Happy Halloween! One of the scariest stories I ever read is actually nonfiction, Birdwoman, and has stuck in my brain for years now. It still gives me the shivers, like a great Stephen King novel, only this actually happened. I invited author Jeffe Kennedy to visit today and answer a few questions for me as follow up to the story.
First, the blurb: A psychological thriller set in the Pacific northwest, the true story, told in essay form, of an encounter with the paranormal: a vengeful goddess.
Let me add that Jeffe and her husband went on a late season vacation trip and found themselves in a situation involving isolated islands, menacing birds, petroglyphs, sullen locals, a spooky effigy and a completely terrifying aftermath to the trip. This is a short, quick read (only $.99) but it….lingers.
Veronica: Have you had any further flashbacks or echoes of the Birdwoman experience?
Jeffe: Not really. I’ve been very careful to stay away from that island. One weird thing, though – I did meet a woman at a fantasy conference who had a tattoo on her chest that looked exactly like Birdwoman to me – a woman looking straight out with a long, pointed beak like that. It gave me the serious chills! I nearly asked her about it, but I figured I maybe didn’t want to know.
Veronica: Probably better safe than sorry! I get goose bumps just thinking about it. Have you had any other experiences of this type?
Jeffe: Not exactly like that, no. I do try to be pretty careful about that kind of thing. And that was an unusual connection. I’m still not sure why I clicked into that.
Veronica: Do you ever think of turning this into a novel? (Because I’d sure read it!)
Jeffe: Ooh, what an interesting idea! 😀
Veronica: If it was made into a movie, who would play you and David? The Birdwoman?
Jeffe: Ha! Can I be played by Margot Robbie? Lol! And Alexander Skarsgård for David. (Okay – maybe I just watched the new Tarzan.) Mila Kunis or Angelina Jolie would make for a terrific Birdwoman.
Veronica: Good choices! I definitely see the resemblances LOL. Any new cat companion photos to share? (Jeffe knows I’m totally a fangirl of her Maine Coon cats. Ssh, don’t tell my short haired cats, ok?)
Jeffe: Just for you. 😉
Veronica: What would you be for Halloween if 
you were donning a costume and why?
Jeffe: I’d love to dress up as Maleficent some time! Those horns are amazing. I’d have the wings, too. All that sorcerous empowerment would rock!
Author Bio:
Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning author whose works include non-fiction, poetry, short fiction, and novels. She has been a Ucross Foundation Fellow, received the Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship for Poetry, and was awarded a Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Award. Her essays have appeared in many publications, including Redbook.
Her works include a number of fiction series: the fantasy romance novels of A Covenant of Thorns; the contemporary BDSM novellas of the Facets of Passion, and an erotic contemporary serial novel, Master of the Opera. A fourth series, the fantasy trilogy The Twelve Kingdoms, has been followed by further adventures in this epic world in The Pages of the Mind, released in May 2016. Her latest is the Sorcerous Moons series.
Jeffe can be found online at her website: JeffeKennedy.com, every Sunday at the popular popular SFF Seven blog, on Facebook, on Goodreads and pretty much constantly on Twitter @jeffekennedy. She is represented by Connor Goldsmith of Fuse Literary.
Here’s the link to the 
I think I’ll give maybe two more snippets from this since we’re still in the first month of release and then move on. Edited a bit from the published version.
Join the adventure as nine pet loving sci-fi romance authors take you out of this world and pull you into their action-packed stories filled with suspense, laughter, and romance. The alien pets have an agenda that will capture the hearts of those they touch. Follow along as they work side by side to help stop a genetically-engineered creature from destroying the Earth to finding a lost dragon; life is never the same after their pets decide to get involved. Can the animals win the day or will the stars shine just a little less brightly?
And the blurb for Star Cruise: Stowaway:
But for better or worse, the new queen had claimed many of the remaining Talented. Teegan had felt it. It brought her to her knees, the shockwave nearly causing her to black out.
I have not read most of the new releases listed (although I always end up one-clicking a bunch as I prepare these posts LOL) and as always I recommend sampling before you buy!
THE KRINAR CAPTIVE by Anna Zaires
DRAGON BOND by Ruby Lionsdrake
SAIL (HAUNTED STARS BOOK 1) by Lindsay Loucks
HADES: MODERN DESCENDANTS by L. B. Dunbar writing as Elda Lore
Turow . . .
of destruction. She’s smart with a college degree, but she’s still fan-girl crazy for the rock band, Civilized Heathens. Evie knows despite all Bellamy’s smiles and enthusiasm on the stage, he’s destined to end it all on one lonely night in a hotel room unless she can change his path.
Protecting their home, an isolated northern stronghold known as The Vista, has been the first duty of Team Three. Now they scatter across the Front Range of a post-apocalyptic North America, in an attempt to determine where their enemies are hidden and if they have any true allies.
New York Times best-selling authors has you covered. Whether you like them large and in charge or sleek and sexy, you’ll find the right story to spice up your night in these pages….
Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.
author of Ghost Talker, she may soon join their ranks…
the hindquarters. Speaking of fun, the hot little number who claims she’s a guard at the jail has been making his body respond in ways he’s very happy about. If only she’d get on board with the plan and help him escape back to his ship. First she’d have to believe he’s an alien. Right now she’s taken to thinking he’s crazy.
woman who would finally teach him to love.
Daywalker Brynne Kirkland survived a hellish upbringing as a product of a madman’s lab. Tough, driven, and devoted to her work in law enforcement, Brynne has never dared to risk opening her heart to anyone–least of all a handsome immortal from a world on the verge of war against hers.
wherever she goes, and her latest antics are drawing attention from the media, the Chicago Police Review Board, and a gorgeous glowing man with abilities as strange as her own. Her unique physical talents get her into hot water at work as things get steamy with Officer Antonio Valdez, who might just have a few new career options for her, among other things.
Single mom Rachel Hunter has not one second to spare in her day between rearing two daughters, running a thriving goat farm, and keeping tabs on her eccentric brother. Not to mention an ex-husband who’s in prison for murder and a local gang leader harassing her at every turn! Then a gorgeous, tattooed man crashes into her fence and she finds out exactly what it means to have her hands full.
and fix broken relationships. When she finds herself living in a land were everywhere she looks relationships are thriving and growing, what is she to do? No one needs her and she’s lost without anyone to help.
Marie Josette d’Orgemont, cousin to Louis XVI, watched in horror as a rogue creature took her husband’s life before turning on her. A powerful vampire swept in and spared her life, but she never suspected surviving meant immortality or the price she’d have to pay to protect her surviving son.
of, and obviously had problems in the bedroom. But through the years, he’s learned other ways to please the ladies. Or so he thought. When his girlfriend leaves because he simply doesn’t have enough to give, he decides it’s time to take matters into his own hands…or well, maybe a surgeon’s. After learning about the complications and exorbitant costs that go along with the surgical enhancement, he thinks all hope is lost. But a name and number left by his housekeeper could change his life. Syan isn’t the old, wrinkly witch he was expecting, but she quickly proves there’s no job too big, or too small, when you’ve got the magic touch.
Natalie is on a journey to realize that maybe being abducted wasn’t so bad after all. Before she can learn that, she will realize what her old fiancé was really like, and how her new life might be just what she wanted all along. And maybe she can even find a way to help the human slaves aboard her ship.
Xander Stone struggles to maintain his sanity against the voice that haunts him day and night—the voice of a woman begging him to save her.
Working in an alternate version of Victorian London, Librarian-spy Irene has settled into a routine, collecting important fiction for the mysterious Library and blending in nicely with the local culture. But when her apprentice, Kai—a dragon of royal descent—is kidnapped by the Fae, her carefully crafted undercover operation begins to crumble….
vanish in the Null Zone, the blame falls squarely on Drake’s shoulders. He must discover who’s responsible and stop them before more ships are lost….
downright difficult. When the Wicks Hollow coven hires her uncle’s firm to investigate the mysterious disappearance of three witches, she is determined to solve the case—and she isn’t going to let the lack of a license or an interfering and gorgeous wolf shifter get in her way.
Arcana and the four cards of the Minor Arcana.
Jaz, a fish out of water in the real world, discovers that she is actually a dragon. She must seek her true destiny in another, parallel place.
loved and lost, he has no choice but to go back and try to make things right.
Eogan is a Hunter, an elite alien warrior who has been imprisoned on Earth. He has waited patiently for the chance to escape and when it comes, he’s ready. Time is of the essence as he travels to reunite with his fellow Hunters. When he finds Hester fighting for her life, he saves her. Together, they must escape the enemies pursuing them. Despite Hester’s reluctance to believe his growing bond to her, Eogan vows to protect her no matter what the cost.
Australian Outback town of Kangaroo Creek. The whole town seems to have a secret, one that her heart tells her involves her AWOL, eccentric uncle. She’s at her wits end but determined to find him, no matter what the cost. And then the sexiest man she’s ever seen walks into the bar and things get really…dangerous.
What’s a big, bad (sometimes green) alien to do when he wants a mate who isn’t motivated by greed? Contact Celestial Mates. After all, their business is romancing the galaxy.
VS NOTE: A novella in the Sorceror of Wildeeps series
The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White. I have no clue how many times I reread this one. A swan with a trumpet? How cool is that?
(Veronica sez: My grandson had the movie of this, as “Homeward Bound”, on permanent repeat for a while there. He especially loved any and all interactions between Sassy the cat and Chance the young dog.)
position aboard the Atlantis can’t save him; if anything, it has left him questioning his own motives. He never thought that could happen until he met Simone Campbell.
Here’s the link to the 
I have not read most of the new releases listed (although I always end up one-clicking a bunch as I prepare these posts LOL) and as always I recommend sampling before you buy!
FOOLS RUSH IN (THE INTERSTELLAR RESCUE SERIES BOOK 3) by Donna S. Frelick
DALLAS FIRE & RESCUE: EMERGENCY CUPID (A KINDLEWORLDS NOVELLA) by R. L. Naquin
BARBARIAN’S HEART (ICE PLANET BARBARIANS BOOK 10) by Ruby Dixon
DEADER HOMES AND GARDENS (SOUTHERN GHOST HUNTER MYSTERIES BOOK 4) by Angie Fox
for Ledo. But as a son of Ares the Fates rule his life. His rebirth serves one purpose: to stand with Zeus when he faces Cronus and to die doing it. That never bothered him. He’d lived many lifetimes and knew his destiny, willingly embracing it.
LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS: A NOBLEBRIGHT FANTASY SET by Various including Lindsay Buroker
find their way to Collegium headquarters in New York. She has magic—and a big Greek family, all ready to “help” her (they mean, interfere). When Jet Walsh moves in next door with no family except the two young orphaned cousins he’s responsible for, it’s a situation of opposites attracting, especially since Jet is a bear-shifter….
inbetweens. But… as a curvy lawyer in New York, where talk is cheap and love is cheaper, how’s she supposed to find that? Thank the stars that there’s a service for that…
Beast wants only a few things out of life: to be left alone, to join the Blackwings so he can be left alone, and for everyone to stop expecting anything from him and leave him alone. He was king of the lion shifters once, but his fall from power came at a huge personal cost. Rumors run rampant over what really happened to his pride, but the truth has hardened Beast’s heart to stone. He’s kept the Blackwings at arm’s length, but when a human starts stalking his crew, his inner monster-kitty gets curious. Kiera is gorgeous and mysterious, but she also has strange eyes and a scent that is calling to his animal. No human has ever interested him quite like her….
Greenlands, New Hampshire. After all, there’s land to be claimed, sexy male shifters lurking behind every towering pine tree, and – death challenges? Apparently, Dakota Sheffield picked the wrong woman to impersonate when she decided to go undercover for a little vacation. Now she’s falling hard for Miles Williams, the dominant Alpha Prime of the Fenris pack….
Finding themselves on the wrong side where illegal potions importer, Jax Rochefort, is concerned, now their only focus is finding a way to stay alive. But being taken hostage and tortured isn’t Bram’s style. Will this suave, centuries-old vampire find a way to free himself and Dulcie? Or will they both fall prey to the up and coming rebellion, the union of all the illegal potions gangs who seek to take over control of the Netherworld?
invaluable commodity to the known galaxy. Now his mentor’s intriguing and secretive new student goes out of her way to challenge his loyalty to everything he values.
why sixteen-year-old Jonas Crosswell did not die in a drug-related shoot-out at a neighborhood church, the last thing she expects is a modern-day miracle. But how else to explain how the boy survived multiple gunshot wounds? more…
bolt hole for Satalis.
Yakira feels safe and cherished with Wulf, but he is a Coletti–the ultimate predator with a taste for blood, a passion for battle, and the need to control everything in his life. The big question is: how does she make Wulf understand she’s a powerful psychic with kick-ass bionic limbs and quite capable of taking care of herself?
Ghost, one of Thunder City’s alternative human defenders, it was Nik’s responsibility to keep his high school classmates safe. That included notorious bad girl Daniella Rose. Ten years later, he needs to locate Daniella to deliver an urgent request from her estranged family.
Egypt, 1500 BCE: Nima’s beauty and skill as a dancer leads an infatuated enemy to kidnap her after destroying an Egyptian border town. However, she’s not the only hostage in the enemy camp: Kamin, an Egyptian soldier on a secret mission for Pharaoh, has been taken as well.
Veronica: Today I have my friend Cara Bristol on the blog with an interview – Sparky the dog from Spark of Attraction, her excellent story in the PETS IN SPACE anthology!
Interestingly, in some classic SF – including 1950’s and 1960’s juvenile or YA SF – I come up with rather a lot of instances where the “pet” is either symbiotic or sentient. For example, there are bouncy, furry basketball-sized creatures that turn out to be the juvenile form of an ancient civilized race on Mars in Robert Heinlein’s Red Planet. The individual the reader meets, the pet a boy has named named Willis, is a remarkably memorable character. In Battle on Mercury by Lester del Rey, there is an energy creature of a kind called Wispies. It was named Johnny Quicksilver by the boy who befriended it. It turns out to be intelligent, and an ally against a similar but nonsentient, destructive species called Demons. By the end of the book Johnny is communicating through a robot. There’s an Alan 
Nourse book whose hero is a young alien medical doctor, who has a small symbiotic blob that always sits on his shoulder and turns out to be more vital than the reader knew. And there is an alien cat who turns out to be not only telepathic, but a member of an intelligent though predatory race on an alien planet colonized by mankind. This isTick-Tock the Crest Cat in James Schmitz’s story “Novice”.
cat, or the saintly D’Joan – who ends up being a version of Joan of Arc in “The Dead Lady of Clown Town.”