Monday, July 5, 2021

Bea's Witch by Daniel Ingram-Brown - Book Tour + Giveaway


This is my stop during the blog tour for Bea's Witch by Daniel Ingram-Brown. Bea’s Witch is a ghostly coming of age story.

This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours and runs from 21 June till 11 July. See the tour schedule here.

Don’t miss the tour wide giveaway at the bottom of this post.

Bea's Witch cover

Bea's Witch
By Daniel Ingram-Brown
Genre: Magical Realism/ Contemporary Fantasy
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: 30 July 2021

Blurb:
The future can be rewritten.

On the eve of her twelfth birthday, Beatrice Crosse runs away from her adoptive home only to encounter the ghost of England's most famous prophetess. The witch offers her treasure, but can she be trusted? Bea must wrestle her past to discover the witch’s secret and find her way home.


Links:
- B&N

Book Trailer
You can view the book trailer here on Youtube.
 


Bea’s Witch Excerpt Chapter 10

 I run.

Tesco. Phone shop.

She doesn't remember me!

Across the high street. A car screeches to a halt. I dive into the narrow passage that leads to the market square.

I need another coin. I need help.

Butter Lane. Man with Zimmer frame.

I jump onto the curb to avoid him and see my reflection in the glass of a charity shop window.

Her reflection.

I hate how my cheeks are always flushed, how my skin is freckled and pale. I hate my wispy hair. I look like a doll.

If I'm a doll, I'm a china doll. Hard. Nobody's getting in here.

I run across the market square, my feet pounding the cobbles. Everything here is so sickly quaint. I miss the city, the graffiti, the smell under the railway arch where I used to hang out with Lizzie and Tag.

I leap over the stone steps of the market cross.

I need my coin!

Past the Market Tavern. Lights flash inside. A black, iron cat peers down from its roof, frozen in time, like everything here.

I scramble on, past the ice-cream shop.

My mind swerves between past and present.

We queued there when I first arrived. Denise thought it was a treat. She doesn't know me. Nobody here knows me.

I didn't want a new life.

My heart pounds as I sprint into the castle car park.

But there's no going back.

Public toilets. The smell of urine. Sidestep the bins.

BEEP!

This can't be happening.

A driver waves angrily as they try to reverse from a disabled space. I stick two fingers up. The castle gate's ahead. I dash through it.

Dog walker. Dog. Jump the lead.

I race past the ruins.

There's the view everyone comes to see, dark and dreary now, the storm hanging over the valley.

A gust of wind blows hair across my face as I jump down the first few steps towards the river.

My backpack is heavy. I want to rip that weight out, burn it away.

Halfway. A viewing point. I stop for a moment, panting.

The town clings to this side of the valley, a church beyond the viaduct, poking out of the trees like something from Frankenstein. The other side of the river is dark, covered with forest. There are no houses there. No sign of human settlement – just the Petrifying Well.

That's where I need to be.

I run on. At the bottom of the steps, I begin along the river. The cliff looms over me. Water hisses through the weir.

There's a Narnia-like lamppost and cabins that look like they've been plucked straight out of an Enid Blyton story. I hate Enid bloody Blyton. And Narnia. The kids in those books are from some sort of alien world. Nothing like me. Nothing like my life.

My chest burns as I glance back. Nobody's following.

The light's fading now.

I need to get to the other side of the river. I need another coin. I dart onto the road that leads across the bridge. On the far bank is an inn. It's cottage-like, covered in ivy, hanging baskets flanking its windows. I hear people laugh inside.

I duck behind it, away from the road and come to a stop.

From a whitewashed wall, a black and white painting of an old woman stares at me, her eyes dark.

I stare back.

Her face is silhouetted, her nose long and crooked, like it's been chiselled from the rock. A scarf hangs from her hair, flowing down like the river. I slip down the side of the building, and I'm there.

A wooden gate stands in front of me, blocking my path. A jackdaw sits on the post to its side, as if guarding the entrance. It stares at me.

Is that supposed to keep people out? I jump up, using the fence as a foothold. The jackdaw leaps into the air, disappearing into the trees.

"Near this well I first drew breath," a sign next to the gate reads.

I pull myself up, scrambling over, and jump down the other side, landing on a soft path of mulched leaves. The ground crackles as insects scurry away.

They won't find me here. It's closed. I'll be safe until morning.


Also available in audio!
Bea's Witch audio book cover


Links:
- Audiobooks Now
- Google Play


Daniel Ingram-Brown

About the Author:
Daniel Ingram-Brown is a First Story writer-in-residence for secondary schools in Yorkshire. He has a Masters in Creative Writing and Drama in Education, and is currently studying for a PhD exploring adoption through creative writing. He is also a playwright and is Artistic Director of Suitcase and Spectacles Children's Theatre. Daniel's passion lies in writing stories which inspire readers and audiences to think and wonder. Daniel is the recipient of the Taner Baybars award for original writing in the field of science fiction, fantasy and magical realism, awarded by the Society of Authors Authors' Foundation. He lives in Yorkshire, UK.

Author links:

Bea's Witch square tour banner


Giveaway
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Bea’s Witch. These are the prizes you can win:
- 1 paperback copy of Bea's Witch + vintage postcard from Mother Shipton’s Cave + book related pins (open International)
- 1 paperback copy of Bea's Witch + vintage postcard from Mother Shipton’s Cave + book related pins (UK only)
- ebook copies of all three books in the Firebird chronicles by Daniel Ingram-Brown (open International)

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway


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