I am excited to present the second in the Pagan Artist series, Mel Massey and her exciting new series. Book one released today is Earth Magick.
Life in Trinity Hills, Texas goes from normal to deadly for Mela Malone. Whenever Mela falls asleep, a mysterious Hag creature tries to kill her. What begins as dabbling in protective spells from an ancient Grimoire, leads to her initiation into an ancient order of warrior witches known as the Elementai.
Mela learns war is coming with The Darkness and the Hag is only one of the evil creatures in its service. As an Elementai, Mela learns it’s her duty to find four part-human sisters who can help defeat the evil that threatens to return to the world. With every new discovery, Mela uncovers ancient secrets that complicate her quest further.Â
As war approaches, everyone must make a choice - fight with the Elementai for all life on Earth, or fight for The Darkness...
EXCERPT:
She still wasn't ready to go inside and go to bed. It was late and the moon was shining brightly in the sky. She lifted her head to the trees looking for the white owl. He was nowhere that she could see. Disappointed, she thought of Pan and her visit with him. What she wouldn't give to lie on the pillows in his enchanted corner of the world and forget everything.
Making up her mind, Mela retrieved the flute Pan had given her. She walked as far from the house as she dared with Bear on her heels. As she walked, she began to play the eerie tune he'd taught her. It didn't sound exactly like his; it was a pale shadow to what she remembered. However, he told her to play the flute when she missed him, and she missed him.
Getting lost in the song she began to move to the music, slowly at first, then it grew to something more. She danced to the music as if she were dancing for Pan. With her song and her dance, she told him how she missed him and how afraid she was. Bear thought this was a new game and occasionally leapt to the side expecting her to chase him. For a moment, she was able to forget the fear and all that Sammuele had said. His admission at being wrong, and what it might mean, scared her.
She let go of her fear and used her energy to call to Pan. She called to her God to comfort and protect her. She offered him a song, and begged him with her dance for his company. The shadows whirled around her as she turned in circles. She felt she was erasing the whole world from existence and all that remained was a woman dancing under the light of the moon.
She saw movement in the trees as she continued to play and she watched carefully. From the tree line stepped a beautiful buck. She didn’t know if it was the same one as before but that didn’t matter. Pan had come. She played on and the graceful buck came towards her and watched as she played. Bear was intrigued by the creature's appearance and tried to get him to play with him since Mela wouldn't. He bounced from side to side, wagging his tail but the buck only had eyes for Mela.
AUTHOR BIO:
Mel Massey studied Cultural Anthropology and History of Religion. Her husband serves in the United States Army and she is the mother of two adorable monsters. Mel spends most of her time talking to her imaginary friends.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mel-Massey/428771050563839?ref=hl
Twitter: @melmmassey
Blog: http://www.melmaroni.blogspot.com/
QUESTIONS:
Why did you decide to go with Pagan characters or plot line?
The entire Earth's Magick series centers on Paganism. There are other elements, of course, but the main character, as well as a few secondary characters, are all Pagans in some form or another. It seemed natural to make the magick in the story the driving force behind the series. The power of the Gods/Goddesses, the Watchtowers and the witches make this an exciting tale. If Mela, the main character, wasn't a witch, it simply wouldn't work.
How has it been received?
Ha! It depends on who you ask. But so far, I've been happily surprised that some that I know who are not Pagan are eager to read it. I guess we'll see. There will always be naysayers but I choose to accept them as a natural part of publishing.
Do you aim your marketing toward everyone or do you have a niche?
I'm inclusive to everyone, however, I make no apologies for the content of the series. She's a witch. There are Old Gods/Goddesses that are awake and powerful. If that sort of thing somehow offends one's sense of being then...they shouldn't pick it up. Simple as that.
Recently, I read in a survey one of the quickest way to have someone not buy a book was to include the words, soul, vampire and even Christian in your blurb. Do you advertise you books as Pagan or rather paranormal or occult?
I make no bones about it - I'm a Pagan author. I write about witches and they aren't the bad guys. On my social media pages, I make it very clear I am a Pagan author who writes about witches. It has been a fun and exciting time! People will message me, asking all sorts of questions. They're all very kind. Facebook is a riot because I have tons of other witches as a part of the page. Twitter is a hoot because people will tweet random witchcraft questions. When we're open and honest, people come quickly to ask all sorts of things. Now, I'm sure my books will still be listed under a variety of tags. (Urban fantasy, paranormal, occult) but I don't mind that at all. If someone enjoys Mela and her friends then that's what matters. I'm certain there's a little something for everyone in them.