Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Traitor’s Curse won Creme de la Cover and is up for two more awards!


traitors curse“A wonderfully spun novel that will keep a reader engaged till the end.” ~Stephanie Lodes for InD’tale
Historical/paranormal romance novel, Traitor’s Curse (Book 3, The Traitor’s Legacy Series) is on on a roll lately. The cover won Creme de la Cover’s weekly and then monthly contest, so it will be featured in a quarter page and then full-page advertisement in InD’tale Magazine. Here’s the win announcement link.
The novel has also been nominated for the Reader’s Choice Award at The Romance Reviews. Voting runs through April 30th at: http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=20356
You must be signed in to vote.
Traitor’s Curse is also a RONE finalist in the American Historical category at InD’tale. Voting for this category is from May 9th–May 15th at: http://indtale.com/2016-rone-awards-week-four
The story is second from the bottom of a very long list. Votes are welcome. Again, you must be signed in first.
Below is the beautiful advertisement daughter Elise put together for the upcoming spot in InD’tale Magazine.
Traitors Curse Cover Advertisement
Traitor’s Curse is available in print and kindle at Amazon, and in eBook from all online booksellers. http://www.amazon.com/Traitors-Curse-Legacy-Book-ebook/dp/B0165WGROE
***The novel is in need of more reviews. If you’re interested in giving an honest review, please contact me at: bctrissel@yahoo.com

Monday, March 28, 2016

YA Fantasy Romance, Curse of the Moon (Book 2, the Secret Warrior Series) available for Pre-order!

Resized Curse of the Moon.jpg1My unfolding YA fantasy romance series, Secret Warrior, continues with Book 2, Curse of the Moon. The story is available for pre-order in kindle. Release date is May 4th. I'm finishing up book 3, The Panther Moon, now.
Story description:
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? But when the witch puts a spell on her younger brother, Morgan has to do the witch's bidding to save him.
Fortunately Morgan isn’t alone. She has Jackson to lean on, a few witches coming into their powers, a secret warlock, and the always mysterious Chief Okema. What could possibly go wrong?

Monday, February 1, 2016

Book Tour for The Hunter’s Moon + Chance at 35$ Amazon Gift Card


The Hunters Moon resized
I’m kicking off the tour for YA Fantasy Romance The Hunter’s Moon (Book 1 Secret Warrior Series) with a guest post at Mythical Books:
The post was fun to do. I hope you’ll enjoy learning more about the mythos behind my werewolves in The Hunter’s Moon, and werewolf/moon lore in general. While you’re there, enter the rafflecopter for a chance to win the 35$ Amazon gift card I’ll award at the end of the tour. It runs from February 1-5.
For the full schedule of stops visit:
Or, check below.
February 1st – Mythical Books *Guest Post
February 2nd – Book-Marks the Spot *Review
February 3rd –
feedmeinbooks *Review & Favorite Quotes
Rachel’s Book Reviews *Review & Excerpt
Forever Obsession *Review
 
February 4th –
deal sharing aunt *Spotlight
Book Lovers Life *Interview
 
February 5th –
Kindle and Me *Review

Hope to see you in the comment sections on these blogs!
The Hunter’s Moon is available from all online booksellers: The Amazon Link:
Next up in the series, Curse of the Moon, coming out before long.. Release date TBD.
huntersmoonpromo2

Monday, January 4, 2016

“Every life should have nine cats.” And several dogs.


Cream peering down from couch
The dastardly duo, my Siamese/tabby mixes Peaches and Cream, patrol the house seeking for anything to get into. They thoroughly enjoyed ransacking Christmas presents and the glorious tree. Big fans.
When in a calm mode, Peaches is a lap cat, as is our curmudgeonly older tabby, Percy. Between them, they manage to share me, though I’m hard-pressed at times to find space for my laptop.
Insatiably curious Cream sits by my head, purrs in my ear, and nibbles my hair. He’s also box mad. Loves Amazon box day.
My tiny pom-poo Sadie Sue resides at my feet, and rescue dog, Jilly, on the love seat by the couch.
Two more kitties, Siamese mix, Pavel, and our elderly Minnie Mae prefer to perch overhead on the couch like vultures.
Sadie saves my seat for me when I get up. All of these furry friends aid in my writing. Some not as helpful as others, but each are faithful supporters. On those occasions when Peaches and Cream go coo-coo kitty, Sadie and I attempt to regain order, with little success. Cat herding is a thankless job, as Sadie will attest. Except for the odd scolding, Jilly mostly ignores the pair.
Sadie waiting for me
(Sadie Sue saving my seat)
jilly lou 2
(Jilly Lou being shy)
“Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons. ~Robertson Davies
“Cats choose us; we don’t own them.”—Author Kristin Cast
“If you want to write, keep cats.”
—Author Aldous Huxley
Sleepy kitty
“If you want to concentrate deeply on some problem, and especially some piece of writing or paper-work, you should acquire a cat. Alone with the cat in the room where you work … the cat will invariably get up on your desk and settle placidly under the desk lamp … The cat will settle down and be serene, with a serenity that passes all understanding.” ~ Muriel Spark, A Far Cry from Kensington
“You cannot look at a sleeping cat and feel tense.”
—Jane Pauley (journalist, The Today Show)
“I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (author, “The Raven”)
“Books, Cats, Life is Good.” ~ Edward Gorey
Sleepy Peaches
“I write so much because my cat sits on my lap. She purrs so I don’t want to get up. She’s so much more calming than my husband.” ~ Joyce Carol Oates
“It is very inconvenient habit of kittens (Alice had once made the remark) that, whatever you say to them they always purr.”
—Lewis Carroll (author, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
“I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.”
―Hippolyte Taine (critic)
“If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much.” ~Mark Twain
“Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many ailments, but I never heard of one who suffered from insomnia.” ~Joseph Wood Krutch
My beautiful Cream“As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat.” ~Ellen Perry Berkeley
“The problem with cats is that they get the exact same look on their face whether they see a moth or an axe-murderer.” ~Paula Poundstone
“Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause most inconvenience.” ~Pam Brown
“There has never been a cat
Who couldn’t calm me down
By walking slowly
Past my chair.”
~Rod McKuen
“There are few things in life more heartwarming than to be welcomed by a cat.” ~Tay Hohoff
“I like cats a lot. I’ve always liked cats. They’re great company. When they eat, they always leave a little bit at the bottom of the bowl. A dog will polish the bowl, but a cat always leaves a little bit. It’s like an offering.” ~Christopher Walken
“A happy arrangement: many people prefer cats to other people, and many cats prefer people to other cats.” ~Mason Cooley
“Every life should have nine cats.”
***Fortunately, Peaches and Cream take a lot of naps, or this house would be in worse shape than it is. Images by daughter Elise Trissel

Monday, December 14, 2015

Release Day and Deeper Look At Young Adult Fantasy Romance The Hunter’s Moon


SECRET WARRIOR--THE HUNTERS MOONA great deal of musing and research went into my new YA fantasy romance series,Secret Warrior. Book 1, The Hunter’s Moon, is out now. I’ve signed a 3 book contract with the Wild Rose Press. This does not rule out more titles. Each story is novella length and will be available in eBook format only. They release faster this way.
The concept behind the series evolved for years before I wrote a word. Although the setting is present day, I’ve drawn on my knowledge of colonial America, Native Americans, particularly the Shawnee, the mountain people, herbal lore. and my imagination. Since this is fantasy, not everything in The Hunter’s Moon, or future titles, can be traced back to any particular people, but much can. The mythos behind the werewolves in Secret Warrior is uniquely mine.
Historically, the Shawnee do not believe in werewolves, but they and other Native Americans admire ‘Brother Wolf’.’ Their reverence for nature, respect for their elders, inherent spirituality, and regard for courage and loyalty are all significant. Some aspects of the story are inspired by their values. Others are not. The dragon like thunder bird comes from Native American lore, and supposed sightings.
Eyes of the Wolf in Red Bird's Song
Jim Great Elk Waters, Shawnee Elder and Pipecarrier, assisted with the language. He also helped with several of my historicals. For a more accurate portrayal of the Shawnee, read my award-winning adult historical romance novels, Red Bird’s Song, available in kindle and print, and Through the Fire.
‘The Lizard Lady’ mentioned in The Hunter’s Moon and fully featured in Book 2, Curse of the Moon (release date TBD) is a fascinating character I learned about through late Shenandoah Valley historian and author John Heatwole. Mr. Heatwole interviewed mountain and valley people, compiling their accounts into a book, Shenandoah Voices. He also hosted a radio program. One of my favorite accounts is ‘The Lizard Lady’, a creepy shifter woman  from back in the gap who basks in the moonlight as an enormous lizard. InSecret Warrior, she’s a witch with two daughters. Other mountain people lore emerges in the series as well.
(More) Superstitions and Tales from The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia
When the first settlers came to the Shenandoah Valley in the early/mid 1700’s, my Scots-Irish ancestors among them, Shawnee were living near the present day town of Winchester. They also hunted in the valley, a thoroughfare for Native Americans going north or south, but were soon evicted and war broke out. In Secret Warrior, a small band remain in the mountains as guardians of the forest. I’ve placed them in the ridges surrounding Fort Valley, a little known valley hidden between the Massanutten Mountains, just east of the Blue Ridge. A nugget I gleaned about George Washington ordering Revolutionary War hero Daniel Morgan to build the first road into Fort Valley and the plan to use it as a hideout if the Continental Army lost to the British at Yorktown, formed the basis for the series. And then there are the hala’a’kwa lin’nuwech’kie, Star People.
‘Nuff said, or I’ll give too much away. I hope you’ll enjoy The Hunter’s Moonand the Secret Warrior Series.
***The Hunter’s Moon is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and from other online booksellers. Although the series is written for teens 14 and up, (younger for prolific readers), the stories are entertaining for any age.
Secret Warrior Series Logo

Friday, November 6, 2015

Ghostly Historical Romance Novel Traitor’s Curse and the Traitor’s Legacy Series!

Though written to stand alone, Traitor’s Curse is the third novel in the Traitor’s Legacy Series, set during and just after the American Revolution in North and South Carolina, and reaching into Virginia.
Deep intuition, visions, and research all inspired this historical novel with a strong paranormal element. Like ghosts. Traitor’s Curse is out in both kindle and print at Amazon, and Nookbook at Barnes & Noble, and various eBook formats wherever electronic books are sold. My publisher, The Wild Rose Press, has Traitor’s Curse in print and eBook, currently half price.
traitors curse
Blurb: 
A quest for treasure unites Captain Stuart Monroe and Hettie Fairfax, but as their romance grows, so does the danger.
Halifax, North Carolina, 1783.
Captain Stuart Monroe returns home from the Revolutionary War to find Thornton Hall threatened by a peacetime foe: debt. He knows the location of a treasure amassed to pay for the capture of Benedict Arnold that would restore his manor to its former glory. The catch, it’s hidden in the graveyard, and coveted by old enemies.
Hettie Fairfax inherited the Sight from her Cherokee ancestors, and her otherworldly visitors warn her, and Stuart, away from the buried treasure. Half-dead from fever, she delivers a message: the treasure is cursed. But will he believe a girl half out of her mind with illness? Even when a very real enemy attempts to poison her? Stuart soon wants to marry Hettie, but she fears her “odd ways” will blemish his reputation. The spirits have their own agenda, however, and the battle against darkness tests everything the couple holds dear, including their love for each other.~
Award-winning historical romance novel, Enemy of the King, opens the series (before I realized it was one), followed by Traitor’s Legacy. For more on these and my other stories, visit my Amazon Author Page where ALL my books reside.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Historical Romance Red Bird's Song Re-Released By Amazon Encore Publishing

Award-winning historical romance novel
Award-winning historical romance novel
Re-release day has come for award-winning historical romance novel Red Bird's Song by the Amazon Encore Publishing Division.
Based on events that occurred to my ancestors in the Virginia colonial frontier, Red Bird's Song centers around their conflict with the Native Americans during the French and Indian and Pontiac's War. This adventure romance has a The Last of the Mohican’s flavor.
Research into my English/Scots-Irish ancestors unearthed accounts that inspired much of Red Bird's Song. My fascination with Colonial America, particularly stirring tales of the frontier and the Shawnee Indians, is an early and abiding one. My forebears had interactions with this tribe, including family members taken captive. I have ties to Wicomechee, the hero of Red Bird’s Song, an outstanding Shawnee warrior who really lived and whose story greatly impacted the novel. More on Wicomechee  is included at the end of the story, as a bonus for those who read it. I’ve gone on to write other Native American themed historical romances, some with paranormal elements, each carefully researched. I'm grateful for the help of historians, reenactors, anthropologists, archaeologists, and the Shawnee themselves. All the titles in my Native American Warrior series are available in kindle at Amazon.
Handsome Native American warrior
The initial encounter between Charity and Wicomechee at the beginning of Red Bird’s Song was inspired by a dream I had on New Year’s Eve–a propitious time for dreams–about a young warrior taking an equally young woman captive at a river and the unexpected attraction between them. That dream had such a profound impact on me that I took the leap from writing non-fiction vignettes to historical/paranormal romance novels and embarked on the most amazing journey of my life. That was years ago and the saga continues.
At the start of Red Bird's Song, I also met the prophetic warrior, Eyes of the Wolf, in another dream. When I describe him in the book I’m envisioning a character I know. Eyes of the Wolf became a spirit guide and spoke to me throughout the writing of this book, and others. He’s there still in various guises. My journey with him is not complete.
pipetomahawkThe attack at the opening of Red Bird’s Song in the Shenandoah Valley is based on one that occurred to my ancestors and is recorded by Historian Joseph A. Waddell in The Annals of Augusta County. A renegade Englishman by the last name of Dickson led the war party that attacked them. I’d initially intended to make Colin Dickson in Red Bird’s Song the historical villain that he was, but as soon as he galloped onto the scene I knew differently.
Hawk EyeRegarding the setting for Red Bird’s Song: In the early mid 1700’s, the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and surrounding mountains was the colonial frontier. Only hardy souls dared to settle here. The bulk of these were the tough Scots-Irish, among them my ancestors. If 18th century warriors only had to fight regular British troops, they might ultimately have prevailed. They scared the crap out of men trained for conventional warfare. But the long knives were born fighters, and not easily intimidated. They learned from their cunning enemy and adopted their methods, weapons, and clothing.
The ruggedly beautiful Alleghenies are also the setting for some of my other historical-paranormal romance novels, Through the Fire, Kira, Daughter of the Moon, The Bearwalker's Daughter, and my short historical romance, The Lady and the Warrior. I see these ridges from our farm in the Shenandoah Valley. The foothills are only a hop, skip and a jump away from us. The ever-changing panorama of the seasons never fails to inspire me. My latest venture, a YA fantasy romance series entitled Secret Warrior, (release date TBD) is also set in the mountains.
The Alleghenies, the Virginia colonial frontier
Red Bird's Song is Book 3 in my Native American Warrior Series. The series loosely ties together based more on time and place and strong Native American characters than as a traditional series that follows the story line. However, Kira, Daughter of the Moon is the actual sequel to Through the Fire, and there will be other sequels. In addition to Native Americans, hardy Scots-Irish frontiersmen and women, colonial Englishmen and ladies, and even a few Frenchmen also play an important role in this series. So far, it spans the gamut from the dramatic era of the French and Indian War, through Pontiac's War, The American Revolution, and shortly afterwards.
Story Blurb for Red Bird’s Song:
Taken captive by a Shawnee war party wasn't how Charity Edmondson hoped to escape an unwanted marriage. Nor did Shawnee warrior Wicomechee expect to find the treasure promised by his grandfather's vision in the unpredictable red-headed girl.
George III's English Red-Coats, unprincipled colonial militia, prejudice and jealousy are not the only enemies Charity and Wicomechee will face before they can hope for a peaceful life. The greatest obstacle to happiness is in their own hearts. As they struggle through bleak mountains and cold weather, facing wild nature and wilder men, Wicomechee and Charity must learn to trust each other.
ReviewerTopPick-NOR
"A beautifully written story filled with adventure and suspense...This book touched my soul even as it provided a thrilling fictional escape into a period of history I have always found fascinating." --Night Owl Book Review by Laurie-J
Eppie
"I loved the descriptions...I felt I was there...Many mystical episodes are intermingled with the events...The ending is a real surprise, but I will let you have the pleasure of reading it for yourself."  --Seriously Reviewed
***For more on Red Bird's Song and my other titles, visit my: Amazon Author Page.