It's Day #3 for our Resistance Character Quest. Today we are so happy to welcome Clara to the blog.

Clara's Bio: Guardian in Homer’s clan. Clara is outspoken and determined, which sometimes leads to trouble.  She loves playing Scrabble with Jeremy though she pretends she doesn’t. And while she always says exactly what she means, she often keeps the most important things to herself.

Welcome, Clara! It's so great to have you with us today. We hope you don't SHIELD yourself too much!

What’s your favorite movie?

My favorite movie is Pride and Prejudice. My favorite film version is the one with Matthew McFadyen as Mr. Darcy and Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennett. I can’t help it. I’m really a romantic at heart. But don’t tell Jeremy. He’ll tease me to no end.

In history, who inspires you the most?

Queen Elizabeth I really inspires me. She was a powerful woman in a man’s world. It would’ve taken great courage to accomplish all she did in trying to bring her country together. She wasn’t a perfect leader or person. Who is? But she was intelligent, beautiful, and brave. I admire that very much.

What do you like most about Gabe? Least?

He is determined, strong, loyal, and caring. He also looks awesome in blue jeans and a t-shirt. J What bothers me is when he gets tunnel vision about things and doesn’t listen to what I’m saying. He might hear me, but he’s not listening, if that makes any sense.

In your Setti clan, who is the most difficult to live with and why?

Oh, Jeremy is the most difficult. No contest. He’s such a scamp. He’s always stirring things up and getting Ben all bent out of shape. Honestly though, I love the guy to death. He’s the brother I never had. I imagine a brother would pick on me just as badly as he does, too.

Describe your most perfect guy.

He would be handsome, compassionate, confident and loyal. He would be a good listener, a leader, attentive but not jealous, and he would be someone who fights for what they want in life.

Thanks for stopping by and chatting with us, Clara. It was great having you here!

You can buy a copy of Resistance at the follow sites: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Stop by tomorrow to have a little meet and great with Jeremy. We promise, you won't be disappointed!

Please visit these blogs to show your support:

1.      Brooke DelVecchio The Cover Contessa: http://thecovercontessa.blogspot.com/

2.      Rebekah Campbell Reflections of a Bookworm: http://reflectivebookworm.blogspot.com/

3.      Amanda Cowley Blog: http://amandaleighcowley.blogspot.com/

4.      Christina M Condy  Blog: http://www.recentread.com/

5.      Bethany/YA Vixens: http://yavixens.blogspot.com

6.      Rhomy Blog: http://iknowthatbook.wordpress.com/

7.      Soma/ Insomnia of Books  Blog: http://insomnia-of-books.blogspot.com/

8.      Marni Jarman/Word to Dreams: http://wordtodreams.blogspot.com/p/contact-me.html

9.      Helena Ison/Accepted Wisdom: http://icanonlybehele3.blogspot.com

10.   Stephanie Judice/ A Writer’s Rest Stop: http://stephaniejudice.blogspot.com/ 

Welcome to day #2 of the Resistance Character Quest! We are fortunate to have with us today a really "BRIGHT" guy, his name is Ben.

Ben's Bio: Light-bearer in Homer’s clan. Ben is an all-American boy who sees life through optimistic, glass-half-full lenses. Nothing annoys him. Well, except for Jeremy. Favorite hobbies? Eating!

Now that we know a little bit more about Ben, let's see what he has to say in answer to our most pressing questions, shall we?

Thanks so much for being here with us today, Ben! It's gonna be great having you ENLIGHTEN us about who you are!

What was your favorite subject in high school?


P.E. I love running. I like to watch the girls run, too.

What do you miss most about life before the Reapers came?

Smoothie King, McDonald’s French fries, and Seinfeld reruns. Oh, yeah. And sleeping late on Saturday mornings. And my mom’s chocolate-chip pancakes. . . and my dad’s famous barbeque ribs.


What is your most embarrassing moment?

That would have to be the 9th grade “Back to School” dance at Beau Chêne High School. Gabe and I went and met up with our friends Mark and Zack in the school gym where the dance was.

I got thirsty so I went to get some punch. Mel was there, standing by herself in a yellow dress, I remember. She had started to kind of hang out with us at school, but I didn’t know her that well back then. She looked kind of lonesome, and I wanted to talk to her. I took one of the canned cokes on ice, fumbled with it on the table, then offered it to her.

I’ll never forget I said, “You look like you could use this.” When she opened the tab, coke fizzed and sprayed all over her yellow dress. At first, she was really mad. Her eyebrows scrunched up the way they do now when she gets mad. But after I said I was sorry about a hundred times, she was so nice about it. She’s always really nice about things like that, when I screw up or whatever.


In your Setti clan, who is the most difficult to live with and why?

Dude, are you kidding me? It’s Jeremy! He’s so freakin’ annoying sometimes—always giving me a hard time and stuff. But I know that’s just the way he is. Some people operate like that, because they don’t know how to just be cool, ya know?


When did you realize you were “different”?

Hmm. Am I different? When I realized I was a Setti, Gabe and the rest of my friends realized they were, too. So I wasn’t any different from them. We were sort of all the same, so I never

Thanks so much for stopping by with us today, Ben.

If you would like to buy a copy of Resistance, you can do so at the links listed here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Tune in tomorrow to find out a little about Clara and hear what she has to say to us!
Please visit these other blogs to show your support:

1.      Brooke DelVecchio The Cover Contessa: http://thecovercontessa.blogspot.com/

2.      Rebekah Campbell Reflections of a Bookworm: http://reflectivebookworm.blogspot.com/

3.      Amanda Cowley Blog: http://amandaleighcowley.blogspot.com/

4.      Christina M Condy  Blog: http://www.recentread.com/

5.      Bethany/YA Vixens: http://yavixens.blogspot.com

6.      Rhomy Blog: http://iknowthatbook.wordpress.com/

7.      Soma/ Insomnia of Books  Blog: http://insomnia-of-books.blogspot.com/

8.      Marni Jarman/Word to Dreams: http://wordtodreams.blogspot.com/p/contact-me.html

9.      Helena Ison/Accepted Wisdom: http://icanonlybehele3.blogspot.com

10.   Stephanie Judice/ A Writer’s Rest Stop: http://stephaniejudice.blogspot.com/ 

Character Quest: 7 Layers Deep

I'm very excited to be participating in the release blast of my friend  and author Stephanie Judice's latest book Resistance: Saga of the Setti Book 2. If you haven't read the first book in this series, Rising: Saga of the Setti Book 1, run, do not walk, and get yourself a copy!

Title: Resistance (Saga of the Setti Book Two)

Publication Date: October 15, 2012

Publisher: StudioKae Publishers

Buying links: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

The world is covered in darkness. A constant gray pall reminds the Setti that reapers are still here—watching, waiting, hunting. Gabe, Clara, and their clan must leave the relative safety of Beau Chêne, Louisiana, in order to train with others gathering in the north. No one knows what lurks when night falls. Yet, Gabe and Clara both know that they must chance the danger in order to fulfill a dark destiny.
While Gabe grows in confidence, Clara begins to doubt everything, including her feelings for Gabe. Looming between them is a growing chasm. Clara’s constant defiance against Gabe begins to sever the bond between them. New clansman and fellow Guardian, Michael, steps in all too willingly to take Gabe’s place as her confidant and more. Good-looking and self-assured, Clara finds his charms difficult to resist. She wonders why she should resist at all.
Jessie, now a shadow scout, defies the reapers’ malevolent power. She reaches out to Clara, yearning for the impossible—to be free of the reapers’ enslavement.
Beyond Clara’s battle to save a lost loved one and to keep Gabe close to her heart, another threat stirs, whispering to Clara in the dark. Something evil hunts her. Will she listen to the one who calls to her in nightmares and eventually finds her in the flesh? Will she succumb to his will or will she cling to her human soul and her human heart?

Every day this week, you will be introduced to one of the wonderful characters from this series via a bio and then a short interview! So make sure you come back every day to learn more and more about these awesome characters.

Today, we are lucky enough to have Melanie with us!

Mel's Bio: HEALER for Homer’s clan.  Mel is kind-hearted, patient, and wise. Her feathers are rarely ruffled, except when the boys behave too much like “boys.” She is the glue of her Setti clan.

Now that you know just a bit about Mel, let's see what she has to say in answer to a few questions!

Melanie, thanks so much for being with us today. We are excited to have you here to answer a few of our most pressing questions! We hope you can CURE our curiosity.

1. What was your favorite subject in high school?

I liked Math the most, because I like it when problems have a definite solution. On the other hand, I also love English because stories and literature can teach us so much about life.

2. Who inspires you the most and why?

Helen Keller is truly one of my heroes. How someone can be born without sound or sight and still find a way not simply to communicate, but to teach the world such lovely, wise things is amazing to me. She once said, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched—they must be felt with the heart.” And this is so true, isn’t it?

Another thing that keeps coming to mind lately, since our world has changed into this bleak and sometimes lonely place, are these words of Helen Keller’s: “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” No matter what is in store for us in the future, no matter how desolate and dark things become, we must remember

the wisdom of this woman who lived her whole life in the dark.

3. In your Setti clan, who is the most difficult to live with and why?

I would have to say it is a tie between Jeremy and Ben. For some reason, those two love to push each other’s buttons, and sometimes it is so tiresome to listen to their tedious arguments back and forth. However, for the most part, it is not difficult living with my friends at all. I treasure each one of them for their special gifts and for their devoted friendship. They are a family to me.

4. What’s a quote that would represent your philosophy on life?

“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.” –Mark Twain

5. If you could have a theme song, what would it be?

Interesting, because Jeremy has asked me the same question so many times, and I refuse to give him an answer. But I will tell you.

My Gram used to play these old records when I was little. Yes, actual records on a record-player if you know what those are. And I think one song has seeped into my subconscious. “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong really reflects how I see the world. I wish everyone did, even now, with our future so precarious. It still is a wonderful world.

Mel, thanks so much for stopping by the blog today. It was a lot of fun having you here!

Stop by again tomorrow as we welcome Ben to the blog to let us in on some of his most intimate secrets!

Climbing the UK paranormal charts...

Hello! How are you all? I know, I know, I've been a very neglectful little blogger. There just doesn't seem to be enough minutes in the day to fit everything in - what with my 'proper job', and writing, and not neglecting hubby and kids, and the new dog-sitting business and ... ahem ... probably my biggest hurdle - my little procrastination habit!

But I am making progress. I'm just shy of 50K words into book two in the Soul Protector series, 'The Betrayal.' The good thing is I've been editing as I go along, so once I finish writing, it will already be about the fourth and final draft! I realised I haven't shared the cover mock-up on here yet - so voila! I need to play around with the title and my name to make them stand out a bit more and then I'm good to go!

Also, I wanted to share some happy news about the first book in the series. For the past six weeks, Soul Protector has been sitting in the Amazon UK Paranormal charts, (woo hoo), peaking at #22 this week. I'm getting a bit obsessed with checking the ranking ... it gives me such a buzz. I'm making the most of it, because I know at any minute it will probably crash back out, but it's been a blast seeing my book up there with people like Charlaine Harris and Amanda Hocking. Also, I've made more money this month (on Amazon UK) than I have in the past ten months. I'm not talking shedloads; I'm a long way from giving up the day job, but we can all dream...

Oh, a random fact for you. Soul Protector has ended up in '1001 First Lines' by Scarlett Archer. I'm not sure if Scarlett thinks my first line is great, or if she thinks it's a rubbish one... But still, it's nice to be mentioned :)

Must dash. Hope you all have a productive day and an amazing weekend!

Original Sin - fun, games and giveaways!

Hi everyone, just wanted to bring you some news and give you a link to some fun, games and freebies.

Author pal, Samantha Towle, has just released her latest book - Original Sin. It's the second book in the Alexandra Jones series.

The first book in the series - First Bitten - is currently riding high in the Amazon charts, and is getting great reviews. (I'm halfway through myself and can vouch it's excellent - one of those book you can't read quick enough!).

To celebrate the release of Original Sin, Samantha is having fun, games and giveaways over on her facebook page today, so I recommend you pop round for a visit! Click here: Books by Samantha Towle

First Bitten blurb: 

A love story with bite …...

Walking home after a night out drowning her sorrows with her best friend, Carrie, Alexandra Jones stupidly takes a phone call from her cheating ex-boyfriend, Eddie, and in her anger hurls her phone into the forest before her.

But when Alex goes to retrieve her phone from the undergrowth, she and Carrie come face-to-face with a monster they never even knew existed, a Vârcolac (a nightmarish vampire-werewolf hybrid) and he's in search of fresh blood. The next thing Alex knows, she is staring at the impossibly handsome but mysterious Nathan who has helped bring her back to life, but not to the life she left.

To her horror, she discovers she has now become a blood-drinking Vârcolac herself and she is the only female of her kind, with the potential for breeding a whole new army of Vârcolacs if they can only track her down and press her into service.

And while Alex gets to know Nathan and his shape-shifting family as they offer her the protection she so desperately needs, unbeknown to all of them, the Vârcolacs are getting closer …

First Bitten on Amazon.com
First Bitten on Amazon.co.uk

Original Sin blurb: 

Original Sin is book two in the Alexandra Jones series, the sequel to First Bitten.

Alex has run. Leaving everything she knows and loves … Nathan, behind. She’s a fugitive; hiding from the Original Vârcolacs who want to claim her for themselves.

Hiding in Italy, she has changed her identity and her appearance; working in a coffee shop in the quiet town of Sassano.

Then Zeff steps into her life. He’s solid, sturdy, but more so he’s human – he’s someone real, tangible, a friend throwing her a lifeline in a world of loneliness.

Believing she's safe from attack, nothing prepares Alex for what's lurking in the woods, on her doorstep, intoxicating her into a web of control and deceit.

Danger is closer than her shadow ... the hunt is on again, forcing Alex into the hardest dilemma yet.

Original Sin on Amazon.com
Original Sin on Amazon.co.uk

Guest Blog - Meet the Characters (First Five Chapters)

Character Interview - Grace Connors from the Paradox Series - Guest blogger Julia Crane

Let me start out by saying that Patti Roberts is 

one of my favorite young adult authors. 

Not only is she a phenomenal writer, she is truly 

a giving person. She is always friendly and willing 

to lend a helping hand. I’m not sure how I 

stumbled across the first book in her series, but 

I’m glad I did. 

I fell in love with Patti’s writing and her characters. 

The below interview takes place with one of the 

main characters from the Paradox series at the 

age of 14. In book two—which I just finished—

Grace is now 16, and I am anxiously awaiting the third book.

Julia Crane - Blog

If you would like to check out Paradox Patti is one authors of First 5 Chapters – Volume 1.

This ebook will give you the opportunity to discover & read the first 5 chapters from 6 new Authors in the very 
popular YA – Fantasy – Paranormal genre. Amazon Only .99 or Smashwords Free!

Good morning Grace, it a pleasure to have you with us today

Thank you, it is nice to be here.

We know it’s been difficult for you and your mother Kate, since your father died. 
How are things going now? Is Kate eating and sleeping normally? 

Oh mum is fine now, we both are.  At first I wasn’t sure if either of us was going to make it – or if we even 

wanted too.  I was so young, eleven, and I felt so lost without my dad.  But with the help of my amazing friends 

Josh and Angela, life has been, well different, but good.  And I never thought I would be able to say that.  I know 

that mum  is really grateful that Wade has been here  – for the both of us.  He is like a surrogate dad.  My dad 

would really have liked him.  When I was little, I used to close my eyes and pretend that my dad was still there.  

That Wade was my dad.

Angela has become your best friend and you admit 
she is a bit odd. Have you ever talked to her about 
her strange behaviour? And do you ever feel 
frustrated by the things she says? 

 At first I did – not that I had any friends to compare her with!  Other 

than Patrick who died so young, Angela was my first real friend.  

Then of course Josh came along… He had a huge crush on Angela

 – he still does!  I was never frustrated by Angela.  Surprised, yes – 

often!  Angela has this special way about her that makes it 

impossible for me not to want to be around her.  And Josh, well he is 

just like a brother.

Do you think your match making efforts with Angela 
will ever work? 

Okay, well that is frustrating!!!  Here is this great guy who just 
adores her to bits and it’s like she just doesn’t get it!  I would do 
anything to have a boyfriend that loved me like that!

 Tell us a little more about Josh? 

Josh is adorable – I could hug him to death.  Mum calls us the three musketeers’, Angela, Josh, and I.   Josh 
is so great, he would make a wonderful knight in shining armour.  And he always makes me make me laugh.   
Not Angela though.  But then no one can make Angela laugh…  Dad would have called her an old soul in a 
young body.

Most children and many adults want a Guardian Angel or an imaginary friend. So I 
was shocked to learn that you sent Hope away when you needed her the most. Hope 
was part of your life for over three years; do you still remember her? and do you miss her?  

Hope was just a dream, an imaginary friend.  I know that now.  Mum needed me.  She used to say that I just 
made Hope up when I was little because I didn’t have any real friends.  Hope sure felt real at times though, 
and dad even used to play along.  He made us both swords when we used to play dress-ups for one of my 
favourite movies The Lord Of The Rings.   I would love to have a real Guardian Angel, that would be great!

Eleven is very young to have to care for an adult when your mother should have been caring for you. We understand she was grieving, but you were so young, 
do you feel robbed of your childhood because of the 
way your mother reacted after your father died? 

 It was a sad and weird time.  I missed dad so much but I was more 

afraid of what would happen to me if mum died too. I used to have 

such vivid dreams about losing both my parents. So just having mum 

there, in any condition, was good enough for me.  And then there was 

Wade, so…

The visions you have are certainly intense, how 
much of these do you remember and can you see 
a connection to your current life?

At the time I have my visions or dreams – I’m really not sure what they 

are – but they always feel so real – like they really happened.  But I 

don’t think they are connected to my real life.  I read somewhere that 

dreams are just your mind trying to make sense of random thoughts 

you have throughout the day.   Maybe I just have a vivid imagination.

What is Darwin like? I have always wanted to visit but it seems like another world 
away.  
Darwin is really great.  I like living here.  Not that I have ever lived anywhere else.  It will always be my home too me.  

Some people don’t like the heat and the rain that much.  Well okay, it does get hot sometimes but I don’t mind, 

I’m used to it.  And the rain, well that can be smothering at times but I really love the thunder storms – they are 

kind of amazing and scary but at the same time they are powerful – energizing!  That does that sound weird?

Wade has been very helpful and supportive. Do you 
think he is falling in love with your mother? 

 When I was little things like that never crossed my mind.  My 

mother wasn’t capable of loving anyone other than my dad.  But now, 

well sometimes I think it would be kind of cool.  She shouldn’t have 

to be alone for the rest of her life.  And sometimes Wade reminds me 

so much of my dad that they could be related.  Like they are brothers 

or something…

Are you still a vegetarian?  

Oh yes, ever since I saw those cows being slaughtered at the abattoir 
I have never been able to eat red meat ever since.  It was just so 
horrible, and the smell…  I feel sick just thinking about it.  I really like 
fish though.

Thanks for talking with us today Grace,

Thank you, it has been fun.  Easiest homework ever…  Well kind of homework.  

Everyone starting high school has to do these interview 

type assignments for the new student councilor, Miss Siena Cintra.  

She is so pretty and I wished I had hair like that.

About the Author

Name - Patti Roberts

Location Cairns Queensland Australia.

On any given day you can usually find me sitting at my desk in 

front of my laptop pounding away at the keys writing another 

chapter in the Paradox series. That would be a run of the mill 

kinda day for me!

A packet of Cruskits and a water bottle, that is now at room temperature, is sitting on the desk beside me. There is also a 

mass of USB cables, notepads, bills to be paid, bills to be filed 

a bunch of pens and a printer that is forever running out of ink. 

Sound familiar.

On most days I have to remind myself to eat and drink. I Should be thinner!!!

I am sure my housemates are very thankful that I still manage (usually at some ungodly hour) to bathe, brush 

my hair and clean my teeth.

I don’t know about you. But I am usually mortified when visitors just pop around, only to find me sitting at my 
desk and still in my PJ’s. I don’t even want to broach the hair situation! Did I remember to put last nights dishes away???

Now, they say to be a good writer, you must read, read, read. Then read some more…

Thankfully, due to the invention of the electronic reader (I have a kindle and love it) I get to read more these 
days. Correction… I have my kindle read to me! The only thing is, I have so many great books on my kindle that
it is so hard to know where to start. So many choices.

A little more about me… And how you can contact me.

Born in Brisbane Qld Australia.
Grew up in Darwin in the NT.
Now living in Cairns Qld.  Where the Rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Paradox-Series/150822348341990?sk=wall

Blog: http://theangelsarehere.wordpress.com/readers-questions-answered/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/PattiRoberts7

Thank you to all those souls that have read my book – you make my day!

PS: If you are thinking about popping a round for a coffee, that might be nice. But please give me a quick call 

first so I can brush my hair and smear a bit of colour across my lips.

Magic Eye Video

This first picture is not the Magic Eye - please don't waste time trying to see it. This is the beautiful Winter wonderland outside my window.

My kids and I were thrilled to see snow falling again last night, although hubbie was a bit grumpy, as it interferes with his work. Youngest son was awake early checking the school closures website, and was gutted to find his school was open today. At least he was happy to wrap up warm for his (short) walk to school. But it was a full-on battle to get oldest son - who has a cold - to wear the right gear for his twenty minute walk. Apparently it's not cool to wear a coat at secondary school... And when I suggested wellies, he actually laughed. The youth of today, eh :o/  Hopefully he'll find the dry socks I shoved in his bag when he wasn't looking.

As for me; I'm staying in the warm, writing, getting through my work chores and hoping there will be time for sledging and snowball fights later... that is if I can actually move around in my thermals, big coat, scarf, gloves, hand-warmers and thick socks... 

Now, here's the Magic Eye, and it's a video one; the first I've ever seen. Enjoy! (It does look like interference, but keep looking and you should see him, right in the centre of the picture).

I

Have a fab weekend everyone!

Introducing... Stephanie Judice

I'm thrilled to be able to introduce you to talented author, Stephanie Judice. Stephanie resides in Louisiana, USA, and is the author of the YA novel, RISING (Saga of the Setti).

On a personal note, Rising is one of the first books I read on my Kindle, and I can't recommend it highly enough.


The book's video trailer is included after the interview below.

Amazon.com
Facebook
Website

BOOK EXCERPT: I stepped steadily through an endless field of sugar cane in a haze of night fog.  I’d been here before in this eternal nightmare.  Knowing I wouldn’t wake up until I saw them, I walked on.  I gripped the cold, black stone in my palm, disturbed by its familiar presence.  The stone was always there in this nightmare, freezing my palm till it burned.  I never knew what it was or why I held it, but there was deep power in it.  Something compelled me to move on.  The thin blades of cane sliced my exposed skin.  The row of green stalks lashed at my arms and bare chest as I pushed my way farther into the field ahead.  Abruptly, the cane field ended.  I found myself standing alone at the edge of a brackish swamp.  Pain seared through every vein in my body, pulsating from the burning stone in my hand.  I stood still, staring into the darkness.  A storm was brewing.  Lightning flashed, revealing cypress trees bending in the wind and waves of rippling black water.  I held the stone tightly in my fist.  A sudden gust of wind swept across the water.  I stood firm although the gale threatened to topple me.  A whispering, rustling sound began to build.  A streak of purple lightening split the sky.  To my horror, hundreds of ghastly shapes flew toward me.  The whispering was not the wind, but the movement of these creatures drawing closer.  I was frozen to the spot, doomed to watch them advance.  Another flash of lightening.  One of the creatures hovered right in front of me.  At first, I thought it wore a sleek, gray cloak, then realized instantly that it was not cloth, but wings that fluttered with every breath of wind.  A sheet of ashen skin hung in tatters over its skeletal body.  Its cloak-like wings were dry, cracked and frayed at the edges.  What horrified me most about the monster was the lack of any facial features at all, except for a black, gaping hole for a mouth.  It hissed once then inhaled deeply.  I felt excruciating pain, like needles pricking along every surface of my skin.  I looked down at my chest, which began to break like glass.  My skin literally shattered into tiny shards and pulled away from my body. The creature inhaled again, sucking the pieces toward its mouth.  Instinctually, I pressed the black stone to its head.  Piercingly, the creature screamed as smoke rose from seared ghastly flesh, then—

Q&A

What/who inspired you to write?

From as early as I can remember, I’ve been in love with stories and lost in my own imagination. I even remember my 1^st grade teacher Ms. Newman writing on every report card that I “daydreamed too much.” Little did I know this “flaw” would eventually flourish into writing my own stories.

It was not until 10^th grade when my English teacher asked the class to write a creative short story where I first realized my deep love for this craft.  I have been writing ever since.

What is your writing process/when do you find the time?

Well, Ms. Newman was right. I daydream too much. Any spare moment I have to wander away inside my own in my head, while driving to work or fetching kids, I think about my characters and things they will do.  I spend countless hours just thinking about things they would say or just observing nature and considering how it would fit into the imagery of my stories.

Because I’m a teacher, wife, and mother of four, I have to snatch any moment I can to put the words down that float around in my head during daytime.  Usually, it’s late at night when the house is quiet and still that I get my best writing done.

Any triumphs/eureka moments?

I’m not sure if this counts as a “eureka” moment, but there’s one thing that has helped me in the process of writing this series. I’ve given myself permission to write any part of the story when the inspiration comes upon me, no matter that it may not fit into the series until later on.  Inspired pieces shouldn’t be ignored because you’re not chronologically there yet.  For example, I have a rather bewitching scene for Book Two that was written nearly two years ago. And, on the way to work last week, I watched a rather magnificent sunrise pushing back gray clouds to reveal pinks and purples illuminating the landscape. I wrote the final page of the final book (Book Five) for my Saga of the Setti series that very day. Sometimes, it’s important to get the words down and make them fit into a sequential pattern later. I’ve discovered that the inspiration must not be ignored and put off until later. Snatch the words from your mind and keep them for when they’re needed.

What advice would you give someone wanting to write their first book?

Be patient.  The process is long and requires patience in every stage. Be patient with your writing, your editing, the publishing process, and the marketing process. I’ve discovered that being an author isn’t about finishing and producing a product then wiping your hands with a glorious, “It’s finished. I did it.” While there are moments of pride in your work and what you’ve accomplished, being an author is a never-ending process that requires patience all along the way. Just enjoy the ride. 

Thanks for stopping by, Stephanie. And don't take too long with that next book, I can't wait...