Meet the Authors

For the next two months I am going to introduce some of my fellow Wild Rose Press authors who write suspense and whose books have just come out or will be coming out in the near future. I'll also be featuring the opportunity to win a free copy of their books or one of mine for those who leave a comment.

Today we are talking to  Dylan Newton, who is from upstate New York. She's always loved reading and writing but got sidetracked by the real world, like so many aspiring authors. She is married to her high school sweetheart, raising a family and writing romance and paranormal romance. Her latest book is titled, ANY WITCH WAY, and is available in print this week from The Wild Rose Press.

Welcome, Dylan, and please tell us a little bit about your book and how you came up with the idea?


ANY WITCH WAY  is a paranormal romance that features a graduate student with a devastating curse who encounters a Wiccan with a secret of his own. Together they battle an ancient evil, struggling to save their lives and their new-found love, ANY WITCH WAY they can.

The idea for the novel was actually a writing challenge issued by my critique partners: we were to write a story based on Halloween. In researching the holiday, I discovered October 31 is the Wiccan New Year ‘Samhain.’ That led me to researching Wicca, and the rest is in my book!

You seem to specialize in books dealing with the supernatural.  Where did you get that interest?

I was always sort of a morbid kid. My family used to call me “Little Miss Blood and Guts” because I had a fascination with all things creepy. After my school day was over, I hung out at our local library—mostly because I hated the school bus and had to find a place to wait to be picked up. Our library was this old, building that had a basement for the outdated books called ‘the stacks’—it was a spine-tingling, creepy labyrinth full of books that held every paranormal topic my little blood-and-guts heart desired.

How did you get started in your writing career?

I did it the old-fashioned way—by cold query letter. My first novel, DESPITE THE GHOSTS, was my NaNoWriMo project. I finished it, edited, and then sent query letters to my top agents and publishers. My query worked (click here to see a copy of my query letter), and I got several partial manuscript requests, finally accepting a contract with The Wild Rose Press in 2008.

What advice would you give a would-be writer wanting to get published?

1.    Finish your novel.
2.    Edit it to within an inch of its life (or yours)
3.    Query, Pitch and submit—try all avenues and be persistent! Many times it’s not magic, it’s mathematics!

Who are your favorite authors and why?

Ooh, there’s so many! I adore Stephen King (of course) but I also love Elizabeth Berg, Gillian Flynn, Gena Showalter…my list could fill pages. I love authors that paint vivid pictures in my mind—things that stay with me well after the last page is turned.

What comes first for you -- the character, the plot or the setting?

That’s a process of elimination. I don’t plot (although I’d like to!), and setting is usually driven by the character’s story. So, character, character, character for me!

 

Please tell us what you are working on next.

My third novel, “Despite the Fangs” is due out in 2014. This paranormal romance features a foul-mouthed werewolf heroine with overactive follicles, a lab-created, sexy hero who’d do anything for his son, and a world that—for the time being—doesn’t know they exist.

That sounds like a fun read. Thanks for being with us today, Dylan! We wish you the best of luck with your books. They sound fascinating and I know I am ordering a copy of "Any Witch Way" and I'll be watching for the others in the future.

 

Thanks again for having me here today, Becky! I’m thrilled that my second book, “Any Witch Way” is finally out in print! While I love the convenience of e-books, as a reader (and author) there’s something about physical books that is so gratifying! In fact, one lucky commenter will receive a SIGNED COPY of “Any Witch Way” (US only) as a thank you for visiting! J Comment below and good luck!