The Witches, Wands, and Wanderers Storybundle is available for the month of October!
https://www.storybundle.com/witches
In addition, Knotted Road Press will be publishing interviews from the various authors.
And here is the first author interview, from David Neth! You’ll find him at https://www.davidnethbooks.com
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How long have you been writing?
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I’ve been writing since I was twelve. I distinctly remember the decision to sit down to write came when I was watching my brother play Kingdom Hearts and I wasn’t happy where the storyline was going. I thought that I could do better myself, so I sat down at my family’s computer and started writing a book called Airdaps. It was terrible, but it was my starting point.
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What is your favorite work? Tell me a little about it.
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It’s hard for me to pick a favorite book because I write in so many different genres that they’re all different. What I will say is that the Coven series has been the most fun to write. Shapeshifter (Book 4) and Sorcerer (Book 5) are among my two favorite books in the series because they’re far enough into the series that they can build on the history established in Books 1-3, and they’re both told using different storytelling techniques. Shapeshifter is like the “Halloween special” of the series, so it leans into some horror genre tropes, while Sorcerer has so many intertwining storylines that all fit so well together.
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What was one of the most surprising things you’ve learned while writing?
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Honestly, I think when you’re writing and you’re trying to get that buzz and excitement going in yourself to inspire you to keep pushing to the end of the book, you forget the skills that you’ve developed as a writer. And it isn’t until you read some really bad writing that you realize just how good of a writer you’ve become. How naturally the words just pour out of you and how you can probably write a sentence in three different ways, but you can identify which is the best way to write it. And then, of course, having the courage to go back and edit your own work and admitting where your shortcomings are to improve on that.
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What was the inspiration for this book or story?
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The whole Coven series almost didn’t happen. I had taken a break from writing to get a second master’s for my day job and I was feeling very burnt out and uninspired from everything going on in my life. And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and everything seemed to hit “Pause.” That gave me enough time to recharge my batteries, get into my TBR pile, and really become inspired to write again.
As a way to ease back into writing, I thought I’d just tell a little story about some of the characters from my Under the Moon series, but twenty years before the events of Under the Moon. I gave myself no limits, no expectations, I just wrote because I wanted to. I had a lot of fun writing the first book, that the ideas for Books 2, 3, 4, and so on all came so naturally.
With Harpy specifically, I had mentioned in The Blood Moon in the Under the Moon series how Samantha and Kathy had faced a harpy coven in their past. Throughout Under the Moon, I had hinted at how the sisters faced magical enemies on a regular basis before they had kids. Coven was a way for me to tell those early stories and Harpy was the natural first story to tell.
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What was the hardest, as well as the easiest, parts of writing this book or story?
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I think the hardest part of writing this story was to allow myself to be bad at writing, and allow myself to not be chained to any kind of word count. In the past, I had tried to reach different word count benchmarks and I just removed that mindset to write the story. And, because I had taken a break from writing, I needed to get the gears moving again in order to really feel like a writer again. Thankfully, I was writing characters that I already knew, so it was easy for me to get back into the swing of things.
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Tell us one thing about your character that we don’t learn from the story, maybe a secret from their past or a hidden aspiration.
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The two main characters in Harpy are Samantha and Kathy. They’re sisters and only a year apart, but they’re so different.
For Samantha, I think one thing that isn’t revealed in the book is just how much she envies her sister’s outlook on the world. Samantha is more responsible, kind of uptight, and the one keeping them together, whereas Kathy is more of a free spirit and someone who trusts that things will happen how they should. Samantha wishes she could be more like that, even though she’s the one always doing what’s right.
For Kathy, the biggest thing is that she wishes she had known her mother longer. The sisters’ mother died when they were quite young. Samantha has some memories of her mother, while Kathy doesn’t really have any. Because of that, Samantha became Kathy’s sister and mother.
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What sorts of superstitions or odd writing habits do you have?
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I don’t have too many writing rituals because my life has changed so much in the last seven years that I’ve been publishing. I’ve needed to adapt. One thing that might be kind of odd is that I can suddenly lose inspiration for writing mid-sentence, stop writing, play on my phone or go refill my drink, and then come back and pick up exactly where I’ve left off with a whole new vigor. I blame it on having to be adaptive to all kinds of interruptions to my writing time over the years.
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Do you believe in magic?
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Of course!
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What’s the question you always secretly wish someone would ask, but they never do? And how would you answer?
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Q: How can I support you after I’ve bought your book?
A: Leave a review! Email me to tell me that you loved it and why. Maybe mention your favorite character or scene. Refer my book to a friend. Donate a copy to your library. Talk about my book often. Get excited about my next book. Sign up for my newsletter.
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What are you currently working on, and what’s coming out next?
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Right now, I’m taking a break from the Coven series to write another prequel series in this whole Art of Magic universe I’m creating. This new series is called Lost By Magic and follows Samantha and Kathy’s father and where he’s disappeared to a few years before the start of the Coven series. The sisters (mostly Samantha) believe he abandoned them. This series will explain otherwise. _________________________________________
Where can people find you and your work?
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All my books are on my website (davidnethbooks.com). There, you can sign up for my newsletter as well, so you can always stay up-to-date on each new release! Also, if you wanted to join my Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/571174141077780) or follow me on Amazon, Goodreads, and Bookbub, I would appreciate that too!
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