I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Linnea Tanner. Today, Linnea shares her creative journey and new release, Skull’s Vengenance.

Interview

What is the sweetest thing someone has done for you?

I went on a riverboard cruise on the Mississippi River with my elderly mother and sister. My mother tired easily so we arranged a wheelchair for her to get around. She knew I had my eye on a white casual jacket as we browsed the gift shop on board. After lunch, she would rest in her room while my sister and I did other activities. One afternoon, I was alarmed not to find my mother in the cabin when I returned. After searching about thirty minutes, I finally found her with a big smile as she shuffled down the corridor, carrying the white jacket in her arms.

Two months later, she had a stroke and could not travel afterward. I’ll always remember my last venture with my mother and the big smile on her face when she surprised me with her gift.

How would you spend ten thousand bucks?

I would like to travel overseas to do more research, which I’ve not done since the pandemic.

Where do you get your best ideas?

Sometimes, when I’m driving by myself, ideas come into my head about how to resolve an issue in a plot or to devise a twist. In addition, I write my first draft by hand because creative ideas flow more easily and I don’t have the temptation to edit.

What comes first, the plot or characters?

Main characters in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series have lived in my head since childhood and evolved during my adulthood as I faced challenges in my life. A warrior queen, Catrin was inspired by the Amazons in Greek mythology and actual Celtic warrior queens. Her love interest, Marcellus, is inspired by the legacy of Mark Antony and Cleopatra but with a Celtic twist.

However, most of my secondary characters come to life as I incorporate them in the plot. They insist that I tell their stories as I develop the plot. For example, I introduced Marrock’s deadliest assassin, Gawain, in Skull’s Vengeance as one of the formidable enemies whom Catrin has to overcome. As I wrote scenes with Gawain, he kept insisting that he had scruples and questioned orders to kill defenseless victims. I began to embrace this smart-mouthed, defiant character and thus developed a bigger role for him in the series. He will continue into the next book, Dragon’s Anvil, and will have a major role in a turning point for Catrin. I’ve considered doing a separate series that provides Gawain’s back story and the various missions he has undertaken as an assassin.

Ultimately, readers must first engage with the characters before they are willing to invest the time to read their stories.

What does your main character do that makes him/her special.

At the beginning of the Curse of Clansmen and King series, Catrin is the youngest teen daughter of King Amren of the Cantiaci tribal kingdom in Britannia. Her father has arranged for her to be trained as a warrior. Her greatest strength is that she is loyal to those she loves. However, she is torn between her duty to her people and her growing love for a Roman hostage, Marcellus, under her charge. Though Catrin appears vulnerable and blinded by love for Marcellus, she is nonetheless resilient and will fight with bravery without hesitation to protect her kingdom.

Catrin has learned a dark secret about herself that could lead to her people’s success or their downfall. The former queen cast a curse on King Amren at the time of her execution for treason. She foretold King Amren’s future queen would beget a daughter who would rise as a raven and join her son, Marrock, to overthrow him. To her dismay, Catrin learns she is the raven foretold in the curse. She has an unnatural connection to a raven spirit that has shown her how to change the future by reweaving life threads on the Wall of Lives. But she can’t predict how changing the future will impact other events. The raven guide has also shown Catrin how to shapeshift and summon dark forces of nature, but she can’t always control her magical abilities.

At the beginning of Skull’s Vengeance, Catrin has survived slavery in the Roman legion and in the gladiatorial games in Gaul (modern-day France). Freed by Marcellus, Catrin is determined to return home in Britannia and strike vengeance again her evil half-brother, Marrock, who mercilessly beheaded her parents and eldest sister.

Blurb

A Celtic warrior queen must do the impossible—defeat her sorcerer half-brother and claim the throne. But to do so, she must learn how to strike vengeance from her father’s skull.

AS FORETOLD BY HER FATHER in a vision, Catrin has become a battle-hardened warrior after her trials in the Roman legion and gladiatorial games. She must return to Britannia and pull the cursed dagger out of the serpent’s stone to fulfill her destiny. Only then can she unleash the vengeance from the ancient druids to destroy her evil half-brother, the powerful sorcerer, King Marrock. Always two steps ahead and seemingly unstoppable, Marrock can summon destructive natural forces to crush any rival trying to stop him and has charged his deadliest assassin to bring back Catrin’s head.

To have the slightest chance of beating Marrock, Catrin must forge alliances with former enemies, but she needs someone she can trust. Her only option is to seek military aid from Marcellus—her secret Roman husband. They rekindle their burning passion, but he is playing a deadly game in the political firestorm of the Julio-Claudian dynasty to support Catrin’s cause.

Ultimately, in order to defeat Marrock, Catrin must align herself with a dark druidess and learn how to summon forces from skulls to exact vengeance. But can she and Marcellus outmaneuver political enemies from Rome and Britannia in their quest to vanquish Marrock?

Excerpt

Chapter 1 Portals to the Otherworld

Antonii Villa in Gaul, Eve of Samhain, 31 October, 27 AD

Exasperated, Catrin drew in a sharp breath. Then, she considered Trystan’s impassioned plea to meet with two of her most hated enemies. Recalling how her father had respected his second-in-command’s advice, she reluctantly conceded and squeezed her legs against her horse’s flanks to move toward the campfire’s glow.

The night’s chill mysteriously transformed into an embracing warmth as they neared a roaring fire with a black cauldron hanging over it. Sitting behind the crimson flames were two obscured figures.

“Welcome, Apollo’s Raven,” a woman’s deep voice intoned. “Come to our fire. Join us in the dance of souls.”

Though Catrin hesitated to join them, the fire’s radiance mesmerized her, luring her closer to the orange flames. She dismounted and handed the reins to Trystan, who quietly remained with the horses as she sat down on a fallen log near the roaring campfire.

“Drink the magic from the cauldron,” the woman offered. “It empowers all who partake with the knowledge of mystical mysteries from the ancient druids.”

“I already have that power,” Catrin proclaimed, trepidatious that perhaps Rhan had dropped hallucinogenic ingredients into the bubbling mixture. Thick steam flowed over the cauldron’s edge and down its metal surface in a thick, greenish fog.

“We know, my love, but you have only had a taste,” Rhan replied in a hypnotic voice. “You do not know how to control this dark magic. But we do.”

Suddenly light-headed from the smoky fumes emanating from the cauldron, Catrin struggled to maintain her wits. “Once before you said this, when you tried to trick me into revealing how I can travel to the Otherworld.”

“Believe me, this is no trick,” Rhan said soothingly. “I’ve seen your father’s spirit wander the top of cliffs, near a dagger embedded in a serpent stone. It is the blade on which my curse was etched.”

“I sense the curse has altered again, but I can’t see how the etched wording has changed on the blade,” Myrddin interjected. “You must help us solve the riddle of how the dagger got there.”

Catrin inhaled sharply, realizing Myrddin and Rhan had discovered the location of the dagger she had thrust into the stone. The image of her running away from the Romans played in her mind, and her thoughts transformed into words.

“After the final battle, I tried to escape the Romans, but…but there was nowhere to go, except jump off the white cliffs. At that moment, I chose to die rather than be captured.”

Rhan rose to her feet, walked around the fire, and sat next to Catrin. “But you didn’t die, did you?” she said, touching Catrin’s arm.

“No. A riderless horse galloped to me, stopping in front of me. My father suddenly appeared and told me not to jump,” Catrin disclosed, reliving the supernatural moment in her mind. “I couldn’t believe my eyes that Father was there. I knew Marrock had beheaded him. Yet, I felt his essence and his love radiate into me.”

Tears swelled in Catrin’s eyes as remorse that she had been unable to save her family from Marrock’s brutality overwhelmed her. She swallowed down a sob before continuing her story.

“Father told me to lift the cursed dagger toward the sky. To my amazement, sunlight flashed through the dark clouds, almost blinding me. He then ordered, ‘Thrust the dagger into the serpent stone that I create.’ What I saw next was not a vision. It was real.”

Catrin grimaced as she recalled the burning pain she’d felt as she’d held the hilt of the dagger.

“The blade turned orange, as if it had been taken out of a furnace. Father’s spirit burst apart into gold dust and melted into the blade’s etching. Serpents massed together on the ground. The venom dripping from their fangs hardened into stone. Somehow, I was able to push the dagger into the hard rock, like it was butter. And, and…”

“And what, my dear?” Rhan pressed.

Catrin’s voice cracked. “I was collared by the Romans and put on a warship.”

Author Bio and Links

Award-winning author, Linnea Tanner, weaves Celtic tales of love, magical adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. Since childhood, she has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology. Of particular interest are the enigmatic Celts, who were reputed as fierce warriors and mystical Druids.

Linnea has extensively researched ancient and medieval history, mythology, and archaeology and has traveled to sites described within each of her books in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series. Books released in her series include “Apollo’s Raven” (Book 1), “Dagger’s Destiny” (Book 2), “Amulet’s Rapture” (Book 3), and “Skull’s Vengeance” (Book 4). She has also released the historical fiction short story, “Two Faces of Janus.”

A Colorado native, Linnea attended the University of Colorado and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren.

Website | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

Linnea Tanner is offering a $50 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a lucky winner in a Rafflecopter giveaway. Find out more here.

Follow Linnea on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome poet, screenwriter, playwright, and novelist Sarah Provost. Today, Sarah shares her new release, Guinevere: Bright Shadow.

Blurb

“You may think you know my story. My name has been bandied in ballads and jests, for good and (mostly) for ill. High Queen, priestess, adulterer… but first and always a woman. Courage and honor shaped me; ecstasy transported me; grief, betrayal and terror tempered me.

“My loyalty to the Goddess was supreme. But as the new religion took hold, the pagan way was threatened with extinction. There were those on both sides who would use me as a pawn in that battle, even if it meant taking my life.

“Yes, I bear my portion of blame. I loved Arthur, and I loved Lancelot, will I or no. But that was only one element in the impending chaos. Britain was divided, my love was divided, and such divisions cannot endure. I did everything in my power – and learned new powers – to prevent an all-out war. But would it be enough?”

Excerpt

I was torn from my peaceful sleep by a sense of foreboding so dire, so overwhelming, that I could not stop screaming, even when Catlin and Wynyth and others burst in. “What, lamb, what is it?” Catlin folded an arm around me and smoothed back my tangled hair. “Shh, shh. What, my dove?”

“I don’t know I don’t know!” I babbled. “A snake. A sword. We are lost!”

She pressed my head to her shoulder and rocked me like a babe. “Only a dream it was. That’s all, only a dream…”

At last I calmed. The sky was greying quickly, so I was about to start the day, but Catlin insisted I take a while to gather myself. She went off to bring me a cup of wine. I was lying on my pallet, drained, when I heard her returning. Her footsteps stopped. She gasped. And the cup hit the stone floor.

She stood like a statue in the passageway, staring out the casement. Far to the east, we could see a great cloud forming, but from the ground, not the sky. Faintly, a whisper, a murmur, a rumbling was carried to us on the morning breeze. It was the sound of men and horses screaming, of clash of arms, of pain and fury and destruction, all gentled by distance. Then the sun sent a finger of light over the horizon, and the great cloud turned red.

Author Bio and Links

Sarah Provost is a poet, playwright, screenwriter and novelist, currently living and working in upstate New York. A collection of poems, Inland, Thinking of Waves, was published by the Cleveland State University Press. Her stage plays have been produced off-Broadway, in London, Los Angeles, and states beginning with K. No screenplays have been produced, but she made a decent living writing for Paramount, Disney, HBO and others until Hollywood broke her heart. After a period of recuperation and relocation to a place with much worse weather, she began writing Guinevere: Bright Shadow, her first novel. A second novel, The Real Girl, is in progress.

Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Between the Lines | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

Follow Sarah Provost on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome back multi-published author Petie McCarty. Today, Petie shares her new release, Any Fin for Love.

Blurb

She could almost hear the fish laughing at her . . .

Cody Ryan’s father never missed fishing the annual Loon Lake tournament until his unexpected passing. So this year, Cody packs up her how-to fishing videos and her dad’s old johnboat and gives him one final entry.

Gage Connor needs some R&R away from his coast guard deployment catching drug smugglers along the Louisiana coast, so he borrows a bass boat from his buddy and heads to Loon, Alabama to do some fishing.

When Gage and Cody meet at Loon Lake, their attraction is immediate and intense—until the two discover there is only one boat slip left on the lake and they both need it, and there’s only one vacant hotel room left in Loon and they both want it. Thus, their competition begins. Both vow to keep their distance from the other to fight the temptation, but fate has other plans. The tournament pairing party picks the two-man teams and chooses Gage as Cody’s partner.

For two days.
Alone on a boat.
Working as a team.

Good things come to those who bait . . .

Excerpt

Billy then addressed the audience. “There is a three-rod limit. Y’all will have to make do. Absolutely no live bait. The first flight of ten boats goes off at 7:00 a.m., so don’t be late. There will be ten minutes between flights. If both contestants on a team have boats, flip a coin to see whose boat you use the first day, and then use the other boat the second day.”

“What?” Gage thundered, suddenly coming to life.

Cody wanted a hole to open in the stage and swallow her up. She knew whoever got stuck with her as a partner would be mad about her johnboat. She just didn’t think the stickee would be Gage.

Billy smirked at Gage. “That’s right. You flip a coin to see which day you fish from her johnboat.”

“No way,” Gage bellyached.

A rumble of laughter swept through the tent, and Cody fought back tears. She swallowed three times to get the lump back down her throat until she caught sight of Lila’s ear-to-ear grin, and then her blood simmered to a boil.

“That’s the way it is,” Billy said, clearly as pleased as his daughter. He turned back to the crowd. “If there’s only one teammate with a boat . . .” His sideways smirk at Cody had her hands balling into fists. “Then you use the same boat both days.”

Great. Now Zeke and Alvin were grinning ear-to-ear, and Gage looked ready to explode. Big surprise there. The man had finally shown his true colors.

Billy hadn’t finished. “We start at seven both days. Y’all will have exactly eight hours to fish. I repeat, the first flight of ten boats leaves promptly at seven. The weigh-in each day will commence at three o’clock, and you’ll be given your weigh-in bags just before your flight in the morning. If your flight leaves at 7:10 a.m., then you must be back to weigh-in at 3:10 p.m. You will be docked one pound of fish for each minute you are late for your weigh-in. If you are more than fifteen minutes late, you will be disqualified.” He glanced around the tent to be sure all entrants paid attention. “Each boat must have a live well, and no more than five fish can be held in the live well at one time.”

He hesitated and then looked as though a light bulb flicked on. He spun around to face Cody. “Do you even have a live well?”

Every face in the tent focused on Cody.

“Yes, I do,” she said indignantly. “I wouldn’t have entered your tournament if I didn’t. I read the rules.”

“What is it? An Igloo cooler with an aquarium pump?” he taunted.

She gulped. “Yes.”

A rumble of laughter shot through the crowd.

Eyes narrowed, hands fisted at her sides, Cody stared them all down. She spotted the two rows of females smiling in the back, all giving her the universal thumbs up sign, and her chin notched up higher.

Billy couldn’t resist a final jab. “Well, Mr. Connor, it looks like you’ll spend one day in a johnboat.”

Buy Links

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon AU

Author Bio and Links

Petie spent a large part of her career working at Walt Disney World—”The Most Magical Place on Earth”—where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night, including her new series, The Cinderella Romances. She eventually said good-bye to her “day” job to write her stories full-time. These days Petie spends her time writing sequels to her regency time-travel series, Lords in Time, and her cozy-mystery-with-romantic-suspense series, the Mystery Angel Romances.

Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband and an opinionated Nanday conure named Sassy who made a cameo appearance in No Angels for Christmas.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | BookBub | Amazon

Giveaway

Petie McCarty will be awarding an Autographed paperback copy of Cinderella Busted (US only) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

Follow Petie on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press author Marla White. Today, Marla shares her new release, Bloodstains and Candy Canes.

Blurb

Attending a swanky cookie exchange is the last thing on veterinarian Dr. Mandy Brown’s holiday to-do list, but she agrees to help a friend out. The party comes to a screeching halt after a body turns up on the kitchen floor, a carving knife jutting out of his back.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Mandy comes face-to-face with Officer Dylan Shaw, a man she thought she was dating until he ghosted her. Tensions escalate as motives for murder come out of the pantry as fast as guests scarf down the pot-spiked brownies, making everything all the merrier.

Although the case seems open and shut, Mandy doesn’t believe the evidence. Can she and Dylan put their differences aside and find the real killer, or risk one of the bakers getting away with murder?

Excerpt

“Call him.”

Dolores is right. Shaw once told me 911 calls are automatically routed to the Highway Patrol where they get sorted to the appropriate agency. If you know the local police number, you’ll get a faster response by calling them directly. But I also know the last person I want to see right now is Officer Dylan Shaw.

“Who cares?” I ask. “The dead guy isn’t going anywhere.”

Dee narrows her eyes and gives me an icy gaze. “No, but the killer is. The police need to get this place locked down fast if they’re going to have a shot at finding them.”

Well poop, I hadn’t thought of that. My head is too far up my own butt to think past my broken heart. “Fine, I’ll call him.”

She nods, pulling the sobbing Bethany under one arm and uses the other to guide, coerce and otherwise wrangle Agnes, the guests, and caterers alike back to the veranda. Very few people have the strength to refuse Dolores’ will of iron.

When everyone is gone, I slip into the den and grab my phone. Stomach lurching with dread, I hit the button for Shaw and wait the tension-filled five seconds as it rings once before he answers. “Hey Mandy, what’s up?”

His cheerful tone surprises me until irritation sweeps away the pleasure his voice brings. Does he not realize I’m mad at him for ghosting me? “This isn’t a social call, Shaw.”

Buy/Read Links

Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | Books2Read | BookBub

Author Bio and Links

Marla White is a story analysis instructor at UCLA and writing coach who lives in Los Angeles. She graduated from the University of Kentucky where she took her first horseback riding lesson. After dabbling in hunters, barrel racing, and weekly trail rides, she fell hopelessly in love with the sport of eventing. She conquered Novice level before taking a break to pursue novel writing but hopes to return to the saddle some day soon. When she’s not writing, she’s out in the garden, hiking, putting together impossibly difficult puzzles, or (of course!) baking.

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok

Giveaway

Marla White will be awarding a $15 Amazon/Barnes & to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

Follow Marla on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Victory Witherkeigh. Today, Victory shares interesting details about her creative journey and new release, The Girl.

Interview

What was your inspiration for this book?

I wanted to write a book for young brown girls like myself who felt they couldn’t identify with most of the female characters in the novels, especially if they were of the fantasy or dark fantasy genre. I wanted a heroine to help me add a layer to my question as a young girl — what does being “likable” have to do with being a hero? Can you do good if you come from something terrible where you’re told repeatedly that nothing “likable” can come from? Be Good? I wanted to help expose the dangers of the idea that “likeability” or even “popularity” means “goodness.” I want future readers who hear this story to have another voice added to those who have been “othered” or considered “unlikeable” and how those labels don’t always mean what we think they do.

What’s the best part of being an author? The worst?

The best part of being an author is that it has a targeted funnel for my creativity and a place to express myself. Writing was always my safe place. It was something I enjoyed doing, even simply for therapeutic purposes. Something is thrilling about putting the puzzle pieces together or feeling like your emotions are flowing out through your fingers at lightning speed when you’re in the zone, so to speak. Which is the double-edged sword of what I think can be the worst parts – mining and milking the most traumatic moments of your life, knowing that industry will then reject most of them while still struggling with diversity issues, can be very painful. As a writer, any scene that explores feelings of vulnerability or emotional struggles, especially in coming-of-age stories, is heart-wrenching to write, imagine, or empathize with. After the “bombshells” of the publishing industry for BIPOC authors came out in the past few years, the anxiety of getting into this business only increased. The last count I had in 2021 when I was querying the manuscript for The Girl, was something over three hundred agents or publishers had said no to it, so it’s definitely a process that is not for the faint of heart.

Describe your writing space.

I finally have a personal writing space that I can call my own, though it is pretty spartan. I keep a writing desk and a couple of bookcases to hold a few things that help spur my imagination or are key professional life mementos. These include some of the essential YA series or novels I remembered being inspired by as a kid and a small section of shelf for my author’s copies of various horror anthologies or horror and/or dark fantasy magazines I’ve been a part of previously. There is a shelf dedicated to more nonfiction works from my childhood hero, Kobe Bryant, and an entire series of books devoted to the pre-colonial era of the Pacific Island cultures. Interspersed through, there are some art pieces I’ve collected through the years, scented candles I love, and some crystals with older hula and Tahitian performance items from my previous dancing days. It is a work in progress, though, as my cat still does not approve of me not having a sitting area for anyone else, so she refuses to come into my office.

Which authors have inspired you?

I enjoyed reading R. L. Stine and Christopher Pike to Tolkien and C. S. Lewis as a kid. The first dark fantasy series I fell in love with was Garth Nix’s Abhorsen Series and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comics. Once in high school, a friend recommended the Game of Thrones series as it felt the most realistic for a change. Once I was out of college, I had more time to pick up works by Leigh Bardugo and Erin Morgenstern. Books like I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez and The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke are other contemporary favorites I’ve discovered over the years.

What is your favorite quote?

“Everything -negative, pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.”
Kobe Bryant

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

I’m going to pick something utterly obscure that I don’t know if many people will get, but if I had a choice, I’d want the superpowers of Cloak and Dagger from Marvel Comics. They were a crime-fighting duo that became friends as runaway teens. One ended up with powers of intangibility and teleportation. He’d give people sensations of numbing cold and experiencing terrifying visions of their greatest fears and nightmares. If they were exposed for too long, they could be driven insane. He could also see the fears of certain people he touched. The other could create a multitude of light daggers that drain living beings of life, and she could see the hopes of certain people by touching them.

Besides writing and reading, what are some of your hobbies?

Traveling! I love traveling because it is a great inspiration and, at times, a much-needed kick in the pants for my mental health and ego. Having fresh adventures and seeing/learning about older cultures just does something for me that gives me a feeling of inner peace, especially trying new foods.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

The first thing any aspiring writer should do is be honest with themselves about their writing journey goals. Do they want their work to be on shelves? Do they want awards? Do they want to interact with their readership, and how often? And maybe who do they see as their’ readership?’ The next step would be to write AND finish what they are writing – a short story, novella, script, or novel. Then, I would recommend learning all they can about the particular niche of the publishing industry they are trying to target. Joining writing or critique groups is a great way to get third-party feedback on your writing and some pros or cons about a particular genre. Various writers’ or authors’ guilds can help writers find groups or even offer courses on improvements that writers can do for their own skill set – world-building, editing, emotional scenes, etc. There are writing conferences that provide a variety of current industry topics, and even the streaming platforms of Masterclass or YouTube carry older material, like lectures from previous speakers, that are available for minimal cost.

What are you working on next?

I recently saw an anthology calling for fiction stories based on songs by David Bowie that sounded interesting to me, so I may pull something together for that. I still try to monitor short fiction calls even though I may only have time to do some of the ones that interest me. I’m an overthinker, so I have to have some other ideas on the back burner all the time. A couple of my scary short stories are coming out in December 2022. One will be in a magazine called A Coup of Owls. Diet Milk Magazine will release another on Christmas Day as part of a theme called “In Bleak Midwinter.”

Blurb

The parents knew it had been a mistake to have a girl. At birth, the girl’s long, elegant fingers wriggled and grasped forward, motioning to strangle the very air from her mother’s lungs. As she grew older, she grew more like her father, whose ancestors would dream of those soon to die. She walked and talked in her sleep, and her parents warded themselves, telling the girl that she was evil, unlovable, their burden to bear only until her eighteenth birthday released them.

The average person on the streets of Los Angeles would look at the girl and see a young woman with dark chocolate eyes, curly long hair, and tanned skin of her Filipina heritage. Her teachers praised her for her scholarly achievements and extracurricular activities, from academic decathlon to cheer.

The girl knew she was different, especially as she grew to accept that the other children’s parents didn’t despise them. Her parents whispered about their pact as odd and disturbing occurrences continued to happen around her. The girl thought being an evil demon should require the skies to bleed, the ground to tremble, an animal sacrifice to seal the bargain, or at least cause some general mayhem. Did other demons work so hard to find friends, do well on their homework, and protect their spoiled younger brother?

The demon was patient. It could afford to wait, to remind the girl when she was hurt that power was hers to take. She needed only embrace it. It could wait. The girl’s parents were doing much of its work already.

Excerpt

She smoothed the wrinkles down on her black Hermès slacks and shirt before turning the crystal hotel doorknob.

“You bring nothing good into this world,” her mother said, baring her teeth. “You just corrupt and destroy everything. You’re a catalyst, a demonic catalyst. You’re only fit to annihilate. One day you’ll understand the destructive nature of your power. You’ll see the damage you’ll bring to those around you when it’s too late. All those people who tell us you’re amazing, they’ll figure it out. You’ve fooled them for now, but they’ll learn.”

The mother slammed the door as she walked out with that last statement. The tears flowed from the girl’s face as she looked at the door. Her breathing sped up as her stomach roiled, sending her sprinting to the toilet. Her hands were shaking, clammy, as she collapsed to the floor, chills running through her body as she looked up at the ceiling. The orange and bergamot scents of the soaps mixed with the stark, white porcelain tile floor were the only anchors she could focus on to stop herself from throwing up again. Deep in her gut, at the core of her being, there was only one thought she could grasp: she’s right.

“I don’t want to be evil,” she said, whimpering to herself. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“But you aren’t alone, pretty girl,” a voice said with a throaty laugh.

Author Bio and Links

Victory Witherkeigh is a female Filipino author originally from Los Angeles, CA, currently living in the Las Vegas area. Victory was a finalist for Wingless Dreamer’s 2020 Overcoming Fear Short Story award and a 2021 winner of the Two Sisters Writing and Publishing Short Story Contest.

She has print publications in the horror anthologies Supernatural Drabbles of Dread through Macabre Ladies Publishing, Bodies Full of Burning through Sliced Up Press, and In Filth It Shall Be Found through OutCast Press.

Her first novel, set to debut in Spring 2024 with Cinnabar Moth Publishing, has been a finalist for Killer Nashville’s 2020 Claymore Award, a 2020 Cinnamon Press Literature Award Honoree, and long-listed in the 2021 Voyage YA Book Pitch Contest.

Instagram | Facebook | Website | Twitter | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

Victory Witherkeigh will be awarding a $10 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

Follow Victory on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Charlene Bell Dietz. Today, Charlene shares her new release, The Spinster, the Rebel, and the Governor.

Blurb

Move over Susan B. Anthony. There’s an unsung woman asking for the vote 224 years before you. In 1638-1648 Margaret Brent, fighting for justice became a voice in court for others, educated an Indian princess, built a fort and saved pre-colonial Maryland from destruction. The American Bar Association each year honors select women attorneys, such as Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sandra Day O’Connor with their Margaret Brent Award.

Excerpt

The Wells girl covered her eyes with both hands. Margaret, ignoring the buzzing of flies and the damp heat of the morning sun, worked to untangle the girl’s words in her mind.

“If the river doesn’t take me, then I shall have my baby alone and will have to live with Master Cole, and I shall never see my dear Tom again.” With that, she burst into tears.

“You do not look like you are about to have a baby. Why do you say your time is up?”

“Master Cole brought me here four years ago. He said after I had worked for him for four years, I wouldn’t owe him a tad more, and now he says I can’t leave, and so I might as well marry him. Lady Brent. I worked hard from early morning until after dark every day, and my time is up. Even the devil would say this isn’t right.” She sniffed and looked away.

Margaret set her jaw. “Heaven help us if other masters here in Maryland treat their servants in this manner.”

“There’s nothing I can do.” She bit her lip. “I thought maybe the next time you talked with Governor Calvert you might say something on my behalf, and I pray my request is not one of cheekiness.”

“Mary.” Margaret called sharply across to the soap making group. “Would you please come here?”

When Mary finished saying something, she trotted over to the garden. “Hello, Carrie. Are you not feeling well—your face seems flushed?”

“So, you are acquainted with Carrie Wells?” Margaret studied her sister, slipped the basket from Carrie, and moved it into Mary’s hands. “She brought these for us and herbs to scent your soap.”

“Sometimes on Sundays after church Carrie walks with me in the woods and shows me barks, roots, and herbs that heal.” She glanced at the basket. “Why, these are lovely.” She glanced at the young woman, then put her hand on Carrie’s arm. “Are you still having trouble with Jacob Cole?”

“Jacob Cole is about to have troubles with her. Has Giles returned from Kent for Assembly today? Will both our brothers be at the meeting?” Margaret’s frogs roiled inside her.

How dare these men take advantage of their servants?

“I saw him and Fulke along with some other men heading to Lewger’s home earlier.”

“Come, Carrie Wells. We shall also attend Assembly.”

“But—Margaret,” Mary grabbed her arm. “Certainly, women would not be allowed—”

Margaret shrugged Mary away, snatched Carrie Wells by her hand, and stomped off down the path.

“Sister,” Mary called after her, “you must take off that filthy apron. You’re covered in soil.”

Margaret jerked it untied and slung it. “There is a difference between God’s soil and men’s dirt. Carrie Wells and I are about to sort this very thing out with all those fine gentlemen of Assembly.”

Author Bio and Links

Charlene Bell Dietz writes science and historical-suspense, award-winning mystery novels and short stories. Her award-winning short stories have been published in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers 2016 Anthology and SouthWest Writers 2019 Anthology. The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur combines family saga with corporate espionage. The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker propels readers back into 1923 frenetic Chicago during the Roaring Twenties. Both these novels were named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2018, and each won the coveted Kirkus Starred Review. Her latest novel, The Scientist, the Psychic, and the Nut, gives readers a frightening Caribbean vacation. Her current work in progress, a biographical historical novel, starts in England in 1638 and ends in precolonial Maryland. Charlene, a retired educator, traveled the United States as a consultant for Houghton Mifflin Publishers after a career of teaching little ones, older ones, and college graduates. Surrounded by forests and meadows, she currently lives in the foothills of the mountains in central NM several miles from the small village of Torreon. Charlene is the current president of Croak & Dagger, New Mexico Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She belongs to Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and SouthWest Writers.

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Giveaway

Charlene Bell Dietz will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

Follow Charlene on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome back author Bentley Turner. Today, Bentley shares details about his writing journey and his new release, The Agency

Here’s Bentley!

What was your inspiration for this book?

“The Agency” is a historical and suspenseful thriller featuring Mason Cunningham, a well-educated former agent and now director of a small department at the CIA. Cunningham and his staff investigate sightings of UFOs. Later, however, Cunningham learns from one of his staff members that a retired agent who reportedly passed away has been seen. Cunningham investigates and uncovers information that can put his department and the CIA in jeopardy.

I was inspired by my interest in the government’s investigation of UFOs and whether I could write a historical thriller about a well-educated agent turned director.

What’s the best part of being an author?

The best part is reading what readers think about what you write.

The worst?

Once in a while a writer may have to cut or change a character or cut or change a scene. Such consumes time. I know this from experience. Although I have not written that many novels, I remember my first. I changed more than one character and changed the plot several times over a long period. In fact, the final version that was published took several years to write and edit.

Describe your writing space.

I have a large office with several desks and bookshelves. Although I have a few reference books, I do most of my research using my computer.

Which authors have inspired you?

When I was much younger, I read novels by Erle Stanley Gardner, John D. MacDonald, Erskine Caldwell, John O’Hara, Ernest Hemingway, Jame M. Cain, and a number of others. Later, I read novels written by Harold Robbins and Sidney Sheldon, among others. I prefer the earlier novels and writers. However, I do read novels by Linwood Barclay, Stuart Woods, and others from time to time. Overall, I would say the earlier writers have inspired me the most.

What is your favorite quote?

My favorite is from the “Holy Bible.” I do not have one from another source.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

To heal people.

Besides writing and reading, what are some of your hobbies?

My hobbies include walking and hiking in state and national parks–that is, until Covid hit.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

An aspiring writer must write or edit something almost every day–that is, if s/he is serious about becoming a writer. I try to do this regularly. Sometimes I’m satisfied with what I write, sometimes I’m not. Consequently, a writer must enjoy editing what s/he writes, too.

What are you working on next?

I just sent another mystery to the publisher that publishes my mysteries and thrillers. A different publisher has a nonfiction manuscript. I expect to receive reviews from this publisher in January or so.

Blurb

This historical suspenseful thriller features Mason Cunningham, a well-educated former Navy pilot turned CIA agent who becomes the director of the department that investigates UFOs. His job is not only to determine sighting locations but also determine the health of those who reported the sightings and experienced exposure to bright lights. When Cunningham learns that a recently retired agent, who reportedly died, has been seen by one of his staff members, his job comes to a crashing halt and an investigation begins. What he discovers just might put his department – and the CIA – in jeopardy.

Purchase Links

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon AU

I’m happy to welcome bestselling author Patricia Leavy. Today, Patricia shares her new release, Film Blue.

Blurb

Reminiscent of Sex and the City meets The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Patricia Leavy’s Film Blue is a captivating and inspiring story about the pursuit of dreams and what it truly means to live a “big” life.

A couple of years after finishing college, Tash Daniels has put her love of filmmaking on the back burner. She’s working retail, club-hopping, and scraping by to pay the rent. Usually attracted to the wrong guy, she’s at a loss when she finally falls for the right one. Sexy deejay Aidan is living his life authentically as an artist and encourages her to do the same. Will she open her heart? Will she bet on herself and her dreams? Is a girl with a dream truly on her own in the world? Tash’s friends are along for the journey: Jason Woo, lighthearted model on the rise; Penelope Waters, earnest graduate student with a secret no one suspects; Lu K, fiercely independent hot-girl deejay; and Monroe Preston, the glamorous wife of a Hollywood studio head. Frequently bathed in the glow of the silver screen, the characters show us how the arts can reignite the light within, pushing us to confront our fears so we can choose how to live in the present. Film Blue is a novel about following our passions, the hidden side of our dreams, the power of art, what it means to truly live a “big” life, and finding the people to go with us on our journey. A tribute to 1980s pop culture set against the backdrop of contemporary New York and Los Angeles, Film Blue celebrates how the art we experience and make can shape our stories, frame by frame.

Excerpt

Monroe slipped on her favorite gray silk nightgown and matching robe, and tied the sash around her waist. She opened her nightstand drawer and retrieved the unopened prescription bottle. Sitting on the edge of her bed and rolling the bottle in her hand, it occurred to her that she felt no emotion whatsoever. No sadness, or despair, or grief held her hand. Exhaustion was her only companion. She was done. After moving the bottle from one hand to the other, over and over again, she tucked it into her pocket. She got up and wandered through her house until she found Bill in his office, hunched over the desk.

“It’s so late, darling. Why don’t you come to bed?” she asked.

“I’ll be there soon enough. I have to get through these papers first,” he replied, gesturing to the stack on his desk.

“Good night, Bill. I love you. Truly, I do,” Monroe said, before gently shutting the door behind her.

She bumped into Henry on her way back to her bedroom.

“Good night, Henry,” she said softly.

“Good night, Mrs. Preston. Oh, I forgot to tell you that Miss Daniels left her short film here yesterday. She said you had asked to see it.”

“Oh, that’s right. I did promise her,” she mumbled to herself. Then she refocused on Henry. “Maybe I’ll watch it now. I know it’s late, but would you mind putting it on for me in the screening room?”

“Certainly, ma’am,” he replied.

Monroe settled into one of the raspberry-colored velvet seats in their lavish private screening room. Henry switched the lights off as the film began. Light from the screen flickered on Monroe’s face as the opening credits rolled. Shot in black and white, the camera zoomed in on two young people on a city rooftop in the middle of the night. They were laughing and running across the roof, bits of paper swept up in the breeze. A burst of hot pink leapt off the screen, followed by eruptions of turquoise and purple. Monroe leaned closer. The corners of her mouth trembled and a smile began to crawl across her face. She leaned closer and let the glow from the screen wash over her. Her smile morphed into laughter and tears flooded her eyes. As her smile grew and her laughter became louder, the tears flowed harder. Her face was drenched by the time the closing credits rolled. She sat, soaking in a feeling she couldn’t quite name, a feeling she knew was connected to life itself.

Henry returned and flipped the lights on. “Shall I close the room for you before I retire to bed?” he asked.

She wiped her face with her palms and turned to face him. “No. Henry, please get Bill right away. Tell him there’s something he must see.”

Author Bio and Links

Patricia Leavy, Ph.D., is a bestselling author. She was formerly Associate Professor of Sociology, Chair of Sociology and Criminology, and Founding Director of Gender Studies at Stonehill College in Massachusetts. She has published over forty books, earning commercial and critical success in both fiction and nonfiction, and her work has been translated into many languages. Patricia has received dozens of accolades for her books. Recently, her romance collection Celestial Bodies: The Tess Lee and Jack Miller Novels was the 2022 Firebird Awards first-place winner for Romance. The book also received 2022 International Impact Book Awards for Women’s Fiction and Romance, a 2022 NYC Big Book Award for Distinguished Favorite Anthology, and a 2022 Literary Titan Gold Book Award for Fiction. Patricia has also received career awards from the New England Sociological Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and the National Art Education Association. In 2016 Mogul, a global women’s empowerment network, named her an “Influencer.” In 2018, she was honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame and SUNY-New Paltz established the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice.” She lives in Maine with her husband, daughter (when she’s not away at college), and her dog. Patricia loves writing, reading, watching films, and traveling.

Website | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

Patricia Leavy will be awarding a $10 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

Follow Patricia on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome author Marina Hill. Today, Marina shares details about her creative journey and new release, Little Writer.

Interview

What was your inspiration for this book?

Comfort. I really wanted to write something cozy, something I could come back to when I want to feel seen, loved, and heard. Little Women is already such a warm book for me, but I wanted to expand it to something even more relatable.

Which authors have inspired you?

I’ve recently been admiring Tracy Deonn! She’s so graceful, smart, and talented. She’s certainly who I aspire to be like. Since the beginning of my writing career, I’ve been a fangirl of Alex Bracken. I love her aesthetic, and I was so enamored by her writing in the Passenger duology that I bought a second copy so I could study her prose.

What is your favorite quote?

Non-writing related:
“I only debate my equals. All others, I teach.” —John Henrik Clarke, an astounding scholar.

Writing related:
“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” —Richard Bach. This quote entirely changed my perspective.

Besides writing and reading, what are some of your hobbies?

I love to paint. Any form of creativity calms me. I also picked up knitting recently and I really love it!

Any advice for aspiring writers?

There is no such thing as an aspiring writer. If you write, you are a writer. But for new writers, I encourage persistence. Always remain a student. Improving your writing craft is not an uphill journey, it’s an expanding circle. You widen your circle of knowledge and skill instead of building a mountain of them.

Blurb

A retelling of the classic coming-of-age story Little Women through the intimate lens of Jo March.

It’s 1862 and fifteen-year-old Jo March would rather be fighting in the war, like her papa, than improving her knitting skills on the home front. But societal conventions for the “gentle” woman-and her steadfast adoration for her three sisters-force Jo to stay behind and support the family, all the while rolling her eyes at Aunt March and daydreaming of becoming a famous author.

At home, love abounds in the March girls’ lives in the form of family, friendship, patriotism, religion, and-to Jo’s chagrin-romance. As each sister navigates their ascent into adulthood, Jo unwittingly ventures down a path of self-realization, using her gift of written prose to craft her voice, and thus, her truth. Perhaps, just maybe, she can strike balance between the freedom of independence and the warmth of partnership…

In this visionary adaptation, Little Writer tells the March sisters’ timeless journey to womanhood with a multiracial cast of characters, reimagining history to include diverse communities without elaboration.

Excerpt

As Marmee reads, I close my eyes and hear the words in Papa’s voice and imagine myself beside him.

I look up and I’m sitting on a cot inside a tent. I’m still wearing my shift and thin mantle. Papa walks inside and grins, his bright teeth splitting his bushy beard in two.

“Papa!” I exclaim, jumping up and throwing my arms around him. “Oh, I miss you.”

“I miss you, too, my little writer. Come, let me show you the camp.”

He takes my hand and guides me outside. The sun blinds me and horses stomp by and men chitter. The damp ground seeps through my socks and soaks my feet. None of that matters. His arm wraps around me and I savor the warmth of his embrace. He points at a group of men standing around a table inside an open tent. “They’re deciding where the soldiers will march.” Then he gestures toward men crowding around a fire. “They’re having lunch.” Papa leads me through the crowd and a couple of them nod at me in acknowledgment. My toes turn numb at the cold and wiggling them does no good. He opens a creaky door to a wooden shack. There are four beds and some candles that barely light the entire place. “And this is where I sleep.”

At the sight of the threadbare blankets and the shiver running over my body, I look at him with bewildered eyes. “Aren’t you cold at night?”

Papa smiles a gentle smile that I miss dearly. His silver hair, his thick beard, his soft hands. I miss my papa and I can’t wait until he comes home.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | KOBO | Apple Books

Having read Little Women many times and watched two film versions, I had a good grasp of the plot and characters. Four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—face the challenges of growing up in a financially-strapped home in the aftermath of the Civil War.

I wondered if Ms. Hill’s decision to reimagine this classic coming-of-age story using Jo’s POV and a multiracial cast of characters was a bit too ambitious.

I needn’t have worried.

Retelling the story from Jo’s perspective was an inspired choice. The second eldest of the March siblings has always been my favorite character. While reading Little Writer, I could feel Jo’s emotions more intensely. I also gained insight into her creative and romantic struggles as she navigated the rocky terrain between childhood and adulthood.

Creating new identities for the characters—March family is black, Laurie is of Asian descent, and John Brookes is of Native American descent—did not affect the storyline. As Ms. Hill points out in the Author’s Note: “You could say they live in a raceless world—or in alternate history, as some like to say.”

Set aside large blocks of uninterrupted reading time. You won’t be able to put this book down.

Author Bio and Links

Marina Hill is a writer with a keen interest in all things undiscovered. She grew up in the New Jersey side of Philadelphia, watching Eagles games and roughhousing with her plethora of older brothers. She attended Baruch College in NYC and has over a dozen publications of her other works. If she isn’t daydreaming about her next story, she’s studying history or yearning to dash into the forest, build a farm, and never look back. Marina never lives in one spot for too long and loves to travel with her dog.

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Giveaway

Marina Hill will be awarding a $15 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

Follow Marina on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.