The tale of witches’ series: “The secret keeper” by Marta Z. Skeledzija (aka. ME)

I always loved writing book reviews, but for other book, not my own. It feels very weird to me writing about, well me. I have no problem sharing a bit of my life through my post and letting you see my life through little stories I post, but parsing something I did, well that is a different story.

I am proud of this book, do not get me wrong and the story that came out and grow over the years. I very proud of that fact that I putted myself out there for criticism and judgment. Like every author out in the world criticism comes with this job, constructive criticism that is. The other kind, the one just for the sake of criticizing somebody’s work and just to bring him/her down is never welcomed, but I guess I am prepared for that too. Trolls will always exist, right?

I am off point, now. Let’s get back to track, shall we? I wanted to write a bit about what has inspired me to write this novel and two more to follow this one.

Many of you know that I am from Croatia, I was born and raised in a small town in East part of Croatia, called Slavonia. Slavonia has one of the most beautiful scenery in the world, it is full of golden fields, green forests, clear water rivers and magical views of little picturesque towns, like the one I grow up in. But little is known that Slavonia and Croatia, for that matter, is full of beautiful pagan stories of witches, their warriors and Goddesses that created them.

It actually a melting pot of Celtic, Slavic, early Christian and Roman myths that have been combined so beautiful it is a pity not to tell them. Most of those stories have been passed down for generations as bed time stories for children and most of the old Slavonian families have a story specifically told about them. I believe that most of the families here have one or more women in their history who have been classified as a witch. Those were the women who knew what herb is for what, they knew how to read the wind and changing clouds so they would know what a storm is coming or they knew how to read the water in river Sava so that their husbands could catch the best fish. They were also the ones who held three corners of the house and kept the whole family together even in the hardest times. They were the ones who made fire in their homes. See all fives elements were represented in these women. Fire, wind, water, earth and spirit are the main elements that make the world or as in the pagan stories a world of magic and mysticism.

And for most of these women fate was very cruel when Christianity came in the picture, like for many women across the world who were classified as a witch. So they went into hiding, their husbands took the mantle and protected their secrets and “magic” was done under the cover of the night. By magic I mean making teas and tonics for healing or finding the best fishing spot by looking at the water.

This and the fact I came from a very long line of strong women has inspired this story. I collected the data when there was data to collect and then my imagination filled out the rest. You should see my browser history, if I was ever arrested for crime I would be convicted almost immediately. “What does an explosion do to body?” or “What kind the damage doses an explosion on a body” are just some of an examples I have in my browser history. I think all the writers will relate to this.  This story has been written and then edited and changed since I was in college. It’s hard to write about something when most of the stories have been lost, so your creativity has to fill in the blanks. Names were choses after some the women and man I have meet in those stories, but changed to fit a more modern world.

Anyway, when you combine my wild imagination and myth stories you get a melting pot of great strong characters with a magical story. Boy this was weird to write J as I am not a person who praises her own work. But I do like when others do that. Don’t we all?

Enjoy reading some of the reviews, synopses and quotes from the book. Hope you end up buying a copy of your own.

Here are the links where you can buy it:

1. Barnes&Noble online book store: “The secret keeper” (NOOK ebok)
2. Gumroad site: The tale of witches’ series: “The secret keeper” (Docx, PDF and Kindle)
3. PayHip site:
   1. The tale of witches’ series: “The secret keeper”.docx
   2. The tale of witches’ series: “The secret keeper”.pdf
   3. The tale of witches’ series: “The secret keeper”.azw3 (Kindle version)
4. Lulu publishing site:
   1. Paperback copy
   2. Hardcover copy

Some of the reviews

“Pure fantasy, stories about good witches and their warriors, good young people want to drive away evil, an always current fairy tale about the fight between light and darkness. Take this book in your hands and immerse yourself in the energy-positive waves of mysticism, friendship, struggles within yourself, struggles around you, for love and togetherness.” – Ranka Fercek about The tale of witches’ series: “The secret keeper”

“Do you like to travel? In this strange age, restriction, control and other wonders of the abnormal, why not sit in a “time machine” called a book and a wormhole of imagination, travel to a magical time, another dimension. Sit comfortably in your favorite reading place, armchair, balcony, the beach and all you need is to buy a “ticket” on the link below and travel and enjoy! And when you travel to that fairytale world, don’t expect a happy ending, but a miracle!

Travel! Let’s enjoy! Let’s Read!” – Djurdjica Blazinovic about The tale of witches’ series: “The secret keeper”

Synopses:

Phillip, a 16-year-old, has been lingering on the edge of the magic world since he was a child. The magic was the main reason he and his best friend Alexis had a fight and did not talk for years. As everything that lingers close to the edge, Phillip will fall in to the world he doesn’t know so fast he won’t even have time to scram.

It was like an invisible gravity was pulling me to the house. The witch’s house. I still can’t believe they did magic, and not just for fun, magic and witchcraft was they life style. That was the reason of our big fight. I didn’t approve of what they were doing. How little did I know that the reason of the fight with my best friend would save me and my brother’s life in the future?

The tale of witches’ series: “The secret keeper”

Alexis, a 16-year-old witch, has been born it to the world of magic. She belongs to one of the larges houses of witches known. Powerful and hot headed red haired witch will soon find out that the peace between good and evil, the one that was lasted 500 years, is coming to the end. Alexis has always known she was different than most of the witches her age. At the age of 16 she already controls three elements and is capable to do things that even the older witches can only dream of.

Alexis was the smartest girl in our class, smarter then professors them self. She was a popular girl too, every girl wanted to be her, every boy wanted to date her. Maybe because she was different than most of the girls in our school. She dressed different, her hair was different, her eyes too and she had tattoos on her body. Even that she was smart she wasn’t a professors’ pet and that was because she opposed them a lot of the time. Alexis Aylwin a girl who was once my friend.

The Evil has been planning and waiting for hundreds of years to come and clam what they think its theirs. It will stop at nothing and it will take no prisoners. They will cross boundaries that should not be crossed and infiltrate itself so close to the girl who could stop them once and for all. They will go that far as to possess and curse Alexis cousin and warrior just so they could stop her.

I lowered my eyes to the woods behind my house and there between the trees I saw a red glow, like two rubies, like two bloody eyes looking back at me and then in a blink of an eye it was gone.

The tale of witches’ series: “The secret keeper”

To save her cousin and try to stop the Evil in their plan Alexis will find help in most unexpected people. People who never had any connection to magic or Alexis world will start to gain powers that were long forgotten even in the Magical world of witches and warriors.

Oh, nothing I was just thinking. I don’t know why but something is off with Marc these few weeks. I mean, ok he is in love I dig that, but he has been in love with her ever since the school started and he didn’t act like this. This behavior started when winter started, few weeks ago.” – finished Alexis and saw the looks on our faces.

Phillip being pulled in the world of Magic, along his older twin brothers, is one of those unexpected help that Alexis and her sister need. Phillip will gain a power that has been sleeping since the last big war, make a connection to Earth and become the first Secret Keeper in five hundred years. Phillip, along with his brothers and two of Alexis best friends will find themselves in a secret world, that was hiding in the plane sight, that they do not understand, but fell in love as soon as they enter it.

I uncover myself and lifted my jeans to see what they were talking about and there on my left leg was a tattoo of a white tiger, his front paws with claws were tearing my thigh, he was showing his teeth and his tale was wrapped around my ankle. It looked too cool and too unreal. I looked from my tattoo to the two Russian warriors and grinned. They were grinning too. In all of this I forgot that I didn’t ask where I am, what day it was or how are my friends and brothers or where they all are.

The tale of witches’ series: “The secret keeper”

As the young as being reckless and trying to stop what is coming, the old are having the hard time believing that the Evil is rising. They believe that Alexis and her friends are just having a wild imagination, until a battle with a Valkyrie princess Vigora happens on the May 1th on a popular camping site near the town. The display of controlled magic and elements shown by two young witches, Alexis and her sister Cora, pulls the older witches into realty of things. The war is coming and it is coming fast. Also unexpected gain of magic in teens who were not born into a Magic world and a rise of one of the warrior houses that has been lost, tells the old magical family’s that something big and scary is going to happen soon.

There was a prophecy, that is now long forgotten by many. The prophecy goes something like this ‘For five hundred years they will rest. The other side will become unadvisedly and think that it is over. The dark will wait and wait until its finds a way in. A girl will be born as the five hundred years pass. A girl that will have the power to stop what is coming. But the white side won’t listen to her, because of her young age. The war will come for them all. One will die to save the rest. One will sacrifice itself to save the world. When the clock strikes five hundred years it will start all over again, because the evil never rest.

The tale of witches’ series: “The secret keeper”

The secret keeper will bring magic closer than ever, introduce the reader to mystical world of controlled elements and show that the help to fight Evil sometimes comes from those you least expected.

Prepare yourselves my children because this is just the beginning.” – said the soft voice of the summer breeze and we all heard it loud and clear – “It is just starting. And then it was gone like the wings we all saw the voice and the breeze were gone.

The tale of witches’ series: “The secret keeper”