Spotlight and Giveaway: The Whispers of the Sprite by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

Published 7th October 2012

Blurb:
When Ania moves from London to Swansea city in Wales she is hoping that her life will get a bit more exciting, after all she is running away from her controlling mother to taste more freedom and feel more independent. Everything seems to be going the way she wanted until she almost dies while taking a quiet walk around the beach in the late evening.

When she opens her eyes, nothing seems the same...

She starts seeing people that no one else is able to notice. An enchanting looking man keeps following her and Ania’s life seems to getting more exciting than she ever wished for.

After the attack something changes inside her, she has been blessed with the new frightening gift of seeing and hearing sprites all around her... the magical creatures that only existed in folklore, myths and legends of Britain.

Gabriel is attractive and handsome but no ... he is not a vampire. He keeps coming back and Ania feels an instant connection between them but this might get her into more trouble. Supernatural romance is not on her mind right now.

Because he is forbidden to even touch her ... the line between the death and love has never been so thin and the sprites won’t stop whispering until ... she will choose to love or abandon Gabriel.

The Whispers of the sprite - the first book in the Young adult paranormal romance series,

(The Whispers series)

If you looking for a fresh new urban fantasy romance filled with folklore, myths, legends, fairies and magic then this is the one to keep an eye on.

This is a young adult paranormal romance which includes violence and sexual scenes recommended for ages sixteen and up.

Excerpt:When I left the bar, it was late – almost close to one in the morning. My rash decision to walk home this late was unreasonable; it would take me at least an hour to finally get to my street. Walking through the empty roads, I wonder why I didn't just get a taxi. Rhian stayed behind with a few other friends but I had to get back. Surrounded by complete darkness the city seems to be asleep, the roads are clear and I have been walking for about half an hour now. Fear is slowly beginning to take over my body and my mind is creating an alarming scenario in my head. I stare at my phone, wondering why Mum hasn't called me yet. She always calls me, even if she knows that I will be home within minutes, just to check. The streets are so quiet; there is no one around, not even cars passing through, which is odd. It seems that the city collapsed in a winter sleep, instantly forgetting that it's still summer, like some lost soul that is trying to make it’s way to Heaven but getting to Hell instead. I think about the enjoyable evening that I had with Rhian and some friends; they were all excited for me finally gaining a new independence and a new life in another city. Our casual cocktails were interrupted by constant phone calls from Mum but after 11pm, my phone suddenly stopped buzzing. I hoped that she had finally gone to bed and forgotten about me for at least one evening.

It’s cold and I shiver, trying to recognise the alleys and shops but I still don’t know which way I should follow. I take a shortcut and then feel horribly lost. I take a deep breath, trying to decide if I should call a taxi. The silence seems unnatural and I cannot understand why there are no cars around and no taxis when you desperately need one. I am alone and this is beginning to freak me out. I stop for a moment to wrap myself in a light cardigan that I find in my rucksack, only a few seconds pass but during this short period of time I feel like I am being watched. My subconscious is laughing out loud, calling me a fool. I look around but the streets are uninhabited and silent. No one is around but my mind is playing tricks on me, I inhale the thick air filled with my own fear and a cold shiver flows down my spine. A harsh bitter wind starts to blow and simultaneously a few streetlights go out, enveloping the street in an unexpected dimness. The tar-black darkness that surrounds me obscures my senses, I can't see anything and my eyes focus, trying to get used to the gloom.

I stop and try to sense the source of this odd occurrence; I hear someone’s movements and my heart starts racing while my mouth gets unpleasantly dry. I am certain that I heard something or someone; I stop breathing, trying to pinpoint the noise but everything is still again, the silence buzzes in my ears. My heartbeat quickens, making my mind spin. Suddenly, one of the streetlights comes back on again. I blink rapidly and continue walking while looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. The houses and streets seem to be under a spell, there is not a single living soul anywhere around me. After half an hour, I finally reach my street locating the familiar path. I begin to wonder about the movement that I had heard, but my rational side keeps telling me that it's only my imagination. When I approach my house, a dark figure emerges from the corner.

‘Peaceful night?’ says the stranger as I walk by.

I make out that it's a woman's voice. It's soft, but I can't detect her accent, my habit of trying to establish where people are from works well normally, but not with this woman. I can’t see her face in the darkness, I am not sure if I should respond, it's late and it's odd that someone would linger on the street at this time so I just give her a light smile. The night is bitterly cold, but she doesn't seem to care.

‘Goodnight,’ she adds, leaving me speechless once again and walks past me. The strong fragrance of her perfume reaches my nose and I inhale, enjoying the pleasant smell. I manage to get a look at her face; she is an older lady with short silver hair and big wide dark eyes but it's too dark to tell if I had seen her before. As she starts to disappear into the dark alley, it begins to rain. I search for my keys, wondering what she was doing on my street. I toyed with the idea of her visiting anyone I knew. I shake my head, thinking it’s been a rather strange night.

My thoughts are still on the odd noise that I thought I heard in the alleyway. While walking upstairs to my bedroom, I look in to make sure that Mum is still asleep and I quietly close the door. Normally, Mum would wait for me and run through millions of questions but tonight had unusually stopped calling which still remains mystery to me why. I take off my clothes and soon drift off into a dream, forgetting about the woman on the street.

Author Bio:

Joanna Mazurkiewicz was born in Poland. She moved to United Kingdom when she was only nineteen and just finished high school. She had aspired to be a writer upon completion of the Harry Potter series but also enjoyed reading books like ‘Gone with the Wind’, ’Animal Farm’ and ‘The doll’. She graduated from Swansea University with a bachelor degree in American Studies. While studying in the UK she made a decision to start writing fiction in English.
The “Whispers of the Sprite” is her first debut novel and she is currently working on the second book in the series. Joanna lives in Cowbridge, a small town in South Wales near Cardiff with her boyfriend Bruce. She enjoys cycling around Welsh countryside some of which has become the settings in her first series.

Twitter/Website/Goodreads

Giveaway:

Joanna has very kindly agree to give away up to 5 ebook copies of her book. For every 20 entries in the giveaway, another ebook will be added, so the more entries, the more prizes, to a maximum of 5. So, best of luck :)

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