Bewitched Moon Emergence

Samantha Luna Thorp, a witchy yoga instructor with a deep connection to the moon, has been having nightmares. Her idyllic life in Madison, Wisconsin has been disrupted by the realization that her boyfriend, Dan, isn't the sweet guy she thought he was. On the night of the August full moon, Sam and her bestie, Ashley, attend a kegger in their hometown. When Dan disappears from the party without a word, the girls accept a ride from a handsome stranger.
In the aftermath of an ugly discovery, Sam embarks on a journey of self-exploration. As she finds herself caught between feelings for two different people, her path to happiness is hindered by her own insecurities and Dan's ongoing harassment. Sam seeks counsel from the two women who raised her—her mom and grandmother—but she refuses to turn to her estranged father, even though he may be the only person on the planet who can truly help her.

Main themes: coming of age, female sexuality and empowerment, friendship, love vs. lust, healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, and modern paganism (moon rituals, herbs, crystals, tarot divination, pagan sabbats.)

Content warnings: explicit language, on-the-page sex, narcissistic emotional abuse, suicide

C. R. Stephens is a CPA turned writer, and she hopes that fact doesn't immediately scare readers away. She wrote and self-published her debut novel while also running her own business, volunteering for the PTA, and raising two elementary-aged children with her husband. In her free time, she likes to garden, paint, and play Dungeons and Dragons.