Today I'm happy to have Kim Cleary as my guest. She's sharing information about what inspired her to write her new urban fantasy Truth Unveiled, the second book of her Daughter of Ravenswood series, filled with all sorts of adventures with witches and ghosts.
Thank you for having me on your blog Illusions
of Intimacy I’m delighted to be here. Last month I launched Truth Unveiled,
the second novel in my Daughter of Ravenswood series and my head is still spinning!
I'm often asked where I get my ideas. Usually in the form of a quizzical
gaze and a question such as: did you get all that stuff out of your head?
The answer is yes, and no. My head is often bursting with ideas, but
often half formed and vaguely understood ones.
While writing, and rewriting, the Daughter of Ravenswood series, I
Googled, researched, and pinned a host of interesting material. I spent time
(probably longer than I should have) with Ravens, necromancy, oak trees, and
the tools of a witches trade, the making of whiskey, gorgeous ruby gems, body
decomposition and quite a few other odd things. Google and Pinterest can be
very entertaining as well as informative!
When I first started writing the Daughter of Ravenswood
series, I didn't know if it would be set in a totally made up world, or a
future version of our own world. Both sounded intriguing, both provided
significant writing challenges.
I'm not quite enough of a nerd to enjoy creating a whole new world.
But if I stuck to my own experience and knowledge, I'd have a very boring
book — which is not what any writer is aiming for!
Using this world, with which readers are so familiar, would require
a lot of research. As I have chronic fatigue, adding time to writing
preparation is something I try and avoid. Like most people I can get lost
in Google search, lose hours at a time in Pinterest, and it's best not to
mention what happens when I get caught up in an interesting book of the paper
variety (whoever invented toasted sandwiches and chips for dinner
deserves a big kiss).
After a few half-hearted attempts to build a new world for my story, I
decided to stick with our own well known world, but after such a
catastrophe it was dramatically changed from today. The setting is vaguely
Welsh, certainly northern hemisphere. The impacts of a deadly plague,
a few wandering undead and climate change (to name a few!) have
significantly affected the way people live. But the reader doesn't need to know
all of this detail, just pieces that are relevant to the story.
A key element in this world is magic. Magic and paganism have come to
the fore and filled a gap left by the loss of old religions, centralised
government and technology. For our heroine, the most important thing is
that while witches are relatively commonplace. Witches who can raise
the dead, necromancers like herself, are not.
Ghosts feature in this series, and I think will in all my writing.
I have my own experiences with ghosts, which I share on my blog, and
I love reading and writing about paranormal encounters of all kinds.
Anyway, that’s enough about me! I’d love to hear from you and your
readers. J
About the Books
Book One: Path Unchosen
When
eighteen-year-old Judy Hudson discovers she’s a necromancer and sees firsthand
the pain her powers can cause the dead, she wants to deny who she is. The
zombie plague is long over. She wants to find a more normal life, a challenge
when a beautiful, otherworldly man who claims to be her guardian saves her
life.
But as Judy tries to set right the harm she inflicted
on the spirit she raised, new zombies attack--zombies raised from among the
long-time dead. Someone else just like her is out there, and he's not trying to
set anything right.
Now, to save her own life and protect the innocent inhabitants of the
nearby town who’ve become her friends, Judy must figure out who’s raising the
dead and why. She must also learn to control the darkness inside her--a seductive
darkness that promises her power beyond her wildest dreams.
Book Two:
Truth Unveiled
Meagan Greystone, a new necromancer who grew
up orphaned and homeless, has finally discovered a community where she belongs.
But as she settles in at Ravenswood Manor, her ancestral home, a strange voice
in her head unravels her newfound peace.
The source of the unsettling communication is
Quintus, Meagan’s distant ancestor, known for his brutality and incredible
power. When she attempts to enlist her father’s help by raising him from the
dead, it’s Quintus who regains a foothold in the land of the living. Now
reborn, he vows to obliterate everything Meagan treasures unless she joins him
in his quest for power.
Meagan must overcome the heartbreak of
unimaginable betrayal and fight in the face of a seemingly hopeless situation.
Will she find the strength she needs to defeat the power of darkness and save
the people and home she has grown to cherish?
Path Unchosen on Amazon
Truth Unveiled on Amazon
Author Bio
Kim Cleary is
the award-winning author of Path Unchosen,
the first title in the Daughter of Ravenswood series, which earned a bronze
IPPY award in 2015. She grew up in Birmingham, United Kingdom, studied medieval
history and psychology at Adelaide University in Southern Australia, and has
worked all over Australia and in London.
Forced to leave a successful career in marketing after
multiple sclerosis damaged her hands and prevented her from typing, Cleary
learned how to write using voice software.
A self-described chocoholic, Cleary loves writing, gardening,
cooking, playing with her dogs, and spending time with friends. She lives with
her husband and two dogs, an adorable cocker spaniel and a mischievous moodle,
in Melbourne, Australia.
Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimClearyWriter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimclearywriter
Blog: Kimcleary.com
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