Thursday, March 13, 2014

Guest Post: Author Jen McConnel

Nothing is more terrifying than the witch who wields red magic.

There comes a time in every witch's life when she must choose her path. Darlena's friends have already chosen, so why is it so hard for her to make up her mind? Now, Darlena is out of time. Under pressure from Hecate, the Queen of all witches, Darlena makes a rash decision to choose Red magic, a path no witch in her right mind would dare take. As a Red witch, she will be responsible for chaos and mayhem, drawing her deep into darkness. Will the power of Red magic prove too much for Darlena, or will she learn to control it before it's too late?


Why Witches?
With the launch of Daughter of Chaos in just a few weeks, I’ve been fielding a lot of questions about my inspiration and writing choices, so I thought I’d tell you a little bit about why I chose to write a paranormal story, and why witches, in particular.

I’m an avid reader, and I’ve always loved reading paranormal stories, but I think my love of magic runs deeper than that. Some of my favorite tales from childhood are myths and fairy tales, where magic is very real, and the lines between good and evil are sometimes blurred. In part, I blame the musical Into the Woods for this obsession; when I first watched that in sixth grade, I became fascinated with the idea of twisting these familiar stories to either redeem the villains or make the heroes look a little less heroic, and that has stuck with me in my writing.

Then, there’s my general obsession with witches in pop culture. Earlier this year, I did a roundup ofmy favorite film and T.V. witches, and I realized I left one out. Probably the first witch I remember cheering for is Eglantine Price from Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks. I loved the idea of a woman teaching herself magic in the hopes of making a positive change in the midst of World War II, and I also loved the fact that no one in the film initially believed in magic except for her, but that didn’t stop her. (Plus, Eglantine is played by the amazing Angela Lansbury, and the cat has the strangest name ever, so what’s not to love?). I can’t tell you how many times I tried the substitutiary locomotionspell on my own belongings growing up.
Writing paranormal is also a blast. I’ve written contemporary stories, too, and I find them harder to write; with paranormal, it’s easy to blow something up or introduce a new element of magic when the story is backed into a corner, and that’s something I take advantage of when I’m drafting.
Ultimately, though, my love of paranormal comes back to my love of magic. Whether it’s the big, flashy magic Darlena experiences in Daughter, or the quiet magic of sunshine slicing through a prism, I think we all need a little more magic in our lives.

About the Author:
 
 
Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. A Michigander by birth, she now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. A graduate of Western Michigan University, she also holds a MS in Library Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.  When she isn't crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches college writing composition and yoga. Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time.  Visit http://www.jenmcconnel.com/  to learn more.
 
 
Want to buy a copy of Jen's Daughter of Chaos?  Click on any of these links to get your own copy so you can start reading ASAP!
 

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