Books by Mikki Sadil are featured at eclecticwriter.blogspot.com on Saturday's Blurbs #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Murder #Macchiatos #Civil War

I think my most favorite of my own books are "The Freedom Thief" , "The Return of the Freedom Thief', and my newest book, "Murder and Macchiatos."  I have been enthralled by the Civil War since I was a kid and first learned about it in school. I had a brother who was 12 years older than I, but however unlikely, we were very close. He was killed in WWII. He taught me a lot about family closeness, and when I began to learn about the Civil War and how it destroyed families who had different philosophies, it just seemed unreal. So when I started to write, I wanted to write about that War but I wanted to do it right. So, in doing research to know exactly what I was talking about, my husband and I took a two week barge trip down the Ohio and up the Mississippi Rivers, visiting small towns on those rivers which were active in the War but never talked about in history books.

 The Freedom Thief is about a 13, almost 14 year old boy living on a slavery plantation in Kentucky. His best friend is a young slave boy who is crippled. When Ben McKenna learns that his father plans to sell Josiah, even though Josiah's mother Bess and father Jesse will still be on the plantation, Ben decides to arrange an escape for all three. The time for the escape came before Ben could make any real plans, as the slave buyer was coming the very next day. That night, Ben took his friend Josiah, and his parents Bess and Jesse, and they embarked on an escape journey filled with danger, fear, and not really knowing what was coming next. The only thing Ben really knew was that he and his friends had to find the Ohio River, and he had to, somehow, get them across that river into the safety that lay beyond. Every step of the way they were met with hostility, deception and dangerous situations.  They are plagued with fear, hunger, and exhaustion, often on the run from slave hunters and their dogs...dogs that seem to be able to follow their scent no matter what they do to disguise it. Hidden barns, tiny attic rooms, cellars full of rotting fruit and vegetables were often their only means of safety. Sometimes they were given the luxury of a ride in the bottom of a wagon or in a casket on a glass-enclosed horse-drawn hearse, but treachery seemed to all around them all the time, and neither Ben nor the slaves were sure that someday, they might find the safety and freedom of the Ohio River. 

The Return of the Freedom Thief:  When Ben McKenna finally returns home after getting his friends to safety, he is met with anger and hostility from his parents and two older brothers. Only his grandmother, a not-so-secret Abolitionist, is happy to see him. Shortly after his return in 1861, the Civil War begins and his two brothers go off to join the Confederate Army. Soon after, Ben realizes he can no longer stay at home with parents who are still hostile to him, so he decides to become a spy for the Union Army. His grandmother helps him by sending him to a friend of hers in Lexington who has secretly organized an espionage ring, which Ben joins. His first mission is hampered by a young girl who suddenly appears and refuses to leave his side. When he realizes he really can't get rid of her, he is afraid his spy future will be compromised, but Puck becomes a staunch ally and help by pretending to be his sister, and helping him in his activities. Finally, however, his missions become so dangerous that he must leave Puck behind, as he embarks upon a journey already deeply mired in danger, deceit, and deception. Every move he makes, every decision, is a constant threat to his well=being, and he often wonders if he will ever return home, as he begins to realize, perhaps too late, that his own survival is not guaranteed.

Murder and Macchiatos: Law professor Peyton Ashford has just inherited an ancient barn that has been in her family for over a hundred years. She and her District Attorney husband, Cooper, remodel it into a Books and Brews Bistro...a place to enjoy speciality coffee drinks and check out the books in the library part...and also into beautiful living quarters upstairs. During the last part of the construction a body is found buried in the back part of the barn. When Peyton finds out that it is a great-uncle that she has not seen since childhood, and who has been murdered in the exact same way that her great-great grandfather was killed 100 years ago, she is determined to find the murderer and the reason behind the murder. The local sheriff has a history with Peyton, not a pleasant one, and has refused to investigate the murder, so Peyton and her two best friends, Willow and Kylie, decided to investigate themselves. Before they can really get started, three mysterious men, a missing teen girl, an angry and very competitive fellow law professor, and a strange, vengeful woman all combine to make what might have been "just" a simple murder the most baffling crime the small, historical whaling town of Dauphin's Cove has ever seen.

All three of these books can be found at Amazon, under Author Mikki Sadil, and on Smashwords, also under Author Mikki Sadil.

They are also sold at Barnes and Noble.

Friday Mikki Sadil is talking about being a Panster or a Plotter #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Panster #Plotter #Plot

 1) I am basically a pantster. For my most recent book, a cozy mystery titled Murder and Macchiatos, I was a little bit of both. For the first time in my writing career, I actually laid out a very basic outline...which I changed at least a dozen times during writing. Can't say I like outlining! I hated it in school, which is probably why I don't like it now.

2. Usually, the plot. I will get a vague idea of a story line, then over time I develop it in my head. Sometimes it turns out to be a feasible story to begin plotting, and occasionally, it doesn't. If it does, then I start thinking about the kind of characters that would go with this particular idea, and begin developing them...at least, the basics...in my head. When I finally start writing, they just seem to develop fully by themselves as I go along. I once woke my husband up talking aloud. When he asked me what was wrong, I told him, nothing, it's just one of my characters talking to me. He grinned, said "you writers are all crazy," and went back to sleep. But that's the way my characters seem to develop themselves...with a little help from me.

3) I am working on the second book of the cozy mystery series, "starring" Peyton Ashford, professor of law. The working title is "Murder, Morning Glories, and Mochas", but that will probably change by publishing time...or...maybe not! 

4) No, I don't have anything or place that I use constantly in my books. That is probably because I write in several different genres. My first book was a contemporary novel about friends and enemies among 13-14 year old girls; the second and third books were historical, about a teen ager who lived on a plantation in Kentucky with slaves, how he did not believe in slavery as his parents and brothers did but not his grandmother, and how he arranged the escape of a young slave boy and his parents. The second book dealt with this same young man, a little older now, becoming a spy for the Union Army after the Civil War began. The next book was about an eleven year old girl with a 160 IQ, in high school, who was always getting into trouble, and especially when she finds an ancient book of Indian magic. The fifth book was a paranormal, about a sixteen year old girl just discovering her psychic and magical abilities. And now my current book is my first mystery and my first adult book.

5). Until my illness hit, I wrote everyday. Sometimes for several hours, sometimes just for a short while, but every day without fail. Hoping to get back to that routine soon!

6) You can find me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/AuthorMikki Sadil/

      On Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Mikki-Sadil/e/B0013PQGMA

      On BWL publishing: www.bwlpublishing.ca/authors/sadil-mikki-ya-historical-suspense-usa

And, if you put "author mikki sadil" into Google, all of my books, short stories and articles will come up

7) My most favorite author is James Patterson, who is the number one author in the world. He is a mystery writer, and is fabulous! I have over 40 of his books, and still have not begun to make a dent into the number of his books I would still like to own and read. It would be very difficult to talk about a specific book, since all of his...believe it or not...are so different and yet so compelling. But one of the best is "The President is Missing", which he co-wrote with President Bill Clinton. Another which will keep you guessing to the very end is "The Murder House."

Books by Mikki Sadil are featured as Saturday's Blurbs #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Historical #Paranormal #YA

The Freedom Thief:

Shortly before the Civil War exploded in the South, thirteen year old Ben McKenna was fighting his own war against slavery, on the hemp plantation in Kentucky where he lives. His best friend, a crippled slave boy Josiah, is about to be sold by Ben's father, and Ben must stop that sale by planning an escape for Josiah, and his slave parents. When the buyer f or Josiah arrives early, the escape has to take place that very night. Without any kind of plan, or even a map, Ben, Josiah,  and his parents Bess and Jessie, embark upon a journey to find the Ohio River and the freedom that lies beyond for the slaves. Their journey is filled with danger, deceit, and treachery every step of the way. Will Ben be able to find the Ohio River and safety for his friends? And perhaps more important, will he be able to come home again, as a traitor to the Southern Cause?

The Return of the Freedom Thief:

It is 1861, and the aspect of a Civil War between the North and South is quickly becoming a reality. When Ben McKenna returns home to his grandmother's Kentucky plantation, after being gone for almost a year helping his best friend, a crippled slave, and his parents escape from slavery, he is met with anger, resentment, and even hatred from his parents and older brothers. Only his grandmother, a not-so-secret Abolitionist, is happy to see him.

When the Civil War is declared, his brothers join the Confederate Army, but Ben decides to become a spy for the Union Army. His grandmother sends him to a woman in Lexington who runs an espionage ring, and his troubles begin. His first assignment is hampered by the appearance of a young girl, Puck, who attaches herself to him. He is afraid to leave her on her  own, but she becomes a loyal ally in his future spying activities.

During his first espionage assignments, he works as a newsboy, since they are welcomed in both the North and South camps, and Puck follows along. But soon his assignments become much more dangerous, and Puck must be left behind. He embarks upon a journey already deeply mired in danger and deception. Every mission becomes more intense, and every move he makes is a distinct threat to his life, and soon Ben wonders if he will ever return home. Follow Ben as he secretly engages in his own war between the North and the South, and as he realizes, perhaps too late, that his own survival is not guaranteed.

Night Cries: Beneath the Possum Belly, book one:

Sixteen year old psychic, Gabriela Gaudet, is awakened night after night by the cries and sobs of children's voices. The traveling carnival that Gabriela's French-Creole parents own has come to a small town in Ohio, named Dead Man's Crossing. The cries and whispers have become loud and pleading. Three small girls. Their brutal murder. An entire town closed ranks and covered up this brutal crime for five years. Now it is up to Gabriela to find the killer, and put the children's souls to rest. A handsome young man, Remi, who seems to appear and disappear out of this air, becomes Gabriela's partner in seeking justice.

But there are strong forces within the town who want her gone. Just as strong are those that want her to stay and finish her mission. Then, there are the six stone gargoyles in the high school lobby who apparently come to life after dark. And the six women in the high school office who look perfectly normal...if you don't consider the tall, cone-shaped, and brightly colored witches' hat that each wears.

Accidents harass the carnival. Danger stalks Gabriela with every step she takes. A web of evil surrounds the town, and threatens to draw her into its sticky strands. Will her powers be strong enough to fight off this malevolence, or will the town win again?

         The Possum Belly waits.

Friday Mikki Sadil is Visiting and Talking about Who She Was Before #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor

1. What was I before I became an author, and did this influence my choices as a writer:

Well, first of all, I guess I really became an author when I was ten years old. I was training a blind horse for a horse show, and when it was over ( she won!) I wrote a short story about it, and it was published in our local paper. From there, writing short stories and poems became a part of my life, but nothing was ever published again until I was in college. I wrote a book of Haiku poetry for a class, and the college published it for use in their poetry classes.

I obtained a Master's and Ph.D in Sociology, but the classes I taught at the university were not very conducive to novel writing...until I started teaching the Sociology of the Criminal Mind, and the Sociology of Criminal Behavior. These classes did pique my interest in writing again, but somehow a mystery never materialized.

When I remarried, my husband and I built a ranch and began raising and training horses for the show ring, and I began writing short stories about horses. But never submitted them for publication. When we finally retired to the Central Coast of California, my daughter sent me a Christmas box of books on "how to write for kids" , with a rather terse note about getting off my, ahem, butt and start writing for real.So being a dutiful mother, I promptly enrolled in the Institute of Children's Literature, published my first non-fiction article in a national children's magazine, and I was off and running...er...writing.

2. Am I genre specific or general?

I am more general than anything else. My first two books are about the same young man, before and during the Civil War. I don't really write for "kids", I write for Young Adults, and adults who are young at heart. My third book was about a teen girl, friendships lost and won, and the bullying that so often goes along with them. The fourth book was more for younger teens, as the protagonist is 11 years old, has an IQ of 160, is in high school, and Trouble is her middle name. But when she finds a book of Ancient Indian Magic, her trouble just begins. My fifth book was a real change for me, as it was a paranormal book. Now, I don't read paranormal books. I don't watch paranormal TV or movies. But, you see, this 16 year old girl woke me up in the middle of the night and demanded I write her story. My husband woke up, asked me who I was talking to, I told him, he groaned, kissed me, said "All you writers are crazy", and promptly went back to sleep. The next day I began my research into paranormal behavior, etc., and a year later wrote the first of a trilogy, "Night Cries: Beneath the Possum Belly, book one."

3. What is my latest release:

I am sorry to say that the first Possum Belly was my latest release, and that was almost 3 years ago. My son had died the year before, and my husband died two years ago this month. I have not had the mental or emotional resources since that time, until just recently, to even begin to think about writing. But I am writing now, and hopefully will have the second Possum Belly of the trilogy read for publication soon.( by BooksWeLove Publisher, of course) .

4. What am I working on now:

As I said above, I am now working on Night Spells, the second of the Possum Belly trilogy. More magic, more paranormal activity, more surprises, including one that will end the book, but still leave the way open for number three. I also am seriously thinking about a 3rd Civil War novel, with the same characters. This would be about the Reconstruction Era, which not many people know about. It was a terrible time, and an evil time. It is a period that really fascinates me.

5. Do my reading choices influence my choice of a writing career?

Um, well, no, absolutely not! I only read novels by James Patterson, John Kellerman and wife Faye Kellerman, Tami Hoag, etc. I have yet to write a "real" mystery, although that is a second book I am considering after the Reconstruction one. However, I am definitely not in the James Patterson league!

6. Where can you find me?

 I am sorry to say, not very many places. I do have a blog:

http://authormikkisadil.blogspot.com 

http:/bwlpublishing.ca/authors/sadil-mikki-ya-historical-suspense   this is my page at my publisher's website.

http://facebook.com/mikki.sadil   and on Facebook

Since my husband's death two years ago, I very frankly have not had the mental and emotional resources to even think about writing, until very recently. My blog has suffered tremendously, but as soon as I get my book finished, I will try to remedy that. I did enjoy it when I was keeping it up.

Saturday's Blurbs - Books by Mikki Sadil #MFRWauthor #YA #historical

Blurb for THE FREEDOM THIEF

The year is 1859. The place: a hemp plantation in Kentucky. The era: pre-Civil War. Thirteen year old Ben McKenna is fighting a war of his own, with his parents and brothers. He hates slavery. His family own slaves, one of which is a young crippled boy, Josiah, Ben’s best friend. Ben’s father is going to sell Josiah, and the only way to stop this is for the boy and his slave parents to escape. Ben arranges that escape, and leads the four of them into a world of danger, deceit, and desperation. Slave hunters are on their trail, spurred to travel faster and faster because of the huge reward Ben’s father has put up for their return. A dangerous swamp almost kills Josiah; an Abolitionist family pretends to hide them, but in reality, are only waiting for the right moment to sell them back to slave hunters. For months, they are on the run, fighting treacherous virgin forests who have never had a human try to get through; hiding from the hunters and their dogs; fearing for their lives but having to put their trust into people they do not know. Freedom lies on the other side of the Ohio River, but will they live to get there?

Blurb for CHEERS, CHOCOLATE, AND OTHER DISASTERS

Thirteen year old Alyson Joanne Devlin ( better known as AJ ) is quite content with the life she has. After all, she has two BFFs, Jamie and Julie, a Champion Quarter Horse mare, and a pretty neat family, all living in a small, horsey western town in Colorado. What could be better? Then the new girl comes to town, seemingly with nothing more on her mind than to ruin AJ’s life. She intrudes into the close friendship between AJ, Jamie, and Julie, and suddenly, has the J’s, as AJ refers to them, completely on her side, and AJ is shut out. This new girl, Celine Carroll, manages to wrangle the partnership with Julie and Jamie in cheerleading, leaving AJ to partner with the two most unliked girls in school, Lisa and Amberley. The disasters just seem to keep coming: the very unexpected divorce plans of her parents; a near disastrous fall in cheerleading, orchestrated by Celine; her mare come down with colic, the number one horse killer; and finally, Amberley’s death, after she and AJ have become best friends. And all the while, Celine stands by with the same sneer on her face she had when she and AJ first met. Will AJ be able to deal with the psychological bullying by Celine, and the destruction of so many deeply important relationships?

Blurb for LILY LETICIA LANGFORD AND THE BOOK OF PRACTICAL MAGIC

An eleven year old girl in high school. An IQ of 160. An ancient book of practical magic. What could possibly go wrong?

Lily Leticia Langford is eleven years old, has an IQ of 160, and is a freshman in high school. Lily Leticia has long believed that because she is so much smarter than most people…including adults, of course…she can solve most everyone’s problems. IF they would just listen to her. She is an outcast in school, because of her IQ and her age. She is an outcast with kids of her own age, because of her IQ. Lily Leticia’s three best friends in school are also outcasts: Joseph Spotted Elk, because he is an Indian; Kyle, because he is Jewish in an all Christian high school; and Heather, because…well, just because. When Lily Leticia finds an ancient book in the attic of the old Victorian house her family is renting, her friend Joseph warns her not to take it out of the box it is in. He believes the book was written by Indian witches, and is all about “practical magic,” which meant for the Indians, where to find buffalo for food and hides, how to divert winds that would damage their teepees, and so on. Telling Lily Leticia not to do something is pretty much a waste of time. Besides, with her IQ and a book of Practical Magic, just think of all the problems she can solve! Trouble seems to follow Lily Leticia like a puppy dog, but if you think the past was troublesome, just wait for the future!

Blurb for NIGHT CRIES, BENEATH the POSSUM BELLY: Book One

Cries in the night. Whispers against her cheek. Sixteen year old psychic, Gabriela Gaudet, is awakened night after night by these sounds. The traveling carnival/circus that Gabriela’s French-Creole parents own has come to the small town of Dead Man’s Crossing, Iowa, and the cries and whispers have become loud and pleading .Three small girls. A brutal murder. An entire town that has closed ranks and glossed over this terrible crime as though it never happened. Now it’s up to Gabriela to find the killer, and put the souls of these children to rest. A handsome young man, Remi Duvernay, who seems to come out of thin air, and disappears just as fast, wants to help Gabriela in her search for justice. But there are strange forces in this town that work against Gabriela…to say nothing of six gargoyles who apparently come to life at dark, and, while not wanting to hurt the humans, don’t want Gabriela interfering where she doesn’t belong. And then there are the six women in the high school attendance office, who look perfectly normal…except for the tall, cone-shaped hats that each one wears. Accidents begin to happen at the carnival, and suddenly, the trucks and train cars that bring the carnival trappings are disabled, and nothing can be found in the town to fix them. Danger stalks Gabriela in the high school, in the town café, and on the carnival’s carousel. A web of evil surrounds this town, and threatens to envelop her in its sticky strands. Are her psychic powers and her magic great enough to withstand all that work against her? The Possum Belly waits.

Friday's Guest - Mikki Sadil - Heroes, Heroines and Villains #MFRWauthor #heroes #villains

1. Do you write a single genre or do your fingers flow over the keys creating tales in many forms?

I have surprised myself in the stories I write. My first book, The Freedom Thief, is an historical adventure taking place in pre-Civil War Kentucky. My second, Cheers, Chocolate, and Other Disasters is a contemporary story about psychological bullying. The third, Lily Leticia Langford and the Book of Practical Magic, is also contemporary in time, but is a fantasy dealing with magic. And my last book, Night Cries: Beneath the Possum Belly: Book One, is a paranormal/historical mystery. These are all teen and young adult books.

Does your reading choices reflect your writing choices?

Not really. I love mysteries, and my book shelves are full of books by James Petterson, Jonathan Kellerman, Tami Hoag, and Sandra Brown. I also have books by YA authors like Laurie Halse Anderson and Markus Zusak, and a couple of others.

Are there genres you wouldn’t attempt?

Absolutely! Science Fiction is way beyond me, as is true Fantasy where you are building a whole new world. And even though I like historical novels I probably wouldn't ever attempt an historical romance,

2. Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write?

Since I write for teens/young adults, I don't have many "real" heros or heroines or villians. In my first book, the hero was a 13 year old boy, and I loved him! In the second, truthfully, my favorite was the "villianess" who seemed to be trying to ruin the 13 year old "heroine"'s life for no good reason. The third book was about an 11 year old girl with an IQ of 160, and she was fun! My last book was the hardest, as the heroine is a 16 year old psychic...but the "bad" guys are not human, and they were also fun to write.

3. Heroes. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the man you want every reader to love? Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

So far, I've only had one hero, and he is 13! He was "born" after I started creating the plot, because it made more sense for the story to have a hero rather than a heroine. Ben was created only a little bit from imagination, and mostly from the real life stories I had read in my research about the everyday people who took part in helping slaves escape from slavery before and during the Civil War. Those were the real heros.

4. Heroines. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman you want the reader to root for? Do they appear before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

All of my other books have heroines, and all of them have come to me and demanded to have their stories told. My husband is not a writer, and he thinks there are times when I have seriously lost my mind...like at 3 am, when I jump out of bed and go searching for pen and paper because a character has awaken me, demanding I write about her. So...do they come from my imagination? Well, I guess so...unless you believe that charactes speak to you BEFORE you've even thought about their story!

5. Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do you choose one? How do you make them human?

I believe a villian, or antagonis, can be just about anyone or anything, and sometimes they are so subtle you don't realize for a while that the person, or "thing', is really the bad guy. My historical novel had several antagonists: Ben's father; the slave hunters; the "Abolitionists" who only wanted to turn Ben and the slaves in for the reward money; and in this story, weather and locations were also the "antagonists," in terms of trying to keep Ben from his goal. In the second book, the "new girl in town" was the bad girl, but no one ever knew exactly why she went to such lengths to hurt the heroine. It wasn't until the end of the book that things happened to draw sympathy to her. The third book...hmm, not sure just who the villian was there, but the Book of Magic sure didn't help the 11 year old heroine! And in the last book, my villian was disguised as a tall, handsome teacher...who was pure evil. There was NO way to make him human!

6. What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?

My last book was released on the 6th of August this year. My heroine is a 16 year old psychic, daughter of French-Creole parents who own a traveling carnival/circus in 1935. Gabriela has been hearing the voices of 3 little girls, crying out to her to find their murderer, so they can go to heaven. This is the first of 3 books, and there are many villians in different "disguises" throughout this book, and the series. One in particular who lasts through the 2nd, and possibly the 3rd of the trilogy. On one hand, he is a valued member of the carnival crew. But is he, really? Throughout the series, there are gargoyles and witches who could be working closely with the heroine...or...they could be desperately trying to keep her from finding out the secrets of this small town. Who knows what lies Beneath the Possum Belly?

7. What are you working on now?

I am working on the second of the paranormal trilogy, Night Wings. 

 What are you working on now:

I had started the second of the Possum Belly trilogy, but due to some new factors concerning The Freedom Thief, I have begun serious work on the sequel to this story. Everyone wants to know what happens to Ben when he returns home, so this is what my next book will be.

Where can people find you:

My blog is: http://www.mikki-wordpainter.blogspot.com

http://www.bookswelove.com/authors/sadil-mikki

I'm also on Facebook and Twitter, but rarely, as I don't like social media.

Saturday's Blurbs - Books by Mikki Sadil #MFRWauthor #YA

Blurb for THE FREEDOM THIEF

The year is 1859. The place: a hemp plantation in Kentucky. The era: pre-Civil War. Thirteen year old Ben McKenna is fighting a war of his own, with his parents and brothers. He hates slavery. His family own slaves, one of which is a young crippled boy, Josiah, Ben’s best friend. Ben’s father is going to sell Josiah, and the only way to stop this is for the boy and his slave parents to escape. Ben arranges that escape, and leads the four of them into a world of danger, deceit, and desperation. Slave hunters are on their trail, spurred to travel faster and faster because of the huge reward Ben’s father has put up for their return. A dangerous swamp almost kills Josiah; an Abolitionist family pretends to hide them, but in reality, are only waiting for the right moment to sell them back to slave hunters. For months, they are on the run, fighting treacherous virgin forests who have never had a human try to get through; hiding from the hunters and their dogs; fearing for their lives but having to put their trust into people they do not know. Freedom lies on the other side of the Ohio River, but will they live to get there?

Blurb for CHEERS, CHOCOLATE, AND OTHER DISASTERS

Thirteen year old Alyson Joanne Devlin ( better known as AJ ) is quite content with the life she has. After all, she has two BFFs, Jamie and Julie, a Champion Quarter Horse mare, and a pretty neat family, all living in a small, horsey western town in Colorado. What could be better? Then the new girl comes to town, seemingly with nothing more on her mind than to ruin AJ’s life. She intrudes into the close friendship between AJ, Jamie, and Julie, and suddenly, has the J’s, as AJ refers to them, completely on her side, and AJ is shut out. This new girl, Celine Carroll, manages to wrangle the partnership with Julie and Jamie in cheerleading, leaving AJ to partner with the two most unliked girls in school, Lisa and Amberley. The disasters just seem to keep coming: the very unexpected divorce plans of her parents; a near disastrous fall in cheerleading, orchestrated by Celine; her mare come down with colic, the number one horse killer; and finally, Amberley’s death, after she and AJ have become best friends. And all the while, Celine stands by with the same sneer on her face she had when she and AJ first met. Will AJ be able to deal with the psychological bullying by Celine, and the destruction of so many deeply important relationships?

Blurb for LILY LETICIA LANGFORD AND THE BOOK OF PRACTICAL MAGIC

An eleven year old girl in high school. An IQ of 160. An ancient book of practical magic. What could possibly go wrong?

Lily Leticia Langford is eleven years old, has an IQ of 160, and is a freshman in high school. Lily Leticia has long believed that because she is so much smarter than most people…including adults, of course…she can solve most everyone’s problems. IF they would just listen to her. She is an outcast in school, because of her IQ and her age. She is an outcast with kids of her own age, because of her IQ. Lily Leticia’s three best friends in school are also outcasts: Joseph Spotted Elk, because he is an Indian; Kyle, because he is Jewish in an all Christian high school; and Heather, because…well, just because. When Lily Leticia finds an ancient book in the attic of the old Victorian house her family is renting, her friend Joseph warns her not to take it out of the box it is in. He believes the book was written by Indian witches, and is all about “practical magic,” which meant for the Indians, where to find buffalo for food and hides, how to divert winds that would damage their teepees, and so on. Telling Lily Leticia not to do something is pretty much a waste of time. Besides, with her IQ and a book of Practical Magic, just think of all the problems she can solve! Trouble seems to follow Lily Leticia like a puppy dog, but if you think the past was troublesome, just wait for the future!

Blurb for NIGHT CRIES, BENEATH the POSSUM BELLY: Book One

Cries in the night. Whispers against her cheek. Sixteen year old psychic, Gabriela Gaudet, is awakened night after night by these sounds. The traveling carnival/circus that Gabriela’s French-Creole parents own has come to the small town of Dead Man’s Crossing, Iowa, and the cries and whispers have become loud and pleading .Three small girls. A brutal murder. An entire town that has closed ranks and glossed over this terrible crime as though it never happened. Now it’s up to Gabriela to find the killer, and put the souls of these children to rest. A handsome young man, Remi Duvernay, who seems to come out of thin air, and disappears just as fast, wants to help Gabriela in her search for justice. But there are strange forces in this town that work against Gabriela…to say nothing of six gargoyles who apparently come to life at dark, and, while not wanting to hurt the humans, don’t want Gabriela interfering where she doesn’t belong. And then there are the six women in the high school attendance office, who look perfectly normal…except for the tall, cone-shaped hats that each one wears. Accidents begin to happen at the carnival, and suddenly, the trucks and train cars that bring the carnival trappings are disabled, and nothing can be found in the town to fix them. Danger stalks Gabriela in the high school, in the town café, and on the carnival’s carousel. A web of evil surrounds this town, and threatens to envelop her in its sticky strands. Are her psychic powers and her magic great enough to withstand all that work against her? The Possum Belly waits.

Friday - Mikki Sadil - Talking About Heroes, Heroines and Villains #MFRWauthor #writing

1. Do you write a single genre or do your fingers flow over the keys creating tales in many forms?

I have surprised myself in the stories I write. My first book, The Freedom Thief, is an historical adventure taking place in pre-Civil War Kentucky. My second, Cheers, Chocolate, and Other Disasters is a contemporary story about psychological bullying. The third, Lily Leticia Langford and the Book of Practical Magic, is also contemporary in time, but is a fantasy dealing with magic. And my last book, Night Cries: Beneath the Possum Belly: Book One, is a paranormal/historical mystery. These are all teen and young adult books.

Does your reading choices reflect your writing choices?

Not really. I love mysteries, and my book shelves are full of books by James Petterson, Jonathan Kellerman, Tami Hoag, and Sandra Brown. I also have books by YA authors like Laurie Halse Anderson and Markus Zusak, and a couple of others.

Are there genres you wouldn’t attempt?

Absolutely! Science Fiction is way beyond me, as is true Fantasy where you are building a whole new world. And even though I like historical novels I probably wouldn't ever attempt an historical romance,

2. Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write?

Since I write for teens/young adults, I don't have many "real" heros or heroines or villians. In my first book, the hero was a 13 year old boy, and I loved him! In the second, truthfully, my favorite was the "villianess" who seemed to be trying to ruin the 13 year old "heroine"'s life for no good reason. The third book was about an 11 year old girl with an IQ of 160, and she was fun! My last book was the hardest, as the heroine is a 16 year old psychic...but the "bad" guys are not human, and they were also fun to write.

3. Heroes. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the man you want every reader to love? Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

So far, I've only had one hero, and he is 13! He was "born" after I started creating the plot, because it made more sense for the story to have a hero rather than a heroine. Ben was created only a little bit from imagination, and mostly from the real life stories I had read in my research about the everyday people who took part in helping slaves escape from slavery before and during the Civil War. Those were the real heros.

4. Heroines. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman you want the reader to root for? Do they appear before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

All of my other books have heroines, and all of them have come to me and demanded to have their stories told. My husband is not a writer, and he thinks there are times when I have seriously lost my mind...like at 3 am, when I jump out of bed and go searching for pen and paper because a character has awaken me, demanding I write about her. So...do they come from my imagination? Well, I guess so...unless you believe that charactes speak to you BEFORE you've even thought about their story!

5. Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do you choose one? How do you make them human?

I believe a villian, or antagonis, can be just about anyone or anything, and sometimes they are so subtle you don't realize for a while that the person, or "thing', is really the bad guy. My historical novel had several antagonists: Ben's father; the slave hunters; the "Abolitionists" who only wanted to turn Ben and the slaves in for the reward money; and in this story, weather and locations were also the "antagonists," in terms of trying to keep Ben from his goal. In the second book, the "new girl in town" was the bad girl, but no one ever knew exactly why she went to such lengths to hurt the heroine. It wasn't until the end of the book that things happened to draw sympathy to her. The third book...hmm, not sure just who the villian was there, but the Book of Magic sure didn't help the 11 year old heroine! And in the last book, my villian was disguised as a tall, handsome teacher...who was pure evil. There was NO way to make him human!

6. What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?

My last book was released on the 6th of August this year. My heroine is a 16 year old psychic, daughter of French-Creole parents who own a traveling carnival/circus in 1935. Gabriela has been hearing the voices of 3 little girls, crying out to her to find their murderer, so they can go to heaven. This is the first of 3 books, and there are many villians in different "disguises" throughout this book, and the series. One in particular who lasts through the 2nd, and possibly the 3rd of the trilogy. On one hand, he is a valued member of the carnival crew. But is he, really? Throughout the series, there are gargoyles and witches who could be working closely with the heroine...or...they could be desperately trying to keep her from finding out the secrets of this small town. Who knows what lies Beneath the Possum Belly?

7. What are you working on now?

I am working on the second of the paranormal trilogy, Night Wings. 

 What are you working on now:

I had started the second of the Possum Belly trilogy, but due to some new factors concerning The Freedom Thief, I have begun serious work on the sequel to this story. Everyone wants to know what happens to Ben when he returns home, so this is what my next book will be.

Where can people find you:

My blog is: http://www.mikki-wordpainter.blogspot.com

http://www.bookswelove.com/authors/sadil-mikki

I'm also on Facebook and Twitter, but rarely, as I don't like social media.

Saturday's Blurbs - Juliet Waldron, Mikki Sadil, Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #Historical #YAfantasy #Medicalromance

Master Passion/Book #2/Glory Passes
 
Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler had a whirlwind Revolutionary War romance. The hard work of marriage, through the legendary founding of a nation, epidemics, endless separations, sacrifice and personal tragedy, would come next.  


http://amzn.com/B013OB20LS 
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/567884

 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-master-passion-the-story-of-alexander-and-elizabeth-hamilton-juliet-waldron/1122329571?ean=9781771453851 
         

Night Cries (Beneath the Possum Belly Book 1) by Mikki Sadil

Cries in the night. Whispers against her cheek. Sixteen year old psychic, Gabriela Gaudet, is awakened night after night by crying and sobbing voices. Children’s voices.

The traveling carnival that Gabriela’s French-Creole parents own has come to the small town of Dead Man’s Crossing, Iowa. Now the cries and whispers have become loud and pleading. Three small girls. Their brutal murder. An entire town closed ranks and glossed over this terrible crime as though it never happened five years before. It’s up to Gabriela to find the killer, and put the children’s souls to rest. Remi, a handsome young man who appears out of thin air, and disappears just as fast, meets Gabriela and become her partner in seeking justice.

But there are strong forces in the town that want her gone. Just as strong are the forces that want her to stay and finish her mission. Then, there are the six gargoyles in the lobby of the high school who apparently come to life after dark, and the six women in the high school office who look perfectly normal…if you don’t count the tall, cone-shaped and brightly colored witch’s hat each of them wears. “Accidents” harass the carnival. Danger stalks Gabriela with every step she takes. A web of evil surrounds the town, and threatens to draw her into its sticky strands. Will her powers be strong enough to fight off this malevolence, or will the town win again? The Possum Belly waits.

Night Cries (Beneath the Possum Belly Book 1)

Divided Dreams (Book 4 of Moon Child Series) by Janet Lane Walters

Rob Grantlan has given up medicine to become an author. As a Gemini, having two careers seems just right. His quiet days are overturned by the death of his wayward sister and his taking guardianship of his two month old niece. When he learns the father of the infant is his old flame Andi Sherman’s brother a plan unfolds. Years ago, he hurt her. He still loves her and he wants to regenerate that love.

Andi Sherman is now a nurse practitioner in Pediatrics. She has vowed never to return to Fern Lake. The offer of a partnership in a friend’s practice is tempting. She refuses until she learns Rob has given up the practice of medicine. She believes he will leave town. On the day after her July birthday, she returns and comes upon the accident, finds the dying woman and the baby. When she learns the little girl is her niece and Rob hasn’t left town she is conflicted. She still loves him but she can’t trust him. News from her brother brings a threat.

Will Tammy’s presence in their lives find a way to allow them to love and trust again?

Divided Dreams (Moon Child Book 4)