Michelle L. Levigne's Blog, page 144

In the Spotlight: HAVE YOURSELF A FAERIE LITTLE CHRISTMAS

Hey ... even magically gifted people need love!

Especially the ones with magical problems!!!

Maurice -- the exiled, shrunken Fae with wings even Tinkerbell would scorn -- has one wish: to be real for Holly, the librarian. In her dreams, they are in love, but she doesn't remember or see or hear him when she's awake. He is only allowed is one day, four times a year, to be full-sized, able to talk with her and try to win her heart. Christmas is coming, and his next day as an ordinary man. As he waits impatiently for his rendezvous with Holly, life goes on in Neighborlee, Ohio. Albeit, life in Neighborlee isn't what most people would call normal. Especially when three couples come to town with various magical dilemmas to resolve.
Bethany is a local girl who became a Hollywood starlet. All she wants is an ordinary Christmas, sans paparazzi. With the help of Harry and his malfunctioning invisibility spell, she just might get it. And a lot more.

Wilfred and Philomena are best buddies, and their Fae relatives want them separated so each one can find their true love. But what happens when your true love is under your nose, and you can't convince him -- or her -- of that important little fact?
Lori is allergic to mistletoe, and on the run from her aristocratic relatives who want to pair her with an "appropriate" Fae man. She hides out in Neighborlee and meets Brick, who has some romantic interference problems of his own. He believes in magic -- but can he believe in Fae or think she's insane when she tells him the truth?

Christmas is the most magical time of the year -- especially for Fae in search of love in Neighborlee, Ohio.
From Uncial Press.

The BARROO Report

Now's the time to get great bargains on e-books (especially mine .... )

HOLIDAY SALE AT UNTREED READS

This includes a number of holiday-themed titles at reduced prices (30% off). This sale run through January 1 -- but even though there's time, WHY WAIT????

Great bargains are available at: http://bit.do/winterholidaysale

These are NOT encrypted files, so when you purchase one format, you get them all (epub, Kindle, and PDF). Gifting is also possible from the site as is sending titles to a Nook or Kindle. And well, y'know, my Uncial Press titles are available here, especially the fun, sometimes, silly, fantasy novels set in Neighborlee, Ohio -- including the perfectly appropriate HAVE YOURSELF A FAERIE LITTLE CHRISTMAS.

Speaking of Christmas .... since Christmas Eve is only a week away now, time to send your Christmas e-card.

Have a blessed Christmas!!

Day 4 in the 20 Days of Tabor Heights Countdown!

Today's book is the 1st of 2 Tabor Heights novels dealing with students at Butler-Williams University.

A BOX OF PROMISES takes places during the summer, while Day 3's book, BWU STORIES actually starts in the winter, winter semester, and finishes in the summer, overlapping the events of BOX.

Confused? Don't be. It's a BIG campus, and while the students in
each book are aware of what's happening to the others, they're way too busy with their own problems, adventures, and starting to fall in love, to get in each other's way.

I actually got the idea for BOX from a writing friend who was working on a series of stories, about women in a family who passed a magical-type box down through the generations, and had to put a token in the box related to their wish coming true -- and since it was a romance, the wish had something to do with finding true love. I took the magic out -- left the possibility of romance in -- and came up with college girls with big plans and dreams for the summer, who record their dreams and then set off to find out if they come true.

Off the Bookshelf: THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS, by Debbie Macomber

Don't you love book exchanges?
All the fun of getting new books to read -- without the guilt of spending money!
And another bonus -- books you know you won't read again get passed on to new homes, and people who might just decide they're keepers.

At the December meeting of my ACFW chapter, we had a book exchange. I decided since I had so many books still waiting to be read, I wouldn't bring anything home. Until ..... I saw a Debbie Macomber book was in the pile. A book I hadn't read yet.

Well, that's not hard -- she has so MANY published now. Even if you have all the Cedar Cove books and snatch up every new Blossom Street hot off the presses, there are still a lot more books to find and read -- and keep.

THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS is actually 2 novellas, plus a knitting pattern and Christmas recipes. What fun!

The first novella -- the title story -- is about Cassie, who is tired of being lonely and wants to find her perfect match for the perfect Christmas. The trials and mishaps she endures at the hands of a professional matchmaker are funny and cringe-worthy at the same time. Everybody has been in a situation similar to at least one Cassie has to endure. At the end, of course, she finds true love. But she has to fight for him -- against him!

The second novella, CAN THIS BE CHRISTMAS? follows a handful of people stuck on a train when the storm of the century interferes with plans to travel home for Christmas. At first they're all caught up in their own concerns, sorrows, and problems, but as they band together to make the situation less miserable, and as a few Christmas miracles happen, a miserable night stranded in a storm turns into a celebration, providing healing and hope.

Well, what else do you expect from Debbie Macomber? Add it to your collection.

In The Spotlight: DIVINE'S EMPORIUM

Today we move the Spotlight to NEIGHBORLEE:

An odd little town that's a combination of Roswell, Eureka, and Buffy's Sunnyvale ... but without the vampires or weird science!

DIVINE'S EMPORIUM

How does a Fae exiled among Humans get his life back? Matchmaking is a start…
Maurice used his Fae magic to help the downtrodden and abused. But when he went too far, the Powers-that-be decided he needed to learn humility, self-restraint, and mercy. They took away most of his magic, shrunk him down to 5 inches, and slapped wings on his back that no self-respecting Fae would be caught dead in. Then they exiled him to the Human realms, to work out his sentence helping Humans.
His destination: Divine's Emporium, a curiosity shop touched with magic, on the edge of the odd town of Neighborlee, Ohio.

His parole officer: Angela, the proprietress of Divine's Emporium, touched with magic and a shadowy past of her own.
His sentence: Help the Humans who come into Divine's to find answers, freedom, their own magic, and true love. Not necessarily in that order.

His problem: How does a five-inch-tall Fae, invisible to most Humans, win the heart of the ugly duckling who has caught his interest, his sympathy, and then his heart--when she can't see or hear him?
Published by Uncial Press.

Day 8 in the 20 Days of Tabor Heights Countdown

Today is the 8th day in the Tabor Heights countdown -- 8 books until the end!

TRUCK STOP ANGEL, the 20th and last Tabor Heights books (at least, for right now -- who knows? I could dream up another year of Tabor Heights stories and start writing them ...) will come out this week.

Today's book, INVITATION TO A WEDDING launches Year Two of the Tabor Heights books. The germinal idea for this book came from the opening sequence of a TV series that I never really watched, unless I was spending time with friends who wanted to watch it. Anybody remember a show called "Northern Exposure," about a doctor who had to repay his funding by working in an Alaskan town for a few years? I think I watched 4 complete episodes, and the idea for INVITATION came from an episode I never finished.

Essentially, there was a big party everyone looked forward to every year, very fancy, and the implication that if you weren't invited, there was something wrong with you. Well, the doctor's invitation got lost and never reached him. I never watched to see if he would admit to anyone that he wasn't invited, or if he would crash the party or if he would make up excuses for not going, thereby insulting all his friends and the influential people in town -- who he thought had snubbed him. Get the idea?

The idea stayed with me -- what if, by mistake or interference or misunderstanding, someone was left out of the wedding plans for someone she considered her best friend, as close to a sister as she would ever get? And somewhere along the line, it turned into a romance, with the bride's brother turning into Prince Charming and turning the heroine into Cinderella.

As a side note: during the year, as Drake and Stacy exchange emails, you get glimpses into what else is happening in Tabor during that year, so you get an idea of all the other stories taking place.

Off the Bookshelf: HOG INSANE, by Carole Brown

Jingle bells
Ain't it swell?
Readin' good books
by a friend?

Couldn't resist that...

I've been waiting a while to read this book. I do try to pick up copies of books by my writing friends ... but with so many books already on my shelves and in my various reading apps on my iPad ... not so easy actually READING those books. (You'd think reading 1 book per week would be pretty easy to do, wouldn't you? HAH!)

HOG INSANE is the first book in the Denton and Alex Davies mystery series by Carole Brown, a fellow member of ACFW-Ohio. It's been glaring at me every time I opened up my Kindle app for what feels like months, tapping a metaphorical toe and saying, "Well? When's it gonna be MY turn?"

Well worth waiting for -- but take my advice -- don't wait! Read this one, because the next one is hot off the press, BAT CRAZY, and I know it's going to be just as much fun, with a healthy dose of "Don't go in that dark building!" and nail-biting and "Come on, come on, don't trust him!"

Denton and Alex are a newly retired couple who have set off across the country in an RV. He's pretty happy about it -- she ... not so much. Personally, I think Alex nagging Denton about eating more healthy is her way of getting back at him for dragging her around the country. The "hog" in the title is a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and figuring out what happened to it and why and where it is after the rider is killed is just a small part of the mystery.

I like Alex and Denton, their byplay, their affection and frustration toward each other, their partnership. It was a fun book, even though there was lying and murder and threats and danger, and even one nasty guy who took a shot at their dog! Read the book, get hooked on Carole's characters and the series. You won't regret it.

In the Spotlight: TRUCK STOP ANGEL

Coming in another week:

The 20th Tabor Heights novel.
Year Two, Book 8

Also the LAST Tabor Heights novel.

Coming from Desert Breeze Publishing.

Hope and Seth's high school argument sent her into Ricky's arms. Nine years later, she is free of her forced marriage, but not the stigma. When Ricky flees the law, Seth returns to her life.
Surrounded by criticism and threats, Hope finds shelter with her foster-family and their new diner. With their help, she puts her life back together, and her children begin to heal.

Seth wants to be there for Hope, but their past mistakes make them both hesitant to love again. What can he do to defeat his rival when Hope doesn't seem to realize how feels, after all he has done to be her knight in shining armor?
Interested in reading some excerpts? Check out the Tabor Heights Today blog all this month -- in between the focus book every even-numbered day for the 20 Days of Tabor Heights scavenger hunt!

The BARROO Report

WHEW! What a week -- and it's not over yet.

I haven't written a single word all week, and I had hoped to have a good chunk of revisions of "The Wicked Queen" done by now. Like I looked at it this morning for the first time and found the first correction I need to make. The previous book, "The Wolf that Was" stated that wicked Queen Sorcha had been turned into a shriveled old crone with only a few teeth. Well, the 4th paragraph states, "thank goodness Kalista had left her with a full set of teeth" .... umm, how do I get around that glitch between a book written 6 years ago, and now? Oh, well, that's what revisions are for!

Between a massive editing job -- fascinating book by a missionary -- and then getting hit with proofreading jobs from the other publisher I work for -- and then the memorial service for my cousin's wife's (cousin-in-law?) mother -- and taking my brother to another doctor appointment in the long journey to get his electric wheelchair replaced (hurrah!! 1 step closer) it's been a CRAZY busy week.

God is good. I'm managing to get my quotas almost done each day. Really looking forward to getting together with some ACFW friends to just talk books and each other's writing projects. And RELAX this weekend! (yeah, dream on ..........)

If you're within driving distance of Akron, DO visit Stan Hywet Hall. The lighting display at Christmas is incredible! The grounds are gorgeous any time of the year, but walking around at night, in the snow, with the lights flashing and Christmas carols playing, and then stopping in the carriage house for souvenirs and hot cider or hot chocolate ... perfect! I'm looking forward to the Nooks and Crannies tour next week with my writing friends, Mary Ellis and Tamera Warden Kraft -- behind-the-scenes, all the servants areas. Kind of like Downton Abby .... but here in Ohio!

20 Days of Tabor Heights -- Day 11

Today, we're halfway through the scavenger hunt.

This is also the 10th book in Year One of the Tabor Heights series.

If you're curious about Tabor Heights, you can visit my website -- www.Mlevigne.com -- and read the thumbnails of each book.

There's no right or wrong place to start. There are two "years" that the books belong to, and events overlap within the years, so just like any small town, when you meet one person and get to know them, follow their story, you'll hear about other events going on and other lives that intersect with the person you're becoming friends with. So start anywhere -- start with the story that interests you, and then pick up other stories.

Today's story didn't start out as a Tabor book, and it went through a number of revisions before I realized it belonged in Tabor Heights, that Abby, our pilot heroine, was cousin to Dr. Daniel Morgan, who teaches theater at Butler-Williams University. And I "discovered" that Tyler had come to town earlier in the year to become the director of another local community theater, and was also good friends with Xander Finley, of Common Grounds Legal Clinic.  I love it when books that I've written to stand alone sort of pull together, forming a community, almost as if I'm writing about real people. I hope you feel the same way about the people and stories and romances in Tabor Heights.