Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Interview with C.A. Bell, Author of Nancy’s Curse: The Complete Trilogy


What made you decide to be an author? I’m not sure I decided. I think it chose me.

What do you like best about being a writer? What do you like the least?
Best – Coming to the end of a MS, that’s the best feeling in the world. Least – Not having the opportunity to write when you want/need to. 


How do you think your life experiences have prepared you for writing?
I think they have prepared me in more ways than I could put into words. Through my life there has been some massive heartache, some really fun times, and some oddly bizarre ones too. All of which have helped me in one way or another when crafting a story.

Have you ever felt as if you were being dictated to while you wrote a book--as if the words came of their own accord? If yes, which book did that happen with? All the time and with every book I have ever written. I always start with an outline of my plot, but the stories never finish how I intended them to. My characters choose the route they wish to take as they develop.

Are you a plotter or a pantser, i.e., do you outline your books ahead of time or are you an “organic” writer? Yes, I always outline my books, but they never ever go the way I planned them to. As my characters develop they always take me down a new path that I didn’t plan on.

If you had one take away piece of advice for authors, what would it be?
Hmm… Never give up and never stop writing. It can be frustrating to not get the recognition you deserve, but keep plugging away at it. Your day and book will come.

Did music help you find your muse with this book? If yes, which song did you find yourself going back to over and over again as you wrote? Not with this one.


Sometimes white magic can turn dark. Even with the best intentions.

When Angelica, a white witch, placed a protective curse over her granddaughter, Nancy, in a bid to keep her safe from society and her own powers until she was old enough to understand, she had no idea of the consequences.

On the 31st of October, a grown up Nancy holds her annual Halloween party. Only this year she strays away from her traditional festivities that include her famous Halloween punch, and dancing to the Monster Mash, and opts for a spookier night. With the help of her friends, Nancy will be holding a séance with her new Ouija board. But little does she know that the protective curse her grandmother secretly cast over twenty-seven years ago is lifted that very night. 

A spirit is summoned and Nancy begins a journey of sexual desire and love that she will never forget.

Was this summoning pure coincidence, magic, or something else? Only time will tell.

Lies, secrets, covens, dark forces, and nightmares lie just around the corner for Nancy. But at the end of it all, will she be able to help the man she has fallen for and fulfil his wish of putting his wandering soul to rest? And will there be a price?
Will true love conquer or be taken?

Nancy is about to find out.

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Excerpt:

Once her guests have settled, Nancy begins.
“First things first, I would like to thank you all for coming to my party! Next, before we get started with this, I would like to allocate some special roles.”
She puts a nervous-looking Sophie out of her misery first. “Sophie – you, Declan and James are all the energisers.”
It doesn’t seem to reassure Sophie, so Nancy goes on, “Don’t worry, all you have to do is sit here and let the rest of us look like fools.” Nancy smiles in her direction to reassure her, prompting a tiny smile back.
Reassured, she continues, “Okay, Eve, you are interpreter. Hence the pen and paper. Your job is to write down any answers, numbers or letters we get from the board.”
Eve grins. “Gotcha.”
Then, staring her straight in the eye, Nancy declares Lucy the designated ‘screamer’.
 “What the hell’s a screamer, Nance?”
 She chuckles. “Basically, a screamer is the person who you think will wet themselves before anyone else and run home crying.”
Lucy gives her a knowing look, “Well I think that title should belong to you, Nance. Don’t you?”
 “Maybe, but I am the leader since it’s my party and my Ouija.”
Lucy looks away and takes a sip of her drink. No-one else seems to have a problem with their position, so leader Nancy decides that it’s time to play. She turns the music down to a whisper.
Pressing her fingers down on both bottom corners of the board, she drags it along the table towards her. “Now. To start we all must concentrate and have no negative thoughts, or this won’t work. Alright?”
Everybody nods, and Nancy places one finger from each hand on the planchette. Trying not to giggle, she asks the first question of the night.
“Is anyone there?”
The room is deadly silent; only the drone of the bass-driven music can be heard. She tries to make eye contact with her guests, but they’re all staring down at the board, waiting for her fingers to move. Jeez, they really are taking this seriously.
Nothing happens, so she asks again.
“Is there anyone there who wishes to make contact with us?”
They all stare; mesmerized by the piece of wood and the hope that something might just happen. The kitchen door creaks and then pushes open. Lucy screams. Everybody, including the men, jump up off their chairs and head sharpish for the other end of the room.
With every hair on her body stood to panicked attention, Nancy tries to open the lounge door with her trembling hands... until she realises what’s happened when she notices her cat strolling in like he owns the place.
It prompts the gang to burst out into laughter, breaking the onset of tension. Eventually, they manage to compose themselves, all admitting out loud that this Ouija lark is actually quite fun and, hey, they should try to really contact someone. This time with the doors closed, so no cats can further impede.
Making their way back to the table, Nancy scoops up Salem. Bending over and shooing her little friend off out the door, Nancy feels inappropriate eyes burning holes through her dress.
Twisting her head to see who is looking, she’s surprised that not a single one of them is peeking her way. And yet... the feeling of being watched still lingers. Straightening her chair back up from the panic before, she notices that the scent of the air has changed; it smells unfamiliar, musky, and manly. The flames of the candles are flickering more aggressively, as if there were a window open. Putting it down to James’s aftershave and the fact that they all just ran across the room, she takes her seat back at the head of the table and they start again.
“Is there anyone there?” Nancy asks, her fingers back on the wooden heart. They’re left hanging again, so she dashes to the kitchen to get the instruction booklet. Opening the cutlery drawer, that being watched feeling appears again and a cold breeze strokes the back of her bare neck. It sends shivers through her entire body. Snatching up the booklet, she darts back to the safety of her friends.
With the right passage at the ready and a number of sentences to choose from, she returns her fingers to the planchette and says, “Spirit, please come forward and give us guidance.”
Still, nothing. Not so much as a blown-out flame. She chooses another calling. “Spirit, do you have a message for one of us?”
Again they’re left hanging. So Nancy decides to make up her own chant, if only to get a reaction out of her friends. “Spirit, are there any hot, tall, dark, handsome men out there who are good in bed?”
Everyone giggles. In the midst of the laughter, Nancy’s ear suddenly turns icy. And then she hears a whisper.
Yes...
Her body freezes in fear.
C.A.Bell was born and raised on the outskirts of London, England, but for the past three years has resided in a much more rural town of Shropshire, where she married and made a home.

She is author to numerous erotic fiction stories, including, The Architect, Sex, Lies, and Sinful Wives, The Shame Train, and many more.

As well as putting together her own collections of erotic shorts and naughty poetry, she is also a contributor to many anthologies and online magazines.

Currently she is working on a number of projects which include a novel she started some time ago, book two of The Architect, and running her new website dedicated to erotica readers and writers, Bell, Book and Erotica.


Tour giveaway
3 digital copies of Sex, Lies, and Sinful wives by C.A.Bell
 

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