Gibbous Moon

October 03, 2023

Gibbous Moon

by Katie Groom

GENRE: Paranormal Thriller/Romance

Werewolf and professor of literature Hugh spent nearly 200 years to find his soulmate, Zoie, but others betrayed him, working with rivals to take her away in only an instant. Revenge was swift and unsatisfying. More people need to pay for what was stolen from Hugh.

Zoie’s death had been orchestrated by powerful beings in the supernatural world. Exacting revenge will require precision and planning.

Biding his time before acting, Hugh reverts to the patterns that finding true love had disrupted. Walking through life in a fog, he does his best to appear as if he is moving forward, though nothing feels the same.

As Hugh tries to start the next chapter in his life with Rosalie, he is haunted by the memory of Zoie. The literature professor cringes every time he’s reminded that Rosalie doesn’t like to read, but he tells himself that opposites should attract. That Rosalie can patch the hole left in his heart when Zoie died. His revenge will take time, and wallowing in grief won’t help.

Just as Hugh is still focused on revenge, his enemies are still plotting to harm Hugh further. It’s dangerous to oppose a bereaved werewolf, but even werewolves can be hurt.

Read an Excerpt:

Zoie ran, but soon tripped and scraped her hands on a rock and grazed her head against a branch. She glanced over her shoulder every once in a while to shoot flame in his direction. It was inevitable that he was going to catch her.

She heard leaves and twigs in front of her rustling, and there stood Jack, having jumped over or flanked her at some point. “You can’t escape, girlie.” He circled her, taunting her. “I can either kill you and leave you here, or I can leave you within an inch of your life and send you back to your coven, witch.”

She didn’t answer. His circle became smaller with every time around. When he was just in front of her again, Zoie closed her eyes in preparation for what was surely going to be her real death.

Eyes still closed, she heard a struggle and Jack growling and thrashing. She opened her eyes to see. Branches were growing from the trees and wrapping around his wrists and ankles. A dark, thick fog formed across the forest floor, and black vines started to grow and wrap their shapes around Jack, lifting him until he was suspended between two trees.

Zoie fixated on what was happening. The vines wrapped around him, pulling more and more tightly as they climbed his body. She gasped as the vines tightened around his neck, causing Jack to strain to breathe until his throat was entirely crushed. The black vines crawled into his nose and then out of his mouth. Then, they suddenly stopped growing.

About the Author:

Katie Groom grew up in rural Pennsylvania, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Business Management from PITT and her master’s in Employment and Labor Relations from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2016, she decided to move to Alabama in order to avoid as much snow as possible (and to advance her career in Human Resources).

When she isn’t working, Katie enjoys reading, writing, jokingly critiquing movies and TV, and campaigning that the plural of moose should be meese. She also loves to take in live music (especially Hanson) and traveling, with the goal of reaching each of the continents. Katie’s favorite pastime, however, is spending time with her beloved Shih tzu, Delta.

Q&A With the Author:

What was your inspiration for writing this book?
I wanted to continue Hugh’s story. When I originally started writing these stories, it was an escape. But then I started to think about grief and the very real losses that I’ve experienced and the different ways that I’ve gotten through that.
And, this book, for a good portion, is about grief. The different ways that people handle it — some better than others. Sometimes when grief hits, people sink away into themselves or they get revenge or they act out.
But it’s also about the different kinds of events that lead to grief. It’s not just death, though that is obviously an event that can cause grief. But there’s other things that can cause it — being separated from loved ones, isolation, a relationship ending.
It’s important that we all take a moment to have some empathy for others. We never know what they are going through — what grief they may be navigating.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I loved exploring the characters further and creating new characters. Exploring the Nightbrooke world is always exciting for me. I know that I created it, but there’s still so much that is unknown. That’s the beauty of reading and writing, though — as long as there’s more to read and write, there’s always more to learn!
Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?
Right now, I’m actually working on book three of the Cardinal Moon Saga. I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve finished the first draft, and it’s very, very rough. But, that’s almost the point of a first draft — it doesn’t have to be good; it just needs to get the story out there. I’m letting it sit for a couple weeks and then I’ll go back to it and start editing. I hope to have it sent to my publisher for review by US Thanksgiving.
Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future?
After I complete the trilogy, I have a duology for the Saga that I’m going to be working on. On the personal side of things, I plan to start learning the viola.
Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?
Just that I’m greatly appreciative of everyone that has read, reviewed, or liked and shared a post with information about my work. It’s such a big honor that anyone would take the time to do so. Thank you. :)