Loved the Book, but the movie left you bleah?

See THE ODYSSEY through Penelope's eyes, and fall in love with the legend all over again.

Find it at YeOldeDragonBooks.com

or on Amazon

New Release and FREE ebook!

 

NEW RELEASE!!

Wednesday, July 15, the next Tabor Heights novel, ACCIDENTAL HEART, releases from Mt. Zion Ridge Press.

You can get the ebook or paperback direct from the publisher, or go to my website, Ye Olde Dragon Books, for the ebook.

Copy me on the receipt, and you'll receive the newest Tabor Heights short story FREE in ebook form.

SILVER HEARTS tells the story between the chapters, in the Tabor Heights Novel, BEHIND THE SCENES.
Rose Weinberg, Joel Randolph's widowed sister, shows up just in time to help during the family crisis. Her father throws her out of the house for supporting her brother (sort of a Jazz Singer situation, where he chose to go into theater instead of becoming a lawyer and taking over their father's firm). A rejected suitor tracks Rose down, at the same time she starts up a pleasant new friendship with an elderly gentleman in town. Who will win her heart?

Oh yeah, what's ACCIDENTAL HEARTS about? Well, a bunch of silly and sometime embarrassing accidents and incidents keep throwing Tyler Sloane, community theater direction, and Abby Morgan, small plane pilot, together. They want to get to know each other better, but family commitments and a crazy-busy summer and all those accidents keep getting in the way. What will it take to finally make that connection they've both been longing for?

Check out the book at these addresses, send the receipt to my email, and get your free ebook!!!
MtZionRidgePress.com
YeOldeDragonBooks.com
MichelleLevigne@gmail.com

KICKSTARTER UPDATE

 

Every few days, I'm posting snippets from the book in the update section of the Kickstarter.

Today's update was a piece from The Ether Lexicon, the source of Fae knowledge and advice. (Ever wondered how the Fae communicate between dimensions and realms? Scry globes!!)

Entries from the Ether Lexicon are included in the special edition hardback, and will be collected into an ebook, appropriately titled The Ether Lexicon, given away to all backers as a Stretch Goal reward -- and will eventually be offered as an ebook, later in the year.

Reminder: I'll have early release copies of the book, both paper and hardback special edition, at the Realm Makers Conference, during the Expo, June 26-27, at the St. Louis Union Station.

But you know, you're better off getting all the goodies and extras if you pledge to the Kickstarter .... just saying!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mll04def/alls-fae-in-love-and-chocolate

Blast from the Past -- to celebrate LAUNCH DAY

 BLAST FROM THE PAST!

This is a video I made for an earlier version of All's Fae -- with a different publisher.
Since then, I've added to the stories, tweaked some things, added fun new material.
The SPECIAL EDITION hardback of All'S Fae has entries frm the Ether Lexicon, the Fae source of all knowledge and advice.

Enjoy!

But don't try to find the publisher -- Uncial Press closed their doors several years ago. I miss them! They were great to work with!

Monday is LAUNCH DAY!

 

MONDAY is launch day!

Have you checked out my Kickstarter campaign for ALL'S FAE IN LOVE AND CHOCOLATE?

Gonna be fun.

If we reach the goal, there are stretch goals to get you all sorts of extra, fun goodies.

Check it out!!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mll04def/alls-fae-in-love-and-chocolate

Movie review: The Sheep Detectives

 

I highly recommend The Sheep Detectives.

Based on a German books translated into English as Three Bags Full, if you're into finding the books behind the movies. I know I'm interested enough.

What's it about? George, a shepherd, loves his sheep. He reads to them every night -- detective stories.

So when George is apparently killed, his sheep decide to set about using what they've learned to find the killer.

Lots of fun, some tender movies, some sad moments. Even some very corny and obvious jokes. Such as the time 2 of the sheep are standing by the side of the road. They've never left their pasture before, they've never seen a road before, and they're terrified to cross. And in the middle of their paralysis, along comes a chicken that clucks and struts right across. They never do say WHY the chicken crossed the road...

Or there's the time the butcher who wants to get his hand on George's flock is parked by the side of the road, counting all the sheep he thinks will soon be his, and ... you guessed it ... he falls asleep!

Prepare to Launch!

 

Many moons ago, I wrote a handful of silly short stories about Fae living among Humans, falling in love and dealing with malfunctioning magic, curses, interfering relatives,  and other assorted problems.

The original collection has been out of print for years, and the e-publisher that took it over has closed their doors too.

HOWEVER ....

I've revised the stories, expanded them, and added maybe 30K mor words. The stories are sillier than ever, plus I've got some pseud-academic writings giving the inside scoop on Fae life, culture, history, and biology.

What's it about?

The Fae are back! Out and about in the modern world.

Addicted to love -- and chocolate!

Who are they?

Glori, a daycare teacher with malfunctioning magic meets Lance, an exterminator, cursed to turn into a cute little mouse at the dark of the moon, and searching for a Faerie princess's kiss to break the spell.

Alexi, a Fae with fading magic, hiding in Las Vegas, needs a job to survive, and meets Megan, a half-blood Fae working as a magician.

Kevyn, an actor who refuses to follow the family tradition and become a lawyer, gets kidnapped by Sophie, an academic with pointed ears and weird relatives, who is doing her doctoral thesis on magic.

When the Fae queen dies of poisoned chocolate, Epsi, an agoraphobic Fae, is one of the many suspects. Guber, with a claim to a throne he doesn't want, works to prove her innocent. But can they protect each other from the lunatic fringe and the real murderer?

With the Fae, chocolate is a universal cure, but can it cure their woes and help them find true love?

Find out, when All's Fae in Love and Chocolate.

Now in pre-launched at Kickstarter, ALL'S FAE IN LOVE AND CHOCOLATE is available for some serious eyeballing. Please check it out, and maybe drool a little over the possibilities waiting for you to claim.

Launch day is planned for June 1, with lots of extra goodies if pledges pass the line for stretch goals!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mll04def/alls-fae-in-love-and-chocolate

Counting Down: First Lines from UP THE DOWN BEANSTALK

 

COUNTDOWN!

 May 1 is the official release date for the newest fairytale anthology, based on Jack and the Beanstalk.

You can get the ebook at YeOldeDragonBooks.com, and at your favorite online outlets, AND the print book from Amazon and B&N and other locations.

BUT .... you can use this Amazon Associates link and SAVE $$$ if you order the Amazon paperback NOW:

https://amzn.to/4mUQJbP

Regularly $15.99 for paper, but until May 1 you can get it for $13.99.

How can you resist?

 

UP THE DOWN BEANSTALK

Parodies based on Jack and the Beanstalk.

You'll be delighted, enchanted, intrigued, and we hope you'll cheer for our heroes in all their shapes and sizes and motivations.

Brilliant inventors and identity theft.  Brutal usurpers and imprisoned princes. Mischievous boys and missing eggs. Curmudgeonly neighbors and rivals. Heroic sheriffs and computer programmers. Liars and thieves and desperate girls risking all for their families.

#fairytales

#parodies

#fairytaleanthology

#JackandtheBeanstalk

#humorousfantasy

COUNTDOWN!!! Fairytale Anthology #6 is coming in 2 weeks, with Jack and the Beanstalk parodies galore!

 

TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY -- May 1 -- is the official release date for the newest fairytale anthology, based on Jack and the Beanstalk.

You can get the ebook at YeOldeDragonBooks.com, and at your favorite online outlets, AND the print book from Amazon and B&N and other locations.

BUT .... you can use this Amazon Associates link and SAVE $$$ if you order the Amazon paperback NOW:

https://amzn.to/4mUQJbP

Regularly $15.99 for paper, but until May 1 you can get it for $13.99.

How can you resist?

UP THE DOWN BEANSTALK

There has to be MORE to the story …

Did you read the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and come away with questions?

How young was he, to believe the beans were magic?

Was he bullied into accepting beans in exchange for the cow?

Was he really that gullible? Was he desperate? Or was magic real in his world?

Why did he think it was smart to climb that beanstalk? How far did he climb?

Why didn't he run when he saw the giants?

What was the giants' side of the story? Were they bullies, or were they the victims of burglars and swindlers?

What about the golden harp and the goose?

On and on, with every answer generating MORE questions..

We invite you into these pages to explore the MORE our authors found. You'll be delighted, enchanted, intrigued, and we hope you'll cheer for our heroes in all their shapes and sizes and motivations.

Brilliant inventors and identity theft.  Brutal usurpers and imprisoned princes. Mischievous boys and missing eggs. Curmudgeonly neighbors and rivals. Heroic sheriffs and computer programmers. Liars and thieves and desperate girls risking all for their families.

And MORE.

Celebrate the release of THE MISSION, Tabor Heights Year 1, Book 9 -- Get a free short story!

 

The newest re-release of the Tabor Heights books is now out!

Visit MtZionRidgePress.com and use the code word MISSION (remember to use all caps) to get a discount on print, ebook or audiobook, until April 15.

What's it about?

THE MISSION

Claire came to Tabor five years ago to make a new start. Her life is wrapped up in the Mission, a former elementary school turned into an outreach center for Tabor Christian Church. They now have funds for renovations and expansion, thanks to teaming up with the Arc Foundation.

Paul comes to be the new head custodian, threatening her equilibrium. First, his daughter, Sammy, decides Claire will be her new mommy, then Claire begins to fear Paul will take over, changing the vision and goals of the Mission.

Paul only wants a fresh start and a safe home for Sammy. The Mission’s vision has caught his imagination, and Claire has caught his heart. She stands by him when his dead wife's vicious relatives threaten to take custody of Sammy. In turn, he is there for her when family problems threaten to follow her to Tabor.

Jennifer has almost finished recovering from a brutal injury while protecting a fugitive mother and her children. Coming to the Mission as minister to children will help her ease back into her work for the Arc Foundation. But then Doug is hired as Pastor Wally's assistant. Jennifer and Doug have a bad history, thanks to his father and her mother and an affair that destroyed several Air Force careers and families. All Jennifer wants is for Doug not to recognize or remember her, but sometimes God doesn't answer prayers the way His children want.

Teamwork for the sake of the Mission promises to become so much more, if the four of them only have the courage to take a chance.

TO CELEBRATE!!

Want a FREE Tabor Heights short story, to celebrate the release of THE MISSION?

COPS AND BOBBERS

Trina is the new Rec Director for Tabor Heights. She loves her job, and she loves the town's kids, and she really wishes she could get to know Officer Mike Nichols better. How can a great guy like him be interested in a woman who dresses like an adolescent and plays with children all day?

Officer Mike will do whatever it takes to make Rec Director Trina happy, even put on swim trunks and help special needs swimmers at the city pool. This summer, they might just have a chance to make their daydreams come true.

Follow these links to get a free ebook download or audiobook download -- and please sign up for my newsletter, to learn about more new releases, works-in-progress, and free short stories!!

Audio: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/rwegy7bhk7

Ebook: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/7wq7skaikk

A New Season at Ye Olde Dragon's Library storytelling podcast: MUSIC IN THE NIGHT

 

Starting February 2 on your favorite podcasting app:

2 new chapters each week from MUSIC IN THE NIGHT, from the Guardians of the Time Stream steampunk series.

2 childhood friends with matching crystal roses hold the key to lost understanding of the Great Machine. Can Ess find Carmen before their enemies catch up with her?

https://yeoldedragonbooks.com/ye-olde-dragons-library-storytelling-podcast/

 

Book Review: PLACEBO by Steven James

 

I got this book and the sequel several years ago at a writing conference where James spoke ... wish I hadn't waited so long to finally sit down and read it!

Intense. I was warned by a friend who is a major fan-girl that his books can be gritty and dark ... yeah, some of the characters make you cheer when they get their due punishment. Let's just put it that way.
But there are others who are just charming, quirky, a delightful relief amid all the darkness and growing tension as Jevin and his brilliant team race to find answers and save lives and unravel the tangled plot that threatens world security.

Not to spoil the story -- because you need to read this -- but Jevin is a magician and escape artist who, after the tragic deaths of his wife and sons, turns to investigation work to uncover frauds and scams. An undercover trip to a center that is studying the supposed telepathic links between people turns into a murder attempt on the head researcher, and then a flight across the country to stop psychic twin assassins.

Life With Oliver

 

This is the newest member of the family, Oliver, a miniature Australian Shepherd.

Otherwise known as Houdini (can you guess why?) or The Booger Dog. (3 guesses why)

Fun Fact: Did you know Aussies are known as Velcro Dogs?

You know why? Yeah, they stick with you, always want to be with you, follow you everywhere -- or in Oliver's case, they get in front of you and block the way, whatever you're trying to do. I'm trying to get through a door, and he stands there on the threshold and just looks up at me, with that sad little, "But I Looooooove you, so you won't get mad at me, right?" look in his eyes.

Here's his favorite napping spot. Right under my feet, sometimes blocking me from pulling my chair up close to my computer. How am I supposed to get ANY work done?

GIFT YOURSELF: CLEAN FICTION GIVEAWAY -- ENDS SOON!

 

Introducing…. A Massive Clean Fantastical Fiction Paperback Giveaway! 23 authors have banded together to give away a paperback copy of their books. From fairytale retellings to science fiction epics, these books are sure to delight every reader. You don't need to worry about gasping about graphic content while reading in your comfiest chair. Instead, these clean novels are sure to delight people of various ages. Here are some of the books you could win:

 

1. A Superhero for Christmas by H.L. Burke
2. Allergic to Mistletoe by Michelle L. Levigne
3. Fate of a Prince by Hannah Gaudette
4. Thief, Witch, and Liar by Emmarayn Redding
5. Steal the Morrow by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
6. The Gates of Yoffa by J. Brandon Barnes
7. Reyuul's Redemption by David Liberto
8. Dragon Ripples by Kez Sharrow
9. Freedom Rings by Rachel Keith
10. The Lattice Scheme by A.L. Lieske
11. Burning Rose by Hope Ann
12. King's Sword by Grace MacPherson
13. Sonji by Jessica A. Tanner
14. The Door by Catherine McDaugale
15. All the Wild Hearts: A Red Riding Hood Retelling by J.M. Hackman
16. The Kingmaster by C.A. Doehrmann
17. The Last Noel: Reuben's Story by Darlene Bocek
18. A Star Appears by Addison Dixon
19. Thorns at Sunrise by Janeen Ippolito
20. Uprooted by Kandi J. Wyatt
21. The Veil by Daniel P. Glick
22. Etania's Worth by M.H. Elrich
23. Starganauts by C.E. Stone

 

Participants must be from the United States and 18 years or older to enter. The giveaway ends December 12 with a winner announced December 13th. By entering this giveaway, you are giving your email to the authors participating. The authors have all promised to use those emails wisely and solely for book purposes, not for spam.

 https://kingsumo.com/g/107opg3/clean-fantastical-fiction-paperback-giveaway

 

 

We Need a Little Christmas!

 

My favorite part of the holiday season is to put together a bunch of shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. We fill them with school supplies, toys, hygiene items, useful things, fun things, and send them through Samaritan's Purse to children in foreign countries, to assist in the day-to-day demonstration of Jesus' love.

Let me give YOU a gift this year:

FIRST: Go to SamaritansPurse.org and put together a shoebox or two online, or pay for the shipping on the boxes you've put together, OR check out their online gift catalog and donate toward one of the many items to help families and villages in need around the world.

THEN: Email me an electronic copy of your receipt, to: 2OldeDragons@gmail.com

BUT BEFORE THAT: Check out the storefront at YeOldeDragonBooks.com or my website, MLevigne.com, for the book blurbs, and pick out the ebook(s) or audiobook(s) you'd like to have, my thank-you for helping Samaritan's Purse spread God's love this holiday season. Give me the title of the item(s) when you send me your receipt. Here's what you can get:

Up to $20 spent: Any ebook

Up to $40 spent: 2 ebooks or 1 audiobook

Up to $60 spent: 3 ebooks or 2 audiobooks

Up to $80 spent: 4 ebooks or 3 audiobooks (or 2 ebooks and 2 audiobooks)

Over $80 spent: A print copy of the Neighborlee fantasy novel, Allergic to Mistletoe. Or all the ebooks.

TITLES: Christmas in Ohio -- Crystal Christmas -- Tabor at Christmas -- Allergic to Mistletoe -- Christmas Fiction Off the Beaten Path

Have you checked out THAKAI, recently?

 

THAKAI is my current work-in-progress up on Royal Road.

I try to upload 2 episodes, around 2,500 words each, every week.

Here's the link to the page. Please come read! 

 https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/118523/thakai

Essentially, my hero, Dysander, is an Odysseus-type character. That means there's an equivalent of Helen in this world, a version of Sparta, a version of Troy, a version of Ithaka (Thakai, for those who aren't good with anagrams ...) and Penelope -- and a war, and a long journey home.

Right now, I'm nearing the end of what will be Book 1 when the series begins to be published. The tentative title is DYSANDER AND THE SEA GOD. In this book, so far, Dysander has a friend named Aithon who is actually the sea god, Ancuenor, incognito. They have a huge, dangerous adventure that I just finished writing, and Dysander learns the truth. He's kind of peeved. In turn, Ancuenor is furious with Dysander because of something he did that the sea god considers treachery, and the two don't part as friends. Then in the next book, as THAKAI continues, the sea god interferes when Dysander finds the girl he wants to marry, and when he doesn't get his revenge, puts a curse on Dysander, forbidding him to ever leave his island home.

At least, that's the plan. There's a workaround, of course, because how could there be a Trojan War and a Trojan Horse without that world's version of Odysseus to come up with the solution?

Please visit THAKAI and read, leave comments, make suggestions -- maybe get your name in the acknowledgements, for coming up with something truly brilliant that changes the trajectory of the whole story!

Excerpt: ALLERGIC TO MISTLETOE, Neighborlee, Ohio, Book 10

 "So, what do you think?" Megan said as she stepped into the lounging part of her and Alexi's dressing room backstage.

Alexi and Harry had gone to get their car and bring it to the backstage entrance, for a quick getaway. Megan had confided in Bethany that she thought Harry was cute, so excited about riding in a real, Human-made car.

"I like him. How does his wife feel about him spending the holidays with me and my Dad?" Bethany said.

"No wife." Megan shrugged and slipped into her clogs before sitting down on the other end of the couch. "Which is a total injustice. Alexi says the girls can't see past his science experiments and his research, to the really great guy under the brainy persona."

"What kind of science experiments?" Bethany imagined Harry doing a Nutty Professor routine, his lab coat smeared with stains, maybe scorched in places. It fit. How long since she had let herself feel anything but mild social friendship with a man?

Maybe the fact that he didn't ask for her autograph, didn't ogle her figure, had a lot to do with the attraction. Because yes, she admitted to a strong attraction between them, from the moment that zap of static electricity sent a lovely, hot shiver down her back.

It was great to realize she was a normal woman after all, not a frightened, frigid little teasing twit, as that last studio-arranged date accused her of being.

This was going to be a great Christmas.

A knock on the door, then it opened and her heart did a funny little skip when she saw Harry, and the way his gaze zeroed in on her all the way across the room.

"Ready?" He stepped into the room and held out a hand. "This might tingle a little."

"Kind of like a force field or tractor beam or something wrapping around a ship?" she offered.

Harry's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open a little, and that funny feeling in her stomach turned squirmy. Had she turned him off already?

Then he grinned. That lovely zing climbed her arm when their hands touched. A buzzing sensation raced across her bare skin. It tickled and massaged somewhere between her skin and her bones.

"Wow." She flinched when her voice sounded a little off, not quite hollow.

Excerpt: ALLERGIC TO MISTLETOE, Neighborlee, Ohio, Book 10

 "Umm... What exactly did they tell you about me?"

"Oh, I figured out the whole not-quite-Human thing a while ago. I just never confronted them with it." Bethany blushed and looked at her hands clasped on the table in front of her.

Something dropped inside his chest and warmth stole over him. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to take the paparazzi and the other bozos stealing her privacy, and send them to the Dungeon Dimensions for a couple hundred years. Nobody he knew blushed. The simple little reaction made her seem small and delicate and vulnerable.

Which she was anything but. He had seen her first movie, the tough chick who turned her world upside down to save it, who devised bombs and weapons from nothing to protect innocents. Even with that blush fading from her cheeks, he sensed a lot of similarities between the Bethany sitting before him now and the girl on the screen. It made no sense, but Harry didn't care.

"So, say something." Her smile went crooked.

"You're pretty calm about it. A lot of people would probably be freaking out, faced with the fact of a lot of other dimensions of reality, side-by-side with the one they know. I've always wondered what the CIA and FBI and all those foreign intelligence agencies and governments would do, if they knew about the Fae realms. If they'd maybe try to bomb us out of existence, or prosecute us as illegal aliens or whatever."

"So, who was here first? Fae or Humans?"

Harry sat for five seconds with his mouth hanging open, stumped by that question. That was definitely something for the Ether Lexicon. For all he knew, that was part of the no-need-to-know information the Lexicon sometimes stubbornly refused to divulge. Then he laughed. Bethany blushed again, but she grinned.

How come girls like her don't exist in the Enclaves?

Excerpt: ALLERGIC TO MISTLETOE, Neighborlee, Ohio, Book 10

 "Bethany?" he murmured when he reached her table. Harry admired her self-control, so she didn't even flinch or look his way, betraying her disguise. He held up the half of Alexi's business card that served as his identification.

Bethany peered from under her floppy hat and slid her half of the card across the table toward him. She didn't take her fingertips off the card until he matched up his half to hers.

"Harry Morton," he said, and held out his hand. Bethany's slim, strong little hand slid into his. Something sparked, almost a buzz, between their fingers.

"Static electricity." She offered a crooked little smile and a whisper of laughter as she jerked her hand away.

"Uh. Yeah." Harry slid into the booth facing her while he gathered his thoughts. She had felt that? She had soaked up more magic than he had first guessed.

Fascinating.

"I think Alexi insisted on all this cloak and dagger just for the fun of it," she said, as the audience applauded the first illusion of the evening. She grinned, which made an inexplicable world of difference for Harry. If she had scowled or showed reluctance in any way, he didn't know what he would have thought of her.

"Yep, that's my favorite cousin."

"You look like him." Bethany offered an awkward little smile.

"You think so?" He glanced at Alexi, who stepped back and held up the silk purse on a pole, so Megan could demonstrate there was nothing in it. Real magic made things so much easier for magicians, Harry mused, but Alexi and Megan insisted on practicing sleight of hand, doing it the way full Humans did. He supposed it was all in the challenge. 

"He has more glitz, but there's a strong resemblance. Of course, combing your hair back like that and dressing so casual, that makes people kind of pass over you. So, you're really good at this invisibility thing?"

Read Penelope's Story NOW

 

Have you seen EPIC: The Musical, on YouTube yet? (It's The Odyssey, set to music, by the way. Love it!)

Have you wondered about Penelope's side of the story? Just why did she wait through 10 years of war and then 10 years of wandering and imprisonment, for Odysseus to come home?

Now you can read Penelope's side of the story!

Back in print after 10 years, PENELOPE OF ITHAKA is available exclusively on Amazon right now.

The official release date is November 1, BUT you can get the paperback NOW and save $3 off the official cover price.
Or you can pre-order the ebook.
Or you can wait until November 1 and read it in Kindle Unlimited.

And yeah, there's an audiobook coming.
Or you can listen to individual episodes now on the Ye Olde Dragon's Library storytelling podcast.

Take your pick.

But please follow this Affiliate link and check it out!! I'm so proud to have this book baby of mine available again!

https://amzn.to/47Ahv2N