Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season!

It's been crazy busy with work and life, but I'm plugging along on the next Misfit Shifter novel. Hope to be tying "The End" in the next couple of weeks.

Dark's Destiny is here! It's release day!

 It's Release Day! Dark's Destiny is here!

From JMS books: https://www.jms-books.com/cheyenne-meadows-c-224_308/darks-destiny-p-4701.html

Coming soon to Amazon and other book sellers!

Steeped in magical talent but cursed by a prophecy, Dark Arthur would much rather fix up old houses than enter the melee between good and evil in the realm of wizardry. Too bad Fate had other ideas when he steps into the small town bookstore to collect an ancient spell book. He finds a woman who not only possesses remarkable gifts, but also brightens his life with her presence. Protecting her from evil wizards would be difficult enough, but an easy task compared to guarding his heart.

Destiny Jones’s life has been a roller coaster of late, after taking over her late, great aunt’s bookstore. A mystical customer shows up to collect a previously purchased book and Destiny knows he’s trouble. The extent of her magical experience includes rumors of low-wattage witches in the family, unless one cares to include her ability to hold two-sided conversations with her cat. Now, she finds herself reading runes in ancient spells and facing dark wizards in her spare time.

Dark and Destiny must join forces to overcome the evil sent their way. As the danger increases, so do their feelings for each other. But, in the end, will it be enough?

Release day for Dark's Destiny is this Saturday, June 3rd!

 

 

 Hi all,

Dark's Destiny is almost here! Release date is June 3rd! That's right! It's just around the corner! To celebrate, who wants another sneak peek?

Steeped in magical talent but cursed by a prophecy, Dark Arthur would much rather fix up old houses than enter the melee between good and evil in the realm of wizardry. Too bad Fate had other ideas when he steps into the small town bookstore to collect an ancient spell book. He finds a woman who not only possesses remarkable gifts, but also brightens his life with her presence. Protecting her from evil wizards would be difficult enough, but an easy task compared to guarding his heart.

Destiny Jones’s life has been a roller coaster of late, after taking over her late, great aunt’s bookstore. A mystical customer shows up to collect a previously purchased book and Destiny knows he’s trouble. The extent of her magical experience includes rumors of low-wattage witches in the family, unless one cares to include her ability to hold two-sided conversations with her cat. Now, she finds herself reading runes in ancient spells and facing dark wizards in her spare time.

Dark and Destiny must join forces to overcome the evil sent their way. As the danger increases, so do their feelings for each other. But, in the end, will it be enough?

Available now at JMS Publishing: https://www.jms-books.com/cheyenne-meadows-c-224_308/darks-destiny-p-4701.html

Coming very soon to Amazon and other book sellers!

Here's another sneak peak:


“Okay. So back to the problem at hand. There’s no place to secure the books?” She added detergent, turned a knob, and hit the start button before returning to the living room.

He glanced her direction from the table. “No.”

She frowned. “Then why was ‘find the books and hide them in a safe spot for generations’ on the docket as a possible plan?”

He shrugged. “It was the easiest fix.”

“With them staying at my house?” Her voice rose in pitch at the end of the sentence.

“No one found them here so far.”

“Yeah, but that was before first Kooky and then Bad-tempered Demon showed up.”

Dark smirked.

“So, what do we do now?” She sat down at the table opposite him.

He gestured toward the books on the table. “I want to go through these, find useful spells, and add them to my repertoire. You can help by reading the runes. We can cross reference the symbols with this other book. If all else fails, there’s the internet.”

“Okay. Now what about visiting the tomb of the evil wizard master?”

“Tomb is a bit ... misconstrued in this case. Not too far away, one of the older guys runs an establishment. He’s in-the-know and might provide a little insight for the right price.”

“Dare I ask, what that price might be and please tell me it’s not dropping someone in a volcano or offering them a tasty snack of fresh human blood.”

Dark scowled. “Where do you come up with this nonsense?”

“Lots of late nights with very little selections on television, obviously.” She waved her hand. “So, tell already. What’s the price?”

“A fairly expensive bottle of cognac should do it.” He gave a slight nod.

“What do you consider fairly expensive?”

“Not enough to break the bank, but enough to make this a once in a year thing.”

The numbers revolved around in her head. “Like a vacation?” Her mouth fell open. “A bottle of liquor costs as much as a yearly vacation to…well, somewhere?” She shook her head. “For that price, he should not only spill all the beans, but dry clean your clothes, take you out to eat several times, and buy you a lifetime subscription to Wizards Quarterly.”

He smiled wide enough to flash straight white teeth. “You should tell him that.”

“What? Me? Why me? I was going to stay home and do the homework assignment.” She gestured to the books.

He learned a little closer and whispered, “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

She frowned. “Oh no. No. No. No. I have a business to run. I have a life.” Well, not much of one, but it sounded good.

“Are you forgetting there’s two evil wizards out there who’d like to get their hands on you? One of them blew up your car.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“Well, when you put it that way ...” She sighed heavily. “My life was so easy and predictable a few days ago. Now I’m stuck in the middle of wizard posturing and muscle flexing and my precious car seemed to be the ante for the ridiculous game. I want a refund. A do-over.”

“Sorry, time travel isn’t one of my abilities.” He stared at her for a long moment. “What happened to the kick-butt woman that was just here?”

“She decided she wanted to live,” Destiny fired back.

Dark's Destiny release date moved back to June and a sneak peek

 Dark's Destiny is almost here! Release date has been moved back to June, but no worries. It will be here before you know it!

To help tide you over, here's a sneak peek:  

Destiny checked her watch as she entered her home through the back door, shutting it firmly behind her. Dang, I’m running late. A moving shadow drew her attention. “Hey, Sebastian.” He’d been curled up in one of his favorite spots—in the top hammock of the cat tree in the corner.

::I prefer the name Death:: He stood and stretched his long front legs out before him, flexing his claws as he did so.

Plunking her purse on the nearby kitchen table, she rolled her eyes at the huge, long-haired Maine coon cat. All muscle, he reminded her of a panther, except for his brilliant orange tabby coat and the large, pointy ears complete with tufts of whitish hair arcing outwards. Weighing in at just under forty pounds, he was a huge specimen, even for one of the largest breeds of domestic cats. His two extra toes on all four paws gave a mitten appearance, making his feet look even bigger.

“Yeah, well, I preferred the name Pickles. I believe we compromised.” They had this very same discussion several times per week. She patted his head as she hurried to Pru’s home office, her late great aunt’s inner sanctum, so to speak.

Sebastian snorted but jumped down and padded along behind her.

She’d adopted Sebastian as a kitten three years before. Something about him just clicked. She guessed it was because he spoke to her that day—in her mind. Most people would’ve waved it off as her imagination. Destiny knew better. Descended from a long line of witches, she inherited the ability from her father’s descendants. Her mother’s ancestors didn’t hold a lick of magic. Not even Aunt Pru, who was eccentric enough without the addition of such unusual skills.

On the low-wattage end of witchcraft, as explained by her paternal grandmother, the most any of them could do was start a tiny flame without the use of a lighter or flint. Generations of hooking up with non-witches seemed to have diluted the abilities. Fine with Destiny, as she’d more than likely have ended up burning the house down with any of those capabilities. Still, she possessed a single, magical gift—she could hold conversations with her sassy, arrogant cat. No other animals, just Sebastian.

Truth be told, she’d decided that magical abilities had fizzled when it came down to her. Sebastian, on the other hand, possessed plenty. When she considered the entire puzzle, it made sense. Sebastian projected his words into her mind and he understood her spoken words. It was all Sebastian with the gifts. She simply stood on the receiving end of his impressive abilities.

On the other hand, where his cat burglar skills came from, she didn’t bother to guess. As an escape artist extraordinaire, he could sneak into Fort Knox if he wanted. A normal house must be a piece of cake. He’d proven his expert abilities on several occasions—much to her chagrin.

“I have to find this book. Leather bound with a drawing of a flower on the cover.” She spoke out loud to keep herself on task, and as a habit. Since Sebastian could understand everything she said, she always kept him in the loop as a nod to manners.

::Why?::

“A customer bought it from Aunt Pru. He’s here to collect.” She recalled those piercing eyes and knew she couldn’t return empty-handed. No matter what.

Hanging a right, she entered the office only to come to an immediate halt. “Sebastian? What’s this?” She glared at the large white sock on the floor with a mix of trepidation and resignation.

Sebastian jumped up into the office chair, sat down, and started washing his front paws. ::My latest kill::

Destiny sighed heavily. “We’ve talked about this. You can’t go around stealing stuff from other people.”

He ignored her. Just like every other time over the past year that he’d requisitioned one article of clothing or another.

 Happy Mother's Day to all. Furbabies are kids, too! 

 

 

Dark's Destiny arriving on May 20th. Here's a sneak peek!

 

 

 I'm thrilled to announce that Dark's Destiny will be released by JMS Books on May 20th!

Here's a sneak peek!

     Steeped in magical talent but cursed by a prophesy, Dark would much rather fix up old houses than enter the melee between good and evil in the realm of wizardry. Too bad fate had other ideas the second he stepped into the small town bookstore to collect an ancient spell book and found a woman that not only possessed remarkable gifts, but also brightened up his dull life with her mere presence. Protecting her from evil wizards would be difficult enough, but an easy task compared to guarding his heart.

     Destiny Jones’s life has been a roller coaster of late, after taking over her late, great aunt’s bookstore. Then a mystical customer shows up to collect a previously purchased book and Destiny knows he’s trouble. The extent of her magical experience includes rumors of low-wattage witches in the family, unless one cared to include her ability to hold two-sided conversations with her cat. Now, she finds herself reading runes in ancient spells and facing off against scary dark wizards in her spare time.

     Dark’s burdened with ensuring the balance of good and evil. His prophesy is clearly written and his fate spelled out from his birth—to stand against the evil forces, he’d sacrifice his sanity and most likely his life. Yet, this bright light of sunshine, named Destiny, inspires him to defy all that and fight for the greatest reason of all.

Just signed a contract for a new book! Dark's Destiny will be out soon!

 Hi all,

I'm thrilled to announce I just signed a contract with JMS Publishing for my latest story entitled Dark's Destiny! This has been an epic story and one that embraced a new genre for me--fantasy!

 

We're aiming for May, 2023 for a release date. I'll definitely keep you posted. 

 

Oh, in case you're wondering what's next. Well, I started a brand new Misfit Shifters story and it's moving along nicely. I'm excited to return to the world of the Bluebird Valley Preserve and all the unusual, but addictive characters that make that sanctuary their home. 

Here's the unofficial blurb for those wanting a sneak peek of Dark's Destiny:  

Steeped in magical talent but cursed by a prophesy, Dark would much rather fix up old houses than enter the melee between good and evil in the realm of wizardry. Too bad fate had other ideas the second he stepped into the small town bookstore to collect an ancient spell book and found a woman that not only possessed remarkable gifts, but also brightened up his dull life with her mere presence. Protecting her from evil wizards would be difficult enough, but an easy task compared to guarding his heart.

Destiny Jones’s life has been a roller coaster of late, after taking over her late, great aunt’s bookstore. Then a mystical customer shows up to collect a previously purchased book and Destiny knows he’s trouble.  The extent of her magical experience includes rumors of low-wattage witches in the family, unless one cared to include her ability to hold two-sided conversations with her cat. Now, she finds herself reading runes in ancient spells and facing off against scary dark wizards in her spare time.

Dark’s burdened with ensuring the balance of good and evil. His prophesy is clearly written and his fate spelled out from his birth—to stand against the evil forces, he’d sacrifice his sanity and most likely his life. Yet, this bright light of sunshine, named Destiny, inspires him to defy all that and fight for the greatest reason of all.

 

Today's Reflection

 Hi all,

I wanted to share with you today. 

Betty White would have been 101 today. I thought back to last year and the huge surge in charitable donations for animals. The great outpouring of support and respect for a remarkable lady.

So, today, I thought about how I could make a difference. The world is cold, dark, and filled with anger and fighting. It seems we see so little happiness and good things. We all know things have to change, but many just don't know where to begin. 

I throw out this idea. We don't have to be rich or famous to make a difference. Not at all. The world is filled with small, beautiful acts that are immensely meaningful to others. Perhaps donate to your favorite charity. Even $2 or $5 can make a difference. It all adds up. Adopt a homeless pet. Volunteer for a couple of hours. Buy a stranger a cup of coffee. Smile as your pass someone on the sidewalk. Compliment a child and watch them beam with happiness. Offer a nice word to someone. Call or text a friend you haven't spoken with in a while just to tell them you are thinking of them.

I can't help but think, in the troubled times we are in, that there's so much a single person can do. No, we don't have to save the world ourselves. But, one small act of kindness can start a trend. You never know. Maybe the one thing you do makes all the difference in someone else's life.