Spells Cast In Shadows
Gracie McKeever
ISBN: 9781933563343
Siren Publishing
Reviewed By Josee Morgan
Official Apex Reviews Rating: 
Montana
Freeborn owes her existence to what many would call a simple figment of
her imagination: as a child, helplessly drowning in the middle of an
expansive lake, she is rescued by the centaur Seth – a mythical
half-man, half-horse creature – who selflessly endangers his own life
in order to save hers. The only thing he asks in return: that Montana
never tell anyone about him, a condition to which she reluctantly
agrees.
As fate would have it, two decades later the centaur
re-emerges into her life, only this time around it is she who does the
saving. Suddenly banished from his own world, her erstwhile hero must
rely on her sympathy and compassion in order to heal from the damage –
both physical and psychological – that has been done to him by his own
people. What Seth doesn't count on, though, is falling completely in
love with Montana, quickly developing a burning passion for her that
she gladly returns in kind.
In the midst of their burgeoning
love affair, unbeknownst to the two heroes malicious forces align to
spell their ultimate doom. Bound together by their mutual affection,
Montana and Seth are forced to rely on one another in order to protect
themselves – and each other – from the evil intentions of their
detractors: Montana's a scorned figure from her past hell-bent on
cold-blooded revenge; Seth's a demented, power-hungry demon with the
illest inclinations towards his family. As their collective tale
unfolds, neither Montana nor Seth can envision the final outcome, but
the fighting spirit within each of them refuses to go quietly.
Gracie McKeever delivers yet again with Spells Cast In Shadows.
Once again, the prolific storyteller creates an imaginative world of
awesome spiritual wonder, set against the backdrop of a compelling tale
of love and desire. As always, McKeever's strength lies in the
uniqueness of her characters, which, for a world of centaurs, elves,
and other mystical creatures, can be quite a challenge. McKeever,
though, not only manages to breathe realistic life into the supporting
cast, but she does so with what has become her trademark original
touch, enriching the overall story with creative flare.
Of
course, fans of a good love scene will never be disappointed in
McKeever's prowess with the "pulsating pen." Her ability to spark
unbridled, though tasteful, arousal through the frequent flesh battles
of her characters is quite simply erotica at its finest.
As with all her other works, Spells Cast In Shadows
will only increase Gracie McKeever's growing legion of devoted readers.
Her signature literary style continues to improve and is never a
letdown.
Official Apex Reviews Interview: Gracie C. McKeever (Spells Cast In Shadows)
Apex Reviews: Gracie, thanks for joining us again. We're looking forward to learning more about your latest book.
Gracie C. McKeever: I'm glad to be here and looking forward to talking about Spells Cast in Shadows!
AR: First of all, where in the world did you get the idea to write a story about a civilization of centaurs? Also, for our readers' sake, please explain precisely what a centaur is.
GCM: LOL, that's a good question, and the easy, short answer would be my inherent curiosity about and affinity for centaurs spawned Spells Cast in Shadows. Did I also mention I'm a Sagittarius? The long answer would be my love of epic fantasy like Lord of the Rings, specifically the movie version. After a viewing of the second installment, The Two Towers, I was inspired to write something that would excite and touch my readers as much as I had been touched by the adventure and romance in this movie. I also love reading and writing about shape-shifters but wanted to do something a little different than the typical werewolf or vampire story. I had been mired in my story about a merman when the idea to change the hero to a centaur living in a universe parallel to the human world struck; the story just took off after I saw The Two Towers. I haven't given up on the merman story yet, though.
To answer your question about what a centaur is—it's a being from Greek mythology that is half man (from the torso up) and half horse (from the waist down). But for a more in-depth meaning, readers can visit here: http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/centaurs.html
For additional info and centaur pics, readers can visit here: http://www.mythicalrealm.com/creatures/centaurs.html
AR: Why is Seth so taken with the human race?
GCM: To Seth, the human race is exotic and unique. Initially, he has a love-hate affair with us. He is young and arrogant and believes that his race, the centaurs, are stronger and superior. At the same time, he sees a certain beauty and inner courage in humans, and both these and our individuality attract him. Of course, the fact that his father, Cercyon, is so against centaurs fraternizing with humans adds fuel to Seth's curiosity for and fascination with the human race; it's that whole forbidden fruit and stolen cookie philosophy.
AR: Montana is quite the woman of interest for many different men. What about her makes her so desirable?
GCM: I think it's because she is so unaware of her attractiveness. She is honest and natural in her appearance and her behavior. She's generous with her heart, independent and strong when she needs to be, but not unwilling to lean on a man for support or let him take the lead. She is a simple beauty inside and out. Basically, she has many layers, and I think this most of all makes her desirable.
AR: In the book, you interweave an amalgam of different storylines in seamless fashion. How are you able to combine a myriad of plotlines into one cohesive narrative?
GCM: LOL, it's not easy. I build the characters from the ground up and make sure each has enough depth and layers to carry the story to a logical and satisfying conclusion. I'm not as fastidious about outlining as I am about character building, but I do have to do a certain amount of outlining and plotting to keep track of what needs to be said and done from one scene or chapter to the next. This is where the discipline, focus, and organizational skills that I've honed over my career eventually come into play.
AR: Your stories are always rife with imagination and creativity. What types of books/movies/art inspire you?
GCM: As you can imagine, I write what I like to read, and vice versa, which is a cross of various genres and subgenres of romance: action/adventure, bdsm, contemporary, erotica, interracial, m/m, mystery/suspense, paranormal. I also enjoy a good mainstream title every now and then. As long as the stories and characters grab me, I'll read it. Same goes for movies. I love all kinds. As for art, when I was doing my research for Spells Cast in Shadows, I found a lot of depictions online of centaurs that really intrigued and excited me, and fed my muse. I'm nowhere near an avid or knowledgeable patron of the (visual) arts, but I know what I like when I see it.
AR: Authors of mysteries & suspense thrillers sometimes find it difficult not to give away too much of the storyline too soon. Is that a particular challenge for you?
GCM: It's definitely a challenge. In one of my other books, I actually revealed the killer near the beginning of the story, leaving the suspense being when and how the other h/h in the book would figure things out and what they would do when they discovered who was stalking them. In this particular book, Between Darkness and Daylight, this strategy actually worked, I think, for the mere fact that the reader knew something the h/h didn't (who was stalking the h/h but not what he was going to do to the h/h and their loved-ones next). In my other suspense stories like In Plain Sight, Terms of Surrender and Bouncer's Folly I've managed to keep the killer/stalker a secret until the very end of the story.
AR: What's next for you?
GCM: Right now, I'm working on the fifth story in my The Matchmaker's series. I just recently overhauled the plot and character background of this work-in-progress and changed the title from Taming Donna to Bruised But Not Broken; I think the latter better suits the theme and direction I'm taking the story. It's my first ménage story (this one involving an m/f/m relationship) and I'm really looking forward to digging in. I also recently signed a contract with Amira Press (www.amirapress.com) for my contemporary erotica (bdsm) short story, Gray Badge of Trust, release date still TBA. And still upcoming in Zane's Eroticanoir.com anthology, Caramel Flava 2, is my erotica short story, Leap of Faith.
AR: How can people learn more about your writings and other efforts?
GCM: Readers can visit my website at www.graciecmckeever.com to get all the lowdown on me, my books, and other projects. There are also links here to my publishers, upcoming events, other great authors and free short stories and other rants and ramblings of mine on the web.
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share with our readers?
GCM: I hope they've enjoyed the interview as much as I have, are curious enough to check out my stuff, and that they thoroughly enjoy what they do read. I welcome comments and feedback (especially of the positive variety and/or raves).
AR: Thanks again, Gracie, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!
GCM: Thanks again for having me!