~Welcome to my stop in
the Sacred Blog Tour!~
On my stop you'll be reading an excerpt from Sacred!
Book Blurb:
Growing up on Catalina Island, off the California coast, Scarlett Wenderoth has led a fairly isolated life. After her brother dies, her isolation deepens as she withdraws into herself, shutting out her friends and boyfriend. Her parents, shattered by their own sorrow, fail to notice Scarlett's pain and sudden alarming thinness. Scarlett finds pleasure only on her horse, escaping to the heart of the island on long, solitary rides. One day, as she races around a bend, Scarlett is startled by a boy who raises his hand in warning and says one word: "Stop."
The boy—intense, beautiful—is Will Cohen, a newcomer to the island. For reasons he can't or won't explain, he's drawn to Scarlett and feels compelled to keep her safe. To keep her from wasting away. His meddling irritates Scarlett, though she can't deny her attraction to him. As their relationship blossoms into love, Scarlett's body slowly awakens at Will's touch. But just when her grief begins to ebb, she makes a startling discovery about Will, a discovery he's been grappling with himself. A discovery that threatens to force them apart. And if it does, Scarlett fears she will unravel all over again.
Growing up on Catalina Island, off the California coast, Scarlett Wenderoth has led a fairly isolated life. After her brother dies, her isolation deepens as she withdraws into herself, shutting out her friends and boyfriend. Her parents, shattered by their own sorrow, fail to notice Scarlett's pain and sudden alarming thinness. Scarlett finds pleasure only on her horse, escaping to the heart of the island on long, solitary rides. One day, as she races around a bend, Scarlett is startled by a boy who raises his hand in warning and says one word: "Stop."
The boy—intense, beautiful—is Will Cohen, a newcomer to the island. For reasons he can't or won't explain, he's drawn to Scarlett and feels compelled to keep her safe. To keep her from wasting away. His meddling irritates Scarlett, though she can't deny her attraction to him. As their relationship blossoms into love, Scarlett's body slowly awakens at Will's touch. But just when her grief begins to ebb, she makes a startling discovery about Will, a discovery he's been grappling with himself. A discovery that threatens to force them apart. And if it does, Scarlett fears she will unravel all over again.
BUY LINKS:
Excerpt:
His face was white with fear as Delilah came at him at a full-out gallop, but he stayed stock-still and as solidly rooted to the ground as the oak tree that had hidden him from my view.
His nostrils flared, not unlike Delilah’s, and even as my mare and I barreled toward him, his gaze did not waver. At his sides were his hands, clenched into fists.
His eyes were green. Not some version of hazel that people call green, but actually green—flashing green, beautiful, like the color of fresh grass in the spring.
Unflinchingly, he stared at me and held up one of his hands.
“Stop.”
It was just one word, and though his voice was not raised, it resonated somehow, and without consciously deciding to, I obeyed. I leaned back in my saddle and pulled firmly on the reins. “Whoa!” I told Delilah. She tossed her head, unwilling, but I increased the pressure on the reins.
In front of me, the boy didn’t flinch. Good thing Delilah stopped, or we would have collided.
Tall and slender, but not filled out with the muscles that would probably bulk up his frame in the coming years, he looked strong. The tendons of his arms and neck were strained with tension as he stood in the middle of the trail. He wore khaki hiking pants and boots, and under his arms his gray T-shirt was stained with circles of sweat, as if he’d been hiking hard before he’d found me on the trail.
I couldn’t quite decide why it seemed that way, as if he’d found me, but I was certain, somehow, that he had been searching for me. As I stared more deeply into his eyes, I saw mirrored there both fear and pain, though he was no longer in any danger of being run down by Delilah. Then he raised his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes.
“Are you all right?” I asked. I was still annoyed by his interference; Delilah snorted as if she heard my thoughts and echoed them. But I was concerned, too. The way he was acting was definitely not normal, and I found myself wondering if there was something seriously wrong with him. Maybe he was about to have a stroke or something. An image of Ronny, eyes closed, hands folded across the chest of his best suit, flashed in my mind, and I felt the beginnings of one of my panic attacks coming on.
I forced myself to breathe regularly, pushing Ronny’s face out of my mind.
“What the hell are you doing out here in the middle of the trail?” I snapped, throwing my right leg across the saddle and sliding to the ground. “You could have gotten both of us hurt.”
He didn’t answer at first, but his hand dropped from his forehead and his eyes slowly opened. He had eyelashes that any teen girl would murder for. And up close, his eyes were an even more brilliant green than they had seemed to be when I had sat astride Delilah.
He searched my face as if looking for the answer to some riddle, and I felt my anger seep out of me, leaving in its place a warm, soft feeling that I didn’t have a name for.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured at last. “I didn’t mean to cause you trouble. That is the last thing I want to do.”
He fixed his eyes on me. “I’m Will,” he said, offering his hand. “Will Cohen.”
Will tilted his head slightly to one side, waiting with his hand extended while I tried to diagnose his motives before I finally gave up and thrust my hand toward his.
“Scarlett Wenderoth,” I murmured in the second before our hands connected. Then our fingers touched, and for a long moment I don’t think I could have told anyone my name at all.
About The Author:
ELANA K. ARNOLD completed her M.A. in Creative Writing/Fiction at the University of California, Davis. She grew up in Southern California, where she was lucky enough to have her own horse--a gorgeous mare named Rainbow--and a family who let her read as many books as she wanted. She lives in Long Beach, California, with her husband, two children, and a menagerie of animals. She is represented by Rubin Pfeffer of the East/West Literary Agency. Sacred is her debut novel.
LINKS:
Website: http://www.elanakarnold.com/home.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElanaKArnold
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElanaKArnold
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5772357.Elana_K_Arnold
His face was white with fear as Delilah came at him at a full-out gallop, but he stayed stock-still and as solidly rooted to the ground as the oak tree that had hidden him from my view.
His nostrils flared, not unlike Delilah’s, and even as my mare and I barreled toward him, his gaze did not waver. At his sides were his hands, clenched into fists.
His eyes were green. Not some version of hazel that people call green, but actually green—flashing green, beautiful, like the color of fresh grass in the spring.
Unflinchingly, he stared at me and held up one of his hands.
“Stop.”
It was just one word, and though his voice was not raised, it resonated somehow, and without consciously deciding to, I obeyed. I leaned back in my saddle and pulled firmly on the reins. “Whoa!” I told Delilah. She tossed her head, unwilling, but I increased the pressure on the reins.
In front of me, the boy didn’t flinch. Good thing Delilah stopped, or we would have collided.
Tall and slender, but not filled out with the muscles that would probably bulk up his frame in the coming years, he looked strong. The tendons of his arms and neck were strained with tension as he stood in the middle of the trail. He wore khaki hiking pants and boots, and under his arms his gray T-shirt was stained with circles of sweat, as if he’d been hiking hard before he’d found me on the trail.
I couldn’t quite decide why it seemed that way, as if he’d found me, but I was certain, somehow, that he had been searching for me. As I stared more deeply into his eyes, I saw mirrored there both fear and pain, though he was no longer in any danger of being run down by Delilah. Then he raised his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes.
“Are you all right?” I asked. I was still annoyed by his interference; Delilah snorted as if she heard my thoughts and echoed them. But I was concerned, too. The way he was acting was definitely not normal, and I found myself wondering if there was something seriously wrong with him. Maybe he was about to have a stroke or something. An image of Ronny, eyes closed, hands folded across the chest of his best suit, flashed in my mind, and I felt the beginnings of one of my panic attacks coming on.
I forced myself to breathe regularly, pushing Ronny’s face out of my mind.
“What the hell are you doing out here in the middle of the trail?” I snapped, throwing my right leg across the saddle and sliding to the ground. “You could have gotten both of us hurt.”
He didn’t answer at first, but his hand dropped from his forehead and his eyes slowly opened. He had eyelashes that any teen girl would murder for. And up close, his eyes were an even more brilliant green than they had seemed to be when I had sat astride Delilah.
He searched my face as if looking for the answer to some riddle, and I felt my anger seep out of me, leaving in its place a warm, soft feeling that I didn’t have a name for.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured at last. “I didn’t mean to cause you trouble. That is the last thing I want to do.”
He fixed his eyes on me. “I’m Will,” he said, offering his hand. “Will Cohen.”
Will tilted his head slightly to one side, waiting with his hand extended while I tried to diagnose his motives before I finally gave up and thrust my hand toward his.
“Scarlett Wenderoth,” I murmured in the second before our hands connected. Then our fingers touched, and for a long moment I don’t think I could have told anyone my name at all.
ELANA K. ARNOLD completed her M.A. in Creative Writing/Fiction at the University of California, Davis. She grew up in Southern California, where she was lucky enough to have her own horse--a gorgeous mare named Rainbow--and a family who let her read as many books as she wanted. She lives in Long Beach, California, with her husband, two children, and a menagerie of animals. She is represented by Rubin Pfeffer of the East/West Literary Agency. Sacred is her debut novel.
LINKS:
Website: http://www.elanakarnold.com/home.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElanaKArnold
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElanaKArnold
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5772357.Elana_K_Arnold
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