Book excerpt: 1976. New Orleans. The Deschanel siblings are parents themselves now, and they must leave their own childhoods behind forever. Charles, the playboy, is torn between love for his son and heir, and the prospect of having children with a woman who is far more welcoming and loving than his wife. Augustus, the fixer, now a widower, loses himself in the one thing that still gives his life meaning: Anasofiya. Colleen, the adherent, is married to the love of her life, and mother to a new daughter, but faces a new challenge as she is asked to step into the shoes of the family matriarch. Evangeline, the genius, falls nicely into her new world in Cambridge, but must soon confront the same fears she’d hoped to escape by leaving home. Maureen, the haunted, has her life turned upside down by a most unlikely connection. Elizabeth, the anguished, prepares for adulthood by pouring herself into being a caretaker for her brother and niece, carefully avoiding her own future that she’s seen clearly, and horribly, so many times. As the family progresses through the seventies, they’ll discover the power of secrets, lies, and a fate they cannot escape, no matter how wealthy or powerful they are. Search terms: witches, wizards, family of witches, New Orleans, Louisiana, Southern Gothic, complex characters, wealthy families, sorcery, magic, paranormal romance, romance, love triangle, forbidden love, first love, Norway, lore, fate, plantation, playboy, bestseller, bestselling, USA Today bestseller, historical, the seventies