Hello Lovely Readers,
Today on the blog we have the bewitching Maggie Shayne. She has a treat for us today in the form of a Character Interview with Magdelena from her latest release Daughter of the Spellcaster!
LENA: Merry Meet, dear readers. My name is Magdalena and I’m a witch, as was my mother before me. We live together, my mom and I, on an old vineyard in New York’s wine country, right on the tip of Cayuga, the second largest of the Finger Lakes.
MAGGIE: And I’m Maggie Shayne, the author of Lena’s story, and the stories of her sisters in The Portal Series. I live about 45 minutes from Magdalena, in the rural rolling hills of Cortland County, NY.
Lena, tell the readers how you came to live here.
LENA: I sort of ran away from my life, to be honest. I was doing PR in the City when I fell in love with a wealthy client’s son—a known player. But how could I help myself when he looked exactly like the man I’d been dreaming about for most of my life.
MAGGIE: Recurrent dreams—I’ve had some of those.
LENA: Recurrent dreams are not something a witch takes lightly. Especially not when they encounter the subject of them in real life.
MAGGIE: I can imagine. (And did.)
LENA: The affair was pure fire. The pregnancy, entirely unintended. I didn’t know what to do. I knew Ryan didn’t want a family. I thought about telling him. But then I had a vision. It was of Ryan, standing over me as I labored to give birth to our child, holding a golden dagger, point-down, right over my distended belly.
MAGGIE: Holy mugwort!
LENA: I know, right? So I took my mom and we ran for it. That was months ago. The vineyard has become my home and my haven, now, as my pregnancy has progressed. It’s in a small, quiet town. Very rural. The doctor is within walking distance, which is reassuring now that I could give birth at any time. The neighbors, few and far between, are all friendly, and I thought I’d found my place. There’s even a presence in the old house, a benign, friendly ghost perhaps. We don’t mind it hanging out at all. Everything is perfect.
But then Ryan shows up.
MAGGIE: Oh, crap.
LENA: He’s demanding to know why I kept the pregnancy from him, insisting he wants to stay and be involved in the baby’s life.
And I can’t say no, of course I can’t. I’m in love with him, and I think I have been before I even met him.
MAGGIE: So he stays, then? (As if I don’t know. I wrote it.)
LENA: Yes, he stays, but then things start getting weird. The doctor and some of the neighbors seem to be checking in way to often, just pushing past the edges of my privacy on all sides. It’s getting creepy, the level of interest they’re showing in my pregnancy. And then something happened to mom, out in the woods one night, but she can’t remember what. And the friendly presence we’ve always sensed in the house starts to feel—menacing.
MAGGIE: Maybe you should leave.
LENA: That’s what I decided, too, but there was a freak storm. A tree fell in front of the car, almost on the car. There’s no longer any doubt in my mind that something is keeping me here.
I now believe it’s something that wants my baby, and just when I’ve realized I can no longer trust my doctor, my friends, or my neighbors, I find the golden blade from my vision, hidden among Ryan’s things—just as I go into labor.
MAGGIE: I am getting chills!
LENA: How do you think I feel?
MAGGIE: As much as I’d like to ask how it all turns out, I’m not going to do that. We want the readers to dive in and come along on this journey with you.
LENA: I do, too. But we should warn them to buckle up. This is one wild ride.
Want to know about Daugnter of the Spellcaster
Anything for their child
Magdalena knows Ryan is a playboy from the start, but is compelled by his resemblance to the man of her recurrent dreams and fantasies who’d adored her in another lifetime; the man who’d tried to save her life, and failed. She can’t resist him.
The affair is fire, the pregnancy unintended, his reaction predictable. So without telling Ryan why, she retreats to a house on a broken down, one-time vineyard with her mom. They’re a pair of natural witches laying low in New York’s wine country and though she misses Ryan, life is good.
For a little while.
Months later, upon learning the truth, Ryan appears at her door. And that’s when the trouble begins, as townsfolk, including her own doctor, begin to show a creepy level of interest in her baby, and something supernatural seems to be trying to keep her from leaving the area. Then she has a vision of Ryan plunging a golden dagger into her heart— dagger she later finds hidden in his truck.
Ryan only wants to protect her and their child as a vengeful demon plots to take possession of the infant’s body and kill Magdalena.
The only hand capable of wielding the dagger of her death is Ryan’s. As labor hits hard, the demon’s power over him grows.
Magdalena’s only hope is perfect love, perfect trust, and all the magic she can muster. Will it be enough to save her baby?
Available in Paperback everywhere and in eBook on Kindle
LEGACY OF THE WITCH (prequel novella)
MARK OF THE WITCH
DAUGHTER OF THE SPELLCASTER
BLOOD OF THE SORCERESS (coming in two weeks!)
I’m Maggie Shayne.
I was born a storyteller, and I will cross to the other side a storyteller, and when I get there, I’ll haunt some young writer who’s still on earth by whispering my stories into her ears, because I’ll still be a storyteller. I think that’s what our muses are. Storytellers gone by. I am so incredibly blessed, because I got a really good one. I love her.
My stories are Paranormal Romances like my groundbreaking Wings in the Night vampire romance series, (the original “Twilight” vampire novels) and my wildly popular Fatal Series, (rom-com ghost mysteries with a Scooby gang you’ll want to join.) I’ve also penned two epic witch series, The Immortals and The Portal trilogy, along with fantasy romance quartet By Magic
My stories are also small town contemporary romances all about family, loyalty and love, like The Texas Brand Series, The Oklahoma Brands, and The McIntyre Men.
I have spun Romantic Thrillers like my career-best Brown & de Luca series, The Mordecai Young Series, The Secrets of Shadow Falls, Shattered Sisters.
All info about my books and my CoffeeHouse blog are at MaggieShayne.com
I also write spiritual self-help books. I blog and teach about natural magic, the law of attraction. I offer personal readings, and I have a little magic shop. You can find all of that at BlissBlog.org
I love who I am, what I do, and everything about my life. I especially love my readers, because, let’s face it, storytelling would be pretty pointless without them. You. I love knowing you as much as possible, via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, my newsletter and my blogs. You can also follow me on BookBub.
So pick a story, any story, and then curl up in a comfy chair, and wrap your softest blanket around your shoulders. Fill your favorite mug with your favorite warm beverage and fall into my worlds for a little while. I think you’re gonna like it here.
Blissfully,
Maggie Shayne,
Storyteller
