Three plantations. Two gifts. One ancient curse.
All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead–a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.
Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who somehow seems to know what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family’s twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.
Pre-order Compulsion
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Signed copies are available for pre-order from One More Page Books. You can also pre-order with the special “I have a Compulsion for reading” bookplate from Eight Cousins. Pre-Order Incentives Going on here.
Early Praise for Compulsion
“Darkly romantic and steeped in Southern Gothic charm, you’ll be compelled to get lost in the Heirs of Watson Island series.”
“A fresh twist on the Southern Gothic — haunting, atmospheric, and absorbing.”
“Compulsion is a stunningly magical debut with a delicious slow burn to be savored. I want to live in this story world!”
About Martina
Martina Boone was born in Prague and spoke several languages before learning English. She fell in love with words and never stopped delighting in them.
She’s the founder of AdventuresInYAPublishing.com, a Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers site, and YASeriesInsiders.com, a site devoted to encouraging literacy and all things YA Series.
From her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband, children, and Auggie the wonder dog, she enjoys writing contemporary fantasy set in the kinds of magical places she’d love to visit. When she isn’t writing, she’s addicted to travel, horses, skiing, chocolate flavored tea, and anything with Nutella on it.
Website | Blog | Tumblr | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter
The Giveaway
Good luck!
Gothic can go more romantic and mysterious like Compulsion, or it can go very dark and creepy, like Megan Shepherd’s fantastic The Madman’s Daughter series about Juliet Moreau, who must unravel the mystery of her father’s grotesque medical experiments while a killer is on the loose. One of the things we love about Megan’s books is the fine line between science and the miraculous, so since Megan was one of the authors who read Compulsion, we asked her to tell us about her take on “everyday magic.”
But remember, we want to hear from you! For a chance to win the HUGE tour mega prize of books and the $100 gift card, tell us about the magical gift you’d like to have—but remember, as it does on Compulsion’s Watson Island, magic often has as many drawbacks as benefits. Think about the downsides as you write your comment.
Want an example? Here’s what Megan had to say:
If you could have any “everyday” magical gift, like finding lost things or knowing what people want, what gift would you want and why?
I’d like to have the power to glimpse the past. Be walking down an old street and be able to sense or see what that same street was like ten years ago, and fifty, and a hundred. I don’t think it would be a particularly valuable skill, but I’m very curious when it comes to what the past was like. And if I could glimpse what that street would look like ten years in the future, even better!
Eight, Barrie’s love interest in Compulsion, has inherited his family’s gift of knowing what people want and feeling compelled to give it to them. What’s one gift you’re glad you don’t have?
I’m always tempted to say I’d like to read minds, but I think that would be problematic in reality. There is a reason minds are private things; everyone should be entitled to their own thoughts.
Barrie is tied to her family’s plantation, Watson’s Landing, in a magical way, and the whole landscape becomes magical for her. What’s the one place in your book that you wish you could bring to life?
There is a masquerade ball scene in my second book, HER DARK CURIOSITY, that I’d love to bring to life. I’ve always been enchanted by the idea of masks and hidden identities. Throw in beautiful ball gowns and well-dressed men and it would be fantastic!
If you were going to a Halloween party and you had to dress as a character from a Southern Gothic or a Gothic romance, what would your costume look like?
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I think teleportation would be neat!! It would be super convenient!
Helllllo!
Thank you for hosting this awesome giveaway.
Right now, I’d choose a power to calm people down or to take away their pain (and blow that pain up). There’s so much pain and anger around us at the moment, and I’d love to help, but sometimes it’s too hard.
If I could have an “everyday” magical gift, I would like to be able to influence the weather. Not doing big things like causing hurricanes or huge blizzards. But like a light rain in areas that need it, or a bit of sunshine. And I would want to be able to stop “small” weathery things. Like slow a downpour or clear up the clouds a little. I’d have to be careful about how often I do that, and how it could alter regular weather patterns and such. It would probably be bad if a sudden snow storm happened in the middle of a heat wave.
I would want to find lost items. It would make people happy to find the special lost item. Even better, if you can ind lost people as well as lost items. That would be awesome.
If I had a power, I’d like to be able to know what people were truly thinking. Sort of like mind reading. So that I could get to the root of their question and find the best answer for them and help them out.
I’d like to be able to add more hours to my day, kind of like Hermione’s time turner. There’s always so much I want to do, but I never feel there’s enough time.
This isn’t an everyday thing, but I would love to be able to teleport. How about dinner in Venice tonight?
I have always wanted to be able to move things with my mind!
The ability to spread love and compassion. 🙂
Thanks for the epic giveaway!
I’d like to influence luck. It be a easy way to win board games (:
My “everyday” magical gift would be the ability to grant wishes to those who are in unfortunate situations. But, when I grant wishes, the people I grant wishes to cannot use them for greedy or bad causes.