This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Christy Matheson will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour and a fine writing notebook with personalized art to a second randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
There’s a deer sorting Christmas decorations in Maura’s kitchen…
All Maura wants is a peaceful winter holidays in her dilapidated Irish castle, but her ex is threatening her with family court, and her second grader has invited a strange–completely unclothed–friend, to spend the holidays with them. Oh. And the friend’s dog, which is not actually a dog but probably one of the white deer of Celtic myth.
Maura distracts herself from her husband’s threats by trying to discover why a Fae deer is in her kitchen, when the two women accidentally end up in the Ireland of ancient myth. The White Deer was the human queen of this castle, but it appears she has husband trouble too. Perhaps…the deadly sort of trouble.
Can Maura rescue her new friend — or is Maura herself so tangled in the White Deer’s fate that she won’t make it home to her children alive?
This novella will appeal to readers who enjoy cozy fantasy, ancient history, Irish folklore, and uplifting stories about motherhood and found family.
Enjoy an Excerpt
Raindrops slide down the windscreen of the Peugeot, and condensation creeps up the windows as we let the minutes tick by. We got to Cork airport early, but Aiden and Kaylee haven’t changed their minds. No way, no how are they getting on that plane back to America.
Aiden lifts his phone and snaps a picture of the distinctive swoop of the departures building, then turns and gets me in the frame. Ca-tip. Ca-tip. He hunches and his thumbs fly over the screen.
“Okay,” Aiden says. “Done. It’s official now.”
He’s trying to prove that I did my best to drop them off, but I know it won’t be enough. The teens’ biological parents are both going to blame me for violating the custody agreement.
Within seconds, my phone buzzes against my leg. In the back seat, Kaylee’s pings, then dings, then chirps. Aiden, who at 16 always plans ahead, switched his to silent mode before unleashing the storm of recriminations. I should have done the same. I close my eyes and lean my head against the cold window. Buzz, buzz, chirp, ding.
“Are you sure you won’t get out…” My voice can’t turn this into a question.
“Have we missed the plane yet?” Kaylee demands.
“No,” Aiden and I say together.
We sit without talking. More pings.
Amber: Please.
Please please please please please.
One mother to another. Please.
In my heart of hearts, I sympathize with Amber. I’d want to see my children for Christmas, too.
About the Author: 
Christy Matheson writes award-winning fiction about friends, family, and finding one’s place in an ever-changing world.
She is the author of “The Castle in Kilkenny: Fairy Tales” novella series. Each one sets a traditional Irish fairy tale within a modern blended family, perfect for readers wanting a cozy family adventure.
Christy’s regular historical work (sans fantasy elements) can be found in the award-winning “Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Daring Women,” of which she is also an editor. Her Regency novels are represented by Kristina Sutton-Lennon and have won pre-publication awards for women’s fiction.
Christy is also an embroidery artist, classically trained pianist, and sews all of her own clothes. She lives in Oregon, on a country property that fondly reminds her of a Regency estate (except with a swing set instead of faux Greek ruins), with her husband, five children, three Shelties, one bunny, and an improbable quantity of art supplies.
Buy the book at your favorite online venue
Adam: 
Aunt Kathy made his childhood miserable—now her funeral might just set him free.
Harold Phifer was born in the rebellious South of Columbus, Mississippi. As a kid, he worked the streets, hustled the neighbors, and bused tables at bars he didn’t belong in. After graduating from Caldwell High School, he went on to earn degrees from Mississippi State and Jackson State Universities. He became an Air Traffic Controller in Memphis, Tennessee, but after 23 years, he sought purpose elsewhere—working as an international contractor alongside soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. After narrowly escaping the Taliban takeover in 2021, he took refuge at Guantanamo Bay and resumed his writing while continuing his work as a controller. In 2024, he returned to the Middle East, where he continues to write about life, love, and the human spirit.
For Gabby Patterson, a dedicated, but sometimes obsessive, cross-country runner, junior year is her time to shine. She has to start thinking about tomorrow: the future college recruiters and scholarship offers. But today means beating her impossibly skinny rivals any way she can.
I’m a lifelong lover of books and storytelling and hold an M.A. In Applied Math, a subject which finds its way into many of my stories. 
Glitching between dimensions wasn’t supposed to be my life, but sometimes you have to dance with the darkness.
At a young age, Shelly Campbell wanted to be an air show pilot or a pirate, possibly a dragon and definitely a writer and artist. She’s piloted a Cessna 172 through spins and stalls, and sailed up the east coast on a tall ship barque—mostly without projectile vomiting. In the end, Shelly found writing and drawing dragons to be so much easier on the stomach. Shelly writes speculative fiction ranging from grimdark fantasy, to sci-fi and horror. She’d love to hear from you.
College student Sara Donovan is in the homestretch of graduating when a mysterious package arrives with an invitation to an exclusive contest. One that will drastically change the winner’s life. Included are unsettling photographs from forgettable chapters in her life and a threatening note strongly suggesting she participate.
B.T. Polcari is a graduate of Rutgers College of Rutgers University, an award-winning mystery author, and a proud father of two wonderful children. He’s a champion of rescue pups (Mauzzy is a rescue), craves watching football and basketball, and, of course, loves reading mysteries. Among his favorite authors are Richard Osman, D.P. Lyle, Frederick Forsyth, and Michael Connelly. He is also an unapologetic fantasy football addict. He lives with his wife in scenic Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Is the exhilaration of entrepreneurship tainted with exhaustion? Discover more for your business and yourself.
JENNIFER MUSSER shines a light on the financial operations of businesses where it is needed most to raise profit, solidify processes, save time, optimize talent, reduce risk, and help business leaders achieve meaningful growth with results they can see—and feel.
She’s in the most dangerous place in the world.
