Hey, Readers. I’m on the road again today. (Shades of Willie Nelson, anyone?) Seriously, I’m visiting with a dear friend who is well-known in the blogging community, Marcia Meara.
Marcia is the author of several books including the Riverbend and Wake-Robin Ridge series. You can check out all her books by clicking here.
Today I’m talking about music and the songs that inspired some of my books and short stories. I’ve closed comments here, but I hope to see you at Marcia’s place.
Hey, everyone. November is turning out to be a busy month for me. Today, I’m excited to be a guest on Marcia Meara’s blog, The Right Stuff, for her feature called, “Ten Things You May Not Know About Me.”
Marcia is a good friend who is very supportive of other writers. She’s also a talented author, loves wildlife, and gives talks at various functions near her Florida home. She’s living proof it’s never too late to pursue a dream.
I’m especially fond of Marcia’s Riverbend series, so be sure to check out all her books. Click here to visit. Hope to see you there.
Hey, everyone! This has been an exciting month in that several of my author friends have new releases. Today, I’d like to welcome Marcia Meara to my blog. I believe this is her first time here, so please welcome her.
Now, without further ado, here’s Marcia to talk about her novella, Emissary 3, Love Hurts.
Thanks so much for having me here today, Joan. It’s great to be sharing the news of my latest release with you and your followers.
Like many writers, my readers often ask me who my favorite characters are. I’ve gotten that question quite a bit about this little series of novellas too, and thought it might be fun to talk about it today. Most of the time, my answers are pretty easy. There’s usually one character in each book that stands out to me more than the rest, even as I’m writing. But with the Emissary tales, there are only three characters who’ve been present in each book, and it’s a much more difficult choice.
First, we have Jake Daughtry, a widower who gave his life rescuing a woman who was drowning in an icy river. Jake was the first soul Azrael pulled from the line in front of the Pearly Gates to become an emissary to the overworked angels. He started out a bit on the stubborn, opinionated, and snarky side, but has grown into his job. He’s a good man, through and through, and hard not to like.
Then along came Dodger, a street-smart junkie in Atlanta, running drugs for a gang, but desperately wanting to get out of that situation. At Azrael’s instructions, Jake rescues the dying boy from a deserted alley, and eventually takes him under his wing. Dodger looks up to Jake as the father he never had, and takes to being an emissary from the start. As it turns out, his powers are far stronger than the ones bestowed upon Jake, and growing more so every day.
And then there’s that ginormous archangel, Azrael. He of the snowy-white wings and the stern countenance and even sterner proclamations. He starts by ruling the emissaries with an iron-fist, but while he’s never going to be a pushover, he has learned to care deeply about his first two emissaries, even as he added more and more to the team around the world.
When push comes to shove, while I love Jake and Dodger immensely, nothing has been more fun than writing Azrael, even if he still doesn’t know how to use contractions. So I guess that answers the question.
The archangel Azrael is my favorite Emissary character, but I hope those of you who decide to check out the tales will enjoy each one of them on his own merits.
The archangel Azrael created his emissaries to help mortals avoid choices that would doom them for eternity. He hadn’t planned on the youngest member of the team falling in love with one. In Marcia Meara’s final installment of her Emissary Trilogy, a Riverbend spinoff series of novellas, we find our three heroes facing a new problem, and it’s all because Dodger died before having a chance to know what love was all about. His request that Azrael help him correct that situation causes a multitude of problems no one could have foreseen. Except the angel.
Azrael’s emissarial program was growing daily, but it still met with stubborn opposition from many on the Council of Angels. Dodger’s request to be allowed to experience what falling in love was all about didn’t help matters, but Azrael thought the boy was onto something. He agreed emissaries who’d shared a loving relationship during their mortal lives would have a deeper understanding of human emotions and motivations, thus enhancing the skills they needed to do their jobs.
With that in mind, Azrael gave Dodger one chance to search for true love. He then laid down a daunting set of stringent rules and guidelines that could not be broken under any circumstances lest dire happenings occur. But while the angel sincerely hoped Dodger would find a way to make this endeavor work, he feared an avalanche of unintended consequences could be in store for his youngest emissary.
Sometimes even angels hate to be right.
Will Azrael ever tire of popping up behind Jake just to see his first emissary fall out of his chair in shock? Will sharp-eyed motel owners ever notice a big red and white semi mysteriously appearing and/or disappearing from their parking lots overnight? And will Dodger be able to track down the mystery girl who caught his eye two weeks earlier to see if she’s really The One?
To find the answers to these and other angelic or emissarial questions, come along on one last adventure with Jake, Dodger, and that ginormous, glowy-eyed archangel, Azrael. They’re waiting for you!
Buy The Emissary 3: Love Hurts HERE.
Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of over thirty years and four big, spoiled cats.
When not writing or blogging, she spends her time gardening, and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard. She enjoys nature. Really, really enjoys it. All of it! Well, almost all of it, anyway. From birds, to furry critters, to her very favorites, snakes. The exception would be spiders, which she truly loathes, convinced that anything with eight hairy legs is surely up to no good. She does not, however, kill spiders anymore, since she knows they have their place in the world. Besides, her husband now handles her Arachnid Catch and Release Program, and she’s good with that.
Spiders aside, the one thing Marcia would like to tell each of her readers is that it’s never too late to make your dreams come true. If, at the age of 69, she could write and publish her first book (and thus fulfill 64 years of longing to do that very thing), you can make your own dreams a reality, too. Go for it! What have you got to lose?
Contact Marcia Here:
marciameara16@gmail.com
Find Marcia’s Books Here:
Hey everyone. It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for another book share. I read Finding Hunter last fall. Due to my blogging break during NaNoWriMo, I didn’t post the review here. Better late than never.
My Review:
After reading and thoroughly enjoying the first book of Marcia Meara’s Riverbend series, I eagerly awaited this one.
Hunter Painter is the youngest of three brothers, much different than his siblings. Where they are bold, brash jocks, Hunter is quiet, reflective, and somewhat shy. He’s been in love with Willow Greene since high school, but always thought he wasn’t good enough for her.
When a friend encourages him to call her, Hunter discovers the feeling is mutual. All too soon, their happiness is put to the test with a tragedy strikes Hunter’s family. He blames himself and leaves Riverbend. Some, including his brother Forrest, believe he may have committed suicide. But Willow refuses to give up, and after months Hunter returns—a broken man.
I have to be honest—parts of this book weren’t what I expected. However, Meara is a talented writer who does a fantastic job of tackling some genuine issues that face many people today—PTSD, depression, dysfunctional families. The suspense is there in the form of the mysterious “traveling man” who is bent on killing someone. And of course, there is the romance between Willow and Hunter.
If you like character-driven fiction, you’ll love this one. The third book of the series is coming up on my TBR list, and I look forward to reading it.
Five stars for this one.
Blurb:
Before, I never thought about taking a life. Not once.
Now, the thought fills my mind day and night, and
I wonder how I’ll hide that terrible need,
As an old car swings to the shoulder,
And stops.
~ Traveling Man ~
Hunter Painter’s darkest fears have shaped his offbeat personality since he was a child, crippling him in ways invisible to those unable to see past his quiet exterior. In a sleepy Florida town known for its eccentric inhabitants, he’s always been a mystery to most.
Only one person sees beyond Hunter’s quirky facade. Willow Greene, the new age herbalist who owns the local candle and potpourri shop, has secretly loved him since they were in high school. When, sixteen years later, she discovers Hunter has loved her just as long, Willow hopes her dreams are finally coming true.
Willow soon learns that Hunter fears happiness at her side isn’t in the cards for him. With her natural optimism and courage, she almost convinces him he’s wrong—that they can really have that life together they both long for—but even Willow can’t stop what Hunter knows is coming.
One by one, his worst nightmares become reality, culminating in an unthinkable tragedy, which devastates everyone it touches. Willow’s battle begins in earnest as Hunter is plunged into a bleak, guilt-ridden despair, threatening to destroy not only their love but Hunter, himself.
Finding Hunter is the story of a lost man’s desperate struggle to make his way home again, and one woman’s unshakeable faith in him and the power of their love.
Hey everyone! I’m over the moon excited to welcome Marcia Meara as my guest today. She recently released The Light, the fourth in her Wake Robin Ridge Series. Marcia is a very talented author, and if you haven’t read any of her books, I highly recommend you doing so.
Today she’s going to talk about her new book and a mysterious phenomenon called the Brown Mountain Lights. You may recall some time ago I wrote about the Marfa Lights which are found in far west Texas, so I’m very intrigued.
Take it away, Marcia!
Thank you so much for having me here today, Joan! I’m pretty excited to be sharing the release of my latest book, The Light: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 4, with your readers, and I hope they’ll enjoy checking it out, along with the first three books in the series:
Wake-Robin Ridge
A Boy Named Rabbit
Harbinger
Happy New Year to All!
I can’t remember when I first heard about the infamous Brown Mountain Lights, but the writer in me instantly fell in love with the very idea of such an unexplained phenomenon in this day and age. A Blue Ridge Mountain ridge with mysterious lights that hover above it on random nights, then disappear with no explanation? Oh, the endless possibilities for use in a shivery story—especially one already set in those mountains, involving a little boy with a special gift and all sorts of Appalachian legends and ghosts! All I could think was, “Let the research begin!”
And so, it did.
Days later I finally reached a definite conclusion about the Brown Mountain Lights. Nobody knows for sure what they are. Period.
Theories have run amok for a very, very long time, ranging from swamp gas to ball lightning to alien life forms, and most have been easily shot down. But over the decades, not one person has proved conclusively what causes these strange lights or why they only appear on random, seemingly unrelated occasions.
A few serious studies were carried out, but the results are less than satisfying. Recent ones suggest the lights are the result of distant trains and automobiles. Really? That would surely surprise the Cherokee people since—long before trains or automobiles existed in this country—they’ve believed them to be the spirits of warriors lost in battle.
As for myself, I have no idea what causes these strange, entrancing lights, but oddly enough, Rabbit’s thoughts on the matter echo mine. 😊 I believe we’ll solve the mystery someday, and it will likely turn out to be a natural occurrence of one sort or another. After all, we are learning new things about nature every day, so that wouldn’t surprise me a bit.
In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to have Rabbit ask to see the lights for himself, so I sent the Cole family off on a Halloween night expedition. Suffice it to say, Rabbit got more than he bargained for, and the experience was the beginning of a brand-new mystery I hope you’ll find intriguing.
The Magic is Back!
F
or Robert MacKenzie Cole—or Rabbit, as he’s known to all—the chance to accompany his family to see North Carolina’s infamous Brown Mountain Lights has him nearly dizzy with excitement. And what better night to watch this unexplained phenomenon unfold than Halloween?
But when the entrancing, unpredictable lights show up, Rabbit gets far more than he bargained for. He’s gifted with what folks in the Appalachians call “the Sight,” and it’s this extrasensory perception that enables him to spot the one light different from all the rest.
In his biggest challenge to date, Rabbit—aided by his daddy and his newest friend, Austin Dupree— begins a quest to learn more about the mysterious light. Their investigation unveils a web of cons and corruption none of them expected and exposes a brutal murder along the way.
Throughout all, Rabbit is unfaltering in his commitment to do whatever it takes to understand the truth behind the glowing orb and to determine how he can help it. After all, it followed him home.
Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of over thirty years, four big cats, and one small dachshund.
When not writing or blogging, she spends her time gardening and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard. She enjoys nature. Really, really enjoys it. All of it! Well, almost all of it, anyway. From birds to furry critters, to her very favorites, snakes. The exception would be spiders, which she truly loathes, convinced that anything with eight hairy legs is surely up to no good. She does not, however, kill spiders anymore, since she knows they have their place in the world. Besides, her husband now handles her Arachnid Catch and Release Program, and she’s good with that.
Spiders aside, the one thing Marcia would like to tell each of her readers is that it’s never too late to make your dreams come true. If, at the age of 69, she could write and publish a book (and thus fulfill 64 years of longing to do that very thing), you can make your own dreams a reality, too. Go for it! What have you got to lose?
Marcia has published seven novels, two novellas, and one book of poetry to date, all of which are available on Amazon:
You can reach Marcia via email at marciameara16@gmail.com or on the following social media sites:
Twitter: @marciameara
Joan Hall 
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