Australia Archives - Tena Stetler

Sep 3rd Halloween Spirit Hunt – Fifty-Seven Days Left

Halloween only Fifty-Seven days left! Can you believe it? Toil and Trouble continue their search for the Halloween Spirit. What do you think of the Halloween count down calendar?? I’ve something a bit different for you this year count down to Halloween with a quest for the Halloween Spirit.

No, it’s never to early for All Hallows Eve! Halloween is my favorite time of year. Cooler weather, sight and sound of colorful leaves falling or crunching under foot. The smell of fall in the air, pumpkins and pumpkin flavored everything!! Love it! Also Halloween is the only day you can be anyone or anything you want and no one will say a word. Don’t forget it’s the day the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest! What will you be this Halloween? Taco our parrot will be a witch and Mystic our chow dog will be Wonder Woman. Check back to see them in their costumes!

Well, September came with a sweltering 92 degrees as I continue my annual countdown until Halloween. I am confident things cool off soon. Keep the faith! To help me this year are skeletons, Toil (Unicorn) and Trouble (dragon) they are in search of the Halloween Spirit. This week they crawled all over our parrot’s cage and enlisted the help of Taco. While she wasn’t thrilled with them, she did assist them in their task. I caught a picture of them plotting their next moves. Unfortunately, there was no Halloween Spirit to be found. Darn it! So the search continues.

Their friend, Dave (Skeleton), from Texas (thank you Jessica) got trashed and was no help at all this week. Come on Dave we only have fifty-eight days to find the Halloween spirit. He still has trouble with what day it is as well., fifty-seven days Dave!

Each week, on Friday, there will be new pictures of where Toil and Trouble are searching and how Dave is helping. In the month of October beside their search for the Halloween Spirit, Toil, Trouble and Dave will help me list the most haunted cities in America. A visit to haunted places in Colorado, my own stomping ground, Spooktacular tips to keep your pet safe this Halloween season. Do you suffer from Samhainopobia? I’ll tell you later. These are just to name a few. Please check back!

Only fifty-seven days until Halloween! Bwwwaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Plus a Halloween themed book from my collection will be featured each week: You do know I write paranormal romance/mystery. Right? This week, we are talking about vampires! What’s Halloween without vampires and things that go bump in the night? A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance is on tao. So hurry grab your copy and join the #fantasy #adventure! You won’t believe what happens at Glacier National Park to induce a trip to Ireland.

Halloween Spirit vampire style A little about A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance:

Stefan is a Native American vampire, former assassin for the Vampire Council. In a twist of fate, he now DJ’s the midnight shift for a small radio station in Whitefish, Montana, on the edge of Glacier National Park where his secret is safe until…

Born in Ireland, Brandy now works as a park ranger and trail guide in the park. During a full moon, Stefan and Brandy’s paths cross in a near physical collision on a trail. Their attraction is immediate and undeniable, almost as if fate demanded it.

Their union was foretold long ago in Irish folk tales where vampires and gryphons, warlocks and demons, witches and faeries must work together for the good of man and magic kind. Is a trip to Ireland the key to unraveling secrets and returning the magic? And even more importantly, will their love survive the trip?

A sneak peek between the pages of A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance!

The sun slid behind the mountains, setting the azure sky ablaze in hues of red, orange, yellow, and pink. Then red shifted to purple and dusk faded to darkness as he jogged toward the trails. She stood leaning against the rock where he had started his run last night. He’d tried to convince himself to stay away, but in the end, the urge was too strong.

In a whisper of movement, he was at her side with his hand on the rock just above her shoulder. “Waiting for someone? Brandy, is it?” The scent of warm, perfumed female skin wafted over him as he leaned into her.

“It took you long enough, Mr. Talltree.” Her full lips formed a slight pout as she lifted her chin and tilted her face up to meet his. “Nice to see you again.”

There was no hesitation or apprehension in her lovely features as he moved closer, placing his other hand next to her left shoulder, effectively pinning her against the rock. He wanted to wrap his arms around her lithe, warm body and brush his lips over her sexy pout. But he thought better of it, not wanting to scare her off…not yet.

“Yes, it is.” He let his gaze wander leisurely up and down her luscious body. “Didn’t your mother warn you about the dangers of stalking a stranger at night in the park alone?”

See you back here next Friday! You won’t believe where Toil and Trouble wound up. And Dave gets tangled in the deadliest catch! Until then enjoy the warm weather, fall is coming bringing with it Halloween Spirit! Yippee!! Now all we have to do is find it! While you’re here, check out my other paranormal romance mysteries.

Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Vampire's Unlikely Alliance, Australia, Ghost, Hunt for Halloween Spirit, Ireland, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Tena Stetler, Urban Fantasy, Vampire, Witches by Tena Stetler with 4 comments.

Dec 8th Christmas Traditions Make the Holidays Bright!

One of the fun things about Christmas is traditions. Take for instance, the Land Down Under, because, well, someday I want to visit there, just probably not at Christmas. The English and Irish predominately settled Australia so it stands to reason their traditions reflect those countries. Here’s a few of of their Christmas Traditions.
Aussie’s decorate their homes with ferns, palm leaves and evergreens along with blooming flowers of Christmas Bush and Christmas Bell Flower. It’s summer time in December down under, when most of the United States is looking forward to big flakes and blankets of snow for a white Christmas.
Carols by Candlelight is one of the popular events in Australia. People come together under the stars at night to light candles and sing Christmas carols. Seems to me, it’s not far from our own tradition of Christmas carolers. I just can’t imagine Christmas without snow, that’s why I live in Colorado.
Christmas Day is when families and close friends gather from all over Australia for a holiday midday dinner. Some enjoy a traditional British Christmas dinner of roast turkey or ham and rich plum pudding doused in brandy and set on fire before it is brought to the table. Other families head for the backyard barbie to grill their Christmas dinner, maybe shrimp, in the sunshine or go to the beach and enjoy a picnic of cold turkey or ham and a salad. To the delight of children, Father Christmas in shorts may appear to greet children at the beach on Christmas! If you can’t have snow, that’s the way to celebrate Christmas.
Because I am of Swedish descent, let’s take a peek at Christmas Traditions in Sweden where in December the days are quite short, the nights long and the ground is usually snow covered. The Christmas season begins at church on the first Sunday of Advent, which is the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Children use an Advent calendar to keep track of the first day of December until Christmas, just like some of ours do. Each morning, they open a flap in the calendar’s Christmas scene to see the charming picture behind it. This year, I have a Victorian Advent calendar on my computer and enjoy a surprise behind each door daily.
The festivities in Sweden really begin with St. Lucia’s Day, December 13th, a celebration of the patron saint of light. A Christmas market held in the old medieval section of Stockholm is where you can find handmade toys, ornaments, and candy. Sounds fun, doesn’t it? Some people write a special verse to accompany the gift and even seal the package with colorful sealing wax. I have enough trouble with scotch tape and wrapping paper, I can’t imagine what would happen with hot sealing wax. Not a pretty sight, I’m sure. A Christmas tree is selected by the whole family just a day or two before Christmas and decorated, while the delightful aroma of gingerbread cookies in the shape of hearts, stars, or other festive shapes waft through to house. Christmas Eve is when the main feast is eaten. Presents might be brought by Santa (Jultomten) or by gnomes/elves named Tomte or Nissar. Many families set out a sheaf of grain on a pole for hungry birds. My hubby and I always put out special treats for the wild birds on Christmas.

As for my family, we put up the tree, Christmas decorations inside and out, the weekend after Thanksgiving. Or try to. No it’s not a real tree, only because I’m allergic. <sigh> We watch Christmas movies throughout December and make candy such as Divinity, Fantasy Fudge and Beaver Dams. What are Beaver Dams, you ask. Well, take a package of butterscotch chips, melt them in a double boiler, stir in half-package of crispy Chow Mein Noodles and one half can of cocktail peanuts. Spoon the concoction onto foil and let set. They look like beaver dams hence the name. YUMMY.

This year I’m going, to once again, try my hand at gingerbread cookies. Its become a Christmas Tradition of sorts, an make my family cringe. Why you ask? I haven’t had a lot of luck in previous years getting a good tasting cookie. Do any of you have a favorite recipe that I could try? Feel free to leave the recipe in the comments section.

Something for everyone. Two books on sale for 99cents each, A DEMON’S WITCH – The adventures of Bruce, Angie and friends are an entertaining escape from the ordinary world. Be swept away into a magical romantic fantasy adventures, you’ll never want to leave. These spicy tales have it all intrigue, humor, thrills, danger and a splash of magic to keep you on the edge of your seat. https://www.amazon.com/Tena-Stetler/e/B014E0PEPM or A WITCH’S HOLIDAY WEDDING – Tales of redemption, magic wildlife rescue, true love, and paying it forward will leave you breathless! https://www.amazon.com/Tena-Stetler/e/B014E0PEPM

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Next week My Favorite Things About Christmas. What Christmas Traditions do and your family observe on Christmas Eve and Day? Or during the month of December? I look forward to hearing from you.

Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged Australia, Charm Me Again, Christmas, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Sweden, Tena Stetler, Traditions by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Jan 27th A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance – Not Your Usual Vampire Tale

Third installment of A Demon’s Witch Series nominated in the category ROMANCE/PARANORMAL/FANTASY/DEMONS & DEVILS & ANGELS – SERIES for PARANORMAL ROMANCE GUILD’S REVIEWERS BEST OF 2018! A VAMPIRE’S UNLIKELY ALLIANCE voted best Romance Novel in Critters Preditors & Editors Readers Pole in December 2017.

How it all began. During a camping trip we stayed right smack dab in the middle of Glacier National Park. At night around the campfire under a full moon you could hear the wolves howl and the coyotes call. I imagined a vampire running through the bush over the trails, but it couldn’t be an ordinary vampire. And who would he meet on the trails?

Stefan, a Native American vampire, was a character from my first book in A Demon’s Witch Series, A Demon’s Witch. It became a best seller five months after its release. For A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance, I wanted to write a different vampire tale, so rather than leave him as the Vampire Council’s assassin, I released him from service and he moved to Montana, took a job as the midnight DJ for a small radio station on the outskirts of Glacier National Park. Different huh? Research for this book was a trip to Glacier National Park and I drew upon my time as a DJ at a local classic rock station KKFM in Colorado Springs. Not to mention several virtual trips to the enchanting land down under, Australia.

Won’t you join Stefan and Brandy on an exciting romantic fantasy where vampires and gryphons, warlocks and demons, witches and faeries walk among us. Some creatures are willing to put aside their differences to work together for the good of man and magic kind, other’s will stand in the way. Makes a GREAT Valentine Gift!

Click on the cover to read more or purchase.

A little about A VAMPIRES UNLIKELY ALLIANCE:

Stefan is a Native American vampire, former assassin for the Vampire Council. In a twist of fate, he now DJ’s the midnight shift for a small radio station in Whitefish, Montana, on the edge of Glacier National Park where his secret is safe until…

Born in Ireland, Brandy now works as a park ranger and trail guide in the park. During a full moon, Stefan and Brandy’s paths cross in a near physical collision on a trail. Their attraction is immediate and undeniable, almost as if fate demanded it.

Their union was foretold long ago in Irish folk tales where vampires and gryphons, warlocks and demons, witches and faeries must work together for the good of man and magic kind. Is a trip to Ireland the key to unravelling secrets and returning the magic? And even more importantly, will their love survive the trip?

A peek between the pages:

Jumping down from the boulder, he landed silently on the balls of his feet and took off at a dead run, too fast for the human eye to detect. Tonight, his run covered several trails as the full moon rose over the mountain tops. Croaking frogs settled at the edge of a pristine mountain lake while an owl screeched overhead, winging its way through the night sky. This tranquil existence was very different from his previous life. Nevertheless, the premonitions that kept him alive as an assassin made him feel that things were about to change.

It was nearly midnight when he cut across the Sun Road to another trailhead, so intent on his goal that he nearly collided with an attractive young woman. He skidded to a stop, spraying gravel, rocks, and small twigs down the road in front of him. A pinecone dislodged and bounced along the road past her. Tall and slender, she had miles of fiery-red hair that hung down her back in a cascade of curls. Intense emerald eyes stared back at him as he attempted to regain his composure, not to mention balance. What the hell was she doing here at this time of night?

“Whoa.” She stepped lightly to the side to avoid the flying debris. “You really should watch where you’re going, especially at that speed.” Her voice scolded, but the smile on her lips teased. “Someone could get hurt.”

Available at Amazon Amazon UK , Amazon AU, itunes, Walmart.com and Barnes & Noble.

About the Author:

Many times I’ve been asked why write romance, I like the happily ever after aspect. I want to whisk a person away from the everyday to a magic world they won’t want to leave.

For me crafting a romance is all about RESPECT, TRUST and LOVE. Only most of my characters are of the paranormal persuasion. I want to create a memorable love story with spice and adventure. Characters that will grab hold of your heart and hang on long after you’ve read the last word and closed the book with a satisfied sigh.

See you next week!

Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Vampire's Unlikely Alliance, Australia, Glacier National Park, Paranormal Romance, Shapeshifters, Tena Stetler, Vampires, Witches by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Dec 10th Christmas Traditions Make the Holidays!

One of the fun things about Christmas is traditions. Take for instance, the Land Down Under, because, well, someday I want to visit there, just probably not at Christmas. The English and Irish predominately settled Australia so it stands to reason their traditions reflect those countries. Here’s a few of of their Christmas Traditions.
Aussie’s decorate their homes with ferns, palm leaves and evergreens along with blooming flowers of Christmas Bush and Christmas Bell Flower. It’s summer time in December down under, when most of the United States is looking forward to big flakes and blankets of snow for a white Christmas.
Carols by Candlelight is one of the popular events in Australia. People come together under the stars at night to light candles and sing Christmas carols. Seems to me, it’s not far from our own tradition of Christmas carolers. I just can’t imagine Christmas without snow, that’s why I live in Colorado.
Christmas Day is when families and close friends gather from all over Australia for a holiday midday dinner. Some enjoy a traditional British Christmas dinner of roast turkey or ham and rich plum pudding doused in brandy and set on fire before it is brought to the table. Other families head for the backyard barbie to grill their Christmas dinner, maybe shrimp, in the sunshine or go to the beach and enjoy a picnic of cold turkey or ham and a salad. To the delight of children, Father Christmas in shorts may appear to greet children at the beach on Christmas! If you can’t have snow, that’s the way to celebrate Christmas.
Because I am of Swedish descent, let’s take a peek at Christmas Traditions in Sweden where in December the days are quite short, the nights long and the ground is usually snow covered. The Christmas season begins at church on the first Sunday of Advent, which is the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Children use an Advent calendar to keep track of the first day of December until Christmas, just like some of ours do. Each morning, they open a flap in the calendar’s Christmas scene to see the charming picture behind it. This year, I have a Victorian Advent calendar on my computer and enjoy a surprise behind each door daily.
The festivities in Sweden really begin with St. Lucia’s Day, December 13th, a celebration of the patron saint of light. A Christmas market held in the old medieval section of Stockholm is where you can find handmade toys, ornaments, and candy. Sounds fun, doesn’t it? Some people write a special verse to accompany the gift and even seal the package with colorful sealing wax. I have enough trouble with scotch tape and wrapping paper, I can’t imagine what would happen with hot sealing wax. Not a pretty sight, I’m sure. A Christmas tree is selected by the whole family just a day or two before Christmas and decorated, while the delightful aroma of gingerbread cookies in the shape of hearts, stars, or other festive shapes waft through to house. Christmas Eve is when the main feast is eaten. Presents might be brought by Santa (Jultomten) or by gnomes/elves named Tomte or Nissar. Many families set out a sheaf of grain on a pole for hungry birds. My hubby and I always put out special treats for the wild birds on Christmas.

As for my family, we put up the tree, Christmas decorations inside and out, the weekend after Thanksgiving. Or try to. No it’s not a real tree, only because I’m allergic. <sigh> We watch Christmas movies throughout December and make candy such as Divinity, Fantasy Fudge and Beaver Dams. What are Beaver Dams, you ask. Well, take a package of butterscotch chips, melt them in a double boiler, stir in half-package of crispy Chow Mein Noodles and one half can of cocktail peanuts. Spoon the concoction onto foil and let set. They look like beaver dams hence the name. YUMMY.

This year I’m going, to once again, try my hand at gingerbread cookies. Its become a Christmas Tradition of sorts, an make my family cringe. Why you ask? I haven’t had a lot of luck in previous years getting a good tasting cookie. Do any of you have a favorite recipe that I could try? Feel free to leave the recipe in the comments section.

In by new release CHARM ME AGAIN, Josie and Daylan have an unexpected Christmas experience! Magic of family & friends a through out the year and a Christmas tale of true love and paying it forward will leave you breathless.

Next week My Favorite Things About Christmas. What Christmas Traditions do and your family observe on Christmas Eve and Day? Or during the month of December? I look forward to hearing from you.