Witchling Review

Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn.

     Today I want to share with you all the first book in a series that I have very much enjoyed. I sadly have not kept up with the series due to moving and lack of book stores, but I will one day catch up. -looks over at my pile of unread books- One day.

     I really enjoyed how the author made the series revolve around strong female leads. As a girl growing up, those types of books were hard to find. She also is an author who isn’t afraid to show her characters faults. I know a few series that try to idolize them or just ignore that concept. Yasmine embraces them. She lets them struggle with themselves and I personally love it. She created a well rounded world that’s believable. She’s also put many hours into the research of magic and the creatures that surround the characters as well. I know that had to have taken a lot of time.

Three magical kick-ass sisters are faced with an unexplainable murder. They have their hunches that it has something to do with Shadow Wing, the leader of the Subterranean Realms. His plan is to raze human kind to the ground, making it into his own personal playground. The D’Artigo sisters are the only ones willing to step up and stop him, or at least try to.

Some characters to watch:

Camille- A wicked-good witch who’s magic sometimes goes a little astray when she least expects it.

Delilah- A shape-shifter who shifts into a tabby cat whenever she’s under a lot of stress.

Menolly- A newly turned vampire who is still trying to get the hang of her new life.

[Click here to get yourself a copy!]

Halloween Mix Up

Just a little tidbit of a collaboration I'm working on.

     It was like any other October night; the air was crisp and light, a hint of cold on its breath. Skadia stood over her cauldron mixing clockwise. She mumbled a few words as she went over the recipe again. The mix was almost done, and it was going to be the talk of the town. Each year she made a spiced pumpkin ale and gave it out to the community, anyone who wanted some was more than welcome. It brought her pride, and the others looked forward to it. This year she had been working on making it the best its ever been. Within the last few moments a thought struck her—one final thing to make it perfect. She pulled her robes up off her ankles and hurried off to the cabinet.

While her back was turned her beloved fur babies decided to help her. Anya, a great black cat with golden eyes watched from her perch up in the rafters. Her eyes followed as the youngest of the three fur children strutted over to the cauldron. “Snowfire, you shouldn’t be near that, mom will skin you.” The oldest of the witches three warned her.

“I will be fine, I just want to look.” Snowfire protested as she leapt up onto the ledge just above the bubbling mix.

The largest of the three came over and sat off to the side, well away from the cast iron pot, her long gray fur sleek and smooth. “Snow, you should really listen to Anya, remember what happened last year?” Her voice was low and smooth.

The year prior Snowfire had actually fallen into the drink. She was fine luckily, but Skadia was fairly upset and had to remake the entire batch. “I’m being careful!” The small white cat protested. As she was distracted by her sisters however, she slipped, one paw catching on a potion bottle on the shelf. The small bottle rocked back and forth on the wooden shelf.

“Snow!” Both cats called to their younger sibling.

Anya leapt down, her fur catching the warm firelight. She landed on the shelf and grabbed Snowfire in her teeth, pulling her little sister up onto the shelf. The small bottle had fallen over, the cork popping out when it landed on its side, the liquid dripping into the ale brew below. The eldest cat pushed the bottle upright but sadly she was too late. More than half the potion had already spilled out.

“She comes!” Bean whispered and in a gray streak went bolting from the room.

“Come on, quick, and be careful!” Anya commanded Snowfire as she leapt from the shelf. Snowfire followed, her ears and tail down.

“I didn’t mean to...” She apologized to her elder.

Anya licked her little sister’s head, smoothing her speckled fur. “It’s alright. Mom will fix it.” The two trotted off just as Skadia walked back into the room, her mystery ingredient in hand.

She tossed the final thing in and mixed it up right quick. With a satisfied smile she took a small sip. It was perfect. She let it cool, and got it into bottles. She sealed them up and rushed out to give them to some friends who were waiting for this batch. She took plenty and before long her friends would share them as well with their own.

As the moon rose high in the sky she returned home and sighed happily. She bottled the rest of the batch and left them all out on the porch for anyone to have. She tucked herself into bed, proud of what she did that day and she couldn’t wait to hear what her friends thought of this year’s drink.  

Rise from the Grave - Magic the Gathering Fanfiction

(Just a quick fanfiction that I slapped together. If you like it, let me know, I'd love to do more.)




 The Litch rose up before the woman, his crown of ice framing his dead skull. His armor creaked with each step he took towards her, and the cold rolled off of his frame in waves, chilling the air around him and freezing anything he came into contact with. The tip of his frozen blade dug a thin trench through the earth as he moved forward. The ice king’s horde roared behind him, and as their maws opened a blue glow illuminated the sky.

    The age-old Litch stopped. Both feet squared and with a single hand he raised his two handed ice blade to the sky. Behind his helmet his eyes glowed as the waves of chill turned into waves of magic. The undead leader roared into the sky and a rumble followed his call.

    Miles away the earth split in half, ice and rock crumbling and shattering as the magic took effect. From under the earth rose a beast. In its glory day it was a great dragon, but now after time and death had ate away most of the flesh the creature was more bone that anything. The magic wrapped around the bones and pulled the beast up from the ground. Its wings stretched wide for the first time since its demise, and its skeletal body took to the sky the beauty and grace of a dragon still in the very essence of its bones. With a few beat of its wings the miles of ground rushed by.

    Liliana sucked in a cold, deep breath. The Litch was sucking the life out of everything around her, and while she had worked with them in the past, she had never really gotten used to that. She watched as her enemies lined up and looked to the sky. She had heard the earth rip itself apart. She stood there, terrified as what was once a dragon rose up before her. What started as a small speck in the sky turned out to be a monster from before the ice age. And it was hungry. She swallowed hard and clenched her fist.

    Liliana stood there, a small glow around her. She was battered from her trials. Parts of her clothing was charred from a fire bolt spell. Other parts were still soaked with muck from the swamp lands. She had bruises all over and more than half of her legion had fallen. It was looking hopeless for her, but she would be damned if she gave up now. Liliana Vess did not just give up when things got hard, she normally rode them out. She pulled herself together and faced the sky, her head held high and her eyes honing in on the skeletal dragon.  “This ends today Nevinyrral!” Her purple magic spiraled around her.

    “Oh does it now? Pretty lady, you think you can just come in here, steal my horde of treasure?” The Litch laughed at her efforts to intimidate him. He had armies, and a treasure trove of resources. “But you are right, it will end today.” He pulled a device out of his robes and smiled. The Litch took one more step toward her, and with that step, disappeared into thin air. His army however, and the hovering dragon still watched her every move, their mouths glowing an eerie blue. 

    “Strike!” She summoned and pushed her hand forward. Her personal horde of undead lurched toward the enemy as her magic pulled them. The beasts and creatures drug themselves and hobbled with a speed that was unnatural. A few that were a little more together dropped to all fours and charged the enemy, running half of the beasts own team in the process but no one seemed to notice or care. It was chaos to say the least.

    The skeletal forces charged each other, clashing in the center. Liliana worked her magic and threw spells left and right, making the skeletons crumble before her. The bones piled up around her and mixed with her own forces at her feet. A sick grin crossed her face—they could be replaced. A shrug followed the thought, as they were also already dead. The skeletal dragon hovered above and circled the battle that unfolded before it. Liliana looked up to the sky. The beast was dead.

    The Litch might have control over this creature, but in the end, it was still dead, and she was a necromancer. Liliana sucked in a deep breath and took a few steps back. Her own warriors flew forward into the throws of the battle to keep their mistress safe. The necromancer steadied her breathing and pulled the energy around her. Her hands twisted and turned, cupping the flowing energy and drawing it all into her. This would be the biggest thing she had ever done so far.

    She threw her hands toward the beast that was munching on both allies and enemies. The magic rushed from her and flowed around the dragon. “You will obey me.” Her purple magic flowed around the beast’s glowing bones and slowly took over the blue light, smothering it under its own purple hues. “Death is no excuse for disobedience.” She called to the sky and the creature withered and pulled against itself, the two magics fighting and tearing it apart.

    The skeletal dragon plummeted to the ground, its massive body crashing into its own ranks. The blue glow of the undead was snuffed out under the creature. Liliana pulled and heaved, her will curving and flexing the magic that controlled the dragon like a puppet. It stood up, now a deep purple glow in its eyes. It lashed out and grabbed the nearest Litch knight. With one bite the blue glow stopped and the two halves of the body fell to the ground. The dragon roared and the forces around it stopped mid battle.

    The ground trembled below. It was just like before when the Litch awoke the dragon, but it was different. A smell of sulfur was in the air this time along with the stench of death. Liliana looked to the horizon and saw a massive cloud of smoke rising from the tip of a mountain. There was a scream from the Litch king’s forces. The skeletons cried as they fell apart, the blue glow going with them. Within a moment the world seemed to stand still. Even the dragon’s bones did not creek in the wind. 

    “What just happened?” The necromancer whispered to herself.

Rise from the Grave Magic the Gathering Fanfiction

     (Just a quick post of some fanfiction that I finished up. I was pretty happy with how this one turned out and I really would like to do more. If this is something you want more of, let me know!)




 The Litch rose up before the woman, his crown of ice framing his dead skull. His armor creaked with each step he took towards her, and the cold rolled off of his frame in waves, chilling the air around him and freezing anything he came into contact with. The tip of his frozen blade dug a thin trench through the earth as he moved forward. The ice king’s horde roared behind him, and as their maws opened a blue glow illuminated the sky.

    The age-old Litch stopped. Both feet squared and with a single hand he raised his two handed ice blade to the sky. Behind his helmet his eyes glowed as the waves of chill turned into waves of magic. The undead leader roared into the sky and a rumble followed his call.

    Miles away the earth split in half, ice and rock crumbling and shattering as the magic took effect. From under the earth rose a beast. In its glory day it was a great dragon, but now after time and death had ate away most of the flesh the creature was more bone that anything. The magic wrapped around the bones and pulled the beast up from the ground. Its wings stretched wide for the first time since its demise, and its skeletal body took to the sky the beauty and grace of a dragon still in the very essence of its bones. With a few beat of its wings the miles of ground rushed by.

    Liliana sucked in a cold, deep breath. The Litch was sucking the life out of everything around her, and while she had worked with them in the past, she had never really gotten used to that. She watched as her enemies lined up and looked to the sky. She had heard the earth rip itself apart. She stood there, terrified as what was once a dragon rose up before her. What started as a small speck in the sky turned out to be a monster from before the ice age. And it was hungry. She swallowed hard and clenched her fist.

    Liliana stood there, a small glow around her. She was battered from her trials. Parts of her clothing was charred from a fire bolt spell. Other parts were still soaked with muck from the swamp lands. She had bruises all over and more than half of her legion had fallen. It was looking hopeless for her, but she would be damned if she gave up now. Liliana Vess did not just give up when things got hard, she normally rode them out. She pulled herself together and faced the sky, her head held high and her eyes honing in on the skeletal dragon.  “This ends today Nevinyrral!” Her purple magic spiraled around her.

    “Oh does it now? Pretty lady, you think you can just come in here, steal my horde of treasure?” The Litch laughed at her efforts to intimidate him. He had armies, and a treasure trove of resources. “But you are right, it will end today.” He pulled a device out of his robes and smiled. The Litch took one more step toward her, and with that step, disappeared into thin air. His army however, and the hovering dragon still watched her every move, their mouths glowing an eerie blue. 

    “Strike!” She summoned and pushed her hand forward. Her personal horde of undead lurched toward the enemy as her magic pulled them. The beasts and creatures drug themselves and hobbled with a speed that was unnatural. A few that were a little more together dropped to all fours and charged the enemy, running half of the beasts own team in the process but no one seemed to notice or care. It was chaos to say the least.

    The skeletal forces charged each other, clashing in the center. Liliana worked her magic and threw spells left and right, making the skeletons crumble before her. The bones piled up around her and mixed with her own forces at her feet. A sick grin crossed her face—they could be replaced. A shrug followed the thought, as they were also already dead. The skeletal dragon hovered above and circled the battle that unfolded before it. Liliana looked up to the sky. The beast was dead.

    The Litch might have control over this creature, but in the end, it was still dead, and she was a necromancer. Liliana sucked in a deep breath and took a few steps back. Her own warriors flew forward into the throws of the battle to keep their mistress safe. The necromancer steadied her breathing and pulled the energy around her. Her hands twisted and turned, cupping the flowing energy and drawing it all into her. This would be the biggest thing she had ever done so far.

    She threw her hands toward the beast that was munching on both allies and enemies. The magic rushed from her and flowed around the dragon. “You will obey me.” Her purple magic flowed around the beast’s glowing bones and slowly took over the blue light, smothering it under its own purple hues. “Death is no excuse for disobedience.” She called to the sky and the creature withered and pulled against itself, the two magics fighting and tearing it apart.

    The skeletal dragon plummeted to the ground, its massive body crashing into its own ranks. The blue glow of the undead was snuffed out under the creature. Liliana pulled and heaved, her will curving and flexing the magic that controlled the dragon like a puppet. It stood up, now a deep purple glow in its eyes. It lashed out and grabbed the nearest Litch knight. With one bite the blue glow stopped and the two halves of the body fell to the ground. The dragon roared and the forces around it stopped mid battle.

    The ground trembled below. It was just like before when the Litch awoke the dragon, but it was different. A smell of sulfur was in the air this time along with the stench of death. Liliana looked to the horizon and saw a massive cloud of smoke rising from the tip of a mountain. There was a scream from the Litch king’s forces. The skeletons cried as they fell apart, the blue glow going with them. Within a moment the world seemed to stand still. Even the dragon’s bones did not creek in the wind. 

    “What just happened?” The necromancer whispered to herself.