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Britain is a land of myth and legend, from giants and dragons to St George and Headless Horsemen.

Black Dog spectres are nocturnal apparitions, often foretelling deaths and sometimes linked with Satan, although some are protectors. From Grim, Padfoot, Barguest and Shuck, these nocturnal hounds walk the byways and lanes of Britain. Appearances differ �� although they are always large, some have no head, a human-looking head, fiery eyes, chains or blooded fang; they walk in silence and howl with spine-chilling cries.

Old Shuck

Variously known as Black Shuck, Old Shuck, Old Shock or Shuck (a name derived from the Old English word for fiend), a ghostly hound is believed to haunt the coastline and countryside parts of Britain. Documents from the 16th century record ‘sightings�� of this horrible hound, but records are believed to go back at far as the 12th Century.

The most notorious reports of Shuck come from Bungay and Blythburn in the county of Suffolk, in England (1577). The great devilish hound is said to have burst through the church doors during a storm, killed a man and child and causing the steeple to collapse. There are, apparently scorch marks still remaining on the door to this day. He then appeared in a separate church in the village of Bungay, killed some more congregants before disappearing.

Title page of the account of Rev. Abraham Fleming’s account of the appearance of the ghostly black dog “Black Shuck�� at the church of Bungay, Suffolk in 1577: “A straunge, and terrible wunder wrought very late in the parish church of Bongay: a town of no great distance from the citie of Norwich, namely the fourth of this August, in ye yeere of our Lord 1577.�� ( )

In 1850 Revd Taylor of Ormesby wrote that he’d heard the tale of Shuck from many people in East Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. The great hound was described as ‘a black shaggy dog with fiery eyes, who visits churchyards at night�� (From Lore of the Land �� Westwood and Simpson). The dog started at Beeston and walked Overstrand churchyard at twilight and his route crossed what is now Cromer railway station �� and a local street was known as Shuck’s Lane. Another preacher heard from an elderly local parishioner that Shuck ran nightly over Coltishall Bridge. A local man had kicked at a large dog acting aggressively, the man’s foot when straight through the dog��.

Shuck has now firmly become part of local folklore with manifestations of ‘Old Scarf��, ‘Old Shock�� and the ‘Shucky Dog��. A spectral dog known as Chuff was seen as late as 1980. Old Shock sometimes manifested as a calf, or had the head of a donkey, a goat, or even a ‘shug monkey��.

He is portrayed in many forms �� including as a shapeshifting bogey beast. Headless or saucer-eyed creatures are traditional signs of the supernatural, and such beasts often had ‘skeffy�� or shaggy coats.

‘Shuck�� is derived from an Old English word �� scucca –meaning fiend, ‘shucky�� is a Norfolk dialect for shaggy. ��In Europe, a sixth of all dog demons are black poodles (Patricia Dale Green Dog 1966). Shuck’s ancestry may be hinted at from an account from St Margaret in the late 12th century, called ‘Alde Shuke�� �� an ‘unwight�� who appeared in animal form, and calls himself a ‘bitter beast��.

Some accounts state meeting Shuck means a death within a year, oral tradition does not always support this. Shuck and the Black Dog of Bungay myths have merged, out of 74 sightings only seventeen could be connected with death or a misfortune.

Other accounts have the Black Dogs act as guardians, escorted women along lonely lanes at night.�� In 1998 one man recounted having to get out of the road at night due to a huge hound with flaming eyes standing in his way. This prevented him being run down by a car with no lights.

The Black Dog of Newgate

When a young nurse takes a job at an old military hospital she finds the answers to an old family question �� what is the secret of Blossom Rise Hospital? Who is the long-dead man who walks the grounds?
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She finds true love in the past, but is his love worth risking herfuture?

Stone of Lust

Stones of IonaBook 3

by Margaret Izard

Genre: TimeTravel, Paranormal Romance

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She finds true love in the past, but is his love worth risking herfuture?

��She dreams of aViking warrior with Fae-blue eyes and a God-like body that makes her heartpound like no other. Trying to save her kidnapped sister-in-law, Ainsliefollows her back to the Vikings of Scotland, where she faces the very man whohas haunted her dreams.

��When Jarl, RannickMacRaghnaill��meets the alluring Warrior Woman who helped steal hiswarship, she dresses in clothing so strange that every curve teases his senses.But is she, as she claims, a woman from the future or an irresistible lyingthief?

��She’d risk herlife to save her sister-in-law. He’d risk his honor to win her heart. Can bothhardened warriors save the realms from the evilest of Fae’s minds combined withthe most dangerous of humans?

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Find them on !

Margaret Izard isan award-winning author of historical fantasy and paranormal romance novels.She spent her early years through college to adulthood dedicated to dance,theater, and performing. Over the years, she developed a love for greatstorytelling in different mediums. She does not waste a good story, be itmovement, the spoken, or the written word. She discovered historical romancenovels in middle school, which combined her passion for romance, drama, andfantasy. She writes exciting plot lines, steamy love scenes and always fallsfor a strong male with a soft heart. She lives in Houston, Texas, with herhusband and adult triplets and loves to hear from readers.

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Follow the tour for special content and a giveaway!

Stone of Lust SwagPack (US only),

$20 Amazongiftcard (WW)

�� 1 winner each!

Όταν μια νεαρή νοσοκόμα δέχεται δουλειά σε ένα πρώην στρατιωτικό νοσοκομείο, ανακαλύπτει ένα οικογενειακό μυστικό και βρίσκει τους φασματικούς ενοίκους λιγουλάκι υπερβολικά οικείους.

Μια σύντομη ιστορία φαντασμάτων

#Φαντάσματα, #Παραφυσικό, #Τρόμου, #Διήγημα

When a young nurse takes a job at an old military hospital she finds the answers to an old family question �� what is the secret of Blossom Rise Hospital? Who is the long-dead man who walks the grounds?
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Looking for an audiobook or awesome read? Check out The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles �� Book I

In a dark world where magic is illegal, and elves are enslaved a young elven sorceress runs for her life from the house of her evil Keeper. Pursued by his men and the corrupt Order of Witch-Hunters she must find sanctuary. As the slavers roll across the lands stealing elves from what remains of their ancestral home the Witch-Hunters turn a blind eye to the tragedy and a story of power, love and a terrible revenge unfolds.

18 rated (for adult content).

Available Amazon, Audible, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, Google Play, Scribd, Angus and Robertson, and more on the link below �� hardback, paperback, ebook and large print editions.

or Universal Link

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In 1942, Major RayHawkins must assemble a unit of civilians and military to keep the Nazis fromreleasing a desert djinn against the Allied forces in North Africa. They willhave to employ conventional warfare and unconventional witchcraft to accomplishthe mission.

Devil in theDesert

Office ofSupernatural Directives Book 1

by Russell James

Genre: HistoricalHorror

It is 1942 and asecret group within the Nazi SS is on the hunt for objects of the occult,hoping to harvest their power for wonder weapons to win the war. Its leader,Gruppenfuhrer Karl Weitz, has more than military might behind him. He hasrecruited the Ochre Witch, an Eastern European sorceress capable of adaptingwhat they seize to serve the Reich’s needs.

Only one team can stop the Axis powers from winning World War II.

Army Major Ray Hawkins is tasked with creating the Office of SupernaturalDirectives to stop these fanatics. He assembles a team that includes a femaleWASP pilot, an enlisted man with a passion for language and puzzles, amysterious American ex-pat from the French Foreign Legion, and a young Romanywoman who will need to embrace the mystic Gypsy teachings she’s spent her lifedespising.

Their first mission unfolds in Tunisia, where Weitz and the Ocher Witch plan torelease a djinn the locals call the Devil in the Desert. It wields the power tospread debilitating fear. If Major Hawkins and his band cannot stop the djinn,it will sow panic among the Americans and Rommel’s Afrika Korps will crush theinvasion force. But Hawkins�� new team has many weaknesses, and Weitz and theOcher Witch will exploit every one of them to win.

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RussellR. James was raised on Long Island, New York and spent too much time watchingChiller, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and Dark Shadows, despite his parents’warnings. Bookshelves full of Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe didn’t makethings better. He graduated from Cornell University and the University ofCentral Florida.

Afterflying helicopters with the U.S. Army and a career as a technical writer, henow spins twisted tales best read in daylight, including horror thrillers DarkInspiration, Q Island, and The Playing Card Killer. He authored the GrantColeman Adventures series starting with Cavern of the Damned and the RangerKathy West series starting with Claws. He resides in sunny Florida. His wifereads his work, rolls her eyes, and says “There is something seriouslywrong with you.��

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Followthe tour for special content and a giveaway!

$10 Amazon

OUT NOW��Strange Bedfellows by Steven Donahue (@PublishConquest @writersd56)

Blurb:

“Politics makes strange bedfellows, and I’d like to keep my sheets clean.��

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Democratic incumbent, and Hayfield’s current mayor, Jade Weatherby thought she had the mayoral race in the bag. That was until cafe owner and independent candidate, Finn Haley, joined the game.

Amidst their political rivalry and social pressures put on them by the small town’s populants, Jade and Finn immediately fall for one another.

When a third candidate for mayor emerges with plans that could endanger the town, Jade and Finn are forced to make tough decisions about their careers and their growing relationship.

Genre: Political Romance

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, Social Issues

Spice: One (reference can be found at )

Amazon:

Barnes & Noble:

Excerpt:

The air smelled like money. Money was the one thing most attendees had in common.

There was old money, like the wealth of the Hendersons, derived from oil fields in Texas. Then there was new money, like the Charlestons, who started a dotcom for sports fans that took off like a rocket.

The room was filled with rich people eager to help finance their choice for mayor of Hayfield, Pennsylvania. At the front of the hotel ballroom stood the one person who hoped to shake some of that money off the tree and guide it into her campaign coffers.

Mayor Jade Weatherby knew the pressures of fundraising. This was her third go-around and it never got easier. Money always came with strings, and she sometimes felt like a puppet caught in a web of promises and obligations.

She opened her compact to check her makeup. At forty, the stress of two consecutive terms had begun to show. She hated the lines that ran under her eyes and the loose skin forming on her chin. She touched the edge of her face and wondered if it was time for a facelift.

Jade snapped her compact shut and watched her assistant, Raydrick Lee, walk up to the podium. The slender, black man moved so gracefully it was easy to see why he had no trouble attracting members of his own gender. Jade recalled many times when women were disappointed to find out they biologically lacked what he needed. The mayor hid her clenched fists as she nervously waited for her turn to speak. Raydrick addressed the crowd first.

“Good evening,�� said Raydrick. The noise in the room dissipated. “I want to thank you all for coming tonight in support of our wonderful leader of Hayfield.�� He paused as some applauded. “I am proud to work for an intelligent, passionate person who I can truly call my friend. A trailblazer for the rights of all citizens, no matter their gender, race, religious beliefs, or romantic preferences. A 21st Century leader in every sense of the word. Come on, now,�� said Raydrick. “Let’s hear it for Mayor Jade Weatherby.��

The applause grew louder as Raydrick whooped up the crowd. The host stepped away from the podium as a single spotlight fell on Jade while she made her way to the microphone.

She raised her hands and flashed her best politician’s smile. “Thank you,�� she said. “Thank you all.�� She turned toward her assistant as the room quieted again. “I want to take a moment to thank my right-hand man, Raydrick Lee, for his kind words and unyielding support.�� More cheers filled the room before dying off.

Jade looked out at the jubilant audience. “Most people enter politics with good intentions. They feel a call to duty, a need to do what they can to improve society. JFK said it best, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country��. I believe that applies to all levels of government, from small towns like ours to big cities like Philadelphia, and capitals like Washington, D.C. Good people want to do good things.��

Jade paused for more applause.

About the Author:

Steven Donahue was a copywriter for TV Guide magazine for 14 years. He is an avid reader, and his writing is inspired by the works of Ernest Hemingway, John Jakes, Ray Bradbury, and Matt Christopher. Donahue is a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that brings him great joy and great sorrow on a week-by-week basis.

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Currently residing in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia, Steven hopes to become successful enough to one day retire to a beach house in Ocean City, N.J.��

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Release blitz organised by .

Award-winning #historicalfantasy based on the .

Echoes of a Song:
A dozen tumultuous years after the dramatic events at the Paris Opera House Raoul, Comte de Chagny is still haunted by the mysterious Opera Ghost �� the creature of legend who held staff at the Opera House under his thrall, kidnapped Raoul’s lover and murdered his brother. In Raoul’s troubled imagination the ghosts of the past are everywhere, and strange and powerful music still calls in his dreams.
Madness, obsession and the legacy of the past weave their spell in this short, tragic tale based on the Phantom of the Opera.
Best fantasy 2019 on reviewer site NN Light Book Heaven!
Available on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and many other stores on the link below.

Tears and Crimson Velvet

Madame Giry finds herself embroiled in the tragedy unfolding at the Opera house; mystery and murder stalk the corridors and, it is said, a ghost haunts the place. Giry knows the truth, for she recalls the caged man she met so many years ago. This is her story, their story.

When murder and mystery begin at the Opera House one woman knows who is behind it, and what really lies beneath the mask. Secrets, lies and tragedy sing a powerful song in this ‘might have been�� tale.

Winner of the 2020 Best Short Story award on NNLight Book Heaven
A short, tragic tale based on characters from Phantom of the Opera.

A Legacy of the Mask Tale.

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