Category:

Release Day for THE DEAD CAME CALLING by J L Buck

7/11/2023

Book Three in my Viscount Ware Regency Mystery series is finally here! I hope you enjoy it!

Lucien Grey, Viscount Ware, returns to London from his family’s country estate to discover his friend and fellow spy Andrew Sherbourne is a fugitive from a charge of murder.
      And Sherry is hiding in Lucien's townhouse with Fanny, a small child of two or three. The mother--and murder victim--abandoned the child on Sherry’s doorstep, claiming Fanny was his daughter and needed protection from a Frenchman chasing them.
      An over-zealous Bow Street Runner is convinced Sherry is guilty of the murder, and no one is looking for the real killer—no one except Lucien—but evidence and potential suspects are sparse.
      Lady Anne Ashburn was called home from London to her invalid mother’s bedside two months ago. She is resigned to never seeing Lord Ware again, at least not in the near future, and her monotonous days are relieved by her childhood sweetheart Daniel, the man everyone has always assumed she would marry.
      Then the letter comes from Lord Ware, asking for her help in investigating a local family. She sets out with determination and in defiance of society’s expectations to find the evidence Lord Ware needs to expose the truth and set his friend free.

Purchase links:

AMZ: https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Came-Calling-Viscount-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0BVX79QMF

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-dead-came-calling-1

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dead-came-calling-j-l-buck/1143111006?ean=9781684920907

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-dead-came-calling-viscount-ware-mystery-book-3-by-j-l-buck

Author Interview of JL Buck on AllAuthor.com

6/23/2023

It was my turn to be on the hot seat in this interview by AllAuthor. Thanks, folks!

Meet JL Buck, a retired lawyer who has dedicated 28 years of her life to the Juvenile Justice system. After a fulfilling career in law, JL Buck decided to pursue a lifelong dream of writing fiction. Retirement has granted her the freedom to pursue her writing aspirations, and she cannot imagine a better way to spend this phase of life. JL Buck weaves tales that captivate readers and transport them to captivating worlds and eras. Read full interview...

The Guardian Witch Series is Back on Amazon!

4/26/2023

The Guardian Witch story

Hidden behind the serene cliffs of the Mississippi River sits Riverdale, a city of 287,000 inhabitants. Most of them are ordinary humans. The others are under the wary eye of Arianna Calin, a fire witch who serves as Guardian and supernatural cop for the city's Olde Town district. That's where the vampires, werewolves, and other magical creatures live . . . and hunt.

Life in her twenties isn't all about work or crime, and the friends in Ari's private world are a vital part of who and what she is. But she'd never thought much about love or imagined her inner circle might one day include someone like the dark and powerful vampire Andreas.

Faced with a series of challenges—from her first murder case to a succession of criminal violence and Otherworld uprisings and an ultimate confrontation with the vampire elders, the notorious O-Seven—Ari and her companions use their wits, unique skills, and magic in the age-old battle between good and evil.

Books in the Series:

Awakening the Fire (Guardian Witch #1, revised, 2nd Edition)
Arianna Calin’s first murder case as a supernatural cop is complicated by a mysterious vampire, a virtual reality drug, an evasive pack of werewolves, and an ancient vampire feud.
https://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Fire-Guardian-Witch-1-ebook/dp/B0C1VS1CV6

Fire Within (Guardian Witch #2, revised, 2nd Edition)
Arianna refuses to believe her human friend Eddie murdered a vampire—despite his confession. Her cop partner Ryan considers the case a slam dunk, until vampires continue to die, and Ari convinces him an ancient evil is stalking the city.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3829YM4

Moon Fire (Guardian Witch #3, revised, 2nd Edition)
On the night of the Hunter’s Moon events conspire to pull Ari in two directions, demanding that she choose to save friend or lover. She’s determined to save both…if she can keep herself alive long enough.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C39H8WR6

Blood & Fire (Guardian Witch #4, revised, 2nd Edition)
Arianna thought her biggest problem was deciding whether to move in with Andreas, then they found the body of a man killed by a black magic curse, and a vampire Enforcer arrives from Europe with an ultimatum from the vampire elders.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C39L3Q5T

Fire Storm (Guardian Witch #5, revised, 2nd Edition)
On a trip to Italy, Andreas is captured by the vampire elders, and Arianna defies her Magic Council to go after him. But the elders don’t play fair, going after her other friends, and she finds herself fighting the elders on more than one front.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3BCDR8V

Wild Fire (Guardian Witch #6, revised, 2nd Edition)
When the vampire elders place a three million dollar bounty on Ari and Andreas, there’s no lack of would-be assassins. Then a local seer has a terrifying vision of Riverdale’s destruction and word comes that two elders are on the way. It is up to Ari and Andreas to save the day, but she’ll have to take a risky travel through time while he faces the elders alone.
Coming Soon.

Eternal Fire (Guardian Witch #7, revised, 2nd Edition)
Arianna and Andreas have something the vampire elders want, and they know the O-Seven will never leave them alone. To secure their future, their only option is to gather their forces and face the elders head-on at their castle fortress deep in the Black Forest of Germany.
Coming Soon.

All books have been revised, updated, and re-edited with new covers!
Available through Amazon for purchase or to read though Kindle Unlimited.

Sneak Peek Excerpt of THE DEAD CANNOT HIDE by JL Buck

2/8/2023

As The Dead Cannot Hide (Viscount Ware Mystery #2) releases next Tuesday, February 14, I decided to post a sneak peek of the opening pages this week (which I'm cross-posting to both my blogs). I hope you enjoy it!

The Dead Cannot Hide (Viscount Ware Mystery #2)
Genre: Historical Mystery/Regency England

England, summer of 1812. Lucien, Viscount Ware, a secret spy for the Crown, is asked by his grandmother to use his skills in locating a missing country girl. She had taken a governess’s position near London almost a year ago and not been heard from for months.
With the Prince Regent safely in Bath and Whitehall’s attention on the war with Ameria, Lucien has the time and agrees to make a few inquiries. The girl’s employers tell him Lucy vanished one night ten months ago with all her belongings. Convinced there is more to the story, he obtains an invitation—through his friend Lady Anne Ashburn—to a houseparty in the neighborhood in order to continue his inquiries.
With the help of Lady Anne, the houseparty hosts, and others around the village of Blinkers Marsh, Lucien and his friend/fellow agent Sherbourne learn of a second missing girl, make a grisly discovery in a pond, and hear whispers of a deadly plot to unleash terror and disruption upon London. They soon realize they are all in danger, along with hundreds or thousands of London citizens, perhaps the Crown itself—and a wild race begins to unmasks the culprits and cut off the deadly plots before time runs out.

Pre-order and buy links available now at online sellers, including:

Amazon: www.amazon.com/Dead-Cannot-Hide-J-Buck-ebook/dp/B0B6M4WK1R

EXCERPT:

Chapter One

London, July 1812

Lucien Grey, Viscount Ware, doffed his hat to a gentleman on a passing phaeton and stepped up to the front entrance of the Salcott London mansion. The time was exactly half four. The summons from his grandmother Augusta, the Dowager Countess Salcott, had arrived hours earlier, but he had put off his call until the Earl would be in session at the House of Lords. Lucien had every hope of avoiding a quarrel with his father.

The viscount and Salcott had been at odds…well, all of Lucien’s life really. The less they saw of one another, the better they got on—especially now. When his father’s worst beliefs about his only surviving son had proven false last winter, Salcott’s resulting embarrassment had made him more intractable than ever.

And Lucien was in no mood to be polite or tolerant. The War Office at Whitehall was in disarray, and in recent weeks, Lord Rothe had laden Lucien and his fellow intelligence agent Andrew Sherbourne with too many private, clandestine assignments— some frivolous or even foolhardy.

Lucien rapped the knocker twice, keen to get out of the stifling July heat. The door opened promptly, and the elderly butler, a family retainer since Lucien’s childhood, greeted him with a smile. “Your lordship.”

“Good afternoon, Jeffers. You look in the pink of health,” Lucien said, stepping inside. “I trust the gout is not giving you too much trouble?”

“Not bad, my lord. Just now and again.” The butler bowed, showing proper deference overlaid with the familiarity of long acquaintance. Only in the last few years had he given up referring to the viscount as Master Lucien. Jeffers’ hair was showing significant white now, but age had neither slowed his step nor dulled the alertness in his eyes.
Lucien handed him his hat. “Is the dowager countess receiving?”
“She is, my lord, and will be as delighted to see you as I am. As the Smythes left not more than ten minutes ago, she is still in the drawing room.”
“Excellent. I shall announce myself.”
“Very good, my lord.”
Lucien smoothed his hair, straightened his cuffs, and made his way across the marble hallway, hoping his grandmother’s summons wasn’t just another opportunity to lecture him. Despite her blatant manipulation to get whatever she wanted, he was quite fond of the old lady and admired her strong-minded spirit. He had no wish to offend her, but any attempt to press him regarding Salcott or his duties to the family name would sorely try his patience.

Frankly, he was tired. A respite from both family and political intrigue was in order.

In the six months since a French spy had been unearthed inside Whitehall, the Home Office and its War Office division had moved from one crisis to another. The war with Napoleon continued to swing back and forth, giving the populace little to cheer about. Discontent, even revolution, was whispered loudly on the streets. In the midst of it all, Prime Minister Spencer Perceval was assassinated in the very heart of Westminster by a madman, and a month later, War Secretary Jenkinson, the 2nd Earl of Liverpool, was appointed Prime Minister and his former position filled by Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl of Bathurst. As if those events had not caused sufficient upheaval in the upper levels of British government, sixteen days ago, on June 18, America had declared war on Great Britain.

Fortunately, Lord Rothe, the man Lucien reported to in Prinny’s secret spy unit, had remained unscathed by the turmoil and still enjoyed a favored position with the Prince Regent. But even that had its downside. As the prince grew less trustful of others, he had relied more often on the Marquess of Rothe and his aristocratic spies to solve the least little problem that annoyed him, including indiscreet scrapes and scandals among his friends or other members of the haute ton that were a potential threat to Prinny’s peace of mind or the smooth conduct of government. Rothe, in turn, had reached out to Lucien and Sherbourne more often than not. They had been putting out political fires way too often.

Upon reaching the drawing room, Lucien found his grandmother absorbed in a book, a pair of spectacles perched on the bridge of her nose, her back straight, not a white curl out of place. She was still a grand lady, aging with indomitable elegance. As he strode toward her, she looked up, hastily put her novel and glasses on the table, and held out both hands. “Lucien! I had begun to wonder if you were coming. I have waited all day, naughty boy.” Despite the scold, her eyes twinkled as he bowed and took her hands, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

“I beg pardon for my tardiness, Grandmama. I did not realize your request was urgent.”

“Fustian. We both know why you dallied until this hour, but rest assured, I did not ask you here to box your ears. Do take a seat, my boy. You look fagged. Shall I ring for fresh tea?”

“Not for me. I feel the want of something stronger.” Crossing to the sideboard, he picked up a crystal decanter of port, pulled out the stopper, and turned, cocking his head. “Will you join me?”

The dowager’s eyes gleamed. “Need you ask? Surely you did not think I would leave you to drink alone.”

He chuckled, handed her a half-filled glass, and settled into a wing-backed chair. After taking a reviving swallow of the excellent port, he picked up the conversation again. “I am surprised to find you in London. I thought you were permanently settled these last few years in the dower house at Salcott.”

“Oh, I am. Very comfortably, I might add. Country life suits me at my age, and I would not normally travel so far, but I had business with my London solicitors. They could have come to me, of course, but I also wished to speak with you.”

“I gathered that.” He leaned forward and studied her face, a flash of unease bringing a frown. “Is something wrong? You are not ill?”

“Do I look ill?” The dowager appeared startled. “On second thought, do not answer that. I am afraid what your answer might be.”

“Nonsense. You are as beautiful as ever.”

“Now who is talking nonsense?” she said with a smile. “I am well, Lucien, as well as one can be at seventy.” Her mood visibly shifted as she pursed her lips. “However, I shall not deny I am disquieted. I came to town because I need your help.”

“You shall have it. What can I do for you?”

“A girl from our village, a young woman, I should say…Lucy Drayton is missing.” The dowager’s hand fluttered in the air. “Oh, I doubt you know her. She must be twenty…or one and twenty by now. Her great-aunt, a dear lady, and I are close acquaintances. Lucy’s mother married beneath herself, you see, and the child was brought up in the impoverished but gentle home of an estate agent.” She stopped abruptly as though realizing she had drifted off course. “Well, never mind all that, the long and short of it is at her age and still unmarried, Lucy took a position as governess in a respectable household near London. That was a year ago. Her family had one letter, telling them she had arrived safely, but nothing since.”

“What makes you think she is missing? She may be busy, involved in her new life.”

His grandmother shook her head. “She was ever a polite and considerate child. Her family and I agree Lucy would write and not worry them in this way. Something has happened to her, Lucien. I want you to find her, and if she is not well situated, I hope you can bring her home.”

Lucien tapped his fingers on the chair arm. Young servant girls, even governesses, went missing in London all the time, swallowed by a city that could be heartless. Some were later found to have runoff with young men; others turned off their positions for a variety of reasons, including accusations of loose morals, disappeared into the seedier parts of town, surviving in any manner they could. Finding her might not be easy, especially if she didn’t want to be found. “What does her employer say?”

“Not enough. That is what makes it so concerning.” The dowager’s frown deepened, exaggerating the age wrinkles around her mouth. “The family wrote to Mr. Harwick, twice, but received no response. Three weeks ago, Lucy’s cousin David made the trip to Harwick House and was told she had left without notice late last autumn. And yet nobody told her family…not even Lucy. Is that not strange?”

“I do not disagree, but it is not alarming.” He went on, condensing his earlier thoughts. “Girls are let go or lured away by false promises and end up with lives they won’t divulge to friends and relatives. She may not thank me for finding her.”
“No need to mince words, Lucien. You mean she may be working in a brothel.”

“Well, there are other possibilities, but yes, that is one.”

“Very doubtful.” The dowager spoke with decisiveness. “I know the girl. But if she has sunk that low, her family will want to help her. They at least need to know whether she is alive or dead. Will you look into it?”

Lucien smiled. As though he could say no. She knew he would not refuse her. “For you, anything. I shall do what I can. As you know, Lord Rothe has priority on much of my time.” The dowager was one of the few who had known, even during his four years of seeming frivolity in the ballrooms and courts on the Continent, that he worked as an agent for the Crown. He had sworn her to secrecy, and she had kept her pledge. Family ties notwithstanding, he owed her. He unfolded his long length and stood. “Speaking of Rothe, I have an appointment with his lordship that I must keep.”

“Must you go so soon? Yes, of course, you do.” She sighed and gave him an earnest look. “Thank you, my boy. The Draytons— and I, of course—shall be eternally grateful for anything you can discover. I shall not detain you longer, for I know how important your work is, but I hope to see you soon with news of her. I shall remain in London at least another week or two.”

“If today’s meeting goes as expected, I may be able to look into this right away.” Rothe’s message had implied he and Sherbourne might be getting a break from assignments. If so, he would be at leisure to do what he could for the Drayton family.

“Oh, excellent.”

“No promises the answers will be what you want,” he cautioned. “But I shall do my best to learn the truth.” He kissed her cheek good-bye and walked toward the door.

The old woman sighed audibly this time. “Oh, Lucien, I am sorry to vex you, but I cannot let you leave without urging you to speak with your father. I mean truly talk with him. I know he should have had faith in you, trusted your character…but now that he knows of your secret work for the Crown, I am convinced he wants to make amends.”

Lucien had stiffened the moment she sighed. Now he turned. “You know our differences go back well before my years in the war. Discovering I have not been the care-for-nothing rake he thought I was changes nothing. He will ever hold me responsible for the death of my mother.”

“Oh, Lucien, no…”

“It is no matter, truly. I understand. But that does not make it easier.”

“No one is to blame for your mother dying in childbirth, least of all the babe. She was always delicate. These things happen in life.”

“Try telling that to my father.” He saw the pain in her eyes and wondered if it was a reflection of his own. It was not as though this was an easy or new conversation.

“My darling boy, he knows… deep in his heart he has always known, but he could not get past his grief. Theirs was a true love match, and, well… When he finally began to recover, I think he felt it was too late and pride stood in his way.”

Lucien shrugged. “It is too late. My father and I will never have a normal father-son relationship. Too many bitter years of misunderstandings are behind us.”

“I cannot accept that as true, dear boy, but if it is, could you not make something new? A friendship, perhaps. Surely it is not too late for that.”

“You make it sound as though we are uncivil. I strive to always show proper respect.” Lucien sounded defensive to his own ears and cut himself off. “I must go, or I will be late.”

She gave a resigned nod. “Yes, I am sorry. I do not mean to plague you.”

“I know.” Lucien’s face softened. “Just as I know the distance between my father and me causes you grief, but it is a lost cause. You must accept it, Grandmama. I have.” He turned back toward the door. “I shall let you know what I learn of Lucy Drayton’s fate.”

Viscount Ware Historical Mystery #2 Releases February 14!

2/1/2023

The Dead Cannot Hide (Viscount Ware Mystery #2)
Genre: Historical Mystery/Regency

England, summer of 1812. Lucien, Viscount Ware, a secret spy for the Crown, is asked by his grandmother to use his skills in locating a missing country girl. She had taken a governess’s position near London almost a year ago and not been heard from for months. With the Prince Regent safely in Bath and Whitehall’s attention on the war with Ameria, Lucien has the time and agrees to make a few inquiries.

The girl’s employers tell him Lucy vanished one night ten months ago with all her belongings. Convinced there is more to the story, he obtains an invitation—through his friend Lady Anne Ashburn—to a houseparty in the neighborhood in order to continue his inquiries.

With the help of Lady Anne, the houseparty hosts, and others around the village of Blinkers Marsh, Lucien and his friend/fellow agent Andrew Sherbourne learn of a second missing girl, make a grisly discovery in a pond, and hear whispers of a deadly plot to unleash terror and disruption upon London.

They soon realize they are all in danger, along with hundreds or thousands of London citizens, perhaps the Crown itself—and a wild race begins to unmasks the culprits and cut off the deadly plots before time runs out.

Pre-order and buy links available now at online sellers, including:

Amazon: www.amazon.com/Dead-Cannot-Hide-J-Buck-ebook/dp/B0B6M4WK1R

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

12/25/2022

Have a terrific holiday season! See you in January 2023!

How does the Regency Compare with the Modern Monarchy?

9/28/2022

Good Morning, Booklovers!

I've done something a little different his week. In place of the regular interview with a guest author, I've written an article that I've posted on my JL Buck blog as it talks mostly about the reign of England's George IV during his Regency period, 1811 - 1820, in comparison to the modern monarchy.

I invite you to check out the article here: janetlbuck.com/blog/how-does-the-monarchy-of-1811-compare-with-that-of-today
and I hope you will subscribe to my JL Buck blog, as I plan to gradually transition future guest interviews with mystery writers to that blog.

The Coffee Chat will return to this blog next week with another guest author.

Have a great week...
Ally Shields/JL Buck

The Dead Betray None (A Viscount Ware Mystery) by J L Buck

5/25/2022

New Release!

The Dead Betray None (A Viscount Ware Mystery)
Genre: Historical Mystery (Regency)
Release date: July 12, 2022

England 1811. When an earl’s heir with a secret past and a fashionable lady come face-to-face over a dead body, a stolen cipher and a missing letter set them on the trail of cutthroats and spies.

1811 England seethes with discontent. A self-indulgent prince regent sits on the throne of a country at war with France, on the brink of war with America, and facing growing rebellion at home.

Lucien, Viscount Ware, recently home after four years on the Continent as a spy for England, finds life in the haute ton tedious. He secretly agrees to handle a few delicate matters for the Crown's private spy unit at Whitehall. A housebreaking at a country houseparty seems a strange assignment until he discovers that a French cipher, the key to Napoleon's war codes, was among the stolen items. As he follows its trail to London's notorious rookeries and into its glittering ballrooms, he faces a growing threat of treachery from more than one direction.
Lady Anne Ashburn missed her London season while caring for her invalid mother in the north country. A new nurse allows her to visit relatives, where she becomes embroiled in a blackmail plot. To avoid a terrible scandal, she goes to London to face down the scoundrel threatening her family.

The night of the elegant Christmastide Ball, Lucien finds Lady Anne standing over a corpse. What happens after that—the risks they take, the intrusion of a notorious crime lord, society gossip, and good intentions gone awry—sends them spiraling into danger and potential disaster for England’s war effort.

An ever twisting plot sure to keep you turning the pages.

Purchase links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Betray-None-J-Buck-ebook/dp/B09VM9RSS9
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dead-betray-none-j-l-buck/1141104585
Kobo: www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-dead-betray-none
Google Books: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Dead_Betray_None/TKi4zgEACAAJ?hl=en
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-dead-betray-none-j-l-buck/ebook/9781942078913.html
Target (PB): https://www.target.com/p/the-dead-betray-none-by-j-l-buck-paperback/-/A-86100637
Walmart (PB): https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Dead-Betray-None-Paperback-9781942078906/710102163?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0

Opening excerpt:

November 1811

The thundering hooves of swiftly moving horses echoed through the dense fog. Lucien Grey, Viscount Ware, feathered his pair of blood bays around the sharp curve, the curricle’s wheels slipping briefly on the wet road. The encroaching trees opened onto a broad misty park, revealing the familiar Doric columns of Baron Sherbourne’s yellow-and-gray sandstone manor. Despite the dismal morning, the estate held good memories for Lucien, and a fleeting smile crossed his lips.

Easing the bays to the left toward the stable yard, he brought the light carriage to a halt, and Finn slipped off the back to run to the horses’ heads. The high bred team danced in place, snorting at the abrupt end to the journey, their hot breath forming tiny clouds in the icy air.

Lucien leapt to the ground, his top boots squishing the sodden maple leaves blown over the cobblestones. He tossed the reins to his groom. “Be good to them, Finn. They earned it.”

“Aye, m’lord.” The small man, somewhere in his thirties, but not much over five feet tall nor eight stone, gave his master a toothy grin and flipped a shock of reddish-brown hair out of his eyes. “Sev’teen mile in a’ hour an’ a bit more. They be getting oats an’ barley for sure.”

Lucien nodded casual approval and yanked off his leather driving gloves, using them to brush at the dried road dust on his multi-caped greatcoat. A burst of rain and sleet from the same storm that must have blown through the baron’s estate had caught him on the Great North Road from London.

With a final slap of the gloves, he abandoned the futile effort to make himself presentable and strode toward the country house, his lean, muscled frame moving with the ease of a man used to action. A twinge of disquiet returned a frown to his face, and his eyes narrowed. Four years of clandestine missions in the glittering courts and ballrooms of the Continent—their elegant setting no less deadly than the wretched battlefields—had taught him to trust his instincts, and something was off the mark about this assignment. A part of him had known it since Lord Rothe’s man came pounding on his door before dawn.

Lucien’s nostrils flared in the cool breeze. Why was he sent to investigate a country housebreaking? Rothe had failed to tell him something about the theft, something vital that had captured Whitehall's rapt attention. Lucien had sensed an undertone of anxiety in the habitually composed Marquess of Rothe, the man in charge of the Crown's secret spies.

What the devil had Prinny’s War Office gotten him into this time?

Only one way to find out.

Join my release blog tour!
Giveaway
$10 Amazon
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/the-dead-betray-none-book-tour-and-giveaway

Happy Thanksgiving 2021

11/24/2021

Have a terrific holiday!

Blood Angel/High Daemon Abdriel Visits the Blog

9/29/2021

My critique partner Kath and I put our heads together to explore a unique way to tell you about our new/pending books that we hope you'll see in the bookstores in the comings months/years.
Here's what came out of that brainstorming session...

Blood Angel/High Daemon Abdriel Visits the Blog

“Hello. Is anyone home? Mudge, I told you we should have entered through the front door. You do know this is a bathroom window, don’t you? Help me down.” Blood Angel Abdriel brushed off her new jeans and tight blood-red sweater. She patted her back to check that her wings were still closed and turned to her Gargoyle lieutenant Mudge whose ragged overalls and torn flannel shirt needed no straightening. “Take your head out of the toilet. That is not a drinking fountain.”

Abdriel peered out the bathroom door into the hall. “Follow me. We’ll find Ms. Shields, and you can explain our unorthodox entry. I am sure there was no ward on the front door. We were invited. But then she does write about the best witch in the whole of existence. Don’t share that with Hazel. She’d be jealous.”

Abdriel’s wings twitched only once as she led the way down a short hall into a sunny kitchen. She spotted the author they had come to meet. Ally Shield’s back was to them, busy with something on the kitchen counter.

“Hello. I’m Abdriel Mallack, Blood Angel and High Daemon. I believe we have an appointment, Ms. Shields.”

The author whirled around, eyes large, but recovered immediately and chuckled. “You startled me. I should have known you wouldn’t use the front door. Or did you? I didn’t hear the doorbell or the door open and close.”

Abdriel shrugged. “A Blood Angel thing.”

“Really? Well, never mind. I so enjoyed reading the draft of your first book. I hope we’ll see you and Mudge in print soon. I’m looking forward to our interview.”

Abdriel held up a finger and addressed her lieutenant, “Mudge, you must ask before you slurp up someone’s peanut butter. Ms. Shields--

“Please call me Ally,” she said. “Ms. Shields is so formal, makes me feel old.”

“Okay, Ally, but please excuse my Mudge. He is overly fond of peanut butter and is quite unable to control himself. Not that our cupboards are bare, and he didn’t eat before we left home.” She glared at the stumpy three foot tall gargoyle who rolled his eyes as if to say there wasn’t any peanut butter at home.

“Not a problem. He's welcome to it. Would you like some coffee?” Ally pointed to the coffee maker that chortled out a perfect cup of coffee into a mug with a bewitching witch on its front.

“How kind. Normally I’d say yes, but I’ve just finished an interesting series of books on the English Regency period. I’m dying to try a cup of …” Abdriel snapped her fingers at her short scruffy lieutenant.

Mudge mumbled through a sticky mouthful of peanut butter, “Tea.”

“Yes, that’s the word.” Abdriel looked around the sparkling kitchen. She spotted a porcelain teacup, waved her fingers, and brought it to the counter beside the coffee maker. “No milk. I’m not eating animals these days.”

“Milk isn’t exactly eating an animal,” Ally protested.

“Is that a lion?” Abdriel looked at the space around the author’s ankles. “I’ve never seen a lion so small.”

Mudge stood stock still for a second, then raced to the side of a lanky brown and cream-colored kitten who stood her ground not bothering to hiss at the gargoyle as he clumsily stroked her silky back.

“That’s Latte,” Ally said. “She doesn’t usually like visitors. Goodness. She just rolled over for a tummy rub!”

“Mudge is very friendly. Did you say you had tea?” Abdriel tapped the edge of the teacup’s saucer.

“I do.” As Ally disappeared into a neatly stocked pantry, she continued, “You said you had just read a Regency series. What a coincidence. I have a new Regency series coming out soon, The Viscount Ware Mysteries. I’m waiting for a final release date.”

“And I thought you were a devoted fantasy author.”

“I am…under the name of Ally Shields. My new series is written as JL Buck.”

“Oh. Well, I’m a fan of Arianna, your Guardian Witch, in particular. Do you have a strong female protagonist in the new Regency series?” Abdriel looked around the bright kitchen. Her eyes stopped at the room beyond. A prettily set table with a plate of cookies in the center and linen napkins drew her. “Let’s sit and talk. Will you bring the tea and coffee?”

Without waiting for her hostess, Abdriel placed herself at the head of the table and motioned to Mudge. “You will play with the little lion while I talk with Ms. Shields.”

Mudge peered at the plate of cookies, but Latte snagged the back of one leg of his overalls, and he turned and joined her play with a large foil ball that skidded into the vaulted living room beyond the dining room.

Abdriel checked her wings again to make sure they weren’t unfolding. They had a mind of their own, and she was only beginning to get them to follow her wishes. Ally appeared with a tray replete with her own coffee in the Guardian Witch mug, the porcelain cup brimming with tea, slices of lemon, and a bowl of sugar.

Abdriel accepted her tea but shook her head no to the lemon and sugar. “Tell me about your new Regency series.”

Ally smiled. “But you’re here to discuss your first book in a new YA series. Such an intriguing title--Blood Angel: Ascent from Hell. I loved reading your manuscript. I’m afraid Latte had a hard time gaining my attention while I read it all the way through in one sitting.”

“High praise indeed!” Abdriel sipped at her tea. “What part did you like best?”

“It’s hard to pick just one, and I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but your escape from Hell at the beginning was very dramatic and exciting.”

“It was indeed.” Abdriel laughed. “It seems like a long time ago that Mudge and I made that clever escape. We certainly didn’t know our quest to find power on Earth to take back to Hell would end the way it did. I’d never even heard of the Sisterhood or Hunter Angels. Surprising, don’t you agree?”

“Absolutely, but it made for a great story.”

Abdriel stood and paced to a sideboard. “Is this an advance copy of your new Regency series?” She held up the book. “The Dead Betray None by JL Buck. Tell me about it.” Abdriel set her lips in a pout. “I still miss the Guardian Witch. Is this series as good?”

Ally took a breath as though to humor her guest. “I hope so, but perhaps not as interesting for a high daemon/blood angel as the urban fantasy series filled with witches, vampires, and even demons.”

“Yes, it would be better if there were demons...and blood angels,” Abdriel conceded, “but I wish to hear about it anyway. Now. ...uh, please,” she added, remembering humans liked that word.

“Very well. Lucien Grey, Viscount Ware, the heir to an earldom, was a spy for England during the war with Napoleon. He and his partner were betrayed in France and forced to flee to avoid the guillotine. Upon arrival in London, they were recruited into the Prince Regent’s private spy unit, unmasking foreign spy activities within England...or any other delicate situation Prinny felt threatened the Crown.
The first book involves a stolen cipher, the key to Napoleon’s latest spy code. While attempting to recover the missing cipher, Lucien encountered Lady Anne Ashburn standing over a dead body. This intrepid young woman provides valuable assistance during the inquiry and becomes a potential love interest.
Book two, entitled The Dead Cannot Hide, is already written; book three, The Dead Came Calling, is in progress; and book four, The Dead Sang Off-Key, will be underway soon. Those four books are under contract. More books are still in the planning.” Ally set down her coffee mug. “Now, can we talk about your book?”

Abdriel shrugged. “What can I say? It’s wonderful. It’s about me. And Mudge, of course. Lots of adventure, and narrates all the very smart things I say and do. It’s really indescribably awesome.”

“I hope you’ll tell us as soon as it’s for sale.”

“Watch what you humans call a television. Such a momentous event will naturally headline the news.” Abdriel stood. “We must leave. Mudge and I have a busy schedule." She laid a hand on Mudge’s wings, snapped her fingers, and disappeared.

Kath Boyd Marsh (kathboydmarshauthor.com)
Author of the Bumblespells and Bubbles and Smush Middle Grade fantasy series.
Author of the soon-to-be-published Abdriel: Ascent from Hell (Book one of the Blood Angel series)

Check back next week for a return to Guest Author interviews

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