Magical Mayhem: The Record, #0

By Winnie Winkle

Humans never knew how magic folks party. Until now.

 

Halloween is Christmas on steroids if you're of a magical persuasion, which isn't my claim to fame. I'm more of an apprentice of sorts. Oh, not to be magical, that's a born-with-it talent, but when I started waiting tables at a local pier bar, at sixteen, guess who discovered she won the world's weirdest and most exclusive lottery? I, Cleopatra O'Keefe, am a Keeper. 

 

Which will probably kill me sooner rather than later.

 

Now I'm fixin' to debut as a bartender on my twenty-first birthday—which falls on Halloween—in the magical's hidden bar, serving drinks that could kill me if they explode. Yikes. Lined up for the party are Greek gods, big scary shifters, and witches with crap attitudes. Add in a bunch of huge blue mer people with long, lethal knives and a herd of tiny fairies with murderous skills. Easy peasy, right?

 

Magicals barely tolerate humans, except for one speedo-clad god who has the serious hots for me. I swear, if I survive the night, it'll be a miracle with a side of mayhem.

 

Good thing I've got a magic book and an attitude. I'll need both.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Winnie Winkle
• Release date: Apr 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9781960347022

Winnie Winkle

Winnie Winkle is a fabulous Central Florida broad who swills bourbon, likes dogs and cats, and practices yoga, but not with any degree of grace. Supporting live local music is a pretty big deal to Winnie, so if you pass a gravestone that admonishes, 'Go see the band and hit the tip jar', it's probably hers. But, since she's not dead yet, she'll keep penning fun stuff to rock your reading chair. Winnie has lived in Florida for 30 years and splits her time between South Daytona Shores and the Mount Dora area. She prefers writing beach-side as much as she can because, if we’re baring our souls here, the ocean is a mighty muse and there’s only so much that coffee can do. Winnie writes humorous fiction with a new series, "The Record" releasing three titles in 2021 )Boogie Beach, Slat Shaken, Speedo Down). She also released a literary fiction, "To Walk in the World: Twin Tales of Inception in 2021. Winnie also writes (6 books so far)  paranormal and sci-fi romances for the series "The Worlds or Magic, New Mexico".

Book preview

1

Halloween was Christmas on steroids if you’re a magical, which wasn’t my claim to fame. I guess you’d call me an apprentice of sorts. Oh, not to be magical, that’s a born with it kind of talent, but when I started my job, at sixteen, to learn to wait tables, I found out I won the world’s weirdest and most exclusive lottery.

I’m a Keeper.

A what-er? Yeah, I know, and when Billy, my boss, laid out the truth that I was picked, and once selected there was no going back, I said the same thing. Then he taught me what the job of Keeper entailed, and most days I still wake up wowed. It’s a sweet ride.

Before Billy hired me, I was a kid living in Daytona Beach, but then my mom died. My dad wasn’t in the picture, but he came to the hospital and we talked. Twelve years old, heart in a billion screaming pieces, and here’s a guy I haven’t seen since I was four. But he was chill, asking my opinion instead of telling me how he planned to uproot my life and toss me into something weird and unwanted.

So for that, I didn’t love him, but I liked him better.

My only goal? Stay in Daytona. The beach is my jam, the water my home, and when I’ve got wet toes, the world feels better. Mom said that’s because I’m a Scorpio, a water sign.

Said. Jeez, I miss her so much.

So my dad, who told me to call him Pete if that helped, set me up in a little house with him and Maria. Pete traveled all over the world for his job, and Maria was his housekeeper-pseudo-nanny employee. Which could have sucked, but I learned to make tamales, got hugged when I needed one, and Pete tried to give me a home, even without Mom. At thirteen, I was grief swamped, but I’m older now, and I’ve watched a few friends wipe out on waves that aren’t hitting the beach.

I wasn’t one of them, and I’m grateful. I surfed, hung with my bestie, Sadie, and went to class. I’m a nerd, and I like to learn; the weirder the better. Did you know the moon causes tidal bulges? In October we have king tides, which are super high, then way low, leaving sailboats that normally float tipped on their sides until the water returns. The universe rocks.

With my sixteenth birthday looming, I wanted a job. Well, cash, but they’re aligned. Pete was OK with that, so he got me a used VW Beetle, which rocked as a gift. Once I passed my driver’s test, he coached me on interviews. I drove up and down Atlantic Avenue, looking for a fun place to hang out and make money. I walked up the long pier to The Boogie Beach Crab Shack and hoped they needed somebody who knew zip but liked busting her ass. That was the extent of my