Categories
Other Spotlights

Author Spotlight: Bruce Jenvey 1.2

spotlight

Today Bruce Jenvey has returned to say farewell, but first he’s going to share an insightful and entertaining interview between him and a journalism student who also happens to be a fan of this work. Enjoy!

image provided by author

FAN: I’m so glad we finally got a chance to sit down with you and ask you about your new book, The Ragtime Coven.

BRUCE: Again, I apologize to everyone for the delays, but family needs come first and this last year has been a long one. But I’m back at the keyboard and the new book is wrapping up well, now!

FAN: First, tell us about your Cabbottown Witches. In today’s books and movies, I’ve never seen witches portrayed like yours are.

BRUCE: That was a bit of controversy when Angela’s Coven was first released. My witches have no magic wands, no pointy hats, no Hokus Pokus. Aunt Maddy and her girls are actually, more historically correct!

FAN: You mean there really were witches?

BRUCE: In a matter of speaking… yes! The first witches were Midwives who had learned the art of natural healing from mothers and grandmothers before them. Even in the dark ages, they were making potions and slaves, things we would today call Home Remedies or Holistic Medicine… and they were getting some pretty miraculous results with those kind of cures! Well, at least by Medieval standards. It was the ‘Men Doctors’ who didn’t like the competition and the legends of green warty noses, cooking children and being in league with the Devil were all started to discourage people from trusting the Midwives. True!

FAN: So, how does that relate to your Cabbottown Witches?

BRUCE: My witches harvest herbs, bark, mushrooms… all things natural and then they simmer things over a stove, grind the powders and mix things together to get some pretty amazing results. You see, when they started burning witches at the stake, as a group, they pretty much went underground. That was over a thousand years ago! I’m just saying that in all those years behind closed doors… I bet ya they’ve made some progress and breakthroughs!

FAN: So these are… modern day witches of the olde school variety?

BRUCE: I like that! I’ll probably steal that if you don’t mind. But yes. In the first book, Angela’s Coven, it involves the witches with a terminally ill rock star and his contract with the devil. In my books, Lucifer is a physical being but never leaves his office in Hell. He sends his right hand minion, his lawyer, out to do his bidding. And yes, there are some very humorous moments you’ll find there, really throughout the books. But bring your tissues, too!

FAN: So the witches don’t work for Lucifer?

BRUCE: No, quite the opposite. Other characters in my books are actually Angels! My wife is a big angel collector and that’s been a big influence on me. So the Angels and Lucifer might be at odds, but the witches are caught in the middle. In the first book, they were guardian angels. In The Great Northern Coven, he was more of a troubled angel. But in the third book, this angel, is an Avenging Angel! He’s quite a character all in himself!

FAN: Tell us more about the third book.

BRUCE: This is The Ragtime Coven and is a prequel to Angela’s Coven. It covers a lot of unanswered questions as it follows the Coven in the time of World War I and the Prohibition Era. There’s rumrunners, gangsters, flappers and it’s really quite fun. Some of my best characters, really! But most important, this book will tie all THREE books together and a lot of pieces fall into place. If you liked the first one, you’ll love this one, really!

Find Bruce on Amazon here.

image provided by author

Bruce Jenvey is the award-winning author of Angela’s Coven and other tales of the paranormal. He was raised in rural Michigan with a great interest in history, popular culture and the paranormal. After twenty years in the advertising industry, he spent the next decade traveling the Great Lakes region as a journalist Now, Bruce has turned to fiction and shares many of his real-world experiences through his Cabbottown Witches.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

Categories
Excerpts Spotlights

Author Spotlight: Bruce Jenvey 1.1

spotlight

Bruce Jenvey is the award-winning author of Angela’s Coven and other tales of the paranormal. Here is an excerpt from his soon to be released third book in the Cabbottown Witch series, The Ragtime Coven, telling the story of the coven through the days of WWI and the Prohibition Era.

image provided by author

The sounds of Aaron’s motorcycle had barely faded down the road when Aunt Maddy started hauling a large collection of jars and storage containers out of the back pantry. With the help of Andrea and Angela, it didn’t take long to bring all the pertinent stores out to the dining room table.

“Alright, ladies,” Aunt Maddy began, “It’s inventory time! What have we got? What’s still good? What are we missing?”

“I can’t thank you all enough for your help with this project,” Angela said as she set the last of the large sealed jars down on the table.

“Nonsense!” objected Celia. “This is what we do.”

“And to do it for family is certainly no hardship,” Evelyn added as she started shuffling through the smaller Mason jars at the far end nearest the windows.

“Our goal here,” clarified Aunt Maddy, “is to come up with a protective talisman for Aaron and we have got to do this before he leaves for Europe.”

“Are we even certain he’ll be drafted?” asked Andrea with a ray of hope.

“Don’t think with your head, girl,” Maddy corrected her. “Use your gift.”

“Use your ability as a Sensitive, sweetie,” Evelyn encouraged her in a less gruff tone than Maddy’s. “He’s young, he’s strong… smart. Even I can sense he’ll be among the first to go, and I’m a Finder.”

“Sorry…”

“No sorry about it,” Maddy stepped in again. “You may well be the best Sensitive I’ve ever seen, bar none. But you got to start drawing that card first instead of thinking things through like regular people. Here, try this. Sit down and close your eyes.” Andrea reluctantly took a seat next to Celia. “Now, they closed?”

“Yes, they’re closed…”

“Keep ‘em that way, now.” Maddy took one of the sealed jars from the center of the table and placed it in front of the younger woman. “Keep ‘em closed, and put your hands on this.” Andrea wrapped her hands around the Mason jar. Almost at once, a faint smile crossed her face. “What you got there, hon?”

“It’s… Milkweed Extract!”

“Mixed or straight up?”

“There’s Pudding Plant in there, too!”

“Exactly!” Maddy congratulated her. “Here’s another.” She traded the jars in front of Andrea.”

“This is… ground oak bark.”

“You’re not peeking now, are you?” Evelyn teased.

“Nope! Aunt Maddy’s right, I can feel it!”

“Well, try this one.” Maddy placed another sealed Mason jar before her.

“This is…” but Andrea’s face fell in confusion. “This is… Marinara sauce.”

“No it’s not,” Maddy objected. “That’s Egg Plant Puree with Sprig Weed in it.”

“No, it’s Marinara sauce!” Andrea insisted. She opened her eyes and looked at the label on the bottom of the jar. “See?”

“Well, how the heck did that get on the wrong shelf…” Maddy puzzled aloud as she took the jar from Andrea.

“Well,” Celia piped in, “That explains the other night’s lasagna disaster.”

“Hush up, Celia. At least you won’t have to worry about constipation for a month!”

Suddenly, Evelyn could no longer contain her laughter though she tried to stifle it with her hands. It was contagious around the table.

“It’s not that funny, Evelyn!” Maddy protested.

“Yes it is!” Evelyn laughed through the tears in her eyes. “Aaron had seconds!”

“Oh my God!” Angela put her hands over her own mouth as she laughed aloud. “He did!”

“Well then, he can thank me for two months. But we’ve got to go through all this stuff and see what’s good and what’s gone bad.”

“This jar of St. Isaac’s Root is cracked,” Celia announced, holding up one of the smaller containers. “Look, they’ve even started to turn that brownish-blue around the top edges.”

“Just toss that one right into the trash bin, there,” Maddy said with a furrowed brow.

“There’s something black growing in the bottom of this one.” Angela handed one of the smaller jars to Aunt Maddy.

“That’s okay, this is just some Queen Ann’s Lace seeds mixed in with Web Dew. It’s supposed to do that… but this one will be a couple years yet before it’s ripe.”

“A couple years?” Evelyn said in surprise.

“I told you guys it was a pretty weak harvest last fall. Probably because of the cold summer we had. It’ll get there, just taking its time.”

“But we don’t have a lot of time,” Angela said, biting her lip.

“Why are we going at it this way, Maddy?” Celia protested. “We’ve made talismans before.”

“And they’re all based on mustard seeds, too,” Maddy tried to explain.

“Best ones are,” Evelyn threw in.

“So why aren’t we going that route?” Andrea asked.

“Listen, Talisman 101 for all of you. A talisman works by repelling things, not by shielding or any kind of avoidance, it’s just a repellant, that’s all.”

“And mustard seeds are the best at that, right?” Celia’s patience was thinning.

“Yes, normally. But there’s a problem this time. The Germans have weaponized mustard seeds into their latest form of poison gas.” Looking at the blank looks around the table, Maddy continued. “Mustard gas is their latest, craziest way of killing each other in mass over there. I read all about it in the papers. It’s worse than anything they’ve used so far. Almost makes me think they’ve had someone like us helping them out, if you know what I mean.”

“None of our kind would ever do that!” Evelyn said indignantly.

“It’s a new world, Evelyn, you just never know. Anyway, we can’t make a talisman based on mustard seeds, not if it’s the same dang thing we’re trying to protect him from. It mostly likely would be useless.”

“Only most likely?” Celia questioned.

“What’s more than most? And anyway, it’s a risk I know we don’t want to take.” Maddy’s words brought silence around the table and tears to Angela’s eyes. It was Celia that spoke first, trying to lighten the moment and bring the focus back to their work.

“We could always send the Huns some of your Lasagna.” Celia’s words worked and a ripple of laughter rolled through the room.

“What about…” Evelyn’s smile suddenly faded away. “What about Golden Rod Buds?” At this very mention, Maddy’s face brightened and the twinkle returned to her eye.

“Yes! They got many of the same properties as Mustard seeds, but they aren’t from the same family at all!”

“And last year was a great year for Golden Rod,” Andrea interjected. “We were picking it for days.”

“And we’ve got lots of Druid Dust and Thistle Milk to go with it!” Maddy said as she quickly picked up and inspected several of the sealed jars. “Oakie Doakie, that’s our way in! Girls, put a couple fresh pots on to simmer, big ones, and start heating the water. Evelyn, you and Celia start measuring out the Golden Rod Buds from the dry bin in the pantry. And let’s clear this table in the process.”

With a clear direction to proceed, the women went to work and Aunt Maddy’s kitchen was busy indeed.

To read more from Bruce and get copies of the first two books in this powerful series, click here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

Categories
Spotlights

Author Spotlight: Bruce Jenvey 1.0

spotlight

Today I would like to welcome Bruce Jenvey to the ToiBox of Words. He is here today to share with us the tales of his Cabbottown Witches. Enjoy!

image provided by author
image provided by author

Angela’s Coven:Reggie Sinclair is an aging British rock star living in New York City who has just found out he is terminally ill. He also has a very dark secret: When he was still an undiscovered teenager, he sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his great fame and success. As his life draws to an end, he prepares to face the inevitable until he stumbles upon a very enchanting, modern-day witch named Angela, and her untraditional coven.

This is a story of the struggle between good and evil with a cast of characters that ranges from guardian angels to young witches-in-training. Together, they have to come to terms with the uncertainties of love, loss, and life decisions to save Reggie from an unbearable eternity. Here is a plot filled with unexpected twists and surprises to the very last page that will also cast an entirely different light on anything you may have ever considered as faith!

image provided by author

The Great Northern Coven:J.R. is a bush pilot who drifts into small town, Haines, Alaska and signs on with the local flying service. He’s looking for a fresh start and a place to hide from the painful past that literally haunts him. What he doesn’t realize is the local Inuit Indians believe he is the missing piece in an ancient prophecy they have been waiting centuries to unfold. His arrival sets in motion a series of events that risks everything for everyone, right down to their very souls. It also brings forth a great evil and the only one who can save them all has to draw on her long-forgotten heritage of witchcraft.

This is the second book in the Cabbottown Witch Novels and is a story of the struggle between good and evil with a wide range of characters from Lucifer and his minion, to pilots, barmaids and the ladies of the Tsonokwa Lodge… and of course, one very important Eagle-Man. But where Angela’s Coven centered on starting over and second chances, The Great Northern Coven is a story of letting go, moving on and taking that next step forward in our lives.

The Ragtime Coven: (Coming late 2014) The third book in the Cabbottown Witch series is a prequel to Angela’s Coven and ties all three books together in an unforgettable history of The Coven through the uncertainties World War I and the rough and tumble days of the Prohibition Era.

Benny: Benny Shapiro prays every day to be released from the pain and the indignities that have become his daily existence in the Good Sheppard Nursing Home. And, every night, he dreams of being a hero with super-human powers… But are they just dreams?

Kevin: Kevin Andrews is dead. Having lived a short but privileged life, he had not yet accomplished anything to define himself as good or evil in the hereafter, and is devastated to find himself rejected by Heaven and seated in Hell. Unfortunately, Lucifer doesn’t think Kevin is ‘his’ kind of people either…

image provided by author

Bruce Jenvey is the award-winning author of Angela’s Coven and other tales of the paranormal. He was raised in rural Michigan with a great interest in history, popular culture and the paranormal. After twenty years in the advertising industry, he spent the next decade traveling the Great Lakes region as a journalist Now, Bruce has turned to fiction and shares many of his real-world experiences through his Cabbottown Witches.

Jenvey’s other works include: Heroes and Haunts of the Great Lakes, The Gun Primer (A Writer’s Guide To Firearm Facts For Fiction), The Complete Stupid Boat Ticks, and Christmas Eve At Shorty’s.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords