Wednesday, November 17, 2021

INTERVIEW WITH JENNAE VALE (The Golden Hook: The Green Sky Series, Book Two)

 


Today we welcome author Jennae Vale to our page. Welcome, Jennae!

SC: Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.

JV: Edward Sutherland is an English pirate aboard The Dagger, a ship captained by his best friend Jameson Mackall.  He’s charming, handsome, enjoys a good time and is pretty full of himself. Unexpectedly he finds he has traveled through time to the 21st century, but despite all of the oddities of this strange new world he finds himself in Edward considers it an adventure that he’s happy to be on, especially after meeting a woman who can challenge him at every turn.

SC: Ooh! We love pirates, especially time travelling ones. Do you believe in the paranormal and if so do you have an experience you can share?

JV: I most definitely believe in the paranormal and I’ve had plenty of experiences that might make you a believer too.  I’ll share one with you that was especially unnerving. Many years ago my older brother passed away. I was devastated to lose him and was upset that I hadn’t been able to say goodbye. It was all I could think about. Then one night, something woke me from a sound sleep. My eyes were drawn to my bedroom door where a bluish purple light buzzed into my room landing next to my bed. Much to my surprise a sofa appeared and on that sofa sat my brother. He asked me what it was that I’d wanted to tell him. I couldn’t speak. Instead I sat up and reached out to touch him (something I’ve since been told you should never do) but it was as if my body was frozen in place. I struggled to free myself and was finally able to reach him. The entire right side of my body began to vibrate. I felt as though I was being electrocuted. Now, instead of trying to touch my brother I was trying to pull back away from him. When I finally was able to break free, the vibration stopped and my brother was gone. I fell back asleep and the next day when I woke I was physically ill. I don’t know for sure if the vibration had caused my fever and achiness, but I think that it did.  I learned my lesson though. Don’t touch those visiting from the spirit world no matter how much you might want to.

SC: Thanks for sharing that with us. It must have been very emotional for you. What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?

JV: I’ve got more than one book in the planning stages. I have a spin off series planned for a character from my Thistle & Hive Series. There will be more books in The Green Sky Series and The Delight Series, but the book I’m most excited about will take me out of my comfort zone of time travel romance. I’m currently researching a book that will be historical fiction set in Victoria Chicago. I can’t say much more than that, but it should be a fun book to write.

SC: You'll have to come back another time and tell us more. Let's take a look at today's novel now.


The Golden Hook  
The Green Sky Series
Book Two 
Jennae Vale

Genre: Time Travel Romance
Date of Publication: October 12, 2021
ASIN:B09JB82GG7
Number of pages:190
Word Count: 57,000
Cover Artist: Sheri McGathy

Tagline: Swashbuckling pirates plus time travel equals adventure and romance on the high seas.

Book Description: 

What happens when a swashbuckling pirate meets a time traveling twenty-first century woman?
 
Edward Sutherland has always been a self-assured and confident man of the sea. He’s spent years alongside his friend and captain Jameson Mackall and until now has only ever wanted to find treasure and retire a wealthy man. He wasn’t expecting to travel through time and he certainly wasn’t expecting to meet a woman who would challenge and impress him at every turn.
 
Susanna Cole has lost her best friend in a boating accident. In a deep state of grief she is about to close her once thriving business when a stranger walks through her door with a letter from her friend. A letter dated 1724. Can she believe this man? Or is he playing some cruel joke?
 
Two strangers with one goal, to get back to the year 1724. There are plans to be made, treasure to be found and most importantly they must locate the one woman who can possibly help them in their quest. The feelings they are developing for one another will be put to the test when history, as it is written, comes into play and the life of Edward Sutherland is on the line.




Excerpt:

Boxes were piled high around the offices of NYC Party Planning, crowding in on the desk where Susanna Cole sat going through emails and messages from friends and business acquaintances.

This had been one of the hardest times of her life.

Life wasn’t the same without Danielle. She’d lost her best friend and business partner. They worked together and lived together. She was completely alone now and more depressed than she’d ever been in her life.

Her head popped up as there was a knock at the door. “Come in.”

The door opened and the sight in front of her was like a slap in the face. Some idiot had decided it would be a good idea to remind her of her loss by showing up in pirate costume. “Was there a costume party someone forgot to tell me about?” she snapped.

“I’m sorry. Costume party?” the man asked.

“I’m not in the mood right now. What can I do for you?” Maybe if she sounded cranky enough he’d just turn around and leave.

“I need your help,” he said, stepping closer.

“You’ve come to the wrong place. I’m no longer accepting new clients. The business is closing for the foreseeable future.” That should do it. There was nothing more to be said. If he was looking for a party planner he was going to have to go elsewhere.

“But this is the right address. You’re Susanna Cole, am I correct?” He raised his eyebrows and offered a questioning gaze.

His surly English accent was not charming her. The more she looked at him the more irritated she became. Seeing him was like rubbing salt into her wound. “Seriously, what’s with the outfit?” Whoever this guy was, he was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Reaching into his jacket pocket, the man pulled out an envelope and looked at it. “I was directed here by the people on board the ship. This is NYC Party Planning, Brooklyn, New York, isn’t it?” He straightened his coat and stood at attention.

Susanna noted his height. Easily over six feet tall, very handsome and from the way he stood it seemed he might be in the military. No matter. She’d had enough of being toyed with.  “I don’t know what cruel joke you’re playing, but it is not appreciated. My friend recently drowned on a pirate cruise to Bermuda and I’m, I’m…” She wasn’t going to cry. Not in front of this stranger. She took in a deep breath, held her head high and stood up.

“I know the whole of it. Your friend Danielle fell overboard.” His voice was soft and low, filled with understanding.

Was he purposely trying to upset her? How did he know who Danielle was? “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

He threw his head back in apparent exasperation before inhaling deeply and looking at her.

“Please don’t. I’m sorry. I understand you’re upset, but do let me finish what I have to say.” He paused, gazing at her with what seemed an impatient glare.

She kept silent.

“Thank you. I’ve a letter here for you from Danielle. It will explain everything.” He held the letter out for her to take.

Susanna’s hands shook as she took it from him. She couldn’t help but feel skeptical. She’d seen Danielle go overboard and disappear beneath the waves. They’d searched for her for days, as had the Coast Guard and they found nothing.

“Did she give this to you before we went on the cruise?” She glanced down at the letter. It was Danielle’s handwriting. There was no mistaking it. Everything down to the little heart she used to dot the letter I.

“No. She gave it to me yesterday morning.” He seemed to be watching and waiting for her reaction.

“This better be good,” she said. At this point, she was ready to throw him out the door and lock it behind him. If that didn’t work, she’d call the police, but her curiosity was piqued. She opened the letter and read.

About the Author:

Jennae Vale is a best selling author of romance with a touch of magic.  As a history buff from an early age, Jennae often found herself day-dreaming in history class and wondering what it would be like to live in the places and time periods she was learning about.  Writing time travel romance has given her an opportunity to take those daydreams and turn them into stories to share with readers everywhere.

Originally from the Boston area, Jennae now lives in the San Francisco Bay area, where some of her characters also reside.  When Jennae isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and her pets, and daydreaming, of course.










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Thursday, November 11, 2021

INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN McLEOD (She Died on a Monday)

 



Busy day here at Supernatural Central. Sorry for the delay. It's Remembrance Day here in Canada, lest we forget. Let's welcome author Kevin McLeod to the fray. 

SC: Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.

KM:The main character in my book is John. John has witnessed his wife drop dead in front of him at their kitchen table. The book looks at John’s journey through heartbreak, anger, denial and loss in the following 7 days after the death. John struggles to deal with the death of his soulmate and we go through those struggles day by day with him. He starts to see his wife, smell her, hear her and even talk to her as his brain tries to process what has happened.

SC: Do you believe in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?

KM: I do believe in the paranormal. I think something happens to us as we lose our innocence and we lose the ability to see ghosts and the paranormal as easily as we do when we are young kids. I remember about 11 years ago when my daughter was 3 we would hear her talking to someone in her room. We always assumed she was just playing. I asked her one day who she was talking to. She said the old lady that comes and sits on her bed. She told me the old lady comes by most days and talks to her. The old lady told Rachael that she used to live in our house. Rachael described her when I asked and after speaking to the neighbours it turned out that the woman Rachael had been speaking to was called Elizabeth and she had lived in our house about 20 years before us.

SC: What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?

KM: I have just finished a story called Silence is Golden which is told from the thought perspective of one main character who has become disillusioned with modern life and is struggling to cope with his place in it and reality in general.

SC: Thanks for stopping in. Let's take a look at your novel now.


She Died on a Monday
Kevin McLeod

Genre: Love Story, paranormal
Date of Publication: 20/09/2021
ISBN: 979-8469680987
ASIN: B09DYZ1D4W
Number of pages: 50
Word Count: 8886
Cover Artist: Theresa Bills

Tagline: What do we do when everything changes in an instant?

Book Description: 

Picture the kind of enduring love that most of us would wish for; the kind of elderly, married couple we might see on the street, or in a café, so in tune with each other that it’s hard to imagine one without the other.

John and Elizabeth have a love like that, but John’s world is suddenly shattered when Elizabeth is brutally taken from him. For some people it can feel as though it’s just too difficult to go on when one half of you is missing. How will John cope with his broken heart? Who, or what, can help him?

Kevin McLeod is a best-selling children’s author, but this is his first adult short story, inspired by the love his grandparents shared. Kevin writes beautifully, in heart-rending detail, about the numbness, shock, and crushing grief that John faces. He explores challenges that we will all face when someone we love dies, made all the more poignant by his tender evocation of a long and happy marriage.

‘She Died On A Monday’ is a story of love and loss that you’ll want to read time and again, to enjoy each perfect detail and the clever twists and turns. But, be warned, you might just cry every time that you do.


Excerpt:

She died on a Monday. No long lingering illness. No last words, just there, then gone. One minute they were sharing breakfast, the next his world collapsed. She was falling too fast and he was moving too slow. Later, the doctor would tell him that it didn't matter how fast he had moved. He couldn't have saved her. Like that makes it ok. As if that would make him feel better. It mattered to him. He should have caught her and helped her; instead he had moved in slow motion as the love of his life, his very reason for living, disappeared in front of his eyes.

There was no warning. She had been healthy and happy. Ten minutes before she died, they had been discussing what to do after breakfast. He remembered scoffing at her suggestion that they should visit his sister. He tried to remember the last words he had said to her. Finally, they came back to him. Is there any toast? Such a normal question, but now it seemed so stupid, so banal. If he had known they were going to be his last words to her he would have said something meaningful, something profound.

Later, the doctor would tell him that it had been an aneurysm in her brain and that she had felt no pain. Should this comfort him? If it was supposed to, it didn't. Somehow the suddenness made it worse. Neither of them had been prepared for this. The numbness he felt began cocooning him in his own sorrow.

At some point, he didn't remember when, his daughter arrived. She was talking to the medical crew. She turned and began to talk to him. He couldn't make out the words. The lines of her face were blurred by his tears and her words were unable to penetrate an overwhelming numbness.

They took his wife's body away, carted it off on a trolley like she was nothing. He wanted to yell at them, to make them do this terrible thing in some different way. Instead, he sat and watched while his daughter hugged him. He was vaguely aware he wasn't hugging her back, his arms unwilling to move.

He found himself on the couch, unaware of how he had come to be there. His daughter was on the phone and his son had arrived. His son was looking in drawers and speaking, but he couldn't make sense of it. He heard the word funeral and slowly his brain began to understand. His son was looking for the funeral plan papers. He managed to tell him where to find them. His voice was quiet, broken, as he mumbled through the words. His son put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. A simple act of love from a son to his father. He put his hand over his son’s. No words were said.

He couldn't accept it, wouldn't accept it. His wife couldn't be dead. They had so many plans. So much to do. How could she be gone? They were due to go on holiday next month. It was all paid for and arranged. She had been looking forward to it. They both had. Now, they would never get to see those views, or take that boat trip. The same one they had taken on their first holiday together.

After a few hours of helping and being there for him, his son and daughter left. His daughter had asked to stay with him tonight, or for him to come with her, but he wanted to be alone. He managed to thank them for helping, while ushering them towards the door. He shut the door, instantly becoming aware of the silence. It crashed into him like a wave. There were no sounds coming from the kitchen, or from the radio in the living room. She always liked to listen to the same channel, keeping it on for some background noise. He walked to the living room and switched on the radio, as if this would bring her back. Feeling foolish, he turned it off again.

He lay down on the couch and cried himself to sleep.

'John, wake up, it's time to get up.'

He heard her voice so clearly that he woke with a start and sat up straight. Confusion took over as he tried to work out whether it had been a dream or if he had actually heard her voice. He looked to the large window, the one with her favourite view over the city from their fourth-floor apartment. It was one of the reasons they had bought this place, she loved that view. It must be late, as darkness had replaced light while he was sleeping. He turned on a lamp and went to shut the curtains. He froze, as just for a second, he swore that he saw her behind him. He turned to the living room but found only emptiness.

He drew the curtains and went to the kitchen. The clock on the wall told him it was a quarter past ten at night. He hadn't eaten all day and knew that he should. He went to the fridge and found a sandwich that his daughter must have made for him. He sat at the table, the same table where she had died, and stared at her empty space. Slowly, he ate the sandwich, tasting nothing.

He walked through the hall to their bedroom. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he stared at her side. Suddenly he felt it, her touch. He couldn't explain it, but he felt her. She was here, she was with him. But, as quickly as the sensation came, it left. His mind was playing tricks on him. It surely was understandable; he was processing the enormity of what had happened. He didn't bother to undress. Lying down on the bed, on top of the covers, he curled into the foetal position and began to cry.

She died on a Monday.


About the Author:

Kevin McLeod is the international best selling author of The Viking’s Apprentice series. He has written 4 books in this series and now takes a step into a different genre with ‘She Died on a Monday’ 

Kevin is 46, lives in Hamilton in Scotland with his two daughters and his dog, Tiger. Kevin is a keen cook and loves the outdoors. He loves spending time with his friends and family. 

Kevin began writing professionally in 2013 with the release of his first book, The Viking’s Apprentice. After his huge success in middle grade fiction he has moved into a more adult genre and looks forward to writing many more stories in the years to come. 








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Friday, November 5, 2021

INTERVIEW WITH SUSANNA ALLEN (That Magic Mischief)


Happy Birthday to me! And my present is a chat with author Suzanna Allen. Welcome, Suxanna!

SC: Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.

SA: Annabelle Walsh adores all things esoteric; she considers herself a witch even if she has yet to successfully cast a spell, and her best pals think she's a little bonkers. She has so much faith and good will and such a good heart! When her long-term boyfriend dumps her, her journey of healing takes a turn for the  supernatural, namely a Pooka called Callie. Pookas are mischievous Celtic mythological creatures who don't usually have much to do with humans but Callie and Annabelle are connected ancestrally; as much as Annabelle yearned to experience a magical event, the reality is not what she expected...

SC: We like all things esoteric as well. And creepy. Do you believe in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?

SA:I do! 

SC: YAY!

SA: I was born in New Jersey (Jersey Devil represent) but I now live in Ireland. I have never had so many serious, believable conversation about ghosts in my life. 

I have a friend who has a cottage down the country, and one of its many compelling features is a fairy tree. Fairy trees are the property of the Fair Folk and not to be interfered with. The trees are generally Hawthorn and often found alone in the middle of fields, and are portals for that race to move in between worlds. The one on my friend's property was near the cottage; I left a crystal at its base in tribute and thought nothing of it — until I was woken up in the middle of the night by music playing. The first song was very loud, rough, heavy metal-ish grinding instrumental. The second was a lilting, light, lyrical tune, exactly the sort you'd think you'd hear in Faerie.

In the morning, I asked my pal if they'd been woken by music? Maybe a car driving by in the night? And they said they heard nothing and it was the Fair Folk playing for me. I still get chills thinking about it.

SC: Cool! What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?

SA: I have two more novels coming out in the next year: A Most Unusual Duke on 28 December, and A Duke at the Door in August 2022. They are the second and third books in my Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde series, in which I've mashed up regency Era historical and Shapeshifters. Think Bridgerton meets werewolves! The first book, A Wolf in Duke's Clothing, is currently on sale, and I'm looking forward to growing the series beyond these three titles.

SC: Thanks for stopping by. Let's take a look at your book now. 

That Magic Mischief 
Susanna Allen

Genre: Paranormal contemporary romance
Publisher: Ally Press 
Date of Publication: October 01, 2021
ISBN Print: 978-1-953290-12-0 
ISBN eBook: 978-1-953290-13-7 
ASIN: B09G97RGZF
Number of pages: 326 pages
Word Count: 82,000
Cover Artist: Tamara DeStefano

Tagline: A heartbroken amateur witch is in over her head after casting a spell that  actually works—will the handsome Irish artist she fancies come to her rescue?

Book Description: 

What was the point of being a witch if Annabelle Walsh couldn’t manage a spell to fix her broken heart? As a dedicated dabbler in all things esoteric, she figured she could speed up her healing process when she’s dumped out of the blue by her boyfriend... but nothing’s working.

An idle wander into an unfamiliar new age shop adds the bit of magic in her life that she’d been looking for: an interfering, mischievous Pooka called Callie who’s determined to turn Annabelle’s life around— mostly by turning it upside down.

Suddenly, Annabelle’s too busy to brood, and her writing career begins to take off; in fact, it’s during a brainstorming session for an off-off-off-off Broadway theatre production that she meets tall, dark, and handsome Jamie Flynn, an Irishman in New York who seems to be keen at first sight, if not in love quite yet. As Annabelle gets her life back on track, she starts to see the difference between a real life, a real career, and a real man… and all it took was a little magic mischief.

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Excerpt:

Annabelle lit candles and sat down on the floor. She tried deep breathing for a few seconds, and feeling slightly calmer, took her tarot deck out of its wooden box and shuffled the cards. She let her breath flow in and out; it lulled her, cleared her head, calmed her down, and the smell of the burning wax soothed her, as she tried to formulate a mature, non-attached-type question. Not: Will Wilson come back to me, please, please?

Her breathing hitched. Yeah, definitely not that. “Okay. The issue is… Wilson. Um. Do we have a future together?”

She turned over a card. The Knight of Pentacles, reversed.

“Damn it.” Reversed, this Knight meant carelessness, a standstill in affairs. “Okay, so if things are at a standstill, that means they can move forward again, right?” She turned another card.

Three of Swords. Sorrow due to loss. Well, duh, Annabelle thought, and then winced, as if she’d said it out loud. As if the cards could hear.

She turned over the next card. The Wheel of Fortune. Not always a good sign, though, as it could mean an unexpected loss rather than a gain, even when in the upright position as it was now. “I don’t know what any of this means,” Annabelle mumbled, knowing full well what it meant. This was all about the now, and she didn’t like the now.

At moments like these, Annabelle found it was usually a good thing to stop pulling cards.

Queen of Cups. She shivered. That was her court card. Good natured, intuitive, a loving female figure, one whose imagination often outweighed her good sense.

Strength. The beautiful woman grasped the lion by the jaws, symbolizing the power of the human spirit to overcome any obstacle. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

The Sun. “Summertime? Two months from now? I’ll be better in two months?”

Annabelle gathered up the reading and returned the deck to its box.

She continued to sit. She tried to go back to the deep breathing but got bored. She thought about how she’d never had much luck reading Wilson’s cards. Maybe it never worked because it was almost always post-coital, the only time he was ever mellow enough to entertain the idea. She could never make sense of his configurations, none of the images seemed to relate to the others, she’d pull card after card and make a spread that was meaningless, confused. He would lose interest and patience. She would feel as though she’d failed. Ugh.

She’d like to blame it all on him, but she supposed her own muddled thinking got in the way as well; always hoping he was asking about the future of their relationship, whether she would marry him, whether she would like an emerald-cut diamond in a platinum setting, as opposed to a three carat marquis-cut in white gold.

Someday, maybe, she’d find that remotely amusing.

But not today. Rising, she left the candles burning and got some incense going as well.

Lavender: soothing, healing. She wanted healing. She wanted that fistful of pain out of her chest. She wanted all her lessons learned in a six-week correspondence course, she wanted a whole, strong heart, she wanted Wilson back, she wanted all the sadness to leak out of her pores, she wanted her life back. Herself back. Now.




About the Author:

Susanna is a graduate of Pratt Institute with a BFA in Communication Design and counts The Village Voice, New York Magazine, and Entertainment Weekly as past design experiences. Born in New Jersey, she moved to Ireland for twelve months—in 1998. She is the author of the Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde series, published by Sourcebooks: A Wolf in Duke’s Clothing, an Amazon Editor’s Best Book of the Month, is available now; A Most Unusual Duke debuts in December 2021.

Writing as Susan Conley, she is the author of Drama Queen and The Fidelity Project, both published by Headline UK; Many Brave Fools: A Story of Addiction, Dysfunction, Codependency…and Horses is available from Trafalgar Square Books. Susanna is living her life by the three Rs—reading, writing, and horseback riding—and can generally be found on her sofa with her e-reader, gazing out a window and thinking about made-up people, or cantering around in circles. She loves every minute of it.



 




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