Tag Archives: castle

March 25, 2017 · 8:27 am

Author Interview with Lisa DeVore ~ New Release: Sebastian’s Castle

I am very pleased to introduce today’s guest. Lisa DeVore is one of my Wild Rose Press authors. I had the pleasure of working with her on her debut novel, and on a handful of stories since. She’s a sweetheart of a person and a wonderful author. I love her and her stories. 🙂 Her latest is an excellent ghost story/romance. She’s here to tell us all about it, after her interview:

Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?

My name is Lisa DeVore. I was born and raised in Alliance, Ohio (about 20 miles NE of Canton, Ohio…home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame). I have been married to my best friend for nearly twenty-three years. Our oldest son, Lewie, is twenty-one, and works with his dad doing custom restoration on old hot rods and motorcycles. Our son, Cole, is eighteen and will be graduating in June, and off to college to study computer technology. And our “baby” girl, Jessica, will turn sixteen on my 50th birthday March 27th. She’s all about driving right now. We have three four-legged kids, Smitty & Wess, who are toy fox terriers (and brothers from the same litter) and my mini-pin, Chester.

Where did you get the idea for “Sebastian’s Castle”?

My hometown, Alliance, has its very own castle…Glamorgan Castle. The mansion was built from 1904-1909 and is now home to the Alliance City Schools’ administration. As a student and resident of Alliance, I’ve grown up around the castle, and have shared its beauty and history with my kids. It inspired the castle in my book, from the layout to the breathtaking chandelier. However, I don’t believe Glamorgan Castle has any secret passages. Who knows though? The ghost came naturally…what castle doesn’t have a ghost? Sebastian’s last name was, also, borrowed from William Henry Morgan, owner of the Alliance castle.
For more information on Glamorgan Castle- http://www.alliancecityschools.org/glamorgan-castle-history

Why did you choose this genre (is it something you’ve written in before)?

This is my first “ghost” story, but the suspense genre is not new to me. I have to say, it was fun to write!

Was there anything unusual, any anecdote about this book, the characters, title, process, etc, you’d like to share?

I have toured and visited Glamorgan Castle many, many times since I was a child, and know its history as well as my own, but prior to writing “Sebastian’s Castle” I took two tours. I wanted to feel the rooms, and the history. I wanted to see it as my characters, Brynn and Jax might see it, and imagine them there. Having that template for Brynn’s Mystic, CT castle made it come alive for me, and, I hope, my readers.

What is the most difficult thing about writing a book?

The most difficult thing about writing a book, for me, is time. I haven’t, as yet, experienced writer’s block. My writing takes me on dips and curves that I don’t even see coming. I have really given up on outlines, because my stories always take turns along the way, and I never keep to one. And, I may start off with a hero and he ends up the villain. I just never know!

Are there any tricks, habits or superstitions you have when creating a story?

Music. It inspires me. For each book, I have a theme song I listen to.

What book have you read that you wish you had written?

“Gone With the Wind.”

(Me too!!) Do you have another occupation, other than writer? If so, what is it and do you like it?

My day job is accounting for an electrical distributor. I work part time, and I do like it. My degree is in accounting, so it’s good to be able to use that knowledge. And I work with some great people.

What’s the main thing that you could get rid of in your life that would give you more writing time?

Absolutely, without question, social media.

What’s your favorite book of all time and why? What’s your favorite childhood book?

My favorite book of all time is the Bible. It inspires, calms, and gives hope. It has stood the test of time, and there is always something new to learn from Its pages. My favorite childhood book is “Green Eggs and Ham”. I loved that book! I read it so many times as a child, and to my kids, that I knew it by heart!

If you could spend time with a character from your book, whom would it be? And what would you do during that day? (PG-13 please 🙂

It would be Sebastian Morgan from “Sebastian’s Castle”. How cool would it be to spend a day with a ghost? I am a geek when it comes to history, and I would spend the day annoying him with questions about his life, and what it was like to live in his time.

Who is the most famous person you have ever met?

Last May, I met my favorite singer, Scott Stapp (the front man of Creed, Art of Anarchy). His life experiences are in his music, and have inspired many. He has been criticized, and persecuted in the media, but he stays true to his style of writing, and gives God the glory. He is truly a kind man who loves God, his family, and fans. It was a pleasure meeting him…and he gives an amazing concert!

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

Nora Roberts. I don’t believe there’s one book she’s written whose characters didn’t come alive to me. Her stories have so much depth. She is a master at putting her reader in the moment.

What is your favorite…

Movie– The Patriot
Music– Rock
Place you’ve visited- Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Clearwater, Florida
Place you’d like to visit- Salem, Mass.
TV show from childhood- The Brady Bunch
TV show from adulthood- Once Upon A Time
Food– Pizza
Sports team– Cleveland Indians!!
Which do you prefer: Board games/card games or television? Television

Love the interview, Lisa. I enjoyed learning more about you. Now, please tell us about Sebastian’s Castle…

Blurb:

Being married to a cop is hard, being the widow of one is harder. After Brynn Austin’s husband, Nate, was murdered in an undercover operation, there wasn’t enough evidence to convict the gang leader who killed him. Brynn refuses to let him kill their dream to renovate an old Connecticut castle. But her plan is hampered by a ghost who’s not ready to give up his home.

Contractor Jaxson Maddox signs on to renovate the old castle that’s sat empty for years. He didn’t believe the rumors about the place being haunted. But that was before he met the resident ghost. What Jax didn’t sign on for was trouble in the form of falling for the beautiful widow, dealing with a pesky ghost, and risking his life when a threat from Brynn’s past surfaces. He’ll do whatever it takes to protect her, even if it means becoming a ghost himself.

Excerpt:

Light shone in through the windows, but the space wasn’t any less creepy. Old cobwebs hung from the rafters, and dust particles danced in the sunlight. She hoped there wasn’t a family of raccoons, or worse, living here. Brynn pushed those thoughts
from her mind and kneeled in front of the trunk with the screwdriver. She’d never tried to pick a lock before, but there was a first time for everything.

“If you’re set on nosing around, I would rather you used the key. It’s under that pile of books.”

Brynn jumped to her feet and swung around to face the voice. She gripped tightly to her only weapon, the screwdriver.

There he stood, the same man she saw the other day. “Who are you?” She backed toward the wall, holding the screwdriver in front of her. “You’re trespassing.”

“No, my dear, you’re trespassing. This is my castle. I should be asking you the questions.”

Brynn’s eyes bugged out as she really took a look at him. His image was fading in and out. “No,” she said aloud, “it can’t be.”

“My dear, you don’t look well.”

“You’re a…” She patted her face.

“A what? I’m a what?” His face faded and returned.

“You’re a ghost!”
Buy Link:

https://www.amazon.com/Sebastians-Castle-Lisa-DeVore/dp/1509213325/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Bio:

Lisa DeVore is a romantic suspense author for The Wild Rose Press. Her active imagination started at an early age in her NE Ohio hometown, complete with its own castle. She’s an avid reader, loves the beach, dolphins, and sunshine! Yes, she’s a misplaced Floridian. Lisa stays busy utilizing her accounting degree, spending time with her husband of 20-plus years, their two sons and daughter, 2 toy fox terriers, and one mini-pin. And she enjoys spending time in the worlds she creates. Lisa made the Amazon best-seller list for her debut novel “Beautiful Music”, and is excited to announce the release of her fourth book, “Sebastian’s Castle”.
Contact Links:

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

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/mrsldevore

Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Lisa+DeVore

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Lisa-DeVore/e/B00KMHIWRY/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1490133627&sr=8-1

12 Comments

Filed under Author Blog Post, New Release

Tagged as Book, Books, castle, Castles, Connecticut, Ebooks, Fiction, Ghost story, Ghosts, Kindle, Love, Mystery, Mystic, novel, Romance, suspense, the wild rose press

September 4, 2013 · 1:00 am

MJ Schiller’s New Release: An Uncommon Love

I am thrilled to have MJ Schiller as my guest today. Let’s get to know her a little better, shall we?

What book have you read that you wish you would have written?

Geez! There are so many of them! I could go with the classics, A TALE OF TWO CITIES, THE GREAT GATSBY, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD… Or some new favorites, anything by Nora Roberts or RT Wolfe (they’re so good they make me furious!). But at the same time, I don’t wish to have written them. I don’t have Dickens knack for plot twists, Fitzgerald’s lyrical prose, Harper Lee’s taste for the South. I’m not as edgy as Wolfe, or as brilliant at plotting. And face it, there’s only one Nora, dangnabbit! But I think I bring my own flavor to the mix, and I’m okay with that.

Ah, yes. Good point. We all have our own style, even though we may covet others’.

What do you love that most people don’t like and wouldn’t understand why you do?

Karaoke! Most of my friends would rather have a frontal lobotomy than get up and sing in front of people. But I…well I live in make-believe land whenever I write, why not carry that over into my nightlife? Pretend to be a rock star, and a decent singer. Besides, everybody’s drinking and they don’t care how bad you are anyway. It’s fun. It’s freeing! You should give it a try.

NO THANK YOU! I’ll take the frontal lobotomy, please.

What’s the main thing that you could get rid of in your life that would give you more writing time?

This whole pesky day job/solid income thing!

I think that’s pretty common in the writing world. Maybe someday, right?

Would you rather have a bad review or no review?

Bad review. At least that person’s interacting with your work. They’re getting it out there. They’re talking about it. And you might learn something valuable that will make you a better writer.

I agree completely.

What celebrity would you most like to be stranded on an island with?

Jenson Ackles, hands down! Not only would he be one hot distraction, but he’d have me in stitches all day long! (And I might have a chance, since it’s just the two of us…)

I would say you’d have a very good chance! I mean…who else, right? 🙂

Your most prized material possession? Why?

I’m gonna cheat and go with two, because Alicia is not here to stop me. My wedding ring, for obvious reasons. And my laptop, because I give it all of my crazy thoughts. Oh! Make it three. My Kindle.

Actually, I am here. But luckily for you, cheating is allowed on my blog.

Your favorite…

Movie (I’ll try to be more decisive here!) “What About Bob?”

Music Three Days Grace

Place you’ve visited Ireland

Place you’d like to visit Hawaii

TV show from childhood Charlie’s Angels

TV show from adulthood Supernatural

Food Chocolate. And pizza. (All right. Not all that decisive…)

Sports team Missouri Tigers

Which do you prefer: Board games/card games or television? Love them all, but I guess I’d pick card games.

Thanks for having me, Alicia! I enjoyed running amuck on your blog.

Thank you for coming, MJ. I enjoyed visiting with you…as always!

Now, check out MJ’s beautiful cover and her compelling new release:

Blurb for AN UNCOMMON LOVE~

Princess Adriana had her life all figured out. Or, to be more precise, she had her life all figured out for her. Before she was even born she was betrothed to Garin, and that was perfectly acceptable as he became her childhood friend, and then, eventually, the person she would swap kisses with inside the palace gardens. She never questioned it, never had a reason to, until the day a commoner was brought before her father, the King, to be punished.

As soon as Adriana’s eyes connect with Seth’s across the stone courtyard, she begins to question everything in her life. For his part, Seth Hobbes is confused about his feelings for the beautiful princess who refuses to match any of his preconceived notions of what a princess should be like, starting when Adriana begs her father to release him. When Seth creeps into the castle at night to thank her, they begin to build a relationship with one another that is often as explosive as it is endearing. When fate ends up separating the two, they must undertake a long and arduous journey to be reunited and then overcome the objections Adriana’s father has to their relationship. Will Adriana be able to make Seth see her for herself and not as the princess that he imagines? And if she does, will she ever be able to convince her father that, despite his objections, there is nothing “common” about Seth at all?

Excerpt~

With that, she broke from his grasp and lifted her skirts to free her feet. Running down the stone pathway that curved around the corner of the building, she followed the uproar. As she ran, parallel to the crowd following the road, she peered between branches of the oak trees planted at regular intervals along the edge of the garden. She could see a man with his arms tied in front of him, struggling against his captors as he was pushed, shoved and pulled. He wore a loose-fitting, beige-colored linen shirt. His blond hair was long on top, and flew in front of his face as he swung his head violently. He seemed to be trying, at the very least, to injure someone with his skull.

She hastened her steps, and was actually the first person to reach the courtyard, angled as it was in her direction. She broke from the tree-line and stood just beyond the edge of the wide, hexagonal, stone court. High above, a small balcony jutted out from what she knew to be her father’s conference room.

She continued to hear the whistles and cheers of the crowd, though they were briefly out of sight up the roadway, and it filled her with apprehension. In the past, her father had never let her see the goings-on in cases such as this, and now she understood why. It frightened her. Her heart beat faster as a few guards poured into the courtyard, walking backwards as they took in the actions of the mob that trailed. She could see Derrick, her father’s Captain of the Guard. Even from this distance the purple bruising on his chin was obvious. He held the rope tied to the captive’s wrists and jerked it, a cruel move that sent the man crashing to the stone pavers.

Adriana gasped, but then covered her mouth. She stood, barely visible, at the fringe of the trees. If her father or his men saw her, they would order her away, of that she was sure. The man struggled to his feet and defiantly shook the hair out of his face. His white teeth flashed as he bared them, glaring with disdain at Derrick. His heavy work pants were torn at the knees, whether from the fall she had just witnessed, or from some other fall, she could not tell.

The prisoner’s gaze lifted and caught hers. For several seconds it was as if no one else was there besides Adriana and the stranger. The air seemed to shimmer between them with the intensity of their stare. The noise of the crowd thundered in her ears, but was now accompanied by the sound of her own blood pounding through her veins. His eyes were the most startling blue, reminding her of the flash of a blue jay she sometimes caught a glimpse of in Ramport’s gardens.

M.J. Schiller~

MJ is a lunch lady in the heart of Central Illinois. My gosh, can you get more folksy than that? She met her husband at the University of Missouri-Columbia and now she has an eighteen-year-old (how did that happen?) and sixteen year old triplets! She loves to read, karaoke (where she can pretend she is a rock star) and spends WAY too much time on Facebook. She grew up in St. Louis and still has family there.

You can find MJ Schiller at www.mjschillerauthor.blogspot.com, MJ on FB, twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

You can find AN UNCOMMON LOVE at Amazon and BN.com.