Red Dress Ink (Jane Madison) — (2006- ) Publisher: Which is more unlikely? Meeting a single, straight, reasonably attractive, willing-to-commit man? Or discovering a secret cache of magic books? For good girl Jane Madison, neither has a shot in hell of coming true — until the day she finds a hidden room…. Now she's done a bit of experimenting and found a spell that makes her irresistible to men — even those who have previously ignored her. And another that turns a cat into her witch's familiar (a snarky, critical, self-absorbed man — pretty much a typical male). Though her impulsive acts of magic have brought a warder (sexy, grouchy, elusive and determined to stop her from using magic) down on her, Jane's not willing to let go of this fantastic new life. Though she wonders about having things that aren't "real," she's having too much fun to stop. After all, no one ever said being a witch was easy…
  
 Girl's Guide to Witchcraft
Jane Madison has always thought of herself as "plain Jane" and — let's face it — her life does leave something to be desired. A low-paid, overworked librarian of an obscure resource library in Washington DC, Jane fills her days mooning after her "imaginary boyfriend" Jason Templeton, a professor at one of the local universities who does his independent research in her section of the library every week.
One day however, her boss calls her into her office to give her some bad news: the library's funding is so bad that she is going to have to cut Jane's pay…by 25%. But there's an upside! They library has agreed to let her live in the guesthouse behind the main building rent-free, utilities included.
Though it might be dull work at times, Jane couldn't imagine leaving her beloved library (or Jason for that matter) and quickly agrees to the deal.
After moving into the cottage out back though, Jane can't shake the creepy feeling she keeps getting. After finding they key to the locked basement in an obscure and mysterious place, she decides to check it out.
Soon after innocently opening a book and reading a passage out loud, statues are coming alive, there are strange men in her kitchen drinking her tea and pounding down her front door trying to explain to a bemused Jane that she is, in fact, a witch…
First off, props to Mindy Klasky! I emailed her on my editor's recommendation (Kat knows me so well) and Ms. Klasky immediately sent me review copies of not only Girl's Guide to Witchcraft but the sequel Sorcery and the Single Girl. Thanks so much Ms. Klasky!
On the downside…Klasky has gotten me hooked on Jane Madison! I want more! I want more of the quirky gal who reads from spell books, hangs out with an insanely funny gay familiar who can't quite shake off his cat-like qualities, randomly has her handsome warder David show up on her doorstep, indulges in "mojito therapy" with her best friend who owns a bakery, and allows men who wronged her to run around naked in the woods of Connecticut!
I was worried when I first started Girl's Guide to Witchcraft because Klasky's writing style is almost more of a diary style — she sort of writes the way we would talk to ourselves inside our heads. It's hard to describe, but if you pick up the book you'll know what I'm getting at. I thought it would be annoying at first, but the more I got to know Jane, the less it bothered me, and after awhile, it became endearing. The style allowed me to connect emotionally with Jane — feel her excitement, heartache, remorse, guilt, anger, pain, etc. It's been a long time since I've been that emotionally attached to a character.
Jane and her friends came alive for me. Klasky didn't focus her story on the magic or the witchcraft; She focused it on her characters — something I feel a lot of authors forget to do these days. A book is only as good as its main characters, and Girl's Guide to Witchcraft delivers!
Klasky has penned a gem (or crystal, in witchcraft terms)! Perfect for the chicklit lovers out there, with just a little magic thrown in for seasoning. Jane Madison ain't no Samantha or I Dream of Jeanie — she's a real girl with real problems…who just happens to have magic powers that she doesn't know how to work…
Rave reviews! GIVE ME MORE!!! —J.T
Sorcery and the Single Girl
It's been almost a year, but Jane Madison still hasn't mastered this whole "witchcraft" thing. True, she managed to turn the Potomac River into ice, and can make small whirlpools in the sink…but those things aren't really helpful in real life…right?
Things are looking up for Jane's love life, however, after a handsome Brit randomly walks into Melissa's bakery asking for a plateful of Lust. Floating on her prospects of a new beau, Jane's euphoria is short lived when David, her warder, tells her that the Coven wants to meet her.
The Washington Coven — the sisterhood of witches in the local area — is run by the formidable Teresa Alison Sydney, a powerful witch who grants access to the Coven only to those who the sisterhood deems worthy. On her first meeting, Jane is set a task to be completed by Halloween night. If she fails, everything she has in her possession — her spell books, crystals, runes, even her now good friend Neko — will belong to the Coven.
So, on top of an increasingly busy job, a new boyfriend, and fight with her best friend, Jane must find time to study for her upcoming test to join the Coven. But right in the middle of all this activity, Jane starts receiving threats — magic-associated threats that are warning her away from the Coven. What's a girl to do?
I usually bash sequels. They're never as good as the original... Did I say that?... But Sorcery and the Single Girl is the total exception to that rule! If anything, Sorcery and the Single Girl is even better than its predecessor: Girl's Guide to Witchcraft. Jane Madison is like an old friend to me now, and I cannot wait for the next installment of her stories and adventures to hit the shelves this October!
Mindy Klasky has an innate sense of capturing Jane's feelings and emotions and transmitting them to her readers. I found myself through the entire book thinking: "yeah, I've felt that way." "Tell me about it!" and spontaneous outbursts of "you go, girl!" were not uncommon either.
Full of romance, excitement, and a lot of humor, Sorcery and the Single Girl is just as appetizing as the original Girl's Guide to Witchcraft, if not more so! —Julie Waineo |
How Not to Make a Wish
Season of Sacrifice 
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