Lionrhod

A writer of fantasy and non-fiction metaphysics, Lionrhod (pronounced LION-rod as the h is silent) caught the writing bug at age 8. Inspired by her writer mother, she wrote an extremely lousy and highly plagiarized story about a pony. From there, she went on to focus on science fiction and fantasy as well as romance, and when she realized that she was a Witch, articles on Wicca and Magick. As an avid Dungeons and Dragon's player, she has written several articles for that sort of thing and one of her pieces was featured in a TSR module way back before they became Wizards of the Coast. She has also written for Green Egg.

She tends to write slow, though that is changing!

She has been a witch and wysard (yes we spell it funny) for most of her life. She works as a professional psychic and a teacher of metaphysics. When she isn't glued to the keyboard, she enjoys hiking in the woods, gardening, cooking and yak wrangling. She is presently working on creating a rescue for large breed dogs and for retired animals.

Read more of this interview.

Website: http://lionrhod.hubpages.com/
Twitter: @lionrhod

assassin    assassins flower    beltaine    beltane    casting spells    childrens books    chosen one    christmas    dark fantasy    demons    doppelganger    fae    faerie    fairy    fantasy    folktales    ghost hunters    ghosts    haunted house    haunting    holidays celebrations    house cleansing    infanticide    kids books    magic spells    negative spirits    pagan    pagan children    pagan families    pagan holidays    polish christmas    polish folktales    political intrigue    real ghosts    sabbat    sacrifice    savior    sidhe    spell casting    spells    spells and how they work    spells and magic    spells for beginners    spells magic    spells that really work    spells that work    spells withcraft    sword and sorcery    tales for children    talk to ghosts    wicca    wiccan holidays    wiglia    winter solstice    witch    witchcraft    witches    yule   

• Dying to Get Published on Feb. 07, 2013
  
  A truly fun read! Others have said the main character is ditzy. Well, yes, that's true. Ditzy and wacky and an absolute blast to be in her head. This is a comic mystery, not a straight dark mystery. I could totally relate to the writing circle. I think I might have been a member of that one sometime back! The old ladies were hysterical. And as a writer, well...I don't think it's in our best interests to murder an agent or any other member of the publishing industry, but I've got enough rejection slips over the years (and know other writing buddies who do) that I can relate. Dying to know what Jennifer's next hare-brained scheme will be! I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series.
  
• Black Woods: Book 1 (Black Woods Series) on Feb. 07, 2013
  
  Read this several months ago and it's still haunting me. The heroines were intelligent and relate-able. The premise really creepy-especially for someone who loves spending time in the woods-and the writing evocative. The author almost lost me just before the end. For a few minutes I was saying, "Oh, no, she didn't." And then the surprise twist at the very end brought me back and made me a fan.
  
• Bewitching Kisses (Bewitching Kisses Series) on Feb. 07, 2013
  
  Well done. I do agree that the book could have been fleshed out a bit more, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. Unlike the reviewer who said they wanted more romance and less about the witch trials, I was just the opposite. I do agree the ending was a little fast, but still an enjoyable read. Having read a lot of romances published here, it was nice to read a writer who actually has a decent command of the English language. Yes I tend to be picky about that.
  
• Green Lake on Feb. 07, 2013
  
  Really enjoyed this. Excellent storyline and well written romance/mystery. And when you start growling whenever the minor villains come on stage (Eris' mother especially) you know the author's done a good job of rendering them. I didn't think the hero was ugly, just pockmarked. I can think of several people I know or know of who don't have the best skin but are still handsome and even sexy. My only complaint was near the end, that the heroine didn't immediately rush back and get her kitten. Hopefully she did so after the novel was over. LOL but I'm funny that way. The ending was deliciously creepy and made me laugh at the same time.
  
• Brother Lowdown on Feb. 07, 2013
  
  Okay, very weird. This is the book I THOUGHT I'd downloaded, and the cover on the back showed this cover. But the story inside the book I got was Borderlands, another title by the same author. Perhaps that's why there aren't any reviews on this book? I kept wondering why the book was titled Brother Lowdown when there was no such character in the book. I only realized the mistake when I skipped back to the end beginning and re-read the title page. LOL I'm giving 5 stars because now that I've read two books from this author, I'm positive this will be an excellent read, and I'll come back and read it as soon as the book is fixed. Besides I'd hate to see the author suffer on a silly mistake like this. And the book I actually got with this was definitely worth reading till it is fixed. Now I'll go back and review the book I actually got to read.
  
• Killer Twist (Ghostwriter Mystery 1) on Feb. 10, 2013
  
  Much fun and well written! I didn't quite get how the title fit the book (although yes there was a twist ending) but that didn't stop my enjoyment of it. Roxy is quirky, snarky, a bit mercenary and a blast to hang out with. Looking forward to the next Ghostwriter mystery.
  
• Heller on Feb. 10, 2013
  
  Great read! Tilly hooked me instantly. Fun premise too. Now where do I get a job like that?
  
• Blood Ties on Feb. 10, 2013
  
  Another fantastic read from this talented author. Awesome writing, memorable characters. The Bycrafts are hysterical. I'm pretty sure that part of their tribe lives near me. I'm sure I've met these folks before! Can't wait to see what happens between Tess and Finn. And I have to say, I had a soft spot for the chicken coop.
  
• Color Me Grey: Book One of the Alexis Stanton Chronicles on Feb. 10, 2013
  
  Fun and fast-paced. Absolutety loved the book. Alex is a kick-butt heroine. Can't wait to read the next!
  
• Kate on May 23, 2013
  (no rating)
  Contains Spoilers! Loved the character and the book. Kate is a very unique heroine. Awesomely well done research, especially her hillbilly upbringing. A very modern heroine set in an old time, it makes me question if our stereotypes of the 1800s are just that. After all, she exists in the same timeframe as the early suffragettes, so why not portray her as that? The book was sheer fun all the way through until SPOILER she loses her beloved. After that point, it felt like the heart went out of the MC. And out of me. That's not a bad thing, just a sign of how invested I was in the story and characters. Despite that, excellent read. Much fun and I'll continue on to the next in the series.
  
• Blue Thunder on Oct. 14, 2013
  
  The typos as well as the tense changes are rant worthy. I understand that the author is dyslexic, however a professional edit would have been well in order. That said, the story and plot itself is well done, and the main characters are believable. Proof that a good story can overpower choppy writing.
  
• Road Dance: Poems on Oct. 16, 2013
  
  The poems in this book are better called "stories." From tales of growing up as the child of Communists to the terror of being the mother of a battered woman, the stories here are soulful, evocative and enmeshed with the timeless imagery of Earth and Mountain and the tears of the watershed swamps that encompass the ebb and flow of life, love and sacrifice.
  
• Lynna's Rogue (A Prequel: Curse of the Conjure Woman) on Nov. 04, 2013
  
  Oh dear. Every cliche possible. I won't bother to list them all. This is part of a series featuring the same characters. I'm not sure what tropes are left for the author to put into further novels. My biggest problems with the book: Several threads that weren't relevant and obviously thrown in to make it look as if the characters were unique. 1) a potential kidnapping used only to set the story up, and never really important to the plot again. 2) A hero who can't keep his parts in his pants and by chapter 2 has had his way with a cloistered virgin who he's sworn to protect - not my idea of an honorable hero. (And which also leads to a supreme lack of romantic tension.) 3) The hero allegedly overeats when nervous (but never gains an ounce) but this is forgotten as soon as he gets laid. 4) A heroine allegedly afraid of thunderstorms, but not one single frightening thunderstorm manifests - just several unimpressive ones, which she waltzes through without a problem. And most annoying trope of all, the heroine who is "the most beautiful woman alive." The only men who don't try to bed (read rape in most cases) her are eunuchs, the elderly and men of different color. (it takes place in pre-Civil war America.). On the good side, the writing itself was competent and the spelling/grammar was mostly good. Sadly, it doesn't make up for the stark flatness of the characters. Take it for what it is - an amusing romp with plenty of torrid love scenes. It's obvious that the author is capable of writing a good book, but she desperately needs to work on plotting and find an editor who will curb her desire to throw too many ingredients into an already overflowing pot. Despite everything, I hope the author will grow and look forward to her next (and hopefully better developed) series.
  
• Lynna's Rogue (A Prequel: Curse of the Conjure Woman) on Nov. 10, 2013
  (no rating)
  Okay I just have to be ticked at the tags too. There's zero Voodoo in this book except for the fact that the word may be mentioned once or twice. Zero occult and/or magick either. Don't try to sell a crappy book based on tags that aren't even appropriate.
  
• Cause of Death on Nov. 18, 2013
  
  Flawed but worth reading. Interesting plot and intriguing characters. Sadly the plot was somewhat occluded by writing that needed an editor's touch. The police procedural was obviously heavily and well researched. The dialogue is clunky and doesn't sound like people talking. Over explanation is another problem, especially when the characters tell us something, and then tell us the same thing all over again in a paragraph of exposition. At the same time sometimes Initials are used (such as SO - whatever that means since it's obviously not Significant Other) which aren't explained well enough. Also challenging why the dialogue of a 16 yr old Hispanic boy from CA sounds exactly the same as the dialogue of a 30 something police detective from Alabama. I agree with the reviewer who said there were too many subplots. Noura's plotline (while quite interesting) didn't make sense as it had no relevance and connection to the main plot, and felt like it was just sort of hanging in extra space. The double romances plots (and wanna connect to our Native roots plots) were also distracting. As I'm part Native, I liked that touch in the backstory, but felt it was too heavy handed. I also didn't get the fact that Annie was supposedly the main character. Tom probably got more time than she did as far as actually closing the case and scenes that featured his viewpoint. Okay now for the good points: Few typos. The author actually seems to have a good command of the English language which I find refreshing thus far on my exploration of Smashwords. The serial killer was unique at least as far as methods. I would have liked to have more insight into his reasons earlier in the book, rather than waiting to read them in the epilogue. Since he kept a diary, it would have been great to intersperse parts of that in the book. I actually DID NOT guess who the baddie was until well into the book, and the red herrings for other characters to be the bad guy were well placed and handled so that I wasn't sure whodunit till right near the end. The story of the murdered women was also sad/thought provoking. and suitably horrifying. One of the good facets of the book was that dating everyone's actions left you counting how many days each victim had to live and agonizing over whether she'd be found or not. And yes, the victims were drawn well enough that I DID agonize over them. They were probably the best drawn characters in the book. Despite flaws, I am looking forward to reading the 2nd book. I hope the author will work on voice and editing. She's already got procedure and the "mystery" part down. She's got a character (or 10) that I actually like and want to follow. This is obviously a first novel which should have been subjected to the demands of an editor, but shows great promise.
  
• Scamp's Lady on Nov. 26, 2013
  
  Great read and well researched. Excellent character development. The romance felt genuine and the plot made sense. Setting it near the end of the Revolutionary War added to the tension. All through it, I wondered how they'd deal once the war ended, or if/when something happened to her family. Being a dog person, I liked that the dog was a part of the story rather than window dressing. I'll agree that the brief scene in the dog's VP didn't work (mostly because it was the only scene from his VP and hadn't been set up) but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book. Would have liked to see a little more depth from Lady Claudia, but still loved the book and am interested in reading more from Walton.
  
• The Backward Approach to Ebook Success on Dec. 09, 2013
  
  Short, sweet and to the point. And well worth your time to read. I learned several things about marketing! Now to get off my butt and start doing them!
  
• Midnight Marriage on Dec. 20, 2013
  
  One of the better romances I've read in a long time. Intriguing and original setup and believable characters. Well done.
  
• True Survivor - The Seth Winston Story on Jan. 28, 2014
  
  Truly fun read. Seth is self abdorbed to the point you almost want to smack him, except that you can't help loving his dry wit and wanting to read more. And having read Fatal Decision, one of the authors' talents is that each protagonist is refreshingly unique. So glad to see there's a 2nd book.
  
• Ravenstone (Book 1, The Ravenstone Chronicles) on March 01, 2014
  
  This book would have received five stars if it was a full book, but it's not. Sadly, it's just half a book. or maybe only 1/3 or less for all I know. Of all the subplots in this book -- and there are many! -- only ONE of them gets resolved. And the main plot doesn't get resolved at all. Forget a HEA or even HFN ending. There's no ending, period. The book is chopped off with the heroine's life in peril, having only FINALLY gotten to the beginning of the romance. About 50 pages from the "end" I started wondering how the author was going to tie all the subplots together in only 50 pages. 3 pages from the end she introduced 6 new characters and I got an awful suspicion that turned out to be correct. No ending. Now I'm an author too, and I understand that writer's need to make money. That's fine. Tell me you're giving me a 50% preview and I'll understand and make a decision whether or not to buy when I get to the end of the sample. But cutting a book off like this is NOT the way to go. At $5.99, the other half of the book is a pricey "sequel." I'm a bit leery of buying the 2nd half of the book because I don't know that she'll finish the book in the 2nd half, after my experience with this one. Despite that, I'll tell you what IS good about the book because I really did like it A LOT. The heroine has a dark secret and I DO mean DARK. Pretty much as dark as they come, and a subject that's usually a no-go in romance. She's also feisty and intelligent and darn interesting, yet sympathetic. The romance in the book doesn't really exist. I'm assuming it's in book 2. Other than at the very end just before it gets cut off, she sees the love interest as no more than just a friend. He of course, is madly in love with her. The subplots are fascinating as well with Georgiana trying to care for the poor, in particular a young pickpocket, heal her relationship with her brother, deal with her mom (a character whom the reader will despise - and a character does have to be pretty well drawn to be this despicable!), deal with with the vagaries of her wastrel husband (his secret was pretty easy to guess at - I had him pinned from the first scene we meet him in - but I'm still wondering how she's going to get rid of him to reach a HEA, because he doesn't seem like a bad guy.), she takes over the running of the estate and then becomes part of a smuggling ring, and she's got the law trying to get her to find a spy. Whew! Busy lady! All of the major characters are well drawn and believable. Okay, at first I felt Georgiana's perspective was a bit too anachronistically modern for a regency era heroine, but her reasons for feeling that way make sense, so it works. The deep dark secret is treated with care. Horrific enough to make the reader sympathize with her choices, but written not so graphically that the reader runs screaming away. I did feel that the last few scenes got rushed a bit, jumping around to put Georgiana in peril in every single one of the subplots. (I think hubby's at least could have waited, since it was already blatantly obvious what it was.)