Alpha’s Revenge by Catherine Stine Spooktacular
Give a spooktacular welcome to Catherine Stine, author of Alpha’s Revenge. 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 Catherine and her Alpha’s Revenge.
The Peculiar Delights of Research in a
Halloween Spook House
Catherine Stine
I’ve been fascinated by the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia ever since I visited for their Halloween fright tour, and saw the actual, untouched surgical room from when they opened in 1829. It still had a rickety metal operating table, sharp and crusty medical tools, and frighteningly tiny holding pens. The idea for one of my witch novels, Witch of the Wild Beasts rushed in right then and there. It would be a thriller involving doctors devising medical mischief and unlucky prisoners, including Evalina Stowe, a woman accused of witchcraft.
It turns out that in the 1850s, when my novel takes place, Philadelphia experienced an explosion of new medical “breakthroughs”, from the wacky to the notable. At the offbeat end, there were herbal remedies inspired by the German Pow Wow or Braucherei practitioner, a combination of ritual prayer, herbal applications and the chanting of charms to not only heal the patient, but protect the farmers’ cattle and sheep. On the remarkable side, were the “plastic operations” of Dr. Thomas Mütter, who pioneered plastic surgery at Jefferson Medical School, and who invented applications we use to this day, such as the Mütter flap. This uses a flap of living skin, still partially attached, to cover open, damaged areas until they can heal, at which point the connected flap is cut and stitched. Dr. Mütter, who appears in the book, was quite the flamboyant dresser, who liked to match his suit to the color of his carriage. To this day, the Mütter Museum is a go-to attraction for all sorts of medical oddities, including dozens of wax molds of eye diseases and ‘The Soap Lady’, a woman whose body was exhumed in Philadelphia in 1875. She is nicknamed this because a fatty substance called adipocere coats her remains.
I grew up in Philadelphia and thought I knew a lot about its history, but in the process of research for the novel, I learned many new, startling facts. I love writing historical fantasy for this very reason.
Before Eastern State Penitentiary was built with its single cells and solitary confinement, people of all ages, including children were thrown in one holding pen at another location. Thus, Eastern State revolutionized the system and was considered state of the art when it was built. It was equipped with skylights, central heating and some of the very first flush toilets, and inspired by the Quakers’ belief that solitary penitence could quell an inmate’s urge to commit crimes.
Yet it wasn’t long before people realized that “paying penitence” 24/7 alone in a cell did not cure people of criminal behavior. Rather, the isolation drove them stark raving mad. Charles Dickens, who visited the prison, wrote a scathing treatise, saying, “Solitary confinement is rigid, strict and hopeless… I believe its effects to be cruel and wrong.” Oddly enough, during that era the phrase What the Dickens was a euphemism for What the Devil! Go figure.
Even in this cultured, modern city of Brotherly Love, superstition and chaos were alive and well. According the an article on the Historical Society of Pennsylvania blog, a sensational case occurred in 1852, with newspaper headings entitled, “Superstition in Philadelphia,” and “Witchcraft – Evidence of an Enlightened Age”.
“Mary Ann Clinton & Susan Spearing, residents of Southwark Ward, were formally charged at the ‘Court of Quarter Sessions,’ with “conspiring to cheat and defraud George F. Elliott, by means of fortune telling and conjuration,” in order to extort money. The ‘Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’ alleged that the two women were giving Mrs. Elliott, “a bottle containing some portions of Mr. Elliott’s clothing, and telling her that as the clothing decayed, so Mr. Elliott would moulder away, until he would finally die by virtue of the spell…”
It appeared that Mrs. Elliott suspected her husband was guilty of infidelity, a belief that “had so strong an effect upon her as to make her wish for his death.” Thus, she had enlisted the services of Clinton & Spearing, who also encouraged the jealous wife, as an “ordeal of witchcraft,” to “take her husband’s clothes, tear them to pieces, fill the bottle with them, then boil the contents nine times, and this would give him such extreme pain as to cause his death.”
Enter my heroine, Evalina, accused of witchcraft when her pet bird, flies down the throat of her violent boss and chokes him to death. Add to this mix, Dolly Rouge, her prison neighbor and ex-bawdy house madam, Lightning, a homeless urchin who knew Evalina’s brother and was jailed for stealing horses, and Birdy, a handsome, kind Irishman jailed for a tragic accident while blasting granite for the railroad who Evalina falls for. Oh, and add a handful of sinister doctors, and Evalina’s perilous plot to gain justice for her brother’s murder.
Research is the grounding for the fire that ignites the writer’s mind. And research in a Halloween destination was a pure spine-tingling delight.
Peek between the pages of Alpha’s Revenge:
“Who are you?” It was dawning on him. Could it be his old Tundra playmate, Stormy? They hadn’t seen each other for years. It was rumored that Thorn had kept her so protected it was like she was locked in his ivory tower prison. Holy damn, if it was Stormy, he should have nothing to do with her. She was Thorn’s little sister. Could he still be confused? He’d just been hit so hard that maybe his brain had gone freaking haywire. “Where’s Ransom?”
“He’s alive but you messed him up good. Why are you coming around, so angry, gunning for a fight? You look so familiar, but… ” She ran a cooling cloth over Wayland’s swollen eye. She smelled of forest phlox and river moss—of the Canadian tundra in summer. He struggled to get up again and realized she’d tied his arms, torso and ankles down with thick vines. He didn’t believe in hurting a woman. But his rage bubbled dangerously close to the surface. If he stayed like this too much longer, and she leaned closer to him as she cleaned his wounds he might not be able to stop from snapping his head up and biting her.
“Why the hell did you tie me up?” he snarled.
“For your own safety and for mine. You seemed unhinged. Who are you anyway? You look so familiar.”
“Wayland. I used to live around here.”
“Wayland!” She stopped cleaning his swollen eye and stared down at him. “Wayland Leblanc.”
“Yeah, a damn Leblanc. The Tundras, led by your vicious brother slaughtered us a year ago in case you need reminding. Bunch of fucking savages,” he growled.
“I know who you are. Your father killed my father.”
“So, you are Stormy, Thorn’s sister,” he muttered. The very man I’m hunting down.
It’s been great having you with us today. Good luck with Alpha’s Revenge!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Alpha's Revenge, Book three, Catherine Stine, Royal Alpha Wolves Club, Werewolf Shifter Romance by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
Albatross, A Kendra Spark Novel by S. Peters-Davis
Hello Tena and everyone visiting the Authors’ Secrets Blog:) I’m Kendra Spark of the Kendra Spark Series written by S. Peters-Davis. She’s asked me to interview Derek Knight of the same series, and my being an author/writer of mystery-suspense romance, I’ve agreed to take on the task. Hope you all enjoy this as much as I will…putting Derek on the spot in front of all of you is one sure way to get some quick, straight answers. *winks*
Derek: Well, that doesn’t excite me one bit, Kendra. These questions you’re going to ask are what we went over earlier, right? *eyes narrow*
Kendra: Of course, silly. Let’s do a little background of your younger life first. Tell us where you grew up and a little about your family.
Derek: Okay…I grew up in a small town in Southern Indiana, with three older brothers, Harry Jr., Connor, and Randy. My dad worked as a union electrician, and my mother owned and operated a bakery business she inherited from her parents. I graduated high school in 2001 with academic honors and football/baseball scholarships. Played college-level baseball.
When I was a kid, I visited a couple forensic science museums and became interested in criminology, my first steps in leading the way toward the Federal Bureau of Investigation. After I graduated college, I joined the Navy SEALs going through the specialized training and then the missions. Later, I attended Quantico and went on to other training, ending up in Washington, D.C., to work under Special Ops Task Force Director Jackson Powers.
Kendra: Wow, sounds like all work and no play. Bet that was rough on your love-life. Right? *arches a brow*
Derek: My entire family, parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law, worked hard to drop hints, line up dates, and invest time attempting to find the perfect woman for me. *shakes head and chuckles* Little did they know I would eventually work it out for myself. *winks at Kendra and smiles*
Kendra: *blushes* Oh, okay then…tell us about your job and how it currently has changed.
Derek: *big man-breath and extended sigh* I’ve been the lead on several Special Task Force cases, all under Director Powers. We’ve established the perfect team, a couple of which are two men that followed me from the SEALs team into the FBI, Ray Parker and Luke Hindalmon. We also have a gifted IT woman, Tressa Standish. Then there’s you as our ghost communicator, consultant, and interpreter for Jenna Powers, our ghostified criminal analyst who has remained earth-bound since a grave accident where she saved a child from a runaway vehicle about four weeks ago.
In the past, we worked together as a Special Ops Task Force – Violent Crimes Unit, now we’re more in line with the same set-up only we specialize in Sensitive Investigations (or as the team has come to know it – Supernatural Investigations).
Kendra: What was your last case?
Derek: We managed to survive, but I don’t want to go into graphic details of the dark forces at play as we’ve still got some work to do on sewing up some loose threads, so to speak.
Kendra: Oh,…okay. Is it true that your team has been called Warriors of the Light?
Derek: *rolls eyes* Kendra, that’s not going to be anything we call ourselves. Someone made a reference to the warriors’ thing. But we are an FBI team of specialized agents, doing what we do best, apprehending the heinous criminals and saving the innocent victims.
Kendra: Thank you, Derek. I know you’re right in the middle of another prominent case, and I appreciate your time today.
Derek: *smiles* Always and forever.
Kendra: *blushes deeper and smiles* Well, that’s it for today, everyone. Thank you again, Tena, for allowing us to post on your blog today. It’s been fantastic fun. Thank you, everyone, for stopping in – please remember to enter the drawing for your chance to win:) Have a super-fantastic summer!!
*Derek leans over and gently covers Kendra’s lips with his*
Quick reminder to all visitors – don’t forget to enter the raffle drawing before you leave:) Good Luck!!
Tell us a little about Albatross
Books three in the
Kendra Spark Series
police director gone crime lord and a beautiful malevolent “albatross of a
spirit.”
“ghosty” Jenna Powers, members of an FBI special task force, investigate a
cold-case and end up facing the ultimate psychopaths, a highly-accredited
police director gone crime lord and a beautiful malevolent “albatross of a
spirit.” Both want Kendra for her unique abilities but might settle for Jenna
instead.
Kendra and Jenna safe, but what if the worst-case scenario happens, an
unstoppable villain and villainess of the dark plane that picks the earth plane
as their stomping ground?
vanilla stirred the air within the bathroom. “Sparky, why aren’t you in the big
house with Derek?” Jenna, in all her ghosty-glory, got my attention using her
pet name for me, an annihilation of my last name. She leaned against the
doorjamb of Derek’s small cottage version of his home and silently tapped her
toe.
thought-provoking space apart.” I turned from the mirror and faced Jenna. “So,
did you honestly believe that I saw ghosts before you became one? I mean
truly.”
you a few weeks ago when Dad’s life lay in peril from a psycho killer targeting
FBI agents.” Jenna tilted her head, her eyes narrowed. “Is this about Derek?”
struggle with what he saw at the Voodoo Re-resurrection Ritual. I mean, he
watched it, actually saw Buster, and Grandma Ellie with all of the Guardian
Angels, and the soul-lights belonging to the trafficked teens.” A deep
agonizing sigh rolled off my tongue. “You never saw any of the ghosts I did,
and yet you called me for your dad. You had to trust in my ability, right?”
honestly, I called because none of the agents could get a handle on the
situation fast enough for me. My concern for Dad had driven me to make the
call. At that point, I wanted to grab at anything, including your ability, even
if I didn’t fully believe or understand it.” Jenna stepped closer, her gray and
fluorescent green running ensemble flattered her slim frame. “I’d wrap my arm
around your shoulder if I could. I still feel like I owe you an apology for so
many things, not believing in your ghost-vision is but one.”
on a good front for me, because in college, I never doubted your belief in me.”
“I thought most of what you told me related to your fiction. You were always
such a good story-teller with your wild-wacky imagination. Most of the time, I
figured you set me up for a shock-factor effect.”
the front door announced Derek, but he didn’t enter like usual. Jenna shimmered
out of sight as I strode to the door and opened it. My lips parted as I sucked
in air. Clara Jones, my literary agent…here? “How did you get this address?”
writer friend, Sharon. I got her information from the last manuscript she sent
to me because you were here.” She peered over my shoulder, glancing around the
inside of the cottage. “Wow, now this is one hell of a writing retreat.” She
pushed past me and stood in the center of the room, gaze darting everywhere
until it settled on me. “Tell me you’ve started the first book in the series. Knixton
House is getting anxious for the media and cover art information, and since I
was in D.C., I thought I might pick it up personally.” She forced a smile. “I’m
beginning to think you’re dodging my calls and text messages.”
rap on the door, I swung around to Derek. His smile warmed me, but his arched
brow and nod toward Clara indicated his concern.
meet my Literary Agent, Clara Jones. Clara, FBI Special Agent, Derek Knight.”
Mr. Knight told me how to get back here.” And still, Clara moved toward him
with the speed of a booster rocket. Her hand extended and grabbed Derek’s
before he offered it. She studied Derek’s face, her gaze traveled over him,
from head to toe, until his face blazed red.
hand from Clara’s. “Nice to meet you, again. Kendra has mentioned you.”
me. “Only mentioned?”
rather busy solving FBI cases.”
vanilla, Jenna reappeared next to Clara. “Wow, she’s a looker. And damnation,
her eyes keep creeping back to Derek.” Jenna chuckled. “You’ll have to muzzle
her or wrap a blindfold around her head.”
loud. Of course, at the worst inappropriate timing.
your visit short, Ms. Jones, but Kendra’s presence is requested at a meeting
downtown D.C., and we are running behind schedule.” Derek pressed his lips
together, tension swept along his jaw and temple.
buster. This woman already has a job.” She poked a finger in Derek’s chest. “In
fact, she’s obligated to complete that job in record-breaking time to meet the
commitment of her book contract.” Clara’s green eyes widened as she glared at
Derek.
of lightning are flying from her eyeballs and striking Derek, right in the
heart, where her fingernail is buried.” Jenna grinned. “What do you think?”
exasperated breath and stepped closer to the duo. “Derek, I need some time to
talk with Clara. Can you go to the meeting without me? You can record it or
just pass on anything I should know.”
elbow and directed me toward the door. “She’ll be only a moment,” he said as
the door slammed behind us. We kept walking away from the cottage and around
the side of Derek’s log home. He stopped and whirled me toward him. “Why is she
here? When she knocked on my door this morning and requested you, I thought she
might be a relative.”
contract to a new publishing house, and Clara’s nervous about the upcoming
deadlines. With everything going on, I haven’t told her about my decision to
stay here for a while. I’m not sure how to break my contract.” Plus, the fact
that I didn’t look forward to a face-off with Clara. I’d neglected this major
obstacle. “She has no clue about my ability, or why the FBI would use me. It’s
going to take some time to explain.”
FBI has some kind of legal documentation we can present to Clara that will
supersede your contracts.” He tilted my face upward and pulled me closer. His
lips touched mine, stealing my breath. His throaty moan electrified the beat of
my heart, and I melted against his body.
fluffed the air, but I ignored it.
up. Little Miss Nasty-Pants is on her way.” Jenna’s face appeared over Derek’s
shoulder. She winked and then vanished.
from Derek’s embrace. His stormy-blues smoldered.
around the corner and ran into Derek’s shoulder. He stood solid as she
stumbled, but then she righted herself, eyeing him and then me. “I’m not
getting a good vibe with what’s happening here, Kendra. We need to talk. In
private.” She glowered at Derek.
straightened out.” Derek’s gaze met mine, and then he moved away from Clara.
“I’ll let Director Powers know you’ve been detained. I’m sure there’s something
he can pull out of his hat to help secure your position with the FBI.”
talking about?” Clara’s face flushed to a bright red, almost matching her hair.
for a coffee, maybe two? This might take a while to explain.” I nodded to Derek
as he walked away, and then slipped my arm through Clara’s. “Let’s go back to
the cottage. It comes with the best little screened-in porch, very private and
serene.”
About the Author:
multi-genre stories, but loves penning a good page-turning suspense-thriller,
especially when it’s a ghost story and a romance. When she’s not writing,
editing, or reading, she’s hiking, RV’ing, fishing, playing with grandchildren,
or enjoying time with her favorite muse (her husband) in Southwest Michigan.
and NA paranormal, supernatural novels that involve diverse and mature subject
matter.
BWL Blog: https://bwlauthors.blogspot.com/
BWL Author Page: http://bookswelove.net/authors/peters-davis-s-suspense-paranormal/
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Albatross!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Albatross, Book three, Kendra Spark Series, Paranormal, S. Peters-Davis, Supernatural, Suspense-Romance by Tena Stetler with 5 comments.
