Synopsis:
Title: Whistle Down The Wind
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Number of Pages: 278
Publisher: Moon Valley Publishing
Formats available for review: E Book
Arrested for using her magical
powers to protect herself, Catlin Glyndwr faces the hangman’s noose. Descended
from a long line of elemental witches, she can control the wind and weather.
But the worst thing that can happen in 1664 England is to be charged with
practicing of witchcraft. Especially when the accusation is true. Sir
Griffin Reynolds is visiting his closest childhood friend before embarking on a
secret mission for King Charles II to the New World. When his friend becomes
deathly ill while interrogating a beautiful woman accused of witchcraft,
Griffin accepts her offer of help. In exchange for her freedom, she’ll heal his
friend.When Griffin and Catlin embark on a journey to Virginia to save the
colony, they succumb to the temptation of a white hot passion that blazes
between them. But a Dark Druid stalks Catlin, and if he can’t possess her and
her magic -- no man will.A beautiful witch discovers there’s more than one way
to be wicked.
1. Tell us a bit about yourself
I write Western romance set in Montana
under my own name, and under my pen name, Sibelle Stone, I write historical
romance with paranormal elements and steampunk. My heroines are strong women,
which just means the hero needs to be very alpha to be a match to her. I live
in the Northwest, near the Cascade Mountains with my husband and youngest son.
I work for one of the busiest library systems in the country, and it was
named:”best” library system in the US in 2011.I was named Librarian of the Year
by Romance Writers of America in 2009.
2. What made you want to be a writer?
I
actually spent more time illustrating stories while I was growing up,
and I thought I was going to be an artist. In high school, I realized
that my style was a bit too primitive. I still wanted to tell stories,
so I kept journals and wrote down ideas, short snippets of things, etc.
It wasn't until my children were born that I started writing novels. At
the time, I faced some challenges with the health of my middle son, and
things seemed out of control. Writing stories meant I could control the
world I created for my characters. And I could give everyone a "Happily
Ever After" ending, something that was not guaranteed by life.
3. How did I start the process of self-publishing and what have I learned?
I
got my rights back from Dorchester Publishing for my first book,
"Beneath a Silver Moon" and decided to try self-publishing. Lots of
people were talking about it at the Romantic Times Convention last year.
I started with Smashwords, formatted the manuscript and uploaded it to
the various distributors. That's it. I
didn't do any promotion really, other than putting the cover art on
Facebook and my blog. After just a couple of months, I started to climb
the Amazon charts and ended up on the Top 100 Westerns list for four
months. I
had sent "Whistle Down the Wind" around to various agents and editors,
was told the writing was good but the book would never sell because main
characters ended up in colonial Jamestown. With Indie publishing, I
could publish the book and see what happened. And this was the first in a
four books series that I really, really wanted to write. I've learned
how to hire an editor, create cover art, upload to the various
platforms. I was always doing marketing and promotion for my books, so
that's no different from traditional publishing. I learn something new
almost every single day, but I enjoy that. Indie publishing isn't for
everyone, but I truly enjoy the process.
4. What was my inspiration for the
book?
I've
been interested in witchcraft for a very long time. I studied the witch
trials, read a great deal about the European Witch Craze, where
thousands of women were charged, tried and executed for practicing
witchcraft. It was a dark and horrible time, with women tortured and
murdered. I thought about those women, and considered how different
things would be if a woman was accused of practicing witchcraft and she
truly was a witch. How would controlling magic change things?
5. 5 words that describe Catlin -
1. magical 2. innocent 3. strong 4. independent 5. starry-eyed romantic
5 words that describe Griffin
1. honorable 2. strong 3. loyal 4. sexy 5.romantic
6. What do you normally do when you're not writing?
I
work full-time, so that takes up a huge part of my day. I create
steampunk costumes and props, and attend steampunk gatherings and cons. I
have an almost two-year old granddaughter, and she is my little
darling. I used to be a preschool teacher, so I like to create
activities to do with her when she visits.
What do I plan to do next?
I'm
nearly finished with a steampunk weird west story, "Prudence and the
Professor" will be released in September. Then I'll be working on Book 2
of the Mystic Moon series, Aelwyd's story. I also plan to have a
steampunk fairy tale out in time for the holidays
Author
Bio:
Sibelle Stone is the pseudonym for award winning historical
romance author Deborah Schneider. Sibelle writes sexy steampunk and paranormal
stories, filled with mad scientists, dirigibles, automatons, and creatures that
would scare the panties off Deborah. In her spare time Sibelle enjoys dressing
up in Victorian ensembles, modding play guns into something that looks a bit more
sinister and wearing hats.
August 6 Over A Cuppa Tea Review
August 7 Amy's Booket List Review
August 8 Passion For Pages Review/Guest Post
August 9 A Buckeye Girl Reads- Author Interview
August 10 Reflecting Bookworm Author Interview
August 11 Truth, Beauty, Freedom & Books- Guest Post
August 12 Nette's Bookshelf Reviews Review
August 13 Bookmaven623 Guest Post/Review
