Skeleton Squad Returns Home
Welcome back to another installment of the Skeleton Squad Search for the Halloween Spirit.
After returning home from the spooky trip to Roswell, NM, yes, indeed, the Skeleton Squad believes in extraterrestrials. Toil and Trouble and the rest of the Skeleton Squad were off searching for the Halloween Spirit under the flower pot, Octavia, was caught smelling the flowers and enjoying the cool fall weather. She’d discovered that the month of October and Halloween 2023 will be the spookiest on record. Because there is a Friday the 13th, a Solar Eclipse on October 14th, and a full blood moon Lunar Eclipse on Halloween weekend. To her thinking, they’re sure to find the Halloween Spirit without a problem.
Maybe even some of her werewolf friends will show up to help or more likely celebrate.
After calling in sick to the search a couple of weeks ago, Dave from Ohio, came riding by on his spider to help locate the Halloween Spirit. While the Skeleton Squad was thankful for his help, no Halloween spirit was found. Darnit!
Searching for a fun, spooky Halloween read? Look no further than the award-winning Hidden Gypsy Magic. You won’t believe what happened at the Halloween Party hosted in the centuries old house Brock bought and Gwen decorated. Members of the Historical Society and The Witch’s Museum gathered around the front door eager to leave when strange things began to happen.
Discover the consequences of awakening hidden Gypsy magic! Want to know more about Hidden Gypsy Magic?
The Salem Wildlife Sanctuary is Gwen Taylor’s life work. Her Irish Gypsy heritage provides a hidden talent she uses to help the creatures under her care. But even her magical skills can’t help new rescues in dire need of veterinary care.
The opportunity of signing on as the vet for Gwen’s sanctuary dropped into Brock Scutter’s lap after he expanded his practice to include wildlife. The personal attraction he and Gwen experience is undeniable the more their professional and personal lives collide.
Touring the only “non-haunted” house in Salem they both feel a spark of magic. A trip to his family’s cabin uncovers a heritage he didn’t know existed. If they want a future together, it means facing the consequences of awakening hidden Gypsy magic and a race against the clock to correct past wrongs.
A sneak peek bewteen the pages of Hidden Gypsy Magic.
“It feels like all the air is being sucked out of this room.” His brother’s face turned ashen white as Beth’s ghostly form took shape in the center of the room.
Brock moved to the little group gathered and glanced at the grandfather clock standing in the hallway. Fifteen minutes until midnight. The witching hour on All Hallows Eve. A nervous chuckle rose up in his throat. How cliche. His brother would be a believer after this night.
He cleared his throat and wrapped an arm around Gwen’s waist. “Can we help you, Beth?” Misfit’s howling could be heard clearly from the upstairs bedroom.
“No, but I hope we can help you.” Ghost Beth glanced back at the painting and sadly shook her head. “The ghost of Judge John Hathorne stands outside ready to curse or worse all those involved in sullying his reputation. The house stands between all of you…protecting—” The ghost’s hand and arm made a sweeping motion toward their group, “— against his magic ability.”
A soft almost hysterical giggle burst from Gwen. “Doesn’t he know that by his actions this night, he has not only outed himself but proved the rumors and article are true?”
“I don’t believe he’s considered that point.” Beth’s ghostly grim face twitched into a half-smile. “He’s bent on revenge, but apparently had trouble passing through the veil this evening.” She pointed to the clock and then laid a finger on her lips.
Hope you’ve enjoyed the snippet of Hidden Gypsy Magic, and the Skelton Squad Adventures this week. Hope you’ll return to see what michief they get into next week. Happy Halloween!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Halloween, Hidden Gypsy Magic, Skeleton Squad, Spider, Spirit, Tena Stetler by Tena Stetler with 2 comments.
Sweet Slow Sizzle: Bangers Tavern Romance 4
Give a Spooktacular welcome to Sadira Stone, author of Sweet Slow Sizzle: Bangers Tavern Romance book 4.
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cauldron. Take your choice of a bat wing Chocolate Chip or Pumpkin, or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Sadira Stone and her Sweet Slow Sizzle: Bangers Tavern Romance, Book 4.
Loving him means risking the only family she has left.
Bangers Tavern’s hunky bouncer Jojo Williams has been flirting with server Lana Lopez for three years, but she dismisses him as a trifling joker. Determined to penetrate her prickly defenses, he plunges into the hot mess that keeps her from dating. If he screws this up, his heart and hers won’t be the only ones broken.
Orphaned by a car wreck at twenty-two, Lana must keep her teen brothers on track and together in the home they grew up in. One more slip-up, and her interfering tías will separate the boys. The last thing Lana needs is a big goof like Jojo meddling with her fragile family.
But when the teens’ shenanigans land them in trouble, Jojo may be the only person who can save them from the wrath of the tías. Lana’s growing attraction to the gentle giant makes it harder and harder to shut him out, but loving him is a gamble that could cost her everything.
Come back to Bangers Tavern for a slow burn, sizzling hot, friends to lovers workplace romance full of laughs, steam, and the glorious chaos of 21st century family—the ones we’re born into, and the ones we gather to our hearts.
Universal Book Link: Amazon, Amazon paperback Barnes & Noble Kobo
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A Sneak Peak Between the Pages of Sweet Slow Sizzle!
While Rosie waited for a frozen blue daiquiri, she tilted her chin toward the bouncers’ station at the door. “What did you say to Jojo?”
“Nothing. Why?”
“He looked like a kid who dropped his ice cream.”
Lana huffed. “I just declined his offer to talk some sense into Pedro.”
Rosie folded her inked-up arms. “Don’t you want more healthy male role models for your brothers?”
“It’s hard enough to keep those two focused on school. What’s gonna happen if I bring over a musclehead who spews jokes all day? Leo’s already in trouble for cutting up in class. Kenny’s the kind of role model he needs, not Jojo.”
“Hey, Jojo’s a sweetheart. He’s”—Rosie ticked off on her fingers—“educated, employed, good to his mama, and he’s totally sweet on you.”
Lana stabbed cherries and orange slices onto a cocktail pick. “Come on, he’s sweet on anyone with boobs.” She dropped the garnish into a tall rum punch. “Wait…you met his mom?”
“Last week when I dropped Eddie off for Jojo’s bootcamp-slash-torture dungeon. She came by to ask for his help with something, and he was a total puppy. Adorable.”
A high-pitched yelp from a nearby table jerked Lana’s head around. Some baby-face guy in a college hoodie was trying to snatch tater tots from a woman’s platter while his knucklehead buddies laughed.
“Oh, goodie,” Lana whispered to Rosie. “I love this part.”
Smooth as a shadow, Jojo slid through the crowd to confront the tot raider. She couldn’t hear whatever he growled at the thief, but the way he puffed out his massive chest and clenched his fists gave her shivers. Those corded forearms, those powerful shoulders! Ungh! She bit her lip.
Jojo jerked his chin toward the door.
Hands raised in surrender, the frat boy withdrew.
Rosie gave a low whistle. “Impressive, isn’t he? If I weren’t already spoken for…”
As if he could sense Lana’s lustful stare, Jojo glanced their way, and his rock-hard expression melted into a goofy smile. Rosie had nailed it—he really did look like a puppy, an oversize, muscle-bound pit bull eager for a belly rub. She blew out a shaky breath and forced her attention back to her friend.
“Handling two male egos keeps me busy to the max. What would I do with a third?”
It’s been great having you with us today. Good luck with Sweet Slow Sizzle: Bangers Tavern Romance Book 4.
Happy Halloween!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Bangers Tavern Romance book 4, Halloween, Sadira Stone, Sweet Slow Sizzle by Tena Stetler with 3 comments.
A Witch’s Protocol – Sunday Snippet
This week’s Sunday Snippet is a bit different A WITCH’S PROTOCOL. It’s a short story I wrote for inclusion in an anthology entitled Australia Burns, Vol III with other authors from The Wild Rose Press to help with the recovery efforts from the 2020 Australia wildfires.
What is A Witch’s Protocol about?
Megan, a witch and cybersecurity specialist, has sworn off men after an incident reported to the Witch’s Council. When ex-special forces Braiden crosses her path sparks fly. She is in panic mode when her lucrative government contract is expedited. Offering his assistance is mixing business with pleasure an explosive combination. Is it worth the risk?
A sneak peek between the pages of A Witch’s Protocol:
A month later, Megan braved the Council’s hearing and escaped with a strong warning and probation. She’d never used magic so irresponsibly before, and looking back, she wasn’t sure what had happened. One minute she was furious and casting Zack aside, the next, all hell broke loose. Of course, she didn’t admit that to the Council or the punishment would—she didn’t want to think about it. She straightened, held her head high, and thanked her lucky stars, determined that her loss of control wouldn’t happen again. To prove it to herself, the next morning she drove back to the park for a run. Maybe the good-looking guy will be there again. Oh no, stop right there. No more relationships. I can’t afford more trouble.
Stepping out of the car, she started through her stretching routine and glanced up. There he stood, not ten feet in front of her—shoulder-length wavy blond hair tousled by the wind, wide muscular shoulders narrowing to… She licked her lips. The dude who played Thor has nothing on this guy. A furry black dog followed at the man’s heels. For a split second, Megan considered ducking back into the car.
One hand on his waist and the other stretched over his head, Braiden bent slowly from side to side and front to back. He looked up, a genuine smile curving his full lips. “Hi there, nice to see you again. Megan, right?”
Too late. She groaned. She didn’t have the self-discipline to walk away. Besides, it would be rude. “Morning. How are you?”
Buy Links: Amazon
I hope you’ll take a minute to check out the book and wonderful stories it contains.
See you back here next month for another segement of Sunday Snippets.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Witch's Protocol, Australia Burns Vol 3, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Tena Stetler, Witches by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
Skeleton Squad Meet Aliens
Squad Meets Aliens. Welcome back to another installment of the Skeleton’s Squad Search for the Halloween Spirit.
As we overheard, the Skeleton Squad planned to hitch a ride with us to Roswell, New Mexico. How they knew our destination, we’ll never know. We certainly didn’t tell the little buggers. But here we are and so are they:
We rolled into Roswell with reservations at the Red Barn RV Park. What a welcoming place. Octavia found the RV Park with out a problem. The Skeleton Squad made friends with the first Alien they met.
The squad enlisted the rest of the family to search downtown Roswell, New Mexico.. We didn’t have any luck finding the Halloween Spirit, though we looked high and low. but we did find friendly aliens.
.
They gave us a ride in their spaceship. Meanwhile Toil and Trouble of the Skeleton Squad called Dave, their friends who now moved to Ohio to come help. Unfortunately, Dave and his friend were under the weather unable to help at this time.
The next day we all packed up and headed to Santa Fe, New Mexico where we found some excellent places to eat but the Skellon Squad weren’t allowed inside. The Rancheros De Santa Fe RV park (under new ownership) were welcoming!
Speaking of a little dose of the paranormal, let’s take a peek at my A Magic Redemption!
What’s A Magic Redemption about? Well….. Even with magic, finding your place in the world proves more difficult than imagined especially when someone is out for revenge.
Synn, a demon, carries extraordinary magic and power, but there is more within her than she dreams. Kidnapped as a child, her captors murdered her family and forced her into training as a warrior assassin. When an assignment goes horribly wrong, she finds herself at the mercy of the friends and family of her intended target. Offering valuable information in exchange for protection, she gains her freedom, but it is not without its challenges.
Gavin Shaughnessy is the publican at his family’s Irish pub. He is certain Synn is meant to be his and isn’t bothered by her past. He must find a way to convince her, their future together is stronger than the dark memories that haunt her dreams.
When her past comes calling for revenge, will their love survive the raging inferno she brings down upon them? Or will the searing path of destruction destroy all they hold dear?
A sneak peek between the pages of A Magic Redemption: Snuggled deep under the covers, she drifted off to sleep. She tossed and turned through several nightmarish scenarios, waking often, until… surrounded by evil she couldn’t identify, she screamed herself awake to find a gleaming silver sword floating over her. Storm howled in her crate, and Gavin burst through the door to the room.
“What in the hell?” He skidded to a halt at the foot of her bed.
In all the chaos, she was calm. Her sheets damp from sweat that beaded on her forehead. The sword glinted in the ray of sunlight streaming through the curtains. The jewels encrusted on the handle sparkled as the weapon slowly lowered toward her, handle first. When she reached out, Gavin made a strange sound in his throat. She touched it and wrapped her fingers around it. It was warm. A sudden sense of well-being flooded through her, then the sword disappeared.
“Well, that’s quite a rush first thing in the morning. What the hell was that?”
“I’ve no idea.” She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. “Came with some of the ancient magic I inherited? Didn’t feel like demon magic. Maybe we should contact Tristian.” “No. No way. Today we’re going to have fun and forget all about magic, power, and dire consequences. Besides, Ma’s waiting for Storm.”
Happy Halloween Season. See you next week for more adventures of the Skeleton Squad’s Halloween Spirit Search!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Magic Redemption, Aliens, ghosts, Halloween Spirit Search, Skeleton Squad, Witches by Tena Stetler with 1 comment.