River of Ashes Alexandrea Weis & Lucas Astor (St. Benedict, #1) Published by: Vesuvian Books Publication date: August 2nd 2022 Genres: Adult, Psychological Thriller
“A psychological portrait akin to Lord of the Flies.” ~Midwest Book Review
SOME TRUTHS ARE BETTER KEPT SECRET. SOME SECRETS ARE BETTER OFF DEAD.
ALONG THE BANKS OF THE BOGUE FALAYA RIVER, sits the abandoned St. Francis Seminary. Beneath a canopy of oaks, blocked from prying eyes, the teens of St. Benedict High gather here on Fridays. The rest of the week belongs to school and family—but weekends belong to the river.
And the river belongs to Beau Devereaux.
The only child of a powerful family, Beau can do no wrong. Star quarterback. Handsome. Charming. The “prince” of St. Benedict is the ultimate catch.
He is also a psychopath.
A dirty family secret buried for years, Beau’s evil grows unchecked. In the shadows of the haunted abbey, he commits unspeakable acts on his victims and ensures their silence with threats and intimidation. Senior year, Beau sets his sights on his girlfriend’s headstrong twin sister, Leslie, who hates him. Everything he wants but cannot have, she will be his ultimate prize.
As the victim toll mounts, it becomes clear that someone must stop Beau Devereaux.
Andrea leaned away from him, listening. “What’s that?”
Beau nuzzled her neck. “Wild dogs. They live on The Abbey grounds. There’s a couple of legends about them.”
“What legends?” She stepped out of his embrace.
He watched her hips beneath her coat. “They say the dogs stay around The Abbey waiting for the lady in white. She was a gamekeeper for the seminary school and a lover of one of the monks. She died on the grounds, betrayed by the man she loved. Her dogs were kept to manage the varmint population. The wild dogs are said to be their offspring.”
Beau slipped the coat from her shoulders. “The gamekeeper was found hanging from a tree in a white hooded cloak. It was all kept very hush-hush at the time. After the woman’s death, the dogs roamed the grounds and lived off the land. They’re said to only appear when death is near.”
Beau looked at Andrea to see if she was sufficiently unnerved.
“That’s just creepy.” She glanced at his hands as he tugged at her jeans. “But a guy who brings girls to these abandoned cells is into creepy.”
He liked the image the cells portrayed. It was his laboratory, like he’d read about in Frankenstein, where he could experiment and create his own monsters.
Author Bio:
Alexandrea Weis, RN-CS, PhD, is a multi-award-winning author of over twenty-seven novels, a screenwriter, ICU Nurse, and historian who was born and raised in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Having grown up in the motion picture industry as the daughter of a director, she learned to tell stories from a different perspective and began writing at the age of eight. Infusing the rich tapestry of her hometown into her novels, she believes that creating vivid characters makes a story moving and memorable. A member of the Horror Writers Association and International Thriller Writers Association, Weis writes mystery, suspense, thrillers, horror, crime fiction, and romance. She lives with her husband and pets in New Orleans where she is a permitted/certified wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries and rescues orphaned and injured animals.
Lucas Astor is from New York, has resided in Central America and the Middle East, and traveled through Europe. He lives a very private, virtually reclusive lifestyle, preferring to spend time with a close-knit group of friends than be in the spotlight.
He is an author and poet with a penchant for telling stories that delve into the dark side of the human psyche. He likes to explore the evil that exists, not just in the world, but right next door behind a smiling face.
Photography, making wine, and helping endangered species are just some of his interests. Lucas is an expert archer and enjoys jazz, blues, and classical music.
One of his favorite quotes is: “It’s better to be silent than be a fool.” ~Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)
I got the idea and the motivation to start doing Tackling The TBR from All The Book Blog Names Are Taken.
It has helped me to keep track of my reading shelf as far as current
events and I also started doing a post for Books From The Backlog,
from Carole’s Random Life in Books,
to tidy up my shelves. I feel better about my out of control TBR and
have even knocked off a couple of those old ones that had been
hanging around for years.
I love the cover for The Graveyard Speaks by Hunter Shea. I went back and forth on the review rating between a two and a three. If you can get if for free, I would grab it.
The story is predictable, easy to read, and just deep enough to hold my interest to the end.
That being said, I have read several other books by Hunter Shea and enjoyed them, so I will keep my eyes open for more.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
“Some secrets can t stay buried. “
Deep in a dark, snow-covered cemetery, a terrifying, moaning apparition rises from the same grave night after night. Even the most hardened caretakers won t go near the Spooner gravestone on their midnight rounds. Only one ghost hunter has the will to face the unknown, but at what price? In the chilling blackness, only Jessica Backman is prepared to answer the spectral cry from beyond when the graveyard speaks.
ABOUT HUNTER SHEA
Hunter Shea is the product of a misspent childhood
watching scary movies, reading forbidden books and wishing Bigfoot
would walk past his house. He’s the author of over 17 books, including
The Jersey Devil (Pinnacle 2016)), Tortures of the Damned (Pinnacle
2015), and We Are Always Watching (Sinister Grin). Hunter’s novels can
even be found on display at the International Cryptozoology Museum.
The Montauk Monster (Pinnacle 2014) was named one of the best reads of
the summer by Publishers Weekly. He was selected to be part of the
launch of Samhain Publishing’s new horror line in 2011 alongside
legendary author Ramsey Campbell. His video podcast, Monster Men, is
one of the most watched horror podcasts in the world. Living with his
crazy and supportive family and two cats, he’s happy to be close enough to New York City to see the skyline without having to pay New York rent.
Love’s Last Kiss Sharon Wray (a Deadly Force Novel) Publication date: May 17th 2022 Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense
Is love worth risking everything for?
Rose Guthrie, a reluctant erotic dancer, hasn’t trusted anyone since her parents’ death. Yet, to make money for her brother’s heart transplant, she agrees to deliver a sealed box to a mysterious buyer. Until the box—and the seller—disappear. Not surprised by the betrayal, her situation becomes more dangerous when she learns that a brutal arms dealer, known as the Prince, also wants the box and will kill everyone she loves for it. With one clue left, she breaks into Doom—Savannah’s violent, illegal fight club. Unfortunately, Doom’s referee—the sexy, ex-Army Ranger, Kade Dolan—stands in her way. Although she harbors a secret attraction to Kade, she can’t let him stop her. If she doesn’t deliver the box on time, she’ll lose everything. Including her own life.
Rose doesn’t trust disgraced Army Ranger, ex-con Kade Dolan, but that’s okay—he doesn’t trust himself either. Why? Because he lies to everyone about everything, including his time in Leavenworth and his job as an illegal fight club referee. Then there are his two side gigs. The first as an informant for the Prince, the leader of a secret, two-thousand-year-old private army. The second, loving from afar the beautiful, secretive Rose Guthrie. After the Prince discovers Rose is the courier of a lost 18th century artifact, he orders Kade to help her find the box before their greatest enemy does. If they succeed, Kade must return it to the Prince. If they fail, Kade must kill her.
Betrayal or death. When faced with an impossible choice, Kade can’t lie anymore, at least not when it comes to what he’s about to do the woman he loves. But when Rose uncovers Kade’s lies, they learn a terrible truth—the 18th century box holds a secret far deadlier than they imagined. A secret that could destroy them all.
Kade rubbed his forehead with his fist. How could he have made such a terrible mistake?
Since meeting Rose, he’d been unable to stay away from her, even when he’d barely known her. And now that they’d made love, he wasn’t sure he could leave her.
Yet, while he’d admitted his growing love for Rose, he’d also left out the most important details of his life. And Rose wasn’t stupid. She had to suspect he was hiding things. It was probably why, despite the passion she’d shown in his arms, she hadn’t spoken her own feelings aloud.
He couldn’t blame her. He was neither a prince nor charming. He was a man in an impossible situation. A man in love with a woman who had trust issues. A man who rarely asked for help because it made one beholden to others. A man about to commit the rest of his life to a murderous cult that dated back centuries.
He opened his eyes, determined to crush his pity party. Rose needed him, and they still had work to do. They had twenty-eight hours to meet the Prince’s deadline, and they still had no idea where to find that box.
When he saw the cup of hot coffee on his bedside table, his throat closed up. He’d never get enough of her sexually, but her inherent thoughtfulness was what made his heart brim with other unfamiliar emotions. Emotions he struggled to understand, much less define.
Yes, he loved her. But his feelings for her were so much more intense than he’d expected. Then again, other than Nin and his mother, he had little experience in loving women. Infrequent sex with random females from the club didn’t count.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and moved slowly, testing each tight muscle group before standing upright. Unfortunately, King George, who’d been guarding the bathroom door, decided Kade had committed an Act of Aggression. The cat bared his teeth.
Kade held out his hands and backed up. “Whoa, kitty.”
He hit the edge of the bed and fell onto his naked ass. The pillow flew across the room, and King George pounced after it. A moment later, Rose emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body. Wet strands of hair hung past her shoulders.
He drew the throw blanket over his lap and tried not to stare at her bare thighs. The towel acted more like a short, strapless dress, exposing way too much soft, bare skin.
The cat hissed at him again, and she shooed him away. “King George, be nice!”
The cat left the room with his back arched and his tail high in the air. As if to say to Kade, kiss this.
“I’m sorry.” Rose clutched the towel, keeping it tight around herself. “I’d like to say King George isn’t normally this nasty in the morning, but that would be a lie.”
Actually, Kade wasn’t thinking about the cat at all. He was too distracted by the drops of water that rolled down the curve of her neck and slipped between her breasts. His body hardened with one part in particular becoming almost painful. Needing a distraction, he took the mug and inhaled the scent of roasted beans. “I don’t mind King George. Nin had a cat like that once. It took a while, but I eventually won her over.”
She took a step forward. “How long is ‘a while’?”
He sipped his coffee and sighed. It was perfect. Hot, black, and not too bitter. “Seven years.”
She laughed and shifted awkwardly, her hands grasping the towel. “You don’t give up, do you?”
“Never.”
Author Bio:
Sharon is a librarian who once studied dress design in the couture houses of Paris and now writes of novels of suspense, adventure, and love. A caretaker of Donut the one-eyed rescue dog, she’s addicted to snapping photos and eating Oreos.
She writes the bestselling Deadly Force romantic suspense series where smart, sexy women teach their alpha males that Grace always defeats Reckoning.
Roni Wright thought she had everything; huge home, successful husband, kids, and a brilliant career. That is until the worse pandemic in 100 years swept away the shallow façade of her life and she nearly lost it all.
This is the story of how a broken family navigated the most difficult year of their lives and found hope in the middle of so much loss. You will recognize many of the things that nearly broke us all as we struggled with pandemic restrictions and the new normal. But you will cheer as they work their way out of darkness into a better world.
Book Details
Genre: Family & Relationship, Biographical Fiction
Published by: Fossil Creek Press
Publication Date: May 2022
Number of Pages: 170
ISBN: 978-1-7362417-2-1
Purchase Links:Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Read an excerpt:
April 2020 – When It Rains, It Pours
On April 1, I picked up my calendar, as I did at the beginning of every month—usually to see what we had coming up and to schedule more—and started crossing off everything. I had already crossed off the March trip to Paris. Now I crossed off this month’s planned trip to the banking conference in San Francisco. I slashed through the conference in New York. And with a little more pain, I crossed off the two Broadway shows to which I had tickets. An old college girlfriend was going to go with me to one and Dan the other. Broadway closed. New York closed. All crossed off, as was the St. Louis Symphony concert to which we had tickets. Canceled. Hockey, canceled. Three birthday parties, canceled. My appointment at the nail salon, canceled. Hairdresser, canceled. Canceled, canceled, canceled. April was looking so gloomy.
The only exercise I was getting was walking through one of our beautiful parks with the kids. Sometimes, we took bikes and rode a trail. But with April came gloom and rain and even that little bit of escape became impossible. Then the St. Louis County Executive closed all county parks. We were now required to wear a mask if we were out in public, especially indoors, and to stay six feet apart wherever we were. The gloom was growing daily. My life had no order. We were in free fall.
On April 9, we got a big shot in the arm, as it were, when $2,400 appeared in our checking account—a gift from the U.S. government. Officially the money was part of the Economic Impact Payment, but the payments were more often called stimulus checks. We just called it salvation. Like many families, we weren’t sure how we would make ends meet. This money was a gift from heaven—or the government, depending on your point of view.
By the second week of April, our school district was making an effort at learning. They asked parents to pick up “home learning packets” from the school. When I drove up to the school, someone handed me the packet for our kids’ grade levels. But when I got home, there was little explanation about the work. It was terribly disorganized and made little sense to me. Katlin wanted to learn more, and Oliver wanted to learn less. I just wanted more alcohol. Lots more. I decided hard times called for hard alcohol. Wine was OK now with lunch, but by dinner time, I needed a cocktail.
I set up a place in the basement family room for the kids to study. I tried hard to make Oliver work on letters and sight words. He would work with me for maybe thirty minutes, then he’d start disrupting everything I did. He’d rip papers and run away. Meanwhile, Katlin was trying to figure out her lessons with great frustration. She didn’t know what was wanted of her, and I couldn’t figure it out either. Oliver did everything in his considerable ability to disrupt our efforts. Most sessions ended with all three of us crying.
Not only was I failing at trying to teach my kids, I was failing at keeping them out of Nathan’s living room office. Every time Oliver ran away from me, he ran right into one of Nathan’s meetings. No order. No peace. No joy.
—
Excerpt from Finding Light in a Lost Year by Carin Fahr Shulusky. Copyright 2022 by Carin Fahr Shulusky. Reproduced with permission from Carin Fahr Shulusky. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Carin Fahr Shulusky was born and raised in west St. Louis County. She attended the University of Missouri, Columbia, where she received a B.J (Bachelor of Journalism). After college she worked in advertising for GE and Monsanto. She was the first professional woman in her division of each. After 25 years in Marketing, she created her own firm, Marketing Alliance. She was president of Marketing Alliance, from 2002 – 2014. She is a past-president of the Business Marketing Association of St. Louis. Carin Fahr is married to Richard Shulusky. They have two grown children and one marvelous granddaughter. Grandma Carin has a life long love of cooking, even writing her own cookbook. In 2014 Carin retired to devote full time to writing. Her first book, In the Middle was inspired by her own battle to care for her beloved mother, Dorothy Fahr. Many of the stories Carrie Young’s mother tells her in In the Middle came from Carin’s mother. Carin is a lifelong member of Pathfinder Church in Ellisville, Missouri, where she volunteers in early childhood.
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!
This is a giveaway hosted by Providence Book Promotions for Finding Light in a Lost Year by Carin Fahr Shulusky. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.
I will start this post with Marc Layton’s short story/novella of The Galston House. By joining his list at https://BookHip.com/VAXMBXC you can download this exclusive FREE story!
Clarence Lamb is the Sheriff of Moreton and has cuffed his share of human evil, but there was something chilling, otherworldly about The Galston House and he vowed to never visit after dark.
Clive and Adrian Done felt like they stole The Galston House, that the price was too good to be true. Was it?
The Sheriff felt he should warn them about the history of the house, but they already knew it and were not worried about it. Would they live to regret it?
A quick read and suitably creepy haunted house story.
Josef didn’t want to believe that it was true. That the inmates were running the asylum. He and his men were waiting to be scooped up as POW’s as the Reich fell, but that was not to be. They were being sent to the most important place in Germany and Josef felt the oddness as they approached their destination. They were at Site One in search for The Spear of Destiny.
Creepy, brutal and savage, with more to come. Quite different from The Galston House and I got caught up in the evil. I was surprised at how much was packed into such a quick read, filled with action
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Dark Offerings by Marc Layton.
4 Stars
ABOUT MARC LAYTON
Join Marc Layton’s VIP Readers Group and receive his exclusive & FREE novella. Copy and paste the following link into your browser and start reading:
International Bestselling Author. Marc Layton’s passion for writing spine-chilling stories full of intrigue and suspense was born out of his travels around the globe. He felt inspired by the places he visited and the people he connected with and was motivated to pursue writing, so he could share these stories with the world. A voracious reader of thriller and horror stories himself, it was only natural that he would dive into this genre. Marc Layton is currently living in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Mermaid of Paris Jincey Lumpkin (Mermaid of Venice, #4) Publication date: May 16th 2022 Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
The latest action-packed installment in the Mermaid of Venice series finds Gia Acquaviva, the world’s most famous mermaid, reconnecting with a mysterious man from her past. Will he punish Gia and get the revenge he deserves––or will they fall in love all over again?
Meanwhile, Gia attempts to rebuild her broken business empire just as the Mermaid world descends into a bitter and dangerous civil war. Gia already picked her allies, but will she make good on her promises––or will she cut sail when the winds shift?
Fans of Killing Eve and Fifty Shades of Grey will love the Mermaid of Venice series. These page-turning thrillers have lush fantasy elements and showcase the billionaire lifestyle that you secretly covet.
When Florent’s jet landed and he exited the plane, Moussa led his people in a round of applause. After much embracing, Moussa escorted Florent onto Gia’s plane.
Florent wore a sweater, just like the last time she’d seen him, several months ago. He carried a Domenico Vacca alligator duffle—a custom bag that cost him no less than eighty grand.
“Bon soir, Gia,” Florent said, lowering his head to nod hello. “These days you can’t seem to stay out of trouble, can you?”
Gia wanted to gain the upper hand, to throw him a little, so she gingerly pulled the cashmere blanket off her chest—exposing her breasts—and moved Serena to the other side to continue her feeding.
The plan worked. Florent was transfixed.
“I would get up,” Gia whispered, “but as you see, I am dealing with a hungry baby.”
Florent’s eyes flashed, and in that blaze echoed a multitude of memories, unrealized dreams and resentments. Over the years he had fantasized about everything from embedding himself back in Gia’s life and marrying her, to strangling her and tossing her in the ocean. And now, here she was right in front of him, chest exposed, the very picture of radiant motherhood combined with unfettered sexuality. It was difficult for him to reconcile this scene with what he knew to be true about her—her killer instinct, to be specific. After all, he had the scar to prove just how dark her true impulses were.
Moussa shifted from one foot to the other and swallowed hard as he watched the pair before him. He offered a brief, “ahem,” and broke the awkward silence. “Bisset, how long before we leave for the port?”
“I have a fleet of trucks coming in half an hour,” Florent replied, finally tearing his eyes away from Gia.
“Then I have some work to do to get everyone ready.” Moussa bowed at Florent before heading down to wrangle the merfolk, happy to leave the plane.
When Moussa was gone, Florent sat across from Gia, trying not to fidget. He wanted to telegraph an air of cool serenity. Gia, of course, didn’t buy it.
“Why are you here, Florent?”
“I want to help. Am I not a gentleman, Gia?”
“I never knew you to be one, no.”
“Then you don’t know me.”
Gia studied his face, narrowing her eyes. “I find it odd that you harbor an impulse to help in any circumstance that involves me.”
Florent smirked. “Oh, but you see, Gia, I’ve been waiting for the moment you need me the most. I have been watching and waiting for a very long time. What luck,” he commented, raising his eyebrows. “It appears that the moment I anticipated has finally arrived.”
Author Bio:
JINCEY LUMPKIN is a writer and creative director in Luxury Beauty. She is the author of the Mermaid of Venice fantasy thriller series. Recognized as a thought leader on women and culture, Jincey has written more than 50 columns for the Huffington Post and Playboy. She headlined Sex Week at Harvard and gave an infamous TEDx talk, “Are Robots the Future of Sex?” She has been profiled by Dateline NBC, Vice, and GQ, among others. Out Magazine listed her in its “OUT 100”, naming her as one of the world’s most influential LGBTQ+ people, alongside celebrities like Laverne Cox and Ricky Martin.
If you have been coming to fundinmental for a while, you probably know how much a cover can influence me. That is why I invited Barbara Casey here to tell us her thoughts. Take it away Barbara.
THE ARTFUL EXPRESSION OF BOOK COVERS
One of the things I am most pleased about in
writing The F.I.G. Mysteries is the fact that my publisher is also a
professional and extremely talented artist. From the beginning when she first
published Book 1 – The Cadence of Gypsies
– she sensed the emotional tenderness underlying the story. The cover she
designed – an obscure symbol found in the Voynich Manuscript – expressed that
emotional tenderness perfectly. At that time, I wrote The Cadence of Gypsies as a stand-alone novel. After it was published,
however, my publisher convinced me to expand it into a series. The original
cover metamorphosed into something different that was perfect because it now
tied in with the other covers on The Wish
Rider, The Clock Flower, The Nightjar’s Promise, and now, The Seraphim’s Song.
Each cover symbolizes the main underlying
theme of the book in a beautiful and sensitive expression. Books 1 through 4
have focused on the personal emotional journeys of Carolina and the females of intellectual
genius as they search for answers to explain why they were placed in an
orphanage and who their biological parents were. With those answers for the
most part found, The Seraphim’s Song elevates
Carolina and the F.I.G.s to another level of understanding. There are new
questions; more answers are needed. This involves an ancient artifact that, in
fact, is a key to all knowledge in the universe that has been hidden in a cave
in China for as long as the planet Earth has existed. The cover shows a “key”
surrounded by colors of the universe. It is beautiful, and it is perfect.
It is really nice to visit with you again. Thank you for inviting me and for your continued interest in my books. All best to you and your bloggers. ~Barbara
I am so happy to have you here and look forward to ‘seeing’ you again soon, Barbara.
The Seraphim’s Song by Barbara Casey
GENRE: Fiction/Mystery
BLURB
Book
5 – The F.I.G. Mysteries
Many changes have taken
place at Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women while Carolina and
Larry were on their honeymoon in Frascati, Italy, on the Granchelli farm. The
newlyweds have been given a larger bungalow; Ms. Alcott, niece of the founder
of Wood Rose, and Mrs. Ball, assistant to the headmaster, have moved into a
bungalow together; and Jimmy Bob, caretaker and night watchman at Wood Rose has
moved from his family home down the road a bit into a small bungalow on the
orphanage property with his hound dog Tick, as well as his new cat and her
litter of kittens. Most important, thanks to the persuasive powers of Ms.
Alcott and Mrs. Ball, the F.I.G.s have been given a forever home at Wood Rose.
Summer is coming to an
end and the F.I.G.s will soon return to the universities to complete their
special projects. They are starting to feel anxious, and the coping mechanisms
they have used their entire lives are starting to work overtime. Dara’s
thoughts turn to an unknown language, possibly from another world; Mackenzie
focuses on the relationship of math to music; and Jennifer keeps hearing the
note of B flat minor and is drawing dark swirls on her canvas board.
Deadly forces and
natural disasters are unleashed into the world when Milosh, the evil young man
who placed a curse on Carolina when she searched for her mother, steals an
ancient artifact—a “key”—from an archaeological site near Puli, China on the
Yellow Sea where he is working. This artifact, when paired with a certain
note—B flat minor known as the Seraphim’s song—opens a portal that enables man
to communicate with the gods.
When the key gets lost
in a storm, Carolina comes into possession of it through Jimmy Bob’s dog, Tick,
and when she does, she hears Lyuba, her gypsy mother, tell her that time is
running out. The F.I.G.s and Carolina must go to the forbidden cave on the
Yellow Sea, the place where the early gypsies are believed to have settled
before travelling into Europe. For it is there where the key must be returned
before all is destroyed.
EXCERPT
As she usually did in the early, pre-dawn hours, Lyuba was
digging roots, in the dark of the crescent moon, and every so often replanting
a good piece of a root to grow next year.
The day before she had picked herbs, during that time when the essential
oils are at their strongest, before they could get evaporated by the midday
sun. Where she searched was her favorite
place, the place where the energies were strongest. Surprisingly, it was the old church graveyard
built on a slight mound just outside of the rural Italian village of Frascati,
which is why the other gypsy women stayed away.
Unlike Lyuba, they feared being so near the dead. They believed that
being near death would hasten their own, therefore they refused to go there.
Lyuba, however, saw death as the natural and necessary progression of life, in
another form, in a different dimension. She found comfort and solace in its
nearness.
A creek ran nearby, and a tall, unkempt yew tree grew near
the entrance to the graveyard, poisonous, but giving off positive
energies. It was a place Lyuba knew
well, having discovered it from earlier times when the travelers came this way.
It was there where she found peace.
She would prepare her potions from the roots, bark, and hard
seeds she gathered and make decoctions by soaking them overnight and boiling
them the next day. Some of the
decoctions she would add honey or sugar to; others she would thicken into syrup
or add lard to make ointments and salves.
The freshest herbs she saved for her oils.
Once her potions were ready, she would take them into the
village to sell. Coughs or colds,
rheumatism, cuts and bruises, burns—it didn’t matter. She knew what remedy was necessary to relieve
pain, create lustrous hair, revive the impotent, whiten teeth, cure
constipation, or simply heal the broken spirit.
Unlike others who only pretended, she had the gift.
As she scraped pieces of root and bark, and gently picked
the seeds from the plants she revered, she suddenly paused, aware of something
different in the air around her—an unseen potent force. She stood up and,
closing her eyes, listened quietly as she sniffed the air. There was an
unfamiliar strangeness surrounding her. She felt the slight tremor of the earth
and somewhere very far away, she heard the low-pitched hum.
It was a sound she knew well for it had been given to every
civilization from the beginning of time. Used in all of the major
religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Zoroastrianism and
Christianity—it was the sacred universal sound.
A single sustained note, a mantra, it was the melody of the angel that
acted as the means of communication between the gods in the heavens and the
humans on earth. It was the seraphim’s song.
But something was wrong; the single note was slightly
off-key. The pitch wasn’t quite right. Then, because she was a choovihni and
had the knowledge of the universe coursing through her veins, a cosmic
consciousness that had been passed down to her from her mother, her
grandmother, and her great grandmothers through all time, she sensed darkness
and evil.
AUTHOR Bio and Links
Originally from
Carrollton, Illinois, author/agent/publisher Barbara Casey attended the
University of North Carolina, N.C. State University, and N.C. Wesleyan College
where she received a BA degree, summa cum laude, with a double major in English
and history. In 1978 she left her
position as Director of Public Relations and Vice President of Development at
North Carolina Wesleyan College to write full time and develop her own
manuscript evaluation and editorial service.
In 1995 she established the Barbara Casey Agency and since that time has
represented authors from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan.
In 2014, she became a partner with Strategic Media Books, an independent
nonfiction publisher of true crime, where she oversees acquisitions, day-to-day
operations, and book production.
Barbara has
written over a dozen award-winning books of fiction and nonfiction for both young
adults and adults. The awards include the National Association of University
Women Literary Award, the Sir Walter Raleigh Literary Award, the Independent
Publisher Book Award, the Dana Award for Outstanding Novel, the IP Best Book
for Regional Fiction, among others. Several of her books have been optioned for
major films and television.
Her
award-winning articles, short stories, and poetry for adults have appeared in
both national and international publications including the North Carolina
Christian Advocate Magazine, The New East Magazine, the Raleigh (N.C.) News and
Observer, the Rocky Mount (N.C.) Sunday Telegram, Dog Fancy, ByLine, The
Christian Record, Skirt! Magazine, and True Story. A thirty-minute television special which
Barbara wrote and coordinated was broadcast on WRAL, Channel 5, in Raleigh,
North Carolina. She also received
special recognition for her editorial work on the English translations of
Albanian children’s stories. Her award-winning science fiction short stories
for adults are featured in The Cosmic Unicorn and CrossTime science fiction
anthologies. Barbara’s essays and other
works appear in The Chrysalis Reader, the international literary journal of the
Swedenborg Foundation, 221 One-Minute Monologues from Literature (Smith and
Kraus Publishers), and A Cup of Comfort (Adams Media Corporation).
Barbara is a
former director of BookFest of the Palm Beaches, Florida, where she served as
guest author and panelist. She has
served as judge for the Pathfinder Literary Awards in Palm Beach and Martin
Counties, Florida, and was the Florida Regional Advisor for the Society of
Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators from 1991 through 2003. In 2018 Barbara received the prestigious
Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and Top Professional Award for
her extensive experience and notable accomplishments in the field of publishing
and other areas. She makes her home on the top of a mountain in northwest
Georgia with three cats who adopted her, Homer – a Southern coon cat, Reese – a
black cat, and Earl Gray – a gray cat and Reese’s best friend.
Witch Weigh, Protecting The Dream and Mine are novella/short stories that were Amazon freebies.
How could I possible resist the cover for Witch Weigh by Caroline Mickelson.
MY REVIEW
“You want me to work with a FAIRY?”
That’s what happens when a witch feels entitled and acts like the spoiled brat she is. The fun character names fits the fun story inside. Easy reading, light hearted humor, laughs, love and some life lessons for an edgy witch.
3 Stars
MY REVIEW
She couldn’t say no to James, when he said they were going ghost hunting at the mental hospital and I am sure no good will come of it. I remember the monster under the bed, the dark basement, the chilling nighttime outdoors with no lights, no moon…and she has it so much worse…it’s following her…truly frightening, wickedly creepy.
3 Stars
I don’t think the cover does Protecting the Dream by Michelle Sharp justice.
How about this one? Which do you like better?
MY REVIEW
The old farm, the weather vane…it spoke to her. She’s a Ghost Whisperer and a cop and I am loving her right out of the gate. Ty doesn’t know much, but as she opens up to him the story grows, as do the characters and I want more. She had been aloof, disconnected since the death of her family. Ty’s breaking down all the barriers. The story is not so much about her role as a cop as it is about their developing relationship and her role as a medium.
A lot packed into this novella and I love, love, love it.
Craved by a Wolf Felicity Heaton Publication date: April 19th 2022 Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Hella is one witch who is done with relationships. Having rid herself of a clingy nymph, she’s determined to stay single and savour everything her fae town in Geneva has to offer—with no strings attached. The trouble is, it turns out breaking up with a king isn’t as easy as she’d thought. Her ex just sent a legion to kidnap her and take her to the faerie realm of Lucia.
And he wants to make her his queen.
Grant MacKinnon is one wolf shifter who prefers a quiet life. His home in a glen in Scotland, his small wolf pack, and fine whisky is all he needs. The trouble is, a witch in the fae town in Fort William just cursed him to die if he doesn’t find his fated mate and bring her to her. Now he craves a female he’s never met, one he was convinced didn’t exist, and he refuses to believe she’s really his one true mate… until he sets eyes on the beautiful blue-haired lass.
And his wolf instincts howl that she was made for him.
And when he realises she’s in danger and another male wants her as his queen, MacKinnon will stop at nothing to protect her and claim her as his mate.
She stormed to the chair in the corner of the room, picked up his jeans and turned on him. She glared at him as she threw the jeans, hitting him in the face. He dragged them down, a stupid dumbfounded look on his face.
One that told her he couldn’t see what he had done wrong.
And he couldn’t believe she wasn’t doing as he wanted.
“Get out,” she snapped and flung her arm towards the bedroom door. “And never come back here.”
He growled, “I cannae do that. If I leave, I die.”
Colour her curious.
He pulled down a breath and his lips flattened, and he looked as if he was fighting himself.
When he spoke again, his tone was softer, his brogue less pronounced.
“If you don’t give me release, I die, Hella. You must accept me.” He cast a glance at his hips and then lifted his gaze to lock with hers again. “I’ll be gentle with you, if that’s what you fear.”
Hella rolled her eyes. “I had lion twins splitting me in two the other day. I don’t need a gentle man.”
He growled again, flashing his fangs this time, and tensed as he fisted his clothing. “How many males have ye accepted into your wee body? It matters no’. You’ll bed no more.”
His accent seemed to be an emotional barometer. The more heated he got, the less understandable he became. She was tempted to roll her eyes at him again to see just how deep into his Scottish roots she could push him.
“I’ll do what I want and who I want, and if you try to stop me—” She hesitated as the way he had reacted to the shackles filled her mind. She didn’t want to torment him like that again. Maybe she could try something else.
If he wouldn’t leave, then she would make him.
She pivoted on her heel and swept away from him, her shoulders tipped back and her head held high, the perfect image of a witch one would be wise not to mess with. The wolf’s gaze scalded her back, tracking down to her bottom, and he loosed a low, sexy growl.
Hella refused to let it affect her.
The wolf was about to be shown the door and if he had any sense, he would take the hint and leave her alone. She had her own problems to deal with and every second she wasted on the wolf was a second Ethyrian drew closer to realising she had escaped Lucia.
She hurried down the stairs to her shop.
The wolf followed.
Still naked.
Hella huffed as she glanced at him and he leaned against the wall, folded his arms across his chest and crossed his ankles. Shameless male.
“Put some clothes on,” she snapped and tried to shut him out as she unlocked a case behind the counter and plucked a book from the shelves.
When she turned back towards the counter, her gaze collided with his.
He grinned salaciously at her, irritatingly sure of himself while she was flustered and unsteady, rattled by his presence. “You don’t want that. I can see in your eyes you want me, lass. I can smell that you need your male.”
Hella gagged. “Gross.”
And diligently kept her eyes off the impressive hard-on he was still sporting as he pushed away from the wall and stalked towards her.
He was far too big.
If she did accept him, as he kept putting it, he would split her in two.
She was just considering possible spells that would help her get around that when his knees gave out, he went down hard and clocked his jaw on the edge of the wooden counter.
Ruining his carefully affected image of confidence and swagger.
Hella resisted the urge to peer over the counter and check on him, and continued leafing through the book instead as she dryly said, “Have a nice trip? Send me a postcard next time.”
The wolf’s arm shot up from behind the counter, his hand slammed down onto it and he hauled himself up. He growled as he shook off the blow to his ego but he looked groggy, which worried her.
Was he telling her the truth about the curse?
Would he really die if she didn’t add him to the tally of notches on her bedpost?
She intended to find out the answer to both of those questions.
Author Bio:
I’m a NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY and International Best-Selling Author writing passionate paranormal romance books and series for adults.
I love to create detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! All of them alpha as you would expect in paranormal romance, and every book with a guaranteed HAPPILY FOREVER AFTER!
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Fans of paranormal romance books by authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter, Larissa Ione, Kresley Cole and Christine Feehan will love my books too.
![Protecting the Dream (A Dream Seeker Novella Book 2) by [Michelle Sharp]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51BmjLPVGFL.jpg)
