Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year, you will know I am the world’s biggest fan of the Of Witches and Warlocks series and of Lacey’s Weatherford’s writing. So you can imagine how excited I am to be part of The Demon Kiss Blog tour and I have an interview with Lacey herself on my blog today. squeee…
Welcome Lacey, Why did you choose to write for a YA audience? What initially made you want to write these stories?
I originally started out wanting to write an adventure for my siblings, who are much younger than I am. Unfortunately, I took too long and they grew up. My siblings are still excited about the books though, so that’s nice. I had enjoyed writing little personalize romance stories for friends in the past and I realized I’d never done anything for my brother and sisters. I also thought it would be fun to have the book bound into a few copies so I could give it to them for Christmas. I just wanted one copy for each of them and one to put on my shelf so I could say, “I did that.” Ironically that particular book will be produced after this series. I didn’t plan for things to get as big as they have, but I promise you…they will all be getting a copy of that book for Christmas. I’m sure they will still love it despite being in their 20’s and 30’s now!
Yes! For as long as I can remember I was always checking out paranormal type stories from the library. I loved those little Halloween tales of ghosts and witches as a child and that naturally progressed into a love for all things paranormal. It’s such a wonderful genre where really anything can happen. It makes it harder to guess where the plot lines will twist and turn too, which I think is fun!
What was the hardest scene to write?
In emotional terms, the hardest scene for me to write was in book three, Blood of the White Witch. A lot of things happen in that book, setting up for things which come after. There was a part in there that was extremely difficult for me because I love my characters so dearly. I cried for days over one of the scenes in there, and I can’t read the scene to this day without crying still. It was a rough one.
I love Vance, is he based on anyone?
Vance Mangum is based on the uber hot, extremely talented, and super friendly Matt Lanter of 90210 & Vampires Suck fame. He was the image that popped instantly into my head when I decide to write Vance into this story, a gift from my muse I guess. I had to research Matt because I didn’t know who he was at the time, having only seen him once on 90210. I loved him immediately and ordered all of his movies so I could study his mannerisms and he became the image of Vance. It’s fun to see the fans associate Matt with Vance. I often get messages where he’s referred to as Matt/Vance and it makes me giggle. Thank goodness Matt has been such a great sport with all of it too! If you aren’t following him on Twitter you should. He’s an AMAZING guy! 😉 http://twitter.com/MattLanter
What is your favourite supernatural creature and why?
Hmmm. This is kind of hard because I like a lot. I love witches, obviously, vampires are always a lot of fun, but I’ve always loves stories with fairies in them as well. I think those would probably be my top three favs.
Witches are fun because they can be any kind of “normal” person with secret powers. I think if I was a supernatural creature I would most want to be a witch because I could still be me with powers on the side.
Vampires are fun because they’re always a little bit dangerous and usually drop dead sexy to boot! What a wonderful combo! But I could never get into the blood diet I’m afraid.
Fairies have always intrigued me. There’s this whole ethereal quality to them that I liked. I always think of them like sparkling butterflies, flitting through the forest. There’s just something fun about that. Sprouting wings for a little flight would be awesome!
Who are you favourite authors?
My favorites fall into the classic genre mostly. I love authors like L.M. Montgomery, her Anne of Green Gables series is a favorite of mine. Louisa May Alcott. I read Little Women until the cover fell off and the book practically disintegrated. Mark Twain hooked me with Tom Sawyer. I was given Little Women and Tom Sawyer for Christmas when I was about nine. I’ve loved them ever since. I didn’t come across Anne of Green Gables until my twenties when I saw the movies which I loved, so I got the books to read and I was completely captivated by the descriptive style of writing L.M. Montgomery has. I could lose myself in her books and never emerge again.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently writing on book five in the Of Witches and Warlocks series, Possession of Souls. I’m on chapter 22 of it right now. It has been a crazy exciting book to write. I also have a rough draft of another book finished, plus outlines and chapters written for six other stories in the works right now which will be both YA and Adult genres. Too bad I can’t write fast enough to keep up with all my ideas! J
What are some of your favourite YA books?
Recently some of my favorite reads have been, Nightshade, by Andrea Cremer, The Mortal Instruments series by, Cassandra Clare, Matched by Allie Condie, Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater, Book of Love, by Abra Ebner, Wings, by Aprilynne Pike, Forbidden, by Tabitha Suzuma, Firelight, by Sophie Jordan, and Hush, Hush by Becca Fitspatrick, just to pick a few off the top of my head.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
I think there are three important things an author can do for themselves. One is to keep polishing their work to make it the best it can be. Two is to listen to their beta reader’s advice since that’s usually a truthful opinion from outside of their own head. Three is to start building good friendships in the book world to support your journey. And four, research, research, research, any publishers or agents you choose to work with so you can avoid pitfalls of getting in with the wrong people. Those are all good things to set you down a great path for your new adventure!
Thanks for having me Susan!
You are very welcome, Lacey. Thank you for stopping by, it was great to have you here and you are welcome any time.
Book Blurb:
Can someone else’s past come back to bite you?
After being drained of nearly all the blood in her body, novice witch, Portia Mullins, wakes up to find that her warlock boyfriend, Vance Mangum, has fled in search of his demon father. Determined to keep him from facing the evil alone Portia follows after him, unknowingly setting herself on the path of a new adventure that will take her, Vance, and their coven over international borders, into a foreign place where they will discover that the black magic which awaits them is far worse than they ever imagined. Portia finds herself tangled up in a web of lies and deceit in another’s quest for demonic power in the excitingly romantic second paranormal novel in the Of Witches and Warlocks Series, The Demon Kiss.
Check out my review of The Demon Kiss Here.
The Of Witches and Warlocks series can be ordered in ebook or paperback anywhere good books are sold, including Amazon and Smashwords.
The Demon Kiss Tour Grand Prize:The Grand Prize winner will receive swag, signed copies of books 1, 2, 3, & 4, AND will be written into an interactive scene with VANCE in book four too!
Want extra entries? You can get 1 more entry for every time you comment on the tour, and 5 more entries for every time you send a Tweet or Facebook the link to that day’s blog post. Make sure you keep track of those as you will be asked to submit verification links when you enter the giveaway.
Good Luck! May the “Vance” be with YOU!
Next Stop tomorrow is Reading Between The Wines
Author Bio:
Lacey Weatherford has always had a love of books. She wanted to become a writer after reading her first Nancy Drew novel at the age of eight.
When she is not reading, writing, blogging, or doing book tours for her current series, she can often be found out at sporting/musical events which her kids are in or texting like crazy with her best friend.
Lacey resides in the White Mountains of Arizona, where she lives with her husband, six children, one son-in-law, and the family dog Sophie.
This post is protected under copyright. SusankMann 2009 – 2014