Welcome Crystal Vaughan to the Elite Blog! Thank you for stopping by and telling us about your newest release,
Conspiracy Of Ravens
Ashland, Oregon – Chrystal Vaughan, author of paranormal horror novels Sideshow and Dead in the Water, has been contracted with Solstice Publishing for her latest work, Conspiracy of Ravens. The latest in a series of pulse-pounding tales, Vaughan says its two predecessors are written in such a way that they can stand as individual stories, but still feed into each other, creating a fluid, overarching theme. Yet this particular work stands apart in a very important way.
“This new book,” Vaughan states, “has an occult/paranormal theme, a serial killer, romance, and death...lots of death.
Set in Philadelphia, Conspiracy of Ravens focuses on the mysterious and opportunistic Catherine Meara, a.k.a. the “Raven Witch Killer,” and Philly Herald reporter Sophia Pascale, who has been assigned to interview the convicted murderer at the Philadelphia State Penitentary. As the interview progresses, Pascale learns that not only is Meara other than what she appears, but the visit also throws a curveball in the form of the attractive Officer Shaw, who beguiles the young journalist. The question for Pascale becomes not just whether the interview will make her career, but also if she can deal with the horrors unfolding around her without becoming yet another victim.
Vaughan admits this book is extremely different from the first two, as the first novel was more for a fear-based work, and the second ventured into the world of Young Adult Horror. Conspiracy of Ravens, Vaughan says, required a different approach due to Meara being a female serial killer. When asked about the inspiration for the novel, she revealed some interesting reasons for her choice of plot.
“I was inspired by a conversation with my daughter about the names for groups of animals,” Vaughan says. “I've got a thing about ravens, too. I've also always been interested in the occult--Tarot cards and the like-- and serial killers interest me in terms of their psychology.”
Conspiracy of Ravens is set to release upon an unsuspecting world on August 1st, 2014. Purchasers eager to exchange their nights of easy rest can download or buy print copies from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Solstice Publishing.
ABOUT CHRYSTAL VAUGHAN
Chrystal Vaughan is a mother and self-described yarn-spinner. Currently residing the Pacific Northwest, she spends most of her non-working and non-writing time engrossed in her reading addiction. She can be reached on Facebook at Facebook-www.facebook.com/chrystalwrites or visit her blog at www.mermaidsandmayhem.blogspot.com. Twitter users can follow her at https://twitter.com/TheChrystalShip and Pinterest fanatics can follow her at http://www.pinterest.com/chrystalvaughn/.
Conspiracy
of Ravens excerpt and cover:
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I
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t was a brightly sunlit day when Catherine
Meara, the ‘Raven Witch Killer’, passed through the front doors of the
Pennsylvania State Penitentiary. For a few moments, she was able to tilt her
head toward its warmth and revel in its light upon her prison-paled skin. I
watched her bask in its glory, her stride slow, her arms swinging at her sides.
Her hair gleamed like living fire, no longer dulled to the color of old blood
under the harsh fluorescent lights of captivity.
The ravens waited for her, seventeen in all, perched atop the old fashioned gates that separated the land of freedom from the realm of the depraved. They watched her approach, obsidian eyes flat in spite of the brightness of the day.
She saw them, a guard said later. She saw them there, waiting, and smiled.
One of them cawed, a harsh sound unsuited to sunlight, more closely attuned with shadows and gloom. As if it were a signal--and perhaps it was--the others raised up on clawed feet, beating their wings against the air. The terrible sound of all their feathers straining against the wind caused both gate guards to clasp their hands to their ears. I could see them from my post just inside the entrance, though the thick glass protected me from their funeral noise.
The ravens waited for her, seventeen in all, perched atop the old fashioned gates that separated the land of freedom from the realm of the depraved. They watched her approach, obsidian eyes flat in spite of the brightness of the day.
She saw them, a guard said later. She saw them there, waiting, and smiled.
One of them cawed, a harsh sound unsuited to sunlight, more closely attuned with shadows and gloom. As if it were a signal--and perhaps it was--the others raised up on clawed feet, beating their wings against the air. The terrible sound of all their feathers straining against the wind caused both gate guards to clasp their hands to their ears. I could see them from my post just inside the entrance, though the thick glass protected me from their funeral noise.
We lost eleven minutes of our
lives that day. Time we cannot reclaim, though in light of what we were witness
to, in light of what was lost, eleven minutes seems a paltry sum.
Officially, prisoner number 0116152 died of natural causes. A
justifiable death, one might say.
I was there from the beginning to the end, from the moment Catherine entered our sphere of knowledge until the time her physical body left us behind. There was nothing natural about the Raven Witch Killer’s death, or her life for that matter. We never told anyone the whole story, those of us who bore witness to her tale, those who remain, until now, that is.
I was there from the beginning to the end, from the moment Catherine entered our sphere of knowledge until the time her physical body left us behind. There was nothing natural about the Raven Witch Killer’s death, or her life for that matter. We never told anyone the whole story, those of us who bore witness to her tale, those who remain, until now, that is.
They’re back, you see. The ravens.
I can be silent no longer.
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