Beth Trissel's Blog, page 27

The hum of bees is the voice of the garden. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

“Gardening requires lots of water — most of it in the form of perspiration.” ~Lou Erickson~ This quote repeated in my mind while I weeded this afternoon. The sun came out after cold rainy days and the meadow shone like a green jewel in the glorious light. All was bright and beautiful.

(Image taken by my mom)

“Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes.” ~ And a lot of herbs, flowers, wild flowers, vegetables, and weeds.  Many of my plants were sown by the birds, or carried in by the wind. My goal is to have a garden for butterflies, bees, birds, and people to enjoy. The cats like it too.

“The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there.” ~George Bernard Shaw

I’ve spotted this little warbler in the back garden. They migrate through in the spring and fall, wish they’d stay. I purchased this image because none of us are fast enough to capture him ourselves.

In every gardener there is a child who believes in The Seed Fairy. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

No matter how many seeds we have, it’s never enough. I count my wealth in seeds and just ordered some more. Seeds are filled with promise of the magic to come. The garden is magical. I believe in seed fairies too.

“In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful.” ~Abram L. Urban

The garden uplifts my spirits and is a perfect place to dream lovely dreams.

“It is good to be alone in a garden at dawn or dark so that all its shy presences may haunt you and possess you in a reverie of suspended thought.” ~James Douglas,Down Shoe Lane

(My favorite rose, Abraham Darby, by daughter Elise)

(Native blue phlox.  Image by Elise)

“Weather means more when you have a garden. There’s nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans.” ~Marcelene Cox

“It is a golden maxim to cultivate the garden for the nose, and the eyes will take care of themselves.” ~Robert Louis Stevenson

“Gardens are a form of autobiography.” ~Sydney Eddison, Horticulture magazine, August/September 1993

(Owl Cat in the garden. Image by my hubby)

“Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity.” ~Lindley Karstens, noproblemgarden.com

(Salad Garden. Image by Elise)

“You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt.” ~Author Unknown

“The garden is the poor man’s apothecary.” ~German Proverb

“No two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden.” ~Hugh Johnson

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Abraham Darby Rose, garden cat, Gardening, heirloom poppies, Iris, native blue phlox, salad patch, spring, The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, warbler

YA Fantasy The Hunter’s Moon Reduced to .99!

Normally 3.99, The Hunter’s Moon (Book #1 The Secret Warrior Series) is .99 from May 6th–May 20th.  Book #2, Curse of the Moon, came out on the 4th, so it’s good time to snap up the first in the series.

Seventeen-year-old Morgan Daniel has been in the witness protection program most of her life. But The Panteras have caught up with her and her younger brother. Her car is totaled, she’s hurt, and the street gang is closing in when wolves with glowing eyes appear out of nowhere and chase away the killers.

Then a very cute guy who handles a bow like Robin Hood emerges from the woods and takes them to safety at his fortress-like home.

And that’s just the first sign that Morgan and her brother have entered a hidden world filled with secrets…

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Hunters-Moon-Secret-Warrior-ebook/dp/B017OCROM8

At Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hunters-moon-beth-trissel/1122902086

At iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-hunters-moon/id1060906948?mt=11

Filed under: Uncategorized, YA fantasy romance series Tagged: adventure, coming of age, fantasy, Magic, Paranormal, romance, shapeshifter, urban, YA, Young adult

Release Day for Curse of the Moon (Book 2, the Secret Warrior Series)!

Curse of the Moon (Book 2, the Secret Warrior Series) is a YA fantasy/paranormal (with romance) adventure set present-day in our Virginia Mountains. Those hazy ridges hide a lot of secrets…

Story Blurb:

The bad news? Morgan Daniel’s wolf is out of control. The good news? There’s a treatment. She just has to get a potion from a lizard shifter witch–without looking into the witch’s eyes. Easy, right? But when the witch puts a spell on her younger brother, Morgan has to do the witch’s bidding to save him.

Fortunately Morgan isn’t alone. She has Jackson to lean on, a few witches coming into their powers, a secret warlock, and the always mysterious Chief Okema. What could possibly go wrong?

Curse of the Moon is available in kindle and print at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Curse-Moon-Secret-Warrior-Trissel-ebook/dp/B01DH16746

At Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/curse-of-the-moon-beth-trissel/1123602026;jsessionid=9398AF2D51525C41D6BCD74A5FCE11AF

At iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/curse-of-the-moon/id1104810183?mt=11

My publisher, The Wild Rose Press, carries the story in various eBook formats and print. Curse of the Moon is available from all online booksellers.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: adventure, dark paranormal, dark urban fantasy, romance, shapeshifters, The Secret Warrior Series, Thriller, werewolves, YA, Young adult

Traitor’s Curse won Creme de la Cover and is up for two more awards!

“A wonderfully spun novel that will keep a reader engaged till the end.” ~Stephanie Lodes for InD’tale

Historical/paranormal romance novel, Traitor’s Curse (Book 3, The Traitor’s Legacy Series) is on on a roll lately. The cover won Creme de la Cover’s weekly and then monthly contest, so it will be featured in a quarter page and then full-page advertisement in InD’tale Magazine. Here’s the win announcement link.

The novel has also been nominated for the Reader’s Choice Award at The Romance Reviews. Voting runs through April 30th at: http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=20356

You must be signed in to vote.

Traitor’s Curse is also a RONE finalist in the American Historical category at InD’tale. Voting for this category is from May 9th–May 15th at: http://indtale.com/2016-rone-awards-week-four

The story is second from the bottom of a very long list. Votes are welcome. Again, you must be signed in first.

Below is the beautiful advertisement daughter Elise put together for the upcoming spot in InD’tale Magazine.

Traitor’s Curse is available in print and kindle at Amazon, and in eBook from all online booksellers. http://www.amazon.com/Traitors-Curse-Legacy-Book-ebook/dp/B0165WGROE

***The novel is in need of more reviews. If you’re interested in giving an honest review, please contact me here or at: bctrissel@yahoo.com

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: American historical, award-winning, ghostly, gothic, Halifax, Historical/paranormal, North Carolina, Romance novel, the Traitor's Legacy Series, Traitor's Curse

When Your Publicist(s) Are Feline

My faithful, ofttimes naughty, kitties Peaches and Cream (both male–don’t tell Peaches he has a sissy name) are helping promote my May 4th release, YA fantasy/paranormal Curse of the Moon (Book 2, The Secret Warrior Series). Cream (below) is particularly naughty, unless you want your toilet paper, paper towels, etc, shredded. And he’s a climber. Cream was especially taken with the paperback, so I removed the temptation before he nibbled it. But hey, when your publicist(s) are feline, you do the best you can. Amazon will have the print at least by release day. My publisher, The Wild Rose Press, has it now.

Peaches (below) wasn’t as excited as Cream by the book, but he’s a good sport and happy to pose for pics. He’s a laid-back kitty who would be far better behaved if not tempted into naughtiness by his brother. Peaches is easily led. He has a water fetish and loves a dripping faucet, and knocking items into the sink to see them get wet. Blocking the drain with a hand towel is super fun. He’s fallen into the bathtub, more than once. So has Cream. Both steal everything they can lay their paws on, so if something is missing, or broken, we know who to blame. And yes, I love them to pieces, so all is forgiven. Especially now they’re helping with promo. Not my favorite thing.

Curse of the Moon (Book 2 The Secret Warrior Series) is in pre-order now, out May 4th. If you haven’t read book 1, The Hunter’s Moon, you might want to do that. It’s a shorter novella, so not also in print. Book 3, The Panther Moon, is with my editor. I’ve begun book 4.

Blurb for Curse of the Moon:

The bad news? Morgan Daniel’s wolf is out of control. The good news? There’s a treatment. She just has to get a potion from a lizard shifter witch–without looking into the witch’s eyes. Easy, right? But when the witch puts a spell on her younger brother, Morgan has to do the witch’s bidding to save him.

Fortunately Morgan isn’t alone. She has Jackson to lean on, a few witches coming into their powers, a secret warlock, and the always mysterious Chief Okema. What could possibly go wrong?

Kindle Link for The Hunter’s Moon: http://www.amazon.com/Hunters-Moon-Secret-Warrior-ebook/dp/B017OCROM8

Kindle Link for Curse of the Moon: http://www.amazon.com/Curse-Moon-Secret-Warrior-Trissel-ebook/dp/B01DH16746

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: coming of age, fantasy, new YA release, Paranormal, romance, shifter series, The Secret Warrior Series, urban fantasy, YA

“To be taken with a mixture of pounded frogs” ~ Herbal Lore

Agrimony is dark green with numerous soft hairs that aid in its seedpods sticking to any person or dog passing by, the reason it’s not in my garden, though I’m pondering a spot for it somewhere on our farm. The slender spikes of yellow flowers rising from this plant give it the English name, ‘Church Steeples’. Agrimony has a lengthy bloom time and the spicy scent of the flowers are compared to apricots. The leaves, when dried, retain much of their fragrance and have been a much sought after addition to tea.

Herbalists over the centuries have extolled the virtues of agrimony. Its name comes from the Greek ‘Argemone’ for healing to the eyes. From ancient times, agrimony has been used for many ailments and injuries, particularly skin eruptions and wounds. It’s the origin of the French herbal lotion eau de arquebasade, a treatment for gunshot wounds. Agrimony has an age-old reputation as a popular medicinal herb among country folk. Easy to grow or gather, the plant was heavily relied upon and employed as a spring tonic, blood purifier, gargle, a remedy for coughs, fevers, sores, jaundice…It also produces green, gold, and yellow dyes, and is used in tanning leather. In A Modern Herbal, Ms. Grieve relates, “In the time of Chaucer, when we find its name appearing in the form of Egrimoyne, it was used with Mugwort and vinegar for ‘a bad back’ and ‘alle woundes’: and one of these old writers recommends it to be taken with a mixture of pounded frogs and human blood, as a remedy for all internal hemorrhages.”

I have to stop right here and comment. Pounded frogs and human blood mixed with Agrimony for all internal hemorrhages. Hmmm…it wonders me, as the Pennsylvania Dutch say, whose blood we’re to mix in. Probably someone else’s. And what would the proportions of pounded frog be to the herb and blood? No exact measurements are given. Just a spoonful of this and a cup of that. I suspect it would take more than a spoonful of sugar to help that medicine go down.

The herbalist Gerard declares: “A decoction of the leaves is good for them that have naughty livers.” Got that? It treats naughty livers.

Beyond its healing attributes, agrimony is reputed to have magical properties. In The Scots Herbal, Tess Darwin says the Gaelic name, mur-druidhean, may derive from the use of agrimony by healers to treat spiritual troubles. She relates the account of an unfortunate Scotsman, Ferquhar Ferguson, tried for witchcraft in 1716 after he admitted using agrimony to cure elf-shotten people. Apparently, a common affliction. Ferguson maintained a voice he heard while sleeping instructed him to pull the plant in the name of the Holy Trinity.

Elf-shot are persons or animals who’ve fallen ill after being shot by the arrows of malevolent elves. Don’t you hate it when that happens? Especially when the treatment gets you landed on trial for witchcraft. The poor man was guided by the Holy Trinity, what more did they want?

Also from A Modern Herbal: “The magic power of Agrimony is mentioned in an old English medical manuscript: ‘If it be leyd under mann’s heed, He shal sleepyn as he were deed; He shal never drede ne wakyn, Till fro under his heed it be takyn.’” (That’s darn useful to know.)

“The herb that can’t be got is the one that heals.” ~ Irish Saying

***An excerpt from my herbal, Plants for A Medieval Herb Garden in the British Isles, available in Print and kindle at: http://www.amazon.com/Plants-Medieval-Garden-British-Isles-ebook/dp/B00IOGHYVU

Nonfiction Herbal

An illustrated collection of plants that could have been grown in a Medieval Herb or Physic Garden in the British Isles. The major focus of this work is England and Scotland, but also touches on Ireland and Wales. Information is given as to the historic medicinal uses of these plants and the rich lore surrounding them.

Journey back to the days when herbs figured into every facet of life, offering relief from the ills of this realm and protection from evil in all its guises.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Agrimony, elf-shot, growing herbs, herb garden, herbal lore, medicinal herb, physic garden, Plants For A Medieval Herb Garden in the British Isles, wound treatment

Rhubarb Pudding Time

One of my spring rites is making rhubarb pudding from the plants that have grown along the garden wall since well before my time, and I’ve lived here for several decades.  I’ve added some of the new, deeper red rhubarb plants over the years, but only one has survived.  This improved cultivar seems to lack the vigor of the old.  So I cut a few stalks from it, then return to the faithful clumps for the bulk of my harvest.  Today was my first pilgrimage to the rhubarb patch and I returned to the kitchen with a goodly supply of stalks.  Now the pudding is chilling in the fridge in the big brown and white pottery bowl I’ve had for ages.

I love this stuff.  Not everyone does. Rhubarb may be an acquired taste, but many of our little people like it, and young children haven’t had much of an opportunity to acquire a taste.

I don’t use an actual recipe because, as with many old Southern dishes, my mother-in-law taught me how to make this, and I’ve adapted it somewhat, but I’ll take a stab at a recipe for you.

(Rhubarb growing in the garden below)

Cut or purchase several good handfuls of rhubarb. The amount can vary. Chop the stems into two inch pieces and put them in a large saucepan (I use a 2-3 quart one) and barely cover with water.  Simmer, stirring frequently, until the stems are completely broken down.  Then whisk the cooked pieces until smooth.  Season with sugar to taste (I use about one to two cups depending on the amount).  Add two-three heaping tablespoons of instant tapioca (again, depending on how much liquid you’ve used) and simmer until the tiny pearls are clear. Add 2-3 tablespoons of strawberry gelatin and stir until dissolved.  Set mixture aside and chill in fridge until it sets. Add cut up strawberries if available after the pudding has cooled.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Old Southern Recipe, Rhubarb, Rhubarb Pudding, spring gardening, The Shenandoah Valley

YA Fantasy Romance, Curse of the Moon (Book 2, the Secret Warrior Series) available for Pre-order!

My unfolding YA fantasy romance series, Secret Warrior, continues with Book 2, Curse of the Moon. The story is available for pre-order in kindle. Release date is May 4th. I’m finishing up book 3, The Panther Moon, now.

Story description:

The bad news? Morgan Daniel’s wolf is out of control. The good news? There’s a treatment. She just has to get a potion from a lizard shifter witch–without looking into the witch’s eyes. Easy, right? But when the witch puts a spell on her younger brother, Morgan has to do the witch’s bidding to save him.

Fortunately Morgan isn’t alone. She has Jackson to lean on, a few witches coming into their powers, a secret warlock, and the always mysterious Chief Okema. What could possibly go wrong?

Reserve your copy at: http://www.amazon.com/Curse-Moon-Secret-Warrior-Trissel-ebook/dp/B01DH16746

Filed under: Uncategorized, YA fantasy romance series Tagged: adventure, coming of age, Magic, New release, Sci-Fi / Fantasy, Secret Warrior series, shapeshifters, teen and young adult, werewolves, YA fantasy, YA romance

If You Love Herbs

Nonfiction Herbal

My herbal, Plants for a Medieval Herb Garden in the British Isles, is reduced to.99 in Kindle through the 29th. The print book is a lovely option for those of you who prefer a book you can hold in your hands.

Daughter Elise designed the print book and did the gorgeous cover. Both the print and kindle formats are filled with wonderful images. In addition to being a book about herbs from the Middle Ages in the British Isles, it’s also about many of those plants commonly known today. Colonists brought a lot of their beloved herbs with them when they came to the New World.

Book Blurb: An illustrated collection of plants that could have been grown in a Medieval Herb or Physic Garden in the British Isles. The major focus of this work is England and Scotland, but also touches on Ireland and Wales. Information is given as to the historic medicinal uses of these plants and the rich lore surrounding them. Journey back to the days when herbs figured into every facet of life, offering relief from the ills of this realm and protection from evil in all its guises.

At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Plants-Medieval-Garden-British-Isles-ebook/dp/B00IOGHYVU

Filed under: Herb gardner, herbal lore, Uncategorized Tagged: alternative medicine, Gardening, growing herbs, herb garden, Herbal, herbal lore, medieval, nonfiction herbal, sale

“If you’re enough lucky to be Irish, you’re lucky enough!”

“St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time – a day to begin transforming winter’s dreams into summer’s magic.”  ~Adrienne Cook

“May those who love us, love us. And those who don’t love us, May God turn their hearts; And if He doesn’t turn their hearts, May He turn their ankles, So we will know them by their limping.” ~Irish Blessing

Contributed by my husband. :)

“May your blessings outnumber

The shamrocks that grow,

And may trouble avoid you

Wherever you go.”

~Irish Blessing

“Gin ye find a heart that’s weary.

And that needs a brither’s hand,

Dinna thou turn from it, dearie,

Thou shouldst help thy fellow man.

Thou mayest have a hidden heartache,

Sacred from all mortal kin,

And because of thine own grief’s sake,

Thou maun feel for ither men.”

“For ’tis green, green, green, where the ruined towers are gray,

And it’s green, green, green, all the happy night and day;

Green of leaf and green of sod, green of ivy on the wall,

And the blessed Irish shamrock with the fairest green of all.”

~Mary Elizabeth Blake

“When we feel restless, impatient and discouraged because we have lost something prized or loved, let us remember the first and last verses of Mrs. Wheeler’s beautiful poem, ‘Recompense:’

“Straightway through my heart this fact to-day

By truth’s own hand is driven;

God never takes one thing away,

But something else is given.

It is the law, complete, sublime;

And now with faith unshaken,

In patience I but bide my time

When any joy is taken.”

An Old Irish Blessing~and my favorite

“May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

*Royalty free pics of Ireland

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Ireland, Irish, Shamrock, St. Patricks Day