debut novel – S L Hollister, author

Creekside Cafe

A Holiday Visitor to Creekside Cafe

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Sherri

Welcome Lisa Maloney to Creekside Café

Author: Lisa Maloney

Novel: The Twelve Dares of Christmas

Release date: November 22, 2023

Author bio:

Lisa Maloney is an author based in Chicago, Illinois where she lives with Albert, a tiny lion masquerading as a cat. An attorney by day, she spends her evenings and weekends reading, writing, baking, and making book-themed pottery. After a lifetime of making up elaborate tales and telling stories, she finally wrote one down. Lisa has always loved the cozy feel of a holiday story, but has always wished that they didn’t have to revolve solely around finding a romantic partner. She figures that if you can’t find it, write it.

Book blurb:

When Haley’s parents left on a last-minute trip to a tropical island for Christmas, they knowingly left something important at home: their daughter.

Faced with the reality of her first holiday alone, Haley and her roommate lose themselves in a wine-fueled movie marathon. Next thing they know, there are empty bottles on the coffee table along with a list of dares that turn the twelve days leading up to Christmas into a series of hilarious, festive challenges. Suddenly it’s all silly games, new friends, and run-ins with security guards—there might even be a bit of romance brewing.

A new spin on a Christmas classic, The Twelve Dares of Christmas is perfect for those who savor the holidays, seek out opportunities to make memories, and cherish friendships, new and old.

Sherri: Hi Lisa, welcome to my virtual café. It’s a dream of mine to have a coffee shop where I can sell books, coffee or tea and talk with my friends about books and writing. Until I win the lottery, I have to be happy with my online Creekside Café. What would you do if you won the lottery?

Lisa: So many things! I’d imagine you go through waves of adapting to the financial freedom and time you suddenly have, and realistically the first week or two I’d likely just sleep, read, cook elaborate meals, and let myself have time to fully relax. My parents live across the country from me, so I’d go visit them for a while before heading abroad to travel for at least a few months. Anyone who knows me would tell you that I love taking classes and workshops, and first on my list would be heading to Italy to take a cooking class for the local specialties in every region. I’ve always liked the idea of writing one of my future books in a small cottage in Ireland overlooking the ocean, so maybe I’d spend a month exploring somewhere there too. Eventually, I’m sure I’d find a home base and balance traveling, spending time with friends and family, writing, and making pottery (something I’ve been doing for a few years now). I’m an attorney by day, so I’d also love to be in the position to work part time offering pro bono services for small businesses and new authors navigating the legal world surrounding the writing and publishing process.

Sherri: I’m reading your novel now and I’m loving it. It is so much fun. What was the inspiration for The Twelve Dares of Christmas?

Lisa: I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! It still feels surreal that it’s being read by people out in the world. I wonder if that ever goes away sometimes, and I sort of hope that it doesn’t. I wanted to write a book about having fun during the holidays. I’m a big fan of the cheesiest of cheesy holiday movies, but they’re usually centered on a romance, often with the romance being a “fix” that the main character needs to figure out what they want in life or just stop feeling lonely. I firmly believe that you can be happy and whole and have so much fun without a partner (even if you also would like a partner!), and I wanted to write a story that had characters prioritizing friendship and embracing silliness. There is some romance brewing throughout the book between the main character, Haley, and someone she meets as a result of the dares, but I tried to make it secondary to the main focus of the story and the character’s growth. I’m hoping that readers appreciate that while Haley is excited about her potential romantic partner, he’s not going to become her whole world overnight.

Sherri: Haley and Anna have a wonderful relationship. They are each other’s family. I have some great gal pals that I know I can call when life goes crazy. Do you have anyone like that in your life?

Lisa: I have a handful of friends like that, a few of which live in different states and one of which lives in a different country. Between the distance and how busy all of our lives are, you really have to make conscious effort and take time to nourish friendships, and I think that’s why I love Haley and Anna’s friendship—they really look out for each other and support each other.

Sherri: I am assuming that Christmas is your favorite holiday, but is it? What is your favorite part of the holiday?

Lisa: Picking a favorite holiday is so tricky because I like them all for different reasons. I love seeing people intensely concentrate on trying to pick between different bouquets and chocolates for their sweetie on Valentine’s Day, I love when people go all-out with incredible costumes and makeup on Halloween, and I love that Christmas is a whole season with lots of activities. Spending a Saturday baking cookies and then strolling around looking at lights and decorations with a warm drink in hand? Sign me up! Soft blankets inside and catching snowflakes on your mittens outside? Yup, I’ll be doing that too. The best part, though, is that I get to spend time with my family. I get a week with my parents (and some years my brothers when they can make it) where we take their dog for walks, play games, walk along the beach, and make great food. The best food is what we call “The Feast” which takes place on Christmas Eve—seafood, steak, and potatoes—that we look forward all year. I felt a real kinship with Haley while writing the book because I’ve never had to spend Christmas without my family, and I really felt for what she was going through.

Sherri: My favorite genre is romance and I’m rooting for Haley and Anna to get their guys, but I also like the fact that this story isn’t just about the romance. It is a refreshing take on the holiday comedy. What are some of your favorite holiday books or movies?

Lisa: I re-watch The Nine Lives of Christmas each year—you really can’t go wrong with a vet student and a begrudging new cat owner falling in love but pretending it’s just their cats that like each other. During the holidays I love any books with the grumpy-sunshine trope and it’s also the time of the year I’m most likely to read any kind of romance happening in a castle or with royalty. I’ve been building up a holiday TBR that I’m really excited about—the first two books on the list for this season are Witchy Coffee by Erin Ritch and Making Spirits Bright by Carly Greer.

Sherri: I like wine but know very little about it. I drink Riesling or something sweet and fruity. What would be a good wine for Christmas? Do you make mulled wine?

Lisa: I actually don’t like mulled wine much, which is a shame because there’s a great Christmas market in Chicago that serves it, and I always want to like it when I visit. I love cider, though, and it definitely works well with a boozy kick. For wine, I really like lambrusco for winter holidays and hosting. It’s sweet and sparkling, two of my favorite things!

Sherri: Are you planning other holiday books or some more adventures for Haley and Anna?

Lisa: I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it a series, but I can’t get Anna out of my head. She deserves her own book. During one of the dares in this book she ends up at a nursing home, and I knew the moment I wrote her stepping through the door that she’d volunteer there after the conclusion of this book. Her story is going to take place as she’s planning an event for the residents—maybe it should be a Valentine’s Day dance!

Sherri: This is your debut novel, what was the hardest part of getting this book from idea to production?

Lisa: Two things stick out. The first is that writing is so mentally and creatively exhausting, especially at first. The first draft of this book started in January of this year, and at first writing a few hundred words felt like a mental marathon. Once I developed more consistent habits around writing that eased, but it never fully went away. It’s easy to get discouraged and feel like you’ll never get to the end of the draft if you aren’t taking breaks and letting your imagination rest. The other thing that was really, really difficult was that I was on such a tight deadline. Because a holiday book doesn’t have the same flexibility with respect to its release date, I knew that I either had to not just write the book but also get a cover, edit and get an editor, format, and do the dozens of other tasks required to publish in time for this holiday season or I’d be forced to wait a full year. Because I’m independently publishing, that meant that I didn’t have a publisher providing the resources and experts I needed, but rather that I needed to learn all of those things and source all of the contributors myself. I definitely would have been less stressed if I’d waited until next year to publish, but something kept pushing me to do whatever I could to get this story out into the world. I like to think that someone is going to read it this season that really needed it.

Sherri: If you could give advice to another debut author, what would you tell them? Or what would you tell yourself if you could go back before you started this book?

Lisa: The best thing I did for myself during the writing process and the best advice I could give to new and aspiring authors is to make sure that, as you try to build habits around writing, you never frame making less progress than you’d hoped as a failure. I gave myself a goal of spending fifteen minutes each day focused on my book, but that was a goal, not a requirement. That caveat made it so that the days where I just didn’t have the time or mental/creative energy to spend fifteen minutes on my book were never tinged with feeling bad about myself or my lack of progress. I didn’t want an undercurrent of shame or failure attached to building a writing habit at all. It helped me look at even the smallest amount of progress as a win.

Sherri: Lisa, thank you for being here at Creekside Café. If you are ever in eastern North Carolina look me up. I’m the one on the riverbank with a book in her hand. Tell our audience where they can find your book and how they can follow you.

Lisa: Thank you for having me! The book releases on November 22, 2023. The ebook is available for pre-order now, and the paperback will open for ordering on the release date, both on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Dares-Christmas-Lisa-Maloney-ebook/dp/B0CLTP8MK7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=793P2R7YQFHT&keywords=the+twelve+dares+of+christmas+lisa+maloney&qid=1699927217&sprefix=%2Caps%2C95&sr=8-1

The Goodreads page is up and running as well at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200714439-the-twelve-dares-of-christmas

Social media:

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maloney_made for writing, reading, and silly content

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maloney_made/ for my pottery, much of which is book-themed

Creekside Cafe, interview, writing inspiration

Creekside Café Chat with Jessica Lynn-Nacovsky Ferrara

Posted on October 7, 2023 by Sherri

Artist and Author, Jessica Lynn-Nacovsky Ferrara

Welcome Jessica to my Creekside Café. I am excited to get to know you better! From your bio I learned you were a tattoo artist in New York and then backpacked your way around Europe, now that sounds like a few interesting stories right there.

Jessica: Hello Sherri! Thanks for having me on.

I tattooed for three years, working my way from an apprenticeship to becoming a full-fledged tattoo artist. Ultimately the industry was a bit rough for me, but it was a good learning experience. As for stories, I do have a silly anecdote. One coworker’s young daughter named their dogs Chaos and Discord. They got out occasionally, so passersby would see this big biker guy running down the street shouting, “Chaos! Discord!” which was probably alarming for those not in the know.

As for backpacking through Europe, that was a lot of fun. I saved for two years to afford the travel expenses and time off work, but it was worth every penny. If you ever want to backpack on a budget, I highly suggest finding opportunities to work for room and board. The WorkAway app connects volunteers with hosts. For half of the trip, my homebase was a hostel in Budapest, where I ran the front desk part time. From there, I could travel to other countries whenever I had a couple of days off.

Sherri: Your debut novel, Stem & Stone was released in September, and you have another book coming out in January but it’s not a sequel, is that correct? Will you have a sequel to Stem & Stone?

Jessica: You’re right that Light Step, the January 16, 2024 release, is not a sequel to Stem & Stone. They do take place in the same universe though, and I have another novel I’m working on that ties them together. I also have a sequel for Stem & Stoneoutlined but it’s not a project I’m working on at the moment. There are some other manuscripts I’d like to finish revising first.

Sherri: What inspired this unique story? Tell our audience how this idea came about and why you chose to write young adult fantasy versus adult fiction. Your upcoming novel is adult fiction, we’ll talk about it in a few minutes, but tell us about Stem & Stone.

Jessica: I was reading about J.R.R. Tolkien when I first began conceptualizing the plot of Stem & Stone. He’d set out to write a fable, and that sounded like an interesting project. Stem & Stoneis more my contemporary fairy tale, than a fable though.

The first draft was for me, and while I researched a great deal to flesh out the characters and setting, I didn’t give any thought to how the story would be marketed, once published. It was several drafts later when I began seriously thinking about getting the story out to a wider audience. While learning about the querying process, and what defines the age brackets novels are marketed to, I realized my story didn’t cleanly fit into any age category. Petra, the protagonist, is eleven, which would indicate this as a middle grade story. However, there were some scenes that parents might deem inappropriate for today’s children.

I altered the story to better fit the middle grade market, but those changes understated the themes. Finally, I ran in the other direction, leaning heavily into the darkness. Due to the inclusion of violence and gore, Stem & Stone is for young adults or older readers. I prefer writing fiction for adults because nothing needs to be softened.

Sherri: Now, your upcoming novel, Light Step is a bit different, an adult fabulism, (I had to think about the meaning of that for a minute.) Why the change in genres? What are you hoping readers get from Light Step and how does this differ from Stem & Stone other than the reader’s age?

Jessica: I’ve found I don’t have strong preferences regarding the genres I write. I keep a running list of potential plots and delve into whichever seems most promising, until that draft is complete. I have many manuscripts on the backburner, awaiting revisions, and they include paranormal fiction, epistolary horror, an attempt at a family saga, etc.

Fabulism and magical realism are my favorite genres to read though, and I’ve found that my adult protagonists often have a more contemporary, grounded, setting than my younger protagonists. I read a lot of fantasy when I was growing up so that’s probably a factor.

Haruki Murakami’s novels have a dreamlike quality and that’s what I hoped to achieve with Light Step, whereas Stem & Stoneshould be unsettling.

Sherri: You are a graphics artist and I see that you and Victoria Moxley worked together to design the cover of Stem & Stone. How was it working with a partner to create your cover? What does the cover convey? How does it help a reader find your book in a sea of other YA dark fantasy books?

Jessica: I went to college for graphic design, and while I enjoy the more illustrative aspects of the industry, I found that the majority of graphic design jobs provide less creative freedom than I desire from a workplace. So I’m more of a commercial artist, and sometimes a fine artist, than a graphics artist nowadays.

When Victoria and I first discussed the book cover for Stem & Stone, I explained how, because digitally illustrated covers have flooded the marketplace, I have a preference for tangible illustrations. I love paper craft, and provided an inspiration Pinterest folder showcasing book covers using this medium, but stated that I was open to other mediums. I sent her a picture of a paper craft illustration I’d made of the St’Avgull, a magical flower that serves as a portal in Stem & Stone. She found the craft to be of quality and suggested we use it in the cover design.

Sherri: Have you been to Iceland? What was your experience like? Or why did you choose Iceland for the setting of the beginning of your story?

Jessica: I haven’t been to Iceland yet but it is absolutely a goal! Culturally, they allow for the possibility that elves exist, so it seemed like the perfect setting for a fairy tale. Their government protects sites of supernatural significance so when I eventually visit, I plan to tour some of those.

Sherri: You published your book with Tea With Coffee Media, what was your experience like? If another writer came up to you and asked about publishing with Tea With Coffee, what would you say to them?

Jessica: I’ve had a very positive experience publishing with Tea With Coffee Media. Aside from how (very) professionally they conduct all official business, they also host monthly marketing lessons for authors, which I’ve greatly benefited from. Whenever a writer mentions they’re looking to publish, I suggest they check out Tea With Coffee Media.

Stem and Stone cover designed from original paper art created by Jessica.

Sherri: You are a fantastic artist. Do you design covers for other authors? Does your art factor into your writing? Is there a connecting theme between your writing and your visual art?

Jessica: Thank you! I haven’t designed book covers for other authors but I would be open to the idea, if an author contacted me proposing a project. My art background has factored into some of my writing. One of the back-burnered manuscripts has an artist as the protagonist, but I’ve also found that I tend to be precise when describing colors and textures. And, of course, I enjoy making illustrations to accompany my writing.

Sherri: How long have you been writing and when did you know you wanted to be a published author?

Jessica: I always wanted to be part of the literary world, but growing up, I didn’t think I had the stamina to finish writing a book. With a passion for art, I went into graphic design planning to become a book cover designer after graduating—which didn’t exactlypan out. I was living in Albany NY, which isn’t quite a publishing hotspot, and as a non-driver, I was very limited in where I could work.

I wrote my first novel in the summer of 2012, when I was working at a resort, right before entering my senior year at the College of Saint Rose. The story was a mess but it proved to me I could at least meet the word count. From then on, I had the idea that I might one day publish but I wasn’t actively looking into how to go about doing that. I wrote Stem & Stone in 2018, as my NaNoWriMo project, and I began seriously querying it in 2020. It was the third novel I’d written.

Sherri: What are you working on now? Do you have anything else planned?

Jessica: Right now I’m about to jump back into revising Soul Walker, my paranormal fiction. It’s the story that ties Stem & Stone to Light Step and it’s been in the works since 2016. I’d like to see it completed and out in the world.

Sherri: If you enjoyed my chat with Jessica then you can follow her on social media, the links are below and check out her debut novel, Stem & Stone. If you are looking to publish, promote or for book editors or formatters, check out Tea With Coffee Media. https://teawithcoffee.media/

For your publishing answers, check out TWC!

Thanks Jessica for stopping by my virtual café.

Social Media Links:

Website: https://www.jesslynnstudio.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessLynnStudio
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jesslynnstudio.bsky.social
Instagram (art): https://www.instagram.com/jesslynnstudio/
Instagram (general / author): https://www.instagram.com/jesslynnthriving/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jesslynnstudio/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jesslynnstudio

author BT Harris with South Creek behind him, in black and white with bright colored lettering.

Creekside Cafe, interview

Welcome BT Harris to Creekside Cafe

Posted on May 7, 2023May 7, 2023 by Sherri

Welcome BT Harris to my daydream. If I ever get rich, I’d like to have a readers and writers café on the waterfront of my hometown where I can drink coffee or something stronger and talk about books and writing all day long.

What is one of your dreams if you get rich?

BT: One day I hope to start my own nonprofit charity organization called Igor’s Children, which will help mentally ill minors get the treatment they need, including medicine and doctor referrals.

Sherri: That’s a lovely dream and one that is definitely needed.

You recently published your second novel, what was your inspiration? How did you come up with the idea for Beyond Olympus?

BT: The idea came from a very intense and vivid dream. I fell asleep over exhausted, and I was listening to Buddhistic chants and hums. I dreamt I was flying through space and eventually became a star. I woke up and wrote down the contents of the dream and started writing a story the next day.

Sherri: The book trailer made me think of a comic book, is that the direction you want to go? Do you have plans for a comic book or a graphic novel? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEhlJlXU7-4

BT: A graphic novel sounds like an interesting idea, but we will wait to see how well the book is received.

Sherri: Your main character Kristina is an astronomer and Buddhist. What else can you tell us about her? Why is she being entrusted with such cosmic importance?

BT: Kristina is the first human since Buddha himself that had this remarkable potential for growth. Others have tried to learn from Umun (our Sun) but failed to prove themselves completely. These failed students, as we know them, are the ancient gods.

Sherri: I read on your social media that you are also a poet. Which came first, poetry or prose?

BT: I started with both. Most of my early stories are in poetic stanzas. My first book was actually completed thanks to a massive epic poem I wrote to guide me.

Sherri: Do you think poetry helps you write better fiction? I’m always amazed by the way a poet can say so much with so few words.

BT: Oh, certainly. I would not be surprised if there are many smaller forms of writing that writers can practice their skills while trying to finish their first draft.

Sherri: What is it you love about writing fantasy? Do you enjoy creating worlds, unique characters or using magic, or is it something else?

BT: Moreso, the escape into a world where even I have difficulty navigating. A character will speak to me saying that this is over our heads. ‘You mean this is far too much fun for the both of us, let’s bring some enemies in.’

Sherri: It is said that all artists are a bit broken because only the imperfect can create something that will touch your heart. Writing became a way of expressing myself that I wasn’t able to do in real life. Has your writing helped you as well?

BT: No one is completely whole and no one is perfect. Some of us feel on a deeper scale, but who better to quote than Socrates when he said, “The real philosophers are those who love to see the truth.” If I was to broaden his statement to the emotional understanding. If we learn to recognize what we feel inside of us, and how appreciative we are of those who see as much, our hearts can be touched in a remarkable way. Sometimes I am afraid to admit the more I develop a character, they become one of those people I learn to appreciate.

Sherri: When I published my first book, I was terrified and sometimes, I am still afraid, but I make myself do it anyway. Were you afraid to publish your new book? How did you overcome your fears?

BT: I was not afraid to publish. I was afraid of what may come afterwards. There is no overcoming fear, no matter how strong you feel. By accepting the fear, you carry it with less weight.

Sherri: How was it working with Tea with Coffee Media? What was your favorite part of working with TCM? What was your least favorite part? How was it different than when you self-published by in 2015?

BT: TCM was the best experience I had when it came to publishing. My favorite is sharing the responsibility of the book than feeling smothered by all the control through self-publishing.

Sherri: What advice would you give a young author on the verge of publishing their first novel?

BT: Never, never, never, quit. Take a break if you need one. Enjoy life if you think you should grasp it. Just don’t quit.

Sherri: Thank you, BT for sharing your author journey. Best wishes for your writing and the success of Beyond Olympus. If you enjoyed this interview, you can find BT’s book links and social media links below.

Twitter @harrisbtauthor https://twitter.com/harrisbtauthor

Facebook BT Harris- Author https://www.facebook.com/btharrishdl13

A link to Beyond Olympus and its trailer:

Beyond Olympus

Books2Read eBook link: https://books2read.com/BeyondOlympus?fbclid=IwAR2HXCMdCue3qb3sthFMdWrcFiauHZvLku3tj1SzlIwn1YXSggDojjGL7CA

Creekside Cafe, interview

Welcome Destiny Swallows, to Creekside Cafe

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Sherri

Welcome Destiny Swallows to Creekside Café. Destiny is the other half of the writing duo of the debut novel, The Lost Maidens.

10 facts:

1: This is my first Romance novel.

2: I made that helmet behind my head in my photo.

3: I have autism.

4: My wife calls me Loki spawn, so it would be fitting that I’d end up writing an agent of chaos.

5: I did 3 tours of duty in the Navy, which allowed me to travel around the world.

6: If I had another chance, I’d love to return to Germany. I only spent a week in the nation.

7: I can still hear the dial-up sounds, and you got mail when someone says anything about it.

8: As a panster, working with an outliner was interesting, to say the least. Having to plan out the chapters with Ruby was quite the experience.

9: I hold a Batchelor of Science in Computer Security and a Master of Business Administration that I earned in the early 2010’s.

10: I grew up in Portland, Oregon but now live in Colorado. The climate shock between almost a rainforest to the high desert has been interesting.

Bio: Destiny was kidnapped and forced to write this at writer point by Ruby. Having written privately for years, Ruby convinced her friend to share her work with the world. She’s traveled around the world, seeing far-off places that inspire the worlds she writes.

According to your bio you were held at ink point to write this novel. Tell us the truth, we won’t tell a soul. Is Ruby a vicious task master?

Destiny: No, she isn’t. Once she got me to start the project, I was the one with the whips.

Sherri: As a pantser myself, I understand the difficulties you must have faced working with one who plots and outlines. I do try but I’m not consistent. What was the most difficult for you?

Destiny: I tend to have an idea of where I want the book to start and end. From there, I tend to let the characters lead the way, often changing the ending I wrote down. I will build scenes in my mind before I sit down to write, as I feel like outlines are double the work. If you’re writing details already, might as well just write the draft.

Sherri: Oh, I agree. I fast draft, which is like an outline, before going back to hand fruit.

Destiny: Ruby is the type of writer that needs to have an idea what chapter is covering what. To have road signs as she writes and to have the details already worked out.

Sherri: From Ruby’s interview, I know the two of you met through an online writers’ group. What do you usually write?

Destiny: I tend to write Sci-Fi, Historical Fiction, and Mythology. It’s wide selection of genres, but they are interesting to research how to provide realism to my novels. I love learning about the subjects I am writing.

Sherri: How did the two of you divide the writing?

Destiny: I wrote for Kaitlyn, while she wrote Alva. We shared the descriptions and NPC’s. As we both are Tabletop RPG players, we let the dice dictate how our combat actions, with a few exceptions for the plot.

Sherri: Tell me about the helmet in the photo. What was it for? You said you made it.

Destiny: I made it for my wife. It is the Lich King Helmet from World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. In 2015, she wanted to go to DragonCon, in Atlanta, as Elsa, the Lich Queen. We made her the helmet and sword, Frostmourne, for her to cosplay. We took cardstock, cut a pattern out for them, glued the pieces into a 3d model. From there, we fiber glassed them and used Bondo (for cars) to harden it and provide shape. My daughter airbrushed both for us.

Sherri: My daughter-in-law and grandchildren took me to a comicon. I enjoyed dressing up. I wish I’d known about using Bondo to fabricate my costumes. He’s a mechanic.

You said you hope to return to Germany, what adventures do you hope to do when you return?

Destiny: As a historical writer, I would like to see the rich history of the area. There is only so much you can understand from books, but physically seeing what happened in the old USSR state, to see the buildings that the Holy Roman Empire was ran from, to see the hills where the Celtics and Romans fought would help me translate that into my novels.

I’ve been to Italy, which allowed me to see the Vatican, Rome, Naples, and other towns on the Mediterranean. I’ve been to England and Ireland. I rather enjoyed their history as well.

Sherri: I love history as well and envy your travels.

The Lost Maidens is a historical, sapphic romance. I know you are married and have your own sapphic romance, but you said you’d never written romance, so how did this come about? Why romance? Why historical? How did this story evolve?

Destiny: Ruby was visiting my wife and I, and we started tossing ideas back and forth. The basic idea came rather quicky, one of us suggested Viking, which lead to a lesbian romance of the pair lost from their tribes. Ruby writes romance, so she talked me into adding it into the story.

Alva and Kaitlyn were not originally enemies to lovers. At best, they didn’t know each other but turned out that the healer cared more about making sure Alva would live than being nice.

Sherri: How did you and your wife meet? And why does she call you Loki?

Destiny: I met her on one of those sites in 2012. We had dinner, and I pretty much never left. It was like magic, as we are both pretty closed off people, that we opened to each other. We’d spend every night after work smoking (bad habit, quit later) and talking on her back porch. We were married in 2015.

I am Loki spawn because if I can cause chaos, I will, just to see what happens. Loki’s role within the Gods was to be an agent of change. I tend to also push my friends to become the best they can be. Because of this, I earned the nickname.

Sherri: Do you use your education in your career?

Destiny: I use my MBA in my career, but my Computer Security degree, I haven’t worked in that field in 7 years. It is a very competitive field.

Sherri: With a degree in computer security, yet you have no social media presence. Has the knowledge kept you from setting up an account?

Destiny: Mostly. I used to use social media a lot, but a few years ago, I said I don’t need this kind of negativity in my life. I walked away from most of them. I rather enjoy the person I am now that I’m not chasing likes and spending so much time doom scrolling. I also kinda forgot to make a Twitter account to promote my books until you asked.

Sherri: Now that your debut novel is ready to go live, what is next? Do you have other books ready to publish? Will The Lost Maidens be part of a series?

Destiny: I don’t have any more books ready to publish, but Ruby and I are talking about writing starting a WW2 Spy Novel series, taking place in the early days of the war in France. We want to tell the stories of the woman who spied for the allies, like Virginia Hall. She had a wooden leg, and managed to cross the Pyrenees mountains, twice with it. She had named it Cuthbert, and her handlers once told her to cut Cuthbert loose if he’s giving her too much trouble.

There are many women who helped the Allies stop Germany. From France, Italy, Russia, and many other places. I hope in the series that we can include stories about the Night Witches (A WW2 Female only Bi-Plane Bomber squadron) and Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko, was a Soviet sniper in the Red Army during World War II, who was credited with 309 deaths, making her the most successful female sniper in recorded history.

Sherri: Ah, you are talking to my heart with WW2 stories, especially female spies. I will be happy to do another interview when you get that series up and going.

Thank you for joining us at my Creekside Café. I wish both you and Ruby great success with your debut novel.

If you enjoyed this interview, check out The Lost Maidens pre-order now, it goes live July 19^th.

Book Links: Ebook: https://books.apple.com/book/id6442993294
Print Book Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-maidens-destiny-swallows/1141660384?ean=9781957893105

Book Blurb:

Alva and her wife Lise are on a mission to lead the sassy Princess Kaitlyn to a new land. They will combine clans through Kaitlyn’s marriage to the son of Alva’s chief. Standoffish at first, the pair quickly draw a disdain for one another, unmatched by any sense Thor and Loki.

However, when a storm rocks their world and capsizes their boat, Alva and Kaitlyn are the sole survivors. They are left with the tasks of exploring not only a new world, but also their newfound desires for one another. When the pair comes across a village hidden in the cold Canadian arctic, they embark upon creating a new life with the native people.

As they become one with the Inuit, how will these shield maidens prepare for their biggest threat yet? Will Alva be able to find Lise in their new village? Or will she seek comfort in the arms of Kaitlyn? Will the shield maidens be enough to protect the village from Frost Giants?

Find out in The Lost Maidens!

Creekside Cafe, interview, News

Creekside Cafe Welcomes Ruby Marley

Posted on July 10, 2022 by Sherri

Welcome to Creekside Café, Ruby, it’s great to have you here. You said you came up with your penname using your birthstone and first pet. We share a birthstone. I wonder if we also share a birthdate. Mine is July 24^th.

Ruby: Holy cow, what are the odds of that?! I was literally born the next day on July 25th!

Sherri: Oh that’s just too cool! We’ll have to celebrate together this year!

You mention your favorite trope is Enemies to Lovers, it’s one of my favorites as well. What are some of your other favorites? What trope haven’t you used but would like to?

Ruby: Oh, goodness. Well, I hate to keep talking about Katee Robert but com on. Tink and Hook in “A Worthy Opponent” from her wicked villains series? What’s not to love.

Sherri: The Lost Maidens is your first published novel, what made you decide to use Tea with Coffee Media for your publishing?

Ruby: I have the incredible pleasure of being friends with a few of the individuals on the board, and they are fiercely supportive. They don’t give my imposter syndrome the opportunity to set in because they leap at a chance to read what I work on. So when they said “We want The Lost Maidens” how could Destiny and I say no.

Sherri: How was it writing with a co-author? How did it differ from writing your other stories?

Ruby: Destiny is my first official collab partner and it was so much fun, especially since we actually got to be in the same room as one another for part of the writing process. I visited her during NaNoWriMo when we started working on The Lost Maidens. The energy in that room was absolutely electric.

Sherri: What do you hope readers will feel or think after reading your novel?

Ruby: Well, I may be biased cause I helped write the damn thing, but I hope it touches the hearts of all who read it. Cause I certainly cried in a few places. We just really wanted to tell this beautiful love story between two badasses.

Sherri: You got your start writing fan fiction, what benefits and/or disadvantages do you believe this experience gave you?

Ruby: I don’t think there were really any disadvantages to the experience. The worst thing that could come of it is some people might find the fanfics I posted online and then I’ll have to do the writer’s walk of shame. But I don’t understand why people look down on fanfiction so much because I personally think it’s a wonderful writing exercise. You’re working within the constructs of a world that you didn’t create–even if you do AU fanfiction, that still applies. You have to tell a compelling story in someone else’s sandbox. And not everyone can do that. Plus, fanfic also gives you an opportunity to improve as a storyteller. Nothing will make you work on your grammar like fifty people in the comment sections listed everything you did wrong grammatically. You can use up those self-indulgent bad ideas and learn WHY they might be self-indulgent bad ideas. Anything that improves the craft isn’t bad.

Sherri: I think writing fanfiction is a great way to get your creative mind in gear, and like you said, a great exercise. I am the chairperson for the Pamlico Writers’ Group and people often ask me how to get started. Fanfiction, creative workshops, writing prompts, anything that starts that journey isn’t anything to be ashamed of. I have several accomplished author friends who got their start with fanfic. No shame in your game, sis.

Your short stories blend history and erotica. Why historicals? Why eroticas?

Ruby: I have often been told that I’m and old soul and was born in the wrong time period. I don’t know, there is just something so romantic about history (biggoted backwards laws and social decorum not-withstanding). And eroticas I think I was drawn to because I did grow up in the household that preaches sex was meant to come after marriage. And of course, no one really talks about women’s enjoyment when discussing such subjects. But when I learned I wasn’t really conventional in that way, I longed for something to prove that there were others with my tastes and desires. I found that in erotica.

Sherri: Does The Lost Maidens have elements of your other stories or is this something completely different?

Ruby: I mean it does have an enemies-to-lovers trope, but this is the first sapphic love story I’ve ever wanted to write and I love that. Frankly, there needs to be more historic lesbian romance novels.

Sherri: I’m seeing a greater acceptance and even main-stream popularity of sapphic romance. A friend writes a wonderful vampire series and there are a couple other historicals I’m interested in reading. I love historical romances.

How did you and Destiny meet? How did the two of you start writing together?

Ruby: Destiny and I met online during the early stages of the Covid 19 pandemic. We were a part of the same writing community and everyone was desperate to find anything to kill the boredom. I had just finished re-writing another book and was looking for a critique partner. Destiny had also finished a book recently so she volunteered to swap books with me. We worked on each other’s books for a while, but real life stress and drama kinda led to everything falling by the wayside and we didn’t speak for a while.

Then, she reached out to me in September to apologize for not finishing her critiques. I did the same and we each thought we were mad at the other this entire time which is why we were both so quite. We rebonded quickly, finding more things in common and within about a month, Destiny said “We should write a book together”. The rest is history.

Sherri: Will The Lost Maidens be part of a series?

Ruby: That was not the original intent, however per the advice from our editor, there MIGHT be a prequel that looks at Alva’s life before Kaitlyn.

Sherri: You are also working on a solo series, what are your plans for this new series?

Ruby: So “The Dark Ages” series is a modern Mafia retelling of the myths of King Arthur. So the first book looks at the affair between Lancelot and Gunivere. The second book is a sapphic Enemies-To-Lovers for the Lady of the Lake and Morgan Le Fay. And finally, the last book is a thruple love story between Gawain, a Knight of the round Table, Lady Ragnelle, a mysterious wise woman, and the Green Knight, a man who was one of Arthur’s critics and a bit of a trickster himself.

Sherri: You’re not exactly a novice but I’m sure you must still be excited about the release of your upcoming novel. What are you most excited about and what are you dreading?

Ruby: Oh, goodness. I’m just excited for it to be out in the world. People have already started to show an interest in the book and have been asking where they can find it and when they can get it. What am I dreading? It’s not really dread, but let’s face it, marketing is hard unless you went to college for it, and I am absolutely clueless about it. So marketing is definitely the hardest part for me.

Sherri: If you enjoyed this interview with Ruby Marley stay tuned for her co-author, Destiny Swallows. Check out The Lost Maiden, which launches July 19^th, 2022.

If you are interested in learning more about Ruby’s other stories, you can follow her social media and check out her website.

The Lost Maidens:

Alva and her wife Lise are on a mission to lead the sassy Princess Kaitlyn to a new land to combine her clan and a new clan by way of marriage to their chief’s son. Standoffish, the two quickly draw a disdain for one another unmatched by Thor and Loki’s. However, when a storm rocks their world and capsizes their boat, Alva and Kaitlyn are tasked with exploring not only a new world, but also their newfound desires for one another.

When the pair comes across a village hidden in the cold Canadian arctic, they embark upon creating a new life with these native people. As they become one with the Inuit, how will these shield maidens prepare for their biggest threat yet?

Will Alva be able to find Lise in their new village? Or will she seek comfort in the arms of Kaitlyn? Will the shield maidens be enough to protect the village from frost giants? Find out in The Lost Maidens!

Website Link: https://www.rubymarley.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RubyMarleyBooks

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@demibrat?lang=en

Book Links: Ebook: https://books.apple.com/book/id6442993294

Print Book Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-maidens-destiny-swallows/1141660384?ean=9781957893105

Creekside Cafe, interview

Kaitlyn Kalor Visits Creekside Cafe

Posted on June 14, 2022 by Sherri

Kaitlyn Kalor is a 9-year Navy Vet, having spent most of the first decade of the century on active duty. She grew up in the Pacific Northwest, giving her a love of the mountains that she enjoys daily viewing as she now lives in Colorado. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Security and a Master of Business Administration that she earned after the Navy. She has the weaknesses of Vampires, having porphyria. Vampiric myths about their sun weakness were based upon this illness. She is also a Transgender author.

Welcome Kaitlyn Kalor to Creekside Café. I am so excited to be hosting my first author from Tea with Coffee Media https://twitter.com/TeaWCoffeeMedia. Thank you for stopping by my virtual café.

Kaitlyn: Thank you for letting me come by.

Sherri: You spent nine years in the Navy? I have a son who has been in for almost two years. He has just finished his rescue swimmer certification. What was your job in the Navy? Do you use it now that you are a civilian again? Does your time in the Navy influence any of your writing?

Kaitlyn: I was a computer repair for the first 6 years of my time in the Navy. My last 3 was spent as one of their white hat hackers. As a repair person, I managed to half fill a passport in 2 years traveling all over the world to include catching a flight to a carrier from Japan and flying out from Hong Kong. When I left the military, I worked for a Software company that developed software for the Government but after I left that job, the only aspect I still use is the technical writing I did for the Government.

I have a point in the book where one of the characters visit a native city whose design was directly influenced by the time I spent 3 months in Naples and the cities I visited while doing a network install there.

Sherri: You grew up in the Pacific Northwest, I have not been that far west. I’ve only been as far as Wyoming and New Mexico. My niece is out in Washington, and I hope to visit her and her wife one day. My sister-in-law has been out there a couple of times. Do you set any of your stories in Pacific Northwest? Where are your stories set?

Kaitlyn: I currently have no plans to use the Pac NW in the series due to the cultures I am involving. While I have several books planned for the Americas, the time frame puts most of the north under 2 km of ice. The books start 400,000 years in the past, but with Earth looking a little different. The image below is what Earth looks like at the start.

Book one starts between Africa and Asia, in a location that eventually becomes the Middle East. I have a plan that is very very loosely based upon a few scientific theories that will bring the planet inline with how we know the planet to look like.

Sherri: You hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Security and a Master’s in Business Administration. No offense but they hardly seem like creative pursuits. How did you go from computer security and business to being an author?

Kaitlyn: At the time I picked up my degrees, I was heavily involved with both in my company. I started writing when I was 17, in the days of Dial up internet with a Star Trek Play By e-Mail Roleplay group. I started a book with a friend in 2003, but that was never finished due to life for both of us.

In 2015, my company let me go. My health at the time started to slide so I started to stream on Twitch until my pain was too much to focus. I will say this, writing good research papers did help my technical performance in writing.

Sherri: What does Pride Month mean for you?

Kaitlyn: I have no option for it. It’s taken decades for me to accept who I am and to figure it out that I am transgendered. This apathy is a side effect from growing up in a Super-Christian household who preached separation, so I disassociated a lot of things, from birthdays to all holidays as I just didn’t grow up with them.

Sherri: Do you know where your inspiration came from for your novel Dawn of Humanity or the series Generations of Humanity? Did you first get started with a character or scene?

Kaitlyn: The story idea came to me one day in early 2018 when I fell into that part of YouTube. The video suggested that Atlantis might have been in Western Africa, the Eye of the Sahara, or its other name, Richart Structure. By the time I had finished watching, I had a basic outline in my head, covering at least 25 books. It has undergone several revisions since then, but the primary story arc has remained the same.

Sherri: Are you a plotter or a pantser? How do you write? Is this your first novel? How long have you been writing?

Kaitlyn: This is my first completed novel that was started in 2018, but I’ve been writing since 1997, mostly Fanfiction. I am a planster right now. Draft 1 was written by the seat of my pants, then I started using the snowflake method to plan out the rest of the series. Draft 1 was a dual timeline novel, with a group from today discovering the past and re-living memories of the Aliens. I ended up scrapping most of my first draft because the second half of the series didn’t work due to power creep, and I couldn’t find an interesting way to keep the current timeline involved with the past. When I went to do draft 2, I ripped out the modern timeline and everything slid into place.

Sherri: How many books will be in this series? What is the overall theme? What do you hope readers will think or feel when they finish your book?

Kaitlyn: The series is currently planned for 22 books plus an apocalyptic trilogy to wrap up everything at the end.

I am hopeful that my books have my readers looking into our history, learning about civilizations that helped create our current world. I have a plan to write worldwide cultures to include African and American Gods. Morimi is the Yoruba Goddess of Fire for example, and she will have a strong role in the series.

Sherri: Tell me about some of your characters. How would you describe them? What is their theme song?

Kaitlyn: The series uses the concepts of the Yuga’s from Hinduism and Reincarnation. While my ages are shorter than the ones in Hinduism, the concept of the Earth going through Cycles is a key plot point. Right now, I plan on having 6 major ages.

With this in mind, we learn that Enki is a new soul, learning about the world for the first time, while his biological father, Enlil, has been reincarnated several times. Chronos as well. The Anunnaki and Annunaki Titans are Reptilian aliens. Think of the smaller creatures from 1993’s Jurassic Park (Their fake Raptors for example Dilophosaurus) but upright like Humans. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes.

This is Papsukkal, Gaia’s bodyguard. He is dedicated to protecting her, as he protected her father and grandfather. He very much is like “Another One Bites the Dust” when defending his charges from attack.

Gaia, Khione, and Morimi are Humanaki, they can shift their body sizes from 3 meters plus to human size. They have powers of Earth, Water (Ice), and Fire respectively.

Enki’s Theme song is Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin

F**kin’ Perfect by Pink is Gaia’s theme

Legendary is Chrono’s theme song.

Bad Blood by Taylor Swift is the theme when the two Sky Lords get ready to face off at the end.

Sherri: Kaitlyn, this has been fun. Give us 10 quick, fun facts about you.

Kaitlyn: I am one of the first Navy CTN ratting that was created in 2005. I am a Twitch streamer (when my health allows it), and a Twitch Moderator for a Twitch Partner.

I remember WebTV as my father was one of the few adopters of it. I was the kid who played Oregon Trail in computer labs on the old Apple IIe computers before I was homeschooled. I’ve used NetZero and Juno for dial up internet. My first home computer was a Commodore 64 where I’d end up playing games like F-14 Tomcat. I’d swipe the AOL floppy disc’s from the store entrance whenever I needed floppies.

Being homeschooled, I read a LOT of books. I’d ride my bike 10 miles to the local bookstore and spend the day reading, on most days back when Pagers were all the rage. I’d finish a paperback most days. That’s when I started my writing, via e-mail role play, but I never thought I would be good enough to become an actual author but here we are with my first book coming out 25 years later.

I love Tabletop RPGs, but I tend to be given the role of Game Master. I currently run a game based upon the book with a few from Tea With Coffee Media, for purely selfish reasons. They are helping me flush out the rest of the world.

As I live in Colorado, I grow my own cannabis in hydroponics for my pain management, but I’ve started branching out to grow things like Potatoes and other food in my grow tents.

Sherri: Congratulations on your debut novel. Good luck with your series. I look forward to hearing from you again.

If you all enjoyed this interview, check out Kaitlyn’s book “The Dawn of Humanity” available for pre-order, the links are below, follow her on social media and don’t forget to leave a review. Thanks again for stopping by.

Book Blurb:

Thousands of years after their planet’s ruin, the Anunnaki and Titans led by Sky Lord An find their way to planet Earth. When this reptilian species lands on Earth, they discover a connection to their powers only described from the days of Olympus.

Sa-Tan Enki led a team of Anunnaki on a mission and set out to create a race of beings that mixed humanity with immortality. However, some of the Titans led by Chronos are unhappy with the creations. What happens when Chronos seeks revenge upon his brother Enlil? To cleanse the new planet of the bastard race, the Titans revolt against the newfound Olympians. Find out what happens in the first book of Generations of Humanity: Dawn of Humanity

My Social Media links are:

http://twitter.com/theciroth

https://www.amazon.com/author/kkalor

https://www.goodreads.com/kkalor

BookBub coming soon

Book Links Available for Pre-order! Releases June 21st!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W4F2LX2?tag=publishdriv01-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

https://itunes.apple.com/book/id1616162427

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dawn-of-humanity-k-kalor/1141251614?ean=9781957893006

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=z0FlEAAAQBAJ

https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/search?query=9781957893006

https://bookmate.com/books/fk6YtDTb

https://www.24symbols.com/book/english/k-kalor/dawn-of-humanity?id=4018970

https://www.gardners.com/Search/KeywordAnonymous/eBook?Keyword=9781957893006&fq=14123

If you are an author looking for a virtual coffee shop to hang out, stop by Creekside Cafe. We’ll treat you so many ways you’re bound to like one of them.

Uncategorized

Stasia Mars at Creekside Cafe

Posted on June 5, 2022 by Sherri

Today I’d like to welcome romance writer, Stasia Mars to Creekside Café. Welcome Stasia.

The café is my fantasy coffee shop/bar. What can I get you to drink? I’m usually a coffee drinker but North Carolina is once again experiencing a heat wave, so I think I’ll have a lemonade with a little something-something to give it a little kick. I really like my bourbon.

Stasia: Thank you so much for having me, Sherri! We too have been having a bit of a heat wave here in Maryland. I love coffee as well, but right now I would love a good spicy margarita. Huge fan of tequila.

Sherri: I can’t drink tequila it makes my face go numb. I figure my brain can’t be far behind. It’s good to have you here even if it’s only through the magic of the internet.

Stasia and I are part of a Facebook group for authors, and I invited her to visit me here at my author café.

You are from right up the coast from me. I live on the Innerbanks of eastern North Carolina.

Stasia: Yes, east coast living! I too live pretty close to the water. It’s a place called Kent Island along the Chesapeake Bay and Chester River in Maryland. The bay is right at the end of my street where you can see the Bay Bridge. We’ve been living here for four years and absolutely love it.

Sherri: It sounds lovely.

You’re a stay-at-home mom with three children and several rescue pets. Are any of the children in school? When do you find time to write? I remember when my boys were at home, and it was a juggle between ball, scouts, school and church to find a few minutes to myself. How do you manage it all?

Stasia: Right now, my kids are seven, five, and three. Violet will be going into second grade, Simone will be going to kindergarten, and Quinn will be going into Pre-K part time. So still not all of them will be in school full-time next year, but close! It is quite a struggle to find time for myself and for my writing. I just have to let some things go like laundry and dishes to get some time in, but I am fortunate enough to have a very supportive husband. He helps where and when he can.

Sherri: It’s great to have your husband’s support. Mine always made sure I had a few minutes for myself and encouraged me to write. I forget that not everyone has that luxury. We are blessed.

You have a steamy series, Men of the Mafia. Tell us about your series. What kind of mafia? Are they all part of the same gang?

Stasia: My Men of the Mafia series are books that can each be read as a standalone or in any order. All of the men are from different families and places, but some of them do interact with one another in their books. Some of the ladies even become close friends!

Sherri: What is the appeal of the mafia and these dangerous men?

Stasia: These men are what you would call alphaholes. They’re pure alphas and can be quite brute, but they would do anything for their women. Like…kill. And even be killed. They have the power and money to do anything and give them anything. And when they love, they love hard and for life.

Sherri: How many books in your series? Do you have a favorite book, character or couple? What makes them a fav?

Stasia: As of right now, it will be six books in the series. I started out with Irma and Alejo’s story because they are a personal favorite of mine. I love Irma and her fierceness and how she came from nothing. She struggled to take care of herself most of her life and had never needed anyone. Alejo had the luxury of growing up with a loving family. His father was a mob boss but knew the balance of being a boss and a father. The chemistry between the two is undeniable. This book has a lot of action as well which in my opinion makes it so much more adventurous and fun to read.

Sherri: What comes next? Have you plans for a new series or more of the mafia?

Stasia: After the second book in the Men of the Mafia comes out, I plan to work on releasing the first book to my next series which will be the Women of the Mafia. Showcasing women who come born and bred to one day rule. This will not be a spin-off. It will feature brand new characters.

Sherri: Who do you like to read? Who are some of your favorite authors or who are you currently reading?

Stasia: I love Sam Mariano. Do you have that one book that you still think about even years after reading it? That’s what she did for me with her Moretti Family series. It’s what started my love of mafia romance. She also introduced me to dark romance, and I haven’t looked back since. I owe a lot to her writing and inspiring me. Currently I am reading Black Beard by Angus Konstam. A book I found on clearance and decided to take a short break from reading romance and read about some legendary pirates.

Sherri: Ah, Black Beard is legendary here in North Carolina. If you need any other reference material, I have a list.

Did you self-publish, or did you go the traditional route?

Stasia: I decided to go with self-publishing because I was too anxious to get my books out. I have over twenty books written, and I don’t always do well with waiting around for something to happen.

Sherri: I always wanted to be traditionally published but now that I’ve self-published I can’t relinquish control.

What do you wish you’d known prior to publishing? What will you do differently with your next book?

Stasia: I plan to self-publish my next book, but I am also working on a query letter to send out to literary agents in hopes of going the traditional publishing route. If I would have known how hard it was to self-publish, I think I would have found some patience within myself to wait on finding an agent.

Sherri: Self-publishing is a lot of work. What would you tell someone who is just beginning to write seriously?

Stasia: To not give up. Ever. If writing is your passion, go for it. It’s okay if it takes you years to complete a novel. You completed a novel which most people cannot say. Join social media groups and don’t be afraid to reach out asking for advice. And you don’t need to publish your work to consider yourself a writer.

Sherri: What is your dream for your writing career?

Stasia: To make a career out of it. To be able to make enough money so that my husband can do what he loves as well. I am so blessed to have a supportive husband that is helping me follow my dreams and I would love to do the same for him someday. Also, I would love to be able to help other aspiring authors. To be that successful author that others look up to. I would love to be influential enough to help other authors become more successful.

Sherri: Tell us 10 fun facts about you. What makes you unique?

Stasia: Hmm…ten fun facts. Okay, here it goes.

If I had an entrance song it would be Enter Sandman by Metallica.

I don’t eat the ends of my food and usually pick the corners off. It ends up looking like a rodent got a hold of my food (what my husband likes to say).

Along with my three rescue dogs and one rescue kitten, I have two rescue rats.

I am five feet tall.

My favorite animal is an armadillo.

I like making different covers for my laptop with fun stickers from Etsy.

My favorite writing tool is my rocketbooks! I can write as much down and make as many notes as I want without wasting paper.

I love shopping for clothes and shoes on Ebay.

I have a camper which I absolutely love taking on camping trips with my husband, my children, and my dogs which happens to also be my favorite atmosphere to write in.

And last but not least, my husband is going to be on HGTV with his brother renovating a beach house in Kitty Hawk, NC!

Sherri: Okay, I think I’m in love! My last book, Trent’s Melody has a renovation as part of the romance. My favorite thing to do with my kids was camping (we tent camped) and I love Kitty Hawk and Hatteras. I used to live in Texas, so I adore armadillos. I think we’d get along great!

When a reader finishes your books, what do you want them to say or feel?

Stasia: I want them to want more! I don’t want readers to just love my stories, I want them to enjoy my writing in general. I’ve had a few readers reach out to me on social media telling me how much they enjoyed my book, and it was such a great feeling. I cannot wait to be someone’s favorite author someday!

Sherri: What is the overall theme of your books?

Stasia: So, right now I am focused on the mafia books I have written. It’s honestly the most fun for me to write because they’re untouchable. They pretty much have the power to do whatever they want. They do not abide by the law and have little morals. But eventually you will see more from me and the wide range of romance that I write. Most of it teeters on the line of dark romance, and some are undoubtedly dark. But overall, romantic!

Sherri: Thank you, Stasia for joining me at my virtual café. If I ever win the lottery, I’d like to do this for real. I am so glad you stopped by, and I do look forward to hearing from you again.

https://www.facebook.com/stasiamarsauthor

https://www.instagram.com/stasiamarsauthor/

https://www.tiktok.com/@stasiamarsauthor

Stay tuned, Stasia will be launching her new book very soon and we’ll be doing a cover reveal right here!

Creekside Cafe, interview

Creekside Cafe Chat with Seralynn Lewis

Posted on September 1, 2020August 11, 2020 by Sherri

Today I’d like to welcome fellow Heart of Carolina RWA member, Seralynn Lewis to my virtual café. It’s good to have you here.

Seralynn: Thank you, it’s an honor to be here.

Sherri: Your novel, Cassie’s Secrets is your debut novel? Are you traditionally published or Indie? Tell us about your journey to publishing your novel.

Seralynn: Yes, Cassie’s Secrets is my debut novel. I will be self-publishing the book with a release date of September 1, 2020. The journey to publication has been uphill, downhill with crazy twists and turns along the way. Originally, I wanted to traditionally publish and after attending my first major convention in 2018, an agent requested the manuscript and I thought my goal to publication was secured. But after working with the agent for over a year, I realized the process of publishing traditionally would take an extraordinarily long time and I was unprepared to wait that long. My agent and I eventually parted ways and I began my journey to learn what I could about self-publishing and couldn’t be happier.

Sherri: Have you always been a writer? When did you start writing? When did you decide to be a published author?

Seralynn: Years ago, when my daughters were toddlers, I got the bright idea that I would write a novel. I was addicted to reading romances and thought I could write one. So, with a notebook and pen, I wrote my first novel. It was so long ago that I used my mom’s old electric typewriter to type the manuscript. In those days, a writer could send their manuscripts to a publisher without the benefit of an agent. Sadly, the novel was rejected. But it wasn’t surprising since I had no formal training as a writer. In fact, the letter I received from the publisher said, “Take some creative writing classes and get a better typewriter ribbon.” I was crushed because I knew I’d never be able to take classes. That manuscript sat on a shelf and after quite a number of moves, I couldn’t bear to look at it and I pitched it. Life happened and I was a single mom for almost twenty years until I married my current husband. He encouraged me to take the classes and I did. It’s a long-awaited dream. This book, Cassie’s Secrets, began as one scene I had to write for my first creative writing class and it morphed in the full-blown novel it is today.

Sherri: Cassie’s Secrets is the first in a series set in the town of Worthy? Is this an imaginary town? Tell us about your town? The inspiration? This is also an inspirational romance, why is it important for you to write romance with a religious (Christian) theme?

Seralynn: Worthy is an imaginary town located about forty miles south of Columbus, Ohio. I chose the area because of what happens in book #2. When I wrote my proposal for the agent, I knew I had to have three ideas for the series I was planning and I wanted the book to be set in Ohio, since I was born and raised in Ohio. But I needed it to be a small town. The novel is an inspirational romance. It’s important for me to write this novel because there are messages I want to readers to have and who may need encouragement in their lives. The message is key. In Cassie’s Secrets, the message is about forgiveness. We all need it and we all should give it.

Sherri: You have won several writing awards. Tell me what it means to be a Serious Writer, inc Writer of the Year finalist?

Seralynn: I was incredibly excited to be one of twelve people to be a finalist for this award. The winner has not yet been announced due to the pandemic. There will be one winner, of course, but there will also be second to fifth place winners as well. I had forgotten I entered the contest only to be told by another writer friend who also placed that I had placed as a semi-finalist. Then we had to wait an inordinate amount of time to find out the finalists. We’re on tenterhooks waiting. The contest entry was for book #2 of the series.

Sherri: What do you hope readers will take away from reading your books?

Seralynn: I hope the readers will enjoy the story and learn there is hope. Hope in everyday life and in everyday people.

Sherri: What writing project are you working on now?

Seralynn: I’m in the process of editing book #2 of the series, Mia’s Irishman, which will be released sometime in November 2020. I’m also currently writing book #3 of the series.

Sherri: Why did you choose to write romance?

Seralynn: I chose to write romance because I love to read romance. From the time my children were babies, romances enthralled me and I’m a voracious romance reader. So many titles and not enough time to read them all! I enjoy most all sub-genres with a few exceptions.

Sherri: Tell us about your blog A Woman’s Heart (seralynnlewis.com)

Seralynn: I wanted to be able to touch women’s hearts by writing about faith, life and romance. Those three categories just about covers any topic I can think of. The Faith part of the blog is where I choose Bible verses and write about how they impact our lives today. The Life part of the blog is mostly day-to-day things from birthdays to holidays. And the romance part of the blog deals with romance and the adventures my husband and I had while living in Germany and visiting castles.

Sherri: In Cassie’s Secrets you have a match maker as well as a little suspense. What are your favorite genres or authors to read?

Seralynn: There are so many fantastic romance writers out there, it’s very difficult to choose even one. I have two favorite genres I like to read aside from contemporary romances and they are historical Scottish romances and Western romances. But I’ll read Amish, Regency, Sweet & Clean, Medical and other sub-genres with the exception of a few.

Sherri: What advice would you like to give to other writers who’d like to pursue publishing their work?

Seralynn: The best advice I can give is to write the best story you can, then learn to self-edit.

Sherri: Thank you Seralynn for visiting with me here at my Creekside Café. I wish you lots of luck with your new novel.

If you liked this interview with Seralynn Lewis then follow her on social media and check out her debut novel, Cassie’s Secrets.

Here’s the back cover copy of the book:

When there’s a second chance for love and you have secrets, are you able to share them to gain the love of your life?

Single mom, Cassie Verano, and her two young daughters move to small-town Worthy, Ohio to be near her brother and his family. After years of secretly writing best-selling novels, she longs to raise her daughters without her ex-husband’s family’s controlling interference and live in peace. Her daughters befriend two girls who are cared for by their aunt who urges Cassie to meet her brother. It’s the last thing she needs or wants.

Widowed business owner, Steve Nardelli, wants nothing more than to complete his huge Australian deal and expand his deceased father’s electronics firm to secure his family’s future. But his sister’s matchmaking antics over the past two years frustrates him. His disastrous marriage caused him to distrust women and he can’t seem to make his sister understand he doesn’t want or need any entanglements.

Despite Steve’s misgivings about Cassie’s secrets, when his sister disappears, he enlists Cassie to help care for his daughters. When Cassie has an odd dream, Steve blames her for his sister’s disappearance. Can Steve and Cassie overcome their mutual distrust and expose their secrets to one another to have a second chance at true love?

Cassie’s Secrets is a second chance Women of Worthy romance.

Here are my social medial links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeralynnAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SeralynnAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seralynnauthor/

Pintrest: https://www.pinterest.com/seralynnlewis/

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seralynn-lewis-65258716b

Seralynn Lewis

Creekside Cafe, interview

Creekside Cafe Chat with Debut Fantasy Author, Cady Hammer

Posted on July 31, 2020July 23, 2020 by Sherri

Welcome debut author, Cady Hammer to my Creekside Café. Cady it is good to have you here.

Cady: It is great to be here. Thank you so much for having me.

Sherri: I have to admit that I am so jealous. You are a college student publishing your first book. That is fantastic. I wish I’d been as confident. Tell us about your book. What genre, age group and when will it be out?

Cady: Haha, thank you! It is pretty crazy; I’m still very much in awe of it myself. So, this book is titled Chasing Fae. It is a young adult epic fantasy novel, and it is coming out during the last week of July. My publisher is still working out exactly which date at the moment. The story follows Grace Richardson, a young mortal woman whose brother goes off to the Fae’s realm, the Upper Realm, to serve as a mercenary. Now, she expects him to return with all of the honor and accolades that he deserves. But when he dies in a mysterious accident, not a word, medal, or penny comes down from the Fae. Grace suspects there’s a little foul play going on, so she decides that she is going to disguise herself as a Fae and sneak into the Upper Realm to get some answers. It is a fantastic adventure with a lot of twists and turns, lots of secrets. I’m really excited to put it out into the world.

Sherri: I bet. I’m excited for you. It sounds like a book I would enjoy reading. I know my grandchildren would love it.

Cady and I are part of the Shameless Self-Promo group on Twitter that C.S. Ratliff started. The group has been a wonderful source of support. What have you learned from the group?

Cady: I actually have learned quite a bit of marketing advice from the group. I learned that marketing can often be sometimes like screaming about your book into the void and hoping something sticks. That helped me relax a little and not feel like I was so behind in thinking about these things. When I revealed my cover for the first time, one of the authors pointed out that I might want my name to be a little bigger on the front cover in order to be seen from a thumbnail as well as easily recognizable when looking for future books of mine. She said it was all about building a brand. I thought that was really useful.

Sherri: What has been your most challenging experience publishing your first book?

Cady: Finding time and using that time to the absolute fullest. I started this book during my first semester of college, and now I’m entering my fifth semester. I am taking a major and a minor (history and anthropology) as well as working towards a certificate program. I’ve been involved in my honors fraternity, Phi Sigma Pi, and ballroom dance club since my freshman year. So, there was always a lot going on. For me, it was all about finding those moments after my homework was finished and in between club meetings to really sit down with the story and revise. Some days I would take time off from clubs to focus on getting a chapter or a scene just right. But it has always been worth it to me so far!

Sherri: Did you indie publish or go with a traditional publisher? What has surprised you about the experience?

Cady: I am with a relatively new small press called New Degree Press. And honestly, they have been just amazing. They have really taken the time to cultivate my abilities and teach me about the publishing process from start to finish. I had so much more say over my book and particularly the cover with them than I would have had under a traditional publisher, and I have really enjoyed that.

Sherri: Your cover is awesome. Did you design it or someone else? Is it what you envisioned?

Cady: I came up with the vision, and New Degree Press sent those ideas to their creative team. The designer for my cover is Milan Krstevski, and he is just amazing. He told me that mine was the most complicated cover that he had worked on, but he really just brought my ideas to life in a way that was so much better than anything I could have imagined.

Sherri: How long did it take you to write this book? Is this your first full-length novel? I know it is your first published novel, but have you written others that you haven’t published, if so, why not?

Cady: I wrote my first novel, or I guess novella when I was eleven years old. It was a middle grade adventure/fantasy novel, somewhere around 34,000 words. That will not see the light of day, but for a fifth grader, it was pretty solid work. I did multiple revisions on it and had actually thought about sending it off to literary agents before deciding not to. I wanted more writing experience first. The first draft of Chasing Fae took about a month, but before that I spent about eight months working on character building and worldbuilding. After the first draft, I spent six months on revisions. Once I got my publisher, I spent another two months approximately doing more revisions. It’s been a fulfilling journey from start to finish, really.

Sherri: Juggling writing and the rest of your life can be difficult. You are a full-time student. How do you manage school with the demands of writing especially now as a published author?

Cady: I find time whenever I can to write. Usually, that’s in the evenings after the day’s work is done. I also write in the afternoons and evenings on the weekends. Usually on Sundays. I get my homework done on Saturday so I can write all day Sunday. It’s a fairly good setup. I write less when there’s more assignments to do, and I write more when there is less homework.

Sherri: What or who inspired your characters for Chasing Fae?

Cady: I’m a huge fantasy nerd, but one of the things that I think that there is a lack of in the genre are really strong yet introverted female leaders. My high school really pushed the student body to try to stand up and be leaders, but they had a very specific vision of what a leader was, a very extroverted personality view. I think that really deterred me from seeing myself as having the potential to be a leader. Grace comes from this idea that introverts can have a lot of power and stubbornness and leadership skills that can really shine through in different situations. I hope that she will be inspiring to people. Outside of that, my characters do draw on the people in my life a little bit. I like to mash up personality traits from different people and make them into entirely new characters.

Sherri: Being a writer isn’t often easy, we are often alone or inside our heads. Do you have a good support group: family, friends, other writers whom you can share your ideas, frustrations or who will encourage you?

Cady: My family is a good support group for me, especially my younger sister, Morgan. She’s my first and biggest fan. She loves to help me out with character building and worldbuilding ideas. I have a fantastic group of friends, a couple from high school, a few from college, and of course, the majority from my honors fraternity. They have just been incredible, so supportive. I am so lucky to have them in my life. I also have a solid group of writing friends to connect with and bounce ideas off of. And I would not be where I am today without my boyfriend, Daniel. He is always helping me get inspired or reading over a section to see if things make sense. He actually read the second draft of my book because I knew that he would tell it to me like it is, and he wouldn’t sugarcoat the truth. I’m really lucky to have all of these wonderful people in my life.

Sherri: I know you just finished your first published novel but what are you working on now? What do you plan to do in the future? Will this book be a stand-alone or part of a series?

Cady: Right now, I have just started the sequel to Chasing Fae. The series is going to be a trilogy; I hope my readers will be ready for a wild ride. I also have a nonfiction book that I am working on about innovative ways to teach history across all ages, both in the classroom and outside of it. I have a few more ideas as well that are in the brainstorming stage.

Sherri: What are your plans and goals for you writing career? Where do you hope to be in five, ten, twenty years?

Cady: If you had asked me this question even two months ago, I would have given you an entirely different answer. I would have said that after the Chasing Fae trilogy, I was probably going to be finished writing because I didn’t think I had more stories in me. But as I have been working through the publishing process, I found a few more story ideas that I would love to see as stand-alone fantasy novels. So, I think you’re going to see a lot more from me in the future. I realized I can’t stop at just these three books; I have a lot more in me to share.

Sherri: What do you hope readers come away with when they read your books?

Cady: I hope that readers find Grace to be someone they would love to be friends with or to follow into battle. I hope they get swept away by the world that I have created. I hope it inspires those readers who would be writers to take that first step and start their own story. And most importantly, I hope it makes readers hungry for more.

Sherri: If you liked this interview with Cady Hammer, her social media links are below and don’t forget to check out her debut novel, Chasing Fae. You can find the buy links to her book below as well.

Thank you, Cady for joining me here on my virtual café. I wish you great success with your book and look forward to reading it. To all of you who stopped into the café, we hope you’ll come back again. See y’all later.

Check out Cady’s Facebook Launch Party August 5th, 10 am – 10 pm!

https://facebook.com/events/s/chasing-fae-launch-party/309178733561124/?ti=icl

Website: www.fluffaboutfantasy.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CadyHammer

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/fluffaboutfantasy/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fluffaboutfantasy/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/cadyahammer/

Current Book Summary: Grace Richardson is a young mortal woman whose only concerns are providing for her family, playing her violin, and spending as much time as possible with her brother Leo. When Leo goes into service in the Fae’s world as a mercenary, she expects him to return with the honor that he deserves.

When Leo suddenly dies in an unspecified accident, not a word, medal, or penny comes down from the higher ups. Suspecting foul play, Grace disguises herself as a Fae and sneaks into the Upper Realm to get some answers. She anticipated being in way over her head, but the Fae soldier who catches her fleeing an angry bar and discovers her identity only a day in? Not so much.

Now Grace is forced to drag Aiden along as she tries to work out exactly how and why her brother died. Along the way, she has no choice but to confront her prejudices against the Fae as she attempts to sort out the difference between the honest and the dishonest. Political conspiracies, demon realm escapades, and family secrets will all lead Grace to the answers she’s looking for… and some that she isn’t.

Bio : From the time she was a child writing her first novel at the age of eleven between classes, Cady explored her world through imagination. She was often teased for being in her own world, but never hesitated to invite others along on the adventure. As she grew older, Cady’s studies in history and anthropology set the stage for her detailed world-building that lets readers step into the story. Her stories explore the complexities of relationships crafted around the idea that love, friendship, and grief are all interwoven.

Cady runs the internationally-read website, Fluff About Fantasy, a place for young writers to learn the genre-specific craft of writing fantasy and be inspired by what they can accomplish.

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