Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. The last Tuesday in October brings with it lots of excitement as well as a touch of sadness. While the kids get ready for Trick or Treat, I’m digging out my warm clothing since there’s more than a nip of frost in the air. The temperature is 28F, -2C sounds so much colder, and the high today with be 54F, or 12C. Not exactly warm weather, but the sun is going to show its face, and that will defintely help.
This week, Tuesday Tales are written to the word prompt SCARED. Those of you who have enjoyed Listen to the Stones and want to read the entire book–and it’s a long one, the longest I’ve written to date–keep an eye fixed here on my blog for its release date, either by the end of this week or early next week.
My new work in progress is a romance-suspense/mystery. Since I love working with supernatural elements, there’s a touch of the paranormal in it–you can’t have a sunken ship and treasure without the possibility of a ghost or two, right? But ghosts come in all shapes and sizes. This will also be my NaNoWriMo book for 2024. I hope you’ll enjoy it. Although the writing doesn’t start officially until Friday, I jotted down a scene from the introduction for your readin pleasure. The book is titled, A Case of Mistaken Identity, set in Canada, is the first book in my new Evie Chambers Mystery Series. If you like Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie, this new series will be right up your alley. Enjoy.
Since Pete’s death five years ago, there had been good days and bad days, but today would go down as the worst one of them all.
How could this possibly have happened? I’d been so careful, so cautious, doing everything I could to keep my online accounts secure, and yet here it was. My identity had been stolen, and to make matters worse, whoever had done so had died.
This particular twist hadn’t occurred in any of the cases of identity theft that I’d investigated to date, so while I knew how to reestablish my credit, I had no idea how to resurrect myself from an early grave. Whether I cared to admit it or not, I was scared that getting out of this mess would be a lot harder than anything I’d had to do before. Proving I was alive couldn’t be that hard—I was breathing and had a pulse, my doctor could swear to that—but getting the government to acknowledge it was another matter entirely.
I looked at the bank clerk as if she’d grown a second head. It was true that she was new at her job—the badge inscribed Carla, trainee, said it all—but I was standing right in front of her, and unless she was blind…
“As I said that account has been suspended due to the death of the account holder. Until you can bring in a death certificate and a copy of the will, stating that you have inherited the money in the account, it can’t be accessed.”
She smiled and spoke with a finality that told me that as far as she was concerned, the matter was closed. Closed my eye!
Swallowing my strained-to-the-absolute-limit temper, I inhaled deeply.
“There’s been a mistake. This isn’t in the least bit funny. Do I look dead to you, Carla?”
Her head snapped around again as if she were surprised that I still stood there. Had she expected me to vanish in a puff of smoke?
She rolled her eyes as so many of her generation did when confronted with an older person who didn’t seem to get it. I was in my mid-thirties, not my late eighties for heaven’s sake, far from my dotage, even if my hair had turned white prematurely, a genetic condition I’d inherited from my mother’s side of the family. Good old family genes. You couldn’t pick your family anymore than you could pick your DNA.
Many belieleve that at this time of year, the veil between the realm of the living and that of the dead thins enough to allow the souls of the dead to walk among us once more. Others believe that can happen any day of the year. What do you believe? Are there such things as ghosts, demons, vampires, shapeshifters, and other creatures that go bump in the night? Can they be summoned by witches and wizards? Does dark magic exist as well as good? To every story, no matter how farfetched, there is a grain of truth.
There are places on this planet said to be more haunted than others, and one of those places is New Orleans. If that’s true, who can keep us safe? Who has the necessary tools to fight against evil and save the rest of us? Meet The Punishers, an elite group of paranormal crimefighters who keep the city safe for both the undead and the living, battling everything from Azazel, mentioned in the Bible to zombies.
Paranormal Detective Ellie Taggart, a rakshasa capable of assuming the shape of a tigress, has always worked alone, searching for those responsible for her mother’s murder. When an investigation results in the death of a close friend and vampire, she’s forced to partner with handsome and mysterious peredhil, Steve Cassidy. Like her, the half-human, half-elf uses his special talents to fight evil wherever it exists. Rogue vampires, shapeshifters, zombies, practitioners of black magic, poltergeists, ghosts—none of them can beat him. That is until someone or something no longer plays by the rules. There’s a new villain in New Orleans, one who threatens both the humans and non-humans who make the city home. Is the enemy Draug, the wizard who murdered Ellie’s mother centuries ago? Is it someone from Steve’s shrouded past intent on revenge? Or are they facing a new enemy with an agenda all his or her own? As the tigress and her partner search for answers, trying to prevent the bodies from piling up, they have to manage conflicting emotions and desires that threaten to overwhelm them. Can two such different creatures of the light join forces to defeat the darkness, or will the powers of evil triumph?
The ebook version of The Tigress is free on Amazon from October 28 until November 1, 2024, for your reading enjoyment. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z5F4VNZ You can also read it in Kindle Unlimited, or in paperback format for $9.50 USD if you like to hold a book in your hands.
The Tigress is Book One of The Punishers Series. The Guardian is Book Two.
The past can always come back to haunt you.
After defeating the demon and casting him back into the abyss, Steve Cassidy and Ellie Taggart, the Tigress, expect a break, but evil never rests. Knud, a dark-elf and an immortal, has escaped from his prison in Niflheim, intent on exacting his revenge against all of those who sent him there, including Steve. To make matters worse, Knud has teamed up with both supernatural and human criminals—a Voodoo priest and magician with an axe to grind against the city’s preternatural population, and a paramilitary group with an agenda all their own. With a hurricane on the horizon, the lives of ten females and one male hang in the balance. With the help of a Vodun priestess, the head of the city’s Wicca coven, a selkie, merfolk, shapeshifters, and vampires, Steve, Ellie, Mike, and Chelsea, the Punishers, have 72 hours to find the missing yacht and rescue those aboard. Because if they don’t, by October 31st, all hell will break loose.
After months/years of putting off my visit to the doctor because of COVID and or other responsibilities that I felt were more important than sore hips, knees, and wrists, I decided in January 2024 that I would do something about it. In fact, if you look back, you’ll see it was one of my New Year’s Resolutions.
As often happens, life intervened. We went on a Caribbean cruise, and sadly my mother passed away shortly after our return. I didn’t handle it well and got depressed. I tried to deal with it by losing myself in my writing, but my body wouldn’t let me off the hook that easily. The pain got worse, and in May, I finally dragged myself to the doctor’s office. He ordered a whole lot of X-rays. When I saw him afterwards, he put me on medication for high blood pressure and told me that, while arthritis permeated my entire body, the right side worse than the left, it looked as if I would need hip replacement surgery. He recommended me to an orthopedic surgeon who forwarded the request to the hospital’s Joint Assessment Clinic. Knowing that these things take time, I settled down to wait for a call.
Since the pain and the problem weren’t going magically disappear, I did what I could to make life easier for myself. A couple of years ago, I’d added a second railing to my stairs–our home is a split level so you have to use stairs to go up or down. There’s no way around that. I took the bull by the horns and redid my bathroom to accommodate a walk-in tub, which has been a godsend. I then purchased slip-on shoes with a sturdy no-slip sole, sandals that tied around the ankle and kept my foot in place, and rubber-soled slippers. My greatest fear was falling since that was what led to my father’s death in 2019.
I got my father’s walker out of storage and cleaned it up. Since July, I have used a combination of a cane and a walker to get around–the cane for short distances, the walker for longer ones and uphill walking. Canes are useful, but when the hip starts to ache from standing, you’ve got to sit. Plus, there are times when I feel as if the knees or the hip are going to stop supporting me. It’s scary, but it is what it is.
When I got the call for the clinic visit, I was thrilled. I fully expected to be told that the hip wasn’t that bad and that I would need to be reassessed every six-months or so, but I hoped they could at least give me something to help manage the pain. So, mask in place because we are doing that here again, and using my walker, I registered at the hospitat desk and then went up to the third floor for the assessment.
The young physiotherapist was great. She was friendly and welcoming. The first thing she did was weigh me and take my height. As some of you know, I’ve worked very hard since COVID to lose the weight I’d gained. At one point, I was managing 10,000 steps a day. Needless to say, that went by the wayside when the pain in my hips and knees grew worse. Twisting the knee a couple of years ago was the beginning of the end.
The good news is that I have managed to keep off the weight I lost and even lose a few more pounds. The bad news is that I’ve shrunk. I was 60.05 inches tall, 5′.05″. I am now, 57 inches tall, or 4’9″, which means that at 160 lbs, I am still grossly overweight. It’s been hard losing what I have, so I don’t hold out much hope of ever losing enough to hit the 85.5 – 115.5 lbs range the chart recommends for my height and small-boned body frame. I may have weighed that when I was a preteen, but that was more than 60 years ago. As an aside, any of my friends who decided to go on a strict diet and lose a whole lot of weight ended up looking older than dirt. All of them died within a year of getting down to their so-called ideal weight. I weighed 140 lbs when I got married 53 years ago. So, with that in mind, I’ll try to lose another 10 lbs, but the way I see it, I just have to stop shrinking.
The physiotherapist then did an assessment on my knees and hips, asked a ton of questions and put me through a few mobility exercises before finally showing me my x-rays and explaining them to me. In short, the knees have moderate cartilage loss. If they bother me more, she suggested I might want to try cortisone shots–they’ll be my last resort. Similarly, my left hip has mild to moderate cartilage loss, but the bigger problem on that side right now is sciatica. Stretching, heat/cold, and exercise will help that. I’m on it. I purchased an ergonomic cushion for my desk chair which seems to be helping and keeping my hips bent at the required 90 degree angle.
Then, she explained the right hip. The cartilage is gone. It’s bone on bone which is what’s causing the pain. Cortisone won’t help, and so, I will be getting a total right hip replacement. She went through all the possible complications, explained everything to me, but while I may be a little chunky, my BMI is within acceptable range for the surgery. The procedure takes about two hours and is done as Day Surgery, which means I won’t have to spend the night in the hospital unless there are complications. To me, that’s hard to believe. When my father had his hip replaced, he was in for more than a week, and when my mother had hers, she was in for 4 or 5 days. Do you see a pattern here? It seems I got the unlucky gene.
Before they the surgery, they will ensure that I have everything in place at home to help me. After the surgery, they will get me up walking, show me how to get in and out of bed safely. Prior to discharge, they’ll make sure I can manage the stairs and arrange for ongoing physio. Essentially, other than not bending for any reason, not crossing my legs, and keeping my leg staight, it shouldn’t be too bad. I won’t be able to drive for six weeks, but I don’t do all that much driving now. I have a taller toilet, sturdy railings, and a walk-in tub. The best part is that the waiting list is only seven months, and since I live in Canada, it’s all covered by my health insurance. So, I have seven months to strengthen my core, and doing everything I can to make sure I’m in the best shape that I can be for life with that new hip.
Will it be easy? Probably not, and I can be quite stubborn and set in my ways, but in a year’s time, I should be right as rain. Getting old sucks, but it’s a privilege denied to many. I’ll grin and bear it.
One last piece of advice. Don’t ignore those aches and pains. Get your vaccines and do whatever you can to stay on this side of the grass. People are counting on you to be in their lives. .
Welcome to Tuesday Tales. This week, our word prompt is GREASY. This will be my last post from Listen to the Stones as the book is set to be released next week, just before Halloween. I hope you’ve enjoyed my convoluted tale of magic, mystery, and unusual standing stones. I apologize if the scene I’ve chosen to leave you on is a few words longer than usual. I’ll be back next week with a new cozy mystery for your enjoyment.
“I don’t feel well,” she mumbled, dropping down onto a stone in the center of the ring, her palm sliding against a greasy substance. Had she absorbed too much energy, or were the strange clouds drawing energy from her? Had Jerome led her into a trap? Had he drugged her? It would’ve been easy to drop something into her coffee or her soup. Was he the one who’d performed that rite? He certainly knew all about it, and he’d been with Bronagh when she died. He was determined to get the stones, but would he really kill her for them? How could she have been so stupid? Seduced by a pretty face, just like Merrow.
Before she could say or do anything else, the world around her spun the way it had in the tornado, the ground rippled, and everything went dark as if someone had turned off the sun. The colorful clouds vanished replaced by a sky devoid of stars, and mist crept along the ground, filling the space around her, blotting out everything.
“Jerome,” she cried, but the man who’d been standing next to her, the man she’d trusted, the man she’d thought might be the one she could love, was gone.
“Don’t be afraid, Lady Máire.”
She gripped the amulet and turned toward the voice.
The woman, dressed all in black, came around the stone. Was she the one who’d been cleaning the croft with Mhara? In the dim light, it was hard to tell, but her hair was black as coal. Aware that this wasn’t a dream and on the verge of panicking once more, Marina stood and raised her chin in defiance.
“Whatever you and Jerome have planned, it won’t work. People know I was coming here. They’ll look for me. I don’t know who you are, nor do I understand how you can make places appear and disappear, but is this how you plan to have me vanish without a trace? What have you done with him?”
“I’ve done nothing with the writer. He’s exactly where he was. I had expected you to be less skittish this time, but your mind is more confused than ever. Like this, it will be hard for you to understand what’s expected of you.”
Marina ignored the woman’s last words for the moment.
“If Jerome is where he was, which was by my side, why can’t I see him? As for being skittish, wouldn’t you be? And as for what’s expected of me … it would be nice is someone actually explained what that was. Now, if Jerome is where I left him, where am I? And what does he have to do with what’s happening?”
“Nothing. I’ve pulled your spirit between dimensions so that we can talk freely.”
That’s it. I hope you enjoyed this rather long story. Come back next week for something new. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.
Release Day at last! It has taken a long time to get from the initial concept for this story to its release date, but I’m really excited about what I consider to be one of the best books I’ve written. Why?
Because like many of my other works originally written for regular publishers, I got my rights back to the original version of the book, back then titled All For Love. I’ve rewritten and edited the story, adding lots of details, removing some less than perfect content, and created an edge of your seat romance suspense novel that’s sure to please. Sworn to Protect is the first book in the series, while Guarding her Heart is the second one. Watch for Book Three in the series next summer.
Here’s the blurb for Guarding her Heart.
Someone wants him and his daughter dead. Her job is to see to it that he doesn’t succeed.
Former ski champion turned bodyguard Olivia Cummings has been after an assignment with more meat to it than those she’s had, but when her boss offers her just that, she’s not sure she can afford to take it. The job involves protecting a young girl and her father from an unknown assassin. Not only will it mean she has to get back up on skis for the first time in five years after a disastrous accident that claimed two lives, but she’ll also have to marry a stranger, a man who attracts her and threatens the wall she’s erected around her heart. With Christmas right around the corner and the threat imminent, what choice does she have? She can’t let another innocent person die because of her selfishness.
Andrew Robertson, AKA George Stanton, is an international bestselling political suspense author who’s been targeted by an assassin bent on killing him and everyone he loves. A bomb attached to a car killed the mother of his child and injured fifteen-year-old Sheena, his daughter. He turns to family and Anderson Security for help. He’ll do anything for the girl including changing his identity to Greg Stuart and marrying the security guard assigned to protect her to provide an ironclad cover, but will it be enough?
Thrown together at one of the most romantic times of the year, Greg and Olivia soon find themselves giving in to the attraction they feel for each other, but with a nameless, faceless killer after them, will they get their happily ever after or will Olivia fail to keep the ones she loves alive once more?
Exerpt from Guarding her Heart
“I’d do anything for my daughter, but you know that,” Joe answered slowly. “Jessie means the world to me. I’m sorry Nadia’s dead, but she was never one of my favorite people. She hardly struck me as overly maternal, which is why I couldn’t understand her refusal to give you more time with your daughter. Seeing Sheena for two weeks a year didn’t allow you much of an opportunity to build a relationship. It was cruel and self-centered of her.”
“Nadia was what she was. I’ll not speak ill of the dead.” He slipped back into his Scottish brogue. “No one can change the past. It’s the living I’ve got to protect.”
Joe nodded. “So what do you want from me?”
“I need your help. I know I’ve no right to ask you to do this, but I can’t lose my daughter—not now that I have a chance to be the dad I’ve always wanted to be.”
“You’re family, Greg, and family does what it has to do. It took me a while to learn that. Whatever you need, you’ve got. Start at the beginning and tell me everything.”
Greg stepped away, pacing the office as he chose his words.
“My daughter lost a lot six months ago, more than anyone her age should lose, but I can’t let it take everything she’s fought so hard to achieve from her. You know what a wonderful athlete she is. Before the accident, Sheena was scheduled to try out for Great Britain’s National Junior Alpine Ski Team. Since the accident, she’s convinced herself that even if it’s safe for her to try, she’ll fail. I refuse to believe that.”
Joe frowned, looked out on the concourse once more, and then stepped over to him.
“Fear of failure is a complicated matter. Maybe you’re pushing her too hard, too fast. She’s probably afraid that she’s out of shape, out of practice, and doesn’t want to look bad in front of her peers. You know what that’s like. I seem to remember you doing the same thing after you got hurt playing cricket.”
Greg shook his head. “It’s not the same. I was an average player. She’s a fantastic skier, naturally talented, one of the best her coaches have ever seen. Being on that team was her dream. I won’t let her give it up without trying. She’s lost too much already.”
“Yeah, but she’s been hurt … that may have long range implications other than her fear of failure.”
“The doctors say none of her injuries affect her ability to ski. I have faith in her. There’s an International Junior Alpine Ski Trial in Vermont that starts Boxing Day and runs for five weeks. I want to bring her here, and sign her up for the trial under an assumed name. With the new face, she can train and compete without anyone knowing she’s doing it. She’s agreed to give it a try.”
Joe frowned. “Then, I don’t understand. If she’s willing to do it, what’s the problem?”
“She’ll only go if I don’t go with her.”
He nodded. “I see the problem. You need to know she’ll be safe. I’m sure there’s room in one of our hotels in Vermont near the trial area. The staff would take good care of her and whoever you send with her.”
“Thanks, but that’s not enough. I need Mark Anderson’s help. Your brother-in-law operates one of the top personal security companies in the world. For her safety, Sheena will need a female bodyguard, one who’ll be by her side day and night, on and off the slopes, but one who’ll fit in, be unobtrusive, and not attract any undue attention. If he doesn’t have someone on staff who can ski at a competitive level, he may know another security firm that does. Understand this though. I will be there every step of the way. I won’t leave her again. I can’t. If anything were to happen…”
Joe frowned. “But you just said Sheena agreed to go only if you didn’t.”
“Aye,” he said, relapsing into Scottish, “and that’s the crux of the kinch.”
Joe pursed his lips. “I can talk to Mark for you, but I don’t see how having a bodyguard will keep her safe if you insist on being there. Sheena may have a new face, but you don’t. If you go anywhere near her, she’ll recognize you as will the paparazzi, and someone’s bound to reopen that can of worms you’ve tried so hard to seal. Your mug is too well-known to try to get around that.”
“I know. That’s where your expertise comes in—the real reason I’m here. I brought a certain bag with me from Haven. I need a makeover. I want you to turn me into one of your alter egos, give me an identity no one will question. Help me keep my daughter safe and make her happy once more.”
Greg knew the pleading in his voice had come through loud and clear. It took time, money, and proficiency to create a new identity for someone, an identity he might have to assume far longer than he expected. George Stanton, the pseudonym he used as an author, might be able to hide from the world from now on, but he, Andrew Gregory Robertson, the man and father, had to be able to come and go. Sheena needed a life, and he was the only one who could give it to her, but to do it, he needed to become someone else.
You can get your copy of Guarding the Innocent from any Amazon retailer. Watch for the paperback out in time for Christmas giving!
Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. Our word prompt is PAINT. I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones.
“I don’t mind giving you some lessons,” Jerome offered. “I’ve a clean driving record and have acquitted myself quite nicely in all kinds of weather and several different countries.”
“I may take you up on it. I’ll give him one more chance and then…” She shrugged. “That must be the croft that’s empty.” She pointed to the one on the right, where Mhara and a woman with the blackest hair she’d ever seen were cleaning the paint on the trim around the windows. “I know the young girl is Mhara. She recently lost the last of her family. Maeve has taken her in, giving her a home, and a job doing whatever needs doing. Not everyone back home would be that kind to a stranger. Do you know the woman working to her?”
He looked over to the croft and shook his head.
“I can’t say that I know either of them, although there’s something familiar about the younger one. I probably saw her here when she was visiting. As for the other one, few people have truly black hair like that—if it isn’t dyed. Even though I can’t see her face, I would’ve recalled that hair. You say Maeve has taken her in? The people on Lewis may take a long time to warm up to strangers, but they are quite kind to one another and those who belong here. Let’s not disturb them. We’ll stop on our way back. The stones are over this way.”
Jerome turned left and led her up a slight hill. When she reached the top, she stopped. She’d definitely been here before. Everything was suddenly as familiar as her neighborhood had been in Harrisville.
In front of her, some fifty yards away, rose the stones she’d seen countless times in her dreams. They were here, and they were real … and if they were real what else might be?
She gasped. “I can’t believe it. They’re real. They exist.”
Jerome released her hand. “Did you think I was lying about them?”
His face mirrored his confusion.
She shook her head. “I didn’t mean to insinuate that at all.”
“What did you mean, Marina?”
“I’ve been here before … I mean, I may have been as a child. Three year olds can make memories. I’ve seen them so many times in my dreams, and my father drew them as did I, but I didn’t see his drawings until after her death.”
That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.
I know. It’s barely fall and I’m talking about Christmas, but since the year has raced by so quickly, it’ll be upon us in no time. Introducing Unforgettable and Absolutely Fabulous Christmas Cheer: Uplifting Holiday Romances (The Unforgettables Book 13)
It’s always the season for romance!
If you adore heartwarming tales of holiday magic, sweet Christmas movies, and cozy moments with cocoa and cookies, this collection is perfect for you!
Award-winning and bestselling authors bring you NEW stories in *Unforgettable and Absolutely Fabulous Christmas Cheer: Uplifting Holiday Romance*. Get swept away in the close-knit communities of charming small towns and idyllic islands—perfect settings for love at first sight, second-chance romances, and all the magic of the season.
From drama teachers and actors, ski champion bodyguards, and pseudo-psychic single mothers, to daycare Santas—and even a mischievous Samoyed puppy to spice things up—these delightful stories are sure to warm your heart and fill your holiday season with joy.
Rachelle Ayala – Secret Snowflake Crush (Holiday Heartstrings ongoing series). Childhood friends Janine and Alex discover unexpected feelings when cast as romantic leads in their town’s Christmas play. Will their romance prevail after the curtain call? Susanne Matthews – Guarding Her Heart (Part of the Protecting the Innocent series). Someone wants him and his daughter dead. Her job is to see to it that he doesn’t succeed, but things get complicated when she finds herself falling for her client. Susan Jean Ricci – A Christmas Hearth for Ivy When a homeless single mother lends comfort to a grieving stranger and is mistaken for a psychic, she runs with it – and straight into the unwilling arms of the man who saved her little boy from danger. J.L Campbell – Daycare Santa – In a double blow, Regina Wright loses her lover and business partner during the busiest time of the year. An outrageous request from her son brings a stand-in Santa into her life, with a reminder that joy and romance bloom in unexpected places. Denise Devine – Mistletoe and Wine – “Allyson Cramer is fighting to save the Ramblin’ Rose bar from bankruptcy, but new competition from Max, the pool hall’s manager, threatens her business. Forced to team up for a Christmas booth, one mistletoe kiss turns their holiday into chaos.” Mimi Barbour – Christmas Tempest (Part of the Holiday Heartwarmer Series Book 12) No job. A lost and injured dog. Three accidents. And a blizzard. How can Jasmin’s world get any worse?
This amazing collection is available now from all Amazon outlets for only .99 USD for the ebook. Also available in Kindle Unlimited. Don’t miss this great Christmas Collection.
Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. This week, our word prompt is SKIN. The story is moving ahead quickly and I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones with a milder scene than the last two.
Jerome stood and paced. “There’s no easy way to say this. I knew you were arriving on the nineteenth, or at least I suspected you were. Someone in Ewen’s office related to Nathan told him, and he passed the information on to me.” He stopped and faced her. “I came to Lewis a couple of days earlier to arrange to store my furniture and visited the stones. MacIsaac was there. He mentioned you were expected on the twentieth. I wasn’t sure who was right, but I worried about you. There had been inquiries into ancestral claims against the land. I was afraid someone might try to force you to leave. You know I want access to the stones. I’ve been open about that—well, maybe not at first—but I meant you no harm. If someone scared you away, then they might not be willing to let me buy the land near the stones, preferring to sell them to the highest bidder, who might be more interested in the Lewisian gneiss than their historic value. The Isle of Lewis and Harris is grand and beautiful, but it can be harsh and dangerous to the unsuspecting. When I realized you were alone and childless … well, I wanted to protect you. That was before I even realized who you were, that you were the woman in my dreams.”
“You thought someone might try to do more than scare me—that they might try to what? Kill me? Make me disappear? I sincerely hope you’re wrong. Jerome, believe me when I say I didn’t ask for any of this. I suspected my arrival wouldn’t please everyone, but I never considered the date would be the issue. Tell me the rest.”
He nodded. “While the snake that walks upright could be the demon parasite I saw, the one somehow released in Bronagh’s cottage. A nuckelavee is the most feared of all the evil fey creatures who live in the sea. Like a selkie, it can leave the sea and walk on land, but it does so as a demon horse. Descriptions vary when it comes to size and gender, but essentially, it’s part horse, with the torso and head of a man on its back, and flipper-like protrusions on its leg. The creature embodies all of Mother Nature’s rage but none of her kinder qualities. Very few people have seen one up close and lived to tell the tale, so if Patrick Sykes did see one, he’s bloody fortunate to have escaped with his skin intact.”
“So you’ve never seen one, not even in your time at the stones?”
That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.
Welcome to the October blog post for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Around here, Summer is reluctant to move on, although Autumn is doing her best to show her out the door.
If you’re Canadian like me, October brings two things to mind. The first is Thanksgiving, this year to be celebrated on October 14, the latest date it can possibly be since it’s officially celebrated on the second Monday of October. I start decorating with pumpkins, and colored leaves, with the odd friendly scarecrow, but nothing spooky. The family will get together for a special meal–this year it’ll be Chinese takeout so that I get to enjoy the day, too, instead of spending in cooking and cleaning like I have in the past.
After Thanksgiving, it’s time for Halloween. I’ll get one of my grandchildren to carve a pumpkin for me, and, on Halloween night, I’ll shell out just as I have for the last 53 years, ever since we’ve been married. We’ll sit outside under the heater lamp with a beer or two and admire the kids as they come to collect their treats. Most of the kids we see don’t live in our area, but we are a safe neighborhood, so parents bring them here. I don’t mind. It’s all about the kids. Most of them are accompanied by parents now, a big difference from when I was young or even when my own children were 8 and up, but this isn’t the world I grew up in, not that I want to go back to those times. I’ve grown far too fond of my independence and rights as a woman to ever voluntarily give them up.
October 2 question – Ghost stories fit right in during this month. What’s your favorite classic ghostly tale? Tell us about it and why it sends chills up your spine.
Despite the current trend to have the bejesus scared out of you, I do not like to be frightened, so my favorite ghost tales amuse me rather than scare me. Think Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Blackbeard’s Ghost. I write paranormal stories about past life experiences, some with a little more shock and awe than others, but most of my ghosts are benevolent. Now, unseelies, those nasty black fairies, are another story.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers and Happy Halloween to all who celebrate.
Welcome to October. The weather still has a hint of summer in it, but who knows how long that will last? This week, the authors of Tuesday Tales are writing to the prompt FLUSH. I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones. Enjoy.
“Prophesies, destinies, witches, magic? It makes no sense and yet, I know it’s the truth. How many people on this island believe in the supernatural and monsters like that? Have you ever heard of it? I mean did anyone mention something like that to you when you’ve been here?”
He shook his head. “No, but there are a lot of people on the island who remember the old tales, and at this time of year … The Scottish equivalent of the vampire is the Baobhan Sith.”
“Sith, like Cat Sith?” She glanced at Raven. “Are they dangerous? I mean do they have to be invited inside or can they just slip in unannounced?”
“I don’t know a lot about them, but if memory serves, they are the most sinister and darkest of the fairy folk, drawn by the smell of blood. The creatures can read minds and has the ability to shapeshift into anything his prey would find attractive.”
She flushed and looked down at Raven once more.
“Malcolm believed what he told me. Jerome, I’m scared. James warned me not to let talk of my so-called destiny get under my skin, but how can it not? Malcolm claims that the time has come for something to happen, although he doesn’t know exactly what it is, and that I’m supposed to save them all. If he believes that I’m some kind of messiah, why shouldn’t he believe the rest about vampire monsters crossing the veil? Save them all from what? Monsters I never even knew existed? At this point, I’m not convinced I can even save myself. I’m worried. If Bronagh had the answers, and she’s gone, where will I find them? What do you know about this prophecy and don’t say ‘nothing’ because you must’ve heard something.”
“Honestly, Marina, I don’t know anything more than you do, but I know someone who might.”
“Who?”
“Maeve. She and Bronagh were close as I told you. If anyone can tell you anything, it’ll be her. Why don’t we eat while it’s hot, and then we can talk to her together.”
She nodded. “I have the letter from Great-uncle Angus, too. I thought he was delusional as I said, but maybe there’s something in that to give us a clue.”
He smiled. Give us a clue. He might not have won her love, but he’d won her trust and that would do for now.
That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.
Living the Dream 