Title: Raising Hell How to Survive the Terrible Twos
Author: Katie Zaber
Genre: Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy
Book Blurb:
The voices tell me to wake up, but with two children under three, I’m awake. Believe me. There’s just so much pressing on me.
Crystal, the woman who runs Shade, the secret group who imprisoned me, is still out there and I cannot rest until I have ended her. I need supernatural allies to do that, though, and they are hard to come by. Witches, vampires, and weres refuse to unite against their common enemy, choosing to hide in seclusion while innocents are hunted and turned into lab rats.
Meanwhile, my best friend is entering a new phase of her life, and I don’t want to miss a second of her happiness, despite the dire warnings from a powerful psychic in the mall.
And then there’s Lucas, the man who will never say he loves me and rejects the idea of marriage. He loves me even if he can’t say the word. Right?
So what if there are dire predictions popping up all around me? I have more than enough to deal with. My kids will be fine. Just fine.
Won’t they?
Excerpt:
I pull up to the mall and find a spot near the entrance closest to Lynn’s shop. Signs all over the mall advertise their big sale at the end of the month, ending on July thirty-first with the carnival. As normal, Lynn sits outside her tiny storefront, swiping through her phone, her cinnamon braid tied back neatly in a fishtail.
“Hi—”
“Oh no,” she says, standing. “Not again. No. Every time I see you, my visions don’t stop.”
“Sounds like I bring the magic out in you. How are you, Lynn?”
She narrows her eyes and her face turns a red-purple shade. “I just started to sleep again after the last time you visited.”
“That bad?”
She sighs and releases the tension in her shoulders. “I knew you’d be here today. For once, I wanted my vision to be wrong.” She waves a hand, motioning for me to follow. “Come on; let’s get this over with. I’ll heat the kettle.”
I make myself comfortable and sit down at the table where she performs her readings. With her back toward me, she fills the kettle and gets two mugs ready.
“How are your children?” she asks.
“Good. Do you have any?”
“No. It’s not in the stars for me,” she says, placing the mugs on the table.
I sit unsure if it’s because of personal choice or if she’s unable. It’s such a delicate subject.
My facial expression must be giving away my mixed feelings of sympathy and remorse. “It’s by choice,” she says, sitting down and then takes a deep breath in. “My family’s gift is passed down directly from mother to daughter. My life hasn’t been easy. When I tell people I’m a psychic, they tell me to play the lottery and make a joke that I must be a phony if I can’t win it. No one understands that I have no control over my power and that my visions come randomly. That I can’t drive because I’m afraid I’ll have a vision and crash my car into an innocent family. I can’t sleep because visions plague me. People all over the world die in my dreams from preventable situations and I can’t do a damn thing to save them. I just get to watch them die. Every night. My clients haunt me, not just you. I try my best to help, guide them to a better path in life. A less painful one. But sometimes, when I do that, my vision still comes true. This, this isn’t a gift. It’s a curse. A curse I won’t pass down to my daughters. A curse that ends with me. I love the children I won’t have too much.”
“I’m sorry. Your power, it’s not an easy one to live with.”
“Thank you, but we’re not here to discuss me. You’re here to talk about you.”
I take a sip of tea and clear my throat. “I want to know what you feel or think when I ask you about a woman named Crystal.”
Lynn nods. “That’s a vague request. I’ll have to use extra brain power.”
I put three one-hundred-dollar bills on the table. “You get two more at the end of the reading. Try to see as much as you can, please. I really need your help and guidance.”
She bites her lip. “I’ll see what I can do.” She settles into her chair, reaches across the table and takes my hand, then closes her eyes. “Crystal. The name itself invokes a powerful response from your inner beings. They don’t like her. Your hatred runs deep. She’s filled your life with pain and you want to repay her the favor. I see you and her entangled in a web of lies, misery, love, and adventure. There’s a place where you and she go. I can’t follow.” She opens her eyes. “You travel to another world or universe. Somewhere far away. From what I can tell, you don’t go as companions or friends; you go as enemies. You’ll be enemies, but at different times, enemies can be useful. You won’t be able to understand her usefulness, not yet, but you will one day know how valuable she is and you won’t kill her, not yet. Not soon.”
“But I’m not safe. My children aren’t safe with her alive.”
“Are they? She isn’t after them. That much I can tell. I fear for them for different reasons.”
“What should they be afraid of?”
She shakes her head. “You won’t like the answer.”
“Me. It’s me they should be afraid of, right?”
Lynn nods. “What children aren’t afraid of their mother or fear their father’s wrath?”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/katie-zaber?follow=true
DNA Demons N Angels series
What to Expect When You’re Expecting Something Different - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0975417BJ
WTE Chapters 1-4 - https://storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/c9c1d002-1fb2-11ec-86db-a3186d5491f2
Raising Hell How to Survive the Terrible Twos https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C9L1M94D
What’s the first binge-worthy book you read and why was it a must-read?
I’ve binged read John Conroe’s Demon Accord series at least four times. He might have over twenty books. I don’t know if it’s just his writing style or the way he captures the character’s voice, but once I start reading, I can’t put it down.
What makes your featured book a binge-worthy read?
Raising Hell How to Survive the Terrible Twos is a book most mothers can relate to. Between Eve’s toddler coloring on the tables to raising the dead most parents can sympathize with her as she navigates motherhood and the supernatural world.
Book two, Raising Hell How to Survive the Terrible Twos comes out August 3rd.
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon gift card
Open internationally.
Runs August 1 – 31, 2023.
Drawing will be held on September 1, 2023.
Author Biography:
Katie Zaber, author of the series Dalya and DNA, is a fantasy author whose imagination knows no bounds. As a child, her parents read stories about Atlantis and other fictional places that she dreamed of exploring, fueling her love of history, adventure, and fantasy. She loves to spend what little free time she has winemaking, baking, and reading. When she has a full day to herself, you can find her at the beach or at a winery. Her favorite meals are the ones her boyfriend cooks, and she loves spending quiet nights at home with him, binge watching new fantasy shows or play video games.
Social Media Links:
Newsletter and FREE ebook of Ashes and Blood - https://www.subscribepage.com/s4t6x8
Amazon Author Page - https://www.amazon.com/Katie-Zaber/e/B087YXPDF2
Website- https://zaberbooks.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dalyaseries
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