28 days to the Love & Magick Book Launch!
by Sarah Raplee

Two things inspired my second story in LOVE & MAGIC, titled The Curse of the Neahkahnie Treasure. My first inspiration came from my first trip on a sailboat. We sailed from the West Mooring Basin at historic Astoria, Oregon, seven miles down the great Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. Astoria is my favorite small town, and its history and economy have been linked to the ocean for over two-hundred years.

The bow sussed through swells instead of roaring like a diesel engine. The experience was magical, so quiet that I heard wing flaps when a flock of pelicans took flight as we passed.

Never mind that I got seasick. Never mind that it was freezing cold for much of the sail. Never mind that  we were crossing the Columbia River Bar into coastal waters so dangerous they are known as the Graveyard of the Pacific.

The forty-footer was a thing of beauty as sleek and graceful as a sailfish. The cabin below deck sported gorgious polished woodwork and shiny brass fittings.. The surrounding natural beauty touched my soul. I love adventure, and this was a whole new way to explore the sea. I walked on air for days after the sail.

A week later I wrote a flash fiction short story set at  on a sailing vessel. I'd never written a historical, so I set the story in Astoria in 1871. When Judith Ashley, Diana McCollum and I later decided to collaborate on a collection of romantic short stories having paranormal, magical or mystical elements, I decided to lengthen my short-short story from 2,000 to 13,000 words and include the tale in the anthology. Readers had commented that they wanted me to expand the story.

My second source of inspiration for The Curse of the Neahkahnie Treasure is fodder for another blog post!

Thanks for reading. ~ Sarah

29 Days and Counting Until Our Book Launch!

30 days & counting until the LOVE & MAGICK Book Launch! 

Love & Magick is a collection of mystical stories of romance. Why mystical romance? My thesaurus tells me mystical = spiritual, magical, supernatural, transcendent, preternatural. Our stories include elements of fairytales, alternative spirituality, restless spirits, curses, enchantments, witches, wise women second sight...

Mystical seems to fit, doesn't it?

31 Days and Counting Until Our Book Launch!

32 days & counting until the LOVE & MAGICK Book Launch!

Are you familiar with this tale of a lesser-known Snow White? 

One of my two short stories in the LOVE & MAGICK anthology,  Enchanted Protector, is very loosely based on the fairy tale, Snow White and Rose Red, by the Brothers Grimm. If you are not familiar with the Grimms' story, I highly recommend you read the fairy tale. You'll have fun picking out the similarities and differences between the two stories. 

PRINCE ROLF OF HELMSGAARD
HEIR TO THE DRAGON HORN THRONE

 
Here's a teaser to peak your interest: 

In Enchanted Protector, a prince has been spellbound in the body of a wolf. In the Grimms' fairy tale, a prince has been spellbound in the body of a much bigger predator.

Rediscover the stories you loved as a child! Read Grimm's Fairy Tales.

33 days & counting until the LOVE & MAGICK Book Launch!

34 days to the Love & Magick Book Launch!

Two things inspired my second story in LOVE & MAGIC, titled The Curse of the Neahkahnie Treasure. My first inspiration came from my first trip on a sailboat. We sailed from the West Mooring Basin at historic Astoria, Oregon, seven miles down the great Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. Astoria is my favorite small town, and its history and economy have been linked to the ocean for over two-hundred years.

The bow sussed through swells instead of roaring like a diesel engine. The experience was magical, so quiet that I heard wing flaps when a flock of pelicans took flight as we passed.

Never mind that I got seasick. Never mind that it was freezing cold for much of the sail. Never mind that  we were crossing the Columbia River Bar into coastal waters so dangerous they are known as the Graveyard of the Pacific.

The forty-footer was a thing of beauty as sleek and graceful as a sailfish. The cabin below deck sported gorgious polished woodwork and shiny brass fittings.. The surrounding natural beauty touched my soul. I love adventure, and this was a whole new way to explore the sea. I walked on air for days after the sail.

A week later I wrote a flash fiction short story set at  on a sailing vessel. I'd never written a historical, so I set the story in Astoria in 1871. When Judith Ashley, Diana McCollum and I later decided to collaborate on a collection of romantic short stories having paranormal, magical or mystical elements, I decided to lengthen my short-short story from 2,000 to 13,000 words and include the tale in the anthology. Readers had commented that they wanted me to expand the story.

My second source of inspiration for The Curse of the Neahkahnie Treasure is fodder for another blog post!

Thanks for reading. ~ Sarah Raplee