Snarkology Halloween Hop (Oct. 26-31st)–Beth Trissel

Welcome to my corner of the Hop. As Curse of the Moon (Book 2, The Secret Warrior Series) takes place over Halloween, I’m giving away the kindle or eBook. For a shot at the super prize: (2) $100 Gift Card (Amazon, B&N, or iBooks), (2) $50 Gift Card (Amazon, B&N, or iBooks visit hop central at:  http://www.thesnarkology.com/snarkology-halloween-hop-oct-26-31st/

YA Shifter Fantasy Romance Curse of the Moon is an urban paranormal set in our Virginia Mountains. From the blurb: ‘The bad news? Morgan Daniel’s wolf is out of control. The good news? There’s a treatment. She just has to get a potion from a lizard shifter witch—without looking into the witch’s eyes. Easy, right?’

The lizard shifting witch in the story is drawn from mountain people lore about an old woman who basks in the moonlight as a large lizard. They call her the Lizard Lady. According to the tale, she’s been spotted not that far from where we live on a farm in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. I first heard about the Lizard Lady from late valley historian and author, John Heatwole, who interviewed valley/mountain people and recorded their accounts in his book, Shenandoah Voices. He also had a radio show, and that’s the first time I heard about The Lizard Lady. She caught my imagination, but it’s taken me about twenty years to bring her to life.

In Curse of the Moon, her name is Lilith Dubois, and she lives in a ramshackle house back in the mountains. Not only is she a lizard shifter in the moonlight, she’s a witch with memorizing eyes. If you gaze into their green depths, she’ll put a spell on you that only she can break—for a price. This sort of enchantress is called a gorgon. Bad things happen if you look into their eyes. The legendary Medusa turned people to stone. Lilith just gets what she wants from them. She has two teenage daughters, Eve and Dilly, who are important in the story/series. The girls have powers of their own.

The house I based Lilith’s rustic home on is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Many locals know this place because they drive past it. In Curse of the Moon, you have to hike back to Lilith’s hollow or drive as near as you can in a pickup or four wheeler—rough road.

YA Fantasy Romance-Book 2

The Mountain people and Native American lore, plus my love of shifters, herbs, colonial America, and wild imagination are all part of the inspiration behind my new fantasy/paranormal series, The Secret Warrior.

***Winner (or winners) for the kindle/eBook of Curse of the Moon will be chosen from among those who leave me kind comments. If I’m feeling particularly generous I may include the other two books in the series. Yes, you do need to read them in order.