Spotlight & Giveaway: The Goddess of Magic by Tamara Hughes

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Tamara Hughes to HJ!

Hi Tamara and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Goddess of Magic!

 
Thank you so much for having me here today! I love talking to readers!
 

Tell us about the book with this fun little challenge using the title of the book:

T – Tic Tacs – Holly’s favorite snack, only one and a half calories per Tac!
H – Host – The dragon spirits use humans as their hosts, possessing them and taking over their bodies and minds.
E – Egyptian Legends – The method of fighting the dragon spirits is inspired by a supposed Egyptian legend.

G – Goddess – The Egyptian goddess Isis plays a role in this story.
O – Outsider – Holly’s friends are initially adamant that they don’t want her involved in magic and beasts.
D – Doctor – Peter is an emergency room doctor.
D – Dairy Farm – Both Peter and Holly stay on a dairy farm for most of the story.
E – Enchanted Fire – The key to defeating the beasts is enchanted fire, too bad no one knows what it is.
S – Socialite – Holly could be considered a socialite. She’s very fashionable and loves to go out and meet people.
S – Small Town – Holly and Peter travel from Manhattan to the small town of Stratford, Wisconsin, to help their friends.

O – Objective – The objective of the dragon spirits is to open a portal to the dragon spirit realm to release their kind into the world.
F – Family – Holly and Peter have the support of a family of witches in the fight against the beasts.

M – Magic – Can a family of witches defeat the dragon spirits that have invaded our world?
A – Adrenaline Junkie – Peter craves the excitement and rush of the emergency room. He hasn’t had time or energy to pursue other outlets for this need until he finds himself up against a powerful dragon spirit.
G – Genetics – Peter has determined that only those with a certain gene can be possessed by a dragon spirit’s offspring. Unfortunately, he happens to have the gene and so does his brother.
I – Ice – December in Wisconsin can get rather cold.
C – Christmas in the Park – The team of dragon hunters go to the Christmas in the Park event to look for the most powerful dragon spirit they’ve come up against before.

Please share the opening lines of this book:

I, Holly Ellison, am an idiot.
Grinding her teeth, Holly marched down the hospital hallway, away from the emergency room cubicle where her father was being treated for a broken arm. All this time she’d been working her butt off at her father’s art gallery, and for what?

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book.

Holly Ellison is a socialite who is creative and impulsive, but she relies too much on the opinion of others when valuing herself. She also doesn’t believe in long-lasting relationships, until she meets Peter.

Dr. Peter Rennick is highly capable, intelligent, and sensible, but because of his recent divorce and his stressful job as an emergency room doctor, he’s burnt out. He used to thrive on adrenaline rushes, but now he can barely make it through a day, until Holly wakes him up again.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The magic in this book includes spells, poppets, amulets, use of bells, athames, and squirt guns.
• The main beastie in this book is a dragon spirit who has possessed a witch, so not only does it have its own powers of mind control and telekinesis, but it uses the knowledge of the witch to cast magic.
• The tiny town where this story is set is based off of the town of Stratford, Wisconsin, where I grew up. My parents still live there.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Holly has a classic beauty, with expertly applied makeup, flawlessly styled hair, trendy clothes, and precisely the right touch of jewelry. Definitely his type. He finds something irresistible about being the one who could mess up all that perfection, preferably in bed.

When they first meet in this story, Peter saves Holly from a kidnapping. He has a sophisticated sense of style and hair long enough she can imagine running her fingers through those dark strands. After the abduction attempt, he stays by her side, comforting her, and even goes so far as to deliver her personally to her friend’s house.

The First Kiss…

Holly and Peter’s first kiss is somewhat impulsive on Peter’s part, but Holly doesn’t mind. I’ll share some of that scene for the audition so you can see for yourself.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

I chose this scene because it only involves Peter and Holly. I think it’s important to see how much chemistry two actors have with one another.

“Did you like spending time in the Morgan’s barn?” With Jake. Damn. Why had he asked that?

She turned toward him. “I did. I’ve never seen a cow up close before.”

“You and Jake seemed to be getting along well.” He gritted his teeth. He couldn’t stop the words from flowing, could he?

A questioning look flashed across her face. “He seems like a nice guy.”

He tensed. Stop asking about Jake.

She cocked her head to the side. “Are you wondering if I plan to have a fling with him while I’m here?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Holly smiled. “No, you didn’t.” She looked out the window toward the house. “But if you’re curious, I can tell you he’s not my type.”

“Oh? Who is your type?” he couldn’t resist asking.

She pursed her lips for a minute, thinking. “Physically, I prefer brunettes to blonds, and guys who are well-dressed . . . guys who have a more sophisticated sense of style.”

Brunette. Check. Well-dressed. Check. “What else?”

“Personality-wise . . . Hmm.” Holly tapped a finger to her nose. “I guess I would say self-confidence is important. Someone who’s interesting to talk to, who treats me well, and is spontaneous, maybe a little adventurous, too.”

He used to be more adventurous, more spontaneous. Now, not so much. “What about intelligence, dependability, being faithful?” Being faithful. That should be number one for anyone in a relationship.

“Intelligence, sure. Dependability and being faithful are nice, too, but more something you’d look for in a long-term relationship.”

“You’re not looking for a long-term relationship?”

“No. I can’t see myself ever being with someone for the long haul.”

“Why not?”

Holly stared out the window again, a frown on her face. “If my parents and their friends are anything to go by, relationships don’t last.”

“You can’t give up on finding a partner for life because of a few bad examples.”

“I’ve witnessed firsthand the kind of pain a divorce can cause.” She shook her head, her red hair brushing her shoulders. “It’s not worth the risk.”

A familiar ache pulsed in his chest. Divorce was painful. She was right on that count, but that didn’t mean all relationships ended that way. Although the rational part of him truly believed in lifelong commitments, the part of him that was still hurting could see where Holly was coming from. “I went through a divorce earlier this year, and I’ll admit, it’s really done a number on me, but that’s not going to stop me from someday trying love and marriage again.”

Compassion softened her features. “What happened?”

“My ex-wife . . .” He ignored the self-recriminations that bombarded his brain every time he thought about his divorce. “Audrey cheated on me.” He caught his breath and rubbed the spot over his heart. “She left me for that guy. They got engaged right before I left for Stratford.”

“That’s terrible. I’m sorry.” Holly settled her hand on his arm. “I don’t understand how anyone can betray the person they married like that.”

He grimaced. “I worked long hours. So did she. Maybe we didn’t try hard enough.” Maybe he hadn’t tried hard enough.

“Do you still love her?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It hurts to think about her, whether that’s because I still love her or because she stomped on my heart is hard to say.” Too many times to count, he’d tried to understand what he was feeling and why. “Seeing her at work doesn’t help.”

“Why don’t you find a job at another hospital?”

“I like where I work—the administration, my coworkers, the environment. Why should I be the one to leave?” Just the thought grated. “No, I need to wait it out. Once I get over her, it won’t matter if I see her at the hospital. I’ll be fine. I’m doing fine.”

Holly’s expression turned skeptical. He waited for her to contradict him, but she didn’t.

“All right, maybe I’m not doing fine. I get it. When we first broke up, I threw myself into work, adding hours at a free clinic to my already busy schedule. Which I see now was a mistake.” He’d obviously burned himself out. “Almost losing my brother to the dragon spirits last year and having to fight my way back into his life while dealing with my divorce . . . It was a lot to take, and I haven’t handled things very well.”

“Coming here to fight a big bad dragon spirit is going to help?” she asked. “It sounds to me like you need a break.”

“I’m away from Audrey, away from the stress of the ER, and I’m doing something to help keep Kade safe. This is what I need.” At least he hoped this was what he needed. “Believe it or not, I used to be an adrenaline junkie. The ER used to feed that craving, but now . . . I’m tired.”

“Hmm. If I was trying to recover from burnout, I’d need a pleasant distraction, something I enjoy doing, something to remind me that life can be fun and interesting.”

A pleasant distraction. He turned all his attention to Holly. Since he’d met her, she’d kept him on his toes. Her mind worked in a completely different way than his did. She was clever, fascinating, and beautiful. He took in her high cheekbones, those dark-blue eyes, and her tempting lips. He couldn’t resist. He leaned over the center console and reached out, cradling the nape of her neck and bringing her forward. “A pleasant distraction like this?” His lips pressed against hers, teasing, tasting, seeking. Seeking what? Peter pulled away. What was he doing?

If your hero had a sexy-times play list, what song(s) would have to be on it?

I imagine that Peter would be into jazz, so maybe his playlist would include:
“Never Can Say Goodbye” by Walter Beasley
“Take Your Time” by Gerald Albright
“Say You Will” by LeBron

If you could have given your characters one piece of advice before the opening pages of the book, what – would it be and why?

Hold onto your hats; this is going to be one hell of a ride! I think these two have no idea what they’re getting into.

What are you currently working on? What are your up-coming releases?*

I write both historical romance and paranormal romance. The story I’m writing now is a historical set during the Great Boston Fire of 1872. Mattie Duncan wants to become a firefighter because she is pursuing Jack Taylor, who is also a firefighter. Jack is charged with training her, and he is adamantly opposed to her quest. He doesn’t want her to face the dangers of a fire. But they soon find there has been foul play within the department that resulted in Jack’s brother’s death. Together they must discover who the killer is because Jack may be their next target.

I also have two paranormal romances that are complete that I haven’t published yet.

The first is about a race of people called Tellurians, who have special abilities because they absorb the earth’s telluric current. In the first book in the series, Finding Ambrosia, all the Tellurian women are dying of a mysterious illness, and Beck must seek out the last Tellurian with self-healing abilities to save them. Kate has no idea she’s of this Tellurian race, and while she wants to help, the experiments they have planned just might kill her.

The second book that’s waiting for release is The Keeper’s Touch. This series is about nymphs who have a symbiotic relationship with nature. Because of pollution and global warming, nymphs have evolved so they also gain energy from a male counterpart, called a keeper. Every nymph must start an exchange of energy with her keeper by the time she reaches the age of twenty-one, or she’ll die a painful death. In this first book of the series, Sabrina is almost twenty-one and is in a lot of pain. Her keeper has never searched her out, and she has to find him, fast. She follows the weak link they share and discovers him behind an auto repair shop beating someone half to death. He’s the leader of a street gang, not exactly the keeper she’d been hoping for.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

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Excerpt from The Goddess of Magic:

Moving at a fast clip, he traveled down the hallways he knew so well. Maybe too well. He remembered a time not too long ago when he’d enjoyed his job—the adrenaline and constant activity, saving lives. Now he couldn’t wait to get out of here. Three more days and he’d begin a monthlong leave of absence. He could wait three more days. At least he hoped he could. These last couple of weeks had been rough. He’d lost more patients than he had in a long time, and each death had hit him harder than the last.

Peter entered the lounge and stopped short when he saw who else was in there. Audrey. He nearly groaned. Of all days to run into his ex-wife. Ah hell, this might as well happen. He headed to his locker, and Audrey turned.

“Hi, Peter.”

In fresh scrubs and a lab coat, she was probably starting her shift. “Audrey,” he acknowledged, walking past. It had been nine months and eight days since their divorce was finalized. He would have thought his awkwardness around her would be gone by now. Just get the pain reliever and leave.

“Are you heading home?” she asked as if they were still good friends, as if nothing had happened between them. Why shouldn’t she? Everything was rosy for her. She had someone else in her life, the lover she’d replaced him with.

He opened his locker and pulled the pill bottle from the shelf. “Yeah.”

She gasped and hurried to his side. “What happened to you?” Those green eyes he used to look into while he dreamed about the future stared hard at his jaw.

Audrey raised her hand. “You’re going to have a nasty bruise.”

“It’s nothing. I’m fine.” He moved his head away from her touch, and a glint caught his eye. His pulsed spiked, and the floor fell out from under him. She had a diamond ring on her finger. “You’re engaged?”

An ‘oh shit’ look crossed her face. “Uh, yeah. It happened last night.” She blinked and lowered her hand to her side. “Your injury . . . Did someone hit you?”

He popped the lid off the bottle and shook out a couple of pills. “There was an incident . . .” He stowed the pill bottle in his locker, and shut the door, then crossed the room to the watercooler.

She followed him there. “Should I call security?”

He poured himself a cup of water. “It’s already been taken care of,” he assured her, popping the pain meds into his mouth and drinking everything down. Too bad the pills could only ease physical aches and pains. Emotionally he was screwed. “I’ve got to go.”

Her brow furrowed. “Okay. Have a good night.”

“You, too.” Peter opened the locker room door and paused, his chest tight. “And congratulations,” he forced out before he left the room. Life sucked right now, and this place wasn’t helping. He needed a break, and he would get one . . . in three more days.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Socialite Holly Ellison’s best friends are immersed in a fight against evil. They don’t want her involved, but she’s determined to keep them safe. Little do they know she’s the key to everyone’s survival.

Dr. Peter Rennick hears his brother’s rumblings about witches, magic, and dragon spirits possessing people’s bodies only to find out what he’s saying is true. After witnessing firsthand the destructive powers of the beast, Peter demands a role in the fight.

When Peter is put in charge of Holly’s safety, the intense attraction between them is a distraction they can’t afford. They must focus on destroying the beast, a powerful spirit that has its sights set squarely on Holly.
Book Links: Amazon |
 
 

Meet the Author:

A small town girl with a big imagination, Tamara Hughes had no idea what to do with her life. After graduating from college, she moved to a big city, started a family and a job, and still struggled to find that creative outlet she craved. An avid reader of romance, she gave writing a try and became hooked on the power of exploring characters, envisioning adventures, and creating worlds. She enjoys stories with interesting twists and heroines who have the grit to surmount any obstacle, all without losing the ability to laugh.
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