A Dream Within A Dream: Awaken Blog Tour: Excerpt & Giveaway

Awaken (Daughters of the Sea 2)
Author: Kristen Day
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 2, 2012

Blurb:

The sacrifices we make have the power to shift the very fabric of who we are, and ultimately who we are meant to be…

After learning of her true destiny as the intended Leader of the Tydes, Anastasia Whitman must now embark on a perilous quest to the Underworld before the age of eighteen in order to plant the seed of immortality and complete her essence to become a true Sea Goddess. But before she can make her legendary journey, an unexpected new student transfers to Lorelei; initiating a sequence of events that will unravel Stasia’s new life, and test the boundaries of her relationship with the mysterious, dark, and sexy Finn Morrison. The line between the Underworld and the Living begins to blur as gruesome ghosts, morbid reveries, and pure evil haunt her waking hours as well as her sanity. Once the details of Finn’s own startling destiny are revealed, the dangerous secrets he’s been hiding will threaten the very love Stasia believed to be indestructible. As time begins to run out, she will be forced to choose between the one she loves and the destiny she cannot escape.

Prologue

The familiar call of seagulls diving for fish amongst the crashing waves pulled him from his restless slumber. His tired, bloodshot eyes opened and gazed upon that same weathered stone ceiling looming above. As they roamed down the sloped wall where he kept count, he pushed back the agonizing hopelessness encasing his heart. Another long night behind him simply meant another long day before him. He swung his legs over the side of his cot and gently placed his worn feet on the stone floor. It was always bitterly cold in the morning. He shivered as he glanced down at his too-skinny legs and the dirt that clung to his calloused feet. His ragged, cotton shorts now hung low around his emaciated waist and his faded blue shirt had been discarded long ago; traded for a sunken-in, bare chest. He smoothed down his gray hair and thick beard; wondering if today would be the day.

Sighing, he stood and collected the conch shell he kept hidden within a crack in his counting wall. He found the last mark and bent down to add yet another. He never counted days; only nights. The darkness always brought out his worst nightmares and he was continually amazed he had made it through so many. Thousands of marks littered the wall before him; a diary of solitude and sheer will captured forever in stone.

As he did every morning, he padded over to the window and looked out over the rolling sea. The lone window of his small room faced east, allowing him one pleasure amidst the hell that had become his life. Sunrise. At first each sunrise brought only tears to his eyes while the slow ache in his chest grew, threatening to rack his body with a sadness no man should bear. What those brilliant colors dancing across the sky stood for only served as a reminder to his unending loss. Another night bereft of her loving arms. Another day without her magical presence. Over the years the pain had receded, but her memory never faded. Neither did the seed of hope she had planted so long ago. It grew every day, branching out and becoming the only thing that kept him alive. Many nights he had peered out of his window at the white sand far below. He thought of how easy it would be to end this torture and return to her. But he knew he had a bigger purpose and he would not let her down. He would endure and wait until his heart beat no more.

Once a week he was allowed to stroll along the beach and speak to the others. But it was only a brief illusion of freedom. They could feel the eyes that watched their every move. The others had become his only companions. For years there had only been seven. But a couple of months ago, a newcomer had arrived.

He could hear her anguished cries at night and her deep despair was evident in the scratches along her arms; the victims of her own fingernails. She too finally succumbed to the seclusion and hopelessness; becoming void of emotion and as hollow as the rest of them. His thoughts moved back to the present and the brilliant ball of light inching its way above the horizon. This is when he felt closest to her. He closed his eyes and called upon the memory of her ever gentle, loving eyes.

“My love, I have lived to see yet another dawn cast its light upon this retched spit of land. Thankfully, this dawn brings new hope for my weary soul. You appeared to me in my dreams once again last night, but for the first time I heard the sweet melody of your voice. You spoke to me and breathed life back into my withered heart. You told me to be patient; to remain steadfast. You assured me the hour is growing near and I know the words you speak are true. Indeed, it is almost time.”

Kristen Day is a southern belle at heart with a crazy streak that desperately tries to escape at every opportunity. She loves all things nostalgic, rustic, and quirky. She’s been told she sees the world through rose-colored glasses, but she prefers to think of them as kaleidoscope glasses - swirling and morphing reality into something she can digest (who hasn't pretended those pasty lima beans were really kiwi strawberry jelly beans?).

She is the author of the DAUGHTERS OF THE SEA trilogy, which includes FORSAKEN, AWAKEN (Oct 2012), and CHOSEN (Winter 2012). She loves all books, but really enjoys writing young adult, paranormal romances. She’s loved to write for as long as she can remember. Her first published work was her poem RED in second grade (you guessed it - it was a poem about the color red - life altering, right?) that won her 5 gold stars and a spot in her elementary school's poetry book. That's when her addiction to the written word officially began. She was the only kid in fifth grade that actually enjoyed diagramming sentences. Go ahead and laugh - its okay.

When she’s not writing she’s making jewelry, painting, feeding her addiction to sweet tea, watching the Discovery Channel, or going on random adventures in the mountains of North Carolina with her amazing husband. She was born in Boone, NC and graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Marketing in 2001.

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