GUEST BLOGGER: GABRIELLA HEWITT: SECRETS!

I’ve Got A Secret…

We keep secrets. We tell secrets. We pursue secrets. It's all part of human nature.

Paparazzi, private detectives and nosy neighbors make it their mission in life to dig up every secret there is. Secrets can be worth a great deal to the right people and worth nothing at all to others.

I stumbled across a website called Post a Secret.Post a Secret It's a multimedia project in which people can write down their secrets on a postcard anonymously and send them in. The postcards on the website display secrets that are funny, embarrassing, heart wrenching and even weird. The project's concept is an innovative way to get people to express themselves and relieve some of the weight of carrying their secrets.

Face it, secrets can be a burden. They shape us, affecting how we behave and how we deal with other people. Big secrets can make it next to impossible to really get close to someone. There's always the fear that your secret will be exposed and all that you had will come crashing down around you.

Secrets are the fodder of mystery writers or any writer wanting to add tension to characters and plot. How many mysteries have you read where the killer was someone who killed to protect her secret? Not everyone who holds a secret is a homicidal maniac in waiting. Sometimes secrets are thrust upon a person through fate or the machinations of others. It takes strength of character to hold on to some secrets. In my novella Out of the Shadows my heroine Carolina carries a secret. It is a secret that has been passed down through her family for generations. It is now her responsibility to maintain this secret even at the cost of her life.



In celebration of the 1st book in the SHADOW WARRIOR series, I am holding a contest. Follow me & the tzitzimime (celestial demon and nemesis of Shadow Warriors) on the blog tour and leave a comment to be entered to win a $25 gift certificate from Samhain Publishing. It’s that easy!
All entries must be in by August 24th. The winner will be declared on the blog August 26th. Contest starts June 5th and ends midnight August 24th (EST).One winner will be chosen at random for the prize.

EBOOK Order
Samhain Publishing http://store.samhainpublishing.com/out-of-the-shadows-p-6410.html

When the last shadow warrior falls, so will all humanity.

With each demon he vanquishes in service to the Aztec sun god, Tomás fulfills his duty to defend humankind—and surrenders another piece of his humanity to his wolf spirit. All hope seems lost until a mission leads him to the door of the one thing he thought he’d never find…his spirit mate. The only woman who can save him from oblivion.
When Carolina hears the wolf’s howl, it pierces the very core of her lonely heart. Yet she dare not answer. As the last guardian of her land and the secret it contains, she is haunted by the mistake that cost the lives of her family. Never will she repeat that mistake, especially with a warrior who is more beast than man.
Chasing away the demon is easier than breaching the barriers around the heart of the young woman who possesses a strange power over water—and his very soul. But if they are to survive the night, he must convince her they are destined to stand together.

***EXCERPT***

A wolf’s howl pierced the desert silence, causing the animals to stir restlessly in their stalls. Wolves had been reintroduced into Arizona, but she had yet to see or hear one so close to her ranch. Was it an omen?

Carolina paused in her chores to stare out the open barn door into the gathering darkness.

For a moment, she let herself get caught up in the long, solitary note. It felt like a kindred spirit. She knew loneliness intimately. Only her loneliness did not come from the vast miles of the sun-parched Sonoran desert that surrounded her, but out of the necessity to protect her goddess, her land’s secret. As one of the few amongst her people to become a guardian, her choices were limited.

The one occasion she’d invested herself in another, he’d betrayed her. She’d foolishly placed her hope and trust in Billy and she’d paid a horrendous price. Her desire to find someone to share the workload, her joy and sadness, and the burden of her secret—just as her parents had done—had blinded her to the trap she’d walked into. By the time she understood what was happening, it was too late. Her parents were dead.

Her heart weighed heavy in her chest as if it had happened recently and not five years ago. The memory of her parents lingered too close to the surface today. This had been their land, their dream, and now it was hers to fight for. She’d vowed never to fail them again. Above her own needs came the higher purpose of protecting her goddess at all costs.

Her mare, Mariposa, snorted and reared up, pulling Carolina from her thoughts. The animals had been growing edgier with each passing minute. They sensed the evil that blew in with the warm desert breeze. She berated herself for not paying more attention to them.

Goose bumps prickled her skin. Her tattoo, a gift from the goddess, began a slow burn on her shoulder, a sure sign that evil was approaching. She felt the heat radiating through the fabric of her denim shirt. The last time she’d experienced the odd sensation, her world had fallen apart.

Cautiously, she turned her head, seeking the source.

Her breath came out in a gasp.

Less than ten feet away sat a magnificent gray wolf, watching her. Waiting.