HERE BE NEWS for December 23, 2019

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Monday, December 16 - 
"HERE BE NEWS" - All the latest from the gang at Here Be Magic.

Tuesday, December 17 -
"THE MANY MONSTERS OF CHRISTMAS" - Ghost Horses, Giant Cats, Demons and Werewolves – the Christmas season is both magical and strange. If you thought scary things only come out at Halloween, read Dani Harper's latest post on Here Be Magic! 

Wednesday, December 18 -
"TAKING IT TO THE MAT" - Author PG Forte finds meaning in yoga and some unexpected similarities to writing. PLUS she has a gift for readers: two Christmas stories that you can READ FOR FREE this holiday season.

Thursday, December 19 -
"JUST PRESS PAUSE" - Many of us feel like we're living our lives in 'fast forward' and would like to hit RESET. But a good story needs exactly that kind of momentum. Author Maureen Bonatch offers tips on both.

Saturday, December 28 -

This week's Bring It Back(list) feature is “OAK”, a Celtic Legends romance by PG Forte. Scroll below for all the details, or check the blog post HERE for an excerpt.

OAK
Celtic Legends
Book 2 
by PG Forte

Twice each year, Aine Murphy ventures into the woods to hold ceremonies to honor the Oak King and the Holly King, never dreaming these Lords of the Forest could be anything more than myth. When the legends spring to life in front of her, how can she help but fall for the sexy demi-gods she's loved all her life?

From midwinter to midsummer, Fionn O'Dair rules the Greenworld as the Oak King--a role he feels is beyond his abilities, and one that dooms him to a loveless future, forever craving the one man he can never allow himself to have. How can he resist what Aine offers--the sweet devotion that soothes his aching soul, and the slim chance to live a "normal" life as her husband, if only for half a year?


Holly King Kieran Mac Cuilenn never desired a human lover--until now. Seeing Fionn and Aine together fills him with longing for the love he threw away and awakens feelings he thought he'd buried with the last Oak King. Is there enough magic in the solstice to correct the mistakes he made years ago? Or is he doomed to be forever left out in the cold?

Buy link:  https://www.amazon.com/Oak-Celtic-Legends-Book-2-ebook/dp/B07GJCYKTL
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Wishing you a warm and wonderful holiday season

from all of us at Here Be Magic

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Taking It To The Mat

I know I’ve posted before about my yoga practice, and yes, the Move From Hell, did interfere with that. A lot.  But I’m pleased to say that, after almost a year’s hiatus, I’ve gone back to the mat and I’ve managed to lose another 40 pounds this year. Even with the move! So woo-hoo, and Merry Christmas to me.

I love yoga for a lot of reasons, but today I want to discuss the way it relates to writing.

1.     Repetition. There’s a definite form and structure to every session—just like with books. Yet every one is put together differently. And the ways in which you experience a given session will change depending on how your body feels. Doing a particular exercise over and over again is a lot like editing—you’re constantly tweaking and repeating, refining your movements/words as you go.

2.      Variation. Every posture has almost innumerable variations (just like every trope does) and even with all of that, individual modifications are encouraged. As one of my teachers is fond of saying, “I’m in my body and you’re in yours. You know what’s best for your body.” As a writer, you know what’s best for your book as well. And what’s best for this book, might not be best for the next one. You’ll only know by getting to it and seeing how you feel.

3.     Getting to it—that’s really the key to everything, isn’t it? You won’t accomplish much of anything unless you put the time in. Regularly. There are no shortcuts. Well, there are Electronic Muscle Stimulation exercises that could, theoretically, get you in shape faster, but I’m thinking they wouldn’t really help with flexibility, so I stand by my original statement!

4.     Courage and Vulnerability. A month ago it dawned on me that I’ve become one of those people who set up their mats in the front row—which, trust me, was not always the case! With writing, as with yoga, you need to be okay with being vulnerable. With being “seen”. With being willing to look like an idiot—while wearing brightly colored, body hugging clothing. And maybe also while being considerably older, heavier and less flexible than most of your classmates. You do you,” is a valuable mantra. Also valuable is realizing that while you’re doing it (writing or yoga) you’re pretty much safe from judgment. Everyone disappears on their mat. No one’s watching you when you’re exercising, because they’re too busy focusing on themselves. No one’s watching you while you’re writing, because all the critics are in your own head, at that point. Afterwards…yeah, sure. People will likely judge you then. And that’s definitely one place where the peace of mind you get from yoga would come in handy. Another reason I think all writers should be yogis.  

5.     Namaste. I think this is a true story; although I admit it sounds almost too good to be true. It was told to me by a dear friend, shortly after she started yoga, and I have no reason to believe it didn’t happen exactly like she said. She was clueless when she started—as most of us are. She knew nothing about yoga tradition and nomenclature. But she was enchanted by one part of the practice in particular. She thought it was so lovely and encouraging how, at the end of the class, everyone would bow their heads and solemnly agree that they’d made “no mistakes.” I think about that often, especially when I, too, get to that part of class where we all intone, “Namaste.” Because, while that might not be what the word means, it’s not that far off either. There are no mistakes. Everything is perfect: the book you’re writing, your progress on the mat, Life.

Because next week is Christmas, I have two free reads available! I’d hoped to have a couple more short, holiday stories done by now, but…there are no mistakes. Also, I guess that gives me something to look forward to next year. Please enjoy, and Happy Holidays! 

Free For The Holidays

This Winter Night

Winter Hearts 0.25

Newlyweds Dario and Ophelia Leonides are passionately in love. There are only two things marring their happiness this holiday season—Lia's homesickness and her continued inability to conceive a child.

Dario would do anything to make his wife smile again. He's hoping to use the miraculous technology his father-in-law has pioneered, combined with the magic inherent in his native land. But calling upon the forces of Kokopeli may have unintended consequences. 

This prequel to This Winter Heart is available as a FREE READ.

Click HERE  to download.

Counting On Christmas

An Ugly Christmas Sweater Story

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This Ugly Christmas Sweater short story features the characters Mike and Claire from Let Me Count the Ways (LA Love Lessons, book 3). Mike's been a very good boy this year and Santa Claire has the perfect present picked out for him--one that's both naughty and nice!

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***This story was originally released as part of the Nine Naughty Novelists' Ugly Christmas Sweater story collection ~ Volume I***

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Click HERE to download.

Honeymoon: A Chaos Station story

Zander Anatolius and Felix Ingesson are two of the hardest working men in the galaxy. They really need a break. So, we’ve sent them on a honeymoon—and managed to do so without bringing them to further harm.

(Readers of the Chaos Station series are likely breathing a huge sigh of relief here, as they’re more used to people dying. Or at the very least losing limbs. This holiday has been a long time coming.)

We didn’t just write this story for the Zed and Felix, though. We wrote it for our readers, the fans who have followed the adventures of Zed and Felix from the very start. For those who have mourned their losses, and cheered their successes. For all the folks who sent us little messages saying: “I cannot believe you did that!” Or: “Hasn’t Zed been through enough?” Or, popularly: “OMG, Felix!”

Jenn and I also wrote this one for ourselves. We’d said goodbye to Zed and Felix with the last edit round of Phase Shift (Chaos Station #5), and it was hard to let go. Many of our blog posts for the release of Phase Shift reflected on how hard it was to say goodbye to characters we’d given life to through five novels and a small collection of short stories. So “Honeymoon” is our last hurrah—a chance for us to just play with the guys, our dear fictional friends; to enjoy their love and everlasting happiness; to share their last adventure with our readers.

Visit our website at: http://chaosstation.com for more short stories, excerpts and deleted scenes.

Honeymoon

A Chaos Station story

Zander can't quite believe a galactic emergency didn't interrupt their wedding. Felix can't quite believe he's married. One thing is for sure, though, these guys need a holiday! So they book a cruise aboard the drift ship Biswas.

There is no death or dismemberment in this story. No hull breaches, no marauding aliens. This is Zed and Felix, though, so not everything is going to go according to plan.

“Honeymoon” is available to read now!

MOBI | EPUB | PDF

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About Kelly

If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories of the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.

Kelly is the author of a number of novels, novellas and short stories, including the Chaos Station series, co-written with Jenn Burke. A lot of what she writes is speculative in nature, but sometimes it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.

Visit Kelly Online:

Twitter | Facebook | Website

Here Be News

New Releases

BREACHERS: Viento and Bycote

Book 3

A Sensuously Erotic Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
by Linda Mooney

Music And Press

ISBN 978-1-941321-34-8
Word Count: 49K

$2.99

They are the cause of many legends, myths, and fairy tales. And they still live among us.

Someone is slaughtering young women in London, and using the same methods as Jack the Ripper did in the late 1800s. As much as the Metro police try to deny it, all signs point to the fact that infamous killer could be back - somehow, some way.

Ex-lovers and now partners, Jahar Viento and Fasha Bycote are sent to track down the murderer, whom they believe is actually the work of a Breacher. A Breacher who may have found a way to transcend time. A Breacher known as a garphar. Or, more commonly, a vampire.

Their abilities, their past history together, and their still fiery attraction to each other will be sorely tested as they draw closer and closer to the killer...

Because it will take a vampire to kill a vampire.

Warning! Contains fried chicken (extra crispy but not spicy), venom, undeniable passion, time traveling, living a nightmare, scrumptious cattle blood, and two people desperately in love, but with secrets that are determined to keep them apart.

Click here for excerpt and buy links.

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"Naughty or Nice? A Written Fireside Christmas Anthology" is a free download featuring 15 holiday-themed short stories, including the short story "The Misfits of Christmas" by Angela Campbell. It's not paranormal, but it does feature a naughty cat!

"The Misfits of Christmas" —
Charlotte isn't sure if Santa will mark her naughty or nice on his Christmas list this year. A misunderstanding before the holidays led her to break the heart of the man she loved. Now, her car is kaput, and she's snowed in with some of her apartment building's quirkiest neighbors, including her very naughty cat, two elderly sisters who can't hear, her flamboyantly gay best friend, and the man she accidentally betrayed. Can this group of misfits find the true meaning of Christmas together, or will they ALL end up on the naughty list?

"Naughty or Nice?" is available on Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes and Noble | Kobo.

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Cindy Spencer Pape also has a little holiday freebie installment of the Gaslight Chronicles featured on the Pandora Society blog. Click here to read it.