A
Midsummer’s Wish
Seasons of Annah Series, #1
by Tinthia Clemant
Date of
Publication: June 10th 2016
Publisher:
River Lady Press
Cover
Artist: Covers by Karen
Genre:
Contemporary Women’s Fiction
BLURB
“The true love I desire shall come to
me. I am the lock he is the key. As mine to him, his soul shall speak to me.
This I seek, so mote it be.”
When 55-year-old earth-witch,
Annah-Belle Henderson, cast a spell for love she never envisioned her wish
would be granted in the young nephew of her longtime friend. With a face that
rivals the Norse god Thor, and a body to match, the charismatic Eric Ashworth
draws Annah into a dizzying current of emotions. Should she accept the chance
for love with a man twenty years younger or reject her feelings?
As a past darkness threatens to
destroy her, Annah makes a decision that begins a journey fraught with
judgement, betrayal, and perhaps death.
Buy Link: Amazon
Prologue
The orange head of
the match ignited with a flash. Slender fingers held it under the dried
kindling. Within seconds, the splintered wood was ablaze, licking up the sides
of an oak log, triggering the release of rose-scented oil. Except for the glow
cast by the blaze, darkness shrouded the night. Brown eyes peered out from
beneath long black bangs. Dressed in white with a pale shawl wrapped around her
shoulders, Annah resembled a specter—one who had traveled from outside the
realm of the living to watch the dance of the flames. She held a single red
rose—an offering for Aphrodite, the Goddess of love.
When the fire reached
its fevered peak, she dropped the rose into the inferno and murmured,
“Aphrodite, accept my gift as I cast my wish on this Midsummer’s Eve.” The rose
stem coiled, and the petals withered under the heat of the hungry flames.
Annah slid her hand
into the pocket of her pants and removed a piece of green paper, two cones of
sandalwood incense, and five apple seeds. On the paper, in scarlet ink, were
written the words to a love spell. “The true love I desire shall come to me. I
am the lock he is the key. As mine to him, his soul shall speak to me. This I
seek, so mote it be.”
To reinforce the
spell two additional recitations were required. During the second reading, she
allowed the paper to float onto the engulfed log. The incense cones and seeds
followed as she recited the spell a final time. When Annah ended with ‘so mote
it be’ a breeze swept through the fire pit and the flames extended scorching
fingers toward the heavens. Her canine companion released a soft whimper.
“Shh,” she whispered. “It’s okay, Lexy.”
Annah stared into the
blaze. “Druids believe it’s possible to see the faces of loves and enemies in
an enchanted fire. I wonder.” At first she saw just the ravenous flames but
soon an image took shape. A smile emerged. Loving eyes peered back at her as
one of the incense cones exploded, sending hot sparks into the perfumed air.
The smile turned into a sneer as the wail of a lone coyote pierced the night,
bristling her fifty-pound Australian Shepherd’s composure. A series of
responding growls emanated from Lexy, but they did little to assuage the sense
of unease that passed through Annah. She backed away from the chimenea and sat
on the nearby stone bench. “Probably best to leave the fire reading to the Druids.”
Next to the bench
rested a small wicker basket. Its contents, in addition to the bottle of rose
oil, included a thermos, teacup, and her cell phone. Annah dropped the box of
matches into the basket and withdrew her phone. With a swipe of the screen, she
found the song she wanted to play. While the voice of Etta James accompanied
her Annah opened the thermos and poured amber-colored liquid, still steamy and
hot, into the cup. Before taking a sip, she raised it high, toasted the
Goddess, and then bid the ashes that ascended into the starlit sky success as
they delivered her wish. The current returned and spiraled within the fire. It
carried the scented heat toward her, enveloping her in its warm embrace.
It was past one when
Annah switched off the bedside lamp and lay in the darkened bedroom. Behind her
bed, an open window granted access to the night air. A quiet breeze breathed
life into the backyard’s wind chimes. Entering the room, it carried a subtle
hint of sandalwood on its gentle waves. Circling Annah, it stroked her cheeks,
softly caressing her lips. Entering that hazy place between dreams and reality,
her mind gave shape to her last thought of the day. This will be my summer, a
summer for true love.
Buy Link: Amazon
Author Info
Tinthia Clemant was born in Medford,
Massachusetts, over sixty years ago. In other words, she's old! As a child, she
lived happily in a loving home with her three siblings and mother and father.
She always wrote. From the time she first picked up a pencil, or perhaps it was
a crayon, she wrote. Love stories. Happy stories. Stories about love with happy
endings. Her first book was self-published. (At the tender age of seven, she
stapled the pages together and presented it to her mother on Mother's Day.)
As contemporary women's fiction's
newest author, Tinthia fell in love with love stories and true love when she
first learned about true love's first kiss. That did it for her! Unfortunately,
she has yet to find that special kiss. Throwing her arms up in defeat, she
decided to write about it and live vicariously through her characters.
Tinthia lives on the banks of the
Concord River and spends her time teaching science at a local community
college, gardening, painting, feeding her multitude of Mallards (follow her
natural history blog at: concordriverlady.com), reading, and, of course,
writing contemporary women's fiction about romance, relationships, and true
love. She also enjoys Chunky Monkey and American Dream Cone and other enticing
flavors produced by Ben and Jerry.
Author Links:
INTERVIEW WITH TINTHIA CLEMANT
How would you
describe your style of writing to someone hat has never read your work?
It’s my goal to deliver a story woven with charm,
pleasure, growth, fear, rejection, joy, and the magic of life.
My style of writing possesses an inner voice that strives
to speak to the reader’s soul. I want my reader to experience what my
characters are experiencing, even the antagonist. It’s important to me, as a
writer, that my voice convey where the characters are going emotionally.
I write with humor. There’s humor all around us and I
look for it in my day-to-day life. It’s those moments that I bring to the story
and give to my characters.
What mindset or
routine do you feel the need to set when preparing to write (in general whether
you are working on a project or just free writing)?
My most productive writing time is early morning. I
typically arise at 5:00 am and write until 9:00 am. Several cups of coffee
later, and, if I’m lucky, several thousand words later, the story reveals
herself. If my mind becomes cluttered with personal areas of my life, I find
writing to be more difficult. If I’m angry, the writing becomes angry; if I’m
sad, the writing becomes sad. This is why mornings work best for me. I haven’t
had any interactions that might affect my writing. It’s amazing how an
unexpected bill from the IRS can color the flow of a story. (LOL)
Do you take your
character prep to heart? Do you nurture the growth of each character all the
way through to the page? Do you people watch to help with development? Or, do
you build upon your character during the story creation?
Every one of my characters goes through a growth process.
They don’t start out real. Their journey gives them life. I’m a pantster, a
type of writer who writes without an outline. When it comes to writing, my
characters are born of this loose style. I give them names, ages, and locations.
Ages tend to change as personalities grow. By the third draft, I’ll possess a
full profile for each character in the story, even minor ones who only appear
in one scene. I find I forget small details if I don’t. Was she twenty-nine
when he died or twenty-eight? How tall is she?
My heroines are women with whom I would want to be
friends. They’re strong-willed and spirited, somewhat scarred, and passionate
about finding their true paths. My heroes, well, they’re perfect. What’s not to
love about them?
I am a people watcher. I’m also a people talker--engaging
strangers I meet in line at Dunkin Donuts or at the gas pump. My characters
become richer for this habit.
During the story creation, sometimes the characters fight
me, refusing to reveal a piece of them that I need for the plot. I dig deep
into their psyche those times. As the story grows, the characters grow, and
vice versa. Kind of like the circle of life, only it’s the circle of writing.
(Wow! That would make a great hashtag. Oops, already is!)
Have you found
yourself bonding with any particular character? If so, which one(s)?
I love all my characters and I bond with each one on
different levels and at different times. Even an antagonist can reveal a side
that speaks to my heart. They all rock!
Do you have a
character that you’ve been working on that you can’t wait to put on paper?
Isabella would be that character. I couldn’t wait to tell
her story. However, she’s fighting me tooth and nail. I want to show one part
of her and she’s demanding something else. Sigh, it’s a battle of wits with
myself.
Have you ever felt
there was something inside of you that you couldn’t control? If so, what? If
no, what spurs you to reach for the unexperienced?
I’m full of stories—ideas churning within my mind, characters
clamor for attention, words beg to see the light of day. There are times I
can’t control the ideas and they force their way into the present manuscript
and I have to yell, ‘Back, back. You’ll
get your turn!’ I can’t write fast enough.
A second unstoppable, uncontrollable ‘something’ is my
craving for ice cream. However, that’s a topic for another time.
Miley, Thank you for giving me this chance to
connect with your followers. This has been fun. Great questions. Blessed be,
Tinthia
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