Winnie Winkle's Blog

Happy launch day to Funkin’ Weird. Hooray! It’s here! 

What happens when an immortal dies? I’m so glad you asked. As the Keeper, I’m trying to hold the magical and human worlds aligned. I’ve got a symbiotic book, a partner, and dumb luck. I’m staring down a witch war, and I’ve got to save a new magical race that can’t find their behinds with both hands and a flashlight.

Then the real deal showed up, ready to burn it all. I’m screwed, and it’s not even hump day yet. 

~~~

Excerpt:

“Keeper, you’ve got a problem, a big one.”

I cocked my head. Dionysis was one of my favorite immortals; his agenda was the party, which meant I wasn’t dancing around hidden meanings and obscure clues.

“A what, or a who?”

“Despite eons of time together, Hyperion loved his wife. I know. I’d never pull it off in a million years, and I’ve had’em. But to the point, Ol Hyp’s wandering the coastline in a miserable way. When you spend tens of centuries being a structured traditionalist, trying to handle a swamping emotion? He’s blowing apart. It’s both ugly and public.”

I crossed my arms under my breasts and stared at Di’s bloodshot nose. “I don’t know him, but Theia was wonderful and I’m sure it’s a struggle. What support can I offer, Di?”

“So glad you asked.” He reached across the bar and tapped my head, flooding my brain with happiness. “If you can get close, give him this. It’s her joy. I collect joyful vibrations, and Theia shared this with me. Based on what I just witnessed at the Daytona pier, it needs to pass to Hyperion.”

My aura blossomed, a rose gold color that radiated and gave the setting sun some serious competition. 

“I can’t leave The Boogey, Di.”

Even Di’s chuckle sounded hungover. “Oh, Keeper. He’ll come to you, unable to resist.”

“Uh, OK. Thanks?”

“Try not to die.” 

He shimmered and vanished. I stood, a glowing target in an empty bar, certain of only one thing.

An insane, grieving titan stomped my way, and I’m a firefly with no freaking clue how to pass along this Olympian gift. 

Perfect.

The screech of squealing nails accompanied a timber quaking series of thuds, and I ran, aura blasting, through a restaurant full of shocked patrons to the pier’s back end. I’m a decent sprinter most days, and I hauled ass along the decking, cheeks bouncing out of my shorts, a blur of rosy golden light. Behind me, customers stared out the open windows at the wailing giant dismantling the fishing pier. As I flew past several dudes pulling in their gear, a few hooted and raised beers. Go team.

Hyperion, standing in the crashing surf, shook the crushed roof of my tee shirt shack in one hand, the other yanking off a long piece of railing, head thrown back in a soul shaking bellow of grief.

Jeez, I could relate.

I reached the space where the railing used to be, mind whipping like a Daytona 500 driver doing a victory lap, and launched through the opening, aiming for Hyp’s hand. 

I sincerely hope I’m not a f*cking idiot.

Surprised, Hyperion dropped the rail, and I landed half on the edge of his palm. Gravity sucks, incidentally, and I shrieked as my ass, an unfortunate counterweight, dragged scrabbling fingers across his open hand, headed for a long fall and possible drowning while sporting the mother of all wedgies. Not how I pictured myself going out.

Hyp flipped me into the air and moved his palm underneath as I landed in a grateful sprawl. 

“You’re hurting!” I screamed over the smashing waves and his raging, sobbing breath. “You wouldn’t know, but I lost my love, too. Ballard and I were one of Eros’ original pairs.”

Hyp’s breathing quieted, and green eyes held mine. Holy Hades, he was huge. I sucked in air.

“Titan Hyperion, I have an important gift for you. From your beloved.”

Hyp’s palm rose until I was eye level. “I miss her so much; my heart is dying. Theia was my life. Without her, the agony of lost tenderness rends my soul.” 

My perch shook with his sobs, and tears welled in my eyes. Far below, I heard weeping from a few of my patrons. Loss is both universal and a long-bladed knife.

Genuine love is forever. Even if you’re the size of a skyscraper. King Kong 101.

Love. In an instant, I knew.

“Hyperion, hold your hand under your mouth.”

The shirt shack’s roof dropped into the ocean and he raised his arm.

“No, sweet broken heart, your other one.”

Enormous green, tear-filled eyes blinked, a pause, and the palm I stood on, legs wide and braced for balance, lowered a few feet. 

Here goes nothing. I guess winging it with my ass hanging out is my trademark.

~~~

Grab Funkin’ Weird: The Record, Book 5 here!

Want to start at the beginning? Grab the series here.

The post Happy launch day to Funkin’ Weird! appeared first on WWINKLE.COM.

Funkin’ Weird is more than a believable title. From ARC reader Leslie: “Mind blown with all the twists and turns!”

Book 5 sets up the big questions as Cleopatra O’Keefe rounds the corner and faces her future. Who can she trust? Why are immortals dying? She’s at another crossroads, and it’s shading weird.

The magical world is losing it. Scared? Check. Resolved? Check. Plan is place? Eh, probably not, but it’s go time.

Here’s a snippet!

~~~

“Cleopatra, it’s wake up time.”

Poseidon’s spectacular red-clad package swam into view and I realized I’d passed out in a balcony chair, surrounded by books on the end tables, floor, chaise, and my lap. Marathon session. 

“Um.”

“We’re going to visit Gaia. Are you ready?”

I assumed he’d go on this one alone, but enjoying me squirm under her gaze was far more entertaining, and Red liked his laughs. Plus, I asked for the conversation. Blerg. With a sigh that I hoped was silent, I stood up and padded to the bathroom to fix my hair and whatever else that I could repair in ninety seconds.

Prognosis, grim. F*ck it. 

“OK, let’s go.” I snagged a waist sack, adding a quill, plume, ink, and the journal, ready to record any information the Mother of Creation cared to share. Well, anything that wasn’t a bitch about my impertinence. I’d done that entry. At length. No need to belabor.

Poseidon rummaged in the fridge, grabbing a ziplock of leftover cooked bacon. He never fried less than two pounds at a time. Bacon was his happy place. Which was a crowded place, because bacon. I raised an eyebrow.

“A peace offering.” 

If Red thought bribing the creator of pigs with a half dozen slices of their bellies was a great idea, I was rethinking my agreement to tag along for the ride. He could hang without me, basking in her ire. With a booming laugh, he threw an arm around me and we faded.

~~~

Grab Funkin’ Weird: The Record, Book 5 here!

Want to start at the beginning? Grab the series here.

The post Are you ready to get Funkin’ Weird? appeared first on WWINKLE.COM.

Gearing up for a conference and keeping everything ship shape aren’t always a happy co-existence… welcome to How to Trash a Boat 101!

But I’m ready, looking forward to learning to belly dance, have a blast with readers and check out that fabulous Jacksonville skyline. It’s spring, and books galore await.

And the boat can be tidied.

Next week.

Hope to see you in Jax for Book Obsessed Babes!

The post How to Trash a Boat appeared first on Winnie Winkle.

Want to win a bundle of paranormal, SciFi and Fantasy romance books, including Messing Up Magic? Yes Please! It’s contest time, and you’ve only to click and join to get a shot at a veritable slew of great reads. Over fifty titles, including a copy of Messing Up Magic from me.

Grand prize is all the books and an eReader. Second prize is all the books! BookSweeps is a reputable promotion site, and they never share your information. This promo runs through April 20th, so enter now.

Click here.

There’s always a price to pay…

For Haseya, that price means a life of celibacy. A Navajo Skinwalker Witch, her gift of healing forbids her from loving a man intent on pain and destruction.

For Zayn, the price means a life of anger and loneliness. A Djinn, he is torn by the need to seek vengeance.

Zayn will do anything to protect Haseya. When hostile aliens searching for shifters arrive in Magic, New Mexico, he is willing to unleash any force to save the woman he loves and the town under siege that needs him—but will the price of protecting those he loves drive a wedge between him and the beautiful witch he is destined to love forever?

The post Messing Up Magic? Yes, Please! appeared first on Winnie Winkle.

Wow! I’m blown away by the traffic to this series, and to the amazing response… Pixie Prick is zipping to the top!

I’m a fan too! Of readers that is… And this email made my heart skip. “I love, love, love this series! Each book, I think that’s got to be the end, what else could happen, and then BAM! Cleopatra rides again. Please keep going. These books are so funny and real and creative. I want to head to the Boogey myself!”

Thanks so much, Patricia. Emails like yours make writing and publishing feel like the best job on the planet! Thanks for helping to keep Pixie Prick zooming to the top!!!

Curious? Here are your links!

Apple

Amazon

B&N, Kobo, and Others. Plus, Libraries <3

The post Pixie Prick is hot and zipping to the top! appeared first on WWINKLE.COM.

Wow! I’m blown away by the traffic to this series, and to the amazing response… Pixie Prick is zipping to the top!

I’m a fan too! Of readers that is… And this email made my heart skip. “I love, love, love this series! Each book, I think that’s got to be the end, what else could happen, and then BAM! Cleopatra rides again. Please keep going. These books are so funny and real and creative. I want to head to the Boogey myself!”

Thanks so much, Patricia. Emails like yours make writing and publishing feel like the best job on the planet! Thanks for helping to keep Pixie Prick zooming to the top!!!

Curious? Here are your links!

Apple

Amazon

B&N, Kobo, and Others. Plus, Libraries <3

The post Pixie Prick is zipping to the top! appeared first on Winnie Winkle.

Every book baby is different, and Pixie Prick has been surprising. Bumps happened where I never had them before, and other areas that were previously problematic sailed through like butter. 

I suppose that’s why I feel so privileged to be an author. 

Writing never stops evolving, so the opportunity to stretch is unending. As far as I want to push, I can. Think about it; there are no ideas off the table, and any variety of approaches are mine to tackle. I’m better at some than others (you won’t find me winning any poetry contests) but the act of writing is a self-dare to try. 

Amazeballs.

As for the fruition, during the birth of each book the ship’s wheel spins in my hands. I set those courses, lean into new winds, and learn as waves swamp and breeze grows fickle. All of the experience is real, and I’m prone to filling the air with blue clouds of frustrated cussing while deep in the learning curve, but with each book’s release I find fairer winds and seas more inclined to follow.

Readers, within this analogy you are those seas. Your eyes seek my book’s horizons, and each email, review, and conversation about what you discovered in the pages are buoys of continuance. 

Being an author is a privilege, but having invested readers is the joy within the work. For you, with sincere gratitude, I offer Pixie Prick: The Record, Book 4. 

Here’s your Buy Links!

Apple

Amazon

B&N, Kobo, and Others. Plus, Libraries <3

The post This Pixie Prick has Wings! appeared first on Winnie Winkle.

Writing a book could be formulaic, but behind the scenes of Pixie Prick, it was anything but. It all started with an elephant. No, not the kind you eat one bite at a time, and definitely not the 8000 pound one in the room. It was worse. It was the unscratchable itch of curiosity, the insistent tug of characters clamoring for birth. It was this guy.

What could I do with an expressive face like that? Poignant, wise, elegant, long-suffering, this big guy needed a venue. So, I dug in, trying to figure him out. He was a feature in the World’s Fair in Paris in 1889, and at it’s conclusion he took up residence…

In a bar? Oh boy. My type of story to a T.

Or an E.

Either way, I was all in and writing, knitting this Parisian story to my current day fantasy series, also set in a bar, into a tale of trust, betrayal and redemption, with a fat handful of love and pachyderm load of snark.

So from the Moulin Rouge to the Boogie Beach Crab Shack, the threads pulled tighter. Toss in a vindictive pixie king, a passel of talented witches ready to rumble, and a smattering of gods, shifters, and pissed off humans, and you’ve got Patra’s problem: one colossal Pixie Prick has gotta go.

Here’s your links!

Apple

Amazon

B&N, Kobo, and Others. Plus, Libraries <3

The post Behind the scenes of Pixie Prick appeared first on Winnie Winkle.

Welcome to the new world and thanks to my readers for many things, but first, for their assist on choosing my new logo header. I use this primarily in my newsletter, but it also appears on the site.

Readers also shared their preferences when it came time to selecting my new logo! Here it is:

Because I write in three genres, I wanted to create a site reflective of qualities my readers share, and shy away from a look that enticed some while disenfranchising others. My readers love well crafted plots, interesting characters, unpredictable twists, and honest dialogue, whether internal or blasting out into the bar.

Strong female characters, quick witted, genuine, fallible, prone to a feisty fatalism that helps them square their shoulders and wade into the pile… there’s no room for wishy-washy here. I want to finish a first draft scene fist pumping with a audible “hell yeah”. If I’m doing that, I’m writing the kind of story my readers love. Whether it’s a romance full of magical attributes, a hilarious fantasy, or a serious story, my female main characters are BA.

If you’re new, welcome. Join the newsletter and the fun. If you’ve been with me for the long haul, I’m grateful for you. Pixie Prick releases the end of this month, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of Cleopatra O’Keefe’s latest shenanigan.

In the meantime, welcome to the new world, and Slainte’!

The post Welcome to the New World appeared first on Winnie Winkle.

Website rebrand is in the works! If you aren’t on my newsletter, sign up! I’ve got contests and sneak peeks galore. I’m excited to show you what’s next!

The Record, Book 4 is half complete and took an unexpected turn. Killing off characters is traumatic! Stay tuned, I’ll have a page and excerpt up on the revamped site soon!

The post New Year, New Look appeared first on Winnie Winkle.