Please click "Read More" or "Read in Browswer" to see the full Spotlight
Genre Young Adult Paranormal Page Count 340 Book Title Tainted (A Demon Within Novel Book One) Synopsis Seventeen-year-old Cami Anders uses one word to describe her life: purgatory. What she doesn’t know is she’s closer to Hell than she thinks. On the run from the demon that killed her parents, Cami struggles to find her place on the fringes of the Veiled Realm, the part of the world where demons and other creatures lurk in the shadows. Striving to find a normal life in the care of a former demon hunter, who would punch even an angel to protect her, is harder than Cami ever imagined. There’s nothing ordinary about sipping holy water like it’s her beverage of choice, having stare-downs with animalistic demons, and relying on a hunter with enough secrets to fill an ocean to keep her soul safe. When the demon from Cami’s past arrives to collect her soul, which he believes is rightfully his, she must unravel the secrets her protector has spent the last three years keeping from her. She finds herself questioning her existence and learns that running isn’t the answer. The only way to find normalcy is if she fights for it. But is it worth the risk of losing everything, including her soul, in the end? |
Excerpt
I turn on my heels, stomping my way back to the arched doorway that leads to the altar. Footsteps echo behind me. I barely have time to turn before Evan collides into me. We fall to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs. I land on my back with Evan pressed on top of me. Heat blossoms in my cheeks. I’m angry and embarrassed I was defeated so easily.
I freeze as he watches me, his nose almost touching mine. I can’t help breathing deeply. He smells like his pillow—hints of golden amber and raw patchouli mixed with his citrus shampoo.
“Never turn your back on a demon.” His deep voice vibrates through me, sending tingles down my spine.
I lie placidly beneath him. “You’re not a de—” I begin to say, and then laugh.
“That’s beside the point.” Evan’s words wipe the smile from my lips. “You can never let your guard down for anyone—not even me.”
He rolls off me, breathing heavily, attempting to regain his composure. I push off the floor, knocking him on his back, determined not to make the same mistake twice. I’m tempted to help him up, but I picture him yanking me back onto the floor and yelling at me again.
I walk backwards, putting distance between us. The corner of his mouth quirks into a half smile. I narrow my eyes, taking longer strides backwards, my right hand behind me, guiding my way so I don’t bump into the wall I know is coming up behind me.
Evan reaches above his head, pressing his palms flat against the floor, and easily handsprings. His body arches in an elegant swooping motion, and he lands smoothly on his feet. He lurches closer, stalking his prey like a hunter. The predator he is dominates his every movement, every gesture, from his graceful strides to the ferocious glint in his eyes reflecting back at me. Crap, he’s going to try and corner me.
I steady my pace, taking each step one at a time, reaching out to the cool emptiness of the room behind me. It’s a relief to my clammy skin and my tightly wound nerves. I’m not trapped...yet.
I straighten my back. Lifting my chin smugly, I curl my lips into my most dazzling smile.
Without saying a word, he charges at me. I side step out of his way seconds before his arms can wrap around me. I run to the opposite side of the room. Alana would be proud of my ability to stay on the edge of danger without jumping into it. I’m a fast opponent when I’m not scared out of my wits. I can defeat the feline in Evan’s game of cat and mouse.
“You can’t run forever. I will catch you.”
“Want to bet on it?”
“Yes.”
Where You Can Find This Book:
Meet Ginna!
Ginna Moran is a writer living in Austin, Texas but originally from Southern California. She started writing poetry as a teenager in a spiral notebook that she still has tucked away on her desk today. Her love of writing grew after she graduated high school and she completed her first unpublished manuscript at age eighteen. When she realized her love of writing was her life's passion, she studied literature at Mira Costa College in Northern San Diego. Besides writing novels, she was senior editor, content manager, and image coordinator for Crescent House Publishing Inc. for four years. Ginna is now the Co-Founder of Silver Starlight Designs, where she took her passion of reading, writing, and design and co-created a company that provides design services for authors. Aside from Ginna's professional life, she enjoys binge watching television shows, playing pretend with her daughter, and cuddling with her dogs. Some of her favorite things include chocolate, anything that glitters, cheesy jokes, and organizing her bookshelf. Ginna Moran loves to hear from readers so visit her online at www.GinnaMoran.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. If you loved Destined for Dreams, leave a positive review online for fellow readers. Ginna Moran is currently hard at work on her next novel. |
Interview
What song do you sing in the shower?
-- I usually listen to music while I shower so it depends. Most recently, I’ve been listening to Breaking Benjamin, OneRepublic, Yellowcard, and Taylor Swift, so I’m singing them all.
Who is your favorite author?
-- I can’t choose just one! I love Nikki Godwin and everything she writes. She’s so nice as well. Alyson Noël, Kami Garcia, and Kelley Armstrong are some of my faves. Also, I used to live in the same town as Kiersten White and would go to all her signings. She was so sweet. Lastly, Jan Moran and not only because she’s my mother-in-law. She’s been my writing partner and mentor for almost a decade.
Do you ever feel frustrated with your work?
-- Of course. Things don’t often go how I imagine, and I yell at myself for not being a more intensive plotter, but I get through it. If I don’t, I just cut portions and save them in another folder.
How do you handle negative reviews of your books?
-- I’ll read them once and then move on to never reread them again. You can’t win them all.
What's something about you that most people don't know?
-- I used to write fragrance blurbs for a digital database that is in Sephora stores. My perfume collection is huge because the brands would send me bottles for classification. It also is why the main character in my latest novel, Tainted, has a good sense of smell.
What are you currently reading?
-- I’m in between books. I just finished The Day that Saved Us by Mindy Hayes and about to start an ARC of This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills.
Do you have a favorite genre to write?
-- I love writing YA paranormal/fantasy, but I have also really enjoyed writing YA contemporary romance, which I plan to publish next year.
Is there a type of genre you refuse to write?
-- Non-fiction.
There's a lot of distractions around, especially with social media, how do you block it all out and write?
-- I have set times to write—once in the morning when my toddle is most likely to entertain herself and late at night when everyone’s sleeping—this guarantees that I’ll always get some sort of writing done without distraction. Scheduling most of my social media stuff in advance stops me from wasting too much of my free time as well, though I admit, I browse a lot on my phone.
Humor me, because this is my favorite (mythical) animal: Would you ever consider putting a platypire in one of your books?
-- If you don’t mind a platypire taking the form of a demon, I can happily work it into my Demon Within series. Most of the lower-level demons in my series are described to have a combination of animalistic features, so a platypire would work nicely. Let me know!