Marva Dasef's Blog

THE COMPLEAT SERIES #FREE THROUGH HALLOWEEN

The Witches of Galdorheim series is about a witch named Katrina (fondly known as Katwitch by her Orca buddy) who feels she can't stay on the little Arctic Island, Galdorheim. Protected by the community of witches, the island is a sanctuary for any witch who's just had enough of real world nonsense.

Kat has a brother. His name is Rune. He's cute, funny, and can spell up a storm (literally), but must constantly be on guard against his father's legacy. Rune is half-vampire and half-witch. Kat thinks he has all the breaks.

Kat, on the other hand, has difficulty learning and executing even the simplest spells. She blames this lack on her human father. She feels if she can't succeed as a witch, she should go find her father's family and see if they'll take her in. As nomadic Sami fishermen, they might be a bit hard to find. She gets help from an unlikely source or two. Mordita, the local crabby old witch, helps Kat and Rune prepare to cross the icy arctic seas to Norway. Why is Rune going? He finds his sister to be very entertaining in her magical failures and he loves her. He wants to help. The siblings get last minute directions from Kat's not-quite-dead father (frozen in a ice cave...don't ask, it's a long story). 

NOW, you can get the rest of the setup to Kat's adventures in BAD SPELLING. Then, you can follow Kat, Rune, and her grandfather seek the mysterious MIDNIGHT OIL. At last, Kat is ready to go on her summer abroad to visit Stonehenge for Samhain. She just has to drop off a note to the Trow King in SCOTCH BROOM. As with all Kat's adventures, her little brother just has to come along. This trip that might be a horrid mistake.

That's a heck of a lot of set-up to let you know about the COMPLEAT AND TRUE HISTORY OF THE WITCHES OF GALDORHEIM. One volume with all three books, a bonus prequel short story (SPELLSLINGER), and what happens to Rune once Kat has left the island (BLOOD TIES TESTED).

Excerpt:

Turning away from Merry, Kat finishedthe final leg of her pentagram and set the bunny in the center. “Stayright there, Teddy,” she whispered to her little brown rabbit,setting a chunk of carrot in front of him. He made a dash for theedge of the desk. Kat hauled him back. “Cut it out. You’ll smearmy chalk lines.” She stroked his soft fur for a moment. “Hopethis works.” He twitched his nose twice, closed his eyes, andhunkered down.

Kat checked her spell book one lasttime, took a deep breath, and completed the spell with a loud“Fullgerður!” and a dramatic sweep of her arms, justmissing Merry’s head with her wand.

Merry shrieked and jumped out of herchair. She glared at Kat while wiping green goo off the side of herface. “Your rabbit stinks. Just like your spellcasting!”

Kat’s mouth hung open for a moment;then she clamped it shut when she glanced down at what was left ofTeddy sitting in a pool of slime dripping onto the floor. Merry wasright about one thing. The goo smelled like pond scum.

* * *

For the rest of the story, get the Compleat and True History free on Amazon through Halloween.

The Cellophane Queen

#Free October 22nd-26th

BLOOD TIES TESTED - FIFTH BOOK OF THE WITCHES OF GALDORHEIM SERIES
Unfortunate events lead a half-vampire boy into indulging his vampire side, leaving him with regret and sadness. Can dear old Dad help him forgive himself?

Following the events in the series Witches of Galdorheim, this additional tale relates what happens to Katrina the Witch's younger brother, Rune. Half vampire and half warlock, he faces life with a wisecrack and some powerful magic. Whatever happens, he does not want to be a vampire like his father. Unfortunate events lead him to fatally call on his vampire half. This failure leaves him in anguish. How can he assuage the guilt he feels? His mother thinks he needs to visit dead old dad, a vampire residing in the Tatras Mountains of Slovakia.
THE VAMPIRES OF THE F.O.B. CLUB (Forever Off Blood)

ELIZABETH BATHORY

She’s a little old-fashioned and wears clothing appropriate to the17th C.

Elizabeth Bathory regretted she had thrown away the chance forherself. She had forever forsaken the idea of a family. Her mindcruelly flashed to the sight of her lounging in a bathtub, the watercrimson with blood. She shook her head to relieve herself of theflashback to her evil days. She had used the girls brought to herfrom the village. She paid well. The peasants didn’t want girlsanyway and turned a blind eye to the Countess’ dire use. When thegirls disappeared, their parents accepted the gold purse and the liethat their daughter had gone off to the city to find work. Theyaccepted they shouldn’t expect to hear from them again.

Finally, the other nobles could no longer turn a blind eye. Triedfor murder, she stood mute while the servants who had aided herbegged for their own lives with their testimony. It did no good. Theywere hung in the village square after the jury announced the guiltyverdict. But she was a noble and the rope wouldn’t cut her lifeshort. She knew it wouldn’t in any case, but pretending to be dead,getting buried, then having to claw her way out again would have beenannoying, but survivable. Instead, they put her in a high tower withthe windows and door closed with bricks. One small opening, just bigenough for a plate was left to serve her meals.

ANGUS MAC BEATHA
Scottish, 11th C., Mac Beatha - means "son of life." The ancient Scottish Vampire was Glaistig's lover. Glaistig, the Gray Lady, met Rune in Scotch Broom. Angus departed from Scotland when he failed to control his vampire tendencies.

When he learned of Glaistig's death, he was devastated. When her killer arrived on Drakos' castle doorstep, he vowed to kill the youth. In his desire for revenge, he also harms those he loves the most -- his fellow vampires.


COUNT LYONEL PERABO

Lyonel Perabo, with his long black hair, goatee, and mustache wastall and elegant—the consummate Frenchman, except for one littledifference. He had left France to join the Viking raids a thousandyears before. He had thought it a convenient way to sup on humanssince the battlefields were strewn with the near-dead lying in poolsof blood. When the Norsemen settled treaties and stopped their raids,Lyonel had to go elsewhere for his supply. To his perplexity, aDraugr followed Lyonel from the battlefield. Eventually, he spoke tothe monster and discovered he was a man turned to a monster calledThorolf Draugr. The two became friends and hunted together—Lyonelfor the blood and Thorolf for the flesh.

It became more difficult as the years went by. Lyonel and Thorolfhad stumbled on Drakos’ villa whilst stalking a Gypsy caravan. Theythought it would be nice to stop in for a visit with Lyonel’s ownkind, and stayed, converted to Drakos’ philosophy. Thorolf didn’twant blood, so it made no difference to him. Eating an entire elk ata sitting suited him fine.

The Legend of Thorolf Draugr
Drauger- Icelandic Saga- this is an animated corpse that comes forth from its grave mound or shows restlessness on the way to the burial place. This creature is also known as an Aptrgangr (after-goer or one who walks after death.) The Draugr is the roaming undead most frequently encountered in Icelandic Sagas. Whichever name was used, the undead of Scandinavia was a physical body, the actual corpse of the deceased.

TAO LUNG:
Tao Lung, like the others, had spent years terrorizing the Chinvillages for victims. He came across a scholarly man named Zhu Xisitting silently in a beautiful garden. He crept toward the man,believing him to be asleep. Tao Lung was surprised when theConfucian philosopher raised one hand, palm outward. Tao froze,unable to move, and realized he was in the presence of a powerfulmagician. The old man allowed Tao to sit cross-legged before him,arms resting on his knees, and strangely his index finger and thumbtouching forming a strange shape. They remained in this position fordays. When Zhu Xi allowed Tao to move again, the vampire felt atpeace. He was no longer driven by blood lust. Zhu Xi died, as humansdo, and Tao Lung wandered through the countryside imparting the samepeace of mind Zhu Xi had given him. His wanderings brought himeventually to Drakos’ door. As their spiritual guide, he was thekey to the family’s success. When the others wavered in theirresolve, they went to Tao Lung. He need say nothing. The one whoneeded strength sat with Tao Lung as he had sat with Zhu Xi. Whentheir mind was at peace, he released them. They bowed and went abouttheir daily business.

The Legend of the Ch'iang Shih
In China, vampires had long, hooked claws and red eyes. They were known as ch’iang shih, which translates to “corpse-hopper.”

* * *The Cellophane Queen

FREE SCOTCHBROOM OCTOBER 19TH-21ST

Book3 of the Witches of Galdorheim Series

HALLOWEEN IS FOR LEGENDS – HARTAND HOUND

Researching Celtic mythology, I knew Iwanted to use some of the lesser know magical creatures. I alsodecided that they needed to be “like” animals, but not quite. Thereason for this is obvious to readers who’ve been following Kat’sstory from the beginning. Kat’s magical ability is to talk withanimals. She has greater or lesser success depending on the innatebrain-power of a natural animal. For example, she chats along nicelywith Salmon the Orca since a killer whale is the largest of thedolphins and are at the top of the IQ charts. I believe the abilityto communicate to others shows greater intelligence. Sorry. Don’twant to offend any fish out there, but you guys just aren’t thatbright.

I found two mythic creatures who met mycriteria. Sianach, a huge stag (possibly a Red Deer) and Cusith, agiant-sized green dog with a braided tail.

From my favorite source, EncyclopediaMythica https://pantheon.org/articles/c/cu_si...).

Cusith

The fairy dog of Scottish Gaelicfolklore. It is said to be as large as a two-year-old stirk, a darkgreen color, with ears of deep green. It is of lighter color towardsthe feet. In some cases it has a long tail rolled up in a coil on itsback, but others have the tail flat and plated like the straw rug ofa pack-saddle. Its paws are the size of a man's hand.

The cù sìth was usually kept tiedas a watch dog in the brugh, the fairy dwelling, but at timesaccompanied the women on their expeditions. It also wandered aboutalone, making its lair in clefts of the rocks. The dog movedsilently, although some said that it made a noise like a horsegalloping. Its bark was described as a rude clamor, or like that ofanother dog, only louder. There was a considerable interval betweeneach bark, and at the third (it only barks thrice) the hearer wasovertaken and killed, unless he had found a place of safety.

Sianach

"Monster." In ScottishGaelic oral tradition, a large, malevolent, predatory deer.

That’s to thepoint. Other research indicated that the basis for Sianach might bethe Irish Elk, which is now extinct.

Now that I’didentified a couple of mythical critters, then all I had to do is getthem together with Kat. Since she was tricked into entering theOtherworld (land of fey), she has been searching for the hall of theTrow King. She meets Sianach first and he agrees to guide her to KingConnor’s hall. What Kat find strange is that she can’t look intoSianach’s mind; he can close off his thoughts from her. This makesKat a bit nervous since Sianach, while seeming to be amenable tohelping Kat, is also very vague as to his reasons for doing so.

The two begin theirsearch for the Trow Hall, although Sianach claims, reasonably, thatin the Otherworld, there is no such thing as a map to anyplace.They’ll have to seek the Hall in other ways. Apparently, Sianach’smethod is to simply wander around through the swamps.

They camp for the night, and the nextmorning, Kat meets another denizen of the Otherworld, the giant greenhound, Cusith.

Excerpt:

Sianach grazed near the edge of thesmall clearing. When the lean-to disappeared, he raised his head.“Good morning. I thought you were going to sleep all day.”

“You sound justlike my mom.” Kat let out an exasperated snort. “Besides, itcan’t be past eight o’clock.”

“I do not carrya timepiece.”

“Of course, youdon’t.” Kat opened her pack and rummaged through it. “Cool.I’ve still got the granola bar.” Her head snapped up when sheheard something large crashing through the underbrush. Sianach stoodstock still, staring toward the ruckus.

“HHHHRRRRROOOOOWWW!”

“Omigosh,what’s that?” Kat’s voice trembled as she looked to Sianach foran answer. The hairs on her neck and arms stood at attention.

Sianach turnedtoward a nearby tree and struck his antlers against it. The clash ofantler against bark rang like a warning bell. Kat didn’t expect theloud clang coming from horn against wood.

“HHHHRRRRROOOOOWWW!”

“Hide,”Sianach said in a breathy whisper. His head raised now and pointedtoward the howl that sounded closer than before.

Kat did as hetold her but had to ask, “What is it?” just before she crouchedbehind a bush.

“The Hound fromHell,” Sianach replied. He dashed into the woods with antlersthrust forward to meet the howling canine. Kat heard a sharp yip fromthe dog. Sianach must have scored the first strike. Sianach bugled,and the hound yowled. Thuds punctuated the vocalizing, when one orthe other creature struck a blow.

“I have tohelp,” Kat muttered. She jogged across the clearing and pushed herway through the saplings and undergrowth blocking the way. Shefollowed the battle sounds—bugling stag, baying hound, splinteringof small trees being knocked aside. She darted around another largetree and saw the combatants squared off in an area beaten down bytheir fighting. She stopped still, her eyes widened. A huge green dogfaced Sianach, its fangs exposed from under snarling lips. Kat gulpedand stood frozen with fear.

Sianach’s headlowered, and he charged the hound with out-thrust antlers. The dogjumped aside at the last second and leapt on Sianach’s back. Themonstrous creature bit down hard on the stag’s neck. Kat heard thesickening crunch of breaking bones. Blood gushed high, and Kat gaspedat the sheer volume. Kat screamed. “Sianach!”

The hound jumped off Sianach and stoodaside, panting and watching the deer fall to the ground on his side.Sianach’s head dropped, held up only by his antlers, then themighty rack shrank, and his head hit the ground with a thud.

“No!” Katscreamed and raced toward the two. The dog looked away from the dyingstag toward Kat. His lips peeled back in a slathering snarl. Hismuscles tensed to leap on her, and she cast her eyes around trying tofind a defensive weapon. “Of course!” She cast a defense spellaround herself. The hound lunged toward her and smashed into thefragile shield. It shattered and pale yellow splinters like glassscattered through the air. However, it protected Kat for a moment.The hound rolled aside yelping in pain.

Gathering herstrength, she blasted the dog with a clear message: “Sit!Stay!” The hound rose to his feetthen plopped his rear end on the forest floor. His tongue lolled fromthe side of his opened mouth, and his tail thumped on the ground.

Kat’s jawdropped. “Oh! Um, that’s better.” Kat was amazed her commandworked at all. “You stay. That’s a good dog.” She steppedslowly toward Sianach but kept her attention on the dog, watching forany change in his now friendly demeanor.

“Oh, no!Sianach?” She dropped to one knee by the deer and placed her handon his brow. Eyelids fluttered and then opened. Sianach looked up ather. In a weak voice, he said, “That was fun.” He then jerkedhimself upright and stood. Kat jumped back, astounded as she watchedthe wound close, the blood slow, and then stop.

Kat glanced atthe dog and saw that he stayed put. She didn’t know whether to keepwatch on the mutt or try to do something to help Sianach. However,the stag was rapidly healing and soon seemed unharmed, except for thedrying blood on his neck.

“What? How?”Kat stammered. But Sianach was not your average, everyday red deer;he was a creature of magic. It shouldn’t surprise her he couldn’tbe killed.

Turning herattention back to the dog, she looked him over with interest. Hisshoulder was as tall as her own. The dog’s shaggy fur coat was astartling, and quite attractive, forest green, and he sported a long,braided tail. By the shape of his blocky head and the size of hisjowls, Kat thought he must be a mastiff.

“Just what isgoing on here?” she asked, planting her fists on her hips andglaring at both creatures.

Sianach steppedtoward Kat and pointed his rack toward the dog. “Our apologies,Kat. We did not mean to frighten you.”

Kat looked back and forth at the twolegendary beings. She closed her mouth when she realized she’d beengaping. “You scared the stuffing out of me!”

“I would notwant to do that. I imagine you need your stuffing. Meet my goodfriend, Cusith. Cusith, this is Kat, a witch from a far off land.”

The dog raisedhis right paw. Kat hesitated, her adrenaline still pumping.

“I would nothave harmed you,” Cusith said. Kat took his paw and shook it.

Kat shrugged offthe scare and nodded to the big dog. “I’m pleased to meet you,Cusith?”

“Pleased tomeet you, young witch.”

Sianach said,“We’ve been good friends for years. Since neither of us have anyof our own kind to match ourselves against, we fight with each otherfor practice. All in good fun, naturally.”

“Yeah, right.Good fun. You nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought Cusith killedyou, Sianach.”

Both hound andstag broke out in laughter. Cusith with woofs coming up from deep inhis chest. Sianach with a weird combination between a snort and abugle.

“I am trulysorry. I assumed you’d know the creatures of the magic realm cannotslay each other; only an outsider can kill us.”

“Well, I didn’tknow,” Kat replied grumpily. But then she tried to laugh with them.Why not? Everybody was fine, and she learned something new about howthe Otherworld worked. She briefly considered asking whether anOtherworld creature could kill an outsider. Sianach began to tellCusith of their quest, and the thought disappeared as she filled indetails. The giant dog nodded. “Aye, Icould help. After all, my nose is much better than either of yours. Ican probably pick up the scent of the Trow Hall from several milesaway.”

“I’d love tohave you come along, Cusith. I’d never realized there was so muchmore to the Highlands than beautiful scenery.” Kat loosened hertense muscles, relieved the dog was friendly and could be a big helpin the search.

* * * *

SCOTCHBROOM: Book 3 of The Witches of Galdorheim

A magical trip to Stonehenge lands awitch in the Otherworld where an ancient goddess is up to no good.

Kat expects to have a great time on hergraduation trip to Stonehenge. However, from the moment she leavesthe witches’ arctic island, Galdorheim, she gets in nothing buttrouble. Her younger half-brother tries to horn in on her trip, shegets lost in the magical Otherworld realm, is led astray by asupposed friend, then she has to confront a Scottish goddess who’sfallen on hard times.

While dodging the goddess’ minionsand trying to find her way out of the Otherworld, Kat soon learns sheshouldn’t underestimate the old has-been for one second; the cronestill has a few tricks that can drain a witch’s magic in a flash.To make matters worse, Kat's brother secretly followed her into theOtherworld. Now he’s in danger too. Kat has to go one on one withthe goddess to save herself and her brother.

The Cellophane Queen

#FREE 10/17th-21st SCOTCH BROOM
Break out of the same-old Ireland (not that Ireland isn't neat) and step into the Otherworld of Scottish legend and myth. Cailleach is less known than her sister Bride (Bridget), but she used to be the one with the real power. Nowadays, not so much.
Cailleach, the Winter Goddess

Cailleach is a goddess in the Scottish Celtic pantheon. Descriptions of her looks and personality run thegamut from ugly monster or beautiful protector of the land. This split personality goddess is the winter counterpart to the beautiful Bride (Bridget), the goddess of spring.
Living in the Otherworld after theCelts have stopped worshiping the old ones, Cailleach has letherself go to seed. She spends her days attempting to make sense ofthe hags’ potion in Macbeth (Double, double, toil and trouble).When she hears that a witch has come into the Otherworld, she beginsto scheme. If Cailleach can only steal the witch’s magic, she canbe young and powerful again. But the crone is cautious, she sends herminions out to learn more about the witch and to lead her to thegoddess. While waiting for news, she learns that yet another witchhas entered the Otherworld, but this one doesn’t make any sense.Cailleach determines this being is male, thus a warlock, but alsosmells of vampire. She decides to draw in this one like she plans forthe first. But first, she decides to do a little homework.
She sends Bodach, the black giant, togive a message to Glaistig, the only Scottish vampire, to scope outjust exactly who or what this male is: warlock, vampire, or both.
From the Monstropedia on Cailleach (Alas, Monstropedia is no more, but this was what it did say):

Sheis depicted as as having an eye in the middle of a blue-black face,long red teeth, and matted hair. In several stories she appearsbefore a hero as a repulsive hag and suddenly transforms herself intoa beautiful girl. At winter’s end, some accounts say the Cailleachturned into a grey boulder at Beltane until the warm days were over.The boulder was said to be “always moist’, because it contained“life substance’. The Cailleach Beara is ever-renewing and passesthrough many lifetimes going from old age to youth or flesh to stonein a cyclic fashion.

TheCailleach is seen as a seasonal deity or spirit, ruling the wintermonths between Samhain (October 31st) and Beltaine (April 30th),while Bride rules the summer months between Beltaine and Samhain.Some interpretations have the Cailleach and Brìde as two faces ofthe same goddess.

Sheis a bringer of snows, death, and sharp storms. On Samhain theCailleach leaves her mountains and walks the Land. The Cailleach thenproceeds to "wash her plaid". Her plaid represents thesand. When the Cailleach is done the plaid is white and the Land iscovered with snow. She is said to ride on the back of a wolf carryinga wand made of human skin, that she uses to strike down all signs ofgrowth. Behind her follows cold winds, blizzards, and ice. InScotland, she is also known as Beira, Queen of Winter.

It’s easy to see why Cailleach is sointerested in regaining her strength, to become what she had been inthe olden times.

Excerpt:
Cailleach groanedwhen she leaned over and lifted her bare foot high enough to clip hertoenails with the gardening shears. She looked up and sniffed twice.The hag dropped her bare foot, stuffed it into her flipflop, andshuffled to the door. Throwing it open, she held her head high,closed her eyes, and sniffed some more.
“Drat! Notanother witch.” She sniffed again. “Wait, a warlock. No, avampire. Hmm.” She closed the door and slumped into a chair. “Thisis confusing. Maybe there are two.” She went to the woodshed door.Cailleach rapped three times and then stood back as it creaked open.
Bodach, herroommate and minion, dragged his crippled body out of the smallhatch. “Yes, Mistrezz,” he slurred, casting one protruding eyeupwards.
“We haveanother foreigner in the swamp. Get out there and find a skrat tocheck. No, not a skrat. I smell vampire. Find Glaistig and send herto investigate.” Cailleach patted him on the head. “There’s agood boy.”
“Can you tellme where Glaistig is hiding?” Bodach examined his armpit andsniffed.
“Go to thestanding stones on the north side of the loch. She has a cave there.”
“Yes,Mistrezz.” Bodach dragged his limp legs behind him. He began tounfold in a way the eye could not follow. When he reached the door,he needed to bend and shuffle through sideways to fit.
“Bodach, staywith Glaistig and do as she says. She might need some muscle.”
“Yes,Mistrezz.” Bodach ducked and went to seek Glaistig, the Gray Lady.
Cailleach closedthe door behind the giant and sat again. She twanged the long hairprotruding from the wart on her chin. “This is all very disturbing.Two foreigners stomping around in my bog within hours. This second,though, he’s strange. Yes, male. That much is clear. But I smell onhim both warlock and vampire. Very odd, indeed.”
She went to the dusty bookshelf besidethe fireplace. As she tapped each book with her gnarled finger, itspoke its title aloud. The Compleat Book of Bats. Care and Feedingof Monsters. Selling Love Potions on the Internet. Vampires: TheMyths and the Facts. She took this one off the shelf and flippedthrough the pages. An occasional groan or scream emitted from thebook, depending on the chapter topic.
“Ah, here itis. ‘Vampire Half-Breeds.’ Hmm. ‘Cross breedings withwerewolves, ghouls, and Sasquatch have been cited, although most ofthese stories are second-hand accounts at best. It is believed thatvampires could breed with any species; however, it is most likelythis only occurs when the other creature is in an altered form. Thewerewolf, for example, must be in its wolf mode, not its humanaspect.’”
Cailleach stuckher finger in the book to hold her place and plopped down on herrocking chair. She must be mistaken about the invader. This was ascholarly work, although a little dated having been written in 1549.But it seemed to deny the possibility of a warlock-vampire mix. She’dhave to study this a bit more. Still, the vampire smell was strong.Without her power, all she could do was wait for Glaistig to report.The only known true vampire in Scotland, Glaistig wouldn’t waste aminute of darkness beating feet to catch up to the male, determinewhat he was, and report back.
Satisfied she could do nothing more,she leaned back in her rocker, intending to read the rest of thechapter. But sleep overtook her, and she was soon snoring in herchair.

* * *
SCOTCH BROOM: Book 3 of The Witches of Galdorheim A magical trip to Stonehenge lands a witch in the Otherworld where an ancient goddess is up to no good. #FREE 10/17-10/21  Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JKR8XRG  Kat expects to have a great time on her graduation trip to Stonehenge. However, from the moment she leaves the witches’ arctic island, Galdorheim, she gets in nothing but trouble. Her younger half-brother tries to horn in on her trip, she gets lost in the magical Otherworld realm, is led astray by a supposed friend, and then she has to confront a Scottish goddess who’s fallen on hard times.

While dodging the goddess’ minions and trying to find her way out of the Otherworld, Kat soon learns she shouldn’t underestimate the old has-been for one second; the crone still has a few tricks that can drain a witch’s magic in a flash. To make matters worse, Kat's brother secretly followed her into the Otherworld. Now he’s in danger too. Kat has to go one-on-one with the goddess to save herself and her brother.The Cellophane Queen

Christopher Columbus was a real-life monster. He shouldn't be honored, I don't care what the Italian-Americans think. For one thing, Columbus never set foot on American soil, but he ravaged, looted, and pillaged the Caribbean. Previously, I suggested this should be renamed Saint Bartolome Day. How about we honor the people he worked so hard to destroy through his greed and cruelty. Chief Joseph was a great leader and worthy of honor.

It's fitting to rename this day  Indigenous Peoples' Day . That's what I have on my calendar. I hope it's also on yours and Columbus should be forgotten forever.
And we must not forget Canadian Thanksgiving Day . A lot to celebrate, but celebrate for the right reasons. Sorry, my Italian friends, but Columbus doesn't cut it as a hero.

























I have had Native American characters in a couple of my books. This gave me the opportunity to do a bit of study on the tribes in Oregon. I in no way pretend to be an expert on anything Native American, but I did share some aspects as they fit into the plots of my books. I don't mean to make this self-aggrandizing, but I'm a writer. I can't help it.
BOTH OF THESE BOOKS FEATURE NATIVE AMERICAN CHARACTERS and ARE FREE in the KU/KOLL Program. There are also audio versions of them. 

EAGLE QUEST

Fiona, Hap, Billy, and Mitch make an odd set of friends, as different from the usual junior high school crowd as they are from each other.

Mitch, the oldest of the four, is a half-breed Native American, adopted by white parents. Troubled that he doesn't know his tribe, he avidly studies Native American history and lore. Learning the nearby Bear Valley Wildlife Refuge is a bald eagle nesting site, he wants to add an eagle feather to his medicine bag and explore the refuge as a site for his Vision Quest, a Native American rite of passage. He and his three friends get far more than an overnight campout as they encounter a black bear, a retired forest ranger living in the refuge, and a pair of eagle poachers. Bringing the poachers to justice, they test their courage and gain confidence in themselves and each other. 

MISSING, ASSUMED DEAD
When Kameron McBride receives notice she’s the last living relative of a missing man she’s never even heard of, the last thing she wants to do is head to some half-baked Oregon town to settle his affairs. But since she’s the only one available, she grudgingly agrees.

En route, she runs afoul of a couple of hillbillies and their pickup in an accident that doesn’t seem . . . accidental. Especially when they keep showing up wherever she goes. Lucky for her, gorgeous Deputy Mitch Caldwell lends her a hand, among other things. Her suspicions increase when the probate Judge tries a little too hard to buy the dead man’s worthless property.

Working on a hunch and trying to avoid the Judge’s henchmen, Kam probes deeper into the town’s secrets and finds almost no one she can trust. With Mitch’s help, she peels away the layers of prejudice, suicide, murder, and insanity. But someone in town doesn’t like her poking around, and when they show their intentions by shooting her through the police chief’s office window, the stakes are raised. Kam must find out what really happened to her dead relative before someone in this backward little town sends her to join him.

And she thought Oregon was going to be boring.

The Cellophane Queen

 Book 2 of the Witches of Galdorheim

MIDNIGHT OIL – FREE October 12th - 16th

Cetonee Nessie

Inthe second book of the Witches of Galdorheim series, our erstwhileheroine gets a little help from an unusual source. Did you everwonder why there are so few sightings of the Loch Ness monster? Well,Nessie vacations on Ultima Thule, which may be the remnants ofAtlantis.

She'snot fond of the name Nessie or Loch Ness Monster and prefers to go byCeto. From http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Ceto:

In Greek mythology, Ceto or Keto (Greek: English translation: "seamonster") was a hideous aquatic monster, a daughter of Gaia andPontus. The asteroid (65489) Ceto was named after her, and itssatellite (65489) Ceto I Phorcys after her husband. She was thepersonification of the dangers of the sea, unknown terrors, andbizarre creatures. Eventually, the word "ceto" becamesimple shorthand for any sea monster. The term cetacean represents acase in point. Her husband was Phorcys and they had many children,collectively known as the Phorcydes or Phorcydides. In Greek art,Ceto was drawn as a serpentine fish. Ceto also gave name to theconstellation Cetus.

Cetoin Midnight Oil

Cetoand Nessie become one. She’s not a bad, um, person, but muchmisunderstood. She finds my heroine adrift in the northern seassitting on a block of ice. Oh, yeah, I should mention that the blockcontains the body of her father. Ceto finds this all fascinating andhelps my heroine dock the ice block at Ultima Thule and find amessenger to send for help from the Witches' Island of Galdorheim inthe Barents Sea.

Excerpt

Kat sat cross-legged on the ice, onehand clutching the rope, and looked down at her father’s face. Hiseyes were open but unseeing. The deep gash on his forehead didn’tdo much for his appearance. She hoped when he reached Siberia for hisfinal burial, the Samis would fix him up a bit. She knew it didn’tmatter, but it would make her feel better.

A wave came out of nowhere; the iceblock rose and fell almost knocking Kat into the water. She clutchedat the ropes and looked in all directions, but the sea remained calm.She frowned, wondering how… Then, a light bulb blazed inside herhead when she sensed something large passing under her makeshiftboat.

Kat edged herself up on her knees,keeping a tight hold on the ropes. She scanned the water closely, andto her right, she saw a dark shape under the water. A whale, perhaps.Maybe her calls finally got results.

The shape turned and came back towardthe ice block. It stayed several feet below, so Kat could only makeout a dark shadow as it glided beneath her. The ice block lifted anddropped again. She looked to her left to see a long neck stretchedout, followed by a bulky, black body. A short tail emerged from underthe block and slapped down on the water. It sprayed Kat’s face withicy droplets but didn’t drench her.

The dark shape rose slowly upward.First, a small head appeared, and Kat thought it might be a seal, andthen the long neck emerged. Her mouth dropped open, and her eyesfollowed the head upward until she had her neck bent back as far asshe could. The creature regarded her with huge, dark eyes, seemingtoo big for the little nob of a head. Its skin was dark gray, almostblack. Kat noticed how smooth it appeared. She wanted to reach out totouch it. She thought better of that notion when the creature’smouth opened and revealed rows of sharp teeth.

A voice spoke inside her mind. “Whoare you, little girl?”

“Little girl? Why, I’m almost…”Then, thinking it’d be rude to argue with her only potentialrescuer, she finished, “I mean, I’m a witch, from an island…”Kat looked around and waved her hand, “somewhere out there.”

“You wearthe skin of a seal, and you can speak to creatures of the sea. Areyou, perhaps, a selkie in human form?”

“Selkie? No,I’m just a witch from Galdorheim.”

“Hmm. Howcame you to be on that block of ice?”

“I’ve answered your questions,”Kat said, peeved at being grilled by a sea monster. “Now you answerone for me. What are you? And where did you come from?”

“That’stwo questions.”

“Well, you asked two, so answer up!”Kat sensed she need not be afraid. The sea monster, as she nowthought it to be, did not send any warning signals. It was simplycurious.

“I am me.”

Kat frowned.While harmless, the creature seemed to have an evasive streak. Whydid it show itself to her if it didn’t want to talk?

As if it heardKat’s thoughts, the creature said, “Verywell. The world has called me many names. Sometimes Nessie from whereI once lived.”

“You’re theLoch Ness monster? I thought that wasjust a legend.” Kat stared in wide-eyed wonder at the mythicalcreature who might, if she could work it out, be her rescuer.

“No legend, but I left the loch yearsago. Too many curious people.”

* * *

MIDNIGHT OIL Book 2 of the Witches of Galdorheim Series

Shipwreckedon a legendary island, how can a witch rescue her boyfriend if shecan’t even phone home?

Kat discovers that an evil forest spirit has kidnapped herbrand-new boyfriend. She sets out with her brother, Rune, fromher Arctic island home on a mission to rescue the boy. Things gowrong from the start. Kat is thrown overboard during a violent storm,while her brother and his girlfriend are captured by a mutant islandtribe. The mutants hold the girlfriend hostage, demanding that theteens recover the only thing that can make the mutants humanagain–the magical Midnight Oil.

Mustering every bit of her Wiccan magic, Kat rises to thechallenge. She invokes her magical skills, learns to fly anultralight, meets a legendary sea serpent, rescues her boyfriend, andhelps a friendly air spirit win the battle against her spitefulsibling. On top of it all, she’s able to recover the Midnight Oiland help the hapless mutants in the nick of time.

The Cellophane Queen

 BADSPELLING (Book 1) - FREE October 7th - 11th

A klutzy witch, ashaman's curse, a quest to save her family. Can Kat find her magic intime?

The entire Witches ofGaldorheim series has a few characters featured in all the books. Ithought introducing the stars of the series a good setup for theWitch Extravaganza month of October. Oh, yeah, it's BIG!

Trolls in the Witches of Galdorheim

Trolls. What do you imagine? Maybesomething like the big ugly pictured here. In my Witches ofGaldorheim series, I wanted a cave-dwelling bunch of uglies, butdwarves didn’t seem right for my book. Then I started hearing musicinside my head. You know how that goes, right? It builds and buildsuntil it has you screaming in frustration, willing to even listen tosome other music to at least swamp the tormenting sound.

But before I could find a MP3 file of"Henry the VIIIth" by Herman’s Hermits, I stopped andlistened. My muse was whacking me in the head via earworm. The musicwas Grieg’s Hall of the Mountain King from the Peer Gynt Suite.Duh. Trolls.

Despite the canards on trolls from thelikes of Artemis Fowl or Pratchett’s Discworld, I thought theycould be heroic if given sufficient ale.

From the Free Dictionary/Encyclopedia:

A troll is a fearsome member of amythical race from Norse mythology. Originally more or less theNordic equivalents of giants, although often smaller in size, thedifferent depictions have come to range from the fiendish giants –similar to the ogres of England – to a devious, more human-likefolk of the wilderness, living underground in hills, caves or mounds.

Hey! They’re not all flesh-eatinggiants who turn to stone in the sunlight. Some are devious littleguys who live in wilderness areas (no doubt protecting endangeredmagical species).

In Bad Spelling, Katand her smart-aleck half-brother, Rune, (also happens to be avampire, but has absolutely no resemblance to the Twilight guy exceptthey’re both cute as hell) are directed by Kat’s flash-frozen dad(Rune calls him a pop-sicle) to visit the Troll King. At the Hall,she requests assistance from King Ole, the Norwegian Troll King. Hearranges for her and Rune to ride the Trollercoaster, which starts inNorway and ends up in the Ural Mountains. From there Kat, Rune, and achangeling troll named Andy travel to Siberia to find Kat's family.

Clearly, trolls are good. They arenice, helpful, cheerful, and sing fairly well too. Yet aspersionscontinue to be cast upon these misunderstood creatures. Shame on allof you for making them the bad guys all these years!

Excerpt from Bad Spelling -  Chapter Fifteen - Three Trolls on aBridge

Kat ran to where her brother and thethree trolls faced each other. The trolls stood shoulder to shoulder,their big, splayed feet firmly planted in front of the footbridge.They bared their chunky yellow teeth and growled at Rune. Althoughhardly reaching Rune’s shoulder, they each outweighed him. Clearly,the trolls did not intend to let him cross. Looking up and down thestreamlet, Kat wondered at their careful guarding of the bridge. Kindof silly, she thought, since anyone could easily step across therivulet without even getting wet feet. She wondered if these werechildren, given their short stature. However, their long kniveslooked very grown-up.

Enunciating each word, Rune held hishands out to show they were empty. Kat had no idea what her brotherwas saying since Rune was speaking Old Runish. Except for a fewspell words, Kat didn’t understand the ancient tongue.

Evidently, neither did the trolls. Runespoke again, louder this time, and took one slow step forward. Atthis move, the troll on the left lunged at them, jabbing at Rune withhis knife. Rune sidestepped the rush, and the troll, taken offbalance, stumbled and fell flat on his face. Kat stepped over thetroll and grasped his arm but only caught hold of his sleeve. Hescreamed and pushed her away. The other two trolls ran at her withtheir knives raised, yelling as they advanced.

Rune stuck out his foot and tripped themiddle troll. The last troll standing went after Rune. The youngwarlock threw up his hands, arms crossed to fend off the attack. Abright red light arced from his hands to hit the charging troll inthe face. The troll dropped his knife and fell to the ground,screaming and rolling around with his hands pressed over his eyes.Rune snatched up the knife and held it to the middle troll’s neck.Kat sat on the one she grabbed, pulling the knife from his flailinghand. The recipient of Rune’s flash attack kept his hands over hiseyes.

Rune spoke again in Old Runish,shouting to make himself heard. It didn’t do any good; the trollsall continued screaming and squealing at the top of their lungs.

Kat jumped up from the troll’s backand grabbed Rune’s hand, pulling the knife away from the troll’sneck. “Rune,” she yelled, “tell them we won’t hurt them!”

The thrashing troll froze then turnedhis cumbersome head toward her.

“You can speak our language!” Heslapped the troll nearest to him, who abruptly stopped screaming. Theone whose neck Rune held the knife to spread his fingers to peek atRune and Kat.

Rune released the troll and stood up,looking a little sheepish. “I just assumed—” He stopped thenshook his head.

Kat crouched on her knees next to oneof the trolls lying on the ground and patted him on the shoulder. “Wemean you no harm. We’re Wiccans from Galdorheim. Maybe you’veheard of it?”

Slowly, the trolls climbed to theirfeet, looked at Kat, then at each other. The three trolls huddled,conferring together. Kat heard a murmur but couldn’t make out whatthey said.

Kat continued, searching for something to say. “My AuntThordis…” Three pairs of troll eyes turned to her and openedwide. They stared at Kat. The middle troll elbowed the one on hisleft, who giggled. The troll on the right gave a great whoop oflaughter then slapped the middle troll on the back. All three trollsbroke into huge guffaws and ended up leaning on each other, wipingtears from their eyes. Rune and Kat stared open-mouthed.

** *

BADSPELLING- Book 1 of The Witches of Galdorheim Series

A klutzy witch, a shaman's curse, aquest to save her family. Can Kat find her magic in time?

Can Kat find her magic in time? Ifyou’re a witch living on a remote arctic island, and the entireisland runs on magic, lacking magical skills is not just aninconvenience, it can be a matter of life and death–or, at least, adarn good reason to run away from home. Katrina’s spells don’tjust fizzle; they backfire with spectacular results, oftentimesinvolving green goo. A failure as a witch, Kat decides to run awayand find her dead father’s non-magical family. But before she can,she stumbles onto why her magic is out of whack: a curse from aSiberian shaman. The young witch, accompanied by her half-vampirebrother, must travel to the Hall of the Mountain King and thefarthest reaches of Siberia to regain her magic, dodging attacks bythe shaman along the way.

The Cellophane Queen

 We're celebrating my favorite holiday - HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

The freebies start flowing on the 7th and every day there's a free book for the clickity-clicking.

7TH - 11TH BAD SPELLING

A klutzy witch, a shaman's curse, a quest to save her family. Can Kat find her magic in time?

Can Kat find her magic in time? If you’re a witch living on a remote arctic island, and the entire island runs on magic, lacking magical skills is not just an inconvenience, it can be a matter of life and death–or, at least, a darn good reason to run away from home. Katrina’s spells don’t just fizzle; they backfire with spectacular results, oftentimes involving green goo. A failure as a witch, Kat decides to run away and find her dead father’s non-magical family. But before she can, she stumbles onto why her magic is out of whack: a curse from a Siberian shaman. The young witch, accompanied by her half-vampire brother, must travel to the Hall of the Mountain King and the farthest reaches of Siberia to regain her magic, dodging attacks by the shaman along the way.

12TH - 16TH MIDNIGHT OIL

Shipwrecked on a legendary island, how can a witch rescue her boyfriend if she can’t even phone home?

Kat discovers that an evil forest spirit has kidnapped her brand-new boyfriend. She sets out with her brother, Rune, from her Arctic island home on a mission to rescue the boy. Things go wrong from the start. Kat is thrown overboard during a violent storm, while her brother and his girlfriend are captured by a mutant island tribe. The mutants hold the girlfriend hostage, demanding that the teens recover the only thing that can make the mutants human again–the magical Midnight Oil. Mustering every bit of her Wiccan magic, Kat rises to the challenge. She invokes her magical skills, learns to fly an ultralight, meets a legendary sea serpent, rescues her boyfriend, and helps a friendly air spirit win the battle against her spiteful sibling. On top of it all, she’s able to recover the Midnight Oil and help the hapless mutants in the nick of time.

17TH - 21ST SCOTCH BROOM

A magical trip to Stonehenge lands a witch in the Otherworld where an ancient goddess is up to no good.
Kat expects to have a great time on her graduation trip to Stonehenge. However, from the moment she leaves the witches’ arctic island, Galdorheim, she gets in nothing but trouble. Her younger half-brother tries to horn in on her trip, she gets lost in the magical Otherworld realm, is led astray by a supposed friend, and then she has to confront a Scottish goddess who’s fallen on hard times. While dodging the goddess’ minions and trying to find her way out of the Otherworld, Kat soon learns she shouldn’t underestimate the old has-been for one second; the crone still has a few tricks that can drain a witch’s magic in a flash. To make matters worse, Kat's brother secretly followed her into the Otherworld. Now he’s in danger too. Kat has to go one-on-one with the goddess to save herself and her brother.

22ND - 26TH BLOOD TIES TESTED

Unfortunate events lead a half-vampire boy into indulging his vampire side, leaving him with regret and sadness. Can dear old Dad help him forgive himself?

Following the events in the series Witches of Galdorheim, this additional tale relates what happens to Katrina the Witch's younger brother, Rune. Half vampire and half warlock, he faces life with a wisecrack and some powerful magic. Whatever happens, he does not want to be a vampire like his father. Unfortunate events lead him to fatally call on his vampire half. This failure leaves him in anguish. How can he assuage the guilt he feels? His mother thinks he needs to visit dead old dad, a vampire residing in the Tatras Mountains of Slovakia.

27TH - HALLOWEEN! - THE COMPLETE AND TRUE HISTORY OF THE WITCHES OF GALDORHEIM

The Witches of Galdorheim series is about a witch named Katrina (fondly known as Katwitch by her Orca buddy) who feels she can't stay on the little Arctic Island, Galdorheim. Protected by the community of witches, the island is a sanctuary for any witch who's just had enough of real world nonsense.
Kat has a brother. His name is Rune. He's cute, funny, and can spell up a storm (literally), but must constantly be on guard against his father's legacy. Rune is half-vampire and half-witch. Kat thinks he has all the breaks.
Kat, on the other hand, has difficulty learning and executing even the simplest spells. She blames this lack on her human father. She feels if she can't succeed as a witch, she should go find her father's family and see if they'll take her in. As nomadic Sami fishermen, they might be a bit hard to find.
 She gets help from an unlikely source or two. Mordita, the local crabby old witch, helps Kat and Rune prepare to cross the icy arctic seas to Norway. Why is Rune going? He finds his sister to be very entertaining in her magical failures and he loves her. He wants to help. The siblings get last minute directions from Kat's not-quite-dead father (frozen in a ice cave...don't ask, it's a long story). 
NOW, you can get the rest of the setup to Kat's adventures in BAD SPELLING. Then, you can follow Kat, Rune, and her grandfather seek the mysterious MIDNIGHT OIL. At last, Kat is ready to go on her summer abroad to visit Stonehenge for Samhain. She just has to drop off a note to the Trow King in SCOTCH BROOM. As with all Kat's adventures, her little brother just has to come along. The Cellophane Queen

Toxic Deceit by D.L. Keur
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the 3rd book of the series, we see the continued growth of Mike's relationship with his co-workers. No romance here. Just solid respect and a coolish friendships warming up even with the flighty Rayne. She's Mike's forensic expert and she's learning how Mike operates as the Chief Deputy in Sheriff's office. This time the two, plus another deputy are investigating what appear to be poisonings. There doesn't seem to be much in common with the victims, but that is key in discovering the spree killer's motives and who they are.

Corporal Rayne Rankin is key with her role as a forensic investigator. Over the previous two books, she's been a difficult character with her dislike of the Chief Deputy--she thinks he's too quiet, which spooks her. That and her previous relationship with a Native American man that ended badly makes it hard for her to develop a good working relationship with the taciturn Mike "Midnight" Murphy.

Then there's King who was Mike's partner in the military. With one leg amputated, King might have been put down, but Mike brought his brave friend home with him when he left the military. Midnight's prosthesis clicks on uncarpeted floors, giving Rayne warning so she doesn't act a fool being startled by the preternaturally quiet Mike.

The three plus Deputy Jefferson work together to solve the spree killings. Nope. No hints on the who or why there. Read the book to find out all about the mystery. That's why we readers all love mysteries, right? We want to solve the crime with just enough hints from the author to lead us to the correct conclusions.

If you haven't yet read books 1 and 2, you should read them first to get a feel for the relationships between the characters, including the dog. That will make book 3 a more satisfying read although it stands on it's own in the development and reveal of the crime.


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The four major annual events include two Solstices (summer and winter) and two Equinoxes (autumn and spring).

September 22nd is the official first day of autumn and is celebrated in the Pagan/Wiccan tradition as Mabon, the time of harvest, gratitude, and sharing. No doubt, the pagan tradition had a lot to do with the celebration of Thanksgiving in Canada and the US. However, the day divided into equal parts of dark and light, is an excellent marker for any tradition and, most countries to have some kind of harvest celebration.


The Autumnal Equinox is the basis for the myth of Persephone's return to the Underworld after a half year of growth and greenery. If you recall your Greek mythology, you'll know that Persephone was kidnapped by Hades (god of the underworld) to become his wife. Demeter, Persephone's mother and goddess of the harvest was understandably peeved. After a period of mourning and struggle, Demeter eventually got her daughter back from Hades, but only for nine months of the year. Every fall, Persephone would return to the underworld to spend three months with Hades. During these months, Demeter refused to use her divine skills to make plants grow, explaining why we have three months of winter every year.

In Christian tradition, the equinox is Michaelmas Day. Did you know you've been missing a reason to party? These days, Michaelmas is a minor festival mainly observed in the Catholic church. Centuries ago in England, the time around Michaelmas also had a business side. Servants were paid their wages after the harvest, and workers looked for new jobs at employment fairs which also became a place for celebrations.

And let us not forget The Mayan Snake of Sunlight. At the precise moment of the equinox, when the Sun shines directly on the equator, an enormous “snake of sunlight” slithers down the stairs of the main pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico. The Mayans who constructed this ancient temple used advanced astronomical calculations to determine the exact angle of the staircase.

Japan has the Higan Festival, China and Vietnam celebrate the Moon Festival, Indian parties for several day for Havaratri, a celebration of the divine feminine Devi.

So, you have lots of good reasons to celebrate September 22nd. Why not at least lift a glass of grog or pumpkin spice latte to say goodbye to summer and hello to the beginnings of winter.

The Cellophane Queen