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Born Like This


She went back in time to rescue him.

She never counted on falling in love…


Born Like This

Maizemerized Book 2

by Maggie Blackbird

Genre: Historical Paranormal Time-Travel Romance



She went back in time to rescue him.  She never counted on falling in love…

Alma Whitecrow prefers hunting and fishing with men, not romancing them. But hearing about the roguishly handsome coureur de bois, who saved her sister from the Dakota, haunts her thoughts and dreams. Well-versed in surviving the wilds, Alma resolves to travel to the mid-eighteenth century, as her sister once did, to save the man from impending death.

Charlot Baudelaire thumbs his nose at society’s expectations, content living as a loner, trading with people he calls the Saulters. If he needs a woman for the night, there is always a willing maiden. What he doesn’t expect is a spunky and stubborn female warrior to challenge him.

Charlot is not the man Alma dreamed about, and Alma is not the kind of woman Charlot pursues. But the longer they are together, the more drawn to each other they become, until Alma faces the biggest decision of her life. Stay with a man who may never reciprocate her love, or return to her Ojibway home and bland existence.

 

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Alma had expected to step into a battle. Reality set in. The only killing she’d done was animals when hunting with Grandpa. But if she didn’t shoot, she risked her own life and Theodore’s as she faced six Dakota sporting arrows.

 

Theodore growled, waiting for her command.

 

The Dakota didn’t fire at her, though. They seemed to fire everywhere else, hollering in a language she couldn’t comprehend. The fear in their eyes indicated she’d terrified them.

 

Maybe they assumed she was a ghost when she’d emerged through the flickering flames.

 

As the Dakota scattered, she tracked their moccasin footprints, but one set stood out. Grandpa had told her about the spread of the toes, and these toes weren’t spread. They came from a person who walked in shoes or boots. Someone who later in life had switched to the footwear of the Indigenous people.

 

She followed the footprints with Theodore beside her, sniffing. She used the end of her rifle to move aside the thick brush, which was why her homeland was called the bush at her reserve. There was nothing to call a forest or woods about Northwestern Ontario.

 

The thick underbrush kept trying to snag her clothing. Clothing she longed to remove. When she left home, she’d donned an outfit for a cold Halloween night. But summer bloomed here. She could remove her jacket since she had a sweater underneath, and beneath that a tank top.

 

A groan came about ten feet from her, and she aimed her rifle in the direction of the sound. She moved through the many twigs and branches but didn’t spot a blood trail. Whatever lay beneath the berry bush had been hit there.

 

Another groan.

 

Whoever was hurt wasn’t an animal. That was the sound of a human being. Maybe one of the Dakota?

 

She edged in closer until she caught the moccasins sticking out, along with breeches. This wasn’t a Dakota or warrior from the village under attack.

 

Her heart held its beat.

 

Had she found Charlot?






Born For This

Maizemerized Book 1



She’s always been obsessed with her ancestors, and now he’s offering her a chance to live with them… forever.

Second-year university student Edie Whitecrow gobbles up each course on Indigenous studies. If only she could experience the lives of her Anishinaabe ancestors instead of reading about them. On her way to a Halloween party decked out as a historical Ojibway maiden, she spies a corn maze in a spot known to be barren.

A scarecrow figure beckons Edie to enter with the enticing offer of making her biggest wish come true. She jumps at the chance and finds herself in the past, face to face with the man who haunts her dreams—the handsome brave Thunder Bear. He claims he’s spent twelve years waiting for Gitche Manidoo to send her to him.

Life in the eighteenth century isn’t what Edie romanticized about, though. When her conscience is tested, she must choose between the modern day or the world of her descendants—where the man she was born for resides.

 

What readers are saying:

“This novel is true to history while still spinning a lovely tale of love. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves historical and time travel romances.” –Goodreads Reviewer


“The story had me glued to the pages from start to finish. Loved and recommend this book.” –B&N Reviewer


“Based on prior reading from the author, I knew this would be a great book. I had no idea just how much I’d love it.” –BookBub Reviewer


“Once I started reading, I was not putting this book down.” –Goodreads Reviewer

 

This is one of the best romance novels I’ve ever read in my entire life. This book will pull you in full force and make you feel so many different emotions.” –Goodreads Reviewer

 

 

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Thunder Bear nodded. “Fire Woman. Is it not an appropriate name? The flames did not burn you. Fire is your friend. Your spirit guide.”

 

“I want to be honest.” She wet her plush mouth with the color riper than raspberries. “I have been educated in the ways of the white men. Where I come from, we live like white men.”

 

“I know you do. It is in your speech, your movement, your behavior.” He reached out and touched her bare arm that possessed delicate strength beneath the smooth flesh he palmed. “You are here to become what you are meant to truly be. We will teach you, if you are willing.”

 

“I am more than willing. In the white man’s world, I am learning everything about the People. I have studied the People ever since I was a little girl.”

 

“I know you have. It is why you came.” He could not resist letting his palm move along her arm. Beneath the skin he stroked, her slight muscle flexed.

 

She wet her lips.

 

The urge to claim her mouth was a test of his restraint. They’d only met this morning, and he must go slow. To slide his mouth over hers after just meeting was not how a warrior conducted himself. Yet, the way she’d drew her tongue along her lower lip was caressing and licking him beneath his breechclout. Her innocent gesture might as well have been her nails raking his backside, her hands boldly exploring his arms, and her breasts melting against his chest.

 

She was aptly named, because a fire danced in her sparkling dark eyes. A fire of desire. A fire of need. A fire flickering with mesmerization in her gaze touching his face.

 

He stifled the groan aching to leave his throat.

 

She seemed to drag her gaze to the dark water. If where they stood was better lit, he’d probably witness redness on her cheeks.

 

“What is it?”

 

Again, she wet her lips. “I… Maybe I should go back?”

 

A punch seemed to knock his gut. “Return? Now?”

 

“No.” She shook her head. “I mean the wigwam. Not the…the…”

 

“The dancing flames?”

 

She nodded.

 

Relief loosened the knots of his shoulder muscles. He didn’t believe in restraining any maiden, but if she had dared to run for where she had come from, he probably would have tossed her over his shoulder and carted her back to the camp. Now that he had found what he’d waited twelve years to capture, he wasn’t letting her go.

 

Somehow, he had to help her find her courage to survive with them. She was destined to be here.







An Ojibway from Northwestern Ontario, Maggie resides in the country with her husband and their fur babies, two beautiful Alaskan Malamutes.  When she’s not writing, she can be found pulling weeds in the flower beds, mowing the huge lawn, walking the Mals deep in the bush, teeing up a ball at the golf course, fishing in the boat for walleye, or sitting on the deck at her sister’s house, making more wonderful memories with the people she loves most.

 

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Posted in #Classics

A Murder Is Announced: A Miss Marple Mystery

The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn, including Jane Marple, are agog with curiosity over an advertisement in the local gazette which read: ‘A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6:30 p.m.’ Unable to resist the mysterious invitation, a crowd begins to gather at Little Paddocks at the pointed time when, without warning, the lights go out …


Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn are agog with curiosity when the Gazette advertises “A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30 p.m.”

A childish practical joke? Or a spiteful hoax? Unable to resist the mysterious invitation, the locals arrive at Little Paddocks at the appointed time when, without warning, the lights go out and a gun is fired. When they come back on, a gruesome scene is revealed. An impossible crime? Only Miss Marple can unravel it.

From AudioFile

Rosemary Leach provides an animated narration of this Christie classic. Leach’s versatile portrayals of the townspeople hold the listener spellbound as she introduces men and women of all ages and weaves her voice through a full range of dialects, accents and brogues. B.L.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Posted in #BookTours

The Witch’s Rebirth


This Samhain, awaken the legend.

Confront the darkness.


Labyrinth of Shadows

The Witch’s Rebirth Part I

by Michaela Riley

Genre: Dark Epic Historical Fantasy



The Empire Falls. A Witch Rises. Humanity’s Last Hope.

 

What if the world’s salvation depended on the rebirth of its most feared woman?

Award-winning author Michaela Riley delivers a groundbreaking saga with The Witch’s Rebirth Series, beginning with the electrifying Labyrinth of Shadows: The Witch’s Rebirth Part I.

Born on Samhain, under the ominous shroud of an eclipse, Merona’s destiny is a spell woven through centuries. As the mighty Western Roman Empire crumbles into dust and a new king rises amidst the ashes, an ancient prophecy demands her awakening. This is no mere historical reimagining; it is a cosmic tension, an eerie beauty where history and myth conspire to ignite a forgotten power.

Forget the villains of myth. In this epic tale, the world’s salvation rests on the shoulders of its most feared woman. Merona’s rebirth isn’t just a beginning; it’s the genesis of humanity’s last hope. Journey with her through a labyrinth of shadows, where destiny, reclamation, and the profound cost of becoming who you were always meant to be collide.

Labyrinth of Shadows: The Witch’s Rebirth Part I doesn’t just sound epic—it feels like a spell cast across time. Prepare for a story that flips archetypes, raises the stakes to unimaginable heights, and will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about fate and fear.

The Witch’s Rebirth Series by Award-Winning Author Michaela Riley. Her rebirth begins. The world will never be the same.

 

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Cauldron of Dagda

The Witch’s Rebirth Part II



This Samhain, the veil thins, and a legend awakens.

 

Michaela Riley, the award-winning storyteller whose words have captivated readers, invites you on a journey back to a time when magic thrummed in the very soil and darkness lurked at the edges of the known world. Step into The Witch’s Rebirth Series, a saga that begins not with a whisper, but with a shattering revelation on the most sacred night of the year.

The year is 540 A.D. The air in Gaul is thick with an unspoken dread, a chilling premonition spreading like wildfire from the East. For nearly three decades, a name whispered with fear, a figure known only as The Witch, has remained a phantom, a recluse safeguarding truths too powerful to be spoken. Merona, the woman behind the myth, has lived a life of quiet vigilance, her existence a shield against a nameless terror.

But the shadows are lengthening. An ancient, lurking darkness, a force older than empires and more insidious than plague, has begun to stir. This is not a foe that wields steel; it is a corruption that feasts on despair, a creeping night threatening to extinguish the last embers of humanity. And Merona, the reclusive witch, is no longer hidden. She is drawn from her sanctuary, her slumbering power ignited by an imperative she cannot ignore.

Her mission is immense, her burden profound. Merona is the solitary guardian of the Cauldron of Dagda, an artifact of immense power, a beacon of hope in a world teetering on the precipice of eternal night. Humanity’s fate rests not on armies, but on the whispered incantations and fierce determination of one woman.

Beside her, though the odds are stacked against them, stand those who have pledged their unwavering loyalty. Murdach, Morrigan, and Mairead. Their faces, etched with the weariness of countless battles against the encroaching darkness, mirror the grim resolve in Merona’s own eyes. Her voice, though carrying the weight of prophecy and the echo of a fragile world, is not one of despair, but of a fierce, unwavering commitment.

The Witch’s Rebirth Series is more than a story; it is an immersion into a visceral world where pagan lore collides with cataclysmic threats. It is a testament to the power of resilience, the strength of chosen family, and the indomitable spirit of those who dare to stand against the tide of oblivion.

Prepare to be spellbound. Prepare to witness the impossible. Prepare for The Witch’s Rebirth Series by Michaela Riley.


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Spear of Lugh

The Witch’s Rebirth Part III



Prepare for the Rebirth. Prepare for War.

 

She was reborn on Samhain. And that was only the beginning.

From the award-winning imagination of Michaela Riley comes a sweeping saga where ancient myth bleeds into brutal history, and humanity’s fate rests on the shoulders of one formidable woman. Welcome to THE WITCH’S REBIRTH SERIES.

In the shadowed year of 544 AD, the ancient Gaul town of Septimania lies scarred, but not broken. A devastating plague had gripped its very soul, until the Witch, through powerful, arcane deeds, began to loosen its deadly hold. Now, as the sacred eve of Samhain approaches, the air hums with the promise of roaring bonfires, desperate festivity, and a fragile new dawn.

But beneath the surface of celebration, an unsettling truth stirs: an ancient darkness, long thought defeated, is awakening once more. This menacing, primeval force threatens to extinguish the fragile light of renewal, to plunge Septimania, and indeed all humanity, into an eternal night.

With the raven’s call echoing through the labyrinth’s core, the Witch emerges, reborn and wielding the legendary Cauldron of Dagda and the mighty Spear of Lugh. She is poised for one final, desperate battle. To preserve humanity, she must summon the enigmatic, divine strength of the Gods – the awe-inspiring might of the Tuatha De Danann. For in this coming conflict, so cataclysmic are the stakes, there will be no victor left standing unless the ancient powers heed her plea.

Will the Witch’s rebirth be humanity’s salvation, or its final, desperate gasp?

Dive into THE WITCH’S REBIRTH SERIES by Award-Winning Author Michaela Riley and witness the epic struggle for survival where myth is made, and legends are forged in fire and blood.

 

Your journey into ancient magic and desperate heroism begins on Samhain.

 

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Michaela Riley: Where Virginia Trails Meet Ancestral Magic

From the front lines of critical care to the enchanting worlds of fiction, Michaela Riley, a retired Army Critical Care Nurse with a Masters in Nursing Education, is the award-winning author behind “The Witch’s Rebirth” series.

Nestled in Virginia, Michaela shares her life with her husband and a distinctive duo of canine muses: Morrigan, a majestic red German Shepherd, and Carlos, a spirited Chihuahua-terrier. Her inspiration roots deep in the local mountains and forests, where each hike is a pilgrimage that connects her to ancestral whispers. These profound journeys directly fuel her captivating stories, weaving together magic, history, and the transformative power of self-discovery.

Through evocative prose, Michaela invites readers to explore their own heritage and embrace the extraordinary magic found in uncovering one’s deepest truths.

 

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Posted in #Classics

Murder in E Minor (The Nero Wolfe Mysteries Book 1)

Iconic sleuth Nero Wolfe returns to track down the murderer of a New York Symphony Orchestra conductor in this Nero Award–winning mystery.
Ever since disgraced associate Orrie Cather’s suicide, armchair detective Nero Wolfe has relished retirement in his Manhattan brownstone on West Thirty-Fifth Street. Two years after Cather’s death, only a visit from Maria Radovich—and the urging of Wolfe’s prize assistant, Archie Goodwin—could draw the eccentric and reclusive genius back into business. Maria’s uncle, New York Symphony Orchestra conductor Milan Stevens, formerly known as Milos Stefanovic, spent his youth alongside Wolfe as a fellow freedom fighter in the mountains of Montenegro. And now that the maestro has been receiving death threats, Wolfe can’t turn his back on the compatriot who once saved his life.
Though her uncle has dismissed the menacing letters, Maria fears they’re more than the work of a harmless crank. But before Wolfe can attack the case, Stevens is murdered. The accused is the orchestra’s lead violinist, whose intimate relationship with Maria hit more than a few sour notes in her uncle’s professional circle. But Wolfe knows that when it comes to murder, nothing is so simple—especially when there are so many suspects, from newspaper critics and ex-lovers to an assortment of shady musicians.
Now, in this award-winning novel that carries on the great tradition of Rex Stout, the irascible and immovable Nero Wolfe is back in the game, listening for clues and ready to go to war to find a killer.
Murder in E Minor is the 48th book in the Nero Wolfe Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A loving, knowledgeable, mightily pleasing recreation.” —Kirkus Reviews “Wolfe in all his glorious splendor. . . . The book plays strictly by the rules that Stout established.” —Chicago Tribune “It is fun once again to enter the brownstone on West 35th Street. . . . [Wolfe] is as insufferably omniscient as ever.” —The New York Times

About the Author

Robert Goldsborough (b. 1937) is an American author best known for continuing Rex Stout’s famous Nero Wolfe series. Born in Chicago, he attended Northwestern University and upon graduation went to work for the Associated Press, beginning a lifelong career in journalism that would include long periods at the Chicago Tribune and Advertising Age.

While at the Tribune, Goldsborough began writing mysteries in the voice of Rex Stout, the creator of iconic sleuths Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. Goldsborough’s first novel starring Wolfe, Murder in E Minor (1986), was met with acclaim from both critics and devoted fans, winning a Nero Award from the Wolfe Pack. Nine more Wolfe mysteries followed, including Death on Deadline (1987) and Fade to Black (1990). His most recent book is Archie in the Crosshairs (2015).

Posted in #Classics

The Moving Finger: A Miss Marple Mystery

The indomitable sleuth Miss Marple is led to a small town with shameful secrets in Agatha Christie’s classic detective story, The Moving Finger.

Lymstock is a town with more than its share of scandalous secrets—a town where even a sudden outbreak of anonymous hate mail causes only a minor stir.

But all that changes when one of the recipients, Mrs. Symmington, commits suicide. Her final note says “I can’t go on,” but Miss Marple questions the coroner’s verdict of suicide. Soon nobody is sure of anyone—as secrets stop being shameful and start becoming deadly.


Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Lymstock is a town with more than its share of shameful secrets—a town where even a sudden outbreak of anonymous hate mail causes only a minor stir.

But all that changes when one of the recipients, Mrs. Symmington, commits suicide. Her final note says “I can’t go on,” but Miss Marple questions the coroner’s verdict of suicide. Soon nobody is sure of anyone—as secrets stop being shameful and start becoming deadly.

From AudioFile

James Saxon’s narration is like that of an old friend divulging a fascinating personal ordeal. Each personality reveals eccentricity with charming contrast and gusto. B.J.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine