I am excited to welcome author Alyxandra Harvey, who is celebrating the start of her new Lovegrove Legacy series with A Breath of Frost.
In 1814, three cousins—Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope—discover their unknown family lineage of witchcraft when their individual magical powers unexpectedly begin to manifest. Now, beyond the familiar manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, a dangerous, alluring underworld available only to those with power is now open to the
cousins.But by claiming their power, the three cousins have accidentally opened the gates to the Underworld. Now ghouls, hellhounds—and most terrifying of all, the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters—are hunting and killing young witches for their powers. And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders … because she keeps finding the bodies. Can the cousins seal the gates before another witch is killed …or even worse, before their gifts are stripped away?
Make sure you stick around to the end. We’ll be giving away a Regency style pewter and crystal necklace made by Alyxandra herself.
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Alyxandra Harvey, popular young adult author of the Drake Chronicles, Haunting Violet, and Stolen Away, is back with a bewitching new young adult fantasy series that will take readers through the streets of magical 19th century London. A Breath of Frost, the first installment in The Lovegrove Legacy (published by Bloomsbury Childrens) goes on sale January 7, 2014. It’s full of witches, magic, family secrets, goblin markets, deer-people, and boys in cravats!
An introduction to the magical powers in A Breath of Frost:
I love witches. I love the idea that secret magic can hide inside a person.
In A Breath of Frost, the magic you are born with takes the form of an animal familiar, such as the ones mentioned in the old witch trials of Europe and Salem. In fact, the warlock sisters terrorizing London are named after a famous Shakespearean familiar: Greymalkin.
In the world of my novel however, familiar are made entirely of magic and so are insubstantial and luminescent. If the witch is skilled enough, they can however, possess their corresponding animal in the real world. For instance, a cat can possess a real cat which might be useful for spying….but an elephant familiar in London 1814 would be slightly less helpful!
Emma’s personal magic is the ability to control weather, especially lightning, thunder and rain…eventually. At the moment, it tends to get rather soggy or stormy when she is thinking about kissing Cormac.
She uncurled her fingers, her palm open like a flower in her lap. “Please, explain this to me,” she said simply.
“All witches have a witch knot.” He shifted, his knee pressing against her. The dark confines felt suddenly intimate. “I should think as the daughter of one of the infamous Lovegroves you’d know that much, at least. You are descended from a long line of witches, it’s no use trying to pretend otherwise.”
She tilted her head, wondering when exactly he had decided she was gullible. Probably somewhere between the time she’d kissed him with embarrassing enthusiasm and before he’d jilted her. “I don’t believe in witchcraft, Cormac. I’m not a child.”
“Then perhaps you might explain to me why it’s raining inside this carriage?”
Gretchen’s power is very rare and mysterious. She has the ability to sense when a spell is going wrong or badly cast, and how to fix it. Unfortunately for her, the warning comes in the forming of a strange noise in her ears and stabbing headaches.
Penelope is able to read the history of an object just by touching it…romantic when she is holding the book of someone who thinks highly of her…less romantic when she touches the ring of a witch killed at the stake hundreds of years ago.
Raw magic is a random gift, but proper training is reserved for the aristocracy. This does not sit well with Moira, a street urchin who picks pockets and runs magical errands for One-Eyed Joe in the Goblin Market. Moira is a Madcap—a free witch who refuses to be controlled by the Order of the Iron Nail who police magical London. Her magic comes in the form of needles burning the bottom of the feet when there is danger afoot.
As for me, I like to think that my personal magical ability might have something to do with bringing fictional characters to life…such as my very own Mr. Darcy or Tenth Doctor!
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Meet Alyxandra Harvey!
Alyxandra Harvey lives in a stone Victorian house in Ontario, Canada with a few resident ghosts who are allowed to stay as long as they keep company manners. She loves medieval dresses, used to be able to recite all of The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson, and has been accused, more than once, of being born in the wrong century. She believes this to be mostly true except for the fact that she really likes running water, women’s rights, and ice cream.
Among her favourite books are ‘The Wood Wife’ by Terri Windling, ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte, and of course, ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen. Elizabeth Bennet is her hero because she’s smart and sassy, and Mr. Darcy is, well, yum.
Aside from the ghosts, she also lives with husband and their dogs. She likes cinnamon lattes, tattoos and books.
Contact Info: Website | Blog | Facebook | Lovegrove Legacy on FB | Twitter | Tumblr | GoodReads | Pinterest
Want to purchase Alyxandra’s novels?
Lovegrove Legacy
Drake Chronicles
Haunting Violet
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Contest Time!
Thank you Alyxandra for taking the time to stop by Literary Escapism!
