Welcome to Victoria Connelly

It's my pleasure to welcome multi-published author Victoria Connelly. Today, Victoria's going to talk to us about how she came to write her trilogy, It's Magic.
Over to you Victoria.

My husband and I got married in a medieval castle in the Yorkshire Dales. It was a fairytale-like day – I wore a Tudor-style dress with long trumpet sleeves, we had a harp playing by the fireplace in the great hall, and a bat flew down from one of the towers and circled the dance floor. But what wasn’t quite so romantic was that my husband was sent into a war zone just six weeks later in his role as a television news cameraman.

I panicked and truly believed I was going to become one of the world’s fastest widows and, as soon as that thought crossed my mind, I couldn’t help thinking, wouldn’t that be a great idea for a book?

Once my husband was safely home (later admitting that a bullet had grazed his shirt sleeve!), I started writing a book about a young widow who has her own group of tiny guardian angels to take care of her. It was called Flights of Angels and it was to become the first novel I would have published but there was one drawback – only Germany ever published it and, despite it even being made into a film over there, the UK have never published it.

Two more magical romantic comedies followed in Germany. Unmasking Elena Montella about a woman who is given a magical Venetian mask which helps her choose which of her three (yes – three!) fiancés is the right one for her. And Three Graces about a young woman who marries a duke and goes to live in his ancestral home only to find it’s haunted by a rather opinionated eighteenth-century ghost.

But there was still no UK or US publisher so, whilst writing non-magical romantic comedies like A Weekend with Mr Darcy and The Runaway Actress, I decided to make my magical trilogy available on Kindle where you can buy them individually or as a trilogy called It’s Magic. 

I really loved writing these three novels. Writing magic is so much fun and the scenes involving Claudie’s naughty guardian angels, Elena’s magical mask and Georgiana the ghost are some of my favourite, and I really hope that readers enjoy It’s Magic as much as I loved writing it.

You can find out more about Victoria at www.victoriaconnelly.com
@VictoriaDarcy

On My Wishlist #7

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by the lovely Sarah over at workadayreads.com. It's where I list all the books I desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It's also an event that you can join in too. If you want to know more click here.

On My Wishlist this week are three books by indie author Karice Bolton. I came across the first book in The Watchers Trilogy as a free read on Amazon and have now added the other two books to my ever growing wishlist.

Awakening
Karice Bolton
Published: 27 September 2011 by Bulldog Press
Format: Paperback & ebook
ISBN-10: 0615535186
ISBN-13: 978-0615535180

Summary:
Alone in snowy, remote Whistler village, Ana tries to build a new life since losing her parents. With a cozy condo, a sweet-faced bulldog and an evening job to leave the days free for the slopes, life slips into a great routine. If only she could shake the guilt for not remembering anything about her parents and banish the night terrors that haunt her every dream.
On a whim, Ana goes out with Athen, a guy she’s just met in the Grizzly Pub... The only problem is that she feels like she already knows him.
Within 48 hours of meeting Athen and his family, Ana’s world implodes. She falls for Athen quickly and before she knows it, a past life begins to resurface. As thrilling as the revelations appear at first, she fights against the chilling information that Athen is from the underworld. Soon she begins to struggle as her own supernatural gifts are slowly unveiled, and she realizes that the nightmares she’s been having might be premonitions and not dreams at all.
It is up to Ana to decipher between fact and fiction before it is too late, and her new love, Athen, follows in her same fate - one that is lost between two worlds.

Legions
Karice Bolton
Published: 12 December 2011 by Bulldog Press
Format: Paperback & ebook
ISBN-10: 0615579930
ISBN-13: 9780615579931

Summary:
As the magical holiday season is disrupted with an afternoon of horror, it becomes apparent that the Legions have begun their uprising around the globe, and Ana does her best to stay strong even though her world has been shattered. It is up to Ana to find the strength within and not fall prey to the dark side as she begins her chase to reclaim what’s rightfully hers.
Realizing that Ana’s visions alone are not enough to protect them, her family begins her training immediately before she is targeted once more. The Legions will not quit until they get what they want, and they have made it clear that mortals will not be spared, leaving Ana little time to figure out what it is the demons are after.
As Ana balances her time between chasing after her destiny and spending her time relearning how to fight demons, she learns something about her past that could change why she’s fighting for anything at all. Clues continue to unfold in the form of yellowed letters she finds from Athen buried within an old Tudor home; and her future is signaled in a lone, white rose left for only her to see giving her the strength to persevere. She is determined to not give up faith that she will have it all once more.

Cataclysm
Karice Bolton
Published: 29 May 2012 by Bulldog Press
Format: Paperback & ebook
ISBN-10: 0615625444
ISBN-13: 978-0615625447

Summary:
When it becomes obvious that the dark side will stop at nothing to control the mortal world, Ana is faced with a decision that could determine the fate of Fallen Angels everywhere.
Determined to not use mortals as pawns, Ana does her best to prepare for the battles ahead while protecting the innocent souls around the world.
As danger looms at every turn, she realizes that the ones she thought were prey might actually be the predators, and it will take an army like never before to stop the wickedness from spreading throughout the world.

* * * * * * * * * *

So that's what is on my wish list this week - I'd love to hear what you've got on yours.

I Should be Writing

Today I'm mostly procrastinating...

I've been editing my manuscript and everything was hunky dory while I was cutting out all the verbiage that I didn't need. But now it's getting harder as I need to cut scenes that I love but which serve no purpose in the story. So it has been filed under 'too difficult' for a couple of days. Then I will brace myself and be brutal.

In the meantime, I have been amusing myself looking at the sort of covers I would love for my book and have gone down with a serious case of book cover envy :D

Just love this cover designed by Croco Designs. I'm a big fan of Frauke's artwork.