MEET THE CAST & GIVEAWAY - Finding Esta by Shah Wharton

Meet the cast…

         

ABBY

I’m Able, but call me Abby, Prince of the Mimicane Vampires. My life has been devoted to finding my love, who I will avenge; ripped from our arms before she ever felt how overwhelmingly loved she is; by her family, her people, and me.

She may be lost, but she lives... her heart beats and mind whispers to me from across the miles, and throughout each year I must tolerate life, without her. And now, after twenty years of searching, I have to believe that we’ve found her.

We are the future of our kind.  We are One.

  

FLO

Shadow and best friend to Luna.

  

Okay, so I made a huge mistake and it landed me in the Shadow Lands. But I refuse to talk about that. When I found Luna, those evil freaks had just zapped her young brain. Ada spent a lot of time with me, at first. She had to trust me to be a good little Shadow before she left us. But eventually, she decided that my presence might afford her time to follow leads, and generally play Shadow superhero.

Good for her, but not so good for the ghoul whose ass she kicked.

Me? I’m all about Luna, and ice cream. Most flavours. Oh, and the occasional Merlot. But mostly Luna. I drive her crazy, I know. Some vermin - like her parents - would say crazier, but not me. If only I could bring those scumbags over to the the darkside. They’d pay for their cruelty - big time.

  

ESTELLE WHELAN

“Stolen from my family. I lost my world. I lost myself.”

A mystery; A prophecy; A true love; A Saviour?

Or a fairy tale, a cold, long buried corpse?

  

LUNA

Empath, psychometrist, ‘special’.

spe·cial  /ˈspeSHəl/  Adjective - Better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual 

I’m not important - I’m not beautiful or especially bright. I’m not even average. Far from it. But I am special.

I’m special because I talk to the dead - my head even offers some of them board and lodgings, for flip sake. How? No idea. I’m special because my body rejects food, my skin blisters beneath the vile sun, and when touched, it physically recoils at visions, and any pain induced. Oh yeah, and sorry, but your emotions are as easy for me to read, as breathing is, to you.

The love you make, the happiness you feel, is the closest I’m ever likely to get to either. Yeah, I’m special, all right.

But the worst special thing about me, is that according to my folks, I’m their crazy rat. I shouldn’t care, of course, but at least I could change this. And I will alter their negative view of me, if it kills me...

...so, you must understand, that when the story of Esta fell into my lap, I couldn’t say no. Solving a twenty-year-old cold case would make them proud. How could it not? And then... they’ll finally love me, and we’ll be like a normal family.

Even if I’m nothing like normal.

Till then, I have Flo and Ada - the Shadows who save me from myself, and from complete isolation. How would I have lasted life without them? How would I ever survive their loss?

Will I find Esta?

DREW

  

Who I am is unimportant. I’m not interested in making friends and I’m not ashamed of what I eat, or what I am. I served my time, and it was this or absolute death. I’m not ready for that.

Lucy may be our Queen, mother to hundreds of V’s, and born daughter to King Lucifer, but she’s also determined to dominate and subjugate all supernatural beings. She secretly plans to expose us to humanity, believing she can control them, too. This can never happen. As a threat to our very existence, she must be stopped. But no one dares to challenge her ultimate power.

I have learned of a prophecy and have left Lucy, and her army. She would hunt me down and rip me apart for such a betrayal, but I have finally found our saviour and will stop at nothing to prevent her destruction.

Not even the only love I have ever known.

The Story Behind the Book

It all began three years ago with a short story about a fledgling journalist who investigates the haunting of a large, spooky house, but discovers something quite different to ghosts behind the crumbling walls. I fell in love with the main character, Luna, and before I knew it, I’d developed a story spanning three books.

Luna has not had a great life when we first meet her. She is cursed with psychic touch, sun sensitivity and extreme empathy – all of which exclude her from the world around her. She also hosts Shadows within her battered mind, and these are the only companions she’s ever had. Her parents are plain cruel and even at 23 years old, she reverts to a child in their presence.

When she’s given a lead about a cold-case in Cornwall, featuring a kidnapped baby (Esta) and her disappearing parents bodies, she gets excited. Not only could it be an exciting story, but it could bring rewards for her career, and perhaps even pride from her parents.

No one, not even Luna with her over-intimate knowledge of the Shadow Lands, and the hearts and minds of humanity, could be prepared for what she finds in Cornwall. Luna begins the arduous journey of self-discovery, while the world she knew implodes.

I chose to set the action in Cornwall because I’m a quarter Cornish and love St Ives. I wanted to capture its magical quality, to set the scene. I had to research a few things, like names of streets, and about the train Luna takes to reach Esta’s house, where she finds much more than she expects. But the way it looked, the way Cornwall felt, is written from childhood memories.

 As an empath, Luna yearns for love and acceptance, for an end to her chronic isolation. Unable to touch, she settles for the lover’s caress of a stranger who visits her dreams, and her only friends in the world are Shadows – spirits who reside within in her fragile mind, seeking refuge from the Shadow Lands.

Always desperate to earn parental respect, and to solve a twenty-year-old child abduction case, she travels to Cornwall to Esta’s family home, situated on an abandoned cul-de-sac. Searching for clues to her tragic fate, she finds much more than she bargained for. A whole new reality is revealed, one where her accursed abnormalities are clarified, but her only friends vanish.

More alone than ever and desperate for answers, Luna struggles to retain a sense of identity, and the light grip on reality she's been used to.

Will she find Esta, and if so, will she live to tell her story? More terrifyingly, who will care enough to listen, and who will ever care enough about Luna?

Reviewers Opinions

 “Shades of the Sixth Sense, Ann Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, True Blood, Star Trek’s Vulcan, Stargate Atlantis’ Wraith and Ugly Duckling [....] The true source of her [Luna's] empathy is mind blowing.”

Wandalyn Thomas of Examiner.com

 “Finding Esta is a superb tale of one woman’s struggling to define her identity, while the world she knew crumbles around her. It’s thought provoking, heartfelt, and a wonderful debut novel for a talented author. Kudos to her!”

Julianne Snow (author/editor of Days with the Undead)

Bio

Horror, paranormal, urban fantasy, adult, and new adult are Shah's choices when selecting books or movies, although she also enjoys dark comedy, some romance, and an occasional young adult fantasy.

She also writes poetry - two published in anthologies, and short stories - one published.

Always a lover of the written word, you'll usually catch her immersed in some kind of story every day, while slurping tea and cuddling up next to her little family.

Shah lives in Dubai with her husband and Bobby, their German Shepherd pup, but originates from the West Midlands area of the United Kingdom, and misses the cold, the rain, and her extended family, every day.

CONNECT

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 Shah's Blog:  http://shahwharton.com

BOOK GIVEAWAY!!

Shah is giving away an eBook copy of her book! 

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