Author
new Release
The Witch's Claw: A Claire Swenson Novel
Claire Swenson and her friends Jannie and Boone have just finished college. They are ready to celebrate and move on with their lives… until Jannie's child goes missing. Claire will do anything to help Jannie find her little girl, even if that means stepping through time to save her.
Almost three years have passed since Claire was there to hold Jannie's hand through the breech birth of her daughter Mya—a gifted child according to folklore, born with a veil on Midsummer's Eve.
Now, during a dual celebration of graduation and Mya's upcoming third birthday, the three friends stare in shock at the toddler's empty bed. She's been taken. With everyone around them frozen in time, Claire and her friends have no choice but to step through a portal to the past.
They find themselves in Salem 1692, at the height of the witch trials. As strangers arriving at a precarious time in history, they try to avoid suspicion long enough to retrieve Mya from the witches who have taken her. The witches plan to use Mya in a dark magic ritual that will close their portal to the present, freezing Mya in the past forever. Can they get back to their own time before it's too late?
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My Favorite Words
Fernweh (German): A longing for distant places—and while the English word wanderlust comes close, fernweh can also refer to a longing for a place you’ve never even been.
A Story in Every Picture...
When I look at a picture sometimes a story comes to my mind from a memory. Sometimes I create a new story or an idea for one. I see a story in every picture and here is where I will share it with you.
Movie Theater Time Warp (Fiction-idea for a short story)
I made on-line reservations at a local ninety-year-old theater for dinner and a show. They provide viewing of vintage movies accompanied by a light meal and drinks beforehand. Two of my friends wanted to see the December showing of my favorite classic Christmas story so I readily agreed to make the arrangements. We arrived early—as us old ducks tend to do—and chose our seats near the aisle.
A warm feeling came over me as I clicked my phone to silent mode, popped it into my hobo purse, and settled cozily into my seat, tucked in between my friends. I offered some of my popcorn to each of them then sat back to enjoy the movie. The theater went silent and the familiar music began to play as the opening credits ran across the screen. It was almost intermission time when I felt the odd sensation of my ears being clogged and the voices on the screen became muffled. I began to experience tunnel vision that lasted only seconds. When it subsided, I glanced around at the others and a chill ran up my spine. Everyone in the audience, including my two friends, were dressed in vintage clothing. Their hair and fashions made them appear as though they had popped off the screen and into the seats. As I scanned the room, it became obvious that only a few others were experiencing the same awareness as myself. I locked eyes with a man two rows ahead who looked as confused I felt and my heart began racing. Panic rose when I reached into my now leather clutch purse for my phone and it wasn’t there. Everything had been replaced and the contents revealed only a bifold wallet, compact, lipstick, and a pack of cigarettes. Cigarettes?!?
© Cheryl Alsippi
Upcoming Appearances
~2023~
Sept. 30th - 11AM - 4PM EST The Burtner House Fall Festival, Natrona Heights, PA
Oct. 14th 4PM - 11PM EST The Witching Hours Night Market - Vandergrift, PA
Oct. 22nd - Noon EST The Wine Witch's Day Out at Edgewood Winery, Spring Church, PA
Nov. 18th - 10AM - 4PM Mars Fall Craft Show, Mars High School, RTE 228, PA
