thanks all round

And that’s the end of The Flowers of Time blogtour! Thank you so much to everyone who has hosted me, it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to visit. Here’s a recap of the topics and where you can find me:

Plus! All these lovely people came and talked to me over the last few days on intersecting topics:

It’s been a lot of fun and an immense privilege to host such a wonderful set of people and I’m so grateful that they took time out of their busy lives. Thank you!

PS. If you’d like to buy The Flowers of Time that would quite frankly make me extremely chuffed.

M. D. Stewart talks about her Fae-Shifter’s magic system

It’s a pleasure to welcome Mindi today to chat about her Fae Shifter world and how the magic all fits together.

Hello! My name is M.D. Stewart, and I’m from a small town in a rural county of southern West Virginia. I’m going to talk about the characters and magic used in my Fae Shifters series.

There are five different species inhabiting my alternative Earth:

In my Fae Shifter world, witches are born male and female, but usually, women carry the “burden” of magic. In some rare instances, men can connect to feminine energy of Gaia, and they are indeed powerful. If a male is born or married to a Witch, they are responsible for policing the Coven and usually act as policemen and firefighters (because they’re hot, right?).

  1. Humans, who are ignorant of other types of humanoids. They don’t do magic, shift into other creatures, or require blood unless they are injured. Originally humans were put on Earth by the goddess to act as a balance to the magical community. Eventually, we lost all knowledge of Others so we live in blissful ignorance.
  2. Witches are natural-born beings that tap into the endless Earth goddess (Gaia) energy to do spell work. They can receive visions and manipulate Earth’s energy to create magic. Anything to do with the Earth, grounding, growing plants, healing, witches gain access to that power. It’s rare, but since the Earth has gravity, some witches can defy that law and levitate or make someone so heavy they can’t move.
  3. Vampires can’t do magic, but they do require blood, sex, and moon energy to live. They cannot absorb direct UV rays. But the moon simply reflects the sun, so it’s not a direct dose. They do have more strength than humans, especially after ingesting blood energy. Unlike myths, they are living creatures with souls who can see their reflection and can have children but can’t shift into other creatures.
  4. Shifters are magical beings that don’t require blood but can drink it, especially during sex. They see and manipulate surrounding energies from the plants, animals or other creatures to create magic. Because of this, they are the most magical beings on the Earth plane. Natural Shifters live in groups or tribes, are Native Americans and shift into one animal; Bears, Wolves, or Lions (as in mountain lions or bobcats here in the states).
  5. The Fae live on Earth but in a different dimension that is accessed through portals scattered all over the Earth. Only members of the magical community can enter the Fae realm (or Faedom). The Faedom is inherently magical, there is no barrier to access magic there, whereas the Earth Plane is a natural magical dampener for the Fae. The Fae are at the top of the magical pyramid, so to speak. Issues between the groups in the magical community are brought before the King of the Fae to judge. Fae can shift into any large land mammal, dog, horse, bear, wolf, but cannot shift into birds (non-mammal) or rabbits (too small). Physics still apply. Human-sized creatures can only shrink so much so no mice shifting!

All magical creatures live longer than humans. Witches can live two times the length of a normal human life span of 70 – 80 years. They have direct access to the Earth and can pull on her energy to heal some wounds and live longer. A mortal wound like a gunshot or stabbing will kill them. They aren’t as fragile as humans but they are the closest to us when it comes to mortality.

Vampires live for centuries but can die by several means. Sun exposure, beheading, blood loss, or the older generation who are tired of living choose to not take in blood or sex energy.  If a Vampire stays out of the moon for long periods, they can be weakened and be killed like any human.

Shifters live very long lives as well. In my books, the Fae King Bran and the Chief of the Bear tribe Black Hawk/Michael met and fell in love in the 1400s. And Black Hawk’s father who turned over the tribe to his son now lives in Florida! Bran and Michael are six hundred years old but look about mid-thirties. Shifters, if injured, can heal most wounds by shifting into their animal form.

Fae, on the other hand, can live for as long as they choose to, even millennia. In Faedom, magic is readily available, and that magic sustains their life force. On the Earth Plane, they are more susceptible to injury and death, but shifting into an animal form heals them enough to make it back home. Blood can speed their healing rate. If they are low on blood, the sun can damage them, but it usually isn’t fatal.  What Fae and Shifters can do to help when someone is gravely hurt is to perform a Vibrational Healing. Healing is at the crux of the stories in my Fae Shifter books!

What is Vibrational Healing?  All things, even plants, have energy fields, but in humans, we refer to them as Chakras or Chi. During a Healing, two alpha males stimulate these centers by creating sexual energy. During sex, when both men reach climax at the same time, it creates Harmony, a high rate of energy that can be directed to an injured person. Alpha males have more aggressive energy (that’s what makes them an alpha). Sex between a man and woman can also create energy, but it’s more “life-creating” energy, which is sustaining not healing.

In the first book, Devitt, he and his best friend are forced to participate in a Vibrational Healing to save Dev’s true mate from evil magic that is killing her. During the Healing, they all form a tight bond, but Rhys isn’t part of their mate set. The rogue Fae family who placed the curse on Sienna are actively trying to overthrow Devitt’s family, the ruling Royal St. Clair line.

In the second book, we meet the King of the Fae, Bran St. Clair. In Dev’s book, we learn he and the Chief of the Bear Clan have a history, but it’s only known they participated in a Vibrational Healing over five centuries earlier. They meet again when Bran finds his true mate on the Earth plane, and her life is threatened by the family who wants to destroy the St. Clairs.

I’m releasing a short 18K story starring Bran and Micheal, telling of the time they met and fell in love in pre-colonial America. It’s a prequel to the series, but the story is concluded in Bran’s book. It’s full of hot M/M sex and a steamy promise bonding. That story and other LGBTQ Supernatural romance books will be free March 9th through April 7th on Prolific Works.

Find M.D. Online

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I am over at MD’s blog today talking about the Lost in Time universe and you can read about my own Lost in Time magic system over at Stories that Make you Smile today as part of The Flowers of Time blogtour.

Visitors! Quick! Tidy up!

I’m tidying the sitting room and shoving dog-toys under the sofa with my foot and generally making sure my high-brow books have their spines prominently visible here at Lester Towers this week. I’m going to have visitors!

To celebrate the launch of The Flowers of Time this week, I have some fantastic guests coming in to talk about aspects of their own work on the themes of magic, journeys, landscape and gender.

The linked posts won’t go live until the day of the interview, but just to give you the head’s up:

Mon 24 FebZaya Feli is talking about the importance of both physical and mental journeys in her books. This ties in with me talking about Edie’s journey to Srinagar, a deleted scene from The Flowers of Time, at Love Bytes Reviews. Zaya’s post.

Tue 25 FebJeannelle d’Ferreira is here to talk about hero(in)es in breeches and I am at Drops of Ink with a deleted scene about Jones’ inner thoughts on gender. Jeannelle’s post.

Wed 26 FebElizabeth Noble has written about the urban fantasy world of her upcoming release Scintilla and I’m talking about the magic in the Green Book at Joyfully Jay. Elizabeth’s post.

Thu 27 FebM. D. Stewart is here talking about the magic of her Fae-Shifter world and I am over at Stories That Make You Smile talking about the Lost in Time magic system. MD’s post. I’m also at MD’s blog later today talking about the Lost in Time series.

Fri 28 FebDaniel Aegan is here talking about magic and time-travel and I am at Mirrigold’s Mutterings talking about my works in progress. Daniel’s post.

Sat 29 FebSarah Remy/Alex Hall talks about writing gender diverse characters. I am at Xtreme Delusions, talking about Jones and Edie’s journey over the mountains. Sarah’s post.

Sun 01 Mar Emily Carrington interviews her non-binary character Ash, from Yew & Thorn, #3 in her upcoming Hartwood series and I am talking about Jones and her dislike of petticoats, with an excerpt from The Flowers of Time at Valerie Ullmer’s blog. Emily’s post.

Today, I am at My Fiction Nook talking about life, the universe and everything.