Posted in backstory, character interview, Creekside Cafe, interview, promo

On the Porch with Damian and Marble, a Creekside Cafe Chat

Damian is the hero of K.B. Davenport’s new adult fantasy novel, Magic in Autumn Springs. Welcome Damian Baxter to Creekside Café. 

Damian: Thanks for having me, Sherri! The café is beautiful. Reminds me of home! 

Sherri: Damian it is so good to have this chance to get to know you better. I enjoyed reading about your adventures in Autumn Springs. Have you always lived in Autumn Springs? You went to college there as well? Have you ever wanted to travel? Did you ever want to leave Autumn Springs? 

Damian: Thanks for reading my story! I have always lived in Autumn Springs. Born and raised! I love my hometown. It’s a friendly place (mostly), and there’s always something brewing. After I graduated high school, I went to Autumn Springs College. I wanted to stay close to home, despite not having the best relationship with my parents. The town always had a pull for me, though, so I couldn’t bear to leave it. I guess, after reading my story, you know why! There was something waiting for me there, I just had to figure out what it was. 

I’ve traveled a few times. Mostly to surrounding states and tourist destinations near Autumn Springs. Never too far. But I’ve always wanted to go to Switzerland. It’s so beautiful, I feel like it’s the only place that could rival my love for my hometown. Springtime there seems like a fairy tale! 

When I was younger, I wanted nothing more than to leave Autumn Springs. From around ages ten to seventeen, I dreamed of moving far away and living a fast-paced life in a city somewhere. I was convinced that Autumn Springs was only for people who wanted big families and small lives. It took some time to realize how mistaken I was. Something clicked one day, and I’ve been happy there since. That’s not to say I won’t let life take me to other places. Who knows where I’ll end up now that Bartley and I are together! He’s much more of a traveler than I am. 

Sherri: You had a special relationship with your grandmother. What connected the two of you?  

Damian: Granny Sue was an interesting person. She had a steadfastness that I admired from an early age. I also felt her sadness about not being able to connect with her daughter (my mother), and I think it helped me deal with my own pain. But beyond that, she was an immensely creative and talented person with lots of stories and love. She would paint, sing songs, grow beautiful gardens, and it all came so naturally. I was her only grandchild, too, so I was a bit spoiled, I guess! 

Sherri: How old were you when you started experiencing strange things? Magic? Dreams?  

Damian: I think I was around seven or eight. At least, that’s when I have conscious memories of things happening.  

Sherri: What was your first magical experience? 

Damian: Just little things at first. Like, I’d be thinking about a snack I wanted in the kitchen and wishing it was in front of me. I would concentrate hard and try to move it, but the best I could do was lifting it an inch or so off the counter. I think wish fulfillment is every young witch’s first experience with magic, though! 

Sherri: Who started calling you Kachoo? Where did the name Kachoo come from? 

Damian: Granny and Grampa had an ornate toy train at their house when I was little. I’d always play with it when I visited them. Granny always called it a choo-choo, but I had trouble saying it. I would say “ka-choo” instead, like a sneeze, and Granny always laughed. It stuck around as my nickname as I got older. It was sort of an inside joke between us.  

Sherri: You spoke of the men you’ve dated just passing through, only in Autumn Springs for school. What type of man are you attracted to? What is the most important element in a partner?  

Damian: I love bookish types with a bit of a roguish side. A guy who can quote Shakespeare and swashbuckle pirates would be ideal. I mean, essentially that’s who Bartley is. He surprises me every day with new adventures. We just went spelunking a few weeks ago! The caves near Autumn Springs are spooky and mystifying. 

I hate to sound cliche, but communication is really it for me. If we can talk through what we’re feeling, no matter how silly or childish we may be feeling, we’ll get through any problem. A lot of guys in my past weren’t the best communicators, despite being in college. It’s like they spent all their time expressing themselves at school and wanted to shut off when it came to romantic involvements. Bartley is so much different from any other guy I’ve met. He listens to me ramble on and on and pretends like it’s the most interesting thing he’s ever heard. I’m lucky to have him! 

Sherri: You and Granny Sue share a love of plants, what are your favorites? One of my favorites is rosemary but I’ve never had much luck raising it. I have some monster aloe plants though. 

Damian: Rosemary can be a bit tricky! I love herbs as well. My herb garden gets a lot of my attention, since I cook with them so much. Aloe plants are great! I love succulents, especially for the porch so I don’t have to spend too much time caring for them. I’ve been pretty busy lately, so I’d hate to let a more complicated plant suffer. I love my spider plants and rubber plants, too. I like classic and simple things. 

Sherri: Tell us about Marble, she is a bit of a diva, but she is more than a pet, isn’t she? 

Damian: Marble is… 

Marble: Marble can speak for herself, thank you very much.  

Damian: I guess I’ll let her share the spotlight! 

Marble: I was Granny Sue’s familiar for many years. I was assigned to her by the Elder Witches after my previous caretaker passed. I was sad and lonely, and so was Granny Sue after Grampa passed away. She volunteered to take on a familiar, and I was the one she got! I couldn’t have been happier. My time with her is something I’ll cherish forever. Although, Damian treats me pretty great, too. He even lets me help fish when we go to the river. I caught a huge salmon this spring. 

Damian: It was a tiny mosquitofish. But it was pretty feisty! 

Sherri: Were you a human at one time Marble? Where or when were you from?  

Marble: Long ago. As a lady of class, I won’t reveal my age, but I will say I had an adventurous life. Damian knows from our recent trip to New Orleans that I lived in the French Quarter for some time in my youth. I may or may not have gotten into some trouble there which led to my current state. I had a magic show in a little café there and a stunning girlfriend named Marie. We used to cause so much havoc, like when we lured that nasty old politician into the alley way and—oh, but perhaps I should share that story another time… 

Sherri: What is the deal with your co-worker Shay? Sometimes she seems a little lazy and others more enthusiastic. Is she bi-polar?  

Damian: Shay is an enigma. She’s never told me about being bi-polar, but she has hinted at it in the past. I try to be understanding, as I’m sure she does with my inwardness and quietness. I guess we all have our own things to work on. She’s always supportive of me, though, so I can’t say too much! I think she’s misunderstood by a lot of people, especially new people. 

Sherri: If you’d have known who Bartley was when you first met would it have changed your feelings towards him?  

Damian: I don’t think it would have changed my feelings, but I do think I would have been less confident! Something came over me when we met, and I presented my best self. That’s always been a challenge for me. I feel like I often misspeak or get tongue-tied when I meet new people and try to explain who I am or what I do. With Bartley, it was so easy. After I found out who he was and how prominent his family was and is in Autumn Springs, I was even more intrigued. But I probably would have freaked out if I realized he was sort of a local celebrity before we met! 

Sherri: If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would you change? Why? 

Damian: I would change how I dealt with my parents’ passing, if I could. While we were never very close, I did love them. I felt like I tried to push them and their memories out of my life once they were gone. I wish I would have been more reverent toward them and had taken better care of my dad’s study. Who knows what I could have discovered about myself earlier in life had I connected with their memories more? That’s been my mission lately. Since everything has settled down, Bartley and I are cleaning up the study, and I’m finding great artifacts for the library where I work. 

Sherri: Do you have any regrets? Anything you wished you’d done differently? 

Damian: Pushing away my magic and my sense of whimsy at an early age. Although Granny Sue encouraged me to be myself, I had so many other influences telling me otherwise. I let the naysayers get the best of me for a long time. If I could, I would be open and free with who I really was. 

Sherri: What are your hopes or plans for the future? Do they include a hunky Irishman? 

Damian: Oh, yes, definitely! Bartley and I are talking about all kinds of new adventures. As Marble mentioned, we’ve been fishing a lot, and we visited my aunt in New Orleans not long ago to help her with a magical dilemma. I can’t wait to visit his family in Ireland! We’re thinking of going to see them at Christmastime this year. Other than that, I just hope to stay happy and healthy with my family. I love to see Marble growing closer with her new pal, Harlan, and hopefully my former rival Elias and I can be friendly neighbors one day! 

Sherri: If you liked this interview with Damian and Marble check out their book, Magic in Autumn Springs by K B Davenport and my earlier interview with author, K B Davenport.

https://sherrilhollister.com/2021/06/09/celebrating-pride-month-at-creekside-cafe-with-author-k-b-davenport/

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Posted in audio books, Book Review

Witches of Bourbon Street

Jade Calhoun series, Book 2

by Deanna Chase, Narrated by Gabra Zackman

Jade Calhoun has shunned magic for years. When her mentor, Bea, becomes gravely ill she convinces Jade that she is the only one who can help. She must embrace her witchy side and learn to use the magic.

Jade’s prejudices block her powers. She is angry at magic for stealing her mother and she has suppressed her gifts for so long, it may be too late to access them now.

When an angel goes rogue and Jade’s boyfriend, Kane is in danger, the past and present collide, and it is up to Jade and her powers as a white witch to save them all. Will she be able to control her gifts or will history repeat itself and she be cursed once more to be alone?

Fighting the powers of evil requires more magic. Many white witches have turned to the dark side to gain enough power to thwart their enemies and are lost because of it. How can an untrained witch hope to do what others haven’t been able to do?

Deanna Chase brings all the power and emotion of love, friendship and combines them with the ambiance of New Orleans and all that is mystical and mysterious about the world. This sometimes funny, sometimes intense emotional roller coaster was a great read no matter which way you experience it, you’ll love it.

Narrator Gabra Zackman did a fantastic job of emoting the story and adding another layer of delight to the reader. I want more from this narrator as well as this author.   

Posted in interview

A Warm Friendly Chat with Hannah Meredith

also known as Merry Simmons

I am thrilled to welcome Hannah Meredith to Creekside Café, my dream job if I ever win the lottery or get a million-dollar movie deal, for now, the café only exists on my website. Hannah and I are both members of Romance Writers of America and our local Heart of Carolina RWA. We met at local meeting and became friends. I have learned as much from riding in a car with her as I have from classes I’ve attended. It’s so good to have you here, Hannah.

Hannah: Thanks. It’s great to be here. Your café is so warm and friendly, it’s a great place for a chat.

Sherri: I have been blessed to have met some wonderful writers and interesting people through RWA and HCRW. You are one of my favorite people. You came into writing romance from a little bit different angle, tell our readers about your interesting path to publishing.

Hannah: Well, first of all, I’m honored to be included in your “favorite people” group. 😊 And I think my wandering journey to publication is pretty typical. Few of us seem to arrive there in a straight line.

Since I was a child, I’ve loved making up stories and have always been an avid reader, but like most of us, these impulses were overshadowed by just living life. I got a couple of degrees in English from SMU, married, taught at the high school and university level for 15 years, and then switched to a career in Real Estate for about 25 more… and then, finally, life slowed down enough that the characters who lived in my head could be heard screaming to get out.

Since I was still working, I figured writing short fiction was the way to go, but the market for short stories was quite limited. The one genre that still had a number of active magazines was science fiction and fantasy. I’d long been an enthusiastic reader of C.J. Cherryh, David Brin, Anne McCaffrey, etc., and so decided to give it a try. This pursuit was greatly advanced when I won the grand prize for the Writers of the Future Contest—which I highly recommend for those writing sf&f. It’s free to enter and has decent cash prizes and an excellent workshop. I went on to sell over a dozen stories to many of the major science fiction and fantasy magazines before switching to romance.

Now, if you add up all the years before I began writing seriously, it’s obvious that I was not a spring chicken when I got around to putting words on paper. But this is one of the joys of most any creative pursuit – age provides no barrier and instead brings a better knowledge of the world. I have a saying painted on my kitchen wall, “Some of the most interesting flowers in the garden are Late Bloomers” and I hope that applies to me.

Sherri: Well, I hope it applies to me as well, since I’m new to publishing and not quite fresh as a daisy myself.

I’ve been a fan of yours for several years. You started writing science fiction but when I first read your work you were already writing historical romance. How did you make the switch to romance?

Hannah: After writing short stories for a while, I wanted to expand my ideas into a fantasy novel. Alas, I must have been channeling George R.R. Martin as I wrote and wrote and wrote. After about 200,000 words, I realized what I had was—a mess. I’ve always read broadly and, consequently, had enjoyed a number of historical romances along the way. I recognized that this was a genre where I was not expected to fill such a large canvas, so decided to give it a try. The transition to romance was not easy, however. The reader expectations were very different, and the contacts I had in ss&f didn’t transfer to another genre. I was now sailing on uncharted waters. In this, the advice of other romance writers was really helpful, and the support and programs offered by the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers were priceless.

Linda Johnson, Hannah Meredith and me at 2019 HCRW Writers Workshop, photo by Donna Steele

Sherri: You started self-publishing early, how and why did you make the decision to self-publish?

Hannah: Submitting to a romance publisher was very different from sending a manuscript to a magazine editor in a genre where I had a track record. Now I had to start from scratch. The process was totally different. There were pitches and log lines and all sorts of dance steps I didn’t know and wasn’t sure I wanted to learn. And then, if I were successful, I would be looking at potentially a year before anything would make it to print. Okay, I am not getting any younger. I simply did not want to go through the process and take the time. Especially when self-publishing had become a viable option.

I also found self-publishing appealing since I’m a bit of a control freak. (I must admit here that my husband of 52 years would probably question the “a bit” part of that last sentence) I like the fact that I have control over what my covers look like. I like the fact that my stories don’t have to conform to what a given publisher thinks readers want rather than how I think a story should be told.  I like that my books will come out on a schedule of my own making.

I happily embraced self-publishing—and I’m glad I did.

Sherri: What changes have you seen in publishing since you first started? Do you think it is easier or more difficult for new writers?

Hannah: There’s been a consolidation in publishing caused by a lot of mergers and, unfortunately, by a number of disappearances of excellent mid-sized and smaller lines. All the Big Five New York publishers are now just a part of some bigger conglomerate. Penguin Random House is owned by Bertelsmann (German) and Pearson (British), Hachette by Lagardere Publishing (French), HarperCollins by News Corp (Australian), Macmillian by Holtzbrinck Publishing Group (German), and Simon & Schuster by CBS (American). Big conglomerates tend to streamline and so the number of editors has been reduced and their work load increased. If it seems to you that many traditionally published books aren’t as carefully edited as they have been in the past, this is the reason. But this has also reduced the number of slots for new authors. The best way to get a “foot in the door” is now through the eBook only imprints and these seldom pay an advance. So, while I have no personal experience, I would say finding a publisher is probably more difficult.  

Sherri: You do it all, write, publish, design your own covers, what advice would you give to other indie-authors who feel they don’t have a lot of money to invest in their first book?

Hannah: Yeah, doing it all is the control thing again. 😊 And I’m also afraid proves that I tend to be frugal. But anyone can put out a book without it costing a lot of money. Just remember that while everything you do yourself saves money, it takes up more of your time and adds to frustration. You need to determine what is important to you.

If you can use MS Word, or its cousin available on Apple products, you can produce a manuscript that can be made into both an eBook and a print file. If you follow Smashwords’ Style Guide, you can upload your manuscript directly to KDP and you should end up with a good product. I use Smashwords to upload all the other venders, and if I’ve followed the Style Guide, it will obviously upload to all the other places just fine. Now, this will be perfectly readable, but it will not have anything “fancy” on it. The plus is it costs you absolutely nothing. You can see what it will look like by emailing the manuscript to your Kindle. If there is anything weird, you didn’t follow the Style Guide. Alternately, you can pay someone to format both mobi and epub files to upload, Or you can use various purchased software, the most lauded being Vellum, which unfortunately for me, only works on a Mac. You’ll be able to personalize these.

You can use the same manuscript to build a print book. KDP has a template or you can make one using just Word, which is my choice. It’s more work, but I can make it prettier.

KDP also has templates on which you can build both an eBook and a print cover. These have worked well for many people. I use Photoshop to make my own. I took a $25 online class on Cover Making and got a Photoshop Elements on sale, so there was some initial outlay, but I’ve made a lot of covers for both myself and others. Now these are not award-winning covers, but I think they look professional. Or at least, professional-enough. If you need costumed people, you can buy them for about $10. For backgrounds I just use one of the stock photo places. I like Deposit Photos because about once a year they run a sale with 100 downloads for $39-49. I just finished the cover for an almost-completed Christmas story (I make covers when my brain is too tired to write) and it cost me $1.47. Yep, it’s made from pieces of three downloaded photos. 😊 If messing with covers is not your thing, there are a lot of sites where you can get a lovely pre-made cover personalized with your information for as low as $50.

One place you do not want to get cheap is with editing. Yeah, we all think we don’t need it, but this is usually the reason we see a bunch of not-ready-for-prime-time books appear from Indy authors. To get a comprehensive edit can be pricy, so you need to train yourself to do decent self-editing. Then also develop a group of “wise readers” who will give you honest feedback on where the book may go off the tracks. I’ve teamed up with some other authors I have confidence in, and we edit each other’s stories. I sometimes trade off book covers for editing. But before I developed this support group, I paid for edits. Again, this is one place to spend money.

The last potential cost is for an ISBN. You can get these for free from both KDP and Smashwords. I however, have purchased my own because I have my own imprint, Singing Spring Press. I think we’re back to control… I bought 100 from Bowker because they’re much cheaper that way. Of course, I’m in my 70’s and still bought 100. I think this is the definition of optimistic. 😊

Sherri: You have recently made a bit of switch into fantasy? What is the biggest challenge you face with changing genres?

Hannah: Changing genre makes finding readers a little trickier, but that’s the only difficulty. Song of the Nightpiper is a medieval-based, fantasy romance, so it was still in the same overall genre. The Christmas story I hope to publish shortly, The Last Gift, is also a fantasy romance.

Sherri: You and a few of you writer friends have been publishing an annual Christmas anthology for several years. Tell us about it. How did it start? How do you manage three other writers?

Hannah: Back in 2014, over lunch before the HCRW meeting, Kate Parker and I decided it would be fun to do a Christmas anthology. We each asked someone we thought would be a good fit, and the group was formed. Thus, Christmas Revels was born. We have just published Christmas Revels VI, and this simply has to be the last. I’m the cover maker and I can’t tweak any more semi-Christmasy colors out of the background file. 😊

I’m very proud of all our volumes. Each of the stories is interesting and unique and covers some aspect of Christmas in Regency England. Here’s a quick look at this year’s content –

            Come Revel with four award-winning authors for Christmas tales filled with laughter, tears,   and love…

Her Ladyship Orders a Christmas Tree – A pagan custom leads to an unexpected attraction.

“The Play’s the Thing…” – Going off-script prompts a surprise ending.

Yuletide Treachery – Two lonely people find a traitor—and love.

A Perfectly Unexpected Christmas – An accident brings redemption and a homecoming.

The heat level varies by story, but this year, totally by accident, all the stories are PG-13. As far as riding herd on three other creative people, most of the time it is delightful… occasionally, not so much. 😊

Sherri: You and Kate Parker, one of your partners in crime helped me get started. Who helped you? Who were your mentors, support or influencers?

Hannah: This is an impossible question since there have been so many who have been helpful along the way. I was lucky to find Kate as a critique partner at HCRW many years ago. Anna Allen, one of the anthology contributors, has exchanged manuscripts with me since we met at Writers of the Future about 17 years ago. She can be quite brutal, but her comments always improve a book. Back in my SF days, I was fortunate to attend four different residential workshops that each lasted at least a week. This is where I had a lot of bad habits thrashed out of me. And the entire HCRW group has always been knowledgeable and supportive.

Sherri: You enjoy traveling, what are some of your favorite places to visit? Have you used any of these as settings for your stories?

Hannah: My husband and I promised ourselves we’d travel when he retired, and we have done so with a vengeance. We’ve been to all the continents except Antarctica. And we’re not really wanting to go there. Too cold! We’ve been to the UK quite a bit, and we’ve spent a lot of time visiting historic houses where my character will live. We’ve also returned twice to Australia and New Zealand, but so far I have no stories for those countries. Almost two years ago we visited India, where I do have pieces of some tales taking place. Our most unusual venue was Mongolia, and I have a crackerjack story idea placed there, but it will probably never exist. I have more stories in my head than I can get written.

Sherri: What are you working on now?

Hannah: I’m trying to get The Last Gift finished so it can come out in November. It would qualify as a contemporary romance except the hero is half Fey, so there is some magic involved. I’d planned on it being light holiday fare, but it is turning out to be bitter sweet and at times tugs at the heart. I’m really liking it. But I could be prejudiced. 😊 I’m hoping to get two historical romances finished for 2020, Fortune’s Promise, a standalone story set in the early Victorian period and The Color of Night which follows Tremaine from Kaleidoscope. Both of these are well on their way. I have three more stories to follow in what will be a Kaleidoscope series, and these will hopefully appear in 2021-22. I’m basically a slow writer.

Sherri: Well, I hate to say good bye, but you know what they say, leave them wanting more. Speaking of more, tell us how we can find you on social media and how can we buy your books?

Hannah: People can find most my books at whatever online source they use. For Amazon, they can go to http://tinyurl.com/q8ywr39 for all of them. I’m a social media dud, but would love to have others visit my oft-ignored Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/HannahMeredithAuthor and my website, http://www.hannahmeredith.com.   

Sherri: Say Good bye Hannah. Let’s have a glass of wine, what do you recommend?

Hannah: Bye! And I like my wine pink…

Posted in Book Review

Review of Sleeping Mallows

Sleeping Mallows by Tammera Cooper

Sleeping Mallows is the second in the Water Street Chronicles, the sequel to Drenched Sunflowers. The story of Beth Pearse, her husband and Sam are simmering in the background while a mysterious woman turns up the heat and everything threatens to boil over.

A dog, a boy, a ghost, a hurricane and an unplanned romance come together to add to the rich tapestry Tammera Cooper has woven. Set amid the backdrop of little Washington on the banks of the Pamlico and Tar Rivers, the town, the swamp and the river are as much characters as the people and dog who populated this story.

While this is a continuation, Savanna’s story adds another layer to the drama begun in Drenched Sunflowers. Ms. Cooper twines Savanna and Charlie’s stories with those of Beth and Brad, ratcheting the intrigue to another level.

I feel that Sleeping Mallows is even better than Drenched Sunflowers. As with the first in the Water Street Chronicles, the ghost of Abram is an import piece of the puzzle.

Rich with history, atmosphere and drama, if you like an old-fashioned southern gothic with a modern twist, check out the Water Street Chronicles. You will want to start with book one, Drenched Sunflowers.

To learn more about Tammera Coooper and her books, check out the interview I did with her earlier this year.

On The Porch with Tammera Cooper

Posted in Book Review

Review: Goddess of Spring

Goddess of Spring by P C Cast, Read by Caitlin Davies (chirp)

This romantic fantasy, paranormal romance is a beautiful depiction of what love should be, without prejudices.

When Lina asks the Goddess Demeter for help saving her bakery, she has no clue that Demeter has her own agenda. Transported to Olympus, Lina is tasked with the job of visiting Hades in the Underworld and bringing peace to the newly departed.

Lina, in the body of the Goddess of Spring, Persephone, journeys to the Underworld and with her own powers, establishes herself as their champion. Lina’s affinity for animals, allows her to sooth the savage beasts that guard the land of the dead, and her wisdom and kindness sooth a trouble god.

Hades has kept himself away from the other gods and goddesses, preferring dead mortals to their self-absorbed antics. He cannot believe how different Persephone is.

Lina, falling in love with Hades wishes to tell him the truth but her pledge to Demeter doesn’t allow her to do so.

She, a mortal cannot live in the Underworld without dying and her responsibilities in the real world keep her tied to her past. How can a couple from two different worlds find a way to be together? Soul mates find each other no matter how far away they might travel.

One goddess nearly destroys them both, while another seeks to bring them together. Can true love win over even the greatest obstacles?

This delightful story will make you believe in the possibility of magic and happy ever after.