 1) What Wiccan Sabbat are you writing about and why were you drawn to it? I wrote about Ostara. I was born on Mabon and I’ve always been fascinated by the dichotomies between the spring and fall solstice days. 2) Tell us about your story I wanted to write a story that was a mix of pagan practices and an allegory for mental health struggles. I work in the mental health field and struggle with my own, and I’ve found that it’s helped so many others by just talking about it more. So what better way than through a story. 3) Did you learn anything interesting while researching your story? When I first started researching the town where my story is set, Hazard Kentucky, the first thing that popped up was a chicken house that’s their big tourist attraction. The other thing they’re famous for, being the home of Dukes of Hazard. 4) If you could cast a spell (and hopefully it didn't go wrong!) what spell would you cast? Right now I would love to have a spell to help me keep thoughts about work at work, and be able to focus on other things while I’m at home. I’m getting better at it, but it takes a lot of work and focus, and by the end of the day I’m usually exhausted. 5) What are you working on next? I’m just finishing up a Paranormal, Cozy, Small Town Romance about a Selkie and a Human.  Cecelia Conway is a Contemporary and Paranormal Romance author based in Wisconsin. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s probably spending time with her cats, watching racing, or riding horses.
Find out more at: www.ceceliaconway.com
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1) What Wiccan Sabbat are you writing about, and why were you drawn to it? I am writing for Beltane and Lammas. I really enjoy the idea of Beltane being the opposite of Samhain, the clearing of energy in the spring heading into summer. A thinning of the veil, beautiful bonfires, and a fresh start for the early part of the year. Also, many benefits of fertility from a fresh start. I love the thoughts that go with that, and it was fun to come up with a story that brought together a lot of those concepts. Lammas is a very different holiday. It is known for baking and for starting the harvest festivals, a much quieter holiday between several more well-known holidays, and I had ideas for a darker story about someone going through changes that Lammas could represent. So both stories are very different with each Sabbat. 2) Tell us about your story. My Beltane story is more lighthearted and fun: a witch who doesn’t seem to be able to do much right, from a perfect family that just wants the love others have, and who casts a spell on Beltane to find her true love. She finds her love, a normal fellow who certainly doesn’t believe in magic, and is pulled into the magical world with her challenges. He changes, and she grows in the story, finding love and change. I had a lot of fun bringing them together in “Magical Matchmaking.” My Lammas story is about a woman running from her past, finding magic to help her move on from a challenging past, and learning about regrowth and change from one life to another during Lammas. She is reflecting on her life and what it means to become a new person. Lammas helps her during this time of great change, which is important during Lammas to help her reflect, and she has new abundance to draw from others. 3) Did you learn anything interesting while researching your story? I enjoyed learning more about Lammas and the different ways to celebrate, beyond just baking a loaf of bread, and what other symbolism could be happening during the holiday, since I didn’t know all the meaning behind Lammas. There is a lot more than just baking; there is more about community, which helped me build the story to help my main character grow and learn to lean on others during her growth, which is important during most Sabbats. 4) If you could cast a spell (and hopefully it didn’t go wrong!), what spell would you cast? Helping the community grow and release what they are holding on to during Lammas now. I didn’t know that was part of what Lammas was. I know about having more abundance for the winter, but allowing people to release their anxieties and help them move on with fewer issues would be awesome. I would love to help people with that. Help a whole community, especially right now, be less full of anxiety and stress, totally want that. 5) What are you working on next? I am working on several novels that will be published this year. I am a busy writer, but I love it so much and thank everyone for reading and supporting!  W.M. Dawson lives with her husband and tailless cats, who all think they run the house. Now that she is writing full-time, her fiction runs the gamut of horror, fantasy, urban fantasy, and romance, whatever comes to mind in her overcaffeinated brain. Raised in the southwestern part of America, she hides from the desert sun in the writing cave, avoiding being set ablaze as a redhead. She also writes under Wendy Cheairs and Sage Knight.
Social Links: https://linktr.ee/wcheairs Too many people stall when it comes to their writing because they need it to be perfect. The perfect idea, the perfect time, the perfect scene. They psych themselves out of writing at all because they are waiting for something that will never come. Perfection Doesn't Exist. And when you accept that, you will learn that there is no right time to create, there Is only now. Write and stop worrying about what it looks like. It can be fixed later. The truth of the matter is your first draft is going to suck. Everyone's does. But the next one will be a little better and the next one after that will be better again. It's a practice, a craft and you are always learning. And you learn by doing. So get writing and stop making excuses" Research is one of those writing necessities where you will either love it or hate it. Most writers love it, especially if they are writing a historical genre or sub genre, they love getting into the nitty guilty of a particular era. They love researching the clothes of that time, the etiquette, the names for certain household Items.
For other authors, research is seen as tedious. they want to let the story flow, not bog themselves down with detail. But that detail can really help sell your story. For fans of historical genres, they often know this in formation themselves, so to see an author using the wrong name for something can be jarring and pull them out of the story. No one expects you to know every single thing about a time period, but you should know enough to sell it. Not to mention, rabbit holes can be fun. You can learn all sorts of things that could even spark future ideas. Of course you don't need to use every single detail, but you never know what will come up. It can also be helpful when plotting your story. You may plan for things to go a certain way for your hero, but quickly learn it impossible because something didn't exist in that time period. When it does come to doing research, remember-
Happy writing When it comes to creating a character for your book, it is important to know them inside and out. While you will not include all this information in your story, it will help you understand their motivations and how to move the story along.
What happens to us in our childhood, for example, will have an impact on us well into adulthood. This can be abuse, trauma, abandonment, etc. It is important to understand how these things can manifest and how it could shape your character. If someone has abandonment issues for example, they may have a lot of failed relationships or they find it difficult to get close to people. Before you start writing, create a short outline for your character and the main events in their life. Remember their life doesn't start on the first page. It is also important to note that you do not need to include pages of backstory in the opening chapter - a mistake many new writers make. Trust that your readers want to know more and it is more enjoyable to have it unfold over the course of the story. You can include hints or snippets of information, but you should always be looking to move your story forward. When it comes to planning your story, take your time to get it right. Most people like to jump straight in and start writing, and while that can be fun, it is very easy to end up writing yourself into a corner.
You do not have to plot out every little detail, but you should have a basic structure in place. A beginning, middle and end that you can refer back to if you get stuck. There is nothing worse than writing a story and then finding a major plot hole that requires a lot of rewriting. Why cause yourself that much stress? Having a timeline for your story can help to pin key moments down for your characters. It can keep you on track and make sure that your character doesn't go from point A to point B in the blink of an eye, with no reasonable way of getting there. An easy way to do it is to open a new document or fresh blank page in a notebook, and make a note of where your characters start out. How does the story begin? What is your character facing and what is going to happen to them? The middle is where the characters try to solve their dilemma. They often fail, making a mistake or are unable to help themselves because they are missing something - information, an object, help etc. The ending is where they face the ‘big battle’, whether literal or metaphorical, and their story reaches a conclusion. This is followed by a short wrap up - a ‘where to now’ for the characters. You want your characters to have an arc. To go on a journey and change over the course of the book. This is a good way to check this too. If your character is exactly the same person on page 1 as the final page, then something has gone wrong. So even if you are a pantser, do make an outline for yourself, however rough. You will be glad you did.  WHEN THE VOICES CALL, DON'T ANSWER... In the wake of his parents' tragic deaths fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote town of Ballantyne, where all is not as it seems. Richard quickly earns a reputation as an outcast, and when a classmate named Tom goes missing, no one believes him when he says the telephone booth out by the edge of the woods sucked Tom into the receiver like something out of a horror movie. No one, that is, except the enigmatic Karen, who encourages Richard to pursue clues the police refuse to investigate. He traces the number to an abandoned house in the woods. There he catches a glimpse of a terrifying face in the window. And then the voices start. REVIEW
When Richard's parents die in a fire, he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle. He hangs out with a boy called Tom, but a prank turns deadly and Richard is left trying to figure out what happened. This book is very twisty and it is essentially told in three parts. If you are a fan of Stephen King, big twists and weird stones then it might be for you. 3.5 out of 5 star  Dorothy Must Die meets Alice in Wonderland! This is not a story of happily ever after – it’s the twisted YA origin story of an infamous villain… Dinah is a princess, the future Queen of Hearts, who will one day reign over Wonderland. Unaware of the dark depths of her kingdom; she longs only for her father’s approval and to reign with the boy she loves. But when a betrayal breaks her heart and threatens her throne, Dinah is launched into the dangers of Wonderland. She must stay one step ahead of her enemies or she’ll lose not just the crown, it will be off with her head! Evil is brewing in Wonderland, and maybe, most frighteningly, in Dinah herself. The first in an epic, imaginative series tells the origin of one of the most infamous villains – the Queen of Hearts. REVIEW
Princess Dinah is set to take over Wonderland from her father. Her brother, the mad hatter, cannot rule and she is his only other heir or so she thinks. Then her father introduces her half sister to her. As she tries to carry out her duties, she soon learns that there are many secrets being kept in the palace. This reimagining of Wonderland was interesting, with a dark edge to it. It was quite clear to me what the 'plan' was from the beginning, but when you consider Dinah's relationship with her father and how she was raised, she has no reason to think anything different. The story moved at a good pace and there is a book two as this ends on something of a cliffhanger. I will definitely be checking out the next book. 4 out of 5 stars.  The magical Sídhe have been expelled from their home and forced into the Grey Land - a place under the earth; a place of darkness and death. But now they've returned to take back what they lost. All teenagers will be called, and when your time comes, you have to be ready to run or fight to the death. The vengeful Sídhe will grab you by surprise - you could be studying or hanging out with friends when suddenly you're pulled into their terrifying world, alone and hunted. Only one in ten will return alive - the rest subjected to a tortuous and painful death. No one believes Nessa can survive The Call, but after years of torment and, worse, pity - she's determined to prove them wrong . . REVIEW
Nessa and the other teens of Ireland are being hunted by the Fae. Taken during puberty to the Grey Lands, they are chased through the night, while only being missing in the real world for three minutes. This book really pulled me in. The Idea was intriguing and I would have loved this as a teen. It is quite dark, so a warning is needed for younger teens. Nessa is an interesting character. Having a character with a disability that puts her at a severe disadvantage does add more tension to the story. The author's writing style is a little unusual in that on occasion it feels the same scenes are being skipped over where readers would like to know more, but there is enough of a hint to keep you wondering. It was a creepy, entertaining read. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars  Zélie remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. When different clans ruled – Burners igniting flames, Tiders beckoning waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoning forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, anyone with powers was targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has a chance to bring back magic to her people and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must learn to harness her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where strange creatures prowl, and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to come to terms with the strength of her magic – and her growing feelings for an enemy . . . Review
Zélie lost her mother when magic was taken away, now that she has a chance to restore it, she wants revenge. When she meets Princess Amari, they clash over the situation, as they try to figure out what to do next. I enjoyed the story and how the two main characters interacted. They come from two different worlds, but they are both good people at heart. Zélie has struggled with loss, poverty and trying to help her family. When she learns magic can be restored, she feels like things can finally change. Meanwhile, Amari lived a life of privilege, but when she sees someone she cares about die, it turns her world upside down. The story examines how oppression can impact people and what happens when the oppressed fight back. It shows that it is important to choose a side and stand up for others and that no one should be stripped of a part of themselves. It was a very good book and I will be reading the next in the series. 4.5 out of 5 stars. |
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About the Author:S. K. Gregory is an author, editor and blogger. She currently resides in Northern Ireland. “Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” 
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