Blog Tour and Giveaway: Enchantment by Charlotte Abel

Today I have the privilege of taking part in Charlotte Abel's awesome Enchantment tour. Have you read any of Charolotte's books? Well, here's a taste of what Enchantment is all about:

Sixteen year old Channie Kerns leads an idyllic life of seclusion and magic deep in the Ozark Mountains ... until her family is forced to flee for their lives.
They leave everything and everyone behind to start over in Louisville, Colorado. Magic is forbidden while they are in hiding, but Channie can't resist the temptation to enchant a group of local boys. When her overbearing parents catch her flirting with these "sex-crazed, non-magical delinquents," they slap a chastity spell on her to protect her virtue.
The spell is triggered by lust, so just navigating the halls at her new school is an ordeal. She can't even touch a boy she's attracted to without blasting him with a jolt of magical energy that feels like a taser.
When Channie falls in love with Josh Abrim, a BMX racer with dangerous secrets of his own, she rebels against her parents and turns to dark and forbidden magic to break the chastity spell ... with disastrous results.

For my leg of this tour, I got to ask Charlotte any question I wanted to ask her! Fun, right? Well, I thought since her book is filled with supernatural I would ask her something along those lines. So here's what I came up with and here's her answer!

Charlotte, I'd like to know how you think it would affect our world if everyone had a magical power.

For this guest post, I was asked to explore what our world would be like if everyone had a magical power.

My guess is that it wouldn’t be much different than it is right now. Magic is a metaphor for power. There are and always have been powerful people in this world. Some use that power for good, some for evil, and some for their own selfish goals that are neither good nor evil.

Okay. That’s boring the crap outta me. I don’t do philosophical generalities very well. I’ll leave that to the literary folks. Let’s scale it back and explore how magic might affect a small community or an ordinary family. Or, better yet, a dysfunctional family. Oh wait…I’ve already done that. It’s called “The Channie Series.” Just kidding. Sort of.

Magic in fiction has to have rules, limitations, and consequences—or you have no conflict, and thus no story. So let’s set up some rules.

1. You can’t bring people back from the dead
2. You can’t make anyone fall in love
3. You can’t see the future or change the past
4. You can’t read minds
5. Using magic drains your life force. The more you use it, the quicker you die.

There would be more, but this is enough to get started…

Let’s do pros and cons for different powers:

Invisibility
Pros: You could spy on people. You could hide from people. (I’d love to be invisible when I’m in the middle of a good book and it’s time to cook supper).

Cons: People could spy on you. Kids could hide from parents. National security would be even more of a nightmare. Criminals would be impossible to catch.

I think I’ll have to vote “NO” on the power of invisibility.

Healing
Pros: No sickness, no pain, no mental illness…sounds like Heaven to me.

Cons: Extended life expectancy might strain financial resources, like Social Security, but it would be worth it. If everyone could heal themselves, the entire medical industry would collapse.

I vote “YES” for the power to heal.

Telekinesis
Pros: You could make stuff move. How cool is that? You could clear the table without getting up. Send the laundry upstairs without having to carry it. Feed a baby, restrain a toddler and get dinner out of the oven all at the same time. Lazy-ass men could get their own beers during a football game without missing a single play.
Cons: Most people need the exercise. Telekinesis would definitely make me lazy. And since using magic drains life force, I’d die waaaay too young.

I still vote “yes” but without the all-caps.

Super Powers
Okay, this is one that needs its own set of limitations. You can make yourself super-strong, super-fast, enhance your hearing, eyesight and reflexes. But it doesn’t last and it’s very draining afterwards, leaving you weaker than normal.

Pros: It would be great in emergencies. Especially for EMTs, firemen, police, search and rescue.

Cons: Our heroes would burn themselves out even faster than they already do. Sacrificing themselves for others.

I’m “undecided” on this one.

I’d love to hear what others think about this. What are some magical abilities that you’ve wondered about? How would they affect you and those around you?  How could these powers be used or abused?

Thanks so much for answering my question, Charlotte. I loved what you said! It's been awesome having you here with me today! Looking forward to hearing more from you in the future!
Charlotte has generously donated a signed paperback copy of Enchantment and a signed paperback copy of Taken. Scroll down to fill out the Rafflecopter!

Charlotte Abel was born and raised in Oklahoma where she met her soulmate, Pete. She chased him to Boulder, Colorado and finally convinced him they were meant to be together forever. They've raised three kids, two ferrets, three dogs and countless hamsters -- and are still happily married.

She's in love with "real" life and paranormal romance. When she's not reading or writing, Charlotte enjoys hiking, bicycling and primitive archery (although she's never shot at anything other than a target!)

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