Celebrate The Summer Solstice with Colleen M. Chesebro’s Latest Book: Fairies Myths & Magic

HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE!

I’ve planned this day out in my mind for over a year… Today, as a tribute to the Summer Solstice, my first book of poetry and short stories has become a reality. Fairies, Myths, & Magic ~ A Summer Celebration is now available on Amazon.

From June 21st through June 27th, this book will be featured at the introductory price of $.99! Grab your copy today!

Here is the Country Tagged Universal Book Link: Smarturl.it.FairiesMythsMagic

Blurb:

Step into a world where fairies, dragons, and other magical beings converge in a collection of poetry and short stories inspired by the celebration of Litha, the Summer Solstice.

Meet Drac, a dragon cursed by his own poisonous deeds, and two pixies who help an old man remember a lost love. You’ll meet a pair of fairies with a sense of humor, and a young girl who fulfills her destiny after being struck by lightning. Learn what happens when a modern witch’s spell goes terribly wrong. Meet the Sisters of the Fey, a group of Slavic Witches who sign a pact with the Rusalki Fey to preserve their magic for the good of all.

Atmospheric and haunting, the prose and poetry, will rewrite the mythologies of the past bringing them into the future.

What’s Litha ~ the Summer Solstice?

Litha is the celebration of the Summer Solstice—June in the Northern Hemisphere, and December in the Southern Hemisphere. Here in North America, the Litha Sabbat honors the longest day of the year with the most hours of sunlight.

Pagans celebrated Litha by observing and honoring the power of the sun. The sun’s influence reminded the people that the summer months represented fertility, ensuring the survival of the species.

During midsummer, magnificent fruit burst forth from the flowers, shrubs, and trees, providing ample food for all. Summer was also the most favorable time for the birthing and survival of animals, birds, and insects. This also included humans where the most births occurred during the months of July through October, which still continues today.

For the ancients, nothing represented the power of the sun more than fire. On the Solstice Eve, huge bonfires were erected on hilltops celebrating the link between the earth and heavens. Festivities lasted for days before and after the main event.

Yet, the primitive people recognized the need for balance between fire and water. Some celebrations included setting a wheel on fire, then rolling it downhill into a body of water, signaling the power of the sun at it’s mightiest, and also the day the sun’s power begins to diminish.

For me, a Summer Solstice celebration was the perfect day to share my collection of poetry and short stories inspired by the magic of the ancient pagans. I hope you’ll enjoy this collection. ❤

Colleen M. Chesebro is an American Novelist writing YA fantasy and magical realism, cross-genre fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. She loves all things magical which may mean that she could be experiencing her second childhood—or not. That part of her life hasn’t been fully decided yet.

A few years ago, a mystical experience led her to renew her passion for writing and storytelling. These days she resides in the fantasy realm of the Fairy Whisperer where she writes the magical poetry and stories that the fairy nymphs whisper to her in her dreams.

Colleen won the Little and Laugh Flash Fiction Contest sponsored by the CarrotRanch Literary Community.com in November 2017 for her piece, called “The Bus Stop.” Her debut novel, The Heart Stone Chronicles: The Swamp Fairy won gold in the 2017 AuthorsDB.com cover contest.

Colleen lives in Colorado with her husband, Ron. When she is not writing, Colleen enjoys spending time with her husband and friends. She also loves gardening, reading, and crocheting old-fashioned doilies into works of art. You can learn more about Colleen at www.colleenchesebro.com.

You can find Colleen in all the usual places. Drop by anytime.

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Yuletide Love and Blessings

The North wind doth blow and we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then, poor thing?
He’ll sit in a barn and keep himself warm
and hide his head under his wing, poor thing.

The old nursery rhyme I remember singing it and thinking of the poor birds at this time of the year.

Well our birds are not so poor. We have fat balls, seeds, peanuts, meal worms and all manner of Yuletide treats for them. Mr. Robin loves his meal worms.

On this day I wish all my friends across the miles, my relations far and wide and all the animals and birds a Happy, Happy, Yule.

I hope the light will always shine,

Upon your brows so true,

And may the turning of the wheel,

Bring good cheer to you.

 

Lots of love from, me:

Today I’m excited. Why? Because I’m hosting Emerian Rich and her latest novel in her Vampire Saga.

This was due to air on 23rd October but technical faults, i.e. my email was sulking, meant that it goes out today.

I love vampires, always have, always will.

Emerian’s vampires are a completely different walk down the avenue. The vampire genre, in my opinion, will never run dry of ideas.

Without further ado, I present to you, Emerian Rich.

 

When Adele mentioned her readers like vampires, I felt an excited sort of kinship bubble up in my chest. I love vampires too! You might think, “Duh. You write a vampire series, of course you do.” But no… I mean I REALLY like vampires. I’m a fan who thought she could bring more to the genre, but I am a fan to the core. It’s not some passing fancy, like some of those writers who go, “Hey, I think I’ll try my hand at vampire fiction because it’s selling well right now.” In fact, when I wrote my first vampire book, vampires weren’t selling well. No one wanted our favorite monsters. I remember the rejection notices…

 

 

“We aren’t looking for vampire fiction right now.”

“Vampires are so 80’s.”

 

 

And my favorite…

 

 

“Anne Rice has already done it, there’s nowhere to go from there.”

 

 

But I didn’t let down. I pushed on and waited and finally they came back in style, much to our vampire hearts joy. Even if their popularity was fueled by the romantic-y YA Twilight, we’ve run the gambit over the last few years and we’re still going.

 

 

So why should you read my vampire fiction when you have so many to choose from? Well, because my new vampire novel Dusk’s Warriors has four types of vampires in it. And they aren’t clans like in Vampire: The Masquerade or newbies vs. The Originals like in The Vampire Diaries. The vampires in my first book, Night’s Knights thirst for blood. At the end of the novel they go into another realm where they find out about their creation. Now, in the new book, they discover they are not alone. There are three other kinds of vampires that thirst for other things. I have given an excerpt here of just one other type of vampire to wet your appetite. Happy biting!

 

 

Excerpt of Dusk’s Warriors:

Reidar woke to the sound of kisses. At first, he thought he still slept, but as the sun streamed in on him from the partially opened curtains, he realized he was in the waking world.

Stretching, he moved his limbs to cover the entire bed. The kissing sound got louder and he opened his eyes. He heard the gentle snoring of the mortal chained to the end of the bed. Squinting as he peeped out into the bright morning sun, he found nothing on the balcony making the noise. He turned to the sleeping mortal whose eyelashes fluttered.

What did the mortal dream about? The sucking sound got louder and Reidar’s right index finger itched. Inspecting it, Reidar found a blister or a…sucker? An oval patch on his finger seemed to poke out as if a blister had popped. More accurately, it looked like a suction cup on an octopus tentacle.

Approaching the mortal, Reidar became increasingly interested in his dreams. As he neared, the suction cup on his right index finger grew to the size of a nickel. He reached out, the sucker having a mind of its own.

A bluish white spark appeared at the mortal’s temple. It spider webbed out and snapped back like a rubber band pulled too tight. The suction cup reached out further, elongating into the shape of a funnel. Reidar could hear the mortal’s dream.

“Come over here,” a little boy said. “Quick, before he sees you.”

It wasn’t hard for Reidar to understand what he should do. Obviously, if he wanted to stop the increasingly uncomfortable feeling in his gut and the itching at his fingertip, he needed to put his finger to the boy’s temple.

As soon as he connected, energy vibrated through Reidar. An iridescent white light encircled him as he transported into the dream.

 

 

The boy crouched down under a stairway. His legs, arms, and face were covered in blood and dirt. Under closer inspection, Reidar could see nails embedded in his skin in no sort of pattern. A giant man, with nothing but shadow for a face, came down the stairs. His large frame and heavy boots made the wood below him creak and moan.

“Boy?” The man’s voice like sandpaper, dragged across Reidar’s spine as if eating away at his soul. “Where’s my boy?”

The boy shook, a look of pure terror on his face. As the monster rounded the stairs, Reidar couldn’t help himself calling out.

“Stop!” Reidar stepped out of the shadows.

“Who-er you?” The man stood tall, puffing out his chest.

“It’s not your concern.” Reidar stepped forward, reaching for a shovel hanging on a peg board near him.

 

 

A sudden rush of air and a kind of zap sound found Reidar back in the hotel room, his hand numb, and his finger suction cup free.

“Wh-what are you? Who…” The boy’s startled expression snapped Reidar out of his paralysis. He found himself on the floor next to the boy, barely able to control a jittery feeling coursing through his limbs.

“Sta-stay away from me.” Nails, although still tied up, scooted as far away from Reidar as he could.

Reidar walked over to the window, inspecting his fingertip in the light.

“Wha-what did you do to me?” Nails asked from the bedside.

“I’m not quite sure.”

 

 

 

Dusk’s Warriors by Emerian Rich

 

 

Heaven has opened up and welcomed the vampires of Night’s Knights into a new reality. As they struggle to find their place in their new world, trouble brews on Earth.

 

 

Demon servant, Ridge, is causing havoc by gathering up all the souls on Earth that have been touched by immortality. When he injures one of the Night’s Knights crew, he launches a war between the vampires of Heaven, the Big Bad in Hell, and a mortal street gang of vigilante misfits.

 

 

Will Julien, Markham, and Reidar be able to defeat the evil that’s returned, or will they once again need Jespa’s help?

 

 

Praise for Dusk’s Warriors:

“All hail, the queen of Night’s Knights has returned! Emerian Rich’s unique take on vampires delights my black little heart.” ~Dan Shuarette, Lilith’s Love

 

 

“A world of horror with realistic characters in a fast paced thriller you won’t be able to put down.”

~David Watson, The All Night Library

 

 

Praise for Night’s Knights:

“Fresh, original, and thoroughly entertaining.” ~Mark Eller, Traitor

 

 

“Emerian brought the Vampire Novel back from the dead.” ~C. E. Dorsett, Shine Like Thunder

 

 

Available now at Amazon.com in print and eBook

 

 

 

 

Emerian Rich is an artist, horror host, and author of the vampire series, Night’s Knights. She is the hostess of the internationally acclaimed podcast, HorrorAddicts.net. Under the name Emmy Z. Madrigal, she writes the musical romance series, Sweet Dreams and she’s the Editorial Director for the Bay Area magazine, SEARCH. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and son.

 

 

 

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

The title of this blog is because we watched the movie of the same name. I loved this movie as a child and still, love it today. I always wanted to make my bed fly but, alas, I still haven’t managed it.

Although, our current bed did spend a time or two shuddering and shaking trying to move from the wall, with us on it. A very frightening experience, but we sorted that one out quickly and successfully.

The image is a make up I did which represents me starting to rewrite my Suleskerry series of novels, again. This time it feels as if everything is on the correct path to go ahead with the venture. I’ve only been trying for twenty years lol.

As you might guess from the picture, these novels are about the legends of the selkies, grey seals who come ashore, shed their skins and become human on land. I grew up hearing these legends but in the novels, this is my take on the selkie legend. I guess this is a bit of a wait and see teaser.

I have been falling behind with everything this past week. Our lives have been filled with appointments and minor traumas which have to be gone through in order to function. So, apologies my friends, I am now back on track, for the forseeable future. Sounds like a British Rail announcement.

The video is from one of my all time favourite bands, Rancid.

 

Migraine Hell On Earth

I suffer from migraines. Suffer is too mild a word. Tortured by is better.

The initial symptoms of migraines vary in individuals but mine starts with the vision going blurry then the tingling starts.

I compare this to a spider crawling up your neck and over your head.

If I don’t catch it then with painkillers it erupts into something which can last for up to three dlhttps://amagicalmess.com/2016/02/tried-daith-piercing-for-migraines.htmlays.

I must lie down on my back, darkened room, hand over my eyes and let the pain wash over me in waves. Sleep is a must. If I don’t sleep I have to pace up and down. Sometimes the pain is so severe it makes me cry and shout out. When the pain reaches its zenith I am physically sick. Hey ho. A migraine is gone.

So, when I read the article I’m going to share here:

https://amagicalmess.com/2016/02/tried-daith-piercing-for-migraines.html

I was intrigued. I had researched acupuncture for my college degree and it makes perfect sense to me as a treatment that works.

I have had three tries at acupuncture and they have helped with a lot of issues but our Chinese doctor left the town. Also, it can be very expensive.

I might try this. If I do I will keep you up to date.