Who’s brave enough to disturb the paranormal mysteries of the forest? #MFRWHooks

THE next morning, Lane found something a little out of the routine, an email from a woman named Chiara DeLuna, who introduced herself as a ‘paranormal investigations professional’.

      Lane shook his head as he read the email.

      First off, if your title includes the word ‘professional’ I’m going to think you’re a little insecure. And if you’re that insecure, you probably don’t know what the hell you’re doing.

      And if you’re coming to ask me for help, then I think maybe we’re both on the trail to Pretty Well Lost.

      He read it again, strictly for entertainment value. “Dear Mr. Donatelli: Perhaps you know my name, Chiara DeLuna, Professional Investor of all things paranormal and weird? My television show on the YES cable network has won several awards, and I have busted myths and legends around the country and also on an international scale. In researching my latest project, I find that not a lot is available on mystical happenings in your local forests, other than the usual Native American spirit legends. I know your book is fiction, but something about the way you tell this story shows me you know more than you’re sharing about what goes on in those deep, dark woods. The Montana Vortex is located just north of the area you wrote about. Are you familiar with this? I’m thinking of featuring this site in one of my upcoming programs. If you’d be willing to be interviewed, I’d love to spend some time picking your brain. You could be one of my on screen sources, maybe even get in a plug for your book. What do you say? I’ll be in Missoula in a few weeks, and I’d love to get together and buy you a drink. Or coffee, maybe, at that little Butterfly coffee shop you wrote about? I’ve included my cell phone number and email address. I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”

      She signed her name with a little circle above it. Or was that a halo?

      Lane chuckled. “Oh, lady, if you only knew what I could tell you about those woods.”

THE ELF GUARDIAN Clan Elves of the Bitterroot (Book IV): The strong Earth energies that support the Clan Elves of the Bitterroot have gone awry for unknown reasons, and the powerful forces at work have not gone unnoticed by the outside world.

Can Max get humans, mages, and elves working together in time to save the land before the energies spin out of control? Or is this the end of the elven world in the Bitterroot Mountains? 

When a paranormal investigator looking for a story to save her career is told a fantastic tale by the juvenile and disobedient elf prince Elliun, his young albino elf bodyguard Max must try to fix the mistake.

https://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=306268

It’s good to be the queen — #MFRWHooks

At her friend’s coaxing, Jelani tries on a glass slipper left lying on the sidewalk. When she steps into the shoe, it shatters, cutting her foot. As blood trickles to the pavement and mingles with the broken glass, dozens of two-inch high creatures emerge and then scurry away into the shadows. Soon she is approached by two mysterious and handsome men claiming to be elves who need her help to rescue their queen. More revelations come, threatening to unravel the life of this sassy barista from Missoula, Montana. Jelani must learn to accept that elves are real and living in the forests of the Bitterroot Mountains.

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EXCERPT:

Jelani opened her eyes and discovered a different world.

She and Daven had come up a single trail that led to the area. Now, as she looked behind them, she could see a dozen imprints snaking across the grass around them. The deer, the elk, even rabbits left distinctive marks and patterns on the green blades that made it clear to her what had stepped there. She looked behind to see her own footprints, heavy and destructive, plants crushed under the weight of her boot. Daven’s passing was marked only by a shadow on the grass that faded as she watched.

But that wasn’t all. Her new sight revealed patterns in the trees, many of them set close together to create small enclosures. Looking up, she saw gossamer platforms extending between the branches, the elves on them hardly noticing her below through the nearly opaque walls of their chambers. For the first time, she saw elf children. Their tinkling laughter lifted her spirit.

“Kids? There were kids out here the whole time?”

Daven smiled, raising a hand to the curious toddler above, whose attention had now been captured. She laughed and scattered a handful of flower petals over them. “We didn’t all come out of a glass slipper, you know. We procreate much as humans do.”

She considered the view, looking around her. As her eyes adjusted, she noticed other dwellings in the trees around them. Surely their walls were like those of the Circle chambers, diaphanous but sturdy with magic, keeping out the elements. Even so… She winced as the small ones ran in what seemed to be open space, awaiting their death-defying tumble to the ground. But of course, magic kept them safe.

“You just live in the open? Just hang out?” She shuddered. “I don’t think I could do that.”

“We did not believe you would. That’s why we have created a special place for our new queen.”

They continued into the woods to the foot of a Douglas fir so tall it hurt her neck to crane back to see the top. Astan waited there to meet them, a warm smile on his face.

Her eyes narrowed at the negative thought that came to mind, even though she couldn’t believe Astan would be involved with something that could hurt her. “You’ll shove me in a tree, like my mother?”

“Of course not, denami,” Astan said. “This is specially created for you-for us.” He gestured at the trunk. “Look closely.”

She eyed the rugged bark, suspicious, but saw at last the outline of a door and three dots spaced closely together. When she reached for the dots, she found them separated by an interval that comfortably matched her fingertips. Contact gave her fingers a little tingle, then the trunk split open without the crack or noise she expected, the two sides raising and separating.

“Come into our home,” Astan said softly, taking her hand. They entered the opening to discover a small cottage of several rooms, complete with windows.

“Now, wait a minute,” she said, stepping out to examine the trunk of the tree, no more than four feet across. She looked back inside at the roomy space, which held several chairs, a small table, and some cabinets. A fireplace was laid out, but not burning. An open space in the back hinted at a bedroom. “How did you do this?”

“We want to make our queen happy,” Daven said. “Welcome, Jelani.”

She could hardly believe what she saw. The space reminded her of something Snow White might have stumbled upon in the woods. Except, of course, this was elves. “Is this the only house like this? Just for us?”

“No,” Astan said. “Others exist, but none are quite so suited to humans. The Circle has gone to some length to keep your comfort in mind.”

Grateful at the concern for her well-being, she’d marveled at the creation, her one frown prompted by the fireplace. “You want me to burn a fire inside a tree? That seems counter-productive somehow. Even if we wouldn’t die from smoke inhalation.”

A laugh burst from Daven, amusement flickering in his eyes. Shaking his head, he patted her on the shoulder. “You are quite right, Jelani. Burning an actual fire in this enclosure could be dangerous to you, and the tree as well. One of the elders has left you some flash dust.”

He demonstrated the use of the gift by opening a small glass box on the mantel. Inside was some nondescript powder that looked like well-dried ash. He said a few words in elvish and tossed a pinch of the powder onto the hearth and a fire appeared.

“Whoa.” Jelani stared at the flames, then came near. No smoke came from the fire, and heat came only as high as the fireplace enclosure. While the room warmed perceptibly, the heat faded as it approached the walls formed by the trunk of the tree that housed her.

More magic.

“You’re going to teach me that abracadabra part, right?”

Daven crossed his arms and studied her. “I’ll teach you all the magic you can learn, my queen.”

https://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=298158

I’ve got a bad feeling about this… Sci-Fi Fantasy Saturday for 1-25

Greetings from the frozen Northland! I used to live in Montana, where THE ELF MAGE is set, and I decided to leave there because it just got too cold in the winter. So today I woke up to -3 (-16 with the wind chill) here in Pennsylvania, and in Missoula, it’s 22 degrees. What’s up with that?

Anyway, as I sit here bundled up in my chair and just my fingers sticking out so I can type, I wanted to share a snippet of THE ELF MAGE, part of the Clan Elves of the Bitterroot series. This piece is near the beginning of the third book, just after the elf prince has been abducted by persons or elves unknown and the clan nearly destroyed. Daven Talvi, whose pride helped bring things to this point, has come to after being knocked out in a fight, in the queen’s enchanted home, finding himself alone and everything in shambles:

Astan had many times expressed his concern since the queen came to live in the forest with the clan, worried that Grigor had not perished alone in the forests, and that he would return to avenge his dead master Bartolomey. But Daven had counseled his son not to take action, to wait and watch. Astan disagreed, but obeyed his father, as duty required.

            And look where that has brought you.

            Truly Daven had underestimated the evil Grigor held within him, the sense of blackness that still pervaded the atmosphere inside the queen’s home. As a fullblood elf, well-trained in the ways of divination, Daven perceived several mental voices, several personas who had left the barest impression of themselves behind, an impression of menace and ill-will.

            Something about one in particular felt familiar to Daven. Something he had not felt for many years. Something so vague he couldn’t put a name to it yet. But he would.

***

And thus begins a transformation that will lead to the biggest battle this clan has ever endured…that may be the end of them all.

For more on the series, visit the Clan Elves page or my tab above, or check it out at Amazon.com .

For other amazing snippets from sci-fi fantasy authors around the world, check out this week’s edition of SFFS here!

No sense in working without an angle…SFFS for April 13!

This week’s snippet goes back to one of the elf queen’s human friends, Lane Donatelli. For those who’ve read the YA Clan Elves series, you’ll remember Lane is a former foster-care child who compensates for his anxiety with food, especially cupcakes, and he’s a master computer whiz.

But he also needs to pay his bills:

Lane retreated to the Cave, his carefully-constructed getaway inside the apartment, four computers ensconced in a space enclosed by walls built from an assortment of cardboard boxes, crates and storage bins.  Once upon a time, his whole life had been centered within these artificial walls, very much like Crispy had constructed his own “safe” place, his agoraphobia keeping him inside the apartment until his therapist—and a generous helping of elven magic—had invited him back into the world.

            Lane’s egress into the greater world had taken a different form. Plopping down in his well-padded manager’s chair, he noted the blinking icon that indicated he had email waiting for him. Clicking on it, he revealed seven notes from fans new to his recently-published digital book, The Elf Princess.

            He’d taken the adventure he’d shared with Jelani, Astan and the others, and written a thinly-disguised version of the story, careful to set it near Butte instead of Missoula, to protect the clan’s existence in the Montana woods.  The manuscript had been rejected by a dozen agents as “too outlandish,” proving to Lane that truth was indeed stranger than fiction. Finally, he’d tapped one of his gamer buddies online, they’d whipped the manuscript into shape for e-publishing, and he’d published it himself.

            His gamer friends spread the word, and as they were a widely-diverse group, Lane had sold a good number of copies already, a fan base developing almost without his effort.

“Now if I can only figure out how to leverage this into a fully-paid appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con…”

***

THE ELF GUARDIAN is the fourth book in the Clan Elves of the Bitterroot series, available at Dragonfly Publishing and at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, at Apple ITunes and most other online outlets. Find out more about the series at the tab above or at the home of the Clan Elves online.

Find more delicious low-calorie snippets at Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday today!

New site to buy Lyndi’s books!

The ebookmall is now hosting Dragonfly Publishing books, including my elf series and Triad! You can buy the ebook for many different formats at the click of a button. Check it out here! http://www.ebookmall.com/ebook-search?searchterms=Lyndi+Alexander

Final edits for HORIZON SHIFT have gone in to the publisher, so soon this will be available, too–as well as THE ELF GUARDIAN.  So much reading, so little time….

Working through the hard times…Elves and SFFS for 9-22

In The Elf Child, several of the characters struggle to overcome very real personal crises. Jelani and Astan find themselves pregnant without the intention to be so, and find that the Circle has conspired against them. Grigor struggles to survive as an outcast from the clan. Lane and Crispy…well, they just have issues.

But the character who has the longest journey is Daven Talvi. He’s totally lost his direction and must start again:

Jelani and Astan had asked him to put a protective spell on the door, something to keep others out, but he’d refused. The Circle worried that Jelani would use the spell to keep them from the elf child. Instead, his omission had enabled the evil ones to gain access and take the cuddly infant that was dear to them all.

            I failed you, Jelani. I failed you.

            He’d lost so many who were close to him in his service to the elf clan, friends, family, even Astan’s mother, Veraena. Each loss carved a small chink in his courage and determination to persevere for the greater good, and the chinks added up. Knowing at last that this tragedy could be laid square at his door broke Daven’s strong heart.

            “Lady of the Forest, show me the way,” he said, taking the small bag of runes from his pocket. “I need your guidance.”

The Blurb:

The moment Astan Hawk accepts his clan’s challenge to protect the young Elf Queen Jelani, trouble dogs his heels. Jelani’s human upbringing clashes with clan tradition and spurs dangerous intrigues within the Circle of Elders.    Seeking revenge against Jelani for the loss of his mentor Bartolomey, outcast Grigor Biren finds powerful elf mages deep within the forest and sets out to prove himself worthy to learn their secrets.      When Astan finds that his father Daven supports the agenda of the Circle, he has no choice but to turn to Jelani’s human friends for help.  Paranoid Crispy, empathetic Iris, and computer whiz Lane complicate Jelani’s unexpected pregnancy and the young queen’s attempts to rule her people. After the child is born, everything that could go wrong does.      Can Astan carry through on his promise to keep Jelani safe when the whole world seems to have turned against them?

Read a excerpt here!    http://www.dragonflypubs.com/excerpts/elfchild.html

Here’s a review:

“The Elf Child, second in the Clan Elves of the Bitterroot Series, can be read as a stand-alone, but is probably a richer reading experience if read in sequence. Lyndi Alexander has created a very interesting story that occupies a rather unique niche in the fantasy genre; not exactly urban fantasy, but with hints of same. I like her main characters, but like the secondary ones even more. Former wards of the state Lane and Crispy are unique and extremely likable. The overall story, which could have gotten sloppy at a couple of points, avoids falling into traditional pitfalls and instead, flows along, smoothly at times and with an urgency at others which grabs the reader and pulls him/her along in a page-turning frenzy as her well-crafted world grows real enough to create a nice movie in one’s mind. I am certainly looking forward to the third installment in the series and plan to go back and read the first one so I can have a complete understanding of what happened to set up this book. The Elf Child is highly recommended for fantasy readers who like a contemporary setting and plenty of action.” ~ reviewed by John R. Clark (public librarian) for TCM Reviews. | http://www.tcm-ca.com/?p=9007 |

Find out more here: http://clanelvesofthebitterroot.com/the-elf-child

Find more great science fiction and fantasy snippets at Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday’s main page. I love this group of authors–what great imaginations!

A teaser! Snippet for SFFS from book four, still in progress…

This week’s snippet is from book four of the Clan Elves of the Bitterroot series, which I’m writing as we speak. 🙂 It’s titled THE ELF GUARDIAN and is due out early next year.

The quandary in the beginning of the story is that a defrocked  but flashy paranormal investigator named Chiara DeLuna comes to the forest to investigate the Montana Vortex, hoping to make her name again. She arrives just as the elves are about to conduct their solstice ritual–collision course ahead! But first she finds Lane Donatelli, who’s written a “novel” about his friend Jelani and the elves, considering him an expert. When she goes to pick his brain, he realizes she’s much too close to discovering the truth.

Snippet:

“You’re effing delusional, that’s what’s wrong with you.” Lane leaned as close to the table as he could get, his generous paunch in the way. “You see things that aren’t there. That’s why that amusement park haunting was a bust. Why you couldn’t find a speck of alien dust in that mountain community nearAsheville. And have you already forgotten that ghostly schoolgirl roaming the halls of that tornado-destroyed town? Oh, wait. We never saw her on your show. Because she didn’t exist.”

            Each example he gave ripped some support out of that smarmy grin, and her eyes grew wider, and when he’d finished, the pen slipped from her fingers. She looked like a different person. Maybe even someone real.

 

Find out more about THE ELF QUEEN, THE ELF CHILD and THE ELF MAGE at the tab above, or at http://clanelvesofthebitterroot.com –buy links at Dragonfly Publishing, Inc.

Find more great science fiction and fantasy snippets at Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday’s main page. I love this group of authors–what great imaginations!

 

It’s hard to be the queen’s mate… SFFS for June 9

This is a snippet from THE ELF CHILD, where the elf Astan struggles with his family obligations as well as his new relationship with the elf queen, Jelani. He’s at odds with his father, abandoned by his mother, and he’s got issues, like we all have. 

Alone now on the mountain top, Astan felt the cold wind sting his eyes. Was his mother out there somewhere? He’d heard stories of her at the knees of the wise females of the Circle, a neris said to be of strong magic and dark promise. If they found her, would it change their lives? Would Daven find a new reason to live?

Might he leave Jelani to Astan to teach, then, as any nian would his partner?

His eyes scouted the horizon in all directions, slowly, as he wondered what eyes he would need to see far enough to find Veraena. Then he started back down the mountain, hoping Jelani’s sadness had passed.

Find out more about THE ELF CHILD at the tab above, or at http://clanelvesofthebitterroot.com –buy links at Dragonfly Publishing, Inc. 

Find more great science fiction and fantasy snippets at Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday’s main page.

Just found a review for The Elf Queen…good stuff!

This is a review by Kenra Daniels at Grave Tells, from last fall; for the entire no-spoiler review see here:

I was immediately drawn into the world Ms. Alexander weaves with brilliant description and multi-dimensional characters. If you’ve ever wondered how Elves deal with disputes over the throne, Elf Queen shows a strong likelihood, including mixed loyalties, subterfuge and politics.

As a Heroine, Jelani Marsh is multi-faceted, dealing with life’s challenges as so many of us do, by keeping her head down and taking the easiest path. Until circumstances force her to question everything about herself, and to come to terms with everything she’s been avoiding. Even as she faces a new way of life, with new problems, she still feels real, human, still the same person, just stronger, growing.

Asten Hawk and Daven Talvi make perfect Heroes, each with his own faults and weaknesses, and strengths. When it comes down to it, they are both prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to save Jelani so she can take her rightful place among their people. Even though they compete for Jelani’s affections, their differences don’t stop them from working together for her best interest. Ms. Alexander manages to keep the secret of who Jelani ultimately chooses until the end, a difficult balance to maintain.

Although Elf Queen is a Fantasy with Romantic elements rather than a Paranormal Romance, I believe it will appeal to readers who prefer less sexual tension in books, and it is entirely appropriate for Young Adult readers.

Nice! Thanks Ms. Daniels!