Hello and Welcome Jacqueline.
We’re here today to talk about From Beltane Magic, book I in the
Magic Seasons series. Before we get started with some interview questions about
your awesome series, let’s learn a little about Jacqueline:
Jacqueline Paige is a world
class multi-tasker being a mother to five adventurous and unpredictable
children, a cafe manager and having a colossal imagination that allows her to
step outside of reality into a world of paranormal romance —with just a touch
of suspense.
Jacqueline lives in Ontario, Canada and avoids the ever changing weather of the
region she lives in by creating other worlds to fall into in her stories of all
things paranormal.
Her first book was published in 2009 and since then has published ten. She is
always writing and currently has more than a dozen stories in one stage or
another of the writing process.
You can find all of Jacqueline’s books at:
http://www.jacqpaige.webs.com
Okay,
Jacqueline…let’s get to those questions…
Please tell us how the
idea came to you for From Beltane Magic
book I in the Magic Seasons. Please include all the fun details.
The entire series was not even planned when I sat
down and started writing. The actual
writing began as a joke to get the last word in with one of my friends (I
hadn’t written anything other than the odd poem for more than ten years). At that time we spent a large portion of each
day together, online haunting the same locations or on the phone. When she told me she was going on a month
long trip, I couldn’t imagine what I was going to do without her companionship
for that long, so I asked her. Her
response was ‘write a book’ … so I did.
Although when I began, it was just to get the last laugh.
A month later when she returned I was on the second
book and the story was flying. When she
began to read the first story, she expected a joke in some way and was honestly
shocked that I had an actual story with plot – and a good one at that.
The idea of the series came to me as I began to
figure out characters because I had just spent two years traveling around to
various pagan festivals meeting some rather fantastic people along the
way. Of course I was as shocked as my
characters when my sweet paranormal romance turned into something entirely
different and the first murder victims were discovered on that damp morning of
the Beltane gathering.
Ya
just gotta love when the story takes off and you find yourself along for the
ride (LOL)…I love how your road to publication started…from a friend telling
you to write a book. Geesh…and then you go and do it. *smile*
Give us some insight into
Leena. What’s a bit of her back story?
Leena is a warm loving woman, who looks out for her
friends around her. She’s very careful
when it comes to getting close to people, especially males. Leena married right out of high school and
followed her older husband to the city in his attempts to further his
career. Her happy little wife dream is
soon crushed when she finds out he is possessive and abusive.
When she does escape him, finally, she returns to
her home town to live in her parent’s home and goes on with a quiet, peaceful
life, without men.
Leena
comes across as a compelling, realistic heroine…definitely a woman many can
resonate with in one way or another.
Tell us what Owen first
means to Leena?
When Leena finds out that Owen has come back to
town, to live, she has mixed feelings.
Owen was the guy a few grades ahead of her in school that she had a
crush on. Of course after the hard
lesson she learned about men with her marriage, she doesn’t want to get any
closer to Owen, even if she is still attracted to him.
MMMM…and
the plot thickens *grins*
Can
you tell us about the abilities of Leena? How do they help OR hinder?
Leena is an elemental witch. She can connect with all of the elements and
use them to aid her. They help her more
than not. Like when the bridge is washed
out and then can’t get home, she’s able to use the air to lift a log into place
on the other side of the river.
Is
From Beltane Magic included in a series? If
so, what series and can you give us titles and a tagline for other books in
this series?
From Beltane Magic is the first book in
the Magic Seasons series.
Book II The Solstice Heat was just released
on the 15th
Book III Harvest Dreams will be out in May of
this year
Book IV Autumn Dance doesn’t have a release
date yet, but it is at the publishers at this point.
Book V Winter Mist is also completed, but
still undergoing the clean up before it’s sent off to the publisher.
Step into a world of magic and
passions....
Take a dash of spice, heat it
Add a flash of magic and watch the
sparks fly
Toss in a killer that's targeting
women
Add
a handful of witches from all paths to stir it all together...
Which
scene was your favorite to write? Can you share a little of it?
I loved writing the scenes where my witches were
together using magic.
It doesn’t always go as planned somehow though…
The eight stood in a circle around
the small fire pit. Outside the shelter, the rain poured so hard it was like a
steady, deafening sound. Cora stepped closer to the fire and stared into it.
She glanced up and nodded to Leena. Taking Dade’s hand, she whispered, “Let’s
hope some ancestors are available tonight.”
Dade
lifted her hand and kissed it before he let go. “I’ll make sure they are.” He
picked up the shaker sitting in front of him and gently began to shake it from
side to side. His lips moved in a silent chant, and he closed his eyes.
Owen
watched as Leena and Steven both turned their backs to the circle and faced the
pouring rain. Raising their hands, they lowered their heads in concentration.
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he’d never have believed someone
telling him.
As their heads came up, the wind
seemed to continuously circle the shelter and block out the pouring rain. He
could no longer see or hear the heavy downpour.
Not knowing what to expect next, he
looked back at the others. Chris, Kasey, and Rachel were standing with their
hands clasped and staring into the fire as the flames rose higher. The flames
were almost white now, and he blinked to make sure it wasn’t just his eyes.
Dade’s motion with the rattle became
faster and louder as he moved to stand beside Cora. Her head was thrown back
and her eyes closed, and she seemed to be shaking with the rhythm of the
rattle. Her eyes flew open, and she stopped shaking to look into the fire. He
could see the sweat beading down her face, and her hands trembled. The look on
her face told him she was afraid, but she said nothing. She reached empty hands
toward the fire, and the flames flew higher. Not knowing what else to do, Owen
went to stand behind her in case he was needed at some point.
She
stepped back and cried out in fear. He caught up her shoulders and held her
tight as Dade instructed him to do. Glancing over her shoulder and into the
fire he saw, he wasn’t sure what, images but they blurred together and he
couldn’t understand them.
Cora cried out again and sagged back
against him. He caught her tight against his waist and held her to his chest.
His own chest began to burn. He didn’t know what was going on, but he felt
compelled to stop it. “Stop now!” He said roughly.
What are you working on
now?
Presently I have more on my writing desk than I
have time for.
The third story in the Hidden Senses Trilogy – Inner
Reflections is still an ongoing work in progress. The second book – Dream Visions will be out
in July this year.
I am also working on some rewrites to the first
book in the Animal Trilogy – Heart and hope to have this finished
and back to the publisher in the next few weeks.
There are three other individual works I am some
part of either pre-submission or post-submission, but it could take pages to
list the details of each story.
Where
can we find you? List all of your links.
Twitter
: @JacqPaige
Quickie
Quiz
Getting to know Jacqueline
Paige…
2
Things you do to relax:
Read and listen to
music
Favorite
sport to watch:
I have five children,
they are sporty enough to watch most of the time.
Cat
or Dog:
Dog
Favorite
places to write:
My comfy chair in the
corner of living room
Place
you’ve always wanted to go, but haven’t:
Scotland
Breakfast
drink:
Coffee
Favorite
season ~ why:
Spring – I love all
the new life and warmth after the winter
What
are your hobbies /past times (besides writing):
Before I took on a 60
hour a week manager job it was to make jewelry
Click Cover for Buy Page
From Beltane Magic
Book I in the Magic
Seasons
Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Available in e-formats and paperback
Book II in the Magic Seasons – The Solstice Heat coming in March 2012
Blurb:
Step into a world of
magic and passions....
Take a dash of spice, heat it
Add a flash of magic and watch the sparks fly
Toss in a killer that's targeting women
Add a handful of witches from all
paths to stir it all together...
Each were willing to spend
their lives alone and safe; until they’re touched by Beltane Magic.
Can they survive their pasts
to be together as they struggle to find a killer before the wheel turns again?
Extended Blurb:
Leena is a woman that is gentle in everything, her
personality and moods. She always feels maternal with her closest friends and
would go out of their way to look after any one of them. Her ability of
controlling the elements and knowledge of plants make her magic abilities
strong and unbreakable. She is a leader
at work and in life, always working hard to keep those around her close, but
never allowing anyone to get too close.
To the outside world she is just Leena Duncan, a quiet woman who works a normal job and lived a
quiet life.
A few times a year she can openly use her magical gifts at
celebrations within a small community of people she calls friends.
Having lived through the horrors that can come from the hands
of someone you thought loved you; she decided never loving again would prevent
more emotional scarring.
It takes one man at a rainy Beltane celebration to change
everything she is comfortable with and one killer to change her safe world.
Owen is a man that reflects humor and cavalier vibrations to
others, he is gentle and caring as is his ability to draw negative and heal
others. If you didn’t know him, you would never realize he came from
violence. Knowing how the real world can
be, he has vowed to never put himself into the position, or allow anyone else
that could open up the world he has carefully sealed shut forever.
He creates worlds and puts them on
paper to entertain others. After years
of using his imagination he finds out his friends can do things he thought only
his mind created.
For his entire adult life Owen Grey has always played it safe and kept to his own world of
writing, never getting too close to anyone.
Having lived a nightmare growing up he would never take the
chance of repeating history. He may
write about happily-ever-after, but knows it is pure fantasy and doesn’t exist.
Until her . . .
BUY LINKS:
EXCERPT 1:
Owen found himself placed between
Dade and Chris among the drummers. He was caught up in learning the rhythms and
watched either Chris or Dade’s hands to pick up the beat. This he found was
also a good place to be as the dancers stopped often and danced right in front
of the drummers or brought them drinks.
After an hour his arms were tired and
he honestly had a new admiration for the men beside him who were still going
strong, moving effortlessly from one rhythm to the next.
During a slower beat, he noticed
several of the dancers moving through those at the edge of the circle and
through the drummers. He watched as the dancers took their wreaths off and
placed them onto a male’s head. He was sure the males didn’t realize how silly
they looked wearing flowers and ribbons, although when the dancers gave them a
kiss, he was also sure they didn’t care how odd they looked.
Kasey paused in front of the drummers
and began to weave her way toward them, slowly taking off her wreath. She
smiled in a shy, nervous kind of way at the drummers. Neither Dade nor Chris
paused in their drumming, but Owen could feel them both waiting to see who she
was going to place her wreath on. When she passed Dade and went to Chris, Owen
noticed and enjoyed the grin on his new friend’s face.
Chris actually missed a few beats in
the rhythm as he raised a hand to place behind her head to receive the kiss.
Owen didn’t see steam, but he felt warmer just witnessing their kiss.
He
found himself wishing some woman would make him look like an idiot and place
her wreath on his head. He turned to watch the same with Doc and Rachel. He was
sure Steven was blushing after it, or maybe it was just from the heat of it.
At the point when Cora began seductively
dancing her way into the drummers, his heart stopped. She was far too exotic a
woman for him to handle, but if she placed her wreath on his head, he would
certainly try. He felt like a schoolboy wanting to jump up and say, “pick me,”
but he dug deep and found his dignity somewhere.
She passed him by and held the eyes
of the man beside him. When she placed the wreath on Dade’s head and leaned her
mouth down to his, Owen was sure the sparks that flew between them somehow
burned him. In his own amazement, he realized it was a kiss out of a movie that
made your heart speed up. Dade didn’t miss a single beat on the drum, though
the kiss seemed to last more than just a few moments.
He
found himself wishing for mistletoe or a cute puppy, anything that would bring
one of them to him. His heart tripped and almost stumbled when he noticed Leena
was dancing toward the drummers. He fought the urge of wanting to look around
and make sure he was the only one in the area without a wreath on his head but
held onto what adult-like composure he had left.
When she stopped in front of him, it
was all he could do to not stand and meet her halfway, so he held the drum in
front of him tightly and stayed seated. As the wreath touched his head, she
smiled a smile that made his insides burn. He reached up to gently guide her
head down to his.
Thanks for
having me here today! J
Jacqueline, thank you for making my place one of your Bewitching Book Tours stops –
it’s been great fun today. Congratulations on From Beltane Magic, and I wish
you many, many more successes with this series and all of your other series.
Thank you everyone for stopping in to visit with
Jacqueline ~ don’t be afraid to leave her a comment ~ she’d love to hear from
you.
Until Next Time…Warm
Hearts & Hugs,
Kay Dee
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