Spooktacular Origins by Celia Breslin
Give a Spooktacular welcome to Celia Breslin Author of Origins, Tranquilli Bookline, Book 3.
Fiction
I like to share my absolute favorite spooky story from my family’s arsenal of
scary tales. This one comes from my Irish grandmother, about her personal
encounter with a Banshee when she was a teenager. Enjoy!
large two-story house with my parents, younger sister, and grandmother. It was
a cold, winter evening, nothing special or out of the ordinary. My family dined
together, then my sister and I cleaned up while our parents and grandmother
drank tea. We joined them at the dining table to do our homework, but my
grandmother said she was tired and went upstairs to bed. My parents followed
shortly after that, but my father paused on the landing.
going to be a cold night. Fetch us some coal, please.”
homework, grabbed the empty coal bucket from the kitchen, and went down into
the cellar. I filled my bucket and returned to the stairs. I had one foot on
the first step when the temperature in the cellar, already cold, dropped
dramatically. Chills ran down my back. Behind me, someone moaned.
that be? I was alone…
to the spot. The keening grew louder. I dropped my bucket and covered my ears.
A cold wind bumped against my back. I stumbled forward as the shrieking wind
rushed over me and up the stairs.
that be? The cellar had no windows…
cellar door slammed shut. The sound broke me from my stupor. I screamed and ran
up the stairs and out of the cellar, through the kitchen and dining room, and
up the stairs to my room. My parents and sister found me under my bed, shaking
like a puppy lost in a snowstorm.
What is it? What’s wrong?” They asked me, while pulling me from my hiding
place.
heard the Banshee wail.”
each other in silence, all of us reaching the same conclusion moments later. We
hurried to my grandmother’s room.
Celia Breslin. All rights reserved.)
The car stopped. I couldn’t convince myself to step out. What if this was a freaking, injection-induced hallucination? What if I was still back in the damn prison?
Besnik helped me out.
The mansion’s mammoth double doors eased open. The man illuminated in the doorway chased away the numbness, pumped my heart so hard it might pound right out of my chest. He opened his arms wide, calling me. My lips curled upward in the first true smile I’d cracked since the last time he’d held me in his arms. That man, my man, loved me more than any other on this whole damn planet.
“Alexander.”
I ran to him.
Alexander’s arms closed around me, his hold so tight I could barely catch a breath. Tremors ran through his hard body, again and again.
“Carina,” he croaked, voice sandpaper rough. “Carina.”
Nuzzling his neck, I planted fevered kisses along his tan, heated skin. He’d fed recently to be this warm under my lips. Temptation had me licking his pounding pulse, nipping at the vein. Couldn’t resist it. My fangs slid home.
Energy exploded between us, our mate bond bursting to life and tearing away whatever magical wall had separated us for far too long. My bite, the catalyst, his blood the cure. Awash in the force of our reunion, Alexander staggered then clutched me closer while I pulled out of his neck and laved the rapidly healing holes.
As our power continued to bubble and stitch us back together, he whisked us into the grand entryway, planted my ass on an ornate, antique cabinet, and devoured my mouth like a starving man. His hands roamed everywhere, searching, cataloguing, as if to reassure himself this wasn’t a hallucination, that I was really here, in his arms, relatively unharmed.
The more he kissed me, the more those wonderful, golden threads of our connection resurrected inside me, around me, between us, and I felt like freaking Sleeping Beauty awakened from her magical slumber by a kiss from her fated handsome prince. The silly thought made me giggle against Alexander’s seeking mouth, and then I was crying while my love cupped my face between his hands, wiped away my tears with his thumbs, and pressed tender kisses to my forehead, my cheeks, the tip of my nose…
“Alexander.” I fisted his shirt tight. Please, God, let him be real. “I… I don’t want to wake up.” Please, don’t let this end.
His smoky blue eyes bored into mine, his brown hair spiked in every direction, a bit longer than in my memory. It’s not a dream, baby. You’re here. You’re home.
Oh my God, I can hear you. I swiped some willful bits of hair away from his forehead, touched his full lips, ran my fingers along his strong jaw, taking in the whole handsome, bad-boy package. You’re back in my head. I’d never been happier to have someone inside my mind. Silence was seriously overrated.
And back in your arms.
Celia lives in California with her husband, daughter, and two feisty cats. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and has a particular fondness for werewolves, vampires, and the Fae. Her stories are action-packed and typically include one of the many varieties of romantic entanglements: fated mates, second chance, rescue romance, opposites attract, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and more.It was Spooktacular having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Origins.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Celia Breslin, Halloween Flash Fiction. Bumped by the Banshee, origins, Paranormal Romance, Tranquilli Boodline Book 3, Urban Fantasy by Tena Stetler with 5 comments.
Interview Karen Hulene Bartell Author of The Keys: Voice of the Turtle
Give a warm welcome to Karen Hulene Bartell author of The Keys: Voice of the Turtle. 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 Karen and The Keys: Voice of the Turtle!
What inspired you to write?
I always had a creative imagination. (My childhood dolls were never baby dolls—always lady dolls, who went on exciting adventures.) But what inspired me to write? In a word, reading. In second grade, my mother took me to the library and helped me choose books. By third grade, I had my own library card, walked to the library alone, and chose my own books. All during my childhood, my mother let me stay up as late as I wanted—if I read. As a result, I became a voracious reader, and in my case, writing was simply a natural progression.
Do you see yourself in your characters?
I see a little piece of me in all my protagonists, but in Christmas in Catalonia and my current release, The Keys: Voice of the Turtle, I see a lot of Karen. To be honest, I excise all but my flavor, saving the juicier details for future books 😉
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?
Where do story ideas come from? Heaven? What do you call inspiration? God? I could be arrogant and say, nope, all my ideas come from me and me alone, but I don’t think so. Many ideas come when I wake each morning. So what do you call that? Genies of the mind as Napoleon Hill and Andrew Carnegie named them—invisible elves somehow manufacturing stories and whispering in my ear? I don’t think so. I’m going to call inspiration Godsent.
But when? Ideas come to me either in the morning, when I wake, or while I’m traveling. I’ve written some of my best concepts sitting in airports or hotel bathrooms at midnight (so I don’t wake my husband with the light). Being out of my element and in new environments stimulates my imagination. Traveling inspires me.
If writing is your first passion, what is your second?
Traveling, hands down. Nothing ignites my passion for life as much as traveling to provocative places, encountering new experiences, sampling different ethnic foods, and meeting stimulating people, I’m inspired. Ideas flow. (I should’ve been a travel correspondent.) Traveling that takes me out of my rut and propels me into new realms of possibility.
SPEED ROUND FOR A LITTLE ADDED FUN:
Speed Round (one word only answer): Yep, I know torture for a writer!<evil laugh>
Favorite movie: GIANT
Favorite book: 1984
Last book read: MALINCHE
Favorite color: BLUE
Stilettos or flipflops: FLIPFLOPS
Coffee or tea: COFFEE
Ebook or audiobook or paperback: EBOOK
Pencil or pen: PEN
Favorite song: MAGIC
Streak or not: NOT
Favorite dessert: SOFTSERVE
Favorite junk food: PRETZELS
Favorite thing to do to relax: MASSAGE
Champagne or gin: CHAMPAGNE
Paranormal or Historical: PARANORMAL
Wonder Woman or Top Model: WONDER WOMAN
Favorite TV show: MASH
Hot or cold: HOT
POV: THIRD [PERSON]
I’d die if I don’t have: FREEDOM
Review or Not: REVIEW
Tell us a little about THE KEYS: VOICE OF THE TURTLE:
and not one, but two apparitions—Maita, the angry victim’s spirit, and Bart, a swashbuckling ghost. Ruth’s curious ability to connect with the ghosts may help them move on, but how?
Keya is in a probate battle over her turtle-nesting beach. Land-hungry relatives want it bulldozed and developed. Like Ruth, she has a special gift—she can talk to animals. Between Ruth’s help and Keya’s unique ability, they work to save the property, but is it too late?
Can Keya save her beloved turtles? Can Ruth find Maita’s murderer or help Bart solve his 400-year-old mystery? There’s more than meets the eye to Keya’s land. Add in a dashing sailor who believes in her, and Keya may have more than she bargained for…
Sneak peek between the pages of THE KEYS: VOICE OF THE TURTLE:
“Conveying this land to the turtles would be my way of leaving the world a better place.” She turned toward Ruth. “Does that make sense?”
Ruth nodded and gazed at Keya as if for the first time. Her cousin’s intentions were clear. “But legally, how can you will the property to the turtles?”
“Easy. I leave it to the Turtle Refuge.” Keya laughed inwardly as they meandered along the beach. “And this is where you come in. When you’re writing the brochure, add a few paragraphs about planned giving and charitable bequests…” Her words broke off as Keya stared as if in a trance.
Ruth looked at her. “What’s wrong?”
Her hand shaking, Keya pointed to a shady patch of beach half hidden by sand dunes. A lifeless hand lay tangled in seaweed, its fingernails broken and bloodied.
Racing behind the sandbanks to help, Ruth skidded to a halt, her heels digging into the sand. A woman’s bloated body lay staring at the sun, her eyes opaque and unseeing. “Do you recognize her?”
“No.” Keya shook her head as the cat gingerly approached, sniffing and meowing. “But Earnestine said she smells familiar.”
THE KEYS: VOICE OF THE TURTLE BUY LINKS:
Amazon eBook: https://amzn.to/2XV2wO1
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2yfSB7b
Barnes & Noble NOOK Book: https://bit.ly/2YFHWgQ
Barnes & Noble Paperback: https://bit.ly/2yuBEWO
About the Author:
Author of the Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories steeped in the supernatural that lift the spirit. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Wanderlust inherent, Karen enjoyed traveling, although loathed changing schools. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Hill Country with her husband Peter and her “mews”—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenHuleneBartell
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarenHuleneBart
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/karenhulenebartell/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/611950.Karen_Hulene_Bartell
Website: http://www.KarenHuleneBartell.com/
Email: info@KarenHuleneBartell.com
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with The Keys: Voice of the Turtle.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged ghosts, Karen Hulene Bartell, Paranormal, The Keys: Voice of the Turtle, Urban Fantasy by Tena Stetler with 18 comments.
Interview S.K. Gregory Author of Bloodlines
Give a warm welcome to S.K Gregory, author of Bloodlines. releasing today. Yippee!!
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 S.K. Gregory and her YA Urban Fantasy, Bloodlines, Book One of The Dark Fae Chronicles! Pssst… Don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter at the end of this post.
What inspired this particular story?
Bloodlines started out as a story in a boxed set called Cursed Lands. We were to come up with an idea for an urban fantasy/YA/Dystopian novel or novella. I chose this idea because I wanted to write about the Fae and I thought it would be interesting to see what the world would look like if they took over the world. My main character is half Fae herself and is caught between both sides.
Why should we read this book/series and what sets you apart from the rest and makes your book/series unique?
Bloodlines and the other two books in the series, Battlelines and Borderlines, tell the story of a young woman in an apocalyptic world, struggling to survive after the Fae attack and wipe out a large percentage of the human race. I think there are a lot of dystopian novels out there but not many deal with Fae taking over. It’s something a little bit different, full of magic and intrigue.
Who is your favorite character of all of the books you’ve written and Why?
At the moment my favorite character is Persephone from my Gods of Chaos series. I have always wanted to write about the Greek Gods, although she was not the God I would have chosen originally. I wrote a short story about her and it turned into a whole series. She is strong, cynical and a survivor, which I think suits her story.
Did you tell friends and family that you were writing a book? Or did it take a while to come out and tell friends and family you were a writer?
My family have always known as I was forever carrying a notebook with me everywhere I went when I was younger. My friends found out after I was published. My grandfather likes to tell everyone he meets about it! I should hire him as my agent! Lol.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6574558.S_K_Gregory
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Bloodlines!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Dystopian, SK Gregory, Urban Fantasy, YA by Tena Stetler with 2 comments.
Exile in Darkness by Annalisa Carr
Give a warm welcome to Annalisa Carr author of Exile in Darkness! 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 Annalisa and her recent release Exile In Darkness! Pssst…don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway at the bottom of the post. Annalisa Carr will be awarding a $30 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Tell us a bit about Exile in Darkness.
Heritage and magic matter to the London covens.
Aristocratic witch, Isabella Pethany, has heritage but not magic.
Underworld powerbroker, amnesiac vampire Maldit, has magic but no heritage.
Lukas Sindis, coven sorcerer and famous psychopath, has both.Isabella’s null magic status makes her an embarrassment to her family, but since her sister was murdered, she is all they have left. Guilt makes her willing to do almost anything to compensate for her lack of value, but her grandmother’s proposal to match her with Lukas, in a bid to bring strong magic back to their bloodline, is a step too far.
When Maldit rescues a strange witch from hunting vampires, his main concern is to limit trouble in his territory. Witches are notoriously troublesome, and this one is no exception. Her proximity slashes through his damaged memory, allowing him to catch glimpses of his forgotten past.
Drugs have suppressed Lukas’s magic for almost twenty years, filling him with a reservoir of trapped power. When he escapes, his magic bursts free, falling like a tidal wave on Maldit and Isabella, sweeping away the spells paralysing both of them.
The dark secrets of the London coven are about to explode into the light of day.
A sneak peek between the pages of Exile in Darkness:
Isabella? Isabella Pethany?
Whispers of her own name floated through her mind. She pushed the pillow aside and sat up, pressing her hands against her ears. It didn’t stop the insistent repetition of her name.
Someone called to her, but who would do a thing like that at this hour of the morning? The family would all be asleep by now, and the only servant awake should be the doorman.
Her imagination was running riot. She lay down, closing her eyes, but the feeling of being summoned didn’t go away.
Isabella. Isabella. Isabella.
Her name echoed around her skull, louder now.
She sat up abruptly. Next to her, Alfie stirred, growling in his sleep. She ran the palm of her hand over his shaggy flank and switched the bedside lamp on, before walking to the window and drawing the curtain back.
Pools of dim light surrounded the bases of the old-fashioned streetlamps. Between them, the pavement was dark, and the trees in the square cast black shadows over the iron railings. She opened the window and leaned out.
“Isabella?” The voice was a seductive whisper from below. It was definitely real this time, vibrating through the air, rather than her mind.
She squinted into the shadows.
The vampire from the bar stood on the opposite pavement, his figure almost hidden in the darkness.
Maldit.
Her heart beat faster.
His face tilted upwards towards her second-floor window, green eyes glinting.
“What do you want?” She pressed two fingers to the point in her neck where the skin was thinnest. Her pulse hammered against them.
Buy link for Exile in Darkness: Amazon
About the Author:
Annalisa Carr lives in the English Lake District with her two cats. She writes in multiple genres, but has a weakness for paranormal romance and urban fantasy.
As a child Annalisa wanted to be a scientist, wear a white coat and explore outer space. She worked as a scientist for a very long time, but never got to fly a spaceship or even travel beyond the solar system. This was a huge disappointment given the reasons for her career choice, so eventually she made up stories instead. Probably just as well, as she is claustrophobic.
Exile in Darkness is set in the same world as the Children of Poseidon series; a slightly skewed version of London.
Annalisa also writes dystopian science fiction under the name ‘Anne Cleasby’.
https://annecleasby.com
http://www.annalisacarr.com
https://www.amazon.com/Annalisa-Carr/e/B00T1H0CQ0
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10798535.Annalisa_Carr
https://www.facebook.com/Annalisa-Carr-1626840070925992
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Exile in Darkness!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Annalisa Carr, Exile in Darkness, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy by Tena Stetler with 7 comments.
