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Monday, May 6, 2013

Susan A. Royal talks writing, family and her May release IN MY OWN SHADOW (Fantasy Adventure/Romance)!


I'm happy to welcome fellow MuseItUp Author Susan A. Royal to my blog! Thanks Susan for giving us a glimpse into your family, thoughts on writing and your upcoming release, In My Own Shadow, a Fantasy Adventure/Romance. Readers, please leave a comment with your email address to win an ecopy of In My Own Shadow...



 Hi Jenna! Thanks so much for having me. I’m delighted to be a guest on your blog. I signed with MuseItUp for the first time in June 2011, and what a journey it’s been. My life is filled with things I only used to dream about. In short, it’s been a wonderful experience. Along the way, I’ve met some wonderful people. Some of them live on the other side of the world, some on the other side of the country and some in my own little part of the world, but we all have one thing in common. We are wordsmiths. We write about worlds that exist only in our own minds. The voices of our characters speak to us, and we feel compelled to tell their stories.                                                       
     
I live in a 100-year-old farmhouse in a small east Texas town that comes complete with a female ghost who harmonizes from time to time with my youngest son when he plays guitar.  I’ve never heard her, but at sometimes on a cold winter night, I’ve felt the covers moving across the end of the bed as though she’s making sure my feet stay warm. Sounds like a story, right? Some day…
    
I’m married, with three children and four grandchildren who have been wonderful support in my efforts to be a writer. I couldn’t have done it without them. My family is rich with characters, both past and present. I spent my childhood listening to my grandmother’s stories of living on a farm in Oklahoma Territory with three sisters and three brothers and working as a telephone operator in the early 20th century.  My father shared stories of growing up in San Antonio in the depression, and through her mother’s eyes I was able to experience how it felt to be a teenager during WWII. 
     
My current book, In My Own Shadow, is a Fantasy adventure/romance and will debut May 10, 2013. My first book, Not Long Ago, is a time travel adventure/romance. Both ebooks are available through MuseItUp/Amazon/B&N.  I am currently working on a sequel to Not Long Ago, because my daughter insisted there was still more of Erin and Griffin’s story to tell. She was right.

     Let me tell you a little about In My Own Shadow.


     Talk about the worst day ever! Lara lets her friend Carrie talk her into a blind date, only it turns out the handsome stranger waiting for Lara after work isn’t Carrie’s cousin after all. And, when they’re chased through a portal to another world, Lara realizes Rhys really is out of this world.

     Lyra, her alternate in another dimension, has left clues to the whereabouts of the Book of Secrets that explains the mystery of time travel in Lara’s subconscious.  Or so Rhys thinks. Power-hungry telepaths pursuing them will stop at nothing to get it, even if it means breaking Lara’s mind. To complicate matters, Lara gets tangled up in her feelings for Rhys while exploring her connection with Lyra.
     With Rhys as her guardian, a bear of a man named Azle to guide her, and the spirit of Lyra haunting her dreams, Lara must find the Book of Secrets before it falls into the hands of those who want its power.  Only then can she return to her world safely.
     
I had fun writing scenes between Rhys and Lyra. At first she’s furious with him for ripping her away from a perfectly ordinary existence. Never mind that Rhys has saved her from the crazies in the parking lot and the nut job that appeared at her front door. Everything he says sets her teeth on edge, and sometimes he acts like he can barely stand to be around her. Every time it looks like they’re going to come to an understanding, something happens and it’s back to square one. Your typical love-hate relationship.


Here’s a little sample:
     Rhys seemed to have a hard time answering a simple question. “This is all too
bizarre for words. You can’t…I don’t…” With an unsteady breath, I threw my
hands up, fingers splayed. “You’re out of your mind, and so am I for trying to
make any sense out of this.”
Rhys rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “I know someone who might
be able to explain things to you better than me. And he can be trusted. I know
where to find him, but it’s a long, hard journey.”
     I raised my eyes to the sky. “Sure, why not? I’ll just cancel my dental appointment this afternoon. No biggie.” Above the trees, the constellations
glittered in the evening sky, but the moon was ringed like Jupiter, and the stars
were spinning. “What’s wrong with the moon…and the stars…?”
     He stared up into the darkness. “We’ve stepped through a portal into an
alternate universe—”
     I snorted laughter. “Sorry, I didn’t bring my passport. I wasn’t planning on
leaving the country, let alone the damn planet!” His blank expression told me
either he didn’t get my joke or else he didn’t think it was funny.



Please comment and don’t forget to leave your email address to be entered in a drawing to win an ecopy of In My Own Shadow. Thanks so much for having me. I have enjoyed it!


Buy link for In My Own Shadow: http://tinyurl.com/bqbxm4l
Buy link for Not Long Ago: http://tinyurl.com/85vgye3
Web Site:  http://susanroyal.moonfruit.com
Blog:  http://ssnroyal.blog.com/

13 comments:

  1. As a fellow muser and Southeast Texan, I have to wonder where your 100 year farm house is...I've seen a barn on the road to Houston that I've always wanted to write a story about, it is covered with ivy, long forgotten, but to me it holds a mystery of the time when it was beloved. So I love the idea of a old home with bones and souls that have memories in it.

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    1. Hi Sherry (waves from east Texas) Thanks for stopping by. I live about 50 miles north of Tyler and about 100 miles east of Dallas. I do love to speculate about the people who've lived in my house and have even learned a little bit of its history. The stories old walls could tell, right?

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  2. Nice post, Susan. I love your book cover! Really beautiful. My husband's family used to have a farm in East Texas. When our girls were little we took them for a visit. Cute picture of them on giant tractor. Don't envy people making their living that way back then or now. Just grateful they're willing to tackle the difficult task.
    I can't say enough good things about MIU either. My first book comes out in July and I'll be here later in the month.
    Good luck with sales, Susan. Fascinating premise.

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    1. Thanks Marsha. Where in east Texas? In the fall Winnsboro hosts a tractor pull and we get to see a parade of old tractors drive by right in front of our house. Congrats and good luck on your book as well!

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  3. Nice to meet you Susan! Your book sounds fascinating. Like you and Marsha, I can't say enough good things about Muse!

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  4. Hi Mary. Thanks so much for stopping by.

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  5. GORGEOUS cover!! Sounds like a great story!

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    1. Thanks so much Erin. I love Marion Sipe's cover, too. Makes you wonder what Lara sees in the distance, doesn't it?

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  6. Wow,Susan. This sounds like a complicated and fascinating premise. An odd thing happened to me in Texas. I've only traveled through the panhandle, but seeing the arroyos, gullies and scrub landscape, this strange feeling overpowered me. I felt certain that I had come home. It was so weird it freaked me out. And I've always lived near Pittsburgh, Pa. Talk about past lives. Maybe it's true.
    I'd love to read your book. Struiff@msn.com--in case I win. So many great comments here,it will be hard to choose.
    Thanks for sharing with us and telling us about your book.

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  7. Wow, you just gave me chills Lorrie. Past lives...yeah, that's another story of mine that's begging to be told. I think it will be next after the sequel to Not Long Ago. Thanks for coming!

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  8. Thank you all for stopping by and Jenna, thanks so much for having me. In a day or two, I will draw for the winner of the ecopy and let you all know.

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  9. And the winner is...Sherry Antonetti

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  10. Thank you for helping people get the information they need. Great stuff as usual. Keep up the great work!!! florarie florisis

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