I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the THE WITCH AND THE DREAMWALKER by Victoria Rogers Blog Tour hosted
by Rockstar
Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Author: Victoria Rogers
Pub. Date: December 14, 2021
Publisher: Changeling Press LLC
Formats: eBook
Pages: 111
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks,
Kobo
Grab the companion book in this series, THE
WITCH AND THE STAG now!
Chapter
One
“Congratulations
on your presentation. Your prototype is the talk of the
convention.”
Vivian
McKinley turned around to face none other than Xavier Prince, owner,
president, and CEO of the largest paranormal security firm in the country,
Prince Charms. He smiled at her while offering her a flute of champagne.
His eyes crinkled warmly. Her fingers brushed his as she took the glass.
She felt her face heat up as the pianist on the far end of the ballroom
began a soft, tinkling piece that had couples taking to the parquet dance
floor.
She had
never spoken to Mr. Prince before; she was merely a researcher in his
firm, one of half a dozen. As a storied ex-paramarine and playboy, he stood
tall and broad-shouldered. His immaculately tailored tuxedo showed off
his athletic shape causing him to stand out among the middle-aged men who
populated the room. He had a jaw as sharp as glass, and his brown eyes
glittered in the candlelight.
“Thank you,”
she said, pulling her hand away abruptly, not wanting to be caught
savoring the feeling of his touch. The champagne splashed out of her glass
and onto her cocktail dress. “Oh!”
“Careful,”
he warned.
Vivian’s
face burned. The nervous laugh that erupted from her was high-pitched and
short. “Whoops!” She plucked a napkin from a server’s tray and dabbed at
the black sequins. Her dress would be fine. It was only champagne. She
tossed her red hair over her shoulder and forced a smile.
“Thank you,”
she repeated. “I’m glad it went well.”
“Well?”
Xavier’s face lit up in a broad smile. “We have people lining up to buy
your charm. We haven’t seen pre-sales like this since the personal were
ward.” She rose her brows and pressed her lips together as her stomach
did a few flips of excitement. “Oh! That’s wonderful,” she said.
“It’s more
than wonderful.” He touched her arm and began leading her away from the
crowd.
His fingers
on her bare flesh caused a ripple of warmth through her. She took in a
sharp breath. Easy there. He’s your BOSS, she reminded
herself.
He
continued, unaffected by the situation. “I’ve been asking about you. Your
work is exemplary. John says you know charms like the back of your hand. You
get along with your colleagues and are described as intelligent, a hard
worker, and you think outside the box. Apparently, we’ve never seen
talent like yours.”
Vivian took
a sip of champagne and squirmed in her heels.
“John’s
retiring. Gave me his notice today. Normally, for someone in his
position, I’d ask for a few months lead time from him, but I think we already
have a candidate.”
She met
Xavier’s gaze and stared at him. Her mind whirled. Was he… Was he
offering her the position of head researcher? Her stomach did a few more
somersaults. She opened her mouth and then closed it, not quite sure if
she should say something or let him continue.
He laughed
then, a deep masculine laugh that caught her by surprise. “Yes, Vivian.
I’m offering you the position of R and D head. You’d report to director of R
and D, Richard Simeon.”
Richard
Simeon. That was a name that would make anyone flinch. He was a right old
bastard, but he knew his stuff. He was older than John, why didn’t he retire?
Working with him would be a sore point, but she would get to manage the
Research and Development Department. She would guide the direction of
their research and in turn, help guide the future of Prince
Charms.
By the gods!
This was a dream come true. She had been the first woman in her family to
attend university, and now she was going to be the first to climb the
corporate ladder. The McKinley women would no longer be solitary witches
of the woods. “You haven’t said anything,” he said from over the rim of
his own glass.
“I… Wow.
This is incredible. I was not expecting this.” She laughed and shook her
head. “You caught me off guard, is all.” She laughed again, her brain
struggling to put sentences together. She took in a deep breath, ignored
Xavier’s amused look, and paused for a quick moment to compose herself.
“Yes. I would love to take on the role. Wow. Thank you.”
“Wonderful!
Congratulations, Vivian. You’ve earned this.” He clinked his glass with
hers and gave her a wink as he took a sip. “Ah! Troy, just who I wanted to talk
to.” Vivian swallowed and looked to who Xavier was addressing. The man,
Troy, looked to be around the same age as Xavier -- mid thirties, she
thought. He had blond hair, cut short with a side part. He was shorter
than Xavier, though was just as wide. While his tuxedo was not tailored
as well as the CEO of Prince Charms, it was clear he spent a lot of time
at the gym. He strode over with a confident swagger that immediately set
off alarm bells in Vivian’s mind. She had met plenty of men like this one
before.
“Troy, meet
Vivian. Vivian, meet Troy. We go way back. We were marines
together.”
“It’s a
pleasure to meet you, Troy,” she said with an outstretched hand. He
gripped her hand and squeezed harder than was necessary. She resisted the
urge to squeeze back and smiled sweetly instead.
“The
pleasure is all mine,” Troy said with a smile in return. The smile didn’t
reach his eyes. “Xavier,” he said, turning a shoulder to Vivian, “I’m glad I
caught you before you headed off for the night.” He looked her up and
down a moment before looking at Xavier expectantly.
Vivian
gritted her teeth.
Xavier
nearly spat into his drink. “This is Vivian McKinley. She invented the
psychic vampire ward we showcased yesterday. She’s just been promoted to head
of R and D. Vivian, Troy is the president of ParaSecurity.”
“Oh,” Troy
said, not bothering to turn. “Congratulations, Miss McKinley.” “Ms.,” she
corrected.
He
blinked.
“It’s Ms.,
not Miss.”
“Of course.”
He gave her a curt nod. “Xavier, I wanted to hear more about this idea of
yours.”
“I thought I
had your attention!” Xavier clapped his hand on Troy’s shoulder. “C’mon,
let’s discuss details over a cigar.” He smiled at Vivian as he reached for a
silver case inside his jacket pocket. “John will want to hear the
news.”
Vivian knew
a dismissal when she heard one, even if it was accompanied by a smile
that lit up her chest.
The two men
disappeared through the open glass doors into a forest of potted palms on
the balcony, leaving Vivian to herself. She glanced around the ballroom
through the sea of tuxedos and the occasional glittering wife. She judged that
some were mistresses, mainly because of the age differences and the way
the women clung to their balding partners. She immediately regretted her
choice of dress. No wonder Troy had been so dismissive, she was dressed
like one of them. She had chosen to wear a just-above-the-knee
black-sequined cocktail dress, sleeveless with a sweetheart neckline. She
wore her grandmother’s single strand of pearls and matching pearl
earrings. Maybe she should have put her hair up? She sighed, annoyed with
having to navigate being a professional in a man’s world right at the
moment she should be celebrating.
“I couldn’t
help but notice you were talking to our hunk-in-chief.” Vivian snorted
and turned to face her friend Jenny. She was the receptionist for the
Research and Development Department. The blonde wore an emerald green off-the
shoulder dress with a large bow on the right hip.
“Here, you
look like you need one of these.” Jenny thrust a shot glass into Vivian’s
hand.
Vivian shook
her head, “No. Thank you. This is work.” She passed the glass back to
Jenny.
Jenny made a
face. “Vivian, dear, this is a party. Work ended the moment you stepped
foot into this ballroom.”
“Not true.
This is work. Everyone here is networking. Besides, I was just talking
business with Xavier.”
Jenny’s
brows shot upward. “First name basis, are we? Not Mr. Prince? At any
rate,” she said, not giving Vivian the chance to answer the question, “look
around. People are here to attend a party. The bar is already on its
fourth bottle of whiskey.”
Vivian
ignored her. “I’ve been promoted, Jenny. I’m now head of R and D!” “What?
Congratulations! That’s so exciting! Wait! That means you’re my boss?
Holy shit, Vivian! I’ve never had a woman boss before. You get it, Viv. Make
these men quake in their shoes. You’ve got to do a tequila shot with me,
then.” “Tequila? You want me to be sick? No, thank you. I’m fine. I
should talk to John. Have you seen him?”
“Oh, yeah.
He’s at the bar talking to Drew from sales.”
“Thank you,”
Vivian replied.
“I will get
you to do a shot before the night is out.”
“No. You
won’t,” Vivian called over her shoulder.
* *
*
John was
exactly where Jenny said he was -- at the bar enjoying a glass of cognac
with Drew from sales.
“Vivian!”
John bellowed, waving her over. “Saw you talking to Mr. Prince. Has he
taken my advice?”
Vivian
grinned. “If your advice was to have me take up the mantle, then yes.
Yes! By the gods, John. I don’t know what to say. I haven’t had time to process
this yet.” John beamed and took her hand and patted it lightly. “I’m
proud of you, Vivian.
You’re going
to go far. You’d be wasted in that shop, peddling basic charms.” “I
wouldn’t call my grandmother’s charms basic. She taught me all I know.
She’d have a few choice words to say to you if she heard that!”
“I stand
corrected.” He chuckled, belly bouncing with each percussive breath.
“Drew, have you met Vivian? She’s now the head of R and D.”
The salesman
laughed at first, but when John didn’t laugh in response he quickly
sobered. “What? Where are you going, John? Is Simeon finally retiring?”
John shook his head. “No. I’m retiring, Drew. It’s time I spent more time with
the grandkids.”
“Oh, come
on. You’ve got a few years yet.”
“No, no.
It’s time to go home. I can’t compete with these kids anymore. Vivian’s
ward is one hell of a piece of work. I would never have been able to dream that
up.” “The psychic vamp ward? The one I’ve got people lining up to order?
That was you?” he asked while looking at her, mouth agape.
John
snorted. “Of course, it was her, she gave the presentation, didn’t she?”
“I thought… I thought she gave the presentation to…”
Vivian
arched a brow. “To what, exactly?”
“You know,
to, to sell --”
“She’s
goading you, Drew. And I’d stop with that thought right now. Vivian here
knows her stuff, and she’s going to put Prince Charms on the global map.”
Vivian could hear the clack of Drew’s teeth as he snapped his mouth shut.
“I think a drink is in order, don’t you?” John turned toward the
bartender. “Three bourbon, neat.”
“Oh, I don’t
think that’s --”
“Nonsense.
This is a party, and if you’re going to hang with the old boys you have
to play by their rules. Here, have a cigar.”
Vivian
stared at the offered stogie.
“Might as
well join us in smoking them. You’re going to be stuck in smoky rooms and
end up smoking them anyway. It’s better firsthand.”
Vivian
wasn’t sure she followed John’s logic on that one, but she reached out
for the cigar anyway.
“That’s my
girl. Now, here, you cut them like this.” He snipped the end of the cigar
with a gold-plated cutter he pulled from his pocket. “And let me get that for
you,” he said, flicking open his matching lighter.
She didn’t
cough. She knew enough from her father that you didn’t actually inhale a
cigar, unlike a cigarette.
John grinned
as she exhaled like a professional. “Now.” He clapped his hands and
rubbed them together. “Time for bourbon.” He passed both her and Drew a
glass and then held his aloft. “To Vivian, who’s going to shake the
paranormal world so hard it won’t know what happened.”
Vivian
expected everyone to sip their drink, but no, down their gullets the
amber liquid went. She tried not to gag at the flavor. A whiskey lover
she was not. “It’ll grow on you,” John said with a thump on her back as
if reading her mind. “Bartender! Another round.”
Jenny was
right, it seemed. It was a party. Already the dance floor was full, the
bartenders were busy at work and there were servers everywhere. “First
conference with us, Vivian?” Drew asked after Vivian examined the room.
“With the company? Yes. I’ve been to ParaCon before. My family used to
attend.”
“Family?
What company?”
“Oh, we were
small business, really.”
Drew’s
interest waned at that. “I see.”
“Vivian here
is a witch! Long line of witches.” John puffed on his cigar. “Successful
women. They’ve been running a shop downtown for over a century,” he said
on the exhale. “She studied at Serenity State in their Occult Sciences program,
one of the first to graduate out of that program, and, I might
add, she was at the top of her class. I was lucky to get her on
board.”
Vivian
smiled fondly at the white-haired man. “Oh, you would have gotten me
eventually. It was just a matter of whether or not it was after a master’s
degree or a doctorate.”
“This is
corporate. With your experience you don’t need a doctorate. Besides, you
can still get one. You’re young, yet.”
“For over a
century? That’s impressive. What shop?” Drew asked, zeroing on the only
thing he cared about: money.
“Ceridwen’s,
on Hillcliff Lane.”
“That’s in
old historic, isn’t it? That section of downtown that’s all blocked off
from traffic?”
Vivian
nodded. “It is. Do you visit our little neck of the woods often?” Drew
looked up from his cigar, startled. “What? No. Can’t take the Lamborghini
there.”
“What do you
plan on doing with the shop now that you’re head?” John asked, handing
out the glasses of bourbon.
Vivian
accepted a glass and tried her best to not let her distaste show. “I
can’t just up and sell it. I’d be breaking tradition, and I have aunts
and cousins who’d wring my neck if I did. I could wait for one of them to
offer to buy it, but there’s a stipulation in the will that I’ve gotta
hold on to it for at least five years. It’s supposed to ensure it stays
in the family. I can’t design charms and wards there like grandmother did,
not with working at Prince Charms. What I design is owned by them. I’m
not sure yet. I’m thinking of moving into the apartment above,
though.”
John took a
much smaller sip of his drink this time around. He nodded. “Nice
location. Central to everything. It’s a fairly large space, isn’t
it?”
Vivian set
her glass down on the bar and smiled at one of the bartenders to get
their attention. “It’s enough for me. I mean, why not, I own it. Why pay rent
when I’ve already got a place? Besides, it’d make grandmother happy, and
she deserves that.”
“Amen. To
good ol’ Patricia McKinley, matron of charms and wards. May she rest in
peace,” John said, raising his glass. He swallowed the last of the bourbon.
“Now, enough serious talk. We’re at a party! C’mon, Drew, let’s go find
those wives of ours.”
Vivian shook
her head as the pair wandered off. “Soda and lime,” she ordered from the
bartender as he finally made his way over. She tossed a bill into the tip jar
as she waited.
At this rate
she was going to need to go to bed at ten. She stubbed the cigar out in
the marble ashtray but kept it as a prop, hoping it would dissuade anyone from
offering her another. With John halfway into his cups the news of her
promotion would spread like wildfire, and she wasn’t sure she was ready
for that. She squeezed the lime into her drink and left the lime slice on
a napkin. Bathroom. There would hardly be anyone in there since men
outnumbered anyone else in the ballroom. She could escape and process
there.
The bathroom
was old and gaudy and coated in marble and fading gilt. It had a twelve-foot
arched ceiling, and a maroon carpet. There was a sumptuous sitting area
adorned with cream colored wing-back chairs and there were grand mirrors for
women to, presumably, powder their nose in. The toilets were farther on
through a gilded archway and a fan of potted plants.
The place
was empty, thank goodness. She sat down at the far end in a chair by a
counter. She put the cigar in an ashtray on the mirrored side table and leaned
back. Head of Research and Development. Twenty-seven years old and the
head of R and D. She clenched her fists and bit her bottom lip, kicking
her feet in excitement. By the gods! Her. Vivian Mary McKinley, Head of
Research and Development at Prince Charms. This shouldn’t be happening.
It was supposed to take her years and years and years to achieve this,
not three years and a major project later.
But then
again, Xavier had founded Prince Charms at the age of twenty-six. If he
could take a small paranormal security company and rocket to the largest in the
country in just nine years, well, she could achieve big things
too.
Her stomach
was busy flipping about when the big wooden door with brass handles and
ornate hinges swung open.
“Oh, honey,
I thought I’d find you here,” Jenny said as she flopped down in a chair
opposite Vivian. “People are asking about you out there.”
“Yes, well,
they’re going to have to wait,” Vivian said with a wave of her hand. “I
need a moment to myself first. Plus, John made me drink bourbon. I need a
break.” She reached for her glass of soda water and took a
sip.
“You’re not
going to be sick, are you?”
“What? No.
I’ll be fine. I just wasn’t expecting this, you know? It’s a lot to take
in.”
“You better
not be doubting yourself because you deserve every ounce of this
promotion. You’re smart, and you’ve got ideas, and you have every bit as
much wherewithal as one of those smug-ass bastards out there. No one has
ever come up with a psychic vampire ward! No one, not ever, until you
figured it out. You got there before anyone else in the world. Vivian,
Vivian, look at me.” Jenny pursed her red lacquered lips.
Vivian
ripped her eyes away from the ashtray and met Jenny’s pout with a laugh.
“Yes! Yes! I hear you. On paper it all fits, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to
accept.”
“What? Why
not? Any one of those assholes would accept it without batting a lash.
Even Peter, from accounting.”
“OK! OK,”
Vivian conceded. “Fine. I deserve this promotion.”
“Yeah, you
do, babe.” Jenny grinned. “Now, how long are we going to hide in the
bathroom?”
“Give me a
few more minutes.”
“Whatever
you need.” Jenny managed to stay silent for thirty seconds before she
spoke again. “So. What’s he like?”
“Who?”
“Mr. Prince!
I’ve never met him. He never comes down to the labs. Mr. Simeon always
goes upstairs to the offices for meetings. I’ve only ever talked to Pam,
the receptionist upstairs.”
“I talked to
him for all of three minutes. He smiled a lot, but he was promoting me. I
assume most people smile at the person they’re promoting.”
Jenny
giggled. “I wouldn’t know.”
Vivian
looked up to the ceiling and sighed. “He seemed nice.”
“He’s a god
in mortal form is what he is,” Jenny interjected. “Have you seen him on
the tennis court?”
“Well, yes,
at the club, but he’s our boss.”
“Just
because he’s the boss doesn’t mean you can’t look.”
Vivian shook
her head. “That’s not what I’m here for, Jenny. I’m here to be a
professional. To grow and learn and well… be successful at it all.”
“You can do
all that and still look,” Jenny said with a shrug.
“All right.
Let’s go back to the party if it means I don’t get regaled with nonsense
like this.” Vivian stood and picked up her matching clutch from the chair next
to her. “Anything to help,” Jenny said, smirking.
Vivian flipped
her head and ruffled her hair to give it a bit more volume. When
satisfied with the height of her curls, she reapplied her lipstick and blotted
her lips on a tissue.
When they
ventured back out into the ballroom, it was a lot quieter than it had
been. The dance floor was empty, and people seemed to have formed
scattered conversational groups.
“Well, this
isn’t the party I left a few minutes ago,” Jenny murmured. Vivian sighed
in relief. Thank goodness people were settling down. The last thing she
needed was more booze. No one seemed to notice her triumphant return to
the party which pleased her to no end. Jenny, however, had her trademark pout.
“Well, this is no fun. Where’s the dancing? We’re supposed to find
handsome dance partners and be whisked away on the dance
floor.”
“It’s
nineteen eighty-two, not nineteen fifty-three.”
“Well, if it
means I get whisked off my feet it should be. Hey,” Jenny said, her voice
slow and low as she got an idea. “What if there’s one of those psychic vampires
in here ruining the party? You said they could be anyone, some people
don’t even know they are one, right?”
“They’re a
lot more common than you think,” Vivian said, nodding. Jenny looked
around to see if anyone was watching them and then nodded her head toward
the roped-off dais at the front of the room. Vivian’s pride sat there for
all to marvel at. The psychic vampire ward. It was an amalgamation of
solitary witch tradition and cutting-edge science -- an energy conductor
with an amethyst core. One flick of the switch would cause a single light
to glow and a whole lot of nothing, unless you were a psychic vampire. If
you were a psychic vampire, you would be driven away. It was not an
elegant solution, but that was why it was a prototype. “Why don’t we turn
it on and see?” Jenny suggested.
“What? No!
We can’t just walk up there. There’s guards.”
“Why not?
You invented the thing. You’re the Head of the Research and Development
Department. They won’t be able to stop you.”
“We can’t!”
Vivian said under her breath.
“Why not?
Isn’t this what the thing was invented for?”
“It was
designed to stop vampires from manipulating others.”
“Well, I’m
going to guess there’s a lot of serious manipulating going on here. Look
around, Vivian. This isn’t the same group we were with moments ago.”
Vivian cast a glance around the room. Indeed, it seemed a lot more subdued
than when John and Drew trotted off to find their wives. She spied them
in the far corner. Drew was talking animatedly while John scowled at him.
She could see Xavier and Troy still on the balcony. Xavier leaned on the
railing and looked out over the Las Vegas strip, cigar stub between his
fingers. Troy was talking, his body turned away from her. She couldn’t
make out what they were discussing. A cluster of men stood to their
right. Two appeared to be disagreeing with each other, while a mistress in a
red contoured gown gave a bored sigh and tugged at her paramour’s jacket
sleeve. “The signs do point to something going on, I’ll
admit.”
“I’m glad
you agree,” Jenny said with a grin. “Come on. Let’s get this party
started again.”
Vivian
followed Jenny as they skirted along the edge of the room toward the
raised dais. A big man in a suit intercepted her, shaking his head.
“This area
is off-limits, miss.”
“Even for
the Head of Research and Development?” Jenny asked sweetly, head tilted
to the side.
Vivian took
that moment to step forward. “Hello. Vivian McKinley, I made that thing,
and I would like to show Miss Williams how it works.”
“Ms.
McKinley, of course,” the man said. “I didn’t see you there. Please, by
all means,” he said as he stepped aside.
Vivian led
the way up to the dais. “This is the energy conductor. Over five
kilograms of amethyst is in its core.”
“Yeah, yeah,
yeah,” Jenny whispered. “I was there at the presentation. Turn it
on!”
“I’m
supposed to be explaining to you how it works,” Vivian responded from the
corner of her mouth. “Coupled with oil of rosemary and yarrow, this is a
psychic vampire repelling machine.”
“By the way,
that, was never a good joke.”
Vivian
huffed. “They laughed at the presentation.”
“They were
being nice. Where’s the on button?”
“It’s the
only button.”
“That’s
easy, then!” Jenny said and flicked the toggle switch upward. The toggle
switch glowed red, but other than that nothing happened. Just a soft whir
as the mechanisms inside heated the amethyst.
“Well,
that’s just fascinating,” Jenny said loud enough for the security guard
to hear. “Aren’t you a clever little thing?”
Vivian
cleared her throat. “Not a problem, Jenny.” She watched as the mistress
in red tugged vehemently at her partner and whispered something in his
ear. He nodded at her before shaking the other men’s hands and the pair
left the party.
Jenny pulled
her off the dais before she could catch any more of that group’s
interactions.
“That was
Renee,” Jenny said. “I’m not surprised she’s a psychic vampire.” “We
don’t know that,” Vivian replied. “She wanted to leave before we turned
that thing on.”
Movement on
the balcony caught her attention as they walked by the security guard. He
nodded as they passed. Troy emerged from between two plants, a deep frown
on his face as he quickly crossed the room. Someone said something to him on
the way out, but he waved him off and left the ballroom.
A few more
people left right after him.
“That’s six,
I’ve counted,” said Jenny. “Six psychic vampires.”
“Or people
who just had enough of the party.”
Jenny
narrowed her eyes. “Vampires.”
“Fine, if
that makes you feel better, they’re all psychic vampires.”
“Truth be
told, I’m excited about seeing the prototype in action. I’m looking
forward to seeing how this pans out.”
“You won’t
have to wait long, look,” Vivian said, pointing out the couple making
their way to the dance floor. Soon the dance floor was a flurry of movement and
color. “Vivian!” said Xavier from the balcony. “Just who I wanted to see.
Time to make the announcement, shall we?”
Vivian
blinked. “Announcement?”
“John’s
retirement and your promotion. Have you seen John?”
“Last I saw
him…” Vivian stood up on her toes and strained her neck to get a better
look at the crowd. “Yes, there he is in the far corner, talking to Drew.” The
two men were laughing now.
“Miss
Williams, would you fetch Mr. Godfrey, please?”
“As you
wish, Mr. Prince,” Jenny said with a smile before she trotted off to find
Vivian’s mentor.
“I can’t
express how much I look forward to working with you, Vivian,” Xavier said
with a smile as he guided her through the whirling couples and to the piano
where a microphone stood ready.
Vivian
swallowed, her mouth drying out. “Thank you for saying so, Mr. Prince.”
“Call me Xavier, please.”
“Xavier,
then.”
“This is the
part where you tell me you look forward to working with me,” he
teased.
Vivian’s
cheeks flushed. “I do! I mean, I do look forward to working with you.”
His laugh was a clear boom from the chest. “I hope you have a speech
prepared,” he said with a wink as he approached the
microphone.
Vivian’s
heart sank.
“Attention,
everyone! Attention! I have an announcement to make.” The pianist trailed
off and people turned and moved to get a view of Xavier Prince at the
head of the room.
“Thank you
for indulging me in this little conceit. You are all gentle people. But
of course, you’ll pay attention, because I’m footing the bill for this
evening’s festivities.” The room chuckled and murmured appreciatively. “I
have news, friends, and it is with fond thoughts, we say farewell to John
Godfrey.” A collective gasp went through the crowd. “I know! I am as
shocked as you are, but John has decided to retire from Prince Charms,
and well, who am I to stop this man from doing what he wants? Thank you,
John,” he said, reaching out to the man as he approached the stage, Jenny
behind him. “Thank you for the years you spent with us. We wouldn’t be
the company we are without you.” The two men shook hands before Xavier
passed the microphone to John.
“I won’t
bore you all, I know I’ve done that enough in the last decade.” Polite
laughter filled the room.
“Then stop
talking!” someone yelled from the crowd. Laughter erupted for real.
“Ha!” John
guffawed. “Well, lucky for you, I’m just going to pass this here baton to
the next generation of Prince Charms. I want everyone to extend a warm
congratulations to Vivian McKinley!”
Before she
knew it, the microphone was in her hands and John was nodding
reassuringly at her. Xavier was clapping and smiling with the rest of the room.
“Wow!” she laughed into the microphone. “I wasn’t expecting this tonight,
so please forgive me if I ramble. I’m Vivian. I’m a witch. I’m from a
long line of witches that spans centuries, many of which were spent in
Serenity, where Prince Charms’ HQ is located. As solitary witches, it’s
our job to ensure the safety of our community from paranormal harm. We
are to protect and care for our community. Well, that tradition is what I
bring to Prince Charms. A longstanding tradition of safety, security, and well
being. Couple that tradition with cutting-edge science, well, we can be
unstoppable. I look forward to working with everyone and seeing what
heights we can achieve. Thank you.”
Vivian
exhaled through her nose as the room erupted into applause. Xavier shook
her hand, and suddenly she was in a whirlwind of activity. Here was the head
of marketing, and there was the CFO. A cigar was pressed into her hands,
and whiskey burned her throat.
She did
it.
She was Head
of Research and Development.
About Victoria Rogers:
Victoria Rogers is an award-winning podcaster, game designer,
and storyteller known for their immersive worlds and strong female characters.
Witches, warlocks, gods, and spirits fill their dreams and
stories. Consent and healthy communication are two major aspects of their work
– after all, you can’t have what you want unless you ask for it.
Victoria can
be found in the garden and in the kitchen making fruit wines, brewing beers,
and infusing spirits. When not feeding friends, they attend tabletop gaming
conventions and sit on storytelling and world-building panels, teach about
online marketing, and produce live events.
Website | Twitter |
Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub
Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card, International.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule:
Week One:
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1/10/2022 |
Excerpt |
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1/10/2022 |
Guest Post |
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1/11/2022 |
Excerpt |
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1/11/2022 |
Excerpt |
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1/12/2022 |
Excerpt |
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1/12/2022 |
Excerpt |
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1/13/2022 |
Guest Post |
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1/13/2022 |
Excerpt |
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1/14/2022 |
Review |
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1/14/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
Week Two:
|
1/17/2021 |
Review |
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1/17/2021 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/18/2021 |
Review |
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1/18/2021 |
Review |
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1/19/2021 |
Review |
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1/19/2021 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/20/2021 |
Review |
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1/20/2021 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/21/2021 |
Review/IG Post |
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|
1/21/2021 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
Congratulations on your release of of The Witch and the Dreamwalker, Victoria, I enjoyed the excerpt and your book sounds like an excellent read for me and I like the cover! Good luck with your book and the tour! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a splendid day!
ReplyDeleteI love the cover! The colors and artwork are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds fantastic. I love the gorgeous cover!
ReplyDelete