Hello
D.L., one of the thirty authors in The Bandit Creek Book Series, and author of
Siren’s Song, a book in that series. This book has paranormal aspects (ghosts)
and sci-fi (time travel)…and romance. D.L. can tell it all best in our
interview – but before we get started, here’s a little about D.L.:
DL
Snow spent her youth living by trial and error. From touring with an
international performing group, backpacking through northern Africa to living
bohemian style in Berlin, she pursued adventure and passion from one place to
the next, never really knowing where she’d end up. She’s been a wildlife
technician, a rock climbing instructor, a tailor’s assistant (measuring men’s
inseams – someone’s gotta do it!) and a high school social studies teacher.
It
wasn’t until she met the love of her life, the son of a Nakoda chief, and
started a family, that DL found her true calling – writing. Now, she writes
about passion and adventure and is happy to say her characters never know where
they are going to end up. Find out more at www.dlsnow.ca
Wow, D.L….you’ve had an
adventurous life…lots of fodder for fiction. Okay…on to the interview.
Please tell us how the idea
came to you for The Bandit Creek Book Series. Please include all the fun
details.
The birth of Bandit Creek is an incredible story of
collaboration. Imagine thirty authors, with varied backgrounds and writing in a
variety of genres, getting together and creating a fictional town, common
characters and story lines, a series bible…such fun. The excitement and energy
in the room was amazing - I don’t think any of us slept after we’d come up with
this idea. It’s been an incredible experience and it gave me the opportunity to
write about a few of my favorite things: ghosts, past lives and time travel!
I’ve had a number of you Bandit
Creek authors and have enjoyed hearing the inspirations that brought your books
to fruition. Wonderful theme, inspirations, and ideas.
Tell us about your heroine Joss
Jones. What’s she do for a living?
Joss Jones was a famous teen superstar…until five
years ago. Her mother died in a car crash (while Joss was driving) and Joss has
always felt responsible. She gave up her career and became a music teacher.
Now, she hopes to find some semblance of a normal life in Bandit Creek as a
teacher. Boy is she in for a surprise!
Tell us about your hero…what does
Morgan Hawes first mean to Joss Jones?
Joss first becomes acquainted with Morgan Hawes
when she inherits her grandmother’s old house in Bandit Creek. The only thing
is, Morgan isn’t a living breathing man, he’s the ghost of a boy who died ten
years ago and this ghost is responsible for dragging her back in time to Bandit
Creek 1899.
Oh, I love the concept of going
back in time with a ghost. *grins*
So…Why this location? Anything
in particular in real-life that made you select it?
I have to say, growing up in the Canadian West, I
have a passion for this time period (1899); for the settlers and fortune
seekers who took a huge chance moving into unknown territory to try to make
their lives better—it’s the story of my ancestors. I love exploring old ghost
towns and do so every chance I get. This book really embodies my secret
fantasy, to go back in time and to see what life was really like during this
time!
Sounds like a real trip, D. L.
Is Siren’s Song included in a series? If so, what series and can
you give us titles and a tagline for other books in this series?
Yes! As I mentioned above, Siren’s Song is part of
Bandit Creek Books. The series was kicked off in September, 2011 and includes a
number of fun paranormal stories. Here are a few:
LOST - A Bandit Creek Mystery
by Vivi Anna’s - Kirsten Morgan can hear the dead. And now they are calling to
her, to come home to Bandit Creek.
DEVIL UNKNOWN by Steena Holmes - When
a fallen angel decides he wants to rule the world, no one can stand in his way.
Not even his own son.
SHAFTED by Kymber Morgan - Is her love real or just a
myth?
SKIN DEEP by Shanna Gecko - A Bandit Creek Paranormal Erotic
Romance
A STRANGER’S KISS by Roxy Boroughs -
sequel to A STRANGER’S TOUCH
Which scene was your favorite
to write? Can you share a little of it?
My favorite scenes are actually at the end of the
book (so I can’t share them without giving away the ending!). One of my other
favorite scenes, however, is when Joss Jones thinks she sees a young native man
dressed in modern clothes (while still living in 1899). She tracks him and his grandfather to an
alley behind the general store and asks them for help to return home to her own
time. For this scene, I drew on my own experiences living on an Indian Reserve in
Canada where I had the opportunity to hear many stories from my late
father-in-law (who was a writer, poet and long-time Nakoda chief). Here’s the
excerpt:
I stood there with
my arms wrapped around myself, not really knowing what to say. The two men
crouched down onto their haunches and the older man reached into his pocket,
pulled out a little packet and a pipe. Then he lit the pipe and the two smoked
it passing it back and forth between them and speaking quietly in a language
I’d never heard before, acting as if I wasn’t even there.
My five minutes
were almost up so I cleared my throat hoping that would gain their attention
but they continued to ignore me.
I walked closer and
finally said, “I’m Joss Jones. I think maybe you can help me.”
Nothing.
A sense of urgency
made me blurt, “Please, I need your help. Please. I know you’re like me.”
Without looking up,
the man named John said, “Like you? How am I like you?”
“I saw you, the way
you were dressed. You don’t belong here.”
After another puff
on the pipe, John said, “We are Crow People. We belong.” He turned his head and
used his lips to point at the mountain top to the west. “We are travelers but
we always winter beneath this mountain. It’s named for our people.”
The man spoke
quietly but with a thick, halting accent and my stomach sank. Like everyone
else in this god-forsaken place, he didn’t know what I was talking about. I
must have been seeing things again.
The two continued
to speak quietly and just as I was about to leave, John said, “Grandfather says
you are a traveler too. He says you have traveled a great distance.”
My heart lurched in
my chest and I crouched down beside them, no easy feat in a corset. “I have,” I
whispered. “But I need to go home. Can you help me go home?”
The old man smoked
his pipe and spoke in his soft language. Tilting his chin up at the mountain,
he waved his hand like it was a bird. Then he clapped suddenly and I jumped.
The old man chuckled at my response.
“What? What did he
say?”
“You travel like
this mountain.”
“That doesn’t make
sense. Mountains don’t travel.”
He shook his head.
“The Creator makes the mountains. Boulders fall down. They fracture into
stones. Some turn into pebbles and are washed downstream into the great rivers
and seas. Some turn into earth. One day the mountains will be gone – it will be
spread out all over this land and the Creator will have to start all over
again.”
I shook my head. “I
don’t understand. What has this got to do with me?”
The old man spoke
again and John translated. “Even though the mountain comes apart it is all
still part of the mountain. A pebble from that mountain still is…” the grandfather
spoke again and John listened before continuing, “…the pebble still is, the stone still is, the boulder still is,
the mountain still is. They are all
one yet all in different places. Travelers.”
I still didn’t
understand. I didn’t want to hear about mountains and stones and stories and
myths. There was only one thing I cared about. “So, can you help me?”
Finally John looked at me, right into my eyes. “A
crow can carry a pebble to the top of the mountain but he cannot put a mountain
back together once it has fractured. Only the Creator can do that.” He took a
puff of the pipe. “I am sorry,” he said. “A traveler must find her own way. It
is between the traveler and the Creator.”
Nice scene.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on two projects. One is a
post-apocalyptic trilogy set 300 years in the future called The
Odessa Chronicles and I’m working on a fictional story about
reincarnation that was inspired by true accounts. It’s called The
Locket and I’m very excited about it!
Where can we find you? List all
of your links.
www.dlsnow.ca
-
website/blog
@DL_Snow - twitter
DL Snow - Goodreads
DL Snow -Facebook
Quickie Quiz
Getting to know D.L. Snow…
2 Things you do to
relax: Walk
and take a bath
Favorite sport to watch:
Volleyball
Cat or Dog: Both (two of
each, actually!) Me too!!
Favorite
places to write: In a café, at home with windows around me.
Place you’ve always
wanted to go, but haven’t: On safari in Africa
Breakfast drink: Double
Cappuccino!
Favorite
season ~ why: Summer - I love heat. I love the sun (yes I know, it’s bad)
What
are your hobbies /past times (besides writing):
Reading (of course!).
Hiking, running, playing volleyball and hanging out with my family.
***giveaway***giveaway***
D.L. has generously offered a PDF copy of Siren’s
Song to one lucky commenter. Leave a comment and your email address for a
chance to win. Drawing will be chosen randomly tomorrow after Noon EST. Good
Luck!!
Click Cover for info & buy link
By D.L. Snow
A Bandit Creek Time
Travel Romance
Blurb
Has she gone crazy or is this old mining town, full of
saloons, gambling, whoring and fortune seekers her new reality? It feels real enough as does the ghost who
brought her here. His name is Morgan
Hawes and he is very much alive. Is
Morgan the key to Joss finding her way home or is Joss stuck for the rest of
her life as the Siren of Bandit Creek?
D.L., thank you for making my place one of your Bewitching
Book Tours stops. Congratulations on the release of Siren’s Song…and I wish
you many, many more successes.
Thank you everyone for
stopping in and visiting with D.L. Don’t forget to leave D.L. a comment for
your chance to win her giveaway.
Until Next Time…Warm
Hearts & Hugs,
Kay Dee
Please consider
joining the Muse It Hot Readers Group - you'll find many of your favorite erotic romance authors there
waiting to hear from you and talk with you. To join go here and sign up: http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/MuseitHOT/
Also check out Ravencraft’s Romance Realm – lots of hot topics and
creative romance authors: http://ravencraftrealm.blogspot.com
11 comments:
Good Morning D.L. I love the premise of your book...a little history, a ghost, and traveling through time...what an adventure.
How much research did your little gem take...was there a number of places you had to go to find it all?
Hi Kay Dee,
First of all, thanks so much for having me! As for the research, well, I've been researching for years - not necessarily for this book but for a couple of others I plan to write. When this project came up, it was a perfect fit for the research I'd already done. There are two wonderful old ghost towns I've visited over the years (Sandon and Fort Steele) These were key because they were both booming mining towns during the turn of the century. I've visited, collected books, photographs, gone on mine tours, explored...imagined. I also interviewed my 94 year old grandmother before she passed away. Although her personal memories are from a little later time period, she shared stories of her mother's family and how they came out west and settled during this time. Such adventurous people!
I love this concept and what a rich & wonderful world! I think your collaboration with all the other authors just makes it so real. Congratulations on creating such a vivid & engaging story...
Thanks for stopping by, Barbara. The collaboration has been fun - pretty tricky at times too. I was lucky because Siren's Song came out early on. I think it's tougher for the authors coming later to try to keep everything straight!
You seem to write in a variety of genres. What's your favorite genre to read?
Wow, how amazing to bring together so many writers in this series! Sounds fascinating. Thanks for the new writer!
What is the last book you read?why did it appeal to you?
Hey Roxy, Louisa and Louise! Thanks for stopping by! My favorite genre to read...hmm... At the moment I'm totally hooked on the George R.R. Martin Game of Thrones (A Song of Fire and Ice)series. They are soo amazing! But I really love all genres. From romance, historical, paranormal, women's fiction, suspense. You name it, I'll read it! Basically I get on 'kicks' and I'll read a ton of books in one genre and then switch to another.
Louise, as for your question, I'd have to say the reason I like the Game of Thrones series is it is so well developed - the world building is stunning - I swear he wrote a history of his 'world' before he started writing the series. The character development is truly a model of excellent writing. It isn't your typical good vs. evil fantasy (like Lord of the Rings)but each character is complex and has motivation for their actions. But best of all, I can get lost in the story - and you know, as a writer, how that internal editor is sometimes hard to turn off.
DL...we have a winner!!!
It is Louisa Bacio - Congratulations!!
You will be contacted with your prize soon, Louisa. Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting with DL.
Thank you all for stopping by...DL, thank you for hanging out at my place - it's been a great time.
Congratulations, Louisa. I hope you enjoy Siren's Song.
Kay Dee, thanks so much for having me, it's been a lot of fun!
Very nice interview and excerpt. The characters sound very interesting.
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
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