Darker Forces
Adolescence is chaotic under normal circumstances but little is normal in Deborah LeBlanc's fourth novel, Morbid Curiosity, in which a set of teenage twin sisters believes that Chaos Magic will help them gain control over their liveslives that have fallen apart since their father died.
Their mother, unable to handle the father's death, has had a breakdown. With no one to care for them, the twins move to their grandparents' whom they hardly know to attend a new high school. The school is large and overwhelming. In this vulnerable state, Haley, one of the twins, falls under the influence of the popular girl who promises change if Haley performs certain dark rituals.
Nationwide, Chaos Magic is popular with older teens, LeBlanc says. For true Chaos Magic to happen you have to create a sigil, which is a picture that represents what the practitioner wants. A sigil is endowed with powers by charging it with an extreme act such as cutting or committing a sexual act.
"It's believed that if the conjurer doesn't know what he's doing, the sigil can turn back on you," says LeBlanc. "There are a lot of parents that don't have a clue their teens are involved in it. The book addresses an issue out there that most people aren't aware of."
Deborah LeBlanc was born in Lafayette, Louisiana. In addition to writing novels, she runs a fuel inventory management company and a consulting firm for funeral services. She is also a trained Cajun Treateur (healer). In 2004, Deborah created the LeBlanc Literacy Challenge, an annual national campaign designed to encourage more people to read.
