Friday, June 9, 2023

Adriana Kraft is visiting and talking about writing #MFRWAuthor #Dual author #Arizona #reading - ereader

 

INTERVIEW

1. Why don’t you start by telling us about yourself (Where are you from? What do you write/do in the publishing world? What do you do when you're not writing -- your "day" job, hobbies, obsessions, etc.?)

“We” are actually from a couple places – my husband and I write erotic romance together under our pen name, Adriana Kraft. He’s a Midwesterner raised on a dairy farm; though his parents would have loved it if he stayed and carried on the tradition, he got off the hay baler one afternoon the summer after his high school graduation and went to register at the local state college at the very last moment. I’m from the suburbs of Washington, D.C., where my father worked for the government. I attended college in North Carolina, but moved to Chicago for graduate school, where I eventually met my husband, by then a professor.

In our married life we’ve lived several places, including cities, small towns, and once a rural acreage, so we have lots to draw on in setting our stories. We’re now retired from academic careers, where we did a lot of joint authorship of academic articles. We decided it might be more fun to write romance, which we’d both read widely all our lives.

We now live in southern Arizona, where we golf, bowl, hike (in season), go country dancing, and travel, especially to historical Native American sites.

 

2. Do you read primarily print books, ebooks, or both? Do you own an ereader? Why or why not? If so, what’s on it?

If we had kept hard copies of all the books we’ve ever read, there’d be no room for anything else in our house! We’re huge fans of eraders and each own one. Any more, we rarely read a print book, unless from a library or borrowed from a friend. What’s on our ereaders? Over 400 books (and that’s just from the last decade!), in a wide range of genres. Romance, of course. History – we’re both historical buffs, and now that we’ve been researching our ancestry, it’s been fascinating to read accounts of what life was like where they originated across the centuries. Recently we’ve especially focused on the first five centuries A.D. – Celtic tribes and their practices in the U.K., as well as, somewhat later, the first Norsemen to settle in France, ancestors of William the Conqueror. Good historical fiction (which I often review on my blog) is accurate about the facts and pulls the reader into the story with detail, drama, character development, and suspense.

 

3. How do you get ideas for your stories? What inspires you?

The three books we’re sharing tomorrow may look at first glance like they have nothing in common: Two Seeds are Sown, a first century A.D. short story about a Welsh tribeswoman captured by a Roman Legate; Three, A Love Story, a contemporary polyamory short story set in Tucson, Arizona; and Through the Lens, a polyamory novel set in Minnesota and South Dakota.

We write erotic romance, so naturally one common thread is that we’re always looking for scenarios and relationships that would make good erotic reading. Most of our erotic romance stories feature bisexual women as a main character, and across those stories we explore a range of “happily ever after” options for bi women. These three stories share one such option: a stable polyamory relationship.

What else inspires us? Different things for different stories. Our Celtic roots and readings, for the first one. Our love of the mountains, the hiking, and yes, the Saguaro cactus vistas in the Tucson metro, for the second. We sent those characters on at least one of our favorite hiking trails. And for the third? More sources than I have time for here. Scandals in each of our family histories gave us part of our plot. Though we no longer live in the prairie, we’ve done so, and we love and miss it, so Through The Lens gave us an opportunity to share its richness with readers, including a soddie house based on one in Kansas where my husband visited relatives as a child. I suppose I should add that his great aunt no longer lived in it, but she did often spend summer days in it, because it was cooler than her house.

4. Which comes first when you're starting to write a new story: character, setting, plot, or theme?

The answer? It’s totally unpredictable. A chance visual can inspire a plot or a character. For Through the Lens, it was a visit to the Minneapolis Institute of Art and an encounter with a famous painting by Caillebotte: Nude on a Couch. We had our fictional prairie third grade teacher recoiling in shock as a basis for the plot before we even reached home. Three, a Love Story was a response to a call for LGBTQ manuscripts. We’d only recently moved to Arizona and discovered the pleasure of hiking desert trails (both of us having grown up where “hiking” meant “in the woods”), so we knew we wanted to write that setting.

 A chance sighting in a rest area parking lot led to the plot of a book we’ll feature next month, Embracing Passion. When we were planning Book Four of the horse racing series I featured last month, we took a winter vacation to a timeshare north of San Diego and were surprised by how empty it was. I’m sure nothing nefarious was actually involved, but since my husband is a criminologist, we had our story idea fleshed out pretty quickly. It helped that the timeshare wrangler, who led a couple horseback rides we took, was both handsome and willing to share about the region’s history. We turned him into a character.

5. Tell us about your latest release – we’d love an excerpt, too!

Two Seeds are Sown (Seren’s Story, Book One) is set in Wales during the Roman occupation. When the Romans invaded the British Isles, they began in the south and reached what is now Wales in about 48 AD. The wild tribes they encountered there presented some of the fiercest early opposition. Welsh folklore has immortalized one of the last Welsh resistors to yield to the Romans: Caractacus (or Caradoc), the leader of the Silures tribe, who lived in southeast Wales in the lowlands along the northern shore of the Bristol Channel.

 

To subdue the indigenous Welsh peoples, the Romans established forts, built roads so they could rapidly move their armies, and developed one town. Venta Silurum was located in what is now Caerwent, a mile or two off the channel and roughly 8 miles east of Newport. Caractacus himself was ultimately captured and taken to Rome, where he died in 54 AD.

 

We’ve found nothing to indicate whether or not Caractacus left children behind in Wales, but we’ve chosen to believe he must have done so. In our fictional account, Seren’s father is a local Silures chieftain directly descended from Caractacus, who lived over a century earlier. Seren has inherited not only her father’s standing and his fierce determination, but also several psychic powers from her grandmother, including divination, the ability to time travel, and metaphysical communication with others. These characteristics and talents form the kernel from which our story grew.

 

BLURB

Resist, or yield? The choice is not Seren’s alone.

Late in the Roman occupation of Britain, a young Welsh tribeswoman is hand selected and captured to serve as a courtesan to a Roman Legate and his wife. Escape proves impossible, but Seren is never completely abandoned. Her grandmother’s cryptic prophecy through their psychic connection seals her fate—it will be Seren’s lot to yield. The words both relieve Seren and further mystify her: You must find pleasure in your present life. Fulfillment will not be yours until after you cross into the next.

EXCERPT

Set Up: It’s been three days of arduous travel since Seren was captured, but she now stands in a lavish stone bath with the wife of her captor…

Once they’d stepped out of the water and toweled off, Livia pointed out two gold bands on the nearby shelf. “You will wear the smaller bracelet around your left ankle and the larger band around your throat. As you can see, they are beautifully adorned with our family crest. No one of Roman descent will dare touch you without my consent.”

Seren stood perfectly still as the woman attached the bracelet and the torc.

Livia grinned at her. “You could waste hours trying to get them off—hours you should be thinking about me. Now then, for the time being, you will not be given your own room. You will either sleep with me, with my husband, Scipio, or with both of us. Understand?”

Seren nodded. She listened carefully to her fate. Escape would be difficult. And she couldn’t even try until she’d earned a degree of trust.

“You will have no household duties,” Livia continued, “other than to tend to my boudoir and baths. I will instruct you further in our language to improve your fluency. I will teach you board games, more of Roman culture—you will want to blend in when we return to Rome. And of course I will teach you more of the refined arts of lovemaking. I would also like to hear about your mystic religion. It sounds so fanciful compared to ours, but I have an eager mind.”

Danger signals flared in Seren’s brain, but she kept her face carefully schooled. Sharing a few harmless tidbits might be a way to humor her captor and perhaps build trust. But what did Livia already know? She and her husband weren’t far off the mark—Seren knew for a fact she was special.

Seren’s father had made this clear. She’d been given special training as a woman because of her gifts. Her father had taught her that long before her time, the Romans had massacred all the Druids they could find, but her father was not her only teacher. From her grandmother she’d learned that the Romans would never succeed in stamping out the magical gifts—the powers that often passed from mother to daughter or to granddaughter, or rarely, to sons. The powers Seren’s grandmother had passed to her. Seren vowed never to let Livia know any of this.

BUY LINK

 

UNIVERSAL BUY LINK

https://books2read.com/u/m2qZRG

 

WHERE TO FIND ADRIANA KRAFT

 

Blog: https://www.adrianakraft.com/blog

Newsletter: Get your free copy of Swingers Light Up Vegas for Newsletter signups:

https://storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/d1c82f5e-9b43-11ed-8c5e-b712215e57d9

Twitter https://twitter.com/AdrianaKraft

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adriana.kraft.5

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

MeWe https://mewe.com/i/adriana1kraft

Mastodon https://mastodon.otherworldsink.com/@AdrianaKraft

Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/author/adrianakraft

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1578571.Adriana_Kraft

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adriana-kraft

Extasy Books Page https://www.extasybooks.com/adriana-kraft

 

Thursday, June 8, 2023

Murder and Tainted Tea is featured with Thursday's Opening Scene #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #cozy mystery #Tainted Tea #Santa Fe

 This year the Christmas season held little joy for me. There were a few brief moments of pleasure that vanished all too soon. Seeing a small child’s delight in the twinkling tree lights. Selecting gifts for my family, friends and neighbors. Watching my granddaughter perform the role of Clara in a local production of the Nutcracker. Those times did little to halt my feelings of regret and grief.

On Christmas Eve, I sat with my family in a pew in St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and huddled in my coat. The chill I felt had nothing to do with the voices of the choir raised in joyful celebration, or in the message of hope and peace contained in the sermon and the liturgy. My feelings were caused by things I had and had not done.

Though we sat several rows in front of the place where death had stained the stones of the floor, my awareness of past events nearly drove me to leave. Remembering last month’s Evensong and the death of the choir master brought frost-filled memories and stirred my guilt. For my covetousness had brought him here, and I’d been the one to discover the body.

Your fault. Your fault. Those words had circled in my thoughts for weeks.

As the candles were lit at midnight, I prayed my role in Roger Brandon’s death would fade and I could forgive myself. I also knew my decision to welcome the New Year in Santa Fe, New Mexico with my dear friend, Lars Claybourne, was mete and right. Thoughts of the trip had become my golden dream.

 

My Places

   https://twitter.com/JanetL717

 https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f

bid=113639528680724

 http://bookswelove.net/

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/shadyl717/

 

Buy Mark

https://bookswelove.net/walters-janet-lane/

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Meet One with an Earth Affinity #MFRWHooks #BWLAuthor #Fantasy #air #water #earth #fire #twins

Join the authors at #MFRWHooks here  http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com  for some great excerpts. Meet one with an Earth Affinity at eclecticwriter.blogspot.com from Escape is mine

Blurb:

Two sets of halfling twins, Ashlea, Brandien, Jaydren and Kylandra sent away from their home by their parents to protect them from trouble, search for mentors to teach them how to use their affinities.

During the escape, they face many problems forcing them to use their affinities by trial and error. They also meet Alizand, the son of the ruling prince of Wesren. Zand has an affinity for Fire and this will keep him from gaining the rule.

Dom Senet, an advisor to his father, and once a friend of the quartet’s parents suspects Zand’s affinity. He wishes to corrupt the teen and use him to gain control of the four princedoms of the land and of the highlands. The evil dom has all four affinities. The four must reach a secret place and find teachers before the evil man discovers them


Excerpt:

Jay waited until Ash had Ky on her back before he rose and began to tap the way along the path. His thoughts drifted to his parents. Surely by working together, they were stronger than the Dom who walked the road to darkness. What was happening at the henge? Bran had seen the first wall fall. Had the other walls been breached? Would they see Mama and Papa again? They’d said so and he would hold onto that promise.

Just beyond him, there seemed to be a wall. He tapped the tip of the staff against the blockage. Inch by inch, he moved through the dense fog. Suddenly, the light of the sun blinded him.

“Jay, where are you,” Ash and Bran called.

“I’m out of the illusion.” He turned and thrust his staff into the mist. “Grab the end.” He felt a tug on the staff. He walked backwards. Like corks being drawn from a bottle, his siblings appeared. He slumped against the stones.

Ash moved past him. “Up, Jay. ‘Tis not far now.” She paused. “I smell smoke, men and beasts.”

“Where?”

“On the grasslands beyond the mesa wall.”

“Can they see us?” Bran pulled Jay to his feet. “Have they found the ponies and the supplies?”

“Let’s find out.” After letting Bran and Jay take her sister, she picked her way around the rocks to an opening in the palisade.

They emerged into a box canyon. Jay looked around with interest. A group of ponies grazed on the browning grass. At the far end, water tumbled over rocks into a stone basin. He noticed a fire circle. Where were the promised supplies? He lowered Ky to the ground.

“Where are the things they said would be here?” Jay asked. “Ky’s like ice.”

Ash turned. “This way.”

Bran caught her hand. “Let’s fetch them. You can scent which packs we should open.”

Jay reached for the twin bond. Ky wandered in a nightmare of being lost in the dark. He sent her images of the bright meadow. Slowly, her dreams changed and she slipped into normal sleep patterns.

Bran turned. “We’ll need a fire. Sure wish Ky could start one.”

“There should be a starter in one of the packs,” Ash said. “Jay, fill our water flasks.”

Though he didn’t want to leave Ky, he rose and carried the four flasks to the pool. Then he gathered wood. Once Bran and Ash returned with two packs, one containing a fire started, Bran set the wood ablaze.

Bran heated water in a pan. He poured it into the scrying cup and mixed an assortment of herbs in the water. “Ash, let me try this on your hand.”

The mark on the back of her hand had remained scarlet and hadn’t shrunk. Bran applied some of the solution.

“Hey, it’s gone,” Jay said. “Will it work like that for Ky?”

“Hope so, but hers is larger and I think deeper.”

Jay unwound the cloth. Bran dipped it in the solution and wrapped the bandage 

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

The Ending of the Rescue Plot #BWLAutho #MFRWAuthor #writing #tips #ending #Rescue Plot

 As this plot ends, the good guy and the bad guy have a confrontation. Usually, the good guy wis. There are other possibilities but they must be planned for during the book so the reader can accept the, The victim might not want to be rescued. Careful planning can make this word. The bad guy could win the confrontation. If you choose any other than the good guy being victorious, the seeds must be laid early. Readers don't like being fooled.

My Places

   https://twitter.com/JanetL717

 https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f

bid=113639528680724

 http://bookswelove.net/

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/shadyl717/

 

Buy Mark

https://bookswelove.net/walters-janet-lane/

Monday, June 5, 2023

Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor @reading #writing #thoughts

 Meander 1 - Reading The BWL books just went live. I've finished Eileen Charbonneau's latest and enjoyed it so much. Her Bridge American Indian young woman is a great character as is her freind. Nice seeing old friends again. Read several other books. One thing is that for some reason, books are too long these days. Some of the new ones I read droaned on and on. Throw in another love scene and another and another. Sad.

Meander 2 - Thoughts - Well they managed the debt ceiling and I must admit it was well done of the president. We won't have to go through this again next year. There are more and more Republicans deciding to run for president. I don't see anything appealing about any of them.

Meader 3 - Writing - I am now up to the point where I erased the mss and still don't know how it did it. Three plus chapters to type in and then I can send it off.

My Places

   https://twitter.com/JanetL717

 https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f

bid=113639528680724

 http://bookswelove.net/

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/shadyl717/

 

Buy Mark

https://bookswelove.net/walters-janet-lane/

Sunday, June 4, 2023

Murder and Tainted Tea #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Mystery #cozy #Santa Fe

Katherine heads to Santa Fe, New Mexico along with a Maine Coon Cat kitten to spend New Year’s Eve with Lars. Her guilty feelings over the organist’s death has her needing an escape. When she reaches Santa Fe, she discovers Lars is missing. She seeks and finds him and steps into another mystery.

Lars’ daughter dislikes Katherine but when the young woman is kidnapped, they are puzzled. The murder of Lars’ daughter and one of his employees makes solving the mysteries necessary. Can she learn before Lars becomes a victim.

Editorial Review
With every book, I think the Katherine Miller Mysteries can't get any better. I'm always wrong, because they always do. ~ Writer Gail Roughton

My Places

   https://twitter.com/JanetL717

 https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f

bid=113639528680724

 http://bookswelove.net/

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/shadyl717/

 

Buy Mark

https://bookswelove.net/walters-janet-lane/

Saturday, June 3, 2023

Books by P.J. MacLayne are featured on Saturday's Blurbs #MFRWAuthor #The Fall of Jake Hennessey ##The Marquesa's Necklace #The Rise of Jake Hennessey

 


The Fall of Jake Hennessey

 

Jake Hennessey deals in selling fine jewelry of an illegal nature. The thrill of getting away with it is his addiction. When he hears a rumor about a rare old book in the personal collection of a small-town librarian, he gets the urge to try a new game.

 

After all, even jewel thieves get bored.

 

But the librarian, Harmony Duprie, isn't what he expected and the challenge becomes serious business.

 

In order to win, Jake's going to have to play by a new set of rules—and make them up as he goes along—because this time, he's playing for the rest of his life.

 

Buy links


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W63DWNS

 

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-fall-of-jake-hennessey

 

https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1615685161

 

https://books2read.com/u/3kLM9g

 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fall-of-jake-hennessey-p-j-maclayne/1141380917?ean=2940161033050

 

The Marquesa’s Necklace

Harmony Duprie enjoyed her well-ordered life in the quiet little town of Oak Grove—until her arrest for drug trafficking. Cleared of all charges, she wants nothing more than to return to the uneventful lifestyle of a historical researcher she once savored.

 

But when her beloved old car “George” is stolen and explodes into a ball of flames, it sets off a series of events that throws her plans into turmoil. Toss in a police detective that may or may not be interested in her, an attractive but mysterious stranger on her trail, and an ex-boyfriend doing time, and Harmony’s life freefalls into a downward spiral of chaos.

 

Now she has to use her research skills to figure out who is behind the sinister incidents plaguing her, and why. And she better take it seriously, like her life depends upon finding the right answers.

 

Because it might.

 

Buy links

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LF11HB4

 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-marquesas-necklace-pj-maclayne/1119886265

 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id894246916

 

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-marquesa-s-necklace

 

 

Series  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072F4WBWH/ref=series_rw_dp_sw

 

The Rise of Jake Hennessey

 

For 22 years, semi-retired jewel thief Jake Hennessey honored his promise to stay away from Harmony Duprie. He has no plans to change that... until Special Agent Doan Houck saunters into Jake's bar, claiming Harmony's life is in danger.

 

She's not the only one in jeopardy. Jake is run over by a motorcycle and is the target of a drive-by shooting. He doesn't know who to trust. Not the feds Not the local cops.

 

Not even Harmony.

 

But Jake will do anything to protect his ex-lover. Even if it means matching wits with an FBI agent, revealing old secrets, or ending up in prison. Again.

 

If it comes down to saving his life or Harmony's, there is no choice at all.

 

Buy links

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C59KDNNW

 

Nook (B&N) https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1143484076?ean=2940161154397

 

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-rise-of-jake-hennessey

 

apple https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6449169609

 

Books2Read https://books2read.com/u/mdX7jE

Friday, June 2, 2023

P. J. McLayne is Visiting and talking about her newest release #MFRWAuthor #The Rise of Jake Hennessey #jewel thief

 

1. Tell me about your latest release or the book you wish to feature? Genre?

 

 The Rise of Jake Hennessey is the last story in the Harmony Duprie world and occurs twenty-some years after the events in The Ranger’s Dog Tags. Jake Hennessey is a semi-retired jewel thief, who is living out his life as a bar owner and supposedly model citizen in the small town of Oak Grove. But all that is upset when a federal agent saunters into Jake’s bar, claiming Harmony’s life is in danger. The book is suspense/mystery with a touch of romance.

 

2. Where did the idea arise?

 

 Jake Hennessey was developed as a background character in the first book of the Harmony Duprie Mysteries, but as the series progressed, he became more important and became a major part of the story. There were several times I tried to write him out, and it didn’t work Still, he wouldn’t reveal his secrets to me until after I had finished the six books of the Harmony Duprie Mysteries. Then, at his insistence, I went back and wrote the story of how he and Harmony met, a prequel to the Harmony books, but written from the point of view of Jake.

 

Then, in order to give Jake a chance at a happy ending, I wrote The Rise of Jake Hennessey, a sequel to the entire series. But I made him work for it, including several attempts on his life.

 

3. How much research was involved? Did you stay on point or be distracted by wanting to look at just one more thing?

 

The book is set twenty-some years in the future, so I had to make predictions of what changes might have happened. Some were easy - like changes to cars, but others were more subtle. Would federal agencies still have the same names? And what would the relationship between them be? I didn’t spend too much time on research for this book, unlike some of the others I’ve written.

 

 

4. How long did you take to write the book?

 

It took me over a year to write this story. But I bought a house and moved halfway across the United States in that time, which left no time for writing. Plus, after the move, it took several months to get settled in and get back into the writing habbit. And yes, the book was yelling me all that time, telling me to get my act together and get back to work.

 

 

 

5. Now a bit about you. How long have you been writing? What is your Sun Sign?

 

 I started writing back in the days of ancient history, after I graduated from high school. I started with writing poetry, and had some small success with being published. As I got more involved in the computer field, the poetry became harder to write, to my despair. But one year I attempted to write a book for NaNoWriMo and although I didn’t ‘win” I was hooked and I’ve been writing books since.

 

My sun sign is Libra. I think it fits, most of the time.

 

6. Do you write in a number of genres or stick to one?

 

So far, I have tackled three different genres — paranormal, mystery and suspense. I started with paranormal, with Wolves’ Pawn, intending it to be a standalone. It turned into a three book series, but each one can be read on its own.

When I started writing The Marquesa’s Necklace, the first book in the Harmony Duprie Mysteries, it was supposed to be another paranormal, with the original title of The Ghost That Loved Me. But my characters wouldn’t stand for it, and it became a mystery.

The two Jake books—The Fall of Jake Hennessey and The Rise of Jake Hennessey—are best described as suspense, with crime and action subplots. (And a touch of romance, of course)

My current work in progress is a historical mystery, set in Pittsburgh in the mid-1980s, when the city was in the midst of major changes. It features a female PI, and is grittier than the Harmony books. (And yes, the research for this one is taking me a lot of time because I am trying to make it as realistic as possible.

 

 

 

7. Where on the internet can you be found?

 

I can be found in a number of places:

 

                                                  Website: https://pjmaclayne.com

                                                  Facebook https://facebook.com/pjmaclayne

                                                  Twitter https://twitter.com/pjmaclayne

                                                  Amazon http://www.amazon.com/P.J.-MacLayne/e/B00HVE8WZI

                                                   BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/p-j-maclayne

                                                  Newsletter http://eepurl.com/cL73Cz

                                                   Instagram https://instagram.com/p.j.maclayne

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Thursday's Opening Scene is from Murder and Poisoned Tea #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #cozy mystery #church organist

 

Introit

On Groundhog Day when Robespierre, my Maine Coon cat, jumped

from his place on the window seat, one thought popped into my head.

Company. Who? After following him to the kitchen, I watched him push

his bulky, brown and black body through the hinged opening at the bottom

of the door. Moments later I peered down the dimly lit stairwell.

Robespierre had sprawled in the center of the third step and blocked my

visitor’s progress.

“Good grief, Katherine, I hope he’s not planning to bite me again.”

Edward Potter, pastor of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, glared at the cat.

His voice had risen to a high pitch. “Whatever do you feed him? He’s ever

so much bigger than Bitsy.”

The temptation to say my pet fed on pastors was strong. I refrained

and fought to control a grin that threatened to blossom. Teasing Edward

usually results in a lecture delivered in an indignant voice.

With an air of disdain, Robiesperre stretched. His back rippled in a

way I envy. Then he slithered around Edward.

When Edward reached the top of the steps, he turned and peered at

the cat. “He’s becoming more brazen.”

“Only toward selected guests. He ignores most people.” I turned my

head and Edward brushed my cheek with his lips.

Edward is a dapper little man with an ear for gossip and a penchant

for turning even the slightest event into a fiesta or a disaster. He’s astute

about church politics. The coffers at St. Stephen’s are filled through his

ability to cosset and cajole the elderly population of the church, mainly

wealthy women. I partially fit the category, being over sixty-five, and while

not rich, I’m at least comfortable.

When he entered the sunlit kitchen, the expression on his face

announced a problem. He walked into the living room. Unlike most of my

guests, he considered chats at the kitchen table for commoners. In the

living room, he perched on the edge of a Queen Anne chair, purchased

years ago before antiques became the rage. In the past twenty years,

stores selling every manner of old things have spread plague-like in the

business district of the Hudson River village where I live.

“You’re tense. How about a cup of mint tea?”

“Not all the tranquilizers in the world will calm me. It’s a disaster, a

complete and utter tragedy.” His hands fluttered. The words rolled out like

a sermon promising hell and damnation. “How will we maintain the quality

of the services? Easter will be a disaster.”

My forehead wrinkled. What in the world had stirred him into this

state? The last time had been when one of the altar boys had spilled the

communion wine. Had there been a fire at the church? A flood? A

plague? The strident fire whistles had been silent for days. What had

occurred? Knowing a full and dramatic scene would develop, I wanted

mint tea.

“I’ll heat the water. Then you can tell me about this tragedy.” Mint

tea is my all-purpose remedy, calming nerves and stimulating the mind,

bringing alertness or sleep.

I retreated to the kitchen, filled the kettle and stuffed a silver ball with

an assortment of dried mint leaves. While the water boiled, I assembled the

pottery mugs, sugar and spoons on a wooden tray.

“Why will Easter be a problem?” I set the tray on a Duncan Phyfe

table.

“We may have to cancel the season.” He patted his thinning light

brown hair.

I swallowed a laugh. “How can we cancel one of the main reasons

for St. Stephen’s existence?”

“Are you making fun of me?” His voice rose in pitch. “I’m

absolutely serious.” He accepted a mug. “Mary’s husband has been

transferred. It’s a disaster.”

I mentally sorted through all the Marys in the congregation and tried

to decide which one’s leaving would cause Edward to fall apart. Who had

triggered the word of the day? On another level, the need to giggle soared.

Perched on the edge of the chair and holding a teacup with both hands,


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Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Meet One with a Fire Affinity #MFRWHooks #BWLAuthor #fantasy #earth #air #water #fire

 

Join the authors at MFRWHooks here   http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com  for some great excerpts Mine is found at eclecticwriter.blogspot.com Meet One with a Fire Affinity from Escape

Blurb:


Two sets of halfling twins, Ashlea, Brandien, Jaydren and Kylandra sent away from their home by their parents to protect them from trouble, search for mentors to teach them how to use their affinities.

During the escape, they face many problems forcing them to use their affinities by trial and error. They also meet Alizand, the son of the ruling prince of Wesren. Zand has an affinity for Fire and this will keep him from gaining the rule.

Dom Senet, an advisor to his father, and once a friend of the quartet’s parents suspects Zand’s affinity. He wishes to corrupt the teen and use him to gain control of the four princedoms of the land and of the highlands. The evil dom has all four affinities. The four must reach a secret place and find teachers before the evil man discovers them




Excerpt:

“How can we pass it?” Ash said.

Ky rose. “This task is mine.” “I could move the rocks,” Jay said. “But that would take a long time. I’m just learning.”

 

“How?” Bran asked.

“With fire.”

Ash shook her head. “Fire did destroy some of the fibers, but look what happened to me.”

“I’ll use the flame sword. That’s different than a torch.” She handed her cloak to Bran and unsheathed the sword. As she thought about sending fire through the blade, she hoped she could master the flame. The only time she’d used the lessons her parents had given her had been when she’d set her fear, anger and grief free. “Fire can help and fire can harm.” The web was a thing of evil. Could she call forth anger without triggering other emotions?

Jay touched her arm. “Will the twin bond help?”

She shook her head. “Don’t think so, and you’d better all stay here. I don’t want to burn anyone by mistake.”

“Be careful,” Ash said.

Ky walked around the bend and for the second time confronted the web. She jammed the torch in a crack in the rocks and studied the intricate pattern. She wished she’d asked Bran and Ash if a living creature had spun the web and if it lingered. She had no desire to face something from a bad dream.

Ash had tried to burn away the strands that clung to the rocks and had been burned. The center, Ky thought. That’s where she’d start.

She raised the sword and called fire. Tiny flames danced along the blade. She drove them together until a line of fire extended from the sword’s tip. As she glided toward the web, the strands seemed to quiver. Was the web a living thing? If so, ‘twas evil.

The tongue of flame touched the circle in the center of the weaving. A puff of dark smoke stained the air. Then with a rapidity she could scarcely believe, the center blackened. The darkness spread along the web lines. The smoke grew heavier, billowed and flowed toward her. She coughed. Her eyes watered and the sword wavered.

Back, she thought. The smoke stole the air she needed to breathe. Help!

A gust of wind came from behind her. The smoke cleared. Ash, thanks, she thought.

The fire had gutted a large part of the web. A few strands still formed a barrier near the ground. Though exhaustion threatened to swamp her, she gathered the flames and moved to clear the rest away.

The flame touched the red line. One end of it whipped toward her. The end touched and wound around her wrist. Ky screamed. The flame from the sword moved in a blinding pattern of light.

An exquisite pain shot from her wrist to her shoulder. The sword fell from her hand. Ky felt dizzy and she wanted to lose the contents of her stomach. Blackness engulfed her.

Ky.

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Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Tuesday's Writer's Tip - The Rescue Plot - The Middle #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #writing #tip #middle #Rescue Plot

 In this plot pursuit is the key. The protagonist chases the antagonist and enter's his enemy's world. The antagonist develops problems and obstacles galore. The true hero persists. He can be injured but not badly. He manages to escape each of the twists and turns. The traps and twists are clever but the true hero manages to escape each one. These need to be clever and surprising. So when developing this type of plot, make sure the bad guy is sneaky and tricky and the heor cleever and stubborn.

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Monday, May 29, 2023

Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #BWLauthor #MFRWAuthor #reading #writing #thoughts

 Meander 1 - Reading - Have been reading an assortment of books. One Patricia Cornwell and I will go for more of her books when I read more of the dozens I have on the TBR list.  Also a Mary Balough book i never read when I was doing paper. These books have been greath.

Meander 2 Thoughts - Will they or won't they. There are several suites against Trump coming to court. I know what i would like to see. This con man needs to face who and what he is. I hope these criminal suspicions come to fruition and he is forced to face what he has done.

Meander 3 - Writing - Have five chapters typed in and am working on Chapter 6. So four to go. Have put Iced Tea asiide until I manage to get this sent off.

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