Destruction (December People Bk 1) by Sharon Bayliss: Guest Post with Excerpt

 
 GUEST POST
My recently released novel, Destruction is Book One in The December People Series. I don't want to giveaway too much, but I do get a lot of questions about what comes next in the series, so here are a few key facts:

• The December People Series will have four books, one for each season.
• Book 2 is tentatively scheduled to release this fall, and will be the summer book.
• Book 3 is spring and Book 4 is fall.
• I have plotted out all the major plot points in all the books, but I expect the characters to make unauthorized plot changes.
• Book 2 is finished and being edited. I'm currently writing Book 3.
• Book 2 takes place the summer after Book 1, a little less than a year later.
• In Book 2, David and Patrick are still major characters, but Emmy also becomes a major character and much of the book is in her POV.
• In Book 2, we meet another wizard family--the Prescotts, a summer wizard family that are sort of like the "bizarro Vandergraffs."
• More time (story time...not time between releases ;)) passes between each book than I think is common for a series. I do this to allow time for character and relationship development, especially to allow time for the younger characters to age up and develop and change. Also, I do it for realism. I mean, how much crap can happen to one family in one year? ;) They would explode if I did that to them! The whole series will cover about 4 years.
• This passage of time makes the kids feel like my own. In book 3, Patrick is filling out college applications, and it freaks me out that the kids have grown up so fast. And, they're not even real... lol
• Throughout the series, there will be death, and new life.
• I'm not an overly emotional person, but just thinking about what will happen in Book 4 makes me cry.

Hopefully, that's enough to simultaneously satisfy and torture some of my readers. :) If you're new to the series, check out book one!
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Introducing a new dark wizard family drama, Destruction by Sharon Bayliss, Book One in The December People Series.BUY NOW
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BARNES AND NOBLE
David Vandergraff wants to be a good man. He goes to church every Sunday, keeps his lawn trim and green, and loves his wife and kids more than anything. Unfortunately, being a dark wizard isn't a choice.
Eleven years ago, David's secret second family went missing. When his two lost children are finally found, he learns they suffered years of unthinkable abuse. Ready to make things right, David brings the kids home even though it could mean losing the wife he can’t imagine living without. 
Keeping his life together becomes harder when the new children claim to be dark wizards. David believes they use this fantasy to cope with their trauma. Until, David's wife admits a secret of her own—she is a dark wizard too, as is David, and all of their children.  

Now, David must parent two hurting children from a dark world he doesn’t understand and keep his family from falling apart. All while dealing with the realization that everyone he loves, including himself, may be evil.


  EXCERPT  David pulled the box of Crystal's ashes out of his jacket. He lay down on the uneven sofa bed mattress in his office. He held Crystal to his chest. If anyone walked in, he would get caught cuddling with a dead woman. Especially abhorrent, since he should be trying to save his marriage with his living one. He closed his eyes and felt her weight on his chest. She moved up and down as he breathed. He felt better."You believed in ghosts," he said. "Couldn't you be one for a minute? Come back to me. Tell me what to do."Like a child, he waited, as if she really might appear there. He watched the ceiling fan spin in a mundane, non-magical way. The clock ticked. The computer whirred.It did work…sort of. He fell asleep and dreamed about her. For some unknowable reason, his subconscious put her at The Galleria, a place she had never set foot and would never want to. She waited for him in front of the ice rink with the domed glass ceiling. She leaned against the railing and watched him approach her with one of her patented poker faces. But, as she watched him approach, the edges of her lips turned upward ever so slightly and her eyes opened a little wider."I'm sorry, Crystal."She stared at him."I know it doesn't help, but I still love you. You saved my marriage by cutting me out. I wouldn't have been able to stay away from you forever."She still said nothing, but gave a long, slow blink, like an acknowledgement."Our children are really amazing. They're beautiful. I'm glad I get to know them now."Another blink. A longer one."Why won't you speak to me?"Her eyes gazed downward, then back up. She looked like a statue that could move only her eyes. He moved close to her. He feared touching her, as he feared to touch their children, afraid anything he did could hurt her. He touched his forehead to hers. The contact animated her slightly. He heard her breathe."Evangeline drew me a picture of your wings. Can I see them?"He pulled back from her and waited. At first, he thought nothing would happen, but then she pulled her tank top over her head. She pulled her shoulders back and raised her chin, as if she wanted him to know she had no shame in showing her naked breasts. Then it happened. Two massive black wings spread out behind her, twice her height. Her wingspan rivaled a California condor's. He reached his hands out to them."May I?"An infinitesimal nod. He ran his fingers across the smooth feathers. They weren't black. Not really. Each feather had the sheen of a different color. Blue. Red. Orange. Green. Yellow. Violet. The feathers fell around his fingers like water. She was gone.  

MEET THE AUTHOR 
Sharon Bayliss is the author of The December People Series and The Charge. When she’s not writing, she enjoys living happily-ever-after with her husband and two young sons. She can be found eating Tex-Mex on patios, wearing flip-flops, and playing in the mud (which she calls gardening). She only practices magic in emergencies.
www.sharonbayliss.com - @SharonBayliss - https://www.facebook.com/authorsharonbayliss