For generations, the Blanchard family have lived in Daihmler, Alabama. The people of Daihmler adore the Blanchards, even if some whisper about them in private. People say they are witches.
Olympia Blanchard has lived here all her life and has always been a friend to anyone in need. Her daughters, Artemis and Demitra, have helped more than a few Daihmlerians through ailments and turmoil with special potions they brew. Dr. Beryl Blanchard is a renowned physician who almost never loses a patient. Fable Blanchard is the town's most trusted Veterinarian. Some say the animals even speak to her. And if you notice how the weather is always pleasant around Blanchard House, that may be because Seth Blanchard can control the skies.
But not everything runs smoothly for this tightly knit southern family. There are things in the world normal people do not know about and the Blanchards are doing their best to protect the natural order of the world, anyway they can. As if that weren't enough, they also have to live their own regular lives with all of its victories and losses.
It's not easy being a Blanchard.
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The Blanchard Witches:
The House of Duquesne
Book Four in The Blanchard Witches Series
COMING SOON
My Story
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Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, I grew up in a large southern family full of loving grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. In fact, many characteristics of my relative’s eclectic personalities are fondly reflected in members of the Blanchard family. I now live in Birmingham, Alabama with my husband, our son, five dogs and one cat. It is a noisy household to write in, but I manage!
I spent nearly two decades as a business owner and magazine columnist, while writing stories in my free time. I have had two short stories published, THURSIE and THE THREE MRS. ROGERS, both appearing in the compilation book IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT.
Its difficult to pick a "favorite" author, however, there are several who appeal to me and helped shape my writing style. Richard Matheson comes immediately to mind. He successfully creates a setting you can thoroughly understand even if it is out of the ordinary. Then when he tosses his twists and turns at you, you might bee caught off guard but not lost. I also love Alice Walker for her ability to pull her characters off the written page and make them real human beings to you. I try to do that with my writing. I want you to feel as if you truly know my character, you might even feel as if you are my character. I learned this from Alice Walker. I also adore Toni Morrison for her skill at creating deeply flawed characters you still relate to because you can fully understand what life did to flaw them. Lastly, for simply the mystery sake of it, I love Jeffrey Deaver books. I am very good at figuring out whodunnits yet I almost never figure out his.
As far as my personal writing style goes, I write the way I think. I prefer authors who get to the point. I do not need 3 pages describing the tapestry on the wall when I am reading a book. Though I want well fleshed out characters and descriptive settings I can picture in my mind, I cannot stand a slow paced novel. Therefore my writing style, (I've been told and hope is true for everyone) connects you emotionally to the characters quickly and keeps a steady pace of action, humor, and emotion so that readers do not lose interest before the story is told. If my interest isn't grabbed within three chapters, I am finished reading that book. So I do my very best to write this way as well. I write for people who love to read but have too little time to invest in a story it takes much too long to get to.
THE BLANCHARD WITCHES OF DAIHMLER COUNTY was my debut novel. Initially conceived as a stand-alone title, as my writing process progressed, I found myself falling in love with the characters. I personally connected to each one as if I have known them all my life. When I step back and look at the story objectionably, I think I have always known them, as either pieces of myself or people I’ve loved who are interwoven through the characters. Their family dynamic and genuine love for one another created a storytelling force within me which practically wrote itself. As I neared completion of the book, I realized this unique clan’s rich family history, as well as their exciting future possibilities are boundless, in both directions, and should not end with a single novel.
Now there are six books (possibly more) slated to be released over the next few years to complete the saga. The second novel in the series THE BLANCHARD WITCHES: PRODIGAL DAUGHTERS continues where the first book left off, sending the Blanchards off into another all-encompassing adventure. The third novel in the series, THE BLANCHARD WITCHES: STITCHES IN TIME was only recently released in February 2023...to be followed later in the year with the fourth installment, THE BLANCHARD WITCHES: THE HOUSE OF DUQUESNE.
It has been a wonderful surprise for me to discover how many readers have become invested in the Blanchards. People from all over the country have messaged me just how connected they feel to these people I have created. Despite the fact the Blanchards are a magical family, fans can relate to so many things the characters go through emotionally. In the end, people are people no matter their differences. We all suffer the same human sorrows and celebrate the same human joys. Reactions such as these to the stories inspire me to continue.
I hope you will find yourself connecting to the the Blanchards as others have. And there is a lot more to come so you will not have to wait long for your next Blanchard Witches fix. Please check back to this website often for updates and follow me on Instagram @micah_house_author
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Welcome back to Daihmler County, Alabama. This is the home of the Blanchard family. The Blanchards are an average, everyday, close-knit, loving, southern family...who also happen to be witches. They have been through a great deal of ups and downs, tragedy and triumphs. And it's not over yet. Their lives are about to get a little more complicated.
As The Blanchard Witches saga continues, the family is acclimating to the secrets revealed in the last book and acclimating to some new faces around the house. Yet, old foes are resurfacing and old scores are left to be settled. Everything has been building to this moment when the Blanchards return to Charleston where the sinister D'Angelo family is brewing something which will change every Blanchard forever.
Join your favorite witches for the deadliest battle they've ever fought. Not everyone will survive The House of Duquesne.
Excerpt from Stitches in Time
Beryl knew instantly something was wrong. The dishes she had been carrying into the house had disappeared from her hands. The picnic tables housing her entire family were no longer behind her either. She was alone in the yard. Still, she continued walking toward the house. The house was the only thing remaining she knew. And yet even it was peculiar. Beryl knew the house before her was Blanchard House, but something about it was changed from the house she’d lived in her entire life. When she had still held the dishes in her hands, she was heading toward the backdoor of the kitchen. The door was not there now. And neither was the kitchen. Only a blank, windowless exterior wall stood where the kitchen should have been. Beryl turned around again, just to make sure one last time that her family were not in the yard behind her. The yard was empty. Despite this fact, she still knew she was home. This was unarguably Blanchard House. She wandered around to the front porch since there was no longer a back door to enter. As she made her way, she noticed the pool was gone as well as the wall around it. Her grandmother’s rose garden was gone. And all the flowers along the porch were gone too. Flowers had always bloomed in hanging baskets and pots on that porch. Flowers were as much a facet of Blanchard House as the white painted exterior or the four-story tower. There could be no explanation for the absence of them as well as the kitchen, unless…
I am in the past. Why she would have known this was a mystery to Beryl, but somehow, she knew it to be true. The oak trees, the house, the general size of the yard, the chicken houses in the distance, were all recognizable. But the differences told the story. The driveway was not graveled. The new addition of the east wing was gone. And the absence of the kitchen really cinched it. Grandfather Windham built the kitchen, she remembered. This is Blanchard House before Grandfather came along. But how far before? Beryl walked up onto the porch. As she did, she could hear voices inside. She knocked on the front door and waited to see who was going to open it. Her great grandfather? Her great-great grandmother? She hadn’t a clue.
The door opened and a beautiful young woman stood before her with long canary blond hair. She wore a peachy colored baby doll dress with a wide plum belt and long dangly plum colored hoop earrings. Beryl’s initial thought upon seeing her was I really need that outfit.
“Hello?”
“Hi,” Beryl nervously said. “I don’t really know how to say this, but I have somehow—” she paused herself. How in the world was she supposed to explain this? How could she convey to this person that she had somehow launched herself back in time? She decided to just continue talking and hope for the best. “You must be a Blanchard,” Beryl smiled at the blonde woman. “At least I am hoping you are, so maybe you’ll understand and believe me…” Beryl stopped talking and looked more closely at the face standing bewildered before her. There were no wrinkles, no age spots, no signs of the white hair which had been teased into an old lady hairdo all of Beryl’s life. But the face…the face was definitely the same. It had been years since she had stared into those tender blue eyes. “Hecate!” she cried as she pulled the startled woman into her arms and hugged her close.
“Who the hell is this person Lympy?” called a familiar voice from the next room.
Beryl let go of her grandmother and turned to see a sight so familiar it almost made her laugh. Zelda. Zelda looked just as ridiculous younger as she did old. Her mousy brown hair wasn’t the magenta of the old woman she knew, but it was definitely still Madam Zelda, dressed in the most colorfully ridiculous attire. She wore an oversized orange and purple tunic wrapped at the waist with a long-braided cord. Her flowy pants were fuchsia, which matched the scarf tied over the top of her head.
“Zelda!” Beryl cried rushing to hug her friend.
Zelda pushed back with a suspicious eye, but Beryl didn’t care. She was so relieved to have found people she knew, even if they did not know her. Another woman came into the room from the hallway. Her shoulder length brown hair cut into a bob was almost the exact same style as it would be sixty years later. “Aunt Pastoria!”
“Aunt?”
“Oh my,” Olympia Blanchard sighed. “Miss, I think I am afraid to ask this question, but are you by chance from the future?”
Beryl whirled back around, “Yes! Oh, thank God you understand! Yes, Hecate. I am your granddaughter Beryl!”
“Well fuck me,” Zelda exclaimed.
Midwest Book Review for
BLANCHARD WITCHES OF DAIHMLER COUNTY
Readers who choose The Blanchard Witches of Daihmler County will find its evolving story of loss, acceptance, change, and conflict features many insights and engrossing moments.
From potions to intriguing shifts in events that affect the entire family. It's rare to find a satisfying intersection between supernatural fantasy, intergenerational relationships, and small town special interests woven into a mystery that grips all characters on different levels… Readers will find much to enjoy and will look forward to more.
California Bookwatch Review for
PRODIGAL DAUGHTERS
Micah House crafts an excellent story that juxtaposes magic, mystery, and new dangers with evolving family relationships that continue to transform all involved. It's a delicate dance to move between these elements in such a way as to keep the action fast-paced and unpredictable rather than mired in formula genre approaches, but it's a creative impulse that House cultivates to give the story a fresh, original feel.
Characters are believable and engaging; situations pull on not just the heart but moral and ethical developments against supernatural backdrops; and the saga moves between family members and outsiders with a strong attention to detail, description, and twists which address issues of prejudice and family connections alike.
The result is another highly recommended story that blends occult fiction and fantasy with a special Southern flavor.
Like a mint julep, it lingers on the tongue and in the mind. For the reader of Southern fiction and occult suspense stories, you only need a porch rocking chair to complete the atmosphere.
Donovan Literary Review
Stitches In Time
The Blanchard Witches: Stitches in Time continues the story introduced in Prodigal Daughters, starting where the last story left off—with the disappearance of family member Beryl. This third book in the series expands family relationships and realizations as the witches go on a journey that tests both their paranormal abilities and their survival.
The current leader of the coven, Artemis, finds her edict to guide the family greatly challenged by forces both within and outside its circle as more members vanish before their eyes and the entire family structure is threatened. Everything is about to change.
Micah House cultivates an undertone of discovery which traverses generational differences and individual abilities alike. Readers may not expect the time travel component which intersects with family lives and experiences, but this adds to the paranormal fantasy to create a vivid timeline of unexpected connections, family secrets, and intrigue solidly rooted in Southern traditions and culture.
These revelations, in turn, encourage thought-provoking assessments of powers and their underlying influences: "How could she be expected to police thought. A person couldn’t help what thoughts crossed their mind. But she’d been thinking about it lately and had come to the conclusion that the thought itself wasn’t the catalyst, it was her speaking the thought which turned it into a spell."
As further details about the Blanchard family unfold, prior series readers will especially appreciate the time taken to evolve further inter-generational connection. An attempted rescue via time travel creates a deadly repetitive cycle that traps a would-be savior in a fatal loop of past and present conundrums. The Blanchard family's incarnation through various timelines evolves a delightful foray into possibilities that are affected by choice, motive, and unexpected revelations.
Readers of paranormal fiction will find this latest addition to the Blanchard family saga a riveting story that's hard to put down and impossible to predict.
Excited to announce
THE BLANCHARD WITCHES OF DAIHMLER COUNTY
won the Distinguished Favorite Award for Supernatural Thriller!
And also thrilled to announce
THE BLANCHARD WITCHES OF DAIHMLER COUNTY
also won a National Indie Excellence Award for Cross Genre!
reader reviews
If you enjoy witches and werewolves, Micah House has created a world of fun for you. These are not the witches of Macbeth, although at one point they do stir up a pot of magic brew. Rather, they are cosmopolitan witches—a loving, tight-knit family struggling with everyday problems and occasional life crises. Some of them also face the struggle of when to use supernatural powers and when using them is inappropriate. The Blanchard family is helpful to their community in Daihmler County. One is a doctor and has the power of healing via touch. Another, a veterinarian who talks to her animal patients and is therefore better able to help them. One of the witches can use her powers to see the events at crime scenes and is on-call for difficult cases. This family includes some non-witches, as well. The love that binds them is strong and wholesome, and they join together frequently to help solve one another’s problems. Even a witch who has been punished by the witches’ council and must spend her life as a shadow gliding around the Blanchard-home’s walls, is accepted and loved. But, when it seems a werewolf or two have appeared in town, the Blanchards must use all their knowledge, instincts, courage, supernatural powers and skills to right the world and save the community from at least one savage serial killer. There are a large number of characters in this novel, but don’t let this intimidate you. The author does a good job of reminding the reader of relationships between his characters, even as the book progresses. This is a sweet, playful book. I look forward to reading the rest of this series.
Inside Cover Art
My cover artist, Paul Palmer-Edwards is a genius with the Blanchard books cover art. However, inside the fronts of each books he also created Rune Stones which are all story-specific to each installment of The Blanchard series. I just felt like including these on this site because he always amazes me with his ingenious concepts. Once you read each book and then go back to the rune symbol, you discover he has pretty much summarized each story with its individualized rune.
