HERE BE NEWS for January 31, 2022

 

                            

Monday January 31, 2022 

Welcome to HERE BE NEWS, where each Monday we bring you all the latest from the fantasy romance authors at Here Be Magic:

Tuesday January 25, 2022:  Linda Mooney treats us to a paranormal vignette in Wolf Moon.

              

Online Book Fair Get your Winter Reading on. 

Three Days Only! 

Includes the MASSIVE Fantasy Anthology, Shadows and Chaos— over a thousand pages of reading pleasure for only .99!

 https://mailchi.mp/b3bd3a8f666f/online-book-fair...

January Vignette - "Wolf Moon" by Linda Mooney

This year, every month I'll be posting a little vignette (sci-fi, paranormal, or fantasy-based) involving the moon for that month.

Here's my January vignette entitled "Wolf Moon"

* * *

January, the Wolf Moon 

            “I heard some people say it’s called a Wolf Moon,” Arlene told him. She looked up at the bright, almost too shiny orb hanging in the night sky. “I guess that means it’s meant for wolves.”

            “I heard that, too, but it’s all hogwash,” Derris grumbled. “Hurry up before someone sees us!”

            She stepped gingerly through the frosty grass. Sometimes it crunched under her feet. She whimpered as a shard of ice pierced the thin soles of her shoes and stabbed her toes. She stopped to pull it out.

            “Are you all right?” He came back to check on her.

            “The grass hurts,” she admitted. “And I’m cold. When can we change?”

            “Not until we’ve had our fill. You know that,” he gently admonished her.

            “It’s been so long since we’ve—”

            “Shhh. We’re almost there.”

            “How much farther do we have to go?”

            “Not far. I promise.” Lifting her face, he noticed the frozen tears glistening on her cheeks. He gently brushed them away before kissing her. His lips were amazingly warm, considering the weather. “Come on.”

            They continued to make their way through the field, avoiding the road or the cement walkway. She remembered the one time she tried to walk on them instead of the dead grass. She’d fallen and nearly hurt herself badly on the invisible layer of ice covering the street. And more than once they’d witnessed vehicles slipping and crashing into each other, the light poles, signs, and sometimes into people when the idiots tried to drive on the slickness.

            “Why do you think it’s called a Wolf Moon?” she asked. Hopefully their conversation would take her mind off of how miserable she felt. She blew on her fingers, but she was barely able to feel her warm breath on them.

            “Something to do with the Indians. I think they noticed wolves gathering to howl at it.”

            “Maybe they howled because they were cold.” Her teeth were starting to chatter. Shoving her hands under her armpits, Arlene struggled to follow her mate as the wind picked up. “Think it’s going to snow tonight?”

            She saw him check the sky. “I doubt it. There’s no clouds. Without any clouds to hold in the heat, it’s going to get colder. Come on, honey.” He looped an arm through hers as they continued. “It’s just ahead. I can see the place now.”

            “Are you sure there’ll be something there to eat?” It was becoming difficult to talk. Her lips were numb, and she’d lost all feeling in her feet.

“Yes. They’ll have something to eat. They always do,” Derris promised. His words were slightly slurred, which told her that he was also succumbing to the freezing temperature.

“And after we eat, we’ll be able to—”

“Yes, sweetheart.”

The world was lit with a bright milky-gray glow from the full moon. With snow covering almost everything until nothing remained distinctive under its blanket, it was impossible for her to tell one lump from another.

However, one massive structure loomed ahead. Arlene gave another little whimper, this time of relief. Derris led her straight to the rear of the building where the trash cans were located. Grabbing the lid of the first one, he threw it open and leaned over to take a deep breath. “This one’s full, and it smells delicious.” He tilted the can until it fell onto the ground, spilling its contents.

He was right. The smell of food filled the frigid air, beckoning them with its promise of a hearty meal. Arlene dropped to her knees as Derris shredded the plastic bags. Lumps of mashed potatoes, a few green beans, and beef bones with some meat still attached slid out onto the snow.

“It’s a feast!”

“Start eating,” he ordered her. “I’ll look for more.”

There was more. A bite of egg and toast. Some French fries. The remains of a salad with bacon bits adhered to the lettuce. And two intact biscuits. Half a slice of cherry pie. Most of everything was peppered with coffee grounds, but they were able to brush off the majority of it.

Someone hadn’t eaten every bit of chicken off their order of wings. There were dinner rolls with a single set of teeth marks on them, a little boiled cabbage, some macaroni and cheese, and—

“Look!” Derris held it out to her. Arlene gaped at the two untouched donuts.

“Why would they throw out perfectly good food?” she asked around a mouthful.

“Stuff like donuts grow stale after a while,” he told her. “Nobody wants stale donuts.”

“Oh, but they’re so good!” she argued. “Even cold and hard,” she added, and giggled.

They continued to eat, using the light of the moon and their sense of smell to find the stuff that was still edible, even if it was a single piece of broccoli, a tidbit of a strawberry, or half a slice of cantaloupe.

They gorged themselves, taking advantage of the contents of all three trash cans. When they were too full to eat any more, they stretched out on the hard packed ground, unable to move. Arlene gazed up at the beautiful moon, when she felt Derris’s hand reach out and take hers, giving it a squeeze.

“Happy now?” he whispered.

“I feel like that moon.”

“Stuffed?”

She tried to laugh, but her stomach was too bloated. “I feel like howling at it myself.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m happy. Because now we can—”

A sound coming from the side of the building interrupted them. Derris hissed in her ear, “Hurry! Change!”

She was already ahead of him, shedding her shoes and ragged clothes. He was waiting for her behind the last overturned trash can when the man came outside, brandishing a flashlight and a baseball bat.

“Scott? What is it, Scott?” A woman appeared in the open doorway.

The light played over Derris and Arlene, revealing their locations. They took off, waddling as fast as they could from the roadside restaurant.

“It’s just a couple of damn raccoons,” the man told her. “They got into the trash cans and made a huge mess out here. Damn, if I can figure out how they’re able to knock over those heavy cans.”

“Well, leave it for now. It’s too cold out to do anything about it tonight,” the woman snapped. “Get back in here before you catch your death!”

Eventually, the man turned off the flashlight and went back inside the building. The last thing they heard was him muttering, “I’m gonna hafta put a fence or something around those cans, or those damn animals will be back.”

They waited for the door to close before emerging from their hiding place. Nuzzling her cheek with his snout, Derris motioned for her to follow him.

They left their clothes behind. There was no need to go back and retrieve them. Even if they did, they had no way to carry them. Not in their present shape. But it didn’t matter. They could always find plenty of cast-off clothing people discarded. When they grew hungry again, and could no longer keep their alternate shapes, it wouldn’t be hard to find more.

Derris paused beside a tree and waited for her to catch up. “Warm enough now?” he teased.

She shook the ice crystals from her thick fur. “Mm-hmm, and full as a tick. Where are we going to spend the night?”

“I was thinking about that storage shed about a quarter mile down the road. There’s a little tunnel underneath the flooring that we can use to get inside. We’ll be all toasty and out of the weather. How’s that sound?”

“Will we be able to see the Wolf Moon from inside?” She glanced up to stare at the orb’s intense brightness.

“The shed has windows. I’m pretty sure we can. Come on.”

He turned to lead the way when she stopped him. “Derris?”

“What, honey?”

“Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

He smiled. The moonlight reflected off his mask, making his dark eyes shine. “Tell me again when we curl up to sleep. I want it to be the last thing I hear.”

Arlene nodded and kissed his mouth. And together the two raccoons hurried along the side of the road to find their resting place for the night.

Link to Linda's Website

HERE BE NEWS for Monday January 24, 2022

 

                            

Monday January 24, 2022 

Welcome to HERE BE NEWS, where each Monday we bring you all the latest from the fantasy romance authors at Here Be Magic:

Tuesday January 18, 2022: Deborah Bailey discusses writing intimate scenes.

Thursday January 20, 2022: In a post pulled from the archives, Maureen Bonatch lists 4 stories that have stayed with her.

The Name Game
A Games We Play Story
PG Forte

BUY LINK

He knows what to do to save her business. She knows what he needs to fix his life! 

Atlas Beach is experiencing a retail-renaissance—and Carly Meyer is determined to be part of it. But her sandwich shop-slash-food-truck, The Lunch Box, is struggling to stay afloat. Luckily, help is on the way thanks to the Chamber of Commerce’s innovative mentoring program—partnering successful Atlas Beach business owners with some of the newer start-ups. Too bad the mentor assigned to her is the delectable—and highly annoying—Tino DiLuca. 

Tino knows exactly what’s hurting Carly’s business and—exactly how to fix it. But his number one solution, changing the name of her signature sandwich, is the one thing she’s not prepared to do.

 

Two Truths and a Lie
(Games We Play #3)
PG Forte

BUY LINK

BLURB: All work and no play has been the story of Brenda Donovan's life these past few months. Her concern about the future of her family's inn has her tied up in knots--and not in a good way. Between searching for a buyer for the business, and keeping secrets from her cousins, she's had no time to pursue an actual relationship. But pretending to date sexy Max Murphy, the hotel scout who's there to assess the property? That's totally doable. Especially when games, role-playing, and light bondage are included in the package. Falling in love was never supposed to be part of their deal; but now her heart's in play and all bets are off. 

 Max has no problem with hiding his true identity from Brenda's cousins. If that's the way she wants to play it, he's all in. But are Luke and Gwyn the only ones he's deceiving? 

 It's game, set, and match this time around. And when all the scores have been tallied, and everyone's secrets are finally revealed, will the cousins lose the Wild Geese Inn?

* * * * *

Although the focus of this book is on Brenda and Max's relationship, this excerpt is from one of my favorite scenes because it features all the main characters from the first three books. This first trilogy revolves around the three cousins who own the Wild Geese Inn. The second trilogy, starting with The Name Game (which releases Monday!) focuses on the DiLuca family (including Kristy's two brothers and a cousin).

EXCERPT: 

Brenda was more than happy to have Max beside her when she entered the dining room a short while later to find that Luke and Gwyn had been joined by Cam, Berke, and Kristy. They were all seated around the table looking tired and grim—like the tail end of a long night, as her grandmother might have said. 

“What’s going on?” Brenda asked, wondering why they’d chosen to meet here—or now. It was hardly private. She could hear the kitchen staff in the next room, going about the business of cleaning up after breakfast. 

“We have a business proposition for you,” Luke said. He scowled at Max. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, but since you are, we have a message for you to take back to your bosses. Tell them the deal is off. We’re not selling.” 

Max shrugged. “I’m afraid you’ll have to tell them yourself. I don’t work for Fairfax anymore.” 

“Oh yeah? How come?” 

Max glanced at Brenda and smiled. “Let’s just say I have a conflict of interest.” 

“That’s great,” Gwyn said. She gestured at the buffet. “Why don’t you both get some coffee, then come and sit down? We have a lot to discuss.” 

Brenda hesitated for an instant. She didn’t want coffee, and she preferred to stand. But her cousins’ behavior had made things crystal clear. She wasn’t the one in charge anymore. “Buckle up,” she muttered to Max as they fixed their coffee at the narrow buffet, with their backs to the room, just barely out of earshot of the others. “Looks like we’re in for a bumpy ride.” 

Max laid a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed. “Don’t worry. We’ll get through it. It will be okay.” 

“So Gwyn and I got together last night to talk things over,” Luke said after Brenda and Max seated themselves. 

“We all got together,” Gwyn corrected. “The five of us.” 

Luke rolled his eyes. “You know that’s gonna take some getting used to, right?” 

Gwyn nodded. “I know.” 

“Anyway, Brenda, it was somewhat forcefully suggested to us that we may have more or less strong-armed you into this.” 

“‘This’ being quitting your job,” Gwyn elaborated. “And moving away from the city, helping us keep the inn operational. We guilt-tripped you into doing what we wanted you to do. That was wrong. And we’re sorry.” 

Brenda shook her head. “No, that’s not— It wasn’t like that. Really.” 

“Yeah, it kind of was,” Luke admitted. “We both knew from the start that you weren’t really on board with the idea of our taking over the hotel. We knew you were unhappy. I guess we were hoping that, in time, you’d come around to seeing things from our point of view. We didn’t realize until yesterday how bad things had become.” 

“But all the same, you didn’t need to go behind our backs like you did,” Gwyn told her. “That was low. You could have come to us.” 

“Could I?” Brenda asked. “Really? What would I have said? I told you how I felt last November.” 

Luke shook his head. “How about we try and keep on topic here? We can play coulda, shoulda, woulda all day long. But that’s not going to solve anything.” 

“You’re right,” Gwyn agreed. “When you’re right, you’re right.” 

“So where does that leave us?” Brenda asked. “Are you saying you want to agree to disagree? That’s not going to solve much of anything either.” 

“Which is why we came up with an alternative plan,” Luke said. “You want out and, as it happens…” 

“Berke and Cam want in,” Gwyn finished. 

“And me,” said Kristy, raising her hand. “I mean, I know I don’t have a lot of money, just what I inherited from my mom, but I love this place. And I want a stake in it too. Even a little one.” 

Luke shot her an exasperated glance. “How many times we gotta go over this? You don’t need to do that. You’re marrying me in a few months; that means you already have a stake in it. What’s mine is yours.” 

“I don’t care,” Kristy replied stubbornly. “It’s my money, and this is what I want to do with it. This place is important to me too, you know. I want to be involved in helping to save it.” 

“Wait.” Brenda frowned in confusion. “Married? You two are engaged? When did that happen?” 

“Last night,” Luke said. He cast a rueful glance at Kristy. “I had to do something to make up for telling the entire bar I thought kissing her was a mistake or I’d never have heard the end of it.” 

“Damn straight,” Kristy agreed, smiling back at him.

Bring It Back(List) : Two Truths and a Lie by PG Forte

Two Truths and a Lie
(Games We Play #3)
PG Forte

BUY LINK

BLURB: All work and no play has been the story of Brenda Donovan's life these past few months. Her concern about the future of her family's inn has her tied up in knots--and not in a good way. Between searching for a buyer for the business, and keeping secrets from her cousins, she's had no time to pursue an actual relationship. But pretending to date sexy Max Murphy, the hotel scout who's there to assess the property? That's totally doable. Especially when games, role-playing, and light bondage are included in the package. Falling in love was never supposed to be part of their deal; but now her heart's in play and all bets are off. 

 Max has no problem with hiding his true identity from Brenda's cousins. If that's the way she wants to play it, he's all in. But are Luke and Gwyn the only ones he's deceiving? 

 It's game, set, and match this time around. And when all the scores have been tallied, and everyone's secrets are finally revealed, will the cousins lose the Wild Geese Inn?

* * * * *

Although the focus of this book is on Brenda and Max's relationship, this excerpt is from one of my favorite scenes because it features all the main characters from the first three books. This first trilogy revolves around the three cousins who own the Wild Geese Inn. The second trilogy, starting with The Name Game (which releases Monday!) focuses on the DiLuca family (including Kristy's two brothers and a cousin).

EXCERPT: 

Brenda was more than happy to have Max beside her when she entered the dining room a short while later to find that Luke and Gwyn had been joined by Cam, Berke, and Kristy. They were all seated around the table looking tired and grim—like the tail end of a long night, as her grandmother might have said. 

“What’s going on?” Brenda asked, wondering why they’d chosen to meet here—or now. It was hardly private. She could hear the kitchen staff in the next room, going about the business of cleaning up after breakfast. 

“We have a business proposition for you,” Luke said. He scowled at Max. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, but since you are, we have a message for you to take back to your bosses. Tell them the deal is off. We’re not selling.” 

Max shrugged. “I’m afraid you’ll have to tell them yourself. I don’t work for Fairfax anymore.” 

“Oh yeah? How come?” 

Max glanced at Brenda and smiled. “Let’s just say I have a conflict of interest.” 

“That’s great,” Gwyn said. She gestured at the buffet. “Why don’t you both get some coffee, then come and sit down? We have a lot to discuss.” 

Brenda hesitated for an instant. She didn’t want coffee, and she preferred to stand. But her cousins’ behavior had made things crystal clear. She wasn’t the one in charge anymore. “Buckle up,” she muttered to Max as they fixed their coffee at the narrow buffet, with their backs to the room, just barely out of earshot of the others. “Looks like we’re in for a bumpy ride.” 

Max laid a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed. “Don’t worry. We’ll get through it. It will be okay.” 

“So Gwyn and I got together last night to talk things over,” Luke said after Brenda and Max seated themselves. 

“We all got together,” Gwyn corrected. “The five of us.” 

Luke rolled his eyes. “You know that’s gonna take some getting used to, right?” 

Gwyn nodded. “I know.” 

“Anyway, Brenda, it was somewhat forcefully suggested to us that we may have more or less strong-armed you into this.” 

“‘This’ being quitting your job,” Gwyn elaborated. “And moving away from the city, helping us keep the inn operational. We guilt-tripped you into doing what we wanted you to do. That was wrong. And we’re sorry.” 

Brenda shook her head. “No, that’s not— It wasn’t like that. Really.” 

“Yeah, it kind of was,” Luke admitted. “We both knew from the start that you weren’t really on board with the idea of our taking over the hotel. We knew you were unhappy. I guess we were hoping that, in time, you’d come around to seeing things from our point of view. We didn’t realize until yesterday how bad things had become.” 

“But all the same, you didn’t need to go behind our backs like you did,” Gwyn told her. “That was low. You could have come to us.” 

“Could I?” Brenda asked. “Really? What would I have said? I told you how I felt last November.” 

Luke shook his head. “How about we try and keep on topic here? We can play coulda, shoulda, woulda all day long. But that’s not going to solve anything.” 

“You’re right,” Gwyn agreed. “When you’re right, you’re right.” 

“So where does that leave us?” Brenda asked. “Are you saying you want to agree to disagree? That’s not going to solve much of anything either.” 

“Which is why we came up with an alternative plan,” Luke said. “You want out and, as it happens…” 

“Berke and Cam want in,” Gwyn finished. 

“And me,” said Kristy, raising her hand. “I mean, I know I don’t have a lot of money, just what I inherited from my mom, but I love this place. And I want a stake in it too. Even a little one.” 

Luke shot her an exasperated glance. “How many times we gotta go over this? You don’t need to do that. You’re marrying me in a few months; that means you already have a stake in it. What’s mine is yours.” 

“I don’t care,” Kristy replied stubbornly. “It’s my money, and this is what I want to do with it. This place is important to me too, you know. I want to be involved in helping to save it.” 

“Wait.” Brenda frowned in confusion. “Married? You two are engaged? When did that happen?” 

“Last night,” Luke said. He cast a rueful glance at Kristy. “I had to do something to make up for telling the entire bar I thought kissing her was a mistake or I’d never have heard the end of it.” 

“Damn straight,” Kristy agreed, smiling back at him.

The Name Game
A Games We Play Story
PG Forte

BUY LINK

He knows what to do to save her business. She knows what he needs to fix his life! 

Atlas Beach is experiencing a retail-renaissance—and Carly Meyer is determined to be part of it. But her sandwich shop-slash-food-truck, The Lunch Box, is struggling to stay afloat. Luckily, help is on the way thanks to the Chamber of Commerce’s innovative mentoring program—partnering successful Atlas Beach business owners with some of the newer start-ups. Too bad the mentor assigned to her is the delectable—and highly annoying—Tino DiLuca. 

Tino knows exactly what’s hurting Carly’s business and—exactly how to fix it. But his number one solution, changing the name of her signature sandwich, is the one thing she’s not prepared to do.

 

From the Archives: 4 Stories that Stuck with Me

 Today's post was originally posted on September 9, 2018. Enjoy!

I’ve read too many books to count over my lifetime, and the list keeps growing. I’ve picked up some books and then realized I

already read them before. It wasn’t that the book wasn’t good, or the title wasn’t memorable, it’s just that I’ve read so many. I immerse myself in that world while I read it and then move on to the next.

But there are some books that lingered in my mind for years after I finished. Something about the book, a character, or another tidbit of their fictional world altered my reality a little. 

Twilight

A friend recommended Twilight by Stephenie Meyer long before the stories became all the rage and the movies that followed. I admit, I was skeptical. I’d only enjoyed a few vampire books previously and Salem’s Lot (Stephen King) and Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice) and neither seemed anything like this story, but I needed a good beach read. 

I can’t say exactly what it was about the story that pulled me in and left me desperate for the second book. Unfortunately, this was before I had a kindle and I was left plotting for somewhere to stop on the way home from vacation to buy the next book. 

When I find a new author that I enjoy, I seek out their website and interviews to learn more about them and their books. I discovered the playlist the author used for writing the Twilight books, and with that, I found a new band to enjoy, Muse. Now when I hear their songs, I wonder if certain ones inspired a scene for the stories.

The Stand

I love Stephen King’s books. I’ve mentioned the character, Randall Flagg, before and how I’ve never looked at a crow the same way again. The Stand is the only book I read more than once, even if the second one was the extended version. Besides the fear of a villain taking the form of a bird to stalk me, the story was written with such detail that it, and the characters within it, lived on in my mind. 

The Hollows

Kim Harrison’s books ignited my love for Urban Fantasy. The snark, the first person POV had me hooked and inspired me to pursue writing in first person POV myself.

Little House on the Prairie

My mother read the books from the Little House on the Prairie to my sister and I before I could read them for myself. This spawned my love of reading, my obsession with the television show that came later (that I’ll still watch if I see that it’s on) and my desire in fourth grade to learn to play the fiddle (that didn’t happen). 

 

What Books Have Lived on Long After the Last Page for You?

P.S. There’s still time to enter the All Things Magical Giveaway. Check it out right here. 

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four

seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook& Twitter

Be the first to know about Maureen's new releases by following her on Amazon or BookBub

Writing Romantic and Intimate Scenes

 

When I wrote the intimate scenes for the novellas in the Once Upon A Princess Trio, I wanted to be sure they were a fit for the stories.

Each novella features a different couple, and each scene is a fit for their relationship. In Heart of Stone, the hero is a gargoyle shifter who is actually under a magical spell. The scenes are more based on fantasy than reality since they occur in his enchanted palace. The hero has been in love with the heroine from afar, and he's desperate to show her his love. If she falls in love with him, it can be the key to breaking his curse.

For Beauty and the Faun, I didn't introduce intimate scenes right away. In fact, the couple are friends and not lovers for most of the story. The heroine hasn't been intimate with anyone before. I emphasized that she was having her first experience. The hero is playful and a bit of a "bad boy" but he's patient enough to wait until the heroine is ready. And once she is, they both find that they're matched as lovers.

In Land of Dreams, the hero has a more complicated origin story (I won't say more so that I don't reveal any spoilers). He's not expecting to fall in love with the heroine. He plans to help her learn magic and nothing more. The hero is a world-weary type who is nursing a broken heart. Since the story is in his POV the scenes are more sensual and have less "insert tab A into slot B" kinds of descriptions.

Writing intimate scenes can be a big challenge. Should there be a lot of detail? How soon should the first love scene happen? It all depends on knowing your characters and understanding the purpose of the scenes. I think it's important that the actions and emotions feel natural. Romantic scenes should enhance the story and not feel out of place.

HERE BE NEWS for Monday January 17, 2022

 

                            

Monday January 17, 2022 

Welcome to HERE BE NEWS, where each monday we bring you all the latest from the fantasy romance authors at Here Be Magic:

Thursday January 13, 2022: PG Forte discusses her love/hate relationship with deadlines.

                

A lot of great deals on PNR books this month!

January PNR Bookfair

Second-Chance Shifter Romance

Midnight Magic Bookfair

 

Paranormal Anthologies

Looking for a new series to binge?  One of these series starters might be just what you're looking for!

BookFunnel Promo: Romance Series Starters