I am doing something a
little different today, and hosting my first guest blogger. Su will tell you a
little about herself and her new YA novel, Dream
Weaver, the first in a series. I am looking forward to the next
instalments! Here is a link to a sneak preview of her novel in PDF format.
Thursday, May 9 Philip Newey
(All-read-E)
Before I get started on my guest post,
I wanted to let readers know how Philip and I met. One of us ‘followed’ the
other on Twitter and I usually at least read the ‘about’ info before I follow
someone or follow their link to their website. So, I went to the ‘All-read-E’
website and discovered Philip is an editor (who charges amazing rates, btw.)
Now, I’ve kinda discovered that I do pretty good proof-reading other people’s
work, so I asked Philip if he’d be interested in an apprentice. Well,
considering I’m in the US and he’s in Australia, it wouldn’t work, but he’s
also a fledgling business and not able to hire on at the time. We chatted back
and forth for a while, and then, bless his heart, he bought a copy of Dream Weaver. Now, I was nervous. A real editor
was going to read my book.
A couple of days later, I get an email
from Philip. He says he’s done with his review of Dream Weaver but wanted me to
see the review before he posted it. My heart sank even worse when he said he
knew I’d probably rather have more stars. But I opened the review and read.
Inside, I found an honest constructive review. Philip had some great things to
say about my book and told me, if he were a ‘real’ business man he’d tell me it
was laden with mistakes, but he’d rather be an honest man. If I wasn’t a Philip
Newey fan before, that cinched it for me. He may have only given me 3 stars—my
first and only 3 star review—but I wear those 3 stars like a badge. Philip’s review of
Dream Weaver
I’m so glad I got to meet Philip and
am 100% willing to recommend his skills as a professional editor. He has two
things that are mandatory in an editor—honesty and integrity.
OK, so Philip asked me to write about how Dream Weaver and
I met. The best way I can think of to explain is to tell you how I met all the
characters.
Birth of the Dream Weaver
I knew I wanted immortals in my story,
but vampires were not an option. At the time, and still, vampires have been
done to death. So, my immortals are mind-benders. Offspring of the Nephilim
called Onar Caphar or Dream Writer in the Greek. Over the centuries, Dream
Writer evolved into Dream Weaver, especially after Gary Wright’s song. Most people believe that giants were the
offspring of Nephilim/human pairings, but in my world their progeny have less
‘large’ traits and more mental powers. Caphar cull and control dreams and
memories. They can read, revise, delete or exchange any memory. They can guide
night terrors into blissful dreams. And their counterparts, the Rephaim, can
immerse the human mind so deeply into nightmares that insanity is often
evidence of their presence. (Hmm, maybe we should check the psych wards.)
Emari Jewel Sweet
I needed a protagonist, though at the
time I had no idea that’s what they were called. And Emari Jewel Sweet appeared
out of some inane doodling during a break at work one night. In some respects,
Em is a little like me. In others, she’s a little like my daughter, Sarah. But
mostly, she’s a conglomeration of every emo/goth girl I’ve met or read about.
She’s a little dark and disturbed, for obvious reasons. She teeters on the
precipice of life and death at her own hands, and the compulsion to release her
inner pain through outer, physical means.
Nickolas Anton Benedetti
At first, Nick was my Edward, but I
knew I couldn’t call him Edward. So, I went where I usually go to get a name
for a character. My local cemetery. Now, I’m going to disclose something very
odd about myself, here. Since probably junior high, I’ve visited this cemetery
on a regular basis. But not just the cemetery in general. One person
specifically: Maria. This woman died in 1917. Just a few years before I was
born. But she’s been my muse. I’ve gotten so many ideas just sitting by her
headstone and talking to her. And, that is also where I found Nickolas. In the
grave right beside her.
I found a good deal more of Nick’s
story in the cemetery office. It seems that Maria’s name was entered as Felicia
in the cemetery tome. And her marker gives no indication whatsoever that her
infant son was buried with her. So, Nickolas Anton Benedetti became the husband
of Felicia, who died during childbirth due to complications from typhoid.
(There was an outbreak about that time in Spokane.)
Sabre James
My oldest daughter, Aundraic, used to
have a friend by the name of Tabor. Cool name. Not a cool guy. I didn’t want my
character to be related to this ‘not cool’ guy, but I liked the name. Somehow,
it evolved into Sabre. And because he can be a bit ruthless for a good guy, I
gave him the last name of the notorious outlaw Jesse James. Heck, they may even
be related. Sabre’s been around since the early 1750’s and hails from England.
(A short excerpt of his early years is available on one of blog posts.) Sabre
has been Nick’s mentor since his rebirth in 1917. He believes that mortals and
immortals should stay apart as much as possible. He’s a bit of a researcher, and
has no qualms about testing his abilities on others, even Emari. And as Nick
consistently proclaims, Sabre is an ass.
The Rest of the Cast
Ivy is Emari’s best friend and
co-worker at Cash’s department store. Funnily enough she’s the only character I
haven’t given a last name. Ivy is loosely based on my girlfriend Heather.
Jesse DeLaRosa is another very good
friend of Emari’s who has a secret crush on her.
Eddyson, Emari’s 8 week old
tri-colored beagle puppy, is her anchor to sanity.
Officer Molly Elliot, roughly based on
Officer DeRuwe, a Spokane police woman and sometimes media liaison,
investigates Emari’s assault and becomes a new friend.
Wrapping It Up
So that’s an introduction to the main
characters and a little of their stories. My mind works in mysterious ways and
each character and story line has evolved from historical facts, life in general
and twists on the familiar. I hope it’s enough to pique your curiosity about
Dream Weaver.
Philip, thank you for the opportunity
to guest post on your blog and sharing your followers with me.
As always,
Dare to Dream!
Su
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Thank you, Su, for your blog and for your kind words. You can purchase Su’s book, Dream Weaver here:
And
you can find Su hanging around these shady joints:
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