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Shayne's Supernaturals #4
Everything She Does Is Magick
When a trio of matchmaking witches chooses unsuspecting little Nathan McBride as the perfect mate for their baby niece, the future looks rosy indeed–except for one little catch: They must keep him a virgin!
ebook
First published October 1, 1997
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199 people want to read
About the author
Maggie Shayne
258 books2,577 followersI live in the teeny, tiny town of Taylor, NY, (Alliteration Alert!) though my mailing address is Cincinnatus, my telephone exchange is Truxton and I pay taxes and vote in Cuyler. All of these are at least in the same rural county in the southern hills of New York State; Cortland County. There are more cattle than people here. The nearest “big” cities are Syracuse and Binghamton and they are an hour away, in different directions, and not really all that big by most standards, though they both seem humongous to me. I look out my window to see rolling, green, thickly forested hills, wildflower laden meadows and wide open blue, blue skies. My road is barely paved. The nearest neighboring place is a 700 acre dairy farm.
My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned. It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an 11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old, blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in 2006-2007. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of my five daughters had left home that same year, and while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the fire--it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished with me after all. I had lost almost everything before that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and soot the next day, I realized that I had now been stripped all the way to the bone.
No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to that realization that day--there were a few days of wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I was practically living in!)
That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree, out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at that point, to do anything else!
And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge, a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached bathroom!)
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with my fiancé, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the little family together. “Little” being a relative term. We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who weigh 203 pounds and 208 pounds respectively, and a little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line. And we've acquired a pair of stray cats as well, a mother and son, Luna (Lulu for short) and Butters aka Buddy. Lulu showed up pregnant during a lunar eclipse, had a litter, and vanished again. We found homes for all the kittens except one. Butters. We got him fixed and kept him. A few months later, Lulu returned, again expecting. This litter was born on the "Monster Moon." Again, all the kittens were spayed and neutered and placed in homes, and this time we got Lulu to the vet in time to spay her before the cycle could repeat.
Glory is not amused.
She has a story of her own, my old Glory cat, having been with me before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains with me still. She's tolerating the newcomers. Barely.
My partner is an artist, a mechanic, a welder and an inventor, and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I
My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned. It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an 11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old, blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in 2006-2007. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of my five daughters had left home that same year, and while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the fire--it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished with me after all. I had lost almost everything before that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and soot the next day, I realized that I had now been stripped all the way to the bone.
No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to that realization that day--there were a few days of wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I was practically living in!)
That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree, out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at that point, to do anything else!
And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge, a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached bathroom!)
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with my fiancé, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the little family together. “Little” being a relative term. We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who weigh 203 pounds and 208 pounds respectively, and a little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line. And we've acquired a pair of stray cats as well, a mother and son, Luna (Lulu for short) and Butters aka Buddy. Lulu showed up pregnant during a lunar eclipse, had a litter, and vanished again. We found homes for all the kittens except one. Butters. We got him fixed and kept him. A few months later, Lulu returned, again expecting. This litter was born on the "Monster Moon." Again, all the kittens were spayed and neutered and placed in homes, and this time we got Lulu to the vet in time to spay her before the cycle could repeat.
Glory is not amused.
She has a story of her own, my old Glory cat, having been with me before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains with me still. She's tolerating the newcomers. Barely.
My partner is an artist, a mechanic, a welder and an inventor, and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 9, 2013
This was such a fun, quirky read! When I first started it and seen names like, Flora, Fauna, Merriwether and Aurora, I thought it was going to be a "witchy" take on Sleeping Beauty, but was I ever wrong!! The characters are hilarious and the story line was captivating. I started this on my lunch break and did not want to put it down to go back to work. It is a really quick read so even if you have a really busy schedule you will have time for this one!!
October 9, 2012
This was one of the cutest, sweetest, funniest stories I have ever read! I absolutely loved Aurora! The aunts....well how can you not love Flora, Fauna and Merriweather? They are the zany aunts that everyone thinks are crazy. Loved this so much!!!!! Must read for everyone!!
March 17, 2019
Great novella
Great novella. I love the aunt's. Auroras and Nathan are awesome. Poor Nathan, I both pitied and admired him. Would have loved if this was longer and got to see more of the aunts and Daniel.
Great novella. I love the aunt's. Auroras and Nathan are awesome. Poor Nathan, I both pitied and admired him. Would have loved if this was longer and got to see more of the aunts and Daniel.
July 30, 2018
Good
Very good read I thought it would be funnier but oh well. Loved the story and the return of the witchy artifacts
Very good read I thought it would be funnier but oh well. Loved the story and the return of the witchy artifacts
January 21, 2019
Great storyteller
Never read a bad story from this author. Love each and every one. One of the best storyteller I read.
Never read a bad story from this author. Love each and every one. One of the best storyteller I read.
April 21, 2022
A short but fun book about a witch growing up in a small town. Her childhood neighbor is her nemesis with whom she has a love/hate relationship almost to the end.
February 10, 2013
Everything She Does is Magick
By
Maggie Shayne
Aurora is raised by her three Aunts Merriwether, Flora and Fauna. Sounds like the three fairies from Sleeping Beauty doesn’t it except the three Aunts are not fairies they are witches and Aurora is going to be a very powerful witch. This in itself is remarkable but you see her daughter is going to be the strongest witch born. It was for told in the stars. The three Aunts have to keep a certain young man a virgin until he and Aurora get together. This is a story about how they attempt this and how they attempt to get the two star crossed lovers together in the end. It is such a delightful read and the prequel to Mark of the Witch, Daughter of the Spellcaster and Blood of the Sorceress. After reading this prequel I will most definitely want to read the rest of the books. Gave this a five as it was well written and a delight to read.
Bella Doerres MaEd 02/09/2013
By
Maggie Shayne
Aurora is raised by her three Aunts Merriwether, Flora and Fauna. Sounds like the three fairies from Sleeping Beauty doesn’t it except the three Aunts are not fairies they are witches and Aurora is going to be a very powerful witch. This in itself is remarkable but you see her daughter is going to be the strongest witch born. It was for told in the stars. The three Aunts have to keep a certain young man a virgin until he and Aurora get together. This is a story about how they attempt this and how they attempt to get the two star crossed lovers together in the end. It is such a delightful read and the prequel to Mark of the Witch, Daughter of the Spellcaster and Blood of the Sorceress. After reading this prequel I will most definitely want to read the rest of the books. Gave this a five as it was well written and a delight to read.
Bella Doerres MaEd 02/09/2013
October 20, 2012
that was defenately an enjoyable read! it was really funny in some parts and it had a happy end!
firstly the book starts with little stories about aurora's Halloweens and her first meetings with Nathan!
well a few years later when aurora is a doctor after a funny incident he goes to the hospital and they meet again!well those crazy aunts of aurora are doing their "magick tricks" and they fall in love!!
such a nice story!!
firstly the book starts with little stories about aurora's Halloweens and her first meetings with Nathan!
well a few years later when aurora is a doctor after a funny incident he goes to the hospital and they meet again!well those crazy aunts of aurora are doing their "magick tricks" and they fall in love!!
such a nice story!!
October 17, 2012
I really enjoyed this, I loved how Nathan and Aurora were so crazy about each other but convinced themselves they hated each other for so long! I loved all the interactions and that the aunts were named for the fairies from Disney's sleeping beauty so named Aurora after the princess cause they thought it would be approriate! I've been putting off reading it but I'm glad I finally did cause it was very good and makes me want to see if their story is continued!
November 11, 2014
When a trio of matchmaking witches chooses unsuspecting little Nathan McBride as the perfect mate for their baby niece, the future looks rosy indeed–except for one little catch: They must keep him a virgin!
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A VERY quick read. This is a nice story, but I think it could have easily fleshed out into a much longer tale. It is a twist on Sleeping Beauty with some Practical Magic thrown in.
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A VERY quick read. This is a nice story, but I think it could have easily fleshed out into a much longer tale. It is a twist on Sleeping Beauty with some Practical Magic thrown in.
September 20, 2015
It will take a lot of meddling and more than a bit of magick from three eccentric old ladies to help Aurora and Nathan come together. Will it be enough to get them to put aside a lifetime of hurt feeling to get them to find the love they have for each other?
Quick, easy, and thoroughly enjoyable read. From another reviewer's comment; "If you liked Practical Magic, you will love this!". I must agree! Recommended.
Quick, easy, and thoroughly enjoyable read. From another reviewer's comment; "If you liked Practical Magic, you will love this!". I must agree! Recommended.
October 16, 2012
If you like Maggie's fb page - http://www.facebook.com/MaggieShayneP... and click on the Trick-or-Treat tab at the top you will get a code to download this for free from Smashwords! :)
I really enjoyed this little novella, it was a nice light read that reminded me of the movie Practical Magic. Perfect for Halloween.
I really enjoyed this little novella, it was a nice light read that reminded me of the movie Practical Magic. Perfect for Halloween.
October 22, 2012
This book is right at the top of my list of favorites, The characters are humerous especially the aunts, hysterically written, this is probably the best kind of book to get you in a better mood. This is a must read. I highly recommend. I judge books by the emotions I get out of them, and laughing out loud to be is great.
September 15, 2017
Totally greate I loved it I think the little ants stole the show I laughed so much in this book that I finished it in a day.
It was sweet crazy funny.
The book was just short but sweet to a must read.
It was sweet crazy funny.
The book was just short but sweet to a must read.
January 21, 2016
Started out good as a modern witch version of Sleeping Beauty, but then got too witchy and less Sleeping Beauty. Also Nathan and Aurora’s ‘hatred’ of each other was a little over the top and cartoonish.
Fave Scenes: 1) Nathan’s 1st visit to the emergency room.
Fave Scenes: 1) Nathan’s 1st visit to the emergency room.
April 7, 2021
Everything She Does is Magic
MS Shayne is A wonderful writer. I love her characters and writing style. Her writing is so believable. So, yes vampires, witches and werewolves are very real.
MS Shayne is A wonderful writer. I love her characters and writing style. Her writing is so believable. So, yes vampires, witches and werewolves are very real.
April 5, 2014
I was enjoying this book; good build up, back story and then it ended. This is not a book, it's barely a novella.
January 23, 2015
Another great quick read, characters are well developed with a bit of great Hocus-Pocus added in. Definitely recommend reading the series.
October 9, 2012
A wonderful short story from Maggie Shayne.
November 19, 2012
This was cute, and easy breazy.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews