.
Abandoned as a child, Sera dreams of becoming an inspector and finding her family. To do that, she must be referred into the Advanced Studies Program at the Aetherium’s Witchling Academy. Her birth order, quick temper, and tendency to set things on fire, however, have left her an outcast with failing marks…and just what Professor Nikolai Barrington is looking for.
The tall, brooding, yet exceedingly handsome young professor makes her a proposition: become his assistant and he’ll give her the referral she needs. Sera is quickly thrust into a world where witches are being kidnapped, bodies are raised from the dead, and someone is burning seventhborns alive. As Sera and Barrington grow ever closer, she’ll discover that some secrets are best left buried…and fire isn’t the only thing that makes a witch burn.
An Interview with the Author
Monica Sanz
Welcome to Character Madness and Musings
Tell us a little bit about why you write in your chosen genre, and if you have books in other genres as well.
I write romance and fantasy because they excite me, and it’s what I love to read. I have a pretty wild imagination, and fantasy especially allows me to put these fantastical ideas on paper. As for romance, I love love. It’s a source of endless inspiration, from its highs and lows, onsets and break-ups, there’s just so much to explore in romance and how it affects each person/character.
Aside from The Witchling Academy books (Seventh Born and Mirror Bound), my other book Finvarra’s Circus is a fantasy romance about a girl with a damaged heart who sneaks into a cursed circus and has to overcome her fears of failure and death and love in order to save them all.
What was the title of your first book, and what was/is it about?
The title of my very first book was Children of the Dark. It was a portal fantasy I wrote when I was 8, and it was about a group of friends who find a book that’s actually a portal, and it transports them to a world full of monsters. I kind of like the idea; who knows, I may revisit it in the future!
Was it a series?
No, it wasn’t a series and I didn’t even finish it, but I remember being so engrossed by the world that I’d spend weekends working on it.
The first book seems to be the most difficult to get off the ground. What inspired you to write it?
After working on Mirror Bound, I actually think Seventh Born was easier to get off the ground! Maybe because I had longer to write it? But what inspired me to write it was a portrait of a girl and her face downcast. She radiated immense strength and rebelliousness, and I wondered why she looked down as if having just been reprimanded. Sera’s character immediately popped into my head and the first thing I knew without a doubt was she was not one to cower to anything, which made the picture even more intriguing. I immediately wanted to know more about her. As I started thinking more on her character, I learned she was a seventh born witch, and in her world, seventh born witches cause their mother’s deaths at childbirth. Because of this, they’re considered bad omens and ostracized. Despite being thought of as an abomination, Sera is still determined to become an inspector to find her family. This inspired me to get the story down on paper. Sera is such a strong character and I felt so honored that the story came to me. There was no way I couldn’t write it.
What is your most current book? (If different from first book)
My most recent book is MIRROR BOUND!
Is it a series?
Yes, it’s the second book in The Witchling Academy series. The first book in the series is SEVENTH BORN.
New books are so exciting. Do you have more stories planned or that you’ve been working on for the future?
Absolutely! At the moment, I’m working on a new fantasy I’m really excited about. It’s definitely pushing me out of my comfort zone which is scary, but it also motivates me to nail the story and work that much harder to get it right.
Can you share a little bit about your main character’s, and what drives them?
Family is so important for both Sera and Barrington and it definitely drives them. Everything they do ties back to their desire to either find or avenge their families. Sera remembers nothing about her life prior to two years ago and all she wants is to recover her memories in order to find her family. She longs to belong somewhere and wants to know if she was loved. Barrington wants nothing more than to clear his father and brother’s names after they were blamed for a series of heinous crimes. Both Sera and Barrington go to great lengths to achieve their dreams, and keep going despite the many hardships they encounter.
Some stories have strong themes. How important are themes in your writing? Is your theme based on the story, or are your stories birthed from a theme/or themes?
Themes are very important to my writing, but I don’t write based on a theme. They come about as I write the story.
Is the theme personal for you, or simply an important issue?
Themes are very important to me and I care about the ones I’ve tackled in my stories so I guess it’s a little bit of both.
What other stories have you written?
I’ve written Seventh Born and Mirror Bound (The Witchling Academy series), Finvarra’s Circus, The Awkward Love Song of Abigail Archer, Phoenix Rising, The Faethfully Yours duology, and many more.
I love to bounce around websites because I’ve found I can learn so much about an Author there. Do you have a website, blog, or other place where you showcase your work?
Yes! My website is monicasanzbooks.com and you can find a lot of my earlier work on Wattpad.com/DistantDreamer
So many Authors are artists by nature. Do you have any other artwork or hobbies you do on a consistent basis?
I really enjoy cooking now and challenge myself by trying new recipes. I also love to repurpose furniture. That’s more time consuming, and I don’t do it as much as I’d like to, but it definitely allows me to be creative in a different way.
What were your passions growing up?
I loved writing, reading, and music.
What were your passions growing up?
I loved writing, reading, and music.
What are your passions now?
I still love writing and reading and music. If anything, I’m more passionate about them now.
Thank you for joining us today. We’re looking forward to seeing the books you’ll be showcasing in the future.
Excerpt:
The office door groaned open. Magic rushed from Sera’s stomach and filled her veins with heat, and sweat sprouted like liquid fire from her pores. A stout man with a blunt nose and pockmarked skin walked in, thin strands of his gray hair combed over the bald patch atop his head. He wore a hard-set expression and a white, ankle-length robe with the name Samson stitched below the Aetherium crest on the upper-left breast.He moved to a wood desk mastering the back of the exam room and never once looked at her.
“Why are you here?” he asked by way of a greeting—a rather harsh, cold, and bestial one. “Speak quickly. I’ve other appointments.”
He thrust down her medical file, and Sera’s mouth bowed at the reason for his unkindness. The thick, brown dossier was marked with a dark stripe along the length, akin to the seventh-born tattoo wrapped around her wrist. The thin black line telling the world she was the seventh-born daughter to a witch, her birth the cause of her mother losing her powers and, in turn, her life.
Though used to the hostility impelled by her birth order, anger still prickled the underside of her skin, but she stifled the urge to set his paperwork on fire. At least not while her file remained on his desk. “Yes, sir, I know. I have waited four hours to be seen.”
“Then perhaps you should have made an appointment.” He set her file aside, plucked up another patient’s record, and, flipping open the cover, reviewed its contents.
She folded her fingers into her palm, their tips itching with suppressed magic. “I had an appointment.” And she’d paid half of her wages to the secretary outside to attain it.
He continued to scribble notes on the other file and never once spared her a glance. “Yes, well, be grateful I’m even here.”
As grateful as I would be if I were trampled by a horse, she mused bitterly but cleared her throat. The faster she finished with this wretched brute, the quicker she could get back home to study. “I require a physical examination for the Aetherium entrance exam.”
He paused mid-script and finally looked at her from over his glasses, close-set brown eyes narrowed under a thick, reddened brow. “But you’re a seventhborn.”
A blush gathered in her cheeks, but she held her chin a touch higher. “Yes, sir, I am. But the exam is open to anyone and everyone, should they meet the necessary qualifications. Given my extensive education during my time at the Witchling Academy, I will not be denied.” At least she hoped this was the case. Her approval letter had yet to arrive, though it was only two weeks until the exam. This didn’t matter. It would come, and when it did, she would be ready.
About the Author
Monica Sanz has been writing from the moment she could string together a sentence. Her stories have come a long way from mysterious portals opening in the school cafeteria, transporting classmates to distant worlds. A classic by the name Wuthering Heights is responsible for that. She's been lost to dark romances and brooding fictional men ever sense. Now she writes about grumpy professors, cursed ringmaster, tortured soul collectors, and the girls they fall in love with. Monica’s books have received many accolades on the social writing website Wattpad. She’s accumulated over six million reads, eighty thousand votes, and fifteen thousand comments since posting her books on the website. She is also a member of the Wattpad4, a group of writers who host weekly Twitter chats on the subjects of writing and publishing.
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