A Very Witchy Yuletide

Contemporary pagan holiday romance

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. 

D. Lieber will be awarding a hand carved tree of life tarot/jewelry/keepsake box (carved by DhewaDecor) to a randomly drawn winner (US ONLY) via rafflecopter during the tour 

 Click on "read more" to sign up for the Giveaway.  

First love is hard to forget, and even harder to ignore…

 

Evergreen Pendre wasn’t planning on going home for Yule. But when her Mom tells her the old coven is coming for a visit, she wants to see everyone. Well, almost everyone.

 

After four and a half years, Sawyer Collins finally has a chance to reconnect with his first love, Eeva Pendre. He might have been too shy to tell her how he felt before, but he’s changed. And he’s determined not to let her slip away this time.

 

As the coven prepares for Yule, they are reminded that not everyone has the holiday spirit in this contemporary Pagan holiday romance.

read an excerpt...

As Eeva shifted her weight from foot to foot, swaying in time, they started the simple steps of the dance, circling each other.

 “Yeah, that’s it,” Sawyer encouraged. “You remember. Ready for the staff?”

 Eeva smiled. “Go for it.”

 Sawyer struck out with his staff, and Eeva met it with hers. He did it again with the same result. And so they went on in rhythm, the mock battle playing out in a dance. They circled each other. They clashed in the middle. They retreated.

 Sawyer’s heart raced as the exercise made him warm in his coat. He took it off, his steps still in time. Eeva did the same, her breaths punctuated by white puffs from her lips.

 “Ready to try the end?” Sawyer asked her.

 “Come at me,” she challenged, her voice teasing.

 Sawyer attacked, bringing his face in close to hers, their staves crossed between them. This was where he was supposed to push them apart. She was to fall to the ground, defeated. But as they locked eyes, and he felt her breath on his face, they both froze.

about D. Lieber...

D. Lieber is an urban fantasy author with a wanderlust that would make a butterfly envious. When she isn’t planning her next physical adventure, she’s recklessly jumping from one fictional world to another. Her love of reading led her to earn a Bachelor’s in English from Wright State University.

Beyond her skeptic and slightly pessimistic mind, Lieber wants to believe. She has been many places—from Canada to England, France to Italy, Germany to Russia—believing that a better world comes from putting a face on “other.” She is a romantic idealist at heart, always fighting to keep her feet on the ground and her head in the clouds.

Lieber lives in Wisconsin with her husband (John) and cats (Yin and Nox).

 

Published Works:

Conjuring Zephyr June 2016

The Exiled Otherkin November 2017

Intended Bondmates June 2018

In Search of a Witch’s Soul (Council of Covens Noir, #1) March 2019

Dancing with Shades (Council of Covens Noir, #0) August 2019

Once in a Black Moon March 2020

A Very Witchy Yuletide October 2020

 

Links

Website: www.dlieber.com

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/dlieberwriting

Bookbub: www.bookbub.com/profile/d-lieber

more "stuff" about D. Lieber...

Does this book have a special meaning to you? i.e. where you found the idea, its symbolism, its meaning, who you dedicated it to, what made you want to write it?

It does indeed. This book is very special to me for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I love holiday romance movies, but as a Pagan they sometimes rub me the wrong way. I wrote this book primarily to give myself all that feel-good fuzziness of a holiday romance while highlighting a winter holiday that’s close to my heart. As such, I dedicated it to my Pagan sisters and brothers for their enjoyment as well. It is also important to me because my female protagonist is visually impaired, just like me. That point is really almost a side note in the story, though it does contribute to some of the confrontation. But I feel it is important that it didn’t take a central role. So many books/movies with blind characters portray them in a way that makes their blindness define them. That is not how it is in real life. People who are disabled are not defined by their disabilities. It is just something that we deal with. I always found it silly when people talk about how “brave” we are as if just getting out of bed and living our lives was some sort of great feat. It’s normal for us, and everyone has something they are dealing with. In any case, this book is an #OwnVoices book on two fronts, and it was surprisingly difficult for me to share those parts of myself so openly.

Where do you get your storylines from?

Different places. Usually I start with a spark of an idea and a character, and then the character just sort of takes me along for the ride. The initial idea may begin with a theme I want to explore, or a song, or a dream, or wherever.

Was this book easier or more difficult to write than others?  Why?

In some ways it was much easier. I usually write fantasy, so writing contemporary romance in the real world was much easier than making up my own rules and laws of physics. I was also writing within the troupes and framework of a holiday romance, so I had a lot of guidelines. But in other ways, like talking about my experiences as a Pagan and as someone who is visually impaired. That stuff was harder. Even though my characters aren’t really like me, I still had to relive some hurtful experiences in order to make the story authentic.

Do you only write one genre?

Apparently not. *laughs* Before this book, all of my stories were fantasy at least. Oh, they had different subgenres: noir, adventure, steampunk, paranormal, romance. But they were all still fantasy. This time around, I wrote a contemporary Pagan holiday romance, so I branched out.

Give us a picture of where you write, where you compose these words…is it Starbucks, a den, a garden…we want to know your inner sanctum?

I write on a large table in an office my husband and I share, though he is smart enough to vacate the room while I am writing. I am not a tidy-desk person. I have reference books, headphones, notecards, and writing instruments all over my desk. I always have a mug of something, usually water or tea on my coaster, and I have a llama stress ball with a party hat that stares at me, judges me really, all day. I have a mechanical keyboard, which lights up green and makes a very satisfying clickity click click sound when I type. My mousepad is Sabastian from Black Butler holding his finger up to his lips. I always have a box of tissues nearby, and I can’t tell you when my little trashcan was last emptied. I have a giant map of the world behind my computer screen, and quite a few trinkets that sit atop my computer tower: a stuffed animal bat, my grandmother’s snow globe—which plays the theme from Love Story—an acorn, a small statue of Kokopelli, a painted egg from Russia, a crocheted duck from an old coworker, a tiny Eiffel tower I got in Paris, a witch’s bottle for peace and tranquility, and a little metal dragon one of my audiobook narrators sent me. Finally, there is a wire-wrapped citrine necklace that hangs from my computer screen.

And finally, of course…was there any specific event or circumstance that made you want to be a writer?

Yes and no, that is always my answer it seems. I have always been a writer, but I used to write primarily poetry. But one time, I attended an authors’ panel at C2E2 in Chicago. One of the writers on the panel quoted Toni Morrison: “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” And I said, “Hey, there is a story I want to read. I am going to give novel writing a shot.” And then I went and wrote Conjuring Zephyr. And so it began.

a Rafflecopter giveaway