A Shot of Midlife Magic

When Jules Cavanaugh's husband dumps her for his annoyingly perky, midlife crisis, her empty nest suddenly feels like a not-so-gilded cage. Desperate to put it all behind her, she packs her bags, and heads to the bar in Coastal Florida that she'd inherited from her father, sight unseen, to start over. Once she gets there, all is sunshine and fruity cocktails, until she finds an odd, old book in a hidden safe, and a cryptic letter from her father. At first, she writes it off to his eccentricity - that is, until she accidentally summons a storm when her ex pushes her one step too far.

Jules Cavanaugh is settling nicely into her new Florida home and learning to use her magic, but with a power-hungry witch and wizard gunning for her, she feels like she's waiting for the other shoe to drop. Unfortunately for them, she's done letting other people dictate her future. Even though she's exhausted and battered from the first attack, the fate of the magical world rests on her shoulders. If nearly 50 years of life has taught her anything, it's that no matter how many aches and pains you have, life won't wait for the Advil to kick in.

Jules Cavanaugh would like nothing better than to settle into midlife, bury her toes in the sand, and sip margaritas with her hot new shifter boyfriend, but that's not what the universe has planned. As the Mistress of Balance, it's her job to keep the scales of light and dark from tipping, and so far, she's doing a bang-up job. Since she found out she's magical, she's been kidnapped, attacked by a sea serpent, battled an army of Dark Fae, and even fought off biting pixies that make Florida's mosquitos seem tame.

If you'd told me a year ago I'd be drinking rum and fighting evil with a crew of powerful women who also happen to be ghostly pirates, I'd have asked what special candy you were eating. Now, that's my reality. How, you may ask, did I end up with such unlikely drinking partners? They waded onto shore covered in barnacles and lookin' like death warmed over, of course. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly tempted to exchange friendship bracelets with them at first blush, but since my faithful little demon dog trusted them on sight, I figured it was safe to hear them out.