Sunday, March 01, 2009

Guest Blogger: Natale Stenzel

Natale's winner is Cecile! Congratulations, Cecile. Send me your contact info and I'll pass it along to Natale! Thanks to everyone who participated.
Between a Rock and a Heart Place

My current release, BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HEART PLACE, is the third book in a series of funny paranormal romances, all rooted in the mystery of the stone circle of Avebury in Wiltshire County, England. Sure, my stories are set in contemporary Richmond, Virginia, and feature pucas (my own version), faeries (again my own version) and modern Druids (and these are incredibly my own version), but there never would have been a story to tell if it weren't for the stone circle.

A lot of people haven't heard of this particular stone circle, so I first have to assure them that I didn't make it up. No, it was truly a gift whose existence I discovered while surfing the web one day. It's real. What's it like? Picture Stonehenge, except older, much bigger and less preserved. Only a fraction of the roughly hewn stones are still standing today. Most have been knocked down, buried, or demolished beyond recognition. Oh, and did I mention the real-life stone circle of Avebury literally encloses the real-life, populated village of Avebury? I'm not kidding. We're talking streets bisecting the circle, inhabited cottages, a museum, shops, a pub and even a church. I understand, too, that sheep graze freely among the mammoth Sarsen stones. Ironic, eh?

So. We have a stone circle, implying all kinds of mystery and history and that can only spur the imagination, right? Well, one thing in particular about this circle really started my creative juices flowing. You see, some of these fallen stones were busted into smaller pieces and used in the construction of various structures in the area. Tell me that's not worth a few goose bumps. I know it was for me. Imagine a fragment of a huge Sarsen stone monument, much like the stones comprising Stonehenge, cemented into the foundation of your home. Would there be spirits tethered to it? Magic? Legends? A curse? What if someone used that stone fragment as the building's cornerstone, a hollowed brick serving as sort of a time capsule? What would be the motivation behind it? And what might it contain?

Or who?

The who in this case -- as you might know if you've been following my series -- was a puca named Riordan, the sexy shape-shifter from Pandora's Box. If I tell you any more, however, I'll be spoiling secrets for that book, and for its sequel, The Druid Made Me Do It. Just understand that by book three -- Between a Rock and a Heart Place -- we have renegade magical powers trapped inside that cornerstone. A half-spell, a blow to the right person, and suddenly those powers are loosed to find a new host in the form of my heroine, Daphne Forbes, the ordinary accountant daughter of two mostly immoral and control-freak Druid parents. (You might notice me taking a few -- dozen -- liberties here for the sake of craft and entertainment.) Now Daphne must learn to control these powers, which are at war with the untrained Druid powers she's so far managed to ignore. If she does not, if these warring powers drive her insane as has been threatened, then it falls to one man, Tremayne, to stop her by whatever means necessary.

Who is Tremayne? He's a nature spirit with the wondrous ability to undo any kind of magic -- even warped puca/Druid powers like Daphne wields uncontrollably and involuntarily. He's also the one guy who can destroy Daphne, should it prove necessary, so he's been assigned to that duty. Never mind that he's been watching and wanting her for months now . . . Kinda makes for a rocky romance, don't you think?

But not a boring one, I hope.

So tell me. Would you want a fragment of Sarsen stone from a mysterious stone circle embedded in your home? Why or why not? Better yet, if that special cornerstone were to gift you with anything at all, what would you like best? A ghost? Mysterious papers? Exciting powers? A sexy shape-shifting puca with a curse on his head? Have you ever visited Avebury or Stonehenge or some other place that gave you that tickle-along-the-spine feeling? I'll be giving away a free book to a commenter on this post. Winner gets to choose a copy of either Pandora's Box or The Druid Made Me Do It. As I mentioned before, these are the two prequels for Between a Rock and a Heart Place. Thanks so much for participating and helping me celebrate my new release!


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Natale's winner will be posted here on Tuesday evening.

18 Comments:

Blogger Chris said...

Hmm. I suppose having such a stone embedded in our 17-unit condo building would certainly liven things up around here! If the hunky puca with a curse on his head had handyman skills and shoveled snow, we'd welcome him! ;)

8:28 PM  
Blogger gNat said...

LOL A condo building . . . yeah, that would make things interesting. Would everyone see him or just one person and who might that be? Would the puca be a troublemaker? And for whom -- tenants or landlord? Poor guy would prabably get blamed every time the elevator got hung up or the plumbing went wonky*g*.

6:11 AM  
Blogger CrystalGB said...

Hi Natale. I think it would be interesting to have a piece of Sarsen stone imbedded in my house. If it would give me special powers I would love it. I have always been fascinated by Stonehenge

8:14 AM  
Blogger Lynda Hilburn said...

Welcome to Paranormality, Natale! I'm so happy to have you here. I went to England once and didn't have time to go see either stone circle, but I can't wait to make a return trip with lots more time allocated for the things I want to see (but there are so many castles!). Hugs, Lynda

8:28 AM  
Blogger gNat said...

Hi, Crystal -- nice to see you again*g*. I remember being fascinated by Stonehenge when I was 12 or 13 and it never did let up. I love a good mystery with a little bit of mystical to go with it -- fascinating.

8:49 AM  
Blogger gNat said...

LOL I know! Sooo many castles -- and many built before the western half of the world was even discovered. Totally mind-boggling. (Hi, Lynda, and thanks for having me here today.)

8:53 AM  
Blogger Cecile Smutty Hussy said...

I would love for a fragment of Sarsen stone to be embedded in my home! I think it would be interesting to have a piece of history in my house.
If a gift could be bestowed upon me, I would like special powers to be my gift. Such as, mind reading. Having the ability to control when to hear people's thoughts and being able to tap into their thoughts with my own.
I have never visited Avebury or Stonehenge (would love to though). The are two places that I have been in my life that gave me goose bumps. One in St. Francisville, LA and New Orleans, LA. Both were historical homes I visited. The one in St Francisville, I actually slept there when I was a child and believe me... it was creepy!

Hey Ms. Linda!!! Thanks for having Ms. Stenzel as a guest! Her books sounds very intersting. I am going to put them on my to read list for sure!!!
Have a wonderful day everyone!
Love, hugz and smiles!

9:04 AM  
Blogger Lynda Hilburn said...

Hi, Cecile! It's great to see you here. Thanks for stopping by.
Lynda

9:10 AM  
Blogger gNat said...

Hi, Cecile, and thank you*g*!

You know, it's funny, my daughter and I had a conversation recently about which power we'd prefer: mind reading or flying. She wanted mind reading because she wanted to know what others thought of her (i.e., who were her real friends). Me, I chose flying*g*. When you think of all the little white lies you tell every day to avoid hurting feelings . . . would you *really* want to know? Ah, but maybe you could choose when to read and when not to read. Fascinating.

St. Francisville . . . I lived in Louisiana for a while*g*. Mind if I ask which house? I knew of a haunted one up there . . . Of course, there are a lot of those. I loved hearing all the haunting stories from those old plantation houses.

9:14 AM  
Blogger Cecile Smutty Hussy said...

You are welcome Ms. Lynda!

I was a child when I stayed there, so I am not postive but I think it was the Myrtles Plantation. But when I stayed there, it was housed by a family. So, I am not sure if that is it or not. They had a little graveyard in the back. It was creepy! Glad to hear that you lived in LA for a while. I have lived in the southeast area all my life. I live in between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

That is why my ability would be to control the mind reading power *G*!

Can't wait to read your books. I am in the middle of a series right now... but I will definitely need something to read after!!

Ms. Lynda... still waiting on Kismet's third book to come to light ***GG***!

10:40 AM  
Blogger gNat said...

Okay, that one's familiar. The Myrtles was famous for ghosts -- one of the most haunted. No way would I have the guts to stay overnight*g*.

Thanks, Cecile!

11:38 AM  
Blogger Cecile Smutty Hussy said...

Believe me, if I would have known then ~ what I know now, there is no way I would have stayed!! But at least I had my own supernatural things happening!

2:38 PM  
Blogger Jane said...

Congrats on the new release, Natale. I think it would be cool to discover mysterious papers that would lead to a cure or a treasure. Special powers would be great, too. I think my choice of powers would be teleportation and healing powers.

4:18 PM  
Blogger gNat said...

Sounds like quite the adventure, Cecile!

5:10 PM  
Blogger gNat said...

Hi, Jane!

A treasure hunt would be fun! And, ooh, teleportation -- very cool*g*.

5:12 PM  
Blogger Cecile Smutty Hussy said...

Yea for me!!!! I can't believe I won!!!! Ms. Lynda I sent you my info!! ***ggg***d

7:38 PM  
Blogger gNat said...

Congrats, Cecile! I'll send your book ASAP!

And thank you to Lynda for hosting me and to everyone who participated!

Best,
Natale

8:01 PM  
Blogger Cecile Smutty Hussy said...

Thanks Natale!!! Looking forward to reading them!!!

9:31 PM  

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