Amazon Jen's Author Site Omnific Publishing Category:  Fantasy Publisher: Omnific Publishing ISBN-10:  1936305038 Type: Fiction Pages: 396 Copyright: Feb 16, 2010 ISBN-13: 1936305046 Paranormal Romance with a Twist Lillian Hunt has never truly lived. Always sensing more to the world than is easily perceived, she fears that her instincts are stubborn flights of fancy, or worse, mental instability. But some things—disappearing strangers, tangible dreams, and visits from malevolent creatures—cannot be ignored. Before it's too late, Lillian is ripped from the only existence she’s ever known and thrust into a reality that she always suspected, but could scarcely believe. She must learn the truth about who she is, the powerful beings that wish to destroy her, and the two men who would die to protect her. Excerpt I woke to a fiercely howling wind, the kind that makes you shiver, even buried snugly under a blanket. You could hardly call me a deep sleeper. In fact, most nights it didn't take much more than a thump of Rufus's tail, or a muted roll of thunder to rouse me from slumber. But this wind, this was no breeze. Pulling my covers more tightly around me, I closed my eyes in hopes that pretending not to notice would quiet the noise. No luck. Now the waves of air were whooshing against the side of the house. I grabbed the remote from next to my bed and clicked on the television. I would just have to drown it out. On went the Home Shopping Network. This'll put anyone to sleep, I thought. The prim-looking woman on screen held up a bright gold chain-link necklace polished to an unnatural sheen. Crooning over its quality she declared that no one would be able to tell that it wasn't real gold. "Trust me ladies," she began, "you wear this gorgeous piece to your next dinner party and I guarantee you'll be the talk of the evening." Soon the jewelry designer was chirping in with some babble about "lifetime guarantees" and I sighed into my pillow. "It's probably made of aluminum," I said. "You open it up, try it on, your neck turns to dust, and your head falls off." About ten minutes of this did the trick. I didn't even notice the wind anymore. Dozing off to the tinny tune of a "masterful" music box that had to be seen to be believed, the television abruptly turned to snow. "Ugh" I moaned, thickly. Groping around my crumpled bed spread for the remote I turned the station. Mama's Family. All right then. Two seconds in and the screen cut to snow. "What the hell?" I switched to the weather channel. Windy, but cloudless, and then snowy as the screen went out again. I squinted at the bright white static, then flipped channels. The Andy Griffith Show. Andy was looking awfully distorted. What was with his face? Two pictures seemed to be layered over one another. In the background, Andy lectured Aunt Bee on the dangers of driving, while a nearer, subtler, more shadowy figure seemed to squat with arms outstretched as if holding either side of the screen apart. And was it watching me? I could almost detect elevated cheekbones, a smile. A sneer? Two stations overlapping? Snow again. I got up from the bed, my feet etching their clammy way into the soft carpet, and approached the television. Crouching down, I examined it, hit it on the side. I scratched my forehead, blinked, and turned around. The figure that had just plagued the screen was now on my bed. It was only a shadow of something human, crawling on all fours to the foot of the bed, closer to me. Its head tilted to one side, and every few seconds I could swear it was smiling. It remained quiet, but stalked around like a caged animal. I stood completely immobile. The man-creature approached the foot of my bed again, dropping its head down over the edge, and then cocked it up at an unnatural angle, looking at me. Its eyes were red embers. This had to be a nightmare. It let its arm fall to the floor, never breaking its gaze from mine, and my body seemed to have lost all motor function. I tried lifting my foot. Nothing would move. Dropping the other arm, it pulled itself from the bed, its legs falling behind it soundlessly. Then it stood. If the thing was taller than me I couldn't tell, as its stature remained hunched and distorted. A saving burst of anger at this intrusion upon my sanity woke me from my haze. I knew I wasn't asleep. "What do you want with me?" I found my voice. It stopped its sickly slow progression and straightened its head, twisting it to the other side, still looking at me. "Why are you here?" It shifted toward me again and feeling returned to my body. I took a few quick steps toward the door. The creature tilted its head, reflexively, adjusting its gaze. A sound almost like sifting sand grew in strength and emitted from its chest. Was it breathing? My heart beat out of control. The sound died away only to begin again seconds later. Reaching behind me, I groped for a door knob but found only air. I grasped further and my hand greeted cool hard wood. I dared not look away from the thing, but rather slid my fingers over to the knob and gripped it. By now, the creature stood less than two feet from me, transfixed, breathing his gritty breaths and grinning senselessly. The air was frigid. I jumped to the side and pulled open the door, and a burst of warmth swept through the room. My visitor began to dissipate like frost, first at the edges, then its arms and legs, its center, and finally its face, still grinning. I camped out in the living room for the rest of the night, the television off, and the lights on. Who could I call that would possibly know how to help me? Grandpa had enough on his mind, Grandma already thought I was hitting the crack pipe, and Kate … Kate would assume her poor best friend had finally lost it. Then it dawned on me. Maybe I had lost it. Thank you, God, that had to be the answer! I grabbed the phone book, flipping through the P's for local psychiatric clinics. "Private Investigators, Pruning Services, Psychiatry …." I glanced up at the clock. Quarter till eight. They wouldn't be open this early. Settling into the carpet with the phone in my lap, I waited, my head on the wall behind me. My eyes drooped, the sleepless night catching up with me. Fighting the urge to nod off, I popped my head up and looked at the clock. Ten minutes to go. I closed my eyes again, and suddenly I was on a lake trail. Veering off the path into the trees, further and deeper, I finally broke through. Out in the distance, in the center of the lake, stood an old man, and he walked across the water toward me, stopping at its edge. "Well, hello, Lily," he said, his voice kind. The space around him was a globe of golden light that engulfed me in an instant. I felt supremely happy. "You again?" I asked, dumbfounded. He laughed out loud. "You remember me." "Yes." "Good. Some people forget their dreams the second they wake. I must have made an impression." "You keep coming back here," I said. "No, Lillian, you do," he corrected. "Oh. Why do I?" "Don't you know?" He smiled. "You're protecting me?" "No. I'm preparing you." "Am I going to die?" I said, totally at ease. "Not at all. But do keep a keen eye, child." He motioned behind me, and something moved in the woods. A pale, sinewy form broke through the tree line and stopped suddenly, shielding his face against the light around us. At first glance, the creature appeared to be human, but the ivory color of its hair and skin blended too perfectly. It wore a translucent cloak, and the flesh beneath revealed bright blue veins that webbed along its legs and torso. It hissed at the old man and I flinched. "Not to worry, Lillian. He cannot harm you here," the man assured me. The creature shrank away from the sound of his voice, whimpering like a child, and then took off running into the woods. "Lily," said the old man. "Wake up." My eyes snapped open and the cat was padding at my chest, flopping his tail in my lap. The clock read 8:13. "Off, Rufus," I said, plopping him aside, and picked up the phone, my hands shaking. "Northeast Counseling Center, Kimmy speaking," answered the chipper voice on the other end of the phone. "Hi, Kimmy. I need to schedule an appointment with one of your doctors." "Sure, what's your name?" I paused. "Lillian." "Okay, Lillian, your last name?" "Hunt." "And your date of birth?" I gulped. Did they really need to know that? "November seventeenth, 1979." "Mhm. And what do you need to be seen for?" "Uhm, I, I think I might be hallucinating." "Okay. Are you hearing voices?" "Sort of … but not really …." "Are they telling you to hurt yourself or anyone else?" "No. No, it's not like that. I mean, I'm seeing things, very realistic things that I can't seem to tell apart from real things, you know? And my vision is strange, there's … blurry light …." "Sure," said the patronizing voice. "Do you have a history of mental illness in your family?" "I … I don't know." Maybe, I thought. "I don't think so," I said. "Okay, have you ever suffered from depression, addiction, or anxiety disorders?" "No." "So you're not on any kind of psychotropic drugs?" "No." I laughed. This was ridiculous. "All right, Lillian. Our first opening is with Dr. Labbabadahan." "Dr. Labba … I'm sorry?" "Labbabadahan," she repeated effortlessly. "Right, can you spell that?" "Sure, it's L-a-b-b-a-b …." "Wait! I need to get a pen," I interjected, fumbling around the phone stand for something to write with. All I could find was a Sharpie. "Go ahead," I said, poised to write on my hand. "From the beginning?" she asked with a huff. "Yes, please." She sighed, spelling the name again. "And when can I see him?" I asked. "His first opening is the sixth of September, at nine a.m." "Sixth of September? But that's five months from now," I said, appalled. "Yes. He's a very good doctor." "And that's great, but what do you do in the meantime? What about people who have fallen off the deep end? Do you suggest they tell the voices to shut the hell up?" "I thought you said you weren't hearing any voices?" "I'm not!" "Well, then, if you're in immediate crisis you might consider admitting yourself to the Community Medical Center for acute care, or you can call our hotline and speak with—" "No. You know what? That's okay. I think maybe this was a mistake. I'm sorry." I hung up the phone. Sliding down the wall to the floor again, I lay my head in my hands and began to cry. "Oh, fuck!" I yanked my hand from my eyes, realizing too late what I'd done. It would take days to scrub the ink from my face.

From Bitten By Books
Lily Hunt always felt like there was something missing from her life. She was going through the motions, until she started seeing things – ghosts. And there were the dreams, some frightening, and others of an ancient man who gave her peace and felt like safety to her in the midst of the darkness. She has no idea how to process all these events, fearing for her sanity.

One day, she is drawn to the woods near her home and attacked by the scary creature from her dreams. She’s saved by a young man who claims she’s special, a Sentient, and that she needs to come with him to join the fight. Lily’s life changes drastically from that point. She meets up with her destiny…and the man she’s been waiting for a long time, many lives in fact.

I do have to hand it to Ms. DeLucy for writing this novel, which takes a unique look at ghosts and vampires in one fell swoop. In this story, the good guys are Sentients, humans who have gifts that allow them to send restless spirits to the light and to destroy the dark entities, including vampires. It was interesting reading seeing Lily coming into the knowledge of her powerful ability and her role in this fight, to find companionship with a group of people who understood her for what she was and who shared abilities along the lines of hers.

But first and foremost, I was drawn to the love story between Lily and William, a member of the band who gets a second chance when he had previously succumbed to the evil they fought. William was my favorite character. He was a misunderstood, sad person, troubled by the guilt of his past. He was assigned by the leader of the group, the powerful Seer Abram, to teach Lily how to use her gifts to protect herself and to fight the dark entities. In the process, he fell in love with her, even though initially Lily hated him because of what he was. But Lily’s feelings change as she spends more time with him and sees the beautiful light and goodness inside of William and the powerful connection and rightness between them. Christian, the young man who saved her and brought her to this unlikely family, resents William and does everything he can to stand in the path of these lovers who seem fated to be together.

The writing was effective, descriptive, vivid, and emotive. I could feel the strong love between Lily and William, and it made me practically breathless. I also enjoyed the scenes of companionship and humor between the Sentients. I feared for their safety as they put their lives at risk to protect humanity from the dark entities that they fought and to help lost souls find their way to the light. To me, these were the strongest aspects of this story.

If I had any complaint, I felt that the climactic scenes could have been more active and descriptive. They came off as slightly passive due to showing, not telling. However, I loved the ending scenes very much. I felt quite a tug on my heart in those moments, in all the best ways.

The paranormal elements were presented in a way that I found unique and appealing. There were some chilling moments as Lily and the Sentients faced the dark astral entities. I liked this aspect of the group serving as ghost hunters and helping people who were being haunted. I thought Ms. DeLucy’s explanations for these hauntings went in a different direction from the most traveled paths in paranormal fiction. I appreciated that about Seers of the Light.

The vampires were pretty disturbing. The concept of vampirism wasn’t terribly different from most stories in the supernatural realm of fiction, but the theories behind it did show a novel approach. The way in which the vampires tie into the overall story and the relationship between Lily, William, and Christian was a pivotal aspect and was handled well.

Ms. DeLucy wrote a powerful, readable, and enjoyable story here. She has a deft hand with the emotional and interpersonal aspects that make this story have a deeper resonance beyond being a mere paranormal fantasy. I became invested in the characters, eager to see William and Lily find their true loves in each other and for the rest of the band to be safe in their work, banishing the dark entities to keep the world safe. I think she has a great concept here and I look forward to seeing where she takes things next.



From Night Owl Reviews
Jennifer DeLucy’s debut novel delivers a paranormal punch and a feisty heroine. Her paranormal world seems so realistic and the romance as well. DeLucy presents us with a heroine who has unique talents. At first she thinks what she sees things that just don’t seem real, but with a bang she is introduced to a paranormal realm like no other. The author doesn’t just throw the heroine Lily into her powers, but makes it more realistic by having her have to learn them. By doing it this way it was more interesting. Her mentor Abram was cool and helped her out. He also had respect for her.

In steps William. Lily and William’s relationship was exciting. It developed slow, but in a good way…making it all the more sweet.

This is a paranormal adventure to remember