Spooky Legends: Allyson James’s Magic Mirror on “The Vanishing Hitchhiker”

**Visit Dark Faerie Tales today for her Spooky Legends Guest blog with Maria Lima and a chance to win BLOOD HEAT**

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Allyson James was one of the first authors I contacted when Spooky Legends was being planned. The second book in Allyson’s Stormwalker series FIREWALKER, will be released on November 2, 2010.  The Magic Mirror is the outrageous character in that series and Allyson’s here to tell us all about The Magic Mirror’s take on the “Vanishing Hitchhiker” urban legend and giveaway a copy of STORMWALKER. See details below.

Allyson James is a pseudonym of NYT bestselling author Jennifer Ashley. She writes historical, paranormal, and contemporary romance, historical mystery, and historical mainstream fiction. Jennifer's novels have won RWA's RITA for Best Novel with Romantic Elements (A Lady Raised High), the Golden Quill, RT Reviewer's Choice awards, the Prism award, among others. Jennifer's novels have been also been translated into several European and Asian languages. Jennifer enjoys writing and reading above all else, but her hobbies include cooking, hiking, playing flute and guitar, painting, and building miniature rooms and dollhouses.

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Thanks so much for inviting me to Spooky Legends! I picked The Vanishing Hitchhiker, because it’s a simple story that I’ve always enjoyed. I’ve heard many versions of it, but most often the woman hitchhiking into town in her prom dress. It’s a little spooky and romantic and just realistic enough to make you wonder whether it could really happen.

I’m going to let a recurring character, the bisexual Magic Mirror, which belongs to Janet, my Stormwalker, tell the tale. Janet and her dragon-shifter boyfriend Mick woke the dormant mirror one night when they were performing spells together, and they have mixed feelings about letting it stay awake. The mirror is incredibly powerful, though, so they’ve learned to put up with it.

The Magic Mirror on “The Vanishing Hitchhiker”

by
Allyson James

So, girlfriends, there’s this story that goes around every once in a while called “The Vanishing Hitchhiker.” There’s a couple versions of it, but my favorite is the one about the spooky chick on the road looking for a ride. Living here at the Crossroads in the little woo-woo town of Magellan, it’s easy to believe that this ghostly girl would be lingering in the pitch dark, trying to hitchhike into town.

What would happen is, someone like Janet, the Navajo Stormwalker who owns me, or—even better—her big, bad, inked dragon-shifter biker boyfriend, Mick, is riding down the road on his Harley and sees this girl. Mick’s wearing jeans that I swear are plastered to his butt, and he’s so hot you just want to lick him all over . . .

OK, Janet is kicking me to get on with it. So Mick is riding down the highway on his Harley and sees this chick in a prom dress wandering along a dark stretch of the road. Because Mick is a nice guy under that tight, hot-muscled, tattooed exterior, he stops and gives her a ride.

She hops on the back of the Harley, and Mick tells her he’ll take her into Magellan or Flat Mesa. He tries to talk to her, asks for her name, but she doesn’t tell him. She only smiles sadly, and she and Mick ride on in to town.

Well, when Mick gets there, he stops to let her off, and he turns around, and she’s not there. He knows she didn’t jump off on the way, because Mick rides like a bat out of hell, and only someone crazy would try that. So he’d ride back looking for her, and then he’d ask around if anyone had seen her.

The folks in town will tell him that a girl fifty years ago was killed in a wreck out on that highway on her prom night. Since then, on the anniversary of her death, she stands right where she died and tries to catch a ride. She’s trying go back home, or maybe to the prom to meet her boyfriend, but she never makes it.

It’s a kind of romantic story—but nothing too exciting. I mean, she doesn’t turn into a demon and try to suck out Mick’s brains (which would be stupid, because he’d fry her with his fire magic), or try to seduce him and kill him that way, which would only bring on the wrath of Janet, and hoo, you don’t want to see that.

People around here believe in the story. The vortexes draw real magic, they say. Janet says it’s crap, and that there are no ghosts. She should know, because she sometimes investigates spooky happenings. Janet says that “ghosts” are really psychic residues of violence or fear.

She also says that some “ghosts” are really loud-mouth, obsessed-with-sex magic mirrors trying to scare people. Only the magical can hear mirrors, but non-magical can hear whispers or buzzing if mirrors try hard enough. It’s fun, and, honey, I exist to have fun.

Janet says that if she ever lost all her powers that would be all right, because then she wouldn’t be able to hear me anymore. After all I’ve done for that sweet chick. But Janet won’t ever lose her powers, and she can kick butt like nobody’s business. Including mine when she wants to. But she loves me.

I love you too, Janet, sweetie. Come over here and give me a little polish. Come on. You know you want to . . .

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Thanks so much. Came back soon Allyson!

Visit Allyson Online:
Website|Blog |Twitter|Facebook|MySpace

Want to read more from Allyson James?

Dragon
1. Dragon Heat
2. The Black Dragon
3. The Dragon Master

Mortal
1. Mortal Temptations
2. Mortal Seductions
3. Wedding Favors

Stormwalker
(prequel) Hot for the Holidays
1. Stormwalker (read my Review)
2. Firewalker (read my Review)

 

Book Description

FIREWALKER by Allyson James will be published on November 2, 2010

Book Description

Janet Begay is a Stormwalker--one who can channel the power of storms to work great magic. The desert town of Magellan is no stranger to the weird--vortexes that hold mystical energy lie just outside of town, and the residents are used to shape shifters, witches, shamans, and the occasional blood-sucking Nightwalker. When her dragon shapeshifter boyfriend Mick goes missing, Janet will need all the help she can get: from Coyote, a trickster god; from Cassandra, a powerful witch; from Colby, a roguish and not completely trustworthy dragon, and from Nash, the Unbeliever sheriff who may be more powerful than all of them combined.

Click HERE to read an excerpt of FIREWALKER

FIREWALKER book trailer

Giveaway

One copy of STORMWALKER by Allyson James
Giveaway courtesy of Penguin Group

Book Description

Half-Navajo Janet Begay comes to Magellan to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the police chief's daughter. But the people of Magellan sense that Janet is not what she seems, and they're right.

Janet possesses extraordinary power which is tied to the storms that waft across the desert. The only person who can control her when she's caught in the storm's evocative power is Mick, a dark-haired, blue-eyed biker Janet can't seem to touch with her powers. He can wield fire and not get burned, and Janet's never sure where he goes when they're not together.

Together they investigate mysterious disappearances, which Janet fears are tied to her mother's people, the mythical gods from below the earth. They are helped along the way by Coyote and Crow, but these shapeshifting gods have their own agendas.

Giveaway Guidelines

1. Open to US only
2. Fill out the form
3. Enter by November 6th. All Spooky Legend winners will be announced on November 7th

I would greatly appreciate if you shared this giveaway on your blog or favorite social networks.  And please tell Allyson what you think about “The Vanishing Hitchhiker” in the comments. Thanks!

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