Title: The Spell
Author: Nancy J. Hedin
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 12/07/2021
Pairing: Female/Female
Length: 46600
Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQIA+, Lit, paranormal, lesbian, bisexual, magical realism, humor, painter, magic user, spell, real estate broker, police officer
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Description
What if you could enter and roam around in any painting and then return to your own reality—or not? Would you do it? Would you sit in on the Lord’s Supper, snuggle the Mona Lisa, or have a painting made of something—or someone—in your past or future you long to visit?
Waverly Ames is given that ability through a spell book she finds while on vacation. What’s more, her brash, beautiful neighbor, friend, and dog-walker Jewel is a painter who can fulfil any commission. And then there’s Camille, the married woman who captured Waverly’s heart—the woman Waverly can’t get over.
What happens when lust meets magic? What happens when being somewhere, anywhere is as simple as a painting and the artist’s intention behind it? Can you truly have your heart’s desire?
The Spell
Nancy J. Hedin © 2021
All Rights Reserved
“Come on, Stella, I’ll read the book to you.” The book now intrigued Waverly, and she wanted to hold on to it for new reasons. Love spells? Could there be anything to them? Probably not, but it cost her nothing to read them. She sat on the couch, patted the spot next to her for Stella to sit close to her. Stella jumped onto the couch, groaned, and lay down next to Waverly. Waverly stroked the dog as she picked up reading where Jewel had left off. “Number Four: Finding Love for Your Children—a View from Above. Number Five: Finding Love for Parents—Circle of Life.”
Waverly had no difficulty feeling love for her birth parents. They were idolized in her mind. They were golden for the life they would have given her if they had lived, but they didn’t. She felt they were stolen from her far too early in life. She wiped away tears at the thought of them.
“Number Six: Finding Love through Purpose—Making a Life, not a Career. Number Seven: Finding Love through Abundance—the Power of Having All You Need. Number Eight: Finding Love through Charity—Giving Living. Number Nine: Finding What’s Been Lost through Entering the Frame—Painting as Portal.”
For reasons Waverly couldn’t explain, she stared at the last spell. Her eyes moved over the Greek lettering. She appreciated the loops and curves. She continued to read the English translation. “Love doesn’t come through stasis and security. It is the adventures and risks of our lives that awaken our hearts to love. This spell transforms frames into doorways, paintings into portals. Step inside the same canvas, but once. Find what’s been lost. Enter the world you see and experience what’s inside and outside the viewer’s vision.
“Curious. What does that mean?” Waverly said to Stella. Stella didn’t answer.
Waverly spoke into the empty room. “Frames as doorways, paintings as portals. I step into the painter’s world.” These were the simple words of the spell. In smaller writing it said, “It is best to try this first with a small painting, learn the rules, and enter a battle scene or bacchanal with extreme caution lest you become unable to step back. Some visit. Some stay.”
A smaller painting. Waverly scanned the room. She remembered the floral painting that was already hanging in the bathroom when she bought the condo. She retrieved the painting. It was likely something from a thrift store. There was no signature, and the frame was lacquered wood.
Stella looked up but remained on the couch. Once Waverly was sitting on the couch again, she bent back the cheap clips that kept the painting in the frame, removed the glass, and passed her hand over the canvas. She felt the unevenness of the paint and brush strokes. The painting was rather quaint—a field of lavender and a gray kitten chasing a yellow butterfly. Jewel had joked that it was a paint-by-number performed with a used toothbrush held by the artist’s toes.
Waverly looked at the painting as she repeated the words of the spell. “Frames as doorways, paintings as portals. I step into the painter’s world.” She braced herself, expecting to jam her fingers. She reached her hand toward the canvas. Her hand went into the picture. She wiggled her fingers and felt the plants against her palm. The smell of lavender filled the room. The gray kitten brushed against her hand. She heard its purr and felt its insistent rubbing against her hand. Waverly laughed. The kitten’s need for attention made her think of Jewel. Its fur was mousy soft; its nose was wet. Stella, suddenly awake, barked and scanned the room for what she probably smelled. She dismounted the couch and trotted in a circle, sniffing. Just as quickly, she was back on the couch examining the painting with her investigative black snout.
The butterfly lit on Waverly’s hand, and the kitten jumped at the butterfly, missed, and tumbled beneath the purple flowered bushes. The kitten emerged again and leaped at the butterfly. This time in its failed effort, it had scratched Waverly’s hand. She pulled her hand from the painting.
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Nancy Hedin, a Minnesota writer, has been a pastor and bartender (at the same time). She has been a stand-up comic and a mental health crisis worker (at the same time). She wants readers to know that every story she writes begins with her hearing voices.
In 2018 Nancy’s debut novel, Bend was named one of twenty-five books to read for Pride Month Barnes and Noble, and was named Debut Novel of the Year by Golden Crown Literary Society and Foreword Indies Honorable Mention for GLBT Adult Novel of the Year.
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One lucky winner will receive a $50.00 NineStar Press Gift Code!
This competition ends on January 4th 2022 at 12am EST. Competition hosted by NineStar Press.
