Stressful Terror with a Happy Ending

Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, soul nourishing romantic women’s fiction that honors pagan spiritual practices. My stories show you what life could be like if you had a place like The Circle where you are unconditionally accepted, supported and loved. And where, with this support, you do overcome obstacles and find your happily-ever-after.

In my experience, some scary things can also be exciting. For example, walking along that narrow path on the side of a mountain with a sheer drop on one side would have both elements. Another example I’ve actually experienced is a narrow path along a rocky outcropping on a beach headland. If I’d slipped, I’d have fallen onto the rocks and then been beaten to a pulp by the pounding surf.

However, neither of those narrow path stories are related to writing. Or not directly.

Putting words on a page, telling a story is for me the easiest part of the writing process. It’s also my favorite. However, what to do with the finished product is the most stressful and yet the most exciting.

Sarah Raplee

Sarah Raplee and I started Romancing The Genre in May 2011. At that time neither of us were published although we were writing, taking classes, participating in Critique Groups and engaged in Romance Writers of America chapters.

We had a mentor in MaggieLynch, one of the founders of Windtree Press. Through Maggie we had a basic understanding of self or indie publishing.

The Blog Queens (Sarah and me) also wanted to provide the Genre-istas (RTG’s bloggers) another creative outlet so we started Free Reads From The Genre-istas and those of us who signed up, wrote free short stories for our readers.

Diana McCollum

From that came the idea of publishing an Anthology. Another Genre-ista, Diana McCollum, Sarah and I put our collective heads together and came up with Love & Magick. We each wrote two short stories, hired an editor and cover designer. I’d purchased Jutoh, a software program that formatted documents into books.

Diana took the lead in seeing the cover move from our ideas to something we all loved.

Sarah, being the most tech-savvy of us and I worked on putting the short stories into Jutoh, adding the cover, proofing the results, figuring out meta data and all those pieces that go into the actual publishing of a book.

Diana, Sarah and I also set up accounts on Kobo, Apple, Amazon, Gumroad and Barnes and Noble.

There comes a time when an author has done everything s/he can do and it is time to click on “Submit” or “Publish.” To add to the tension, the three of us had made a commitment to have Love & Magick published for Valentine’s Day 2014.

At the time we set our deadline, it seemed reasonable but…

In the wonderful world of self-publishing and back in the day, with three people who were wending their way through the process for the first time, it was daunting!

I remember clearly that it was approaching midnight on February 14^th and Sarah and I were working on the last of the issues.

At 11:58 p.m. Pacific time, we hit Publish to Gumroad. And we were officially published!

Excited? Definitely!!!

Stressed? Oh my yes!

We walked that narrow path with a sheer drop on one side and a rising cliff on the other. We made it safely to the end of the path. We looked toward the self-publishing horizon and had officially joined the world of published authors!

Since then, while we no longer write for Free Reads because we shut that site down, we have pursued our publishing careers as best we can with the other responsibilities we have in our personal lives.

We have stories to tell and because of that there will always be that narrow path with a sheer drop on one side and a rising cliff on the other. No matter how many times I’ve traveled that path, I always breathe a sigh of relief when I reach the end and look out across the vast library of published works where my books reside.

You can find all of my books at your favorite e-book vendor. Be sure to ask your local library if you’d prefer to read my books through that resource.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2020 Judith Ashley

Pulled in a Different Direction

by Diana McCollum

In 2010, or there about, I had two stories I was developing plots for, and writing, a historical romance and a contemporary romantic suspense. Working a full time job with a round trip commute of two to three hours a day left me too tired at the end of the work day to write. So my writing time was on the weekends.

This made for slow going for me, anyway. My husband was working out of town and only home on the weekends, so that was our honey time.

During this same time frame I started posting once a month on this blog and every couple months on the free short story blog Judith Ashley and Sarah Raplee used to run.

I found I enjoyed writing short stories. They were really short stories of 1,200 to 2,000 words each.

Feeling quite depressed one day, I complained to Sarah about the slow progress I was making with my historical and suspense stories.

She had an idea!

Judith and Sarah had been discussing self-publishing an anthology of short stories. Sarah asked me if I would be interested in writing two short stories to be included in the anthology. I said, “Hot, doggie! Sure I would.”

I knocked out two short paranormal stories, around 20,000 words each. And guess what I discovered? I enjoyed writing paranormal romance! My two stories, “Ghost of a Chance” and “The Crystal Witch” were fun to write. 

Along the way, I learned a lot about editing (hired an editor), choosing art for a book cover and working with a designer, I learned how to use Jutoh a publishing program, and create space for print books, and marketing etc.  And at the end of the learning curve was our anthology, "Love & Magick".  

It has been one great learning experience. Not at all the road I thought I was traveling on.

I now have a spin off novella, “The Witch with the TridentTattoo”, featuring one of the characters from “The Crystal Witch”.

I never would have guessed my first published book would be an anthology. But that’s the path I landed on.

The historical romance and romantic suspense I was working on? They are filed in a doc on my computer. Someday I’ll get back to work on them. Right now I’m having too much fun writing the “Twilight Witch”, the next story in the Coastal Coven series.

Have you started down one path, only to find you end up on another path

altogether?

Interview with Author Diana McCollum on her Coastal Coven series

Author Diana McCollum

Paranormal Romance author Diana McCollum’s debut novella, The Witch with the Trident Tattoo, came out from Windtree Press earlier this month. This book is the first in the Coastal Coven Series.

Welcome, Diana. Can you tell us what your book is about in a sentence or two?

Witch Ella Stone, born with an affinity for water and a scientist, is on a mission. Ocean life is disappearing off the Atlantic Coast, and Poseidon needs her to find out why. To find answers, she hires handsome, brooding sea captain Noah Drago to help.

The sexy scientist's kisses turn Noah's world upside-down. Soon, he's plunged into a world of myth, magick and passion.

But will their growing connection-their love-be enough to save them from an encroaching evil bent on destroying all life as they know it?

Briefly, tell us what led you to write The Witch with the Trident Tattoo? (TWWTTT for short) What else have you published?

I thought it would be fun to write about a sea witch. I hadn't read any stories about a sea witch. I thought who would she answer to? Poseidon, of course! 

I have short stories in two different Anthologies: "Love & Magick", which has the witch Hettie's story in. Hettie is a time traveling witch and belongs to the Coastal Coven featured in "The Witch with the Trident Tattoo". The second Anthology is "Gifts from the Heart".

You’ve lived in the western United States for most of your adult life. What made you choose an east coast setting for the Coastal Coven Series?

It seemed like the appropriate setting. Hettie the time traveling witch lived in MA. I wanted a setting by the ocean, so my made up town of Waxing, MA became the main setting for the stories. 

Your Sea Witch heroine, Ella, has an octopus named James for a familiar. What is a witch’s familiar?

Over the centuries familiars are said to have taken many different forms. I picked James, an Octopus, as Ella's familiar. No matter what form a familiar takes, their responsibility is to assist the witch. The familiar can help with different types of magick, and also help with manipulations of natural energies. For instance, magick energy contained in stones and herbs and in the four elements, Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. James back story is he was a minor prince in Atlantis and displeased Poseidon  by stealing shoes, and Poseidon cursed him to live as an Octopus to pay his debt to society. I will add that James has a shoe fetish, even as an Octopus.

One day I will write James' story. I think that would be a fun, fun story to write.

Is the Coastal Coven Series an open-ended series at this point, or do you have and end-point in mind?

There will be a story for each of the witches. And for the wizard that lives in the Hemlock tree, which is the passage between the past and present.

What are you working on now? 

I am going to begin the second book in the Coastal Coven series this week. I am deciding on a title over the weekend. I need at least a working title to begin, that's just the way I write.

In TWWTTT you created an engaging teenaged mermaid character. Have you considered writing Young Adult or New Adult novels?

Pink haired, Mischell! I did love writing this character. She will have her story one day. I don't think as Young Adult, maybe a New Adult novel.

What are some books you’ve read recently and loved?

Nora Robert's "Dark Witch" series. Loved all three books. "The Witch's Daughter" by Paula Brackston. Right now I'm reading "Lamp Black, Wolf Grey" by Paula Brackston, such a good story I can hardly put it down.

What is your favorite piece of writing advice?

BIC FOK-Butt in chair, fingers on keyboard! as Nora Roberts said you can't edit a blank page. So put words on the paper and move forward.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free e-book, I will be giving away two e-books. 

Please share an excerpt from The Witch with the Trident Tattoo with us.

Excerpt

Draft: The Witch with the Trident Tattoo

By Diana McCollum, Copyrighted

Chapter 1

 by Diana McCollum, copy right

    The town meeting last night had left a bitter taste of disappointment in Ella Stone’s mouth. She had tried her best to convince the upstanding citizens of Waxing, Massachusetts the importance of suspending fishing for twenty square miles off the coast, and inland to Turtle Point and the beach in town. She also suggested no swimming for a couple of weeks while she researched the unknown carbon based matter depleting the nutrients necessary for sea life to be sustainable.        They had rejected her proposal and it had stung, and still stung.

    The fishermen wanted to make a living, she understood. If they continued to fish and toxic organic matter continued to grow, fisheries would be depleted in a short time. Not to mention she couldn’t be sure if the organic material was toxic to humans or not, it was too early in her research to tell.

    Arriving for her Saturday shift at her friend Hettie’s gift shop, The Crystal Witch, she seethed with fury. Her pulse beat a fast tempo, sending beads of determination over her skin. Ella marched down the aisle of scented soaps and candles toward the back of the store, as sparks of pent up Magick flew off her. Candle wicks on the display table burst into flame when she passed. As she breezed by the rack of wind chimes tinkled and rattled as if a gust of wind blew through the store, when none did.

    “Ella, what’s the matter?” Hettie Wynn stood in the office doorway, hands wrapped around a cup of coffee.

    Ella handed the local newspaper, Lighthouse News, to Hettie. “The meeting last night was a bust. Apparently I am a crazy woman scientist who doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Wait, no—‘environmental whacko’ is what they said.”

    “I’ve got a degree in marine biology and oceanography from Salem State University. I’ve studied under some of the most prestigious professors, and they call me an ‘environmental whacko’?” Ella removed her sunglasses and used the edge of her sweater to clean the lenses.

    “Did you present your findings in terms they could understand?” Hettie reached out and steadied the wind chime rack.

    Ella walked over and blew out candles one by one. In so doing, she blew sample herbal powder out of the display bowl and covered the floor in many colors. She harrumphed at her blunder and crossed her arms. “Sorry for being in such a dither, but you know what I’m up against.”

    “Poseidon.”

    “Yes! He wants answers, and only from me. ‘What happens in the ocean is a matter for the realm to manage. I’m depending on you to find the answer. Do not involve the human governments.’ He’s such a pretentious monarch, always playing games with me.” Unshed tears of frustration threatened to spill over.

    “These waters have been in the care of my family since my ancestors first stepped on shore at Plymouth. There’s never been anything of this magnitude, anything capable of destroying marine plant and animal life to this degree. Whatever has damaged the flora and fauna hasn’t reached shore, but I’m concerned because it’s just a matter of time till it does. I’ve named the toxin Razor Toxic Bloom-RTB-1, and it is spreading pass the outer banks toward Waxing.”

    Ella stalked over to the screened back door. A slice of ocean was visible from here, sandwiched between two cottages across the alley, an early May breeze blew across her face. Something was invading the waters of her ocean. Her mother before her had been the sea witch in charge of taking care of these coastal waters. Ella had inherited the position when her mother and father were called by Poseidon to protect the Bering Sea. “Time is of the essence. Poseidon doesn’t want government agencies involved, or other marine biologists. He’s got his reasons for believing an immortal is responsible. This problem is for me to solve and time is running out. Whatever RTB-1 is will reach our shore eventually if not stopped.”

    She crossed her arms over her chest, and turned back to Hettie. “Commercial fishermen protested the loudest, and I understand fishing is their livelihood. But if fish are unhealthy, should anyone be eating them? All the mothers agreed to not let their kids swim or wade for two weeks.”

    “Do you think you can find an answer by then?”

    “I don’t know. I hope so.” Her stomach clenched. “Do you think what’s happening in to ocean is something our coven should look into?”

    Hettie walked closer and put her arm around Ella. “I think you need to call on your resources. You are a Sea Witch, none of us are. We can help you on land, but water is your domain. Have you contacted James? Or Mischell? Maybe one of them could do some investigating for you?”

    “You’re right. Of course, I’ll contact James.” A fluttering in her chest made her realize she wasn’t alone. She had her familiar, James the octopus—the Coastal Coven and her laboratory. She’d find the answer.

Another view of Magic

There is magic and there is magick and while this month’s topic is “Magic”, I want to stray from the general consensus of what that word means when most people see it regardless of spelling.

The day before I wrote this I spent a magical couple of hours with my baby great granddaughter. At three and a half months, she is taking stock of the world around her, smiling, and beginning to “talk”. She has a delightful laugh. Even though I worked in adoptions for thirty years, I still see the developmental process from the ‘blobby baby stage’ to adult magical.

Later that same day I happened to look out my kitchen window at the Armistead salvia along my driveway in time to see a hummingbird stop by to visit. I find hummingbirds a magical bird and I can’t remember a time when I’ve seen one in person that I haven’t stopped and smiled.

The day I did write this post, I was thinking of someone and my phone rang. Yep, it was the person I was thinking about.

When I see my books on e-retailer sites or on the shelves in brick and mortar book stores, that is a magical experience.

I did that! I wrote them and worked to learn the software to get them out to the public.

What’s even more magical is seeing them sell!!!

A friend of mine once asked me how I can live so simply. I was confused but she went on to talk about my commitment to recycling in particular. We talked about how we each see the world. She is a devout Christian who sees God as separate from her but who she has taken into her heart.

I see the Divine in everything and everyone around me. So I’m aware of my footprint on the earth. I pay attention to the cycle of the moon and seasons. In comparison to many, I trod heavily. For example I do drive a car but I do plan my errands so I only go out a couple of times a week.

Because of my interpretation of the word “magic” I include such things as “synchronicity” and in addition to blogging here, I also post every Monday on my Judith Ashley blog “Intentions and Synchronicities”.

Judith is the author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series romantic fiction that honors spiritual practices that nourish the soul.

Learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle here.

Visit Judith’s author page.

Judith’s books are available at Windtree Press and other e-retailers.

Follow Judith on Twitter: @JudithAshley19

You can find Judith on Facebook 

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Do You Pick Up a Book Because of the Cover?

by Diana McCollum

Book covers can be decorated with a man or woman or a seductive couple, landscape scene, symbol, even a pair of shoes can draw me in to pick up the book and possibly buy it. Of course, the second most important thing is the blurb on the back and the opening pages. If I like all that, it's a sure bet I'll be buying the book.

All these books I've read, and any one of them would be a great Summer read.

Some novels don't live up to their covers. When this happens I feel a bit disappointed that the cover designer/editor didn't research the story line before creating the cover.

Recently I read a book by Catherine Anderson, "Silver Thaw". The story was good, but the cover? First it takes place in central Oregon. The Cardinals' habitat does NOT include Washington, Oregon or California, or the rest of the northern western states. But there, on the cover is a Cardinal sitting in a tree.

"The Mystery Woman" by Amanda Quick, is an intriguing and accurate cover. Intriguing because we don't see the heroines face only her leg, bloomers, garter and derringer. And the derringer is a vital part of the story, as is the delicate holster she keeps it in on her leg.



My friend, and fellow blogger, Paty Jager, has beautiful covers. In her three Spirit books the covers convey the Native American theme along with the legend each book contains.  This one being about the wolf, who is the spirit of the Mountain.

One of my all time favorite covers, has the main focus a pair of shoes. "The Witch's Daughter", by Paula Brackston. I picked this book up because of the cover, thinking it was a historical book. As it turns out, it is the story of one witch and how she survives by fleeing to different time periods through out history,  to avoid a Warlock who wants to have her, and have her powers. It starts out in present day first person, and she begins to tell her story to a young girl she befriends. Excellent book for the summer or any time.

Now I want to share the cover of the anthology I have two short stories in, "Love & Magick". There are six short stories in this book. A wide variety of genres. The couple on the front is representative of all the heroes and heroines in the six stories.

Submit a comment with your pick of names for the couple on the front of "Love & Magick", I'm curious as to who they look like to you.

Do you have a favorite book cover from books you've read?

A Truly Blessed Thanksgiving

Hi! I’m Paranormal Romance Author Sarah Raplee.

This Thanksgiving has not turned out the way my husband and I had planned. We looked forward to going over the mountains for a family Thanksgiving at my mother, sister and brother-in-law’s home. My youngest son’s family will be there.  Many nieces and nephews and their children are driving ten or more hours to visit this year. We so wanted to see them!

Unfortunately, my husband had some recent health issues that drained our bank account, so we decided to remain at home this year. We’ll visit over the mountains at Christmastime, but we’ll miss the big family reunion at Thanksgiving. Sniff.

SARAH  RAPLEE

At first I was bummed, but when I looked past my disappointment I realized how incredibly lucky I am. My husband, best friend and hero of forty-four years (on Dec. 4^th) is still with me.

As long as we’re together for Thanksgiving, it will be a lovely holiday. We’ll have a whole day to relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Now that’s something to look forward to!

May your Thanksgiving be as blessed as mine!
~Sarah

Thank you for reading my blog post. I'd love to have you visit my website
www.sarahraplee.com . 

Time Travel?

Taken by Julie Gibson Orney College

By Diana McCollum

The suggested subject for the August blog post is “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”. I am going to deviate from the suggested topic and discuss a couple of different modes of travel.

In the first part of my story “The Crystal Witch”, published in the anthology “Love&Magick”, my characters, living in the Sixteen Hundreds, walked. Eventually Henrietta, the witch heroine time travels with the help of Shaman Adahy to contemporary times thus escaping from the Warlock who wants to enslave her and take her power.

Now I think traveling through time to any place I could choose would be the ultimate traveling experience. I would have to have a return “trip” guarantee, though before I’d go.

Just imagine being able to see how people really lived in past centuries, watching historical events unfold, knowing what the outcome will be. To witness not only the heroes of the past but the ordinary men and women what their lives were like.

Stone age village of Skara Brae

I read an article in National Geographic Magazine about an ancient civilization uncovered in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The civilization dates back to 3,200 B.C. 

Ring of Brodgar

There are stone monuments on the islands that were erected before Stonehenge! At the Ness of Brodgar  the people flourished farming, building and trading with people in passing watercraft. They used paint pigments and had a shop just for painting in.No thatched roofs for these people, they used slate for roofs and this was unheard of anywhere else in Scotland during that time period. After one thousand years, for unknown reasons, they partially destroyed their temple, slaughtered more than four hundred head of cattle for a farewell feast, destroyed their homes to mostly rubble and left the islands. Researchers don’t know where they went or why.

Some researchers attribute it to possible climate change. Maybe it was to cold and wet to grow crops.

Being curious, I want to know what happened to these movers and shakers of old. We may never know, but if we could Time Travel…

If you could travel to another time and place, where would it be and why?

Planes, Trains and Automobiles and ????

By Judith Ashley

About this time last year, Sarah and I met with our co-author and fellow Genre-ista, Diana McCollum at Detroit Lake, a small town situated in the Cascade Mountains about half-way between where we live. Sarah and I carpooled so we could take care of Romancing The Genre’s business on the way home. 

What was on our agenda? 

Brain storming the list of Guest and Genre-ista themes – and for August, 2014 we chose Planes, Trains and Automobiles. 

What’s missing? We covered travel by air and land but we missed water. Why is that important? It’s important because in the time period of Sarah’s short story Curse of the Neahkahnie Treasure a major mode of transportation was by boat/ship.

So I’m amending this month’s suggested Genre-ista theme and including “ships and boats” because I want to stick with the theme and want to introduce you to this well-written, entertaining, creative short story.

A friend of mine, who has never met Sarah or read any of her work, called me up shortly after Love & Magick: Mystical Stories of Romance was published. Our conversation went something like this:

Friend: “I had to read the first page of the first story a couple of times.”

Me: “Why, what was wrong?” (hear a tad of anxiety in my voice here?)

Friend: “Nothing was wrong. I had to read it more than once because it’s so powerfully written.”

Me: “Yes, it is. Sarah’s a great writer and Curse of the Neahkahnie Treasure was the perfect story to start us off.

I’ve included the first couple of pages of the story below. 

Enjoy!

Curse of the Neahkahnie Treasure

by Sarah Raplee

Father was dead.

Sorrow as strong and bone-chilling as a Pacific gale snatched Samantha Moore’s breath from her lungs. A wave of dizziness threatened to overwhelm her. She forced herself to draw another breath, and then another.

In the weeks since her beloved father had been knifed and robbed in broad daylight, she’d discovered grief lies in wait like a panther, ready to pounce and tear one’s heart out without warning. Warm tears trailed down cheeks chilled by the damp spring winds of the northern Oregon coast.

Turning away from the bustle of stevedores unloading wagon loads of supplies onto the dock, she pretended to study a huge sailing ship floating at anchor. One swipe of a dirty cotton shirtsleeve removed the evidence of tears, as well as a good deal of sweat and windblown brine from her face. Boys are not supposed to cry. She must take her emotions in hand or she would draw attention to herself. The last thing she needed was to be identified as a young woman.

A sunbeam found its way through the clouds to glint off the rippled water of the mighty Columbia River. Gulls soared on the wind. The odors of fish and pitch mixed with the tang of salt water. Astoria, Oregon, was only seven miles from the Pacific Ocean. Here the river stole salt from the sea tides the way Samantha planned to steal food and coin from the tides of people swarming the docks.

She pressed her lips into a grim line. She had never in her life broken the law, but she hadn’t eaten since stowing away on a schooner in San Francisco two days ago. The men who had murdered Father had taken his money as well as his life. She was out of funds and alone in a strange land. And she must honor her father’s dying wish.

After glancing around the docks to make sure no one paid undo attention to her, she surreptitiously ascertained the safety of her precious, accursed secret cargo. Placing a hand at the small of her back, she arched as if to stretch out a kink. First her backbone poked her palm through the fabric of her shirt. She explored the hard outline of a small spyglass case with her fingers. She had sewn a secret pocket for the brass cylinder into the rear of the baggy drawstring trousers she wore as part of her disguise.

Her mouth twisted into a grimace. Father had died because of the furled map hidden inside the metal cylinder, a map he’d discovered hidden in the false back cover of a hundred-year-old book. He was conducting research for a historical treatise on Spanish exploration in the Americas when he noticed the back cover of Las Expediciónes del Pirata Don Carlos Moreno was much thicker than the front cover. So, being Father, he investigated and found the treasure map. Unfortunately, being a man of science, he had dismissed out-of-hand the inscription on the map that stated the pirate had cursed the gold so “no man may take my treasure.”

All things considered, Samantha had come to believe the curse was real.

To find out what happens next, Love & Magick is available through Windtree Press and other major e-retailers.

© Excerpt from “Love & Magick” Copyright 2014 Sarah Raplee

© Copyright 2014 Judith Ashley

Check out more of Sarah's writing at Free Reads from the Genre-istas.

Visit her website.

You can find Judith at Windtree Press and her website as well as on our Free Reads site.

THE CRYSTAL WITCH

by Sarah Raplee

Copyright
healingcrystalsforyou.com

Are you one of those readers who skims the first paragraph or two of a novel before you purchase the book? I’ve been ‘one of those’ readers for as long as I can remember. The practice has helped me to sift the wheat from the straw most of the time, although occasionally a promising opening will not be followed by a consistently good story.

Not so with “The Crystal Witch”, one of Diana McCollum’s stories in the romance anthology LOVE & MAGICK: MYSTICAL TALES OF ROMANCE. * The wonderful opening pulled me into the story and didn’t let go. I’m happy to report the story fulfilled its promising beginning with consistently good writing throughout.

Here’s that opening:

October 15, 2012

The right mixture of violet and blue evening sky laced with bolts of scarlet bouncing off the clouds always brought to mind the evening of her death, or what would have been Hettie’s death had she not escaped.

Even after ten years in the small coastal town of Waxing, Massachusetts, a death-sky inspired panic deep in her chest. She took several calming breaths, repeating her time-worn mantra.

“‘Tis a frivolous fear, for naught dangerous be near. Bless this house, bless this store, bless me ever more.” Hettie intoned the mantra three times.

She put a match to bundled sage twigs and walked the boundary of her small gift shop, The Crystal Witch. Climbing the stairs to her apartment, at the door she murmured an opening charm and crossed the threshold then proceeded to walk the length of every wall, in every room. The blessed smoke from the stems both cleansed and protected the space. She stopped by the front window. Pulling the lace curtain aside, she looked out at the sky, almost dark now. The shadow of a figure merged with the dark of the woods across the street. Did she see a lonely soul out for an evening walk, or something more sinister? Her stomach clenched; it could be time to pay her debt.

Samhain was approaching. The time of year when the veil between worlds was easily accessible, when good or evil could pass through with barely a ripple in the curtain. Hettie was uneasy this time of year, and with good reason; if Declan came for her, it would be during this preternatural time.

In only one page we know that Hettie is a (good) witch who escaped death ten years ago and fears the past will one day catch up to her. We know that she lives upstairs from her gift shop called The Crystal Witch in the small coastal town of Waxing, Massachusetts and that someone named Declan may come for her at Samhain, which is coming soon. We suspect the ‘death sky’ foreshadows coming evil.

More important, perhaps, is what we don’t know. Who tried to kill Hettie and why? How did she escape? Why is Declan searching for her? What debt must she pay? These questions kept me turning the pages, and I hope they will you as well.

The plot of “The Crystal Witch” is full of unexpected twists and turns and populated by engaging characters that a little bird told me will be returning in Ms. McCollum’s upcoming novella, The Witch with the Trident Tattoo.

* Judith Ashley and I also have stories in the anthology LOVE & MAGICK. The book is available in print and ebook from Windtree Press and most online retailers.  ~Sarah Raplee

Grandmother Moon

    By Diana McCollum

      I’ve always had a fascination for the Moon. On a full moon, I like to sit on the deck and bathe in the moonlight. Surely the energy from the moon is good for us.  It changes the tides so it is a strong energy. Cavemen drew pictures of the moon on cave walls.  Native Americans have ceremonies only performed during the full moon.  The moon is embedded in their culture. Farmers know to plant and that crops grow faster during a full moon.  women have honored the moon through out the ages.

National Geographic picture

     The moon touches all our lives.

     When I lived in Michigan on a clear winter’s night when the moon was full I’d don my snow boots, mittens and parka, and go for a walk in the moonlight.  It was like fairy light. I could see deep into the woods with no flashlight at all. My kids enjoyed a walk in the snow at night, but most times the Michigan winter was too cold for them and I’d walk by myself. Alone, but not alone because the moon was hanging in the night sky and watched over me.

     Lakes, Oceans and rivers look magical with the moon reflecting  and dancing on the waters. That is why we chose a moon for on the cover of Love & Magick.

     I read Judith Ashley’s story “Grandmother Moon”, published in the anthology “Love & Magick” and I could relate to the excitement Emaline felt waiting for the rise of Grandmother Moon. While I have paid homage to the moon by admiring and enjoying the night filled with moonlight,  Emaline or Em pays homage by drumming.

     This excerpt is part way through the story. Em has bought and moved to a ranch in Fairbault, OR. This is the first full moon since she has moved in.

     For your enjoyment here is a passage from Judith’s story, “Grandmother Moon”.

# # #

                Em shrugged off the blanket and stretched.  Rising, she crossed the room, picked up her horsehide drum, and waited for the moment the moon came into view. Curbing her eagerness to see the full moon for the first time from this house, she radiated expectancy in her stillness. In the city Grandmother Moon’s light is dimmed. Here I can feel the strength of her light.

There She was! Full, bright, shimmering pale yellow ringed with a silvery circle. She started a slow beat mesmerized as the orb crossed the pane. As the moon slipped out of sight, Em increased the beat and moved outside to her deck where she stood, head up and shoulders back. The thrumming of the drum beat reverberated down her spine, through her legs, into her feet and on downward—through the wood of the decking and into the ground. I am so blessed to live in this house, on this land, in this country; so blessed to have the space to drum outside without bothering my neighbors; so blessed to release my feelings in this primal way.

Em held her drum high so it covered the moon and continued to strike the hide, seeing the light of the moon seep around the edges. Standing tall, she continued to drum. The light from Grandmother Moon flowed around her, encasing her in its muted glow as the round orb traced an ancient path across the starlit sky.

# # #

 Thanks for writing this beautiful passage, Judith. 

Do you enjoy going out on a full moon?  Do you howl at the moon? Have you ever Mooned over someone or something? Do you have any Moon memories, myths or anything else to share?

Thoughts on Collaborating and Writing

By Judith Ashley

Judith Ashley

When Sarah Raplee and I came up with this topic, we thought it fantastic. As I sit down three hours before this post goes live, my thoughts carom towards “What were we thinking!”

I’m fortunate to be a co-author along with Sarah and Diana McCollum of the anthology, Love & Magick and I’ve submitted a short story for inclusion in another anthology due out in November. So, I do have some perspective on collaborating on an anthology.

Robin Weaver’s post on critique partners deals with another aspect of ‘collaboration’ and I encourage you to read it if you haven’t already. Robin’s sense of humor shines in this piece.

What bubbles up from the “girls in the basement” (a phrase Barbara Rae Robinson uses) is a different form of ‘collaboration’.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “Collaborate” as “to work jointly with others (as in writing a book)” and “to cooperate with an enemy force that is occupying one’s country”. Neither definition fits so I’m adding a variation to the first definition:

My informal network of friends and other writers with whom I’ve shared thoughts and feelings about writing (characters, plots, turning points, etc.), difficulties with formatting and other technical aspects of being self-published, and now that I’m published, the dreaded ‘marketing and promotion’. Because I have this informal network, I’m able to write the book(s).

I am grateful to the collaboration with

Everyone in the #ftb forum who offers support and suggestions and cheers me on.

My co-authors Sarah and Diana with whom I’m now learning LOTS about marketing and promotion after having learned LOTS about self-publishing.

Windtree Press authors, especially Maggie Lynch and Paty Jager for more ideas, support, and mentoring.

Then there are my friends who have listened to me talk about the Sacred Women’s Circle series for over a decade, read some of the chapters and my VBF who listened to me read the entire Book Three chapter-by-chapter as I wrote it.

And now a new circle of collaborators of a different kind who are reading my books and writing reviews.

Each and every person along my path to publishing has made a difference, has contributed something to my process and the final products and in that way they have collaborated in writing, finishing, publishing and marketing my books.

Thank You!

You can learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series by checking out http://judithashleyromance.com
http://windtreepress.com

Check out the month of June at http://freereadsfromthegenre-istas.blogspot.com to read a series of short stories, three of which are directly related to the characters in The Sacred Women’s Circle series. Enjoy!!!

Copyright © 2014 Judith Ashley