Stop and Smell the Aromagic (The Sisters of Luna Island Blog Tour)
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Welcome to The Sisters of Luna Island Blog Tour!
To celebrate the release of The Sisters of Luna Island by Stacy Hackney on April 12th, 5 blogs will be featuring exclusive guest posts from Stacy throughout the week, as well as 5 chances to win!
Stop and Smell the Aromagic
by Stacy Hackney
I’ve always loved beautiful scents, whether it’s the jasmine candle burning in my office, the cinnamon in a home-baked apple pie, or the magnolia bloom adorning a bowl on my coffee table. A smell is a powerful thing, capable of relaxing us, energizing us, or perhaps most poignantly, recreating a moment in time. My mom always wore Beautiful perfume by Estée Lauder. I can so clearly remember hugging her and leaning into that rose and lily scented fragrance. After she died and I was cleaning out her drawers, I pulled out a scarf and the same floral scent clung to the fabric. It was almost as if my mom was still standing beside me, pulling me into a hug.
The power of scent is what inspired the magic system in THE SISTERS OF LUNA ISLAND. The Lafleur family have the gift of aromagic; the ability to create magical charms by blending different flowers, spices, and herbs together. Each family member also has a specific talent related to scent. The main character, Marigold, can smell secrets. Her mother can smell fears, and her sisters can smell broken rules and longed-for wishes.
In the process of creating the aromagic system in THE SISTERS OF LUNA ISLAND, I read about the history of perfume, essential oils, and their early roots in alchemy. It seems that scent and magic have always gone together. I also discovered that many early perfumers were women, and the aromagic power in my book passes from mother to daughter. I created an entire aromagic manual which lists each scent used in the story, along with its magical properties. Every chapter begins with a description of a new scent and its abilities. In the name of research, I ordered at least fifty different essential oils to sniff for inspiration!
Though aromagic is obviously a figment of my imagination, I do believe there is something magical in the real-life scents all around us. THE SISTERS OF LUNA ISLAND was written to capture that idea. If you stop and take a deep breath, a whiff of suntan lotion could momentarily transport you to a tropical island, or the smell of burning firewood might send you to a cozy winter cabin. Lavender can help you sleep and eucalyptus can relieve your stress. But most importantly, a scent can offer the gift of a memory—comforting and true and a little bittersweet—like a mother’s arms circling around you one last time.
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Little Women gets a Nevermoor twist in this bewitching novel about a young girl tasked to break a centuries-old curse or risk losing her beloved sisters.
Twelve-year-old Marigold Lafleur is the last of a long line of aromages: witches who blend scents into practical charms using aromagic. But ever since a terrible accident injured her father and damaged Luna Island, Marigold and her sisters, Birdie and Lou, have vowed to abandon their family legacy and mama’s way of life. Shunned by their neighbors and overlooked by their parents, Marigold relies on her big sisters above all else.
But when Marigold discovers a secret curse that threatens her family, her sisters can’t stop the impending danger. It’s up to Marigold and her best friend, Sam, to uncover the origins of the curse and break the spell. To do so, she must learn to trust her instincts and believe in her own unique magic or risk losing her beloved sisters forever.
Stacy Hackney grew up in Virginia where she spent her early years forcing the neighborhood kids into performing plays she wrote, reading everything she could get her hands on, and singing in the school choir. She graduated from Wake Forest University with a BA in English literature and received a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. She currently lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband, four sons, and their rescue dog named Albert. Stacy is the author of Forever Glimmer Creek and Sisters of Luna Island.
GIVEAWAY
- One (1) winner will receive a hardcover of The Sisters of Luna Island by Stacy Hackney!
- US/Can only
- Ends 4/24 at 11:59pm ET
- Check out the other stops on the tour for more chances to win!
Blog Tour Schedule:
April 11th – Imagination Soup
April 12th – Bookhounds
April 13th – Book Briefs
April 14th – YA Book Nerd
April 15th – YA Books Central
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Can’t wait to learn more about the curse!
The magic system and the use of scent sounds so interesting! I love the cover too!
I can’t wait to find out what the secret curse is.