Hi Ya’ll. I hope you had a great new year. After a rocky last year (I won’t bore you with details as it is behind me and I am starting fresh. I am trying to get back to blogging.
Welcome to A Writer’s Life where you will find some awesome authors, writing tips and woes, and much more.
My guest today is Susan A. Royal
Hello Susan, How did your New Year start out?
Susan: Just like every New Year’s. Looking forward to a new year. It’s a clean slate.
Cat: Did you have a traditional dinner like our southern tradition of Hog Jowl, Blackeye Peas and greens?
Susan: I ate pickled beets, black-eyed peas, cornbread, cabbage and ham with my sister and brother-in-law. The Texas version. After Christmas goodies, plain food is always a welcome treat.
Cat: Did you make any resolutions or set any goals for this year?
Susan: The same as always. Be kind. Be patient. Be strong. Live healthier. Work harder. Accomplish more. And never give up. This year I added a new one. Start each day with a grateful heart. So I don’t take things for granted.
Cat: Tell us about your book.
Susan: How about I let my main character tell you?
My name is Lara, and I work downtown in the Metropolitan Building. I’m not really all that good at talking about myself. You can ask my good friend, Carrie. She calls me an introvert, but the bitter truth is I’m socially awkward. Sometimes I give in and let her drag me to a party, just so she’ll get off my case. While she flits from one group to another, laughing and having a great time, I lurk around the edges of the crowd, looking for a place to hide.
Carrie and I have been BFFs for a long time. Even though we’re total opposites. She’s cheerful. I’m sarcastic. She’s outgoing. I’m a loner. But she’s always there for me. Mom died when I was born, and I just lost my dad. Now there’s only me. Carrie’s the best. I just wish she’d quit trying to fix me up with some guy she thinks is my Mr. Right.
Don’t see that happening any time soon. Even though I’m almost six foot tall and have the kind of red hair everyone wants. Something about me seems to intimidate guys. Maybe it’s my sarcastic attitude.
Not Rhys, though. Even though we stood eye to eye it didn’t bother him a bit. That’s one of the first things I noticed. And then there was his great body, rugged good looks, and intense green eyes. He definitely got my attention.
Honestly, everything happened so fast after that, it’s mostly a blur. It wasn’t until after Rhys dragged me through a portal into another dimension that I realized he wasn’t the blind date Carrie had set me up with after all. And he really was out of this world.
Yeah, I know…you’re probably thinking this sounds like your typical ‘guy rescues girl from danger and takes her to another world, where they fall in love’ scenario, but you’re wrong. Rhys treats me like an unwanted responsibility, nothing more. Every time I try to be nice, he clams up and starts acting like commando man. And it goes downhill from there when I open my mouth and out comes the sarcasm. I let him get under my skin. Why? Because even though I refuse to admit it, I have feelings for the guy.
There’s something about the quiet way he claims responsibility for our little group of travelers. He takes his job seriously…even to the point of blaming himself when things go wrong, the way I did when Dad died. If only he would open up…
The bad thing is we’ve got to work together so we can locate the book of secrets before it falls into the wrong hands and his world falls apart. That is, if we don’t kill each other in the process.
Title: In My Own Shadow
Author name: Susan A. Royal
Publisher name: MuseItUp Publishing 2013
Genre: Fantasy
Pages 336
Cover artist Suzannah Safi
About the Book: Talk about the worst day ever! Lara lets her friend Carrie talk her into a blind date, only it turns out the handsome stranger waiting for Lara after work isn’t Carrie’s cousin after all. And, when they’re chased through a portal to another world, Lara realizes Rhys really is out of this world.
Lyra, her alternate in another dimension, has left clues to the whereabouts of the Book of Secrets, explaining the mystery of time travel in Lara’s subconscious. Or so Rhys thinks. Power-hungry telepaths who pursue them will stop at nothing to get it, even if it means breaking Lara’s will. To complicate matters, Lara gets tangled up in her feelings for Rhys while exploring her connection with Lyra.
With Rhys as her guardian, a bear of a man named Azle to guide her, and the spirit of Lyra haunting her dreams, Lara must find the Book of Secrets before it falls into the hands of those who want its power. Only then can she return to her world safely.
Meet Susan:
A native of Texas, Susan raised her kids in a 100-year-old farmhouse in the piney woods, sharing it with a music-loving ghost who harmonized with her son when he sang and played guitar.
She comes from a family rich with characters, both past and present. Her grandmother shared stories about farm life in Oklahoma Territory and working as a telephone operator in the early 20th century. She learned about the depression and growing up during WWII from her parents.
Susan loves taking her readers through all kinds of adventures. She’s written two books in her It’s About Time series, Not Long Ago and From Now On, and is working on book three. In My Own Shadow is a Fantasy Romance/Adventure, and Xander’s Tangled Web is a YA Fantasy. Look for her books at MuseItUp/Amazon/B&N.
Want to know more? Check back from time to time for updates and a peek inside this writer’s mind to see what she’s up to. You never know what new world she’s going to visit next.
Xander’s Tangled Web (fantasy, mystery)
In My Own Shadow
(fantasy, adventure, romance)
http://tinyurl.com/bqbxm41
Book trailer
Not Long Ago (time travel,
adventure, romance)
http://tinyurl.com/85vgye3
Book trailer
All books available at MuseItUp, Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
Backlist
It’s About Time: Not Long Ago
From Now On
In My Own Shadow
Xander’s Tangled Web
2 responses to “A Writer’s Life~Susan A Royal #tradition #resolutions”
Morning, Cathy! Thanks so much for inviting me to visit today. It’s good to be here!
Thanks for stopping by! It is lovely to have you!