Michelle L. Levigne's Blog, page 34
March 20, 2023
EXPLORE NEIGHBORLEE, OHIO -- Humorous contemporary urban fantasy
Neighborlee, Ohio Book 6Quitting the Hero Biz
Jane Wilson disappeared when she was a child. When she learned to make herself invisible, her teachers made her disappear from Neighborlee Children's Home. And just in time, too -- before some nasty folks known only as the Rivals tried to take her away, to turn her into a weapon.
Years later, she used her semi-pseudo-superhero powers to become the Ghost, defender of the little town of Fendersburg. The plan was to attract the attention of the Rivals, and lure them into a trap. Unfortunately, the people of Fendersburg got lazy, and soon grew so dependent on the Ghost to fix all their problems, they stopped thinking for themselves.
So Jane quit being the Ghost. In the wake of the odd events during the holidays in Neighborlee, she returned to her roots. Her mission:
Find out what happened to all the Lost Kids who lived in Neighborlee Children's Home.
Find out what the Rivals are looking for in Neighborlee.
Find the guardians.
You can get all the Neighborlee, Ohio books directly from Ye Olde Dragon Books, in paper, ebook, and audiobook.
Click on the storefront
SPECIAL!!!!!
Buy 2, get 1 FREE
(your choice of ebook or audiobook – we will contact you once the order processes. There are FOURTEEN Neighborlee books – so lots of chances to fill in your library and get 1 out of 3 FREE!)
March 18, 2023
Ye Olde Dragon's Library: Episode 12
Are you a member of my patreon group?This is important, because the first goodie is available after anyone has been a member at least 2 months.
If you've read my 'Na, Ambrose and Fang the bunny stories in the Ye Olde Dragon Books anthologies, then you've probably been wondering just how Fang the bunny became partially changed into a vampire.
THIS is the episode, in Fang's adventures with Ash, where you find out just how -- and why only partially.
If you haven't read the 'Na stories ... here's your chance to get the first adventure. As an added bonus -- at least, I think it's a bonus -- this story, Daughter of the Beastly Beauty, was a finalist in the short story category of the Realm Awards in 2022!
All members of the Ye Olde Dragon's Library Patreon group can request the ebook of Daughter of the Beastly Beauty, and it will be sent to you via Book Funnel.
If you're not a member yet, you can join, then send me a not that you want the story, and after the 2nd months of membership, I'll send it to you.
And keep your eyes open, because more 'Na stories have been written and will be written. Coming up is the latest 'Na adventure in the Perchance to Dream anthology, with stories based on Sleeping Beauty. 'Na's story is called Box of Beauty -- or Beauty in a Box. I haven't decided yet at the time of this posting. Perchance to Dream comes out May 1 from Ye Olde Dragon Books. Watch for it. It's gonna be jam-packed with fun, thought-provoking, shivery, silly stories. Promise!
https://yeoldedragonbooks.com/ye-olde-dragons-library-storytelling-podcast/
Want to support the podcast?
Find us on Patreon: Ye Olde Dragon's Library
March 16, 2023
EXPLORE NEIGHBORLEE, OHIO -- Humorous contemporary urban fantasy
Neighborlee, Ohio Book 5Night of the Living Proof
The shadows from Lanie's past continue to haunt her and her friends as Neighborlee moves from Christmas to New Year's Eve. Something or someone is tampering with the magical defenses of the town. Things and people disappear and reappear, with no explanation, and gaps in memories and time. An age-old nemesis is gathering its strength for another attempt to shatter the door that Divine's Emporium holds shut.
Sylvia Grandstone returns, and she's got her sights set on Daniel, Lanie's new boss. It's the same old Grandstone scheme to gain power and wealth by any means possible, including marriage. It would be easy to blame Sylvia for the new problems and mysteries, applying the Jessica Fletcher theory of crime-solving: the most famous guest artist is the murderer. However, Sylvia's years in Hollywood never got her anywhere near star status, and no one would ever believe she could be a criminal mastermind. Or so the guardians would like to believe.
As New Year's Eve approaches at Eden, the Neighborlee community center, the disappearances and time gaps increase. Instead of trying to convince town officials to cancel the New Year's Eve party, the guardians prepare for a showdown, and brace themselves to do what they have always done: defend the people of Neighborlee from the outside world, and defend the outside world from the magic and wonder and general weirdness that is Neighborlee, Ohio.
You can get all the Neighborlee, Ohio books directly from Ye Olde Dragon Books, in paper, ebook, and audiobook.
Click on the storefront
SPECIAL!!!!!
Buy 2, get 1 FREE
(your choice of ebook or audiobook – we will contact you once the order processes. There are FOURTEEN Neighborlee books – so lots of chances to fill in your library and get 1 out of 3 FREE!)
March 15, 2023
Off the Bookshelf: ENCORE IN DEATH, by JD Robb
Guilty pleasure time.I finished a few projects, so when the library notified me the book was in, I ran out to get it and dove in -- and stayed up reading very late/early in the morning several nights in a row.
Eliza Lane, actress adored by thousands, wealthy and talented, has come full circle. She is about to launch a revival of the play that made her famous 25 years before. Of course, that much success comes with enemies and people who blame her for their misfortunes. So there are quite a few suspects when her husband dies, poisoned by a drink meant for her.
Such a high profile death brings in Eve Dallas and her team, and they start digging into Eliza's past. Even with a suspect in custody, Dallas isn't satisfied. Something doesn't feel right. She knows she has to go back 25 years to that play where Eliza was the understudy and stepped into the role that made her career when another actress died tragically. Who was there, what did they know, and who had a score to settle with Eliza after all these years?
March 13, 2023
EXPLORE NEIGHBORLEE, OHIO -- Humorous contemporary urban fantasy
Neighborlee, Ohio Book 4Living Proof (That No Good Deed Goes Unpunished)
Lanie saved her student's life on Senior Prank Night, but broke her back and blunted some of her semi-pseudo-superhero powers.
Now it's four years later, and Lanie's orderly life is starting to fall apart.
Her brothers are living with her while their parents are out of the country on another book research trip.
Not so bad, but their parents have missed two check-in phone calls already.
The newspaper where Lanie works has been taken over by a conglomerate she now refers to as the Evil Empire -- and she loses her beloved school sports beat, to write the (gag) lovelorn column.
Then Col. Hayward shows up to say their parents have vanished ... near the Bermuda Triangle.
A series of increasingly nasty pranks lead her to believe someone is out to get her.
But worst of all, Christmas is only a few weeks away and she hasn't started her Christmas shopping or her holiday baking spree.
It's enough to make a semi-pseudo-superhero hang up her cape!
Oh, yeah, she never had one to begin with ...
You can get all the Neighborlee, Ohio books directly from Ye Olde Dragon Books, in paper, ebook, and audiobook.
Click on the storefront
SPECIAL!!!!!
Buy 2, get 1 FREE
(your choice of ebook or audiobook – we will contact you once the order processes. There are FOURTEEN Neighborlee books – so lots of chances to fill in your library and get 1 out of 3 FREE!)
March 11, 2023
Ye Olde Dragon's Library: Episode 11
Feedback?Where are you listening to the podcast?
On the Ye Olde Dragon Books website, or through a dedicated postcast app?
How did you hear about the podcast?
The first person who responds in these comments will get a free ebook download of the story that actually launched this whole strange, fun storyline: DAUGHTER OF THE BEASTLY BEAUTY, which I wrote for the first Fairytale Anthology from Ye Olde Dragon Books. In each succeeding anthology, I've been relating the adventures of Belladonna, known as 'Na, daughter of the lord and lady of the enchanted castle. With LIARS' QUEST, I've started relating the adventures of 'Na's parents, how they got to the castle and tamed it. (That's just the simple explanation ...)
Every few months, I'll be releasing each of 'Na's stories as an individual ebook short story, and members of the Patreon group for Ye Olde Dragon's Library will have a chance to get those short stories for free, a month before they're available for sale online.
Question for today's podcast: Do YOU trust Morris the vampire to keep his word and get Ash, Fang, and the ring out of the caverns ... alive?
Answer in the chat -- and let's chat!!!
https://yeoldedragonbooks.com/ye-olde-dragons-library-storytelling-podcast/
Want to support the podcast?
Find us on Patreon: Ye Olde Dragon's Library
March 9, 2023
EXPLORE NEIGHBORLEE, OHIO -- Humorous contemporary urban fantasy
Neighborlee, Ohio Book 3Virtually London
Athena Longfellow and Doni Halliday are granddaughters of one of Neighborlee’s guardians, Ford Longfellow. When danger threatens Neighborlee, the girls awaken to their duties and their gifts, and slowly grow into their heritage.
Athena, the computer whiz, finds and experiments with an unusual video camera at Divine’s Emporium. She records Doni, and then records a room at the shop -- and inadvertently opens a door to another dimension. Properly frightened, she shuts down the program behind firewalls. Enemy invasion thwarted. For now.
She doesn't realize she also created a virtual copy of Doni, until an advanced computer class in college, when the artificial intelligence that calls herself London Holiday "moves into" her team's class project.
Athena suddenly has a good idea how Dr. Frankenstein felt. The question is: If she has to pull the plug on London Holiday … how?
You can get all the Neighborlee, Ohio books directly from Ye Olde Dragon Books, in paper, ebook, and audiobook.
Click on the storefront
SPECIAL!!!!!
Buy 2, get 1 FREE
(your choice of ebook or audiobook – we will contact you once the order processes. There are FOURTEEN Neighborlee books – so lots of chances to fill in your library and get 1 out of 3 FREE!)
March 8, 2023
Off the Bookshelf: 21 COURAGEOUS PRAYERS, by Gary Rohrmayer
Confession time: I'm lousy when it comes to praying. Bible study, no problem. Reading commentaries and joining spiritual discussions. No problem.Having a conversation with God that goes beyond "gimme"? Yeah, problem.
Sometimes my day starts off with, "God, make me a blessing to someone. Make me productive. Help me honor You." Or sometimes more along the lines of, "Please don't let me embarrass You." If I'm on top of things and really getting off to a good start. And my evening prayers are often along the lines of, "Thanks for today, Lord. Thanks for all the things I got done. Thanks for keeping us safe. Thanks for helping (whoever). Please heal (whoever)." Yeah, kind of repetitive, and not very mature.
And not really conversations that prompt spiritual growth, and grow a solid foundation so I can actually be useful for the Kingdom. Know what I mean? Because there's always so much to do every day, I dive in, and don't pray much until I'm ready to end the day. Not good.
My pastor recently preached a series of sermons based on this book, and recommended that the congregation read this book to prepare for the lessons and prompt thinking and discussion and growth.
The topics of the 21 prayers are taken from Psalms, and focus on revealing more about God's character and how to relate to Him, how to look at Him, grow closer to Him. This is something I'm going to have to re-read multiple times until it starts to sink in and I apply it. Kind of ironic -- I need to pray about this to see any kind of change.
March 6, 2023
EXPLORE NEIGHBORLEE, OHIO -- Humorous contemporary urban fantasy
Neighborlee, Ohio Book 2Semi-Pseudo-Superheroes
High school is rough enough, but the town of Neighborlee, Ohio, has traditions that make it even harder -- culminating in Senior Prank Night, when some seniors try to ensure they never walk through graduation. Lanie and her friends even have to cut short their own Senior Prank Nights to protect their classmates. It's rough being a semi-pseudo-superhero, especially when you don't even get a costume or a cool name.
Lanie and her friends grow into their duties as guardians. The threats to Neighborlee grow darker as enemies gather from many different directions. Other worlds. Other dimensions. Possibly even the Lost Kids who were stolen years ago. The guardians do whatever it takes to protect their home.
And sometimes the guardians pay the ultimate price.
You can get all the Neighborlee, Ohio books directly from Ye Olde Dragon Books, in paper, ebook, and audiobook.
Click on the storefront
SPECIAL!!!!!
Buy 2, get 1 FREE
(your choice of ebook or audiobook – we will contact you once the order processes. There are FOURTEEN Neighborlee books – so lots of chances to fill in your library and get 1 out of 3 FREE!)
March 4, 2023
Ye Olde Dragon's Library: Episode 10
Well, this time Ash and Fang are in an even bigger spot of trouble than just being chased by a cranky old miser and his guard dogs.Did you have some fun with the discussion of what was true vampire lore and what was just nonsense and utterly useless? Funny thing is, a lot of what we nowadays consider vampire lore was made up by Hollywood ...
How do you think Ash is going to get out of this mess? She can't escape the way she got in, because soldiers are waiting.
What do you think she'll find, going forward?
Are you expecting her to meet up with a few vampires during her journey underground?
What would you think about having vampires, maybe these specific vampires, show up in later stories, as she makes her way to the enchanted castle and the enchanted forest, and finds out the truth about her magical heritage? Would you be interested in maybe some stories about the vampires in these specific caverns? Maybe what happens to them right after Ash leaves them behind? If she manages to leave them behind. For all you know, she might find out she's had a vampire or two on her tail from the moment she steps out into the sunshine ... because you never know, with vampires.
Let's talk about it!
https://yeoldedragonbooks.com/ye-olde-dragons-library-storytelling-podcast/
Want to support the podcast?
Find us on Patreon: Ye Olde Dragon's Library
