Wisteria Witches Mysteries Box Set 2

by Angela Pepper

  The man in the driver's seat said, “Ma'am, that's none of your concern.”

  Zinnia stepped back from the van, hands raised. “Very well, then. You're right. It's not my concern at all. It's yours.” She leaned forward briefly, as though bowing, and said, “Thank you for your service.”

  The van was already driving away.

  Margaret said, “You could have bartered for a little more information. You had something they needed.”

  “Why?” Zinnia brushed imaginary dust off her hands. “So we could get drawn into some sort of dangerous mystery involving power surges and horrible creatures that slide through from the other side? No, thank you. Between my new job, plus being a mentor to a young witch, I'm busy enough. I'm sure the DWM has things under control.”

  “If you say so,” Margaret said. “If you say so.”

  The witches returned to City Hall.

  A month passed, and they'd nearly forgotten about the brainweevils when another one showed up.

  * * *

  Author's note from Angela Pepper

  Well, hello Gorgeous!

  I'm so glad to meet you here, at the end of Zinnia Riddle's first story.

  For those of you who are new to Wisteria, you should know that Wolves of Wisteria is the beginning of Zinnia Riddle's trilogy, so it is a book 1, but it's also book six in the world of the Wisteria Witches. The next Zinnia Riddle book, Wisteria Wrinkle, takes place chronologically after the first two Zara Riddle books (Wisteria Witches and Wicked Wisteria) and alongside the third Zara Riddle book (Wisteria Wonders).

  For those of you who've read all six books, hello and thank you for taking a chance on Aunt Zinnia! I hope you got a kick out of all the cameos and hints in this one. As a reader, my favorite series have books that take you back in time or over to another character to show the same events in a new light. I've been asking around, and other people love this “perspective flip” just as much as I do. And if you guessed that it's fun to write prequels and parallels, you would be correct. I'm ridiculously excited about the next book and the surprises that are in store.

  How have you been? I hope you have caring people in your life who ask how you're doing. If they don't ask, remember, you can start by asking them. Just a warning: most people don't get asked nearly enough, and there'll be a torrent, and they might not even get to you, but please do pat yourself on the back for making someone's day a little better. And if they don't have a smile, give them one of yours.

  You might wonder what sort of Happy Coconut Juice I've been drinking to be spouting all this positive stuff. How am I doing? I'm glad you asked! I'm great these days. But there was a rough patch recently. Warning: gross personal health crisis story ahead!

  I had been getting “sick” for a while. Not to a clinical level, where the doctor could say it was this thing or that thing. My doctor said I was doing “fine, better than most people,” and if I was feeling tired all the time, I should go to bed earlier. Never mind that I'd sleep for nine hours and wake up tired. However, I can't blame my doctor for not knowing what was wrong with me. Nothing was amiss on my blood test, and feeling “not so great” is common. I'm sure that a middle-aged lady complaining of general fatigue is so normal that doctors must fight the urge to yawn. I asked if it might be early menopause. For some reason, this made one doctor laugh. Really? Is there anything funny about menopause? She said that it wasn't menopause, and suggested I start jogging, in addition to the regular hiking and kayaking that I do. Uh, thanks.

  So, I was just slogging on in my stubborn/determined way, living my life, when disaster struck. For Christmas, I got an unwanted gift: a bad tooth. Then the root canal. Antibiotics. Digestive upset. Gross things you don't wish on your worst enemies. A flu that knocked me off my feet for weeks. Etcetera. When the new year rang in, I was in rough shape and the future looked rougher. And this was in spite of me trying to take good care of myself. What to do?

  I dove into research. I've always been interested in health and self-help, so it was not a chore. Long story short, I found all the amazing new research that's coming out about the mind-gut connection, and system-wide inflammation. And then I started reading about the danger of sugar. I was thunderstruck. Was my diet the source of my problems? It wasn't that unhealthy, was it? I knew my way around a salad bar. And yet, I'd been having odd things go wrong in my body, including but not limited to a sore foot, joint pain, anxiety, and skin issues—all things connected to inflammation. Could I reverse these issues with some diet changes? How could I not try?

  I took on the challenge. It wasn't too hard, because I was already following a fairly healthy diet and I am a healthy weight—which is probably why the doctors thought I was fine. I cut out sugar (all sucrose and added fructose) while increasing my servings of vegetables. I didn't go off carbohydrates, but I had another thunderstruck moment after a bagel gave me a “bagel baby” tummy, so I quit wheat and gluten, too, as well as coffee.

  What shocked me the most was that it actually worked. I've tried a lot of different health diets over the years, and nothing ever worked like this. I started feeling more energetic. The fatigue and depression lifted. It was only by looking back, in hindsight, that I was able to see how terribly fatigued I had been. And for years!

  People ask me if I miss sugar. I say not really. I mainly used sugar and caffeine to make myself feel better because I was tired a lot. Now that I'm not fatigued, and my insulin response is healthier, and my liver is working as it should, I don't need the energy or mood boost from stimulants.

  Are there downsides to quitting sugar? Yes. Eating at restaurants is challenging.

  Are there upsides? So many. Aside from the health improvements, I'm a cheap date to take to the movies because I don't need pop or candy! And even though my weight was fine before, I lost that “last five pounds” I thought would never go. My husband quit sugar the same day I did, and he dropped about twenty pounds (men!), and is happy to be free of his sugar cravings now that he's broken the addictive cycle.

  Now, let me tell you what you—yes, you—will be getting out of my wacky new diet change. You will be getting more Wisteria books. Along with the fatigue, the afternoon brain fog I'd accepted as a “part of life” has also lifted. The number of hours in a day that I can focus on writing has increased. The net result will be more books. And all thanks to my body for giving me the wakeup call I needed. And also thanks to you, dear reader, without whom this series wouldn't have gone anywhere at all. Thank you for your support, your positive energy, your reader reviews and recommendations.

  Coming up in the series, we'll have more from Zinnia, and more full books focused on Zara, plus a few surprises that I must not spoil before their time. As of the writing of this book, I have some terrific audiobook narrators working on bringing more of my books to audio format. This series has always been a fun one, and I see plenty more fun down the road.

  Until the next book,

  smiles and hugs,

  Angela.

  p.s. I'm actually on Facebook now. In case you're not sick of me yet. :-) You can follow me here and comment on some of my wacky posts and updates: www.facebook.com/angelapepperauthor/

  Series Reading Order

  Wisteria Witches:

  New to Wisteria? You can start reading with any book, but you may enjoy them best in the order they were released. Some of the books are written from Zara Riddle's point of view and some are from Aunt Zinnia's.

  This is the publication date and suggested reading order:

  Wisteria Witches Mysteries - available in ebook and audiobook

  #1 - Wisteria Witches

  #2 - Wicked Wisteria

  #3 - Wisteria Wonders

  #4 - Watchful Wisteria

  #5 - Wisteria Wyverns

  #6 - Wolves of Wisteria

  #7 - Wisteria Wrinkle

  #8 - Wardens of Wisteria

  #9 - Wisteria Warned

  #10 - Wishful Wisteria

  #11 - Wisteria Woven

  ..
. & other titles to be announced!

  Stormy Day Mysteries - available in ebook and audiobook

  #1 - Death of a Dapper Snowman

  #2 - Death of a Crafty Knitter

  #3 - Death of a Batty Genius

  #4 - Death of a Modern King

  #5 - Death of a Double Dipper

  Restless Spirits - available in ebook and audiobook

  #1 - Date with a Ghost

  #2 - Interview with a Ghost

  #3 - Dancing with a Ghost

  Eli Carter & the Ghost Hackers - available in ebook and audiobook

  #1 - The Cat Who Went Bump in the Night

  #2 - The Ghost Who Wasn't There

  #3 - The Dog Who Barked Fire

  For Angela's news, visit www.angelapepper.com

  Follow Angela Pepper on Facebook for sneak peeks, wacky humor, and updates: www.facebook.com/angelapepperauthor/