Saturday, October 30, 2021

Happy Halloween! Free Story by Diane Bator



HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!



While I'm in the middle of moving to a new home this Halloween, I thought I'd leave a little entertainment for you all! Something I worked on last November for Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) that will be published one day soon!

This is an excerpt from The Spirited Witch, a YA fantasy that I hope to self-publish in 2022! Please keep in mind, it has not reached the editing phase so it is a bit rough in spots. Enjoy! 

The Spirited Witch

 Aura trailed her hand along the cream wallpaper patterned with black velvet swirls. The texture comforted her. In fact, she’d already worn a small line in the velvet over the past ten years she’d lived here. It was only a few months now before she was actually an adult. Most kids her age would go to college. Aura would be able to start her training to become a real witch. As far as she was concerned, her birthday couldn’t come fast enough.

Below her, a small crowd of people wearing drab fall colours had gathered in the parlour and wove among the antique furnishings. They seemed intrigued by the way the full moon cast its beams through the lead glass windows and dispersed into small rainbows. She was surprised she hadn’t heard the doorbell earlier or that her aunt was nowhere in sight.

The stair behind her creaked as her aunt’s cat followed her downstairs. While the so-called familiar wasn’t eager to spend time with Aunt Sybillina, she seemed to follow Aura everywhere. Aura was convinced Ash only tagged along to spy on her every move.

“Come on, then.” Aura wiggled her fingers in front of the cat. “I could use some backup. I have no idea where Aunt Sybillina is right now.”

She did a quick head count. Seven people milled around the large round table. As far as she knew, they were expecting six. She’d need to fetch one more chair. All that would take was a quick trip to the kitchen and problem solved.

“Good evening, everyone,” Aura said as she flashed a smile at the four women and three men. “My aunt will join us shortly. Feel free to take a seat at the table. I’ll fetch us one more chair.”

“She can see us?” someone whispered.

Aura rolled her eyes. It wasn’t the first time she’d heard that line. People always thought they were being original. She brought another chair from the kitchen one room over and chatted with their guests as she slid the chairs around to make room for one more.

“I would like to see my daughter again,” one woman said. “I have so much to tell her.”

“I’m sure my aunt will have no trouble contacting her.” Aura nodded.

A tall, gaunt man approached her. “Do you think we shall each get a turn? I have something very important I should like to discuss with my wife.”

“That depends how spirit flows.” Aura shrugged as she pulled out a chair for him.

A trio of elderly women hovered near the divan. They bickered back and forth for several minutes before one of them approached Aura.

“Are you sure so much light is necessary for something like this?” she asked. The wispy feathers in her hat nearly jabbed Aura’s nose as they bounced into her face.

Aura nodded. “Actually, we’re lucky tonight. It’s a Halloween full moon and the veil between the living world and the dead is thin. We should have a lot of excitement tonight.”

One of the other women seemed to glide across the floor like she skated on ice. “Henrietta, I told you. This is when they are the most active. Charlie says this is the perfect time of day to see them clearly.”

Aura chuckled. “They’re not deer, you know. Besides, I will light the candles and turn out the main light once you’re all seated. They love candlelight.”

“That would be so much better.” Henrietta smiled. “See, Babs, there is nothing to worry about.”

“You folks can take a seat now.” Aura chuckled. “My aunt will join us momentarily.”

“Wait.” A man carrying a motorcycle helmet walked straight up to Aura and waved a hand in front of her face. “She can see us now.”

Babs gasped. “Yes, she can. Oh heavens, my dear. How did that happen?”

Aura shrugged them off convinced her aunt was playing a trick on her. It wasn’t funny. She didn’t need to be reminded that she still didn’t have the same magical powers her aunt had. With a sigh, she played along and told them, “I have no idea. I couldn’t yesterday.”

“It is the perfect storm.” The gaunt man walked toward the window but stayed out of the rainbows that dotted the carpet. “Halloween, a full moon, and a blue moon all in one magical night.”

“Okay, stop messing with me now and take a seat so we can get started,” Aura said as Ash rubbed against her leg and nearly bowled her over.

Then the doorbell rang. Soon the house filled with the sounds of more voices as well as her aunt welcoming their guests.

Aura’s stomach clenched as her breath stuck in her throat. What was going on? Her aunt must have double-booked the parlour for two séances. They might have the chairs, but not the table space. Just as she got the seven guests in the parlour seated, six more people began to file into the room with nervous smiles and darting glances. Her aunt strode into the room behind them.

“Aunt Sybillina, what’s going on?” Aura froze as one of the new guests sat right on top of a seated guest. The man’s body went right through the lady with the feather hat as if she wasn’t even there.

Aura’s mouth fell open. “What on earth?”

Aunt Sybillina cleared her throat and sounded irritated. “Aura, please remove that extra seat. We have six guests tonight, not seven.”

Nausea swept over her and her body refused to move. It was as if her feet were nailed to the ground. The seven guests she’d greeted—the spirits—rose off their seats and into the air as they all watched her expectantly. What was she supposed to do?

“Get a move on, girl,” Henrietta clucked. “We don’t have all night.”

Aura lifted the seventh chair and carried it by the back toward the swinging door that led to the kitchen. One of the men stood near the doorway as if holding the door open for her. The door didn’t move until she bumped it with the chair seat.

Once she set the chair at the kitchen table, she paused to catch her breath. “I haven’t been able to see spirits since I was a child. Why is this happening now?”

“It’s Halloween,” someone said. “The veil is thin.”

“I know that. Just as I know that I’m a witch. I just don’t have any powers.” She turned to face them, but no one was there.

On the floor, Ash licked her paws then glanced up with wide green eyes. Her gazed seemed to bore straight into Aura.

“You again.”

“Aura, do hurry up so we can get started.” Her aunt’s raised voice sent a shiver down her back like ice water.

Ash blinked.

With her head bowed, Aura hurried back into the parlour and avoided looking at any of the spirits as she took her seat at the far side of the table across from her aunt. She looked up and met her aunt’s stern gaze then hopped back to her feet to light the candles in the large candelabra in the centre of the table with the long matches her aunt kept in the sideboard cupboard. As she did so, she brushed against one of her aunt’s guests.

This man was solid. Flesh and blood.

Aura glanced to the woman standing behind his chair. Bab’s fawned over him and tried to touch him but her hand went right through his shoulder every time. Aura grew dizzy. What was going on?

“May we begin?” There was a sharp edge in her aunt’s voice.

Aura lit the last candle then slid onto her seat. She flashed a nervous smile at the corporeal bodies at the table. One of the spirits shook his head and tutted then feigned looking at his watch as if he had somewhere else to be. Judging from his clothing, his watch hadn’t worked in at least twenty years.

“Please join hands,” Sybillina announced. “We are here to contact loved ones in the spirit world. Tonight is a Halloween full moon. It is also a blue moon, which means it is the second full moon of the month. We are blessed to have the veil so thin that we can summon the spirits of your loved ones to connect with.”

The spirit with the watch huffed. “Yes, so get on with it already. It is Halloween. We have places to go and people to haunt.”


I hope you enjoyed the blurb!! Watch for the book release in 2022!

Happy Halloween!  

Diane

To buy Drop Dead Cowboy click HERE


 

Friday, October 29, 2021

A Chat with Patricia Miller-Schroeder about Sisters of the Wolf

 


 Welcome to Canadian children's author, Patricia Miller-Schroeder!



Pat Miller-Schroeder is an active member of the Saskatchewan writing community and has written 17 children’s non-fiction books about nature, science, and the environment. Two of her books, Bottlenose Dolphins and Japanese Macaques were nominated in the Children's Literature category of the Saskatchewan Book Awards and another called Blue Whales was nominated for the Hackmatack Children's Choice Award in the Maritimes. Her book Gorillas received the Canadian Children's Book Centre Choice Award. 

Pat has also written several children’s educational film and television scripts. She was the main researcher and co-writer on ten episodes of a wildlife biography series called Wild Lives broadcast on both SCN and the Discovery Network. She also developed the characters and wrote the animated educational film script, Hot Stuff the Fire Cat, for the Saskatchewan Professional Fire Fighters Association Burn Fund which has been produced and placed in elementary schools throughout Saskatchewan.

** As I was setting up this blog, I learned Sisters of the Wolf was nominated for a Red Maple Award in The Forest of Reading which is Canada's largest recreational reading event.  The Red Maple Award is for the age group 12 to 14 and the winner will be decided by readers in that age group in early May. 

Website and other Links to your social media pages:

Website: Patricia Miller-Schroeder

PatriciaMiller-Schroeder | Facebook

Patricia Miller-Schroeder(@pmillerschroed1) / Twitter

PatriciaMiller-Schroeder (@patriciamillerschroeder) • Instagram photos and videos

Do your characters come before or after your plot?

Sisters of the Wolf is my first fiction book although when I was younger, I did write some dramatic film scripts. In all cases it was the characters that presented themselves and their world to me. They share their back stories with me and we work out where they’re going together.

Shinoni and Keena from Sisters of the Wolf came to me with the beginnings of their story. They would often perch on my shoulders, one on each side sharing their story and their world. When I’m stuck for where the plot should go at some point in my story, I turn to my characters for advice and how to proceed usually occurs to me before long. It is their story after all.

How do you choose a villain and how do you make them human?

This is my first fiction so I’ve really only had one villain, but he’s definitely a “bad” guy. I was warned about him by the girls and he came pretty much fully formed and nasty. I show him doing and plotting some pretty terrible things. I show him experiencing frustration, anger, jealousy, which are all human emotions. However, he doesn’t display any redeeming qualities.

Do your reading choices reflect your writing choices?

Yes, in many ways. I like the prehistoric fiction of Jean Auel (Clan of the Cave Bear), Michelle Paver (Wolf Brother), Michael Gear and Kathleen O’Neal Gear (People of the Fire series), Dorothy Hearst (Secrets of the Wolves). I also really enjoy the prehistoric nonfiction of Rebecca Wragg Sykes (Kindred), Genevieve von Petzinger (The First Signs: Unlocking the Mysteries of the World’s Oldest Symbols). I also read many articles on prehistoric people, animals, environments in popular and academic science journals.

Which type of characters are your favorite to write?

Characters who are smart, brave, and humorous. Girls who stretch boundaries and follow their own paths. Characters who live in prehistoric times and places.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a sequel to Sisters of the Wolf which carries on the new adventures and misadventures of Shinoni, Keena and Tewa after the next big snow melt. I’m also working on a nonfiction book about the people, wildlife, environment, and culture of ice-age Eurasia in the time period Sheena and Keena lived.

What sort of research do you do for your work?

I check weekly for relevant articles and research dealing with neanderthals. early modern humans, and related topics in both popular and scientific journals, books, conferences, films, blogs etc. I’ve also made two trips to Europe to visit caves and museums and some of my ancestral areas. These trips were to France and the Ukraine and helped give a real feel for the landscape and the caves and were important to me on an intellectual and spiritual basis.


SISTERS OF THE WOLF

40,000 years ago the Neanderthals (Krag) and early modern humans (Kula) of Ice Age Europe compete for survival in a world where the climate is changing and prey is disappearing. The dark-skinned Kulas, nomadic hunters with advanced tools move ever deeper into the territory of the pale, heavy-browed Krags.  Haken, a powerful Krag leader destroys a Kula camp in an effort to learn their hunting magic. Shinoni, daughter of the Kula Shaman flees into the forest, sent by her grandmother to protect their people’s knowledge. There she is treed by wolves and discovered by Haken's hunters who take her to the Krag camp.  At the camp she meets another captive, Keena, a Krag girl torn from her band by Haken as payment for killing a marauding cave lion. When Shinoni tricks Haken into leaving the camp to look for a magic rock, Keena helps her escape. There is one condition, Shinoni must take Keena with her...and so begins the epic journey that changes their lives forever. They are joined on their quest to find their families by Tewa, a powerful silver wolf who becomes their guardian and spirit guide.

Buy Sisters of the Wolf

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Donna Conrad releases her memoir, House of the Moon; Surviving the Sixties

 


House of the Moon

By: Donna D Conrad


Covina, California, in the 1960s is a clean, white place to live just twenty-four miles east of Los Angeles. The maze of three-bedroom, two-bath housing tracts is the perfect place for a respectable undercover agent for the State, his wife, teenage son, and two daughters. But beneath the veneer of normalcy lies the truth of a violent, psychopathic father, an alcoholic wife, their pacifist son who is sent to war, and their two daughters—prime candidates for a cultural revolution that is gathering recruits with every toke. 

House of the Moon is a haunting and ultimately triumphant memoir about coming of age during the decade that changed the world. With an unflinching voice, Donna Conrad chronicles her teenage years through lyrical vignettes. From encounters with Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and other legends of rock ‘n roll, to loaded shotguns at home, sexual violence in the streets, and flying high on drugs just to get by—this fast-paced memoir brings to life her quest to change the world—only to find herself changed by the times

Amazon.com

Amazon.ca

ABOUT DONNA:


DONNA CONRAD is an award-winning author, journalist, activists, and teacher. Her core values revolve around individual empowerment, a sustaining ideal running through the books she writes, as well as her varied interest in the arts and sciences. Her memoir, House of the Moon; Surviving the Sixties has received critical acclaim. The first of her four-book historical fiction series, The Last Magdalene, is scheduled for publication April 2022. She is represented by Creative Edge Publicity. 

To request additional review copies or an interview with Donna Conrad, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: Mickey@CreativeEdgePublicity.com | 403.464.6925.    

We look forward to the coverage!

Sunday, October 24, 2021

JP McLean launches her new thriller Blood Mark

 


Blood Mark

By JP McLean


 Abandoned at birth, life has always been a battle for Jane Walker. She and her best friend, Sadie, spent years fighting to survive Vancouver’s cutthroat underbelly. That would have been tough enough without Jane’s mysterious afflictions: an intricate pattern of blood-red birthmarks that snake around her body and vivid, heart-wrenching nightmares that feel so real she wakes up screaming.

 After she meets the first man who isn’t repulsed by her birthmarks, Jane thinks she might finally have a chance at happiness. Her belief seems confirmed as the birthmarks she’s spent her life so ashamed of magically begin to disappear. Yet, the quicker her scarlet marks vanish, the more lucid and disturbing Jane’s nightmares become—until it’s impossible to discern her dreams from reality, and Jane comes to a horrifying realization:

 The nightmares that have plagued her since childhood are actually visions of real people being stalked by a deadly killer. And all this time, her birthmarks have been the only things protecting her from becoming his next victim.

Amazon 

Kobo

 Praise for Blood Mark

“Featuring a fearless, badass heroine and plot twists that will leave readers breathless, J.P. McLean's Blood Mark is a gritty, sexy, fast-paced thrill ride from start to finish.”

—E.E. Holmes, award-winning and best-selling author of The Gateway series

“A deliciously addictive fever dream of a mystery with a surreal beauty akin to a David Lynch film. I loved it!”

—Jennifer Anne Gordon, author of Beautiful, Frightening, and Silent, winner of the Kindle Award for Best Horror 2020

“An explosive new series that combines mystery and magic into a can’t-put-down thriller.”

—Eileen Cook, award-winning author of You Owe Me a Murder


About JP McLean

JP (Jo-Anne) MCLEAN writes urban fantasy and supernatural thrillers which have received honorable mentions from the Whistler Independent Book Awards and the Victoria Writers Society. Reviewers call her books addictive, smart, and fun. Her work includes endorsements from award-winning and best-selling authors, E.E. Holmes, Jennifer Manuel, Elinor Florence, Jennifer Anne Gordon, and Eileen Cook.

JP is a graduate of the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. She is a certified scuba diver, an avid gardener, and a voracious reader. Raised in Toronto, Ontario, JP lived in various parts of North America before settling on Denman Island on Canada’s west coast, where she now lives with her husband. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her cooking dishes that look nothing like the recipe photos or arguing with weeds in the garden. 

To request additional review copies or an interview with JP McLean, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: Mickey@CreativeEdgePublicity.com | 403.464.6925.   

 We look forward to the coverage!


Friday, October 22, 2021

“Shooting Star" is the Fifth book in the Nikki Latrelle Horse Racing Mystery Series by Sasscer Hill

 


Shooting Star

By: Sasscer Hill



When Nikki’s ex-lover Will hires her to protect the horses used to film a movie at Santa Anita Racetrack, she learns evil is alive and well in Hollywood.

Keeping Thoroughbreds safe from a director who doesn’t know a horse from a hamster is tricky. More difficult are the unresolved feelings between her and Will, especially when sexy, young movie star, Jamie Jackson, sets his sights on Nikki.

But when a sniper’s bullet shatters the brain of a cameraman close enough that she can smell his blood, Nikki’s need to protect the film crew overrides everything. Her sleuthing unearths a trail of corruption and when she must lie to Will to protect his life, she’s on her own. Can she identify the evil behind the scenes before she and Will become the next victims?

Shooting Star is the fifth rocket-paced story in the award-winning Nikki Latrelle mystery series. If you like protagonists with heart and courage, unexpected twists, and a thrill ride to the finish, you’ll love Shooting Star.

Find out why this series has so many fans. Buy Shooting Star today!
 

Amazon.com 

Amazon.ca

  ABOUT SASSCER:

 Author Sasscer Hill was involved in horse racing as an amateur jockey and racehorse breeder for most of her life. Her mystery-thrillers portray the world of horse racing, and the skullduggery that big money and gambling so often attract. Her novels have won the Dr. Tony Ryan Best in Racing Literature Award (Flamingo Road) and the Carrie McCray Award (The Dark Side of Town). Her Nikki Latrelle mysteries have also received multiple award nominations for Agatha, Macavity, Claymore, and an additional Dr. Tony Ryan Award. 

Travels of Quinn, published in 2020, stepped away from horse racing. Instead, the mystery-thriller revolves around the gypsy con artists known as Irish American Travelers. This novel was a finalist for a Silver Falchion Award for Best Mystery of 2020.

 

Her new novel, “Shooting Star," July, 2021, is the Fifth in the award-winning Nikki Latrelle Horse Racing Mystery Series. Nikki is charged with protecting the racehorses used in a movie filmed at Santa Anita Racecourse.

 

Sasscer lives in Aiken, South Carolina horse country, with her husband, a dog, and a cat.     

Find everything Sasscer! Click here: linktr.ee/sasscerhill

 To request additional review copies or an interview with Sasscer Hill, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: Mickey@CreativeEdgePublicity.com | 403.464.6925.    

We look forward to the coverage! 

 

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Vanessa Morris releases her new book The Nymphetamine Girls

 






The Secrets here in Verdant Glen are expected, they come along with the deeds.

Lisette and Natalia are perfect. What all the other girls want to be. Beautiful and famous as their alter egos online, they revel in the joy of sexual exploration, and exhibitionism online. The views, the likes, the followers. It's addictive. Almost as addictive as the forbidden fruit of their new teacher, John May.

With a dark past of his own, he sees Lisette for exactly what she is. Both tempting, and troubled. Will he surprise her, or will it be the other way around?

Dealing with divorce and death at a young age, Lisette only has Natalia. And with her mother slowly drinking her way to the grave, Natalia only has Lisette.

But when John shows Lisette how toxic their relationship truly is, will she believe him? Will he change her life if she chooses John over Natalia, or will he destroy it?

Once the dust settles only one of the two girls will make it out alive. The other will have their life irrevocably changed forever.
 

Amazon.com

 


Vanessa Morris is the Pseudonym for Anna J Walner. She began her journey to becoming an Author at a young age, escaping into the world of books. Visiting faraway places and going on thrilling adventures, while dealing with Social Anxiety. 

Anna is now an International Bestselling Author of The Uluru Legacy Series, “Garkain”. Her journey as an Author is only just beginning. Anna is also the Executive Producer of The Author Library Network, host of “The Bookish Nook.” 

More information about Anna can be found here:

Website: https://annajwalner.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnaJWalner

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annajwalner/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaJWalner/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@annajwalner?lang=en

 To request additional review copies or an interview with Vanessa Morris/Anna J Walner, please visit her website for contact information.

 Mickey Mikkelson | Publicist Phone:  403.464.6925 Mickey@CreativeEdgePublicity.com

Sunday, October 17, 2021

Romance Writer Sophie Mays releases the complete Serenity Falls series

 


The Serenity Falls Complete Series 

A Top 100 Amazon Book from Romance Writer Sophie Mays 

Released by Love Light Publishing, this collection is available in paperback and eBook!

Brisk mountain air and romance abound at the Wyatt Ranch!

From bestselling author Sophie Mays comes this delightfully heartwarming sweet ranch romance series.

 

Whether you are falling in love alongside a baker, an artist, an ex-Navy Seal, or a world traveler - there's something for everyone in Serenity Falls.


Set against a gorgeous small-town mountain backdrop in Colorado, we follow five siblings as they each return home to help start a new family business.  

From cowboys to unexpected newcomers, from weddings to high-stakes adventures, you will fall in love with this cozy small town in the Rocky Mountains and become friends with the Wyatt family. Meet Emma, Hannah, Anna-Jane, Carson, and Jake! Five very different personalities, each deserving of their own happily ever after...

Read all the books in the Serenity Falls series together! This Collection includes:

🤍 Wishes from the Heart (Hannah & Rafferty's Story)
🤍 Art of the Heart (Anna-Jane & Cody's Story)
🤍 Baking from the Heart (Emma & Gavin's Story)
🤍 Call of the Wild Heart (Carson & Bella's Story)
🤍 Detours of the Heart (Jake & Mackenzie's Story)

If you love uplifting, feel-good romance stories with irresistible characters, prepare to get roped into Sophie Mays' Serenity Falls series!

 MORE FROM SOPHIE MAYS:


   

ABOUT SOPHIE:

Sophie Mays is the pen name of author, Stephanie LaVigne.




Sophie Mays is a bestselling contemporary romance, romantic comedy, and women’s fiction author.

Her books are delightfully heartwarming and filled with small-town charm! Celebrate the roller-coaster of love, family, friendship, and new beginnings alongside lovable characters that will become your friends.

From her home in Florida, she offsets sandy toes and ocean views with trips to her favorite regions in quaint New England, cozy coastal Maine, the majestic Rocky Mountains, the dramatic Pacific Northwest, the glimmering Caribbean, and the ever-charming South. Sometimes she does this in real life, but she can always steal away to somewhere beautiful in her books.

When she’s not writing, she’s wrangling kids, spending time with her husband, doing laundry, baking cookies, planning dream trips, or attempting to fine-tune her questionable gardening skills.  More information can be found at SophieMays.com. 

To request additional review copies or an interview with Sophie Mays, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: mickey@creativeedgepublicity.com / 403.464.6925.    

We look forward to the coverage!





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