Sunday, November 29, 2009

Excerpt -New Bloody Murder

Now, Tali Cates and her best friend, Cherilyn have gone to the old Rayburn house and been driven inside because of storm. The storm isn’t the only scary thing in the old house. Remember to read Privy to Murder then the wait to snap up Bloody Murder on the 7th won’t seem nearly so long.

Excerpt 3 Bloody Murder Book 2 in the Tali Cates mystery series.

“Shit, shit, shit. We’re going to have a tornado, and it’s not much after noon. They’re not supposed to hit until afternoon or evening.”

“Tell that to those clouds overhead.”

I scanned the kitchen and saw a door on the opposite side from the one outside. “Quick, in here.”

“If it’s a cellar, I’m not going to be trapped inside a death trap.”

“Oh, don’t be a baby. It’s just a pantry but it should protect us.”

She pulled back. “But it’s dark and old and there’s no telling how many critters are in there. Besides, how do you know it’s a pantry?”

I shrugged and pulled open the door, then looked around for light. In the middle of the pentagram on the floor stood a large candle. Plucking that from its resting place might not be good but it was better than being in the dark. I grabbed it, attempting to ignore the energy washing through me.

We barreled through the pantry door and closed it. Now we were in the pitch dark with an unlit candle.

“It’s noon in October, not late afternoon in May,” I shouted. “We shouldn’t be having this strong a thunderstorm.”

“Did you tell that to the weather gods? I don’t think they’re playing by the rules,” Cherilyn yelled back. “How about some light?”

“Do you have a lighter or something?” An abrupt flare of light blinded me as the wick of the candle I held burst into flame. I barely managed to hold onto the wax when I jumped. Thank God I’d dropped the sack of grass at the last thunderclap or I’d have a bag of flame.

“Okay. That was just plain weird. I know you have some gifts, but lighting things with your mind?”

“It wasn’t me. Not on purpose.”

Shelves held the usual things for an abandoned house—dust, cobwebs, more dust, spiders, a discarded, dented can of corn. The hail, wind, and rain had stopped, or else we simply couldn’t hear them, which made no sense. Was this the eye of the storm? I didn’t remember that tornados had an eye; they came and went so fast.

The pantry was enormous, as were Cherilyn’s eyes. She wasn’t looking at me, but above my head somewhere.

“What? What’s wrong?”

She pointed to the wall behind me. “Look.”

I turned. Symbols covered the wall. Most pantries had shelves on at least three walls but this one was as large as a living room, and one wall was covered with hundreds of drawings crammed together, one on top of each other. They glowed with a light of their own—or took the light from the candle. I moved closer to try to identify the drawings but an immediate chill shot through me.

My hands shook, my entire body trembled, sending the candle flame jumping like a demented firefly, throwing shadows in odd shapes all over the wall. I swore the shadows moved on their own. More than anything in the world, I didn’t want to see the things that made those shadows. Fear also moved on its own, pushed into me, froze my blood, stopping all movement, including my heart. Unreasonable fear that made me want to claw my way out of the room took over.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Today I'm blogging at http://mystic-times.blogspot.com. At this blog, Diana Rubino, Ginger Simpson and I share postings on different dates. So come on down, meet a variety of authors and keep us company.

Friday, November 20, 2009

New Excerpt from Bloody Murder

How about another excerpt. Watch for a question.


Screams shrilled from the dressing room area, not the carnival. What else could go wrong with this damned county fair contest I was in charge of? I shivered, and it wasn’t from the cooler evening air. What now? I ran toward the dressing room, reaching the door in time to be trampled by Theresa, who was shrieking and carrying her daughter, Charlice.

“Oh God, Oh God, Oh God. My baby, my poor baby.” She finally took a breath and sat down on the ground. “It’s dead, it has to be. I don’t know what it is.” Theresa was one of the pageant contestant mothers. From the way she was reacting you’d think her child was dead, not struggling against her mother’s tight grip.

I picked myself up from the cement stage, ignoring my scraped knee. Charlice buried her head in her mother’s neck.

I went into the empty dressing room that Theresa had just opened. She had been anxious that her daughter wouldn’t have enough mirror space to get ready for the talent competition.

Marcia Baker lay on the floor, or at least someone in Marcia’s clothes. The body looked like a mummy, not Marcia. It was as if something had removed all moisture from her. All I could think of was poor Marcia, poor Kimmie, who was one of the Queen Contest competitors. She would be without a mother.

I couldn’t catch my breath. My heart stuttered. I staggered out of the room, touching nothing. My cell phone rang. I fumbled it out of my jeans, swallowing several times before I could talk. It was Mumsie, my mother.

“What’s going on, Tali? Chung Po is beside himself. He says he can’t see anything but darkness.”

“Tell your stupid spirit guide to go into the light. Get off the phone and call JT. I have a dead body here in the dressing room.”

“Another one?”

“Just go call.” I hung up and threw myself behind a hay bale to be sick. It was déjà vu all over again.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Bloody Murder Excerpt

"This Azo can simply show up from some other dimension and haul me off to hell to be his slave forever and there's nothing I can do?"

Okay, that came out more high pitched and panicky than I'd planned.

"It's why I'm here, Tali. To protect you, show you how to find and tap into power you can use to protect yourself."

"Well, shit. It was bad enough when I realized everything from vampires to werewolves were real. And now you're telling me I have to learn to use the essence of magic power to protect myself from the unseen things I thought were superstition? That's got to be the biggest pile of crap I've ever heard."

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Fun Weekend

I've had a great weekend.

Friday I went out to dinner with my daughter from Houston, love Chinese food.
Saturday, lunch with writer friends, gossip for three hours, or was it four. Also love a Leaning Bellini and Shrimp Portofino.
Made a big pot of Chili Saturday night, had the rest of the kids over and discovered chocolate wine-too good.
Had lunch today with my 88-year-old mother-in-law. discovered the most wonderful cake ever invented at Maggies, on 39th Expressway, Bethany, OK.
Okay, so this weekend revolved around food and drink. But it was fun.

So you don't think the weekend was a total loss, I almost finished chapter 13 of Dead Fairies, and have to figure out exactly who it is that Ande likes, Brandon or the new character trying to sneak in. Hmmm.

Also, I had an interview with Kim Smith on Blog Talk Radio on "Introducing Writers." That was fun. And in the interest of promotion, don't forget that all the Tali Cates books are at www.eternalpres.ca, or in print from www.amazon.com. If you need multiple e-formats, try www.fictionwise.com. You can catch the interview on Blog Talk in a couple of days. I'll put out an announcement.

I'm putting on a contest, see my website and visit my blog for a chance to win bookmarks, postcards, a Bloody Murder T-shirt, an autographed copy of a Tali Cates book and more. Stay tuned.

Chat with Carol Shenold

Chat with Carol Shenold



Come on down and chat with me at blogtalkradio.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

All My Witchy Friends




Good Morning, Readers,

Thank you, Carol, for inviting me to be your guest author today.

I’m paranormal romance author, Tabitha Shay, author of Witch’s Brew, Witch’s Heart, Witch’s Moon and Witch’s Magic. Yes, there are more books to come in the Winslow witches of Salem series.

Bitten By Books gives Witch’s Brew a 4.5 tombstone review!

BLURB: WITCH’S BREW/BOOK ONE

Witches, wizards and magic!

Saylym Winslow regains forgotten magical powers, but is determined to ignore them. No way is she a witch; magic brings nothing but trouble. But when Talon, Waken Prince and assassin of witches is assigned to terminate Saylym by stealing her soul, she discovers being a real, spell-casting witch is only the beginning of her problems.

Talon is enchanted by Saylym's beauty and charm and refuses to do his duty. He is given a choice by the powerful Waken Guild: Handfast with the trouble making witch to keep her in line or they will send Drayke, the most ruthless waken assassin, to hunt her down.

Sparks fly in this bewitching, sexy battle of the sexes-witch-style.

EXCERPT /WITCH’S BREW/BOOK ONE

The hairbrush in Saylym Winslow's hand came alive, wiggling worse than a worm on a hook. With an earsplitting scream, she flung the brush across the bathroom and pressed a hand against her run-away heart.

Unfortunately, the brush landed in the commode with a distinctive plop. Water slapped over the sides of the porcelain rim, splattering onto the worn tiled floor.

Biting her lip, Saylym tiptoed to the toilet bowl and peered over the edge, then jumped back. Her breathing rattled to a dead stop in her chest. "Ohmigod! I don't believe it!"

The brush had inched its way up the side of the white porcelain as if it had suddenly sprouted hands and feet to pull itself up the wet surface. It reached the top, tottered for a second, then toppled over onto the floor and flopped like a fish out of water.

"No more," Saylym moaned. "Please. I can't stand one more inanimate thing coming to life."



There are eight more books planned for the series, with Witch’s Fire next in line, with an April release date planned from Eternal Press.

Quite often I’m asked where I got the idea for Witch’s Brew, book one. Honestly, it just popped into my head one morning while I was going to pick up my son from work. Listening to my CD by The Eagles, I was jamming to their song, Witchy Woman. Spssst, I really get into the drums of that song and of course, I’m an avid sing-along-person.

But that morning, I was listening, instead of singing, and it suddenly hit me, Hmm, I could write a book about a witch.

Now anyone who knows me at all knows this would be a big leap for me. I’ve written romances for years, but I tended to stick to contemporary western romances. The truth is, deciding I could write about a witch never even hit me that I was switching genres in mid-stream.

Mulling the idea over, the thought struck me if I was going to write about a witch, then she had to be different. Not just any old, warty-faced witch would do.

So how could she be different?

Okay, I had to think about that. What if she’s a witch who doesn’t know she’s a witch? Yea! That sounded like a good start. Okay, problem. Why doesn’t she know she’s a witch? It’s not like using magic is something one can hide forever.


Coffee Time Romance gives Witch’s Heart a five cup review!

BLURB: WITCH’S HEART/BOOK TWO

Journey into a world where magic rules and death is the penalty for mistakes-return to the kingdom of Ru-Noc, where witches, wizards, and warlocks dwell. . .

Hannah Miller is starting over-new life, new location, and the grand opening of the Sugar 'N' Spice bakery with her best friend, Kirrah Walker. But Hannah soon discovers Sanctuary is not small town America. Trapped in a world of magic where humans are considered aliens-Hannah soon becomes the target of a waken assassin.

The male witch, Sage, is sent to terminate Hannah, the impertinent human who has dared to enter their sacred realm. Sage usually complies with the guild's orders, but he faces this assignment with dread. He hasn't forgotten what took place at the Salem witch trials in 1692 and has vowed to avoid all mortals-until he sees Hannah for the first time.

Caught up in the immortal conflict sweeping across Ru-Noc, the star-crossed lovers wage a different kind of war that set off more sparks than a witch's wand. . .

Fall under the spell of Witch's Heart-where Sage and Hannah discover love has a magic all its own . . .

EXCERPT: WITCH’S HEART/BOOK TWO

"I know a lot more about you than your name, Hannah Miller."

His voice was pure silk. It wrapped around her like a fur coat, warm, sensual and smooth as honey.

For the life of her, she couldn't keep the curiosity from her voice. "Oh? What do you know? Exactly?"

"I know you're human, a frail illumrof whose life span is but a twinkle, then gone. I know you should have remained in your own dimension. And I know it's impossible to mate with you."

"Mate with me?" Hannah gulped and put her hand on the rolling pin she'd left on the counter earlier. If she was no use to him, then what did that mean? He was going to kill her? Crap! They were back to the slice and dice. She tightened her grip on the rolling pin. "Over my dead body!" she said under her breath.

Bad choice of words, Hannah. Really bad.

Right. So…what if my witch fell and hit her head? Has a bad case of amnesia? For how long? Three hundred years? Because right away I decided she had to be three hundred years old, or in that neighborhood.

Three hundred years of amnesia? Nope, don’t think so.

Why don’t I let someone erase her memory? Totally wipe away everything about her past. What would happen? How would she cope if one day her magic started to return, and she had no idea what was happening? So, dear readers, Saylym Winslow was conceived and born.

Coffee Time Romance gives Witch’s Moon a five cup review!

BLURB: WITCH’S MOON/BOOK THREE

Ru-Noc: A magical world teetering on the edge of destruction.

Excited about her first Beltane, the feisty and strong-willed Princess of Ru-Noc makes plans to find her ideal mate. But Princess Kali's world is turned upside down when finds herself whisked away and trapped in the mortal realm of vampires.

Captain Koran T knows he's in serious trouble when the King of Ru-Noc orders him to kidnap Princess Kali. He's no different than any other male of his species at mating time, so the urge to breed Kali is strong. But Koran T has a dark secret of his own, one that could have him banished from the coven.

Fall under the spell of a Witch's Moon-when dark forces gather to threaten the very existence of Ru-Noc--and Princess Kali and Captain Koran cross swords in a fierce battle only a witch can win!

EXCERPT: WITCH’S MOON: BOOK THREE

Ah, but the novel appearance of a male witch popping in at the all girls’ academy had them all atwitter, all—but one.

Abrupt silence filled the halls and avid gazes shot to Princess Kali as she marched down the hall like a stiff-backed soldier. Fury etched the aristocratic lines of her face. Her topaz eyes blazed with gold flames. Her heart-shaped lips were tight with displeasure and color stained her noble cheekbones.

What would the princess do? Say?

Money exchanged hands as bets were quickly made on the outcome of the battle that brewed. Who would win, Captain Koran T or Princess Kali?

Oh, but this was going to be an entertaining moment for all of them.

No doubt about it, the reckless and hot-tempered Princess was in a bit of a snit. In a swish and swirl of red silk, she left a heady cloud of jasmine and oleander perfume in her wake.

Necks craned and eyes widened as everyone watched the Princess storm down the corridor to Principal Wing’s office.

“What’s she doing now?” someone asked. “I can’t see her anymore.”

“Who cares what she’s doing? My heart’s still pounding from catching a glimpse of the Captain,” one young lady commented. “Did you see how handsome he is? The excitement is almost too much to bear.”


BLURB/WITCH’S MAGIC/BOOK FOUR

Witches, werewolves, and vampires-an unprecedented alliance between the species.

Prince of Darkness: The realm of Vampyre is on the brink of a devastating war. In order to save his covens from total annihilation and claim his right to be king, Prince Valerian Radu must find a mate immediately and breed her. However, convincing the feisty witch, Shasta LaVeau, she’s First Bride material is a war in itself--Shasta has but one thought on her mind—drive a stake through his black heart!

Princess of Light: In Shasta’s opinion, the only good vampire is a staked vampire. Half-witch, half-werewolf, she leaves the borders of Ru-Noc to save her best friend, Princess Kali, from the evil fangs of Valerian, only to fall under the hypnotic spell of the sexy vampire.

Witch’s Magic—where four realms collide—and there can only be one winner!

EXCERPT/WITCH’S MAGIC/ BOOK FOUR

She scraped his right nipple with a long fingernail. “So sexy,” she whispered. “I want to taste you.”

“Taste me, then. Do what you will.”

Oh, to feel her naked beneath his body, feel his cock push through the hot, velvety muscles of her feminine channel, each layer surrounding his aching shaft until he was buried deep within her honeyed sheath.

It wasn’t to be.

From the look on her face, she wasn’t here for him to sex her. No. The deadly intent in her eyes was easy to read. The ugly thing she held in her small hands looked ominous. Potentially lethal. Scary as hell!

His pulse jumped, pounded fiercely. Sweat dampened his face. This was it then. The end. “No!” The word slipped past his lips from deep within his undead body, a furious growl of denial that she would do this terrible thing to him.

His heart squeezed out the next painful beat.

“You said do what I will. I will this.”

You cannot do this!

I can. I will.

Terror clenched his muscles. Before where he’d been restless, now Valerian remained stone still, paralyzed as if he’d been bitten by a Shun-Rock Spider from his home world of Pi-Ram.

He knew what came next. The horror of it froze him as nothing else.

Then she committed the worst act of his nightmare, the one that sent chills down his icy flesh and solidified his already sluggish blood. She placed the sharp-tipped of wooden stake on his bare chest, directly over his heart. Her laughter was no longer happy or sweet, sunny or warm, but cold and cruel and ruthless. He saw no mercy in her lovely eyes, only merciless determination.

The needlepoint tip pierced his flesh. His mouth flew open with the shock of it. So sharp. So sharp! Valerian tried to scream, but no sound moved past his lips. The pain crushed, as if his chest was weighted with stone. His heart raced at such a high speed, he thought it might explode.

Frozen in a place somewhere between his world and hers, he couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. Held captive by the magnetic force of her cruel gaze, he watched the hammer swing down, felt the deadly stake pierce his chest and drive through his heart.

Now, I don’t want to reveal all Saylym’s secrets or the problems she faces when her magic starts to return, but obviously, the fun doesn‘t end with Saylym‘s story. No. Saylym has two sisters, Kirrah, whose tale in Witch’s Fire, will be released in 2010 and Nyra, who tangles with Death in Witch‘s Touch, in 2011, so be watching for them.

I’m so thrilled to announce that all my books are now available in print from Amazon.com

Anyone leaving a comment today has a chance to win a signed copy of Witch’s Heart or Witch’s Moon. Be sure we have a way to contact you if your name is drawn so I can get your snail mail addy from you or be certain to check back about 6 p.m. CST., when the winner’s name will be announced. Until the next time, scope out my website at http://www.tabithashay.com

I’ve recently added new pages of the hunky vampires and demons introduced in Witch’s Magic.

I can also be found at Myspace. http://www.myspace.com/tabithashay

Pay a visit to my publishers at http://www.eternalpress.ca

One more tidbit of information: I also write contemporary western romances under the pen name-Jaydyn Chelcee. You’ll find her at the same website Tabitha Shay hangs around at, plus she has a Myspace site. http://www.myspace.com/jaydynchelcee

See you soon.

Tabs

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