SPOTLIGHT - SUPERNATURAL THRILLER - SON OF ASMODEUS (Heaven and Hell, #1) by Barb Jones

Son of Asmodeus

Heaven and Hell, #1

by Barb Jones

Date of Publication: November 30th 2022

Cover Artist: Brandie Kae

Genre: Supernatural Thriller

Publisher: Barb Jones

ISBN: 9798218103446

ASIN: B0BLXMTCXC

Number of pages: 228

Word Count: 53,000 approx

Tagline: Birthright, Protector, Heaven and Hell

BLURB

Birthright. Protector. Heaven. Hell.

A lone demon hunter, his true birthright unknown, roams the streets of Los Angeles, killing demons to prevent atrocities against the world. As the son of Asmodeus, Sully is a hunter feared by both demons and angels. His world was not the same once he walked into a bar and offered to help Mick, a gothic bartender.

Mick worried about her missing friend until the day she met Sully. The minute he walked into her bar and offered to help, her world changed. Secrets of her destiny unlocked, and he was at her side everywhere she turned. Friend. Protector.

Can they live with the secrets that are revealed to them? Will they survive the chase for the truth between Heaven and Hell?

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/48P6VADz0G8

Amazon     BN     Kobo

Excerpt:
“Demon hunter, switch with me. She is coming and your father can’t know what we’ve done.”
Sully was now in control and didn’t have time to gather his wits before she ran her hands up and down his torso. He was uncomfortable but didn’t respond to show it. He needed to figure out what had happened, but first fend her off. She was a demon, but beautiful as well.
“Demon hunter, you finally came down here,” she said in a raspy voice as her fingers twirled her hair. Her tongue gave him a little flick in the most sensual way.
He looked at her. Those lips, her eyes, her voice. Intoxicating. She ran her hands all over him, and was quite forceful in her grip, just tight enough to arouse him. Sully tried to stop her, but she threw him against the wall and pushed him onto the floor. She crawled her way on top of him with her face stopping right at his belt. Her hands were toying with his belt while she was breathing slightly heavy.
“Who the hell are you?”
“I’m whomever you want me to be. Do you want me to be her? Or do you want me to be him?” Slowly, her hands moved to undo his belt buckle, while her tongue moved around her lips in the most tempting of ways. Her eyes never left his. Her body shifted slowly to the left and right, enticing him even more.
“Why do I feel that you’re toying with me, demon?”
“Would you prefer me to be your nightmare or your fantasy?”
She lifted his shirt, exposing his abs. She kissed his stomach in so many places and in the sexiest of ways. He could feel her fingernails lightly scratch against his skin. His mind did not recall the vows he made before, nor did he recall the thought of Mick or the bartender. He was enjoying the moment. His body was responding to her. He tried to pull her face close to his to kiss her.
Finally, his lips met hers.
“Why are you doing this? I’m… I’m the son of Asmodeus.”
“Oh, demon hunter, you are much more than that, and you know it. I know who you really are. I am so curious about you.”
Before she could finish, Sully was lost in her trance. But the soul eater was not. The soul eater fought f11or control and won over him. Through his eyes, the soul eater stared at the demon. His eyes pierced into her, and she must’ve recognized him because she whispered, “Soul eater.”
He just laughed at her and pulled her closer to him, kissing her back with such intensity that she wiggled out of his grasp. She couldn’t break free. But his hands only tightened their grasp and as he held onto her tightly, his body still was responding to her. He was aroused. She tried to hold the soul eater down with her legs and he felt the power in her ankles, but he took his legs and spread them, causing her legs to separate while she remained on top of him.  

Author Info

Barb Jones is a best-selling supernatural thriller/horror/paranormal romance author, living her best life in Florida. While she is an accomplished IT Professional by day, she fulfills her passion for creating relatable worlds and characters in her supernatural novels. Having grown up in Hawaii, where legends of the supernatural are a normal part of life, Barb has always loved telling supernatural stories while experiencing living in haunted houses, dealing with paranormal occurrences and more. Her Hawaiian heritage plays a major factor in a lot of her writing. Before writing, she received her master’s degree in Information Systems as well as in Accounting and Finance.

Through her writing, Barb has developed a friendship with her readers unlike any other. She has been known to send birthday cards, travel to meet them in person and more.

https://www.thebloodprophecy.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@barbjones_author
https://www.instagram.com/thebloodprophecy/
https://www.facebook.com/BloodProphecyBooks
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4998896.Barb_Jones 

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DECK THE HALLS HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA - PARANORMAL - QUEEN'S ASCENSION (Blood Prophecy, #3) by Barb Jones

One of my favorite holiday dinner recipes - I have hosted Christmas in my home every year since 2000.  I have tried a variety of dishes, combinations, food pairings with wine and this is one of my favorites.

Pineapple and Bourbon Glazed Ham

Ingredients for the Glaze

2/3 cup brown sugar (dark is better but either will work)

6 fresh cloves

6 bay leaves

1 fresh pineapple (core removed), sliced

2 tbsp chardonnay vinegar

To make the glaze:

1. Place sugar, spices and 1 tbsp water in a large frying pan over high heat.  Swirl with spatula until bubbling and golden.

2. Add pineapple pieces, chardonnay vinegar and cook for approximately 6 minutes.  Turn the pineapple pieces over until the pineapple is golden and glaze has formed from the fruit juice.  Set aside and cool.

3. Preheat over to 350.  Line a rack with bay leaves.  Prepare the ham by cutting around the edge of the ham and lift off the skin.  Discard the skin.  Baste the fat from the ham with some of the glaze and place the ham on the rack and set in a large roasting pan.

4. Roast the ham, basting with the glaze every 20 minutes for 2.5 hours until caramelized.  Add pineapple pieces in the last 30 minutes.  

5. Slice and serve with the pineapple.  

Queen’s Ascension

Blood Prophecy, #3

by Barb Jones

Date of Publication: August 17th 2020

Publisher: World Castle

Cover Artist: Steven J. Catizone

Genre: Paranormal

ISBN:  9781953271013

ISBN:  9781953271020

ASIN: B08DKK66PM

Number of pages: 236 pages

Word Count: 86107 words

Tagline: Bloodshed. Heartbreak. Revelation.

BLURB

When the darkness was compelling and the heart knew no bounds, was there really a right choice? With Michael’s life hanging in the balance, Amber had a choice: save her star-fated love or keep on the crusade to unite the magical community.

For Amber, her fate was sealed even before her birth and it was her destiny to fight the great battle ahead of her. But, when it came to her heart -- her friends, her great love -- Amber’s torn. Not only was she the Queen, but she was a human in every sense of the word. She was vulnerable. And so the very people -- Chloe and Michael -- that gave her strength, quickly became her weakness. It wasn’t her fault she loved too much, was it?

Nevertheless, the Tall Dark Man had set a plan in motion that could threaten the very existence of the Blood Prophecy. Would he gather his dark forces and succeed in destroying Amber once and for all? Or, would she assemble her powerful friends and save the world?

Amazon     BN

Malakai, Seattle, Present Day

With the betterment of both Michael and Rae, Malakai was glad that they were well and fine; nevertheless, he needed some time to decompress. All the magical commotions that had occurred were too overwhelming for him. He needed some sort of release.

He enjoyed the brisk jog in the park, as he cut through the sharp wind of the cold night. But this did nothing to lift his spirits. He was happy that Amber’s smile finally met her eyes. That was all he’d ever wanted for her: happiness, that’s it. There was nothing more he could ask for—she was his priority. Yet, in the back of his mind, as in his heart, he couldn’t help but believe the ancient legend that he’d heard so long ago was the certifiable truth, as it was written in Eschmun’s scroll.

…her fate is tied to the true alpha of the wolves. A blood drinker will stand formidable, but it is the nature of the child to call upon the true alpha and bring him to the queen’s inner heart.

Could this be the truth? he often wondered as he traveled the world collecting artifacts and evidence supporting this notion. Yes, he’d crafted a reliquary, quite accidentally, and people assumed it was to keep the magic insulated, away from the humans. But that wasn’t the case, at least not for him.  He so wanted to believe, just from the sheer fact that it was said in the scroll. But Malakai was a man of logic, driven by cold hard data. Although wanting to romanticize that his destiny was tied with Amber’s, he needed confirmation. He wanted validation for the strong emotions he was feeling. 

***

Zaraquel, Seattle, Present Day

Walking the cemetery grounds as she so often did without the knowledge of her parents, Zaraquel wandered at a leisurely pace. She whipped out her phone and checked the time, which read midnight. Her brow quirked in confusion, as she had expected Loquiel some time ago. With her long hair styled in two braids and her bright red coat to keep her warm, she sat down on a bench.

She was elated that her best friend, other than the one that was currently running late, was alive and breathing. Rae had given Zaraquel a terrible fright, for she had never known the death of someone close to her heart. She shook, not from the cold, but from remembering the tragic vision she had of Rae’s demise.

A throaty growl awoke her from her thoughts. She heard the fast footfalls of someone, something, running toward her, and she put her fight training to use. Zaraquel spun around, so much so that her wings unfurled. But that did not deter the undead man from attacking her. His decaying flesh was a sight she instantly wished she could unsee, but she had to fulfill her duty and protect the people, which meant ridding the world of this monster.

She punched him in the stomach as her father had taught her, but that did nothing to stop him from throwing his fists at her. She dodged his poor attempts at aiming for her and grabbed his arm, twisting him around so he fell to his knees. Her weight on his back caused the corpse to fall to the ground. It growled in anger, shaking its head savagely, as if it couldn’t wait to get back to its feet. Zaraquel, however, had plans of her own. She stood briefly to step on his neck to keep him from moving, and whispered a spell she’d learned from a book.

“Capite obtruncato intestinisque extractis.”

She heard the cracking of his bones, the stretching of his skin; with a pop! his head flew off, gore spattering in every direction. His body went limp, as it was before he had risen from the ground.

Zaraquel sighed in frustration as she walked off, disappointed from another unnecessary and unjustified kill. She continued to walk the grounds and felt a rush of warm wind, the kind she felt every time Loquiel was near. She turned and there he was, right behind her.

Author Info

Barb Jones was born in Hawaii, a place rich with culture and storytellers. As a little girl, scary tales about vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, and witches were her favorite kind — much to her mother's dismay. Her love for the supernatural never went away, even after moving to Seattle, far from Hawaii's majestic beaches with unusual colors. Despite the unmatched beauty in Hawaii, Seattle stole Barb’s heart and it’s here where her stories took on a new form, in a book of her own: The Adventures of Little Arthur and Merlin the Magnificent. 

Then, the idea for The Blood Prophecy came while she was sleeping. In a dream, Barb saw a unique storyline involving all the races and an epic battle of good versus evil. It was a modern-day plot with a three-thousand-year-old prophecy, The Blood Prophecy. Barb finished the first book in 2014, The Queen's Destiny. Two years later, she released The Queen's Enemy, and the third book in the series, The Queen's Ascension, arrives on August 17, 2020. 

She is not only a paranormal thriller author but an IT professional and mother of two fantastic children.  Today, she resides in Florida but is still a Seattle girl at heart.

Newsletter sign-up: https://www.thebloodprophecy.com/#Newsletter

Website: https://www.thebloodprophecy.com/

Blog: https://www.thebloodprophecy.com/blog

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BloodProphecyBooks/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Blood_Prophecy1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebloodprophecy/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54362466-queen-s-ascension

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HAUNTED HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR RECIPE - QUEEN'S ASCENSION (Blood Prophecy, #3) by Barb Jones

Halloween Recipes That Kids Love

Pizza Mummies

Ingredients

• 2 english muffins, cut in half

• 8 teaspoons pizza sauce

• 2 mozzarella cheese sticks

• 3 green olives with pimentos

**Preheat oven to 400℉.

Place the English muffin halves on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.

Remove muffins from oven and spread 2 teaspoons of the pizza sauce onto each English muffin half.

Peel the mozzarella sticks into strings and decoratively arrange them on top of each English muffin. Slice the green olives into 1/4 inch thick rings and place them on top of the cheese to create eyes.*

Bake mummies for 3 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Bloody Eyeballs

Ingredients

½ watermelon

1. Using a melon scooper, scoop the melon into balls, try to vary the size/shape for fun

2. Finish scooping out any excess watermelon and let it sit on the side

3. Take sprite or 7up and pour some into the watermelon for additional flavor.  Use your own judgment for that extra flavor.

4. Take the melon balls and put back into the watermelon and pour the excess watermelon on top for that “gooey appeal”

5. Serve.

Chocolate Pudding Guts

1. Take your favorite chocolate pudding or make your own and place in a large bowl.

2. You want this either room temperature or cold because what you add in it, should not melt.

3. Add marshmallows, gummy bears/worms, nuts, whipped cream (your choosing)

4. Mix so that it is blended and ready to serve in small bowls to the monster hunters and monsters.

Queen’s Ascension

Blood Prophecy, #3

by Barb Jones

Date of Publication: August 17th 2020

Publisher: World Castle

Cover Artist: Steven J. Catizone

Genre: Paranormal

Print ISBN:  9781953271013

eBook ISBN:  9781953271020

ASIN: B08DKK66PM

Number of pages: 236 pages

Word Count: 86107 words

Tagline: Bloodshed. Heartbreak. Revelation.

BLURB

When the darkness was compelling and the heart knew no bounds, was there really a right choice? With Michael’s life hanging in the balance, Amber had a choice: save her star-fated love or keep on the crusade to unite the magical community.

For Amber, her fate was sealed even before her birth and it was her destiny to fight the great battle ahead of her. But, when it came to her heart -- her friends, her great love -- Amber’s torn. Not only was she the Queen, but she was a human in every sense of the word. She was vulnerable. And so the very people -- Chloe and Michael -- that gave her strength, quickly became her weakness. It wasn’t her fault she loved too much, was it?

Nevertheless, the Tall Dark Man had set a plan in motion that could threaten the very existence of the Blood Prophecy. Would he gather his dark forces and succeed in destroying Amber once and for all? Or, would she assemble her powerful friends and save the world?

Amazon     BN

Excerpt:

 Malakai, Seattle, Present Day

With the betterment of both Michael and Rae, Malakai was glad that they were well and fine; nevertheless, he needed some time to decompress. All the magical commotions that had occurred were too overwhelming for him. He needed some sort of release.

He enjoyed the brisk jog in the park, as he cut through the sharp wind of the cold night. But this did nothing to lift his spirits. He was happy that Amber’s smile finally met her eyes. That was all he’d ever wanted for her: happiness, that’s it. There was nothing more he could ask for—she was his priority. Yet, in the back of his mind, as in his heart, he couldn’t help but believe the ancient legend that he’d heard so long ago was the certifiable truth, as it was written in Eschmun’s scroll.

…her fate is tied to the true alpha of the wolves. A blood drinker will stand formidable, but it is the nature of the child to call upon the true alpha and bring him to the queen’s inner heart.

Could this be the truth? he often wondered as he traveled the world collecting artifacts and evidence supporting this notion. Yes, he’d crafted a reliquary, quite accidentally, and people assumed it was to keep the magic insulated, away from the humans. But that wasn’t the case, at least not for him.  He so wanted to believe, just from the sheer fact that it was said in the scroll. But Malakai was a man of logic, driven by cold hard data. Although wanting to romanticize that his destiny was tied with Amber’s, he needed confirmation. He wanted validation for the strong emotions he was feeling. 

***

Zaraquel, Seattle, Present Day

Walking the cemetery grounds as she so often did without the knowledge of her parents, Zaraquel wandered at a leisurely pace. She whipped out her phone and checked the time, which read midnight. Her brow quirked in confusion, as she had expected Loquiel some time ago. With her long hair styled in two braids and her bright red coat to keep her warm, she sat down on a bench.

She was elated that her best friend, other than the one that was currently running late, was alive and breathing. Rae had given Zaraquel a terrible fright, for she had never known the death of someone close to her heart. She shook, not from the cold, but from remembering the tragic vision she had of Rae’s demise.

A throaty growl awoke her from her thoughts. She heard the fast footfalls of someone, something, running toward her, and she put her fight training to use. Zaraquel spun around, so much so that her wings unfurled. But that did not deter the undead man from attacking her. His decaying flesh was a sight she instantly wished she could unsee, but she had to fulfill her duty and protect the people, which meant ridding the world of this monster.

She punched him in the stomach as her father had taught her, but that did nothing to stop him from throwing his fists at her. She dodged his poor attempts at aiming for her and grabbed his arm, twisting him around so he fell to his knees. Her weight on his back caused the corpse to fall to the ground. It growled in anger, shaking its head savagely, as if it couldn’t wait to get back to its feet. Zaraquel, however, had plans of her own. She stood briefly to step on his neck to keep him from moving, and whispered a spell she’d learned from a book.

“Capite obtruncato intestinisque extractis.”

She heard the cracking of his bones, the stretching of his skin; with a pop! his head flew off, gore spattering in every direction. His body went limp, as it was before he had risen from the ground.

Zaraquel sighed in frustration as she walked off, disappointed from another unnecessary and unjustified kill. She continued to walk the grounds and felt a rush of warm wind, the kind she felt every time Loquiel was near. She turned and there he was, right behind her. 

Author Info

Barb Jones is a paranormal thriller author, IT professional, and the mother of two fantastic children. She is known for her ability to create relatable characters and detailed settings without compromising her unique plots. When people have asked her who she is, she's been quoted saying, "It can be hard to write at times, but never give up on what you're passionate about." She's a mother, first and foremost, and an author and supernatural enthusiast after. She currently resides in Sarasota, FL, but is a Seattle native at heart. When she's not writing, she's traveling and looking for new inspiration for her books.

Newsletter sign-up: https://www.thebloodprophecy.com/#Newsletter

Website: https://www.thebloodprophecy.com/

Blog: https://www.thebloodprophecy.com/blog

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BloodProphecyBooks/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Blood_Prophecy1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebloodprophecy/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54362466-queen-s-ascension

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SPOTLIGHT wINTERVIEW - PARANORMAL - QUEEN'S ASCENSION (Blood Prophecy, #3) by Barb Jones

QUEEN'S ASCENSION 

Blood Prophecy, #3

by Barb Jones

Date of Publication: August 17th 2020

Cover Artist: Steven J. Catizone

Genre: Paranormal

Publisher: World Castle

ISBN:  9781953271013

ISBN:  9781953271020

ASIN: B08DKK66PM

Number of pages: 236 pages

Word Count: 86107 words

Tagline: Bloodshed. Heartbreak. Revelation.

BLURB

When the darkness was compelling and the heart knew no bounds, was there really a right choice? With Michael’s life hanging in the balance, Amber had a choice: save her star-fated love or keep on the crusade to unite the magical community.

For Amber, her fate was sealed even before her birth and it was her destiny to fight the great battle ahead of her. But, when it came to her heart -- her friends, her great love -- Amber’s torn. Not only was she the Queen, but she was a human in every sense of the word. She was vulnerable. And so the very people -- Chloe and Michael -- that gave her strength, quickly became her weakness. It wasn’t her fault she loved too much, was it?

Nevertheless, the Tall Dark Man had set a plan in motion that could threaten the very existence of the Blood Prophecy. Would he gather his dark forces and succeed in destroying Amber once and for all? Or, would she assemble her powerful friends and save the world?

Amazon     BN

Excerpt:

Malakai, Seattle, Present Day

With the betterment of both Michael and Rae, Malakai was glad that they were well and fine; nevertheless, he needed some time to decompress. All the magical commotions that had occurred were too overwhelming for him. He needed some sort of release.

He enjoyed the brisk jog in the park, as he cut through the sharp wind of the cold night. But this did nothing to lift his spirits. He was happy that Amber’s smile finally met her eyes. That was all he’d ever wanted for her: happiness, that’s it. There was nothing more he could ask for—she was his priority. Yet, in the back of his mind, as in his heart, he couldn’t help but believe the ancient legend that he’d heard so long ago was the certifiable truth, as it was written in Eschmun’s scroll.

…her fate is tied to the true alpha of the wolves. A blood drinker will stand formidable, but it is the nature of the child to call upon the true alpha and bring him to the queen’s inner heart.

Could this be the truth? he often wondered as he traveled the world collecting artifacts and evidence supporting this notion. Yes, he’d crafted a reliquary, quite accidentally, and people assumed it was to keep the magic insulated, away from the humans. But that wasn’t the case, at least not for him.  He so wanted to believe, just from the sheer fact that it was said in the scroll. But Malakai was a man of logic, driven by cold hard data. Although wanting to romanticize that his destiny was tied with Amber’s, he needed confirmation. He wanted validation for the strong emotions he was feeling. 

***

Zaraquel, Seattle, Present Day

Walking the cemetery grounds as she so often did without the knowledge of her parents, Zaraquel wandered at a leisurely pace. She whipped out her phone and checked the time, which read midnight. Her brow quirked in confusion, as she had expected Loquiel some time ago. With her long hair styled in two braids and her bright red coat to keep her warm, she sat down on a bench.

She was elated that her best friend, other than the one that was currently running late, was alive and breathing. Rae had given Zaraquel a terrible fright, for she had never known the death of someone close to her heart. She shook, not from the cold, but from remembering the tragic vision she had of Rae’s demise.

A throaty growl awoke her from her thoughts. She heard the fast footfalls of someone, something, running toward her, and she put her fight training to use. Zaraquel spun around, so much so that her wings unfurled. But that did not deter the undead man from attacking her. His decaying flesh was a sight she instantly wished she could unsee, but she had to fulfill her duty and protect the people, which meant ridding the world of this monster.

She punched him in the stomach as her father had taught her, but that did nothing to stop him from throwing his fists at her. She dodged his poor attempts at aiming for her and grabbed his arm, twisting him around so he fell to his knees. Her weight on his back caused the corpse to fall to the ground. It growled in anger, shaking its head savagely, as if it couldn’t wait to get back to its feet. Zaraquel, however, had plans of her own. She stood briefly to step on his neck to keep him from moving, and whispered a spell she’d learned from a book.

“Capite obtruncato intestinisque extractis.”

She heard the cracking of his bones, the stretching of his skin; with a pop! his head flew off, gore spattering in every direction. His body went limp, as it was before he had risen from the ground.

Zaraquel sighed in frustration as she walked off, disappointed from another unnecessary and unjustified kill. She continued to walk the grounds and felt a rush of warm wind, the kind she felt every time Loquiel was near. She turned and there he was, right behind her.

Author Info
Barb Jones was born in Hawaii, a place rich with culture and storytellers. As a little girl, scary tales about vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, and witches were her favorite kind — much to her mother's dismay. Her love for the supernatural never went away, even after moving to Seattle, far from Hawaii's majestic beaches with unusual colors. Despite the unmatched beauty in Hawaii, Seattle stole Barb’s heart and it’s here where her stories took on a new form, in a book of her own: The Adventures of Little Arthur and Merlin the Magnificent.

Then, the idea for The Blood Prophecy came while she was sleeping. In a dream, Barb saw a unique storyline involving all the races and an epic battle of good versus evil. It was a modern-day plot with a three-thousand-year-old prophecy, The Blood Prophecy. Barb finished the first book in 2014, The Queen's Destiny. Two years later, she released The Queen's Enemy, and the third book in the series, The Queen's Ascension, arrives on August 17, 2020.

She is not only a paranormal thriller author but an IT professional and mother of two fantastic children.  Today, she resides in Florida but is still a Seattle girl at heart.

The Book Junkie Reads . . . Interview with Barb Jones . . .

How would you describe you style of writing to someone that has never read your work?

I guess in one word, I would say relatable.  My characters are created so that people could live “vicariously” through them.  I mean, we all want a romantic relationship with that one true person we are meant to be with.  Well, you see that in the relationships between Amber and Michael or Marcus and Chloe.  Then, we see a friendship that can’t be broken between Amber and Chloe.  It’s all there for us to imagine and relate to.

Do you feel that writing is an ingrained process or just something that flows naturally for you?

I would have to say writing comes naturally.  I have always loved telling stories as a child in Hawaii, that the only thing that changed was I put pen to paper or write via the computer.   I still do what I love and that’s creating stories and worlds that people can immerse themselves into.

What mindset or routine do you feel the need to set when preparing to write (in general whether you are working on a project or just free writing)?

It’s funny but my writing sometimes comes from dreams I have or I just need to relax and unwind my brain, as I like to say it.  I work in IT as a Senior level Consultant and that can get very serious a lot of the time.  So, writing is relaxing to me. 

Do you take your character prep to heart? Do you nurture the growth of each character all the way through to the page? Do you people watch to help with development? Or do you build upon your character during story creation?

Each of my characters has a special meaning to me.  Especially the characters of the Blood Prophecy series.  I allow these characters to naturally develop based on the emotions of the scenes.  I mean, I may start them out one way, but as a scene moves along, the character may evolve into something I didn’t quite picture at first.  When I need to make certain scenes like battle scenes, I have a unique process that I need to do.  I’d like to share it so you can understand what I mean.  For battles, I tend to close my eyes and imagine being the character in that fight.  Sometimes, for some scenes, I will use my son’s sword, for example, and hold it while moving in different poses.  I may record that just so I can watch it while writing.  I guess that’s one of the reasons why “Nerf Wars” is popular in my house with the kids and their friends.  Sometimes even the birthday parties I throw for them helps.

Do you have a character that you have been working on for a long time that still isn't quite ready, but fills you with excitement to work on the story?

All my characters have been created so far, but I have some new ones that I am planning for the fourth book that I just can’t wait to create.   Including some for the next novella after Machiel, which will be Zaraquel.  She is a unique child in the prophecy.

Have you found yourself bonding with any particular character(s)? If so which one(s)?

For me, I think I bonded somehow with all the characters.  Each character in the books has a little bit of something from almost every person in my life.  I mean, there’s a little something from my parents in the characters, from family, from friends.  I think that’s why I relate to my characters.  Sometimes I have friends from my high school or college days that tell me, “You know, so and so reminds me of me at _________”.  It’s nice to hear and it’s the truth.  I’ve created these characters that everyone can relate to in one way or another.  I think that’s why I love the Blood Prophecy series so much.

Do you have a character that you have been working on that you can't wait to put to paper?

I do!  But I can’t give that away.  (laughs) It’s part of the next book I am thinking about in the series but it will give away a significant part of Queen’s Ascension, which is to be released on August 17, 2020.  I don’t want to spoil it but this is one of my surprising characters.  In fact, I will give a little hint….she was introduced in book 2 and had a role in book 3 (Queen’s Ascension) but her role will be bigger than ever in book 4.  The hint is she’s named after my daughter Arianna.

Can you share your next creative project(s)? If yes, can you give a few details?

I see a Book Four in the series, but it would be a twist.  I don’t see it continuing from the third book.  In fact, I see it in the future from the third book but the title, I am seriously considering, is “The Rise of the Hunter”.  To me, that signifies that evil isn’t going to go away quietly but there will be some of the beloved characters involved but also, new characters.  I imagined the first half of the book already and need to start putting “pen to paper” as I call it.  I write as the thoughts come to me.  

What are some of your writing/publishing goals for this year?

I would like to continue the Blood Prophecy series.  I have Machiel’s novella to finish before submitting that, and then as fast as possible, I’d like to start on Blood Prophecy Four.  

Have you ever felt that there was something inside of you that you couldn't control? If so what? If no what spurs you to reach for the unexperienced?

You could say that I can’t control who we fall in or out of love with.  I think the series taught me that.  As some of my fans have pointed out, my series contains love, betrayal, honor, hate, you name it.  I know we all want to have the perfect fairy tale, heck, I am waiting for mine.  You never know what to expect when you meet people so my favorite saying that I tell people is “Expect the unexpected” and that saying pushes me to keep reaching for the unexpected, the unexperienced things in life.

If you could have dinner/dinner party with 7 fictional character, who would they be?

It would be a mixture of characters.  I would have to say Payne and Jones from the series by Chris Kuzneski, Steve Berry’s Character Cotton Malone, Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, Greg Isles’ character Penn Cage, Andrew Gross’ character Jay Erlich and finally, I would have to say Nimue from Camelot stories. 

If you could spend one-week with 5 fictional character, who would they be and where would you spend that time?

Any of the ones above that would be at the dinner party.  We would probably go to either any place in the UK or I would have to say, Japan.  It would be fascinating to learn the histories and culture with this group.

Where would you spend one full year, if you could go ANYWhere, money is not a concern? What would you do with this time?

If I could spend a full year – it would be Scotland.  The history there, the possible ghost stories, I feel that would be another incredible paranormal place for the series.  I would put pen to paper and create a series based on Scotland.  In fact, I’ve been planning to go there but had to reschedule it due to COVID 19.  It’s targeted for 2021 but it may have to move again.  My best friend and I have been planning and talking about this trip so I can start to write the series there.

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