Giveaway | July

It’s giveaway time!!! In July last year, Holly released Bring Him Back, Jack. She wrote it to celebrate Different Eye Colour Day, which has to be linked to some kind of magic power, right? Of course, it has 😆

Ivan is a shadow walker, meaning he can melt into his surroundings. It makes him a really good thief, but while he likes a challenge, being blackmailed into stealing a diamond isn’t his idea of a good time.

I don’t have a matching story. I have several with magic users, but none where the characters can do what Ivan does, and none where vampires are kept as slaves.

I think the best I can do is Soul Eater. Thaddeus is a wizard, and while he’s a cop, he also happens to steal something – a werewolf skull, to be precise. And while he had no idea he could do anything with the dead, he accidentally releases the ghost trapped in the skull.

So two magic-wielding thieves are what we’re having this month 😁

If you want in on the draw, hop on over to Kingsumo and type in your email address. You’re not subscribing to anything, but make sure you use an address you check since it’s the one I’ll contact you on if you’re the winner.

Join the draw!

Once every century, a shadow walker is born. Ivan Charna is that shadow walker, and he and his sister Raina are on the run from wizards who want to sacrifice their blood in some crazy rite. They never stay long in one place, and they do their best not to stand out. When Raina loses a bet, Ivan is forced to work off her debt, and they have to stay put. As long as no wizard figures out what they are, Ivan doesn’t mind all that much since he gets to work with his favorite vampire.

Malik lives in a cell in a basement. He’s never allowed to go anywhere without chains around his wrists and ankles, and there is a stake hovering over his heart at all times. Master can trigger the stake with a push of a button. He doesn’t even have to be in the same room to do it. Malik dreams of a different life, a life with Ivan, but he’s a vampire, and vampires have to do what their masters tell them.

Ivan only has to steal one last diamond, then the debt is paid, and he and Raina can leave town. It should be easy, but when Remington Redwood, the man Raina owes money, insists on having Malik shadow his every step, it complicates things. Malik might dream about making Ivan his, but getting him away from Master alive has to be enough. Ivan knows it’s a stupid risk to take, but if he’s stealing a diamond, what’s to say he can’t steal a giant vampire too?

32,159 words

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Detective Thaddeus Ezax is in over his head. He’s the only wizard in Rockshade’s Paranormal Investigations Department, and it was his name that got him the job. The Ezaxs are known as some of the most powerful wizards in the world, but Thaddeus isn’t your average Ezaxs. Is it any wonder his family shuns him?

When a kidnapping case is dropped into his lap, Thaddeus must act fast. While most five-year-olds can cast a location spell, Thaddeus can’t and is forced to get creative. When he finds himself in possession of a black market werewolf skull with a ghost trapped inside, accidentally releases the spirit, and somehow forms a connection with it, things get even crazier.

Sandulf Hunter doesn’t remember dying, but he remembers the last thing he saw before everything went black — a wizard. All wizards must die! The only problem is, the wizard standing next to him smells too damned good, so good Sandy thinks he might have to keep him.

And since wherever Thaddeus goes, Sandulf finds himself yanked along, he might not have a choice in the matter anyway.

51,577 words

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Holly Around the World | June

When trying to think about where I’ve been this month, I’m drawing a blank. I was not on top of things when A Drop of Moonshine was released – deadlines and edits and stuff. That’s often how it goes, that everything collides, but normally, I’m good at starting at the top of the to-do and working my way down. This month, not so much.

It’s all sorted now! I’m on top of things again 😊 We’ve got this, right?

So I had a short spin around the world and it started at Nell Iris’s. We’re closest in the real world, less than two hours away, so it feels like a good place to start.

At Nell’s, I was talking about how I was making lilac wine. A Drop of Moonshine is about making moonshine, so it seemed like a good topic LOL

Then I hopped on over to Addison Albright’s, and there I was talking about music. Have you any idea how many songs there are with moonshine in them?? Many.

Then lastly, I stole a spot on Ofelia’s blog. There I talked about how A Drop of Moonshine was meant to be a quick little story, but how it ended up being 51k… Discovery writing, that’s what I’m doing, and I never know where it’s gonna lead me. I have some idea, but my characters don’t always act as they’re supposed to.

And that’s it. As I said, not a lot, but…

Life in a Square | June

Half the year has gone by! I have a hard time grasping that, to be honest. I haven’t worked my day job for a couple of months now, and have settled into a routine where I go up early and write for three hours every morning (some of it is kid-interrupted time, so it sounds better than it is) then I walk the dog and doing some housework before going back to the computer and doing marketing/blogging/organising things. I love it.

My biggest complaint is that June is too hot, and sitting by the computer after lunch isn’t as inviting as it is when it’s cold or pouring down outside. Plus the kids are off school, so there is no quiet time in the day as there was before. On the other hand, I don’t need to make sure they catch the bus in the morning, so it evens out.

On to some photos from the month!

We, of course, have some I’ve snapped while walking along the river. It’s inevitable LOL

Since we’re now in the middle of summer, bugs and other animals make an appearance. This, apparently, is a Buff-tip. The kids were out playing in the garden when they all began to shout for me to come. This little creature came flying and landed on a leaf. And when we were walking by the river we saw a crayfish? Crawfish? I can never figure out which word I’m supposed to use for them.

The kittens are growing and have now taken over the entire bottom floor of the house. Their mum is a bit tired of them at times LOL

And lastly, my sister wanted to experiment. She bought a pack of eggs in the grocery shop, asked me if I would take the chickens if there were any, and popped them into the incubator. I said I’d take them, and out of fifteen eggs, we got three little birds. They’re in that lovely teenage stage now, no longer cute feather balls and not yet beautiful grown birds.

I hardly ever post photos of my kids, but this captures what our days look like pretty well 😆