Judith Sterling Author of The Stone Awakened

Happy holidays to all! Give a big welcome to Judith Sterling, author of  The Stone Awakened, just released and The Cauldron Stirred.  Book one and two of Guardians of Erin series. Have a seat and grab an insulated mug. I’ve got hot chocolate, hot cider and coffee. Choose your pot, they’re labeled. Pick your choice of a Snicker-doodle, Chocolate Chip or Peanut butter cookie from the plate. Yep, I baked them myself. Lets  find out a little about Judith and see what Stone Awakened and The Cauldron Stirred are all about. Thanks for joining us! Psst… for the first five persons to leave a comment, you’ll win a digital copy of The Cauldron Stirred, first book in Guardians of Erin Series. 

Judith, what inspired this particular story?  The whole Guardians of Erin series—which will have four books in total—was inspired by my deep love for Ireland and paranormal experiences during my travels there.

What is your favorite Christmas tradition?  Watching classic Christmas movies with my family.  Because The Stone Awakened takes place around Christmastime, I had to include in the story some of my favorite Irish Christmas traditions, like wearing “ugly Christmas jumpers” and reading James Joyce’s The Dead.

What does Christmas mean to you?  Quality time with loved ones and magical memories from childhood.

Do you keep the Christmas spirit all year?  If we’re talking about love, compassion, and a belief in magic and miracles, then yes!

How long have you been writing?  My mom says I wrote my first story at age 3, and by 5th grade, I was writing chapter stories.

What’s your favorite part of being an author?  Knowing my stories make people happy.

Tell us a little about writing this story.  Was it fun or difficult?  Do your characters always act as you expect? Are you a plotter, or fly (write) by the seat of your pants?  So much fun!  I’m a plotter and really have to be.  I plan out whole series before writing the individual books and need to place my clues to the mysteries just right!  Still, my characters surprise me, sometimes through action and often through dialogue.

 SPEED ROUND

Favorite Christmas movie:  Christmas in Connecticut

Favorite Christmas book:  A Christmas Carol

Favorite color:  periwinkle

Stilettos or flipflops or elf shoes:  elf shoes

Coffee or tea or hot chocolate:  hot chocolate

Ebook or audiobook or paperback:  paperback

Pencil or pen or candy cane:  pen

Favorite Christmas Carole or song:  White Christmas

All-time favorite Christmas present:  Nancy Drew books

Favorite dessert:  chocolate mousse

Christmas Candy or Cake:  cake

Favorite thing to do to relax during the holidays:  watch movies

Champagne or gin or eggnog:  eggnog

Paranormal or Historical:  Both!  I can’t choose!

Wonder Woman or Top Model or Tinkerbell:  Wonder Woman

Favorite Christmas or holiday TV show:  A Charlie Brown Christmas

Hot or cold:  cold

POV:  third person

I’d die if I don’t have:  a functioning toilet

How about a couple questions for the Hero (Aengus):

What event in your past has left the most indelible impression on you?  The night I first met the woman I’ve loved for more than a millennium.

What do you consider most important in life?  Keeping loved ones safe from harm.

 

Not so fast Ashling, I have a couple questions for you too. You are the Heroine right? Yes…

What is most important to you in life?  Giving something positive to the world.

What is your biggest fear?  That the lure of darkness will eclipse my natural affinity for the light.

 

Click on cover to read more or purchase.

Judith tell us a little about The Cauldron Stirred (Guardians of Erin, Book One):

Ashling Donoghue never dreamed moving to Ireland would rock her perception of reality and plunge her into a mystery that brings legend to life.

At seventeen, she’s never had a boyfriend, but she feels an immediate connection to Aengus Breasal, the son of the wealthy Irishman who’s invited her family to stay at his Killarney estate.  For the first time in her life, a guy she likes seems attracted to her.

But Aengus is secretive, with good reason.  He and his family are the Tuatha Dé Danann, ageless, mythical guardians adept at shifting between this reality and the magical dimension known as the Otherworld.  Evil forces from that world threaten the Breasals, the Donoghues, and all of Ireland.  Ashling must open her heart, face her fears, and embrace a destiny greater than she could ever have imagined.

 

How about for The Stone Awakened (Guardians of Erin, Book Two):

Since moving to Ireland, Ashling Donoghue has tackled one challenge after another.  Now the mystery of her parents’ disappearance seems unsolvable.  Are they dead or only missing?  No one—not even the godlike Breasals—has a clue.  Hope and fear war inside her, but she’s determined to find answers and stay strong for her siblings.  Even as she hones newfound powers, her banshee-in-training sister Deirdre needs her support.

Ashling could use a little help herself.  She’s struggling to navigate her first romance, and while Aengus Breasal stirs her body, mind, and soul, his nemesis Lorcan does too.  Both men harbor secrets about her past life as Caer.  One has ties to Aoife, the scheming wind demon whose influence is on the rise.

As the Stone of Destiny awakens, so does the conflict within.

 

Can we have a sneak peek between the pages of  The Stone Awakened?

Thunder shook the night as the Dullahan’s black stallion reared beneath him on the sweeping lawn below. The horseman thrust his severed head toward the sky and called out the names of those he hunted.

“Dylan Donoghue! Maeve Donoghue!”

 Powerless to stop him, I watched from the bedroom window. The glass panes infused my palms with the chill of death itself. Out of sight, my parents screamed, then fell silent. The sound of laughter followed.

 Exultant. Spiteful. Malignant.

 Aoife! The wind demon whose foul plot shattered my family with a single blow.

Hate and despair welled inside me. “No!”

“Ashling, wake up!” My sister shook me awake.

She switched on the lamp between our beds, and I scanned the room. The same sash windows as in the dream. The same luxurious décor in shades of periwinkle, white, and gray. Even my slippers beside the bed were the same. But the night was quiet, and there was no immediate danger.

Deirdre tucked her long, blonde hair behind her ears and gave me a knowing look. “Another nightmare about the Dullahan?”

Nodding, I wiped the sweat from my brow. “And Aoife.”

“Sounds almost as bad as my dream the night he took Mom and Dad.”

“We don’t know he took them.”

“We don’t know he didn’t.”

“They’re not dead!” Dread clutched my heart, and I pushed out a long breath to calm myself. “They can’t be.”

Buy Links: Amazon   Barnes and Noble   The Wild Rose Press

About the Author:

Judith Sterling’s love of history and passion for the paranormal infuse everything she writes. Flight of the Raven, Soul of the Wolf, and Shadow of the Swan are part of her medieval romance series, The Novels of Ravenwood. The Cauldron Stirred and The Stone Awakened are part of her young adult paranormal series, Guardians of Erin.  Written under Judith Marshall, her nonfiction books—My Conversations with Angels and Past Lives, Present Stories—have been translated into multiple languages. She has an MA in linguistics and a BA in history, with a minor in British Studies. Born in that sauna called Florida, she craved cooler climes, and once the travel bug bit, she lived in England, Scotland, Sweden, Wisconsin, Virginia, and on the island of Nantucket. She currently lives in Salem, Massachusetts with her husband and their identical twin sons.

You can find Judith on her Social Media:

Website – https://judithmarshallauthor.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/judithsterlingfiction/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16291161.Judith_Sterling

Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01MT3KB7L

The Wild Rose Press – https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/2212_judith-sterling

It was wonderful having you with us today.  Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with  The Stone Awakened and The Cauldron Stirred!

 

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