Final Free Day for Eagle Quest

Click the link to the book on Amazon. It's free for everybody. You don't have to subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. Just take the book. It's for kids, but adults who have read it also liked it. Or at least that's what they tell me. Nevertheless, take the freebie and read a couple of pages. Don't like it? Ignore it, delete it from your e-reader, OR you might just want to read the whole thing. Don't know until you try.

EAGLE QUEST - Free on Amazon, final day

Free audiobook with coupon - ask Marva for a one-use code
A Vision Quest turns deadly when four friends confront eagle poachers in a wildlife refuge.

Fiona, Hap, Billy, and Mitch make an odd set of friends, as different from the usual junior high school crowd as they are from each other.

Mitch, the oldest of the four, is a half-breed Native American, adopted by white parents. Troubled that he doesn't know his tribe, he avidly studies Native American history and lore. Learning the nearby Bear Valley Wildlife Refuge is a bald eagle nesting site, he wants to add an eagle feather to his medicine bag and explore the refuge as a site for his Vision Quest, a Native American rite of passage. He and his three friends get far more than an overnight campout as they encounter a black bear, a retired forest ranger living in the refuge, and a pair of eagle poachers. Bringing the poachers to justice, they test their courage and gain confidence in themselves and each other.

A Time Traveling Conversation

 Since Renee Duke and Marva Dasef both have Native American/First Nation characters in their books, we thought it would be nice if they had a chat. Here's Mitch from "Eagle Quest" and Skwkwwilp (pronounced Skookaweethp) from "The Spirit Rose."

Bear Friend: Hi, I’m Mitch, also known as Alisoqualvdi Unalii. That’s in Cherokee and kind of hard to say, just call me Bear Friend. I didn’t know what it was until long after the events we’re describing here.

I couldn’t tell my friends the whole story of my encounter with the bear in the Wildlife Refuge. What I could tell them is in the book, “Eagle Quest” by Marva Dasef.

There are a couple of reasons I haven’t told the whole story. First off, Fiona, Hap, and Billy wouldn’t believe I sort of spoke with the bear in my mind. They let that go, figuring if I wanted to believe it, what was the harm.

The main reason, though, is a lot weirder than that. To explain what happened, I needed to have a special person here to help me out. Someone you can read about in another book, “The Spirit Rose”, by Renee Duke. I didn’t quite know how to ask this person here. I mean, it’s not like I could call her up on my phone. But she must have known I wanted her help again because she talked to me in a dream. She said, if I sat real quiet, and really concentrated, she’d come through to my mind. So that’s what I’m going to do…Are you there, Sk…um,,,Skoo…?

Skwkwwilp: I am here.

Bear Friend: Can you help me pronounce your name and then explain what went down when I met the bear in the clearing?

Skwkwwilp: My name? Hmm. You would perhaps find it easiest to say Skook-a-weeth-p. It is good to be with you again, Alisoqualvdi Unalii.”

Bear Friend: You pronounced my name right and everything, but maybe just call me Bear Friend or Mitch since this is in English. Could you tell the readers who you are, where you’re from, and, for that matter, when you’re from?

Skwkwwilp: If by where I come from, you mean a location, I am from what people of your time know as the Okanagan Valley. As to when…just think of it as long, long ago. Millennia ago.

Bear Friend: Before you describe your part in this incident, I’ll set up the situation. Basically, my friends and I were wandering around the wildlife refuge when we come to a clearing. There’s a huge tree fallen in the way. Before we could even get to it, a big black bear looked up over the log. It scared all of us. The others took off, but I heard, maybe that’s not the right word, I felt something that made me stay. That’s when you showed up, out of, like, nowhere, which was a really good thing because, otherwise, I think that bear would not have listened to reason. I didn’t hear you say anything, but the bear sure did. Right after you talked in its head or whatever you did, it came right up to me, sniffed a bit, and looked me right in the eye.

Skwkwwilp: The bear was wiser than you think. And not there by chance. It was looking for you. Your spirit guide, the friendly spirit which now protects you and seeks to help you find your way, required a living form. I had asked the bear to allow it to take its form.

Bear Friend: Yeah, when the bear talked in my head, it said we’d be connected from then onward. All other bears would recognize me and think of me as their friend. It just about blew my mind!

Skwkwwilp: Through your spirit guide, all bears are now indeed connected to you. This is because the manner in which a bear lives its life is one you, too, should follow. A bear is strong and fearless, but not constantly active. Just as a bear goes off to hibernate, you, too, should withdraw from others from time to time, to contemplate your life’s path.

Bear Friend: Cool. I wanted to learn more about spirit animals when we met, but you said you had to leave to help some other kids from this time. Did you have a bear go to them, too?

Skwkwwilp: Yes. Though it was not, like yours, a black one. A bear and other creatures protected Paige, Dane, and Jack from the disruptor, thus enabling them to reach me and claim the power of the golden circle long held for them.

Bear Friend: The disruptor?

Skwkwwilp: He who sought to interfere with their destinies. And still so seeks.

Bear Friend: So, they’re not through having trouble with him yet?

Skwkwwilp: Alas, no.

Bear Friend: Too bad. He must be a really bad dude if it took a lot of spirit animals to see him off. I’m glad I’ve got a bear for mine.  I’ve got a lot to think about. I hope we can connect again sometime in the future. See you later.

Skwkwwilp: Past, present, and future are as one, Bear Friend. Until the time of our next connection, farewell.

 

SPIRIT ROSE Buy on Amazon and Renee's Time Rose Series Web Page

The discovery of an old book provides more information on the medallion, but Paige and Dane will soon be returning to Canada and know it will be several months before they can make another time trip with their cousin Jack. Then, amidst all the preparations for Grantie Etta’s one-hundred-and-fifth birthday party, strange things start to happen. As a result, Jack, too, must go to Canada. Once there, it soon becomes apparent that the only way for the Time Rose Travellers to stop the increasingly distressing alterations to their modern-day lives is to venture far into the Okanogan Valley’s past and locate the Syilx girl who has the legendary Arcanus Piece.

Check out all of the Time Rose books. They're great fun to read and you learn some history as well.

EAGLE QUEST
(Free on Amazon)

Free audiobook with coupon - ask Marva for a one-use code
A Vision Quest turns deadly when four friends confront eagle poachers in a wildlife refuge.

Fiona, Hap, Billy, and Mitch make an odd set of friends, as different from the usual junior high school crowd as they are from each other.

Mitch, the oldest of the four, is a half-breed Native American, adopted by white parents. Troubled that he doesn't know his tribe, he avidly studies Native American history and lore. Learning the nearby Bear Valley Wildlife Refuge is a bald eagle nesting site, he wants to add an eagle feather to his medicine bag and explore the refuge as a site for his Vision Quest, a Native American rite of passage. He and his three friends get far more than an overnight campout as they encounter a black bear, a retired forest ranger living in the refuge, and a pair of eagle poachers. Bringing the poachers to justice, they test their courage and gain confidence in themselves and each other.

Eagle Quest - The Very Short Movie

Eagle Quest - Free through March 21st

Amazon

A Vision Quest turns deadly when four friends confront eagle poachers in a wildlife refuge.

Fiona, Hap, Billy, and Mitch make an odd set of friends, as different from the usual junior high school crowd as they are from each other.

Mitch, the oldest of the four, is a half-breed Native American, adopted by white parents. Troubled that he doesn't know his tribe, he avidly studies Native American history and lore. Learning the nearby Bear Valley Wildlife Refuge is a bald eagle nesting site, he wants to add an eagle feather to his medicine bag and explore the refuge as a site for his Vision Quest, a Native American rite of passage. He and his three friends get far more than an overnight campout as they encounter a black bear, a retired forest ranger living in the refuge, and a pair of eagle poachers. Bringing the poachers to justice, they test their courage and gain confidence in themselves and each other.

Saint Patrick's Day Ghost Story and Free Ebook

EAGLE QUEST - EBOOK FREE MARCH 17-21

In my book, "Eagle Quest," the kids are sitting around a campfire, the looming darkness and flickering of the fire made them all a bit edgy. So, of course, they proceeded to tell ghost stories. Fiona is telling this tale and her friends, Hap and Billy, are the audience.

* * *

“This is the story of Bridget who was hired to be the nanny for two kids whose parents died in a horrible accident. Now, this all happened in Ireland way back, so don’t go so why this or why that. It’s just how the story happened, okay?”

The boys nodded solemnly. Fiona usually told pretty good stories, so Billy and Hap were willing to listen without making too much fun.

“Anyway, if you’ll all be quiet, I’ll start.”

The boys settled themselves comfortably. Hap and Billy knew Fiona. This was not going to be a short story.

Fiona cleared her throat and began to tell the tale using her best Irish brogue.

“The uncle hired Bridget to act as a nanny for two children whose parents had died. She was supposed to care for them until he could come to take them.

“The boy had blond hair and blue eyes and the girl had dark hair and brown eyes. They had names that were almost alike. The girl was Frances and the boy Francis.

“The children told Bridget there was one thing they must do every day. They needed to go to the graves of their parents which were a little way away from the house.

“Bridget thought it was fine the children wanted to visit the graves of their dead parents, so she didn’t object. She watched them from a window in the second floor. She saw them stand by the graves and thought they might be praying or even singing a song.

“One day, she told the children the weather was getting too bad and she didn’t want them to go to the graves. The children begged and cried, but Bridget didn’t want them to get sick, so she was strict about it.

“When she went to the children’s room the next day to get them up, the boy who was blond had dark hair and the girl who used to be dark was now blonde.”

Billy interrupted at this point. “Was that magic or what?”

“Can you just sit back and let me tell the story?”

“Sure. Sorry. I won’t say another word.”

Fiona continued, “It startled Bridget, but the children insisted they had always been this way and that Bridget was mistaken to think it was the other way around.

“Still, she decided they were lying and, although she couldn’t figure out why, she took them to the village priest. ‘Father, these children have changed. Look at them!’

“The Priest looked at the children and saw the boy was light and the girl was dark. He said, ‘What should I be seeing, Bridget?’

“Bridget saw the children had changed back to the way they were before. She was worried she was going crazy to make such a mistake.

“They all returned home and Bridget kept the children in her room so she could make sure they didn’t go to the grave. She watched the grave through the second story window.

“She saw a green glow come up from the grave and then the children appeared standing next to it. She turned around and saw the children still in the room asleep. She looked back and the children were gone again and the green glow had faded. But, the next morning, the children had changed again. The boy was dark and the girl was blonde.

“This happened again the next night and Bridget thought she must be going mad. She decided she’d just ignore it and pretend it was a trick of the moonlight on vapors rising out of the ground. Just some innocent thing. As for her seeing the children at the grave when they were in the room, she thought the shadows from the limbs of the tree next to the grave were to blame.

“The next day, she heard the clock chime. Since it chimed every fifteen minutes, hearing it wasn’t unusual, but every little noise made her more afraid.

“Then, she left the children in the room and went down into the hallway where the big grandfather clock stood. It was exactly eight o’clock on the morning of November 21^st. The pendulum on the clock had stopped. Bridget knew that was the exact date and time the children’s parents died one year before.

“She slowly climbed the stairs again and went back into the children’s room. The boy and girl were gone. She looked out the window toward the graves and saw the children standing there. She knew they couldn’t have gone by her when she was in the hallway.

“She felt a chill come into the air. Walking out into the hallway again, she saw a greenish light coming from under the door of the parents’ bedroom, a room that hadn’t been opened since the day they died.

“This was all too much for Bridget and she ran screaming from the house. She ran down the lane to the village. She ran right to the church.

“Gasping for breath, she found the Father in his office and opened her mouth to speak. But nothing came out. She couldn’t make a sound. The priest saw that she was terrified. Her skin was white as chalk and her mouth gaped open as she tried to speak.

“The priest arranged for someone to go watch the children. He brought Bridget to the doctor, but the doctor said she had a disease of the mind, not the body and he couldn’t help her.

“The woman the priest sent to watch the children came back and said they were not at the house. The villagers arranged for search parties, but they couldn’t find them anywhere. The rumors started that Bridget murdered the children and buried them somewhere, but no grave was ever found.

“The village got together and sent Bridget to the Insane Asylum, where she lived out her days unable to speak. All she could do is scream whenever she heard the sound of a chiming clock.”

Fiona stopped and looked around the campfire. “That’s the end of the story,” she said, so the boys would know she was finished.

“Wow. That is a pretty good story, Fiona. It’s one of those old Irish stories, right?”

“Yes, it’s an old Irish tale, but every word is absolutely true.”

The boys laughed, but were a little uneasy when they looked at the looming black trees surrounding them.

EAGLE QUEST - Ebook, Print, and Audio

Fiona, Hap, Billy, and Mitch make an odd set of friends, as different from the usual junior high school crowd as they are from each other.

Mitch, the oldest of the four, is a half-breed Native American, adopted by white parents. Troubled that he doesn't know his tribe, he avidly studies Native American history and lore. Learning the nearby Bear Valley Wildlife Refuge is a bald eagle nesting site, he wants to add an eagle feather to his medicine bag and explore the refuge as a site for his Vision Quest, a Native American rite of passage. He and his three friends get far more than an overnight campout as they encounter a black bear, a retired forest ranger living in the refuge, and a pair of eagle poachers. Bringing the poachers to justice, they test their courage and gain confidence in themselves and each other. 

Happy Eirlish Day!

Below is a picture of the friendly Norsemen coming to Eirland to teach them the true religion of Odin. To assist in this benevolent endeavor, they removed offending religious icons which the hedonistic followers of the mythic Íosa would no longer have any use since Odin does not want gold and silver Ts and cups (well, he did, but mostly he wanted to save the Eirlish) , but only to spill, um, save the blood of the unbelievers.

The Norsemen settled in Eirland and married the Eirlish women. That is why today, most of the Eirlish (now Irish) are predominantly Norse.

Read this article for more information on how the Norse saved Eirland from its false god, at least temporarily until the upstart Phádraig showed up and somehow got rid of all the Eirlish serpents.

Sgoal!

Depiction of an early Eirlish deity, the Green Man:

Read an Ebook Week!

Happy Read an Ebook Week! To help you find a book to celebrate, you can find my entire collection at a promotional price at @Smashwords from March 2nd to March 8th. Find my books and many more at https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos #Smashwords

https://smashwords.com/shelves/promos

PRICE LIST at these on-line stores through Draft2Digital Distribution

Purchase from Your Favorite Store to Get the Right Eformat

It's the Economy, Stupid! - Happy Presidents Day (yeah, sure)

When the US switches Presidents, you hope the new regime will improve the country for all of us. If you graph progress, the idea is that there should be a generally upward momentum. Sort of, sure. The reality is that some weeks knock out several days upward progress with a downward trend. The momentum depends on whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress and the Whitehouse. Here's a graph of the economy under the Presidents since Truman. Notice how the "tax and spend" democrats produce a booming economy, while the "trickle down" republicans tear the economy apart until the populace figures out how bad they are and put the Democrats back in control.

Don't bother to sputter and leave angry alt-white, right-wing comments here. I'll just delete them.

I'm just using the up/down concept of the chart to show how the economy looks under which system of government. Put the wrong system in charge, and the backward result can be as bad as going from Johnson to Nixon in terms of forward growth.

Those who play 3-monkeys with the economy continue to insist that their way is the right way and, all evidence to the contrary, they stick with it. How do they keep duping the public? Generally, by skirting over the economy (boring!) and whomping up the base with social issues such as immigration, welfare, or abortion. That small government sham is a smoke-screen to their desire for a totalitarian state run by plutocrats, and the GOP Congress is the enabler.

Whoa. I've run off course here because I wrote this post in 2018 following my open heart surgery and was talking about recovery, and got side-tracked to economic recovery of the country. Oh, well. My post-surgery update sucks, but it's not near as bad as the reaming the GOP and Trump are inflicting on the US right now. And half of this country is populated my mouth-breathing, ignorant people who don't even know what an economy is.

Maybe that's part of why my recovery is rocky. I'm freaking depressed by the state of the nation. Do I think the Dems have the solutions? Not entirely, but they're our only hope, Obi Wan. Even if the Dems are the Jar Jars of the rebellion, at least they are working for the right side.

Your opinion on this only counts if you agree with me. If you don't, then shut your fat mouth.

Ultimate Duty - Exploding Starship and Hot Sex

ULTIMATE DUTY is now available on Amazon re-issued by me. I think the $2.99 price point is quite reasonable. Giving fair warning you'll be seeing some promo stuff on this new edition.

Ultimate Duty
A military officer must choose between her sworn duty or her rebellious blood ties.

Remy Belieux, a woman born into a life of servitude on a repressive factory planet, is desperate for a different life. When she's accepted into the Space Service Academy, run by the organization that enslaves her planet, she discovers the truth behind generations of rebellion. Now, she must decide what to believe, where her ultimate duty lies, and fight for more than her life against impossible odds.

Available on Amazon for only $2.99. I actually get a few cents if you use this option.

* First Duty is the PG version of the R-rated Ultimate Duty.

Available on Audible or Amazon for $19.95. It's a pretty long book and my narrator really needs the royalties (she gets half the royalties for every audio book sold and I'll give her my half if you buy the audio book).

Excerpt

One day, Remy spotted a small ship where it had no good reason to be. “Sir, we have a blip heading toward the planet. Its course isn’t on the prescribed jump route within this planetary system.”

Captain Micah glanced at Remy, then spoke to the communications officer. “Hail the ship.” The radioman worked for a few seconds. “I can’t locate their frequency, sir.”

The Captain stared through the view screen at the rapidly receding ship. “Try a broad-range hail. Tell them to stand down.” He glanced toward the communications station. “Any luck?”

“No, sir. I don’t think they have their ears on, at least in the usual frequencies.”

The ship shot away from the Excalibur and Remy tracked its course. “It’s heading for that planet. It’s not classified as habitable.”

Captain Micah opened ship-wide communications. “Captain Micah here. Crew, go to battle stations. This is not a drill.” He looked at the pilot who punched in coordinates for a wide turn toward the fleeing ship.

Remy’s stomach tightened as the klaxon alarms alerted the entire ship to ready for attack. Disappointment replaced tension as she watched the ship reach the small planet and circle behind the lifeless orb. We’ve lost it!

“Coward should stay and fight,” grumbled an ensign near Remy. She glanced his way and hushed him, tilting her head toward the captain. “Pay attention.” The ensign’s cheeks flared in embarrassment.

“Ahead slow,” the captain ordered. “This could be a trap. Put us into high orbit and extend all scanners to maximum range and power.” Excalibur edged its way slowly around the airless planet thousands of kilometers below.

“I’ve got him, sir!” a crewman reported. “A single blip on the short-range scanner.”

Remy added the short-range display to a corner of her own screen and saw the flickering dot representing the fleeing ship. She grinned. “Gotcha!” But nothing else appeared in range. She hoped they might get some action now, even if only the capture of a small ship.

“All right. Take us in slow,” the captain replied. The pilot cut back power and brought the ship around to the planet’s far side. The small ship came into view, hovering in a stationary orbit.

“Hail them.” Again, the ship didn’t respond, and the captain gestured to the pilot to move in. Remy turned her scanners toward the planet surface, searching for any activity. Seeing nothing, she switched to thermal scan. Out of nowhere a red-hot dot appeared on the screen, then another. “Captain, I’m getting heat signatures moving near the surface.”

Captain Micah glanced her way, not expecting to hear from the long-range scanning console. “What do you have, Lieutenant?”

“Ten, no, twelve, maybe more heat signatures. Nothing bigger than a cutter, and they’re all in motion. It looks like they’re coming out of a fissure. I don’t detect any structures.”

Remy feared her warning came too late to do any good. Excalibur was fast, once it got moving but, like most ships its size, not very maneuverable this close to a planet.

The smaller ships exploded from the surface. Too fast for normal takeoff velocity, the tiny vessels clearly had a lot of extra power. It was a dangerous move since it’d be easy to lose control traveling way over the limits for the small ships. But it worked.

Some attackers split to flank the cruiser on both sides. Two of them took station above and two below the ship, while two more moved to the stern, effectively surrounding the cruiser. The engineers had designed Excalibur, like most ships in its class, as a pursuit ship, with most of its weapons aimed forward. They could only fire on the ships facing them until the gunners brought the smaller, less effective peripheral weaponry to bear.

Captain Micah glanced at his display. “Weapons, recalibrate for port and starboard, max angle. Fire at will.”

The bridge crew cheered when a burst of laser fire destroyed one of the ships. Metallic fragments drifted outward from the single brief flash of the exploding drive.

Gung Hay Fat Choy - Year of the Snake

Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year) happens this year on Wednesday, January 29th. This year ushers in the year of the Snake! What is the Lunar New Year, and who celebrates this holiday? What does the Snake symbolize, and what is your special animal symbol? Learn more about the Snake.

Don't forget that "Scotch Broom" is still free on Amazon until the 31st.

When Is the Lunar New Year?

Lunar New Year begins on the date (in East Asia) of the second new Moon after the winter solstice, which always occurs in late December. This means that the first day of the Lunar New Year can occur anytime between January 21 and February 20. 

In 2025, the second new Moon will occur in China on January 29th, marking the start of a new lunar year.

What is the Significance of the Snake?

The snake is the sixth animal in the 12-year calendar. It is said that people born in the Year of the Snake are endowed with the qualities of adaptability, intelligence and sensitivity. They are organized and very efficient, getting straight to work quickly and quietly.

They are said to be generally amiable and easy-going, able to move through social spheres elegantly with their excellent communication skills. They are also even-tempered, capable of remaining calm and collected when there is an emergency.

How Is the Lunar New Year Celebrated?

As with many winter solstice celebrations, the symbolic darkness of night is banished by the light of fireworks, lanterns, and candles. Man-made paper lanterns are hung by the hundreds in public areas, bringing good luck to the new year.

There are dragon dances, performances, and festival parades with music and acrobatics. The festivities continue for two weeks, finishing with a special lantern festival, which signals the end of the New Year celebration period.

“Good Luck” is also a common theme of the New Year. Many children receive “lucky money” in red envelopes. Sometimes, offerings are made to temples. 

People clean their homes and open their doors to let good luck enter. According to tradition, no one should pick up a broom in case you sweep the good luck for the New Year out of the door!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Much of this material came from other sources describing the Lunar New Year. Mainly, the Farmer's Almanac's article by Catherine Boeckmann provided most of the words.

Lucky Charms! - Free Ebook 1/27th-1/31st

SCOTCH BROOM - Book 3

Free Ebook January 27th - January 31st

How Charming!

A magical item comes in handy in the Galdorheim series. In Scotch Broom, the charm bracelet gifted to Kat by Mordita is an integral magical item that comes in handy in the Galdorheim series. In Scotch Broom, the charm bracelet gifted to Kat by Mordita is an integral part of the plot.

Charm bracelets aren’t just jewelry. The wearing of charms may have begun as a form of amulet to ward off evil spirits or bad luck. During the pre-historic period, jewelry charms would be made from shells, animal-bones and clay. Later charms were made out of gems, rocks, and wood.

For instance, there is evidence from Africa that shells were used for adornments around 75,000 years ago. In Germany intricately carved mammoth tusk charms have been found from around 30,000 years ago. In ancient Egypt charms were used for identification and as symbols of faith and luck. Charms also served to identify an individual to the gods in the afterlife.

During the Roman Empire, Christians A magical item comes in handy in the Galdorheim series. In Scotch Broom, the charm bracelet gifted to Kat by Mordita is an integral would use tiny fish charms hidden in their clothing to identify themselves to other Christians. Jewish scholars of the same period would write tiny passages of Jewish law and put them in amulets round their necks to keep the law close to their heart at all times. Medieval knights wore charms for protection in battle. Charms also were worn in the Dark Ages to denote family origin and religious and political convictions. (Thanks to Wikipedia for the information on the history of charms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charm_bracelet).

And, of course, we should not forget Lucky Charms (General Mills) which provide us with food just like Kat’s little pig charm does in the story.

So, here is it. Scotch Broom complete with the most charming bracelet. If you can't quite make out the figures, here's what they are and what they represent as related to Kat by the gifter, Mordita.

Excerpt from Scotch Broom: 

“Hold out your hand,” Mordita ordered. Kat laid the gift packets on a side table and held out her right arm. Mordita grabbed her wrist and Kat felt something slide around it followed by the faint snick of a latch. Mordita let go. “Look closely, and you’ll see the charms on the chain.” Kat examined the bracelet. Five tiny charms hung from it, evenly spaced around the bracelet’s length.

I can’t quite...oh, now I see them. Thanks, Mordita. It’s very, umm, pretty.”

“Fiddlesticks. These are useful charms. They’re not meant to be just decorative.” Mordita held up Kat’s wrist and poked one of the charms. It squealed. Kat jumped. “Shush, you silly thing,” Mordita said.

“This little piggie provides food where none is to be found. Nutritious food, that is, so don’t be hoping for candy.”

“Oh. That’s handy.” Kat peered closer at the pig charm. It looked back at her and winked. She grinned. What a great charm, she thought, and charming, too.

Mordita poked at another charm, and Kat heard a muffled purring sound. “This little kitty finds a warm place for you to stay. Nothing fancy, just basic shelter.”

Mordita stroked the next charm, and a muted honk came from the tiny goose. “Early warning system. Activate it when you want protection from unpleasant surprises.”

Kat laughed. “I might need that the second I put foot in Great Britain. It’s all new to me.”

Poke. Whinny. “This pony will bring transportation, for example, a cab in London. The drivers would as soon run you over as pick you up.”

“Cab? I don’t know— Is that a vehicle you can hire to take you places?”

“Indeed. Now, use this last one only in case of dire emergency.” Mordita pointed at the charm but didn’t touch it. “Best let sleeping ogres lie. You’d better have a desperate need for an eight-foot tall, five-hundred pound, angry ogre.”

Kat gave the charm a dubious look. “Will it attack me?”

“Of course not. I imprinted your personality on all the charms. They will serve you and only you. Of course, you must have the bracelet on for the charms to work.”

“This is a great gift, Mordita. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Not at all. Hopefully, you won’t have any need of the ogre.”

* * *

SCOTCH BROOM: Book 3 of The Witches of Galdorheim

A magical trip to Stonehenge lands a witch in the Otherworld where an ancient goddess is up to no good.

Kat expects to have a great time on her graduation trip to Stonehenge. However, from the moment she leaves the witches’ arctic island, Galdorheim, she gets in nothing but trouble. Her younger half-brother tries to horn in on her trip, she gets lost in the magical Otherworld realm, is led astray by a supposed friend, then she has to confront a Scottish goddess who’s fallen on hard times.

While dodging the goddess’ minions and trying to find her way out of the Otherworld, Kat soon learns she shouldn’t underestimate the old has-been for one second; the crone still has a few tricks that can drain a witch’s magic in a flash. To make matters worse, Kat's brother secretly followed her into the Otherworld. Now he’s in danger too. Kat has to go one on one with the goddess to save herself and her brother.

Review - The Last Wyvern by Sue Perkins

The Last Wyvern by Sue Perkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLTWPPWR

Here's a Gal Who Doesn't Need to Tame Her Dragon

This short story is an addition to the author's Dragon Series. I've read them all (I think) and enjoyed them a lot. This novella fills another niche in the Dragons series. What if there were only one Wyvern left in the world. As an experienced Dragon lover, I'm sure you know that a Wyvern is another breed of dragons, closely related but not exactly the same.

Kerridee is a girl on the verge of womanhood. For that "crime," she's evicted from her home because she's a bad influence for daring to thwart the limits set for women in the male dominated village. Wouldn't you know she'd be independent and a troublemaker. Off she goes into the unknown wilds, not quite sure where she's headed.

A fierce storm comes up and Kerridee can't see her hand in front of her face. She feels her way trying to find some type of shelter from the storm. As the reader might guess, she stumbles on the cave of a Wyvern. Fearful at first (who wouldn't be?), she finds the Wyvern named Zebu. As it turns out, Zebu believes his species to be extinct. Having lived with a human for years, Zebu is lonely and quite happy to make a new human friend.

From this meeting, the two begin a journey together to find any remaining dragons. Kerridee had heard of dragons and humans living together in the north. The two head that way.

Okay, from here, you can discover what happens to Zebu and Kerridee. BUT, I'd suggest you delve into the rest of the Dragon series to find out just how dragons and humans become connected. It's okay to read this short first since it doesn't give away a lot of details about the meeting and relationship of the humans and dragons. Just enough to whet your appetite for more.

I recommend this book and the rest of the fantasy books written by Sue Perkins. I think you'll be glad you found them.

Why not five stars? I rarely hand out 5-star reviews since nothing is perfect. My one complaint? I wish the book were longer. I can see a full novel (or more) starring Zebu and Kerridee.

View all my reviews

Take Nessie to Dinner Day - Free Ebook 1/20th - 1/24th

 Book 2 of the Witches of Galdorheim

MIDNIGHT OIL – FREE January 20th - 24th

Ceto nee Nessie

In the second book of the Witches of Galdorheim series, our erstwhile heroine gets a little help from an unusual source. Did you ever wonder why there are so few sightings of the Loch Ness monster? Well, Nessie vacations on Ultima Thule, which may be the remnants of Atlantis.

She's not fond of the name Nessie or Loch Ness Monster and prefers to go by Ceto. From http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Ceto :

In Greek mythology, Ceto or Keto (Greek: English translation: "sea monster") was a hideous aquatic monster, a daughter of Gaia and Pontus. The asteroid (65489) Ceto was named after her, and its satellite (65489) Ceto I Phorcys after her husband. She was the personification of the dangers of the sea, unknown terrors, and bizarre creatures. Eventually, the word "ceto" became simple shorthand for any sea monster. The term cetacean represents a case in point. Her husband was Phorcys and they had many children, collectively known as the Phorcydes or Phorcydides. In Greek art, Ceto was drawn as a serpentine fish. Ceto also gave name to the constellation Cetus.

Ceto in Midnight Oil

Ceto and Nessie become one. She’s not a bad, um, person, but much misunderstood. She finds my heroine adrift in the northern seas sitting on a block of ice. Oh, yeah, I should mention that the block contains the body of her father. Ceto finds this all fascinating and helps my heroine dock the ice block at Ultima Thule and find a messenger to send for help from the Witches' Island of Galdorheim in the Barents Sea.

Excerpt

Kat sat cross-legged on the ice, one hand clutching the rope, and looked down at her father’s face. His eyes were open but unseeing. The deep gash on his forehead didn’t do much for his appearance. She hoped when he reached Siberia for his final burial, the Samis would fix him up a bit. She knew it didn’t matter, but it would make her feel better.

A wave came out of nowhere; the ice block rose and fell almost knocking Kat into the water. She clutched at the ropes and looked in all directions, but the sea remained calm. She frowned, wondering how… Then, a light bulb blazed inside her head when she sensed something large passing under her makeshift boat.

Kat edged herself up on her knees, keeping a tight hold on the ropes. She scanned the water closely, and to her right, she saw a dark shape under the water. A whale, perhaps. Maybe her calls finally got results.

The shape turned and came back toward the ice block. It stayed several feet below, so Kat could only make out a dark shadow as it glided beneath her. The ice block lifted and dropped again. She looked to her left to see a long neck stretched out, followed by a bulky, black body. A short tail emerged from under the block and slapped down on the water. It sprayed Kat’s face with icy droplets but didn’t drench her.

The dark shape rose slowly upward. First, a small head appeared, and Kat thought it might be a seal, and then the long neck emerged. Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes followed the head upward until she had her neck bent back as far as she could. The creature regarded her with huge, dark eyes, seeming too big for the little nob of a head. Its skin was dark gray, almost black. Kat noticed how smooth it appeared. She wanted to reach out to touch it. She thought better of that notion when the creature’s mouth opened and revealed rows of sharp teeth.

A voice spoke inside her mind. “Who are you, little girl?”

“Little girl? Why, I’m almost…” Then, thinking it’d be rude to argue with her only potential rescuer, she finished, “I mean, I’m a witch, from an island…” Kat looked around and waved her hand, “somewhere out there.”

“You wear the skin of a seal, and you can speak to creatures of the sea. Are you, perhaps, a selkie in human form?”

“Selkie? No, I’m just a witch from Galdorheim.”

“Hmm. How came you to be on that block of ice?”

“I’ve answered your questions,” Kat said, peeved at being grilled by a sea monster. “Now you answer one for me. What are you? And where did you come from?”

“That’s two questions.”

“Well, you asked two, so answer up!” Kat sensed she need not be afraid. The sea monster, as she now thought it to be, did not send any warning signals. It was simply curious.

“I am me.”

Kat frowned. While harmless, the creature seemed to have an evasive streak. Why did it show itself to her if it didn’t want to talk?

As if it heard Kat’s thoughts, the creature said, “Very well. The world has called me many names. Sometimes Nessie from where I once lived.”

“You’re the Loch Ness monster? I thought that was just a legend.” Kat stared in wide-eyed wonder at the mythical creature who might, if she could work it out, be her rescuer.

“No legend, but I left the loch years ago. Too many curious people.”

* * *

MIDNIGHT OIL Book 2 of the Witches of Galdorheim Series

Shipwrecked on a legendary island, how can a witch rescue her boyfriend if she can’t even phone home?

Kat discovers that an evil forest spirit has kidnapped her brand-new boyfriend. She sets out with her brother, Rune, from her Arctic island home on a mission to rescue the boy. Things go wrong from the start. Kat is thrown overboard during a violent storm, while her brother and his girlfriend are captured by a mutant island tribe. The mutants hold the girlfriend hostage, demanding that the teens recover the only thing that can make the mutants human again–the magical Midnight Oil.

Mustering every bit of her Wiccan magic, Kat rises to the challenge. She invokes her magical skills, learns to fly an ultralight, meets a legendary sea serpent, rescues her boyfriend, and helps a friendly air spirit win the battle against her spiteful sibling. On top of it all, she’s able to recover the Midnight Oil and help the hapless mutants in the nick of time.

Take a Troll to Lunch - Free Ebook 1/13th - 1/17th

 BAD SPELLING (Book 1) - FREE January 13th - 17th

A klutzy witch, a shaman's curse, a quest to save her family. Can Kat find her magic in time?

The entire Witches of Galdorheim series has a few characters featured in all the books. I thought introducing the stars of the series a good setup for the Witch Extravaganza month of October. Oh, yeah, it's BIG!

Trolls in the Witches of Galdorheim

Trolls. What do you imagine? Maybe something like the big ugly pictured here. In my Witches of Galdorheim series, I wanted a cave-dwelling bunch of uglies, but dwarves didn’t seem right for my book. Then I started hearing music inside my head. You know how that goes, right? It builds and builds until it has you screaming in frustration, willing to even listen to some other music to at least swamp the tormenting sound.

But before I could find a MP3 file of "Henry the VIIIth" by Herman’s Hermits, I stopped and listened. My muse was whacking me in the head via earworm. The music was Grieg’s Hall of the Mountain King from the Peer Gynt Suite. Duh. Trolls.

Despite the canards on trolls from the likes of Artemis Fowl or Pratchett’s Discworld, I thought they could be heroic if given sufficient ale.

From the Free Dictionary/Encyclopedia:

A troll is a fearsome member of a mythical race from Norse mythology. Originally more or less the Nordic equivalents of giants, although often smaller in size, the different depictions have come to range from the fiendish giants – similar to the ogres of England – to a devious, more human-like folk of the wilderness, living underground in hills, caves or mounds.

Hey! They’re not all flesh-eating giants who turn to stone in the sunlight. Some are devious little guys who live in wilderness areas (no doubt protecting endangered magical species).

In Bad Spelling, Kat and her smart-aleck half-brother, Rune, (also happens to be a vampire, but has absolutely no resemblance to the Twilight guy except they’re both cute as hell) are directed by Kat’s flash-frozen dad (Rune calls him a pop-sicle) to visit the Troll King. At the Hall, she requests assistance from King Ole, the Norwegian Troll King. He arranges for her and Rune to ride the Trollercoaster, which starts in Norway and ends up in the Ural Mountains. From there Kat, Rune, and a changeling troll named Andy travel to Siberia to find Kat's family.

Clearly, trolls are good. They are nice, helpful, cheerful, and sing fairly well too. Yet aspersions continue to be cast upon these misunderstood creatures. Shame on all of you for making them the bad guys all these years!

Excerpt from Bad Spelling - Chapter Fifteen - Three Trolls on a Bridge

Kat ran to where her brother and the three trolls faced each other. The trolls stood shoulder to shoulder, their big, splayed feet firmly planted in front of the footbridge. They bared their chunky yellow teeth and growled at Rune. Although hardly reaching Rune’s shoulder, they each outweighed him. Clearly, the trolls did not intend to let him cross. Looking up and down the streamlet, Kat wondered at their careful guarding of the bridge. Kind of silly, she thought, since anyone could easily step across the rivulet without even getting wet feet. She wondered if these were children, given their short stature. However, their long knives looked very grown-up.

Enunciating each word, Rune held his hands out to show they were empty. Kat had no idea what her brother was saying since Rune was speaking Old Runish. Except for a few spell words, Kat didn’t understand the ancient tongue.

Evidently, neither did the trolls. Rune spoke again, louder this time, and took one slow step forward. At this move, the troll on the left lunged at them, jabbing at Rune with his knife. Rune sidestepped the rush, and the troll, taken off balance, stumbled and fell flat on his face. Kat stepped over the troll and grasped his arm but only caught hold of his sleeve. He screamed and pushed her away. The other two trolls ran at her with their knives raised, yelling as they advanced.

Rune stuck out his foot and tripped the middle troll. The last troll standing went after Rune. The young warlock threw up his hands, arms crossed to fend off the attack. A bright red light arced from his hands to hit the charging troll in the face. The troll dropped his knife and fell to the ground, screaming and rolling around with his hands pressed over his eyes. Rune snatched up the knife and held it to the middle troll’s neck. Kat sat on the one she grabbed, pulling the knife from his flailing hand. The recipient of Rune’s flash attack kept his hands over his eyes.

Rune spoke again in Old Runish, shouting to make himself heard. It didn’t do any good; the trolls all continued screaming and squealing at the top of their lungs.

Kat jumped up from the troll’s back and grabbed Rune’s hand, pulling the knife away from the troll’s neck. “Rune,” she yelled, “tell them we won’t hurt them!”

The thrashing troll froze then turned his cumbersome head toward her.

“You can speak our language!” He slapped the troll nearest to him, who abruptly stopped screaming. The one whose neck Rune held the knife to spread his fingers to peek at Rune and Kat.

Rune released the troll and stood up, looking a little sheepish. “I just assumed—” He stopped then shook his head.

Kat crouched on her knees next to one of the trolls lying on the ground and patted him on the shoulder. “We mean you no harm. We’re Wiccans from Galdorheim. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”

Slowly, the trolls climbed to their feet, looked at Kat, then at each other. The three trolls huddled, conferring together. Kat heard a murmur but couldn’t make out what they said.

Kat continued, searching for something to say. “My Aunt Thordis…” Three pairs of troll eyes turned to her and opened wide. They stared at Kat. The middle troll elbowed the one on his left, who giggled. The troll on the right gave a great whoop of laughter then slapped the middle troll on the back. All three trolls broke into huge guffaws and ended up leaning on each other, wiping tears from their eyes. Rune and Kat stared open-mouthed.

* * *

BAD SPELLING - Book 1 of The Witches of Galdorheim Series

A klutzy witch, a shaman's curse, a quest to save her family. Can Kat find her magic in time?

Can Kat find her magic in time? If you’re a witch living on a remote arctic island, and the entire island runs on magic, lacking magical skills is not just an inconvenience, it can be a matter of life and death–or, at least, a darn good reason to run away from home. Katrina’s spells don’t just fizzle; they backfire with spectacular results, oftentimes involving green goo. A failure as a witch, Kat decides to run away and find her dead father’s non-magical family. But before she can, she stumbles onto why her magic is out of whack: a curse from a Siberian shaman. The young witch, accompanied by her half-vampire brother, must travel to the Hall of the Mountain King and the farthest reaches of Siberia to regain her magic, dodging attacks by the shaman along the way.