by Kathleen Costa

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an ebook copy of Curses and Cauldrons, and a link to purchase it from Amazon.

They’re Heeere!
I am always excited about the release of the annual “magical” mystery anthology. The Curses and Cauldrons collection, released in September, highlights many of my favorite authors and some new ones I have begun to explore. I was able to connect with a couple of my favorite authors and ask a few questions about writing.

UP FIRST…Tegan Maher is a favorite author, creative and clever, for whom I love being part of her readers’ group. Not only did I receive a copy of this year’s October treat, but she is donating the copies for our KRL’s giveaway. Cozy fans should check out the delightful series she pens: my favorite three-book Haunted Lodge Mystery along with the eleven-book Witches of Keyhole Lake books and short stories, two-book Enchanted Coast Magical Mystery, and the four-book Cori Sloane Mystery.

KRL: Did you always want to be a writer?

Tegan Maher: When I was a little girl, I didn’t want to grow up to be a writer. I wanted to raise unicorns and be a superhero. When those gigs fell through, I chose the next best thing: creating my own magical lands filled with adventure, magic, humor, and romance.

KRL: Do you have interests outside of writing?

Tegan Maher: I’ve always had a touch of wanderlust and have never feared just packing up and going on new adventures, whether in real life or via the pages of a great book. When I’m not writing or reading, I’m racing motorcycles or binge-watching anything magical on Netflix. I’m eternally grateful for all the people who help make my life what is today—friends, readers, family. No woman is an island.

Facebook — Author Tegan Maher

NEXT…A favorite writing duo, ReGina Welling and Erin Lynn, is the mother-daughter writing team who, living in rural Maine, are responsible for the delightful six-book Fate Weaver series, four-book Ponderosa Pines Cozy Mystery, four-book Elder Witch mysteries, and my favorite the four-book Haunted Everly After mysteries. ReGina Welling also pens the four-book Psychic Seasons Mysteries and two-book The Earthbound Series.

KRL: What is it like to co-write with your mother?

Erin Lynn: Partnering with my mother has been the most incredible experience of my life. We’ve always been close, but this has brought us even closer. She’s my best friend, and sometimes it’s like we share one mind!

When we wrote “A Match Made In Spell,” we knew what the series name would be, but we didn’t know how we were going to title the books. We spent hours brainstorming, and finally I vaguely suggested using the word ‘spell’ in place of ‘hell’. Immediately, the idea clicked and my mom blurted out the title, which we both agreed was perfect for the story. The same type of thing happens during every book, and every time it’s confirmation that writing together is exactly what we’re supposed to be doing.

KRL: Why the supernatural?

Erin Lynn: We’ve both always been intrigued by anything supernatural. One of the first books I remember reading as a child was my mom’s copy of The Wednesday Witch. [My mother’s] favorite book of all time is A Wrinkle In Time, and though, of course, our tastes have become more varied over the years (there’s little my mother hasn’t read, she’s a sponge!), we always gravitate to the paranormal. They say you should write what you know and what you love, and we’ve taken that to heart.

Facebook – ReGina Welling Author
Facebook – Erin Lynn Writes

Curses and Cauldrons earns 5/5 Magical Mystery Tours…Engaging and Entertaining!
Fifteen engaging “treats” to take the “trick” out of your Halloween. Each author takes a few of their already established characters and pen them into another mysterious challenge in stories of magic, creatures, and mayhem…oh, my! Short stories, yes, but not short on engaging entertainment. Every single authors highlights wonderful characters using varied narratives, but full of descriptive language, entertaining dialogue, and lots of magic and mayhem! Explore the links to the author’s websites or Facebook pages and to Amazon or Goodreads for their series or specific books. Enjoy!

Haunting & Hardcovers by Elle Adams
Ghostly cold case? From Elle Adams’s five-book Library Witch Mystery series, Aurora “Rory” Hawthorn is used to a bit of mayhem in her family’s magical library, but a decades-old ghost appears with a long-forgotten murder mystery needing to be solve. Delightful fun!
Subscribe Page—Elle Adams Mailing List

Time for Tricks by Ava Mallory
“What if you could travel back in time to solve a crime?” From the multi-author A Witch in Time series, Ava Mallory brings Marianna Galvin, from her Witch After Time book, whose deceased mother has volunteered her daughter to investigate a baffling triple murder cold case in a small Indiana town…back in 1980! The catch is she has a seven-day deadline to reveal the truth. Intriguing fun!
Subscribe Page—Ava Mallory Newsletter

Cobbler, Curios, & Curses by Bella Falls
Introducing Ruby Mae Jewell from Bella Falls’ Flea Market Magic book in her new Southern Relic Cozy Mystery series! Ruby Mae loves Halloween because she can dress up without the fear of her true “witchy” personae being exposed along with several ghost family members and her vampire boyfriend. However, all of that is a secondary concern to the arrival of a newcomer, rouge spell, and saving someone’s life. Entertaining fun!
Subscribe Page—Bella Falls Newsletter

Better Off Undead by Misty Bane
A wedding in a graveyard? Misty Bane wrote a tale with Shay Graves, from her two-book Witches of Shadow Lane series, returning to the paranormal island Mystic Key and suffering a disappointing Halloween. She’s stuck at home and unable to enjoy the town’s festival since the graveyard outside her home is host to a wedding. Spooky fun!
Subscribe Page—Misty Bane Newsletter

Time Witch on the Sidelines by K. M. Waller
“What is a sidelined, time-traveling, cold-case solving witch to do with all her free time?” From the multi-author A Witch in Time series, K.M. Waller pens a tale with empathic witch Nuala Walsh taking place soon after her Right Witch Wrong Time book. Nuala believes she can solve a missing persons case without the time-traveling spell she’s not suppose to use. Tricky fun!
Subscribe—K.M. “Kizzie” Waller Newsletter

Runaway Bride Time by Jenna St. James
“Would you travel in the past to right a wrong?” From the multi-author A Witch in Time series, Jenna St. James sends her lead character Lexi Catherine Sanders, from her Time After Time book, back to 1973 to solve an “unsolved” murder. With her familiar Rex the Rat in tow, she arrives in the Poconos, but unfortunately disguised as a jilted bride. Groovy fun!
Subscribe—Jenna St. James Newsletter

The Case of the Murdered Moose by Nikki Haverstock
An evening of trick-or-treating babysitting fun? NOT. While attending a Halloween party, Gabriella “Ella” Ramono, from Nikki Haverstock’s Casino Witch Mystery series, runs into a murder mystery with several competing suspects. Boo-riliant fun!
Subscribe—Nikki Haverstock Newsletter

A Graveyard Gala by Danielle Garrett
From Danielle Garrett’s Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery series, Holly Boldt and her non-corporeal friends are excited about getting invites to the popular “living-impaired soirée.” But, there’s a curse that just might ruin the evening’s festivities and put her friends in danger. Big treat fun!
Subscribe—Danielle Garrett Newsletter

Battle of the Hexes by Morgana Best
From Morgana Best’s Kitchen Witch series, Adeline Spelled has been conscripted by a dreamy witch hunter to help him find a killer. Their joint mission might be a bit perilous, oh, and the killer just might be, too. Aussie fun!
Subscribe—Morgana Best Newsletter

Found Haunting by ReGina Welling and Erin Lynn
Writing duo ReGina Welling and Erin Lynn brings the delightful Everly DuPree from their Haunted Everly After Mystery series. Everly helps the dead find peace, and in some cases find their killer. Her excitement about enjoying Halloweenfest is interrupted when a ghost pops in wanting his killer apprehended. Brilliant Fun!
Subscribe—ReGina Welling Newsletter
Subscribe—Erin Lynn Newsletter

No Time to Waste by Stephanie Damore
From the multi-author A Witch in Time series, Stephanie Damore conjures up a time-traveling cold case adventure for her protagonist Vee Harper from her Better Witch Next Time book. It’s a neighborhood grinch whose death needs to be solved, but can she navigate 1987 and make it back for her date. Wow…fun!
Subscribe—Stephanie Damore Newsletter

The Case of the Cursed Hat by Amorette Anderson
A taste of Amorette Anderson’s Hillcrest Witch Cozy Mystery series with “Witchy” private investigator Penny Banks, clad in her flapper costume, set to investigate another suspicious death. Cleverly surrounded by too many costumed party goers, is the killer one of them? Hat-eriffic fun!
Like on Facebook—Amorette Anderson

Time to Jump by Mona Marple
From the multi-author A Witch in Time series, Mona Marple pens another time-traveling cold case adventure for her lead character Felicity Octavia Geraldine Warner the Fourth from A Devil of a Time. A package arrives with a beautiful princess style gown and the required spell to send Felicity back to New York…Central Park…1947! Holy moly fun!
Subscribe—Mona Marple VIP Readers’ List

The Mystery of Ice Pond Road by April Aasheim
From April Aasheim’s Dark Root world, this standalone has a young eight-year-old boy suffering nightmares about the tragic disappearance of three children. Their cries for help will be difficult to answer since the event occurred nearly a century ago. Using the clues from his night’s encounter, they’ll need ever bit of courage to unravel this one. Engaging fun!
Subscribe— April Aasheim Mail List

Candy Apples and Curses by Tegan Maher
From Tegan Maher’s Haunted Lodge Cozy Mystery series, BFFs Toni and Dee are prepping for a Halloween Party at their B&B. However, discovering a shrunken head in an old worn-out trunk and hearing about rumors of a long-dead Voodoo priestess’s curse may put a problematic spin on the festivities…or not! Ooooh, Juju fun!
Subscribe—Tegan Maher Reader’s Club

No Tricks. Just Treats!
No recipes are included in the collection, so I chose a delicious cocktail perfect for any trick-or-treater! Check out my favorite website, Evermine, for all things Halloween. But for all occasions don’t miss the evermine.com—Blog. For a Halloween book club highlighting this year’s Curses and Cauldrons serve up this cocktail “treat” from Josephine Guicciardi, nom de plume of a creative Evermine blogger.

Spooky Sips: Poisoned Apple Cocktail

To enter to win an ebook copy of Curses and Cauldrons, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, with the subject line “cauldrons,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen October 19, 2019. Only US entries. If entering via comment please include your email address. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also check our our new mystery podcast! The last 2 episodes are both perfect for Halloween listening!

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Kathleen Costa is a long-time resident of the Central Valley, and although born in Idaho, she considers herself a “California Girl.” Graduating from CSU-Sacramento, she is a 35+ year veteran teacher having taught in grades 1-8 in schools from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Stockton to Lodi. Currently Kathleen is enjoying her retirement revitalizing hobbies along with exploring writing, reading for pleasure, and spending 24/7 with her husband.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.