Sheila's Books Read

Sheila's bookshelf: read

The Best Intentions
Scotland's Melody
The Secret Society of Salzburg
Secret of the Sonnets
20-40-60-Minute Dinners: Meals to Match the Time You Have
Through the Wilderness: My Journey of Redemption and Healing in the American Wild
Secret Santa Claus Club: A Tool to Help Parents Unwrap the Secret of Santa
Mr. Pudgins
Revenge Never Rests
The Best Mistake
Meriden Park
More Inspirational Stories for Young Women
The Great Tree: A Christmas Fable
To Capture His Heart
The Call of the Sea
Esperance
Livvy and the Enchanted Woodland
Come, Gentle Night
The Bad Boy Theory
Guide To Smart Wedding Planning: What You want to know and everything you haven't thought of yet.


Sheila's favorite books »

2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge
Sheila has read 4 books toward her goal of 100 books.
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Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Great Summer Reads Countdown Blitz and Giveaway-Day 9: Venators: Magic Unleashed By Devri Walls





Devri Walls is the best-selling author of six YA fantasy novels. She is a theater major with a flare for the dramatic and wishes more than anything for a magic wand. Devri is from Boise Idaho where she lives with her husband, two kids and the cutest mutt of a dog the world has ever seen. When she’s not writing she can be found teaching voice lessons, trying to resist the urge to sell her two beautiful children to the circus, and cooking. Because…. food. Mmmmmmm.

  

Connect with the Author here: 


"Six years ago, Grey Malteer was attacked by creatures he thought couldn’t possibly exist. They repeated a word, calling him a name he’d never heard before…Venator. Since then, his life has been a hellhole of secrecy—hiding old pain alongside strange new abilities.

Rune Jenkins has an itch, as she calls it, but it’s more than that. It’s an anger that builds up like the inside of a boiler whenever she’s around anything remotely supernatural. The pressure is growing steadily worse and she can’t understand why. All she knows is—her control is slipping.

By order of an unknown council Grey and Rune are pulled through a portal in the St. Louis arch, landing them in an alternate dimension where creatures of myth and legend exist. A realm that calls them, Venators.

Made up of centuries old fae, vampires, werewolves, elves and succubi the council’s corrupt nature becomes obvious as they seek to wield the newly returned Venators as weapons. Wedged in an impossible position, Grey and Rune must decide their fate—do they go against the council’s wishes and help the innocents of this unforgiving land, or face the possibility of execution by the council."




~ Amazon ~ Amazon UK




Q & A:

1     If you had 3 wishes, what would they be?

To travel the world with my husband.
That my kids will grow into successful, kind, responsible adults.
To see my books in bookstores around the world.



2        Where do you write?
I really have to bounce around a lot. Areas go stale for me, I don’t know why. I have an office and sometimes I work at my desk or armchair in there. When that doesn’t work I pick different chairs throughout the house. When THAT doesn’t work, I flee. I  have a favorite place in my hometown called The Village. It has indoor and outdoor seating, restaurants, fountains, loads of flowers! Oh, I just love it there. I’ll work in coffee shops sometimes, or parks. Wherever my laptop can go and my brain decides it can focus, that’s where I land.



3     How long does it normally take you to write a novel?
That varies so much! I’ve done it in 6 months, lately it’s been more like 9+ months. I will never be a super speedy 1 month for a book writer. My personal writing style mixed with a fantasy genre… yeah super speed is just not going to happen. But I am working on picking up the pace again.



4     What are your inspirations?
Everything!!! Nature, books, movies, people. You name it, hit me at the right time and the smallest things can inspire a total novel.

5     How did you come to write this particular book or series?
I was actively looking for something to write that could be a long series. One that lent itself to that naturally, as opposed to feeling forced when a series continues past an original three book idea. Because of this I chose to lay out this series more episodically than my previous books. This allowed me unlimited, organic storylines. Each book is a full length epic adventure, but written with both inner book story arcs, and large series story arcs that are slowly unfolding.


And because I am somewhat addicted to the freedom of writing fantasy I wanted to try something that was truly unlimited. The world of the Venators has both Fantasy and Paranormal elements combined, which means I can have a dragon and a vampire in the same book and it totally works! I’m very excited about this series. So far the biggest challenge has been to keep my brain from spiraling off into all the hundred of story ideas available to me.




6     What was the hardest part of writing your book, and how did you overcome it?

Book one is always the hardest for me, everything feels…slippery. The characters, the world, they feel a little hollow. The only way for me to overcome it is to just keep going. Keep rewriting scenes until things are fully fleshed out and I have a better handle on what I’m trying to create here. It’s exhausting and first books always take me longer. But once I’ve finished that process the rest of the series flows.


7     What is your writing drive? The power that keeps you going when your writing gets difficult?

The fact that I love it. Writing fulfills a part of me that demands to be fulfilled. There are times, many times, where I cry and wonder why I’m still plugging away at this. In those times, I imagine for a moment quitting, and I just can’t fathom my life without it. So I knuckle down and try to focus on my love for the craft.

8     How did you come up with the title?

Titles are hard! This one was easier than most because the main characters are called Venators. It made sense with the layout I chose to title it Venators and use subtitles for each new book.


9     Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family member?
  
Does my counselor count? Lol! But no, seriously, my counselor. Unfortunately a writer’s personal life has EVERYTHING to do with their writing. Personal trauma derails a great many of us. Having someone there to help me sort out those thoughts and feelings that get in the way of my craft is huge. 



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