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Book Review: The Witches Walk (Haven Harbor #1)

Erin Penn

Book Cover from Amazon

The Witches Walk (Haven Harbor #1) by Jeanne Adams

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON

Welcome to Haven Harbor, Massachusetts!

In 1691, a group of renegade witches fled Salem in the dark of night, escaping the desperate evil that spawned the Witch Trials. They struck out to form their own town, with their own rules. Three hundred years later, their descendants celebrate by retracing those steps, but this year, a new evil stalks the Witches Walk…

It’s Time for The Witches Walk!

She’s got a plan. Burned out, beaten down, and on the brink of a career implosion, event management dynamo Mari Beecham bypasses the contract of a lifetime to take a job in a community known for its strange, spooky happenings. She doesn’t buy into the story line about the witches founding the town, but it’s great publicity. Bottom line? If she can make the annual Witches Walk a top destination event, she’ll save her career and, maybe, find some balance. She’ll do it, too, if “First Son of Haven Harbor” Peregrine Hestworth will stop interfering. 

He’s in her way. As Town Council chair, Pere is serious about the safety and welfare of his people. He doesn’t want to like Mari. Even if he didn’t suspect his meddlesome mother of weaving a matchmaking spell, he still would have voted against hiring the petite whirlwind with a spine of steel. His visions of fire and death moving to Haven Harbor along with Mari are too deadly to ignore. 

As trouble brews and the event stalls, the attraction between Mari and Pere bubbles like a cauldron. When a woman is attacked, and another disappears, Pere knows his unreliable foresight has hit the mark this time. An old evil is rising, with a new vendetta, and if they can’t work together, the devastation Pere foresees will take his town, along with the woman he’s coming to love. 

 

MY REVIEW

A fun read and worth four and a half stars, just a breath shy of perfect for the genre, a paranormal romance thriller/murder-mystery mix. The book starts off slow, but builds to its lightning-packed conclusion, giving you time to get to know the town and people. 

This very appropriate first book for a promising series introduces several potential singles you get to like and look forward to seeing in future books finding their true loves. (I really want Jake and Dan to get HEAs, and Jeff and Lydia too when I think about it.) Two more books of the series are already out when I read this in August 2017 – but only as physical books and I soooo want to read them right now. Kindle has spoiled me. Oh, and the potential romances aren’t the only thing I want to follow forward – whether a certain witch finds herself an apprentice, seeing what the background big-bad has planned for its next attack, and, of course, exploring the really cool magick of the Haven Harbor Witches.

The first half of the book is about relationships being developed – welcoming a new person into town, power plays, family dynamics, and planning events. The second part is where the romance and the thriller action goes from the smoldering-tinder-gently-fed-hoping-a-spark-will-catch level to out-of-control bonfires. Ms. Adams somehow keeps both bonfires roaring without one consuming the other.

A good read and I think the next in the series, now the world has been established, will be even better.

Time to Read: About seven hours.

Flash: Presentation

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Natalie paced. The cubicle wasn’t large enough to contain her energy and the tech desperately trying to return her computer to working order. The clock on the wall slowly counted the seconds as the boy with the cute butt crawled under her desk. Somehow, at the same time, the clock quickly ticked the minutes to her morning meeting.

She had completed her presentation. Stored it as required on Thursday. Now as Monday passed into Tuesday, she had no access. She had to have it .The presentation would ace her performance review. Her first one ever since getting her MBA. The one to move her from glorified data entry into the management fast track. She knew it. She could taste it.

“Maybe we should call one of the real computer guys in.”

“If you want to wait until morning, not a problem.” The tenor voice bounced off the underside of her desk. “They upgraded the system over the weekend, shoving in damn near 50 hours of rewiring and testing while everyone was off for the three-day holiday. Hell, they slept on the receptionist’s couch. Today they showed up at 6 am and stayed until 9 pm working out bugs. Unless you are the CEO, they ain’t answering the phone. And even that is questionable. Those dudes are comatose.”

“I know, I know.” She cursed her luck. Her sister had used the holiday to get married, so Natalie had flown across the country. Thunderstorms grounded her return plane on Sunday. Her rescheduling didn’t resolve until late on Monday. Hence arriving at the office close to midnight to discover her computer did not work. “Are you sure you can fix it?”

“I may not work on the helpdesk here, but I’ve done lots of computer trouble-shooting.” The guy scooted from under her desk. His longish brown hair could use a trim, and his blue jeans, now covered in dirt, screamed the casual attitude imbedded in the night-time call center operators.  “You’re just lucky someone knew to call me.”

“If you say so.”

“You of little faith.” The guy masterfully pushed the button to start her CPU before plopping in her chair. She would need to brush the dust and cobwebs off before sitting down. With the time rapidly closing on three am, she did not have time to go home for another business suit

The computer rebooted with its normal glacial speed. Not understanding what the screen messages meant, she stared at his face. It was very expressive, letting her know he thought everything was going well.

His face was also nice. Pleasant. Sharp cheekbones balanced a strong chin. His overlong bangs drooped over his brown eyes. His T-shirt declared he was a “100% Pure Jenius”. He had no idea how to dress for success, but his clothes had been in good repair until he went crawling through the grime on her behalf. His body was also a little past average attractiveness. Slim but muscular. The T-shirt hung loose enough she didn’t know if he had a six-pack or suffered the results of six packs. But his arms were sinewy, and the jeans left no doubt about his tight ass. Natalie always had a thing for good butts.

“And there we go.” The twenty-something male popped out her chair. “Applause and compliments accepted.”

“No, really?!?” She took the vacated seat, temporarily forgetting the dirt in her eagerness and relief. A few quick clicks sent twelve copies of her presentation to the printer. The shared printer’s hum echoed through the empty cubicle farm. “I can’t thank you enough.”

She turned in her chair to face the man braced in the opening of her not-quite wall. “Really, I owe you something. Have you had dinner, or lunch, or whatever meal break you guys have?”

He shook his head. “Nothing is open this late at night. We always pack, except Friday’s when we do a potluck thing.”

“Okay.” Natalie placed her hand gently on his arm. “Again, thank you. I really mean it.”

A considering look passed over the guys expressive face. “How about we meet somewhere after you get off work? You can tell me how the presentation went and buy me dinner.” His eyebrows wiggled. “You did say you owe me and I would love to know how this turns out.”

The guy was actually trying to score a date, a date where she paid. She laughed. “Dinner or breakfast?”

He shifted in the doorway to lean to one side. “My meals tend to be reversed. I grab breakfast on the way home and fall into bed. So how about it? Dinner? I can give you my phone number and you text me when and where to meet you. Or, if something else comes up, let me know I am on my own.”

“Why not? I do owe you something.” Natalie passed over a yellow Post-It pad and a pen.

(words 816 – first published 9/10/2013; republished new blog format 2/4/2018)

Other Cool Blogs: Magical Words December 12, 2013

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

First Draft Blues

Your first draft sucks. Hate doesn’t come close to describing the emotional relationship you have with it now that you’ve typed “The End”. There is no way you will force anyone you know to beta read it, no publisher will buy it, and you are not going to inflict it on the world through a self-publish.

Good.

No, really.

First – good. You finished your first draft. It is done and in the the computer for you to take a month doing something else, playing with a new shiny idea before returning to the completed manuscript.

John Hartness covered the topic in “It’s okay to hate your book. Sometimes.” for Magical Words. (The comments are quite amusing on this blog.)

Second – good. You know it needs work. That is why writers do additional drafts, why editors have jobs.

Speaking of which, want to look at that NaNoWritMo Novel you set aside back in December 2017?. It might be better after a bit of spit and polish, don’t you think? 

Just a little editing. Oh, that section could use some duct tape. But go on. The manuscript isn’t too bad – or it might be, but, as Mr. Hartness indicates, that can change.

Read the whole article here: http://www.magicalwords.net/john-hartness-2/its-okay-to-hate-your-book-sometimes/

Art Project: Lacis

Erin Penn

Lacis Project – Lady’s Room Door Hanging

Originally conceived in 2004, I complied the design from patterns found in Renaissance Patterns for Lace, Embroidery and Needlepoint: An unabridged facsimile of the “Singuliers et nouvezu’=pourtraicts” of 1587 by Federico Vinciolo and Patterns Embroidery: Early 16th Century by Claude Nourry & Pierre de Saincte Louie. The project comes as two wall hangings; one will be a Lady’s Room door hanging showing Spring and Summer and the other will be a Lord’s Room door hanging featuring Fall and Winter. Pages from the book where I transcribe the patterns include FV89 (Spring), FV90 (Summer), and CNPSL61-63 (letters).

The full pattern for the Lady’s Room is 127×378 squares. The pattern has 8 major segments including the top and bottom borders, plus the right and left borders which are being completed as I work my way down the design. I actually started the first wall hanging in May 2011 and completed the top border in September 2011.

The project then was set aside as I worked on other things, like writing, moving, job hunting, etc. In March 2017, I have decided to make a concerted effort again on the project and put a week of 2 to 3 hour nights into it after doing taxes. So after 20 more hours, I got a second border section done. At this rate, it I don’t get distracted again, I should have this completed in mid-June and can start work on the Lord’s Room door hanging. (I got distracted – so it has stalled out again.)

Materials being used: Store bought mesh (unknown material) and Cotton Crochet thread size 10 (due to cost – I am going through a lot of thread).

Tools used: Large tapestry needles, scissors, and a 12-inch embroidery hoop.

 

SEPTEMBER 2011 PICTURES

Top Left Corner
Left Corner for Top Border
Middle Design for Top Border

First Border Completed (Sept 2011)

MARCH 2017 PICTURES

Second Border Complete (March 2017)

Flash: Unexpected Consequences

Erin Penn

Smoke curled outward from under Mohan’s duster, seeking lungs to fill.

“Who’s there?” yelled the recent vampiric conversion. A silver chain on his ankle limited his movement to the illuminated area of the spotlight. His night vision would not develop for three more nights, granting the watcher effective invisibility. She was impressed he had sensed her entrance, sitting quietly beside the empty rust-stained bowl until she changed shape.

Once the cavern swallowed the last echoing “therrrrre”, the new arrival cautiously drew air to speak. Holding the breath a moment, testing its flavor, she then slowing moved it over her vocal cords to answer, “Emily, Dion’s sire … your grandsire and keeper.”

“Where’s Dion?” Mohan rushed the light’s edge, pacing back and forth with his chain chiming against the stones. He earnestly sought her location, despite the disorienting echo. A useless task as he had not had a chance to develop the skill set; her servants had been under strict order to remain silent during his captivity.  

“Being disciplined.” The vampire elder coldly stated as she moved over the loose overburden and wet tailings, judging the fog’s reach.

Mohan stilled as he processed the information. Living habits clung to him like leeches. His constant movement was distracting, but understandable. Only a week had passed since his removal from the grave; so she forgave him the disgusting habits he was displaying.

“He wasn’t supposed to turn me, was he?” Mohan’s brown curls fell across his forehead as despair hunched his shoulders.

“Awarding our blood to other supernaturals, can have …” Emily paused watching the smoke thicken and reach further into the abandoned mine before completing her thought, “… unexpected consequence.”

Mohan wiped his hands over his face. “Did you destroy him?”

“He is young, less than four decades old. I decided he should be given a chance to learn.” Emily took another breath to continue talking and this time felt the fog fill the corners of her little used lungs. She felt something, a wish to reassure the suffering child, hold him. Crushing the feeling to unfeeling, Emily declared, “You will not see Dion again.”

“But he only did it to save me!” Mohan shouted. “We love each other! Please!”

Whispering a final begging crossed his lips, “please.”

Jealousy, a much more familiar emotion than compassion, ripped through her. She nearly closed to force obsession on the boy. His love should only be for her.

…. Interesting gift, that fog. A little too visible at the moment. But she could already think of a few uses. The fog must be gaining in strength, otherwise her servants would have released him by now.

She would have to take over all care of the youngling. She pushed the bowl of blood she had brought with her across the light’s edge. Again, compassion tried to sneak in as she watched Mohan collapse crying. Tomorrow, after she has cleansed herself and arranged for a means to communicate without breathing his air, she would need to decide if she would let this one live. 

(words 507 – originally appearing at Sunday Fun on Breathless Press 2/3/2013 (copyright of picture inspiring story was unknown); republished in new blog format 1/28/2018)