Title: DNA Demons N Angels
Author: Katie Zaber
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Book Blurb:
A surprise conception. When strange phenomena follow in her wake, will a young mother-to-be discover her miraculous gift is anything but heaven sent? It's weird how every woman reacts differently. How each pregnancy differs. Mine is definitely unique. My sense of smell became stronger, picking up the faintest odors, and my stomach was in constant turmoil. Those were the first signs. And then I started eating. And eating. If I don't, I get a migraine and people's faces become blurry. Electronics seem to malfunction in my presence. And the nightmares—they don't stop. Something is changing my body. Something that should have never happened. Something that my husband and I had prevented from happening. Something people say is miraculous. The bigger I get, the more frequently I encounter people who become possessed. And the more often I wind up questioning if I am carrying a miracle baby. The closer I get to the due date, the more I love this child and the more confident I am that I will protect my baby from anything. Even its fate.
Excerpt:
I walk around aimlessly for an hour and find a seat in a pew tucked away in a small, extravagant alcove with no one around. All the gold doesn’t impress me, but more or less enrages me that the church is so greedy. If it really wanted to help the less fortunate, why did it waste money on making such gaudy decorations? Shouldn’t the church be humble? Sell all of its valuables and give their money to the starving? That’s what they are supposed to do, but power always corrupts and the church is as corrupt as any government, maybe worse, from what history has proven.
A tall man looking like he wandered into the church by accident approaches me. He’s wearing hippie sandals, khaki pants, and a black t-shirt with a picture of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus saying, Abstinence was only 99% effective. Someone should tell the lost hippie where the music festival is and lead him there. His eyes are glassy and I’m suddenly worried about why the dazed idiot is staring and walking toward me.
“Hi. Can I help you?”
The man’s eyes are frosted over. I can’t tell what color they are. He keeps coming closer. I slide down the pew in the opposite direction, trying to maintain distance.
“What do you want?” I ask the drugged man, raising my voice.
He opens his mouth and an unnatural voice booms from his lips. “The child must die! Others have failed, but it ends now!”
“Stay away from me!” I scream, running away through the maze of pews that are now empty. The church had a few people praying; where did they go? I look behind me. He is less than fifteen feet behind me. I can barely run. The man doesn’t even need to jog. Walking fast, he’s almost caught up to me. “Help! Help me! Someone please!”
“No one can help you. No one will come to your aid. You, the queen of all that’s wicked, and your evil creation will end now.”
“Stay away from me!” It’s odd what goes through your mind when in a life-threatening situation. In this moment, I realize I should have organized my purse better. I should have had a designated pocket for my phone for emergencies when I need to grab it fast and not have to dig through a bottomless pit. Also, I should carry a knife or pepper spray. “Help!”
“You cannot prevent the inevitable! If you assist me, I will make sure your child’s soul is spared!”
He’s seven feet away. I hurl my purse, my feeble attempt to hurt him. He swats it away like an annoying fly.
“Help! Someone! Please!”
Is this really how I’m going to die? In a church at the hands of a lunatic? One more step and he’ll be able to reach out and grab me. I’m sorry, bell pepper. I tried. I tried to keep you safe. I tried to be a good mother. I’m sorry I let you down. I’m sorry I’m not strong enough or fast enough. You deserved better.
The redheaded man dressed like a priest shouts in Latin, darting around the corner, charging toward the hippie. Screaming, spitting Latin verses, he raises his fist and cracks the man’s jaw with a nasty right hook. The possessed man doesn’t flinch, but he covers his ears as if the Latin words are burning his eardrums.
“No, you don’t understand! Stop!” cries the hippie in a crackling voice.
Still the redhead chants louder and louder, drowning out the pleas from my attacker. The hippie falls to his knees, looking weaker and weaker. He looks in my direction and points a finger at me and says, “I’ll be back to…”
Then the man’s eyes roll backward and he falls onto his back, guided by my rescuer. Once the crazy man is lying flat on the ground, looking like he’s asleep, the redhead gets up and turns around, inspecting me for injuries. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“No, but what the hell was that? Who are you?”
“My name is Ken. Are you sure you’re alright? Do you need an ambulance?”
“I’m fine. I just want to know what’s happening. What was that? Who is he?”
The man on the ground stirs, making me jump backward, almost falling if it weren’t for Ken’s fast-moving arms.
“He can’t hurt you anymore. He was possessed,” he says, looking around the cathedral like he’s trying to find a ghost floating above us. “I’ve never seen a possession take place on holy grounds. Has this ever happened to you before?”
“What? Are you telling me he was actually possessed? Like by a demon?”
“Yes, well, as far as I can tell. I’ve never seen an angelic possession where the angel was trying to hurt a person. When an angel possesses someone, they perform acts that seem like everyday miracles. Demons are the only ones who attack and kill, but they normally can’t stand on sacred ground.”
My brain is having a difficult time understanding the words he is saying. They are words. I know all their definitions, but strung together in those sentences, they become illogical. “What? Angels and demons can possess people? And let me guess, you can exorcise those entities?”
“Yes,” he says with a straight face.
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If money were no object, where would you go for a Spring Break vacation and why?
I’d go to Sicily. First, I love Italy. It’s food, culture, architecture, and history—I’m a history fanatic—there’s so much to see and do, it is easy to fall in love with the country. Now, I’ve never been to Sicily, but it’s next on my list and I think it would be a perfect spot for a spring break vacation. It has white sandy beaches, crystal clear water, delicious food, wineries galore, with historic cities as enchanting as the ones on the mainland.
Why is your featured book a must-read this spring?
DNA Demons N Angels is like nothing else you’ve read before. We’ve all heard of the antichrist story. What about its mother? What did she go through? What tough decisions did she make? What did she sacrifice? What was her pregnancy like? DNA Demons N Angels follows a mother-to-be named Evie as she goes through her pregnancy starting at eight weeks and ending at birth.
The second book in the series will be released this winter.
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon US or Canada gift card
Open internationally. You must have a valid Amazon US or Amazon CA account to win.
Runs April 1 – 30
Drawing will be held on May 2.
Author Biography:
Alternate universes, lost worlds, and prophesied pregnancies—these are the kinds of stories Katie Zaber loves to tell. When she’s not spinning tales, she’s baking, going on adventures, and tasting wine. She lives in North new Jersey with her boyfriend.
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