Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Interview with author Wanda Wiltshire

Posted by Paranormalangelblog at Wednesday, May 14, 2014 0 comments

Paranormal angel blog has been lucky enough to have the chance to interview one of my favorite author's Wanda Wiltshire.

Wanda is the author of the beautiful fae series Betrothed. The second book in the series Allegiance will be released in July this year. See below for a link to a sneak preview of Allegiance.

Interview

Welcome Wanda,

Thank you for taking the time to be a part of my blog.

No problem, Kylie. Thanks for having me.

Where did the idea/concept for Betrothed come from?

Betrothed is literally the answer to a prayer. I was going through a rough time a few years ago – the kind of time that makes you question the meaning of life. These questions eventually led me to the realization that I must be here for a purpose. I had no idea what that purpose was, so I asked. ‘What am I here for?’ Three little words popped into my head. ‘Write a book.’ All day, these words were on a loop in my mind. But not only did I feel unequal to the task, I didn’t have a clue what to write a book about! So that night I went to bed and prayed for an idea. The next morning, as I was waking, Betrothed slipped into my mind. I got up, raced to the computer and started writing.

The characters in Betrothed are each very distinct in personality. Are they based on people you know?

No, my characters are real people in themselves – to me anyway. They came in to my life complete. And like meeting someone new, it was only through spending time with them that I got to know them. Sometimes if I want to know something about one or other of them, I will ask a question – just like I would with any other person. For example, ‘Leif, when you were a boy, what was your favourite thing to do?’ ‘I loved to play tricks on my father. He was always so grave and distant. Of course the price was often high, but it was always worth it.’

 
When you wrote Betrothed did you originally plan for it to become a 7 book series or were you expecting it to be shorter?

Right from the start, I knew the beginning and the end of Marla’s story. However, as I’ve written her story, more and more details have been revealed to me. In that way the series has grown. At first I thought her adventures might fill two books. Slowly that grew to three then four, then six. Through all of this, the ending has remained unchanged. The seventh book will be a prequel.

Are you surprised by the anticipation and support that Allegiance, the second book in the series has?

What I’ve found with Betrothed is that the people who love it, really, really love it! I can’t say I’m surprised they are looking forward to finding out what happens next in Marla’s story. Betrothed did end at a crucial moment, and I know if I were a reader I’d be keen to know! I’m actually really happy with Allegiance; I just hope Betrothed’s fans will love it too! I’m quite nervous about it actually.
 

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I think there are multiple messages and themes running through the Betrothed series. Whether or not the reader takes something from them will always be an individual thing. But ultimately the message I would like each of my readers to take home from the series is that in the end, nothing is greater than love.

Can you share a little of what we can expect from future books in this series? 

My readers can expect to spend a lot more time in Faera learning about this beautiful but challenging world. They can expect to laugh and cry and be taken on a journey full of surprises and adventure. They can expect to feel deeply, and ultimately come away from the series, completely satisfied.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

Hmm, this is a difficult question because I love so many. When I read I want to be swept into the story and I want my emotions stirred. I want to not only see the world, but to be taken there quickly and become part of it. Anne Rice is one author who gives me all of this. Her writing is beautiful and passionate and soul-deep. And her characters are all so unique – each a wonderful mix of weakness and strength, beauty and flaw – always redeemable. This to me is real, even if the main characters are ancient vampires!

Who designed the covers?

The talented team at Xou Creative.

What does your writing process look like?

Very much like building a person from the inside out! If you want to read more, you can check out my writing process on my blog.

http://wandawiltshire.wordpress.com/2014/02/23/my-writing-process/

If you could cast your characters in the Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters?

In my mind, there is only one Leif – and I saw him (or his doppelganger at least) when I was out for dinner with a friend on the Gold Coast last year. For years I had been searching for him – unable to find an actor who even came close. My friend and I pretty much spotted him at the same time. We looked at each other – all wide eyes and dropping jaws! “Leif,” we whispered together. At any moment I expected him to pop brilliant white wings from his back! But the really strange thing was that he was working behind a bar with two others who were exceptional Jack and Marla lookalikes! We took photos of the three and learned their names and if I was at liberty to reveal them, you would be very surprised!

How important are names to you in your books?
Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning?

The names are very important and all of my main characters came to me already named. I couldn’t have changed them even if I’d wanted to! The name Marla is meaningful to me on a personal level and the name Leif – after a quick play with the letters – spells Life. That didn’t occur to me until years later when someone pointed it out to me when Betrothed was published.

What do you consider to be your best accomplishment? 

Definitely writing, ‘The end’ on my first manuscript. I can’t express what a wonderful feeling that was. I don’t think I stopped smiling that day because I didn’t really believe I could do it!

Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad? 

Marla’s story is so close to my heart that if I come across a review of Betrothed I must read it. If it’s positive, I can’t help but respond because it’s such a wonderful connecting experience. The readers who write these lovely reviews adore Betrothed and can’t wait to know what happens next. Many of them end up coming to my FB page to chat about all things Betrothed and writing – which I love! A negative review on the other hand is a disconnecting experience. This is where the writer and reader part ways. So there would be no point in responding to such a review. My advice would be if you must read this type of review, try not to dwell on it.

What is your least favorite part of the publishing / writing process?

That’s easy – editing!

Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it?

No one subject in particular, but I wouldn’t write about anything too overtly gruesome or depressing. I can’t even read this type of stuff let alone write it!

Is there a certain type of scene that's harder for you to write than others?

Action scenes don’t come as naturally to me as many other scenes. So these are more difficult and take longer to write than others. I really need to immerse myself in these scenes and visualize what’s happening. I continually ask myself questions. What happens next? How does that look? How does it feel? How can I make it worse? How can I make it better?

What is something you want to accomplish before you die? 

I would like to have raised all of my children to adulthood and see the publication of the whole of the Betrothed series. (And a few other books I have in my head.)

If you could have any accents from anywhere in the world, what would you choose? 

I love watching good adaptations of Jane Austen novels because of the beautiful old English accents. I imagine my fae speak in similar accents.

Thank you so much again

Thanks so much for having me, Kylie!!

Profile

Wanda Wiltshire has long been a lover of reading and writing.

As  a child she was often found spellbound with a novel stashed beneath her desk or tucked between the pages of her geography book.  Alternatively she could be found sketching or penning poetry during maths and science lessons.

Wanda has also always been an incurable dreamer, her school reports a testament to her pastime of staring out of classroom windows.

But now she is long grown and finally found her passion for writing novels, Wanda puts her daydreaming to good use, spending many long and satisfying moments gazing across the sea cavorting with fairies and other magical creatures as she develops scenes and storylines for her latest work.

Betrothed is the first in Wanda’s young adult fantasy series.

It  is the exciting story of a girl caught between two worlds — Earth and the enchanting land of Faera. 

Books

Betrothed


The first in an enchanting faery series by Wanda Wiltshire

Amy Smith has always known she was different. Severe allergies, fragile health and taunts at school have made life an endurance test for the adopted seventeen year old.

When Amy starts having strange dreams, everything changes. Night after night, she becomes trapped in a shroud of black - a void of silence but for a male voice calling for a girl named ‘Marla’.

One night, the darkness clears, Leif is revealed and Amy discovers that she is the girl he has been searching for.

Immediately the two are swept up in a passionate yet forbidden love. Leif isn’t like the other boys Amy knows. Breathtakingly gorgeous, he speaks with her telepathically … not to mention, he can fly …

Desperate to find a way to be with her, Leif tells Amy of the terrifying threat to his Fae homeland, the danger to the people, and of an unforgivable betrayal to his King. He urges her to seek her true identity…. But Amy is confused... isn't it all just a dream?

http://www.panterapress.com.au/shop/product/561/4/betrothed

Allegiance

Darkness. Two Worlds. Three Loves.

The Betrothed Series Continues.

Having returned home, Marla seems to quickly forget her Faery Prince, Leif... And strangely, she starts seeing her best friend Jack in a different way...

Tensions mount within this doomed love triangle after Leif, unwilling to part with his betrothed, strikes a deal with his father, the fiery King Telophy, to travel to Earth to win Marla back.

Meanwhile in the enchanting land of Faera, more and more of King Telophy’s subjects are vanishing – victims of a shadowy presence. 

Leif flies back to to Faera, with Marla and Jack to help vanquish this deadly threat.

Shifting shadows, bonds of blood, and with their lives in danger … Marla is conflicted, relying on both Leif and Jack for support. 

But who will she choose? 

And can the three save Faera in time?

Coming Soon

Allegiance - there's an extract. If you read it let me know what you think!
http://www.panterapress.com.au/shop/product/681/61/allegiance

Dont forget to follow Wanda on face book to stay up to date.

https://www.facebook.com/wandawiltshireauthor?ref=hl

Monday, May 12, 2014

Dreams of God of Monsters (Daughter of Smoke &Bone, #3)by Laini Taylor

Posted by Paranormalangelblog at Monday, May 12, 2014 0 comments

synopsis

By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy. 

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

Review

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil pressed their hands to their hearts and started the apocalypse.

The third and final book in the series see the story hit the ground running with the arrival of  Jael and his army in  St Peter's Basilica, Rome.  Though the world's population it torn by what to make of the  situation. Akiva and Karou know that Jael and his minions pose nothing less than a threat to both Earth and Eretz.
With no choice a alliance between  chimaera and the Misbegotten is the worlds' only hope. 

While Akiva and Karou work side-by-side to save the worlds they love an unknown force threatens Akiva.
The adventure has taken Akiva and Karou from the beginnings in Prague across cities and continents and through two worlds. But will their love and hope be enough.

Fans of the series will not be disappointed with the finale.  An immensely satisfying conclusion to an epic, inventive fantasy and love story.

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil held a wishbone between them.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Clunes book fair

Posted by Paranormalangelblog at Sunday, May 04, 2014 0 comments

Today i went to the clunes book fair in country victoria. This is a book lovers dream . Nearly every shop in clunes had been converted to sell books. Whether it was new, pre loved, or vintage everyone will leave with at least 1 book.

The whole town gets turned into a book shop. Banks, hairdressers, post office and real estate

I picked up a first edition of East of eden and 3 Charles Harris .

If you love to wonder and search for that perfect book then this is for you

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Posted by Paranormalangelblog at Saturday, May 03, 2014 0 comments

First I apologies the lack of reviews lately.  I am currently reading Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #3)by Laini Taylor and review will be coming soon

Thursday, May 1, 2014

The Black Butterfly by Shirley Reva Vernick

Posted by Paranormalangelblog at Thursday, May 01, 2014 0 comments



The Black Butterfly

Penny is furious, and who can blame her? She has to spend Christmas break alone at the Black Butterfly, an old inn at the coldest, bleakest edge of the country—the coast of Maine. This “vacation” is the brainchild of Penny's flaky mother, who's on the other side of the country hunting ghosts. Penny most definitely does not believe in spirits. Or love. Or family.
Until, that is, she discovers two very real apparitions which only she can see…and meets George, the strangely alluring son of the inn's owner…and crashes into some staggering family secrets. If only Ghost Girl didn't want Penny dead. If only George were the tiniest bit open to believing. If only she could tell her mother. Then maybe this could still be a vacation. But it's not. It's a race for her life, her first love, and her sanity.


Shirley Reva Vernick

Shirley has been writing since she learned how to hold a pencil. Her first professional publication, when she was a high school senior, was a pun in Reader’s Digest. The Black Butterfly is her third young adult novel, following the award-winning The Blood Lie and Remember Dippy. Her work has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Salon, Good Housekeeping, and newspapers nationwide.
Shirley is a graduate of Cornell University and an alumna of the Radcliffe Writing Seminars. The first paranormal novel she ever read was Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and it remains one of her favorites. She lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband, two daughters, and two frisky dogs.


Start with an Idea

How one author finds her groove
Shirley Reva Vernick

Ideas are the writer’s lifeblood. You can’t tell a story, after all, unless you have a concept, a purpose for telling it. So where do I get those amorphous and sometimes elusive creatures we call ideas?
For me, the first creative spark usually arrives in the form of a character, or maybe a voice around which a character will eventually congeal. This voice, belonging perhaps to a lost teenager, a frightened child, a desperate angel, or a world-weary ghost, serves as the story’s lynchpin. My job is “simply” to figure out what’s driving that voice. From there, I can determine how to propel the narrative.
The paranormal figures prominently in the storyline for The Black Butterfly, as well as for the novel I’m currently writing. As an author, I’m drawn to the paranormal—that is, phenomena that science can’t currently explain—because it’s so rich in possibilities, so ripe for exploration. Here are some of the questions The Black Butterfly checks out: how do supernatural entities feel about being what they are? How would a nonbeliever respond to undeniable evidence of paranormal activity? What’s the common ground between humans and supernatural beings?
Okay, so I’ve got my characters, both normal and paranormal, and I’ve got my burning questions to investigate, but I still need a plot—you know, action, dialogue, conflict and resolution. And while the element of voice may magically appear in my mind like manna in the desert, the plotting is another matter. It involves more purposeful brainstorming, and for that, I need to mine all my resources.
One abundant source of plot ideas is personal experience, both direct and indirect. That is, things that have happened to me or to people in my circle.  For instance, just like Penny in The Black Butterfly, I had a terrifying experience in water, I wrote a short story that no one in my class understood, and I spent high school collecting quotations. And although I was fortunate to have two loving and present parents, I have friends whose parents were either absent or not all there.
I also get ideas by avidly reading the news, as well as journals and blogs of interest. So while I’ve never seen a ghost myself, I’m familiar with many accounts of people who believe they have. I maintain a special file in my office where I keep copies of intriguing articles.    
What really ties it all together for me is what I call deliberate daydreaming—using my imagination in a focused way throughout the writing process. Mostly this looks like playing the what-if game. What if the daughter of a failed ghost hunter turned out to be the one with the supernatural gift? What if a boy and a girl were falling in love, but their conflicting beliefs about the supernatural were tearing them apart? What if a ghost felt horribly guilty about something he did in life, something he can’t change or fix?
I rarely have the solutions to the what-if conundrums when I first pose them. It’s really up to the characters to figure it out on the page. I have to write the book to learn the answers myself!
As I close, I’d like to fess up that, on a day-to-day basis, my process is not as systematic as this article might make it sound. It doesn’t feel like “step 1: create character,” “step 2: access idea sources,” “step 3: write.” It’s much more fluid and intuitive than that. Characters and plot are ever evolving. Scenes get created, then deleted. Subplots demand further exploration. Moods and motivations change. Plans derail. Someone does something unexpected and wonderful. It’s an unpredictable and thrilling ride, this writing thing, and I can’t get enough of it.   

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