Guest Post and Review: Whistle Down the Wind by Sibelle Stone

I am very excited to have my guest today.  Sibelle Stone is the author of Whistle Down the Wind.  This new paranormal romance brings a little bit of history and a lot of paranormal to a wonderful romance.  Be sure to check out my review of Whistle Down the Wind following Sibelle Stone’s post.  Without further ado here is Sibelle Stone….

I’m delighted to be here visiting with the Book Maven. We have a lot in common. I was a Social Studies teacher long, long ago and lived in Philadelphia for a while. We also both love books. My day job working for one of the busiest libraries in the country keeps me stocked up on advance review copies and books, books, books.

I’m here to talk about inspiration. Specifically, what inspired me to write the first book in my Mystic Moon series, Whistle Down the Wind.

I love writing about America, and my favorite time periods are from the colonial period to just after the Civil War. I’m especially drawn to the period when the colonies were part of England. It’s a fascinating time to me, with a wild, open country to explore and settle. There are sad stories of exploitation of the native peoples, the horrors of the slave trade and wars between world powers for domination of the continent.

At the same time, we see some of the most important statesmen to ever lead our nation design a revolution, create a constitution that still governs us more than two hundred years later and provided a blueprint for a new kind of government. That amazes me.

Like many authors, I started with a story question. I’d been reading about the European witch craze, in which thousands, (perhaps hundreds of thousands) of women were charged with practicing witchcraft, tried and executed. My story question became: What if a woman was arrested for practicing witchcraft, and she truly had magical powers?

I decided to set the story in the Restoration period when Charles II had just been restored to the throne of England after years of exile. It was a time when science was gaining some traction, but fear and superstition still permeated society. King Charles founded the xx, but at the same time men and women in England were still being tried and hanged as witches.

But, I didn’t want my characters to stay in England. I put them on a ship, (forcing Catlin and Griffin together) and sent them to Jamestown Virginia. And I put the villain on the ship with them.

The title of the book comes from my research, as I discovered witches who controlled the weather were accused of “whistling down the wind”. In my family of elemental witches each sister controls an elemental being related to her magic. Catlin controls sylphs, who are fairly-like beings who help her wield her magic.

I’m looking forward to releasing the next book in the Mystic Moon series later this fall. Embers at Dawn will be eldest sister Aelwyd’s story. I can hardly wait for readers to discover more about this charming, magical family.

Review: 

Whistle Down the Wind is an awesome historical paranormal romance.  It begins with the arrest of Catlin.  Catlin is arrested for witchcraft which was very prevalent at the time.  While being questioned she meets a handsome rogue that comes to her rescue.  Griffin is there waiting for his best friend to finish questioning a supposed witch.  Just when the questioning gets to a rather violent point Griffins best friend is forced into a rather severe coughing fit.  This is a warning that his end is near and Griffin rushes his friend out only to realize the prisoner is gone.  As he is rushing his friend in his sickened state to his couch he is approached by Catlin, the escaped prisoner.  She promises to heal him in exchange for help escaping.  Griffin agrees because he wants his friend healed at any cost.

Catlin is now in a precarious position.  She must show she is truly a witch in front of a noble man.  He gives his word to say nothing about what happens as long as she heals his friend.  In an elaborate ceremony she miraculously heals him with the help of her sylphs.  Griffin is in awe of the ceremony and this woman who stands in front of him.  He feels drawn and compelled to her.  Catlin feels the same way toward Griffin and they continually find ways to be alone, even under the watchful eyes of her sister.  All of this leads to an elaborate plan to have Griffin escort Catlin to Jamestown and Catlin in turn must fight the evil that is plaguing her.  She finds this on the boat and eventually on the mainland.  Catlin and Griffin’s story begins with a jail and ends with freedom in the New World.  How they get there is the best part.

I loved this book.  I really enjoyed all of the characters especially the sisters.  I thought is was a good take on the witch hunts and the New World.  I have never read a book that actually brought you to the New World and still incorporate the paranormal.  I really look forward to the next book and Aelwyd story.  She deserves a happy ending too.  I hope its with who I think it will be, but not sure if that is possible.  Overall, this was a very enjoyable book and I would highly recommend it for anyone who has read Lydia Dare’s books or Deborah Harkness’s books.

I would like to thank Sibelle Stone for stopping by today and ABG reads for letting me host a spot on the tour.  For more information about Whistle down the Wind you can go to Barnes and Noble, Amazon or any other book retailer.

Author Bio:

Sibelle Stone is the pseudonym for award winning historical romance author Deborah Schneider. Sibelle writes sexy steampunk and paranormal stories, filled with mad scientists, dirigibles, automatons, and creatures that would scare the panties off Deborah. In her spare time Sibelle enjoys dressing up in Victorian ensembles, modding play guns into something that looks a bit more sinister and wearing hats.

Synopsis:

Title: Whistle Down The Wind

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Number of Pages: 278

Publisher: Moon Valley Publishing

Formats available for review: E Book 

 

Arrested for using her magical powers to protect herself, Catlin Glyndwr faces the hangman’s noose. Descended from a long line of elemental witches, she can control the wind and weather. But the worst thing that can happen in 1664 England is to be charged with practicing of witchcraft. Especially when the accusation is true. Sir Griffin Reynolds is visiting his closest childhood friend before embarking on a secret mission for King Charles II to the New World. When his friend becomes deathly ill while interrogating a beautiful woman accused of witchcraft, Griffin accepts her offer of help. In exchange for her freedom, she’ll heal his friend.When Griffin and Catlin embark on a journey to Virginia to save the colony, they succumb to the temptation of a white hot passion that blazes between them. But a Dark Druid stalks Catlin, and if he can’t possess her and her magic — no man will.A beautiful witch discovers there’s more than one way to be wicked.