Mother's Day in the US is only ten days away as if we need to be reminded again. In the stores and online we are accosted with cards, flowers, candy, and other gifts to suit every mother's taste. When and how did it all begin? According to my research, it dates back to ancient Greece and the early spring celebrations in honor of Rhea, Mother of the Gods.
Two women are given credit for our modern day celebration but the dates when it began are inconsistent. Julia Ward Howe began the custom in Boston (1870) with a mothers' day proclamation to unite to promote world peace. The movement lasted for ten years before fading away. The current holiday can also be traced to Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia who introduced a Mothers' Friendship Day in 1878(or 1868) to reunite families divided by the Civil War.
In 1905 upon Ann Reeves Jarvis' death, her daughter Anna launched a campaign to honor her. In 1908 the first "official" Mother's Day celebration was held in St. Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. This led to President Woodrow Wilson proclaiming the second Sunday in May a national holiday in 1914. Anna Jarvis had sought out florists to donate carnations for mothers attending the first celebration which soon became a commercial project. She was so upset by this she later filed lawsuits to prevent retailers profiting from the holiday and unsuccessfully lobbied the government to remove its holiday status. Mother's Day now honors a number of other significant females including mothers-in-law, step-mothers, aunts, friends who represent mothers, etc.
The custom of giving or wearing flowers to honor mothers has continued. In time, the red flower came to signify a living mother while the white indicated one deceased. While carnations remain the most popular choice, roses were commonly chosen in my area, probably because they were home-grown and free.
Many countries honor mothers on the same day as the United States, including Canada, Australia, and India. However, the Hindus in India celebrate the Divine Mother (goddess Durga) in a ten day festival in October. The second most popular month is March which the UK has designated at Mothering Sunday. This term was originally a commemoration of the Mother Church and people returning to the church where baptized. Young servants were given a holiday to return to church and family, taking gifts of food and clothing from their employers. Ethiopia and Serbia have a three day celebration to honor mothers. In some countries, Mother's Day is second only to Christmas in importance. Whatever it is called, or however long the celebration, the purpose is universal. We are honoring the one who gave us life in whatever way our customs dictate.
If you celebrate by giving flowers, food, or other gifts on this special day, I hope you will consider a book of poems this holiday. (Forgive me, Anna Jarvis, for this blatant promotion on the day you tried so hard to keep free of commercials.) I think a mother of any age would enjoy A Potpourri of Poems which includes a variety of forms, subjects, and moods, some of which speak to mothers directly as the one below. The book is available in ebook or large print, both color and black & white. It contains one hundred poems and thirty-three full color pictures in one edition and the same pictures in gray scale in the other. And for those who prefer to listen rather than read, this book is now offered in audible form.
Excerpt from A Potpourri of Poems:
GOODBYE, MY CHILDREN
Goodbye, my children,
if only I …had known that you were going
I would have said goodbye.
But you were very little
And I thought that time would wait
till I saw that the sand had shifted
and the hour was very late.
All the happy times together,
all the things I had planned to do,
were lost when the hourglass tilted
and the childhood days poured through.
For the carefree hours have vanished
as the tiny grains of sand
and the shining glass upended
lies empty in my hand.
Goodbye, my children, if only I
had known that you were going I would have said goodbye.
"It
was a dark and stormy night…" No, no, never begin a story with the
weather. The reader will skip ahead and look for action or characters, or
heaven forbid, close the book.The nineteenth-century Gothic novels opened with
long brooding descriptions of the weather, or a monologue recounting the entire
genealogy of the family in the story, enough to make one's eyes glaze over. Okay,
let's see. "I was falling, falling…and
then I woke up." Nope, I remember, now, NEVER open a book with a dream--or
an alarm clock or phone ringing.
What about something really funny? For
example, "Nearing the table with a tray of filled tea glasses, her foot
slipped on spilled gravy…." Uh, oh. That's on the list of no-no's, too.
Such
a list exists, in fact. The admonitions may vary slightly, but editors are
programmed to stop reading a submission after the first sentence or first
paragraph if she/he sees these red flags. This means if the editor stops
reading, so will a reader.
In today's world, the reader wants and deserves action, the inciting incident, the
reason for the story, and he wants it right away. In some manner, the opening
sentence or first paragraph or first chapter must give the reader what he
wants--"What is this novel about?"
Grabbing the attention of an
editor you'd like to impress or a reader you'd like to keep is an art form all
its own. Books galore sit on shelves or can be found on-line that help the
budding author or the experienced one who wants a refresher course learn a bit
more about a good beginning. I won an on-line contest once featuring First Lines. This is the First Line I submitted from one of my Western Romances: If I'd known running away would be this hot and dirty, she fumed, I'd have stayed home.
Here
are the beginning lines from six different novels I have long loved.
1.
The truth had long been settling on Jonathan Gray, sneaking into his resisting
corners, but it had finally resounded in the deepest part of him. (The Fulfillment: LaVyrle Spencer)
2.He'd known all day something was about to go
down, something life-changing and entirely new. ( Montana Creeds: Dylan: Linda Lael Miller)
3.Sister Bernadette Ignatius and Tom Kelly sat
in the back seat of a black cab, driving from Dublin's airport through the
city. (What Matters Most: Luanne Rice)
4.
It was well known around Russellville, Alabama, that Tommy Lee Gentry drove
like a rebellious teenager, drank like a parolee fresh out, and whored like a
lumberjack at the first spring thaw. (The
Hellion: LaVyrle Spencer)
5. When
Ella Brown woke up that morning, she didn't expect it to be a momentous day. (Rainwater: Sandra Brown)
6. A
sharp clip-clop of iron-shod hoofs deadened and died away, and clouds of yellow
dust drifted from under the cottonwoods and out over the sage. (Riders of the Purple Sage: Zane Grey)
These
opening lines come from Best-Selling authors. Do we need to pay closer
attention to the novels we read? Go to a bookstore, find a shelf of
best-sellers in romance, and open several to study the first page. Just read
the first line.Make a list of the kind of “hooks” that interest you in a book.
Your list may be the same as mine.
1. Attention-getting 2. Exciting
3. Pulls me into the story 4. Straight forward 5. Brief and punchy 6. Rouses curiosity 7. Emotionally charged 8. A declarative sentence
Hooking your reader is not easy, but with a little
self-study, you can improve your chances with editors and with a reader. With
your next or current WIP, try writing five opening sentences and ask fellow
authors or your critique partners help you select one. You might consult a good
friend, too, one you know will give you an honest answer.
Happy
Writing!
Celia Yeary-Romance…and a little bit of Texas AUTHOR OF: The Camerons of Texas: Texas Blue: Book I Texas Promise: Book II Texas True: Book III And Texas Dreamer-a spinoff
For most of today's writers, we wear several hats. Many of us are wives, mothers, office workers on top of creative thinkers. Time then is of the essence when it comes to creating our characters. I find it very important to keep a writers schedule to help me budget my time.
We learned the craft of time management in high school with those little assignment pads. Remember, having to write down when everything is due? Yeah, remember hating it. Funny how things like that come back to bite you in the rear. Yet, the older I get and the more things that are heaped upon my plate, this simple skill is very important. This year, I began keeping a writers notebook.
I took a plain three ring binder ( of course I made sure it was Turquoise my favorite color ) and purchased a pack of dividers, some colored printer paper, and regular college ruled paper. I divided it into months and wrote the name of the month on the tags. So far, you're with me, right? Then I began thinking what I would need to keep track of. I made one page for a list of monthly expenses and purchased some page protectors to slip my receipts inside for tax purposes. Behind that, I made a list of manuscripts I'm working on, books in edits, books that I'm submitting, and if I'm lucky, books that I've sold. I also created a calendar to remind me when to blog.
So far, it's served me well. I showed it to another writer friend and she's picked it up. Together we are refining our methods and coming up with things that work for us. She's come up with creating tags by printing her book titles on mailing labels in colors for works in progress, edits, deadlines, releases, edits etc. I haven't gotten quite that ocd yet, but I do feel its coming.
I know, written when so much is going paperless??? However, paper works for me. It allows me to set it open on my desk while I'm working to keep me focused. It also allows me to schedule some all important time for me. If I don't fill my well, I have little left for filling my other duties. So, what works for you as a writing schedule?
About the Author Nan O'Berry grew up listening to stories at
her grandparents' feet. So it's not surprising that her love of a good
story pushed her to begin writing her own tales for enjoyment. As these
grew she shared her historical perspectives about the heroes of her
imagination, cowboys, lumberjacks, and the country they founded.
Armed with a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Degree from Old
Dominion University, Mrs. O’Berry loves finding those interesting facts
that might lead to a good story. So pull up a chair and grab that glass
of sweet tea and enjoy.
Every author has his or her own distinctive writing process.
For me, writing is very much like reading in that it is a journey of adventure
and discovery. Discovering new worlds, meeting new and interesting people,
visiting places and doing things that I would never be able to do outside of a
book.
Writing
allows me to create my own worlds and populate them with characters from my
imagination. It can be quite a heady feeling at times—when it’s not
frustrating the heck out of me. As odd as it sounds, once I’ve breathed life
into a character, they often take on a personality all their own and go off in
directions that I don’t even anticipate. It’s a very strange phenomenon, but I
know every writer understands exactly what I mean. It’s kind of like having
children. You breathe life into them, but you don’t always have as much control
over them as you’d like.
Take
the hero from my latest release, Once in a Blue Moon. Jake Benedict has it all.
He’s tall hot Harley
Davidson motorcycle. Jake has all the physical characteristics of a great
romantic lead. Then there’s his hefty bank account. Jake is the co-owner of a
multi-million dollar advertising agency, so money is clearly not an issue for
him. But Jake wanted more. Not money or possessions, he wanted to be more…more mysterious, more unique and
potentially dangerous in the right situation. So I created a major aspect of
Jake’s character that was completely new to me. I made him a werewolf.
and strong, handsome as sin, has a to-die-for-smile, an excess of
natural charm, and a really
But
still he wasn’t satisfied. He wanted more for Casey, too, the woman he was
destined to meet and fall in love with.
For her part, Casey wants nothing
to do with Jake. He’s just one more version of the macho, adventure-driven,
alpha male prototype that has been her Achilles heel for as long as she can
remember. She’s taken a vow to stay as far away from men like Jake as she can.
Unfortunately for Casey, the dynamic attraction she feels for him is stronger
than any willpower she can muster. Why? Because Jake saw something in Casey
that even I didn’t see until the last moment, starting with an unusual
birthmark partially hidden behind one ear that identifies her as a rare and
elite breed of werewolf. A stubborn case of recessive genes is responsible for
Casey having never experienced her first transition into wolf form.
Who
would have known?
My
hero, Jake, did.
Then
he left it to me, the lowly author, to explain where Casey’s werewolf heritage
came from, and why no one in her family had ever bothered to tell her about it!
And
that’s how a character of my own creation can sometimes push me around—and
immensely enrich the story at the same time. Thanks, Jake!
What
is your writing process? How do you make your characters come alive on the
page?
Casey
Montgomery's lifelong addiction to bad boys has brought her nothing but
heartache. Just as she swears off alpha males forever, a brief, torrid
encounter with one of the hottest, Harley-riding, leather-jacketed hunks
she's ever seen leaves her reeling – and worse, jeopardizes her
carefully laid plans to meet and fall in love with a nice, dependable
nerd. Jake Benedict has been around the block enough times to
recognize his mate when he meets her, a gorgeous werewolf with a case of
latent genes who doesn't have a clue about her true identity. Jake is
just the were to teach Casey about her ancient heritage and coax her
feral side into revealing itself. While Casey can't resist the
intense physical attraction she feels for Jake, she's determined to
freeze him out emotionally. Can Jake break through Casey's defenses and
prove to her once and for all that he's one bad boy who's playing for
keeps? Only 99¢ for the Spring Sale! Amazon Barnes and Noble
I can't remember a time when I didn't
love to read. Some of my favorite books growing up included Little
Women, Black Beauty, Nancy Drew Mysteries, every single book in the
Little House on the Prairie series, and as a teenager I devoured every
Victoria Holt novel I could get my hands on.
In 1972, a friend loaned me her copy of The
Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss. It was a roaring adventure
from start to finish, daring and exciting and oh-so-romantic. That book
was the beginning of the romance genre as we know it today, and I was
instantly hooked!
I went on to read all of Kathleen Woodiwiss' novels over the years,
adding a host of other romance authors to my "must read" list. Amanda
Ashley (Madeline Baker), Linda Howard, Nora Roberts, and Julie Garwood
are just a few of my favorites. In the late 90's, with both my young
daughters in school, I joined Romance Writers of America and sat down to
try my hand at crafting my own special tale of love and redemption. I
have learned so much since then, made many wonderful friends, and even
forged some lasting relationships with a few of the authors who inspired
me to embark on the journey that has brought me here. I can't thank
them enough. When I'm not traveling with my husband
of 39 years, or playing with our two adorable grandchildren, I'm at home
near the ocean in Southern California, letting my imagination run wild.
I love to write contemporary romance because of the endless reservoir
of plot ideas. I write straight contemporary romance, romance with an
other-worldly flair, and look for my next book, in which I will be
delving into the paranormal world. Website / Facebook
Yep. It takes courage to research. I’ll admit, some of it
is so much fun and so interesting that I can disappear for hours into the
research hole. I’ve come out feeling dazed and excited at the same time.
Learning new stuff is exhilarating.
But then there’s the other kind of research that can
strike fear in our hearts or make us squirm and wonder, “Can this be true?”
This kind of research usually involves personal participation of the third
kind…contact with something I may dread—like flying in a small plane when I
fear flying in anything, braiding a horse’s mane and tail when the horse acts
like it would like to kick my lights out, or maybe digging into the darkness
and reality of casting spells and discovering there are truly people who
worship Satan and are willing to do unspeakable things to children and animals.
I discovered this scary side of research years ago when I
wrote my first novel which, by the way, has never seen the light of day. The
story involved horses and took place in the southern United States prior to the
American Revolution (and that was the fun part of the research). I knew zip
about horses except for that one horse ride back when I lived in Omaha,
Nebraska. The horse spent most of its time in the alfalfa field and then, upon
seeing the barn as we were returning, took off at a full run straight into the
barn almost taking my head off in the process. Maybe I should have taken some
riding lessons before I went with my friends on that excursion. Anyway, it left
me with a fear of riding any more of those big critters. I still can’t figure
out why they do what people want them to do when they’re way bigger than us. Needless
to say, writing about something you only know about in a negative experience
requires a new experience and some dang courage.
(This is not a picture of me, by the way. I didn't look this good on a horse)
So, when a friend of mine from CCU told me she had a
daughter who competed in hunt seat riding and asked me to go along, well hey, I
was all in. I agreed to braid that horse’s mane and tail even though I was in a
cold sweat doing it. She taught me so much during those competitions like the
different bits used for different purposes, feeding and caring for horses, and
that horses remember people who do them harm and might even take revenge.
Yikes!
Sometimes the things we fear the most are the things we
wish we could do. As much as I am afraid of heights and terrified to fly, I
always thought how neat it would be to deliver medical care as a bush pilot in
Alaska. See what I mean? There’s no way I would ever do that unless I was crazy
drunk…but one of my characters might. In the first book of the Legends of Winatuke
trilogy, Dark Isle, I created a character who flew planes—like for fun. Hawk,
the only shifter I ever wrote, was a detective for the Wilmington, North
Carolina police department whose daily encounters with death and the dark side
of life was beginning to eat at his spirit. He flew to get his happy place.
Well, if I was going to have a character who flew planes,
I was going to have to know something about flying so I kept bugging one of the
ER doctors who flew to give me details. He told me a few things, but then he
said the only way I was going to be able to write a believable experience about
flying, I needed to fly. He taunted me with, “Come on. You’re a writer. You can
be brave for the sake of a story, can’t you?” Well, that got me. So, with
extreme trepidation, I took him up on his offer and I flew. Sick with fear, I
clung to the back of his seat and a hand bar by my door. He said, “If the plane
did go down, do you really think hanging on to the plane will save you?” I gave
that thought and concluded it might even make things worse, so I let go. One
thing about taking a big risk and doing something scary is that, once I’d
overcome my dread and done it, I felt this exhilarating feeling of
accomplishment. I get it why some people are driven to do crazy scary things.
There’s a high that follows the rush of fear and adrenaline I can only describe
as wild, uncontained euphoria.
In both the Dark Isle and the third book of the trilogy,
The Light of Valmora, I wrote a villain who loved chaos, bloodshed, and
inflicting pain on her victims. Mahara was a witch of the dark and deadly kind
who was out for revenge and a vendetta against the patriarch of the McKnight
family, Raven, who had escaped her clutches years before. To enhance her
character I needed to research dark magic and all that lies beneath.
It just so happened, while I was researching for this
character, I went to an emergency nurses’ convention in Fayetteville, North
Carolina. One of the workshops titled, “Ritualistic Child Abuse”, turned out to
be about satanic cults and their use of children in their rituals. That
workshop opened my eyes to an evil subculture of people who are capable of
anything. The knowledge that there are
professional people like doctors, lawyers, judges, and successful business men
and women involved in these dark activities shook me up. I read some books on
spells, the kind white witches perform—not too scary. But then I found a book
about witches and witchcraft that related true stories of people who participated
in the dark arts and ran into crimes against humanity and creatures so heinous,
I had to stop reading it. Even the evil Mahara would not do some of these
monstrous acts. I couldn’t finish that book. Not even research for a story
could make me reopen that book.
When I stood browsing the bookshelves for that book about
black magic, I found it near the satanic bibles. Something repelled me from
even touching those bibles. Ordinarily I am a realist. I don’t believe in
ghosts and such, but just standing before those bibles gave me the creeps. A
man came around the shelves and pulled out one of those bibles and started
thumbing through the pages. His presence gave me such an uncomfortable feeling
down into my core, I had to leave.
What are some of the brave or unusual things you’ve done
to research for a WIP? Have you ever entered into a dark place that made you
want to run? Are you able to tell when an author has done their due diligence
in researching for a story?
THE
LEGENDS OF WINATUKE is available in print or ebook including
Kindle or you can buy the books, DARK
ISLE, LAKE OF SORROWS, and THE LIGHT OF VALMORA, may be purchased
separately. Each book is a standalone, but has a common thread with the
trilogy.
DARK
ISLE, Book 1
The legend begins when love and evil collide.
LAKE
OF SORROWS, Book 2
The
legend continues with a curse, a quest and undying love.
THE
LIGHT OF VALMORA, Book 3
A
quest for an enchanted light...a Gypsy’s love...and a warrior’s sacrifice to
save Valmora.
PENNYTOOK, a
short story included in the anthology, MYTHS,
LEGENDS, and MIDNIGHT KISSES, is about the wise Gypsy, Pennytook who
befriends the brave crusaders on their quest against evil. He likes to party
and has an unusual knowledge of magical relics and uncanny intuition about the
other adventurers. In this story, he finally finds love.
Logline:
Myths
are supposed to be false…but some are terrifying and true.
Legends
of Winatuke trilogy: (all 3 novels for 99 cents!): Buy Link
Sarah J. McNeal is a multi-published author of several genres
including time travel, paranormal, western and historical fiction. She is a
retired ER and Critical Care nurse who lives in North Carolina with her
four-legged children, Lily, the Golden Retriever and Liberty, the cat. Besides
her devotion to writing, she also has a great love of music and plays several
instruments including violin, bagpipes, guitar and harmonica. Her books and
short stories may be found at Prairie Rose Publications and its imprints
Painted Pony Books, and Fire Star Press. Some of her fantasy and paranormal
books may also be found at Publishing by Rebecca Vickery and Victory Tales
Press. She welcomes you to her website and social media:
Sitting at a computer all day can take a toll on the body. We're
meant to move, but it took me a while to find just the right motivation to make
me want to exercise. For me, I wanted something that would benefit my mind,
body, and soul.
Let's face it: if you dread the exercise program, you won't
stick with it.
Trust me, you aren't alone. I purchased an exercise bike,
but no matter what I did to make this routine something to look forward to, I
began to dread taking a seat and bicycling for forty-five minutes. Now this
lovely item sits in my living room as a wonderfully expensive coat rack.
Walking was fun, when I had someone to chat with, but this
also became too easy for me to say, 'I'm too tired, let's skip it tonight'.
I've always been curious about Yoga. My girlfriend and I took
a beginner's class a few years ago, but everyone seemed to know what they were
doing, and we both felt lost. The yoga instructor didn't show us any of the
poses, she just rattled off what she wanted us to do next. I finally glanced at
my friend and said, "What the heck is a Vinyasa?" And when I glanced
at the other students, I still hadn't a clue. We paid for the class but only
attended two of the sessions. Another waste of money.
I thought I would never give yoga a chance again, but a
little over a month ago, I decided to see if there was an online course I could
try in the privacy of my home. I still felt this was something I wanted to do
since Yoga is for the mind, body and soul. There just had to be a 'Yoga for
Dummies' video. There seems to be videos for everything else. Why not Yoga?
Besides, I could wear whatever I wanted in the privacy of my home, look as
foolish as I wished, and I could pause the video if I needed to. Yoga is all
about what makes you feel good. I was ready to try it again.
I came across 'Yoga With Adrienne'. She's a wonderful
instructor, and I swear she knows exactly what I'm doing and will give
encouraging instructions to correct a position, or simply remind me to breathe.
Who knew that I held my breath so much?
She explains every move and how good it is for that part of
the body she concentrates on. I finished her 30 Days of Yoga With Adrienne, and I'm now starting on 30 days of Yoga Camp. I usually do
the class before work, and if I'm inspired, I may do another one of her classes
at night. She has videos for the abs, back pain, weight loss, balancing, relaxing,
and even breathing. You name it, she probably has a video for you to follow.
I finally found what works for me. I look forward to taking
out my mat and tuning into a new Adrienne yoga video.
I may not be able to stand on my head – yet, or do anything
fancy, but my flexibility has improve, and it makes me feel like I can take on
the day.
And yes, I know what Vinyasa means now. It is a Sanskrit
term that refers to a transition between two different positions, but my
favorite word is Namaste (nah'-mah'-stay). Meaning: The divine light within me
salutes the divine light within you. Isn't that beautiful?
Yoga may not be for everyone, but it works for me.
For my character in Soul Mate, Isabella Lucci, finds
meditation and crystals a way to relax her mind, body and soul.
In my tale, Soul Mate, Isabella Lucci, finds
meditation and crystals a way to relax her mind, body and soul.
In this snippet.Garran (Grim Sith, a Scottish vampire)
was showing Isabella (Necromancer) how to defend herself and after the session,
she wanted to repay him for helping her by showing him a technique she uses for
relaxation. Garran grumbled a bit, but finally he stretched out on the floor,
wearing worn jeans and no shirt. Believe me, Isabella thinks he wears this look
well. In her thoughts: 'He stood with his hands on his hips, looking James Bond kind of sexy, even with the
way he was dressed with his jeans hanging low on his hips and his bare chest
looking as if the gods chiseled him into perfection. Yep, dangerous and suave, all in one lovely package.'
Now for Garran's POV.
She kept doing that. Surprising
him. Every time he believed he'd figured out Isabella Lucci, another intriguing
aspect revealed itself.
He'd never bonded with someone so completely and he'd only
used a minor blood ritual with her, one where she didn't even taste his blood.
The only bit of him that could have gotten into her system was his saliva he
used to close the wound.
So instead of ushering her into the library, while he made
himself scarce, he decided to take her up on her asinine request. He planned on
being relentless with his training in hopes of deterring her from the fantasy
she held that she could defend herself from a preternatural being. Instead,
this human female refused to be intimidated and refused to give up. Her muscles
had to be screaming by now.
He admired her audacity to confront him at every turn and he
found he liked that.
Now the woman wished to soothe him. She placed crystals
around him and rubbed the stones on his bare skin. He gritted his teeth together,
wondering if she knew what sweet torture she bestowed upon him. Warm, soft
hands on his body… He had not felt such warmth, such gentleness in a long time.
To his surprise, his muscles relaxed as her long fingers lightly caressed him.
For a petite female, she handled herself like highland
lassies of old. She'd have made a good wife back then—strong and built for the
rough life along with the added pleasure of possessing the face of an angel.
Her dark wavy hair and those hazel eyes with golden rims did him in from the
start.
He inhaled deeply, letting her essence envelope him. Her
womanly scent drove him to distraction and it took all his will power not to
act upon it. He doubted she knew the danger she was in, and in more ways than
one. Heck, maybe she did know, and believed she could handle it.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Harrison
announced at the doorway, leaning against the wood frame with his arms crossed
against his chest and a Cheshire grin plastered to his face.
With a curse, Garran flew to his feet, scattering the
crystals and knocking Isabella over in the process. She landed on her behind
with a grunt of annoyance. Her eyes narrowed as she glared up at him.
"Forgive me." He offered his hand and helped her
to her feet. All the blood rushed to her face, making her cheeks a beautiful
shade of crimson.
Harrison chuckled, obviously taking great joy in their
discomfort.
"Garran showed me some moves," Isabella stammered.
"Oh, I just bet he did." Harrison continued to
smile like a fool.
In case you're wondering, Harrison is a long time friend of
Garran's, a werewolf from the Mac Tire clan. He's the one who recruited
Isabella to help them catch the Soul Taker.
I hope you enjoyed the post, now take on the day, and
remember every breath you take is precious. Fill those lungs and just breathe.
Namaste,
Karen
Only 99¢ right now for the Spring Sale!
ABOUT THE BOOK:
No soul is safe…
A vampire from the Grim Sith sept is sucking the souls out of young
women from the Boston area, but this sinister crime is far worse than a
vampire seeking substance. He’s selling the souls to the highest bidder
and it seems business is booming.
A vampire, a werewolf, and a Necromancer are a most unlikely team,
but Garran, Harrison, and Isabella plan on putting a kink in the dubbed
Soul Taker’s plans. It’s personal now. One of their friends has fallen
victim to the Soul Taker’s charms, but to stop him from hurting anyone
else, their efforts may involve raising the dead.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Karen Michelle Nutt resides in California with her husband, three fascinating children, and houseful of demanding pets. Jack, her Chorkie, is her writing buddy and sits long hours with her at the computer.
When she’s not time traveling, fighting outlaws, or otherworldly creatures, she creates pre-made book covers to order at Gillian’s Book Covers, “Judge Your Book By Its Cover”.
Whether your reading fancy is paranormal, historical or time travel, all her stories capture the rich array of emotions that accompany the most fabulous human phenomena—falling in love.
If you're interested in Yoga With Adrienne, here's a link to
one of her videos to learn the 'Victorious Breath' or Ujjayi Pranayama. This is
the first video in her Pranayama Series that focuses on breathing techniques.
Ujjayi is used to focus the mind and assist in the synchronicity of movement
and breath. Enjoy. Here's the link just in case the video doesn't work for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQrsJ-yZWV8
