Tag Archives: witches

Giveway – Potion by Dorlana Vann @GoddessFish

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Potion: A Witchy Fairy Tale by Dorlana Vann

GENRE: YA, Urban fantasy (Contemporary Retelling)

BLURB

#WitchesBeBitches

A Contemporary Retelling.

Eight years ago, the wicked witch held Hansel Lucas Jaeger and his sister, Melrose, captive. They barely escaped with their lives. Now, with high school, a garage band, and a part time job, Lucas finally feels normal.

But everything changes when Lucas sees his awkward, loner sister, hanging out with Star, one of the hot and hated popular girls known as The Bitches. At first, he’s just confused, but when he sees the tarot cards between them, he’s reminded of the curse the witch cast on Melrose.

His fears escalate when Star warns him about two witches from school who plan on using his sister for a ritual. Lucas wants to trust Star; he needs someone to confide in since Melrose thinks his fear of witchcraft is irrational. But Star is unpredictable and has toyed with his emotions before.

As Lucas searches for answers, more mysteries begin to unravel about Melrose’s childhood, Star’s motives, and his own family legacy. Lucas will have to make life and death decisions; but whom can he trust, and how do you rescue someone who doesn’t want to be saved?

EXCERPT

Melrose sat on the bed across from someone with bouncy, blonde hair that flowed down her back. When the girl turned and flashed a smile at Lucas, goosebumps rose from his feet to his face. He did a little head jerk to move the hair out of his eyes, but yeah, Star, the hottest girl at Tangleforest High, was in his house, casual, like his sister’s room was a normal place to hang out.

Be cool, he told himself. “What’s up?” He looked to see what homework they had, thinking a tutoring session was the only sane explanation for Star’s visit. But instead of books or paper, a few oversized cards were laid out on the bed. A second ticked by before he realized what type of cards. Tarot. Immediately, the tension he’d felt earlier returned. “What are y’all doing?”

“Playing a fortune telling game,” Melrose said innocently.

Lucas’ adrenaline started to pump, and suddenly his ears buzzed, the details from the past erupting through his head in a concentrated instant: swirls of color, lost in the trees, gingerbread house of horror, the witch, the cage, the curse. “The hell you are.” He stormed across the room and with one quick whoosh, the cards went flying off the bed.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Dorlana Vann loves taking elements from fairy tales (characters, mood, moral, plot) and mixing them with a paranormal element and then dropping them in a contemporary setting.

She has several supernatural fairy tale inspired stories, including novels, a short story collection, and Kindle Vella series. Her latest adventure is A Witchy Fairy Tale series; book 1: Potion.

Besides writing, life is all about family, food, book-club, BBQ team, festivals, trivia (even though she’s horrible at it), and drinking on patios – All of which she shares on Instagram 😊

  • Website/blog: www.dorlanavann.com
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dorlana_vann/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/DorlanaVann
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dorlana
  • Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1329185.Dorlana_Vann
  • Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/dorlanavann

Follow the tour and comment. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. Follow the tour HERE.

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Giveaway – Gilded Butterfly by Leslie O’Sullivan @XpressoTours

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Gilded Butterfly
Leslie O’Sullivan
(Rockin’ Fairy Tales, #2)
Publication date: July 30th 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Gilded Butterfly is the second book in the Rockin’ Fairy Tales adult romantasy series by Leslie O’Sullivan. King Midas and the Golden Touch meets King Lear in a slow-burn, friends to lovers, romance set against the backdrop of a fictional Hollywood music scene.

Chorda Lear is a mega-hot pop artist, Internet influencer, and Irish witch who’s poised to inherit a magical family legacy, the Golden Guitar. She’s the fan favorite on a wildly popular reality television show, “Kickin’ It With Midas,” a trendy chronicle of three Hollywood influencer sisters and their aging rock star father, Midas Lear.

Adair Holliday, a Hollywood producer wunderkind, is slated to step up as showrunner of the Lear’s lucrative TV franchise. He must constantly temper his skepticism over best friend, Chorda’s, practice of magic, but his biggest challenge is denying romantic feelings for her.

When Chorda goes disastrously off-script during the live broadcast of the season finale, Lear banishes her from the show and his life. Adair follows his friend into exile with a plan to reconcile father and daughter. Away from the pressures of Hollywood, a steamy encounter under a waxing moon, deepens friendship into romance. Now, the two must reverse Midas’ edict to save both their professional futures and new-found love.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

This book is in the world of Rockin’ Fairy Tales with some character carryover from Pink Guitars and Falling Stars, Book 1, but it does work as a standalone.

Windshields are a dark destiny for butterflies. As I wind up the drive to Midas Lear’s Waterfall Palace in the Hollywood Hills, my windshield becomes one such destiny for a vibrant blue butterfly. The poor critter traveled to Hollywood in search of fame and fortune with plans to name its cover band Wing Spread.

The driver’s side glass of my deep blue, Tesla model 3 had other plans. In a single fatal moment, the band, Wing Spread became Smush, which sounds more like a pop-up night club than a cover band. In Hollywood, it’s all about the name.

I pull as far off the road in front of the mansion as the narrow drive allows. There are those who would mock me for bemoaning the death of a bug. In my humble opinion, sadness should be mandated when something lovely is destroyed. I, Adair Holliday, am to blame for a drop of beauty gone from the world.

I retrieve an index card from the leather messenger bag my half-brother, Desmond, gave me last month on my thirtieth birthday with the directive: “Time to upgrade from your folksy backpack look, Adair.”

Across the road, I pick my way down a steep bank landscaped as a butterfly garden to the shore of a narrow stream fed by cascading water features of the mansion. It’s ironic the intentional flora attracts winged beauties only to threaten death via windshields and waterfalls.

Before me, the final brushstrokes of a California sunset reflect off Midas Lear’s Waterfall Palace, three stories of glass framed with stacked stone walls. The president of Golden Pipes Records runs his music empire from this Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water House meets Irish castle.

Spray from the waterfall spilling from the cantilevered stone shelf at the mansion’s base dots the butterfly’s wings. I crouch at the water’s edge to release the creature and its paper ship into the current, a Viking funeral in miniature. The card flips, sending broken blue wings beneath the surface.

A bend in the stream disappears into shadows underneath the peppy blossoms of overhanging purple and pink crepe myrtles. Were I slightly metaphoric, I’d define the waterway as a parallel to the new turn my life is about to take. Maybe the fact I’m figuratively pondering means I possess a drizzle of the poet in my soul. A good showrunner needs such drizzle in the ole creative toolbox.

I’ll leave poetic musings to Midas Lear and his three red-headed daughters. Rubata, Glissanda, and Chorda Lear will be my trio of responsibilities when I step into the executive producer spot on their reality TV show, Kickin’ It With Midas, after we shoot tonight’s season finale. I’m primed to step up my creative splash on the Golden Pipes Network.

I emerge from clusters of crimson columbine and lilac to the roar of an approaching engine. Desmond’s vintage red Ferrari 360 Modena zips around the corner, screeching to a stop inches from my toes.

“Shit, Adair. You nearly ended up on my windshield.”

The timeliness of his comment is not lost on me. I decline to share deets of my Viking butterfly funeral. “Cooling my jets for a sec by the water.”

Des shakes his head. “Cooling your jets? My little brother, crowned prince of outdated idioms and clichés.”

I celebrate and perpetuate the resurrection of sayings I’ve absorbed from the classic and not so classic movies and television programs I adore. More than one person has accused me of time traveling to the present from a black and white 1960s sitcom.

I tap a finger to my chin. “Are colorful phrases ever outdated?”

Rubata, the middle Lear sister, springs through the open pop top of the car. Her dyed cherry-red hair clashes with the Ferrari’s paint. She raises her phone to grab a selfie with a green, white, and red striped bag. “Gelato. I gotta gelata,” she sings and waves a handle bag stamped with the Gelato Buono logo.

I dive to catch the phone she tosses to me.

“Adair, get a shot of me with the gotta gelata and the car.” Rubata holds the bag next to her cheek and puckers her lips. As I snap pictures, she flips her hair and kisses the bag. “Did you get the shot? Wait, switch to video of me singing gotta gelata, gotta gelata.” Through the window, I catch her gold painted toenails dancing across Desmond’s shoulder. “Oooo, Desi, feed me gelata. That’ll look sexxxxy.”

Author Bio:

Leslie O’Sullivan is the author of Rockin’ Fairy Tales, an adult romance series of Shakespeare/fairy tale mash ups set against the backdrop of Hollywood’s music scene. Coming soon is her Behind the Scenes contemporary romance series that peeks into the off-camera secrets of a wildly popular television drama. She’s a UCLA Bruin with a BA and MFA from their Department of Theater where she also taught for years on the design faculty. Her tenure in the world of television was as the assistant art director on “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show.” Leslie loves to indulge her fangirl side each year at San Diego Comic Con.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter


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Giveaway – Spells and Slip Ups by Annie Anderson @AnnieAnde @XpressoTours

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Spells and Slip-ups
Annie Anderson
(The Wrong Witch, #1)
Publication date: July 5th 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

I suck at witchcraft.

Coming from a long line of famous witches, I should be at the top of the heap. Problem is, if there is a spell cast anywhere in my vicinity, I will somehow mess it up. As a probationary agent with the Arcane Bureau of Investigation, I have two choices: I can limp along and maybe pass myself off as a competent agent, or I can fail. Miserably.

Worse news? If I can’t get my act together, I may not only be out of a job, I could also lose my life.

Whose idea was this again?

Goodreads / Amazon


EXCERPT

“Get out,” he barked, crossing his beefy arms over his substantial belly. “Ain’t no way I’m gonna let a Bannister tromp all over my shop. Who knows what you’ll break?”

Not that half the shit in this hovel wasn’t broken already, but still, tears prickled at my eyes. Gritting my teeth against the sting, I managed to stand my ground. This wasn’t the first time I’d been kicked out of a witch shop, and given my history, it wouldn’t be the last.

“Please,” I begged, reaching inside my bag for the wad of cash. Ellie and I had planned on moving in together after college, but here we were two years post-graduation, with no apartment in sight. Unearthing the fistful of bills, I held them in front of me to ward off my ousting. “I can pay.”

His gaze snagged on the money in my hand, and he licked his chops. By the looks of this place, Mr. Jones hadn’t seen a paying customer in longer than I’d been alive. “What? You stub your toe or somethin’? I ain’t wasting my time on no silly girl with a hangnail.”

Don’t back talk the healer, Wren. Don’t do it.

“It’s not for me, you judgmental ass. It’s for my best friend’s mom. Do you really think I’d be tromping through here looking for you if it was something I could fix with a nail clipper and a manicurist? I’m liable to get tetanus in this heap.” Gnashing my teeth, I took a deep breath, doing my damnedest to not start screaming. “It’s systemic organ failure. Can you fix that?”

Carmichael narrowed his eyes. “Your friend’s mom. Not your mom?” A slow smile pulled across his lips, exposing yellowed teeth and a fair amount of tooth decay. “You have my interest. What class is your friend’s mother? She a witch like you or…”

This was the sticking point. If I couldn’t get him to agree, Alice had no hope. It wasn’t like I could bribe my way into my mother’s good graces or beg my father.

“Human,” I breathed, praying he wouldn’t make a fuss.

He simply blinked at me for a solid thirty seconds. “I’m sorry—what was that?”

Stomping through the piles of junk, I slapped the money on the counter before reaching into my bag for the second roll of bills. It was my entire savings. Everything I’d squirreled away to set myself up. It wasn’t just an apartment I was getting. It was a chance.

But it meant nothing if Alice wasn’t breathing.

“She’s human,” I hissed. “Are you gonna help me or not?” The bank teller had audibly squawked when I’d pulled every dime from my account, her face purpling when I’d asked for it in cash.

Carmichael reached for the bills, but I slapped his hand before he could get within an inch. “Are you helping, or am I going to have to go down to the River Walk and deal with them?”

The “them” in question were the Fae, and I had no intention of dealing with that sort at all. Ever. Making deals with fairies was tantamount to jumping off a cliff with piranhas, sharks, and razor-sharp rocks at the bottom. Anyone who had ever made a fairy deal regretted it, and I wouldn’t be making the same mistake.

Luckily, my poker face was top-notch—otherwise Carmichael would have seen right through my bluff.

“What you’re asking for is illegal, you know.”

Author Bio:

Annie Anderson is a military wife and United States Air Force veteran. Originally from Dallas, Texas, she is a southern girl at heart, but has lived all over the US and abroad. As soon as the military stops moving her family around, she’ll settle on a state, but for now she enjoys being a nomad with her husband, two daughters, an old man of a dog, and a young pup that makes life… interesting.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest


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The Saga Continues in Cursed In The Dark by Scarlett West @iamscarlettwest

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Cursed in the Dark (Fae Bureau of Investigation #3)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Cursed In The Dark by Scarlett West picks up where Hunted In The Dark left off.

Bullets flying.

Adalee is Medusalike. Her hair is her strength. She is maturing and learning to use her skills for the FBI. She has more confidence and assertiveness. As she develops her magic, the danger ramps up.

Her relationship with Damien ramps up too. I love her teasing banter with him.

The combination of fantasy, the paranormal/supernatural world with murder and mystery in a police procedural process is blended in a magical way. LOL

“Since we use our magic to heal, defend ourselves, or in daily use, we need to refuel. Faery feeds our magic from deep within the land, then we feed one another. It’s like an energy transfer through emotions, then physical touch…” That is why feeding through sex is the best…and most fun.

Adalee and Damien’s heat level is off the charts, entering the erotic zone.

It isn’t bad enough that they are doing their best discover who murdered the King and kidnapped the Fae and whoever is murdering their families, now she finds herself cursed. As the clock ties on her life, they struggle to solve the mystery and stay alive in the process.

Scarlett West has built a magical world, detailed and vivid in her creative descriptions. I grow to love her characters as they grow into a devoted group of crime fighting warriors. No holds barred.

Oh man, I need more…But I don’t have the rest of the series sitting on my ereader, like I had the first three. Can hardly wait for the final two books.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Cursed In The Dark by Scarlett West.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

The dark Fae I risked everything to trust is still harboring deadly secrets.

Someone is brutally murdering Fae people, and my boss, Damien, forbids me to be involved in the investigations.

And yet, I can’t stay away.

From the case or Damien.

Even as fights break out between our rival clans, making it impossible to forge the relationship we both still desire, Damien still pursues me with a fiery passion in bed. But he rejected me, driving a cold wedge between us as he avoids making me his fated mate. Still, that won’t stop me from finding the killer.

Now, marked with a fatal curse that’s draining my life away, I don’t know what will kill me first: the dark spell…or Damien breaking my heart.

Readers who enjoy Karen Marie Moning, Laurell K. Hamilton, Amelia Hutchins, and Lindsay Hall, will love this dangerous and sexy urban fantasy.

Cursed in the Dark is a steamy, urban fantasy romance that is book three out of five. Scroll Up and One Click to start reading this hot paranormal romance today!

ABOUT SCARLETT WEST

Scarlett West

Scarlett West writes steamy, paranormal romance featuring sexy Fae. Deep characters and hot romance are her thing.

An avid reader and writer who will never stop dreaming, Scarlett has traveled to many countries and been on tons of adventures. She draws her stories from these places, life experiences, and her grand imagination.

Besides writing, she’s a hobby herbalist and a dancer. If she’s not by the computer typing these things up, she can be found in a forest, on a mountain, or by the ocean.

Scarlett West would like to thank her three F’s: Fans, Family, and Friends. Thank you forever for your support.

Website / Facebook / Twitter

MY SCARLET WEST REVIEWS

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Witch Weigh, Mine & Protecting The Dream @MSharpBooks #carolinemickelson @ReginaPucket

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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.

Witch Weigh

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.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars
Mine

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.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

I don’t think the cover does Protecting the Dream by Michelle Sharp justice.

Protecting the Dream (A Dream Seeker Novella Book #2

How about this one? Which do you like better?

Protecting the Dream (A Dream Seeker Novella Book 2) by [Michelle Sharp]

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.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars
  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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Shade and the Castle by the Sea by Marilyn Peake @marilynpeake

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Woo Hoo. Shade and the Castle by the Sea is Marilyn Peake’s third novel in the Shade series and I am enjoying watching the character grow and develop throughout the series.

Shade and the Castle by the Sea (Shade Series, #3)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

My name is Galactic Shade Griffin and I am a ghost whisperer.

It has been a while since I have been in Shade’s world, but I am looking forward to be with her on her grand adventure. She is off to college on a full scholarship. Her mother says all the right things, but Shade knows she has to make her own way in the world. Bye Bye trailer park, hello Ocean View College

She is off to train to be a ghost whisperer. Her neighbor and best friend, Kai, is going with her. Even better, Kai is her rooommate. Shade’s major is Ghost Whispering and her minor is Journalism in a Broken World. She is being trained to make the world a better place.

Of course, this is school, so there will be the normal problems when you throw a bunch of teenagers together, but for her it meant freedom from her mother. Although her mother will still try to guilt her into doing what she wants, she was going to take advantage of everything available to her.

From the mouth of Shade, “…when someone’s in a lot of trouble and I understand what the problem is, I play Guardian Angel.” Shade is giving, trusting, and loyal.

Marilyn Peak went where I have never been before and that is saying a lot. The Shade series keeps getting better with each book I read and, lucky me, I have the next one ready to go!

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Shade and the Castle by the Sea by Marilyn Peake.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Semi-Finalist, Young Adult category, 2020 Kindle Book Awards.

With all the other fish in the sea, your first crush needn’t be human.

Shade and her best friend, Kai Zahnii, begin their freshman year at Ocean View College. Located on a secret island off the coast of California, Ocean View is a special place specifically designed to train students with magical abilities. Shade is a ghost whisperer. Kai is an empath and healer with the innate ability to become a Navajo shaman. On campus, their worldview is expanded as they meet witches, faeries, selkies, shapeshifters and others like themselves.

Ocean View has incredible facilities and buildings that look like castles. Down by the sea, merpeople interact with students. In the waters off a remote stretch of beach, Shade meets a merman with whom she falls deeply in love. Everything seems idyllic and magical. That is, until Shade discovers a horrible secret about the college, one that will haunt her dreams and waking moments.

SHADE AND THE CASTLE BY THE SEA is Book #3 in a YA Paranormal Mystery / YA Urban Fantasy series.

ABOUT MARILYN PEAKE

Marilyn Peake

From Goodreads:

Marilyn Peake is the author of both novels and short stories. Her publications have received excellent reviews. Marilyn’s one of the contributing authors in BOOK: THE SEQUEL, published by The Perseus Books Group, with one of her entries included in serialization at THE DAILY BEAST. In addition, Marilyn has served as Editor of a number of anthologies. Her short stories have been published in seven anthologies and on the literary blog, GLASS CASES.

Awards: Silver Award, two Honorable Mentions and eight Finalist placements in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards, two Winner and two Finalist placements in the EPPIE Awards, Winner of the Dream Realm Awards, and eight Top Ten Finisher Awards in the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll.

Stalk Marilyn Peake:  Website  /  Twitter

MY REVIEWS FOR MARILYN PEAKE

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Giveaway – Dream Stalker by Nancy Gardner @NGardner @partnersincr1me

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Dream Stalker by Nancy Gardner Banner

Dream Stalker

by Nancy Gardner

November 1-30, 2021 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

Dream Stalker by Nancy Gardner

Lily Scott had vowed never to dream-walk-again….

Lily is a contemporary Salem witch who descends from a long line of witches born with the power to walk into other people’s dreams to fight crime. But her disastrous first dream-walk almost killed her, and she vowed never to repeat the painful experience.

Now her daughter is falsely accused of murder, and the only way to clear her would be for Lily to enter the dreaming mind of the real killer, risking confrontation with the deadly Dream Stalker.

Can Lily summon the courage?

Book Details:

Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Published by: Bowker
Publication Date: June 1st 2021
Number of Pages: 257
ISBN: 1733919945 (ISBN13: 9781733919944)
Series: Dream Stalker, #1
Purchase Links: Amazon | Reedsy | Goodreads | ​Audible | ​Apple Play

Read an excerpt:

Chapter 1

Salem, Massachusetts—October 1, 2013

I stumbled through the early morning fog blanketing Salem’s Gallows Hill, hurrying to the oak tree that my maternal grandmother, Sadie MacAskill, loved. When I was a child, she’d taught me that witches like ourselves derive energy from working with green, growing plants and trees. I could still feel our arms stretched around the oak’s trunk, listening for the pulsing power within it.

“Feel Mother Earth’s wisdom rising,” she’d said.

I’d never needed wisdom more. The plan I’d cooked up with an old friend had gone terribly wrong. Kitty was supposed to bring my estranged daughter, Sarah, to dinner. Sarah’s favorite dinner, creamy chicken pesto and pasta, was baking in the oven when I got the call.

“Kitty hasn’t come home, and I’m not ready to see you without her. I may never be ready,” Sarah said, her voice cold and unforgiving. She hung up before I could reply.

When I called her back, she refused to answer. If my husband, Sam, had still been alive, he’d have known what to do. But he’d died two years ago.

It was long after midnight when I threw the cold casserole down the disposal and crawled into bed. When sleep proved impossible, I paced the empty rooms of our Chestnut Street home until dawn, then grabbed the nearly empty bottle of homemade dandelion brandy as an offering to Nana’s spirit and rode my Vespa to the park atop Gallows Hill.

Exhausted and headachy, I forgot to watch my step and tripped over a rock. I managed not to fall, but the bottle flew out of my hand. I watched it shatter, watched the last golden dregs seep into the grass. I felt like I was watching my relationship with my daughter ebb with it.

As I dropped shards of glass into the nearby trash can, the wind seemed to whisper that I didn’t deserve to find the wisdom I needed. I’d failed Nana, and I’d failed my daughter.

“Enough self-pity.” I pulled my leather jacket tighter and scurried past the crumbling pavilion and rusting flagpole to the ancient oak. Once again, I pressed my cheek to the rough bark, closed my eyes, and waited. The bark pulsed. A crow landed in the branches above me, cawing and shaking loose a shower of dead leaves. I opened my eyes, and for a moment, Nana’s face wavered before me. Then she was gone, leaving me with my questions unanswered.

My cell vibrated. Who would call me this early? Sarah? Kitty with an explanation? I checked the screen. Neither. Honey Campbell, my landlord and a good friend. She owned the building on Pickering Wharf where we both ran our businesses. Her barbershop took up the first floor. My herbal studio, Healing Thyme, sat above it.

“Hi, Honey. What’s up.”

“Thought you’d want to know your friend, Kitty, came looking for you,” Honey said in her soft Scottish brogue. “And bye-the-bye, she looked like shite. She stumbled off toward Moe’s. You might yet find her there.”

Two months earlier, Kitty had stopped me on the street. I’d taken her for a panhandler and almost turned her away. Then she said, “Lily, don’t you remember me? My parents took us to New York to see West Side Story. We had the best time.”

We’d shared a cup of coffee and Kitty shared her story. She’d been a high school biology teacher until she’d been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. The disease had taken everything from her: her teaching career, her home, her reason for living. She’d ended up lost on the streets.

Things had taken a turn for the better for Kitty when she found a permanent bed at St. Bridget’s Homeless Shelter and, because of the doctor who volunteered his services there, Kitty’s memory was making a remarkable improvement.

“Thanks, Honey. I’m on my way.” I dashed back to the Vespa, strapped on my helmet, and started the engine. Usually, the thrum of the engine beneath me and the slapping rhythm of my braid tapping against my back soothed me. Not this morning. I pressed the throttle and hurried to Pickering Wharf, determined to find out what had gone wrong last night.

***

Excerpt from Dream Stalker by Nancy Gardner. Copyright 2021 by Nancy Gardner. Reproduced with permission from Nancy Gardner. All rights reserved.

 

 

Author Bio:

Nancy Gardner

Nancy Gardner writes cozy mysteries with a paranormal twist. The first novel in her new series, Dream Stalker, tells the story of Lily Scott, a contemporary Salem witch who walks into people’s dreams to fight crime. One reviewer called it a gripping tale of witchcraft, family loyalties, and the cost of seeking justice. Her most recent short story, “Death’s Door,” was selected to be included in the 2021 anthology, Malice Domestic 16: Mystery Most Diabolical. She lives near Boston with her writer husband, David.

Catch Up With Nancy Gardner:
NancyGardnerAuthor.com
Goodreads
BookBub – @nancygardner5
Instagram – @ngauthor
Twitter – @NGardner_author
Facebook – @NancyGardnerAuthor

 

 

Tour Participants:

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Join In:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Nancy Gardner. There will be TWO (2) winners for this tour. Each of the Two (2) winners will receive a $10 Amazon.com gift card (US, UK, & Canada residents). Plus, BONUS! Winners that reside in the US will also receive a physical copy of Dream Stalker by Nancy Gardner. The giveaway runs November 1 through December 5 2021. Void where prohibited.


 

 

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Buried Treasure – What Lies Beneath The Graves By Kathryn Meyer Griffith @KathrynG64

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What Lies Beneath the Graves (Spookie Town Murder Mystery #5)

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Gripping from the very beginning and I love that.

We have a new character, Evelyn, Myrtle’s grandniece. She is living in Evelyn’s home, fixing it up and collecting the homeless kitties, like Evelyn used to do. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Glinda is a psychic, and quickly makes many friends since her move to the small town of Spookie, where danger stalks the characters, like the ghosts in the fog. Is the fog your friend or is it out to get you?

Frank is a murder mystery writer since his retirement from the police department, but he needs more. He becomes a consultant for the Chicago Police Department, and it’s a good thing he did. He will need those resources when his daughter, Laura’s, safety becomes an issue.

There is so much more going on than just the mystery about the buried treasure. Kathryn Meyer Griffith manages to have multiple mysteries going on so there is never a dull moment.

What a fabulous cast of characters. I love their uniqueness and quirkiness. Their willingness to go above and beyond for those around them, whether two footed or four footed.

Myrtle still remains my favorite. I love this crusty old bird, eccentric, gruff, but, as we pull away the layers, like peeling an onion, her heart is exposed. And it is a big one!

We’ve had adventures in Spookie, with kidnappers, serial killers, missing people, ghosts, witches and now, treasure hunters. It amazes me that Kathryn Meyer Griffith is able to create so many different and wonderful scenarios. I can hardly wait to find out the next one:

All Those Who Came Before…

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of What Lies Beneath by Kathryn Meyer Griffith.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

The 5th Spookie Town Murder Mystery is finally out.
Who wouldn’t want to find a chest of buried treasure, ancient gold coins and exquisitely priceless jewelry, on their land? A treasure a sailor dead for over seventy years once found in the shallow waters of a distant island and later buried, hid, the remnants of at the end of his tragic life. The townspeople of Spookie have been searching, fighting and killing each other over it, for decades and no one has ever unearthed it. Abigail, Frank, Myrtle and her psychic grandniece, Glinda, are on the hunt for the treasure…and they might just find it with Glinda’s and the dead sailor’s help. For Frank, ex-Chicago homicide detective, there’s also a new and dangerous case that brings him temporarily out of retirement and back to Chicago because it threatens his adopted daughter Laura’s safety at the art college she is attending. There are three missing college students, young women, one a close friend of Laura’s, and the Chicago police force is feverishly searching for them before their abductors kill them. Can Frank, with a little help from Glinda’s visions, and his old partner Sam Cato, locate the abducted girls in time and save their lives? All the rest of the quirky characters are also back again to share in the adventures, the mysteries, and the small town life of foggy Spookie. Come join them.

ABOUT KATHRYN MEYER GRIFFITH

Kathryn Meyer Griffith has been a writer for over forty-nine years now and has had twenty-nine novels and thirteen short stories published since 1984. She began her writing career as a paperback horror author in 1984 with Leisure and Zebra Publishing, but has since moved on to write paranormal horror, romantic historical time-travel, suspense, romance, thrillers, and murder mysteries. Her horror novel The Last Vampire, and her thriller Dinosaur Lake (now a best-selling five book series), were both Epic eBook Awards Finalists in 2012 and 2014. Kathryn Meyer Griffith rdgriff@htc.net

* My Books here: https://tinyurl.com/ycp5gqb2

*Audio: http://tinyurl.com/oz7c4or

NOVELS: Evil Stalks the Night, The Heart of the Rose, Blood Forged, Vampire Blood, The Last Vampire (2012 Epic eBook Awards Finalists in their Horror category), Witches, Witches II: Apocalypse, Witches plus Witches II: Apocalypse, The Nameless One erotic horror short story, The Calling, Scraps of Paper (1st Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Things Slip Away (2nd Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Ghosts Beneath Us (3rd Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Witches Among Us (4th Spookie Town Murder Mystery), What Lies Beneath the Graves (5th Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Those Who Came Before (6th Spookie Town Murder Mystery); soon, a 7th, When the Fireflies Retuned, out in December 2020, Egyptian Heart, Winter’s Journey, The Ice Bridge, Don’t Look Back, Agnes, A Time of Demons and Angels, The Woman in Crimson, Human No Longer, Four Spooky Short Stories Collection, Forever and Always Romantic Novella, Night Carnival Short Story, Dinosaur Lake (2014 Epic eBook Awards Finalists in their Thriller/Adventure category), Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising, Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation and Dinosaur Lake IV: Dinosaur Wars, Dinosaur Lake V: Survivors, Memories of My Childhood, and a biographical short story Christmas Magic 1959.

Stalk Kathryn Meyer Griffith:

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MY KATHRYN MEYER GRIFFITH REVIEWS

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Books From The Backlog – Witch Weigh by Caroline Mickelson #booksfromthebacklog

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Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.

If you would like to join in, swing by Carole’s Random Life in Books.

Witch Weigh

Amazon / Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB

Tessa Von Hellengaard is a real witch. Magical spells aside, she’s snarky and selfish, and the other witches in her silent spell coven are fed up with her. Their plan to reform Tessa involves taking away her magic, saddling her with one hundred extra pounds and sending her to a weight loss spa. For good measure they call in Liam Kennedy, a charming and sexy fairy godfather, to teach her some manners.

Desperate to regain her magic and determined to shed the weight, Tessa soon realizes that protecting her heart from Liam will prove to be her greatest challenge.

Goodreads Ratings: 3.58  ·  625 ratings  ·  134 reviews

I added Witch Weigh by Caroline Mickelson because I love witchy stories and a bit of humor is a good thing. Sounds like a quick read filled with fun.

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Review – The Fourth Door by Virginia King @selkiemoonbooks

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I don’t know why I thought Selkie Moons story was told…but there was more to come and I love it.

The Fourth Door (The Secrets of Selkie Moon, #4)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I was under the impression the series was over with The Third Note…but not so. I don’t know why I thought that, but I am happy to be spending more time with these unusual and intriguing characters.

Selkie and Alister are in Hong Kong, looking for Deshi, Alister’s son who was kidnapped thirty years ago. It seems to be an impossible task, but Selkie has an unusual talent that will be necessary to find him, and face the dangers that are ahead.

I love when there is a cultural element involved, especially when it involves the paranormal, and I do love Selkie and her friends. Virginia King does a great job writing about the Chinese mysticism that saturates the pages.

The Fourth Door is more about Alister and their search for his son. Who’s trying to prevent them from finding him and how far will they go?

Chinese sorcery, psychic visions, the paranormal and supernatural, love and hate…

I have loved reading this series and was on a serious reading binge, so maybe I was on a bit of a reading burnout, because I flip flopped between a 3 and a 4 rating. I kept putting it down and picking it up again, my mind wandering. I think current events could have played a part. Couldn’t make up my mind, yet I am excited about more to come…so a 4 it is.

Next stop…Chile…and I’m looking forward to being along for the ride.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Fourth Door by Virginia King.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Thirty years ago, a baby boy was kidnapped …

When Selkie Moon travels to Hong Kong to discover his fate, she has high hopes of using her psychic twinges to find him and reunite him with his father. Until the tea leaves on her flight make a chilling prediction.

Then in a Kowloon night-market she witnesses a child abduction – and the echoes with her quest suddenly raise the stakes.

As the strange events escalate and reach back into Chinese folklore, Selkie is compelled to confront the powerful force that’s hell bent on stopping her. The omens are unmistakable. Someone is going to die.

Someone closest to her?

Or Selkie herself?

ABOUT VIRGINIA KING

Virginia King

When a voice wakes you up in the middle of the night and tells you to write a mystery series, what’s a writer to do? That’s how I came to create Selkie Moon, after a massage from a strange woman with gifted hands was followed by this nocturnal message. I sat down at the keyboard until Selkie Moon turned up — a modern woman with a mythical name. Soon I was hooked, exploring far-flung places full of secrets where Selkie delves into psychological clues tangled up in the local mythology.

Before Selkie Moon invaded my life, I’d been a teacher, an unemployed ex-teacher, the author of over 50 children’s books, an audio-book producer, a workshop presenter and a prize-winning publisher. These days I live in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney with my husband, where I disappear each day into Selkie Moon’s latest mystery. Bliss.

Website

MY VIRGINIA KING REVIEWS

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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