#BOOKQW this week's word is RIDE. My quote this week as usual is from The Matchmaker's Mare and features the mare herself.
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Matchmakers.../dp/B0DYF6L15C...
#BOOKQW this week's word is DECIDE. My quote this week as usual is from The Matchmaker's Mare and Megan is determined not to let her heart overrule her head.
#BOOKQW this week's word is SIMPLE. My quote this week from The Matchmaker's Mare sees Megan preparing a meal for two special guests.
#BOOKQW this week's word is AFTER. My quote is from the prologue to The Matchmaker's Mare - Rhiannon and Sion are fleeing from Pryce, the man Rhiannon is supposed to marry, as arranged by her father. Can you spot the word? it's in the middle of the excerpt.
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Matchmakers-Mare-Hywela-Lyn-ebook/dp/B0DYF6L15C
#BOOKQW this week's word is NEVER. My quote is from the prologue to The Matchmaker's Mare - Rhiannon is desperate to escape an arranged marriage.
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Matchmakers-Mare-Hywela-Lyn-ebook/dp/B0DYF6L15C
This is such a wonderful roller coaster ride of a novel! Karen skillfully blends contrasting elements of Native American myth and folklore, complicated family relationships, mystery and supernatural/horror elements with beautifully descibed settings and a gentle love story. I was hooked from the first page and was compelled to keep on turning the pages until I reached the end - and still wanted to keep on reading. Next book soon please Karen! (Find out how she came to write the book a little later in this post.)
INDIGO BLURB
Reeling after her fiancé dumps her, Raluca Olson inherits a rustic cabin from an unknown relative. Eerie incidents and rumors of a mythical windigo alarm her, but she’s determined to learn the truth about her dysfunctional family before she flips the property.
Despite unscrupulous realtors, bloodthirsty prowlers, and a devious ex, her life improves with a rescued puppy, and passion ignites when she meets
What does a demonic half-beast share with a psychosis and porphyria? Are monsters born or formed? Nature or nurture? Is a windigo spirit genetic? More importantly, does she carry the gene?
HOW I CAME TO WRITE INDIGO
Three years ago, we moved into a new neighborhood, where I’d walk my dog past a nearby cemetery. Each day, I’d see more elements for a story that was slowly developing: a “devil’s chair;” a creaky, hanging sign; a bare patch with just a footstone, a “hanging tree;” swerve marks on the road beside the cemetery; a mailwoman who chewed and spit; and a neighbor whose family suffered from hemophilia and who swore some of the events (that I ultimately wrote about in Indigo) actually happened to her in another cemetery. Elements of truth embellished with an overactive imagination is how Indigo came to be.
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/3kRlWn
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Indigo-Cryptid-Charisma-Hulene-Bartell-ebook/dp/B0GHZHM1WQ
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/indigo-karen-hulene-bartell/1149708480
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/indigo-by-karen-hulene-bartell
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249818067-indigo
Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=9781509265251
BooksAMillion: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781509265251
Indie Bound: https://bookshop.org/p/books/indigo-karen-hulene-bartell/d36bdd344e121211
iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/indigo/id6760712664
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenHuleneBartell
MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/karenbartell
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HuleneKaren
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/karenhulenebartell/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/611950.Karen_Hulene_Bartell
Website: https://karenhulenebartell.com/
Email: info@KarenHuleneBartell.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/karenhulenebartell
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenhulenebartell/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/karen-hulene-bartell
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenhulenebartell/
AUTHORSdb: https://authorsdb.com/community/17847-karen-hulene-bartell
#BOOKQW
Today's Bookquote word is #Morning - and it's Megan's first meeting with Glyn Phillips.
Read an ExcerptIn order to save her family, an 18th-century witch entertains suicide, thereby entering a coma-like trance that lasts 300 years. In this magical state, she reaches into the future to guide other people who long for redemption.
England, 1710. Young Alba knows she is a witch, but the term means nothing until her mother is executed for witchcraft. Then Alba enters a trance that causes everyone around her debilitating emotions, just like Alba’s. The trance, which is Alba’s magic, does not appear again until years later when her mentor is arrested and sentenced to death. Panicked, Alba stabs herself in the heart. Instead of dying, she enters a “false sleep” (coma), a state of spiritual consciousness. Hoping to find peace for others, she seeks similar souls in the future.
Germany, 1942: An American soldier is mortally wounded. In his final moment, he experiences the glory of a beautiful life, if only in his dreams. He enters a spiritual realm filled with warm family adventures, metaphysical escapades that are alternately hilarious and horrific, yet always lead away from anguish. Directed by Alba’s unseen influence, Andrew fights for solace, and wins.
Indonesia, 2003: A young American woman on a Western Pacific island must relive an ancient, tortuous journey through a primitive environment in order to redeem the foreigners in the country. Influenced by a power she can only sense in her heart (Alba), Connie seeks a solution of acceptance instead of rejection.
Told with humor and compassion, the heart of the book is the longing to find peace despite haunting failure, and finding joy in helping others achieve the same.
To celebrate its 'book birthday' tomorrow, THE MATCHMAKER'S MARE is featured over at Lyndi's Adventurous Friends today. If you have a moment, I would so appreciate it if you could pop over and perhaps leave a short comment . Thanks.☺️
#BookQWThis week's word is QUICK and the snippet is from the prologue to THE MATCHMAKER'S MARE, set in the distant past
Today is Book Quote Wednesday and The word is ADMIRE. I'm going to my backlist for this - a fantasy novella Dancing with Fate. Terpsichore, the Greek Muse of Dance, has been sent to 5th Century Wales on a mission, unaware that the gods of Olympus have a secret agenda.
(Dancing With Fate is available on Amazon for just 99p or £ 2.83for the paperback version.)
DANCING WITH FATE (Song Of The Muses) eBook : Lyn, Hywela: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
This week's word is 'pain', I've taken a little 'poetic licence' and used the word 'PAINt) (as allowed)
Megan's point of view in this snippet, as she sees her cottage which she has inherited.
Happy New Year Everyone, I hope you had a lovely Christmas season. I had a beak over Christmas and New Year, but I'm starting off 2026 with a fascinating Arthurian fantasy:
THE DOOR, THE KEY, AND THE KINGDOM
by Emily-Jane Hills Orford
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Arthurian Fantasy
BLURB:
Life is complicated enough when living in one era, but when Anne finds herself gravitating back in time to the sixth century, she’s not sure what to expect, or what to believe. Pulling the legendary Excalibur from its stoney sheath, she’s amazed at the power she possesses and the chance to make some things right for the post-Arthurian era.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
They could see figures moving about, where presumably the castle had once stood. A hand raised to beckon them, a banner was swung back and forth. Sir Roderick answered with a wave. “It is your banner, my Queen, the one that led the men to this castle and the battle they must have endured.”
“I hope it is our men waving the
banner,” Merlin muttered as he nudged his horse forward, following
Sir
Roderick’s lead as he made his way carefully down the steep embankment. The
others followed, taking equal care on the steep descent. At the bottom, they
splashed through the rushing waters, blackened by the soot of the now
demolished castle. Though angry in its rush to cascade the rocks, the water
wasn’t deep. The others followed and, all soaked to the skin, made their ascent
on the opposite side. Sir Roderick displayed caution, placing his hand on the
sword’s hilt ready for action. The others copied. Merlin’s staff, perched as
before on his foot, glowed with reserved energy, ready to strike at the
wizard’s command.
There was a collective gasp amongst Anne’s group when they reined in at the riverbank. What lay before them was a blackened depression in the ground covering an area slightly larger than the layout of Gloucester Castle. There was nothing left of Tamworth, only charred, smoldering remains and this eerie looking hole in the ground.
“Oh my!” Anne sidled up to Merlin. “What do you suppose happened?”
“Probably the same thing that happened at Grenadier Falls,” Merlin responded blandly.
“A failsafe trip wire that affected both places and both eras?” Anne asked no one in particular. “What kind of magic did this wizard possess?”
“Very unholy, foul magic, my Queen,” Merlin growled under his breath. “Very evil.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REVIEW
I am fascinated by the Arthurian legends and this is an original twist on the legend of King Arthur and Camelot, the lead character being his daughter, who having been raised in the 21st century, finds herself transported back to the 6th, where she quickly has to adapt to being Arthur's heir and, with the help of Merlin and her valiant knights, protect the kingdom from the evil wizard who threatens to destroy it. The story is fast paced and I enjoyed the appearance of old favourites, like Merlin himself and Sir Galahad. The mixture of fantasy, time travel and a dash of science fiction is fresh and interesting. The book ended a little abrubtly, but was still a satisfying conclusion, although I would have happily read more. Sadly, I feel I have to drop a star for what I felt was a lot of 'telling rather than 'showing' which drew me out of the story at times, as did a number of spelling errors, most noticeably 'mote' for 'moat'. That said, I did enjoy the story and I'm sure it will appeal to anyone who enjoys an orginal addition to the legend of King Arthur, with a feisty, likeable heroine.
(four stars ****)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Emily-Jane Hills Orford is a country writer, living just outside the tiny community of North Gower, Ontario, near Canada’s capital city of Ottawa. With degrees in art history, music and Canadian studies, the retired music teacher enjoys the quiet nature of her country home and the
inspiration of working at her antique Jane Austen-style spinet desk, feeling quite complete as she writes and stares out the large picture window at the birds and the forest. She writes in several genres, including creative nonfiction, memoir, fantasy, and historical fiction.~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Emily-Jane Hills Orford will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
