Author Tricia Schneider: spells

Showing posts with label spells. Show all posts

Sunday, March 20, 2022

A Certain Enchantment #Bookfair #Witches #WitchRomance #magic #pnr #paranormalromance

An All-Genre Book Fair for Stories with Witches or Magic

Saturday, October 21, 2017

I have a confession to make. For the longest time, I did not like Harry Potter.

I can hear the gasps of horror from Potter fans all over the world. Trust me, this is the reaction I've received for many years. Let me explain my irritation with The Boy Who Lived.

I worked at Waldenbooks during the HP phenomenon when fans went crazy with passion to read each new book release. Do you remember stores opening at midnight to greet lines of customers who had camped out (yes, camped out!) on the sidewalks to await Release Day? Were you one of them?

From a bookseller's viewpoint, it was both glorious and overwhelming to have so many customers clamoring for these books. Over time, however, it simply wore me out. Customers kept calling and asking about the newest HP book. Preorders were recorded in a huge binder for months before the release date. Each and every customer had to be called as a reminder. Shipments kept arriving week after week filling our tiny backroom until we could barely reach the bathroom. We needed to co-ordinate with mall security on release day to control the crowds of people. Our entire staff needed to work that day (no exceptions!) to assist all the people who couldn't wait a moment longer to read what happens next to Harry Potter. We had meetings to discuss and plan events for the big day. And, then, after unpacking hundreds (dare I say thousands?) of these books, we had to find floor space in our small mall-based store. I grew weary of hearing Harry's name.

Every single day.

For years!

Frankly, I didn't understand the appeal of these books. Our staff was required to read the first chapter of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone so that we might have knowledge to chat about and sell these books to our customers. Honestly, I was unimpressed with J.K. Rowling's writing. I'd seen better writing. A lot better. Being in my early 20's, I had moved on in my reading choices and it wasn't a genre I was interested in at the time. Also, I was studying the writing craft and I had become critical and choosy about the books I read. That first chapter did not entice me to read more.

But, I continued my job, chatting with customers about this magical world and the witches and wizards who lived there. From these conversations, I grew to understand the stories, the characters, the plots and settings. Still, wasn't interested though.

Of all people, my husband (then boyfriend) jumped eagerly onto the Harry Potter bandwagon. He bought the books and devoured them, sometimes in only a day or two! This is a man who at that time only read Stephen King books.

Then the movies were released. At that time, my husband and I spent each Friday with our best friends for movie nights. I was out-voted and forced to watch the HP movies. Thankfully, Alan Rickman, made this endurable by far. If he didn't play in the movies, I'd really have had no reason to watch them. Alan Rickman was and remains to this day one of my favorite actors. And I loved his portrayal of Professor Snape. I loved him being a bad guy! He really played bad guys wonderfully!

And then Gary Oldman was cast as Sirius Black. Another of my favorite actors! And to my pleasure, David Thewlis played a werewolf. Now, we're talking! Werewolves are a weakness of mine. Suddenly, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban became one of my favorite movies. Although, I wouldn't admit so to my husband who kept trying to turn me into a HP fan. Still, I refused to read the books.

Fast forward, many years later. My husband and I now had children and they were reaching the age that they'd become interested in these Harry Potter movies. I would read books to my kids at night, and one night my oldest asked me to read Harry Potter.

Being a book lover, how could I say no to my son? And HP was a kid's book, after all.

So, I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to my 2 young boys.

And, I hated it.

Yeah, I finished the entire first book and was still completely unimpressed with J.K. Rowling's writing. How in the world did this woman get published? She's addicted to adverbs! I kept hearing Stephen King's writing advice in my brains talking about adverbs. It was difficult to read. I got half-way through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets until I just couldn't take anymore and stopped reading. My boys didn't ask for anymore, so I moved on to reading other books to them.

Fast forward again to March 2017.

Now, I have 4 children between the ages of 1 and 10. I was singing lullabies and reading Goodnight Moon to get my youngest to go to sleep at night. After several, several, several weeks of reading Goodnight Moon every night, I asked the kids to suggest a new book to read. One of them suggested Harry Potter.

I groaned. Not again.

But, I was out-voted, so I reluctantly picked up the books. Every night I read a chapter from The Sorcerer's Stone. Again, I found the adverbs grating my nerves. However, I found a new determination to read at least until Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This has remained my favorite HP movie and I was curious to see how the story was handled in the book. After all, the books are inevitably better than the movies, and I wanted to read more about Sirius Black.

We finished the first book, and I made it through the second. Finally, I figured I could finish with the third. That was as far as I was willing to go.

But, something happened.

I don't know how, or exactly when (probably with the third book), I began to enjoy reading about Harry Potter. Actually, I was slightly disappointed with myself. After all these years of finding The Boy Who Lived irritating, I was starting to get interested in the books.

After we finished reading The Prisoner of Azkaban, I asked my kids if we should continue with the series or take a break from HP and move onto other books. Here I was out-voted (I should be getting used to this), so we continued with Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. The ending of that book is probably what clinched it for me. The resurrection of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was a powerfully gripping scene. Adverbs aside, that scene was good! Page-turning, suspenseful, exciting, and scary!

Okay, so it took JK Rowling about 4 books to make me a fan. After that, I was eager to keep reading to my kids, even after my youngest had already fallen asleep at night, I just kept reading to the older kids. Now, its became our bedtime routine for all of us to gather round the rocking chair after pajamas and teeth brushing are finished so I can read the next chapter. And that's how we continued our nights from March until October. This is actually the first time that I can recall that I read an entire series back-to-back. Most times, I take a break in between reading books in a series.

What made reading these books even more enjoyable was the conversations I had with my children during those nights, too. They already knew I loved Professor Snape, but they couldn't understand why. They hated Snape. He was the bad guy! From watching the movies to the conclusion, I knew what to expect of Snape's character, so I kept quiet. Spoilers! My younger two kids had never even seen any the HP movies, and my older two had watched them when they were so young that they didn't remember much.

So, after completing each book from the series, my kids and I would watch the corresponding movie with a great big bowl of buttered popcorn and then compare the differences between the books and the movies. We'd talk about character and plot development. They'd tell me their favorite parts and the characters they liked or didn't like. Our discussions would sometimes take up our reading time at night.

And, now our year (or almost) of reading Harry Potter has come to an end. We finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last week. We watched the Part 1 movie last weekend and have the Part 2 planned for this coming weekend. And then we're done.

To my amazement, I'm sad that we've finished. I want to read more! I enjoyed reading and living in the wizarding world so much that I feel bittersweet about finishing the books. Finally, after all these years (decades?) since my days of selling HP books, I now understand why my customers were clamoring for more. Writing style notwithstanding, these stories are good! Page-turning. Addicting. The story is the appeal. Not the writing style (adverbs!).

I'm now a Harry Potter fan. Yes, I admit it. But, I can honestly say that I never would have read these books if not for my children. I read them because they asked me to. I owe them!

Our Harry Potter year is finished, but our reading is not. We've established a routine that, frankly, I enjoy. I'm reluctant to end that, so this week we started reading a new book. I pulled together a list of possibilities, books that I loved to read when I was a kid. So many books on my list, but again, I let my kids vote.

They've chosen The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

My children are awesome!

Are you a Harry Potter fan? What do you think of the books? Do you have a favorite? How about a favorite character?

As always,

Happy Reading!

Tricia

Friday, November 20, 2015

Prologue ~ The Witch's Thief by Tricia Schneider #paranormalromance

England 1814

"She's asking for you," Julia Grey said softly at the door to his laboratory. Drake Merriweather sat at his desk hunched over one of his spellbooks and continued his search for some manner of spell to cure his dying wife. Even Julia knew it was too late. Susanna had suffered enough from the disease that wracked her body with unendurable pain.

"It's here," he said, not looking up from the book. "I know it is."

Julia stepped into the room and flinched from the sulfuric smells of past failed experiments. Some still smoldered in a bowl on the table near the wall. For months Julia and her father had helped Drake and his wife with their crusade. While her father assisted Drake in his laboratory casting spells of all kinds, Julia cared for Susanna, assisting her in the battle to survive each day. She fed her, clothed her, helped carry her to the window to gaze upon her garden.

"She doesn't have much longer," Julia said, resting her hand on Drake's shoulder. At her touch, he trembled. He crouched further over the ancient text of the book he gripped tightly in his hands, covering his face with the pages. Very slowly, Julia pried the spellbook from his fingers, placed it onto the table and closed the cover. At the sound of the book closing, Drake took a deep breath and straightened.

"Come with me. She needs you." Julia helped Drake stand, holding his arm for support as they walked out of the room. She guided him through the hall and up the stairs until they reached the door to his wife's chamber.

Drake paused. He stared at the door for several moments before taking Julia's hand away from his arm.

"Thank you for all that you've done," Drake said, squeezing her fingers. He looked at her, and Julia flinched at the pain in his eyes. It was something she had seen shadowed there before, but now that the moment had come, that he'd at last accepted there was no cure, no saving his beloved wife, she saw the last vestiges of hope wither and die. It faded slowly into oblivion. The only thing to remain was pain. A dark, depthless pain.

Julia's eyes filled as she watched him straighten. Another change came over him. He tilted his head up and took a deep breath. Then he opened the door and walked in.

Julia entered behind him. The sight of the woman, sunken within the sheets of the bed, her skin as pale as the snow falling outside the uncovered window took Julia's breath away. Every time she saw Susanna, the poor frail woman appeared worse. Now that the end was mere moments away, Julia could see clearly the signs of strain on her face. She appeared to have aged several decades in the single year since they discovered she suffered from Belit’s Curse. Unlike a magical curse that could be cast by a practioner of dark magic, Belit’s Curse was an illness. It was a horrible wasting disease that took the magic and the life away from witches and sorcerers alike. It was said an ancient witch named Belit was the first to succumb to the disease. There was no known cure. Nothing could be done to dispel the pain that slowly crept into their limbs, crippling them until they could no longer walk or function. It did not stop until it ravaged their bodies, leaving naught but an empty, lifeless shell.

No one knew how the disease was transmitted, if it was transmitted at all. It seemed to only strike a few random unfortunates. In all of Julia's four and twenty years on this earth, Susanna was the only victim she had ever known.

"My love," Drake said, his voice strong and cheerful where moments ago Julia could barely hear him speak from his grief. "Miss Grey has said you have need of me. I am here, my love."

He sat on the bed beside her, taking one delicate pale hand into his. He smiled at her and his eyes reflected the love he felt deep in his heart.

"Drake..." Susanna said, relief transforming her features. "At last..."

"I'm here, sweet." He brushed her dark hair away from her face. She leaned into his hand, tears streaming from her closed eyes.

"Oh, Drake, I do not want to die!"

The sound of the woman's pitiful cry brought tears to Julia's eyes. She grasped the doorframe, and squeezed her nails into the hard wood. She marveled at Drake's strength, at his ability to not be visibly crushed by his wife's pain and fear. He smiled, brushing her hair, and speaking softly into her ear. There were no tears from him, no moments of agonized anger at his helplessness.

In the last few months, she had seen Drake break down again and again in his laboratory, but he never showed any fear in the company of his wife. When in her presence, he was strong, confident, cheerful, unafraid of the possibility of losing her. His confidence always lent strength to his wife, offered her hope and the will to go on even during those many days when she simply wanted to fall into a deep sleep and never wake.

"I do not want to leave you," Susanna cried out. "I want to love you. I want to have children. I have so much to do yet in this life!"

"Of course, my love, and you will," Drake murmured. "You will, I promise you. Did I not say that I would find the end to your suffering?"

Susanna nodded, her sunken eyes appearing huge in her sallow face.

Drake lifted his head to look for Julia's father. The gray-haired man stood in the corner of the room, his face ashen.

"Roger," Drake said, one hand waving for him to step forward. "Bring the potion."

Her father's head dropped. Julia saw he held a bottle in his hand, one she'd never before seen. He stepped forward, his steps slow and reluctant. When he reached the bedside, he hesitated.

"Are you certain?" Roger asked, his normally booming voice now a faint whisper. Julia leaned forward to hear. "If you do this... There will be no turning back. You cannot undo what will be done."

"I have no choice, my friend," Drake returned, a grim determination glinting in his dark blue eyes. He extended his hand.

Roger's hand trembled, his large fingers turned the bottle around and around. Coming to a decision, Roger backed away, and took the potion out of Drake's reach. "No. I cannot allow you to do this."

Drake's face contorted with rage and shock. He released his wife's hand, grimacing when she cried out for him. He stood and walked toward Roger, who backed away.

"You will give it to me."

Julia's breath lodged in her throat. She stood frozen, uncertain what was being played out before her. What was in the bottle? Why was her father so reluctant to give it to Drake?

"I cannot let you," Roger repeated. There were tears on his cheeks.

"Drake! Do not leave me!" Susanna wailed, reaching out for him.

"Roger, I demand you give it to me. There will be consequences, I promise you!"

"It will damn you both! I'm saving your eternal soul, my friend, as well as hers."

"My soul will be in torment without her!" Drake growled as he advanced. "I can save her. I will save her. I vowed it. This is the only way I can achieve it."

"No!"

Drake lunged at Roger. Susanna cried out, reaching for her husband. Julia raced across the room, well out of the way of the struggling men. She reached Susanna's side, grabbed her hands and blocked her view of the fight taking place.

"All is well," Julia said softly, crooning to her as if she were a child. "A mere disagreement. All will be well."

Inside Julia raged. How dare they fight over a silly little bottle while this poor woman battled for each and every breath! But, she knew her father. He was a good, peaceful man. He would never act with violence if he did not have reason.

"Take me to the window, Julia," Susanna said, her voice raspy, her eyes filled with tears.

Julia nodded, then pulled back the blankets and helped the woman slide out of the massive four-poster bed. She took one arm around her neck and helped Susanna stumble a few feet to the seat by the window. Ever since she had weakened to the point where she could no longer walk, they each took turns carrying Susanna about. Drake would carry her to the laboratory where she would watch him work. Roger would carry her to the kitchens where she watched Cook creating masterpieces out of their meals. But when her strength left her so frail that she could not leave her room any longer, Julia helped her to sit by her window every day, so she could look upon her garden below.

Susanna loved her garden. She had spent hours upon hours working her magic on the plants, helping them to grow for her spells.

The once beautiful and elegant garden appeared ashen. Even with a thin layer of snow covering what remained of her favorite spot, it was obvious to see the destruction cast upon it. Drake had tested each plant, using them in his experiments and spells as he searched for a cure. He was certain it was a matter of time before he found the right combination that would stop the disease. But, the disease never treated each of its victims alike. One could suffer for ten or more years, while another might waste away within a few short months.

"So little time we have," Susanna said. She leaned her forehead and one hand against the glass. Her warm breath puffed onto the wintry glass. Drake and her father continued to struggle behind them, while Julia knelt beside Drake's wife watching her eyelids blink wearily. "Do not let time escape you, Julia. You are blessed with it. Use it well."

"Yes," Julia said, holding Susanna's other hand.

Soon, the fogged glass of the window cleared.

Susanna's hand grew limp and lifeless. Julia rested her cheek against it as teardrops fell onto Susanna’s skin.

"No!" Drake roared. He shoved Julia aside and took his wife into his arms. The potion successfully obtained in one hand, he uncorked the bottle and poured the contents into his wife's throat. "Drink, my love. Drink!"

The liquid splashed across Susanna's face and onto Drake's hand. He did not stop working it into her throat until the bottle was empty.

"All is well, my love," Drake said, tossing the bottle to the floor where it smashed. He lifted Susanna onto his lap and held her, gazing out of the window. "All will be well. I'll have you back again. I vow, my love. I'll have you back again."

Roger took Julia by her arm, helping her to stand. While she cried, Roger helped her from the room. She glanced at her father, his hair mussed, his lip bloodied, and his shirt slightly torn. He had fought well, but Drake was the younger, stronger witch.

"It's over now, Papa," Julia said, sniffling between her sobs.

"I fear not, my pet," Roger mumbled. He turned his face into her hair to place a kiss upon her head. "I fear it has only begun."

Would you like to read more? Check out this website for more information about this book.

You can also find The Witch's Thief available in digital or print:

Thursday, February 19, 2015

New Release on #Sale! The Witch's Kiss by Tricia Schneider #Regency #ParanormalRomance

For a Limited Time

50% off

The Wild Rose Press

Blurb:

Marianne Grey is a ghost. But, she's not dead. Cursed by a necromancer, Marianne searches for the elusive spell needed to merge her spirit with her physical body. She's not alone in her search. Her neighbor and best friend, Sage Merriweather, has vowed to help her break the curse.

Sage suffers from his own demons. Literally. After surviving a horrific attack, a demon has bonded with him, mutating Sage's magic so he can only conjure fire. Until he can break the bond, he is a danger to everyone near him, including those he loves.

From the glittering ballrooms of London to eerily dark graveyards, Marianne and Sage battle forces of evil destined to claim their souls for eternity. Though their newfound love for each other may be the toughest battle of all.

Excerpt:

“Do you ever wonder why I never propositioned you?” Sage asked, the anger in his soul making him lash out. “I’ve been with many women. They call me the Merriweather Rake, did you know?” He laughed at the absurd moniker the ton had dubbed him. “Yet you are the only one I’ve never seduced.”

She flinched.

He thought the pain spreading across her face would make him feel just in his cause. He needed to push her away. From the look on her face, he succeeded. Instead of the satisfaction he thought it might bring, he felt only pain.

Pain from her sadness, her suffering.

“You are a good man, Sage,” she said with a slight tremor in her voice, the only sign she was affected by his cruel words.

“Do not fool yourself.”

She stood and walked away.

The lavender scent faded. Sage rubbed a hand over his eyes, trying to block the image of her sadness from his mind.

Had he done the right thing?

This curse confined Marianne to a select few. Essentially, she was forced to speak with him, spend time with him, even just for the pure sake of her sanity. What choice did she have when no one else could hear or see her?

Marianne was not to blame for the fact that Sage’s feelings regarding her were changing, that when he looked at her he saw not a child with gangly limbs, but a woman full-grown. One who had become a close friend. And that he desired their friendship to grow into something much more…intimate.

Was he a fool to punish her for his own misgivings?

Sage heaved a heavy sigh, then slapped the surface of the water since he had nothing else nearby to strike. The water sloshed over the rim.

Since the bathwater had cooled and any therapeutic effects it might once have owned vanished, he stepped out of the tub. After he dried and dressed, he went out in search of Marianne to make his apologies. He couldn’t push her away. Instead, he needed to restrain his own growing emotions. No need to burden her with any more troubles. Who else could she speak with other than him? Only Julia. He could not imagine the invisible prison she suffered. He’d not make it worse for her.

He wandered the hallways, searching each room until he found her.

Well, in a manner of speaking.

He thought to check the yellow room in the east wing, hoping she might have retreated there to lick any wounds he had inflicted.

Although her body was in the room, her spirit was nowhere to be found.

He approached the bed where they had neatly laid her body. To the untrained observer, Marianne could be sleeping.

Her chest rose and fell, indicating she breathed still. A rosy color kept her cheeks pink with life. He reached out and took her limp hand in his, feeling the warmth of her skin.

She was no corpse. Merely sleeping. A deep, deep sleep. And she could not wake without her soul.