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Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Eliza: The Awakening by Eileen Sheehan Recipe for Severed Finger Sugar Cookies

 



Severed Finger Sugar Cookies


Ingredients:

2 ¾ c. flour; 
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 x. softened butter
1 ½ c. sugar
1 egg
1tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

In medium bowl, cream butter with sugar and add egg and vanilla.  

Then, add flour and baking powder and baking soda.  
Using fork or spatula, until well mixed and texture of breadcrumbs. 

Squeeze handful of dough crumbs together tightly to form small log or "finger." 

Score top of log with butter knife to shape the knuckle, then press 1 slivered almond at one end to make the fingernail. Repeat to use up dough. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Bake 15 minutes. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Eliza: The Awakening
Book One
Eileen Sheehan

Genre: Paranormal Shifter Series
Publisher: Earth Wise Books
Date of Publication: 8/31/2021
ASIN: B09956JTJ1
Number of pages: 178
Word Count: 26,380

Tagline: "The Awakening" begins the saga of a female shifter named, Eliza.

Book Description: 

Eliza is a simple and uncomplicated young woman.  She enjoys the outdoors, is good with animals, and, like most young women her age, loves to party and have fun.  When she meets a sexy man with an alluring Southern drawl, she has no idea that he is involved in a world that she is yet to know, but is her legacy.  Like it or not.

Amazon      BN     Kobo      Apple     Smashwords

Excerpt

It felt like someone was swinging a hammer against the inside of Eliza’s skull.  The early morning dew caused a damp muskiness on the earth that blended with the mold and dust that burrowed beneath the thick layer of leaves where she lay her aching burden; assaulting her nose and adding to her misery.  Her chocolate colored eyes felt pinned shut, but her hearing was abnormally acute.  By the sounds around her, she sensed her surroundings were familiar ones.  If she was correct, she was near the small cave that was nestled in a knoll that began the acres of woods at the far end of her family’s farm.  It was a place that she’d discovered at a young age and had frequented whenever she required alone time.  Her surroundings weren’t the greater mystery.  How she got there was.

As her faculties returned to normal, she sat up and realized that how she got there wasn’t the biggest mystery after all.  It was superseded by the fact that she hadn’t a stitch of clothing on.

None of this made sense. How did she get there and what happened to her clothes?

Straining her mind, she reached into the fog for a replay of the night before.  She’d gone with her best friend, Reba, to a newly opened dance club. The place was packed, and dance partners were plentiful.  The exertion from dancing combined with the excessive body heat made the air feel so stifling as to be practically unbearable.  She remembered stepping outside for a bit of fresh air.  Did Reba join her?  She struggled to remember, but the visions in her head showed very little.

Squeezing her eyes shut almost to the point that it hurt, she forced her mind to function.  She needed to remember the chain of events that led to her waking up naked in a field at the edge of the woods.  Had she gone home from the club and sleepwalked?  Or had something sinister occurred?  She just didn’t know.

About the Author:

Eileen Sheehan primarily writes hot, steamy romances (mostly New Adult) with a sexy male and strong female. A few are steamier than others (see their description). The majority of her novels are paranormal, but some are just plain novels about people in love (contemporary or historical with the author name of Ailene Frances). ALL of her stories have a bit of naughtiness, some excitement, a few thrills, and maybe a touch of mystery mixed in with sometimes naughty, sometimes sweet lovin'. She strives to write a novel length that will allow the busy woman to be able to sit down in an evening or two and be taken on a romantic journey without having a week go by before she gets to the end of the story.

An incurable romantic, she has a love affair with at least one of her characters... one book at a time. She hopes the same thing happens to you.

www.sheehan-author.info

https://www.facebook.com/groups/162542557665509




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Music Playlist for Witch of the Cards by Catherine Stine

 



Here’s the playlist I created for my paranormal historical romance, Witch of the Cards. 

It’s set in 1932, so I mixed in a couple of era classics having to do with witches, magic, and the ocean, where an epic battle takes place between the witches in my tale. Enjoy!


Deep, Wide Ocean – The Jezabels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbAyUjclZgc

 

I Put a Spell on You – Nina Simone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDprYZ-tgiA

 

Alice Underground– Avril Lavigne

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMeiP69HlCM

 

Pennies from Heaven – Bing Crosby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IFgC7JhVrM

 

Season of the Witch – Donovan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAzTnsSgs2s

 

Heartless – The Fray version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBTdJHkAr5A

 

Black Magic Woman – Santana

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyQUCYl-ocs


Cuban Love Song – Ruth Etting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuXl6Rh3zPk


Hunting for Witches – Bloc Party

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmPNuruWMTA

 

Heavy Like a Witch – All Them Witches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhzvanE-O14

 

How Deep is the Ocean? – Brenda Lee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5Dpcm8_6Kw

 

Do You Believe in Magic? – Lovin’ Spoonful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDYNuD4CwlI



Witch of the Cards
Catherine Stine

Genre: paranormal historical suspense
Publisher: Konjur Road Press
Date of Publication: March 16, 2016
ISBN 13: 978-0-9848282-6-5    
ISBN-10: 0-9848282-6-5
ISBN 13: 978-0-9848282-7-2  
ISBN 10: 0-9848282-7-3
Number of pages: 265
Word Count: 76K
Cover Artist: Mae I Designs

Tagline: Fiera was born a sea witch with no inkling of her power. And now it might be too late. 

Book Description:

Witch of the Cards is a supernatural romantic suspense set in 1932 on the Jersey shore. Fiera has left the Brooklyn orphanage where she was raised and works in Manhattan as a nanny. She gets a lucky break when her boss pays for her vacation in Asbury Park. One evening, Fiera and her new friend Dulcie wander down the boardwalk and into Peter Dune’s Tarot & Séance, where they attend a card reading. 

Fiera has an unsettling ability to sense future events and people’s hidden agendas. She longs to either find out the origin of her powers or else banish them because as is, they make her feel crazy. When, during the reading, her energies somehow bond with Peter Dune’s and form an undeniable ethereal force, a chain of revelations and dangerous events unspool. 

For one, Fiera finds out she is a witch from a powerful sea clan, but that someone is out to stop her blossoming power forever. And though she is falling in love with Peter, he also has a secret side. He’s no card reader, but a private detective working to expose mediums. Despite this terrible betrayal, Fiera must make the choice to save Peter from a tragic Morro Cruise boat fire, or let him perish with his fellow investigators. Told in alternating viewpoints, Fiera and Peter each struggle against their deep attraction. Secrets, lies, even murder, lace this edgy fantasy. 

From Lovers of Paranormal: “Interesting story of witches, deceit, secrets, romance and friendship. Fun and creative.”

Amazon     Amazon UK     Amazon CA     Amazon AU

iBooks      Kobo      BN      


Excerpt:

If I only had a week in this glorious beach town, I wanted to catch up with sleep and plunge into as many escapades as possible—even bewildering, outlandish ones.

We walked in, to the jangle of Mr. Dune’s door chimes. I skated around, ogling the floor-to-ceiling shelves brimming with leather-bound books on cosmic mysteries, spiritualism, and witchcraft. Two immediate standouts were Ten Ways to Practice Mentalism and Dona Bella, Memoirs of a Southern Witch. These were my fare, similar to a favorite book at the public library—a tome on dark magic. The most stirring part was about each witch dynasty having its own grimoire, a sort of magical recipe book. I had no clue as to why dark tales tickled me so, and often wondered about my taste.

Still, I read everything I could get my hands on, even boring books that drifted me right off to the Land of Nod. At my nanny job, I was so desperate for stories I even read the tedious articles about cooking and how to throw a proper cocktail party in Mrs. Cuthbert’s Reader’s Digest and Home Arts magazines.

 Mr. Dune strode toward us. His handsome aura and towering presence intimidated yet thrilled me. He was dressed in crisp, charcoal gray pants and a vest with a double-breasted pinstriped jacket. “Are you lovely ladies here for the séance?” He held out a long, elegant hand, studded with a silver ring. I barely collected my wits enough to shake it and nod. Dulcie’s hand whooshed out and hardly touched his before she clamped it protectively back to her side.

No doubt about it, he was the most striking man I’d ever seen. His thick mop of dark hair tapered into long sideburns, rendering his jawline a tad dangerous. I guessed he was in his mid-twenties. When his coffee-brown eyes gleamed at me, my breath caught, and a heat greater than any moonshine fired through me.

We paid the dime admission. He escorted us to a round, wooden table with lion-footed legs where we joined a heavyset older couple and a reedy gentleman with thin, blond hair. His lime-fizz eyes darted over to Dulcie, and then away. Two empty chairs still beckoned.

Dulcie looked terrified, so I smiled at her. She calmed enough to take a seat.

Mr. Dune strode to the window, loosened the crimson curtains, and lowered their heavy velvet over the windows, lending the already-pensive storefront a mystical aura. 

About the Author:

Catherine Stine is a USA Today bestselling author of paranormal, urban and historical fantasy. Witch of the Wild Beasts won a second prize in the Romance Writers of America’s Sheila Contest. Other novels have earned Indie Notable awards and New York Public Library Best Books. She lives in New York State and grew up in Philadelphia. Before writing novels, she was a painter and fabric designer. She’s a visual author and sees writing as painting with words. Catherine loves spending time with her beagle Benny, writing about supernatural creatures, gardening and meeting readers at book fests.

Learn more at catherinestine.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/crossoverwriter

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kitsy84557/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kitsy84557

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@catherinestine7

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcatherinestine

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/catherine-stine

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1018139.Catherine_Stine

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Catherine-Stine/e/B001H9TXJC

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiYPFXTOO0EQ2XRW72PJiyw

Newsletter: https://catherinestine.com/wp/get-the-newsletter-contact-me/





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Tuesday, October 12, 2021

A Place of Magic by Merrie Destefano

 


A Place of Magic
Merrie Destefano

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy
Publisher: Ruby Slipper Press
Date of Publication: October 12, 2021
ASIN:B09FNSVKZJ
Number of pages:320
Word Count: 73,000
Cover Artist: Elona Bezooshko, 
Psycat Digital Ink and Motion

Book Description:

Halloween is the wrong time to visit Ticonderoga Falls.
Dangerous monsters hunt in the nearby woods.

The Prey...

Maddie MacFaddin.
For her, the nearby forest holds many memories, some joyous, some forgotten. But she has no recollection of Ash, the dark, magnificent creature who saved her life as a child, or that his kind preys upon humanity.

The Monster...

Ash, a Darkling fae.
Trapped in Ticonderoga Falls for a century, he’s required to host a Hunt once a year. Then, hungry, shapeshifting faeries will descend upon the villagers and harvest their dreams.

The Hunt...

There are rules about harvesting humans; the poor creatures are so delicate. If you take too much, they’ll die. Without dreams, they perish. And perish they do—now and then—despite Ash's efforts to keep them safe. Then he realizes Maddie is the prey his unwanted guests are after. But, try as he might, this time he’s not strong enough to protect her. The entire village is in danger.

Soon the Hunt will begin. And no one will be safe.

Amazon

Excerpt:

He nodded, head lowered. Then he lifted his gaze until he was staring into her eyes. One hand rested on her shoulder. “I won’t tell anyone your secret, Elspeth. You’re safe with me.”

Then he leaned closer, his scent overwhelming, his thoughts like the wind through the leaves, a wild rushing, his skin like the embrace of the forest. His lips touched hers and she could hear his heart beating. She slid her arms around his waist, leaning into the kiss, suddenly wanting more. She wanted to cast an enchantment, to lead him into sleep, to harvest his dreams. Wanted to walk into a dream with him, to see the hidden world on the other side of his eyelids. Wanted to know everything about him.

The kiss had only just begun and already she wanted another.

His arms were around her then, and the winter chill disappeared. In its place, fire crackled through her limbs, from her fingertips to her feet.

She could see it then, the world inside him. Tender and gentle as a spring morning, the shadows of night lingering at the edge of the wood, a handful of stars scattered across a pale sky.

She never knew that humans could be filled with so much magic.

It was her first Hunt and she had chosen her prey wisely.



About the Author:

Multiple-award-winning author Merrie Destefano writes lyrical tales of magic, mystery, and hope. Her traditional books have been published by HarperCollins, Entangled Teen, and Walter Foster, while her indie imprint is Ruby Slippers Press. Her novels have won awards in both the science fiction and fantasy categories.

She worked for Focus on the Family, The Word For Today, Engaged Media, and PJS Publications, and her magazine experience includes editor of Victorian Homes magazine, Zombies magazine, Haunted: Mysteries And Legends magazine, American Farmhouse Style magazine, Vintage Gardens magazine and founding editor of Cottages and Bungalows magazine. Her co-authored art books include How To Draw Vampires, How To Draw Zombies, and How to Draw Grimm’s Dark Fairy Tales. Her edited books include The Man God Uses by Chuck Smith, Oil Pastel Step-By-Step by Nathan Rohlander, and The Art of Drawing Fantasy Characters by Jacob Glaser.

Born in the Midwest, Merrie now lives in Southern California, where she runs on caffeine, and shares her home with rescue dogs and cats. And although she dearly loves science fiction, in her heart of hearts, she still doesn’t believe airplanes should be able to fly.

WEBSITE: http://www.merriedestefano.com/

BLOG: http://merriedestefano.blog/

NEWSLETTER: http://www.merriedestefano.com/newsletter1.html

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/merriedestefano/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/MerrieDestefano

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Merrie-Destefano-127750623906184/

BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/merrie-destefano

AUDIOBOOKS: https://www.audible.com/author/Merrie-Destefano/B0048L6NYO





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War of the Sea - Kickstarter Olympian Wars Book One Dana Claire

  War of the Sea - Kickstarter Olympian Wars Book One Dana Claire Genre: Fantasy Romance Publisher: Chamberlain Publishing House ISBN: 97989...