K. M. McFarland,Author
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THE COURTYARD

Books, Music, Art, and Random Thoughts

What is the Mysterious Connection Between New Orleans, Vampires, and the Ursuline Nuns? by K. M. McFarland (Updated - first published 05/29/2017)

10/31/2019

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The Old Ursuline Convent
Photo by Karen M

     In my latest novel, Sex, Blood, Rock 'N' Roll, and Vampyr, all hell breaks loose when vampire Nadia goes on a vampire tour in New Orleans. In chapter seven titled Myths, Legends, and Real Vampires, she is offended that vampires are portrayed as evil by the tour guide and calls him out on it.
  People often ask me if it's true that New Orleans has vampire tours. The answer is yes. Why would vampire and paranormal tours be unusual in a city that has so much haunted history? If you visit our magical city, you should plan one. They are walking tours that begin after dark and take you to various landmarks giving you the history of each one. They are entertaining and fun, but are they factual? Well. I'll let you decide.
  One of the most famous tales is of the Compte St. Germain; an alchemist of great wealth, knowledge, and charm. He arrived in Paris in the 1700s and was known for throwing lavish dinner parties although he never touched a bite of food. Guests told tales of him sipping wine and telling stories of things that happened hundreds of years ago as if he were there. Records show he was born in 1710 and died in 1745, but the one record of his death was written under king's orders and is not believed to be true.
  Two hundred years after his alleged death, a strange gentleman from France named Jacques St. Germain arrived in New Orleans and moved into a home on Royal Street. He threw lavish dinner parties, never touched a bite of food, drank wine, and told stories of long ago as if he were there. One night, Jacques threw a party with many elites in New Orleans. Later that night, he asked a lady to accompany him up to the balcony. Legend has it when he attempted to bite her; she flung herself over the balcony landing in the street with blood trickling from her neck. People surrounded her and notified the police. When the police investigated his home, they found clothes from different periods in time and numerous bottles of wine, which upon further investigation turned out to be human blood. Jacques mysteriously disappeared before the police could question him. Legend has it Jacques is the real Compte St. Germain and has been seen since then in New Orleans and in different parts of the world.
  Among the macabre tales, you are sure to hear the story of the notorious Carter Brothers. In the 1930s, John and Wayne Carter worked as longshoremen on the Mississippi River. One evening, before the brothers returned home from work, a young girl escaped from their French Quarter apartment and ran to the police. Her wrists were cut but not severely enough for her to bleed to death. She claimed she had been locked up for weeks and the brothers had been feeding on her blood. The police immediately investigated and found four other young women tied to chairs with their wrists cut. Over a dozen dead bodies turned up in the apartment drained of their blood. The brothers were arrested, tried, and executed for their crimes with their remains interred in the family tomb. Later, when another Carter family member passed away, the tomb was opened to make room for his remains, but there were no remnants of John or Wayne in the grave to clear. To this day, there have been reports of sightings of the brothers wandering the French Quarter.
  One of the most talked about stories is the legend of the casket girls and the Ursuline convent. The old Ursuline Convent on Chartres Street is the oldest building still standing in the Mississippi River Valley. The building no longer functions as a convent. The first floor is a museum; the second floor is the home of the Archdiocesan archives dating back to 1718. But what's on the third floor behind those mysterious shutters that are always tightly secured? Nobody seems to know the answer to that question, but there are speculations.
  The Ursuline nuns were sent to New Orleans from France in 1725 to establish a hospital and educate the young girls. Most of the early settlers were pirates, scoundrels, murderers, and thieves; prisoners who had been exiled from France and promised if they reformed in Louisiana, they could return to France. The men outnumbered the women five to one, so, in 1727 the city's founder, Jean Baptiste LeMoyne Bienville, sent two nuns back to France to ask the king to send over marriageable young women. In 1728, a group of orphans arrived to marry the colonists and populate the swamp called La Nouvelle Orléans.
  When the girls arrived, they each brought with them one wooden chest shaped like a coffin which held their trousseau consisting of clothes, linens, and sometimes a bridal gown. Since their eccentric luggage looked like caskets, they became known as the casket girls. The girls were brought to the Ursuline convent to live among the nuns until they were married.
  After the arrival of the fille à la cassette, nobody could explain why the mortality rate, especially the infant mortality rate, drastically increased. Suspicion mounted when the girls later opened their chests, and they were found empty. Fear of what the girls may have smuggled into La Nouvelle Orléans prompted the nuns to contact the Archdiocese. After an investigation, the caskets were transferred by day to the convent attic. The convent attic was sealed off; the doors nailed shut, and the attic shutters sealed with eight hundred nails; each one blessed by the pope.
  Legend has it the caskets were used to smuggle vampires into La Nouvelle Orléans. They remain sealed in the attic to this day, and that is the reason why the attic shutters are always tightly closed. No one can explain why occasionally, late at night, someone will see them suddenly fly open followed by a mist that surrounds the convent.
  In 1978, two curious paranormal investigators set up a video camera in front of the convent and waited through the night for paranormal activity. Sometime during the night, the camera stopped filming. The next day, they were both found dead on the steps of St. Mary's Catholic Church next to the convent with their throats torn open and their bodies drained of eighty percent of their blood.
  Now let's take a closer look at this murder. Legends have been passed down by word of mouth, but this alleged crime that supposedly occurred forty years ago is something we should be able to find proof of, so it leads to the question. Is it fact or fiction? It may be challenging to verify something reported to have happened almost three hundred years ago, but it seems if this murder occurred in 1978, it should have been a major news story.
  I was curious to see if there were any news reports to corroborate this tale, so I started digging for information, but my investigation turned up nothing. The only stories I could find about it were related to the vampire legend. It seems if this murder happened, there would be something about it in the news archives, but so far nothing has surfaced. There doesn't seem to be anything to validate it so unless there's a special paranormal division of the New Orleans police department we don't know about, I have to assume it's either false or an exaggeration of another murder that happened around the same time, but what do I know?
  Another reason for doubt is there are many variations of the tale of the casket girls, including stories that the girls themselves were vampires. If you tour the Ursuline Convent museum, the story they tell is when the girls arrived, they were pale and gaunt after spending six months at sea mostly below deck, and some of them had tuberculosis that caused them to cough up blood explaining the vampire connection. That could be, but, on the other hand, why are those shutters always tightly closed? Shutters on attic windows are also extremely rare in the French Quarter. Why isn't anyone allowed on the third floor? Is it possible that something evil lurks in that attic? Is it possible they are keeping something locked in; or out?

  More recently, in 1984, nine people were found in and around the French Quarter with their throats ripped open, drained of their blood. The police had no suspects in this case at the time, and the murders ended as quickly as they began. Rumor has it; a rogue vampire was responsible, and he was destroyed by the city's elder vampires for bringing attention to the vampire community. Again, no evidence can be found to corroborate this story, and it is believed to be a variation of the 1978 murders.
  So that brings us to the question; are the vampire legends fact or fabricated? Could they be based on some truth? Legends are legends so let's just say nobody knows. Whether there is any truth to them or not, I still recommend going on a vampire tour in New Orleans. Real or made up, they're always fun, but don't be surprised if a real vampire shows up and protests.

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Welcome to the Big Easy by Karen McFarland

9/12/2019

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Photography by Karen M
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So you're going to be visiting us in New Orleans soon. That's great! We are happy to have you, and we hope you will enjoy your stay with us in the Crescent City. We love visitors to our beautiful, historical three-hundred-year-old city, and we welcome you with open arms. To ensure your stay in the Big Easy is a fun, memorable, and safe one, here are a few things you should know.


The People of NOLA:
At the mention of New Orleans, most people think of Bourbon Street, alcohol, Mardi Gras, and debauchery. New Orleanians have something of a reputation as party animals and heavy drinkers, but that's not exactly true. Even though we do like to pass a good time, and most of the time our grocery carts do contain beer or wine, we have careers, mortgages, families, children, and we plod along with day to day life just like everyone else.

Strangers will talk to you:
Natives are friendly. Don't be surprised if you find yourself sitting in a bar or public place and a local strikes up a conversation. It's fine to talk to them. By the time it's over, you will know what part of the city they live in, their Katrina experience, all about their family, their pets, reading preferences, music preferences, and you may wind up making a new friend.

You don't have to call me darlin':
Ladies and gents, don't be offended if someone calls you darlin', sweetie, or honey. They are not flirting with you. It's just the way we talk down here.

Native Tongue - Talkin' that New Orleans talk:
New Orleans is pronounced New Or-lins by the locals, not New Aw-lins, Nawlins, or New Or-leens. Geographically located in the south, don't expect to hear any southern accents unless the individual relocated from somewhere else. New Orleans is a melting pot with French, Spanish, Canadian, Italian, German, Irish,  African, and Native American influence. There are many different variations of New Orleans dialect depending on what part of town you grew up. When the Mississippi river became a working river, and the longshoremen came down from New York and started interacting with the natives, their accents evolved into something that sounds like Brooklyn-on-the-Mississippi-River, or what the locals refer to as a "Yat" accent.

Aside from our dialect, there are many words and phrases used here in New Orleans that are unheard of elsewhere. Here are a few you are sure to hear and their meanings:

Neutral Ground:
​That's a big one. I can't tell you how many visitors have asked me what the neutral ground is. The neutral ground is the terrain in the middle of a divided street known as a median everywhere else. There's a history behind that. In the old days, the French and the Spanish didn't get along, but they had to do business with one another. To solve that problem, they created a section in the middle of the street designated as the neutral ground where they managed to get along long enough to handle their business. It stuck because nobody uses the word median in New Orleans. It's always called the neutral ground. If you ask a local from which side of the street they are going to watch a parade, they will tell you either the street side or the neutral ground side.

Streetcar:
It may be called a trolly everywhere else, but locals will look at you funny if you call it anything other than a streetcar here.

Po-boy:
Every menu has po-boys on it. We even have po-boy restaurants. It's a sandwich consisting of meat or seafood between two slices of French bread.

Do you want that po-boy dressed?
If you order a po-boy, your server will ask you that. Dressed means you want it with mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Cajun:
French colonists from the Canadian region of Acadia. Many settled in the Louisiana territories and have had a strong influence on Louisiana culture.


Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler (Lay-say le bon tom roo-lay):
A Cajun French phrase meaning: Let the good times roll.

Where ya't?
It's a greeting. It means "how are you doing?" If somebody asks you where ya't, you respond by saying "all right, where ya't?"

Lagniappe (lan-yap):
A French word meaning something extra.

Beignet (ben-yay):
A fluffy square donut lightly fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Parish:
Louisiana doesn't have counties; we have parishes.

Banquette (ban-ket):
Sidewalk

Beaucoup (boo-koo):
Much, many, a lot. 


Did you know?

New Orleans has its own compass:
Forget north, south, east, and west when you visit New Orleans. If you ask a local for directions, the only four points they will use are uptown, downtown, lake, and river. 

Is it true it's legal to drink alcohol outdoors?
Yes, as long as it's in a plastic cup or container. No glass bottles or containers are allowed. If you leave a bar, you can take your beverage with you. Just pour it into a "go-cup" first. All bars and restaurants have them. You can walk all over with it; just don't drive.

Can you buy alcoholic beverages on Sunday?
​There are no restrictions on when alcohol can be purchased in New Orleans. You can purchase it twenty-four hours a day seven days a week from any bar, restaurant, grocery store, drug store, convenient store, or Wal Mart.

Am I going to get murdered?
More than likely not. Just like any other city, New Orleans has its share of crime, but most visitors come and go without becoming a victim. To be on the safe side, when strolling through the French Quarter or city streets, be aware of your surroundings and stay on populated main streets. Don't wander down isolated side streets. It's always a good idea for gentlemen to carry their wallet in a front pocket or backpack. Ladies, watch your purses.

Tip from a local: The best indication to petty thieves that you are not from here is wearing Mardi Gras beads when it isn't Mardi Gras. You can get them everywhere, and they are fun to wear, but locals only wear them during the carnival season.

Is it safe to visit the cemeteries?
New Orleans cemeteries are tourist attractions because we bury our dead above ground. There is a reason for that. The ground underneath New Orleans is swampland. If the dead were interred six feet under, we would meet them again on the street after the next hard rain. Most of us don't want to do that, so we inter them in mausoleums or above-ground tombs. If you plan to visit our cemeteries, I advise going with a tour group. There are numerous cemetery walking tours. Never venture into the cemeteries after dark alone. The ghosts won't jump out and harm you, but you never know when criminals might be lurking.

Is it worth it to go on a vampire tour?
Yes, absolutely. There are many legends of vampires in New Orleans. From Jacques St. Germain to the Casket Girls and the Ursuline Convent, to accounts of mysterious vampire-related murders in and around the French Quarter, your vampire tour guide will keep you entertained with stories and show you the landmarks.

What about a paranormal tour?
Paranormal tours are a must. Your ghost tour guide will take you to haunted places. Some people have even claimed to have had paranormal experiences on some of these tours.

What New Orleans cuisine should we try?
We have some of the best restaurants in the world, and favorite local dishes such as red beans and rice, jambalaya, crayfish, po-boys, and seafood gumbo are all a treat to the palate. For breakfast, be sure to treat yourself to a cafe au lait (New Orleans signature coffee made from coffee and chicory mixed with boiled milk) and beignets, preferably at Cafe du Monde.

Are there any New Orleans original cocktails we should try?
We're always happy at happy hour. If you're interested in having an original New Orleans cocktail at the places they were created, be sure to indulge in a Sazerac at the Carousel Bar, a Hurricane at Pat Obrien's, or a Pimm's Cup at the Napoleon House.

Show me your tits:
No! Don't! Never! Ever! This may happen on the balconies on Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras. The French Quarter is adult-oriented where you will find risque costumes and flashing for beads during the carnival season. While the Vieux Carre has its share of debauchery, outside of the French Quarter, Mardi Gras is a family event.

Bet I can tell you where you got dem shoes?
Don't fall for it. This is New Orleans biggest scam. The correct answer is: I got dem shoes on my feet, on the street, in New Orleans. Here's my experience:
One day I was walking on Bourbon Street in my comfy walking boots. A young man approached me with a big smile and said, "I like dem shoes."
"Thank you," I replied and kept walking.
He started to follow me and said, "I'll bet you $20 I can tell you where you got dem shoes."
I looked at him, laughed, and said, "I'm a local. Go pull that on somebody who doesn't know what you're up to."
"Okay," he said. His smile turned into a frown before he turned and walked away.
If I had been somebody who didn't know the scam and entertained it, he would have harassed and intimidated me for that twenty dollars he bet me. If anybody approaches you and says anything about your shoes, unless you just want to make a donation, give them the correct answer or ignore them and walk away. It's a scam.


One of the many reasons to be intrigued by New Orleans is there is no other place like it
 in the world. Use good common sense. Have fun. Enjoy all that New Orleans has to offer. It has been said: New Orleans is a city with many faces, but only one soul. Its mystery and ambiance will seduce you, and once you surrender, it will never let go. By the time you get home, you will be planning your next trip. When you leave, a piece of it goes with you, and that will always draw you back.

We look forward to seeing you soon.


Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler
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The Adventures of Cassidy Newbold - Karen J Mossman

9/4/2019

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​Description

What would you do if you could speak to the dead?

Cassie Newbold tries to use her gift in a positive way although, sometimes things happen that are out of her control.

This is a collection of short stories featuring Cassie, who is sassy, quirky and sometimes doesn't know her own powers.

"I like how the author draws the reader in to her story. I felt as if I was witnessing what the writer was talking about. Some stories were more eerie than others but they each felt real," says a reviewer.

Buy Link
mybook.to/CassieNewbold

​


​Author Bio and Social Media Links

Karen J Mossman comes from a family of journalists with her grandfather and uncle having been newspaper editors. Further back a 2x grandfather wrote for his local paper and also published a book based on those articles. Karen is the only one to go into fiction.

Karen is also an avid blogger and book reviewer, "It's especially important to me to have feedback from my readers, so please leave a review when you have read one of my books."

Karen lives on the beautiful Isle of Anglesey off the North Wales coast with her husband and two dogs. She has two grown up children, who were both born on the same day, two years apart.

https://www.facebook.com/karensmagicofstories/
author.to/KarenMossman
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9814921.Karen_J_Mossman
https://twitter.com/KarenJMoss
https://magicofstories.net/
http://karenmossman.weebly.com/


​Excerpt From Unbraid My Hair

     If only she knew he was still with her. Charlie had never left. “We never forget the ones we loved and lost,” I said, although I’d never loved and lost anyone, but with my gift, I’d met so many who had.
    Maisie laughed and broke the spell she had woven for herself. “Gosh, I shouldn’t be talking like this. Sometimes I feel like he is calling me, does that sound strange?”
    “Not at all,” I answered looking towards Charlie who had returned to being an old man, and appeared impassive.
     She sipped her tea. “This house is too big for me now. Everything I do is a struggle, but I can’t leave the home we shared.”
     She looked at me with sad eyes and I felt her sorrow, except it wasn’t hers. I looked at Charlie and the shimmering grew taller. Kneeling by her chair, he wrapped his arms around her, his head resting against hers. I saw the young man he was once again and his worry for his lovely, gentle, Maisie.
     “What is it?” she asked breaking into my thoughts. Her eyes were now bright as if rejuvenated.
    “Maisie, what would you say if I told you Charlie was right here?” His head was bent touching hers and wispy, shadowy, hands wound into her hair. “He is concerned, he knows how much you struggle with life. He finds it hard because he can’t help you.”
     I didn’t know how she would respond to that. She hadn’t invited me here as a medium. I was just a girl in the street who had helped her out.
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The Thinning Veil

11/1/2018

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I'm excited to announce my short story, The Thinning Veil, will be included in Ghostly Writes Anthology 2018 among several short stories by a variety of awesome authors. The book will be released on October 31, 2018. Here's a teaser for The Thinning Veil:
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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT - Wendy Steele - Contributing Author (Ghostly Writes Anthology 2018)

10/13/2018

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Wendy Steele is author, wise woman, goddess. She is writer, dance teacher, mother and healer.
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Her passion is magic.
​

‘The Lilith Trilogy’ leads the reader along the paths of the witches Qabalah, following Angel Parson’s story of betrayal, retribution and redemption. Her magical story contains high magic as well as pagan ritual.
‘The Standing Stone Book Series’ focuses on the lives of three women linked together across time and space by the standing stone. The countryside is the focus of their magic, embracing the gods and goddesses, tree spirits, elves and fairies.

Her latest series, The Wendy Woo Witch Lit Series, begins with The Naked Witch. Lizzie Martin, receptionist, single mother and witch, is asked by her new boss to conform and embrace the corporate dress code. The reality of paisley to pin stripe, an unexpected stay in hospital, monitoring of her fourteen year old daughter’s latest crush, the search for the truth about her father’s death and two new men in her life, give Lizzie plenty of plates to spin. In the Orphan Witch, Lizzie is grieving while trying to find her real mother and the truth about her father and in the third book, The Flowerpot Witch, Lizzie embarks on a new career, thwarted at every step by those around her.

You can hear Wendy telling her short stories in Pan’s Grotto on her Welsh riverbank, on her YouTube channel, The Phoenix and the Dragon.

Wendy’s non-fiction title ‘Wendy Woo’s Year:
A Pocketful of Smiles’ offers the reader 101 ideas to bring a smile to every day.


Wendy lives in Wales with her partner, Mike, and cats. If she’s not writing or teaching dance, you’ll find her renovating her house, clearing her land or sitting on her riverbank, breathing in the beauty of nature.

BOOKS  BY WENDY STEELE

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Download the Lizzie Martin Witchlit series: The Naked Witch, the first book, for FREE from 9th-14th October
 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Naked-Witch-Wendy-Novel-Book-ebook/dp/B06W5D6GVV/ref
https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Witch-Wendy-Novel-Book-ebook/dp/B06W5D6GVV/ref

Look for Wendy's story in Ghostly Writes Anthology 2018
Release Date: October 31, 2018

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​Harriet misses her mother. Madame Connix is not the governess she was hoping for.
With April's help, Harriet continues her mother's scientific work, but what she really needs is in The Basement...

Author Links

Website: www.wendysteele.com
 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WendyWooauthor
 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/destinyofangelsnovel/?fref=ts
 
https://www.facebook.com/WendyWooBooks
 
https://www.facebook.com/TheStandingStone 
 
Amazon author: http://www.amazon.com/Wendy-Steele/e/B007VZ1P06/ref
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wendy-Steele/e/B007VZ1P06/ref
 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-steele-91257660/
 
 
Goodreads author: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6548666.Wendy_Steele
 
All Author: https://allauthor.com/profile/wendywoo/
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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT - M J Mallon (Contributing Author - Ghostly Writes Anthology 2018)

10/7/2018

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I am a debut author who has been blogging for many moons at my lovely blog home Kyrosmagica: https://mjmallon.com. My interests include writing, photography, poetry, and alternative therapies. I write Fantasy/Paranormal YA, middle grade fiction and micro poetry - haiku and Tanka. I love to read and have written over 100 reviews: https://mjmallon.com/2015/09/28/a-z-of-my-book-reviews/

My alter ego is MJ - Mary Jane from Spiderman. I love superheroes! I was born on the 17th of November in Lion City: Singapore, (a passionate Scorpio, with the Chinese Zodiac sign a lucky rabbit,) second child and only daughter to my proud parents Paula and Ronald. I grew up in a mountainous court in the Peak District in Hong Kong with my elder brother Donald.

As a teenager I travelled to many far-flung destinations to visit my abacus wielding wayfarer dad. It's rumoured that I now live in the Venice of Cambridge, with my six foot hunk of a Rock God husband, and my two enchanted daughters. After such an upbringing my author's mind has taken total leave of its senses! When I’m not writing, I eat exotic delicacies while belly dancing, or surf to the far reaches of the moon. To chill out, I practise Tai Chi. If the mood takes me I snorkel with mermaids, or sign up for idyllic holidays with the Chinese Unicorn, whose magnificent voice sings like a thousand wind chimes.

The Curse of Time

​Fifteen-year-old Amelina Scott lives in Cambridge with her dysfunctional family, a mysterious black cat, and an unusual girl who's imprisoned within the mirrors located in her house. When an unexpected message arrives inviting her to visit the Crystal Cottage, she sets off on a forbidden pathway where she encounters Ryder, a charismatic, but perplexing stranger.

With the help of a magical paint set, and some crystal wizard stones she discovers the truth about a shocking curse that has destroyed her family's happiness.
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​"Unique, Imaginative, charming, enchanting and richly layered this is purely delightful.’

"This delightful book will appeal to teens and young adults who love stories filled with magical crystals, dark family curses, and mysteries waiting to be solved around every corner. Each chapter leads you on a journey of discovery where Amelina earns the right to use three wizard stones to reset the balance of time and finally break the curse that holds her family hostage. A captivating tale!" - Colleen M. Chesebro (Editor)
Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime 

Look for Ghostly Goodbye in Ghostly Writes Anthology 2018
Release Date: October 31, 2018

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The Ghostly Goodbye is a paranormal love story about a young woman called Iris who can’t get over her husband’s death. She is mourning him so much that she feels dead inside. Her husband Ed sends her a ghostly message from beyond the grave via an old forgotten garment in her wardrobe. She responds by dragging herself from her tomb-like bed and he draws back the curtain of death to visit her in a most unusual way.

AUTHOR LINKS

Authors Website: https://mjmallon.com
Collaborative Blog: https://sistersofthefey.wordpress.com
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
#ABRSC: Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club on Facebook
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17064826.M_J_Mallon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjmallonauthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjmallonauthor/
Tumblr: http://mjmallonauthor.tumblr.com/
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Author Spotlight - Jane Risdon (Ghostly Writes Anthology 2018 Contributing Author)

10/4/2018

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Jane Risdon is first and foremost a Crime writer who dabbles now and again in other genres. Published by Accent Press Ltd her most recent novel, Only One Woman, is Women’s Fiction, and is co-written with award-winning best-selling author, Christina Jones, and is set in the UK Music Scene of the late 1960s where she and Christina share their past and love of all things music.

Married to a professional musician and after living all over the world they decided they would continue in the international music industry managing recording artists, songwriters, musicians, and record producers once his band career ended.

Jane has used her experiences in the music business and her interest in crime and espionage to write novels and short stories in the genre. She has also contributed to 14 anthologies – 4 Ghostly Writes anthologies to date with her 5th contribution to be published soon. She writes for online magazines and newsletters, has her own author blog on Wordpress and manages the Only One Woman blog and Facebook pages.

Only One Woman

A lead guitarist whose band is touring and recording in England meets  two girls in the swinging sixties.
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Buy Links

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Only-One-Woman-Christina-Jones-ebook/dp/B075D88JBP
USA: https://www.amazon.com/Only-One-Woman-Christina-Jones-ebook/dp/B075D88JBP
Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/d/Only-One-Woman-Christina-Jones-ebook/B075D88JBP

Other Books by Jane Risdon

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Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00I3GJ2Y8

Look for The Gift by Jane Risdon in Ghostly Writes Anthology 2018

Release Date: October 31, 2018
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The room stank of bleach but that couldn’t be helped, he’d opened the windows and was sure that the odour would soon evaporate. The air fresheners would help too. Nothing was left that he could see but he knew that modern forensics would be able to find blood splatter if they sprayed Luminol where they suspected the murder took place. He’d read some time ago that rubbing surfaces with Horseradish sauce would give a false reading - he carried it with him these days - and he’d done that for added insurance. The murderer didn’t plan on hanging around. If they found anything, which he thought highly unlikely, he’d be long gone. He’d planned on relocating overseas with a new identity and had ensured there wouldn’t be a trail to follow. He hadn’t been successful for as long as he had been without good reason.

His payment arrived in the off-shore bank as agreed once his work had been confirmed upon receipt of his ‘gift’ to his employer. His fee was, as arranged, divided into smaller amounts and sent on to several banks around the globe instantaneously - untraceable, just like he was. It was his last job. He was rich and free. The past was the past, and from now on he was going to enjoy the good life, perhaps he’d even settle down…

Author Links

Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00I3GJ2Y8
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/JaneRisdon2/
Author Blog: https://janerisdon.wordpress.com/
GoodReads Page:  https://www.goodreads.com/JaneRisdon
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Jane_Risdon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janerisdonwriter/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/janerisdon2/
Only One Woman Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RenzandStella/
Only One Woman Blog: https://onlyonewomanblog.wordpress.com/
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Laird by Cassia Brightmore - Cover Reveal

5/7/2018

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Laird by: Cassia Brightmore

Genre: Historical Dark Romance

Release Date: June 23, 2018

Cover Design: Simply Defined Art

Model: Lance Jones

Photographer: LJ Photography

 

 

Sold.

Traded into the hands of a vicious man as a pawn in war.

Blair Cowan might have been brave, but nothing terrified her more than the dark soulless eyes of the Laird that owned her.

Fearing for her life or not, if he thought she would ever bend to his will; he was about to embark on the greatest battle of his life.

 

Grown men feared his wrath.

The fiercest warriors ran from his sword.

Battlefields stained in blood spoke of his victories; while vast lands sang of his savage need to possess everything in his path.

And yet, one slip of a girl dared to defy him.

Laird Duncan MuCullogh was not a man to be underestimated. Blair’s fate was his alone to decide. Breaking her would be his greatest accomplishment.

 

Ensnared in a deadly battle between clans, betrayal ran deep and death knocked often. Amidst the struggle to rise, two powerful Lairds would stop at nothing to be the last man standing. No matter the devious acts they needed to commit to get there.

 

Conquer. Annihilate. Defeat.

The Highlands of Scotland will never be the same.

 

 

 

Head on over to Cassia’s Author Page on Facebook to enter an exclusive giveaway!

 

 

 

 

Cassia Brightmore is a Canadian dark romance author. She loves writing dark stories with twisted characters that she hopes will thrill the reader as well as make them fall in love.

 

She loves hockey, video games and online shopping. If she's not writing or editing, you can usually find her doing one of these things. Writing is her passion and publishing her first book as an indie author is truly a dream come true.

 

Her titles include:

 

The Darkness Series

Book One: Malevolent

Book Two: Evanesce

Book Three: Denouement

Book Four: Repentance

 

The Trauma Series

Book One: Lincoln Hospital

Book Two: Flatline

Book Three: Resuscitation

 

Standalones

Unworthy

The Book Splash Horror Story

 

FACEBOOK     WEBSITE     EMAIL     INSTAGRAM

 

 

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NEW RELEASE: ALPHA TALES 2044 BY WESLEY BRITTON (GUEST POST-KARINA KANTAS)

5/5/2018

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Alien Vision presents a collection of short stories and sketches from the Beta-Earth Chronicles by Wesley Britton.
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Alpha Tales 2044, opens on Beta-Earth when two genetically-enhanced mutants are forced to recover a stolen secret, the cure to the ancient Plague-With-No-Name that defined a planet for millennia.
Then we jump across the multi-verse to our earth, Alpha-Earth, where police Captain Mary Carpenter infiltrates a gang of White Supremacists who want to purify Texas after decades of climate change and weaponized plagues.

Still on Alpha, we leap ahead in time to 40 years in the future where Mary Carpenter joins up with four aliens, two from Beta-Earth, two from Serapin-Earth. All four share the same father, The Blind Alien from Alpha-Earth. They’ve traveled across the multi-verse to tell us about their worlds.

But Alphans, scarred by the devastations to our world, are unhappy about learning about very different cultures from anything we’ve ever known and especially hearing about multiple deities. So the alien band are forced to go on the run and take sanctuary in a First Nation domed city in British Columbia.

But their sanctuary doesn’t last long. Forced to travel further into the Canadian wilderness, the family encounters a pair of Sasquatch who change everything for them. They learn about the many definitions of what it means to be human.

Alpha Tales 2044, is a collection of stories that are part sci-fi, part murder mysteries, part horror, and part social commentary. But completely full of the unexpected, surprises, and tales, unlike anything you’ve experienced before.


Official Released 8/12 price $0.99
iBook, Nook and Kobo: https://www.draft2digital.com/book/392281
Where to buy Amazon:  http://bit.ly/AT2044




About the Author:
​

Immerse yourself in an extraordinary universe revealed by the most original storytelling you’ll ever experience. “Science fiction yes, but so much more.”

Besides his 33 years in the classroom, Dr. Wesley Britton considers his Beta-Earth Chronicles the most important work he’s ever done. “I suppose an author profile is intended to be a good little biography,” Britton says, “but the best way to know who I am is to read my novels.”

Still, a few things you might like to know about Wes include the fact he’s the author of four non-fiction books on espionage in the media, most notably The Encyclopedia of TV Spies (2009). Beginning in 1983, he was a widely published poet, article writer for a number of encyclopedias, and was a noted scholar of American literature. Since those days, for sites like BlogCritics.org and BookPleasures.com, Britton wrote over 500 music, book, and movie reviews. For seven years, he was co-host of online radio's Dave White Presents for which he contributed celebrity interviews with musicians, authors, actors, and entertainment insiders.

Starting in fall 2015, his science fiction series, The Beta-Earth Chronicles, debuted with The Blind Alien. Throughout 2016, four sequels followed including The Blood of Balnakin, When War Returns, A Throne for an Alien, and The Third Earth. Return to Alpha was the sixth volume of this multi-planetary epic.


Britton earned his doctorate in American Literature at the University of North Texas in 1990. He taught English at Harrisburg Area Community College until his retirement in 2016. He serves on the Board of Directors for Vision Resources of Central Pennsylvania.
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Where to find Wesley online:
​
Website: https://drwesleybritton.com/books/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BetaEarthChronicles/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wesley_britton
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wesley-Britton/e/B001HD455U
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/295635.Wesley_Britton
Mailing list sign up: http://eepurl.com/dwvfQr

​EXCERPT: From Last Night Of The Colective


I vividly remember the afternoon when Jrin Rol, the second-in-command of our security unit, and I stepped onto the ground floor of the Hotel Domino in the new city called Monte Carlo. The hotel was an entertainment center named after yet another Alpha game Malcolm Renbourn had brought to our planet. It should have been named Hotel Backgammon for all the pointed spikes of alternating colors on the floors and walls.

On this day, I was listening to Jrin's wistful hopes for an extended leave from service so she could deepen her studies in linguistic morphologies, geographic spatial patterns, and other analytical investigative techniques that would make her far more than a skilled expert in stealth and counter-espionage operations. I was becoming more and more impressed with what I heard as we walked into the dining hall.

Then, my blood chilled. In one moment, I felt as if I'd drank a bath shell-sized cocktail of adrenaline and dread. Sitting alone at a table in the corner was First Helprim Kiem Holenris from ital, the supreme head of the Munchen Collective. The last I'd seen of this seeming old crone had been in my offices in Bercumel. On that day, Holendris had let me know my life was on the line if I continued my then-pointless, personal war with my bond-family. For, like her, my genetically-enhanced mutations had come at a cost. The little pills the Collective now provided me slowed the metabolic rushing of time that aged such as us much faster than our years. If I wanted to live a healthy and beautiful life and for a good long time, I needed the pills only the Collective could provide me.

Holendris looked like a woman who'd seen four generations of descendants from her womb. But she was merely the age of my own mother. Like me, her appearance concealed a body of extraordinary gifts. Unlike me, she had started her pill regimen much later in her life than I had, hence her aged face and deceptively marked skin. On this day, while her lips were twisted in an almost skullish smile, her eyes sent a clear message to me across the wide hall of tables and happy noises.

"Child," they wordlessly told me, "bring your sun-drenched bronze skin and bright, blonde hair over here to me. You must come to me now. A matter of dire importance awaits you. Awaits us."

I looked to Jrin, who understood my own silent signal. We slowly made our way to the Helprim's round, polished white table where Kiem studied our movements with practiced eyes. She nodded as we came close and indicated two chairs.

"Sit, little kitty," she cooed. "Sit, Jrin Rol of the Mask-Painters."

Wordlessly, we took our places as serving hands quickly brought us trays of beverages. Kiem waited until the hands departed and took a sip of her own red pravine, then said softly, "Thank you for your quick compliance, as what I am here to discuss requires some delicacy."

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New Orleans Cocktails Recipes

3/27/2018

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​Mardi Gras may be over for this year, but the party is always in full swing. Did you know there are drinks that originated in New Orleans and the first cocktail was introduced in the crescent city?

While you will find most locals indulging in beer and wine, there are some cocktails exclusive to this part of the country that you may want to try. You can make them yourself wherever in the world you are by simply following the recipes.




Sazerac


This drink is not commonly ordered by locals, but it does have its history. The Sazerac originated in New Orleans in 1838 when Antoine Amedie Peychaud served his friends brandy toddies made from his own recipe. The toddies were mixed in an egg cup called a “coquetier” from which the English word cocktail derived, introducing the world's first cocktail. 

1/4 oz. Absinthe
1 sugar cube
1 1/2 oz. Rye whiskey or Cognac
3 dashes Peychaud's bitters

serve straight up in an old fashioned glass



Hurricane

The most famous New Orleans cocktail is the Hurricane, a potent drink that originated at Pat O’Briens in the French Quarter. The Hurricane is served in the traditional Hurricane glass at Pat O’Briens. You can get this sweet, fruity drink at other local bars, but it will be served to you in a glass or plastic cup. I don’t know how the name “Hurricane” originated, but just as the name implies, it’s a category 5 drink, so my advice: go easy on them.

2 oz. Light Rum
2 oz. Dark Rum
2 oz. Passion Fruit Juice
1 oz. Orange Juice
1/2 oz. Lime Juice
1 tbsp. Grenadine

Mix and Shake with ice, then pour into the glass and serve.



The Pimm's Cup

The signature drink of The Napoleon House, The Pimm’s Cup is a perfect drink for the hot and humid long New Orleans summers. Born in London and re-engineered in New Orleans, this cool and refreshing mixture of Pimms #1 and lemonade topped off with Sprite or 7-Up can be found in most local bars.

1 oz. Pimm’s #1
3 oz. Lemonade
Top off with Sprite or 7-Up



Cajun Bloody Mary

Yes, you can get a Bloody Mary anywhere, but we like them a little hotter and spicier down here. Add enough garnishments to it, and you can have it for breakfast.

1.5 oz. Vodka
3 oz. Tomato Juice
1 dash Worchestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp. Horseradish
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
2 tbsp. Lime Juice
Tabasco Hot Sauce (to taste depending on how hot you like it)

Garnish with celery stalks, lime slices, pickled okra, string beans, and olives

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