Monday Muse: Shadow Slayer’s Seven Magic Words

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I did a ton of research when I wrote SHADOW SLAYER (Shadow Series #2). Among the many things I researched were magic words. I wanted to create a magical world that felt and seemed real and had a feeling of history. What I discovered were magic words that had been used in literature for centuries. (Yes, this is when I spend way too much time reading cool stuff and not writing.) I do enjoy tangents. They are wonderful things and sometimes take me exactly where I need to be. And then again they sometimes lead me to wander off. And while deadlines and commitments and the real world are all fabulous things, I like to wander. I’m a fan.

Here’s a magic word that I found in my research and fell in love with––Ranokoli. It looks kind of odd in black and white, doesn’t it? For some reason it reminds me of pasta. I’d like some ranokoli with marinara sauce. Can’t you just see it on a menu? Ok, that aside, the real cool thing about this magic word is that it appeared in a story long ago written by Irving Bacheller (1859-1950) and he lived nearly 100 years. Back in the day, that was SO rare. So, that kinda got my attention. And then, I read this excerpt from Silas Strong by Irving Bacheller (1906):

The chief invited a great council and organized the Society of the Magic Word. Every member promised that whenever the greeting ‘Boneka’ were given him, he would smile and bow and answer, ‘Ranokoli.’ The greeting meant ‘Peace,’ and the answer, ‘I forgive.’ Then, one by one the law-giver called his councillors before him, and to each he said: ‘The Great Spirit is in this greeting. I defy you to hear it and keep a sober face.’ Then he said ‘Boneka,’ and the man would try to resist the influence of the spirit, but soon smiled in spite of himself, amid the laughter of the tring, and said ‘Ranokoli.’ Thereafter, when a quarrel arose between two people, and outsider, approaching, would greet them with the magic word, and immediately they would bow and smile and answer, ‘I forgive.’ 

This is the story behind one of the seven magic words in The Shadow Series. Roxie only gets to use the magic words one time. So, far in book 2 she’s used up four of the seven magic words. She still has to use Ranokoli : The Great Spirit of Forgiveness.

Email me with Roxie’s worst fear at the beginning of 13 on Halloween & your address and I’ll mail you Shadow Series Swag. (HINT: you’ll find it listed in the 13 on Halloween ebook which is free everywhere :) ) This giveaway is open internationally until 4/30 :)  my email address is elliwrite (at) yahoo (dot) com

You can purchase Shadow Slayer here, here, and here.

We have a WINNER! And the mystery txt

A **BIG** congrats to the winner of this stop of the LUCKY LEPRECHAUN HOP Emily L.!

Here’s the ebooks she’s won:

Shadow Slayer (Shadow Series #2) by Laura A. H. Elliott
Undertow by Elle Chandou
The One by Heather Self
The Dark by Heather Self
The Misfit McCabe Series by LK Gardner-Griffie (3 ebooks in the series)

woohooo! What a great way to start the spring!

HAPPY SPRING BREAK! I’d love to know what you’re reading right now…any suggestions for a lazy day at the beach?

Ok..and now for something completely hilarious. I just got this random text from someone I don’t know. Here’s what it said. Can you make sense of it?

Hey do you envision the track wholly changing gears sonically with each decade or retaining some thread of the dead prez beat vibe throughout?

**googles dead prez beat vibe**

Best selling authors offering their favorite books to their loyal fans at Free-bookshop!

www.free-bookstore.com
Several of your favorite authors have joined together to offer you free copies of their best selling novels. Visit Free-Bookshop.com from March 7, 2013 to March 11, 2013 to pick up kindle and nook versions of these must read books. Paranormal, YA, Fantasy and more. Titles will change daily. Check back all week so you don’t miss any of these fabulous ebooks.Authors featuring free books on one or more days include:Nancy Straight
Charlotte Abel
Leia Shaw
Laura A.H. Elliott
Samantha LaFantasie
J.H. Walker

Johnny Cash inspired Winnemucca, a small-town fairy tale

I thought I’d share one of the inspirations behind Winnemucca, a small-town fairy tale, where fear’s as blind as love. There isn’t a better day to do it than today, what would have been Johnny Cash’s 81st birthday. It’s hard to believe he was only eight years younger than my Dad.

Everyone always asks me about the title. “Winnemucca? Where’s that?” Most of the people who’ve been to Winnemucca ask if I’ve ever been there, especially when I tell them that Winnemucca, NV is the Emerald City of the novel. When I heard Johnny Cash’s version of the song, it inspired me to write about an enchanted road trip. “I’ve Been Everywhere” is Ginny’s father’s favorite song. She has no idea why, not until the end of the story.

But Johnny Cash did more than inspire the plot of the story.

Ginny, a seventeen-year old girl who’s happily ever after has gone bad, meets a truck driver who is more like a fairy godfather. He’s a fairy truck driver, and his character is also inspired by Johnny Cash. He not only teaches her guitar but also speaks to her soul. This story of a girl listening to her intuition for the first time, no matter where it leads, is a story of faith. Along the way she meets many characters that help her find her own path in life. Even if it takes her where she never expected.

Happy Birthday, Johnny Cash!

Here’s one of my favorite quotes of Johnny Cash:

“The Master of Life’s been good to me. He has given me strength to face past illnesses, and victory in the face of defeat. He has given me life and joy where others saw oblivion. He has given new purposes to live for. New services to render and old wounds to heal. Life and love go on. Let the music play.”

Indie-licious Teaser Blog Hop! Teaser from Moon Killers (Shadow Series #3)

Moon Killers (Shadow Series #3) releases May 2013

Moon Killers (Shadow Series #3) releases May 2013

Here’s a little bit about the story:

After slaying her first Shadow as a freshman, Roxie expected sophomore year to be less epic. But this year she’ll discover it will take far more than her skills with a sword to win her ultimate reward, her Last Life. A human life. Roxie’s five-hundred-year reign as Shadow Slayer has just begun.

Interworld peace is a lot for a fifteen year old to handle. Slaying shadows is one thing, but now Roxie must face her biggest enemy yet. When Roxie’s Shadow influences her in tragic ways, she must master moon killing––a type of time travel––if she is to survive the Shadows bent on her murder.

But moon killing is tricky, and if Roxie isn’t careful she could destroy everything she so desperately wants to save, not to mention lose a chance at her Last Life. Moon killing’s thrill proves addictive, enchanting. When Roxie’s boyfriend Drew becomes more and more of a stranger and her world begins to crumble, she finds peace in her addiction. Now, moon killing could kill Roxie and she may be too heartbroken to care.

And here’s the teaser from Moon Killers:

“Shadows are at play,” Drew says staring at the moon.

A chill rushes over my body and I try to shake it off. The autumn wind kicks up leaves and swirls around us blowing cold, right through me. Drew takes off his letterman jacket and places it over my shoulders. I zip it up and lean into him. “Thanks,” I say. It seems impossible to warm up now. I hate the cold so much that I wallpapered my Chicago bedroom with palm trees. Lots and lots of palm trees.

Drew puts his arms around me. This is so normal. Him hugging me. Us standing here together, like a million other high school couples have done in this very spot for over a hundred years. He’s just a boy and I’m just a girl. I ignore my nerves. I pretend that nothing about this night scares me, especially Shadows at play.

Drew gives my hand a History Channel kiss and doesn’t even flinch in the cold. He stands defiant against it all red-cheeked wearing only a gray, v-neck sweater and jeans. But it’s not my favorite look for him. Even when he’s in jeans it makes him look even more like he was born to wear a tuxedo. He’s got that energy about him. Regal in a way no boy I’ve known could ever be.

I can’t wait any longer. It’s been torture just pretending like everything is fine, when it isn’t. It’s been agony waiting for the next battle, the next rupture between worlds. “If Shadows are at play, like you say, then it’s even more important that I know how to kill the moon, right?”

Drew kicks a spot in the grass over and over. Every time I confront him about what I must know, what I need to know, he always changes the subject. He’s sort of been in denial about training me, I guess. Educating me. He wants to forget that I’m the Shadow Slayer. For some reason, he’s having a hard time helping me learn what I have to know to fight off and survive the Shadows. To keep them at bay. So he’s just blown it off, wanting more than anything to keep things normal between us. To try to hang on to normal for as long as possible.

I guess I can understand that, after fighting Shadows for five hundred long years, Drew just wants a little peace. He wants to focus on his Last Life. But I can’t take it any more. I can’t just stay silent. He’s the only one who can teach me what I need to know. And he sucks at it. I take a deep breath and try and forget that I’m asking him this one more time, for the hundredth time. “Where are the Seven Cities of Gold?”

Drew stops pounding the grass with his foot but he’s already worn a muddy spot there. He takes my hand in his. We walk off the field and when we step onto the rubbery, all-weather track each cushioned step gives me little pings in the pit of my stomach. The feeling I get when I’m being ignored. Nothing is as awful as him ignoring me. Nothing. Especially when I have Shadows to slay. I clear my throat trying to contain what’s bubbling up inside of me. Wanting to run away now.

“It is time.” Drew squeezes my hand, turns to face me and says, “But first, you need to know, the truth.” He glances at the nearly full moon.

“About what?”

“About me,” Drew says, shuffling his feet, glancing at the moon again as if it might have shifted in the sky. “Stand here.” He wraps his arm around my waist and gently walks me over to the bleachers. “Remember what I said about the full moon?”

I nod.

“When the moon is full it’s the time when the veil between the world of Shadows and the world of humans is at its thinnest,” he says. His warm breath on my neck sends waves of heat through me. I place my hand over his, the one he has wrapped around my waist, and push his hand into my stomach. We walk together this way and stop only when we’re a few feet from the bleachers. He lets go of me and we stand an arm’s length away, just out of reach. He stares at the all-weather track and says, “Ready?”

“For what?” I say.

“To kill the moon,” he says with a slight smile.

I swallow hard. “Sure.”

He takes guarded steps, one, then another, inching his way toward me as if I’m a pile of dynamite or something that might explode if he walks too fast. It’s like he’s shy but maybe he’s afraid or uncertain or pissed I’m not sure which. But it kind of seems to me, from the way he stoops and moves, like Drew hasn’t done this very often or if he has, he hasn’t killed the moon in a very long time. Maybe, centuries? When Drew’s just inches away, he places his hands on my hips and it’s like fifty butterflies swarm in circles in my stomach. Drew never takes his eyes off the track, though. We keep coming together, smoothly. I watch our shadows come closer and closer together on the reddish-orange track, then merge and blend into one.

Moon Killers releases May 2013. Click here to get in on the Moon Killers Cover Reveal Giveaway :)

Squeeeee! It’s a HOP, so get hopping! Thanks for stopping by, now check out some great teasers from these fabulous Indie-licious authors!

Moon Killers (Shadow Series #3) Cover Reveal & Giveaway

Moon Killers (Shadow Series #3) releases May 2013

Moon Killers (Shadow Series #3) releases May 2013

After slaying her first Shadow as a freshman, Roxie expected sophomore year to be less epic. But this year she’ll discover it will take far more than her skills with a sword to win her ultimate reward, her Last Life. A human life. Roxie’s five-hundred-year reign as Shadow Slayer has just begun.

Interworld peace is a lot for a fifteen year old to handle. Slaying shadows is one thing, but now Roxie must face her biggest enemy yet. When Roxie’s Shadow influences her in tragic ways, she must master moon killing––a type of time travel––if she is to survive the Shadows bent on her murder.

But moon killing is tricky, and if Roxie isn’t careful she could destroy everything she so desperately wants to save, not to mention lose a chance at her Last Life. Moon killing’s thrill proves addictive, enchanting. When Roxie’s boyfriend Drew becomes more and more of a stranger and her world begins to crumble, she finds peace in her addiction. Now, moon killing could kill Roxie and she may be too heartbroken to care.

To celebrate the Moon Killers cover reveal I’m giving away 2 audiobooks—1 copy of 13 on Halloween & 1 copy of Shadow Slayer. Just tweet this to enter to win (open internationally & until midnight 2/28/13 winner announced 3/1 on Laurasmagicday):

@Laurawriting’s Moon Killers (Shadow series #3) Cover Reveal #Giveaway! Moon killing’s addictive, enchanting. http://wp.me/p1J9jx-11E #ya

That’s not all! To celebrate, Shadow Slayer (Shadow Series #2) has been reduced to 99 cents everywhere––click here to get your kindle copy. Click here to get your FREE kindle copy of 13 on Halloween (Shadow Series #1). The series is also available for nook, kobo, sony, apple, and on Smashwords too!

Click here to check out the series book trailers, excerpts, dream cast & playlists! Thanks for helping to spread the word about the Shadow Series :)

To keep the party going, I’m posting an excerpt from Moon Killers tomorrow on the Indie-licious Teaser Blog Hop, so you won’t just get a peak at my latest book, but you’ll also get to read a bunch of awesome teasers from some fabulous Indies! Hope to see you here tomorrow.

Moon Killers (Shadow series #3) Cover Reveal this Saturday!

I’m very excited about Moon Killers, the third book in the Shadow Series, coming out in May. Along with the cover reveal this Saturday at Indie Author Giveaway Month there will be a synopsis posted and on Sunday I’m hosting the first teaser from the book here on the Indie-licious Teaser Hop. So, before you go to your Oscar Parties, hop around with us and read some fantastic teasers this Sunday :) It’s all so exciting that I need to calm down somehow. I’m really into comfort food lately. And since I usually talk about food on Tasty Thursday’s I thought I’d share Roxie’s latest obsession in Moon Killers : Mac & Cheese. I mean who doesn’t like mac & cheese, right? But it’s no regular mac & chesse. Her tastes are starting to trend toward the exotic. Click here for the recipe I’m making tonight that is one of Roxie’s favorites. Hope to see you here this weekend!

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A Valentine’s Day Story

Source: my.hsj.org via Amy on Pinterest

 

Valentine’s Day is full of happy memories for me. Once upon a time, I got married on Valentine’s Day and had a beautiful snowy Chicago wedding. And once upon a longer time, Valentine’s Day was the very first holiday that a boy did something so over-the-top amazing, it was the first time a boy made me feel special. And, isn’t that how every girl/woman wants to feel every day, but especially on Valentine’s Day? I was a junior in high school and home hanging with my family when the doorbell rang. I think Mom beat me to the door so I settled back to my spot at the kitchen counter talking with one of my brothers when Mom calls, “Laur, it’s for you!” Continue reading

Monday Muse: Far and away & Moon Killers (Shadow Series #3) sneak peek!

Retreat

Retreat

Sometimes you have to get away. From everything. From everyone. From the old thoughts. Find some new ones. That’s what I’m doing this week. Spending time away. My brother said something to me this week that inspired me: “We all have thoughts, not all of them are helpful” He said to recognize the ones that aren’t and pay attention to the ones that are. I hope this inspires you too. In this season before Lent I’m thinking about what I might give up or dedicate myself to. Are you looking to give something up in this season of Lent? Or, are you looking to dedicate yourself to something important instead?

Today on A Love for Lit, there is an excerpt from Shadow Slayer (Shadow Series #2) and a bonus sneak peek from Moon Killers (Shadow Series #3) click here to check it out! Click here to download 13 on Halloween (Shadow Series #1) for free.

Give your muse a hug from me!