#Bold&BlatantSelfPromo

#Bold&BlatantSelfPromo – #Excerpt – #TheEmissary3:LoveHurts

/ Marcia Meara / 21 Comments

 

Today, I’d like to share a bit about my third Riverbend spinoff novella, The Emissary 3: Love Hurts.  This little series was a great deal of fun to write, and I hope you’ll enjoy learning a bit more about it. Thanks for reading!

” Sometimes Even Angels Hate to be Right.”

BLURB

Azrael’s emissary program was growing daily, but it still met with stubborn opposition from many on the Council of Angels. Dodger’s request to be allowed to experience what falling in love was all about didn’t help matters, but Azrael thought the boy was onto something. He agreed emissaries who’d shared a loving relationship during their mortal lives would have a deeper understanding of human emotions and motivations, thus enhancing the skills needed to do their jobs.

With that in mind, Azrael gave Dodger one chance to search for true love. He then laid down a daunting set of stringent rules and guidelines that could not be broken under any circumstances lest dire happenings occur. But while the angel sincerely hoped Dodger would find a way to make this endeavor work, he feared an avalanche of unintended consequences could be in store for his youngest emissary.

Sometimes even angels hate to be right.

Will Azrael ever tire of popping up behind Jake just to see his first emissary fall out of his chair in shock? Will sharp-eyed motel owners ever notice a big red-and-white semi mysteriously appearing and disappearing from their parking lots overnight? And will Dodger be able to track down the mystery girl who caught his eye two weeks earlier to see if she’s really The One?

To find the answers to these and other angelic or emissarial questions, come along on one last adventure with Jake, Dodger, and that ginormous, glowy-eyed archangel, Azrael. They’re waiting for you!

EXCERPT

January 15, 2015
“Standing on the Corner”
The Four Lads

~~~

 Two Weeks into the New Year,
Still Haunting a Sleepy Florida Town,
In Search of a Young Man’s Dream.

“DODGER? YOU ABOUT ready to wrap this up?”

“Just a few more minutes. Please, Jake?”

“Okay, but I’m going to stop for a cup of coffee. And maybe a piece of pie.”

Dodger kept walking, looking into every shop along the way, which was a big improvement over loitering around on street corners, drawing stares from passersby. This was his third circuit around the diner, and he’d gone up and down each side street in the vicinity, as well. It was his fifteenth day of trying to catch sight of his dream girl. And it was a sure sign he wasn’t kidding around about finding her. He’d just ignored Jake’s second offer of coffee and pie.

Saying no to food of any kind was something Dodger didn’t believe in, and seeing him turn down his favorite dessert was truly shocking. Under other circumstances, it probably would have warranted rushing the kid to the emergency room. But, acutely aware of how desperate Dodger felt about tracking down the girl he’d literally bumped into on New Year’s Eve, Jake waved him on and returned to the diner alone.

After grabbing a stool at the counter and ordering his coffee, Jake pondered Dodger’s predicament. Dealing with matters of the heart was difficult enough for folks still struggling with mortal lives, but for the two of them, it was even worse. They no longer qualified as mortal. Nope. Dying and being selected by the archangel Azrael to act as the world’s first angelic emissaries definitely kicked them right out of that category and into one far less well-defined.

Oh, sure, they looked like ordinary humans, thanks to Azrael restoring their bodies to them. And they could be injured if they weren’t careful. But that’s pretty much where the similarities ended. As emissaries, they were now faster, stronger, more resilient, and, best of all, immortal on this plane of existence. They also had other powers no human could hope to attain—unless, of course, that human had also moved on to the next life and been recruited by an overworked archangel looking for help.

Yeah, despite their perfectly normal appearances, the two of them had become something vastly different. And yet, Dodger still clung to his hope that one day, he’d meet the perfect girl and experience what falling in love was all about. His mortal life had come to a brutal end before he’d had a chance to accomplish that, but he wasn’t ready to give up. Right now, his hopes were pinned on a pretty young lady he’d spied early on New Year’s Eve, as she struggled to pick up an armful of books she’d dropped outside the very diner where Jake now sat.

Azrael—who freely admitted his concept of emissaries to the angels was so new, he had to make up the rules as he went along—understood the boy’s fervent desire. After all, one of the things that would allow his emissaries to excel at their jobs was that they, unlike angels, had lived their lives as mortals. They had a perspective on all aspects of being human that angels did not, which Azrael believed would make a vast difference in how they related to the very people they were trying to help.

After a lengthy study of every imaginable outcome—including the multitude of painful, unintended consequences that could arise from an emissary/mortal relationship—Azrael had agreed that such a thing might be permitted. Once. And he’d laid down a veritable mountain of strict, non-negotiable rules as to what could and could not be sanctioned.

Even though those rules made perfect sense to Jake, he knew they’d be pretty difficult to adhere to. Yet, to his surprise, Dodger understood the reasons for them and accepted that he had to get it right the first time. His chances of ever making this happen were slim. Not impossible, but definitely slim—which was why watching his boy’s fruitless search for the girl he’d declared to be The One was breaking Jake’s heart.

And then, the diner door swung open and miracle of miracles, in she walked. Jake grabbed his phone, but just as he pushed Dodger’s number, his heart sank again.

She wasn’t alone.

************************

Download on Kindle for Just $1.99

 Author Marcia Meara

Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of over thirty years and four big cats.

When not writing or blogging, she spends her time gardening, and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard. She enjoys nature. Really, really enjoys it. All of it! Well, almost all of it, anyway. From birds, to furry critters, to her very favorites, snakes. The exception would be spiders, which she truly loathes, convinced that anything with eight hairy legs is surely up to no good. She does not, however, kill spiders anymore, since she knows they have their place in the world. Besides, her husband now handles her Arachnid Catch and Release Program, and she’s good with that.

Spiders aside, the one thing Marcia would like to tell each of her readers is that it’s never too late to make your dreams come true. If, at the age of 69, she could write and publish a book (and thus fulfill 64 years of longing to do that very thing), you can make your own dreams a reality, too. Go for it! What have you got to lose?

Buy Marcia’s Books Here

Novels
Wake-Robin Ridge: Book 1
A Boy Named Rabbit: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 2
Harbinger: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 3
The Light: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 4

Swamp Ghosts: Riverbend Book 1
Finding Hunter: Riverbend Book 2
That Darkest Place: Riverbend Book 3

Riverbend Spinoff Novellas
The Emissary 1
The Emissary 2 – To Love Somebody
The Emissary 3 – Love Hurts

Poetry
Summer Magic: Poems of Life and Love

Reach Marcia on Social Media Here:

Blog: The Write Stuff
Facebook
Email: marciameara16@gmail.com

#Bold&BlatantSelfPromo – #Excerpt – #TheEmissary2:ToLoveSomebody

/ Marcia Meara / 19 Comments

 

Time for more Bold & Blatant Promotions around here, and today, I’m featuring The Emissary 2: To Love Somebody. Hope you enjoyed meeting Jake and Azrael the last time around, and are ready for a hint at what comes next. Happy reading!

“Trouble never does a head count before showing up.”

BLURB

They’re back!

Jake and Dodger, the first (and so far, only) Emissaries to the Angels, are on the road again.

They’re looking for mortals about to take a wrong turn. You know the ones—the kid thinking about stealing from a corner market or the man planning to lie about a coworker and destroy her career. Yeah, them. People on the brink of making a mistake that could send them down that wrong road and jeopardize their mortal souls.

Of course, there are rules by which the emissaries must play, and the archangel Azrael stands ready to enforce them. First and foremost, a person’s free will must never be compromised. Emissaries are allowed to use only the smallest of mental nudges. Thankfully, a whispered suggestion here or images of a better course of action there is usually all it takes. The potential mugger walks on by. The thief drops the wallet back into the unattended purse. But whether the results are obvious or not, Jake and Dodger are fully committed to making a positive difference, even as they struggle with issues of their own.

Will Dodger get over losing his chance to learn what true love is all about? Will Jake survive the grueling angelic equivalent of Boot Camp? Will Azrael ever finish the Official Emissarial Guidebook—including the chapter titled Do Not Even Think About It?

One thing’s for sure—Jake’s and Dodger’s strengths are growing daily, as they help more and more people make better choices. But is the price for so much power higher than they’re willing to pay?

EXCERPT

A Young Man and His Mentor/Father Figure
Sitting in a Booth Where Cracked Red Vinyl Had Run Amuck,
Ordering That Too-Late Breakfast or Too-Early Lunch,
While Studiously Avoiding Each Other’s Eyes.
~~~ 

“WHY DO YOU supposed diners always have red plastic seats and red Formica tables? I mean, is it like a law, or somethin’? Part of the original blueprints? Or building code?”

Jake watched Dodger drumming nervous fingers on that very Formica tabletop and knew the boy wanted to talk. He wasn’t going to push him, however. As proven once again by this morning’s events, that never worked. When he was ready, he would talk. Until then, apparently diner décor was what interested him most.

“No idea. Maybe you can research that while we’re on the road so we’ll learn what’s what before we stop at another one.”

Dodger stared out the window. “You’re bein’ condescending, you know.”

“Sorry. Just trying to help you find something to talk about.”

“Well, don’t. I don’t really wanna talk about diners or Formica or anything else like that, and you know it.”

“Yeah, I guess I do. But to be fair, you did talk about it, so I was just playing along.” Jake took a sip of his iced tea, waited a beat, then tried again. “Dodger, you don’t need to explain anything to me. I’m in your corner, no matter what. But that doesn’t mean you have to tell me every detail from your life before we met.”

Finally, Dodger’s face swung back toward Jake. “But I do—at least I do, if it’s somethin’ I need you to understand. And this is.”

“Okay, then. As long as it’s what you want, I’ll always listen. And I’ll always help if I can.”

“I know that. I think I’ve known that since that day in the hospital parking lot, when you told me you wouldn’t take me back to the crap life I was livin’ before you rescued me. And I do trust you. It’s only that I’ve never talked about stuff like this to anyone. Ever. I don’t have any idea how to start.”

“Well, before you go any further, let me say that I didn’t mean to act like there was something wrong with you. Not at all. The honest truth is, as I look back on my own life and think about what was going on with young people around me, I suspect there were way too many of them having sex before they were emotionally mature enough to take that step. But the right time and circumstances are different for everyone, and I didn’t mean to sound like I was judging you.”

Dodger appeared to be inspecting the Formica all over again while his face turned just as red, but waiting was something Jake was good at. It was a skill the boy had helped him perfect.

A few minutes crept by, then Dodger plunged in. “Don’t know if I was ready for it or not, but it wouldn’t have mattered. Not at first, anyway. I was a shrimpy little kid, and way too young to interest the girls. A couple of years later, I’d put on some weight, and must have looked better. Next thing I knew, there was some coked-up, empty-eyed girl or another backin’ me into a corner every time I turned around.” He paused, then ground out, “I hated it!”

“Okay. Do you want to tell me why?”

It took three tries before Dodger was able to answer, and Jake wasn’t surprised at the pain in the boy’s voice.

“I had this dumbass idea when I left home that I’d find someone who cared about me. Someone I’d matter to.” He looked up, eyes glittering with unshed tears. “I guess I just wanted somebody, somewhere, to love me. No one ever had, Jake, and even as messed up as I was by then, one thing I knew for damn sure—none of those girls followin’ us runners around were gonna love me, either.” He paused, then stared out the window again.

“So, you waited?”

Nodding, Dodger went on. “Yeah. I waited. And kept waiting. Not like I was holdin’ out for something permanent or anything. I just wanted it to matter. I wanted me to matter. Stupid, huh?”

“No, Dodge. Not stupid at all. Love is the one thing in the world that truly does matter, above all else. Of course you wanted it. We all do. We’re born reaching for it, and the fact that you already knew the truth of that at the age of sixteen is one more example of how special you are. Azrael was right in telling me to save your life at all costs, and right again in bringing you back. You have so much to give this world, and you’re making a real difference in the lives of others every single day. And as for someone loving you, I know this isn’t the same, but I couldn’t love you more if you were my own son.”

“Thank you for that,” Dodger whispered. “I can’t even put into words how much that means to me.” The boy stared at the Formica again, his face still forlorn.

“But?”

“But I still wish I’d managed to get laid. At least once.”

************************

Download on Kindle for Just $1.99

 Author Marcia Meara

Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of over thirty years and four big cats.

When not writing or blogging, she spends her time gardening, and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard. She enjoys nature. Really, really enjoys it. All of it! Well, almost all of it, anyway. From birds, to furry critters, to her very favorites, snakes. The exception would be spiders, which she truly loathes, convinced that anything with eight hairy legs is surely up to no good. She does not, however, kill spiders anymore, since she knows they have their place in the world. Besides, her husband now handles her Arachnid Catch and Release Program, and she’s good with that.

Spiders aside, the one thing Marcia would like to tell each of her readers is that it’s never too late to make your dreams come true. If, at the age of 69, she could write and publish a book (and thus fulfill 64 years of longing to do that very thing), you can make your own dreams a reality, too. Go for it! What have you got to lose?

Buy Marcia’s Books Here

Novels
Wake-Robin Ridge: Book 1
A Boy Named Rabbit: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 2
Harbinger: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 3
The Light: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 4

Swamp Ghosts: Riverbend Book 1
Finding Hunter: Riverbend Book 2
That Darkest Place: Riverbend Book 3

Riverbend Spinoff Novellas
The Emissary 1
The Emissary 2 – To Love Somebody
The Emissary 3 – Love Hurts

Poetry
Summer Magic: Poems of Life and Love

Reach Marcia on Social Media Here:

Blog: The Write Stuff
Facebook
Email: marciameara16@gmail.com

#Bold&BlatantSelfPromo – #Excerpt – #TheEmissary

/ Marcia Meara / 27 Comments

Working my way through my books, one by one, and today, I’d like to share an excerpt from the first novella in my  Riverbend spinoff series, The Emissary. Hope you’ll enjoy reading about the world’s first emissary to the angels (Jake) as he meets the Archangel Azrael (his boss) for the first time. Happy reading! 😀 

“An angel’s work is never done — that’s part of the gig.”

BLURB

An angel’s work is never done—that’s part of the gig. But angels hadn’t been created to deal with such a vastly over-populated planet, rife with misery, suffering, and general chaos. Helping souls in peril has become a nearly impossible job, and even angelic tempers are frayed.

The archangel Azrael has had enough. He believes he’s found a way to ease their burden while saving jeopardized humans, too—hired help.

When Jake Daughtry lost his life rescuing a total stranger from certain death, he was on the fast track to Heaven. But that was before Azrael pulled him right out of line at the Pearly Gates. Now, as an Emissary to the Angels, Jake is taking to the highway in a quest to help souls in trouble. But the innate stubbornness of human beings bent on self-destruction is a challenge unlike any he’s ever faced.

It’s up to Jake and Azrael to bridge the gap between humans and angels. Will they ever convince the Council of Angels this endeavor is worthwhile? Can Jake figure out how to play by Azrael’s complicated rules? Will Azrael ever master the use of contractions in general conversation?

To find out the answers, hop on board Jake’s big red-and-white semi and travel the roads from the Florida Keys to north Georgia on an adventure that will make you laugh hard and cry even harder.

EXCERPT

December 12, 2013
“Take This Job and Shove It”
Johnny Paycheck
~~~

Midnight, December 12, 2013,
Tooling Down a Lonely Highway,
Somewhere Between Here and There.

“WHAT AM I going to do with you, Jake?”

Jake snapped his head to the right, gasped at the sight of an angel in the passenger seat, then jerked forward again just in time to prevent his semi from running off the highway. “What the hell! Are you trying to kill us both?”

“Language, please. And do you really think either of us could be killed so easily?”

Instead of a reply, Jake fumed in silence, glaring through the rain-streaked windshield as the last of the daylight disappeared. He thought about not answering at all but figured that would only make things worse. “I’m guessing you must be Azrael. Nice of you to drop in for a surprise visit and all, but a bit of advance notice next time might help me avoid a fatal collision. I don’t think killing innocent humans is part of my job description.”

“Ah. Sarcasm. I had forgotten how amusing it can be. But advance warning would eliminate the element of surprise, now wouldn’t it?”

“Whatever you say, Boss.”

Azrael rumbled low in his throat. “Do not call me Boss.”

Jake felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. “Do you have to growl at me like that?”

“I think you heard me. I am not fond of that type of slang.”

“If I stop calling you ‘Boss,’ will you stop sneaking up on me and growling that way? It doesn’t sound very angelic. Besides, it’s creepy.”

“I will do as I wish. And this is not about me. It is about you.”

“Why? What have I done?”

“Suffice it to say, you have done plenty, as you perfectly well know. Or do you want me to read from the list? I can go all the way back to your first day, if you like.”

“My first day was only a few months ago, so how long can the list be? And by the way, your on-the-job training for new hires is sadly lacking, in my opinion.”

“No one asked your opinion, but since you are pleading ignorance, let us start with the most serious transgression, shall we? How about Gabe Angelino?”

Jake winced. He thought he’d gotten away with that one, but he should have known better. These people—and he used the term loosely—apparently didn’t miss much. And for Azrael, himself, to show up? Probably not good.

The angel continued. “Really, Jake? Could you have been any more obvious? They are not supposed to know who you represent, you understand.”

“Sorry. He tried so hard to ignore me, I thought I might have to up my nudges to catch his attention. But he stayed with me of his own free will, until we were close enough that I was pretty sure he’d walk the last mile or so, himself. That’s the main thing, right? It’s not like I gave him any clues while we were driving.”

“No. You left him a note, instead, and used it to compel his memory of you. He would have forgotten you completely had you managed to refrain from doing that.”

“Maybe I didn’t want to be completely forgotten.”

“I am sure you did not, but it is not about what you want, regardless of whether it feels good to find out you have made a difference. I am also sure you enjoyed being contacted.”

“I didn’t tell either of them how to reach me.”

“No, but once the man remembered you—”

“Hunter. His name is Hunter.”

Azrael huffed out a sharp breath. “Yes, I am aware of that, but I would rather not think of him in those terms.”

“What terms? Human ones?”

“It is always better not to keep them in your mind after your work is done. Now, as I was saying, once he remembered you, and told the woman—”

“Willow,” Jake muttered.

“The woman. Once he told the woman who you were, she put out a direct call to you. And that, as you well know, is not supposed to happen. Your behavior was in violation of the rules.”

“She emailed me, that’s all. And I didn’t think emailing a fake person, employed by a fake company, would be in a list of prohibited actions.”

“Why do you persist in being so difficult? You know the method matters not. It makes no difference if you are called via cell phone, email, or a tormented scream from deep within the abyss. You represent us. If called, you must answer. You have no choice. Therefore, you are not allowed to give them a way to reach you. Surely this was stressed repeatedly when you were given this job, and doing so is frowned upon by, shall we say, upper management. So. Why did you leave him a transparent clue like that, and a ‘nudge,’ as you put it, to remember your time together? Give me something, Jake. I would rather not lose you this early on.”

Jake lifted his foot from the accelerator and angled the semi off the highway and into a deserted truck stop. He parked, then faced Azrael, noting more concern than he’d expected in his companion’s arctic blue eyes. The urge to fight died.

“I’m not sure why. I did what I could for him, but he was far more desperate than any of my other riders had been. I was afraid he needed a lot more. So, I left him a fake name with a little push to spur his memory, in case he needed me again. What good is it to have this power if I can’t ever put it to use?”

Azrael groaned. “And I am the one who argued that you had so much potential.” He rubbed his pale hand over his face, then took a deep breath and gave it another go.

“Once again, you do understand that you broke the rules, right? They are not supposed to remember you, find you, or contact you. And you are absolutely, positively forbidden to contact them, too, in any way, shape, or form. You showed up on their doorstep, Jake. You had tea with them! What were you thinking?”

“Technically, I only had tea with Hunter. Willow stayed inside. And I was thinking that saving this gentle, decent person from harming himself was more important than saving my job.”

“Or your own soul?”

Jake’s mouth tightened. “So, if I break a heavenly, though still bureaucratic, rule to be sure a good man is safe, I flunk your tests, and my mortal soul is in danger? What is this? Go directly to Hell? Do not pass Go? Do not collect $200?”

Azrael buried his face in his hands.

Jake had no idea what was about to happen next, but he decided it really didn’t matter.

“If that’s the way it is, then I don’t want this job. I don’t know how to turn my back on people that way. I can’t do it.”

“What?” Azrael’s head jerked back up, and he stared at Jake, mouth agape. “What are you saying?”

“Simple. I quit.”

************************

Download on Kindle for Just $1.99

 Author Marcia Meara

Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of over thirty years and four big cats.

When not writing or blogging, she spends her time gardening, and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard. She enjoys nature. Really, really enjoys it. All of it! Well, almost all of it, anyway. From birds, to furry critters, to her very favorites, snakes. The exception would be spiders, which she truly loathes, convinced that anything with eight hairy legs is surely up to no good. She does not, however, kill spiders anymore, since she knows they have their place in the world. Besides, her husband now handles her Arachnid Catch and Release Program, and she’s good with that.

Spiders aside, the one thing Marcia would like to tell each of her readers is that it’s never too late to make your dreams come true. If, at the age of 69, she could write and publish a book (and thus fulfill 64 years of longing to do that very thing), you can make your own dreams a reality, too. Go for it! What have you got to lose?

Buy Marcia’s Books Here

Novels
Wake-Robin Ridge: Book 1
A Boy Named Rabbit: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 2
Harbinger: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 3
The Light: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 4

Swamp Ghosts: Riverbend Book 1
Finding Hunter: Riverbend Book 2
That Darkest Place: Riverbend Book 3

Riverbend Spinoff Novellas
The Emissary 1
The Emissary 2 – To Love Somebody
The Emissary 3 – Love Hurts

Poetry
Summer Magic: Poems of Life and Love

Reach Marcia on Social Media Here:

Blog: The Write Stuff
Facebook
Email: marciameara16@gmail.com

#Bold&BlatantSelfPromo – #Excerpt – #TheLight – #WakeRobinRidgeBook4

/ Marcia Meara / 29 Comments

Time for another Bold & Blatant Self-Promotion post, this time featuring the fourth novel in my Wake-Robin Ridge series, The Light. Hope you’ll enjoy checking out a blurb containing just a hint or two about a pretty big adventure in the lives of Rabbit, Mac,  Sarah, Branna, and Rabbit’s brand new friend, Austin Dupree,  along with the shortest excerpt accompanying any of these posts, so far. Thanks for reading!

The Magic is Back!

BLURB

For Robert MacKenzie Cole—or Rabbit, as he’s known to all—the chance to accompany his family to see North Carolina’s infamous Brown Mountain Lights has him nearly dizzy with excitement. And what better night to watch this unexplained phenomenon unfold than Halloween?

But when the entrancing, unpredictable lights show up, Rabbit gets far more than he bargained for. He’s gifted with what folks in the Appalachians call “the Sight,” and it’s this extrasensory perception that enables him to spot the one light different from all the rest.

In his biggest challenge to date, Rabbit—aided by his daddy and his newest friend, Austin Dupree— begins a quest to learn more about the mysterious light. Their investigation unveils a web of cons and corruption none of them expected and exposes a brutal murder along the way.

Throughout all, Rabbit is unfaltering in his commitment to do whatever it takes to understand the truth behind the glowing orb and to determine how he can help it. After all, it followed him home.

EXCERPT

January, 2014
North Carolina Mountains
~~~

A Frigid Winter Night
At a Deserted Mountain Overlook
On the Blue Ridge Parkway

 A GUST OF bitter, icy wind moaned through the trees, a barred owl’s mournful call the only reply. The night grew still again, with nothing breaking the silence along this deserted stretch of mountain highway.

As the sharp-eyed owl continued to watch for any movement below, his keen hearing picked up the distant hum of an approaching vehicle.

Out of the darkness, a low, sleek car roared around a curve, shattering the silence as it whipped into the overlook and came to a rumbling stop beside the stone parapet. The startled owl glided away to other hunting grounds, then all grew quiet again—though all was definitely not well.

A shadowy figure emerged from the driver’s seat, walked around to the back of the car, then opened the trunk. A brief, awkward struggle ensued, accompanied by a creative selection of muttered curses. In the end, a heavy bundle was hauled out, dropped unceremoniously to the asphalt, then dragged the few steps to the wall. One last heave, then the bundle was over the barrier, crashing through the underbrush as it bounced down the steep mountainside.

“Happy landings, you stupid bitch. Maybe you’ll be smarter in your next life.”

Thirty seconds later, the car peeled out of the parking area and headed back the direction it had come.

Another icy gust of wind moaned through the trees. This time, nothing at all replied.

************************

Download on Kindle for Just $3.99
Available in Print for $13.99

Author Marcia Meara

Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of over thirty years and four big cats.

When not writing or blogging, she spends her time gardening, and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard. She enjoys nature. Really, really enjoys it. All of it! Well, almost all of it, anyway. From birds, to furry critters, to her very favorites, snakes. The exception would be spiders, which she truly loathes, convinced that anything with eight hairy legs is surely up to no good. She does not, however, kill spiders anymore, since she knows they have their place in the world. Besides, her husband now handles her Arachnid Catch and Release Program, and she’s good with that.

Spiders aside, the one thing Marcia would like to tell each of her readers is that it’s never too late to make your dreams come true. If, at the age of 69, she could write and publish a book (and thus fulfill 64 years of longing to do that very thing), you can make your own dreams a reality, too. Go for it! What have you got to lose?

Buy Marcia’s Books Here

Novels
Wake-Robin Ridge: Book 1
A Boy Named Rabbit: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 2
Harbinger: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 3
The Light: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 4

Swamp Ghosts: Riverbend Book 1
Finding Hunter: Riverbend Book 2
That Darkest Place: Riverbend Book 3

Riverbend Spinoff Novellas
The Emissary 1
The Emissary 2 – To Love Somebody
The Emissary 3 – Love Hurts

Poetry
Summer Magic: Poems of Life and Love

Reach Marcia on Social Media Here:

Blog: The Write Stuff
Facebook
Email: marciameara16@gmail.com

#Bold&BlatantSelfPromo – #Excerpt – #Harbinger – #WakeRobinRidgeBook3

/ Marcia Meara / 30 Comments

And here I am again, folks, with another Bold and Blatant Self-Promotion post. Harbinger is the third book in my Wake-Robin Ridge series, and deals with the legend of the Black Dog (or Ol’ Shuck as he’s known in the North Carolina mountains)  as a harbinger of death. Take it from me, you don’t want to wake up to the sight of Ol’ Shuck sitting on your doorstep!😮 Even though it’s a bit longer than usual, I hope you’ll enjoy the excerpt I chose, and will be curious to find out how this beginning impacts Rabbit and his family. Thanks for reading!

Beware the Black Dog!

BLURB

“. . . he felt the wet slide of the dog’s burning hot tongue on his face, and the scrape of its razor sharp teeth against the top of his head. A white-hot agony of crushing pain followed, as the jaws began to close.”

The wine-red trillium that carpets the forests of the North Carolina Mountains is considered a welcome harbinger of spring—but not all such omens are happy ones. An Appalachian legend claims the Black Dog, or Ol’ Shuck, as he’s often called, is a harbinger of death. If you see him, you or someone you know is going to die.

But what happens when Ol’ Shuck starts coming for you in your dreams? Nightmares of epic proportions haunt the deacon of the Light of Grace Baptist Church, and bring terror into the lives of everyone around him. Even MacKenzie Cole and his adopted son, Rabbit, find themselves pulled into danger.

When Sheriff Raleigh Wardell asks Mac and Rabbit to help him solve a twenty-year-old cold case, Rabbit’s visions of a little girl lost set them on a path that soon collides with that of a desperate man being slowly driven mad by guilt.

As Rabbit’s gift of the Sight grows ever more powerful, his commitment to those who seek justice grows as well, even when their pleas come from beyond the grave.

EXCERPT

Early June, 1994
North Carolina Mountians
~~~

 With a loud whoosh, the doors pulled closed on the big, yellow bus, and it rumbled down the old, two-lane highway, leaving the shrieks and laughter of the last few kids hanging in the muggy air. Sissy Birdwell stood on the dusty berm, waving goodbye to friends she wouldn’t see again until the fall, and watched the bus disappear around the curve.

Reluctant to start the mile-long hike up the narrow, red clay road toward her home, she kicked aimlessly at some pebbles and twigs. Part of her was happy her mother had finally agreed she was old enough to walk home alone. After all, she was eight years old now, and certainly able to find her way to their house, which waited at the very end of the steep track. Another part of her shivered at the thought of the lonely, winding road ahead, which curved higher and higher through the thick woods, until it reached their clearing near the top of the ridge.

She would never tell her mama this, but the dark beneath the trees scared her. She was afraid of bears. And coyotes. And snakes. And lots of other things that might want to share the road with her on an early June afternoon. But nobody in the whole Birdwell family would understand that, not even the women. They’d been part of these mountains forever, and she was sure nothing scared them at all.

Of course, she could wait around for the second bus, then walk home with her brother—but that would be like admitting she was still a baby. No way she’d do that. So she squared her shoulders, and trudged up the drive toward home, refusing to look at the dusty trees and bushes that crowded close on either side. Instead, she pictured the litter of tiny pups their hound had presented them with last week, and tried to guess if any might have opened their eyes today.

Thinking about cuddling those precious babies with their sweet puppy breath warm on her face made Sissy walk a bit faster, kicking up puffs of reddish dust from the dirt road. As she rounded the first broad curve, she saw a lone figure coming toward her. Even from a distance, the way the sun glinted on his coppery hair told her it was Cadey Hagen, the son of their nearest neighbor, but what he was doing on their drive, she wasn’t sure. The Hagen cabin was a good ways down the eastern slope of the ridge.

“Hey, Sissy. You just gettin’ home from school?”

“Hey, Cadey. Yeah. Sorry you missed the last day party.”

He snorted. “Who needs them ol’ cupcakes, anyway? ‘specially if you gotta eat ‘em in a room full of stupid little kids.”

“Wasn’t all little kids. All the grades were there, an’ the cupcakes were pretty good, too. Why’d you skip it?”

He scowled, kicking at the dirt in disgust. “Didn’t skip it. Ol’ Lady Bratton suspended me for the last three days, just cuz she found me smokin’ behind the washroom.”

“Oh. Didn’t know you got suspended. I heard you were in trouble, though. Only I heard it was because you had you a knife at school, and then you smart-mouthed Miz Bratton when she caught you.”

“Well, she deserved it, dang ol’ biddy. Was only an ol’ Buck knife. Everybody carries ‘em. It don’t matter none to me, though. She’s the one gonna be sorry.”

Sissy wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but she’d heard the bigger kids say Cadey was a boy you didn’t want to get on the wrong side of, so she kept quiet.

Oh, he looked innocent enough, with his gap-toothed grin, freckled face, and jug ears poking out from under a thatch of hair that was more red than blond. He reminded Sissy of Opie Taylor, from the television reruns of the Andy Griffith Show, except older. Maybe twelve. She didn’t really believe he’d hurt anyone. Still, something told her not to ask any questions.

They talked about school a moment or two, then Cadey made an announcement. “I got a secret. I’d tell you, but you ain’t old enough to trust with it.”

Of all the things he could have said, implying she was still a little girl was the one guaranteed to get a rise out of Sissy. “Am so old enough! Ain’t nobody can make me tell a secret, Cadey Hagen. Why’re you grinnin’ like that? I wanna know.”

“Just thinkin’. How old are you, anyway?”

“I’m eight, an’ I know how to pinkie swear, an’ everything. I ain’t gonna blab your old secret. Probably isn’t all that good, anyway.”

Now, Cadey was insulted. “Is so. Might be the best secret I ever had. You’d be pretty surprised, I bet.”

They stood, indignant, in the middle of the dirt road, hands on hips, glaring at each other, then Cadey cocked his head. “What’s your real name, anyway?”

“Cecelia Ann Birdwell. Why?”

Cadey looked her up and down. The two of them were a study in contrasts, and Sissy scowled at the boy, as he took in her long black braids, tied with red cotton bows, and her smooth, tan skin, so different from his pale, freckled complexion. Even her tip-tilted black eyes, which clearly showed the Cherokee heritage in her family, contrasted sharply with his bright blue ones. When he finished his inspection, he seemed to have come to a decision.

“Well, Cecelia Ann Birdwell, do you swear you’ll never tell? Hope to die? Lightnin’ strike you in the eye?”

She huffed out a breath. “Yes. I swear I won’t tell nobody, hope to die, an’ lightnin’ strikes, an’ all. Now what’s your big ol’ secret?”

“Come with me, then, an’ I’ll show you.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sissy Birdwell took Cadey Hagen’s outstretched hand, followed him into the woods … and never came out again.

************************

Download on Kindle for Just $3.99
Available in Print for $13.99

Author Marcia Meara

Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of over thirty years and four big cats.

When not writing or blogging, she spends her time gardening, and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard. She enjoys nature. Really, really enjoys it. All of it! Well, almost all of it, anyway. From birds, to furry critters, to her very favorites, snakes. The exception would be spiders, which she truly loathes, convinced that anything with eight hairy legs is surely up to no good. She does not, however, kill spiders anymore, since she knows they have their place in the world. Besides, her husband now handles her Arachnid Catch and Release Program, and she’s good with that.

Spiders aside, the one thing Marcia would like to tell each of her readers is that it’s never too late to make your dreams come true. If, at the age of 69, she could write and publish a book (and thus fulfill 64 years of longing to do that very thing), you can make your own dreams a reality, too. Go for it! What have you got to lose?

Buy Marcia’s Books Here

Novels
Wake-Robin Ridge: Book 1
A Boy Named Rabbit: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 2
Harbinger: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 3
The Light: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 4

Swamp Ghosts: Riverbend Book 1
Finding Hunter: Riverbend Book 2
That Darkest Place: Riverbend Book 3

Riverbend Spinoff Novellas
The Emissary 1
The Emissary 2 – To Love Somebody
The Emissary 3 – Love Hurts

Poetry
Summer Magic: Poems of Life and Love

Reach Marcia on Social Media Here:

Blog: The Write Stuff
Facebook
Email: marciameara16@gmail.com

 

 

#Bold&BlatantSelfPromo – #Excerpt – #WakeRobinRidge Book1

/ Marcia Meara / 37 Comments

I’ve been thinking about running a few self-promotional posts here and there. Hope you’ll indulge me if I do a bit of marketing for my books, in general, including any sales or other special deals that might be available, too.

Today’s post features the first book I ever wrote, published in 2013. For those who don’t know, the wake-robin is a wine-red trillium which blooms in the North Carolina mountains every spring. It’s always been a favorite of mine, and I knew it would be the name of my fictitious mountain ridge before I even started writing the book.  In addition to the Blurb, I’m sharing an excerpt from the beginning of a very pivotal scene in the story.  Hope you enjoy it!

Wake-Robin Ridge, Where Ghosts Walk, Ancient Legends Abound,
and Things Still go Bump in the Night.

BLURB

“A PHONE RINGING AT 2:00 A.M. never means anything good. Calls at 2:00 A.M. are bad news. Someone has died. Someone is hurt. Or someone needs help.”

On a bitter cold January night in 1965, death came calling at an isolated little cabin on Wake-Robin Ridge. Now, nearly 50 years later, librarian Sarah Gray has quit her job and moved into the same cabin, hoping the peace and quiet of her woodland retreat will allow her to concentrate on writing her first novel. Instead she finds herself distracted by her only neighbor, the enigmatic and reclusive MacKenzie Cole, who lives on top of the mountain with his Irish wolfhound as his sole companion.

As their tentative friendship grows, Sarah learns the truth about the heartbreaking secret causing Mac to hide from the world. But before the two can sort out their feelings for each other, they find themselves plunged into a night of terror neither could have anticipated. Now they must unravel the horrifying events of a murder committed decades earlier. In doing so, they discover that the only thing stronger than a hatred that will not die is a heart willing to sacrifice everything for another.

EXCERPT

I saw the headlights flare across the back wall before I heard the sound of Mac’s truck, and I rose, moving to face the door. My hands were shaking and my stomach was in a knot. He was coming, and I didn’t know if that was a good thing, or a very bad one. I heard the truck door slam, and in seconds he was knocking rapidly on my door.

“Sarah? Sarah, please. Open the door. Please, Sarah?”

I stood with my hand on the knob, debating—a mere two inches of wood between us. Jenna’s joke about him being a serial killer flashed through my mind. Was he dangerous? Drunk? Mentally unstable?

I heard him make a strangled sound on the other side. “Oh, Sarah, I’m so sorry. Please let me in.”

He sounded on the verge of tears. That did it. Whatever the problem was, I couldn’t say no to anyone that unhappy, and certainly not to Mac.

I turned the knob and began to open the door, only to have Mac push his way inside, and pull me roughly against him. He buried his face in my hair, his breath hot against my head. “Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I’m so sorry.” He was trembling all over.

I leaned back to look at him, and the misery in his face was shocking. “Oh, Mac,” I whispered. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Instead of answering, he leaned down, and kissed me. Hard. I stood frozen for a moment, then he abruptly let me go, stumbling back with a gasp. He looked almost as shocked as I felt.

“Oh, damn,” he choked out, closing his eyes. I took his hand, which was ice-cold, and pulled him into the warmth of the living room, closing the door behind us.

“Sit down, Mac.” I led him to the couch, and wrapped my afghan around his shoulders. He huddled there, hunched over with his elbows on his knees, and his face buried in his hands. His breathing was ragged, and he seemed to be struggling to gather control of his emotions. When the worst of his shivering eased, he dropped his hands.

Even by the dim light of the fire, I could see he looked awful. His eyes were bloodshot, and had dark circles underneath them. He hadn’t shaved in a day or two, and his hair was tousled every which way.

I felt he wanted to tell me something, but he seemed unable to find the words to begin. When he didn’t look at me again, I knelt down in front of him on the floor. I put my palm on his cheek and turned his face toward me. “Mac? It’s time. You need to tell me.”

“I know,” he said, voice barely audible. “I want to, but it’s so hard, Sarah.” He took a deep, shaky breath. “I don’t know how to talk about it. I never have before, not to anyone.” His voice broke, and his eyes shone with unshed tears.

I moved up to sit beside him, and took his hand in mine. “Try. Just try, Mac. I can’t be here for you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

He looked at me, searching for something in my eyes. Reassurance, perhaps. Then he turned back to stare into the fire, drawing courage from the warmth of the flames. I waited.

Mac’s eyes were focused on something far away, and he held my hand in a death grip. Finally, he took another shuddering breath and began to talk, his voice barely above a whisper. “I went to Charlotte to see my son.”

“You have a son?” I asked, after he had been quiet for a long moment.

He started to say something, then stopped. He cleared his throat and tried again, twice, before managing to go on. “Had. I had a son. He died.”

It was obvious just saying the words tore him apart. His pain was like a living presence in the room, and I would have done just about anything to ease it for him; but I thought that this was probably a story he needed to tell in his own way, so I waited. He spoke in such a halting manner, it was easy to believe he had never said any of this out loud.

“Monday was his birthday … he would have been eighteen.” He gave a ragged sigh. “Grown up. I still see him small, laughing … playing in the sandbox with his trucks.” He stopped again.

“I always go on his birthday, but I wasn’t going to this year. I thought I could stay here … be with you … just not think about it, for this one year. I’m good at not thinking about it most of the time. I just pretend everything is all right.” Another long pause. “My life is all about pretending.”

************************

Download on Kindle for Just $1.99
Currently Available in Print for Only $4.36

Author Marcia Meara

Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of over thirty years and four big cats.

When not writing or blogging, she spends her time gardening, and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard. She enjoys nature. Really, really enjoys it. All of it! Well, almost all of it, anyway. From birds, to furry critters, to her very favorites, snakes. The exception would be spiders, which she truly loathes, convinced that anything with eight hairy legs is surely up to no good. She does not, however, kill spiders anymore, since she knows they have their place in the world. Besides, her husband now handles her Arachnid Catch and Release Program, and she’s good with that.

Spiders aside, the one thing Marcia would like to tell each of her readers is that it’s never too late to make your dreams come true. If, at the age of 69, she could write and publish a book (and thus fulfill 64 years of longing to do that very thing), you can make your own dreams a reality, too. Go for it! What have you got to lose?

Buy Marcia’s Books Here

Novels
Wake-Robin Ridge: Book 1
A Boy Named Rabbit: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 2
Harbinger: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 3
The Light: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 4

Swamp Ghosts: Riverbend Book 1
Finding Hunter: Riverbend Book 2
That Darkest Place: Riverbend Book 3

Riverbend Spinoff Novellas
The Emissary 1
The Emissary 2 – To Love Somebody
The Emissary 3 – Love Hurts

Poetry
Summer Magic: Poems of Life and Love

Reach Marcia on Social Media Here:

Blog: The Write Stuff
Facebook
Email: marciameara16@gmail.com

#Bold&BlatantSelfPromo – #SummerMagic – #Poetry

/ Marcia Meara / 36 Comments

Thought I’d take advantage of this being a slow week on TWS, and you know what that means? Yep. Gonna share something I wrote with you, namely a poem from my book Summer Magic: Poems of Life and Love. If you enjoy this one, there’s more where it came from in this little book. (And it can be yours for the low, low, low price of just $.99!! Hmmm. Better be careful here. It sounds like I’m hawking pillowcases on tv, doesn’t it?) 

Seriously, if you enjoy poetry, I hope you’ve already checked out my offering, but if you haven’t yet done so, maybe this post will encourage you to take a look. EITHER way, I hope you enjoy today’s offering!

Bruises

Pale blue eyes,
Fringed in black,
Look out at the world
With the wild, free spirit
Only a ten-year-old boy
Knows how to nurture.

A shock of black hair falls over his brow
As he frowns thoughtfully,
Examining a scab on one knobby knee.
A souvenir from yesterday’s hike,
Acquired while showing off for Dad.
Again.

Long and thin, his scraped-up legs
Have become maps of small hurts,
Tracing each day of his summer.
A scratch here, from picking
Wild blackberries,
And a bruise there, from
Swinging on a low limb.
Those and so many more,
Injuries acquired while calling,
Watch, Dad, watch!
See what I can do!

Badges.
Attesting to his bravery,
Marking his adventures,
And confirming in his mind
His place among Immortals.

His dad sighs, all too aware
More bumps and scrapes
Lie ahead.
No way to guard him
Against the future bruises
Life will bring.
His boy will be marked,
Abraded by time and
The world around him,
Though some scars will be
Much less obvious than others.
And someday, scabby knees
Will be counted as nothing,
When weighed against
Those invisible wounds.
                                     … By Marcia Meara

BLURB

Summer Magic: Poems of Life & Love is a collection of contemporary poetry about exactly that–life and love. The first part of the book features poems about the magic a young boy discovers while camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The second part of the book has a sampling of poetry about love, life and death, autumn, and dreams coming true.

A FAVORITE REVIEW

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful collection of poetry!

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2021
Verified Purchase
“Summer Magic” is a wonderful collection of poetry presented in two parts. The first part was based on a character, Mac, from a favorite series of mine, Wake-Robin Ridge. The poems are an amazing glimpse into his childhood and the mountains he grew up in. The second half of the book offered beautiful images that tugged at my heart or took me on a journey. Here are a few of my favorite passages:

“Stars, he thinks, pulled loose/From the fabric of the sky,/And flung toward earth/Trailing silver and gold,/And bringing a piece of Heaven/To those watching below,”

“Caught in that space between/Daylight and dusk,/When all things seem possible,/And the ordinary,/Remarkable,”

“Reminds me of those early days/When all water rushed clear and cold,/And teemed with Promise so bright/You could almost catch it in your hands,”

and “Bees moving slowly from/Flower to flower,/In dance weighed down by heat.”

This is a collection I highly recommend, and I’ll definitely be reading it again.

Download Your Copy of Summer Magic HERE
for just $.99!