Month: May 2023

Frost and Starlight: Diversity in Healing

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

A Court of Frost and Starlight is the bridge between Feyre’s story and Nesta’s story. It is much shorter than the rest of the series. To be honest, I think it was meant to be a holiday special. The entire plot surrounds the characters preparing for and celebrating the Winter Solstice. They are also all healing from the recent war against Hybern and the human queens. But each character doesn’t heal at the same pace, or even finish healing by the end of this 4th book. 

Rhysand literally died at the end of the war. The only reason he is back is because Feyre convinced the remaining six High Lords to help her bring him back by donating a piece of their own magic and life force. Whatever happened to Rhys’ spirit while he was dead greatly affected him, and he is struggling to differentiate between reality and his fears. Rhysand jumps back into being High Lord, rebuilding Velaris and other cities, and investigating contentions in the Illyrian army. But where he finds his true healing is in his relationship with Feyre. This is Feyre’s first Winter Solstice in the Night Court and it’s also her 21st birthday. Rhysand is determined to give her a celebration she will never forget. I do not believe Rhysand is fully healed by the end of the Winter Solstice – events of the fifth book show otherwise – but he is doing a lot better than some of the other characters.  

Feyre has a lot of pre-war and post-war trauma to sift through. Now that Nesta is living in the Night Court, Feyre has to find a way to overcome the emotional and verbal abuse she suffered from her older sister both during her human years and recently as a Made High Fae. She has to deal with Rhysand frequently visiting Tamlin. She witnessed her father die, her mate die, and countless others. And as the High Lady, she is helping the Night Court heal by getting involved in charity groups. But as the city heals on the outside, Feyre fails to heal on the inside. She feels tremendously guilty that so many people lost loved ones or lost their livelihood. Back in the very first book, the reader learned that Feyre likes to paint. She stopped painting after Hybern forced her to return to the Spring Court with Tamlin. Feyre cannot seem to bring herself to pick up a paintbrush, and she is invited to by some of the artists in the art section of Velaris. She finally does, and paints her true self – what she saw in the special mirror in the third book. She gives it to Rhysand as a Solstice gift; and they decide they are ready to begin their family. In trying to get pregnant, Feyre and Rhysand are moving forward from the war.   

Morrigan is like Feyre in that many of her traumas are from before the war. Around five hundred years ago, Mor was betrothed to the heir of the Autumn Court, Eris. She did not want to go through with the marriage because the males of the Autumn Court had terrible reputations, and Mor “prefers females” – that’s the terminology used in the series, “gay”, “lesbian”, etc. don’t seem to exist in High Fae language. Mor’s family is too traditional for her to confess her sexuality, so she ends her virginity by seducing Cassian. Her father beats her, and nails a letter to Eris on Mor’s stomach, abandoning her bruised and naked body on the border of the Autumn Court. Eris refuses to take on the responsibility of a soiled wife and leaves her there (though Eris has his own secrets that I may cover in a later post). Mor would have died if Azriel wouldn’t have found her. Understandably, More holds deep seeded hatred for her father and Eris. She is forced to see and work with both of them in preparations for the war. In order to keep her father’s loyalty, Rhysand promises him that he can visit Velaris when he wishes. Mor feels betrayed because Velaris is her sanctuary away from her sadistic family. To avoid her father, Mor spends a lot of time after the war in her estate away from Velaris. By the end of the fourth book, Mor is still in the stage of avoidance.    

Azriel’s scars go back centuries as well. His mother was a maid who was coerced into a relationship with the patriarch of the family she worked for. Azriel is the result of that union. His bastard status led to abuse from his half brothers and the Illyrian warriors he trained with when he joined the army. He hates the Illyrian race for what their traditional views on women and status did to him and his mom. Since he couldn’t save his mom, Azriel projects his mother’s damsel status on Elain. Elain is the meekest of Feyre’s and Rhysand’s family, and Azriel makes sure that Elain is not taken advantage of – both consciously and subconsciously – by the other members of the family. In doing so, Azriel seems to be the only one that Elain is comfortable around. Azriel is also deeply in love with Mor. He has no idea about her sexuality, and moons after her for centuries. While taking care of Elain seems to help heal him from his childhood, it remains to be seen if his heartache over Mor will be healed.   

Elain is also suffering from a broken heart. When she was human, she got engaged to the son of a wealthy human lord. Her fiancée’s family hates faeries and has an extensive collection of warriors and weapons to fight and kill faeries. When Elain was kidnapped and forced into the cauldron, she could not return to her human home and her human fiancée. Her wedding date comes and goes, and Elain is distraught. Her body becoming High Fae revealed that Lucien is her mate, but she wants nothing to do with him. She is still in love with her fiancée. When Rhysand seeks human allies in preparing for the war, Elain goes to her fiancée’s family. Her fiancée rejects her now that she is High Fae. Elain’s heart breaks even more, and she retreats further into herself. Lucien’s (to be honest pitiful) attempts to get her to accept the mate bond go ignored. By the end of Solstice, Azriel’s kindness seems to be warming Elain’s heart, which will continue into the fifth book. (To be honest, I’m rooting for an Azriel-Elain union, but Sarah J. Maas already surprised me by making Mor lesbian, so she’ll probably surprise me by putting Elain with someone else or with no one.)

Lucien has several levels of hurt. Some he has been holding onto for years: his father ordering the death of his lover because she was beneath him, the general hatred from his older brothers, and the loss of one of his eyes, resulting in a metal eye. His most recent struggles are the loss of his friendship with Tamlin, and Elain refusing to accept him as her mate. As a way to numb the pain Lucien creates an unlikely alliance with Jurian and Queen Vassa. The three of them live in the human lands in an abandoned mansion. He is nowhere close to being healed. He is using this new “friendship” to hide from his problems. Very few characters care to help him heal because they put some of the responsibility of Feyre’s abuse on him. He is Tamlin’s best friend and did nothing to stop the mistreatment of Feyre. And even when she saved him from being raped by Ianthe, he still was moody and ungrateful. 

Tamlin is probably one of the few characters who brought on his own pain. In the first book, Tamlin tells Feyre that Rhysand and his father killed Tamlin’s entire family, making Tamlin the unwilling High Lord of the Spring Court. In the second book, Rhysand tells Feyre it was an act of vengeance. Tamlin’s father desired to kill Rhysand. Rhysand had been friendly with Tamlin at previous High-Lord-and-family get-togethers, and he continued to correspond with Tamlin. So Tamlin told his father how he could get Rhysand alone: when Rhysand picked up his mother and sister on their way to visit him in the Illyrian war camp. On that particular trip, Rhysand was late to the meeting spot, and Tamlin, his brothers, and father killed Rhysand’s mother and sister. Rhysand and his father sneak into the Spring Court to exact revenge. Rhysand makes his father promise not to kill Tamlin or his mother. Rhysand’s father doesn’t listen and kills Tamlin’s mother along with his father while Rhysand kills Tamlin’s brothers. Tamlin then kills Rhysand’s father. The two spend the next several centuries hating each other. Tamlin blames Feyre for the destruction of his court and once again accepts no responsibility for his part in her pain that led to the vengeance. 

After the war, Rhysand visits Tamlin every once in a while to check in on him and make sure they have a strong enough alliance so that if the human queens move against Prythian, Rhysand can count on Tamlin for help. Tamlin lives in an empty and ruined castle, finally succumbing to the beast that Feyre thought him to be in the beginning of the first book. During an attempt at a heart-to-heart, Tamlin asks Rhysand if he has forgiven him for the deaths of Rhysand’s mother and sister. Rhysand says, “I haven’t received an apology yet.” Tamlin still in that moment refuses to apologize. Tamlin isn’t even trying to heal, and no one is willing to help him,   

Cassian is struggling with the fact that he survived when so many of his warriors didn’t; and as the top general, he has to answer to their families. During the war, The Cauldron shot an instant death huff of magic into a crowd of flying Illyrians. Nesta could feel it coming before it happened and called Cassian back, saving only him. Cassian has always struggled to convince the Illyrian warriors to respect him as their general because he is literally a bastard. The Illyrians are patriarchal and traditional to a fault. Cassian’s mother was unmarried when she became pregnant with him, placing the two of them at the bottom of the social ladder in their village. It didn’t matter that her pregnancy was a result of rape. It didn’t matter that everyone knew who her rapist was and that he was a married male with a family. Because males rule in this society, they can do whatever they want. So Cassian’s bastard status makes “legitimate” Illyrian warriors despise him. Things are worse after the war, and Cassian has to squash an attempt at rebellion among the warriors. All of this could be easier to handle if Cassian had Nesta at his side. But despite her actions in the war to save Cassian, and her willingness to die with him when all seemed lost; Nesta has returned to being the cold-hearted you-know-what she has been the entire series. On Winter Solstice she hurts him one too many times, and Cassian throws the gift he bought her in the river.  

Nesta is drowning in grief, but we won’t know the full extent until we get to the fifth book. At this point we know she is devastated over her father’s death and is still furious that she is no longer human. She chose to move out of Rhysand’s townhouse and now lives in a rundown apartment. Feyre and Rhysand pay for her rent and fund her lifestyle: spending each night in the pub. Feyre threatens to cut her off financially if she doesn’t come to Solstice. Nesta gives Elain a gift, and Elain gives Nesta a gift. Neither Feyre nor Nesta give each other gifts, showing that the hurt from their human lives is still strong. Nesta has a very long journey to healing that will be covered in the fifth book.

When I read through the book, I didn’t know it was a side story, and understandably felt the plot was weak and rushed compared to the previous three books, and my original rating was 3 stars. Then I jumped onto Goodreads to write my review and saw that it is considered book 3.1. So, now knowing that it is a side story meant to prepare the reader for the next book, I raise my rating to 4 stars. 

I’m about halfway through the fifth book and I have already been tempted to throw my Kindle across the room several times. My heart is slowly warming toward Nesta. I still think many of her past sins aren’t justified, but Sarah J. Maas seems to be good at redemption arcs, so I have an open mind.

New Release: Outcast Artist in Bretagne by Diane Scott Lewis

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

My story is set in Brittany, France, in the small village of Saint Guénolé. It’s 1941, a year after the Germans have invaded France during WWII. A beautiful country backdrop marred by swastika flags, roaring motorcycles, and marching German soldiers. Norah, an Englishwoman, fled to France to hide the shame of her out of wedlock pregnancy the month before the invasion. Trapped, the baby stillborn, she lives with her cousins and draws birds, aching to return home.

August is the battle-worn German Commandant. He loathes Hitler’s policies. A widower, he starts to appreciate France and needs a change in his life. The lively Englishwoman catches his attention. Is she a spy? Or are his interests more visceral?

A TV mini-series, Island at War, inspired my story. The commandant was a complex, often-charming man.

I’m a terrible pantser, throwing ideas around, a vague idea of where to begin and where to end, until my characters show me where they need to go. Then I tighten it all up. The project could take a year and I try to write every morning, from 7 to 12. I fell in love with these characters and hate to say goodbye.

Diane Parkinson (Diane Scott Lewis) grew up near San Francisco, joined the Navy at nineteen, married in Greece and raised two sons in Puerto Rico, California, and Guam. She’s a member of the Historical Novel Society and wrote book reviews for their magazine. She’s always loved travel and history and has had several historical novels published. Diane lives with her husband and one naughty dachshund in western Pennsylvania.

Follow Diane at https://dianescottlewisauthor.blogspot.com/

Unwed and pregnant, Norah Cooper flees England to hide with her cousin in Brittany just before Germany’s 1940 invasion of France. After her baby is stillborn, she’s trapped under the Occupation as war expands across Europe. Norah grieves and consoles herself by sketching wildlife. When she’s caught too near the coast, she comes under scrutiny of the German commandant, Major August von Gottlieb.

August loathes what Hitler is doing to his country and France but is duty-bound to control the people in his jurisdiction. The lively young Englishwoman piques his interest. Is she a spy? He questions her and asks her to sketch his portrait so he might uncover the truth.

Soon, their relationship evolves into a passion neither of them can deny. She endures taunts from the villagers. His superiors warn him of not being harsh enough—he could be transferred or worse. He plans to sabotage a major war machine of the Reich, while she secretly helps the Resistance. Both acts are fraught with danger while kept secret from one another. Will their love ruin her and end in heartbreak? Or will they overcome the odds and survive the surging threats on all sides?

New Release: Death by Surfboard by Susie Black

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Susie Black’s complimentary Swimwear Fit Guide will certainly come in handy with summer just around the corner. Click the link at the bottom to grab your copy!

Death by Surfboard is the third book in The Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series. The submitted manuscript took me about five months to complete. Set in the competitive Los Angeles apparel industry, Death by Surfboard is the story of how one man’s life of lies, delivered by smoke and mirrors, cost him everything. No one is more stunned than Mermaid Swimwear sales exec Holly Schlivnik when a fisherman hooks her unscrupulous colleague’s battered corpse attached to a surfboard and hauls it onto the Washington Street Pier. The ME ruled Jack Tyne drowned, but “had help dying”, and Holly’s boss is wrongly arrested for the crime. To save the big cheese from a life behind bars, the wise-cracking, irreverent amateur detective dons her sleuthing hat to find Jack’s real killer. But the trail has more twists and turns than a pretzel, and nothing turns out the way Holly thinks it will as she tangles with a clever killer hellbent for revenge.

Like the protagonist in my Holly Swimsuit Mystery series, I am a ladies’ swimwear sales exec. From the beginning of my career, I have kept a daily journal that chronicles the quirky, interesting, and often challenging people I’ve encountered as well as the crazy situations I’ve gotten myself into and out of. The journal entries are the foundation of all my writing. The most critically important skill a sales exec must have to succeed is to be a good storyteller. Fortunately, I’ve been telling stories since I learned how to talk. Since I’d never written a novel before, the only thing I knew to do was to apply the same story-telling skills I’d successfully used hawking bikinis to writing a tale. Lucky for me, both types of stories require the same construction: A beginning, a middle, an ending, and most important of all…a point of view.  So, it turns out that showing a line of swimsuits is no different than plotting a manuscript. Both need some planning, but there is a need for flexibility. So, I am neither a planner nor a pantser. I am in between. I plan the beginning and the ending, but I allow my characters to take the storyline from the middle to the end. Of course, the characters know they must not monkey with the ending I’ve devised. Generally, they behave…or face being written out of the story or worse…killed off.  

One thing I’d been told over and over as a sales exec was to know your product inside and out.  I heard the same thing when I started writing cozy mysteries: write what you know. If you don’t know it, either do the research and learn it or don’t dare to write it. Whether you’re an author or a sales exec, you’re selling yourself, and readers, like buyers, can sniff out a phony in a heartbeat, and then you and your story are toast. So, where did my story ideas come from? I paid attention to the mantra. Write what you know. With a dollop of imagination, a pinch of angst, and a decades-long career chocked to the gills with juicy characters, I had more stories in my daily journal than time to write them.

I don’t have a set writing schedule. I write when my creative juices start flowing. I sometimes write for four hours straight and other times only for an hour. Since I am a night owl, I rarely write in the morning. I came to write in the cozy mystery genre because I love solving puzzles. My parents would certainly confirm I have always asked a lot of questions, and I am naturally curious (some narrow-minded people say I am nosy…go figure…LOL). So, writing mysteries was the natural next step for me to take. Who could push a sales exec to dream of murder and mayhem? Who else but a pain in the patootie buyer or an unscrupulous colleague? After concluding a rather challenging conversation with a co-worker whose ill-conceived actions had put both me and our company in a precariously dangerous position with our biggest customer, I silently wished him a slow and painful death as I imagined how good it would feel with my hands around his scrawny neck, squeezing the life out of him. While the notion of knocking off a colleague whose carelessness threatened to destroy the company we worked at was wildly appealing, a horizontally striped prison uniform would make my petite body look like it was the product of a barbershop pole and a fire hydrant having a child. The viable alternative?  Writing humorous murder mysteries set in the Los Angeles garment center. Brilliant and cathartic! In one fell swoop, eliminate a pain-in-the-patootie colleague, avoid life in prison, and still get the order. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Named Best US Author of the Year by N. N. Lights Book Heaven, award-winning cozy mystery author Susie Black was born in the Big Apple but now calls sunny Southern California home. Like the protagonist in her Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series, Susie is a successful apparel sales executive. Susie began telling stories as soon as she learned to talk. Now she’s telling all the stories from her garment industry experiences in humorous mysteries.

She reads, writes, and speaks Spanish, albeit with an accent that sounds like Mildred from Michigan went on a Mexican vacation and is trying to fit in with the locals. Since life without pizza and ice cream as her core food groups wouldn’t be worth living, she’s a dedicated walker to keep her girlish figure. A voracious reader, she’s also an avid stamp collector. Susie lives with a highly intelligent man and has one incredibly brainy but smart-aleck adult son who inexplicably blames his sarcasm on an inherited genetic defect.

Looking for more? Contact Susie at:

Website: www.authorsusieblack.com

E-mail: mysteries_@authorsusieblack.com

As a thank you for reading about Susie and her debut series, here is a free swim suit fit guide:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7lerp4cy1al2j0l/CHOOSING%20THE%20RIGHT%20%20SWIMSUIT.pdf?dl=0

A Mother’s Day Highlight in Pick of the Litter by M. Culler

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Thank you for letting me introduce a Mother’s Day rom-cozy (a romance/cozy mystery) to your readers!

Pick of the Litter is in the Holiday Pet Sleuth series, which includes authors from across the globe. Each story centers around a holiday mystery where a pet plays a big role.  I’ve actually written three of them, A New Year’s Cat-aclysm (New Year), Pick of the Litter (Mother’s Day), and Framed by the Fireworks (Fourth of July). 

Pick of the Litter is about Fiona Milton, a widowed history professor in her thirties. As Mother Day approaches, she learns that her plans to adopt have fallen through. Fiona feels like her life has derailed—until one night when she and her faithful terrier Macbeth discover an abandoned litter of purebred pups in suspicious circumstances.

Hunting down the owner of these puppies gives Fiona a mystery to solve and a much needed distraction—but that’s only the beginning. When Fiona discovers that the puppies were stolen as an act of intimidation against Blake Wells, a reclusive craftsman, she is determined to find out what he has that would invite such an attack.

Blake Wells is hiding something precious. Someone precious—Hannah, a beautiful little girl Blake is fostering and hopes to adopt. She means everything to him, even more than the puppies he breeds. He’s willing to lose everything to keep Hannah safe from a dangerous criminal claiming to be her father. When Fiona and Blake work together, they uncover the secrets of Hannah’s past and help piece together their own furr-ever family.

This story highlights the different ways we can form a family, especially at a time of the year, Mother’s Day, when people struggling with loss or infertility might feel like something is missing in their lives. With a strong message of faith and a Hallmark-worthy happy ending, this story solves a mystery, helps a mother dog reunite with her puppies, and gives Fiona, Blake, Hannah, and even Macbeth the family they were looking for. If you’re a fan of Jan Karon, Debbie Macomber, or the Hallmark channel, this one’s for you.

I personally was inspired to write this particular world and characters after growing up with my mother, a young widow, in a college town. I can relate to Fiona myself as I’m a history-teacher in my thirties who also struggled with infertility and would feel so alone and miserable on Mother’s Day. But, just like Fiona, the heroine of this cozy mystery-romance, I poured my heart into my passions and was eventually blessed with two wonderful children through adoption and medical treatments.

Bestselling author M. Culler can’t stick to just one genre. She writes fantasy, mystery, and all flavors of romance. M.Culler lives in historic Chester County, Pennsylvania, where potentially haunted battlegrounds and 18th century buildings serve as never-ending inspiration. M.Culler lives for her two brilliant children (mini-bookworms), her gorgeous husband, her endlessly entertaining students, and her wonderful community. If she’s not hunched over a laptop, you’ll find her baking up a storm in the kitchen, playing board games, or watching Brit Coms.  Soli Deo Gloria.

You can check out M. Culler’s other books and writing journey here: https://ghostsintheink.wixsite.com/mculler

A litter of puppies. A mysterious craftsman with a beautiful secret. A stubborn, spunky terrier. Can Fiona solve a Mother’s Day mystery?

Spring means it’s time to bloom, but Fiona Milton is stuck in “blah.”  Her love life has stalled, her dreams are on hold, and even Macbeth, her faithful terrier, can’t tug her out of this rut.

But a litter of puppies left in her yard might just do the trick! The hunt to find their rightful owner soon has Fiona helping a handsome stranger with a precious secret he needs help to protect. Could Fiona’s life be back on track—or will disaster rip it away just as she opens her heart?

Join Fiona and Macbeth as they solve a mystery that will lead to adventure, romance, and a new chance at finding a fur-ever family.


Pick of the Litter by M. Culler is a cozy mystery with a twist of holiday romance that you’re sure to love! Check out the other books in the Holiday Pet Sleuths series!

Pick of the Litter can be purchased here: https://books2read.com/b/bOnKlK

Favorite Fictional Moms

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

For Mother’s Day each year, I’d like to highlight three amazing fictional moms/mother figures. This debut year I’ll be showcasing Molly Weasley, Linda Belcher, and Violet Bridgerton.

Molly Weasley comes from the Harry Potter series. On the surface, Molly appears to be the typical frumpy housewife. She’s popped out seven children on her quest to give birth to the coveted daughter. Her husband, Arthur, works a dead-end job while she runs their magical household. And their wild children are constantly getting into trouble. But underneath all that stereotype, Molly loves her family fiercely and will do anything for them. She is also kind and compassionate to those in need

Despite their poverty, the Weasleys never go hungry. Molly is an amazing cook, and her magical talents allow her to summon, transfigure, and multiply enough food to feed an army. She figuratively adopts Harry in the Chamber of Secrets when her sons bring Harry to their home in a flying car. From that book on, Molly makes sure that Harry has a place in her family.

Molly’s biggest flaw is her refusal to support Fred and George’s dream of opening a joke shop. In the Goblet of Fire, she does something that is very hard for many parents: she apologizes. She yells at the twins about their attempt to sneak joke supplies out of the house on their way to the Quidditch World Cup. Disaster strikes the World Cup, and fearing for her family’s safety, Molly feels guilty that the last thing she said to her boys was negative. When they get home safe and sound, Molly hugs them and apologizes. She still isn’t perfect as the Order of the Phoenix is full of drama, but she ultimately supports Fred and George dropping out of school and opening their joke shop.

Molly’s hidden strength is showcased in the Battle of Hogwarts in the Deathly Hallows. Up until that final battle, Molly has been the one staying home having a hot meal ready for the surviving warriors. Not this time. She is there fighting alongside her family for the survival of the wizarding world. It is Molly who vanquishes one of the most evil characters in the entire series, Bellatrix Lestrange. And what did Bellatrix do to earn Molly’s wrath? She threw the killing curse at Ginny, Molly’s daughter.

I could write several posts on Molly’s character alone, but I’ll leave it at this for now. To dive deeper into Molly’s character, read the books!

Linda Belcher is not a literary character, but I love her so much, I had to include her. She is one of the main characters on the TV show Bob’s Burgers. Linda and her husband, Bob, own a struggling burger restaurant somewhere on the east coast. They have three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise, who work in the restaurant after school. 

The reason why I love Linda so much is because she is so positive and supportive of everything her kids enjoy and want to do. She attends all of their extra curricular activities: capoeira classes, school musicals, and street bands. She showcases her children’s art during Art Crawl, defends their “abnormal” creative writing projects to the school counselor, and coaches their independent study swim class.

Even though Linda focuses on her kids the majority of the time, she also has her own passions and believes she deserves to be happy and fulfilled. Linda loves to sing, so she writes a short musical and gets her children and their neighbor to perform in it with her. The show is a disaster, but Linda has a blast and feels successful at the end of the episode. She also drags her family through an attempt to run a Bed and Breakfast, mother-daughter bonding, and the perfect Christmas party. 

Linda Belcher is my soul sister. The similarities between her marriage and mine have my husband and I cracking up every time we rewatch the series – which is often. She has moments where she goes overboard, but her energy and passion make her so likable.

Violet Bridgerton is the mother of eight energetic and cunning children. She is the dowager Viscountess Bridgerton. In the original eight books, she is already a widow, so we only know her in her later years. Her husband, the late Viscount, died from anaphylactic shock to a bee sting; but this was before allergies were understood so his death remains a mystery. Violet was pregnant with their eighth child, Hyacinth, when her husband died; making her oldest, eighteen-year-old Anthony the new Viscount.

The Bridgertons reside in London during the early eighteen hundreds, and upon reaching adulthood, participate each year in the courting culture called “the Season”. The purpose of the Season is to find a spouse by attending as many balls, musicals, and other parties as possible. With eight children to marry off, Violet is a very “determined mama”. However, unlike most of the other mamas of the ton, Violet is not as concerned about status and wealth in the spouse of her children. Kate’s meager dowry and bottom of the totem pole status does not prohibit Violet from accepting her as a daughter-in-law and the new Viscountess. Sophie’s unsavory parentage (her mother a servant and the mistress of her father) doesn’t even make Violet raise an eyebrow – though she is matter of fact with Benedict that he and Sophie will never be accepted by London society, so she supports their need to move to the country after they marry.  And though Hyacinth never tells, I am sure that Violet would not have cared that Gereth was the product of his mother’s affair with her brother-in-law.   

Because Violet’s marriage was a “love match”, she desires the same for all of her children. Even though she desires her children to find true love, her wish for them to find it quickly, and to give her grandchildren, causes her to sometimes jump the gun and encourage matches her children have no desire for. Though every once in a while she hits the mark – like her constant push for her sons to be nice to Penelope Featherington. 

Violet is loving, kind, and compassionate; but when her children mess up, she’ll let them know. She doesn’t raise her voice or demean them. But presents a loving sternness when they need a lecture or advice. Her children love her and know she loves them. The Bridgertons are a tight knit, loyal and protective family, with Violet at the center.  

Happy Mother’s Day! Give some love to the women in your life.

Wings and Ruin: The Cost of War

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

A pattern I have noticed in Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series is that the subplot from the previous book becomes the main plot of the next book. In A Court of Thorns and Roses, Feyre’s relationship with Rhysand is the subplot of the Under the Mountain part of the book. In A Court of Mist and Fury, Feyre’s relationship with Rhysand becomes the main plot, and preparing for war against Hybern is the subplot. We get to A Court of Wings and Ruin, and preparing for war becomes the main plot. And if Mist and Fury’s big theme is redemption, then Wings and Ruin’s big theme is the cost of war.

What are the costs that our favorite characters have to pay as they prepare and fight in war? The four main costs I saw were betrayal, desensitization, difficult alliances, and sacrifice. 

Betrayal

The betrayals start in Mist and Fury before the war even begins. There is an object called the Cauldron which is the creator of the universe. It can be welded by any being powerful enough, but it also has some form of awareness to it. A book of spells was ripped in half centuries before and separated. This book is needed to control the Cauldron. One half is at the Summer Court. Rhys and Feyre do not believe the High Lord of the Summer Court, Tarquin, will willingly hand it over; so Rhys distracts the guards, while Feyre sneaks into the room the book is hidden in. Their plan is successful, and they immediately feel guilty when they return to Velaris. Tarquin sends them blood rubies with their names engraved on them, announcing them as enemies to the Summer Court. 

The second half of the book is under the guardianship of the six human queens. The book has a protection spell on it that makes it so the book must be freely given. Five of the six queens refuse to give the book to Feyre and Rhysand. The sixth queen sneaks it to them, betraying her “sister” queens. In return, they betray her by handing her over to Hybern, who kills her. Another queen, who is on the fence about this whole thing is handed over to a sorcerer and a curse is placed on her and leaves her a prisoner to him. In fact, the human queens are just full of betrayal. In an effort to convince them that he is trustworthy, Rhysand shows them Velaris. They tell Hybern about Velaris and where it is; Hybern then attacks Velaris. Luckily, Feyre, Rhysand and their court are able to defend Velaris, but the damage is done. Velaris has been exposed to the rest of the world. 

The most heartbreaking betrayal between the two books is probably Tamlin’s betrayal. Shortly after Rhysand rescued Feyre from the Spring Court, Feyre sent a letter to Tamlin saying that she left willingly and she wasn’t coming back. Tamlin refuses to believe this and goes on a crusade to find Feyre and “free” her from Rhysand. Tamlin allies with Hybern in capturing Feyre and Rhysand and splitting them apart. His high priestess, Ianthe, takes the betrayal one step further and hands Feyre’s human sisters, Nesta and Elain, over to the King of Hybern. Hybern uses the Cauldron to change Nesta and Elain into High Fae. 

What’s a betrayal without revenge? Feyre’s about to dish it out. In Wings and Ruin, she pretends that Hybern was successful in breaking her mate bond with Rhysand and returns to the Spring Court with Tamlin. While there, Feyre spies on Tamlin’s alliance with Hybern and sends that information to Rhysand through their bond. She also breaks Ianthe’s hand beyond repair, plants false stories into Ianthe’s head and a few others, and kills Hybern’s visiting generals. By the time Feyre escapes the Spring Court, Tamlin doesn’t have much of a court left.  

Tamlin ends up being the poster boy for a turncoat. He switches sides so frequently that it gives the reader whiplash, and even at the end, it’s still hard to know whose side he is truly on. I personally think he’s on Tamlin’s side. Whatever is going to help him come out alive and still in power. Shortly after Feyre returns to the Night Court, Rhysand invites the other High Lords to a meeting to form alliances and create a game plan against Hybern. Tamlin is invited and he does show up. The next day, he goes running back to Hybern and discloses everything from the meeting! Then when Feyre has snuck into Hybern’s camp to rescue her sister, Tamlin is the one to help her get out when she is about to be caught by Hybern’s beasts. With that betrayal, the question remains, whose side will Tamlin fight on? At first, Tamlin doesn’t show up at all. When things get dire, he shows up with Beron (High Lord of the Autumn Court), and two more surprise armies.   

And our final betrayal is Jurian, the human from the original battle five hundred years previous, brought back to life by Hybern. Hybern underestimated how much Jurian hates faeries. While Hybern is focusing on ripping Feyre and Rhysand apart, Jurian sneaks off to the human lands and raises a human army under the queens’ noses! 

The examples of betrayal in A Court of Mist and Fury and A Court of Wings and Ruin are definitely complex and diverse. Some can be argued as justifiable, others may start out justified and end badly, while others are just downright nasty. And I’m willing to bet  the betrayals I justify could be different from yours. Ms. Maas does an excellent job of making the reader question everyone’s choices. 

Desensitization

Most of the violence that Feyre has participated in has been self defense. When she killed Hybern’s visiting generals, they were trying to prevent her from leaving the Spring Court. The battle of Velaris happened suddenly and Feyre was too pumped up on adrenaline – and revenge, because the Attor is there – to really take in the blood and gore that was flying around. The battle of Adriata is Feyre’s first time preparing and marching into battle. It is quite a different experience for her, and when the fighting is over, Feyre throws up. Mor tells her they were all like that after their first battle; showing that over time, soldiers become desensitized to the horrors of war – not that they necessarily enjoy it, but they are able to glaze over or at least put on a facade that they are. But we’ll learn in the fourth book that being desensitized on the battlefield does not equate to being desensitized once you return home. 

Difficult Alliances

When a war involves more than two nations, the right alliances are paramount to success.

Hybern wants to have access to and control of the human lands. To do so, he reaches out to some very desperate characters: the human queens and Tamlin. Hybern promises the human queens immortality and a promise not to invade the continent, if they step back and allow Hybern to take over the human section of Prythian. Hybern gives Feyre to Tamlin if Tamlin will allow Hybern’s army to use the Spring Court as their path into the human lands. The plot never gets around to showing it, but I firmly believe that Hybern was going to betray the human queens as soon as he had the human lands in his grasp; had he lived long enough to do so.  

The seven courts of Prythian stand between Hybern and the human lands. Rhysand is determined for all seven High Lords to ally together to stand against Hybern. He successfully gets the Day Court, Dawn Court, Summer Court, and Winter Court to agree – though it was not without difficulty. Big headed and powerful men who are used to being solely in charge? Yeah, it took a lot. The Autumn Court outright refuses, and Tamlin goes running off to Hybern as soon as the alliance meeting is over. Rhysand knows that they cannot beat Hybern without all seven courts on board, but he is determined to try.   

These shifty alliances are what lead to many of the betrayals discussed in the first section. 

Sacrifice

In my opinion, personal sacrifice is the biggest cost of war. Everyone who heads onto the battlefield knows there is a chance they won’t come home. And sacrificing one’s life is not the only form of sacrifice. 

Feyre believes that they need a powerful being called the Bone Carver to help. His price? A very special mirror. The only way to get the mirror is to look into it and master whatever you see. It has been centuries since the last time the mirror had been mastered. Most beings who try go mad. The night before the final battle, Feyre decides the risk is worth it; even if she goes mad, Amren can use her body to weld the Cauldron’s magic. Feyre does master the mirror, but she went in not knowing if she could. She was willing to sacrifice her mind for her friends and family.  

Also before the final battle, Azriel helps Feyre rescue Elain. They are viciously attacked, and Azriel’s wings are severely injured. Rhysand orders Azriel to stay behind in the final battle. This infuriates Azriel. Their forces are spread thin as it is, even his injured self is better than having a hole in the line. He obeys his high lord, but as the battle worsens, Azriel joins the fray. During the battle, Cassian is greatly injured to the point of being immobile. The King of Hybern descends upon him and Nesta tries to stop him with the power she stole from the Cauldron, it is not enough. Nesta throws her body on top of Cassian’s and they accept death together. Before the King of Hybern can deliver the fatal blow, Elain stabs him in the neck with Azriel’s favorite sword, Truth Teller. When Azriel had been ordered to not fight, he sacrificed his hold over his sword to Elain so she had something to defend herself with. Even then, Elain was too frail and innocent to weld it, and she accepted it begrudgingly. Elain sacrifices her innocence to save her sister from the King of Hybern.  

While the battle is raging on, Feyre and Amren sneak over to the Cauldron to use its magic to stop Hybern’s power. The only way to do this is to put Amren in the Cauldron and relieve her of her bound form. This is risky because Amren may not remember the love and loyalty she feels for the Night Court and she could accidentally attack everyone (she reminds me of Calypso from Pirates of the Caribbean). Feyre and Amren take the risk. Not only does Amren let go of her “humanity”, but she also sacrifices her life. She is not going to survive this transition once she is done fighting.   

And the final sacrifice comes from Rhysand himself. Amren’s exit from the Cauldron breaks it, creating a blackhole that is sucking everything in. The Cauldron created life, so its destruction ends life. Feyre is the only one powerful enough to fix it (she has all seven High Lord’s powers), but even then it’s not enough. Rhysand transfers all of his energy and power into Feyre so she can finish fixing the Cauldron. This transfer kills him, and even though it saved Prythian, Feyre is inconsolable. She demands that the remaining High Lords help bring Rhysand back like what they did for her when Amarantha killed her. At first they disagreed, saying the situation was different because Feyre had been human. She begs and pleads, and they give in. One by one, each High Lord sacrifices a bit of his life force and magic to bring Rhysand back. It works doubly well, and not only does Rhysand come back to life, but he brings Amren with him. 

No one walks away from this war unscathed. Everyone whether human or faerie, High Lord or lesser faerie has mountains of healing to do, which is what the next book is about. I rated A Court of Wings and Ruin 4 stars. I thought the war plot was excellent (if you can’t tell by the once again long blog post); though a little lengthy. Rhysand and Feyre’s relationship strengthened and Rhysand continued to trust Feyre and allow her room to make her own choices – and mistakes. The only thing I struggled with was the lack of character growth from Nesta and Elain. We are three books in and they are still the same selfish idiots they were in the first book. Though, I did just start the fifth book, which is Nesta’s and Cassian’s story; so I’m crossing my fingers that Nesta has an acceptable redemption arc, because I currently do not like her at all. 

But before we can dive into Nesta’s head, there is a Solstice celebration to attend in A Court of Frost and Starlight. Stay tuned for that post, coming soon!

New Release: Something Wiccan This Way Comes by Michalea Moore

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Not Your Grandmother’s Cauldron…

The Tarot has spoken: Love and murder are in the cards.

A Tarot-reading witch and a high-tech billionaire combine their talents to solve crimes, clear their names, and find true love. Something Wiccan This Way Comes from Eloquent Peasant Books combines romance and magick with a witchy flavor and a hint of Tarot wrapped in a mystery. Think J.D. Robb’s Eve Dallas meets Practical Magic.  

Something Wiccan is the first book in an eight-book series, The Wheel of the Year Mysteries. Many witches celebrate the eight Sabbats, known as the Wheel of the Year. Each book is centered around a Sabbat. 

Something Wiccan takes place in the near future in a world riddled by pandemics. Maren Lilienthal, a rebellious heiress and witch, is cheated out of her fortune and forced to return to her wealthy family and hometown. A town where old secrets, ghosts, lovers, and enemies never die. Maren believes the safest place for her might be the broom closet. Cyrus Harper, a sexy billionaire who made his fortune with virus-scanning technology, charms her into coming out. Not everyone falls under the spell of the town’s newest couple or wishes them well. When Cyrus and Maren are framed for a ritual murder on Imbolc, the Wheel of Fortune Tarot reading holds the answer to what happened. Will white magick, Tarot, and technology save them or make things worse? Something Wiccan is definitely not your grandmother’s cauldron.

Something Wiccan was inspired by a managers’ meeting from hell. Our division VP called someone’s presentation “a mishmash of voodoo ideas” and the presenter “a crazy witch.” Despite a salvo of gasps and disapproving snorts, he persisted, calling her ideas a miscarriage; the woman had returned from leave following a stillbirth. 

A coworker whispered, “I wish she was a witch; she could stick some voodoo pins into him and finish him off.” I replied, “Then we’d have the Salem witch trials in our very own conference room.” She said, “You should write a novel about that.” Thus, the seed was planted. It germinated a decade later and flowered into an idea for a series of novels with a modern witch as the protagonist.

While Something Wiccan germinated, I wrote two “training wheels” novels about Ancient Egypt, which may still see the light of day. But, writing a series is a different beast than writing a stand-alone novel. 

Confession time: I am not a plotter. Even during my career as a technical writer, I eschewed outlines. I have a sneaky feeling that if I outlined, I’d never write the novel, having gotten the idea out of my system. Nor am I a full-fledged pantser because I know where every novel will end. For me, the joy is in the journey. 

Still, a series requires a bit more discipline. I created a character Bible with a cast of characters, their homes, their clothes, their life events, the music they listen to, and so forth. In a series, I also realized that you must plant clues in one book that might not come to fruition until several books later. I have eight journals (one for each novel). I record ideas and scenes for future books, paste photos that inspire me, create Tarot readings, and add articles that are part of my research. 

My motto is “Aim low, achieve high.” I try to write every day. I’m mostly successful; I don’t beat myself up if I miss a day. I don’t aim for a specific word count. Some days it’s a paragraph, and sometimes an entire scene. My Egyptian novels took 10 and 2 years to write, respectively. Something Wiccan took a year; the second book, Season of the Witch coming out in May, took 9 months. My critique group jokes that I should get Book 8 out in a week. I begin each writing session by listening to what I wrote the previous day to get back into the flow; I use Word’s Review🡪Read Aloud feature.

I’ve always been a reader and a writer. There’s a well-concealed photo of me on the potty chair “reading” a picture book. I taped stories written in crayon to the bricks of my grandmother’s front porch. In 3rd grade, I published my first novel using an old typewriter. Back in the days when carbon paper was the only way to make copies, I produced three copies of a story about my grandfather teaching my cat, duck, and chicken to eat together. I received 25 cents from my grandmother, mother, and a neighbor. Magic, right?

As a child, I was the Queen of our Public Library, which looked like a castle; the children’s reading room was a tower. My favorite books were The Girls’ Book of Famous Queens and Cleopatra of Egypt. I checked out those books so often the librarian said I was depriving the other children and limited my check-out privileges.

You don’t get interested in Egypt without stumbling into its magical system. Egyptian magic led me to the world’s first and arguably greatest witch/magician, the goddess Isis. Once you find Isis, you’re on the doorstep of a great love story. Isis is the protagonist in my first Egyptian novel, Queen of Heka. I was hooked on powerful, magical women who love powerfully. . . when they find a worthy man. I wanted to write about them. Magic is the icing on the cake. Find out more about me and my books at https://www.michalea.com/. Something Wiccan and the next book, Season of the Witch, are available at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BXMY157X.

New Release: Island Heat by Debby Grahl

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Welcome to Island Heat where Suzanna Shay and Austen Kincade take you with them on a romantic mystery cruise that goes from Costa Maya to the beaches of Hilton Head Island where adventure, danger, and romance await.

Hi, I’m Suzanna, the manager of Preston Books’ Charlotte store. I still can’t believe I won the company contest for  a Who -Done -It? mystery cruise to Costa Maya. Not only have I never been on a cruise before, but I love reading mysteries. Just think, one week where no one knows me, and I don’t have to explain my actions to anyone, including my mother.  My friend, Amy, is convinced I’ll meet the man of my dreams on the ship. We’ll see.

Hey, I’m Austen. My dream is to someday be a published author — I know, like a million other writers. I do have two completed manuscripts which I sent off to H&H Publishing. Imagine my surprise, after accepting a ticket for a mystery cruise from a friend, that H&H was one of the sponsors of the cruise. Then to make the trip complete, I find myself paired with sexy Suzanna Shay.

Passion flares when Suzanna and Austen come together, but their newfound romance is threatened by another, who will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

Island Heat is the second in my Carolina series; Mountain Blaze being the first. I love both the mountains and the ocean. In Mountain Blaze, the setting is the mountains outside of Asheville, NC. Island Heat is set on Hilton Head, the place I call home. I had so much  fun writing this book that I included the girls from my bunco and happy hour groups. 

Writers are sometimes asked if they are a “plotter” or “pantser”. I’m definitely a “pantser” — writing by the seat of my pants. I begin with the location for the story, create my plot and characters, and after that anything goes. Island Heat is a perfect example that what I begin to write isn’t at all how it ends. For example, the first draft of the book didn’t include the cruise. I knew I needed to find a fun way for Suzanna and Austen to meet. So, who wouldn’t like to meet a handsome man while cruising your way through the beautiful waters of the Gulf?

My stories aren’t just romance. Like Suzanna, I love mysteries. So, I combine them and hope to keep you excited and guessing.

Award-winning author Debby Grahl lives on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, with her husband David. Besides writing, she enjoys biking, walking on the beach, and a glass of wine at sunset. Visually impaired since childhood by Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), she uses screen-reading software to research and write her books. 

Rue Toulouse, a contemporary romance set in the French Quarter, medalled as second place in the Readers’ Favorite international competition, and was awarded first place in the Top Shelf Fiction for the Romance category. His Magic Touch, a paranormal romance, is also set in New Orleans. Her latest book, Island Heat, will be released May 1, 2023, and will be the second book in her three-part Carolina series. The first, Mountain Blaze, released November 2, 2020, has received a five-star review from Readers’ Favorite.

Follow Debby at https://www.debbygrahl.com/

A chance encounter leads to romance and murder.

When bookstore owner Suzanna Shay and writer Austen Kincade meet on a Who Done It mystery cruise, their instant attraction has them more interested in romance than searching for clues.  But when the leading actress in the shipboard murder skit, Austen’s publisher’s wife, throws herself at Austen, she’s furious when he rejects her advances and vows to have Austen no matter what it takes.

After the ship docks, with plans for a future together, Suzanna and Austen part, unaware vindictive lies will soon test their newfound love and entangle them in a real mystery that proves deadly.