Romancing the Genres: magic

Showing posts with label magic. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Friday, January 8, 2021

A Joyful Heart

For the first time ever we can truly say 2020 is behind us! There is a vaccine coming to all of us very soon! With the vaccine, when most people are vaccinated, will come a shift towards life as we knew it before the pandemic. I don’t want to dwell on all the negativity that has been part of all our lives right through today.

Instead, what are we going to do going forward? I have come to appreciate my friends and family so much more. I’m hoping my weekly zoom meetings with family and friends will continue. As I am always uplifted after seeing their faces and hearing their voices. I intend to keep up my daily walks and i always find something new to be thankful for. Sometimes a deer in a neighbor's yard or a bunch of tiny pinecones that fell from a tree. The blue sky and fluffy white clouds, so many things to be thankful for. and so many more things too many to name.

I want to learn new skills. My friend and are holding each other accountable for spending time on writer related things. The book I’m working on will be published in 2021, which is exciting. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and hopeful for a peaceful world. There is some joy in every day. If one can find even that small amount of joy it is uplifting. One thing I enjoy is cooking. I must say during the pandemic I’ve cooked new deserts more often than healthy meals. That is one thing I am changing.

I’d like to share a New Year’s recipe with you. It is from my recipe book “A Kitchen Witch’s Cookbook”, by Patricia Telesco.

As you go forward into the New Year I wish you the Magical attributes of this recipe which are: Strength, courage, vitality, and fire magic.

Red Bean Rally (Cuba)

1lb red beans Pepper

½ lb cooked, cubed pork

1 large onion chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1 red pepper diced

½ tsp dried thyme

2 tbls olive oil

½ tsp dried basil

1 tomato chopped

1 bay leaf

4 ½ tsps. Vinegar Salt

3 cups cooked rice

Soak the beans for 12 hours and then drain. Combine the beans, pork, garlic, thyme, basil, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and 5-6 cups of water in a large pot. Simmer. Saute the onion and pepper in the oil. Add to the beans with tomato and vinegar. Simmer till the beans are done, 20-30 mins. Serve on a bed of rice with a hard boiled egg or lemon slices as garnish. Yield: 6 servings

Celebrations: Solar and fire festivals, Feast of Banners, Feast of Juniper Enjoy the recipe!!!

"The bookshop has a thousand books, all colors, hues and tinges And every cover is a door that turns on magic hinges." by Nancy B. Turner

What things are you doing for yourself in the New Year?

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

The Magic of Children’s Books … by Delsora Lowe

I thought about veering off topic this month, but frankly in a world so full of dark right now, I need some magic in my life.

Books, especially children’s book are filled with magic and imagination. One of my favorite children’s books is Goodnight Moon. Full disclosure, I barely remember books I read as a child. Fuller disclosure, I barely remember what I read last night 😊 What I do know was that the book was a romance with a happily-ever-after that takes me away from the universal troubles of yesterday and today, and will again tonight and tomorrow night. When I was a kid, I read constantly and I still do.

Daylight Moon

For children, books can either take you away into a magical land or they can show the splendor of the world around us. That is what Goodnight Moon does. I can still see the look on my first-born grandson’s face when he was three—he’s now thirteen—as I read him Goodnight Moon. We sat on a cushioned bench seat underneath his bedroom window, with a full moon shining over the snowy Colorado mountains in the distance. His eyes were wide as he looked at the pictures, then pointed to our very own moon right outside the window. This book was passed down to his brother.

I don’t have a copy of Goodnight Moon, so I can’t quote from the book. But I do have a copy of my third-born grandson’s tattered and well-loved Goodnight Maine, inscribed by moi – to my precious Jack. This is my book of choice to give to my friends with newborns.

Books like this take us to magical places, like the shores and mountains of Maine, as we say hello to the seagulls, bears, moose, and lobsters. We play at the beach by the Atlantic Ocean, kayak down rivers, and climb mountains, and then we say goodnight to the moon shining above the mountains, and the lobstermen putting away their boats, and the lighthouse that shines all night. The book takes us through the seasons in this vast state, from snowy mountaintops to the summer seashore with seals.

Now that my grandson is eleven, he is experiencing mountain climbing and kayaking in the bay near his home, where great views of the moon shining on islands and the ocean abound. The moon still remains a magical place for young and old together.

Crazy Cloud Formation Surrounding Full Moon

I’ll admit to standing in my backyard in the middle of the night taking photos of the moon. Or rising early to see the sun peaking at us on the eastern horizon, while the moon dips low in the western skyline. Gazing at the moon takes me away from my problems. It puts into perspective the grandeur, and yes, the miracle, of our lives. And each time I gaze on the moon, I visualize the wonderment, and the hope of innocence, in the eyes all three grandsons.

Perfect position to peak through two trunks of the oak tree

And I pray that all three will be able to live long, magical lives, in peace and harmony and love, in a world much better than the one we have today.

After The Ice Storm

So, enjoy your favorite books, and once in a while look back on those that were favorites as a child. AND remember the magic!

For grownup magical romance in Maine, check out: Starlight Grille

Amazon: (also in print) https://www.amazon.com/Starlight-Grille-Serenity-Harbor-Collection-ebook/dp/B07CN8JV2Z/

Books2Read books2read.com/u/3yDjWe

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine.

Social Media Links:
Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Author FaceBook page: fb.me/delsoraloweauthor
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe

LINKS:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodnight_Moon https://www.mainemadeandmore.com/product/goodnight-maine/

Saturday, December 7, 2019

I Bring you good tidings ...Books filled with good Cheer!

By: Marcia King-Gamble

www.lovemarcia.com

Yippee! The holidays are here, and with holidays come, books, lots of them, and some written by our favorite authors.

You can never go wrong gifting a book, and in this case re-gifting, is permissible, and even flattering. Not that I recommend doing so without at least a first read.

Word of mouth is a powerful thing, and like hand-selling a book, it's free marketing for the author. I’ve been introduced to many a new author this way, and they've introduced me to their fans. So, that said, in this time when sharing is caring, I’d like to introduce you to some new and not so new holiday releases, by authors you may or may not be familiar with... at least not yet. Sit back and have a read!

With pleasure, I introduce you to an amazing holiday boxset, titled, Unforgettable Christmas Dreams. It was penned by eleven multi-published USA Bestsellng authors, and offered at only an amazing 99 cents.. Now that’s a bargain, if you ever heard of one. Hop over to Amazon and pick up your copy. Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZCBXNRY/

Next up, talented, NY Times bestselling author, Patrice Wilton, gives you A Heavenly Christmas. Can you imagine having car trouble,with two kids in tow, and landing in a magical town called Heaven? Everything about this place seems heavenly, including Nick Ryan, local chef with a heart equally as big as yours You’ll want to eat him up.

Of course you've heard of the incomparable Heather Graham (not the actor,) but the author of over 200 books and novellas. She is the founding mother of my Florida Writers chapter, a more delightful and down to earth person you have yet to meet. Heather’s Spirit of the Season, released to the usual rave reviews. Here's a sneak peak of what you can expect:

Imagine a young widow with no steady job, three children, a dilapidated Victorian house in constant need of repair, and now she takes in her newly orphaned nine-year-old nephew, Davey.

Davey is happiest playing baseball, and our young widow helps him through Little League tryouts – even though her past flame Tim Yeagher, is the coach. I don't know about you, but I see drama ahead. And if that’s not enough, fans of Heather’s Krewe books need to be on the look out for Christmas, The Krewe and a Large White Rabbit. Find it on Amazon https://amzn.to/2sUYmba.

Then of course there’s me. Releasing two previously written novellas. You can buy them as part of a boxset at the bargain price of $2.99 or as singles at $1.99. I could not be more pleased if you Ring in the Holidays with me. https://amzn.to/2D2XWRZ https://bit.ly/36Nlbgi

Have a Happy Holiday Season all!

About Marcia King-Gamble

Romance writer, Marcia King-Gamble originally hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue. This travel industry executive and current world traveler has spent most of life in the United States. A National Bestselling author, Marcia has penned over 34 books and 8 novellas. Her free time is spent at the gym, traveling to exotic locales, and caring for her animal family.Visit Marcia at www.lovemarcia.com or “friend” her on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1MlnrIS Be sure to join her mailing list.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Which Witch Novel is Your Favorite?

By Diana McCollum

Happy fall and Halloween! When spooks or ghosts or spirits (not sure which one is correct) walk the earth, and witches fly by in the night.

I had never read any kind of witch

paranormal books. And then one day, I was on my lunch hour from work and walking in Safeway. Near the checkout stand was a rack of books. One cover in particular caught my eye, “Breath of Magic”, by Teresa Medeiros, and I bought it.

This book is what I would call a light paranormal. Not a lot of blood and gore, in fact hardly any. Puritan witch, Arian Whitewood gets more than she bargains for during a witch hunt and she and the broom she is riding on, crash land into the 20^th century and the arms of the hero. A love story mixed with time-travel and magic! I fell in love!

After reading “Breath of Magic”, I bought the second book, “Touch of Enchantment”, and followed the journey of Arian’s daughter, Tabitha Lennox, from the 20^th century back seven centuries into the past, and straight into the path of a horse ridden by a chain-mailed warrior.

Now I was totally hooked on paranormal romance. Witches are the best!! Who doesn’t love magic?

I’ve read many books since those first two containing a witch heroine or hero, magic and sometimes time-travel. I’ve loved them all.

This summer I read Nora Roberts trilogy starting with the first in the series “Dark Witch”. You just can’t go wrong with a book written by Nora, excellent series.

My very favorite book I’ve read would have to be “The Witch’s Daughter”, by Paula Brackston. I read this book last year. I will always keep this book. Not only is “The Witch’s Daughter “a well written story, it’s written in first person, which I normally don’t care for. I was drawn right into the story from page one.

And yet, the story drew me in, kept me captivated and I forgot all about first person.

The magic of these books led me to write about... you guessed it, Witches!

My book "The Witch with the Trident Tattoo", is available at all venues. If you haven't checked out Windtree Press , my publisher, you should do it for a wide variety of books for sale..

Another book is "Love & Magick", an anthology by Sarah Raplee, Judith Ashley and me. And you guessed it, filled with intriguing stories of magic!

These are some of my favorite witch stories. Do you have a favorite?

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

A Bit of Magic and a Canine Miracle that Touched My Heart by Sarah Raplee

MID-LEFT SIDE, HORIZONTAL
ASH AND ECHO

So many experiences touch my heart with wonder, grace and gratitude. I hardly know where to start this post! I decided to share these two true stories.

A Bit of Magic

A year ago I played the scratch-off crossword card pictured here and was gifted with my two eldest granddaughters' names, Ash and Echo. Magical! Check out the photo. What are the odds? Was this a comforting message from the girls' deceased grandfather?

A Canine Miracle

We live on a wooded acreage in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon. Three years ago, we agreed to pet-sit our son's kids' tiny dog, Steve, while his family went to Iowa for Christmas. Steve weighs five pounds soaking wet and has poor eyesight. He had never been a problem when we took care of him in the past.

This time the little guy managed to run away and disappear before we could catch up to him. It was the dead of winter, and the coyotes had recently killed a small dog a quarter mile down the road in her own back yard. We searched for him frantically all day without luck. That night it poured and the temperature dipped into the thirties. We couldn't imagine what he was going through.

STEVE

I spent the next day posting signs the length of our road and all over the small town nearby, calling Animal Control and all local shelters, and posting his picture and info on local Facebook Groups. Steve was chipped and had a collar with his phone number on it and he was wearing a red sweater I hoped would make him get noticed.

The third day I drove down our road, knocking on doors to hand out flyers. I learned he had been spotted by several different people running westward down the road the afternoon he ran away. They said he seemed to know where he was going and he wouldn't let them get near him. That didn't surprise me. He was always afraid of strangers.

Over the next ten days, we prayed for a miracle and continued to post signs and knock on doors, getting occasional leads. One man reported seeing him in the light of a large Christmas display on his way home from work at three o'clock in the morning! People were wonderful about watching for him, but he eluded everyone that spotted him. Then the reports of Steve sightings stopped. We lost hope. An ice storm was predicted for Day 14. The night before, we agreed there was no way he was still alive. We'd done our best, but it was time we all accepted Steve was gone forever.

STEVE THE WONDER DOG

Early the next morning we were watching the ice storm forecast on the weather channel when my son called. A farmer had caught Steve and called the number on his collar.

His little red sweater was long gone. Steve had traveled five miles in two weeks and managed not to get eaten by an owl, bobcat or other predator. He was skin and bones, dirty and matted, but Steve the Wonder Dog would be okay.

Three years later, he's still going strong!

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

As If By Magic

By Robin Weaver

This month's theme--My Writing Dreams Come True--instantly made me think of magic. Because the fulfillment of any of my dreams: authoring a bestseller, having one of my books scripted for the big screen, or simply having a reader say, "I enjoyed the read," would indeed be magical.

Only... Do I believe in magic?

Do you?

If you’re geekishly inclined (like moi), you might want to pause before you respond with a resounding “NO.” While we hardcore logical types tend to mistrust anything we can’t reduce to an equation, I ask you to consider the following:

Soundwaves: Most of us have some understanding of the principles of sound. We agree our cellphones can transmit data, voice and images across the country because of science. But exactly why do soundwaves (radio waves, microwaves, etc., etc.) exist? Why do they work the way they do? One could successfully argue that the existence of this phenomenon is, in itself, magical.

The Reproductive Process: An egg is fertilized, cells start to divide and grow. For humans, a new member of our species is delivered nine-plus months later. Pure science, right? But exactly what drives that cell to divide? For that matter, what drives mankind to reproduce in the first place? We call it the “miracle of birth” for a reason.

Our Habitable Planet: We can explain, in scientific terms, what makes life possible on Earth, but think about the exact combination of factors that must exist for humanoid life:

** We must be the right distance from the sun.

** A magnet field is required to protect us from deadly radiation.

** Water (and carbon, and a host of other stuff) must be in plentiful supply.

** An atmosphere is essential.

** We need rock; not to mention our planet must be the right size, with a molten core, and tectonic plates.

** A moon, rotating at the appropriate distance from the planet. The big, shiny object in the night sky is directly responsible for the Earth's orbital tilt angle, and thus responsible for our climate and tides. Without the Moon, the Earth would wander in response to the gravitational pulls of the sun and Jupiter. Translation, no more life as we know it. In other words, we’d be Mars.

** Etc., etc., etc. While all the reasons for our planet’s habitability can be explained scientifically, the combination of unique factors that must coexist to constitute our living planet is mind-boggling. Perhaps our uniqueness id the reason we’ve found no other signs of humanoid life in this vast universe.

Falling in Love: Enough said.

Dictionary.com defines magic as:

“the art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature.” If you substitute “invention” or “industry” for the word “incantation,” isn’t that also a definition for science?

Until we magically get the answer (to this question and a plethora of other philosophical ones), I will simply "hope" your dreams come true.

Happy reading!

Robin

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Pass That Book Along: Recommended Titles by Kristin Holt

by Kristin Holt
www.KristinHolt.com

I'm a voracious reader. Bet you are too, as you're interested in a blog called Romancing The Genres.

TWO REASONS I READ NONSTOP:

1. "Hiding in Fiction" is my favorite entertainment--and distraction.

2. Stephen King granted permission.

THREE TITLES FROM MY KEEPER SHELF

So many books, so little time.

Recommendations for quality, worthwhile reading material can go a very long way. If someone else enjoyed it, I just might love it.

Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files, a 15+ paranormal urban fantasy series cemented my love of Fantasy. Given I pretty much only read romance (of various sub-genres), I credit Butcher with broadening my horizons and making me fall hard and fast for wizard Harry Dresden, an unlikely hero whose moral compass sees him in more trouble with vampires, witches, the Fae, goblins, ghosts--and the writing is superb. If you've not yet discovered this series, the really great news is 1) the series is long enough to hold you a while, and 2) they only get better and better [as every author truly should improve in their craft with experience].

Maybe it's cheating to lump the Inheritance Cycle series by Christopher Paolini into one book recommendation. I don't remember why I started reading the series, but once I finished book 1, I was hooked. As one who primarily identifies as a romance reader, I'm surprised how this Teen / YA / Fantasy-Action and Adventure-Magic series grabbed me and refused to let go. They're long, in-depth, superior, and captivating. Consider the audible editions for a family road-trip.

Ah, historical romance. Deanne Gist is a master of the genre. Set at the The Chicago World Fair (1893), Fair Play is a wholesome romance with historically accurate detail. Reading it put me squarely in the middle of a female physician's challenges in 19th century Chicago, and I felt the rush of excitement surrounding The Fair...and fell topknot over button-up shoes for Texas Ranger on loan to The Colombian Guard. While a Christian historical romance, the religious elements are minor; I completely forgot it was categorized as Christian fiction while reading. I listened to the audible edition many months (and dozens of books) ago, and elements still echo through my memory. It was that good.

From Pinterest

Hi! I'm Kristin Holt.

I write frequent articles (or view recent posts easily on my Home Page, scroll down to mid to lower) about the nineteenth century American west–every subject of possible interest to readers, amateur historians, authors…as all of these tidbits surfaced while researching for my books. I also blog monthly at Sweet Americana Sweethearts (first Friday of each month) and Romancing the Genres (third Tuesday of each Month).

I love to hear from readers! Please drop me a note. Or find me on Facebook.

Sweet Romance Appropriate for All Audiences