Again, I don't seem to be able to find the appropriate category for a book. Where's the Wicca Mystery Fiction? ;-)
I really liked this one. Fiction, but with an insight to Witchcraft. Different!

"Welcome to Whiskey Springs- Birthplace of Magick, Mayhem, and Murder
Black magic and cold-blooded murder, bone-chilling visions and prophetic nightmares, forbidden love, karmic retribution, and epic courage-the generations-old battle between two powerful occult families rages anew when Elizabeyta Belladonna journeys from her Oklahoma covenstead to the small town of Whiskey Springs, Pennsylvania, to solve the mystery of her grandmother's death.

Endowed with her own magickal heritage of Scotch-Irish Witchcraft, Elizabeyta stands alone against the dark powers and twisted desires of Jason Blackthorn and his Dark Men. But Elizabeyta isn't the only one pursued by unseen forces and the fallout from a past life.

A great battle for mastery ensues between the forces of darkness and light. As the local funeral parlor overflows with victims, Elizabeyta and the townsfolk begin to wonder whether there's anyone-in Heaven or on Earth-who can end the reign of terror and right the cosmic balance..."

This book will be made into a international Bookray.

Some guidelines:
1. Please journal the book when it arrives (so we know it's safe and sound with you), once you read it (to let us know how you liked it) and when you ship it off (so we know it's on its way to the next reader).

2. Please PM the next person in line before shipping the book off, not only for the adress, but also to ask if they are still interested in the ray!

3. You may always write to me and ask to be bumped down on the list.

4. Surface shipping is perfectly acceptable.

5. Try not to take longer than four to eight weeks to read the book. But we all understand that sometimes life (and bookrings...) just happen. :-) In that case, please make another journal entry to let us know that the book is not forgotten.

6. And the most important thing: Have fun!

Here are the participants so far. If you would like to join once the ray is started, please PM me. As long as I can fit you in with the shipping preferences you're welcome to join.

SandDanz US / intl.
CheriePie US / Intl. if needed
terra57 US / US
Kaetzchen-GA US / Intl.
hak42 US / Intl.
NeedSun CA / Intl.
amberC AU / AU (intl. if needed)
sally906 AU / intl.
bargainqueen AU / intl.
toyjoy SG / intl.
cathepsut EG / intl.
dsbdreamrom UK / intl.
CandyDarling FI / intl.
Rianonne AT / Europe
whitehorsy BE / intl.
penelopewanders CH / Europe

RELEASE NOTES:

Travelling to Egypt. Enjoy! :-)

Unfortunately, it seems this book has been lost in the mail. I therefore ordered a new copy at amazon.com and had it sent to SandDanz, who kindly agreed to receive the book for me and pass it on for its further travels after reading it. Thanks!
Sorry all for the delay with this Bookring!

I've received this book from Amazon and am looking forward to reading it just as soon as I finish a couple of other bookrings. Thanks Morgaine! :)

sorry I didn't get this sent out sooner, but with the loss of my job I didn't have any money to send it. :( Anyway, I'm going up to Ohio on Sunday for a meet-up and Cherie will be there, so I will be passing it along then! YAY!!!

Received from Rhonda at the Columbus meetup on July 22nd. Sorry I haven''t journaled till now. Like I wrote in the JE for the Hex DVDs, I had a big box of books, now just down to BC tote bag size *grin*, of books I brought back from Columbus that I''m still journaling. Now that I know this is a ring, I''ll move it up in Mt. TBR, though it may still be a few months as I''m a tad bit backed up atm. Sowwie! :(

This book, supposedly a mystery with a witchy background, wasn't grabbing me at all, and after only 30 pages in, I was having a hard time staying focused and keeping my mind from wandering. I picked it up at least 4 different times throughout the course of the day, just in case my disinterest was caused by my mood at the time, but try as I might, I simply couldn't get into it.

Now, dare I say this publicly, but in the real-life world of Witches, Wiccans, and others practicing the Craft, we refer to Silver RavenWolf as a "fluffy bunny" and her practice as "fluffy bunny wicca". Yes, being the bunny lover I am, I hate to use what to me is such a wonderful creature in conjunction with such a derogatory term, but since that definition has pretty much been adopted worldwide, and can be found at the Urban Dictionary, it's much easier to just adapt and use it myself rather than to try to come up with my own term and explain what it means. :P (See also the article "What makes a Fluff-Bunny?")

Anyhoo, because Silver RavenWolf lives in the fantasy world of Wicca, I thought perhaps I could get a kick out of her fiction; perhaps her delusions would translate well into the fiction realm. But sadly, such is not the case, and again, besides just being super bored with it, I was actually starting to get a bit angry as well!

Okay, so these are not your fantasy type of Witches at all. Too bad, as I think maybe I could have been able to enjoy this a little bit if they were. Instead, at only 15 pages in, she has the main character, Elizabeyta, proclaiming to the small town minister who's just declared his undying love for her that she's a W-I-T-C-H! A hereditary Witch who practices the old religion. Okay, that's all well and good. She's obviously trying to bring some validity to the religion, so you're thinking that she'll be treating the Craft in an honest and straightforward manner, but then the minister finds himself wondering if she can possibly be serious, and if he can suspend his disbelief of "ghosts, murder, and witches" (the author's words, not mine) long enough to listen to what she has to say. Give me a break! Major lame-o! Are we still living in the dark and unenlightened times where witches must practice secretly for fear of persecution? Apparently so because Elizabeyta's whole family lives at a secret covenstead to which no mere mortals know the location! =:o And they use the address of a safe house run by "non-magickal people" to act as their go-betweens to the rest of the world. *sigh* If she hadn't just finished trying to lay down a bunch of "facts" about our religion, I might've believed this was supposed to be based on fantasy after all. But at this point, the minister dude is really pissing me off with his attitude of thinking witches can't possibly be real! How trite!

Now, if you want to read a good fiction mystery which revolves around a real-life (non-fantasy) practitioner of the Craft, in the real sense of how they live and act in today's world, and integrate the Craft into their day-to-day life, then pick up M. R. Sellar's Rowan Gant Investigations series. He treats the Craft in a much more realistic way, doesn't try to sensationalize, and writes a darn good mystery in which the main character, a Wiccan High Priest, uses not only his divination skills but many of the other qualities and characteristics embraced by Witches and other practitioners. He truly understands what it's all about. If however, you prefer a lot of nonsense and rambling, and some half-truths and misinformation about a very valid religion, then by all means, read Beneath a Mountain Moon. Personally, I have too many other great books waiting on my to-be-read shelf to waste my time on this rubbish!


This is now reserved for terra57, and I'll be handing it off to her when I meet up with her on 4/27.

Handed this off to Terry at our meetup today. It was great to finally meet you in person and give you a great big hug, sweetie!! x0x0x0x0x <3

Received today from Cheriepie at the Mass meetup. Thanks!