Witch of the Cards guest post + #GIVEAWAY

Today's guest post is by Catherine Stine, author of Witch of the Cards:

Inspiration for Witch of the Cards – Shipwrecks & Seemingly Magical Taffy Shops

For my new historical fantasy Witch of the Cards, inspiration came from all angles. First of all, I’ve been visiting Asbury Park for years. It’s a beach town on the Jersey shore that went from being a posh destination in the 1900s, to being a dilapidated, even dangerous town in trouble. Its gorgeous Art Deco convention center was in ruins, its boardwalk practically deserted.

Despite this, or maybe because of this, I loved strolling its boardwalks and stopping into the few stores still open. One was an ancient taffy shop run by an old lady. I made the shop in my novel have taffy with very strange effects. I changed the tumbledown convention center into a shiny 1930s dance palace, where Fiera and Peter danced to Rudy Vallee’s rendition of Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries, and more. It was big fun researching the music of my grandma’s time.

In another shop on the boardwalk, I discovered dozens of photos of a shipwreck from the 1930s that had washed ashore on the Asbury beach and become a tourist curiosity. It was called The Morro Castle and during Prohibition, it cruised from New York City to Cuba, carrying high rollers who could drink penalty free. In those days, large vessels were still crafted from wood, and the Morro caught fire, causing scores to perish in the cold waters off the Atlantic coast.

I put this disturbing event into my novel, but in Witch of the Cards, it is caused by a supernatural dilemma (not saying what! No spoilers here). Peter Dune, Fiera’s love interest, attends a business meeting on the Morro Castle, where I have him run into a group of 1930s glitterati: actors Bela Lugosi and Irene Ware, the surrealist painter Salvador Dali and the cutting edge fashion designer, Elsa Schiaparelli. This encounter injects some wild fun and helps break up the tension.

Stars with cameos

A paranormal store I have visited to get psychic readings became Peter Dune’s Séance and Tarot, the site of many an unsettling event. And in Witch of theCards, even the ocean holds terrible danger.

And here is the blurb for Witch of the Cards by Catherine Stine

Fiera was born a sea witch with no inkling of her power. And now it might be too late.

Witch of the Cards is historical, supernatural romantic suspense set in 1932 on the Jersey shore. Twenty-two year-old Fiera has recently left the Brooklyn orphanage where she was raised, and works in Manhattan as a nanny. She gets a lucky break when her boss pays for her short vacation in Asbury Park. One evening, Fiera and her new friend Dulcie wander down the boardwalk and into Peter Dune’s Tarot & Séance, where they attend a card reading.

Morro Castle washed ashore

Fiera has always had an unsettling ability to know things before they happen and sense people’s hidden agendas. She longs to either find out the origin of her powers or else banish them because as is, they make her feel crazy. When, during the reading, her energies somehow bond with Peter Dune’s and form an undeniable ethereal force, a chain of revelations and dangerous events begin to unspool. For one, Fiera finds out she is a witch from a powerful sea clan, but that someone is out to stop her blossoming power forever. And though she is falling in love with Peter, he also has a secret side. He’s no card reader, but a private detective working to expose mediums. Despite this terrible betrayal, Fiera must make the choice to save Peter from a tragic Morro Cruise boat fire, or let him perish with his fellow investigators. Told in alternating viewpoints, we hear Fiera and Peter each struggle against their deep attraction. Secrets, lies, even murder, lace this dark fantasy.

And about that giveaway:

Catherine is offering these prizes: One $40 gift card, two hand-painted heart-boxes (by Catherine) with secret treasure inside, one signed paperback of Dorianna by Catherine Stine, one signed paperback of Witch of the Cards by Catherine Stine, one brand new collector Tarot deck along with an envelope full of special swag! 

Click the link below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can buy Witch of the Cards on Amazon US, UK, CA, AU, DE, IN, as well as iBooks, Kobo, and on the Nook.

Author Bio:

Catherine’s novels span the range from futuristic fantasy to paranormal to contemporary. Her futuristic thriller companion novels Fireseed One and Ruby’s Fire are both Amazon bestsellers. Her paranormal YA, Dorianna won Best Horror Book in the Kindle Hub Awards. She also writes romance as Kitsy Clare. Her Art of Love series includes Model Position and Private Internship. Catherine suspects her love of dark fantasy came from her father reading Edgar Allen Poe to her when she was a child.