Giveaway & Guest Post w/ Stephanie Julian

Ladies and Gent of the Lair.... Please lift your spirits to give a warm welcome to one of my favorite authors.... ((Make sure you stay tune at the bottom for the giveaway))

Ms. Stephanie Julian

Do you believe in magic?

I do. I believe there are people who can tap into powers far greater than what we understand or realize are out there.

There’s an allure about magic that has made people fear and crave it for thousands of years. And if time travel were possible (the jury’s still out on that one), people who traveled forward in time from only three hundred years ago would think electricity was magic.

In Italian folklore, witches are called streghe. Throughout history, they’ve been regarded with equal amounts of fear and respect. Streghe were considered the wise women of the village. They dispensed healing potions and spells and generally took care of the villagers.

I became fascinated with the concept when I started researching magic several years ago to start this story.

I knew I wanted to write a story about witches and the legends of the streghe and Italian folk magic fit my needs perfectly. Besides, my dad’s family is Italian and I wanted to tap into that heritage.

I also knew I wanted the story to be contemporary (really not a historical writer) but where’s the conflict? They no longer burn witches at the stake, which is a good thing. Then I got this dead about a curse. Cursed witches. I could work with that.

I love research and got to indulge myself in so many books about the craft and spells and herbs and crystals and I took all of what I learned and wove it into SPELL BOUND.

She’s running from fate…

Shea Tedaldi is the only thing standing between her six-year-old brother and the men who killed their parents. Descendants of the ancient Etruscan magical race, Shea and her brother keep powerful secrets that make them the targets of the evil Malandante. They’ve been looking for a safe haven but the bad guys are gaining on them and Shea needs a hero, a guardian who won’t falter in the face of danger…

He’s looking for the key to break the spell…

Gabriel Borelli is a warrior born to protect the Etruscan witches living under a curse. He’s dedicated to breaking the spell and avenging the murder of his father by the Malandante. He won’t let anything—or anyone—get in his way. Not even the one woman who may hold the key to his quest…and his heart.

Excerpt:

“Hey, Leo. You want to help me with a spell?”

Pulling out of her arms, he looked up at her, eyes bright as he nodded.

She smiled, trying to look excited. And confident. Yeah, right. “Alright, bud. You sit here for a sec.” She pointed to the space in front of the altar then grabbed her backpack from beside the bed and pulled out their mom’s grimoire.

She paged past spells to cure warts and heartburn, spells to induce comas and even one titled Love Potion. She’d had a few private laughs over that one.

But now… There it was, near the back. Concealment Spell.

Glancing through, it didn’t look that difficult, and she had all of the ingredients they needed on the altar. Of course, nothing ever looked difficult until you were ass-deep in frogs, as her dad used to say.

Oh, Daddy…

Shaking off those thoughts, she grabbed what she needed and sat in front of Leo, placing the abalone moon bowl between them.

“Okay, bud. Let’s do this.”

In the bottom of the bowl, she placed the bloodstone and sprinkled dried heliotrope over it.

With the grimoire on her lap, she held out her hands and waited for Leo to place his in hers. She’d been teaching Leo as much as she could about spell casting. Which wasn’t as much as it should have been.

She’d been a lousy student, which was why she hadn’t attempted this spell before. It took a lot of power and an equal amount of control. And she didn’t have much of either.

She closed her eyes, knowing Leo would follow her lead.

“Great Goddess Uni, Mother of all, protector of the Etruscans. We, your children, beseech Your aid.”

Their hands warmed as power built between them, causing goosebumps to coat her arms. Lowering their hands, she wrapped Leo’s around the edge of the bowl, then did the same with her own, funneling the power into the bowl and the bloodstone.

“Danger follows us. Evil tracks us. Bless us, Great Goddess, with a veil to hide us from those who seek us and mean us harm. We beg You to answer our plea.”

The bowl shook beneath their hands, rattling against the floor, making the moonstone dance like a Mexican jumping bean in the bottom.

Shit, that was so not good. They were drawing too much power. She wouldn’t be able to contain it for much longer.

Please, Goddess, just long enough to charge the stone.

“For your aid, we thank you, Uni, Lady of the Sky, the Earth and the Water.”

Okay, time to release the spell into the stone.

“Leo, let go of the bowl. Slowly, bud.”

He did it perfectly, sliding his palms then his fingertips from the lip of the bowl until he was no longer touching. As if he’d been casting for years. He probably had been. Her mom had started her training when she was four.

The bowl continued to rattle.

Shit. This is gonna hurt no matter what—

Sharp pain sliced into her temples right before the power blew her across the room. Pain shot up her spine as her back hit the wall, milliseconds before her head connected.

Yeah, that was going to leave a mark.

Okay for your favorite time.... 

**Giveaway Time**

Ms. Julia is so generous to allow me to giveaway one e-copy of Spell Bound!

If you were around... You know that I did a review of the book!

What am I requiring of you... Go to Ms. Julian's website and tell me your favorite series by her!!!

Leave your email - so that way we have a way of contacting you please!

The contest ends Wednesday, October 19th

&

The winner will be announced Thursday, October 20th!

Good luck!!!

To visit Ms. Stephanie, please go to her website... You may just leave very happy!

And remember... Keep it Dirty, Smutty & Hussy!