New Release | Chosen by Night by @ccbolick #yalit #yaparanormal #paranormal #bookboost #giveaway
top of page
  • N. N. Light
    • May 19, 2022
    • 5 min read

New Release | Chosen by Night by @ccbolick #yalit #yaparanormal #paranormal #bookboost #giveaway



Title: Chosen by Night


Author: C.C. Bolick


Genre: YA Paranormal


Book Blurb:


She doesn’t fear the night, only what she’ll become. Marilyn never imagined shifters existed or the thrill of becoming a crow as black as the night. After an old curse awakens, this sixteen-year-old must solve a mystery as other teens begin to shift and terrified parents scramble for answers. Two hundred years ago, this curse started with the moon disappearing and ended with the destruction of their town. The night has chosen Marilyn, and only her closest friends can help. Can they stop the curse, or will she lose everything she cares about?

Excerpt:


His eyes lifted to meet mine, soft, amber-colored eyes that seemed to glow. A single tear slid from one of the unblinking eyes and trailed down his face. The truth hit me with a rush of emotions, and I put a hand over my mouth. This wasn’t a wolf that found its way down the mountain. This wolf had a name and a reason to cry.


“Jeremy?” I whispered.


His shock registered along with the trove of feelings coursing through me so vividly, I couldn’t turn them off. I didn’t know how to feel my own fear—at least I should be feeling fear while standing face-to-face with an animal who could rip flesh from my bones.


This wolf was really a sixteen-year-old boy, crying because he lost his mom.


Feeling his emotions brought my sympathy bubbling to the surface, so strong I bit my lip to keep from shouting. I’d never felt anything this intense with any animal. I reached forward, wanting to touch his fur as I had with the dog years ago.


The wolf retreated and bared sharp white teeth in the last of the light. His snarl became a low, rumbling growl that belted from deep within. He turned and raced for a cliff at the edge of the mountain, high above a valley. I followed, unable to let him out of my sight. I’d heard stories over the years about shape shifters, even read books on the subject. Nothing prepared me for facing this truth.

A boy who could become a wolf.


If I was anyone else, I wouldn’t have believed. A person turning into an animal? Sounded like something out of a book. But I could feel him. I knew this was Jeremy.


I panted as more briers caught my dress, and I stumbled over a log. My ankle turned in my boot and I cried out and landed on my knees. Mud soaked into my dress as I sat back on the ground. Had I broken my foot, or at the least sprained my ankle?


Hot tears ran down my face as I tugged at the zipper on the side of my boot. I’d wanted these knee-high boots for months before convincing Mom they were worth the fifty dollars Dad refused to spend. Now they felt like plastic glued to my skin.


Water seeped through my dress and into my underwear. More tears stained my face. How would I get out of here?


“Jeremy,” I called. “Please, help me.”


The forest was silent until a low howl. Night had fallen, leaving me in near darkness. I pulled my dress close to my knees and tried to sit up. Maybe I hadn’t walked as far into the woods as I thought. Maybe I could get back even with pain shooting up my leg.


A calloused hand grabbed my arm and pulled me up. I glanced up in shock as Jeremy looked down at me. This was the form I’d always seen him in at school, and from the pictures earlier. He wore dark overalls, probably camouflage, but the light was too low to make out the color. His amber eyes, which still seemed to glow, assessed my foot.


“Can you walk?” His voice was low, almost the growl he’d used earlier.


I stared at his face, so close and yet I could barely make out his features beyond the eyes. Now that he was a person again, I couldn’t sense how he felt. With his hand under my arm, I allowed him to prop me up as I put pressure on my foot.


“Think it’s broken?” he asked.


“I don’t think so.” I flexed my toes and tried again to put pressure on my foot. This time it wasn’t as bad. “I can try to walk if—”


Before I could finish, Jeremy scooped me into his arms and started toward the house. I tried not to cling to him and the fact my clothes were soaked meant he could probably see through them. At least it was dark.


He walked in silence, carrying me as if I weighed nothing. I put an arm around his neck to keep from moving in his grip. The warmth from his body felt comforting in a way that surprised me. His beard brushed against my shoulder, but he mostly kept as much distance between us as possible. Above us, birds called out from the trees as if the forest had come to life. Sounds came from all directions as the business of finding food after the rain began. Between the tree branches were openings where stars appeared.


“This is my favorite time of night,” he whispered as we reached the lights of his house. Jeremy sat me down gently in his backyard. “Why weren’t you scared? That wolf could have attacked you.”


After applying the minimal weight to my foot and determining I could walk the rest of the way, I looked up at him. “You wouldn’t have hurt me.”


His eyes widened. “How did you know?”


“You were sad. You weren’t going to attack me.”


“But… how did you know it was me?”


“I felt your grief.”


Jeremy stared at me for a long moment. “You can feel what I feel?”


I shook my head. “It only works with animals. I don’t know what you’re feeling now.”


Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):







Giveaway: I’m one of the authors participating in the Booklovers Unite Giveaway and you can win an e-copy or print copy of winner’s choice of one of my books.



Runs May 1 - 31 and is open internationally for many prizes. Winners will be drawn on June 1, 2022.



Author Biography:


C.C. Bolick grew up in south Alabama, where she’s happy to still reside. She’s an engineer by day and a writer by night—too bad she could never do one without the other.


Camping, fishing… she loves the outdoors and the warm Alabama weather. For years she thought up stories to write and finally started putting them on paper back in 2006. If you hear her talking with no one to answer, don’t think she’s crazy. Since talking through her stories works best, a library is her worst place to write… even though it’s her favorite!


C.C. loves to mix sci-fi and paranormal—throw in a little romance and adventure and you’ve got her kind of story. She’s written a dozen books including the Leftover Girl series, The Agency series, and The Fear Chronicles.


Social Media Links:


Tags:

bottom of page