Hi, readers! If you didn't catch this interview, the original link is
here, but I will post it below as well.
I was prepping for the next interview when my assistant
signaled me. Jennifer was in rare form today, always the comedienne. I
know she was mouthing the word “witch”. Not one to stereotype, I
ignored her and did my introduction for our guest.
“Today we have Jessie Anderson from Yachats, Oregon. She is the star of the new release
Magick & Moonlight.”
I waited as a slender yet slightly curvy woman a bit less than 5’5”, my
own height, came onto stage. She was dressed in a long, flowing blue
dress with symbols embroidered on it. She wore dress sandals and her
long black, wavy hair shone in the stage lamps.
I reached out and shook her hand. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Jessie. Will you sit with me?”
She nodded and sat on the plush red sofa nearby. I took a
seat next to her. “I want to thank you for visiting us on the show
today.”
Jessie smiled. “It was the least I could do. Your show is very popular. Thank you for inviting me here.”
“You’re welcome.” I took a deep breath and organized my
thoughts. “The term ‘witch’ is flying around the studio this morning.
Is there any truth to that?”
She winced. “We don’t exactly like that term.”
“So, you aren’t a witch?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Not in the way you mean. Pop
culture views witches as evil or devil worshippers. There is also the
misconception that they fly around on broomsticks. That just isn’t the
case. Wicca is a very natural religion where we observe nature in its
glory and appreciate the Goddess for the gifts she has given us.”
I leaned forward. “Do you deny you have certain talents?”
Jessie shook her head. “No. I was born with gifts. But, I never abuse them or use them to get something I want.”
“You do spells though.”
“Of course. But, a spell is like a blessing. You can
call it a prayer even. There are spells for healing or protection,
spells to rid yourself of bad habits or to help you sleep better. It is
simply a wish or a prayer to the Goddess and the elements to help us in
our daily lives. It doesn’t have to be supernatural. Magick is a way
to recognize the world around us.”
“I noticed you mentioned devil worship. Can you explain the difference between that and Wicca?”
“Of course. Wicca is often confused with Satanism
because of symbols or rituals. But, that’s simply not the case. In
fact, it is the complete opposite. For example, blood rituals are
avoided because not only is blood a powerful element, it would be wrong
to do it. Wiccans have laws too. And we oppose the use of negative or
harmful magick. The Rule of Three must always be taken into
consideration.”
“What is the Rule of Three?”
“Whenever you wish harm to come to another person, that could come back to you three times over.”
“I see.” Sensing I wouldn’t get much from Jessie by
pursuing the argument, I switched tactics. “Tell me about the new man
in town. Ethan, is it?” I had to stifle a giggle as she clearly
blushed.
“Well, Ethan is a cop, a former cop. He was looking for a change of pace so he came to Yachats.”
“Yes. I watched the
book trailer. It seems he found a lot more than peace and quiet.”
Jessie laughed. “It got a little out of hand.”
“Oh? Tell me more.”
She shook her head. “I did what I had to do.”
Oh, there was a definite story there, but the girl wasn’t going to talk.
“How long have you been a practicing Wiccan, Jessie?”
“All my life.”
“Well, our time is almost up. At least give me a juicy
tidbit about Ethan. I had the chance to read a couple of pages before
you came today. So, tell me…can the man kiss?”
She ducked her head. “Oh, yes.” Her voice was breathless now.
“Well, judging by his looks, he’d make me blush too. And
I don’t blush easily!” I laughed, then turned back to the audience.
“That’s all the time we have for today. Jessie has certainly made me
want to finish reading the story to see what happens. You can find
Magick & Moonlight on
Amazon and at
Solstice Publishing.”
I turned back to Jessie and stood. When she stood too, I
shook her hand again. “It was an honor to meet a Wiccan. You’ve
certainly opened my mind to the religion. I hope to have you back here
on the show. Or maybe you can convince that hunk Ethan to visit us?” I
laughed as the woman blushed again.
“Thank you. I enjoyed the show.”
I watched her walk off the stage, then turned to the
audience. “It was fun having Jessie on, wasn’t it? I hope you get a
chance to check out
Magick & Moonlight. As always, viewers, stay safe and read to your heart’s content.”
When the cameras stopped rolling, I retired to my
dressing room to rest. I picked up my Kindle and flipped to the next
page of the story. The heroine was describing Ethan’s kiss. I propped
my feet up where I sat and got comfortable. This was going to be good.
Hello readers,
IBP is taking a new initiative to showcase
authors each week and this week is going to be author Marie Lavender,
our very first guest author! She writes romance novels and her newest
release is the Magick & Moonlight. Before getting to know about her
book, let’s read something interesting about Marie!
Author Bio
Bestselling author of UPON YOUR RETURN and 17 other books. Finalist
and Runner-up in the MARSocial’s Author of the Year Competition.
Honorable mention in the January 2014 Reader’s Choice Award. Liebster
Blogger Award for 2013. Top 50 Authors on AuthorsDB.com. Winner of the
Great One Liners Contest on the Directory of Published Authors.
Marie Lavender lives in the Midwest with her family and three cats.
She has been writing for over twenty years. She has more works in
progress than she can count on two hands.
At the tender age of nine, she began writing stories. Her imagination
fueled a lot of her early child’s play. Even growing up, she entered
writing contests and received a certificate for achieving the second
round in one. She majored in Creative Writing in college because that
was all she ever wanted – to be a writer. While there, she published two
works in a university publication, and was a copy editor on the staff
of an online student journal. After graduating from college, she sought
out her dream to publish a book.
Since then, Marie has published eighteen books. Marie Lavender’s real
love is writing romances, but she has also written mysteries, literary
fiction and dabbled a little in paranormal stories. Most of her works
have a romantic element involved in them. Upon Your Return is her first
historical romance novel. She just released Magick & Moonlight, a
paranormal romance. Feel free to visit her website at
http://marielavender.webs.com/ for further information about her books and her life. Marie is also on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
A list of her books and pen names are as follows:
Marie Lavender:
Upon Your Return;
Magick & Moonlight;
Upon Your Honor (coming soon)
Erica Sutherhome:
Hard to Get;
Memories;
A Hint of Scandal;
Without You;
Strange Heat;
Terror in the Night;
Haunted;
Pursuit;
Perfect Game;
A Touch of Dawn;
Ransom;
Leather and Lace
Kathryn Layne:
A Misplaced Life
Heather Crouse:
Express Café and Other Ramblings;
Ramblings, Musings and Other Things;
Soulful Ramblings and Other Worldly Things
Book Blurb
Messing with free will is always a bad idea…
Ethan Hamilton moves to a lazy little town in Oregon, hoping to
escape his demons. But, instead he discovers a woman dancing nude in the
moonlight. This woman who claims she is a witch dazzles him with her
sensual presence. He thinks she’s crazy, but what if she’s not?
Jessie Anderson has been taught that her kind hides who they really
are. And she has a problem on her hands. Someone knows her secret and
she has to do all she can to protect herself. What other choice does she
have? Jessie casts a love spell on a good man, a man with whom she
can’t fight her attraction. The spell doesn’t work quite as planned –
she ends up falling for Ethan.
To top it off, Ethan’s treatment of her, his “love”, is so addictive.
Deep down, she knows the spell will wear off, and yet his feelings seem
genuine. It’s just a spell…right?
Author Links
A very good short read designed for those who enjoy romance,
love, and magick. A lesson quickly learned by the main character is that
you cannot mess with free will. Because of this she may lose the true
love of her life. Read it to find out what happens.
