KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH: Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench, where readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site, so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!

~~~

KARMIC CREME
A Hexes and Oh’s Book
BY ANGEL NYX

Blurb

Step into the enchanting world of Hexes and Oh’s Bakery, where the scent of freshly baked treats mingles with the crackle of magic spells in the air.

Finley, a hardworking employee burdened by his heartless boss, seeks solace and justice at the mystical bakery run by the talented witch and master baker, Sorcha. Desperate for karma to catch up with his cruel superior, he places his trust in Sorcha’s expertise, unaware of the tangled web of fate he’s about to weave.

As Sorcha crafts a potent karma spell for Finley, little do they realize the depth of its power and the unforeseen consequences it carries. What was meant as a simple lesson for the boss escalates into a whirlwind of events that threaten to shatter lives and alter destinies.

Caught in the turbulence of a spell gone awry, Finley must navigate a precarious balance between righting wrongs and safeguarding his own future. Meanwhile, Sorcha races against time, drawing on her skills as a witch and baker to concoct a rare and intricate counterspell before the darkness of karma consumes everything in its path.

Will Finley and Sorcha’s combined efforts be enough to mend the threads of destiny and reverse the tide of karma, or will their actions lead to irreversible consequences with far-reaching repercussions? Join them on a journey through magick, mystery, and the intricate dance of cause and effect in this spellbinding tale of redemption and revelation.

Author’s note: This book is an MFM menage!

~~~

Greetings from the sleepy little town of Briar Glen, tucked away in a little corner of New England! It’s a balmy 70 degrees, far cooler than the 90’s I’ve been suffering through in Florida! Today, I am here to interview Sorcha Rathmore, owner of the eclectic shop The Wicked Owl, baker at Hexe’s and Oh’s Bakery, and all around badass witch!

I’m meeting with Sorcha at her shop, and the first thing I notice when I walk in is the scent of incense. If my nose is correct, she’s burning sandalwood. There’s golden yellow and vibrant red pain on the walls and there are shelves filled with everything from crystals and herbs, to books, homemade soaps, tarot decks, incense, and even potions. Fabric draped from the ceiling adds to the eclectic ambiance.

Behind a glass case filled with jewelry, some of which looks handmade, sits a tall perch and upon that perch is a snowy owl. Sorcha sits in front of the perch and smiles in my direction.

“Welcome to The Wicked Owl. I’m Sorcha. Let me know if I can help you with anything.”

Sorcha is a petite blonde with her hair braided into three thick braids. Her hazel eyes are bright with interest. I can see tattoos peeking out through the bell sleeves of her shirt. She’s wearing black shorts that show off the ink on her legs nicely.

“Hi, Sorcha, I’m Angel Nyx. We talked on the phone about me coming to give you an interview. You can call me Angel or Nyxie, whichever you prefer.”

“Yes, I remember. I think I’ll call you Nyxie, I like it. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

Let me get you something to sit on,” Sorcha says and disappears into the back. When she returns she’s carrying a padded wooden chair which she sets in front of the glass case. “There you go. Please, have a seat.”

The owl behind her starts ruffling his feathers and hooting and Sorcha laughs. “Don’t mind Zen, he’s always like that when people come into the shop. He has to get his two cents in as well.”

I take my seat and pull out a recorder. “I hope you don’t mind me recording the interview. It makes it harder to miss things, and I don’t have to continually stop to write down your answers.”

“Absolutely not. Go for it,” was her reply.

“Awesome. So, let’s get right to it. When did you know you wanted to be a witch?”

“Hitting with the hard questions first. I like it. I think I was ten. My mother took me into a psychic shop and I fell in love with everything about it. When I was twelve, I started reading books on practical witchcraft and joined the coven when I was sixteen.”

“That’s amazing to have the desire so young. Okay, next question, what’s with the owl? I didn’t know they could be pets.”

“Zen is a special case. I used to work at a bird rescue. They’d come across the nest with the mother dead and brought the eggs to the rescue to hatch. When Zen hatched, it was discovered he had a deformed wing and would never be able to fly. They were going to euthanize him, but I talked them into letting me keep him.”

“Aw, poor Zen. It’s good you were there to save his life.”

“Yeah, he’s my baby.”

“I know you work at the bakery too. When did you get into baking?”

“Our coven leader, Saffron, opened it a number of years ago, and we all decided to try our hand at it. Turns out we’re all damn good and have our own specialties.”

“Oh? What’s your specialty?

“I make the best cannolis,” Sorcha says proudly.

“Ooo I love cannolis! I’ll have to stop by and get some before I head home. Okay, time for a few easy questions. At least I hope they’re easy. What’s your favorite color?”

“That one’s easy. Purple.”

“Oh, me too! I also like shades of green, especially teal. What’s your favorite food?”

“Anything I don’t have to cook!” She laughs. “Okay, seriously, I’d have to say Mexican.”

“Good choice. What’s your favorite scent?”

“The way my guys smell underneath their cologne. Their natural scent.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet! Are you a morning person or night owl?”

“Both, actually. On the days I work at the bakery, I am usually out of bed by 3 and at the bakery between 4 and 4:30. On the nights when I don’t have to get up that early, I go to Club Prophecy and hang out with Zaine until closing, unless we decide to cut out early to go home and have some fun with my other partner, Fin.”

“Huh, that makes sense. What’s your favorite alcoholic drink?”

“Another easy one. Bourbon and coke.”

“Oh, nice combination! Okay, time to get a little more personal. What are your turn-ons?”

“Hitting the hard ones now, I see. Hmm, long hair on a guy is my kryptonite.” She picks up her phone and opens a photo of her with two men. Both have shoulder length dark hair. “That’s Zaine, and that’s Fin. How could I not fall for both of them when they both have long hair?” she says with a laugh.

“They are definitely two sexy men.”

“I know, right?” she sighs. “Anyway, back to your question. Gentle caresses, kisses, and, okay, I’m a kinky bitch. A nice flogging will turn me on quicker than anything.”

“Girl, I love a flogging too! For me it’s a cathartic release, unless I’m with a partner, then total turn-on.”

“Thank Goddess it’s not just me!”

“Definitely not! Here’s a good one, what event has changed the course of your life the most and was it happy or sad?”

“This is easy. The moment I let Zaine know I wanted to be more than friends. It happened at the club. I was dancing with him and Fin when Fin suddenly said he’d love to see me naked between them and I said I wanted that. It turned out to be the second happiest day of my life.”

“Second happiest? What’s the first?”

“The day Fin, Zaine, and I were all hand-fasted together,” she says with a dreamily look in her eyes.

“I can see why that would be at the top. If you could choose a city, state, or country anywhere in the world to live in for the next ten years, where would it be?”

“Right here in Briar Glen. This is my home, it’s where my roots are, and I have no desire to leave.”

“Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“Absolutely. I fell in love with Fin the moment we met.”

“What is one thing that can always make you smile, no matter what?”

“When Zaine calls me Angel or Fin calls me Sweetheart. I just melt.”

“I’ll bet. If animals could talk, which one do you think would have the most attitude?”

“Owls, hands down. Just listen to the way Zen is carrying on.”

I laugh because the owl hasn’t shut up since I sat down. “Fair enough. Do you think Karma is real?”

“Oh yes, very much so. As a matter of fact, karma spells are my specialty.”

“That’s very interesting! Okay, last question, I swear. How did you meet your best friend?” She smiles and I can tell it’s a good memory.

“I was six and Zaine was eight. At the time, he was friends with my brother. We were all at the playground and some asshat started bullying me. Zaine stepped in and stopped it. I guess you could say I had a bit of hero worship going on, but we started hanging out together after that and he became my best friend.”

“Oh my gods, that is so sweet! Sorcha, thank you so much for sitting down and talking with me today. I won’t take up any more of your time.” I turn off the recorder and put it into my bag so I can type everything up later. “Once I have the interview written and posted, I’ll be sure to send you the link.”

“Thanks. And thank you for coming. This has been fun.”

“It really has,” I agree. Before I leave her shop, I pick myself up a new tarot deck, some sandalwood incense, and a few crystals. I’m not looking forward to getting back to the heat of Florida, but I head home anyway.

About Author Angel Nyx…

Angel Nyx is an author of paranormal and contemporary and post-apocalyptic romance with some why choose thrown into the mix. Her passion for literature was instilled in her at a young age when her mother read her fairy tale stories at bedtime. Her vivid imagination helps her get in tune with her characters to bring them to life for her readers. She is also a mom, a reader, and an avid gamer chick.

She was once told that her ‘OCD is queen’ because it allows her to find errors in written word others miss. As a result, she has branched out to offer her proofreading services to other Indie authors.

When she’s not working, writing, reading, or gaming, she is usually relaxing to music, spending time with family, or finding new authors to fall in love with.

She has a long time love affair with the city of New Orleans, which is why so much of her work is set there, and plans to visit the city as often as possible in the coming years.

~~~

Links to Angel’s websites, blogs, books, #ad etc.:

Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/3LR5qec