Treasures (Etc) – sneak peek – excerpt #1

GIVEAWAY CLOSED – THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED

The following is a (approx) 450 word excerpt from my upcoming release, Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic. This is not the final proof. Release date: June 19, 2014

Comment on this post to win a prerelease ebook (eARC) of Treasures (Etc). An excerpt and chance to win will be posted every Friday  leading up to the release date. A new winner will be selected by random number generator after 12noon PST on the following Friday. 

**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR DOWSER  #1 & #2**

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With one hand on the invisible knife at my hip and one hand twined through the wedding ring charms on my necklace, I stepped out from the golden magic of the portal onto the shores of Loch More. Yeah, Loch More, as in Scotland.

The ground underneath my feet thrummed with wild magic and untapped power. Supposedly, all the grid points around the globe — where natural magic reigned — teemed this way. Too many thousands of years ago for me to comprehend the guardian dragons had set up a network of portals anchored at these points. I gathered the portals were rather helpful when it came to saving the world, which the guardians did constantly.

Thankfully such responsibility wasn’t my duty. No, my focus was much more personal.

I drew a little more of the shielding magic from my necklace, and the hair on the back of my neck settled. I unclenched my teeth. The land around me glowed — I could see for miles in all directions — but not with any specific color of magic. Rather, all the natural hues of the earth were intensified. I could actually see magic in the air I breathed.

I’d expected snow, seeing as it was the first week of November, but there wasn’t any. I wondered if that was like people who didn’t know Vancouver expecting it to snow there all the time, which it hardly ever did. Unlike the rest of Canada.

The sun was low in the sky. I’d misjudged the time, which reminded me I also wasn’t sure of the exact date though I’d tried to keep a rough calendar based on my infrequent calls home. My sleep schedule was erratic, now dictated by exhaustion rather than the rotation of the earth.

Time moved oddly in the dragon nexus. At least three and a half months had passed while I’d trained, studied, and pretty much did anything to avoid the fate waiting for me in the Sea Lion Caves, but it felt like more and less all at the same time. I supposed that was what destiny felt like … or was that inevitability?

Memories of the terror my sister Sienna had created in the caves along the Oregon coast — which, ironically, were a tourist attraction for some people — had melded over the past months with the bloody vision that Chi Wen, the far seer, had shared with me. A vision that showed my loved ones slaughtered on an altar. A vision that had stopped me from following Desmond and Kett back through the portal and kept me training like a woman fueled by vengeance. A vision, mixed with a memory, that had me formulating a plan.

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Comment below to win an exclusive prerelease copy of Treasures, Demons and Other Black Magic!

Wait! You haven’t read Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic or Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic yet? You can win that ebook instead, just let me know in your comment.

Bonus entries?? Do the above and add any or all of the following:

  1. Sign up for my new release mailing list
  2. Follow me on twitter and tweet giveaway info … such as:  Excerpt & Giveaway for the #DowserSeries via @mcdoidge – #win a pre-release eARC#ebook http://wp.me/pP9tA-HM
  3. Like me on Facebook. I cannot ask you to post a link on your Facebook page because that is against FB’s code of conduct, but if you felt so inclined that would be lovely.
  4. WordPress user? Like this post.
  5. Blogger? Post a link to this post via your blog.
  6. Subscribe to this blog (link on side bar).

Are you already following me on any or all of the above platforms or mailing lists? Thank you!! Just remind me in your comment so I remember to give you the extra entries!

Dowser Three – The Synopsis

WARNING: the synopsis (below) contains mild spoilers for Dowser #2, and definite spoilers for Dowser #1.

Okay! You’ve seen the cover and now I have the synopsis ready – yay! Both contain little hints to what Jade (and company) are up to in Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic, aka Dowser #3.

Treasures (Etc) book cover Synopsis: I hadn’t set foot in the human world for more than a few hours in over three and a half months. Sure, I was stronger and faster than I’d ever been before, and I had a shiny new sword, but I was seriously chocolate deprived. I don’t recommend quitting cold turkey. And the new sword was a problem — to my mind, anyway. It represented all the expectations of a powerful father and a new otherworldly life. A life that wasn’t the one I’d worked so hard to build. It also represented the responsibility I had to bring my foster sister Sienna to … what? Justice? I didn’t know if that was even possible. What I did know was that Sienna wouldn’t stop, and that I couldn’t just leave everything up to fate and destiny … or maybe I was. Maybe I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing. If you believed in that sort of thing.

I just hoped that before the chaos and mayhem renewed, I’d manage to get my hands on some chocolate. It didn’t even have to be single-origin Madagascar. I was utterly prepared to lower my standards.

Next up: The RELEASE DATE (soon! soon! my pretties). And, of course, excerpts and giveaways – I love this part of releasing a new book!

I can barely wait!!

Dowser 3 Cover Reveal

Without further ado, here is the cover for Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic.

Treasures (Etc) book cover

 

Thank you to Elizabeth Mackey, who designed all of the new covers for the Dowser Series.

More reveals to come throughout May – the release date, synopsis, excerpts, and of course eARC giveaways!!

treasures_coverreveal_stockchocolate_comingsoonSo stock up on chocolate and baking supplies, Dowser 3 is a wild ride – poor Jade!

Please share at will. Much appreciated.

Here we go!!

ETA: make sure you join the NEW RELEASE MAILING LIST to be the first to know about the release!!

Dowser Series Cover Reveals

I’d been thinking about rebranding the Dowser series for awhile, and knowing I was about to publish the third book in the series this seemed like the perfect timing. I adore Irene Langholm, who has done ALL of my book covers up to this point, but together we thought another cover designer might bring some lightness or playfulness to the covers.

And so entered Elizabeth Mackey.

We went with simple, strong branding – chocolate hues, of course – and I really, really love them.

Cupcakes _2nd book cover          Trinkets_2ndbook cover

I know, I know you want to see the third book!! How about a teaser and a cover reveal date to tide you over?

 

treasures_coverreveal_taste

Please feel feel to share, share, share!!

Flash Giveaway – 3 paperbacks in 24 hours

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

CONGRATS to MOLLY SNOW, HEATHER L. & CATHERINE T. – the paperbacks are on their way!! Thanks for playing.

Ok! I’m feeling like doing something exciting today! So here it is – yes, I’m a wild one – LOL.

FLASH GIVEAWAY!!

Win a signed paperback of Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic in the next 24 hours by doing one (or all) of the following (see below). I will assign numbers to each entry as they come in and pick three winners via a random number generator tomorrow at 9:05 am PDT.

Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY from Thursday, April 3rd, 9 am PDT to Friday, April 4th, 9 am PDT.

Already have Cupcakes (Etc) in paperback? You can still enter, and if the generator picks you to win request any of my ebooks instead.

ENTER BY:

1. commenting on this blog post. Bonus entry for signing up to my mailing list (or reminding me you are already on it because you rock!)

2. Following me on twitter and tweeting this (or something like it): flash giveaway – win a signed paperback of Cupcakes (Etc) the 1st book in the urban fantasy Dowser Series by @mcdoidge http://wp.me/pP9tA-G3

2. Liking me on Facebook and sharing the giveaway (if you are so inclined). Or even easier, like me on Facebook and comment on the giveaway post I’m about to put up there.

I’ll give away one paperback via the blog, one via twitter, and one via Facebook.

FUN! FUN!

cupcakes_customer_flashgiveaway

 

 

Cupcakes (Etc) memes

Now I’m testing some Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic aka Dowser #1 quotes/memes. I have to put a push on the 1st book to also market the 2nd, it seems. Not sure about the brown font, but it’s CMYK for “baker’s chocolate” so how could I resist?

Do you have any favourite quotes from Cupcakes (Etc) you think might work better than these?

Cupcakes (etc) customer meme

Cupcakes (Etc) glasses-a-day meme

Cupcakes (etc) phone meme

I wasn’t just playing around with InDesign all afternoon – just in case you were fretting – I busted out 2250 words on Treasures (Etc) aka Dowser #3, but then my hand started aching!!