May 14, 2015

Guest promo (LXXXVIII) Daisy Banks

I am thrilled to be the host of British author, Daisy Banks, who is not only a talented author but also a connoisseur of gardening, Tarot,  and other esoteric things. Visit her blog and you'll see for yourselves.
Several days ago she  has just had the release of a captivating book. Enough with my introduction. Palms up to control first, as Daisy tells us some interesting things about them.  


Thank you so much, Carmen, for helping me celebrate the release of my latest book,

                   Marked for Magic
     published by Lyrical Press, a Kensington Imprint, on the 28th of April 2015.




I decided that as palmistry was the initial inspiration for this fantasy romance I’d offer you and the readers a little something on palmistry marks.

This image is of the main lines most people have on their palm:


1: Life line - 2: Head line - 3: Heart line - 4: Girdle of Venus - 5: Sun line - 6: Mercury line - 7: Fate line
These main lines above and their meanings are fairly well known, but the lesser lines are not quite so well understood and it was these I was studying when I got the idea for Marked for Magic. 

For this post I have chosen the Magic M for it was this mark that really set my mind working on the story that became Marked for Magic .


The Magic M is an uncommon marking made by the Heart, Head, Life, and Fate lines setting in such a way as to clearly mark the letter M in the palm of the hand. This mark can be large. It can appear on one or both palms. Some people say this is the mark of the Mother Goddess. It is a sign of good fortune, luck, and success. If the Fame Line happens to run close to the Fate Line, as if to reinforce its stroke in the M, the good fortune is doubled. Those who have an ‘M’ on their hand their marriage will be blessed with good luck and success. People who have this marking on their palm like to solve mysteries and they may be attracted to careers in writing, journalism or education.Thanks so much for reading. I’d love to know if any of you discover a magic M on your hand. Let me know.

Blurb:
The witch mark on Nin’s hand is a curse. She has no magic powers, whatever the lore says. But the village believes. The old crone’s wisdom is to see her banished. Ragged and hungry, she must serve the Mage. Alone in his tower, she is his chattel. But Mage Thabit is not what Nin expected—the bright green eyes and supple form under his cloak are not the stuff of nightmares, and kindness hides in his brusque heart. Thabit senses that Nin is more than she seems, too. When true nightmares haunt the land, it is precisely her elusive powers that might deliver them…




Excerpt:
A girl, not unlike herself, looked up at her approach. Another, with wide brown eyes and the deepest chestnut braids put down a book and looked, too. Nin bit her lip. Both of them were neat and tidy, dressed in pale blue not the cheap blue fabric so many servants wore, but the blue that spoke of study, of learning about worlds beyond this one, and they each had shoes.

What would they think of her?

The servant bowed to them. “Lady Cassandra asks you should show this guest the steps you tread.”

 His words were exact. Nin wondered if he had any thoughts of his own as she nodded to their welcoming smiles, uncertain if she should curtsey or not.

The fair-haired girl glanced to her companion and then stood with a graceful hand offering welcome. “Hello. Come to sit. Your feet look like they’re sore.”

The girl with the red hair beckoned, indicating the white marble bench. “Come, sit here, I’m Tabeth, most people call me Tab. This is Cecile. We work, live, and learn here with the Lady Cassandra.”

Nin sank down onto the seat with a sigh of relief. Her feet throbbed and ached. Even the excitement of visiting here, or her apprehension that Thabit might leave her behind when he left, couldn’t dull the pain.

“You could dabble your feet in the pool,” Cecile suggested.

“That would be good. I’m Nin. I came here with the Mage. It’s a terrible long walk from his tower.”

“It’s only a step or two to the pool. We’ll sit with you and talk.” Tab put an arm under hers.

Nin took a few painful steps to the wide, stone edge of a circular pool, where a small fountain tinkled into clear bright water. The sweet scent of rosemary drifted on the light breeze. She lifted her skirt and sat on the rounded rim of the pool to bathe her feet, while they laughed as they took off their shoes and joined her. The cool water soothed, and she relaxed when they sat, one each side of her.

“Now come, Nin,” Tab said. “Tell us your story, or if you like, we’ll tell you ours.”

Cecile’s blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “Though of course, neither of us have dark, handsome Mages to speak of.”

She held out her palm, unafraid to do so to these two young women. They stared, and Cecile slipped an arm around her. “You know it’s a folk tale, don’t you?” Her soft voice murmured gentle like the water.

“Didn’t feel like it in the cage.”

Tab’s eyes widened. “Oh, gods, they didn’t?”

“Yes, two days and a night while they decided what to do. They talked for what felt like an age, and then they sent me to…”
Buy Links  



About the author



Daisy Banks writes sensual and spicy romance in the Historical, Paranormal and Fantasy genres. She is an obsessive writer and her focus is to offer the best tale she can to readers. Daisy is married with two grown up sons. She lives in a converted chapel in Shropshire, England. Antiques and collecting entertain Daisy when she isn’t writing and she occasionally makes a meal that doesn’t stick to the pan.

Daisy Banks Links


Website http://daisybanksnovels.yolasite.com/
Twitter @DaisyBanks16  
 Pinterest  http://bit.ly/16sF1XG

10 comments:

  1. Wow, love that excerpt, Daisy. Poor Nin. It shows how superstition really did motivate people to cruelty in the past.

    And by the way, I have a very distinctive M on my right hand, a little less prominent on my left. I do love mystery and writing :)

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    1. Wow! Cool. I'm not sure if what I have looks like an M but I love mystery and writing too.
      What do you think of the gorgeous cover?
      Thanks for visiting, Mae!

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    2. Thanks for commenting, Mae. Yes to the superstition motivation. With the marks on your palm I'm not surprised by your love of mystery and your success at writing.

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    3. Thanks so much for hosting me, Carmen and you made the post look lovely. The M mark is fairly unusual. It took me a while to find out about it.
      Your love of writing is reflected by your writer's fork and a well developed mount of the moon shows your interest in fantasy.

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  2. This is my favorite palmistry post so far, and they've all been interesting. I have the M, and I remember way back when I first started studying esoteric subjects, the information was: If you had an A in your hand, you spent past lives in Atlantis; If you had an M in your hand, you spent past lives in Mu. The latter would go along with the Mother Goddess, as it was reported to be focused on the divine feminine. Love your book, Daisy, and wish you all the best with it. Thanks, Carmen, for hosting new book information for all of us to explore.

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    1. Thank you for adding more details to the interesting things Daisy told us!

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    2. Thanks for commenting, Flossie. Interesting information too. I've read of the M having a variety of meanings. I have a little one on one palm and a massive one on the other. Me being rather a stroppy individual I wondered what might happen if people looked at it the other way up, so instead of an M it was a W. Hence the story. We must talk more about all this.

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  3. Very interesting, Daisy! My M line is formed from the fate and life lines. Loved the cover and excerpt. My oh my, my tbr list is growing. All the best! :)

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    Replies
    1. She shared with us, along her tour, many interesting things we can discover on our palm. Thank you for visiting, Mary!

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    2. Thank you for commenting, Mary. I'm glad you liked both cover and excerpt. I do hope if you read the story you enjoy it.

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