R. Leonia Shea's Blog, page 4

Free Series Beginning

I just posted Unplanned Magic - the prequel short story for free on Amazon.com. Unplanned Magic. Enjoy!

Dr. Arienne Cerasola is sure the mysterious writing in Saint Cieran's monastery is important. It's certainly more interesting than brushing dirt off dead monks. The more she's told to ignore the writing, the more tempting it becomes. Magic + temptation = a life-changing experience.

Start the series for free!

Now Free on Amazon!

The first story in the Relic Hunter series is now free on Amazon.com! This is a short story about how Dr. Arienne Cerasola went from field archaeologist to relic-hunting witch. You’ll meet Pooka, Dr. Stanley Ash (he’s a jerk), Basir and Ari as they search the ruins of Saint Cieran’s Monastery in Ireland. Its a fun little story that’s a great lunch-time read! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007NO85J4

Cover Teaser

Cover Teaser

Yes, I use Google Earth to Plot.

Yes, I write urban fantasy books about an archaeologist who is also a witch.  My heroine is often accompanied by a smarty-pants owl, the mythical trickster spirit Coyote, and a spectral blue beaver who’s made out of water.  She has adventures, looks for magical relics, and gets in many laugh-out-loud funny situations.

That doesn’t mean I don’t research for my books.  I do loads of research!  I hunt through legends and myths, use reference books on magic, and plot some of my novels using Google Earth.  Yes, I have maps, and I measure distances and look around the places that I write about.  I write fantasy – but I need to base it in reality.

That’s not saying I don’t take some artistic license, though.  I sometimes change the names of places, but there is always a thread of reality that runs through my books.  With Legendary Magic, I spent a long time reading the Arthurian legends and researching the monks of the Cistercian order.  I read the Native American legends (that’s where Coyote came from), and I take Dr. Arienne Cerasola around the world, virtually.   

My books need to have a framework that makes sense to me because I love history.  I want you to have fun, but I’d also like to share a little bit of information about a legend or a time in history.  Yes, Arienne looks at a lot of dead monks, but that’s because there’s so much history there.  So when I launch Jealous Magic, I’ll update my list of sources (because there are many) – for now, enjoy the links in the sidebar. 

[image error]And here’s the second snippet of the cover…the cover reveal’s coming up on goodreads soon.

New Cover Reveal!

New Cover Reveal!

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New Cover for one of my favorite books

I just updated the cover for one of my favorite books! I love the new look and it’s available right now on Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DAIOMPI

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Calypso “Caly” Mendelsohn relies on her worn deck of Tarot Cards to try and guide her clients on important issues like love, career, and even the occasional family mystery. She tries to stick to her moral code mainly because she already has enough bad karma from her shady past as a con-artist.

Her career as a Psychic Advisor in Salem has given Caly the stability her past denied her and things are going well – until Dan Saint James, the heir to shipping fortune, pays for a reading. Dan’s past is catching up with him and he needs Caly’s unique skills to stay one step ahead of trouble.

Helping Dan clean up his own life might be more difficult than Caly imagined because her moral code wasn’t designed to deal with art theft or greed. When Caly finds out her former partner has an interest in Dan’s problem, that makes it a game Caly’s all too familiar with – and one she might not be able to resist.

In order to help Dan, Caly will have put her cards on the table and use all of her skills in a dangerous game to stay one step ahead of her past. With her future on the line and a fortune at stake, it will be hard to resist temptation and walk the slippery slope between doing what’s right and doing what’s easy…but everyone deserves a second chance.

This is one of my favorite books – tight plot, fun heroine, great supporting cast. I could also mention stolen art, sexy villains, and a drag queen with an ax to grind. It’s a good time, really.

Sneak Peek of Jealous Magic: Relic Hunter Book 4

I’m so excited that the fourth book in my urban fantasy series will be released this fall! I thought it might be time to give you a peek at what Dr. Arienne Cerasola and her crew are up to this time. There’s mayhem, mishaps, and magic (natch!) in the British Isles. I’m going to be revealing the cover over the next few weeks (super excited about this one) and to celebrate the release of the latest book, there’ll be promos on the previous ones. All of the books are technically stand-alone – there are no cliff-hangers – but the stories weave together. So without further delay, here’s a preview!

Jealous Magic: Relic Hunter Book 1

Evan Robeson held the door for me and I walked into the living room intent on telling everyone about our rogue decision to get rid of the magical sword.  

“To the Crux Crucio Orbis!”  Dr. Ezra Froelich shouted as he toasted Kingston Pon with what appeared to be a Mai Tai.  

“To defiance of the United Coven and Alliance!”  Kingston replied, lifting a glass of scotch.

“Long live the opposition!”  My grandfather, the eminent archaeologist Dr. Christopher (Christy) O’Flynn yelled.  

Evan gave me a sideways glance.  “It looks like it worked the way we thought it would.”  

I looked at him and laughed.  “I guess we don’t need to explain ourselves.  By the way, was it just me or was Camulus kind of a jerk?”  

“He was definitely a jerk.  But if you had to live in a giant replica of Stonehenge for all eternity, you might be a jerk too.”  

“True.”  I agreed.  “I guess we should join the party?”  

“I don’t think we can catch up with the drinking they’ve been doing, but I could use a scotch and a bed.”  Evan said, sounding exhausted.  

I had to agree.  It had been a long week and I was dragging myself forward on exhausted legs with my ripped cargo pants, muddy shoes, and frizzy red hair rounding out the totally bedraggled look I was rocking.  I was sure my sage green eyes weren’t so stunning when they were bloodshot.  

I glanced again at Evan and even though he looked tired, he still looked damned good.  Tall, substantial (my term for saying he was neither a wiry man nor a muscle-bound goliath), and devastatingly handsome didn’t come close to a description of him any more.  He was also super smart, charming, wickedly funny, cool under pressure, and sexy as hell.  Yeah, I had a bit of a crush on him and it was getting bigger by the moment.  Just hearing him say the word ‘bed’ made me want to blush.

Kingston saw us first because he was the soberest member of the group.  “There they are!  The ones who freed us.”  He lifted his glass and Evan groaned.

“I think they might be overestimating us a bit.”  He said from behind me.

I turned to look at him and smiled.  “For once, it’s nice to be overestimated.”  I stepped forward and picked up a crystal decanter, pouring a bit of scotch into an expensive glass and holding it out for Evan.  I briefly considered getting him liquored up and seeing what happened, but we were both too tired for it to be worth it.  Besides, there were 5 other entities in the English country house and a Gnome guard roaming around the gardens.  Not exactly a prime romantic environment.

I had just finished pouring my drink and looking forward to relaxing for a while when all hell broke loose at the back of the house.  The posh English countryside manor house we were staying in actually belonged to the Queen of the Southern Tier Fae, so really, the commotion could have been part of the fairy power-struggle that was being waged among the fae factions.  Theoretically, at least.  

My life doesn’t usually follow the theoretical course.

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Excerpt from Jealous Magic

Dr. Arienne Cerasola knows what it’s like to start over…here’s her discussion with her Grandfather – the eminent Archaeologist Dr. Christopher O’Flynn about that very situation…

“Arienne, I need you to think about something.  If the memory of what led you to being…whatever you call yourself these days…”  Pops spread his hands out as if searching for a term that wasn’t offensive.

“Freelance archaeologist?  Professional/Amateur gardener?  Blacklisted Field, or Former Archaeologist? Possessor of a useless Ph.D.?  Overeducated?  Underemployed?  I could go on…”  I said grinning.

He chuckled softly.  “If the memory of what made you any of those things ceased to exist and you could go back to being an ordinary university employed field archaeologist, would you choose to do so?”  

My eyes fled to the ceiling as I contemplated the question.  I’d never considered it.  I had assumed that I was D.O.N.E. as an archaeologist.  I chewed the inside of my cheek and drummed my fingers while I rolled the possibilities over in my mind.  Would I give up everything good that had happened to me since that disaster?  I thought about all of the positive things that I had.  A home for me and Basir and Ka’Tehm.  Friends I cared about.  The ability to spend time with my family because I didn’t have to be on some dig in some God-forsaken corner of the world limited by rules, regulations, and someone else’s objectives.  I’d also have to give up magic and all of the things in that world to go back.

“No.”  I said, knowing in my soul that was the truth.  “I would not choose that life again.  This one is so much more…mine.”  

“I was hoping you’d say that.”  He smiled.  “I think you did yourself the biggest favor ever when you ended your mainstream career.  Now, go get your things and we’re going to the best Magical Library you’ve ever seen.”

Jealous Magic will be coming out in the fall…there’s still time to catch up on the first three books in the series. If you want to know what incident this conversation is about you can check out that story here.