The Light ~ New Release from @MarciaMeara #TuesdayBookShare

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.


Blurb:

The Magic is Back!

For 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.


Bio:

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:

Marcia’s Amazon Author Page

You can reach Marcia via email at marciameara16@gmail.com or on the following social media sites:

The Write Stuff

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter: @marciameara

 

Book Review ~ Swamp Ghosts by Marcia Meara #TuesdayBookBlog

Hey y’all. It’s time for another Tuesday Book Share. I’ve been able to wheedle down my TBR list in the past few weeks. One of the books I read was Marcia Meara’s Swamp Ghosts, the first of her Riverbend Series.

Marcia published this book five years ago, but if you haven’t read it, I highly encourage you to do so. I’ll be reading the rest of her Riverbend Series and more.

Blurb:

Wildlife photographer Gunnar Wolfe looked like the kind of guy every man wanted to be and every woman just plain wanted, and the St. Johns River of central Florida drew him like a magnet. EcoTour boat owner Maggie Devlin knew all the river’s secrets, including the deadliest ones found in the swamps. But neither Maggie nor Gunn was prepared for the danger that would come after them on two legs.

On a quest to make history photographing the rarest birds of them all, Gunnar hires the fiery, no-nonsense Maggie to canoe him into the most remote wetland areas in the state. He was unprepared for how much he would enjoy both the trips and Maggie’s company. He soon realizes he wants more than she’s able to give, but before he can win her over, they make a grisly discovery that changes everything, and turns the quiet little town of Riverbend upside down. A serial killer is on the prowl among them.

My 5 Star Review:

I had Swamp Ghosts (Book One of the Riverbend Series) on my ever-growing TBR list for a few months. I don’t know why I waited so long to read it. It’s not often I finish a book in one day.

Swamp Ghosts has the elements I love in a story—mystery, suspense, and romance. A huge plus is Marcia Meara’s knowledge of the Florida area and its wildlife.

The characters are well-developed, and the chemistry between Maggie and Gunnar is evident from the start. The plot is well-written and the action fast-paced. Meara throws in enough twists and turns that kept me guessing the identity of the killer. (And no, I didn’t get it right.)

The book ends with a satisfying conclusion and a hint of what is to come in the second Riverbend book.

A resounding five stars for this one!

Author Bio:

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.

Marcia enjoys nature. All of it! Well, almost all of it, anyway. From birds, to furry critters, to her very favorites, snakes. She does, however, consider squirrels to be minions of Satan, sent to drive her mad. And she truly loathes spiders, 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.

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?


A note about ratings. I consider three stars and above as positive reviews. I reserve five stars for books that keep me turning the pages and that I would read again. (Yes, I’ve been known to do that.)

5 Stars: Awesome story! Couldn’t put it down – Highly recommend.
4 Stars: The book kept me interested – Check it out.
3 Stars: It was okay. Not my favorite, but I didn’t dislike it enough to discontinue.
2 Stars: Book didn’t hold my interest, problems with the plot, characters, poor writing, etc.
1 Star: Don’t bother!

Cover Reveal: Marcia Meara – The Emissary 2 To Love Somebody

Hello, Readers. It’s my delight to welcome for the first time author Marcia Meara. She has a brand new book soon to be released. Today I’m joining her tour to reveal the cover of The Emissary 2: To Love Somebody. Please welcome Marcia Meara.

COMING SOON!
They’re back!
Jake and Dodger are at it again,
accompanied by their
boss, the archangel Azrael.

I am so excited, I can hardly stand it. Once again, Nicki Forde Graphics Design has come up with a cover that does exactly what I wanted it to do. It provides a great-looking image that clearly links the second novella in my Emissary series with the first one. And it does this by putting Jake’s big, red-and-white semi front and center, angel wings and all, but with a completely different background.

In The Emissary 2: To Love Somebody, Jake and Dodger travel both coasts of Florida, day and night, working their emissarial magic wherever they find souls in trouble. For me, the palm fronds over the truck, the ocean in the background, and the moon shining down are perfect.

I can’t give you an exact release date for The Emissary 2: To Love Sombody yet, as I still have a few more tiny odds and ends to finish up, including the blurb. But I’m 99.9% sure it will be available within a week or two, and I’ll have more to share with you then. In the meantime, what do you think?

My heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful bloggers who have helped me share my new cover with the Immediate World! It’s lovely to be part of such a supportive online community, and every single one of you is special to me. Thank you!

NOTE: This is not a stand-alone novella, so now’s a good time to grab the first one. You can read it in an evening and be all set for The Emissary 2. You’ll find The Emissary 1 on Amazon HERE.


Author Marcia Meara

Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of over thirty years, four big cats, and two small dachshunds. 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. At the age of five, Marcia declared she wanted to be an author, and is ecstatic that at age 69, she finally began pursuing that dream. Her belief in the redemptive power of love is a unifying factor in both of her popular series and her poetry. Today, she’s still going strong, and plans to keep on writing until she falls face down on the keyboard, which she figures would be a pretty good way to go!

Marcia has published six novels, one novella, and one book of poetry to date, all of which are available on Amazon:
Wake-Robin Ridge
A Boy Named Rabbit: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 2
Harbinger: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 3

Swamp Ghosts: A Riverbend Novel
Finding Hunter: Riverbend Book 2
That Darkest Place: Riverbend Book 3

The Emissary: A Riverbend Spinoff Novella

Summer Magic: Poems of Life & Love

Marcia’s Amazon Author Page

You can reach Marcia via email at marciameara16@gmail.com or on the following social media sites:

The Write Stuff: http://marciamearawrites.com/
Twitter: @marciameara
Facebook: www.facebook.com/marcia.meara.writer
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marciameara/