Paranormal Romance/Mystery Archives

Oct 14th Halloween Hauntings Cripple Creek – Part One

Cripple Creek Mining District of Colorado is extremely rich in history and it is also touted to be one of the Most Haunted Places in the United States.
On Highway 67, at the base of Pike’s Peak, southwest of Colorado Springs, Cripple Creek sits at an elevation of 9,500 feet. There are mine shafts, head frames, miner’s cabins long abandoned tumbling down. A lonely stone fireplace may be all that’s left of a miners home. Standing among the rubble might cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand on end. A brief visit to one of the abandoned cabins still standing, gives you a window into what it was like back in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. Can you imagine a more inviting place for ghost to spend Halloween?

Cripple Creek, Colorado was the land of opportunity beckoning men from across land and sea to claim their fortune in the gold fields. Most of the men came from the east where they were farmers and had little knowledge of gold mining. Pikes Peak or Bust was their battle cry, it was painted on covered wagons and carts. But the Rocky Mountains didn’t give up its gold easily, buried deep in the mountain, it was fifty years after the first wave of gold fever hit that the mountain gave up its gold.

Many prospectors lost everything they had, some even their lives in the pursuit of gold. With the tales of fires, (Cripple Creek burned to the ground in 1896) floods, mining accidents, general lawlessness in the beginning then bloody battles between mine owners and labor unions, it’s no wonder stories abound of ghosts haunting this historic town that once boasted one murder a day.

Hotel St. Nicolas

So let’s take a closer look at those ghosts. First up, The Hotel St. Nicholas boasts a colorful history. Today its spectacular view of Cripple Creek, 15 guest rooms, furnished with elegance of a bygone era and one restored historic miner’s cottage still includes tales of the supernatural and unexplained. Originally built as a hospital that served the flood victims in the region in the late nineteenth century, it also served as a home for the Sisters of Mercy. As time went on, the hospital served prospectors and their families and then expanded adding a ward for the mentally ill. The hospital closed in the 1970’s. St. Nicholas is rumored to be haunted by several spirits including children, former patients of the mental ward, nuns and an old cantankerous miner. For more information see Hotel St. Nicholas.

** Next Tuesday, we’ll take a look at more Halloween hauntings in Cripple Creek including the Imperial Hotel where I once attended a theater production of Dracula during the week of Halloween. That was a hair-raising experience I can’t wait to share with you. Until then Happy Haunting! Bawahahaha

Speaking of Haunting, how about a peek at A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance:

Stefan is a Native American vampire, former assassin for the Vampire Council. In a twist of fate, he now DJ’s the midnight shift for a small radio station in Whitefish, Montana, on the edge of Glacier National Park where his secret is safe until…

Born in Ireland, Brandy now works as a park ranger and trail guide in the park. During a full moon, Stefan and Brandy’s paths cross in a near physical collision on a trail. Their attraction is immediate and undeniable, almost as if fate demanded it.

Their union was foretold long ago in Irish folk tales where vampires and gryphons, warlocks and demons, witches and faeries must work together for the good of man and magic kind. Is a trip to Ireland the key to unravelling secrets and returning the magic?

Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Cripple Creek, ghosts, Halloween Hauntings, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Tena Stetler, Witches by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Oct 12th A Witch’s Journey – Sunday/Monday Snippet

Yippee! Sunday/Monday Snippet is showcasing A Witch’s Journey and Series. Can former Navy Seal, Lathen Quartz help Pepper McKay, a powerful witch, achieve her lifelong dream of a wildlife rescue? As it turns out, someone else wants the McKay Magic. Can they save the McKay magic for the rescue?

Got a deal for you! Looking for feel-good books to fill your kindle or ipad for those cool Autumn days or nights curled up in front of a cozy fire sipping on hot chocolate and popcorn?

A WITCH’S JOURNEY SERIES is just the ticket. Pssst….Also all available in audio books and are stand alone novels!

A Witch’s Journey – Former Navy Seal, Lathen Quartz helps Pepper, a powerful witch, achieve her life-long dream of wildlife rescue, but can they save the McKay magic & find love?

A sneak peek between the pages:

Klaren threw her coffee in his face, cup and all, then bolted out of his arms and down the stairs as a huge reddish wolf advanced snarling and leaped over the railing knocking Ben down the stairs. He hit the ground and tumbled down the path, he scrambled to get to his feet. But the wolf was too fast, one leap and animal landed on the Ben’s back, knocking him forward before he finally landed face down on the ground out cold. In a blink of an eye, the wolf was gone and witches closed in on all sides.

Pepper ran to her mother and helped her to her feet. “You ok?”

“I’m fine, just sorry I didn’t have time to get more information out of the son of a bitch. Did you see what he did? I wasn’t about to let him transport me to who knows where.” Klaren brushed at the knees of her jeans viciously.

The witches formed a circle around Ben. Wisps of fog trailed along the ground and took shape as spirits floating in the meadow. Duncan stepped forward and cast a spell ensnaring the man in vines of shimmering light.

“Don’t make the vines too tight around his neck, we need him to be able to speak,” Ravyn said in a calm lilting voice.

“Done,” Duncan replied.

Ravyn flicked her fingers, a bucket of water appeared over Ben’s head, it tipped and the liquid splashed over him.

Ben sputtered and cursed, his eyes wild.

“Mr. Bochard. It’s come to our attention that you are misusing magic for personal gain. You’ve called on dark magic to curse an innocent to do harm to your own kind. How do you plead?” Ravyn asked in a commanding tone.

“Bitch.” Ben bit out. “I only acted to get back what was mine.” He narrowed his eyes at Pepper.

She cast a blindfold on him. “Don’t want to take any chances. Not sure what he’s capable of.” Pepper said when Ravyn glared at her.

Ravyn nodded. “I’ll take that as a guilty plea, Mr. Bochard . Therefore, you are to be spellbound immediately.” She paused. “But first, Pepper do you have the candle?”

“Yes.” Pepper produced a tall, thick twisted black candle with beautifully carved moon phases on all sides.

“Step into the circle, face the full moon depiction north.” Raven closed her eyes and murmured several words. The candle ignited in a black flame flickered then faded to pure white.

A Witch’s Holiday Wedding A small-town paranormal romance/mystery. Lathen’s covert military mission threatens life as he knows it. Torn in too many directions, will Pepper and Lathen make it to the altar?

Hidden Gypsy Magic – Gwen a wildlife rehabilitator, and Brock a veterinarian, discover the consequences of awakening hidden gypsy magic.

Chocolate Raspberry Magic– Fund-raising, Ice cream social, furry and feathered babies, romance, mystery, and magic what more could you ask for in a paranormal romance/mystery?

A Witch’s Journey Series – Tales of redemption, magic, wildlife rescue, true love and paying it forward will leave you breathless as you turn page after page. While you’re here, don’t forget to check out all my Paranormal Romances and Mysteries. Click here to be transported to my Magical Realm!

Thanks for stopping in to check out my Sunday Snippet. I hope you liked what you saw and will return next Sunday for a new snippet! Happy Reading!

Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Witch's Journey, A Witch's Journey Series, Halloween, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Tena Stetler, Witches by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Oct 5th A Witch’s Quandary – Sunday Snippet

Welcome to my Sunday Snippet. This week we take a look at A WITCH’S QUANDARY, the sixth book in A Demon’s Witch Series. – A Broken Engagement leads to the discovery of stolen magic and malice with a little blackmail mixed in. Can they weather the storm and find a future together? But you don’t have to read them all first as each book is a standalone. Of course you will enjoy them all!

A little about the inspiration for the book: I spent 18 years as paralegal for law firms. A paralegal is basically a playwright for the attorney. Most depend on the paralegal to do research, write up the pleadings and motions synopsize the case. Subsequently, when something goes wrong, guess who’s to blame? Not the person who has been working on his golf game, or schmoozing with higher ups to better his position in the law firm or political aspiration’s rather than over seeing the trial prep. You got it. This is not always the case, but…. So from that perspective I wrote a solicitor from Scotland that didn’t want to play the game, forced to make a choice that would negatively effect is personal life, but had magic on his side to boot.

Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cauldron, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about A Witch’s Quandary.

Let’s check out what A WITCH’S QUANDARY is all about:

Gale’s engagement is off because she refuses to leave her thriving business in Ireland to follow Dillon to Scotland. Her family and friends are on the emerald isle. Yet, when Dillon returns with the whole story and asks for her help, she must follow her heart.

Becoming a Solicitor, then partner in the family law firm was never Dillon’s dream. Now it’s his nightmare. Called to Scotland, his father demands he take his rightful place in the firm or be disowned and disinherited. Something is terribly amiss in the firm and family.

During Gale and Dillon’s investigation, they discover the enforcer for the Demon Overlord is also delving into rumors the firm is acting illegally. Magic has been stolen, someone is being blackmailed, and a member of the Witch’s council is corrupt. If Gale and Dillon want a life together in Ireland, they have to unearth secrets threatening to destroy the firm and family in Scotland.

How about a peek between the pages of A WITCH’S QUANDARY:

“This is an outrage. It’s my firm.” Bram bellowed slamming his fist down on the table. Sparks flew in all directions creating a red-hot spider web of power crackling across the tabletop. Everyone at the table scrambled back or stood. Dillon caught the malevolent spark in his father’s eye a split-second after Gale. She had already brought her hands together, the room sizzled as she conjured a ball of fire and with a few words sent the witch fire and spell at him.

“What have you done?” Bram screeched as the fire and spell hit him center mass. “Witchfire too? Bitch.” He slid to the floor.

Iris ran to his side, tears spilling her cheeks, she wiped his sweat-soaked brow with a napkin. “You just couldn’t stop, could you? What did you do? Make a deal with the devil? We should have put a stop to it. To you. But…” She helped him into a chair. “I’m afraid you’ve messed with the wrong witch, this time. Brought this on yourself. You did. But I won’t let you take this family—the firm—down with you.” Giving his shoulders a little shake, she gazed into his shocked eyes. “What have you done?”

Bram slowly shook his head and murmured, “It’s my firm.” He raised his gaze and glared at Gale pointing a bony finger at her. “You’ll pay for this.” Then turned his attention to Dillon. “I told you nothing good would come from aligning yourself with this witch. Her blood is not pure. Diluted by the Fae power of her…” He broke off.

Dillon stood at Gale’s back his hands steady and supportive on her shoulders as she said nothing for several beats. Eventually, she turned her emerald green eyes to him and held his gaze. “I couldn’t let him divide the family with that dark magic. I tempered my deadly witch fire with the spell.” She tore her gaze from Dillon’s, touching her fingertips to the scorched marks radiating across the table stopping an inch from the edge all around. “If he’d succeeded, there’d been no turning back. If the tendrils of that spell had left the table and reached one of you…” She shook her head.

Appearing to gather his wits about him faster than the rest of his family, Sturgen surveyed the scene, wiped his brow with a monogrammed handkerchief, and sucked in a breath. “The firm is no longer yours.” He squeezed Olivia to him, starting for the door. “We’ve had enough for one night. Let’s adjourn until a full audit of the cases and firm can be conducted.”

****

Gale leaned against Dillon, his strength and calm flowed into her. “I felt your father’s intentions. The intentions he was able to disguise from his family. He planned to destroy all of you.”

“I know. I felt him…hmm…something evil. Only my reaction was a second too late. I’m glad yours wasn’t. How long will he be spellbound? That is what you did. Right?”

“Aye. Among other things. Indefinitely… I hope. He’s got a lot of power that isn’t his. I’ve no way to bind what I don’t know.”

Thank you for stopping by to check out my Sunday Snippet A Witch’s Quandary. Please join us next week when I’ll have another Sunday snippet for you.

Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Witch's Quandary, Ireland, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Scotland, Tena Stetler, Witches by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Sep 29th Celebrating Eleven Years Traditionally Published

WOW!! I’m so excited! I’m celebrating my anniversary of being published with The Wild Rose Press! Nineteen books and eleven years it’s official! Squeal! I signed the contract in 2014 for my debut novel, A DEMON’S WITCH which published on September 25, 2015! The book still sells well. In fact, at a recent FB Party, I offered the winner a choice of any one of my ebooks. She chose A Demon’s Witch.

It seems forever ago, and yesterday. Ever felt like that?

I was at home working on another manuscript and an email popped up. I normally don’t pay attention to emails while working, but something told me I should check on it. It was from Lill, an editor for The Wild Rose Press indicating they wanted to publish A Demon’s Witch. I was the only one home. My husband was away on a business trip and had his phone off. Celebrating, I ran around the house happy dancing and screaming that I was going to be published. Too excited to settle down or even sit, finally, I landed enough to answer her email. A contract was drawn up, signed and I was soon to be a published author. A life long dream. Yes, I did finally get ahold of my husband and my best friend. We celebrated by phone.

Earlier that year, I’d been downsized from a job of 14 years. Devastated was one word for it. I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and took some time off to figure out my next steps. I pulled out a manuscript I’d been letting rest and polished it. A friend of mine told me to submit it. After a lot of thinking and procrastinating (that’s a scary step), I did just that. Keep in mind, I’d written stories since I was able to hold a pencil.

Well, A Demon’s Witch grew into a six book series (all can be read alone). Lets take a look at my debut novel, A Demon’s Witch.

Keeping a lid on all the paranormal beings inhabiting Washington D.C., is a daunting job. Bruce, a six hundred year old demon and the Territory Overlord of the Western Hemisphere, keeps his finger on the pulse of DC’s power players through the activities at his highly successful Wycked Hair Salon. His movie star good looks and body builder physique keeps his dance card full and the rumor mills running. Within these walls, his anonymity is safe, mostly.

Bruce’s world spins out of control when Angelique, a pint size, gorgeous witch, with an attitude breezes through the doors of his salon. She is the younger sister of Tristian, Bruce’s long time trusted enforcer, whose professional skills are second to none. Tristian is furious at the relationship between Bruce and Angelique, a dangerous situation, but something darker awaits them all. Yet undeniable attraction between demon and witch promises to tear apart both their professional and personal worlds.

A peek between the pages of A Demon’s Witch:

Darkness enveloped the entire block as he pulled into the parking lot behind her store. He flipped the high beams on once then shut the headlights off, hoping she could see in the dark as well as he could. A little twinge of discomfort curled in his chest, a reminder of the cost of using magic for personal benefit.

Precisely at the moment Angie stepped out of the doorway, turned, and locked the door, he pulled the car beside her and reached across the seats to push open her car door, making sure the interior lights were off. She slid deftly into the seat and quickly closed the door.

“Another transformer must have blown,” she remarked absently fastening her seat belt.

He made a noncommittal sound and they disappeared into the moonlit night.

****

A feeling of dark foreboding, like storm clouds forming on the horizon before a violent storm, washed over Bruce as he maneuvered the SUV into the parking lot behind The Krystal Unicorn.

Tristian was already there and it wasn’t to give his report. Bruce could feel the fury in Tristian’s magic signature hanging in the air. A silver tipped arrow penetrated the windshield, split the arm securing the rearview mirror, and stuck in the headrest a quarter inch from Bruce’s neck. Blue liquid oozed from the tip and a stream of red mist escaped from the other end of the arrow.

A Demon’s Witch Series:

A Demon’s Witch, A Warlock’s Secrets, A Vampire’s Alliance, An Angel’s Unlikely Alliance, A Magic Redemption, and A Witch’s Quandary!