The Witching Pen by Dianna Hardy (Blog Tour Spot)

 

I had the awesome opportunity of interviewing Dianna Hardy the amazing author of The Witching Pen Novellas.  Below is my interview with her as well as my review for The Witching Pen (Book One in The Witching Pen Novellas). 

Thank you Dianna for taking the time to answer a few questions for me.  I am excited for others to know more about such an awesome series of novellas.

 

1.       How did you come up with the idea of a witching pen?

It was a domain name – thewitchingpen.co.uk – before it was anything else. Over two years ago, I was gathering all my old poems and stories that I’d written as a teenager, and I had just started to write again. So I bought a domain name for my new website that I thought encompassed everything about my writing at the time: poetic and witchy. Then I started writing fiction again. And I thought about the name of my website, and wondered what would happen if a pen was actually magical. How would it be magical? What would it do? Why would it have been created? And in thinking these thoughts, the idea for The Witching Pen Novellas literally fell into my lap.

2.       Did you have to do any research for the book?

I had to research how people got into the antiques business for some of Karl’s background, lol! The Wiccan / Pagan aspects of the book are taken from elements of my own background, as someone who has studies both witchcraft and shamanism, although it’s portrayed quite loosely in the books. I don’t want to impose my own actual background on my characters, so a lot of it is made up.

3.       What are you working on now?

I’m currently writing the last book in The Witching Pen Novellas trilogy, The Demon Bride. This will be followed by a spin-off urban fantasy novel, The Last Angel. And I’m already planning another two-novel series for 2013/2014 – Project Veil – which will focus very strongly on vampires, although not in the way you’re familiar with ;)

4.       What is the hardest part of writing for you?

I think that being an indie author is hard. You have so much flexibility over things, but you have to do all your own marketing and … well … everything. So the hardest part for me, is wearing all of the hats. Sometimes I just want to concentrate on writing, when I’ll have to do something else instead, and then it can be a little difficult to get back into the right mindset for writing. The best things for me are keeping the books how I want them, and designing my own covers. The worst things for me are organising the promotional aspects and going through the whole formatting and publishing hoo-ha. But you take the bad with the good ;)

5.       What can readers expect next in the series?

The Sands Of Time (book two) is much more dark and gritty than the first book, and The Demon Bride is even grittier still. In some ways that’s due to the different characters, but it’s also because we’re heading towards darker times in The Witching Pen World. Each book tells the story of a couple (as this is paranormal romance series), but the books also have a strong urban fantasy undertone, and this is felt more heavily as the series progresses, until you get to the spin-off novel, which will actually be an urban fantasy (with some sexy romantic elements in it, but an urban fantasy none-the-less, as the book will be plot-focused and not relationship-focused). Throughout the series, you can expect demons, witches, angels, magic, action, emotional upheavals, sexy scenes, quirky dialogue, dark romance as well as lighter romance, and the eternal struggle between dark and light.

6.       What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer the question?

In my head, it was never an interview. When I was about eight, I used to imagine that I was winning an Oscar as an actress, and my Oscar speech, I am proud to say, was always very composed and dignified, even at that age! Of course, at that age, I could never have done anything without my mum, so she was mentioned quite a lot.

7.       If you were writing a book about your life, what would the title be?

Two years ago, I would have said The Witching Pen, only this book and series is not about my life, so I’ll have to think of another. Something like… Hidden Between The Lines.

My Review of The Witching Pen

 

The Witching Pen by Dianna Hardy {Read April 2012}

This was actually a book I sought out and wanted to read.  I found it on Goodreads (great place to connect with authors and their work) and I reached out to the author.  This is the first book I’ve read by Dianna Hardy, but will not be the last.  This book definitely lived up to my expectations.  The Witching Pen is book one of The Witching Pen Novellas.    The book follows Elena as she discovers who she really is and her world is turned upside down.  Elena learns that your heart and soul know you better than your mind do.  You also learn that a lie and do more than damage lives it can change the world.  I loved this book and loved the way it was written.  It was difficult to put down and kept you guessing.  It is great when a book can make you go thru a full range of emotions.  It is a great example of a magic romance with a hint of demon.  I can’t wait for the next book in the series.  I highly recommend the book and give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.  

Giveaway 

One lucky winner who leaves a comment below will win an e-book copy of The Witching Pen, so start commenting. :) Good Luck!