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"I half-turned to her and shrugged, still processing what I'd seen, or at least what I thought I'd seen, in Ms. Neal's eyes—like they weren't hers. Obviously, they were her eyes, but it looked like she'd plucked them from someone else's head. A dead someone else's head."
In the fight between good and evil, Light is your only weapon.
Crystal Scott finally feels like a normal teenager. She has a lead in the high school play, a best friend, and a gorgeous boyfriend. With prom only a few days away, Crystal’s ordinary life seems perfect.
Endowed with great Light because of her virtuous choices and her inherent gifts, Crystal’s aura has become visible to those with the ability to see auras. Unfortunately, her power has also attracted the attention of demons intent on destroying all Light.
When Vincent Crandall, the human host for a powerful demon, discovers that Crystal’s Light is strong enough to disrupt the connection between demons and their hosts, he realizes she may be able to sever the connection altogether. Determined to stop her from interfering with his plans to rule the world, he sends operatives to neutralize her Light.
After the operatives fail to disable Crystal, Vincent decides he must harness her power for himself. He kidnaps her parents, and Crystal is thrust into battle against a demon army she didn’t even know existed. With the help of a mysterious young man and his mother, Crystal must learn to use the power within her before Vincent kills her parents and exploits her Light.
Rebecca Lynn Talley grew up in the gorgeous seaside city of Santa Barbara, CA. She met, and married, her husband, Del, while attending Brigham Young University. She graduated from BYU with a degree in Communications. She currently lives in rural Colorado on a small ranch with a dog, too many cats to count, and a herd of goats. She and Del are the proud parents of ten wildly-creative, multi-talented children.
Rebecca is the author of a children's picture book, Grasshopper Pie (WindRiver 2003), a children's chapter book, Gabby's Secret (DuBon Publishing 2011), four novels, Heaven Scent (CFI 2008), Altared Plans (CFI 2009), The Upside of Down (CFI 2011), and Aura (DuBon Publishing 2012). She has also authored numerous children's stories and articles for both print and online magazines.
When she isn’t writing, Rebecca loves to date her husband, play with her kids, swim in the ocean, and dance to disco music while she cleans the house. She has folded at least one million loads of laundry, baked hundreds of batches of chocolate chip cookies, and eaten 5,478 gallons of ice cream.
Excerpt
At rehearsal that afternoon, I stood offstage in the relative darkness waiting for my cue. I walked onto the stage and delivered my line. I turned toward the audience. The same mysterious guy sat on the left side of the auditorium in the front row. Suddenly, my feet were glued to the stage. Without my permission, a fluttering sensation rippled through my insides. Stop looking at him. Now.
A far away voice floated over to me, calling my character’s name. I tried to respond but I couldn’t tear my gaze from that guy.
A firm grip on my arm jerked me out of my trance. Cole looked at me expectantly. Had he said his line already? What was mine?
I blinked a few times then swallowed hard. Think, Crystal. Think. “I hope you weren’t trying . . . to . . . run, I mean, sneak away without . . . me.” It was wrong. I tried to cover, but nothing came to me.
Cole shook his head.
“I’ve slept enough,” I said. Wrong line. Again. As if out of my control, my gaze was drawn to the tree guy. I said, “I’m not tired.” Wrong. Confused, I tried to resist his pull, but couldn’t. There was something about him. Something I couldn’t explain. Or understand.
The harder I tried to recall my line, the worse it got. My nerves were on fire. This unknown guy was throwing me off.
Mr. Jordan shouted, “That’s enough!” It broke the spell. He jumped up from his regular seat in the audience and marched over to the stage. I clenched my jaw and braced myself for the onslaught, trying to keep my eyes on him and off the boy in the audience.
“What is wrong with you today? You haven’t hit one line since we started this scene.” A vein in his shiny forehead pulsed.
I didn’t know what to say. He was right. I had butchered the scene, but I had no explanation for it—at least not one I could say aloud.
Cole elbowed me and gave me a concerned look.
Using all of my strength to resist looking at the unknown guy, I cleared my throat and said, “I’m sorry.”
“Miss Scott, do you think I have nothing better to do than waste my time coming to these rehearsals? I give this theater program everything I have, and all I ask in return is that you give me some sort of acting I can work with. At the very least, saying the right lines at the right time. Is that too much to ask?” He ran his hand over his bald head and looked up at the ceiling. “I should never have cast a new student in the lead. I know better. What was I thinking?” He took a breath then shot me a laser glare. “I’ve already warned you. Fail again, and you’re out. Believe me, I will replace you if I have to.” He pointed at me.
Reviews
This YA urban fantasy is fantastic! The story grabbed me from the start and kept me enthralled until the end! I love books that keep me thinking about the characters and events and possibilities even after putting them down...Aura is one of those books! Rebecca Lynn Talley has created characters you care about in a world begging for the special gifts they possess. I love the premise of Aura and imagine I'll be enjoying many more Light vs. Demon novels in the future....at least I hope there are more to come!~KindleQueen
I loved the clasic good VS evil in Aura. I loved that Crystal made the conscious choice to be good inspite of feelings and doubts. I also loved the idea of demons posessing somone who had made dark choices, or greedy bargains. The book is clean and well handled inspite of the serious subject matter.Well done.
~C. Michelle Jefferies
This is one of those books that you hope will become widespread enough to make a positive impact in this world. Personally, I think this is a book every teenager should read and I will definitely be passing it along to my own kids. Thank you, Rebecca, for writing a beautiful story with a wonderful message! I hope you keep at it because now I want a sequel!
~Rachael Anderson
Aura sucked me in from the first page. The book is intense and well-written. I loved that Crystal is innocent and makes a conscious choice to stay that way in the face of intense pressure. I would recommend Aura to young adults on up.
~Cami Checketts
Wonderful, wonderful message. Probably the most solid moral message I’ve ever read in contemporary literature, but without being too heavy or feeling like a lecture. You could almost look at it like an allegory, I think, representing real life with fictional symbols. I’m trying to explain without giving anything away, and I think I’m doing a bad job. Anyway, I have four boys, but if I had a girl, I would definitely have her read it. The story is imaginative and creative, Crystal is a strong but believable heroine, caught up in high school cares and not realizing her own potential or the battle that is waged around and for her. I thought at times it was a bit predictable, and that the first half of the book drug a little. It probably could have been told quicker or perhaps made a little more interesting. But all in all, I enjoyed it. The story kept me going and the characters were sweet and compelling.
~May Abbey
Wow! I got this book for free and LOVED it! I can't wait to read any follow up books! (There WILL be follow up books, right?) In this story Crystal is full of light, thanks to making good choices, and she has to figure out how to keep the light in the midst of high school where temptation runs rampant and where she just wants to be an average girl! I like that things never went too far, and I felt like it was very well-written, with rounded out characters!
~Tamera Westhoff
Blog Tour Giveaway
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Ends 3.21.13
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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