Author Ambush & Giveaway with Maggie Shayne

Book Monster Reviews and LITERAL ADDICTION  are very proud to welcome Maggie Shayne back to our sites today!

Maggie is a bestselling, multi award winning author of more than 50 novels. Her awards include but are not limited to - 2 Romantic Times Bookclub Career Achievement Awards, the National Readers Choice Award, and a coveted RITA (the most prominent award given throughout the genre of romance and romantic fiction authors, named for the Romance Writers of America’s co-founder Rita Gallagher and her daughter, RWA co-founder Rita Clay Estrada). In addition to her incredible literary success, Maggie has also written for CBS daytime dramas including Guiding Light and As the World Turns.

Outside of writing the books that we all love to read, Maggie is a Third Degree Wiccan High Priestess, and her legal clergy. She studied the Craft for many years, taking more than three years of formal training in the widely known Black Forest Circle and Seminary, led by author Silver RavenWolf, where she learned about divination, astrology, herbalism, theology, natural magick, and much, much more. She went on to become one of the founders of the RavenMyst Circle tradition [denomination] of Wicca.

She continues to learn, however, and has since studied Shamanism, Pastoral Counseling, has become a third degree Reiki Master and is currently studying Law of Attraction, Zecharia Sitchin’s theories regarding Ancient Sumer, and crossroads of quantum physics and spirituality as understood by author Gregg Braden.

Maggie currently has a number of major book series in her library of literary excellence: WINGS IN THE NIGHT/CHILDREN OF TWILIGHT, MORDECAI YOUNG, IMMORTAL WITCHES, FAIRIES OF RUSH, THE TeXas BRAND/OKLAHOMA ALL-GIRL BRANDS, SECRETS OF SHADOW FALLS and the all new PORTAL series.

Her latest releases, “Daughter of the Spellcaster”, Book #2 in THE PORTAL series (released on 11/13/12), “Mark of the Witch”, Book #1 of THE PORTAL series (released 9/18/12), and "Legacy of the Witch", Book #.5 in THE PORTAL series (released 9/1/12) have all received rave reviews. If you haven’t read any of Maggie’s work yet, or don’t have her books on your To Be Read list, you might want to look into that!

In association with this epic new series, Maggie has launched an incredible new website geared toward the series as well. The Portal Books.com was launched on 6/1 and there have been some absolutely incredible things going on over there. 

There were some other great things launched with the introduction of The Portal website that you need to check out – an original song, 2 amazing video book trailers, and multiple contests (keep your eyes out for even more!).

So, if that all doesn’t have you super excited for the new series, we thought we’d give you the blurbs for each of the books to make sure you were!

"Legacy of the Witch"

THE PORTAL Prequel eNovella - 9/1/12:

Buy from Amazon | B&N

 “Once upon a time, there lived three witches….”

As a child, Amarrah loved her grandmother’s stories of three witches who were members of the king’s harem—but they were more than just stories. Amarrah knew she had been there with them…and now their legacy, along with an ancient box that once belonged to them, lies in her hands.

Charged with keeping the box safe, Amarrah is heartbroken when it is stolen from her while she moves to America. Years later, she is shocked to see it on TV and is determined to get it back. Tracking the artifact leads her to Sergeant Harrison Brockson, a handsome soldier who stirs memories of a man she knew centuries ago in ancient Babylon. Is Harrison the key to finding the box—or could he be her destiny?

“Mark of the Witch”

THE PORTAL #1 - 9/17/12:

Buy from Amazon | B&N

A lapsed Wiccan, Indira Simon doesn’t believe in magic anymore. But when strange dreams of being sacrificed to an ancient Babylonian god have her waking up with real rope burns on her wrists, she’s forced to acknowledge that she may have been too hasty in her rejection of the unknown.

Then she meets mysterious and handsome Father Tomas. Emerging from the secrecy of an obscure Gnostic sect, he arrives with stories of a demon, a trio of warrior witches-and Indira’s sacred calling. Yet there’s something even Tomas doesn’t know, an inescapable truth that will force him to choose between saving the life of the woman he’s come to love-and saving the world.

“Daughter of the Spellcaster"

THE PORTAL #2 - 11/13/12:

Buy from Amazon | B&N

Has a spell been cast?

Lena Dunkirk is a practicing witch, Ryan McNally a wealthy playboy. Logic says mismatch, yet from the first they share a passion that defies reason, as if they know each other from another place, another time. Then Lena gets pregnant and runs for the safety of home.

Months later, when Ryan appears at her door looking to help raise their child, Lena doesn’t know whom to trust–particularly now that “guru to the stars” Bahru has taken an interest in her baby, offering gifts forged of magic.

Soon she and Ryan are sharing eerie dreams of ancient lands, while a vengeful demon plots to take possession of their child. As the moment of birth approaches, the demon’s power rises, forcing the hand of love to wield the blade that will decide the fate of a child’s soul–and the future of the world.

“Blood of the Sorceress"

THE PORTAL #3 - 1/20/13:

Pre-Order from Amazon | B&N

Their Love was destiny. Was a curse to be their undoing?

As an ancient king’s favorite harem slave, Lilia committed the worst of all possible crimes: loving another man. When the king discovered her treason, her lover was sentenced to lose his soul and linger in eternal imprisonment, and Lilia herself was executed alongside her sisters. While they reincarnated through countless lifetimes, she lingered alone between worlds for thousands of years, waiting for the moment to rescue her beloved Demetrius.

Now that moment has come. Demetrius has broken free, but without his soul and in the thrall of the same high priest who betrayed them so long ago; he has become an icy, uncaring cad, devoting himself solely to pleasure and power. Somehow Lilia must convince him to reclaim his humanity, to abandon the enemy tempting him to give in to his selfish desires–or her life will be lost alongside his, both of them condemned to eternal damnation, eternal isolation, their love lost one final and irrevocable time.

We know, you’re salivating, right!? We can tell you from personal experience that it’s not unfounded. The books are magnificent and we can’t wait for the next installment!

Since Maggie’s one of our V.I.Ps & regulars, we’ve asked her most of our good questions already in past Events. With that said, we thought it would be fun if we let Maggie take over the sites for the day and tell us whatever she'd like. :)  Go and check out what she had to say...

HOW TO HAVE A BLISSFUL LIFE

I’m taking over the LA and Book Monster Sites today, but instead of promoting myself or my work, I want to share the things in my life that make it better, in hopes they can make yours better too. So when you think about your life, and what would make it better, no matter who you are, the same things tend to come to mind. 

More Money 

A Better Job 

A Better Relationship 

A Nicer Place to Live 

Less Stress 

All of these things have one thing in common.  They begin with the presumption that the money you currently have is not enough. That the job your currently have is not good enough. That the relationship you’re in, isn’t enough. That where you live isn’t good enough. And that you have no control over the amount if stress in your life. 

I’m going to tell you how to get each and every one of the things on your list right here and now. 

1. More Money 

A recent study of happiness showed that people who earn $50,000 per year are quite a bit happier than people who earn $5,000 per year in the US.  That’s not surprising. BUT the same study showed absolutely no increase in happiness between those earning $50,000 and those earning $500,000 or even $5,000,000 per year. Why do you think that is? 

It’s because money isn’t the problem. Once you have enough to meet your basic needs–food, water, shelter, clothing–the addition of more money doesn’t increase your happiness level one bit.  

I believe that the focus on not having enough money prevents more money from coming in. You can only attract according to what you believe, so if you believe you don’t have enough, you’ll never have enough.  The absolute secret to opening the floodgates to more money is to convince yourself right to the roots of your hair that you have plenty already. Make the most of what you have. Never complain about lack of money again. Give to those less fortunate than you are–and yes, there are plenty of people less fortunate than you. If you have a computer and internet to read this, you’re wealthier than most people in the world. If you have a local library or school with a computer and internet for you to use, you’re far better off than people who don’t even have electricity or running water in their homes. If you have a roof over your head, you are rich in comparison to those who don’t. 

Wealth is relevant. When you make the most of everything you do have, you’ll feel far wealthier.  And when you stop feeling impoverished, you’ll stop being impoverished.  Trust me on this.  Stop whining about not enough money and how poor you are and how you’ve struggled your whole life, and start noticing how very very good you have it, and talking about that instead. It’ll change your world. 

2. A Better Job 

Everybody hates their job. But it’s not really the job they usually hate, it’s the feeling of having to do it. The notion that you have to get up and go put in your time or else you won’t have the money (see above) to pay the rent or put food on the table. You hate that hours of your life are spent doing something you don’t particularly want to be doing, whether it’s digging a ditch or answering a phone. It’s the lack of freedom that chafes. 

So how do you fix this? First of all, you can’t bring a better job to you while resenting the one you have. You can’t. You’re vibing “I hate my job” so the only thing that you can experience is a job you hate. The outside world is no more than a mirror image of the inner world. 

First things first. You’ve got to stop hating the job you have, and you’ve got to start realizing that you do have freedom. It is your choice to work in this job, or quit this job. You might not like the results, you might not pay your rent and have to go pitch a tent in a campground for the summer, but that too, is your choice. I’ve known people who’ve done just that and benefited from the experience. But if you don’t choose to do that, if you choose to live where you’re living and keep the job you have, then you might as well find a way to be at peace with that. Find things about the job that you do like, even if the only thing you like is the check at the end of the week that lets you pay your rent. That’s something, right? As you practice looking for things to like about your job each day, more things to like about it will show up. When you start being determined to do the best you can do at your job, it will start getting easier and easier for you to shine and take pride in it. The more you follow this track, the more fond of your job you will become, and eventually, things are going to improve at work so much that you’ll decide it’s not such a bad job after all. And that’s the very moment that the new and improved job will drop into your lap.  

Come on, try it. What have you got to lose? 

3. A Better Relationship (Or a relationship at all.) 

You can have a partner with100 habits that drive you crazy and 1 habit that you just love, and if you pay attention only to the one you love, you’re relationship will thrive. Alternately, you can have a partner with only 1 maddening habit and 100 good ones, and you will destroy your relationship if you focus on the 1. I’ve seen it happen. 

The key to a happy relationship is this. Remember that it is not your partner’s job to make you happy.  Remember that it is not your job to make your partner happy. Happiness is up to you. It’s a choice you make every day. You are not happy or unhappy because of the conditions around you. You can choose to be happy no matter what’s happening around you. You can choose to be miserable no matter what’s happening around you. Lots of people do. But most think the circumstances determine their mood. They’re wrong. 

If you focus on choosing to be happy and not hanging your happiness on your partner’s shoulders, and if you further choose to focus on the things he does that you love and turn a blind, oblivious eye to the things he does that you hate, you’ll soon have the love life of your dreams. 

If you’re not in a relationship, but wishing you were, the same rules apply. Choose to be happy now, find things to love about your life now, as it is, while eagerly expecting a partner to share it with you. Do not hang your happiness on his appearance. Do not wallow in misery because he’s not there yet, or he will never arrive. The happier you are, the faster he’ll appear. The less you notice that he’s not there yet, the better. In fact, just about the time you decide single life is so good you’re no longer sure you want to give it up–bam! There he will be. 

But you can’t just say it. You have to practice loving your life until you really and truly do. 

4.  A Nicer Place to Live 

I think you know right where I’m going with this, don’t you? But let me give you a story first. I wanted a new car. I hated my old car. It kept breaking down, and the parts were expensive and I spent all my time griping about what a lemon it was and how I owed more on it than I could sell it for, and had no choice but to keep it, and yada yada yada. 

My partner fixed my car. He more than fixed it. He re-did the interior and made it gorgeous. Stunning. He installed a remote starter and satellite radio. He fixed all the mechanical problems.  

I suddenly loved my car. I didn’t want to give it up, and in fact, told many people I would never trade it in.  Soon I owed far less on it than I could sell it for, but I didn’t want to sell it so it didn’t matter. 

Then it broke down one last time. It wasn’t a small item. It broke down in town, near the Nissan dealer, so that’s where we had it towed. While they were examining her and diagnosing her, I saw a brand new shiny one, platinum edition. The dealer ran my numbers, and told me he’d give me way more for my car than it booked for, because of the cool improvements. I qualified for 1.9% financing and a rebate to boot. Six months earlier I had looked at this same shiny new car and decided I couldn’t afford it. My income hadn’t changed a bit, but now I could afford it easily. And the new car was mine. 

Love your home. Make it as beautiful as you possibly can. If you live in a straw hut, make it the prettiest, coziest, cleanest straw hut there ever was. Decorate on the cheap–hand painted stencils, dollar store picture frames, cheap curtains draped in creative and colorful ways. Create tiny pockets of bliss in unexpected places. Make your home into a place you love, a place that’s peaceful, a haven you can’t wait to come back to each night. Fill it with love and laughter, and don’t allow anger or discord inside.  Soon the improvements you want or the newer better home, will arrive. 

Make the most of what you have, and more will come. Find fault with what you have, and you’ll never have anything more, and in fact, the stuff you have will fall apart even more. 

5. Less Stress 

When you start feeling stressed out, and the chatter in your mind is ceaseless, take a deep breath, all the way in until your lungs are bursting, hold two beats, then blow it all out, every last bit of it. Repeat three times.  As you do, focus on the breath, the air.  As thoughts pester you, just let them pass by, and gently focus on the breath. Notice the silent space in between the thoughts. That’s where you want to focus. 

Lean back, mentally, into the massive, silent, spirit that is the real you. You are not the thoughts. You’re not even the thinker. You’re the being observing the thinker. You are vast, and spiritual and one with all things, one with the entire planet, with everyone and everything on it, with the cosmos, the stars, the universe, one with God. You are endless and timeless, and the itty bitty picky things racing through your brain are like the grains of sand on a beach. They’re nothing. 

Lean back into who you really are.  Focus on your breaths, or perhaps on the feeling of energy in your hands....feel it tingling in your palms?  Notice it.  Then feel that same energy in your arms, and then your feet and then your legs, and so on.  The ceaseless thoughts stop when you focus on these things.  

Spend ten minutes like this each day.  This is meditation.  When you get overwhelmed, stop and do it again.  Even just a few moments is enough. 

Remember that we will all die with an unfinished to-do list. Nothing is all that important. All those things on your list will either get done or they won’t. The world won’t end either way. Nothing is really all that big a deal.  Relax and let it go. 

Remember every time you are about to get angry or bark at someone that it’s a choice, and you can choose not to go that route. You can choose to breathe, to look for the good, to let go of the negative, to not feed it with your attention, to focus on the good. 

When you look at your overflowing to do list, see the one thing that’s been nagging at you the most, and do that first.  Not the most important thing, or the hardest thing or the thing with the tightest deadline, but the one that was first in line in that endless brain chatter, demanding your attention. Do that.  Then reward yourself with something fun, blissful, easy.  Then do the next most noisy, demanding thing. 

If the demanding things are plaguing you while you’re in bed, you have two choices: if it’s something you can fix right now, then get up and fix it. If it’s not something you can fix right now, then why bother thinking about it? Focus on your breaths and the energy in your palms, and go to sleep.  

We really do put ourselves through an awful lot of unnecessary suffering. And we miss a lot of our time here in this life by always being focused on what happened yesterday, or what’s coming up tomorrow. Try stopping that and experiencing this very moment, right now. Look around you and truly appreciate where you are, what you see and feel and hear and smell.  Bask in the moment, and try to do that with every moment. 

I’ve got a couple of offerings to help you in your enjoyment of several moments, if you’re a fan of paranormal romance (and I know you are, or you wouldn’t be here, right?) 

The Portal Series is going strong, with Book 1 MARK OF THE WITCH and Book 2, DAUGHTER OF THE SPELLCASTER on sale now. Both video trailers are up and running, two sets of FREE collectible character trading cards are available, and life is good.  You can learn more about the series at www.ThePortalBooks.com 

We’ve just launched a brand new home site at www.MaggieShayne.com as well and I hope you like it. 

Please like me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MaggieShayneAuthor where I’ve just launched the 12 Days of Christmas Holiday Giveaway with a star studded group of authors. We’re giving away a Kindle Fire HD on Christmas Eve, and other prizes in between now and then. Click the 12 Days Tab for more information. 

And don’t miss out on my special holiday specials including this deal, The Fairy Collection Boxed Set, only $9.99 for two big connected novels and a novella, Fairytale, Forever Enchanted and The Fairy’s Wish.  All my Maggie Shayne Classics have been marked down for the holidays. I hope you’ll enjoy them. 

Now, go have peaceful, stress free holidays. Remember to breathe, and choose to be happy.

DON’T FORGET: Maggie will available to chat LIVE with members, fans, followers and guests in our Author Chatroom from 2:00 – 3:00pm EST (1-2pm CDT/11am-12pm pm MDT & PDT) Sunday.

Maggie is graciously offering up copies of THE PORTAL books #1 & #2 and the 2 sets of collectible trading cards to a winner from Book Monster Reviews and another winner over at LITERAL ADDICTION.

To Enter:

Fill out the Rafflecopter for Maggie’s Event, follow the directions, take action, and mark as Done.

For another chance to win, go to LITERAL ADDICTION and enter over there as well!

Good Luck!

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