Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Noble Magic by Joni Parker

 

The author will be awarding a print copy of “Noble Magic” to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

Genre: Fantasy

 

About Noble Magic

Lady Alexin (Alex) battles a band of mortal wizards known as the Octagon, discovers the mysteries of the five legendary diamond eggs, and finally comes into her true powers gifted to her by her conquests and the gifts of her Titan ancestors. Tasked with the seemingly impossible, Alex must find a way to restore the entry points to Seaward Isle or see its inhabitants face certain destruction as the grid holding Eledon together threatens to fall apart.

 

Noble Magic Book Excerpt

Chapter 4:

Off the coast of southern France, a luxurious yacht, at least eighty feet long with large windows and open spaces for sunbathing, rocked gently on the sea. In the lounge, four men sat on a leather sofa, watching the television monitor mounted on the wall with a view of Nemesis in the Elfin chamber. As he delivered his ultimatum to the Elves, the men cheered and shook their fists at the screen. When he ended his threats and the large fireball occurred, they burst into applause. The screen went black.

 

A few moments later, Nemesis entered the room through a black curtain to a standing ovation. He bowed, then pulled up his jeans and slicked his stringy hair away from his face. “I think they got the message. Ecstasy, get this stuff off my face.”

 

Ecstasy clapped loudly and beamed with pride. “Of course, my darling. Sit down. I knew you could do it.” Ecstasy was a man dressed as a woman and threw his arms around Nemesis’ neck and planted a wet kiss on his lips. As he backed away, he waved his wand. “Abracadabra presto change-o! I just love doing your make-up. I love everything about you.”

 

Nemesis’ nose shrunk in size and his color returned to tan. His ugliness was diminished, but didn’t go away. “All right, already. Stop it! Now get a message off to the Dynasty Sisters. They need go in first and get the wand.”

 

Ecstasy closed his eyes and waved his hands over the crystal ball. He mumbled a spell under his breath and peered inside. He leaned back with a sigh. “Oh dear! The girls have gone on a meditation retreat to mourn their grandfather Shinjan and can’t be disturbed for the next month.”

 

“What? Why didn’t you tell me about this? We did this for them. I told you to keep in touch with them.”

 

“I asked them yesterday and they said they were going to be here. I’m sorry.” Tears filled his eyes. “They lied to me…again.”

 

“Damn it! Don’t cry.” Nemesis rubbed his forehead. “All right. Someone else will go. Who wants to go in first?”

 

Silence.

 

Guest Post by Joni Parker

Here’s a short story:

A Baseball Dream

I woke up this morning dreaming of baseball. No, I’m not a player, but my older brother, Eric, loves the game. Everything he has is covered with baseball logos from his notebook for school to his T-shirts. His goal is to play short stop on the Arizona Diamondbacks, but first, his team needs to win today’s game to qualify for the Little League World Series. I’m excited for him, but I have this thing about my dream. It wasn’t that they won or lost, but I got hit on my left eye with a foul ball. It was so vivid that I had to tell my dad about it.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” he told me. “It’s just a dream.”

 

We left early to get to the ball park in plenty of time. We’d never been to this field before—it was across town. As soon as we got there, my brother ran off to join his teammates and my dad picked out our seats on the bleachers running parallel to the first base line. As I sat down, I felt like I had been here before, but I knew I hadn’t. It was in my dream.

 

With popcorn in one hand and soda can in the other, I watched the first batter on our team come to the plate. His name was Reggie and my brother called him ‘Sandwich,’ for obvious reasons. He struck out and we sighed in unison. ‘Top Cat’ Tom was next and he got a base hit. We cheered as if he’d hit a home run. Then Eric stepped up to the plate. He swung and missed the first pitch, but connected with the second. The sharp ting of the aluminum bat drove us to our feet as we watched the ball rise in the air and curve foul over the first base line. The fence should have caught it, but the ball took on a life of its own, rising higher over the fence and veering directly for me. I watched mesmerized by it—it was coming for me the same way it had in my dream. Was this real?

 

Just before the ball hit my face, my dad reached over and deflected it—the ball glanced off my left cheek and skittered away, but it still hurt and I cried. If it hadn’t been deflected, it would have hit my left eye. Just like my dream.

 

Through my tears, I said, “Dad, my dream came true…just like I told you.”

 

“It’s just a coincidence,” he said as he checked the redness on my face. “Hold the soda can against your cheek. It’ll keep the swelling down. You’ll be okay.” He hugged me with one arm around my shoulder. “Why didn’t you catch it?”

 

“I didn’t catch it in my dream either. Sorry, Dad.”

 

About Joni Parker

Joni currently lives in Tucson, Arizona, but she was born in Chicago, lived in Japan, graduated high school in Phoenix, and got married in New Jersey. Not only was she married to a career Navy sailor, but she also completed 22 years of active duty service herself. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting, an MBA, and a Master of Military Arts and Sciences (MMAS) from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

 

After her husband passed away, she returned to the work in the Department of Homeland Security until she discovered her love of writing. She retired again and has written two series, “The Seaward Isle Saga,” a three-book series, and “The Chronicles of Eledon” with “Spell Breaker,” “The Blue Witch,” “Gossamer,” and “Noble Magic.”

 

 

Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParkerJoni

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJoniParker

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JoniParker

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0747SFZLG/ref=pe_820620_248963730_em_1p_0_ti

 

The author will be awarding a print copy of “Noble Magic” to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway