Huge Holiday Savings!!

 

https://www.facebook.com/themercerlegacy

It’s the time of year when people say what they are thankful for. Here’s one of mine...

It’s the time of year when people say what they are thankful for. Here’s one of mine.

Sometimes in life the smallest things make a huge impact. Sometimes a kind word can make you smile when your day has otherwise been unmemorable, or a funny story can bring a chuckle when worry had previously creased your brow, or sometimes the gentlest of souls can find their way to walk alongside you and their presence can change you profoundly, unexpectedly, forever. That has happened to me.

Three years ago I came across an ad seeking a home for an 8 year old female long-haired dachshund. She was recently rescued from a puppy mill. She was a mommy, having litter after litter of pups and left to live her life behind bars. Listening to bits and pieces of her story when I called to inquire, I felt my heart breaking for this little dog before I’d even met her. She had health issues, fearfulness issues, potty training issues, and no one to help her through any of them. So, Michael and I decided to take her in, get her healthy, and give her a good home.

She was silent for 2 months when we brought her home, not a bark, a whine or a whimper. She was more of a shadow than a dog - nearly soundless as she walked, peeking around corners before she entered a room, and watching from afar when treats were handed out. She was a tiny black dog with less than 10 teeth, a few scars here and there, and a dirty, matted coat holding a lifetime of horrible memories.

It took her two years to trust us as kind hands, and another year for her to lick my cheek for the first time. And now, three years later she is here, happy, healthy, lying in front of the fireplace on a warm clean blanket sleeping soundly as I write this. And when I scoop her up and press my face to hers, I whisper to her how very thankful I am that she came to live with us. That she needed a good home and she moved into ours.

She is so gentle and brings a joy to this house that I never expected to find in her frail little body. She is a small being who has made a big impact on my soul. She’s teaching me patience, compassion, and to never overlook the beauty in the world around me. She runs freely through the grass in our back yard, barks loudly when something piques her interest, and never passes up a chance for cuddle.

Gracie has seen a world of darkness but now she lives only in the light and I am so very thankful to walk in that light alongside her. She is dark as black velvet, as soft as the silkiest fur, and the sweetest soul I have ever known.  

 

Birthday Wishes & Magical Moments

This year I spent my birthday with the people I love most walking among the autumn leaves.

Photos from my big day.

A little Inspiration

When I was a little girl I was a full-fledged fraidy cat, believing in goblins, and ghosts, and werewolves that loomed outside my window. I remember sitting up in bed, breath frozen in my chest, watching shadows swirl and merge into monsters outside my window, then race across my bedroom wall with the flicker of headlights. My imagination was my biggest threat back then. I’d shove my head under my blanket and reach for my little sister’s hand to protect me from myself.

Sarah would squeeze my hand and tell me, nearly 5 years her senior, that it was just the wind, or the traffic passing by and to go back to sleep. Closing my eyes tight, I would hold onto my sister and try to forget the fear. Instead, I’d fill my mind with positive things, like bunnies and berries and magic, and then just before I’d fall asleep I’d focus on fairies. I would imagine them flitting through my imagination, fluttering among the trees outside my window, and resting quietly alongside me.

 

Some of my faves from online...

 

Great Fairy books:

Moderne Faerie Tales

Wicked Lovely Series



Witches Witches Everywhere

For the past three years I have been lost in a world of magic, spells, and incantations – all the while hoping that this interest of mine had not become so passé that no one would care when my trilogy was complete. After all, weren’t witches and fantasy popular back in the 90’s?

I laugh because I was absolutely oblivious of the supernatural wave of that time…so much so that I have still never seen an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and only caught0 one or two episodes of Charmed – ever. I worked too much, slept too little, and missed out on the magic going on around me. Heck, I even missed out on Harry Potter and Twilight until they became movie deals – then I devoured the series in a matter of weeks.

For those of you who are always in the know, I love that you have kept this genre alive and well. I noticed recently that on television it truly is the season of the witch. TV shows like American Horror Story (voodoo workers and teenage witches), then The Witches of East End (similar to Lyla’s family of casters), and then fantasy tales like Vampire Diaries, and The Originals (witches) and finally Sleepy Hollow with its discording covens set in present-day brings magic into our living rooms and more importantly our minds every week.

Magic allows us take control of a situation that we otherwise could not. A small teenaged girl can overcome a grown man; a child can defeat a wild animal with the wave of a hand. She can correct a wrong, punish an enemy, save a loved one…it’s empowering to believe that an internal power can manipulate the world around us.

I’m not saying you need to believe in magic to enjoy these shows. I’m just suggesting that you kick back and let your mind escape for an hour while you try one out.

Series Finale: A Destiny Unfolds reveals the final chapters of The Mercer Legacy

It's that time of year, when the air goes chilly with the birth of fall and the demise of summer. The perfect time for a story about witches, specifically Lyla Mercer and her family.

The series finale is complete and flying off the shelves! Everyone wants to know if Lyla will defeat the Pastor. Will she live or die? What about her friends and family?

First impressions say 5 stars! Check it out for yourself and let us know what you think.

After battling to save Hana from the Pastor’s hold, Lyla watched her cousin turn her back and walk away from the family.

Finding herself lost in a world of unfamiliar magic and mounting pressure, Lyla must search for a way to end the legacy that plagues her family, without Hana. Their enemy has returned, this time with his own allies, and he has vowed to stop at nothing to kill them.

Fearing Hana has changed sides, Lyla and Sage unite, ready to defend themselves and fight to bring Hana home, but when Hana refuses, Lyla is forced to seek support from outside their coven and their magical world. Calling on her friends, Lyla ignites a power so great it was foretold in the stars.

A Destiny Unfolds brings Lyla’s fight for survival to its final chapter: one in which she must unite her allies, harness the power of her gifts, and battle to stay alive.

Explore all Lyla’s adventures: A Marked Past by Leslie Deaton Book 1
A History Renewed by Leslie Deaton Book 2
A Destiny Unfolds by Leslie Deaton Book 3

All 3 Books are available on Amazon

 

New Book Trailer for A Destiny Unfolds!

I have been a silent blogger for a while. My apologies; it has been a crazy summer. I recently moved to a beautiful house in the country with some nooks perfect for writing. And most importantly, I have been finishing Lyla's story. It was tough to wrap up but I am proud to say the book is finished! Ready for a taste?


The book trailer is live! Take a peek and let us know what you think. The book is in final edits and will be available for you in just a few weeks!

A Destiny Unfolds Book 3 The Mercer Legacy

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father’s day to my daddy! You have taught me so much in the past 36 years and for that I am so very grateful. You taught me to appreciate the beauty in the Kentucky country side, the whiney of a happy quarter horse in a quiet pasture, and the throaty roar of an old engine. You showed me how to swing a hammer, to appreciate the shine of metallic fleck in the restored paint of muscle cars, and how to pop the choke on my go-cart to get the reluctant engine to start. 

You trusted me to help, even when I wasn’t the best apprentice on your projects which ignited a desire to have my own projects. You taught me the value and reward in a job well done, gave me the calm that I find in chaos, and the courage to tear just about anything apart with the belief that I can probably put it back together.

I was a little girl with big brown curious eyes and you were my Daddy. Thank you for all that you have done to make me the person I am, and all that you continue to do for all of us. We love you today and every day.

 

Saying Goodbye

Today I’m taking advantage of a day away from the office to enjoy some me time. The pups got me up at 6 and instead of rushing around; I made some coffee and sat outside in the cool morning air. The sky was just starting to lighten and the stars were fading back into the atmosphere. The sound of birds tweeting in the trees that line my back fence filled the, air and I couldn’t help but smile. It was so nice to take a few minutes to soak up the beauty that surrounds me.

Today I’m working on book three, brainstorming the end of the book. But honestly it feels like more than just closing out Lyla’s adventure; it feels like I’m deciding a path for me too. Writing these books has been the biggest personal project I’ve ever undertaken and I’ve become attached to the storyline. I love getting emails from my readers suggesting plotlines, egging me on to kill this character or bring that one back, but this final journey is proving to be a solitary one.

Last week I was in NYC roaming through Central Park and just getting lost in all the people and movement of the city. As I wandered through the chaos, I couldn’t help but find myself wondering how the Mercer Legacy will end. What will be Lyla’s Legacy? Will she fight? Will she win? Who will stand with her? Some of the readers want more action, some are asking for more history; what’s the right mix? And how will it end? Harry watched his son get on a train; Bella saved her family; Katniss survived; Wendy ruled a kingdom; Tris triumphed to truth…but what will Lyla do?

Closing her story is proving much more difficult than I expected. Maybe I baked too much of own spirit in her character, so I don’t know how her tale will end. Perhaps I’m struggling to let go because I fear that the end of her story will be the end of this phase of my life. I was buried in busy for more than 15 years, working to become something more than what I was, more educated, more successful, more mature. But when I finally delved into what I loved, when I picked up my laptop and retreated into the magical realm of a fictional teenage girl named Lyla, I found more excitement and happiness than all of those other things combined had given me.

So today, I will spend some time with Lyla and together we’ll figure out how she will end, but also, I’ll figure out how I will continue on without her; and where my next path will lead.

I am 150 pages into book 3 and working to finish the story in the next month or so…