The Art of the Story: 12 Days of Magic (Spellbound) Book Blitz Giveaway

Author Nikki Jefford

Nikki Jefford is a third generation Alaskan who loves fictional bad boys and heroines who kick butt. She writes edgy teen fiction, including the Spellbound Trilogy and Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter.

Nikki married Sébastien, the love of her life, while working as a teaching assistant in France. They now reside in the not-so-tropical San Juan Islands, 70 miles northeast of Forks, Washington.

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Entangled

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Freaky Friday (Entangled, Spellbound #1)

IN THIS SCENE: On Friday, April 1^st, Gray goes to school unaware of the fact that she died and is now inside her twin sister Charlene’s body.

Mr. Burke turned to face the class with his attendance sheet. The moment his eyes left the paper, they landed on Gray. “Miss Perez,” he said, startled. “What are you doing in my class?”

So even the teachers were in on it.

Gray swallowed. Her heart hammered inside her chest. Everyone stared at her. It was like some horrible nightmare. Maybe the coven was punishing her for performing magic at school. Enough to manipulate reality? She couldn’t begin to imagine the kind of power that’d take, followed by the repairs and brain washes at the conclusion of her day of humiliation. It didn’t make any sense.

“The same thing I do every day, learning math under your tutelage, Mr. Burke,” Gray answered. Maybe she could get him to crack a smile and admit he couldn’t keep a straight face any longer.

But Mr. Burke didn’t smile. His jaw tensed. “Is this a joke?”

She would have liked to ask him the same question, but Mr. Burke didn’t look like he was playing around.

Everyone seemed to be holding their breath around her.

“I don’t know,” Gray said slowly. “Maybe you can tell me what’s going on.”

Mr. Burke just stared at her.

Gray sat up. “Did I get transferred to another geometry class and someone forgot to mention it to me?” Or to another school? Why was her locker cleared out?

“You’ve never been in my geometry class, Charlene.”

Charlene! Gray’s heart skipped. “I’m not Charlene!”

There were gasps all around her.

“Who are you then?” Mike Matthews asked from beside her.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake, you know very well I’m Graylee.”

Louder gasps, followed by a rush of whispers coming from all directions. It was like being sucked into the eye of a hurricane with chatter hurled and swirled all around her. Gray looked to Mr. Burke, imploring him with her eyes to make this charade end.

“Enough!” he shouted and the clamor stopped. Mr. Burke looked at Gray and spoke softly. “Miss Perez, please come with me.”

Gray stuffed her things inside her pack and vacated her desk. She was more than ready to get out of that room.

She joined Mr. Burke in the hallway, where he shut the classroom door behind him. Gray could practically hear the jabber begin anew the moment the door clicked in place. Hyenas. She’d like to see how her classmates handled a day in the Twilight Zone.

Duplicity

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Magical Mischief (Duplicity, Spellbound #2)

IN THIS SCENE: Everything goes topsy-turvy in Duplicity. Spells start backfiring and Gray, “Lee”, is in for an unwelcome surprise when a duplicate of herself shows up to compete for the attentions of Raj and their mom. But first things first. ;)

Lee unhooked her bra. Suddenly she was gone.

Not gone, gone, but invisible. She re-clasped her bra, which might have been humorous if she’d been thinking straight because it wasn’t like anyone could see her.

Raj’s brows rose right before he chuckled. “If you didn’t want me to see you naked, you could have kept your clothes on.”

“Raj, this isn’t funny. I didn’t make myself invisible.”

“It’s okay, you’re not ready. You know I’m in no rush.”

“I’m ready! Seriously, this has never happened to me before.”

“Okay, so make yourself visible again.”

Lee stomped her foot. “I’m trying!” Etch A Sketch, M.C. Escher’s Drawing Hands—nothing was working.

Raj chuckled again. “I thought guys were the ones with performance anxiety.”

“Stop making fun of me.”

“I’m not. Need help?”

There was a brief pause followed by a huff of frustration. “Fine. Fill me in. Whatever.”

Raj was still grinning until his clothes ripped off his body. They fell in tatters to the tapestry rug at his feet.

“Someone’s eager.” Lee was happy to be the one on the teasing end of things this round.

Raj instantly turned red and quickly cupped himself with his left hand in an attempt to cover his…parts. “That wasn’t me!”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Seriously.”

Lee had to laugh at the way Raj’s eyes darted around the room trying to find her.

“Are you staring at me? Don’t look at me!”

“I never pegged you as the shy type.”

“I’m not. I just don’t like you staring when I can’t see you.”

“Fine, I’m not looking at you.” But she was. She was ogling every inch of him at the moment. Sixth hour weight training was doing wonders for Raj’s physique. Not that she’d ever found it lacking. He was all tight, toned muscle tinged in rich, dark Indian skin.

Lee wet her lips. It wasn’t like he’d see the gesture.

Enchantment (teasers)

Surprise Performance (Enchantment, Spellbound #3)

IN THIS SCENE: Gray goes to Barcelona for a summer of escape only to run into her old adversary, Adrian Montez, when her friends surprise her by taking her to a magic performance at the theater. Things go from bad to worse when she is called on stage to volunteer as part of Adrian’s act.

“Here she comes,” Adrian said as Gray slowly made her way up the stairs on the side of the stage.

Gray was shaken, not just to see him, but that someone from her past stood not eight feet away in a country so spectacular yet unbearably lonely at times and here was a personal connection to her former life – albeit an unwelcome one.

Adrian betrayed no signs of familiarity. “What is your name?”

Gray glared at Adrian as though they were the only two people in the auditorium. His expression remained annoyingly neutral. From below, Hannah and Marco yelled, “Gray!”

Adrian smirked. He turned to his audience. “I don’t know. She doesn’t look gray to me.”

The audience laughed. Worst of all, she heard Hannah giggling before the translator even finished.

“Now then, Miss Gray, if you will step this way.”

Gray wasn’t about to step anywhere near the table with its giant saw. Adrian noticed her hesitation and said, “Don’t be afraid, my dear. I’ve done this a thousand times… and only lost one volunteer.”

The audience laughed.

Adrian reached his gloved hand out. Gray looked from the white palm of his hand to his gleaming eyes and took a step back.

“It appears the young lady is frightened.”

“Don’t be scared, Gray!” Marco yelled.

“There is nothing to fear,” Adrian called out, sweeping an arm toward the table.

“Go on, Gray!” Hannah hollered.

Could Gray come up with a plan in the ten steps it took to reach the table? Apparently not. She refused Adrian’s hand and approached the box warily.

There was no teleporting herself out of this one. Señora Contreras would never allow Gray back to the sanctuary and Gray wasn’t about to let Adrian ruin her summer in Spain. There was also the audience to consider, blissfully unaware that they were in the midst of real magic.

Once Adrian’s back turned to the audience he looked Gray over with an intimacy that bordered on inappropriate. At that moment, Gray felt as though she would have been better off facing him in a dark alley then in front of a mob screaming for her blood.

And if she let Adrian put her in the box, it most likely would be her blood.

The last time she had seen him, she had taken his blood, and now he had her right where he wanted her.

Adrian’s lips curved up. The fitted suit made him appear older and more menacing than Gray remembered. Gone was the voice of the performer. Adrian lowered his voice. “Go on Gray, get in.”

That’s it, she was out of there. They could all think of her as a coward. Better a coward than a fool. But as she backed up, Adrian caught her by the arm and hauled Gray to the step ladder. “Don’t ruin my show,” he hissed inside her ear.