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Halloween Guest: Alice Renaud #halloween

Posted on by Kate

Halloween Trivia Question: Witches often come to mind at the mention of Halloween. Which of the following paranormal TV shows features a good witch as the main character: A. Bewitched B. Forever Knight C. Highlander (Find the answer below.)

Alice Renaud

Alice’s Top 3 Horror Movies:
1. The Exorcist. It taps into one of our deepest fears, that of not being yourself anymore.
2. The Shining. For me the most terrifying moment is when Jack’s wife looks at his manuscript and realizes he’s written the same sentence again and again over 1000 pages. As a writer, I can totally relate to that. Horrifying.
3. Oh whistle and I’ll come to you. Based on a story by ER James. After seeing the film (or reading the story), you will never again be able to stay on your own in a hotel, in a room with two beds, ONLY ONE OF WHICH IS OCCUPIED.

Alice’s Top 3 MONSTERS:
1. The Water Horse (Ceffyl Dwr). This mythical Welsh creature lives in water, but can come out on land where it takes the shape of a horse… or sometimes a man. It likes to offer the unwary traveller a ride on its back, only to throw him off and drown him in the marshes. It features in my book “Music for a Merman.”
2. Werewolves. I love wolves. All this hairy, howling at the moon stuff! Sends a thrill down your back!
3. Vampires. Whenever I watch a film or series with several different fantasy creatures, I always think, “Ah, yes. Vampires are still the coolest.” They can bite me anytime.

About Alice: Alice lives in London, UK, with her husband and son. By day she’s a compliance manager for a pharmaceutical company. By night she writes fantasy romance about shape shifting mermen, water monsters and lovelorn witches. Her first book, “A Merman’s Choice,” was published in January 2019 by Black Velvet Seductions. It is the first book in a fantasy romance trilogy inspired by the landscapes and legends of Brittany and Wales. The second book, “Music for a Merman,” will be released later this year. Alice loves reading and writing stories, and sharing them with anyone who’s interested!

Author Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AliceRenaudAuthorRomance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alicerauthor

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-renaud-author-4219b6166/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicerenaudauthor/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18670218.Alice_Renaud

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alice-renaud

Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Renaud/e/B07L52P17B

Mystic Desire
Available: 1 October – on pre order now

Blurb:

MYSTIC DESIRE is a collection of brand new paranormal romance stories by talented BVS authors.

Includes THE SWEETEST MAGIC OF ALL by Alice Renaud. When a sexy apprentice witch and a hot warlock go back in time to locate a magical amulet, they find more than they bargained for!

Mystic Desire also includes stories about Native American dream catchers, mystical jewelry, lustful vampires, a grumpy leprechaun, a ghostly terrier, a zombie apocalypse and things that go bump and ooh! in the night. There is something for everyone in this anthology!

Excerpt:
Saffy knelt on the grass and opened the book of spells. Book was a strong word for the worn diary in which Auntie May had recorded her enchantments, but all witches had books of spells. So she’d call it a book, just as she called herself a witch.

Though she was only an apprentice. A chill crept over her skin, as if a shadow had blotted out the summer sun. She stared hard at the spidery handwriting, but all she could see was the thin body of her aunt, almost swallowed up by the tubes and machines that were keeping her alive. Only one thing could help her now, the magical amulet that she’d once worn around her neck. The amulet had vanished a week ago, on the day she’d had a stroke, and they’d rushed her to the hospital in Swansea. No one had been able to find it since.

Cold enveloped Saffy and seeped into her limbs. The amulet was her aunt’s last hope. She had to find it. Now.
She took a deep breath. The familiar smells of the seaside meadow streamed into her nose, pushing back the icy fear that dug its claws into her flesh. Salt on the wind. Wildflowers. Good, rich earth, softened by the morning dew. “I can do this,” she said.

She placed the book on the grass and waved her hands above it, the way her aunt had shown her. Auntie May had made magic look so easy. Saffy had never managed to cast a spell on her own, but today she had to try, and succeed. She kept breathing, in and out, to keep herself calm. The spell to find lost objects was supposed to be easy. And this meadow was a special place, where the ancient magic of the world flowed fast and strong. Surely the spell would succeed here.

Saffy laid her hands in the grass, on either side of the yellowed pages. A ladybird landed on her index finger and walked down onto the book, as if to encourage her. She concentrated. All her life seemed to pour into the breath she was taking… into her tongue as it formed the words.

“Bound and binding

Binding, bound

See the sight

Hear the sound

What was lost

Now is found.”

She closed her eyes and waited for the vision that would show her where the lost amulet was. All she saw was the red light of the sun, shining through her lids. She opened her eyes. There was only the meadow, frothy with oxeye daisies, and the turquoise dome of the sky. A perfect midsummer day, mocking her and her pathetic attempts at magic. Bitter dismay surged, burning her throat and the back of her eyes. She let out a strangled cry. “Fuck and triple fuck!”

“What have you lost?”

The male voice, behind her, made her jump. She turned. A man, wrapped in a black coat, was staring at her, just a few feet away. A warm tide of embarrassment rose from her neck to her cheeks. He must have heard her say the spell. He’d think she was nuts.

Purchase Links:
https://amzn.to/322Ziq3
https://books2read.com/u/4j1AD2

Music for a Merman, Book 2 in the Sea of Love series
Release Date: 1 November – on pre order now
Blurb:
Rob Regor knew that humans were trouble. All the shape shifting mermen of the Morvann Islands knew it. And human women were double trouble… especially when they were lying on the road in front of a digger.

Rob has a mission. Go to the mainland. Work as a policeman. Spy on humans. Report back to his father, the head of the Regor Merman Clan. It should be easy. Until he has to arrest Charlie. Rob can’t fight his attraction to the sexy eco-warrior, and it puts him on one hell of a collision course with his family and his Clan. Will he break the rules – or break her heart, and his?

Love ‘em and leave ‘em, that was Charlie’s motto. It had served her well until now. But Rob is different… Can she open up her heart to Rob – when a secret buried in her past surfaces and changes her completely?

Excerpt:
Rob Regor knew that humans were trouble. All the shape-shifting mermen of the Morvann Islands knew it. And human women were double trouble. Especially when they were lying on the road in front of a digger.
The site manager strode up to him. “Can you move her, officer? I’m already behind schedule.” His tone was polite, but his clenched fists told another story.
A gaggle of locals and tourists had gathered behind him. Their eyes bore into Rob, some curious, some hostile. Unease crept across his scalp. Many locals in St-Sulien opposed the development of this stretch of Welsh coast, and tempers in the village had been running high. He could have a mini-riot on his hands if he didn’t take control. The thought was like a kick to the backside. This was his first real challenge as a rookie cop. He had to show his superiors that he could handle it.
He adjusted his cap and strode to the horizontal figure on the asphalt. She looked so vulnerable, with her head resting inches away from the giant vehicle’s wheels. Her tight jeans and red T-shirt were streaked with dirt, her mane of black curls grey with dust. He wondered how long she’d been lying there.
“Miss. Please get up.” He hoped that he’d got the tone right. He wanted to sound firm, not too fierce or too pleading. He still found the nuances of human speech tricky at times.
Two amber eyes, as bright and challenging as a leopard’s, stared up at him. “No chance.”
Prickles of annoyance displaced his unease. Even for a human, this was ridiculous behaviour. Dangerous, too. One wrong move from the driver, and the digger would flatten her. “Miss, you can’t stay here.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not moving.”
Someone sniggered. Irritation swept over Rob’s body like a rash. He was a merman warrior of the Regor Clan, damn it. He wasn’t going to let a bunch of humans ridicule him.
He straightened his uniform. He’d have preferred to arrest her away from the crowd, but she wasn’t giving him that option. “Miss, I am Police Constable Rob Regor. I am arresting you on suspicion of aggravated trespass. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defense if you do not mention, when interrogated, something which you later rely on in court—”
She interrupted him with an exaggerated sigh. “Spare me the routine; I’ve heard it all before. And it’s ‘questioned’ not ‘interrogated’.”
Great, now she was correcting him. In public. It was getting better and better.
“Anything you do say may be given in evidence!” He caught himself. He was snapping. He couldn’t let his temper show too much in front of that crowd. He counted to ten to simmer down. “Right, miss. I am going to put my hands under your armpits and lift you up.”
She studied him with narrowed eyes, then her mouth relaxed into the beginnings of a smile. “You can put your hands wherever you like, officer.”

Answer to Halloween Trivia Question: A. Bewitched

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5 thoughts on “Halloween Guest: Alice Renaud #halloween”

  2. Hi Kate and Alice:
    Great blog.
    Yes, that scene from the Shining is so scary.
    I love reading excerpts like these where the hero and heroine of a story first meet. Especially these two.I loved both of these stories.
    Callie

  3. Hi Alice,
    Loved your story in Mystic Desire. Sexy with a dash of humor. Music For A Merman is on my tbr list. I’m sure I will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed A Merman’s Choice.

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