Making Magic
Books of the Kindling Series
Book 3
Donna June Cooper
Genre: Contemporary Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Samhain
Publication Date: January 20, 2015
Cover - Kanaxa aka Nathalie Gray
About the Book:
Sticks and stones may
threaten bones, but her words can conquer both body and soul.
Books
of the Kindling, Book 3
During
his law enforcement career, Sheriff Jake Moser has been called to Woodruff
Mountain a few times to deal with some rather weird situations. Now, recovering
from a bullet wound that should have killed him and fending off his mother’s
ravings about the evil that lurks on the mountain, he’s making alternate career
plans.
Just
as those plans begin to take shape, someone starts kidnapping newborn babies,
then returning them unharmed. To make things even more interesting, an
irritating adversary from his past has returned to bedevil him in a whole new,
delightful way.
After
her erratic psychic gift forced her to abandon her home and a promising musical
career, Thea Woodruff has spent years trying, unsuccessfully, to atone for the
death of Becca Moser, Jake’s sister. Once she has mourned those she’s lost and
apologized to those she’s failed, she intends to flee her mountain once again.
Jake
would rather she stay to compose a new tune—with him. But their complicated
harmony reveals a guilty secret that threatens not only their future, but their
lives…
Warning:
A temperamental flute-player returns to torment an old flame, but he has other
ideas, and the music they make together is combustible—and magical.
Our Review:
Having
read the first two in this series (loved them!!), I looked forward to Making
Magic with great anticipation – and was not disappointed. On the contrary.
Thea
Woodruff has been out of the family circle and away from the mountain for
years. Those she left behind considered her lost to them forever. Jake Moser,
the local sheriff, sees it the same way, but for very different reasons. Guilt,
heartache, and remorse drove them from one another, but somehow, the mountain’s
music calls them all back together – for the last time?
Making
Magic is a beautiful and powerful story full of all kinds of deep and
meaningful emotions. As usual, Ms. Cooper opens our eyes to the wonders of the
Appalachian Mountains and her people, while gently schooling us on the woes we
are bringing on ourselves and the earth by insensitive practices. In this
novel, she also schools us, through her obvious love for these mountains, on
the variety of music and musical instruments that are, perhaps, commonplace in
the Appalachians. Some of the names seemed familiar, but when I Googled them,
just to be sure, I received quite an education, and loved every minute of it.
As
usual, Ms. Cooper’s story is beautiful, moving, and a very good read.
Again ~ Very well done.
Jake Moser,
the hero of Making Magic, is not only
a gifted musician, he is also a talented musical instrument maker. Some of the
musical instruments that Jake crafts by hand are not widely known. In fact, I
had to spend some time figuring out how to describe them to readers might not
be familiar with instruments like these or might not have had the chance to
hear true Appalachian folk music.
Jake's
favorite instrument is the hammered dulcimer. As he describes it: "The
hammered dulcimer is like a guitar with no neck, a much bigger soundboard, a
lot more strings and two sound holes. And what makes it more fun? You play by
whacking on it with tiny hammers." It is truly a gorgeous instrument, both
in looks and in sound. And Jake, unlike many dulcimer makers, still hand carves
his rosettes – those pretty pieces in the sound holes. It is an ancient
instrument found under various names in many countries. In fact, the piano is a
direct descendant of the hammered dulcimer.
Jake also
makes another little known instrument with a long history – the bowed psaltery.
Again, this one has ancient origins, beginning with the zither. But the
psaltery was actually reinvented as a bowed instrument in the 1940s. If you are familiar with an autoharp, the
bowed psaltery is similar except without the "automatic" dampers. And
instead of being strummed, the bowed psaltery is played with a bow, or with two
bows in some cases. Like the mountain dulcimer, it can be held and played in
many different ways.
Another
instrument which Jake makes is the mountain dulcimer or fretted dulcimer. It is
also called the lap dulcimer, because it is traditionally laid in the
musician's lap and strummed, but it can be played many different ways. The
history of this instrument is interesting and was only recently completely
understood. It is also called the Appalachian dulcimer because that is where it
originated – in the mountains, apparently as a result of the violin being more
time-consuming and difficult to create. It is one of the easiest stringed instruments
to learn how to play.
Back when he
was a teenager, Jake carved wooden flutes for two important people in his life.
The wooden creature on top of the flute is called a "fetish" (That
word resulted in some interesting discussions with my editor). The fetish is
usually an animal of some significance in the particular tribal tradition, such
as an eagle, bear, cougar ("painter"), or coyote.
And finally,
Jake carves wooden pendants for necklaces much like the ones above. One of
those necklaces plays a rather important role in the book.
So now, when you read
Making Magic, you will be able to
visualize the musical instruments that play a role in the story! Thank you so much for joining us today, Donna June! We really enjoyed the visit. Good luck and great sales with Making Magic, and all of the books in the Magic series.
About the Author: A transplanted mountain girl. As the granddaughter of a coal miner and the great-great-granddaughter of one of the Muscogee people, Donna was raised in the shadows of the Appalachian Mountains - in the beautiful hills of East Tennessee. After getting a couple of college degrees, she was lured away from her mountains by a gorgeous Italian guy, who married her and carried her off to Texas. (Texas, by comparison to her mountains, is very hot and very flat—a fact she points out often to whoever will listen.) Her vocations have included a little bit of everything, including a stint as an IRS tax auditor, a few years managing a bookstore, and a career in the corporate world writing technical courseware and documentation, but her avocation was always writing. She enjoys being walked by her Jack Russell Terrier (if you know Jack's, you understand), belly dancing (excellent exercise and lots of shiny costumes), reading (three books at once, at times), and travel (with family in Italy and England, who wouldn't?) But, like any child of the Appalachians, she doesn’t stay away from her mountains for long, and visits as often as she can.
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