By: Lisa Desrochers
The premise of my novel, Personal Demons, is that angels and demons are moving among mortals looking for reasons to “tag” our souls to be either Heaven or Hell bound after death. At a recent signing I was asked how I knew what my characters looked like. I answered that I picked the most cliché appearances for a demon and angel I could think of. My thought was, if there truly were angels and demons walking the earth, would we ever allow ourselves to believe that’s what we were seeing, even if they looked and acted exactly how we would think an angel or a demon would? My main character, Frannie, is more jaded than most her age. A loss in her life has caused her to question her belief in anything she can’t touch. So, when “bad boy” Luc and the angelic Gabe show up to fight for her soul, it takes her a while to put the pieces together.
This concept is something I’ve tossed around in my mind for a long time, since an encounter several years ago, in my reckless youth, left me wondering.
Have you ever had the feeling you were being watched? You know, that skin-crawly feeling you get when you’re sure someone is following you? Yeah. Me too. So, as best as I can remember through the creepiness, here’s what happened.
I was probably 14ish at the time and I was at our family cabin, which in a very quiet, secluded area in the Sierras. There are lots of peaceful hiking trails that meander through the thick woods. I’d spent my whole life wandering those woods. So, this day, I was out for a walk and had just picked my way across a stream, deeper into the woods, when I got that crawly feeling. There’s lots of wild life up there, so my first thought was that it was just some animal watching me. As the feeling got stronger, I started to worry it might me something like a bear or mountain lion, which would be a problem. Several times I stopped and listened, but heard nothing. Eventually, I creeped myself out enough that I decided, instead of making the whole loop of the trail, I’d turn around and head back the way I’d come. I hadn’t made it five feet back up the trail when I saw the girl. She was sitting on a boulder in the shadows a little off the path, and there seemed to be something dark and misty around her. Except, when I really focused my eyes on where she was, there was no one there. Just a shadow where the sun was filtering through the trees.
In my defense, you have to remember that I’d spent the previous ten minutes creeping myself out, and my heart was racing, so I took off running. I slowed down a little crossing the stream (not as much as I did on my way out) and picked my way quickly across the stones. When I looked up, the girl was standing in the path in front of me. She was less foggy and I remember she had very light skin and dark hair. She was standing there, staring at me, so, of course, I stumbled back and fell on my butt in the water.
And this is where I don’t really remember what happened very well. I remember my butt hitting the rocks (I had a huge bruise later) and the REALLY COLD water. Maybe it was the combination of the pain and the cold, but everything went foggy. I don’t remember pulling myself out of the stream or how I got home, but the next thing I do remember is sitting on the stairs of the cabin, sure I’d been having a conversation with someone, but unable to remember with who or what we said. I’d think I dreamed the whole thing, but my clothes were still damp—and my butt was sore.
It was so easy to convince myself the girl had just been a figment of my over-active imagination. I didn’t say anything to my family, because I didn’t know what to say, but I never went walking alone after that. Thinking back on it now, though, I can’t help but wonder if the girl was really there. Was she a ghost? An angel? A demon? But, see, those things don’t exist… do they?
Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers Publisher: Tor Teen (September 14th, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Paperback: 364 pages Series: Personal Demons, book #1 Frannie Cavanaugh is a good Catholic girl with a bit of a wicked streak. She's spent years keeping everyone at a distance—even her closest friends—and it seems her senior year will be more of the same… until Luc Cain enrolls in her class. No one knows where he came from, but Frannie can't seem to stay away from him. What she doesn't know is that Luc works in Acquisitions—for Hell—and she possesses a unique skill set that has the King of Hell tingling with anticipation. All Luc has to do is get her to sin, and he’s as tempting as they come. Frannie doesn’t stand a chance.
Unfortunately for Luc, Heaven has other plans, and the angel, Gabe, is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that Luc doesn’t get what he came for. And it isn't long before they find themselves fighting for more than just her soul.
But if Luc fails, there will be Hell to pay… for all of them.
Prize:
- 1 winner will receive a signed copy of Personal Demons and swag (bookmarks, and Team Luc and Team Gabe tattoos).
Rules:
- You must be at least 13 to enter.
- Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
- Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
- Contest is US ONLY and ends November 12th.
- Once contacted the winner will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.
- The form must be filled out to enter.
- Thanks so much Lisa for the amazing story and book/swag donation. Go Team Luc.just sayin'; )
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Book Trailer: (And since I AM Team Luc, guess which trailer I picked.ha!)
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