Guardians of the Dead by Shelley Wilson

Thank you Heidi for this opportunity to share my new release with you and your blog readers. I have had huge success with my non-fiction titles, moving to fantasy fiction has been a huge leap of faith. I am an avid reader of YA fantasy so to write in this genre made perfect sense to me – that and the fact I have three teenagers under my roof!

Guardians of the Dead is book one of the Guardian Series and began life as a NaNoWriMo project (National Novel Writing Month – write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days). When November 30th arrived, I celebrated my ‘winner’ status and put the manuscript away until January. Once the New Year began I started the re-writes. The editing process was arduous but, as any writer knows, it is the most important part and I found enjoyment in moulding the manuscript to show off its best assets.

Amazon US | Amazon UK

ABOUT Guardians of the Dead:

When sixteen-year-old Amber Noble’s dreams begin to weave into her reality, she turns to the mysterious Connor for help.  His links to the supernatural world uncover a chilling truth about her hometown and a pact that must be repaid with blood. As her father alienates her, and the Guardians take her best friend, her true destiny unfolds, and she begins a quest that well see her past collide with her present.

Drawn deeper into the world of witchcraft and faeries, it is only at the end of her journey that she realises how much she could lose. I have begun the edits for book two and will be writing the third book in the series as part of my NaNoWriMo challenge for 2015. Writing a series was never the plan but my characters had other ideas and once they were unleashed they took off running. I think that’s the beauty of writing, you never know what to expect next.

It was an honour to join Heidi on her blog and introduce this book. Her tagline is ‘Fearless Journeys & Epic Transformation’, and I hope that I’ve provided as much action, tension and adventure as my host does in her beautiful books. Thanks for having me over.

Find Shelley:

Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Website 

The Memory Witch Blog Tour: Eating Magic + Giveaway

Series: The Memory Witch #1

Release Date: December 15th 2013

Publisher: Crescent Moon Press

Book Description:

Ten years ago, Quinn Jacobs’ mother made a bargain with a local witch—steal away Quinn’s memories from the first eight years of her life and in return, Quinn would spend a year in servitude to the witch.

On Quinn’s eighteenth birthday, she’s forced to leave her home and friends behind. For the next year, she’ll live at the Chadwick House, learning everything she needs to know about being a spellcaster. As her powers grow, Quinn begins to unravel the secrets of the past and the reason her mother was so desperate to conceal the horrifying truth.

~ Eating Magic ~

I'm reading The Memory Witch by Heather Topham Wood. It's an interesting story, very different than a lot of paranormal stories I've read. I kind of like how the whole book innocently leads you into the woods, then explodes in the end with the dark revelation. On some level, the revelation is predictable, but on another level, it's not. Because it's really brutal. The first sentence in the prologue: "I don't have a single remembrance before the age of eight," sets the stage for what is to come. However, the interesting thing about the story is the lack of melodrama in the build up. Emotionally frozen, the main character, Quinn, narrates her tale in a matter-of-fact voice that's sometimes breezy and disconnected, and at other times, angry and grim.

Should traumatic memories be eradicated? 

The question lingers.

The Memory Witch does a wonderful job of showing us the potential effects of following such a course. Perhaps, peace of mind paid for with ignorance of Self and life experience isn't such a great deal.

The story ends with Quinn preparing to confront her newly remembered past.

Here are a couple of my favorite quotes:

"We're celebrating Quinn's first cast tonight."

Mason took a seat beside me. "You did? What was the spell?"

"Your aunt decided to practically dismember her left hand and I healed it." I didn't conceal the pride in my voice. Honestly, I was feeling pretty badass about the whole thing.

Mason snorted. "My aunt lives for theatrics."

"You're not kidding." I laughed. "You should see the getup she has me put on to meet with the clients."

"Don't pretend that you're not loving the adoration from the clients. Girls your age love their ego petted," Stella argued.

"I have to see it now," Mason insisted. "Will you try it on for me?"

"No way," I retorted.

"Go put it on. We'll see then if he can resist a witch," Stella urged.

"What does she mean?" Mason inquired.

"It's an enchanted headdress. Apparently. I'm such a troll that your aunt has to use magic to make me pretty enough for the visitors," I griped.

About The Author ~

Heather Topham Wood’s obsession with novels began in childhood while growing up in a shore town in New Jersey. Writing since her teens, she recently returned to penning novels after a successful career as a freelance writer. She’s the author of the paranormal romance Second Sight series and the standalone The Disappearing Girl.

Heather graduated from the College of New Jersey in 2005 and holds a bachelor's degree in English. Her freelance work has appeared in publications such as USA Today,Livestrong.com, Outlook by the Bay and Step in Style magazine. She resides in Trenton, New Jersey with her husband and two sons. Besides writing, Heather is a pop culture fanatic and has an obsession with supernatural novels and TV shows.

The Breath of Life

I finish reading The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. My mouth is filled with grit and sand, my feet are cut and bruised by stone, my fingers grip the breath of life. This is a story about women. This is story about blood and death. This is a story about the lengths to which we must go sometimes to survive. It's scary in that regard. Scary to know what we as human beings are capable of doing to one another—and ourselves. We have enough reminders of that on a daily basis. And yet…

Alice Hoffman is my favorite contemporary author and this is, perhaps, her greatest work, and yet…I've put off reading it. Now, I'll have to read it again someday, this story of Yael, Revka, Aziza, and Shirah. I'll have to read it with more care and devotion. This story of lions and doves.

It's so very layered and intricate. Each sentence explodes with meaning.

If it is indeed: our duty as human beings to see behind the veil to the inside of the world, to the heart of things, then it would seem that Alice Hoffman has fulfilled her duty as a human being and then some.

No one has said "Blessed Be" yet...

Spending the last few days of vacation with my nose in a book. More accurate to say my nose pressed against an LCD screen. Experiment. Makes me cross-eyed. You get the picture. Lots of Kindle Swag. Lots of reading.

Right now, I'm glued to New England Witch Chronicles by Chelsea Bellingeri.

One of the first research papers I ever wrote was about Mass Hysteria and the Salem Witch Trials. All those bored, crazy women trapped by long short-dayed east-coast winters listening to ghost stories. Sigh. Who knows what really happened, but I love all the conjecture. And most of the time when I hear Salem Witch Trials, my eyebrows lift with interest.

I peek around the shelves..."You were saying?"

So group psyche and the loss of individuality within the group, well, that's all in my wheelhouse, too,  and Alexandria Ramsey is my kinda' girl. Independent. 

The writing is smooth. It's the kind of writing where you don't know you're reading. None of this drowning in metaphor soup, where you feel like unnecessary words are dribbling down your chin like broth, and you constantly have to wipe them away to keep them from staining your jammies--cause you're reading in bed, right?

I like the pace, the dialogue, and Peter. 

I like that no one has said "Blessed Be" yet.