Holiday Recipe & A Magic Redemption
Happy holidays to all! I’m so excited today is the release of A MAGIC REDEMPTION, the fifth book in A Demon’s Witch Series. Yippee!! 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 A MAGIC REDEMPTION is all about! Also, check out my Holiday Recipe for Fantasy Fudge. Pssst. To celebrate my new release I’m giving away a $10.00 Amazon gift card. Read to the bottom of the post, tell me the name of Synn’s pup in the comments to be entered for a chance to win Thanks for joining us!
A Magic Redemption has been in the process for quite some time. Synn the heroine of the book has wandered in and out of most of the books in A Demon’s Witch Series. 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 sees an escape and exchanges valuable information for protection and takes freedom in Ireland. 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.
I always knew I’d have to tell Synn’s story, but had to wait until all the pieces fell into place from the other books in the series. I’m super excited to share her incredible adventure and heart-warming story with you now. I certainly hope you enjoy reading A Magic Redemption as much as I did writing Synn’s tale.
Although A Magic Redemption is the fifth book in A Demon’s Witch Series, it can be read as a stand-alone like all the other books in the series. Before we get into A MAGIC REDEMPTION, a little holiday fun and a recipe!
Twinkle Bright – Elves Secret Santa
Direct from the North Pole, welcome to the Elves Secret Santa party! Here at the North Pole it’s extremely busy, but we still have time for a little holiday fun and shenanigans.
Let me introduce myself. I’m an elf and my name is Twinkle Bright because my elf hat has twinkle lights wound all around the scalloped edge and the pointy top.
I make yummy Hot Chocolate for Santa and the elves from a secret family recipe passed down from generation to generation. My hot chocolate keeps everyone warm and toasty inside at the North Pole. There is even an automatic dispenser in Santa’s Sleigh providing him with hot chocolate during his travels on Christmas Eve. It goes good with the cookies the children leave for him.
While I am mixing up large batches of hot chocolate, I listen to Christmas Carols from a variety of pop, country and rock artists. I always taste each batch to insure it’s up to elf standards. . You would think I’d get tired of hot chocolate, but no — never. I love the steaming chocolaty drink. I usually keep mine in an insulated mug so it stays warm while sampling the cookies in the elves’ bakery. Frosted sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies are my absolute favorites.
Now, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. But you must promise not to tell…anyone.
We do a secret Santa gift exchange around here and this year I got Bob, her job at the North Pole is name checker to make sure Santa has all the correct spellings of the girls and boys. One year she spelled Chrys’ name Chris and wow what an uproar.
Luckily Santa caught it, but we had to rush to change all the tags on her packages. Whew!
I’m getting Elf Bobi a package of 120 different color markers in a jewel encrusted case for marking off the correctly spelled names after she checks them.
Do you think she’ll like that?
Do you like fudge? Great, I’ll share with you my favorite Fantasy Fudge Recipe.
3 cups of sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 – 5 oz can of evaporated milk (do not use sweetened condensed milk)
1 – 12 oz package semi sweet chocolate chips
1 – 7 oz jar marshmallow cream
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
You may add chopped nuts if you wish
Bring sugar, butter and evaporated milk to a full rolling boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stir constantly
Cook for four minutes or until a candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees.
High altitude takes about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and add chocolate chips and marshmallow cream, stir until melted.
Add vanilla and nuts. Stir until blended.
Pour into a greased 9×13 pan, spread evenly.
Cool completely and cut into squares.
A sneak peek between the pages of A MAGIC REDEMPTION!
He showered, pulled on sweats, and stretched out on his empty king-sized bed. After his long flight, a peaceful sleep came quickly until Synn’s nightmare invaded his dream world. Gut wrenching terror tore through him until he was able to disengage himself from the nightmare. There’d be no phone call this time. For a moment he considered shifting, but he might need a vehicle after arriving at her home. He yanked off his sweats and pulled on jeans, a sweater, donned a coat, and grabbed his keys.
He found her sitting cross-legged on the bedroom floor. Storm curled in her lap. The usually active pup was lying still just peering up at her. When Gavin approached, Storm moved one ear forward and turned her head to look at him. “It’ll be okay, girl.” He knelt in front of Synn, brushed the hair away from her face. A vacant stare met his gaze into her eyes like she was in a trance. This couldn’t be good.
He’d seen her nightmare. Something was trying to control her. He wouldn’t let it happen. Releasing a breath, he took hold of her shoulders. She’d been like this once before. When she came out of it anyone within arm’s reach could be in danger. Though her magic was tempered these days, it wouldn’t be for long… Changing strategy, he repositioned himself behind her, caught her up in a bear hug, and pushed the pup out of her lap. Storm yelped and went grudgingly but refused to leave her side.
“Synn, it’s me Gavin; you’re safe.” He gave her a little shake. Arms and legs began flailing. She let out a blood curdling scream and kept screaming until he thought the neighbors a few miles away would hear and call the police. He held her tightly, sat down on the floor, and pulled her into his lap. “Synn. Synn. You’re all right. We’re at the cottage.” The screams turned to sobs. She leaned her head back and blinked.
Panic seized her. “Gavin, you’ve got to get out of here. He’s coming for me and will kill everyone associated with me, including Storm.” She reached for the pup cuddling her close to her chest. “I’m so sorry. I knew this would never work. I don’t deserve a normal life.”
“That’s enough. It was a nightmare. That’s all.”
She turned her large aqua eyes on him and raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
Available from Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon AU, Amazon CA, Kobo , 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.
With the Rocky Mountains outside her window, she sits at her computer surrounded by a wide array of witches, shapeshifters, demons, faeries, and gryphons, with a Navy SEAL or two mixed in telling their tales. 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.
Thank you so much for indulging my excitement at the release of my eighth book with The Wild Rose Press and reading a bit about A MAGIC REDEMPTION! I hope you enjoyed the recipe!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Magic Redemption, Fantasy Fudge, Ireland, magic, Mystery, Paranormal Romance, Shapeshifters, Tena Stetler, Twinkle Bright the Holiday Elf, Urban Fantasy, Witches by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
Interview CJ Zahner Author of Suicide Gene
Give a warm welcome to CJ Zahner author of Suicide Gene release date September 26, 2018. Available for preorder now!
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about CJ and Suicide Gene.
Why should we read this book/series and what sets you apart from the rest and makes your book/series unique?
Without giving too much away, read The Suicide Gene to realize you never truly know another human being. This novel is an amalgamation of fiction and reality. There are impossible anomalies mentioned, yet the suicide factor is real and daunting and a great challenge in today’s society.
I have wondered my entire life if there is a suicide gene. With this book, I wanted to create a story that both entertained readers but made them think, so I threaded real emotion into a fictitious story line.
When I began writing this book, suicide was not as common of an issue, but today the media seems enamored by it. Now, Thirteen Reasons Why on Netflix and A Million Little Things on ABC both depict the heart-wrenching aftermath of suicide. My novel takes this hard topic one step further and asks: is this genetic?
Who would you recommend this book to and what should readers be aware of before reading it?
Readers who like complex story lines with underlying meanings should read The Suicide Gene. This novel commands your attention. Chapters are filled with hints of what’s to come and readers must pay attention to repeated phrases, dates, and numbers. There is so much hidden in this book I doubt anyone will uncover all of the buried messages.
I do not believe this book is appropriate for anyone having suicidal thoughts, and I state this in the beginning. I believe people suffering deep depression should NOT read this book or any other book with suicidal events or topics. Chronic depression and suicidal thoughts are not something to take lightly and should be addressed through counseling.
What inspired you to write?
As a child, I was often alone. My only sibling, a brother, was eleven years older than me and married when I was nine years old. My parents both worked several jobs, and so I wiled the hours away creating characters and writing stories.
In high school, an English teacher, Mrs. Patricia Root, catapulted my love of writing into a full-fledged addiction. I entered college majoring in English. My third novel, Within the Setting Sun, was actually begun in my teenage years.
However, the summer before my freshman year I worked in retail beside four women who were English major graduates. Scared, I switched my major to accounting at the last minute and ended up working in the business world, but I always managed to find my way back to writing. I wrote grants and freelance articles for local magazines and newspapers. I blogged. Once you fall in love with words, it’s hard to cure yourself of the writing itch.
And now, everything inspires me. There is a story in everyone.
Where do your story ideas come from? If they come to you in the middle of the night, do you get up and write them all down?
Life incidents and people inspire my stories. Then my crazy imagination catapults those inspirations into full-length novels. But it is my running where I grow my plots. I run five days a week religiously (down from seven days after suffering a stress fracture) and if I’m not running side by side with one of my friends, you can bet I’m dreaming up my next novel. I love plotting and scheming and you can bet there will always be underlying messages in my books. I reuse phrases to give clues to readers. Dates and numbers have meaning. Honestly, I have the most fun putting little clues in my books that may forever remain unnoticed.
SPEED ROUND FOR A LITTLE ADDED FUN:
Speed Round (one word only answer): Yep, I know torture for a writer!<evil laugh>
Favorite scary movie: The Perfect Getaway
Favorite scary book: The Dead Zone by Stephen King
Last scary book read: The Mist by Stephen King
Favorite color: Pink
Stilettos or flipflops or boots: sneakers
Coffee or tea or flaming drink: coffee
Ebook or audiobook or paperback: ebook
Pencil or pen or quill with blood ink jar: pen
Favorite scary song:????
Favorite costume: Belle from beauty and the beast (because she loves to read)
Favorite dessert: chocolate
Favorite junk food: chocolate
Favorite thing to do to relax: Chase bats? run
Champagne or gin or magic potion: champagne
Paranormal or Historical: paranormal
Wonder Woman or Top Model or Witch’s Ball: witch’s ball
Favorite scary TV show: ???
Hot or cold: hot
POV: ???
I’d die if I don’t have: coffee, chocolate, wine and cheese
Review or Not: review
A little about Suicide Gene
She thought they were her siblings. By the time she realized they weren’t, one of them was dead.
Doctor Emma Kerr had no right counseling them. Adopted and her birth records lost, she believed she was born a McKinney. Her face, intelligence, and depression resembled theirs. For years people mistook her for their sister. So she devised a plan. What begins as a scheme to counsel the McKinney family and determine if they are blood relatives, quickly causes Emma to wonder if she had truly done the manipulating. Is someone following her?
Now Emma clamors to escape the McKinney world of domination and deception.
Is she Mathew McKinney’s sister? She can’t be. Is he in love with her? He can’t be. Then how do he and his sisters know more about her than she knows herself? This is a game to them. Is the game Suicide? Or Murder?
Purchase Links: Author website: www.cjzahner.com
The Wild Rose Press: http://bit.ly/WRPCJZSG
Amazon: http://bit.ly/AMSGene
https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Gene-CJ-Zahner-ebook/dp/B07G6XVMZG/
CJ, I see you’ve brought friends.
Yes, Attorney Gifflord Johnson and Dr. Emma Kerr from Suicide Gene.
Well lets do a quick question and answer for both. Starting with the attorney.
Tells us about the real you—
……What makes you laugh out loud? Little things in life. People who take themselves too seriously. Men who sit down to a poker table thinking they know what they are doing.
……What makes you angry? Relatively little. Yet, I’m protective of the people I love, so I will stand up to anyone who insults or hurts them. But more than likely, that will involve a good debate.
What event in your past has left the most indelible impression on you? My father’s death and my mother’s Alzheimer’s.
What do you most value? People and relationships.
…..What do you sleep in at night? Boxers.
What is the type of woman you want to spend the rest of your life with? For a long time, I believed the perfect woman for me was someone intelligent, lighthearted, fun, and easygoing, but now I know first and utmost, she must challenge me. (And Emma does.)
What do you consider most important in life? Family with career as a close second.
What is your biggest secret? I sneak away to play poker whenever I am able.
Okay Dr. Kerr your turn.
Who are you really? That’s the question I’ve asked myself many times. I’m definitely intelligent and logical. I enjoy running and am addicted to my iPhone. I can be fun in the right company. I tell little white lies, and I’ve suffered from depression most of my life, hence my obsession with identifying my birth family. I’m convinced my depression is genetic, as I have no reason to be depressed. I was adopted by two wonderful people who loved me unconditionally.
……What makes you laugh out loud? Giff’s jokes, Ally’s escapades, and, lately, a good country song.
……What makes you angry? I don’t take criticism well.
……What do you sleep in at night? Running shorts and a sports bra or t-shirt.
Who were the biggest role models in your life? My adoptive parents, hands down.
What kind of man do you want to spend the rest of your life with? Someone caring, compassionate, and intelligent. A person who knows me and loves me as I am.
(or if you don’t want romance – Why not?)
What kind of man would you never choose? Someone superficial. I thought I was in love with that type once. His confidence attracted me. He was smart, poised, and quite self-centered, which I didn’t mind. Taking a backseat to others has never bothered me. But in the end, I couldn’t weather his shallowness.
What is most important to you in life? Helping those suffering with depression.
What is your biggest fear? That there is a suicide gene, and that it runs in my biological family.
How about a sneak peek between the pages of Suicide Gene.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
The Funeral Parlor.
The face in the casket was her own. It nearly freaked her out.
She stood between her brother and sister, knees wobbling. Her high-necked dress clung to her skin, choking her throat, squeezing her long, slender body tighter and tighter until she felt her lungs might explode. Damn panic attacks.
Her siblings moved closer, tightening their grip on her when they heard her struggling to breathe. Together their tall frames—movie-star handsome—melded into a dark mass at the foot of the casket. It took all the energy the three of them could muster to keep her upright.
“Are you okay?” Melanie asked her.
She nodded.
“Try not to embarrass yourself,” Matt whispered.
Again, a nod.
She wasn’t sure she could get through the day without fainting. There were no breaks at a funeral, and she just wanted to get away from the grim whispery-whirrs of the bereaved and the sickeningly-sweet waft of the flowers. But she couldn’t leave. Matt would kill her and, besides, she had no cigarettes. Her sister was her supplier. Now she’s dead.
The parade of mourners stretched out of the room and down the hall and it was only 2:05. Some faces in line she didn’t recognize, which infuriated her. Her sister had no real friends. Nosy bastards. They just want to know what happened.
She tried to ignore surrounding conversations and remain composed. But like Medusa’s venomous mane, muffled words of hand-covered comments serpentined toward her from all directions. She couldn’t block them. They echoed in her head like garbled phrases over a worn intercom. “Why did she do it?” “Like her mother.” “Was it suicide?”
That last question nearly sent her to her knees. Her body sagged. Melanie caught her and Matt pulled her close, so she could lean on him until it passed.
“Don’t look if looking makes you queasy,” Melanie told her, but her glance drifted back to her sister’s pasty face. That’s what I would look like if I were dead.
She, herself, had considered suicide for so long it was hard to believe she still feared death.She hated funerals, could barely walk through the front door of a funeral home without hyperventilating. Yet, she had to go to this one. Her own identical twin sister lie in that ugly copper box, her head sunk low in billowing white silk.
“I’m sorry for the three of you.” Her aunt Carol’s hoarse voice coaxed her attention from the coffin. Notably thinner—grief now topping her midmorning chemotherapy cocktail,— her aunt dabbed a tissue at tear-stained cheeks. She was in the third round with breast cancer and getting her butt kicked. “I can’t believe this is happening to our family again. Did you know she was that bad?”
“Well.” Melanie paused. “She’s always had those tendencies, but we thought—with the counseling—she was doing better.”
“Counseling?” Aunt Carol’s cheeks pinked.
“Yes,” Matt said. “Six months ago we started seeing a psychiatrist—all four of us.”
“We thought a counselor might help,” sweet Melanie continued. “We decided maybe we did have some baggage about Mom’s—” She took a deep breath. Her gaze moved to her sister.
Don’t say it, Mel, don’t say suicide.
“Death.” Melanie looked away.
“How horrible.” Aunt Carol straightened. She appeared appalled. “You should sue him—that counselor.”
“Her.” Matt shook his head, eyes glaring. “She’s a psychiatrist.”
“We will sue her.” The twin’s voice rose, but she stopped, glanced at Matt, and tightened her jaw. “She didn’t give a damn about us. Now my sister is dead. She’ll pay.”
It happened then—at 2:10 p.m. She felt Matt’s piercing gaze and watched as he released his grip on her arm. Her aunt Carol became so emotional that Matt had to help her to the back of the room. Family members congregated there amidst her wild sobs while Matt held her, and a rush of people came toward her and Melanie at the casket. One after another. Melanie let go of her, too, and she had to stand on her own.
For the first time in her life, she was alone.
So CJ, tell us a little about writing Suicide Gene. Was it fun or difficult? Do your characters always act as you expect? Are you a plotter, or fly (write) by the seat of your pants?
Writing The Suicide Gene was both fun and difficult. Fun creating characters and devising impossible yet believable anomalies; however difficult due to the subject. I’ve suffered from depression at different periods during my life. While in my teens, twenties, and thirties I experienced occasional suicidal thoughts before my periods. Fortunately, I recognized it was hormonal. Also, I had loving parents, a supportive husband, and three beautiful children that helped me through my worst times.
Regarding the characters, yes, they absolutely turned my book around. They did not act exactly as I intended.
First of all, Minnie McKinney was the name of my great-great-grandmother. (Who names a child that?) I made her a little crazy not only because her name seems to imply it, but because someone once told me she was the black sheep of our family. Since she was three generations removed, I didn’t think anyone would mind if she wasn’t so sane. I named her twin Mary, and although I never intended to like either twin, I did like Mary.
Secondly, naming a character Gifford was important to me because my grandfather, Frank Gifford (not THE Frank Gifford but Frank Merle Gifford), did attempt unsuccessfully, thank heaven, to commit suicide after his wife died. Hence Giff was named after my grandfather. I intended him to be a minor character; however, I made a mistake. I patterned his personality after my own son’s, and because he was so like my son, of course, I grew to love him and couldn’t bear him taking second fiddle to any other male character in the book. So, he emerged as a main character.
Here is something I learned from character development and something I advise other authors: Never base a character after your child or grandchild. You can’t bring yourself to write anything bad about that character. (Remember Amazing Amy in Gone Girl?) Go ahead and try. I dare you.
Finally, in regard to what type of writer I am, for my first three books, The Suicide Gene, Dream Wide Awake, and my work-in-process, Within the Setting Sun, I flew by the seat of my pants. My fourth novel, The Dream Snatchers, is a sequel to Dream Wide Awake and I’m trying to turn myself around by outlining and plotting. Will see where that leads. From my experience so far, no matter what I do or how determined I am for the story to go as planned, the characters take on a life of their own!
More about the author:
Cyndie “CJ” Zahner is a digital-book hoarder, lover of can’t-put-down books, runner, author, and Mensa wannabe. That last trait explains the inspiration for her first novel, The Suicide Gene. Her second book, Dream Wide Awake, was inspired during long runs on Presque Isle State Park in her hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. She is a proud mother of three and an even prouder grandmother of one.
Before becoming a novelist, CJ worked as a grant and freelance writer. Her articles varied from business to women’s health to the paranormal.
In 2015, she began looking at life differently when her brother and his wife were diagnosed with dementia and early-onset Alzheimer’s. At that time, her husband pulled her aside and said, “Quit your job. You’re a writer.” After twenty years of service, CJ picked up her purse at work one day and quietly walked away.
Now, she rises before dawn, writes, runs, and smiles much. She completed The Suicide Gene and Dream Wide Awake, and is nearing completion of two other novels, Within the Setting Sun and The Dream Snatchers.
A hard worker and story lover, CJ Zahner is determined to read, write, and run happily ever after…
Author Links:
Author website: www.cjzahner.com www.cyndiezahner.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcjzahner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TweetyZ
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cjzahner/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18283247.C_J_Zahner
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-zahner
Athletchic.com blog: https://athletchic.com/
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Suicide Gene!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Cyndie "CJ" Zahner, Genetic Engineering, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Suicide Gene, Suspense by Tena Stetler with 4 comments.
Cover Reveal – Between The Shadows by Casi McLean!
Today I have treat for you. Best-selling Author, Casi McLean, has gifted me with one of the first peeks at the cover of her upcoming September 18, 2018 release BETWEEN THE SHADOWS! Pssst… if you are looking for a free read and goodies, access her award-winning short story, Destiny, through this link: http://casimclean.com/welcome-to-my-inner-circle/
A little about Between The Shadows!
She never expected to confront deadly villains…let alone fall in love with one…
After her friend, York, encounters the ghostly image of a young woman, Mackenzie Reynolds seizes the opportunity to initiate a time jump, thrusting them back to 1865 Georgia. Resolved to thwart the girl’s untimely fate, Kenzi stumbles into a deadly conflict over a stockpile of stolen Confederate gold.
An injured Civil War survivor, James Adams departs for home with a war-fatigued companion he’s determined to help. After pilfering a horse and kidnaping a woman, he never dreamed his hostage would steal his heart.
Kenzi and James must unravel a deadly plot, while helping York save his ghost woman from a brutal death. But can she leave York in a violent past to save James’s life?
A Gripping Novel By Award-Winning Author Casi McLean.
A sneak peek between the pages of Between the Shadows!
Kenzi pressed the blood-soaked gauze against the left side of his abdomen. “I won’t lose you. Not now.”
Barely clinging to life, he opened his eyes a slit, raised his hand still clenching Colin’s gun, and shot two rounds.
Stunned, Kenzi snapped around. “No.” She screamed and dove for the gun through the hazy blue mist engulfing them.
“Brady…” His voice faded as he slipped into semiconscious mumbling.
Yanking the pistol from his grip with her right hand, she maintained pressure with her left. A heartbeat later, the cylinder encasing them rotated open. Kenzi stood then sprinted across the room and pounded on a fist-sized alert button affixed to the wall. The resulting alarm shrieked through the underground chamber, reverberating as it radiated throughout the compound. Two men dressed in white jumpsuits burst through double doors.
“Gurney. Now.” Kenzi screamed at the attendants. “And O-Neg blood. Hurry. Go, go, go.” She ran to James and knelt beside him. Lifting his head, she slid a knee underneath it for support and smoothed a chunk of his dark brown hair from his face. “I’ve sacrificed way too much to have you die now,” she whispered. “My ass will burn for this. Not to mention the repercussions for abandoning York.”
Pulse racing, she checked his bandage. Despite her efforts, streams of crimson still oozed from the wound. Pressing again on the gauze, she shook her head. “Geez. You’ve lost so much blood. Please, hang on.”
Again, the double doors swung wide. This time, a gurney pushed through, followed by the two assistants. One man ran to Kenzi.
“Help me lift him.” Her hands, slick with blood, shot to her white T-top, already drenched in crimson. On second thought, she swept them down the rear of her jeans. Sliding her slippery arms beneath his back, she braced her stance with one bent knee.
“One, two, three.” They heaved him in tandem onto the gurney. She doused her hands with Betadine then splashed more on James’s forearm, snatched an IV from the attached supply basket, and punctured a vein on the inside of his wrist with the sterile needle. Once connected, she hooked the blood pouch on the IV pole and barked at the team, “Let’s move. If this man bleeds out, there will be hell to pay.”
The men, poised with hands on the side of the rails, awaited their next move. “Where to, Dr. Reynolds?”
Kenzi stared at James’s ashen face, worried her meager experience wasn’t enough to save his life––but she had no option. “Surgery.”
Springing into action, one man rolled the gurney down the hallway, while a second leapt onto the base and slipped an oxygen mask over James’s nose and mouth. “I hope this guy isn’t allergic to Propofol.” He attached an anesthesia drip to the IV. “Damn, what caused this gaping wound?”
“He was shot…with a musket.”
About the Author:
So what do you think? I think the cover of Between the Shadows is delicious and the story line intriguing. Can’t wait to read it! How about you?
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Between The Shadows, Casi McLean, Mystery, Suspense by Tena Stetler with 13 comments.
Interview Nancy Thorne Author of Victorian Town
Give a warm welcome to Nancy Thorne, Author of Victorian Town.
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Nancy Thorne and her Victorian Town.
Pssst…. don’t miss the Rafflecopter give away at the bottom of this post!
I’ve a few questions for you. Lets start with what inspired you to write?
I’ve held a love for words since grade school: their spelling, meaning and sound. I felt at a young age that I had a better grasp of words than even some of the adults around me.
I looked forward to spelling bees and writing assignments. I honestly have no idea where the inspiration to write came from – it’s always been there. It took me many years to become a serious, full-time writer. But it was an inspiration I couldn’t avoid forever, like a scratch that would never go away.
Did you tell friends and family members you were writing a book?
It definitely took me a long time to disclose to my friends that I was writing a book. Only my family knew I’d begun to write my novel, Victorian Town. Even though I’d had quite a few short stories published before writing the book, it was an endeavor I decided to keep as secret as possible until I knew I could fully turn my dream into a reality. And there was something special about keeping it to myself for a while, like a happy secret you know you’ll reveal one day, but not quite yet. It wasn’t until I had a dinner party that I spoke of my novel, and by then I’d completed the entire first draft.
Where do your story ideas come from? If they come to you in the middle of the night, do you get up and write them all down?
Wow, I love this question. I often have my best ideas right before I fall asleep. I keep a pen and pad of paper beside my bed so I can write down these thoughts. I’ve learned that I don’t remember my pre-sleep ideas, even if they seem unforgettable at the time.
Once, I wrote an entire short story immediately after waking from a dream. I went directly from my bed to my writing room to scribble it all down before sunlight could dissolve it from my brain.
Why do you write what you write?
I believe that I write what I write, which is the Young Adult genre, because a pivotal part of me stayed behind in the past, when I was a teenager. Events of my youth remain clear and easy to recall. Even the smallest details of the emotional struggles, hurts, romance, friendships and excitement of that time remain with me, refusing to fade, So, I believe this is why is seems natural for me to write about, and for, young adults. I love revisiting the past. And with my writing, I can change the way things really did happen!
Wow I love that! Thanks for indulging me and my questions.
Now she must solve a Victorian mystery without getting herself killed, or worse, spend a lifetime trapped in the past, leaving behind everyone she loves and altering their lives forever.
me. As I struggled to think of how best to offer an explanation, he turned to
me. Gently but deliberately, he moved his hand up my arm, stopping at the nape
of my neck beneath the ribbon of the bonnet.
modest pressure of an indecisive act. A warm energy coursed through my body,
but the strangest thing was that everything felt unbelievably familiar, like it
had all been rehearsed before that moment. I held onto this profound feeling,
not wanting it to leave, until Ben removed his lips from mine.
silence felt awkward. It persisted, and I assumed Ben was already regretting
kissing me.
Street: coaches lined the front of the Royal Hotel as travelers zipped in and
out of the main entrance; horse carts delivered goods in dashes of haste; store
merchants hurried beyond their open doors; street sellers sold goods out of
baskets; helpers swept the boardwalk; ladies could be seen purchasing last
minute necessities behind the windows of each shop.
reached the front door. I peered through the window. Martha arranged
long-stemmed flowers in a vase on a table at the side of the ballroom. A young
man placed a candelabra on a table and then another on top of a piano. Ben had
already started back to the street when I turned. He waved. I waved back. Still
a chance he’ll change his mind.
button, on the ledge of the window and took off the ring.
her chin, which now rested on her knuckles. It was obvious it had taken longer
for me to return this time. It made sense to me right then that the ring held
within it a finite amount of energy with which to transport me to the past and
back home, like a battery depleting its energy with each use. And, I had no
idea how to recharge it.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39085555-victorian-town
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Mystery, Nancy Thorne, Paranormal Romance, Time travel, Victorian Town by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
