Scion of a Swan – Book Tour and Giveaway

Shadows thirst for the living. She starves for the truth.

Descending from a long line of witches, Daire Delacroix has been practicing magick since she was a witchling, and with the gift to see all magick, her gifts are unparalleled. But when Daire’s mother suddenly falls ill only to perish without a valid diagnosis, Daire grows vengeful and bitter for answers.

Half a year after her death, Daire reintroduces herself into the witch community to celebrate her first Wiccan holiday without her mother. When the Shadow People make an appearance and attack at one of the most renowned Wiccan sabbats, Daire’s world starts to fall apart once again.

Now with the Shadows growing violent and haunting Daire, she is determined to destroy them and protect what remains of her family. The deeper she searches the more secrets come to the surface, along with the truth about her mother’s death and her lineage.

Nothing will stop her from unveiling the truth—even when it means walking the line of right and wrong.

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What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?

Before I even started creating the outline for Scion of a Swan, I spent about a year doing research on anything I could find regarding magick, spellcraft, astral projection/Etheric plane, Wicca, and even Voodoo. Not everything I write in the series can be taken verbatim per the beliefs of magick, as I still wanted to maintain an element of fiction and not limit myself to a strict guideline. Voodoo was much harder to find information on as it is a very secret and tight-knit religion. The last thing I wanted to do for either belief was wrongfully portray, or insult, its peoples and deities. Since there was so little knowledge out there on Voodoo, I strayed further from it and used it more as a small sub-plot rather than a major role in the story as I had originally planned.

What do you think about the current publishing market?

Some might not agree with me, which is understandable, but I find that the same plots, characters, and stories are constantly getting retold. If they know it sells, that’s all the big name publishers want. Which is fine if your focus is on money and not the story. Personally, I prefer finding those rare gems where they shy away from the mold. Not to say that I don’t still read what is popular, I do, but there’s something alluring about breaking from the norm.

Do you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?

Books have been my passion since I was in elementary school. I actually struggled a lot with reading growing up, but once I grasped it I never let go. My favorite genres are definitely (dark) fantasy and romantasy, but I’m starting to fall in love with horror and psychological thrillers. I like to mix it up and switch what genre I read every few books or series to keep it interesting and continue expanding my knowledge of the genres. As of lately, I’ve really been enjoying time-travelling novels which I was always afraid to read for some reason.

Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?

I prefer to write with music. No words, I haven’t mastered that yet, but anything with string instruments, especially violin and cello, really gets my creative juices flowing. Dark and dramatic orchestral music is my go-to. I have a writing playlist that is ever growing with this type of music. I found it enhances my writing drastically and allows me to think freely.

Advice they would give new authors?

This isn’t an industry where you will make money. This is an industry that focuses on community and passion, at least that’s what I believe. I used to struggle with this myself, but you CANNOT look at other authors as competition. Look at them with respect and awe and build a relationship based on mutual respect and support. You don’t always need to understand what another person writes, but you can appreciate that they are doing what most don’t out of fear of failure.

Also, write what you want. Don’t let anyone or anything tell you otherwise. If you don’t enjoy what you write, then why are you doing it in the first place?

What’s one thing you found surprisingly difficult on your writing journey?

Besides the whole marketing and sales aspect, which is quite the challenge with a wicked learning curve, getting reviews has been a huge struggle for me personally. Even if you can sell your book, if you don’t get reviews, it’s very difficult to encourage others to purchase it without you standing there pushing your craft. This goes for ALL arts, not just writing. Whether you sell books, art, music, own a business, or anything else that relies heavily on the public for support, leave a review, or at the very least, rate the product. This world will give you every reason to quit and doubt yourself, and as creators, we have to support one another in whatever shape possible. Reviews and ratings go a long way. Your words hold weight.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember whether they were short stories, novellas, or full fledged novels. You could find me sitting inside writing on the computer for hours rather than going outside to play with friends. I’ve always been a writer, but I feel that only recently do I consider myself a true author.

What are you passionate about these days?

The most obvious answer would be books. Writing fills up most of my free time, along with reading, but I find a lot of joy cooking and experimenting with recipes. My favorite recipes to make are my homemade chicken alfredo, chicken korma, and pot pies. I’ve recently started dabbling in making my own sourdough, but I’m still figuring out the science behind it. I also love going on adventures with my husband and our golden shepherd mix puppy Xena.

What inspired you to write this book?

I’ve always been fascinated with magick, witchcraft, and the paranormal. The series I was writing before I began Age of Shadows I no longer felt any passion for, so I scrapped it and started working on this one. I’ve had so much fun researching all the different topics and exploring a parallel world to ours.

What can we expect from you in the future?

Fear not my fellow readers for I have LOTS of story ideas planned. I have a document several pages long literally filled with different book and plot ideas. My genres will focus on dark fantasy and horror, but I have plans to branch out and work on writing romantasy and epic fantasy. I also want to try my hand at writing psychological thrillers, ground-breaking dystopian (similar to Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley), and fiction focusing on mental health and addiction.

How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?

The bones of the story were created years ago when a fellow author and I decided to collaborate on a book together. Unfortunately we never made it past character creation and knowing we wanted the story to involve magick and mystery. Daire Delacroix and Klowbi Penrose were created for this story, but I made minor changes so they could live in my Age of Shadows series. Niko Williams, Alko Li, and Xuan Minh were created later once I decided to write Scion of a Swan. The plot itself originally began as a good versus evil, which I found boring. So I turned the idea on its head and started from a different perspective where the FMC turns into the antagonist as the story progresses. I’ve always had a love for dark twists and Daire was the perfect character for it.

Where did you come up with the names in the story?

Daire Delacroix and Klowbi Penrose were created for a different story that was never written. I loved their names and characters so much I repurposed them for my Age of Shadows series. Daire Delacroix’s name was created using name generators. Klowbi’s name came from a video game play-through of Undertale that a Youtuber chose for their series. Niko was created years before when I first found my love for writing. His first name was inspired by a character from the Percy Jackson series, though the spelling is different. I found Xuan’s name because my husband loves watching poker and she was a poker player in the competitions. Alko’s name is inspired by Elko New Market which is a city in Minnesota.

If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?

Definitely Daire as I love her badass attitude and near overwhelming power she exudes. We would go to a sabbat and celebrate with all her fellow witches. No sabbat in particular, as long as there are no surprise Shadow encounters!

Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?

I like to think I have most of the control in the story, but when they hijack the story I let them do their thing. It usually adds to the depth and even surprises me with how the plot gets enhanced. The best thing, in my experience, is to allow the characters to hijack the story. It’s their world to begin with afterall.

Have you written any other books that are not published?

I have written 4 novels, not all of them finished, when I was first learning how to plot a story, create characters, and discover my writing style. When I was 15-16 I self-published two novels, both which are no longer available. Since then I’ve learned a lot and am fine tuning my craft with every chapter I write.

Is there a writer whose brain you would love to pick for advice? Who would that be and why?

My top two would have to be Sarah J Maas and Marie Lu. I fell in love with the Throne of Glass series and was so emotionally destroyed and enraptured by the characters. Marie Lu’s The Young Elites stuck with me because of how she wrote the FMC into the villain despite rooting for her the entire time. There are so many more brilliant authors I’d love to talk with, but those two have inspired me to write intricate plots, deep characters, and stylistic phrasing.

Do you see writing as a career?

Most definitely! The dream would be to make enough money off my books so I can write full-time. I would also make an effort to keep connected with my readers because without them my dreams would stay fiction.

Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you Write?

The main characters I have fleshed out before I begin to write. Secondary and tertiary characters vary if I plan them ahead of time, though sometimes they show up as the story progresses and I flesh them out as I go. I find that easier so I get to know their personality through the story versus forcing them into a personality that might not fit. However I am working on two more main characters for my Age of Shadows series that I did not have planned originally. As I wrote, I realized these characters would make great additions to the story and add to characters arcs already happening. They won’t make an appearance until book 3.