The Romance Reviews

Monday 26 September 2011

Suzannah Safi: 'Purity Dwells Within'... and a new fiction magazine, too

Purity Dwells Within is a story about friendship that became life threatening and frightening. About a husband bound to a wife that used black magic to keep him silent, to use and abuse him emotionally. The story is filled with twists that delve into black magic, devil worship, white magic, and murder. Is about, unholy forces threatens two that fell in love, and a jealous wife wanted to control not only their lives, but also gain evil powers of the beyond and send the two innocent souls to the devil himself.

My husband told me an incident that happened to him when he was young walking through mountains with his cousin years and years ago. The incident with its paranormal activity thrilled me, and I just could not but implement his experience, with some changes, into my story and impose the experience on my character, Hannah.

I used the scene in chapter two, and it fit where I was going with the events perfectly. The scene until today sends chills to my skin, even when I wrote it at night I couldn’t but feel that I want Hannah to get out of the mansion and the forest alive.

As I was writing Purity Dwells Within, I researched if black mirrors exist in black magic. Guess what, I was shocked to find about them and what they are used for! and the way I explained the usage of them suited my story and the events amazingly.

The twists I used throughout my story are a mix of suspense, paranormal, hot romance, and few scary scenes with thriller events.


Purity Dwells Within

Paranormal/thriller/Romance novel


in e-book available now from


eXtasybooks.com

This is the trailer instead of a blurb. Hope you will enjoy it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgKBjwU1RCQ

Below is the scene I talked about above, hope you enjoy reading it. If you are in a dark room open the lights, or not ;)


Outside, the chill of the night hit her heated cheeks with the impact of a thousand tiny needles. Shivers raced along her flesh, whether from the cold or not, she didn’t know, or care. Her open sweater flapped in the breeze as she topped the knoll. Her breath coming in harsh, grating pants she turned one last time and stared at the dark mansion. “Jenny!” she whispered. Tears formed, blurring her vision and stinging her eyes, and the hot scald of tears streaked down the contours of her ice-cold cheeks.

"I’ll come back, I promise.” Hannah turned, her shoulders hunched against the cold. Her mind was a tangled web of thoughts, with only one solidifying as she trudged toward the path that lead back to the car. She had to call someone, the police, or Jenny’s husband – someone. But who would believe her?

Dazed, her breathing ragged, the crunching of dried leaves under her feet the only sound that broke the silence, Hannah trudged forward holding her bag tight against her chest. Leaving Jenny in that awful mansion unsettled her further. Guilt reared its head to go with the terror that still shook her frame.

The silver moon cast mysterious shadows through the woods around her. Watching the shadows dance, her mind replayed every scary movie she used to watch. Hannah paused, studying the now-deserted cafeteria. All the lights were out, the windows reflecting the moonlight. Darkness wrapped around the looming shadow of the building itself. Hannah shivered; the sense of loneliness reached through her and squeezed her heart.

She walked past the cafeteria to turn down a rutted dirt road. At the time, Jenny had said it was a good idea since they would come back in the daylight with other visitors roaming around. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought she would head to the car, alone, terrified, and in the dark. I hate the dark, and this situation, and Jenny for dragging me into it. Hannah sniffled. Happy thoughts. Yes, Hannah nodded, her hands pressed to her mouth to keep the hysterical laughter from spewing forth. She needed happy thoughts to calm her. Snuggled beneath a warm blanket, her two cats in her lap, she’d watched reruns of Lassie on television. Their warm bodies curled up by her knees in bed, the sounds of their purrs loud in the silence, a comforting sound as she fell asleep.

She hurried down the narrow dirt trail. Head bent, arms wrapped tightly around what remained of the tattered bag she’d grabbed and tucked under her arm, she trotted forward.

The soft breeze picked up, moaning and twisting the branches that rasped together. Eerie and uncomfortable, the sound induced a wave of chills that coursed down her spine.

Shaking, her fingers tightened around her sweater, clinging to the weak, invisible shield it offered. Guilt, remorse, and pain tangled within her as she sniffled again. She’d left Jenny back there, alone, terrified, and with that--that monster.

But what could she have done? Hannah couldn’t comprehend what had happened. No one would take her words as truth. The low throb behind her temple sent waves of agony radiating outward. The chirping of crickets, the croak of frogs filled the deserted woods. Slithering creatures glided over the dried leaves that littered the ground. The sound of footsteps grew in volume, hiding the natural rhythm of the woods. Hannah stumbled, her eyes sweeping the trail.

A young boy stepped out of the shelter of the woods, dressed in worn shorts and a dark T-shirt. Silver dapples of light danced off his short black hair, dark obsidian eyes stood out in his pale face. He stood, silent, imposing, in the middle of the dirt road. His clothes aren’t proper for the weather, she thought. There isn’t a house within miles of the mansion. Besides, they don’t allow children on the tours because of the nature of the haunting. Her mind tripped over her thoughts.

“Have you seen my father?” Steady, strong, and clear, there wasn’t a hint of the fear she’d expected a lost child to have.

She stepped toward him until a half smile crept over his face. Instinct, fear, she wasn’t certain, held her in place several paces from the boy.

“No, are you lost?”

“Have you seen my father,” he repeated. Dark, cold, and vicious his eyes narrowed, tracing over her to rest at the throbbing pulse point beneath her chin. His strong, sure voice and smile were as out of place as he was.

Passing him, Hannah hurried toward the car. “No!” she snapped. A small voice whispered discontent. Something in the way he looked at her raised warning flags. The situation didn’t feel right. A gut feeling told her to just keep on moving. Her heart lurched, suspicion clawing its way to the front of her mind. The flesh on her arms crawled at his penetrating stare. Hannah backed away from the boy before she turned and fled. Her feet pounded along the roadway, pausing only once to look over her shoulder.

She couldn’t see him behind her and shuddered at the worry that slammed into her. There had been nothing normal about that boy, she thought. What had he wanted? He wanted something, whatever he was.

“Have you seen my son?” An old man’s monotone from the corner of the dirt road startled her. Peppered hair, deep wrinkled flesh gleamed under the moonlight. Hawk-like, his stare went straight through her. Dressed in a long black cloak, his pale skin stretched over pronounced features. He stood on the edge of the road, staring at her with the same bottomless, ice-filled eyes as the boy. Stagnant, vacant, the look in his eyes left her with an aching sensation, much like a hole within her. With the empty sensation came the growing fear that she’d been trapped in a nightmare with no way to wake up.

She turned slowly and pointed to where she saw the kid behind along the road. “He’s back there,” she said. Just stay away from me.

He tilted his head to one side and a half smile crept on his chapped lips. Or maybe she imagined it? With a final glance at the old man Hannah darted away. Biting her lips, a quick prayer crossing them, Hannah concentrated on the dirt road. Every sense on full alert to the sound of footsteps behind her, she gulped in air. “Just a few more minutes to the car.” The mantra was carried away on the evening breeze. Almost there, just keep on walking.



Cocktails Fiction and Gossip Magazine.

I would like as well to introduce to readers and authors my magazine, Cocktails Fiction and Gossip Magazine.

I have changed the content of the magazine with a new way to give my readers an enjoyable read, and at the same time introduce new authors to them by reading short stories and articles that are not published anywhere other than my magazine.

I’m looking for authors to give the best short stories and article and get paid for it. The magazine is free to my readers, but with a high quality, short stories and articles that will give you the joy you are seeking and provide with new authors you will love reading their stories. The new issue is coming out, January 2012, submission is now open.

For authors interested, please read about it here http://www.wix.com/cocktailsmagazine/fictionandgossip#!about-cm .

Contact me at admin(at)suzannahsafi(dot)com.

Thank you, Lindsay for giving me the opportunity to be here, and I thank you all for reading about ‘Purity Dwells Within’ and my magazine ‘Cocktails Fiction and Gossip Magazine’.

Suzannah Safi
http://www.suzannahsafi.com/

5 comments:

Jane Richardson said...

Oh, my, that IS scary! What a great excerpt!
Just had to come in and say hi to Suzan, who is also an amazing cover artist - there's no end to this woman's talents! I'll definitely be looking into a magazine subscription, too. Hope it's a roaring success!

Jane x

Lindsay Townsend said...

Thanks, Suzan! Beautiful, atmospheric writing - one for sure for my TBR list!

I wish you much success with your magazine - I'll be looking into that, too.

Suzannah Safi said...

Thank you so much, Jane. It's great to be here.
And thank you so much, Lindsay for having me.

Elaine Cantrell said...

Super spooky! good luck with your magazine.

Suzannah Safi said...

Thank you, Elaine!