Monday Muse: Shadow Slayer’s Seven Magic Words

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.

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

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!

1. Krystal Wade	2. Erin Danzer, YA Author
3. Sharp Words	4. Book Obsession–Christie Rich
5. The Manicheans by Johanna K. Pitcairn	6. Andrea Heltsley Books
7. Bethany Lopez	8. Strong Novels -Kristi Strong
9. The Beautiful People: A Writers Journey	10. Laurasmagicday, romance with a twist

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

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!

February is Indie Author Giveaway Month!

Get ‘em while they’re HOT!

It’s the month of LOVE…and to celebrate why not enter a TON of giveaways? It’s Indie Author Month:) Not only can you enter to win RED HOT SWOON-WORTHY titles there’s also going to be a ton of awesome posts including excerpts, character profiles, cover reveals and more!!

So turn on some soft music, pour a glass of wine and check out what’s up at Indie Author Month. Just click here!

I’m also running my own little giveaway this month on rafflecopter. Click here to enter to win any two of my titles (including the audiobooks!) and a little swag pack. Good luck and have a candlelit, chocolate-filled fabulous FEBRUARY!! *kiss kiss*

Click here to go to ALL the fabulous giveaways this month! (List is growing every day so be sure to check back to get all your goodies!)

Cover Reveal: Relativity (Book #2 The Sage Hannigan Time Warper Series) by Peggy Martinez

RELATIVITY, new release by Peggy Martinez out 2/23/13!

Three months after Sage Hannigan time warps a hundred years into the past and saves President Theodore Roosevelt and the future as we know it, she is still trying to come to grips with all the has gained…and all that she has lost. All of her searching hasn’t turned up Cerberus Society or any creatures of the night and she’s beginning to wonder if she’s gone crazy after all. The only things keeping her grounded are her sparring sessions with Matt and her weekly ritual of scouring the city for low lives to kick the crap out of, and even that can’t keep her dreams free of the heartache and bitter sweet memories she has come to loath and…to cherish. When blasts from the past;  good, bad, and evil, come knocking on her door, will she be able to do what she has to, even if it means having her barely-healing heart ripped to shreds? 

Here is a brief excerpt:
“You’ve been through much in your few years, lass. I’m sorry for that.” She spoke softly and her voice cracked. “I wish I could wipe away all the tears you must have shed alone at night and make you forget all the things you have had to endure by yourself, the good Lord knows I do.” She sniffled and then continued. “But, I can see your strength, your beauty, and your powers shining through all of your sorrows. They have made you who you are and believe me, lass, you are meant to do something great, don’t ever doubt that.” –Relativity 2-23-13

Peggy S. Martinez <
http://psmartinez.blogspot.com/
>
YA Author & Homeschooling Mom of 5  

Monday Muse: The World of Moon Killers, Shadow Series book 3

Mayfield moon (Photo credit: Bill Collison)

I’m really excited to be writing Moon Killers the third book in the Shadow Series. The characters haven grown and changed, and deepened so much since book 1. I love writing this series because we meet Roxie O’Grady in book 1, 13 on Halloween, when she’s twelve and about to turn thirteen. She’s in eighth grade, the last year of middle school. Roxie isn’t the kind of eighth grader who has the feeling like she rules the middle school, though. Far from it. She’s trying desperately to get on the social map somehow. So, she throws her first ever birthday party and invites all the popular kids. They all come and give her a birthday gift that’s literally out of this world. I love this book because it takes a humorous, sometimes scary look at one girl’s quest for popularity––no matter what the cost.  In book 2, Shadow Slayer, Roxie is fourteen and finds the agony of fitting in at high school nothing compared to falling for the hottest guy at school and saving the world from the shadow onslaught. In book 3, Moon Killers, due out this spring, Roxie’s powers are growing as she learns to harness the power of killing the moon to help her battle the shadows that want to take over our world. In Moon Killers, the stakes are higher. Roxie is fifteen and life is getting more and more complicated. Pirates and Venice and explorers have been my inspiration for the third book in the series. 13 on Halloween is free here and Shadow Slayer is available here and here and here. Like audiobooks? You can give the stories a listen here and here and on iTunes too.

Welcome to Monday muse. Each Monday I hope to share a little bit about what’s been inspiring me. Lately, I’ve been inspired by the little things. Did you see the moon last night? OMG. Amazing. I saw the moon super early this morning, washed in a golden light. It’s hard to sleep when the moon is so beautiful. I went to our local farmer’s market last Friday and bought some tulips and fresh flowers for the house. It’s great to have the flowers everywhere. I love going to the farmer’s market but hadn’t been in so long, and while I was there I ran into a very dear friend I’ve been very inspired by the movies I’ve seen lately too. Les Miserables and Zero Dark Thirty have been the ones that stand out for me.

What’ s been inspiring you lately?

Featured Release: Wolf Spell by M.R. Polish | With death starts a new beginning….

With Death Starts a New Beginning…

What would you do if you where faced with the enormous task of awaking the dead to save your life and those around you?

Wolf Spell

by

M.R. Polish

 

    Esmerelda ~ Wimpy witch my ass, all of the week’s frustrations I had pent up, churned inside me. I’d show him. The sprout grew about an inch and blossoms formed into tiny leaves, letting me know I’d made a connection with it.

He used his hands to beckon me. “Come on, I have all night for you to make me whine.”

I ignored him and focused on growing the ivy. It was no longer a sprout, but a full–grown wild plant with wide leaves covering the ground.

“Hey, wait a minute Es, what are you doing.” His voice hinted at uncertainty with a small hesitation. He looked over to where I concentrated.

“Nothing.” I turned back around to face him.

“Whatever you’re thinking in that pretty little head, don’t”

I held my arms up in front of me, boxing style, waiting for him to make a move. I’d be danged if he got me in another headlock.

We walked around each other in a tight circle. He held a smirk that made me think he was amused by all of this. The morning sun shone on his already bronzed skin, showing his many days in the sun. For one short moment, I forgot I should be fighting. We circled one more time, and he reached out his arm, trying to get me off balance, but I was ready and moved out of the way before his hand made contact.

He backed up again making space between us. “Es, I mean it, don’t you even dare think about it.”

It was too late. He could beg all he wanted, but I wouldn’t change my mind. The bush sprang to full life as I used its energy to create my spell with it. My mind locked on my target, and I grinned.

After a deep breath, the spell came to life in my hands. All the energy sizzled as if I held a thousand ants in the palm of my hand. An orb illuminated, growing in power, cupped in my hands. Tiny sparkles of energy floated out around the orb.

Lunging forward, I threw the orb as fast as I could. It spiraled as if it went a hundred miles per hour, smashing into Jarak’s chest, covering him in a raw poison ivy spell. If he wasn’t a Guardian, my spell would’ve hurt him, soaking into his skin and making him sick. As it was, the only part of the poison ivy that would affect him was the sore itchiness.

He looked up at the sky, and threw his arms in the air as if wondering ‘why him’, then exhaled loudly before turning away. He never said one more thing to me as he entered the house, letting me stand there with a smug look of victory on my face.

Lesson over.   

 

 

Jarak ~  I winced as I grazed my fingertips over the wound in my forehead. I never saw what hit me, but whatever it was, left a nasty gash. I groaned. None of that mattered now. She was gone.

Guilt consumed me. I hadn’t protected her. I pulled my hand away staring at the sticky red liquid that covered my fingers from the blood that still seeped from the wound.

I leaned back against the wall of Es’s room. I hated that I couldn’t control my emotions for her better. With her gone, I hated myself even more. I didn’t protect her, and it killed me.

 

 

Ian ~ Every time I saw her, my heart still raced. I couldn’t let her or anyone I knew about how I’d dreamed of her, even before meeting her. It killed me every time I saw her with my brother, but she was probably better off with him anyway. I shook my head trying to clear my thoughts. My dreams made me feel as if I would find love, but now I just think the universe teased me. Things I saw in them couldn’t possibly happen now that she was with Jarak. My heart ached for me to touch her as I once had in my dreams.

I looked away. It was too painful. I opened my cell phone and pretended to dial Jarak’s number. There was no way I would tell him that I found her. Not yet. I wanted some time alone with her before I had to give her back to him.

 

~Blurb ~ 

 

With a death starts a new beginning…

 

Eighteen-year-old Esmerelda thinks she’s just a normal girl, but all of that changes the day of her mom’s funeral, when a warlock, intent on using her special powers, kidnaps her. Powers she didn’t know existed. Thrown in the middle of a magical battle, Es struggles to learn her magic while fleeing both vampires and warlocks, at the same time, hunting for the witches that can help defeat her adversary. The only problem is that they are dead.

 

Thankfully, she has the help of Jarak—her Guardian—who quickly captures her heart, but she wonders if she can win his? Just when she thinks Jarak is the one for her, Ian appears with daggers drawn to save Es from a vampire attack. Ian is cocky and rude, but there is something magnetic about him—something that attracts her to him. With her heart torn between two men, she faces the foes that are out for her blood.

Can Es do the unthinkable and awaken them from their graves before time runs out?

 

Available now!

All Ebooks only $2.99!

 

Amazon Kindle 

Amazon Paperback

Barnes and Noble Nook

Smashwords

 

It is also listed on Goodreads!
Goodreads

 

 

 

You can find M.R. Polish here:

Goodreads

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www.mrpolishauthor.com

 

 

 

Shadow Slayer Tour: Win a copy of the Shadow Slayer Audiobook & hear the playlist!

Shadow Slayer (Shadow Series #2) audiobook now available!

It’s Audio WEEKEND on the tour today! Woot! GiveawayS & yesterday’s winner are at the end of this post

“I loved the way this story was written, you can tell that Roxie has matured a bit since book one.  This was an action filled entertaining novel, I can’t wait to see what happens next!” -Bookworm Babblings, 5-star review

“This is a great series for young adults. Clean, fun, and super action-packed.” – Realms of an Open Mind, 4-star review