Thursday, June 19, 2014

Welcome Zanna Mackenzie





Herbal Help For Love

Herbs don’t just look pretty in the garden or taste good in cooking – stretching back many centuries herbs have also had many other uses from combating ailments and calming the mind to attracting love.

Three herbs with long standing associations when it comes to finding and keeping love are:

  • Rosemary
Rosemary is a common herb, popular in gardens and the kitchen but did you know rosemary used to feature strongly on wedding days? Traditionally the bride had sprigs of rosemary tucked into her bouquet and the groom wore a sprig of the herb as an early form of the modern day buttonhole flower. Rosemary was also given as a wedding favour to guests – small bunches of the herb, hand tied with gold ribbon, were handed out to bestow love and remembrance.

  • Thyme
Herbal folklore recommends wearing a sprig of thyme in your hair as it is supposed to make you irresistible to the opposite sex! Try this at your own peril though because bees are also attracted to thyme!

  • Marjoram
Another kitchen and garden staple, marjoram was linked to the goddess Aphrodite – better known as the Goddess of Love. It was said to have grown in her garden on Mount Olympus in Greece. Legend tells us marjoram was included in the garlands used to bless the happy couples on their weddings days. The herb is linked to long-term love and enduring relationships and its scent is claimed to bestow happiness.

Try A Love Spell…
According to tradition if a ‘maiden’ wants to see a vision in her dreams of her future husband then she should put a sprig of thyme in one of her shoes and a sprig of rosemary in the other. Then she should lightly sprinkle the shoes with water three times and place them by the side of her bed, say a prayer and fall asleep. Apparently it’s even better if you can time it right to do this love spell on a night with a full moon!

In my contemporary novel How Do You Spell Love? one of the characters called Summer uses herbs, crystals and essential oils to cast all variety of spells to help people, please read on for more details about the book and it’s special offer price….




Book: How Do You Spell Love?


Book blurb:
Make A Wish…
Kat can’t help wishing there was more to life than this. What happened to her dream job? What happened with Nathan?
Summer is wondering where her life is going too… battling the developers of a controversial housing estate and working out why boyfriend Rob is increasingly distant.
When the developers win the battle and move into town everyone’s life is turned upside down.
Kat meets building site project manager Alex. She enjoys his company far too much, even though he’s on the town’s most hated list.
Summer meets Tom who has plenty of relationship troubles of his own, so things could get really complicated.
Soon everyone is keeping secrets, lives change and hearts are broken. Is everything falling apart, or does life just work in mysterious ways…
*****
Special Offer
How Do You Spell Love? is on sale between 20-27 June inclusive. Grab your ebook for just 99p/99c/99c +tax and discover what mayhem Summer’s love spell causes….


Amazon US:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Do-You-Spell-Love/dp/1908910771/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361800417&sr=1-3&keywords=zanna+mackenzie


Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Do-You-Spell-Love/dp/1908910771/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1361800360&sr=8-2



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Author bio:
Zanna Mackenzie lives in the UK with her husband, 4 dogs, a vegetable patch that’s home to far too many weeds and an ever expanding library of books waiting to be read.
Being a freelance writer and editor of business publications is her ‘day job’ but, at every opportunity, she can be found scribbling down notes on scenes for whatever novel she’s working on. She loves it when the characters in her novels take on minds of their own and start deviating from the original plot!
Formerly a travel agent and therapist (she has qualifications in clinical aromatherapy, crystal healing, naturopathic nutrition and herbalism) she loves walking the dogs and gardening – that’s when she’s not writing or reading!
Zanna has written two other novels, The Love Programme (Astraea Press) and If You Only Knew (Crooked Cat Publishing).
Find out more about Zanna at:
www.zannamackenzie.blogspot.co.uk
www.zannamackenzie.co.uk
Twitter: @ZannaMacKenzie
Facebook: www.facebook.com/zanna.mackenzie
Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10703273-zanna-mackenzie
Amazon Author Page - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zanna-Mackenzie/e/B00BKY1A18/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
PInterest: http://www.pinterest.com/zannamac/




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Sunday, June 1, 2014

Welcome Author Carmen Stefanescu



Author bio:
Carmen Stefanescu was born in Romania, the native country of the infamous vampire Count Dracula, but where, for about 50 years of communist dictatorship, just speaking about God, faith, reincarnation or paranormal phenomena could have led someone to great trouble - the psychiatric hospital if not to prison.
Teacher of English and German in her native country and mother of two daughters, Carmen Stefanescu survived the grim years of oppression, by escaping in a parallel world, that of the books. 
She has dreamed all her life to become a writer, but many of the things she wrote during those years remained just drawer projects. The fall of the Ceausescu’s regime in 1989 and the opening of the country to the world meant a new beginning for her. She started publishing. Poems first, and then prose. Both in English.

Shadows of the Past
Publish date: 4th December 2012


Publisher: Wild Child Publishing


Genre: paranormal/light romance/light horror.
Shadows of the Past Blurb:


Anne's relationship with her boyfriend Neil has disintegrated. After a two-year separation, they pack for a week vacation in hopes of reconciling. But fate has other plans for them.
The discovery of a bejeweled cross and ancient human bones opens a door to a new and frightening world--one where the ghost of a medieval nun named Genevieve will not let Anne rest. This new world threatens not only to ruin Anne and Neil's vacation but to end all hopes of reconciliation as Anne feels compelled to help free Genevieve's soul from its torment.
Can Anne save her relationship and help Genevieve find her eternal rest?
A touching, compelling story of tragedy, loss and the power of endless love and good magic.
The twists and turns in this paranormal tale keep the reader guessing up to the end and weave themselves together into a quest to rekindle love.


Excerpt


"Come, we should leave at once," she said and glanced nervously over her shoulder. "Something terrible happened after you left for town. I think the Abbess found out about us. Our meeting in Uncle Ryan's cabin is no longer a secret. We have been overheard. For all I know someone spies on us even as we speak. I think the Abbess, or one of her 'friends,' is hovering somewhere nearby and listening to every word."
Andrew pulled Genevieve to his chest. "Do you regret you've come with me?"
Passion smothered Genevieve's doubt and guilt. "Never," she answered, aware of her body's response to his touch, and she succumbed to his embrace.
Calming the gnawing unease in her mind and the thought of Sister Dominica guessing she was the dough of a sinner, Genevieve repeated, "Never."
With her eyes closed and their bodies touching she became, for the very first time, simply a woman. She melted in his embrace in spite of the invisible vicious threat breathing around them. Aware they might never be alone again, she fought hard to silence the voice of conscience berating her.
"Oh, God. Please forgive me," Andrew muttered under his breath when he bowed his head to kiss her. Their lips met in a passionate first kiss.
Genevieve's spirits fell and her heart skipped a beat when, a couple of seconds later, she opened her eyes and her gaze fell on a knot strangers.
… . . .


Tears welled in Anne's eyes, blurring her vision. She couldn’t explain them, or the sudden sadness seeping into her heart. This should’ve been a moment of happiness or, at least, contentment. She was with Neil again, and the outcome of their trip together should, very likely, bring their reconciliation. Why then did she seem detached from where she stood?
Anne shivered. Why the deep feeling of having seen this place, this forest before? And why the eerie sensation of being present here only in the body, while her mind was far away?
Away from the forest.
Away from Neil, the man who'd betrayed her trust and her love.
An onrush of sensations unfamiliar to her followed. Dizziness and a malevolent feeling of unreality suffocated her.
Anne edged cautiously closer to the rim of the bare cliff. Her foot tapped the edge. It seemed solid. She stared into the darkness of the abyss at her feet. It echoed the shadows in her heart. An unusual curiosity took hold of her. Should she step ahead? What was down there? Other human bones? Another mystery? The presence of evil, creeping up and enveloping her, became almost palpable. The vines of fog folded around her, dragging her to the depth. Her throat turned dry, and she gasped for air.
Megan's face contorted, the voice no longer pleasant. A hoarse gurgle, spluttering distorted words, "Yes, come... I'm waiting... I've been waiting for you for such a long time..."
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