Weather Witch Blog Tour

I am so excited to be participating in this blog tour for Weather Witch by Shannon Delany. I am a huge fan of her books and I jumped at the chance to review her new book and be in this tour.

Author Bio:

Shannon Delany has been writing fiction since she was a child. Inspired by a teacher in 4th grade and the creative endeavors of her parents, she was frequently encouraged to find her voice. First published in 8th grade in a short story anthology, she caught the writing bug for good and used her teen friends as beta readers but it wasn't until after being a middle school teacher that she pursued writing seriously. She freelanced for magazines and newspapers and then won the first-ever cell phone novel contest in the western world with 13 TO LIFE. An agent and a press release followed quickly and she was snapped up by St. Martin's Press where she has happily remained through 5 novels in the 13 TO LIFE series and three novels in the WEATHER WITCH series. She also contributes to charity anthologies, has a small heritage farm and a blog talk radio show called BOOKED! with Shannon Delany.

Author Interview:

When did you know you wanted to become a writer?

 I'm not sure when I knew I wanted to be a writer--I just know I've always written. It's an instinct, I think. I have a natural drive to create stories and share them.

How did the idea of Weather Witch come to you?

 It was a blending of my love of storms (my mother's fault--she introduced me to the beautiful sound of rain on my Mama Pinkie's tin roof), history (my father's fault as he taught it and often remarked about it), Philadelphia (my favorite American city), and the desire to discover what might happen if some people could control the weather and other people controlled them.

Are any of your characters based off people you know?

 Always! Oh, wait, I should've said, "No. Never." The reality is that every person I meet has something story worthy about them. Everyone has value worth passing along. People who bullied a writer might become a story's redeemable (or at least vaguely understandable) villain and crushes or spouses may influence romantic heroes or heroines. To write characters who feel real we should draw on reality (making substantial changes to protect the innocent and nor-so-innocent, of course).

How many books will be in the series?

 I requested this series have only three novels--13 TO LIFE had five (and I loved them all, but there are so many ideas I want to explore!). I have a short attention span so a trilogy is where I feel most comfortable currently.

How do you overcome writer’s block?

 By realizing I have to just grow up and write. This isn't just my passion, this is a good chunk of my livelihood. I don't have the luxury of block and honestly, once I start writing, the ideas just flow.

What is your writing process?

 It's a bit haphazard in the beginning--an idea comes to me, I jot everything down and then wait until I have time to focus on it. I do some research, page through books and catalogs with pictures that relate (I'm very visual) and let the ideas simmer. Then, if the story is selected to be developed, I write. Usually there are snippets of scenes that build a skeleton and I flesh it out over time.

What is your favorite paranormal being?

 I have a fondness for werewolves that is undeniable but I also adore the fox wives of old Japan and the selkies.

What was the first paranormal book you read?

 A Walk Through Wolf Wood by Mary Stewart

Who are some of your favorite authors?

 Ann Aguirre, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman...

Can you give us any hints about future books?

 Yes. Oh, you want some now? Things always get darkest before the dawn. Jordan and Rowen are only starting on the path to discovering their potential and there are people who will seek to help them and to harm them before they are reunited.

Is there a writer or writers that inspire you?

Ann Aguirre. She's amazing. She produces great books in great quantites--she's spectacular. So is Neil Gaiman. Clever and so imaginative.

What paranormal being would you like to be?

 A genie. They're always trim and sexy even in harem pants! THAT's a real magical power!

 If you were stranded on a deserted island what character would you want with you and why?

 If it's from this series I'd say Marion or the Wandering Wallace--someone who can put fresh ice in my drinks.

What would you do in a zombie apocalypse?

 Hang out in my fallback position and oil the axes and guns. And sight them in. The guns, not the axes.

What 3 people would you like to have dinner with and why?

 Alive?  Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer, and any living American President (I have questions for them all). Neil and Amanda are clever and creative--it'd be dinner and a show. Dead? Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, and Peter the Great (if we can get him to speak fluent English--I mean, if we're raising the dead we should be able to pull off decent translation, right?). They were brilliant.

 Favorites:

 Color:

 A particular shade of blue although black makes me look thinner. So black.

Pets:

 Hunter, Maggie, and Sweetie (two dogs and the resident cat).

Food:

 It totally depends on my mood. I'm an adventurous eater and there's very little I don't enjoy (hence my love of the thinning color black!). But not durian fruit. Holy heck, not that!

Drink:

 A fancy coffee or an amazing chai.

Holiday:

 The winter holidays as long as family and friends are safe and nearby to celebrate with me.

Music:

 This also depends on my mood. There are very few musicians that I can listen to anytime... Hmm. Actually let's reduce that from very few to none... I need to be in the right mood even for amazing musicians like Brandi Carlile, Josh Ritter, and the Avett Brothers (a few favorites because of the stories they deliver).

Movie:

 Memento and The Princess Bride.

In a vastly different and darker Philadelphia of 1844, steam power has been repressed, war threatens from deep, dark waters, and one young lady of high social standing is expecting a surprise at her seventeenth birthday party–but certainly not the one she gets!

Jordan Astraea, who has lived out all of her life in Philadelphia’s most exclusive neighborhood, is preparing to celebrate her birthday with friends, family and all the extravagance they might muster. The young man who is most often her dashing companion, Rowen Burchette, has told her a surprise awaits her and her best friend, Catrina Hollindale, wouldn’t miss this night for all the world!

But storm clouds are gathering and threatening to do far more than dampen her party plans because someone in the Astraea household has committed the greatest of social sins by Harboring a Weather Witch.

 Excerpt:

Marion Kruse was one of several characters who crept out of the shadows of my mind and

essentially said, "My story also needs telling." Here is just a bit of Marion's part in WEATHER

WITCH, taken from Chapter Nine.

The young man no longer stuck to the shadows, no longer waited until nightfall to work his

magick--or mischief as those Grounded would claim. He was tall and broad of shoulder with

dark hair and gray eyes and a coolness about him that made people think of first frosts and

snowfalls. And with good reason.

Because Marion Kruse was a cold-hearted young man.

Truth be told, He wanted nothing more than to return to a simpler time. A time he didn't wander

the roads and towns doing small things to amuse himself and set others to wondering. He wanted

nothing more to be back at his mother's feet, reading books about pirates and scoundrels that

made her laugh and tell him and his brother to never grow up to be wicked--that goodness was its

own reward.

He wanted nothing more than to grow fat on Chloe's generously proportioned biscuits and call

her "nanny" again. Nothing more than to go fox hunting with his father and friends (even that

frustrating pretty boy Rowen Burchette) and dance with an attractive girl.

He wanted nothing more than to go back to before he'd been Made.

But Marion had been taught that going back was nigh unto impossible.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Giveaway:
a signed mini poster and
a signed postcard and more story-related goodies. Tell me your favorite Shannon Delany book and why?

Thank you for stopping by my blog today. I would also like to Thank Shannon for letting me interview her and say Thanks to Author's Taproom for letting me participate in this blog tour. Don't forget to enter the giveaway.

~Sabrina

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