The Newbie's Guide to Magic & Mistletoe: The Lynlee Lincoln Series, #8

By Olivia Hardin

I'm a newbie to the world of Magical And Undead Creatures, but thanks to a few trusted friends, I'm learning. Still, some lessons in life are painful, and no form of magic can save me from that.

Lynlee and Rhiannon have taken me under their wings and made me a part of their inner circle. But with the holidays approaching, I want nothing more than to crawl back into my hole. I don't do Christmas. Ever.

When a mysterious package arrives on my doorstep, a completely unexpected brand of magic seeks to draw me out of hiding.

Does a genie have the power to get this Scrooge into the Christmas spirit?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Olivia Hardin
• Release date: Dec 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781540150875

Olivia Hardin

When Olivia Hardin began having strange movie-like dreams in her teens, she had no choice but to begin putting them to paper. Before long the writing bug had her and she knew she wanted to be a published author. Several rejections plus a little bit of life later, and she was temporarily “cured” of the urge to write. That is until she met a group of talented and fabulous writers who gave her the direction and encouragement she needed to get lost in the words again. Olivia’s attended three different universities over the years and toyed with majors in Computer Technology, English, History and Geology. Then one day she heard the term road scholar and she knew that was what she wanted to be. Now she “studies” anything and everything just for the joy of learning.  She's also an insatiable crafter who only completes about 1 out of 5 projects, a jogger who hates to run, and she’s sometimes accused of being artistic. A native Texas girl, Olivia lives in the beautiful Lone Star state with her husband, Danny and their puppy, Bonnie.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Cato

I knew as soon as my world started jostling around that it had happened again. I had a new master. My wagon was a pigsty and the movement of my surroundings did little to help matters. A stack of clothes fell off their perch on a chair across from me and I heard the clattering of dishes behind me.

A sudden swing lurched me off my cot onto the floor. My head banged into the table and I issued an expletive as I tried to stand. I managed to get onto my feet, bracing them apart so that I wouldn’t fall if things started shuffling again. Mustafan wasn’t known for hiring reputable delivery and shipping companies.

I considered whether I should get dressed or not. I’d thought it a pretty good joke on my part when my previous master found me without a stitch of clothing on. After all, it had been about twenty-seven months since my last master and I’d been pretty close to going stir-crazy.

The laugh was me when Franco DeGrasse became so enamored by the sight of me in the flesh that he spent the next nine months trying to craft a way to get me into bed with him.

Lucky for me, wishes don’t work that way.

I might be an imprisoned genie, but I still had some small amount of free will reserved to me. I grabbed a pair of pants from the floor and slipped them on, almost falling again when my world took another sudden heave.

Darn it to Hades! Where the heck are we going?

I didn’t wait for an answer because I knew I wouldn’t get one. Instead, I opened the door of the wagon and stepped out into the huge circus tent. The stench of stale popcorn and animal feces was something I never seemed to get used to. I hurried across the sawdust floor of the big top, pushing my way through the flap and into another tent, this one smaller and filled with clown’s clothing and makeup.

But no clowns. No matter where I went in this demon-made hell, there wasn’t a single person. It was enough to drive a person mad.

Which explained my poor decision-making with DeGrasse. Extreme boredom could cause a man to throw all caution to the wind. But I hadn’t been alone quite as long this time, so I decided to behave with a modicum of decorum when I met my new master.

I hopped from the clown tent and into a country house where there was a vintage washing machine. It was pink and so old-fashioned that it had a rolling-pin wringer on top. But it was my only option for clean laundry during the time of my imprisonment. I’d washed my best pants and button-down a few months ago and they were hanging neatly on a hook.

After dressing, I checked my hair in a tiny mirror on the wall, then waited. Most people who bought me were eager to open their new prize, so it was likely I wouldn’t have to wait long for the introduction to my new master.

Chapter 2

Rolayna

I’d been looking at SPAM entirely too long. My eyes were crossing and there was a pain going from the front of my head all the way ‘round to my neck. I reached up a hand and massaged the muscles there, twisting my head to the side and popping my neck.

Picking up my phone from the table beside me, I chose Lynlee’s name from the quick-dial list then tapped out a message: Doing a backup of SPAM. Don’t get into it until I tell you it’s done.

I’d started working for Lynlee Lincoln after she enlisted me to help her break a curse. I didn’t even know I was a witch back then, but when I found out it was my ancestor who created the curse I knew I had to help. Of course, there was also the thing about the super cool magic in my blood to encourage me too. That was way too enticing not to explore.

My boss doesn’t have phenomenal tech skills so when she discovered I did, she offered to teach me about magic in exchange for helping her create a database of sorts. Spells, Potions, Apothecaries and Magic, SPAM for short, was an idea she’d come up with before we met. But believe you me, when I saw what a mess she’d made of the project, I figured it was providential she found me.

I received a curt Yes ma’am in response from her. Setting my laptop aside, one corner of my mouth ticked up into a partial smile as I uncrossed my legs and hopped up from the couch.

I nearly fell over a second after my full weight landed on my feet. I’d been sitting so long my legs had gone completely to sleep. I flinched and scrunched my toes up to try to relieve the pins and needles. My stomach grumbled, and I put my hand to my abdomen as I considered what ingredients I had that