Deck The Halls With #Books! @CeliaBreslin’s Jasmine Moon
Happy Holidays Dear Readers!
‘Tis the season for some merry merry, so I joined Bewitching Books Tours’ multi-author tour with one of my Black Hills Wolves stories: Jasmine Moon. Visit any of my tour stops this month to enjoy some Holiday-themed posts (cookie recipe and holiday viewing recs!), and be sure to enter my giveaway for a chance at a $20 Amazon US e-gift card!
xo,
Celia
p.s. Mark your calendars: Come to the live, multi-author Deck The Halls With Books Holiday Extravaganza Party on Facebook, Tuesday, December 14, for chitchat and chances at still more giveaways! I’ll be there 10 – 11 AM Pacific / 1 – 2 PM Eastern.
JASMINE MOON Tour Schedule
12/1 The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
12/1 Roxanne’s Realm
12/2 Jazzy Book Reviews
12/2 Sadie’s Spotlight
12/3 Sapphyria’s Books
12/6 JB’s Bookworms with Brandy Mulder
12/7 Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read
12/8 Westveil Publishing
12/9 The Book Junkie Reads
12/10 Supernatural Central
12/13 Lisa’s World of Books
12/14 Fangtastic Books
12/14 Midnight Musings with Bertena
12/15 Paranormalists
12/15 Booklover Sue
(12/16 – 12/21 I’ll be on winter break with the family as of 12/16. Be sure to check out the other authors on tour!)
2021 Deck The Halls With Books Multi-Author Giveaway
Multi-author prize pack, including a $20 USD AmazonUS e-gift card from me. 🙂
Enter the 2021 Bewitching Book Tours Deck The Halls With Books Rafflecopter giveaway.
Spooktacular Spotlight on #ParanormalRomance: Sea Mage by @louisabacio
Hi Everyone! Louisa Bacio is here today with her Haunted Halloween Spooktacular Bewitching Book Tour to share her recent PNR release: Sea Mage. Plus, she gives us great tips on what NOT to do while on the hunt for ghosts, as well as some spooky movie tips. Be sure to enter Louisa’s tour giveaway, too. Details below. Enjoy!
xo, Celia
Title: Sea Mage, Book 10
Series:The Nightshade Guild (multi-author series)
Author: Louisa Bacio
Publisher: Celtic Hearts Press
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: October 14, 2021
ASIN: B08L9RGGVS
# of pages: 120
Word count: 25K
Cover Artist: B Creative Designs
Take a SPLASH into a new paranormal romance.
Never stand down
Serena Moon treats life like a beach goer taking in the ocean’s tide. It’s all serene until you turn your back for a second, and an errant waves knocks you on your ass.
Know when you’re in over your head
When she’s entrusted with the safekeeping of the child elven queen, she enlists the help of mysterious — complete understatement— Peder, leader of the shifter sea dragons. Serena’s not sure what’s happening off the coast of SoCal but he’s got his own tricks.
It’s gotta be safe
It’ll take more than magic and mastery of the sea to take on the evil darkness determined to capture the world’s salvation. Serena and Peder must conquer unknown enemies and the complexity of love everlasting to save their hearts.
5 Things NOT to Do While Ghost Hunting
By Louisa Bacio
Yes, I’ve done it – actually hunted for ghosts. I have no idea why it’s a thing when ghosts usually come to me. I’ve done tours in California, Savannah, San Antonio, Texas, and New Orleans.
One hotspot that never fails to bring some spectral what-was-that moments is the Queen Mary in Long Beach. From slamming doors to words appearing on the mirror (yeah, I know it could have been the previous guest, but it’s still freaky) to that absolutely creepy empty pool below decks, the floating historical landmark is filled with potential for haunting.
So how about a what not to do while ghost hunting?
Here’s my list:
5) Wear Holy Water like eau de perfume, dabbed behind the ears. You are looking for ghosts, right? You don’t want to scare them away.
4) Sit in a darkened room, and inform the ghosts they’re allowed to “touch you” to let you know they’re there. (No joke! I went to an event with Amy from Ghost Hunters, and she actually called out this invitation!)
3) Invite the spectral inhabitants to travel home with you. My advice: Let them haunt wherever they currently live. Instead, I thank them for their presence, and actual say they are not welcomed to come with me.
2) Wear high heels. (Come on, we’ve all seen the horror movie. Sensible shoes, only, please!)
1) Duck under the sheets in a historical house. Probably frowned upon, and I expect the living will ask you to leave.
Got any more tips?
5 Scary Movies for the Not-So-Scary Watcher
By Louisa Bacio
Let me tell you a secret: Although I love Halloween and all that goes bump-in-the-night, I’m not a fan of horror movies. I know! For those who like a little bit of a scare, here are a few suggestions.
5) Goosebumps (yes!)
What do you mean it’s for kids? Shhh! Have you seen those killer gnomes? Enough to be fear inducing, I tell you! This selection is by far the least scariest, I admit, but it’s all in good fun.
4) Shaun of the Dead
There’s nothing like a bit of humor to make zombies less scary. The crunchy of human flesh usually leaves me feeling a bit less than but the dark tongue-in-cheek laughs and awesome soundtrack make this flick more palatable.
3) 13 Ghosts
Don’t ask why because really I have no idea. But something about this storyline fascinated me. It’s a classic tale of family members inheriting a house that seems too good to be true, and in this case it definitely is! Trapped inside are 13 ghosts. The characters/costumes are terrifying on the surface, but overall it’s a perfect mix and not too gory. Bonus for actors such as Tony Shalhoub, Matthew Lillard (who will always be my Shaggy) and Shannon Elizabeth.
2) Scream
Maybe it’s the play of horror film mythology or the repeat watching, but Scream doesn’t quite frighten me. It has all the makings of a nightmare fest. The pop culture aspect adds another level of classic thriller. Although, I will admit to imagining the Scream mask reflected in a large plate glass window recently.
1) The Others
I first saw The Others in the theater with my young cousins, and let me tell you – it has a few jump scares! Nicole Kidman portrays the perfect mother, looking out for her kids, while her husband is fighting in the war. The house appears to be haunted, or is it?
Honorable mentions: Poltergeist (The Original) and the new Fear Street series on NetFlix (admission: I did cover my eyes a few times).
About Louisa Bacio
Since selling her first short story in 2010, Louisa Bacio has published more than 40 novels, novellas and short stories, including the paranormal The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf series and Winter Solstice Ménage. Watch for her upcoming Sea Mage in The Nightshade Guild series.
A Southern California native, Bacio can’t imagine living far away from the ocean. She shares her household with a supportive husband, two teenagers growing too fast, and a multitude pet craziness. In her other life, Bacio teaches college classes in English, journalism and popular culture.
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Sea Mage Tour Giveaway
e-copy of Half-Blood Mage by Landra Graf and a mermaid prize pack (U.S. shipping)
Enter Louisa Bacio’s Rafflecopter giveaway.
Spooktacular #Supernatural #Suspense: The Wasteland Files by Lara Bernhardt
Hi Everyone! The Haunted Halloween Spooktacular from Bewitching Book Tours continues today with a look at Lara Bernhardt’s supernatural suspense story, The Wantland Files, and a poem from Edgar Allan Poe. Be sure to enter Lara’s tour giveaway, too. Details below. Enjoy!
xo, Celia
Title: The Wantland Files, Book 1
Author: Lara Bernhardt
Publisher: Admission Press
Genre: Supernatural suspense
Release Date: December 16, 2016
ISBN: 978-0998426105
ASIN: B081RFTMR5
# of pages: 286
Word count: 73,470
Cover Artist: BEAUTeBOOK
She sees dead people. He doesn’t believe in ghosts.
The X-Files meets Ghost Hunters when psychic Kimberly Wantland is forced to collaborate with skeptic Sterling Wakefield as she investigates a ghost terrorizing a young family in the season finale of her hit television series The Wantland Files.
The Wantland Files EXCERPT
The frigid blast hit her, not a tidal wave crashing over her, but an iceberg, solid and powerful. And furious.
The icy shock took her breath away. She gasped.
The entity dropped from above and sailed past, blowing her hair behind her.
Strong, warm hands grasped her arms, intent on steadying her. She shook free as Drew screamed.
“I told you to stay with the boy!” She crossed the room in three steps and knelt beside the toddler bed.
Drew no longer sat in the corner.
“Kimmy? What’s happening?” Michael called from the door.
“Just keep recording! She’s here. She’s powerful. Keep the cameras rolling.”
Danielle’s voice joined the fray. “What’s wrong? Drew! What’s happening?”
“Stay in your room,” she commanded as forcefully as she could with lungs chilled by the dark entity. “Stay with your baby!”
Her fingers trembled as she searched the bed. Every square inch of the miniature thing. Her chilled hands were not so numb that they would miss a toddler’s body. Where was he?
Frantic and scared, she lost control of her extrasensory perceptions. She stopped running her hands over the bed and held still. Clutching her crystal, she breathed deeply. Where was the entity? Where was the boy?
From Lara Bernhardt: “I remember thoroughly loving a book called It’s Halloween by Jack Prelutsky when I was little. This is a book of poems, and that appreciation only increased the older I got. The works of Edgar Allan Poe intrigued me beginning in high school. I liked all his writing and was particularly fascinated with The Raven. His poem><iLSpirit of the Dead is perhaps less well known, but perfect for Halloween.”
Spirits of the Dead
by Edgar Allan Poe
Thy soul shall find itself alone
’Mid dark thoughts of the grey tomb-stone—
Not one, of all the crowd, to pry
Into thine hour of secrecy:
Be silent in that solitude
Which is not loneliness—for then
The spirits of the dead who stood
In life before thee are again
In death around thee—and their will
Shall then overshadow thee: be still.
For the night—tho’ clear—shall frown—
And the stars shall look not down,
From their high thrones in the Heaven,
With light like Hope to mortals given—
But their red orbs, without beam,
To thy weariness shall seem
As a burning and a fever
Which would cling to thee forever:
Now are thoughts thou shalt not banish—
Now are visions ne’er to vanish—
From thy spirit shall they pass
No more—like dewdrop from the grass:
The breeze—the breath of God—is still—
And the mist upon the hill
Shadowy—shadowy—yet unbroken,
Is a symbol and a token—
How it hangs upon the trees,
A mystery of mysteries!
(1827)
About Lara Bernhardt
Lara Bernhardt is a Pushcart-nominated writer, editor, and audiobook narrator. She is Editor-in-Chief of Balkan Press and also publishes a literary magazine, Conclave. Twice a finalist for the Oklahoma Book Award for Best Fiction, she writes supernatural suspense and women’s fiction.
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The Wantland Files Tour Giveaway
$10 Amazon gift card and an audiobook code
Enter Lara Bernhardt’s Rafflecopter giveaway.
#ReleaseDay Spotlight on #UrbanFantasy: A Place of Magic by @MerrieDestefano
Hello Dear Readers! It’s release day for writer pal Merrie Destefano. Please enjoy a look at her latest paranormal fantasy and be sure to enter her tour giveaway, too. Details below. Happy reading!
xo, Celia
Title: A Place of Magic
Author: Merrie Destefano
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy
Release Date: October 12, 2021
ASIN: B09FNSVKZJ
# of pages: 320
Word count: 73,000
Cover Artist: Elona Bezooshko,
Psycat Digital Ink & Motion
Halloween is the wrong time to visit Ticonderoga Falls.
Dangerous monsters hunt in the nearby woods.
The Prey…
Maddie MacFaddin.
For her, the nearby forest holds many memories, some joyous, some forgotten. But she has no recollection of Ash, the dark, magnificent creature who saved her life as a child, or that his kind preys upon humanity.
The Monster…
Ash, a Darkling fae.
Trapped in Ticonderoga Falls for a century, he’s required to host a Hunt once a year. Then, hungry, shapeshifting faeries will descend upon the villagers and harvest their dreams.
The Hunt…
There are rules about harvesting humans; the poor creatures are so delicate. If you take too much, they’ll die. Without dreams, they perish. And perish they do—now and then—despite Ash’s efforts to keep them safe. Then he realizes Maddie is the prey his unwanted guests are after. But, try as he might, this time he’s not strong enough to protect her. The entire village is in danger.
Soon the Hunt will begin. And no one will be safe.
A Place of Magic EXCERPT
Teaser:
She knew there were things that lived in the dark, things that could never be fully understood. Things that wanted to lure you away from everything safe. Just like in the story of Hansel and Gretel, you could be surrounded by a dangerous wildwood, while a bear trap with rusty hinges waited for you to step off the safe and narrow path.
Teaser 2:
This is what it’s like, she thought. To be human. You never sneak into someone’s home or trick them into inviting you inside. You stand outside and politely knock until they answer.
And then—no enchantments involved—if they want to, they might let you inside.
Although tonight was different. Tonight, if the homeowners didn’t open the door and offer candy, which she had already discovered was sinfully delicious, then they might have to pay a price.
Excerpt:
He nodded, head lowered. Then he lifted his gaze until he was staring into her eyes. One hand rested on her shoulder. “I won’t tell anyone your secret, Elspeth. You’re safe with me.”
Then he leaned closer, his scent overwhelming, his thoughts like the wind through the leaves, a wild rushing, his skin like the embrace of the forest. His lips touched hers and she could hear his heart beating. She slid her arms around his waist, leaning into the kiss, suddenly wanting more. She wanted to cast an enchantment, to lead him into sleep, to harvest his dreams. Wanted to walk into a dream with him, to see the hidden world on the other side of his eyelids. Wanted to know everything about him.
The kiss had only just begun and already she wanted another.
His arms were around her then, and the winter chill disappeared. In its place, fire crackled through her limbs, from her fingertips to her feet.
She could see it then, the world inside him. Tender and gentle as a spring morning, the shadows of night lingering at the edge of the wood, a handful of stars scattered across a pale sky.
She never knew that humans could be filled with so much magic.
It was her first Hunt and she had chosen her prey wisely.
About Merrie Destefano
Multiple-award-winning author Merrie Destefano writes lyrical tales of magic, mystery, and hope. Her traditional books have been published by HarperCollins, Entangled Teen, and Walter Foster, while her indie imprint is Ruby Slippers Press. Her novels have won awards in both the science fiction and fantasy categories.
She worked for Focus on the Family, The Word For Today, Engaged Media, and PJS Publications, and her magazine experience includes editor of Victorian Homes magazine, Zombies magazine, Haunted: Mysteries And Legends magazine, American Farmhouse Style magazine, Vintage Gardens magazine and founding editor of Cottages and Bungalows magazine. Her co-authored art books include How To Draw Vampires, How To Draw Zombies, and How to Draw Grimm’s Dark Fairy Tales. Her edited books include The Man God Uses by Chuck Smith, Oil Pastel Step-By-Step by Nathan Rohlander, and The Art of Drawing Fantasy Characters by Jacob Glaser.
Born in the Midwest, Merrie now lives in Southern California, where she runs on caffeine, and shares her home with rescue dogs and cats. And although she dearly loves science fiction, in her heart of hearts, she still doesn’t believe airplanes should be able to fly.
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A Place of Magic Tour Giveaway
1 Signed print copy of A Place Of Magic
1 Custom tote bag
1 Amazon gift card for $25
Enter Merrie Destefano’s Rafflecopter giveaway.
Spooktacular Spotlight on C. Stine’s Witch of the Cards
Hello my Dear Readers!
Catherine Stine is here today as part of this month’s Bewitching Book Tours Haunted Halloween Spooktacular. Check out her paranormal historical suspense story as well as her thoughts on spooky beach towns as story settings. Be sure to enter the tour giveaway for a chance at a signed copy of Witch of the Cards!
xo, Celia
Title: Witch of the Cards
Author: Catherine Stine
Genre: Paranormal historical suspense
Publisher: Konjur Road Press
Release date: March 16, 2016
ISBN 13: 978-0-9848282-6-5
ISBN 10: 0-9848282-6-5
ISBN 13: 978-0-9848282-7-2
ISBN 10: 0-9848282-7-3
# or Pages: 265
Word count: 76K
Cover Artist: Mae I Designs
Fiera was born a sea witch with no inkling of her power. And now it might be too late.
Witch of the Cards is a supernatural romantic suspense set in 1932 on the Jersey shore. Fiera has left the Brooklyn orphanage where she was raised and works in Manhattan as a nanny. She gets a lucky break when her boss pays for her vacation in Asbury Park. One evening, Fiera and her new friend Dulcie wander down the boardwalk and into Peter Dune’s Tarot & Séance, where they attend a card reading.
Fiera has an unsettling ability to sense future events and people’s hidden agendas. She longs to either find out the origin of her powers or else banish them because as is, they make her feel crazy. When, during the reading, her energies somehow bond with Peter Dune’s and form an undeniable ethereal force, a chain of revelations and dangerous events unspool.
For one, Fiera finds out she is a witch from a powerful sea clan, but that someone is out to stop her blossoming power forever. And though she is falling in love with Peter, he also has a secret side. He’s no card reader, but a private detective working to expose mediums. Despite this terrible betrayal, Fiera must make the choice to save Peter from a tragic Morro Cruise boat fire, or let him perish with his fellow investigators. Told in alternating viewpoints, Fiera and Peter each struggle against their deep attraction. Secrets, lies, even murder, lace this edgy fantasy.
From Lovers of Paranormal: “Interesting story of witches, deceit, secrets, romance and friendship. Fun and creative.”
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If I only had a week in this glorious beach town, I wanted to catch up with sleep and plunge into as many escapades as possible—even bewildering, outlandish ones.
We walked in, to the jangle of Mr. Dune’s door chimes. I skated around, ogling the floor-to-ceiling shelves brimming with leather-bound books on cosmic mysteries, spiritualism, and witchcraft. Two immediate standouts were Ten Ways to Practice Mentalism and Dona Bella, Memoirs of a Southern Witch. These were my fare, similar to a favorite book at the public library—a tome on dark magic. The most stirring part was about each witch dynasty having its own grimoire, a sort of magical recipe book. I had no clue as to why dark tales tickled me so, and often wondered about my taste.
Still, I read everything I could get my hands on, even boring books that drifted me right off to the Land of Nod. At my nanny job, I was so desperate for stories I even read the tedious articles about cooking and how to throw a proper cocktail party in Mrs. Cuthbert’s Reader’s Digest and Home Arts magazines.
Mr. Dune strode toward us. His handsome aura and towering presence intimidated yet thrilled me. He was dressed in crisp, charcoal gray pants and a vest with a double-breasted pinstriped jacket. “Are you lovely ladies here for the séance?” He held out a long, elegant hand, studded with a silver ring. I barely collected my wits enough to shake it and nod. Dulcie’s hand whooshed out and hardly touched his before she clamped it protectively back to her side.
No doubt about it, he was the most striking man I’d ever seen. His thick mop of dark hair tapered into long sideburns, rendering his jawline a tad dangerous. I guessed he was in his mid-twenties. When his coffee-brown eyes gleamed at me, my breath caught, and a heat greater than any moonshine fired through me.
We paid the dime admission. He escorted us to a round, wooden table with lion-footed legs where we joined a heavyset older couple and a reedy gentleman with thin, blond hair. His lime-fizz eyes darted over to Dulcie, and then away. Two empty chairs still beckoned.
Dulcie looked terrified, so I smiled at her. She calmed enough to take a seat.
Mr. Dune strode to the window, loosened the crimson curtains, and lowered their heavy velvet over the windows, lending the already-pensive storefront a mystical aura.
The Allure of Creepy, Ramshackle Beach Towns as Settings for Dark Fantasy
by Catherine Stine
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What is it exactly that makes edgy beach towns the perfect setting for sinister fantasy and historical suspense? I’ve always been attracted to the dark side, and particularly to strange beach towns. So far, I’ve set two novels in them.
When I first moved to New York City after college and a stint out west, you couldn’t tear me away from the dilapidated boardwalks of Coney Island. This was back before the arcade was renovated, back when the sideshow by the sea with its sword swallower and human pincushion were on full display. It was when a hungry, dirty capybara was caged in a box that read: Only $5 To See the Biggest Rat in the World! This poor critter was a plot point in Dorianna, my paranormal twist on Dorian Grey. And no surprise, I set Dorianna in Coney Island, and installed a sexy villain in Wilson Warren. He was an agent of the devil disguised as a videographer who prowled the beaches, making girls into viral Internet sensations for a very high price.
Fast-forward to my novel Witch of the Cards, set in 1932, about Fiera, a sea witch who has a special talent with Tarot (and not just reading the cards). Of course,I set it in a shady shore town, in this case, Asbury Park, NJ. You see, I’ve been coming to this gentrifying coastal town for years and know it well—its sunny moods but also its spooky, moody shades.
Around the turn of the century, and up until around 1945, Asbury Park used to be the stomping grounds of the glitterati. There were grand concerts in the art deco Convention Center, and people dressed to the nines would stroll on the boardwalk at night. Then came the race riots of the 1960s and the economic crash, and the place fell into major disrepair. Its only remaining claim to fame was The Stone Pony, where Bruce Springsteen rocked into the limelight.
About twenty-seven years ago, when I first ventured into the Asbury convention center, there was a huge hole in its roof that seagulls flew in and out of. And there was only one lonely saltwater taffy store on the boardwalk run by an ancient lady who seemed to have stepped out of a Stephen King novel. In Witch of the Cards the taffy sold in the shop has very odd effects, andI installed an illegal speakeasy in the taffy store basement. I turned the (actual) Paranormal Museum on CookwellAvenue into a place to hold séances that often went horribly wrong.
In Witch of the Cards, even the ocean hides terrible secrets.
There’s something about the scent of saltwater and hotdogs, the splintered, salt-dried boardwalk and the scream of people hurtling down on the arcade rides that gets my blood charging and my imagination firing. What about you?
Here’s a snippet of a scene when Fiera and her date Peter venture down to the basement speakeasy in the taffy store:
“Perhaps I was far too gone, but I didn’t care. Peter and I danced and danced. The room filled with the overflow from the convention hall dance—young lovers, bootlegger types with wide ties and cigars, older women with twinkling earrings and heavy bosoms, even a prostitute or two. I thought so anyway, because they wore way too much rouge and came alone to sit brazenly up at the bar with the gin rummies.
This time I couldn’t say whether or not I stepped on Mr. Dune’s polished wingtips. This time, he probably couldn’t be sure if he knocked his bony legs into mine. We had many more nips of absinthe, and I wolfed down another green-swirl taffy and before I knew it, I was leaning provocatively against Peter and laughing like a wild banshee.
I remember gaping up at him to see his black hair all disheveled and him mumbling indistinctly. And I, thinking that he was the most gorgeous human being I’d ever seen. I remember Dulcie grabbing one of my arms, and Peter grasping the other. I remember all of us howling at the crescent moon over the ocean, and the shocked sideways glance of the hotel proprietor as we all stumbled in.
I recall pulling out the Tarot he’d given me, and laying them out on the bedroom rug. I recall babbling at him—about a witch and a swindler and a boat—not necessarily in that order. I can still picture his expression of shocked surprise but not at what.
And I remember Peter’s lips branding my forehead—how could I ever forget that—while shocks of his lush black hair dangled deliciously on my burning cheeks. The last thing I recall before things went dark was kicking off my shoes.”
Happy Season of the Witch,
Catherine Stine
About Catherine Stine
Catherine Stine is a USA Today bestselling author of paranormal, urban and historical fantasy. Witch of the Wild Beasts won a second prize in the Romance Writers of America’s Sheila Contest. Other novels have earned Indie Notable awards and New York Public Library Best Books. She lives in New York State and grew up in Philadelphia. Before writing novels, she was a painter and fabric designer. She’s a visual author and sees writing as painting with words. Catherine loves spending time with her beagle Benny, writing about supernatural creatures, gardening and meeting readers at book fests.
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Catherine Stine’s Spooktacular Giveaway
1 signed copy of Witch of the Cards
Enter the BBT (Multi-Author) Halloween Spooktacular Rafflecopter Giveaway.
Halloween 2021 Spooktacular Tours: Eva’s Homecoming & A Demon’s Embrace
Hi Everyone!
I’m so happy it’s Halloween month. I’m on tour with my recent release (in an anthology), Eva’s Homecoming, along with my second book for the Cupid Dating Agency series, A Demon’s Embrace. My tours are part of the 2021 Bewitching Book Tours Halloween Spooktacular. Visit any of my tour stops this month to enjoy some Halloween-themed posts, and be sure to enter my giveaway for a chance at a $20 Amazon US e-gift card!
xo,
Celia
p.s. Mark your calendars: Sign up for Trick or Treat With Bewitching Book Tours for free books! Plus, come to the live, multi-author Haunted Halloween Spooktacular Facebook Party, sponsored by Bewitching Book Tours, on Wednesday October 20, for chitchat and chances at still more giveaways! I’ll be there 12 – 1 PM Pacific / 3 – 4 PM Eastern.
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2 Halloween posts you may see at tour stops: “Bumped by the Banshee,” a short tale, and “Celia’s 2021 Halloween Viewing Picks” for TV.
Great News for Eva’s Homecoming!
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2021 Spooktacular Giveaway
Multi-author prize pack, including a $20 USD AmazonUS e-gift card from me. 🙂
Enter the 2021 Bewitching Spooktacular Rafflecopter giveaway.
#NewRelease! Flip the Trope: #Romance Gone Wild
Hi Everyone!
I’m excited to announce my new Heartland Fae series! The first story in the series, “Eva’s Homecoming,” is making its debut in this fabulous anthology edited by USA Today best-selling author Virginia Nelson. Twelve authors, twelve great stories. Read on for more details on the anthology plus an excerpt from Eva’s Homecoming. Happy reading!
xo,
Celia
Title: Flip The Trope: Romance Gone Wild
Type: Anthology
Edited by: Virginia Nelson
Genre: Adult, contemporary and paranormal romance
Heat Levels: Sweet, Spicy, Hot
ISBN: 9798201153793
Word count/pages: 243K/896pp
Cover Artist:Virginia Nelson
Release date: August 24, 2021
We heard the readers asking for something different, and we’ve delivered! Twelve brand new, romance stories all in one great anthology–and each one flips at least one beloved romance trope. From sweet contemporary romance to spicy paranormals, this anthology includes multiple USA Today bestselling authors and other names you know and love. Each story is marked with genre and heat level, so settle down to have your expectations twisted and fall in love with unusual heroes!
Stories in this collection:
- Eva’s Homecoming – Celia Breslin
- Whims of Witches – L. J. Longo
- Small Town Prince Charming – Megan Slayer
- Damaged and the Damned – USA Today Bestselling author Deena Remiel
- The Man of My Dreams – David von Schlichten
- A Timeless Heart – Siobhan Muir
- Back to Grace – USA Today Bestselling author Katie Kenyhercz
- Asta and the She Wolves – Marci Baun
- The O’Connell Way – Jambrea Jo Jones
- Plays and Parchment – Heather Geoffries
- Angels and Demons, Inc. – Louise McGinnis
- Her Wolfy Prince – USA Today Bestselling author Virginia Nelson
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Vivlio | bol.de
Eva’s Homecoming Excerpt
(After several years away Eva O’Reilly is finally home. Sadly, with her mother’s sudden passing and no other living relatives, Eva is alone. And hurting.
Angus of the Tuatha Dé Danaan is elated his one true love has finally returned. There are just two problems: she can’t see him or remember the Fae folk even exist…)
…Angus stood in the center of the garden, throat tight and burning, a huge gulp of air trapped in his lungs.
Around him, a dozen diminutive flower fairies cavorted among the flora, chortling with glee. “She’s here, she’s here, our Eva is here!”
His gaze targeted the back door, body taut as he awaited his first glimpse of the female he loved. The only one he would ever love. Mo chroí, my heart. My heart walks the world, outside my body. “Come back to me.”
His voice was barely audible above the incessant chatter of the flower fairies. “We sang to her. She heard us! She liked it.”
“Hush,” he commanded, and they fell silent, vibrating with gleeful anticipation.
Seven years without her. The longest, loneliest bloody years of his basically eternal existence…
[…]
Eva stared out at the yard with haunted, brown eyes. Dark circles like the ones she’d sported months ago at the wake and funeral marred the perfection of her milky skin. He wanted to lay gentle kisses on her eyelids, nip the tip of her nose with its light dusting of freckles, lave her lips with his tongue then push it between those perfect lips…
“See me, Eva,” he whispered.
“See us,” Rosina echoed.
Eva cocked her head and touched her ear as if in response to their words. The incessant giggling of the flower fairies ceased, an expectant hush falling over the garden.
Though consumed with sorrow, Eva surveyed the yard with appreciation. Angus and the flower fairies had been tending to the yard and garden since she’d left. There was little to be done in the winter months but in the Fall, they’d trimmed and raked, then planted, pruned, and watered in Spring and Summer. Jasmine, lavender, and other blooming plants scented the air, and he watched his female take a deep breath.
Her shoulders seemed to lose some tension as she took in the neatly trimmed yard and carefully curated garden. “It’s perfect,” she said.
Angus’s heart swelled with pride at a job well done only to stutter in agony when her lovely brown eyes lingered on the central spot where he stood yet looked right through him.
“No. No, no, no,” he whispered. See me this time, Eva. Let the curse be gone.
Mrs. Murphy joined Eva near the door. “He tended it for you. From the moment you went off to school.”
“What?” Eva scanned the yard, then returned her attention to the spot where he stood surrounded by the flower fairies, all of them quivering with excitement.
“The garden, girl. He looked after it for you.”
Lines formed in Eva’s forehead, and her attention shifted to Mrs. Murphy. “I don’t understand, who did?”
He bowed his head and rubbed his brow. Each time she returns she still cannot See. My fault. All of this. Mine.
Celia’s Comic Review at I Smell Sheep: Bliss
Hi Everyone!
How is it August already? LOL… I hope you found some time to relax this summer. No travels over here due to the pandemic and wild fires, but I’ve been busy hanging with the family and, of course, editing, writing, and reading. Here’s a review of a fab, urban fantasy comic I read over the summer. You’ll find the full review of Bliss, and a few panels of the amazing art from the story, over at the awesome I Smell Sheep Blog.
Happy reading!
xo,
Celia
There’s a drug called Bliss wiping away memories in Feral City. But a good-hearted young man with a deathly sick child makes a horrible deal. He will become the hitman for the gods providing the drug—and possibly lose everything in the process. A critically acclaimed examination of forgiveness and family that’s rarely seen in comics.
Celia’s Review
I’m an avid reader of urban fantasy, and so when this collection came up for review, I jumped at the chance to check it out. Happy to report this is one fantastic gem of a story.
The world sucks you in from the opening scene. Haunting words about being “a tiny cosmic speck” in the “grand scheme of things” drip down the page atop a haunting visual display of a man falling, falling, falling…
Continue reading at I Smell Sheep!
More I Smell Sheep Comic Reviews by Celia |
Celia’s Comic Review at I Smell Sheep: INKBLOT
Hello my Dear Readers!
Hope you’re having a wonderful summer. I’m busy working on a few new Fae paranormal romances but I’m sneaking in reading time, too, including “Inkblot” from Image Comics. What a fun read! Check out the full review of Inkblot over at the awesome I Smell Sheep Blog.
Happy reading!
xo,
Celia
A powerful sorceress must attempt to correct her greatest mistake—the creation of a magical cat that can travel through time, space, and the seven realms of reality. The cat threatens to unravel the fabric of the universe, doesn’t care, and just won’t listen!
Celia’s Review
As a total cat person, it was my utmost pleasure to read Inkblot, Volume 1. Kubert and Gladd do an excellent job of setting up their world, delivering the backstory in an engaging and visually stunning manner, and providing a fun inciting incident with the creation of the cat, after which the time-travelling adventures begin. Their blurb nicely sums up what’s what, so let’s talk about my favorite bits of the volume.
1. The Cat!
What can I say? I love this mischievous, time-travelling, reality-bending critter. A simply drawn black cat, the dark color has it leaping out at you from the panels while at the same time it continually explodes with personality… Continue reading at I Smell Sheep!
Missed My First I Smell Sheep Review?
Immerse yourself in this new dystopian series: Nocterra.
Celia Reviews #Comics at I Smell Sheep
Hello my Dear Readers!
I’ve started reviewing comics for the awesome I Smell Sheep Blog. I’ve been reading comics since I was a kid, so this is a fun new activity to add to my writer life. First up: a review of a new dystopian series by Scott Snyder: Nocterra.
Happy reading!
xo,
Celia
Ten years after the world is plunged into an everlasting night that turns all living creatures into monstrous shades, the only way to survive is to stay close to artificial light. Enter Valentina “Val” Riggs, a skilled ferryman who transports people and goods along deadly unlit roads with her heavily illuminated eighteen-wheeler.
Celia’s ReviewWelcome to a world cloaked in darkness. One day, the sun set midday and never rose again. Then people, animals, and even plants began to mutate into…something else. Something dangerous. The survivors are also at risk of mutating if exposed to the dark too long. The solution? Artificial light. But is it enough? There are so many good things about this new series from Scott Snyder… Continue reading at I Smell Sheep! |
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Celia Breslin
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