Hi folks, how are ya? For a short update today I’ve enrolled in Camp Nanowrimo again. Got some edits to take care of. (What? Ya think just because I released a new novel in Antique Magic the other day the writing stops? Au contraire! 🙂 So for my Preptober peeps, that’s going. Are you participating? (if you don’t have it, and you want, my Preptober guide, I don’t see why you couldn’t use it for Camp Nano or any writing project to be honest. It’s what I’m using. 🙂
Aside from that, I enrolled several of my books in Smashwords Summer sale again. You can find the Reign of Tarot boxed set on sale for 50% off, as well as Druid Warrior Prince for $.99. And if you were looking for Caitlin’s Book of Shadows in one of those times Amazon “helpfully” wiped out its freebie status, it’s always free there. These are also available at Amazon for their reduced prices if you’d rather shop there.
I hope you all have a happy Independence day, (or, if you’re not in America, a great weekend).
Hi, y’all. I hope you’ve been well. We have. I’ve been writing in Camp Wrimo and hoping to have that finished soon. What about you? Did you sign up for Camp Wrimo?
Anyway, between that, I have decided to take the Reign of Tarotboxed set out of Kindle KU. It’ll be a few weeks before that happens, however, so for a few days (UPDATE circa 8/10/2020: IT’s NOW AVAILABLE WIDE at Kobo, Itunes, as well as Amazon,) It’s even got a new cover and a new story involved. 🙂
The Reign of Tarot set, A bundle of my three Gothic romances (with fantasy) concerning a family fleeing revolutionary France, rebuilding their life outside the troubled capital, and a supernatural debt they find they owe. Purchase on Amazon or elsewhere today!
The series includes: Lady of the Tarot
Synopsis:
WHAT THE CARDS FORETELL MAY BE REAL, AFTER ALL
1793: Having escaped the Reign of Terror, Emilie Maigny took refuge in England, trying to come to grips with the life and loss she left behind. When her brother, Sinjon, returns, a terrifying evil swoops down upon her. Nightmares plague her now, providing strange clues … but to what?
Scottish-born Linton Morrison spent his entire life in luxury, whiling away the hours in intense study of the tarot and the cards’ hidden meanings, but until he met the lovely Emilie Maigny, he would never have guessed how important his study might be–to his life and Emilie’s survival when terrible evil strikes.
A Cypher is all Emilie needs, but what is it? Is Linton the key? He may charm her heart–and he may be her only salvation.
Keywords: French Revolution, Gothic Romance, tarot, historical romance, 18th century Europe, Reign of Terror, fantasy romance, Family Saga, scandal, suspense
Hallowe’en Promise:
The hero and heroine and family revisited–at, yes, Halloween)
And for completion’s sake, House of Cards:
Can you gamble with Fate?
A young nobleman escapes the Reign of Terror in 18th century France to find himself dragged into an even worse fate–a hellish underworld wherein he is cajoled and put on trial by a demon tribunal for crimes he never committed. Can he thwart his fate, one worse than the guillotine?
The new synopsis hasn’t gone live on Amazon but the books are updated. (If you just want Lady of the Tarot, of course, it’s always available on Amazon and as an audiobook at Audible in the US here, or the UK here, Germany, and France. It’s also available on Itunes.)
Since it’s close to Halloween, I’ve decided to chat about what scares me. My girls find it frustrating that very little scares me. They are forever trying to jump from darkened corners, hide things in my bed, or dream up other diabolical ways to make mom scream.
Silly girls.
To be honest, there are only two things I’m afraid of–werewolves and butterflies. My fear of butterflies will always remain a mystery, but I can trace my fear of werewolves back to one Halloween when I was six-years-old.
I had decided, as kids do, to pick the most impossible costume for my mom to sew. I wanted to be Snow White—complete with the huge skirt, laced bodice, and puffy sleeves. To my mom’s credit, she did a brilliant job sewing it together. So brilliant, in fact, that she refused to let me wear the dress until Halloween night. She was afraid I would ruin it.
Halloween night finally arrived, and off I went in full costume, my mom and dad in tow. I was never afraid of the dark, so when we came to one house that happened to have all the lights off, it didn’t occur to me that it was a set-up.
With pillow case in hand, I gathered my Snow White skirts and ran up the walkway, completely focused on my task at hand. The last thing on my mind, were the bushes on either side of the door. Bushes large enough to hide a teenager, dressed up as a werewolf, and completely focused on Halloween festivities of his own.
Out he jumped, and off I ran, screaming at the top of my lungs. I guess I must have snagged my skirt on a bush, because I remember hearing it rip and my mom screaming something of her own.
But, I was sure it was the werewolf—making a grab with the intent of dragging me back to his lair. So sure, in fact, that I continued to run.
My mom was mortified.
The teenager was mortified.
I was oblivious and kept running until my dad finally caught up with me.
From that point, all I remember was being dragged back to the house where the werewolf lived. I don’t remember the teenager removing his mask, I don’t remember him apologizing profusely, I don’t remember the fact that he dumped his whole stash of candy into my pillow case (so my parents tell me). I pretty much just blanked out.
And so a fear is born. I can’t watch werewolf movies before bed, else I have nightmares. I write scary stuff about ghosts, demons, and things that go bump in the night, but I won’t touch the subject of werewolves with a ten-foot sword. My girls think it’s great fun to don one of those rubber werewolf masks in the Halloween stores and chase me around with it. We laugh, but inside, that little six-year-old girl is screaming.
And candy is the farthest thing from her mind.
Thank you for having me as a guest, Night Mistress!
Mistress: Oh my! That’s just terrible, Clarissa. Most of the werewolves I know are rather cuddly, once you give them the right puppy chow. At least it provided fodder for some intriguing stories, yes? Why don’t you tell us a little about your novel, BETWEEN?
BETWEEN
by Clarissa Johal
How far would you go to redeem yourself?
As a young girl, Lucinda was able to see spirits, a gift that didn’t come without its problems. Now, a dedicated young veterinarian, she is committed to the idea that every life can be saved.
After a devastating accident, Lucinda tries to escape her past by moving to a small town. There, she meets a newcomer and feels an immediate connection with him. But there is another mysterious stranger to the small town, one that stirs within her a mixture of unease and desire.
As Lucinda is drawn into a bitter tug-a-war from the forces around her, she is likewise pulled into a dangerous twist of past and present events. Forced to make difficult choices, she finds that the two men are locked in not only a battle for her life…but a battle for their salvation.
Sounds wonderful, Clarissa! A spooky tale for a Halloween night for sure. Thank you for joining us.
Clarissa: And thank you for the tea. *sniffs tea suspiciously* I’m actually a coffee drinker. Forgive me if I set it aside for now…
Mistress: No, there’s nothing wrong with the tea, dear. I’ll see about getting you some coffee, though… 😉
Author Clarissa Johl
Bio:
Clarissa Johal has worked as a veterinary assistant, zoo-keeper aide and vegetarian chef. Writing has always been her passion. When she’s not listening to the ghosts in her head, she’s dancing or taking photographs of gargoyles. She shares her life with her husband, two daughters and every stray animal that darkens the doorstep. One day, she expects that a wayward troll will wander into her yard, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Did you know today is Bastille day? *nods* So for this Sneak Peek Sunday we have a spooky entry from House of Cards (Reign of Tarot, book 1) that just so happens to take place around this time of year. The main character, you see, is on the run because his family is about to be arrested during the opening strains of the Reign of Terror which affected France in the years following this event. So, here he is, just a moment after one of his horses threw a shoe. And he sees a woman hanging from a tree.
Surely, he was seeing things: the poor soul hadn’t been there a moment ago. Ignoring the driver’s warning, he turned back to demand he lend a hand as Sinjon intended to cut her down. The more he looked, the less he was sure she was human. There was something odd about her: the nails weren’t right seeming almost like razors, her skin more like wrinkled leather, her throat a little too long. Her eyes were altogether strange, gouged, yet whole; staring and lifeless, yet somehow they seemed to watch him. What had happened to the right side of her torso, he couldn’t tell, but it was torn to shreds, strips of bloodied flesh hanging, ribs showing through the injury. Yet, when he tilted his head for a different view, the skin and sinew seemed almost woven together. Something protruded from her back, but whether two humps, knives, or—it couldn’t be—stubby wings, he couldn’t decide. Or didn’t want to know the nature of what he saw.
As he turned back to his driver, a wall of ethereal flame erupted between them. Sinjon fell back, staring in astonishment. The ice-blue flames crackled and spat, the wind gusting from the blaze was cold as a winter’s breeze. Beyond, noises of battle erupted.
Sinjon reached for his pistol. A screaming woman flew from the conflagration and locked her hands around his throat. Shock paralyzed him as she dragged him to the flames.
The fire engulfed them utterly. The hag hissed, baring wicked fangs. Twisting her grip, her nails cut his flesh like blades. He shivered in the chill of the unreal blaze, struggling for freedom. She laughed and tossed him about until nausea threatened to overtake him.
Sudden darkness blinded him. Chains snaked around his chest, his limbs. He slammed against a stone wall alive with spiders; the monsters sunk their teeth deep into his flesh, shocking him with unmatched pain.
“Where are you?” he screamed. “Come and face me, damn you! I’m not afraid of you!”
Does he have reason to fear her? What does she want? If you’d like to see what happens next, House of Cards (Reign of Tarot, #1) is available at Amazon and Smashwords. Book two is in the works to be released (tentatively) next year!
For this week’s Sneak Peek Sunday post, here are six paragraphs from my middle story in the Antique Magic series, Caitlin’s Book of Shadows. I know it’s just a small tidbit, but I hope you enjoy it.
Caitlin flipped the phone shut. Where did Trevor keep Arianrhod’s number? She frowned at the empty room and trekked to the bathroom. Sneaking in, she poked her head around the dark blue shower curtain to see Trevor with shampoo in his eyes. She sighed and left the room as quietly as she came. Dinner needed cooking and she mixed and tested, plopping the pork and potatoes into their plates with much more force than she’d meant to.
Trevor’s footsteps drew her attention to the kitchen door. “Something wrong?” he asked.
She scanned his open flannel shirt and the wet towel around his neck and smiled. “You know, Christmas is coming.” She waved a finger at him. “That’d make a perfect Christmas card.”
“No, it wouldn’t.”
“Yes it would.” She raised a brow mischievously. “Let me get the camera.”
He grabbed her hand as she approached, pulling her into his warm arms. “No you don’t!”
Hehe. Poor Trevor. 😉 Would you like a little more? Caitlin’s Book of Shadows is available at Amazon,Barnes and Noble and Smashwords. Enjoy!
Something terrifying stalks Caitlin and her beloved Trevor. Something the bits and pieces she left claimed she had to make sense of–or so legend says. When the curator of their collection finds Caitlin’s long forgotten diary, she wonders will it tell the whole tale? Will it tell why Caitlin seemed so determined to tell the difference between reality and nightmare even as she continued the fight to defend her family from evil? Will it explain why she thought her world twisted? If she really became a witch?
Perhaps the answer lies between the lines of her story, one of lessons, struggles, and the hopes she carried like a warrior’s shield.
**This is a side (or supplemental, if you will) story in the Antique Magic series, a companion to The Artist’s Inheritance (Antique Magic, Book One).
For Sneak Peek Sunday/ Sweet Saturday Sample entry, week two, another snippet from my story Caitlin’s Book of Shadows (though not quite supernatural horror in bent, this bit, Caitlin fears it’s coming. You’ll see… For those of you who have not read the first book in the Antique Magic series, The Artist’s Inheritance, Michela is the family’s guardian spirit).
“He’s here again. Arianrhod promised he’s locked up,” Caitlin said, watching the guardian take a cup of coffee from her husband’s hand.
“I assure you that’s the case.”
Arms crossed, she gripped her loose sleeves tight, crumpling the flannel in her anxiety. “Why did I see him in Kameko’s?”
Michela shrugged. “You’ve been stressed. I suppose it’s normal for you to fixate that rage on him.”
“With good reason,” Caitlin grumbled. She raised her voice. “So, I can go back to work tomorrow without fear of him bombing the place or something?”
“If you put it that way, let’s be honest, anyone could perpetrate such a crime,” Michela mused. “To answer your question, I have no indication any evil’s about to befall you.”
Yeah, right.
****
Well….Caitlin knows Hofter and the mischief he perpetrates. Evil might be an understatement, right?
Something terrifying stalks Caitlin and her beloved Trevor. Something the bits and pieces she left claimed she had to make sense of–or so legend says. When the curator of their collection finds Caitlin’s long forgotten diary, she wonders will it tell the whole tale? Will it tell why Caitlin seemed so determined to tell the difference between reality and nightmare even as she continued the fight to defend her family from evil? Will it explain why she thought her world twisted? If she really became a witch?
Perhaps the answer lies between the lines of her story, one of lessons, struggles, and the hopes she carried like a warrior’s shield.
**This is a side (or supplemental, if you will) story in the Antique Magic series, a companion to The Artist’s Inheritance (Antique Magic, Book One).
The Reign of Tarot set, A bundle of my three Gothic romances (with fantasy) concerning a family fleeing revolutionary France, rebuilding their life outside the troubled capital, and a supernatural debt they find they owe. Purchase on 
Juli D. Revezzo, author of the Antique Magic series and more 