Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let’s share some songs we’ve been enjoying lately! If you would like to play, and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below HERE
No rest for the Wiccan.
One year has passed since Zoë Delante’s last big case, and everyone’s favorite Wiccan has managed to carve a normal-ish life for herself and her boyfriends, Jacob and Daniel. Then she gets the call that someone has discarded dead babies like empty soda cans off I-295 in the Baltimore/D.C. area, leaving strange scales all over the crime scenes. Another serial killer?
Zoë dives into the case when her one-year-old niece comes up missing, and she discovers that the guy running the Church of Holy Light knows magick and lies about it. Is he the one behind the mind control? Did he send the guys to drop magick all over her sister’s house?
And what the hell is up with her magick?
The visions are getting stronger, and weirder, and Zoë can’t remember the last time she slept. No matter. She has bad guys to catch and innocents to save. She’ll sleep when she’s dead….
…Or when the killer is.
EXERPT
I sighed, and Sera squeezed my hand again as we stepped away from the dais and into the darkness. The temperature plunged, and we gasped in unison. My breath billowed in a delicate cloud.
“What now?” My hands went frigid, so I could hardly feel my sister’s hand. “Sera?”
“Yeah, I feel it too.”
The darkness swirled in front of us.
That’s new. I blinked and refocused, and yep, it was moving.
The ebony entity continued its curvaceous dance, sending foggy fingers over my bared skin. It crept up to my head and tugged at my hair, draping the ends over my shoulders like a dozen hairy tentacles. The unnerving sensation sent icy fear down my spine as it encircled us, blocking off the light from the sanctuary.
“Zoë!” Sera called out.
I squeezed her hand. “I’m right here.”
“I think it’s sniffing me.” She stepped closer until we were snuggled shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip.
My face and neck sprouted goosebumps from the minute breath of the airy darkness around us. It pulled at my clothing with tiny, invisible claws, nicking at the skin beneath with careless abandon. It emitted a series of soft sighs, almost erotic, as if the creature was gaining some crude, intimate pleasure from its nitpicking.
“Any clue?”
“Uh….” I thought for a second. “Not a one. Could be an untamed air elemental.”
“A what?”
I rolled my eyes. “Either you accept that things are about to get weird—”
“Er… weirder.”
I sighed. “Sera.”
“Oh, fine. Do your thing.” She couldn’t keep the involuntary resignation from her voice—Delante stubbornness.
I swallowed a chuckle. “It’s big and strong, but it’s invoked. It doesn’t live here.” I reached out, and it pulled back. I moved forward, encircling us with my magick, and it met my movement.
Its energy touched mine, and the weirdest cacophony of coos and shrieks erupted, like a million separate high-pitched voices singing a sharp, electric harmony.
Great, a sadomasochistic parasite. Or a siphon. Whoever controlled this creature held demented intent and gained something through the vicarious sampling. I didn’t like voyeurs, and I sure as hell liked them less when they used magick against their victims.
“Enough!” My voice should’ve echoed in this hallway, but the living wall of pitch just absorbed it. “I don’t care who you are, but if you don’t knock this shit off right now, if I have to break through your pet of my own volition, I will make you regret it. I know you know what I am, but I promise you’ve only gotten a sneak peek at what I can do. Drop the damn nonsense, or I’m going to make your little invocation look like some cheap online spell kit!”
I was bluffing my not-so-little ass off. No way in hell did I possess enough magick on my own to break this casting, much less launch a counteroffensive against the caster, but of the three of us in this stalemate, did anyone know that but me? Probably not.
A shaft of yellow light pierced the wall, and the entity scurried into the shadows behind us.
I raised one arm to shade my eyes, and with the other motioned for Sera to remain behind me. “Wait,” I whispered. “Let’s see who we’re up against.”
She stilled.
The yellow sliver spread into a wider ray of light, broken only by a man’s shadow. From the cover of my arm, he looked angelic—not in that silly teen girl kind of way, but how I’d always imaged an actual angel of God. A ring of light, brighter than the saving shaft of yellow, covered him from mussed curly hair to the end of his long legs. His mouth was parted, his breath strained, like he’d been running. He dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief.
I couldn’t make out any further details in that light, but his mere presence made me blush. His magick held heat against the exposed parts of my skin, and I fought against the happy sigh sitting on my tongue.
My beast answered my confusion with a familiar wanting whimper, like the man in front of me was a tasty treat instead of the enemy. I shook my head. I didn’t have time for this nonsense.
“Is that…?” Sera whispered.
I nodded. “Hello, Jareth.”
Born in 1975, I’m the product of star-crossed lovers who took separate paths shortly after my arrival. Now a three-time mother, twice married woman, and eclectic person, I reside in the sunny biosphere that is Sierra Vista, Arizona, with my wonderful partner in crime, Peter, and three brilliant geeklings: Michael, Cami and Desmond. Oh, and a mop… er… Shih Tzu named Sir Lancelot the Brave.
Writing came to me naturally, and the dark clouds of childhood and adolescent angst gave birth to a myriad of story threads that reflected my inner struggle to find a place in this world. I haven’t quite discovered it yet, but I’ve fallen in love with the journey and all the stories unfolding in front of me. I’m a lover of many genres and a writer of a small handful, and rather content with that lot.
Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.
The title of Blood Brothers: Escape to Creeporia by Dean C Moore is the first thing that captured my attention.
After all, it is October, the month for creepalicious tales.
I have a lot of goodies to share.
Read the fun guest post, the excerpt and enter the great giveaway.
Add ME to your Goodreads reading list now.
BLOOD BROTHERS: Escape To Creeporia
by Dean C. Moore
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB
Fraternal twins are separated from birth, and raised to be assassins. They were never meant to meet. But even when kept apart, they’re just too powerful. Their paranormal abilities cease to be an advantage when they can no longer be controlled. So they are scheduled for cancellation.
Their paths cross before they can be taken out. It is only then that they discover the true depths of their betrayal. Not only are they stronger when they’re together, they’re half-breeds, sired by an all-powerful warlock.
The question is, are they strong enough even together to take him on now that he’s coming for them?
They have an ace up their sleeves they are not aware of. Drawn to the same kind of women, they find themselves married to a pair of sorceresses whose magical abilities are only now surfacing.
But one encounter with dear old dad is all it takes for them to realize, they’re still the underdogs.
From the back of the book:
“The series is called Blood Brothers, but this adventure is really a family affair: the brothers, their partners, children and even their old man in a starring role as the villain. Think Disney’s Incredibles, but in a violent and bizarre fantasy world.” Rob May, Dragon Killer
“With incredibly detailed world building and action scenes, this story seems like it would make a phenomenal film or TV series.
Moore pulls out all the stops with dragons, telekinesis, shapeshifters and insurmountable odds in this battle of good versus evil – and a villain who just won’t lay down and die.” Demelza Carlton, Ocean’s Gift
“When you read a Dean C. Moore novel, you can expect rich, original characters, witty dialogue and unexpected plot turns. Blood Brothers doesn’t disappoint.” JC Gatlin, Designated Survivor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome Dean. I hope you enjoy your visit to fundinmental.
5 Fun or Silly Facts About Me
Thanks, Dean, for telling us a bit about yourself.
If you ever get that plane, give me a call. 🙂
EXCERPT
The excerpts are exceptional and I would have loved to share them all.
This one was so darn cute, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
The electricity out throughout the house, both baby dragons soared into the kitchen, lighting the candles for Myrna with their fiery blasts, the star and heart shaped ones, the ones molded like mugs of beer with big foam headers, and the magic spell casting ones with the different colored flames.
Their work in the kitchen done, they dashed out to attend to the other rooms. Before Myrna could prance halfway up the stairs after them, she took out her Bic lighter, and put the flame to her forearm. “Ah! You’re awake, all right!”
Her next thought was, she suddenly had a pair of dragons to care for. How was she going to manage that? Oh dear, what do you guys eat?
She rushed back to the kitchen.
Myrna held a candle inside the refrigerator, as she ripped food out left and right. The roasted artichoke. The blue cheese and citrus bruschetta. The apricot pistachio halves. Everything meticulously wrapped. The dragons came swooping back into the room.
They looked at her, bewildered as she continued to plow through the itinerary. The vegetarian chili and macaroni. The tempeh and tapenade wrap. She was sure she had something to accommodate every palate.
“Whada ya think?” she said, gesturing to the buffet covering the entire kitchen thanks to her throwing food willy-nilly. One of the dragons bounded up and swooped to the floor, where it gulped down a mouse.
Myrna put up her hands gesturing, “Oh no, we’re all vegetarians here.”
AUTHOR Bio and Links
I write sci-fi, fantasy, action-adventures and thrillers, or some combination thereof—usually with a strong vein of dark humor. Though, my works are dramas first; the humor is there to take the edge off as with the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Transformers, and Jurassic Park franchises.
I wrote screenplays for a while, and while enjoying them, I found them a bit confining. After a while you just need the extra page count to flesh out characters better and do additional world building, especially when considering doing anything epic in scope. I also took a run at future forecasting and trend tracking, being as I always had my head in the future, things like Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock. I also relished this, and can certainly see myself releasing a few titles accordingly in the nonfiction area. But since delving into novels, short and long, I’ve definitely found my home and my voice. For the first time I feel the restraints have been taken off of my imagination. I suppose all mediums have their limits, so I may end up doing a mix of things, but I suspect I will continue to spend most of my time with novels. Series add an additional dimension, allowing for even more depth and development both in the character and world building departments. But I remain at heart a divergent thinker, so, no surprise, I seem to have more series going than follow up installments at this point. That too may change over time; we’ll see. Until then, it may be best to just think of these books as one-offs if you’re fond of my writing style and some of the themes I work with.
My current catalog of twelve books represents a little over five years’ worth of work. I’m currently averaging a couple books annually. Of my existing franchises with multiple installments, The Hundred Year Clone books can be read in any order, while the 5 books of Renaissance 2.0 must be read in sequence as they form part of a singular story arc (much as with A Game of Thrones.)
I live in the country where I breed bluebirds, which are endangered in these parts, as my small contribution to restoring nature’s balance. When I’m not writing, or researching my next book, I may also be found socializing with friends, or working in my organic garden.
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Google / YouTube / Goodreads
Click on the cover to get your Amazon copy of Blood Brothers: Escape to creeporia by Dean
$20 Amazon GC – random commenter
$20 Amazon GC – random host
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