Happiness is A Finished Project
6 hours ago
The adventures of a Witch who writes nonfiction and fiction. Author of 11 books from Llewellyn, including The Little Book of Cat Magic and Everyday Witchcraft as well as The Baba Yaga, Broken Rider, and Veiled Magic series from Berkley Romance
Donata stared at the man standing in the hallway in front of her apartment, torn between the desire to slam the door in his face and the equally strong impulse to jump into his arms and kiss him until he cried uncle. She compromised by taking a deep breath and saying with a calmness she didn’t quite feel, “Hello, Magnus. Long time no see.”Uncharacteristically, the blond giant of a man hesitated, holding back on his usual exuberant greeting. He clearly wasn’t quite sure how to proceed either, although he couldn’t suppress his grin at seeing her.“Hello, Donata. Aren’t you going to ask me in?” He held out a slightly battered bouquet of flowers that looked like they might have been plucked from someone’s garden and probably had been. Although where he’d found them this far into fall, she wasn’t sure.She also wasn’t sure if she felt like letting him in. She hadn’t had much luck with men lately and wasn’t really in the mood to deal with another one. But her cat, Grimalkin, settled the question for her by strolling into the hallway and winding around Magnus’s legs, purring madly.“Traitor,” she muttered, opening the door wider to accommodate her old lover’s ridiculously wide shoulders. Then added to Magnus, looking up all six foot four of him to meet his ocean-colored eyes, “Fine, but consider yourself warned. I’m off men at the moment, so don’t expect me to fall for your charm and the old stolen-flowers routine.”He chuckled, handing her the blooms, and wandered briefly around the living room before plopping onto the couch and putting his feet up on the scarred table in front of it. “I like your new place.” He paused. “I take it I don’t have to worry about Peter coming in and challenging me for your hand then?”She gave a small growl through clenched jaws. “No,” she said flatly. “He was around for a bit, but it didn’t work out. He’s gone.”Magnus raised an eyebrow. “‘Gone’ as in left town, or ‘gone’ as in he pissed you off and you killed him?” He didn’t sound as though he thought either outcome was a problem.“‘Gone’ as in left town without a forwarding address,” Donata said, grabbing a couple of beers out of the fridge and handing one to him as she settled into the chair opposite him, intentionally keeping a safe distance between them. She hadn’t seen him in over seven months, but they’d always had a dangerously tempting chemistry. “I killed the other guy.”The eyebrow moved higher. “Is that a joke?”A small hand appeared out of nowhere holding its own beer; the hand was attached to a three-foot-tall man wearing a long, neatly trimmed brown beard and matching brown overalls. “Not at all,” the Kobold said. “But it’s okay. The bastard had it coming to him.”Magnus choked on his beer, sputtering slightly. Ricky helpfully handed him a handkerchief to mop up with. “You killed someone, ’Nata? I’m impressed.”She rolled her eyes. Only an Ulfhednar, descended from a race of shapeshifting berserkers, would consider murdering a former boyfriend to be a kudos-worthy achievement. “Don’t be. I wouldn’t have done it if I’d had any choice.”“It looks like I missed a lot in the last few months.” He reached out for her hand but sat back again when she made no move toward him.Donata held herself stiffly upright. There was no way she was going to go down that road again. She’d learned her lesson.
In this exciting novel in the Veiled Magic series, Witch and police officer Donata Santori travels to Maine to help solve a deadly mystery, where her magical abilities are tested like never before.Like the other two books, this one is being released in eBook form only (that was a Berkley decision, so don't blame me!), so I'm going to try and make it up to my "But I don't have an eReader" peeps by giving away a Kindle Fire 7, so you'll have something to read it on.
Still reeling from her unwitting involvement in murder and subsequent break up with a half-Dragon art forger, Witch-cop Donata Santori is grateful for the distraction when her ex-lover requests her help. Not only are Magnus's beloved dead suddenly haunting the Ulfhednar shapechangers in his tiny rural hometown in Maine, their patron god Odin has turned his back on them, and the members of their once tight-knit enclave are at each other's throats. Literally.
Magnus is relying on Donata's experience in dealing with the gods, along with her magical ability to summon the dead, to help him unravel this mystery in time to save his clan. Donata only hopes to survive the ordeal so she can return home to the city and her quiet job at the precinct.
But first, she must discover who or what is behind the terrible attacks on the Ulfhednar. And the clock is ticking, in more ways than one...
Fire 7 and goodies |