Thursday, January 18, 2018

MEET THE AUTHOR: Tena Stetler ~ A Vampire's Unlikely Alliance

I'm happy to introduce Author Tena Stetler and her book, "A Vampire's Alliance." Tina refers to herself as a paranormal romance author with an over-active imagination. She wrote her first vampire romance as a tween, to the chagrin of her mother and the delight of her friends. Her books tell tales of magical kick-ass women and mystical alpha males that dare to love them. On winter evenings, you can find her curled up in front of a crackling fire with a good book, a mug of hot chocolate, and a bowl of popcorn.  She shares her Colorado home with her husband, a spoiled parrot, and a forty-five-year-old box turtle.

What inspired you to write your first book?
I’ve written stories since I learned to write. As a child, I wrote stories of faries, unicorns, demons, vampires, witches, and other paranormal creatures for my friends, family for birthdays, Christmas --that kind of thing. Back then, yeah, I was that strange kid with an over active imagination. But as they say, life happens while you make plans, making a living intervened. After being downsized from my IT job of 14 years, my hubby and I decided it was time to follow my dreams. Shortly there after, I was getting my hair cut and playing the “What If” game with my hairdresser. It went something like this:

What if the hairdresser is really a ruggedly handsome demon overlord? What if a powerful witch breezed into his salon and the attraction was undeniable? What if the salon is multi-species catering to mortals and paranormal creatures alike is located in Washington DC? What if portals to the underworld were in places you frequent every day? Adds a new dimension to our concept of DC, doesn’t it? My debut novel, A Demon’s Witch, was born in a hair salon from a song

BLURB: 
Stefan is a Native American vampire, former assassin for the Vampire Council. In a twist of fate, he now DJ’s the midnight shift for a small radio station in Whitefish, Montana, on the edge of Glacier National Park where his secret is safe until...

Born in Ireland, Brandy now works as a park ranger and trail guide in the park. During a full moon, Stefan and Brandy’s paths cross in a near physical collision on a trail. Their attraction is immediate and undeniable, almost as if fate demanded it.

Their union was foretold long ago in Irish folk tales where vampires and gryphons, warlocks and demons, witches and faeries must work together for the good of man and magic kind. Is a trip to Ireland the key to unravelling secrets and returning the magic? And even more importantly, will their love survive the trip?  
                                                 
EXCERPT:
It was nearly midnight when he cut across the Sun Road to another trailhead, so intent on his goal that he nearly collided with an attractive young woman. He skidded to a stop, spraying gravel, rocks, and small twigs down the road in front of him. A pinecone dislodged and bounced along the road past her. Tall and slender, she had miles of fiery-red hair that hung down her back in a cascade of curls. Intense emerald eyes stared back at him as he attempted to regain his composure, not to mention balance. What the hell was she doing here at this time of night?

“Whoa.” She stepped lightly to the side to avoid the flying debris. “You really should watch where you’re going, especially at that speed.” Her voice scolded, but the smile on her lips teased. “Someone could get hurt.”

Stefan Talltree, at your service.” He stepped closer, leaned over in an exaggerated bow, and caught her hand, brushing his lips over the palm and wrist, inhaling her sweet scent. AB negative with a pulse of adrenaline. Perfect. Her pulse beat a tattoo against his lips. He backed away.

Her heart thundered as she drew her hand from his grasp. “The name’s Brandy. Pleased to meet you, Stefan.” Her smile reached up into her bright eyes as they swept over him with an appreciative glance, an experience he enjoyed.

Her voice had a hint of Irish lilt to it. He liked that too.

“Where do you work that requires you to report in at—” She glanced at her watch. “—midnight?”

Nostrils flaring, he paused. Blood? Not hers. The sound of Brandy’s voice brought his attention back to her and the situation at hand. “Oh, shit, I’ve gotta go!” He sprinted off, leaving her standing alone.

As he started down the trail, the tree branches swayed in the silvery moonlight, casting eerie shadows across the trail’s edge. The breeze brought with it the coppery scent of fresh blood mixed with sulfur. He turned for one last look at her as she wrinkled her nose before silently creeping into the wind, tracking the source of the stench.


Contact Links: Website: http://www.tenastetler.com
My Say What Blog http://www.tenastetler.com/category/my-say-what-blog/
Tribber:    http://triberr.com/TenaStetler
 




 

Sunday, January 7, 2018

A look from. . . UP ON THE ROOF

Updated and released in digital and print, Up on the Roof and Other Stories is a unique collection of nineteen humorous and serious stories exploring the lives and relationships of the young and old. A bonus mystery story has been added.

Here are some synopses of stories 
included in the book:

BALD REVELATIONS  
A first grade teacher believes her husband of twenty years is leaving her and their two teenage sons when he purchases ten pairs of new dress socks and starts reviewing their insurance policies. Despite her mother’s assurances, Maureen is further convinced he’s cheating when he starts singing Beach Boy songs and tries to persuade her to buy a sporty red convertible. 

COMPUTER JUNKIE   
 When Rita and Jane decide to start a small woodworking business, they never expect their husbands to get involved. But get involved they do. Mitch and Bill decide their wives need their expert computer advice and their meddling could spell disaster even before the business gets off the ground.

HOOKED ON SILENCE   
Two young professional couples decide to go to the lake to fish. Jerome believes that women are not necessarily equal in all masculine tasks, but Angela, his girlfriend, is about to prove him wrong.

STRAW PONIES  
Brita Larson saved the life of an Arapaho brave, Nitis, who now believes he's indebted to her and routinely brings gifts to her ranch.When she then helps rescue his sister, Onawa, from some evil white men selling guns to the renegades, Britta is certain she will never get rid of this gift-bearing Indian. More importantly, how will she explain him to Deputy Sheriff Wyatt McGee? 

WINGING IT
An old World War II flyboy relives memories from the past when he waits with his grandson to return to his unit after leave. The old man’s superstitions and love become evident when he gives the young man a lucky charm, an ancient coin minted in 1652 and given to him by a barmaid in England. 
Only $0.99 in digital now at: amazon.com
(In paperback: $9.75)
 
Twitter ID:  JudyAnnDavis4
Blog Link: “A Writer’s Revelations” ~  http://judyanndavis.blogspot.com/
Yahoo Groups:  wrppromo@yahoogroups.com and ahachat@yahoogroups.com and pennwriters@yahoogroups.com

Thursday, December 28, 2017

HAPPY NEW YEAR! - Welcome 2018

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." –Mark Twain

As we approach the 2018, many people believe it’s time to look back at the past year, make corrections, and formulate resolutions for the New Year. We humans seem to need a beginning when we want to start something new—be it a skill, task, hobby, or exercise program. Dieting, for instance. How many people have you heard say, “I’m going on a diet next week…or on Monday”? After all, who starts dieting on Saturday night while sitting in a restaurant with a glass of wine and a menu that screams calories for the weak without willpower?

A beginning in our mind is always a mental picture of a first—the first day of the week or of the month, when the kids leave and you have free time, when winter ends and spring begins. The new year provides people with a clean slate and a place to start something new or to try to cast off an old vice. That’s where resolutions come into play.

Are you a resolution maker? I’m not.

I’m thinking the 2018 is a time to set some relaxed, even movable goals and explore some activities I’ve always wanted to do, but have put on the back burner. This year I’m focusing on what Mark Twain so elegantly said. I’m taking 2018 to explore, dream, discover and do new things I’ve sworn I was going to do “someday.” You know which someday I’m talking about, don’t you? The one that is really an enigmatic place in the future, without a day, month, or even year specified.  
 
My someday activities may include writing some short stories, returning to my wood shop, trying my hand at raising some herbs, reading more nonfiction, visiting some new places, watching more sunsets and enjoying nature.

What are your resolutions—or goals and activities—for the coming year? And let me know what “someday” interests you have on the back burner.

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Our Thoughts Turn to Childhood Memories at Christmas



“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, 
and we are better throughout the year for having,
 in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.”
Laura Ingalls Wilder

One of my most favorite memories of Christmas is going out into the woods with my family and canvasing the hillsides to find the perfect tree which we'd load on our Farm-all tractor and bring home. To be honest, it wasn't always the most perfect tree. Many times it was a bit misshapen and often boasted a few holes, but it was "our Christmas tree." By the time the lights were strung and the ornaments were placed on its branches, it was considered the best tree ever.
Ideal-14-Betsy-Wetsy-Doll-Molded-Hair-Baby-Nose-Holes-Squeaker-Orig-Hat-1950-039-s
My mother had the most beautiful reflectors that surrounded the bulbs on the light strings. They were stars with mirrors on the points to reflect the light from the colored bulbs.  An angel was always place on top, and down below the tree on the front skirt, the manger scene held an important place.

Tinsel? We put lots of tinsel on our tree. Talk about helping the aluminum foil industry! We'd start placing it strand by strand until one of us tired and started putting clumps over the branches--and in the end some tinsel was actually tossed near the top.

Someone asked me once what was my favorite gift? I think my Betsy Wetsey doll was a highlight of my presents, but I always loved books. To this day, I remember "Black Beauty," "The Bobbsie Twins," "Heidi," and the "Trixie Belden" series.

What were your favorite childhood memories? 
Please share them below in the comments. 

Wishing everyone a Holly Jolly Christmas and Happy New Year!

Saturday, December 2, 2017

CHRISTMAS - Make It Stress-free

Christmas is an overwhelming time  during the holidays when we get caught up in the glitz and hustle and bustle of finding presents, writing cards, hosting parties, listening to radio and television advertising, making food and baking--and so many other activities that we become over-stimulated, cranky, and sometimes downright depressed. We think we have to get everything just right. Just perfect.

My mother used to remind me when I slipped into my crazy Christmas mode, that Christmas is only one day. It will come and it will go--in just twenty-four hours, she would admonish. 

Here are some quick tips to reduce the Christmas stress:

PLAN AHEAD – Plan ahead, whether it’s starting the Christmas cards early in November or making a list of things that are priorities such as travel plans, possible presents, or your food lists for menus for the season. It always helps to start early and avoid rushing later.

BUY ONLINE – There’s no need to elbow you way through crowded stores when many of the online specials already beat the Christmas prices advertised in the flyers and on the radio and television. Shop online and have everything delivered to your door.

TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF – Take time to breathe, take time to exercise, take time to do something you like. Grab a cup of hot chocolate or decaffeinated coffee and your favorite book and cozy chair for a few minutes. Psychologists say we need 20 minutes of “me time” or “personal down-time” each day. Take it and don’t feel guilty.

ENJOY THE SEASON – If Christmas music makes you feel joyful, turn up the knob on your radio or CD player. Take a quiet, solitary walk and get away from it all, if you must. Watch the snow fall silently and peacefully, covering the world in white. Smell the homey scents of the season: pine, citrus, cinnamon and vanilla. Listen to the sounds of bells or children laughing. Enjoy the very sights that remind us of Christmas such as a wreath on someone’s door or a lighted Christmas tree.

And in the end, remember—“It’s really only one day. It will come and it will go--in just twenty-four hours!”  
Merry Christmas to all!

Sunday, November 5, 2017

IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT COUNT

by Judy Ann Davis

In light of all the terrible hurricanes, fires, and earthquakes that have plagued the United States and Mexico recently, I’m focusing my thoughts this Thanksgiving on being grateful for all things, large and small, we take for granted in our everyday lives. 

Every morning I wake up to use electricity that runs my heat and air conditioning, lights, electronic devices like my computer, radio, and television, as well as other appliances. I can have a warm or cold shower, breakfast, or morning drink—and I have a choice. The clothes and shoes I plan to wear are dry and clean. I have access to my medical supplies and prescriptions, pictures of my children, my reading materials, and a vast group of simple everyday things that make my day comfortable, but which others have now lost. 

Yes, material goods can be replaced, but life is not simple without them. I recently skinned my leg leaving an airport, and realized how important one simple Band-Aid is when a wound won’t stop bleeding. It struck me how many more of the little things we use without thought to their importance—paper towels, Kleenex, pencils and paper, hygiene products, lotions, soap, and the list goes on and on.

If you are able to give—if even a few dollars—please find a charity or organization that is working closely with the victims of these horrific disasters. Make it your Thanksgiving gift to those less fortunate. One charity that I like above many others is called UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) UMCOR spends 100 percent of designated donations on the project donors specify. http://www.umcor.org/UMCOR/About-Us   

This Thanksgiving, as we sit around our food-laden table and have a marvelous hot meal with all the trimmings, remember we have people who have lost everything and who are grateful they have been given canned food and bottled water to eat and drink.  When we put that in perspective, it makes our Thanksgiving even more precious and meaningful—don’t you think?
****
I'm showcasing my newest release this year, called “Four White Roses.” I'm happy to announce  it was a finalist in the Book Excellence Awards. The Book Excellence Awards were founded by Literary Excellence Incorporated. Books that have received a Book Excellence Award have been recognized for their high quality design, writing and overall market appeal. It is a cross genre novel that includes mystery, romance, and a paranormal element.

BLURB:
When widower Rich Redman returns to Pennsylvania with his young daughter to sell his deceased grandmother’s house, he discovers Grandmother Gertie’s final request was for him to find a missing relative and a stash of WWI jewels. 

Torrie Larson, single mom, is trying to make her landscape center and flower arranging business succeed while attempting to save the lineage of a rare white rose brought from Austria in the 1900s. 

Together, the rich Texas lawyer and poor landscape owner team up to rescue the last rose and fulfill a dead woman’s wishes. But in their search to discover answers to the mysteries plaguing them, will Rich and Torrie also discover love in each other’s arms? Or will a meddling ghost, a pompous banker, and an elusive stray cat get in their way?


Visit Judy on:
Twitter: JudyAnnDavis4
Author Page:
Goodreads:


Other Judy Ann Davis Titles:
RED FOX WOMAN
UNDER  STARRY SKIES
KEY TO lOVE
SWEET kISS
UP ON THE ROOF and OTHER STORIES

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