Stone PROMOTION

Promotion time. Stone Guardian by Paulina Woods is on sale for 0.99 for this weekend only. We are nearly out of time on this one so GO GO GO and get it now!!!! DOWNLOAD HERE

Element – Fire (Healer/Destroyer)
Royal House – Purple

Milcah was born to rule along side an evil mother. Milcah’s father was taken against his will and forced to give up his seed to produce a child with unimaginable powers. At a young age she was taken away from the only home she knows and forced to forget, again and again.

Raised by a detached stepmother, Milcah learned to depend on herself and her best friend, Mary for support. When Mary suggest a vacation, with a scenic route, to the Grand Canyon Milcah believes she is finally getting the chance to see outside her small town. Packing a few things and climbing into her old beat up car, she never imagined she would find a new side of herself.

Lost on a back road, Milcah meets her destiny in a small town named Beacon. When her mind is unlocked, she finds she has a past that will lead to the salvation or damnation of the world.

This is book one in The Witches Amulet series.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Stone Guardian

Another new release today, take a look at Stone Guardian by Paulina Woods and let us know what you think.

BLURB:

Element – Fire (Healer/Destroyer)

Royal House – Purple

Milcah was born to rule along side an evil mother. Milcah’s father was taken against his will and forced to give up his seed to produce a child with unimaginable powers. At a young age she was taken away from the only home she knows and forced to forget, again and again.

Raised by a detached stepmother, Milcah learned to depend on herself and her best friend, Mary for support. When Mary suggest a vacation, with a scenic route, to the Grand Canyon Milcah believes she is finally getting the chance to see outside her small town. Packing a few things and climbing into her old beat up car, she never imagined she would find a new side of herself.

Lost on a back road, Milcah meets her destiny in a small town named Beacon. When her mind is unlocked, she finds she has a past that will lead to the salvation or damnation of the world.

This is book one in The Witches Amulet series.

BUY LINKS:

Barns & Noble: http://goo.gl/xrMBRq Amazon: http://goo.gl/hMSCnQ

EXCERT:

“Damn it. How can I get lost with MapQuest? Stupid directions.” Milcah bangs her fist against the steering wheel. Two weeks ago driving across the country alone seemed like a great plan but now that she is actually doing it, not so much. “If I had known driving was going to be more stressful than work I would have flown.” After leaving Tucson, Arizona she had gotten lost on all the small highways and now she is on a godforsaken two lane highway where she hasn’t seen another car for ages, her phone refuses to get reception, and to top it

off there are storm clouds in the distance.

“Fuck me. I should have stayed home.” Something had told her to fill up at the last gas station so she is going to be ok there, but she needs to find somewhere to hole up until this storm passes. Getting stuck in the middle of the desert during a thunderstorm in an older Honda is not a good idea.

After driving another twenty minutes, Milcah spots a sign announcing a small mining town. Even small towns have hot food, hot water, and a nice warm bed. Glancing back at the clouds, she ignores her misgivings and turns right onto a small, barely paved road.

“Ouch!” Her left tire hits a pothole and she hears the bottom of the car scrape. Milcah hopes the older car she is driving is made out of tough material, she can’t afford expensive repairs.

Like a horror movie, the road starts to look overgrown and all but disappearing in some places. Milcah is sure the last time this road was paved was when pavement was first introduced. But with storm clouds riding her ass, there is no way Milcah is turning around. Reaching across to the passenger seat, Milcah picks up her phone, hoping the closer she drives to the town the better her reception will get. No such luck. Throwing her useless phone on the passenger seat, she passes under a sign that reads “Welcome to Beacon”.

“Beacon of what?” Looking around at the empty streets, Milcah feels a chill run down her spine. “This town should be named Forsaken.”

There is no other way to describe the sad, abandoned town. It has overgrown grass on the sides of the road, buildings with blank empty windows and the only sound is the shutters blowing in the wind. The town looks like it had been built in the early gold rush years and then abandoned soon after. Turning onto what she assumes is the main street, Milcah feels an oily sensation pass over her. It reminds her of her dreams.

“What have I gotten myself into? I don’t think phones were invented when this place was a booming town. There’s no way I am sticking around. I can make it to the next town.”

Making a U-turn, Milcah slams on her brakes to avoid hitting…what the hell was that? She knows it wasn’t in the road a few seconds ago. Scared but curious, Milcah studies the object. Standing at over seven feet tall, it can’t be mistaken for human. A ghost? But a ghost of what? A little transparent, it has wings, which reach from the middle of its knees and come to a point a little above its head. Wanting to get out the car and investigate but knowing that’s when people are killed in horror movies, Milcah presses the gas pedal, swerves around the creature, and heads for the road out of town. Gripping the steering wheel Milcah tries to stop her hands from shaking. What the hell was that? As she reaches for her phone, again hoping it will work, Milcah feels her hand pass through something warm. Glancing over, Milcah screams as she stares into the eyes of the creature, now calmly sitting in her car. Hitting her brakes to avoid running into anything and putting her car in park, Milcah turns in her seat to stare at it.

Milcah is able to make out more features, a heavy brow covering deep-seated eyes, a semi-flat nose resting over plump lips. Though not a classic beauty in any sense of the word, the thing still doesn’t look like a monster. Curiosity over shadows fear and Milcah reaches out and runs her hand through the creature again feeling the warmth and a slight tingle. Reaching for her amulet in a nervous gesture, Milcah tries to remember what she has read about ghosts and the proper thing to do. She doesn’t have any holy water but it doesn’t look like the thing is trying to suck out her soul or kill her.

“I think I have read way too many supernatural novels and need to get my head checked.” Milcah looks out the window, making sure she isn’t hanging upside down after crashing her car. A car crash would go a long way to

explaining what is happening. She turns her attention back to what’s sitting in her passenger’s seat. It seems to be studying her just as much as she is studying it.

It seems fascinated by the amulet Milcah is playing with and reaches out as if to touch it. Moving the amulet out of reach, Milcah tries to figure out what she is going to do. She is not a very brave woman and has trouble stepping outside of her box but somehow, she feels like she is supposed to be right here, at this moment. Looking at her amulet again, Milcah longs to be able to ask her mother to explain what is happening. Milcah glances at her phone again, hoping to see it has reception. Growling to herself, she looks back at the creature to see he is following the movement of her thumb as she rubs the amulet.

“What would Mary do?” Milcah envies Mary’s ability to believe in the supernatural outside of books. Milcah believes in the goddess and to honor her, humans need to take care of the world they have been given. She lights candles during the full moon and reads her own tarot cards. She even went to see a few mystics with her mother. Yet nothing has prepared her for what she is facing in this small deserted town. She always believed people move on to the next cycle and supernatural beings like vampires, werewolves, and gargoyles were fantasies made up by humans to explain evils in the world.

Last year she had decided to see why she was having nightmares and a psychologist told her she was suppressing memories from childhood. He believed Milcah had been abused as a child and the dreams were her mind’s way of dealing with the trauma. Milcah never told anyone about the visit and never went back. Now she makes a mental note to call the doctor when she returns home.

Help us. The sound of a deep male voice overlaid with many others causes Milcah to jump. Shaking her head, Milcah tries to ignore the voice echoing

around her. Help us.

“I’m going insane,” Milcah grimaces. “I need to get to the next town.”

As soon as the words leave Milcah’s mouth, thunder rolls across the sky, quickly followed by a flash of lightening. “Dang it. I cannot drive in a desert rainstorm. What if there’s a flash flood? I have to think of something. I can’t stay here.” The GPS is useless but Mary had been thoughtful and placed a paper map in the middle console. After looking at the confusing lines on the map for a few minutes, Milcah gives up and tosses it into the backseat. Crossing her arms, she sits back and tries to think of another plan.

Help us. There it is again. Glancing over at the creature in her passenger seat Milcah wonders if he’s pushing his voice into her head. Before she can ask him the voice echoes again. Help us. With that last plea, something unlocks in Milcah’s mind. Something akin to a memory surfaces and Milcah loses focus, in the real world.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Paulina is a small town girl with big dreams. She is the second oldest of three talented siblings.

As early as three she was directing her family around acting out whatever current story was in her head. At four between her older brother and her, a whole universe was created which the younger siblings were introduced into as they were born.

Her natural ability to tell a story took her down many paths. She wrote plays, poems, small children books and short stories all before she entered high school.

When picking a career her councilor told her writing was a dying art and so she went to school for veterinarian science. Three years later she dropped out of university and enrolled in the local community college with a major in journalism

In 2008 she graduated with her BA in Communication/Journalism from Cal State Fullerton.

 Find out more

http://www.darksideofromance.com

http://www.facebook.com/Dark.Side.of.Romance

Murder Between the Worlds

Today we have an exclusive from Morgan Daimler and her book Murder Between the Worlds.

 

After work Wednesday she decided to visit an old friend so she stopped at the town’s Chinese restaurant on the way home to grab food to share. It was never a bad idea to show up to visit a creature of Fairy bearing a gift, and she knew this one had a weakness for sweet and sour chicken and pork egg rolls. Dynasty Moon was run by a pair of Hulijing, Chinese fox spirits, and it was widely agreed that they made the best take-out in town. They were pricey though, and Allie couldn’t eat there very often, but she felt like splurging a little, despite her worries over her anemic bank account.

After picking up her order she headed home in a better mood. She parked her little car in its usual spot and hiked around the house towards the woods behind the backyard with the bag of takeout in one hand. The wards on the perimeter of the property extended to cover the expanse of yard from the curb to the stone walls that bordered the other three sides of the lawn, but the property itself actually went back almost a dozen acres. It just wasn’t worth the energy and effort to keep wards up on the entire area all the time, so they didn’t bother. Reaching the stone wall that marked the back edge of the yard Allie climbed over easily, feeling the customary tingle as she crossed from the warded to unwarded side. Her shoes crunched in last year’s leaves and she whistled cheerfully, ducking low branches and weaving through the underbrush. There was no path to follow but Allie knew the way.

After several hundred feet she could see the open sky through the trees and the ground beneath her feet was noticeably softer. A dozen feet more and she was standing on the banks of the pond. The water stretched, black and still, as large as a football field, with the occasional clump of trees or half submerged log jutting up from the surface. She carefully sent out a tendril of focused magic to caress the surface nearest where she stood, like knocking on a door, and then waited. Within a few moments the still surface rippled, the dark, dripping head of a large horse emerging. Where the horse’s eyes should have been were dark concave hollows and he turned his head to stare at her from one of these eyeless sockets for a moment before the head disappeared beneath the water again. A moment later the surface heaved and broke as the entire fairy horse emerged, walking onto the shore to her left. The kelpie stood there, water dripping from his mane and tail, and Allie smiled widely, proffering the bag “Good afternoon Ciaran, I thought you might be in the mood for some excellent Chinese take-out.”

The huge form rippled and shifted like the surface of the water a minute before and as she watched the horse’s dark form changed into that of an equally dark haired man. Seemingly oblivious to the late spring chill and totally unabashed by his nudity Ciaran sniffed the air appreciatively.” Is that sweet and sour chicken?”

“And two pork egg rolls.” Allie agreed.

The kelpie smiled widely, “Nice to see you again Allie.”

“And you.” Allie had met the kelpie when she was wandering the woods as a child and although he normally could be quite a dangerous creature he seemed to have developed a rough sympathy for the lonely child over the years that eventually grew into a friendship. He often wandered the woods in the form of a large black dog, but he always hunted in his horse form; she had learned over the years that his humanoid form was a sign of trust with her, although she didn’t doubt he would also use it to seduce the unwary if it served his purposes. Allie had been very clear with the other people living in the house that no one else was to go back into the woods; she doubted their friendship would keep him from eating one of her roommates, and while it was unlikely that he would risk the consequences of such an action, she didn’t want to take the chance. These days the Elven Guard maintained order by ensuring none of the creatures of Fairy were allowed to harm humans. But in the old days Ciaran had fed on murderers and oath-breakers. Even as a child Allie had wondered if he occasionally still took human victims along with his animal prey and was just clever enough not to get caught, but she had never quite dared to ask.

“How have you been doing?”

“Not bad. Winter’s always a slow time though, nothing much to do, no good hunting.” He shrugged as she handed him the bag.

“Well I hope this helps a little, and you know anytime you want to borrow a book or five to read I’ll be happy to lend them.”

“That would be kind. I haven’t read anything new in ages. I’m not picky, anything will do as long as it’s a good story.” He pulled out the package of eggrolls and eagerly began devouring them in a way that she would have found disturbing if she’d let herself think about.

“Sure thing. I’ll try to get out here in the next week or two if I can, with some for you.” Allie made a mental note to go through and pick out a selection of books for him to try. She certainly had more than enough to share.

“Allie, be careful with yourself.” Ciaran said unexpectedly.

She cocked her head to the side “I’m always as careful as I can be Ciar. Unless you know something I don’t?”

He shook his head. “Not really, but there are rumors going around among the lesser Fey. Everyone’s agitated and with the Elven Guard out searching in the Borderland for someone, we should all be extra cautious. There is death in the air, and it would…pain me…to see harm come to you.”

“Well you’d certainly be seeing a lot fewer egg rolls,” Allie quipped, stalling for time.

She was touched that Ciaran cared enough to pass on any warning, since it was certainly not in his nature, and she was not at all surprised that the Guard were upsetting the Fey in the Borderland, many of whom lived in the Bordertown precisely to try to avoid the elves’ control.

“The Elven Guard has already spoken to me about their investigation. They want me to help them find out why these murders are being committed.”

The kelpie looked thoughtful as he chewed his chicken, eating it with his bare hands, “If you can help them, you should. That would put the Guard in your debt and that is not an insignificant thing. But be very careful Allie, very careful. It’s a dangerous game to play.”

She nodded “I will certainly take your excellent advice as always. Now, do you have time for a game of chess?”

Later, as she walked back through the woods to the house she found herself hoping that her part in this particular dangerous game was already over.

 

You can find the rest of this story and more of Morgan’s work on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Morgan-Daimler/e/B0047QW0WY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

And don’t forget to like Morgan’s Facebook page and let her know where you found her: https://www.facebook.com/wodenswanderingwitch