Exploring 'Illicit Magic' with Camilla Chafer

Camilla is giving away an e-book copy of Illicit Magic, so make sure to leave a comment with your email address!

Wow! I can hardly believe I made it to the end of Illicit Magic’s tour to join you on the final date, Louisa! During this past month, I’ve written a lot about what happens in Illicit Magic, but now it seems fitting to tell your readers a little more of what they can expect as the series unfolds.

So far in Illicit Magic, our heroine Stella has discovered she’s a witch, travelled thousands of miles from home, has new friends, a boyfriend she adores and is learning all about how to control her powers. She’s had a rollercoaster few weeks as her life abruptly changes thanks to the creepy Brotherhood.

Stella’s story picks up in the second book Unruly Magic. She’s settled down in a small town with a big secret, in the house her parents’ owned. As befitting witches, the house has been under a stasis spell since her parents left and now the spell is undone, time is starting to catch up with it. That’s not all the catching up there is to do! Stella is on the hunt for a loved one, her friends are about to re-enter her life and she’s made some wonderful new friends, plus a young witch has come to her for help, claiming the Council are out to get her. Of course in Stella’s life none of it is that simple! Who can, and should, she trust and will helping the young witch turn into something darker and deadlier? Plus there’s a new foe in town!

The third book, Devious Magic, sees the aftermath of the events of the second novel bring an old adversary to the quiet little town of Wilding, interrupting Stella’s life once again. When her best friend is kidnapped, Stella must return to England, from where she fled a year ago, to face down the Brotherhood, the witch hunters who drove her away. But do they really want to kill all the witches or is something more sinister afoot?

Right now, I’m working on book four, Magic Rising, where we’ll see a much stronger and more self-assured Stella accused of a crime she may or may not have committed. We’ll also learn more about the weak and inept Witches’ Council as the old guard try to keep it the same while another faction want to drag it into the present and unify the supernatural worlds. All they need is a new leader with a vision. We’ll see a more magically mature Stella really out to fight for herself and her friends – if she can stop herself being excommunicated!

Thanks so much for joining me on the tour!

Illicit Magic

By Camilla Chafer

Blurb:

More than three hundred years after the most terrifying witch hunts the world has ever known, it's happening again.

Racing from attack by the ruthless Brotherhood in London to the powerful witch council in New York, twenty-four-year-old novice witch Stella has to put her faith in strangers just to stay alive but she might not be any safer in their midst than from the danger she is running from.

Sent to an extraordinary safe house by the sea to learn her craft, Stella finds there is more than one dark secret in her new family: Étoile’s sister is spoken of in fear and sadness; Marc is supposed to be a powerful witch but is missing his magic; where does the owner of their safe house vanish to every day and why does Evan have the eyes of someone not quite human?

There is only one secret that someone will do anything to keep quiet, but whose secret is it and will Stella have to pay the price for silence?

Available via:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/mzGZrI
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/iFNS1c
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/lX5PLb
Nook: http://bit.ly/jmrAO9
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/iEShAn

Excerpt:

The man filling the doorway was at least six foot two with broad shoulders that tapered to a neat waist and long, jeaned legs. Toned arms extended from under a grey t-shirt and his hands didn’t look like strangers to work. As my eyes travelled up from his chest, I noted a tanned, square jaw that hadn’t seen a razor in a day or two, a slim nose and brown eyes so dark I could barely distinguish iris from pupil. His hair was cut short and so dark it could almost have been black. He wasn’t beautiful in the traditional sense but he was captivating, the type of man people automatically turn their heads to have another look at. I couldn’t drag my eyes away and my heart did a little flip.

A fleeting image of being wrapped up in his arms, his lips crushing mine, overtook my mind. He caught my eye and held my gaze. I was glad he couldn’t see inside my mind, but I blushed furiously. His face looked thunderous. And now, come to think of it, Marc didn’t exactly look happy either.

“This is her?” he asked no one in particular, his eyes still fixed on me, his expression fading from thunder to completely impassive.

“Stella,” I spluttered, my cheeks still red as the image in my head seemed to topple over and send us sprawling, limbs entwined. Was I supposed to shake his hand now? Good God. “Hi.”

Étoile looked from me to Evan and coughed lightly, her hand covering a smile and I just had enough time to wonder what she had seen before she said, “Evan will be teaching you.”

“I will not,’ announced Evan, his mouth set in a firm line. “She leaks. Find someone else.”

“David could teach her,” snapped Marc, scowling at Evan. The muscles in his arm had tensed though he was still sitting and I could see the veins bulge. What was with him?

“David is teaching Christy, Clara and Jared,” said Aunt Meg placidly. “Evan will be teaching her. That’s why he’s here.”

The ensuing silence was deafening. Marc scowled at Evan, Evan looked spitefully at me and I gripped my glass as if it were a life rope in a storm. Étoile finished up her second scone and looked around gleefully as if we were the height of entertainment. Meanwhile, my mind was getting increasingly lurid and I could hardly look Evan in the eye for fear that he would know that I’d just had a very exciting mental picture of us doing something that really should not have popped into my head while I was having a scone with civilised company.

“If you don’t want to teach me, fine,” I gasped, daring to look at Evan from under my lashes. Marc had leant back in his seat, arms crossed; Meg and Étoile were still looking at the man expectantly. Étoile coughed, but not before I heard her snicker again.

His jaw shifted and he breathed out. “I’ll teach you,” he said at last, making it sound like the least pleasant chore he could be assigned.

“Okay.”

“Fine.” Evan stepped back out of the doorway and strode back the way he came.

“Whew!” said Étoile. “That was weird. Like he was ever not going to teach you.”

“He’s an ass,” muttered Marc, swallowing the last of his iced tea and banging the glass back down on the table. “I’m sorry you’re stuck with him.”

“Evan Hunter is a very good teacher,” Aunt Meg chided as she gathered up the plates and swatted Étoile’s hand from the cake stand with a napkin before she could reach for another scone. I noticed Aunt Meg hadn’t eaten or drunk anything and hoped she didn’t think I was greedy for gobbling mine as fast as I could.

“What did he mean – I leaked?” I asked, thinking that sounded, well, gross.

“Your magic,” said Étoile. “He can feel it. So can I. You aren’t containing it, so it leaks. Not your fault.”

About the Author:

Hi, I'm Camilla and I'm the author of the Stella Mayweather Series, an urban fantasy/mystery. The series starts with Illicit Magic and a lonely young woman, Stella, who has been caught up in a terrifying witch hunt and is whisked thousands of miles away to what she thinks is safety to learn her craft. The series is a blend of magic, mystery and romance with a splash of humour - and while the girls really do go all out to save themselves, there's always a hunky guy or two on hand to help them out. The series continues with Unruly Magic and Devious Magic, both out now.

I live in London, England, but I try to travel as often as I can – I’ve been all over the US and Europe. In my day job I'm a journalist and editor so I write for magazines, newspapers and websites throughout the world (my favourite assignment was spending a week riding rollercoasters - if you listen carefully you can probably still hear me screaming) but writing fiction has always been my first love.

Web links:

Website: www.camillachafer.com

Blog: www.camillachafer.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CamillaChafer

Twitter: @camillawrites