Destiny Bewitched Blog Tour and Twitter Party: June 22nd

You won't want to miss this party! Destiny Bewitched is a witchy adventure that will curl your toes! 

The Flower Bowl Spell Blog Tour

Journalist Memphis Zhang isn’t ashamed of her Wiccan upbringing—in fact, she’s proud to be one of a few Chinese American witches in San Francisco, and maybe the world. Unlike the well-meaning but basically powerless Wiccans in her disbanded coven, Memphis can see fairies, read auras, and cast spells that actually work—even though she concocts them with ingredients like Nutella and antiperspirant. Yet after a friend she tries to protect is brutally killed, Memphis, full of guilt, abandons magick to lead a “normal” life. The appearance, however, of her dead friend’s sexy rock star brother—as well as a fairy in a subway tunnel—suggest that magick is not done with her. Reluctantly, Memphis finds herself dragged back into the world of urban magick, trying to stop a power-hungry witch from using the dangerous Flower Bowl Spell and killing the people Memphis loves—and maybe even Memphis herself.

An Excerpt:

I’ve always known that rats live in the Muni Metro tunnels, but this morning, after I almost fall onto the tracks, I find out that fairies hang out there too. 

This should come as no surprise to a person like me, even though I banished magick from my life two years ago. In that time, I haven’t come across anything like fairies or talking sparrows. Not one rag doll has tried to jump into my shopping cart in ages. Yet, all at once, magick has come back to me. 

In the Castro Street station, waiting for an M, L, or K car to take me to work downtown, I stand on the edge of the platform with a trickling crowd of morning commuters. Teenagers heading to Union Square for midsummer shopping sprees mingle with hipsters and Asian elders. There are a couple of indigents, one slumped against the wall, the other pacing and muttering. They wear shabby clothes with dirty, threadbare cuffs. Their BO could be bottled for biological warfare.

A high whining sound and blasting horn signals an inbound train. I move with the crowd, the wind from the tunnel gritty yet refreshing on my face. A shove at my back throws me off balance. It’s split-second fast, and I can’t tell if I’m being pushed to the tracks or pulled away, as my head is thrown back and the dim yellow ceiling lights lurch into view. At the same moment, a woman’s voice cries,

 “Watch out!” 

A disheveled man in a San Francisco Giants jersey has hold of my arm. I glance at him as the train pulls up in front of us and the doors open—his eyes obscured by sunglasses and the bill of his baseball cap, and his face covered in graying stubble. He’s the homeless guy who’s been sitting on the floor.

“Thanks,” I mumble.

“You okay?” A young woman dressed like an H&M salesclerk puts her hand on my shoulder, and the man’s tight grip on me loosens and slips away.

“Yeah,” I say as the woman and I step through the doors together, carried forward by the impatient crowd that could give a hoot about my almost-accident. You’re alive, aren’t you? No biggie, their indifference says. The doors close. The man has not followed us. In fact, he seems to be distracted by something just behind the train. I let my shoulders relax, unaware until then that they’ve been tightly hunched. I look out the window. Our train hiccups once before starting its slow glide out of the station. He stands on the platform and, unexpectedly, I read the gray cloud of his disappointed aura—but in response to what, I can’t tell. 

With a smile of thanks to the young woman, I move away from the door farther into the car. I find standing space near a back window. As the train enters the subway tunnel, something on the tracks catches my eye. It’s a rat, looking a little dazed and sniffing a bit of discarded muffin. Isn’t it terrified by the rumbling train? I wonder why it doesn’t scurry away. Then I see the reason. A tiny fairy is riding it bucking-bronco style. A fairy who’s waving a shiny sword at me. 

In the few seconds before the train rounds the corner of the tunnel, I note that the fairy is only pretending to ride the rat. Its wings beat rapidly, much like a hummingbird’s. I’m not familiar with this variety of pix. The ones I’ve seen are slow flitterers mostly, butterfly-winged. I can’t determine the fairy’s gender, but guess it’s a dude. No self-respecting female fairy would take part in such tomfoolery. He waves the sword around his head as if holding an imaginary lasso. 

I allow myself to toy with the idea that perhaps I’m merely hallucinating. Perhaps there’s a speck of dust on my retina or this is just a childhood memory resurrected. But I know that’s wishful thinking. 

And I have to say I’m more than a tad concerned.

When I first heard about The Flower Bowl Spell I was excited. A witch with Chinese heritage who can see fairies, has a cool job reviewing musicians, lives with a hot guy and can cast some serious spells with stuff you keep around the house. Memphis rocks. 

What I liked about this book:

From the first page, Memphis becomes someone you want to know in real life. Fairies in the subway and a childhood filled with magic  both seen and unseen and a personality that feels completely real. In other words, not all sunshine and moonbeams. The girl has some attitude. (In a good way!) 

What I Didn't Like:

Not A thing.

Overall:

This is a great summer read that I enjoyed very much. The voice of the book grabbed me on the first page and it was a page turner from then on. The fairies, magic and spells with regular household items was right up my alley! I will be looking for more books in this series and was very excited with Olivia was able to answer a few questions for the blog tour! 

1. In The Flower Bowl Spell, the character grows up in a Wiccan household. Is that your background— I loved that element of the story as it gave a background that really captured my interest.

I grew up with a very loose mixture of agnosticism from my father, and Episcopalianism and Buddhism from my mother, which made for a lot of questioning, skepticism, and speculation about religion and spirituality from an early age. I think Celtic lore probably made it’s way into my life very early on through the musical Camelot. I didn’t learn about Wicca until I was in my twenties, so that would be the mid-1990s. As a feminist, it appealed to me and I did a ton of reading about it—Starhawk and Silver RavenWolf among that. While I didn’t become a wiccan myself, I used what I had learned in my fiction writing. 

2. I love how you incorporated fairies into The Flower Bowl Spell. What was the inspiration for the story?

I used to ride the Muni (San Francisco’s subway system) a lot when I was in high school and later when I worked downtown in an office building. And yes, occasionally, you see a rat or mouse on the tracks along with the garbage that gets blown around there. Pigeons are forever wandering down to the platforms looking for crumbs. 

I’ve always been fascinated by fairies—the first one in my life was probably the Disney version of Tinker Bell, and she scared me—she tried to get Wendy killed, and I so related to Wendy!—but I also had that classic book of Flower Fairies, and I loved them. Growing up in a city, as a kid, I came to the conclusion that I’d never see a fairy, but one day, years later as I waited for the Muni train to go to work, some movement on the tracks caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. It was probably just a paper napkin floating by, but I thought, Wouldn’t that be cool if it wasn’t? After all, the Tooth Fairy makes house calls all over the world—maybe she was using the subway tunnels to get to some child’s home! LOL

3. What are some of your favorite hobbies when you are not writing?

Reading, of course! Although I occasionally write book reviews, so then it becomes work, which is fantastic. I wish I had more time for making greeting cards and a little bit of scrapbooking and stamping. I’m a fan of Tim Holtz. But I have a long way to go before I get to the point of producing any of the amazing stuff I see online by really dedicated scrappers. I also enjoy going for urban hikes around San Francisco (there are so many hills, so I always get a good workout) and nature hikes in the beautiful areas nearby, like Marin County. 

4. What is your next project?

I’ve been working on a sequel to The Flower Bowl Spell, and also a prequel, which will be YA and takes place when Memphis is 15 years old. I also drafted an upmarket fiction novel about two sisters who own a tea shop in San Francisco. And then there’s my collection of short stories. I might do a poll soon on my website, oliviaboler.com, to find out which of those projects readers would like me to publish next. 

5. What are some of your favorite witchy books and movies?

Oh wow, that’s a good question. I love the Harry Potter series, of course, both books and movies. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman was a fun book and movie. Not exactly about witches, but Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer has to go on my list of favorite witches of all time. The Wizard of Oz is a must, and every kid should read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. As an adult, I enjoyed A Discovery of Witches, and while it’s not witches, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is about magic and fairies. 

If you would like to check out more about Olivia Boler, pop over to her website: http://www.oliviaboler.com/

You can also visit Olivia on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for stopping in at On the Broomstick! 

Leave a comment below with your email address and you could win an e-book copy of The Flower Bowl Spell!

Medusa Blog Tour: June 14th

Join me on June 14th for an interview 

with Sasha Summers!

(A story you will not want to miss!)

Burn Mark Blog Tour: June 25th!

Fires, fires burning bright in the forests of the night...join me on this exiting blog tour!

http://www.facebook.com/BloomsburyTeens

Soul Protector Blog Tour

Dr. Nathan Hunter has forty-eight hours to save his job and find the missing Salt Coast Clan, a lost civilization locals believe is a myth. When ancient human remains turn up at the site of a new state water project, he’s sure the lost tribe is real. Before he can examine the bones, however, a pretty female lawyer gets an injunction to stop him.


Nila Willopah sees ghosts. Although her soul is in danger from the spirits unearthed at the site, Nila is the one person who can stop the project and protect her ancestors’ last resting place from Dr. Hunter. She’s also the only one who can help the angry spirits cross over.


Nila suspects the sexy anthropologist is hiding a dark secret behind his clear blue eyes and skilled hands. A secret she wants nothing to do with. But when a ghost latches onto his soul, Nila must set aside her fears and suspicions and enter the world of spirit communication to protect him.

When I first heard about the blog tour, I was excited. When I got the two books in this series, I burned through the pages like they were on fire. Yes. Fire. This author has a great grasp of page turning style that left me wanting more. 

What I liked:

I loved Nila's character and how she struggled to tame the power within herself. She was sensual and fought for what she believed in.  Dr. Hunter was not to bad himself. His demons and hers collide in a fast paced story that explores the rich Native American spirituality I have come to enjoy from this series. It also drew in characters from the first book and it felt like old friends dropping in for a visit.

What I didn't:

More!!!!

Overall:

5/5 For great plot movement, characters that breathe and sensuality that pops right off the page. This book has some sizzling parts, so it is for mature readers, but is very enjoyable. I loved the Native American spirituality and the ghost whisperer type of story line. Great dialog and action scenes. 

The first book in the series is:

Haunted by tragedy, FBI profiler Rife St. Cloud is driven to find the person who brutally attacked six women. Unfortunately the only survivor, Keva Moon Water, has no memory of what happened, and the evidence makes her the prime suspect.

Keva cannot die. She has waited a thousand years to be reunited with the man she loves, whose soul sleeps within Rife. Though he refuses to believe her claims of immortality, there's no denying the passion that burns between them. Keva desperately hopes their sexual connection will be enough to awaken Rife's memories of the love affair that started a war and bound their souls together for all eternity.

But when Keva's own memories come trickling back, she realizes that a future with Rife depends upon confronting the mistakes of the distant past...

This one gets a 5/5 also for all the same reasons. Great characters, smokin' hot scenes, dialog that will keep you engaged and a plot that had me turning the pages. You have to read these books!


In preparation for this blog tour, I took a few minutes and thought up some questions for amazing author, Misty Evans. Here are her responses...

1. What first interested you in Native American mythology?

ME: I’ve always been fascinated with Native American culture and gobble up both fiction and nonfiction on the subject. While reading books by Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear, I started dreaming about Keva (my heroine in Soul Survivor) and her tribe. I would wake up in the morning and write scenes that had appeared in my dreams. Several of them never made it into Soul Survivor but they helped me understand Keva and her Pathwalks better. I hope to add those deleted scenes to the story as bonus material in a future edition.

2. You have excellent pacing and your action scenes flow perfectly. Any advice to would be writers out there (waves hand in air) about how you pace your stories (outlines, seat of your pants) and how you get your action scenes so spot on?

ME: Thank you! My advice…conflict, conflict, conflict. I give my characters angst-y internal conflict, throw in external action that heightens their internal conflict and run with it. I don’t outline every chapter, but I always know the black moment and climax, so I have a road map sort to speak of where the story’s going. I personally enjoy lots of external action and making my characters suffer to get what they need/want so there’s plenty of suspense and tension. Publishers have actually dinged me for too much action and not enough romance, but that’s the way I write…fast-paced and lots of conflict.

Since I write four different series, I have a set of tools I use to help with plotting and pacing. I even teach online workshops on how to plot a romance series. In class, we look at individual books as well as the overall series arc and how to ramp up conflict and tie it into character motivation. I used to hate plotting, now it’s one of my favorite things to do.


3. You have a witchy series also. Tell us a little about it.

ME: The Witches Anonymous series is about a bad witch trying to go good in thirteen steps. Her biggest obstacle? Lucifer. Yep, that Lucifer.

Amy’s been the devil’s right-hand witch for seven years, so going magic-free is rough. Especially when he wants her back. I have a blast writing these stories because Luc’s always tempting Amy and she falls off the wagon a lot. Who can blame her? Lucifer, like dark chocolate, is hard to resist. <wink>


4. I see you are working on a new project where all the proceeds will go to breast cancer research. Can you tell us a little about that and what inspired you?

ME: One of my aunts died from breast cancer when I was a teenager. I adored her and was devastated when she passed away. I also have a childhood friend who recently underwent a double mastectomy. I hate this disease and am a strong advocate of breast cancer research (I used to manage a public health program for uninsured women), so when Edie Ramer asked me if I wanted to do an anthology to raise funds for the cause, I jumped at the chance.

Entangled, A Paranormal Anthology, includes ten suspense-filled paranormal short stories from Cynthia Eden, Jennifer Estep, Edie Ramer, Lori Brighton, Michelle Diener, me, Nancy Haddock, Liz Kreger, Dale Mayer, and Michelle Miles, plus a Seven Deadly Sins novella by Allison Brennan. Stacia Kane contributed the foreword and all proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. This is a dream come true for me to work with so many fantastic authors (many are role models to me) and since the anthology came out last September, we’ve earned over $7000 for the BCRF.


5. What are some of your favorite witchy movies and books?

ME: I’m a Charmed addict. I loved that show and wish it was still going. While I write light, humorous witches, I prefer to read dark witches like Stacia Kane’s Chess Putnam and Anya Bast’s Elemental Witches. I also love a good urban fantasy or paranormal romance with witches thrown in.


6. Do you write with music? If so, what?
ME: Oh, yes. Music plays a key role in all my stories. Currently, I’m writing the second book in my Kali Sweet urban fantasy series, Sweet Chaos, so I’m listening to Breaking Benjamin and other rock music…Stone Sour, Alter Bridge, Shinedown, etc. When I wrote Soul Survivor and Soul Protector, I listened to nature music, Celtic Woman and Native instrumental songs.


7. What is one of your weirdest quirks as a writer?

ME: Let’s see…most of my quirks are top secret (hey, I also write spies and black ops characters for a living!), but one of my silly quirks involves dancing. If I need some inspiration or I’m fighting off the doubt demons about my writing, I’ll put on Partridge Family songs or Beyoncé or even AC/DC and boogie around my kitchen, singing at the top of my lungs. I’m sure the neighbors think I’m crazy.


8. What inspired you to write Soul Protector? Was it based on a true story or completely fiction?

ME: After finishing Soul Survivor, the first book in the series, I knew I had to write Soul Protector so I could dig even deeper into the Salt Coast Clan and Red Fire Tribe. Both stories are complete fiction, although I read and researched as much as I could find on tribes of the Pacific Northwest and tried to be as accurate as I could with my fictional tribes.

With Soul Protector, I wanted to stay in the present (Soul Survivor involves flashbacks to a thousand years ago and some time travel) and compare and contrast the metaphysical world with the flesh and bone world. That’s how Nate (a physical anthropologist) and Nila (a shaman in denial of her gift) came to be.


9. As you write about Native American mythology and belief systems, it is obvious that you hold them in high esteem. Do you have Native American heritage?

ME: I do! My maternal grandparents several times removed were Cherokee, and I’ve always been drawn to stories about Native people. My grandparents were indentured servants to a land owner in Oklahoma, but according to family folklore, they respected him so much that when he freed them, they took his name as their last name to start their new life. It’s the only story I have about them, but I like to think they’re watching over me and guiding my hands as I write stories about Native people.


10. What was one book that really inspired you as a writer and why?

ME: There was a time before I became published when I lost all hope in my dream and felt like I couldn’t write my way out of a box. Rejections piled up and I struggled with doubt demons every time I sat down at my computer. At a local book sale, I found an old copy of Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones for fifty cents. I started reading her simple, straightforward advice and keeping a journal of writings based on her ideas. Then I picked up Julia Cameron’s The Vein of Gold. Those two books got me writing again and restored my faith in my voice and my vision. A few months later, I had an agent and sold my first super agent book, Operation Sheba. That fifty cent investment was the best I ever made and the book sits proudly on my keeper shelf.




Thank you Misty for this great interview! It is always inspiring to hear what inspires fellow writers and the things that keep us sane. If you haven't checked out her books, here are some links:


http://readmistyevans.com/

Misty Evans Facebook

Twitter

Don't forget to sign up for her newsletter to keep up with new and exciting developments.

The Thirteenth Sacrifice by Debbie Viguie'

When young women start dying, Boston cop Samantha Ryan is the perfect person to investigate, for only she knows what the archais symbol carved into their flesh means. The last in a long line of ruthless witches, she grew up in a coven seduced by power and greed. And now she's sure that bad witches have returned to Salem. Reluctantly, Samantha goes undercover-into a town obsessed with black magic, into her terrifying past, and into the dark, newly awakened heart of evil.


Goodreads


This book caught my eye and I downloaded it onto my Nook. The beginning was a tad slow, but before too long I could barely keep up with my fingers as they turned the pages. This book gets top marks for action adventure of the witchy kind. 


What I liked:


The heroine of the story is a witch fighting against the darkness of her past. She knows she has to embrace what dwells inside of her to  bring murderers to justice, even if it costs her everything. The characters are believable, the action is non stop and there are going to be more! Series here I come!!


What I Didn't:


Witches, like everyone else chose the path they want to go down. Intent is everything. Also, it ended. Dang. 400 more pages would have been just lovely!!


Overall:


5/5 


A witchy action adventure story that will keep you  up at night turning the pages.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting — he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. 




The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. 




From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd — whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself — Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.


Goodreads

 

This book was brought to my attention by a wonderful friend who is always telling me great books to read. He did, in fact loan me his copy until mine arrived from the publisher for review. I had to struggle not to cry all over it. 


This book, at first glance, looks very much like a monster in the closet, creeping up the dark and hollow places kind of book. In some ways it is, but not like you think. 


First, there are monsters. Yes. Of course. What kind of story would it be without one? Patrick Ness has created a story that is a tribute to those dealing with bullying, grief and death. Heavy prospect. But this book does it and with a grace to its pages that left me breathless and openly sobbing as I turned the last page. I can't remember the last time a book did that for me. 


Without telling everything in the story (but oh, I really, really want to this time!) I can tell you that it is wonderful for anyone dealing with hardships in life. Grief, death, bullying, anger issues, discontent at home...you name it, it's in there, complete with some pretty amazing artwork to boot. 


And finally, the biggest monsters may not even be the ones in the closet, or staring in through the window...they may be in the darkest recesses of our soul.


Overall:
5/5

Hecate's Wheel: Goddess Music Worth Listening To!

As a music reviewer, nothing gives me greater pleasure than to find Goddess music that touches my soul. Stumbling across them on Reverbnation, I wrote and they responded. Graciously, they sent me a CD for their 2007 release of Hecate's Wheel. I was delighted. Described as "Jewel meets Joan Baez meets Veruca Salt," this album is a mix of cover songs and original works. It is the ultimate girl power Goddess music style band and every time I listen to their album, my fingers get worn out hitting the rewind button on the four favorites listed below.


The band consists of:


Vicki Scotti- vocals, guitar
Luann Morris-vocals
Amy Otero-vocals


Their website is: http://www.hecateswheel.com/

Product link: Cd Baby Hecate's Wheel

Track list:



1. Om
2. Elemental
3. Find The Cost Of Freedom
4. Home
5. Mercy Of The Fallen
6. Inanna Blue
7. This Town Is Wrong
8. Fill It Up
9. Soulmate
10. Hecate
11. Lady Of The Moon

Normally, in my music reviews, I pick three songs that really speak to me about the artist's music. This time I felt like I needed to pick four. Goddess music makes my heart happy and these songs are perfect:

Lady of the Moon, Hecate, Inanna Blue, Elemental

"Elemental" was written by Amy Otero, with vocals by all three members of the band. The song is pure Goddess folk music with the focus on the voices and the power they raise as the harmony builds and lifts your spirit. 

"Inanna Blue" was written by Vicki Scotti and the vocals were performed by all three members of the band, with Scotti on the guitar to pick up the pace. The song opens up with guitar riffs that immediately bring you in for a listen. The ladies begin their vocals, very folksy and compelling. Magic in lyric and imagery, this song is one of my favorites on the album.

"Hecate" is the creation of Vicki Scotti with all the ladies singing once again. Scotti on the guitar paces this piece as a journey into the darkness to meet Hecate and divine a path through the crossroads of life. The harmonizing of the voices and guitar riffs are once again very compelling and this song reaches down into the witch inside all of us, looking for the path that calls our soul.

"Lady of the Moon" is by far the most exhilerating song on the album. The first time I heard it, tears came to my eyes, and they still do, every time. Written by Vicki Scotti (who has to be my hero right about now) and sung by all the ladies in the band,  with Scotti on the guitar, this piece is a shining star. Melodious at the onset, with guitar pacing at a light set of riffs that blur into a chorus of "lady of the moon...shine your light on me..." that is soul piercingly sweet. The continual harmonies these ladies craft is nothing short of magic. 

While this album came out in 2007, Hecate's Wheel is still out there performing. You can follow the link to http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/hecateswheel to get your very own copy. Please support this wonderful girl power band. We want to see a new album from them soon! 

You can also find them on:

Facebook: Hecate's Wheel

Reverbnation: Hecate's Wheel

Make sure to stop in on Facebook and let the ladies know you heard about them at On the Broomstick. Happy flying!

Tooth and Nail: Interview with author Jennifer Safrey

Gemma Fae Cross, a tough-girl amateur boxer whose fiance is running for congress, has just made a startling discovery about herself. She is half faerie - and not just any faerie, but a tooth faerie A hybrid of fae and human, Gemma is destined to defend the Olde Way and protect the fae - who are incapable of committing violence - from threats to their peaceful and idyllic way of life, which must be maintained by distilling innocence collected from children''s baby teeth. But when a threat to the fae mission emerges, Gemma is called upon to protect her heritage, and become a legendary fae warrior... even if it means sacrificing everything she knows about being human. 

Goodreads

There are some books that grab you the second you see the cover. Yes, I know. It is shallow, but cover art matters. So does the story hidden under it. Happily, the wonderful publisher sent me a copy of this amazing book to review. Tooth fairies, boxing, kick butt fae politics and the hidden terrors masked behind the shining facade of your neighborhood dentist. (shudder) This book was one rocking great time and I was even more thrilled when author Jennifer Safrey took some time out of her busy life to answer a few questions.

What I liked:

The use of tooth fairies as fae is unique. Except for that memorable movie with the Roc, I don't remember another tooth fairy book or film. Gemma is a tough character with depth that you can't help but start to care about. Every piece of dialog and action is well written and the plot is original with exceptional orchestration. This book is a sleeper that I want to tell everyone about. 

What I Didn't:

Why, oh why couldn't it have been another five or six hundred pages? (*sob*) I hope it becomes more than just one book. 

Overall:

The plot, characters and voice are amazing and I can't wait to read more from Ms. Safrey. Gemma is a character that will stick in my mind for a long time. I can honestly say that I will be looking a little more closely at the samples I get from the dentist. Excellent book. Make sure you post it on your Goodreads page as a book to read this year. 

5/5

Now for the interview!

1. When did you find yourself interested in the fae?

 I am a longtime fan of paranormal romance and urban fantasy (even back when romance writers were told it's a small niche market!), and after a long period of time travel and vampires and shapeshifters, I began to see fae pop up here and there. I like fae as a catch-all term for the supernatural, and I suppose that's how I use it in my book.

2. What are some of your favorite faerie movies and books?

I loved, my whole life, the fairy tales that were as likely to turn out gruesome as happy, like Grimm stories. The crazier the story, the more real it seemed to me. I mean, the princess was so pissed at the frog for taking advantage of her that she picked him up and threw him against the wall as hard as she could, and that was when he became a prince. The best part is that the frog had been holding the princess accountable for broken promises, and she was beyond angry that he was right. Impetuous Gemma would totally do that, even though it was not the right thing to do, but she is a human caught in a fairy tale. That's great stuff.

3. Did you write with music playing while you were working, or did any particular music inspire you?

 I really can't write to music. Lyrics are something I memorize and listen to so if I hear words being sung I can't concentrate on creating my new words. Sometimes I listen to wordless yoga music, which is nice, but I listen to that so much at my studio now that it doesn't really translate well anymore in the writing part of my life.

4. Gemma is a fierce heroine and a character I have come to care about in only a few pages. How did she come about?

 When I created Gemma I really wanted to set her apart from other urban fantasy heroines. The problem is, I love urban fantasy heroines, so differentiating her but still keeping the kind of moxie I love was not easy. I wanted her to be more real, somehow. I wanted the reader to come away with feeling that she is always human first, fae second. And humans make a lot of mistakes. In some scenes, her timing really sucks. She is quick to emotionally react to things. But deep down, she is intrinsically good. She doesn't want to kill anyone, even the bad guy...and that was crucially important to me in building her character. In a lot of urban fantasy there is a lot of killing, and often killing with zero remorse because in those worlds, that is the expectation. But if Gemma is a human first, she's no more likely to kill someone as any normal human. Warrior or not, she thinks murder is not what you do. I worked very hard to make that come across as heroic and not righteous.

5. Tooth fairies are an original topic when you think of faerie tales and even current fiction or movies (except for that really interesting movie with The Roc in a tutu).  What made you decide to take faeries down this road? 

 I did a writing exercise some years ago with a freewriting group and the prompt was to write something from the point of view of the tooth fairy. I think I was the only one really interested in what came out of that. I thought about it for a long time. I saw that paranormal stories were beginning to feature fae and I wondered what angle of fae wasn't being covered, and wondered what I could really bring to the table in terms of unusual and unexpected. I ended up with an amateur boxer fae warrior. Go figure. :)

6. Outlining is something I am learning a greater appreciation for. Do you outline or write by the seat of your pants?

 If I don't have a contract I have a tendency to just meander around with writing, but if I am under contract I can't mess around. I have tried having extensive outlines and I think I don't do it because once the outlines are done, I am drained of energy to creatively fill in the blanks. At this point, I outline three chapters ahead. I know the beginning, the end, the general middle, and the general direction the story is going in, and so I'm always plotting the chapter I'm writing, and two chapters ahead. It's like a flashlight in the woods. My flashlight won't go to the edge of the woods and the way out, but if I illuminate enough of the space in front of me, I'll find my way.

7. What is your best advice to prospective writers out there? (Every scene is down pat and your dialog and movements are solid.  Wonderful!)

 I guess my best advice is to get physical with the writing. I read every single scene, every single dialogue exchange out loud, many times, until it sounded like I wasn't reading, but just saying casually. Only then did I know it wasn't stilted. For the final showdown fight, I took stuffed animals and made each one a character and moved them around my office to make sure their actions made sense. I pantomimed every kick, every punch, to feel if it was genuine and gauge what the character's effectiveness could be. Of course, if you'd opened the door to my office and saw me pretending to 360-degree roundhouse kick my teddy bear, you'd think I was nuts, but it worked for me. I'm not a spatial thinker so I need to see everything in front of me. I loved this part of the writing...getting phsyical with it. If you do it, and you feel it, your readers will feel it too.

8. Your descriptions of being in the ring at the gym are very visceral and real. It is not your typical meat market gym either, but the not so posh side that makes it interesting. Have you ever participated in sports in that setting? Did you find your experience was like Gemma's?

 I did some boxing for a few months. It was at a trendy gym but they did have an actual boxing ring and I loved it. My instructor was a black belt in taekwondo and encouraged me to give that a try because I must have done something to make him think that could be my thing. I moved to taekwondo, trained for years, and earned my black belt.I competed a little bit, but then I opened my yoga studio, and the new business left no time for martial arts training. Recently, though, I began to study muay thai. It's nice to be training again. I tried a little jiu-jitsu and I might pursue that as well. Gemma has had a much more hardcore, inner-city experience than I ever did, but I liked the idea that not only is she accepted at a tough boxing gym, but she is considered a real leader there because of her tenure. Competitive fighting is really opening up for women, expecially in mixed martial arts. Also, for the first time in the Olympics this year, there will be a women's division in boxing. I think even women who don't fight for sport are inspired by and respect other women who do use their bodies and their brains to fight competitively. And I know from experience that men will respect a female fighter. I certainly am not the best muay thai fighter in my class of all men but I am always treated equally. I like that Gemma is showing female readers this side of sport, this surprisingly fair dynamic between genders in a gym setting.

Many thanks to Jennifer Safrey for this 

great interview! Thanks also to Night Shade Books for

providing a review copy of Tooth and Nail.

We will be looking forward to your new writing

projects and hoping for another glimpse of Gemma

and the morning fae!

The Inquisitor by Mark Allen Smith: The Giveaway

A spectacularly original thriller about a professional torturer who has a strict code, a mysterious past, and a dangerous conviction that he can save the life of an innocent childGeiger has a gift: he knows a lie the instant he hears it. And in his business—called "information retrieval" by its practitioners—that gift is invaluable, because truth is the hottest thing on the market.Geiger's clients count on him to extract the truth from even the most reluctant subjects. Unlike most of his competitors, Geiger rarely sheds blood, but he does use a variety of techniques—some physical, many psychological—to push his subjects to a point where pain takes a backseat to fear. Because only then will they finally stop lying.One of Geiger's rules is that he never works with children. So when his partner, former journalist Harry Boddicker, unwittingly brings in a client who demands that Geiger interrogate a twelve-year-old boy, Geiger responds instinctively. He rescues the boy from his captor, removes him to the safety of his New York City loft, and promises to protect him from further harm. But if Geiger and Harry cannot quickly discover why the client is so desperate to learn the boy's secret, they themselves will become the victims of an utterly ruthless adversary. Mesmerizing and heart-in-your-throat compelling, The Inquisitor is a completely unique thriller that introduces both an unforgettable protagonist and a major new talent in Mark Allen Smith.

Goodreads

*                                                   *                                                   *

This is a thriller in the extreme. Although there are no witches to haunt its pages (darn) it is still a quite impressive story that will have you turning the pages. I am reading it now and am finding it very engaging. 

Geiger is The Inquisitor

A Master Interrogator

An Expert in Psychological Pain

He Always Gets the Answer

Geiger: Nothing stands between him and the truth

The Inquisitor

Mark Allen Smith

Mesmerizing and heart-in-your-throat compelling, The Inquisitor by Mark Allen Smith is a completely unique thriller that introduces an unforgettable protagonist and blurs the line between good and evil.

Geiger has a gift—he knows a lie the instant he hears it. And if he wants the truth from you, he will get it. Geiger works in the unsavory business of “information retrieval.” To put it bluntly, he tortures people for a living. But when a twelve-year-old boy is brought in for interrogation, Geiger instinctively rescues him and finds himself the target of a deadly manhunt and a ruthless adversary.

Praise for The Inquisitor

"This is one of the best and most engrossing debut novels I've read in years, and also one of the most original. Mark Allen Smith has created an unusual hero named Geiger whose occupation is torturing the truth out of people. Geiger is good at what he does, and so is Mr. Smith. The Inquisitor will keep you locked in a room for days."—Nelson DeMille

"Information retrieval takes on a sinister cast in Smith’s mesmerizing thriller debut… [Geiger is] a fascinating piece of work… This may be the most unusual and talked about thriller of the season."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"[Geiger is] one of the most utterly distinctive protagonists in a recent thriller, and one of the most unexpectedly sympathetic… Smith invests his first novel with psychological dimensions you might expect in a third or fourth book… A breezy, involving thriller that handily overcomes any resistance to its grisly premise and leaves you hoping for the return of its oddly winning hero."—Kirkus (starred review)

"An adrenaline-fueled cat-and-mouse game… [Geiger] is a fascinating protagonist with a revealing backstory. A compelling debut thriller that blurs the lines between the good and bad guys."—Library Journal (starred review)

Want to win a copy of your own? Enter the contest below...

Lavender Calm: Peter Phippen & Arja Kastinen

After a hectic day at work or writing, I love to kick back with a nice soothing bit of music. This amazing new album by Peter Phippen and Arja Kastinen is just what I was looking for around the holidays and I listen to it almost daily. The flute and kantele ( a harp like instrument) marry well into an experience that melts away stress and  

brings an inner stillness that I relish after being in traffic or while I'm pounding out a few chapters on whatever book I am currently working on. Take a listen and see if you don't feel the tension ease right out of you as Phippen's flute and Kastinen's kantele bring some zen into your space.

For my complete review, please stop by Muzikreviews.com.

Coventry Magic: The Giveaway

Jacki Smith, owner of Coventry Candles, one of the largest suppliers of magic candles in the U.S., has been crafting magic candles for more than twenty years. In "Coventry Magic with Candles, Oils, and Herbs," she shares the history of candle magic along with the recipes, spells, and divinations anyone can use to increase love, prosperity, luck, and abundance.


"Coventry Candle Magic" is not your mama's candle magic; this is candle magic for our complicated 21st century lives. Coventry Magic explores not only what color candle to use for a specific need but how to dig down deep inside and find out what that need really is.


So many times what we think is the problem is only the symptom of the bigger problem. Jacki Smith uses the humor of her own life experiences to show readers how to sort through the traps and tricks they've laid for themselves. Her self-evaluation system helps ferret out the underlying issues and beliefs that can often sabotage magical spells. The book helps readers get to the meat of issues and solve them in a magical, life-changing way.


"Coventry Candle Magic" will be an invaluable reference for beginners as well as experienced magic practitioners--the ultimate candle magic reference book.


The book features hundreds of candles and how to use them in a myriad of ways.


Plus: 
* An herb and oil encyclopedia
* Seven Steps to Personal Magical Evolution
* Basic how-tos for candle carving and using Tarot, gemstones, and elementals in candle spells.


Goodreads

The wonderful publisher of Coventry Magic has given us the  opportunity to do a giveaway! Two lucky winners will win a copy of this marvelous book. I received mine in the main recently and have enjoyed learning about candles and their uses. One thing is for sure, this is a more modern candle magic book and a great source for beginners and advanced practitioners. Check out a plethora of recipes, spells and divinations that will have you looking at that candle on your dining room table just a little differently.

An Interview and Giveaway With Author Elizabeth Marx

When I first came across the cover art for this book, I knew I had to read it. Complete with a winding plot, intricate characters and tons of mythology, this book has many elements that will appeal to readers at On the Broomstick. Author Elizabeth Marx agreed to do an interview and give two lucky folks the chance to win her book. So here we go...

How did you first become interested in witches?

I’ve always been fascinated by myths and legends, but when I was in fifth grade some new girls came to our school and not only did they look very different from the rest of us, they spoke and acted differently too. My Gram called them gypsies and said they were thieves and to stay away from them. Now, this was in the city of Chicago, where almost every ethnicity you can imagine was present in my school, but gypsies? They were new and fascinating to me, with their dark eyes that seemed to see into my soul and their bangle bracelets running from wrist to elbow. The girls were cousins, and Riva and Mara used to scare the other girls in our class when they’d pretend to read their hands, but I wasn’t afraid of them, just curious. I didn’t tease them and I think because I treated them like everyone else, they would sit at my lunch table, or maybe it was because I didn’t mind the smell of their very different food. Riva didn’t want to be a gypsy, but Mara didn’t seem to mind. When I told Riva that she didn’t have to be a gypsy when she grew up, she looked at me like I’d sprouted horns. Riva told me that her grandmother was a fortune teller and healer and that she would have to take her grandmother’s place when she turned 15. I told her that was ridiculous because it was a law that she had to attend school until she was at least 16 and you can’t just one day become a fortune teller. Riva looked deep into my eyes and she said that they had their own laws and then proceeded to tell me things about myself that there was no way she could have known. That should have scared me, but I wasn’t, I was sad for Riva and I tried to talk to her several times, but after she gave me her reading, she never spoke to me again. After Spring break that year she was gone from our school and I never saw her again. I can still remember the look on Riva’s face when she told me those things about myself, she wasn’t eleven-years-old at that moment, her eyes looked like they were hundreds of years old, as if her soul read mine countless times before. It’s funny, I usually wear bangles or a thick bracelet that has two silver coins on it that makes noise, I wonder if subconsciously it’s my soul singing to hers???

What inspired you to write Vanities?

I was interested in hereditary witchcraft and had several ideas about adult novels, but my daughter wanted me to write a young adult book and she liked the idea of witchcraft. I went from that general idea to fairy tales, which led me to morality tales, which led me to the 7 deadly sins. So I tied a fairy tale to the sin of vanity, but I wanted it to have a broader theme than just personal vanity, so I took it the ultimate vanity, all mankind’s knowledge and the possession of it.

Do you write to music? If so, what?

No, I write in complete silence. When I can get it! But I do use music to inspire ideas and scenes. Some of the music associated with All’s Fair in Vanities War.

Lady GaGa, Poker Face

Evanescence, Sweet Sacrifice

Paramore, Crushcrushcrush

Within Temptation, Stand My Ground

Nightwish, Amaranth

Epica, Cry For the Moon

Nightwish, Over the Hills and Far Away

Beethoven, Moonlight Sonata

Journey, Don’t Stop Believing

Within Temptation, The Howling

Nightwish, Bye Bye Beautiful

The story POV is from the Seer’s perspective. Why did you choose that throughout the book instead of switching chapters and POV for the other main characters?

The Seer came to me as the narrator of this story and since she died to tell it to me I thought I had to honor her in that. Also, the Seer is an outsider to the ExtraOrdinary world, it’s all new to her, just as it is to the reader. I wanted the reader to feel what it felt like looking at the story from the outside. I did use Keleigh’s POV in the beginning of the book to tell the story of what happened to her parents, and then toward the end of the book I used diary entries to tell the reader Keleigh and Locke’s deeper thoughts. I will probably use more of these diary entries as the books progress, but The Seer will always remain the narrator, unless Balor get’s his hands on her, and then there is that interesting Epilogue with Ilithyia and Darby tearing at The Seer’s wings??? And here is our captivating narrator.

                                             

You can like The Seer on Facebook at http://facebook.com/#!/TheSeers7DeadlyFairyTales

There are many supernatural characters in the book, and many references to Celtic mythology. What are some of your favorite resources for readers who want to know more?

                                                  

These are just a few of the books I used for research but I have an extensive library with over 400 reference books so it’s hard to narrow it down to just a few. It’s the main reason I decided to come up with my own Compendium which will be coming out, hopefully, by the end of the month: The Seer’s 7 Deadly Fairy Tales, A Compendium.  It is a Celtic encyclopedia for the series and has the first of 7 fairy tales, each will be told by a different character and will be added to the Compendium as the series progresses. Here’s the cover:

Can you explain the difference between Ordinary, ExtraOrdinary and OtherWorldly?

Ordinary: someone who lacks any special extra sensory skills, everyday mortals who live normal mortal lifetimes. Some mortals do have latent genes that surface sometime during life, but because they were raised in the Ordinary world these skills are not used or developed and therefore they lie dormant. Or there are some people who do use these skills, let’s say a psychic, but they use them for the sole purpose of profit, this person has some ExtraOrdinary skill but would not be considered ExtraOrdinary because he was not part of the Order. You must either be born into the Order or suffer great hardship and rigorous training to join it. 
    

ExtraOrdinary: someone born with extra sensory skills, be it divination, clairvoyance, telepathy, etc. These traits are inherited or encoded into their DNA, passed from generation to generation and from the moment of birth they are developed and encouraged. These persons inherit their membership into the Order by birthright.

Shining Ones: Celtic gods and goddesses, who along with the Danaan have been sequestered in the OtherWorld when Ordinary and ExtraOrdinary mankind banded together to sequester them when they interfered too often in human affairs. Some have the ability to cross between realms at certain times of the year when the veil thins. Some have the power to cross at will almost anytime, but they could not all cross at one time or the LeyLine (power source) would collapse.

What are some of your favorite witches in books and movies?

A pictures worth a thousand words . .  .

           

                          

What are your plans for the series?

At this point, all I can say is that Book II will be out this year, it doesn’t have a title or cover yet, but it will be about a deadly sin, follow the theme of a fairy tale, and take Locke, Keleigh, and The Seer on a journey for another another magical item and in pursuit of why exactly they’re tied together. It’s all mapped out on a piece of paper the size of a bulletin board, I could let you see it, but then I’d have to feed you some sort of potion to make you forget and you never know what else you might forget, like where you parked your broom last or who your familiar is.

As a writer, do you map out your story or fly by the seat of your broomstick?

I create a map or general idea of where I’m going, it’s kind of like the highway for me, but sometimes I want to get off and ride the sideroads. When I do this, I’m usually barely able to hang on to the broomstick because of the bumpiness, but occasionaly magical things happen when I do.

What is you advice for writer’s of YA fiction?

Write what you love and try to write it in a manner that’s unexpected.


Dana, my familiar, Lord Luxor and I, thank you for hosting us.

Many thanks to Elizabeth for flying in for 

an interview! Now for the giveaway!