Monday, October 30, 2017

Lovesick Gods by Amanda Meuwissen




Lovesick Gods
Lovesick Series  
Part One
Amanda Meuwissen

Genre: - Superhero/Gay Romance

Date of Publication: October 2, 2017

ISBN: 1-943619-33-6
ASIN:

Number of pages: 312
Word Count: 106,903

Cover Artist: Veronika Dolnikova

Tagline: Heroes aren’t meant to act like their villains—or fall in love with them.

Book Description:

The elements touch everyone on Earth—Fire, Water, even Light—but every so often someone becomes more attuned to their elemental leaning and develops true power. When an evil Elemental known as Thanatos arrived in Olympus City, it saw the rise of its first hero—Zeus. But the death toll caused by defeating Thanatos changed Zeus, who by day is young detective Danny Grant.

It’s been six months since Thanatos terrorized the city at the start of Lovesick Gods. Danny should be used to his duty behind the mask, but the recent past haunts him. His girlfriend left him, he snaps at the barest provocation, his life feels empty—he needs an outlet, any outlet to pull him out of his depression.

Enter notorious thief Malcolm Cho, the Ice Elemental Prometheus. There was a time when Danny welcomed a fight with Cho, filled with colorful banter and casual flirtations that were a relief compared to Thanatos. Even as a criminal, Cho had recognized the threat Thanatos posed and promised to help Danny stop him, but the day Danny needed Cho, he never showed. Cho was the reason so many people died that day—including Danny’s mother.

Danny decides to teach the man a lesson and fan the fire of their attraction into something more. At worst, he’ll get some no-strings-attached sex out of the deal and finally blow off steam; at best, he’ll get Cho to fall in love with him and then break his heart to spite him. Danny doesn’t expect to fall for Cho in the process, and he certainly can’t predict the much darker threat on the horizon.



Excerpt:

The long game, Danny thought as he accepted the hand Cho held out to help him from the sofa. Cho couldn’t have any fun with a blubbering mess, so of course he’d want to cheer Danny up. It didn’t mean anything. It just felt nice that Cho didn’t pry the way the others did. He’d never look down on Danny. He was a liar, a criminal, a scoundrel—he was the reason Danny had been forced into that position with Thanatos to begin with—but while the rest of his life felt like an open wound, somehow Cho was a balm.
Danny made a show of changing out of Cho’s clothes and into his Zeus costume right there in the living room. Leaving the sleep pants and T-shirt folded on the sofa, he started to put on his boots at the door.
“Interesting choice of work clothes.” Cho crossed his arms with an amused eyebrow raise.
“I’ll change when I get to the precinct. And next time I’ll call. Or text. Promise. Thanks for breakfast.” Danny made to walk toward Cho off the rug, then gave an abortive gesture like oops, stuck now with my boots on.
Cho rolled his eyes, but he still moved closer to accept the kiss Danny pulled him into. And let linger. And linger... Maybe a little longer than necessary.
“Have a nice day at work, dear,” Cho said, sickly sweet in his familiar drawl.
Danny found himself smiling—and meaning it.
Cho was a bad man. He was. He…he was. But he made things lighter. And easier. And even though Danny knew that soon he’d have to end this or risk getting in too deep, for now he could enjoy the lie for just a little longer.



About the Author:

Amanda Meuwissen has been writing and posting online for many years, including maintaining the website and blog for the software company Outsell. She is an avid writer and consumer of fiction through film, prose, and video games, and is the author of the paranormal romance trilogy The Incubus Saga and young adult novel Life as a Teenage Vampire. Amanda lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her husband, John, and their two cats.





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Death: Awakening to Life by Christine Contini - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular



Death: Awakening to Life
Book 1
Christine Contini

Genre: Nonfiction/Spirituality

Publisher: Winterwolfpress.com

Date of Publication: October 31, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-9885851-2-6 paperback

Number of pages: 196
Word Count: 80,849

Cover Artist:  Andreea Vraciu
and Laura C. Cantu

Tagline:  Peek through the veils to the other side.

Book Description:

What happens after we die' has been a question that has haunted humanity since the dawn of abstract thought. Many theories have been offered, but finding evidence has seemed impossible.

In Death: Awakening to Life, Christine Contini takes us on a journey through life, death, healing, and rebirth. At thirty-one years old, Christine was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis.

A newfound spirituality gave her the power to overcome the habitual belief systems that had sanctioned her body to become so unwell. Through a daily practice of meditation, she began learning how to change her habits and thought patterns, but it wasn't until seven years later when she experienced a sudden cardiac death that the real changes began to occur.

The contact she had with the recently deceased led to her concept called 'energetics' - a system that could be used to bring balance and health to the living. Without her experiences in working alongside the deceased, her concept would not have been fully developed.

In Death: Awakening to Life, the journey Christine will lead you through is one you will never forget; hopefully, the accounts will inspire you to start asking questions about your own views of the world and your place in it. The proof we've all been seeking for what really exists after death is here in this book. Once it's realized, the possibilities for healing and living can also be fully grasped. Christine reminds us that we have a responsibility to live our lives to their fullest potentials, and she presents the wisdom that can help us do it.

This book is a gift that we've all been waiting for. Go on, don't wait any longer. Find yourself, find your health, and find your truth.






Stolen from Sleep, A True Story

That spring night in Las Vegas had only a slight chill and require a light cover to sleep. As my husband, Joseph, crawled into bed and woke me up in the middle of the night, I felt unusually hot. I shoved the covers off and pushed them into the middle of the bed so he could use them. It left me sleeping with no protection other than my slip of a nightgown.
I woke just enough to notice a thin layer of sweat misting my body and wondered if I was getting sick. My husband mumbled something I couldn’t understand, which would usually wake me completely because I am a light sleeper, but this nigh was different. My head felt heavy and groggy—like I had been drugged.
I felt the bed move.
Instead of opening my eyes, I indolently rolled to my stomach, falling immediately back to sleep.
Later, the bed moved again.
My head shifted, but this time the movement was so jarring that I easily woke. My pillow slid out from under my cheek. I assumed Joseph must have taken my pillow by mistake, so I reached to grab it back. I raised my head to see Joseph on his stomach sound asleep, his head facing the wall away from me.
Interesting.
I was just about to fall back to sleep when I realized it wasn’t the pillow moving at all. It was me! I was sliding towards the end of the bed. Someone had a hold of my left ankle and was pulling me!
Oh, this has to be a prank, I thought. Maybe one of my teenagers or their friends were trying to pull some kind of prank. I jerked my foot up to see who had a hold of me. It wasn’t a who at all. It was a what!
Gripping my ankle was an oversized hand. The fingers were twice as long as the fingers on a human hand. The very thin finger bones were joined together by enlarged, bulbous joints. In the dim light of night, the entire hand was covered with tightly pulled dark, green and black, charred skin. I struggled to get a better look at my attacker, but it jerked me, making it impossible to look over my shoulder. My legs rose off the bed, into the air.
My throat suddenly seized. I gasped for air, but it was impossible to inhale even a single breath.
Desperate, I panicked and fought against the strength of the creature, my attempts to call out for help reminding me of the useless calls I made in my most tragic, blood curdling dreams—the kind when I would scream with all my might, yet no sound would come out.
The creature continued to pull as I was being moved against my will. I reached for my sleeping husband, clawing at the sheets and frantic to wake him. When my hands passed over his legs, I couldn’t find my grasp. It was as if my fingers were forbidden to close around his form. I flailed my arms and kicked my legs, still attempting to scream or even take a breath. If I could just break free, I could wake Joseph, and he could help me. He was the brave one. He was the protector.
My panic had reached a state of being manic as my attacker held me by one ankle in the air over my bed. Its super human strength seemed impossible and added to my terror. Knowing I was being abducted, and there was nothing I could do to stop it, made me feel so frightened, I wondered if my heart might explode.
The creature suddenly lifted me through the roof of my house.
Yep, right out the roof.
I saw the attic as I passed through the insulation and the air ducts, and then the roofing tiles passed before I could comprehend I was out in the open air.
Wait, if I passed through the roof without feeling it . . . then I am okay. This is just an out of body experience. Aw, heck!
I had been out of my body many times before, so this realization put an immediate halt to my terror. There I was, dangling, arms flailing, my ankle in the grasp of this being, rising over the roof of my house and into the air.
Now able to relax and no longer afraid, I could actually enjoy the view. I was pleased to be gliding through the sky on a grand adventure.
The event took a sudden anti climactic turn when the being put me down on the ground. I was down the street about 15 houses from mine. I had to squint as the brightness of the morning sun proved to be too much of a sudden assault on my eyes.
The clarity I had experienced while first gliding in the air was gone and the heavy drugged feeling was back again. It seemed as time had passed, but I didn’t know how—pieces of my memory were missing. On top of that, I had no idea how to get back to my house. Eventually, I passed out and woke to my alarm which signaled it was time to get the kids ready for school.
Under some sort of fascination, I animatedly recounted the entire event for Joseph when he awoke. It was amazing to me that he was completely unaware of my entire experience having happened right next to him. The experience was so extreme and true to life, I checked his legs to make sure there weren’t any claw marks on them.
“Surprisingly, this was one of the better night’s sleeps I have had in a long time. How do you feel?” Joseph asked. “Any feelings of drugs left in your system?” Fortunately for me, it was never an issue whether he would believe me or not, thank God. He went on to share his own information about sleep paralysis and other paranormal things he had watched on television. He often stayed up after I went to sleep, and late night shows about the paranormal and the unusual were in abundance.
I was relieved that my entire tale had made sense to him.
That would have been the end of my story if I had felt safe. However, even though my experience had ended peacefully enough, it took me two days to shake my extreme fears of being kidnapped.
I found myself afraid to have the curtains open, certain that someone was watching me. I stayed in without running any errands. When out of the house, a feeling of unmanageable vulnerability overcame me, and drove me back indoors. My ability to concentrate was gone and I feared someone could, at any moment, take me against my will.
Loud sounds gave me flashbacks to unclear memories, which led to feelings of unexplainable fears. I had to consider that I had actually been abducted, held against my will.
I hadn’t had any reference to indicate how long I had been gone other than the rising sun that illuminated the sky when I had been released blocks from my home. That meant I hadn’t been set back down immediately. It had to have been hours later. The only way I was able to cope with these uneasy feelings was to ‘switched off’ emotionally. Every seeming predatory behavior by anyone around me evoked deep sensations of anger and injustice.
Just when I was finally starting to feel okay, I got an odd call from a friend named Alita. (Her name has been changed to protect her identity.)
She seemed excited and confused when she said, “Christine, I just heard you were taken from your bed the other night to face the ancestral council. They didn’t even return you to your bed!” She paused, “That’s not like them. Are you okay?”
Alita was not any ordinary friend; she claimed to be from a “special” and ancient bloodline. When she started speaking about her people, her ancestors, I had always left the conversation, not out of disinterest, but I intuitively felt the need to safeguard her privacy, and I didn’t want to go snooping around in something that wasn’t my business.
This time was different. I wanted to know everything, but couldn’t bring myself to ask a single question.
I stood with my mouth open, not knowing what to say. The only other person who knew about the incident and the trauma I experienced was Joseph, and he hadn’t shared my story with a single soul! How could Alita know all of this unless . . .
Alita spoke to fill the silence. “Look, I know it’s scary. I told them not to take you because you are intuitive and would know, but they didn’t listen. They just wanted to make sure you were genuine. They’re just trying to protect my brother and me from other humans. I am so sorry. I made them promise it would never happen again.”
I was frozen in disbelief. How could all of this be real?
But then again, how was she able to describe the creature’s hands to me as if she had seen them with her own eyes? She even knew that the grasp felt like dry ice on my body, something I hadn’t even told Joseph.

I had to make myself forget. I had to push this from my mind or I might never feel safe again. After all, I had been kidnapped, taken right out of my bed in the middle of the night.

About the Author:

Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis age 30. – GONE!

Heart attack, age 37. No oxygen flowing through the body for 45 minutes. – DIED!

Revived, but professionals declared she would live in a vegetative state. NO WAY!

Christine Contini is a living miracle. After a massive heart attack left her without hope of recovery, the doctors informed her family that she would live the remainder of her life in a vegetative state.

The medical professionals are still baffled as to how Christine not only defied death, but came back to full consciousness and was able to work her own way back to her divine health. Through her own pursuit of studies, she also completely freed herself from multiple sclerosis.

Christine was raised Catholic and had no previous knowledge of the esoteric world. However, during the heart attack, Christine had a Near-Death Experience (NDE) which gave her access to the understanding of how energy works. The knowledge she received was unparalleled in her daily existence. As a result, her ability to assist others in healing both the energetic patterns and physical ailments that had often challenged them for years was first born.

Christine is a healer, a speaker, a teacher, and the author of Death – Awakening to Life (the first of three books) in which she shares her amazing story and the knowledge she received after returning from beyond the veil. She leads “The STUDY”– groups for people who want to take their understanding of how to heal themselves far beyond the book; and she offers 5-day, 2-week, and 30-day programs for people who want to go deeper in their own personal process to create real and lasting change.





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Saturday, October 28, 2017

Authors- Sign Ups Are Now Open for the 2017 Bewitching Book Tours Holiday Extravaganza

Do you have a book that you’d like to put in front of readers this holiday season?

Put your book in the gift buying spotlight with the 2017 Bewitching Book Tours Winter Holiday Extravaganza.

From December 1- 22 you will be featured with daily (Mon-Fri) Bewitching Tour Stops, Social Media Promotion and with a multi-author Facebook party in mid December

To participate you’ll need to provide details for one book you wish to promote including a high resolution jpeg of your cover and an excerpt.

You’ll also need to provide a Winter Holiday themed guest blog or a short holiday flash fiction story or poem. Your guest blog or flash fiction materials may feature Christmas, Yule, the Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or whatever winter holiday you choose to celebrate with your writing. Guest blogs may be recipes, DIY Tutorials, Holiday Music Playlists, Top Ten Gift Lists, or anything related to the holidays.

For the Facebook Party you’ll need quizzes, games and a few small prizes for your author party block.

The fee for this promotion is $75 per author for one book

Sign Up Here: https://goo.gl/forms/k3d9GdPR5Bt7SxRP2


Friday, October 27, 2017

Deep in the Hollow by Brandy Nacole - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular


Deep in the Hollow
Chindi Series
Brandy Nacole

Genre: Paranormal

Publisher: Brandy Nacole

Date of Publication: September 15, 2016

ASIN: B014U7BMU0

Number of pages: 232
Word Count: 80,000

Cover Artist: The Book Cover Machine

Tagline: Greed has a price, and the dead do not always rest.

Book Description:

Let me share some wisdom with you. There is evil in this world we cannot see, not because it is hidden from us, but because our minds refuse to accept its existence. But once we are able to get past what everyone says should not be, it becomes our responsibility to stop the evil we now see.

This insight wasn’t given to me until a year after I lost the most important person in my life: Bryce Rowan. Now, after another death at the same spot where he died—the overlook, where the mysterious lights dance amongst the trees—I begin to wonder if they were accidents after all.

Lucky for me, I’m not the only curious one in town. Cooper, a ghost hunter (aka chaser), and his sister Jada have moved to town and are starting to ask questions.

But the more we find out about this town and the people who live here, people who I have known my whole life, the more I begin to think there are those who would rather keep the evil secret, even if it means we will never be safe, and that more will die.


Amazon     BN     Kobo



Excerpt:

Prologue
July 11, 1972 

Once again I’ve fallen prey to MaryAnn’s pleading, and I follow her out the window, my stomach churning with dread, a contrast to her excitement. I don’t know why I let her talk me into these things. She’s always getting us into trouble, has been since we were little. Yet, here I am, still following her after seven years of mistake after mistake. There’s something about her I can’t say no to. I’ve always thought of her as my sister, not my cousin, and considering we were born only two days apart, we are more like sisters—look like it too. But still, even sisters tell each other no every once in a while. Not me. This time though, I should have.
Our tiny flashlights give off little light in the dark forest, mine unsteady as it shakes in my hand. Thorns scrape at my skin and I look back, hoping to see a light in the cabin on and my grandfather coming out to see where us girls have run off to. No such luck. The small, two-bedroom cedar cabin is dark, its frame nothing but an outline against the trees around it.
“I think we should go back,” I whisper, my voice trembling.
“Will you quit whining, Ester? This is no different than walking through the woods during the daylight.”
I beg to differ. During the day, the green leaves look welcoming, not over-powering and creepy like now. I don’t feel trapped and afraid when walking these familiar woods when the sun is shining bright, but now I do.
“But, MaryAnn, grandpa said—”
“He was just trying to scare you,” she hisses, as she shines her light on a raccoon scavenging for food. It rushes off to hide from what he perceives as danger and we continue on through the thicket.
No matter what MaryAnn says, I know she’s wrong. I saw the fear in our grandfather’s eyes as he told us the story of the thing that haunts these woods. MaryAnn had been enthralled as she sat by the fire, her eyes bright, her body unmoving as she absorbed every word. I had been terrified. Our grandfather has never been a skeptical man, always saying rumors and legends are nonsense. “What you don’t see with your eyes, don’t witness with your mouth.” So to see the fear in his eyes as he witnessed the story he told us tonight is enough to convince me he was telling the truth, and not just some tale to scare his grandchildren.
An owl hoots overhead and a chill slowly creeps up my back, making me shiver.
“I think we should wait. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
MaryAnn ignores my pleas, knowing I won’t go back alone.
The leaves rustle as a slight wind picks up. I can no longer see the outline of the cabin. I don’t know if it’s from my fear, but our lights seem to grow dimmer, making the darkness feel as if it is weighing down on us.
A small clearing comes into view, with timber laying hazardously along the ground.  
“We are almost there,” MaryAnn whispers. “This is where grandpa and his workers have been logging close to the overlook.”
Good. Once we reach the overlook and she sees it is the same during the night as it is during the day, we can go back to the safety of the cabin. I can already feel the relief of being back under my blankets, eagerly waiting for morning, with the fresh smell of biscuits baking in the oven and bacon frying in the pan filling the air.
Whoosh.
“What was that?” I ask, panicked, and spin around in a circle, my flashlight shaking with more force.
“Ester, please stop this nonsense. I’m sure it was nothing.”
Once on the other side of the clearing, we start the mile hike up the incline and once again I wish we had stuck to the main road instead of taking the shorter path through the woods. The ground is slick from the rain we had yesterday, and with every step I take, I lose two as I slide back down.
MaryAnn grabs my hand, steadying me, as we both use our weight to climb the impossible hill.
Whoosh.
“Did you hear that?” she asks, her voice a bit higher than before.
I close my eyes, my stomach tensing. She better not be playing any games with me. I will rat her out in a heartbeat if she is.
“Yes. What do you think it is?”
Before she can answer, a strange mist builds in front of us. I examine it closely and point it out to MaryAnn, but before it takes on a shape, it’s gone.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
A strong wind spins around us, and not caring about what MaryAnn thinks, I let go of her hand and tumble back down the hill, scared for my life. My feet are unsteady as the land levels out again and I fall over a log. Seconds later, MaryAnn lands on top of me.
“Come on!” she screams, terror in her voice. “We have to get back to the cabin.”
“What did you see?” I demand, as I race after her, dodging fallen limbs. But she doesn’t answer. She keeps running, looking back to make sure that I am close behind her.
A strong force comes from behind me and I’m shoved into MaryAnn’s back, making us both lose our footing.
Whoosh.
Tears pour down my face as we scramble to our feet, our flashlights lost in the darkness. We try our hardest to run through the darkness with no light to guide our way. MaryAnn grabs my hand, our sweaty fingers clinging as tightly as they can while we try to make out where we are.
When MaryAnn screams, her body jerked away from me, I feel as if I can’t breathe. Something is trying to take her from me. My grip on her hand tightens, my small twelve year old frame pulling as hard as possible against whatever is trying to tug her away.
A movement behind her catches my eye as we struggle, but I can’t make out who or what it is. It’s shrouded in a black cloak, practically invisible under the blanket of night. I do make out the grey mist behind it, as if it’s drifting and waiting for its prey.
My heart thrums, feeling as if it’s trying to escape out of my chest, and my throat grows tight as I choke on my tears. MaryAnn screams, begging me not to let go of her, as our fingers begin to slip.
Why can no one hear us? We have to be close to the cabin.
A sharp pain explodes in the back of my head, and I pitch forward, disoriented. My legs slip out from beneath me, and I can feel myself losing consciousness. MaryAnn’s fingers slip out of mine as I land against the damp leaves on the ground. The last thing I hear is her pleading for me to save her.



About the Author:

Gemini Brandy Nacole is a writer of urban fantasy and paranormal books published by Ponahakeola Press. A reader from a young age, Brandy has always loved folklore and stories of beings that go bump in the night.

Whenever she’s not reading or writing, Brandy is spending time with her family and friends, throwing around crazy ideas, teaching, and singing like a rock star at a concert for no one else but herself.  She loves plants, but unfortunately is a killer of anything that requires water but can’t voice (scream) their needs. 






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Release Day Blitz Haunting Magic by Neely Powell


Haunting Magic
The Witches of New Mourne
Book 2
Neely Powell

Genre: dark paranormal/suspense

Date of Publication: 10/27/17

ISBN: 978-1-5092-1669-7 Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-5092-1670-3 Digital
ASIN: B075M1FVHJ

Number of pages: 296
Word Count: 70,045

Cover Artist: Debbie Taylor

Magic and mayhem bring a witch and a Hollywood producer together…will an ancient curse tear them apart?

Book Description:

Fiona Burns, a witch who sees dead people, meets Hollywood producer Bailey Powers, who sees her as the next cable star—and a fake. Even so, she’s tempted by the dynamic producer in more ways than one. But she has a big distraction—a vicious curse on her family coven.

The ghosts of New Mourne warn of the return of the Woman in White, a vengeful spirit who claims the life of a Connelly witch from every generation. During the battle, Fiona unwittingly fuels the demonic forces, and black magic brings death and heartbreak to her family.

Initially a skeptic, Bailey is soon caught up in her supernatural battle with forces of evil. He’s also beginning to think Fiona can help him escape his haunting past. With magic and mayhem at war and survival on the line, the Witches of New Mourne face a new challenge from their ancient foe. They discover that not all dark deeds are borne of the Woman but a demon who is bent on gaining the Woman’s powers for his own. Will another generation fall? Or does the curse end here?


Haunting Magic Excerpt:
Overgrown weeds covered the back of cemetery. In the deepening gloom, Fiona stumbled over a stump. The baby’s screams filled her head. She had to help this child.
The grave markers in the back of the cemetery were the oldest ones. Some of them were so weathered it was impossible to read the names and dates on them. When they reached the back corner, Fiona knelt. All she could hear was the baby’s cry.
She dug through the weeds and scruff in front of her, ignoring the sting of thorns on her hands. Bailey dug with her, and soon she touched the cool stone of a broken grave marker.
“Baby MacCuindliss” was carved in uneven letters deep in the stone.
“This is the Woman in White’s baby.” Fiona traced the name on the marker with tender fingers. “Please don’t cry,” she whispered. “I’ll try to find your mother, I promise.”
The baby’s cry faded to a whimper. The mist blew away, leaving Fiona and Bailey under a canopy of threatening clouds.
“MacCuindliss,” Fiona breathed. “The Woman’s name.”

Lightning streaked over the mountains, and the ominous stink of sulfur infused the air.

About the Author:

Neely Powell is the pseudonym for co-writers Leigh Neely and Jan Hamilton Powell. Long-time friends, they’re the authors of “The Witches of New Mourne” a paranormal series about a family coven, a centuries’ old curse and an enchanted town.

AWAKENING MAGIC is available from The Wild Rose Press, and now HAUNTING MAGIC continues the story.

Their first paranormal novel, TRUE NATURE, is also available from The Wild Rose Press.

Writing as Celeste Hamilton, Jan published 24 bestselling romance novels for Silhouette and Avon Books. Her day job is in corporate communications in Tennessee. Leigh has a long resume as an editor and freelance writer, and is managing editor of a regional magazine group in Florida.





Thursday, October 26, 2017

Goddess of the Wild Thing by Paul DeBlassie III


Goddess of the Wild Thing
Paul DeBlassie III

Genre: Horror , Sci Fi and Fantasy

Book Description:

Goddess of the Wild Thing is a dramatic tale of one woman’s spiritual journey where magical happenings, unexpected turns of fate, and unseen forces influence her ability to love and be loved.

Eve Sanchez, a middle-aged woman and scholar of esoteric studies, encounters a seductive but frightening man who introduces her to a supernatural world in which the wicked powers of a surrogate mother’s twisted affection threaten love and life.

In the mystic realms of Aztlan del Sur, Eve and three friends struggle with whether bad love is better than no love and discover that love is a wild thing.


Amazon

Excerpt II
Unending man dramas weren’t necessary to life and well-being. She was educated, had plenty of common sense, and was street-smart. Countless members of the male species spoke of her in hushed tones at the cantina, in university hallways, and at social events when friends and colleagues were relaxed and enjoying themselves during the cool, high-desert nights. The thought of hooking up with the most desirable of fantasy felines for the evening rippled through the undercurrent of verbal exchange. She should be able to attract the right kind of man, one who was kind and caring and didn’t bring tidal waves of emotional drama.
Eve had no time to waste. She needed the counsel of her trusted friend and spiritual guide. This turn of events was unlike any she’d ever encountered. It was violent and bloody and made her fear for her safety.
This new fellow had seemed genuine, courtly, romantic, and hot. He gave off a world-wise and street savvy vibe. There was a gentleness and sensitivity to him, more so than the typical single, middle-aged male on the lookout for female companionship and mind-blowing times.
However, she’d unwittingly found trouble and needed guidance from Graciéla, a seventy-eight-year-old wise woman, crone, and seer into confusing matters of the heart. Graciéla waited for Eve at the Sage Metaphysical Bookstore where she served as resident manager for an absentee owner. Even after an exhausting day of seeing one desperate soul after another, Graciéla agreed that Eve’s situation was critical. She’d stay late for a friend and frightened soul.
Eve had to park blocks from the store because lately, downtown had become a hub of clubs, theaters, and trendy restaurants appealing to a congestion of new money and hot times. Close-in parking was locked up by happy hour, so blocks away was her only choice. She caught herself looking nervously from side to side and down twilight-shadowed alleyways as she hurried along the cracked sidewalk. She felt safer along these edgy streets with Shirley by her side, a genuine person and mystic cohort.
“Eve, honey . . .” Shirley paused before going on.
Eve knew Shirley hesitated because she was trying to be conciliatory—not an easy talent for a hard-bitten woman.
The pause passed. “On the other hand, maybe if bad love is what we get, bad love is just what we take. If there’s something better, I’m in . . . just saying I’ve never seen it. Till I do, I for one gotta go with what I get.” Her look toughened. “It’s just not come my way, and I’m not holding a sure-to-turn-me-blue breath.” A tough attitude toward life, love, and men was her stock-in-trade.
Eve smiled a bit. She loved her friend and all her rough spots and edges. There were people who were mean but not nasty, malicious, or toxic. Shirley was hardened and mean but only when and if she needed to be.
Shirley’s hair floated a few inches away from her shoulders, static currents conjuring magic. Eve’s peripheral vision caught the streaks of what she imagined as a bonfire during a war dance. Shirley spoke from experience, a woman smitten by man potential going south quicker than a rattler hisses and bites.
Eve kept up her pace as she contemplated Shirley’s words. Settling for less than what she wanted was no good. It left her cold and empty. It was definitely no good. Plus, Shirley didn’t know the whole story, only that gloom about the prospect of men and love had descended, and Eve was taking it hard.
“Bad love’s a risk, Shirley. No good for me. If I need to cut this thing short, so be it. But I’d rather see it through. Maybe there’s a chance that the bad I’m afraid of isn’t there. Maybe I’m blowing it up into something it isn’t. Maybe there’s good and I’m thinking it’s bad. So if the good is down deep, real deep—I want to hold on and give it a chance.” Eve pondered the words as a light rain started up. Then she went on, “I need to hear what Graciéla has to say. I’d like to give things a chance. I’m not giving up unless there’s no way out of emotional dead-ends and never-ending heartache.”
Mists formed along the edges of the potholed asphalt and cracked sidewalks. They twisted and curled, arising out of a subterranean ether sphere. Usually, they arose during the early morning and hovered inches above the downtown park’s green expanse, hardly ever at night with its fading daytime desert heat, and hardly ever along the paved spaces. Darkness descended and pressed down like a heavy hand, edgy and ominous.






About the Author:

Paul DeBlassie III, Ph.D. is a depth psychologist and award-winning writer living in his native New Mexico. He specializes in treating individuals in emotional and spiritual crisis. His novels, visionary thrillers, delve deep into archetypal realities as they play out dramatically in the lives of everyday people. Memberships include the Author’s Guild, the Depth Psychology Alliance, the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, and the International Association for Jungian Studies.