Donna Kunkel Author of Magic in the Mountains
Happy holidays to all! Give a big welcome to Donna Kunkel, author of Magic in the Mountains. Have a seat and grab an insulated mug. I’ve got hot chocolate, hot cider and coffee. Choose your pot, they’re labeled. Pick your choice of a Snicker-doodle, Chocolate Chip or Peanut butter 
cookie from the plate. Yep, I baked them myself. Lets see what Magic in the Mountains is all about. Thanks for joining us!
What inspired this particular story?
After getting the lucky opportunity to live in Hawaii for three years my husband and I try to take a vacation back every other year. On one of our trips, I woke up at 3:30 after dreaming about getting trapped in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains by a heavy snowstorm. A couple of years earlier I’d learned to immediately write down these story ideas before I forgot them. So I got up and started jotting down the dream. I spent that day and several others sitting on the beach, with clipboard-paper-clothespins, writing the beginning of this story. I’d look at the sandy beach, feel the cool breeze coming in off the ocean and write about endless snow and howling winds.
Tell us something about yourself and allow us to get to know you.
I was the quiet band and math geek who avoided English classes like the plague. When I lived in California, I started reading at the beach and finally became obsessed with books.
Why should we read this book/series and what sets you apart from the rest and makes your book/series unique?
Many witches and wizards denied there magic during the Salem witch hunts and the Inquisition, so their descendants never knew they had magical abilities. My Aspen Glen Series is about these men or women finding out that they have magic. This novel is a light hearted romp about a witch trying not to use her magic, but fate has other plans. Take a trip into a world where magic exists, hidden from the normal world.
Favorite holiday memory?
The first week of our school’s Christmas break my dad would take a day off and our family of four would go to downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The cold wind would gust and blow through the canyons created by the towering skyscrapers. When we’d round a corner the frigid wind would smack us in the face and push our kid sized bodies back. Unfortunately it rarely snowed. I only remember once having a few flakes blowing around as we scurried from building to building. We’d shop for a few items that you couldn’t find in our small town.
There was one department store famous for its window displays. These windows were filled with animated, magical, tiny elves hard at work making toys or decorating trees. We would visit every window and watch spellbound. Then we’d go to the forest wonderland to see a reindeer and visit Santa.
For lunch we’d go to the best Jewish deli in the city for corned beef sandwiches. The booths were warm and cozy. No one ever had to wait long to place an order or get your food. The waitresses bustled around the busy lunch time crowd making sure everyone was taken care of, trying to keep the waiting line from getting too long.
After lunch, we’d head back to the department stores. In our town, a store would take up a slot in the downtown building and have at most only an escalator to a basement level. In Cincinnati a store would occupy the entire city block and extend up for at least six floors. There wasn’t anything more exciting than getting to ride an elevator or stopping on the mezzanine level. We rarely got the chance to shop downtown so when we did it was a major event. I still smile as I recall these happy family outings and the time we spent all together.
Least favorite holiday memory?
The year my mom was steaming the turkey carcass and she lifted the lid severely burning her arm. It took a long time, but her arm’s scar did disappear. We never had turkey for Christmas again.
Funniest holiday memory
My mother never had room to move the turkey to the refrigerator so she would thaw the bird in a sink full of water overnight. She came out in the morning and found four punctures in the bird. Apparently during the night, our German Sheppard tried to steal the bird, but it was too frozen and heavy for our dog. Everyone laughed when we told them about the still visible tooth marks.
SPEED ROUND
Favorite Christmas movie: White Christmas then the original Grinch
Favorite Christmas book: Skipping Christmas
Favorite color: blue
Stilettos or flip flops or elf shoes: elf shoes
Coffee or tea or hot chocolate: hot chocolate
E-book or audiobook or paperback: all
Pencil or pen or candy cane: pen
Favorite Christmas Carole or song: Bing Crosby singing White Christmas
All-time favorite Christmas present: my silver flute
Favorite dessert: chocolate
Christmas Candy or Cake: cookies
Favorite thing to do to relax during the holidays: enjoying good food
Champagne or gin or eggnog: champagne
Paranormal or Historical: paranormal
Wonder Woman or Top Model or Tinkerbell: Tinkerbell
Favorite Christmas or holiday TV show: Hallmark’s Mistletoe Inn
Hot or cold: Hot
I’d die if I don’t have: diet Pepsi
Review or not: review
Click on the cover to read more or purchase!
Tell us a little about Magic in the Mountains.
Sick and tired of magical men and mayhem, Alex a city witch, pledges to give magic a rest. Her vow is put to the test when she finds herself snowbound with a hunky mortal. She attempts life without magic even when faced with a demonic hen, a cow that acts like a dog, and a dog that acts human. But when all magic breaks loose and a unicorn shows up, it’s the last straw. How will she keep her magic a secret?
Steve, a reclusive prospector, lives alone in a remote Colorado valley because he doesn’t trust himself around humans, especially those of the female persuasion. Once he meets the feisty Alex, breaking self-imposed rules is just the beginning. But how can he keep her safe from what lives inside him?
Their connection grows, but the secrets they hide keep them from confessing their feelings. Will they be able to accept and control who and what they are in time to give their love a chance?
A sneak peek between the pages of Magic in the Mountains!
This was unbelievable. “My boss isn’t going to understand. This is just like my dog ate my homework. I’m stuck in the snow—for a month or more.” Her mind raced through the possible ways of traveling. “What about a snowmobile?”
“Unfortunately, the road you came in on is the only way in or out. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that an avalanche blocked the valley pass last night. If so, it’ll take a while before anyone can get through.” He watched her. “Why did you drive out this way? Why didn’t you stop at the hotel next to the highway?”
“What hotel?”
“If you had just driven under the highway overpass, you’d have been there. Why didn’t you follow the detour sign?”
“Oh great. That’s—just—great! The stupid detour sign blows away so now I’m stuck in the middle of nothing. I could have been tucked away in a nice comfortable hotel—with electricity and phones. But no—I’m stuck in no-man’s land. I risked life and limb trudging through the snow for what?” She sighed. “Now what?”
Buy links:
Amazon Barnes & Noble The Wild Rose Press
About the author:
Donna Kunkel is a paranormal romance author. Within the pages of her tales you can visit with witches, wizards, shape-shifters, and other fantasy creatures. Figurines of the magic realm surround her computer for inspiration. She lives at the edge of the Colorado mountains with her husband of many years and her two dogs. When not writing, you can find her browsing the fabric shops for her next quilt, stitching Japanese embroidery, or curled up with a good book. She enjoys spending time in the mountains, at Lake Tahoe, or relaxing on a beach in Hawaii.
Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DonnaKunkelAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DonnaKunkel3
Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/donna-kunkel
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Donna-Kunkel/e/B07JR32614
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18551108.Donna_Kunkel
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Magic in the Mountains!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Donna Kunkel, fantasy, Magic in the Mountains, Paranormal Romance, Shapeshifters, snow, Winter, Witches by Tena Stetler with 23 comments.
Interview with Colleen Driscoll Author of Piper the Elf Series.
Happy holidays to all! Give a big welcome to Colleen Driscoll, author Piper the Elf, a children’s series. Have a seat and grab an insulated mug. I’ve got hot chocolate, hot cider and coffee. Choose your pot, they’re labeled. Pick your choice of
a Snicker-doodle, Chocolate Chip or Peanut butter cookie from the plate. Yep, I baked them myself. Lets see what Piper the Elf series is all about. Thanks for joining us!
What inspired this particular story?
In 2010, I woke up with a stomach virus on Christmas Day. As I lay in bed all day, I heard my children and husband having fun, celebrating in the living room, opening gifts, and playing. Two days later, after I felt better, I thought to myself, “What do the elves do the rest of the year?” The first thought was—to play. The idea of Piper the Elf came to me. Each story is about a different adventure with Piper, her elf friends, and Santa.
What does Christmas mean to you?
Christmas is a joyful time for me because it symbolizes hope. Out of His love for us, God sent us His son Jesus and that inspires and fills me with hope. The love we show each other at Christmas is the goodwill we always need to have in our lives.
Favorite holiday memory?
My favorite holiday memory is coming home from Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and opening gifts Santa left under the tree while snacking on fudge, Christmas cookies, and gobs (a western PA cake-like dessert). My parents, eight siblings, and I would stay up until around 4am. What fun!
Do you keep the Christmas Spirit all year?
I like to think I do. LOL. With my Piper the Elf books, I enjoy the Christmas Spirit at least from October through December when I do author school visits and events. I never tire of talking about Christmas with children, helping others like Piper the Elf, encouraging friends to try their best, and including each other in activities.
Why should we read this book/series and what sets you apart from the rest and makes your book/series unique?
Piper the Elf book series are great books because Piper models kindness and friendship to young children. The illustrations are colorful and eye catching and there is a penguin on every page in the series for very small children to find as they listen.
Colleen, tell us a little about Piper the Elf Series.
Adventures of Piper – Santa’s biggest little helper at the North Pole
Book Trailer for Piper the Elf Trains Santa
– Award: Mom’s Choice Award
Book Trailer for Piper the Elf and Santa’s Rockin’ Band – Award: Mom’s Choice Award
Book Trailer for Piper the Elf’s Big Surprise – Award: Mom’s Choice Award
Book Trailer for Piper the Elf Rides a Reindeer – Awards: Preferred Choice Award Creative Child Magazine & Mom’s Choice Award
About the Author:
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Piper the Elf Series!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Children's Books, Christmas, Colleem Driscoll, Piper the Elf series, Santa by Tena Stetler with 15 comments.
Happy Thanksgiving From A Thankful Author
I am a Thankful Author. 
I have to say this year has been difficult from beginning to end. But when I sit down and think about it, I have many things to be thankful for. The catastrophic softball-size hail storms missed us this year. Yippee!
My wonderful readers are fantastic and I am so thankful for them. I sincerely hope my tales of paranormal creatures help them forget their troubles and relax by slipping into worlds of magic fantasy & romance if only for a few hours.
I still wake up and pinch myself every morning, thankful to be living my dream of being published. A dream made possible by my supportive, extraordinary husband of many moons and The Wild Rose Press my amazing publisher. My editor, Lill, well, let’s just say…SHE ROCKS! I’m so thankful for her patience and understanding. (Discovering new and creative way to screw up seems to be my lot in life.) Yep, my face turns bright red every time I think about it. Oh, yeah, and I’m thankful for the helpful, supportive authors of The Wild Rose Press! They’re always willing to lend a hand.
When my characters run amuck, the story plot flows in ten different directions and none of them what I had in mind AND a deadline looms. (Yeah, I know you plotters never have that happen, but us pansters… well just saying.) Three little words, “You’ve got this” are music to my ears from my family and friends. I am eternally thankful for their encouragement and support.
I am thankful for the unconditional love of my chow dog, Mystic; spoiled parrot, Taco; and box turtle, Sammie. No matter how bad I feel or goof up, in their eyes, I’m darn near perfect. And I’m certainly not going to tell them any different!
Finally, a day never passes without my thanks to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces whose dedication keeps our great nation free. (I know you’ve heard me say this before, but I can’t help it. Comes from living in a military town all my life & marrying a soldier.) We are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. You may not agree with me, but that’s what is great about this nation. You don’t have to. I’m entitled to my own opinion, as are you. I can write books on any topic I choose without fear of a midnight knock on my door or being carted away. Unless of course my characters come to life, then we’re all in trouble. <Giggle>
While I have a lot more to be thankful for, roof over my head, food in my house, etc., I’ve listed the biggies. I wish you all love, laughter and happy Thanksgiving!
<3 Available for preorder A MAGIC REDEMPTION, A Demon’s Witch Series, Book 5! <3
Share the magic, adventure and mystery -Pre-Order your digital copy from Amazon at a special discounted price for only $2.99, limited time!
“Synn has wandered throughout the books of A Demon’s Witch Series. Now, she discovers even with magic, finding love and your place in the world can be difficult!”
Synn, a demon, carries extraordinary magic and power, but there is more within her than she dreams. Kidnapped as a child, her captors murdered her family and forced her into training as a warrior assassin. When an assignment goes horribly wrong, she finds herself at the mercy of the friends and family of her intended target. Offering valuable information in exchange for protection, she gains her freedom, but it is not without its challenges.
Gavin Shaughnessy is the publican at his family’s Irish pub. He is certain Synn is meant to be his and isn’t bothered by her past. He must find a way to convince her their future together is stronger than the dark memories that haunt her dreams.
When her past comes calling for revenge, will their love survive the raging inferno she brings down upon them? Or will the searing path of destruction destroy all they hold dear?
A sneak peek between the pages of A Magic Redemption!!
Darkness engulfed her. The voices in her head returned calling her a traitor suggesting retribution would be sweet and exacted soon. She fought against the words and covered her ears. As suddenly as the booming words came, it was silent. The dream shifted to a dank room, without windows, or light, and a darkness she could almost feel. Scraping sounds against a large wooden plank door grated on her nerves.
Magic failed her leaving her drained and unresponsive. She curled up in a fetal position. Baltizar’s voice whispered again in her mind. “I still control you. They’re all going to die a horrible death at my hands. You will get to watch. Just like when you failed to save your family.”
His wicked laugh echoed though her mind and faded. A warm liquid flowed over her hands. She looked down. They were covered in blood. Bodies were strewn over what looked like the dirt floor of a cave. Screaming, she awoke soaked with sweat, head pounding and blood trickled from her palms where her finger nails had sliced through the skin.
A loud bark came from the foot of her bed. She stumbled out of bed and rushed to Storm’s crate, knelt, and yanked open the door. A warm, fur ball bounded into her lap, the dog covered her face with kisses. She sat on the floor, tears streaming down her face dripping on the soft fur she buried her face in.
Never allowed to cry, she allowed the flood gates open, and cried for her family, mistakes made, decisions forced upon her, and wished she’d died in the battle with Baltizar. She wouldn’t be responsible for the deaths of her new friends, Gavin and his family, or Storm.
Happy Thanksgiving to All!!!!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Tena Stetler, Thanksgiving by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
Why Worry?
Why worry? If you’ve done the very best you can, worrying won’t make it better. – Walt Disney
As you all know, I love and admire Walt Disney. In fact in September of 2017, I spend my wedding anniversary with my hubby in Disneyland California. Hubby and I got in on the Disney Halloween celebration. Halloween IS my favorite holiday, you know. It was fantastic. One day I’ll make it to Walt Disney World it’s on my bucket list. But I digress.
I came across this quote and it made me burst into a huge grin. As a writer, I sometimes worry. Okay, maybe I worry a lot. What if my writing isn’t reaching people? What if my books aren’t good enough? What if people don’t like my books? Writing is subjective after all. How am I going to make the next deadline? Would it have been better to land a literary agent? What if I’d taken the self-published path rather than traditional publishing? And the list goes on. Go ahead add some of yours.
My mind reels, my heart palpitates, and I have to go for a walk. Taking my dog for a walk and telling her how I feel is one of my stress relievers.
Are you facing something that seems insurmountable and worrying about it?
If so, let’s all read aloud this quote and just breathe. Worrying won’t make it better or make it go away. In fact, it just makes our head and heart hurt. Then grumpiness sets in.
Let’s stomp out worry and wear a great big grin instead! Don’t forget exercise, it gets those feel-good endorphins flowing. I feel better already. How about you?
Back to the writing cave! Have a productive day! In fact make that a productive week, month, and year! Happy Thanksgiving!
Yep, I’m going to sneak in a promotion for my upcoming release A Magic Redemption, fifth book in A Demon’s Witch Series! I know you’re going to love it! See got those endorphins flowing. LOL Psst…
Share the magic, adventure and mystery -Pre-Order your digital copy of A MAGIC REDEMPTION from Amazon at a special discounted price for only $2.99 for a limited time!
A Little about A Magic Redemption!
Synn, a demon, carries extraordinary magic and power, but there is more within her than she dreams. Kidnapped as a child, her captors murdered her family and forced her into training as a warrior assassin. When an assignment goes horribly wrong, she finds herself at the mercy of the friends and family of her intended target. Offering valuable information in exchange for protection, she gains her freedom, but it is not without its challenges.
Gavin Shaughnessy is the publican at his family’s Irish pub. He is certain Synn is meant to be his and isn’t bothered by her past. He must find a way to convince her, their future together is stronger than the dark memories that haunt her dreams.
When her past comes calling for revenge, will their love survive the raging inferno she brings down upon them? Or will the searing path of destruction destroy all they hold dear?
A sneak peek between the pages of A Magic Redemption:
Darkness engulfed her. The voices in her head returned calling her a traitor suggesting retribution would be sweet and exacted soon. She fought against the words and covered her ears. As suddenly as the booming words came, it was silent. The dream shifted to a dank room, without windows, or light, and a darkness she could almost feel. Scraping sounds against a large wooden plank door grated on her nerves.
Magic failed her leaving her drained and unresponsive. She curled up in a fetal position. Baltizar’s voice whispered again in her mind. “I still control you. They’re all going to die a horrible death at my hands. You will get to watch. Just like when you failed to save your family.”
His wicked laugh echoed though her mind and faded. A warm liquid flowed over her hands. She looked down. They were covered in blood. Bodies were strewn over what looked like the dirt floor of a cave. Screaming, she awoke soaked with sweat, head pounding and blood trickled from her palms where her finger nails had sliced through the skin.
A loud bark came from the foot of her bed. She stumbled out of bed and rushed to Storm’s crate, knelt, and yanked open the door. A warm, fur ball bounded into her lap, the dog covered her face with kisses. She sat on the floor, tears streaming down her face dripping on the soft fur she buried her face in.
Never allowed to cry, she allowed the flood gates open, and cried for her family, mistakes made, decisions forced upon her, and wished she’d died in the battle with Baltizar. She wouldn’t be responsible for the deaths of her new friends, Gavin and his family, or Storm.
Dont miss : Book Series Trailer: https://youtu.be/lELj0amtkk8
Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon AU, Amazon CA, itunes, The Wild Rose Press, Barnes and Noble Wal-mart.com
About the author:
Tena Stetler is a best-selling author of award winning paranormal romance. She has an over-active imagination, which led to writing her first vampire romance as a tween to the chagrin of her mother and delight of her friends. After many years as a paralegal, then an IT Manager, she decided to live out her dream of pursuing a publishing career.Her books tell stories of magical kick-ass women and mystical alpha males that dare to love them. Travel, adventure and a bit of mystery flourish in her books along with a few companion animals to round out the tales.
Colorado is home; shared with her husband of many moons, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a forty-five-year-old box turtle. When she’s not writing, her time is spent kayaking, camping, hiking, biking or just relaxing in the great Colorado outdoors. During the winter you can find her curled up in front of a crackling fire with a good book, a mug of hot chocolate and a big bowl of popcorn.
Well, what do you think? Drop me a line in the comments with your thoughts. Thanks for allowing me to be part of your world today! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Magic Redemption, California, Disneyland, Halloween, Holiday, Tena Stetler, Thanksgiving, Walt Disney, Worry by Tena Stetler with 7 comments.
