Being
a witch is the last thing she wants…
Bewitching Hannah
Leigh Goff
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing
Publish Date: September 17, 2017
Genre(s): YA, Fantasy, Romance
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Powers of the Witches Rise:
The Chesapeake Witches
The
Chesapeake region is known for blue crabs, sailing, and the U.S. Naval
Academy. However, Maryland’s past is cloaked in a dark secret–an intriguing and
rarely mentioned history of witches.
In
1635, the state adopted the Witchcraft Act of 1604 that declared witchcraft a
felony, punishable by death. Rebecca Fowler suffered the worst fate due to this
law. A fellow indentured servant accused her of hexing him prior to an injury.
She was arrested, tried by a jury, and hung at the gallows. Hannah Edwards
faced similar charges, but luckily escaped the noose.
In
1665, Elizabeth Bennett (not that Elizabeth Bennet!) was caught making charms,
casting enchantments, and delving into general sorcery. Philip Calvert, the
fifth Governor of Maryland and the son of the first Lord Baltimore, charged
her with witchcraft, but her neck was spared from the gallows by an
acquittal. What’s ironic is that the Calverts were descended from the
royal Grey bloodline (Queen Jane Grey’s family) who were known for delving into
magic and alchemy. Also, another famous Maryland family, the Arundells (Anne
Arundell married into the Calverts) were related to the Irish Wizard Earl,
Gerald Fitzgerald, a famous magician and alchemist.
Around
1697, the Chesapeake witch, Moll Dyer of Leonardtown, was driven from her
home when locals set it on fire. She raced into the winter’s night and
died from exposure with her hand frozen to a boulder. According to
witchlore, her handprint remains frozen in time and can be seen on the boulder
as a reminder of darker days. The land where she lived is known to be cursed
and reports of a woman’s ghost haunting the area abound.
In
1712, Virtue Violl starred in the very last state trial for practicing her
craft. William Bladen, Maryland’s first Attorney General, oversaw the trial
where she was charged with harming an elderly neighbor by striking her
tongue lame, however, a lack of proof forced the jury to acquit her.
Interesting fact–William Bladen is buried at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in
Annapolis on Church Circle. Sounds like a cool setting for a scene in a witch
novel…hint, hint.
Ever
heard of Witch’s Grave? Not many Annapolitans even know the place or the
legend. A gnarled, slanted tree overhanging the bank of Spa Creek
marks Witch’s Grave. At the base of the tree lies a
crypt where three unnamed witches were buried. Local lore has it
that two of them were hung and one was burned. Their tortured ghosts are known
to haunt the area and anyone who summons them from their final resting place.
The
Chesapeake area’s dark witch history inspires questions. Were these
women deeply connected to nature or was there magic in their blood? Does
Moll Dyer’s tortured spirit still search for the men who chased her out of her
home? And is it possible the Chesapeake witches’ descendants quietly carry on
the practice of their ancestors’ craft today, including the casting
of spells and the breaking of curses? What I can tell you is this–I’m descended
from a seventeenth century Chesapeake witch, Elizabeth Duncan of Virginia, and
I love the idea of casting these kinds of powerful females into my
enchanting ever-afters.
My
upcoming novel, Bewitching Hannah, is set in present-day Annapolis and
will answer some of these unsettling questions.
Sixteen-year-old Hannah Fitzgerald has always known she is descended from a troubled legacy of magic. Although a stranger to her coven in Annapolis, she is no stranger to grief and denial. However, when an ancient prophecy reveals the rise of a young, powerful Chesapeake witch and the impending death of another, she realizes she can no longer afford to suppress the magic that has taken away so much. She seeks out the frighteningly scarred, yet mysterious W, a Calvert descendant who is destined to change her life, but even he cannot prepare her for the danger that lies ahead. Engaged in a deadly game without knowing who her true rival is, Hannah isn’t certain she will survive, and if she loses she may lose everything, including the ones she loves.
Read an Excerpt:
Lightning flashed, followed by a rumble of thunder, jolting me alert. A tempest churned over the Chesapeake Bay and was rolling toward town. I stared at the clouds, ready to calculate how much time we had before the rain hit. Another bright flash of white-hot lightning forked across the purplish-black sky. One, two…twenty.
Boom.
The storm was at least four miles away. I pressed a hand over my chest, feeling the thumping slow.
I glanced at Aunt J, who was no longer bopping her head to the bad music. Instead, she blinked over and over, and rubbed her eyes with one hand.
“If you’re tired, I can drive.” Who needed a license when I’d already mastered a moped along with the Green Briar golf carts?
Her slender fingers searched for me as if I were a ghost she could only hear. She grasped my arm tightly.
“Hannah?” Panic drenched her voice.
My eyes widened. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t see. I mean, I see something, but it’s not the road. What’s wrong with me?”
I peered out the windshield. A distant telephone pole grew bigger as her foot stuck to the accelerator.
A frightening swell of adrenaline flooded my veins, sending my heart into a frenzy. “Stop!” I yelled, but she was frozen with fright. I grabbed the steering wheel and threw my leg over to jam on the brake pedal.
It was too late. Absolute silence fell over us in the grim second before we plowed into the pole. My lower body slammed into the dashboard while the seatbelt squeezed hard against my ribs. Metal groaned. White bubbles deployed. Glass shattered with a scream. Or maybe the scream was mine. The car groaned to a halt with a hiss and clank.
Stillness settled over us. My head was reeling as I checked myself for injuries. Bursts of pain sparked from my chest and leg.
“Hannah?” Aunt J’s quivering voice reached out.
I pried my eyes open. She had escaped her seatbelt. Her lips and hands were trembling, but I saw no blood or broken skin. Inwardly, I sighed with relief.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I sucked in a shallow breath. “Me? Fine,” I managed, not wanting to stress her out, but I struggled to breathe and my left leg was wedged under the intruding dashboard.
She reached over, wiping her hands across my cheeks and forehead, dusting away crumbs of glass. She touched her trembling fingers to the seatbelt release and pressed on it, over and over. “Come on, dammit. Let go.”
I pushed her hand away, restraining a whimper. “It’s okay. Go get help.”
She nodded and with a hard push, shoved her door open. “I’ll be right back.”
A heavy silence fell over the car’s interior until a hiss sounded from the engine. Within seconds, the smell of burning oil seeped in through the vents.
One toxic breath went deeper than I meant it to. “Ow!” I coughed and writhed beneath the unyielding seatbelt like a five-year-old having a tantrum. Panic swept over me as I struggled for freedom.
Stress vibrated deep in my gut. Self-soothe, self-soothe, I reminded myself. The air grew thicker with burning oil and a starburst of pain wracked my body. I was going to die. Unless…
No. How could I even think it? There had to be another way because what if I couldn’t send it back? What if it took me to the same terrible place it had taken them?
I peered out the windows, searching. There was no one. I turned my focus on the glove box. Maybe Aunt J kept a knife in there or a pair of floral scissors. I pushed the button hard, again and again. Jammed. My heart raced.
A burst of smoke puffed into the car’s interior. I coughed and closed my eyes. The pressure on my leg intensified and the sickening fumes filled me with dread. Eff it. I balled my hands into fists.
I recalled the spell I’d overheard my dad utter once. I recited it in my head before casting, making sure I had it right. “By the power of fire, I do summon and churn, and call thee forth to blaze and burn.”
I stopped breathing, trying to sense any changes. I felt no different. And then it filled my core like a warm sphere of energy. Quickly, the power expanded into a blazing inferno. My back arched, pressing me harder into the seatbelt as my internal fire surged. Every cell jolted awake. My heart pounded out of control as I imagined channeling the smoldering energy. Suddenly, my hands tingled with intense power. I swallowed hard and aimed my fingers at the strap. The fiery threads trickled out in a wiggly pattern until I steadied my hand. The seatbelt burned orange, then cooled to black before separating.
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Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bewitching-hannah-leigh-goff/1126756568?ean=9781987976311
Meet
the Author:
Writing
Enchanting Ever-Afters ♥
Leigh Goff grew up in Maryland where she resides today. Her writing is inspired by an eclectic childhood, a vivid imagination, and compelling historical events. After taking several writing courses in college and attending professional writing workshops after she graduated from the University of Maryland, she joined the Maryland Writers' Association and Romance Writers of America.
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