SSC: Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.
DR: Jilly Atherton is a budding witch, caught unawares by the voice of intuition that shakes her by the shoulders at regular intervals, screaming insight and advice whether she wants to hear it or not. Jilly is a reserved Brit, new to the craft and living in a New England town, working as manager of an organic micro-farm. She is compelled to solve the mysteries and murders that come her way though she suffers along the way with strange attempts on her life and flashbacks of her dodgy childhood. Jilly is a bit stand-offish and never to be voted most popular. But she has a slight crush on Van Lacy, the local detective, whose vibe is vintage and whose favorite tune is Blue Suede Shoes…
SC: Do you believe in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?
DR: Oh my yes. One of my closest friends is a medium and in the past months my dad’s come through several times with her. Then, he started just coming through to me, with lights coming on and off, things moving, falling over and that sort of thing. The night of my father in law’s funeral I came home before everyone else and just as I sat down, feeling very sad and realizing how I hadn’t grieved my own father this much, the light overhead (which has no switch on the wall, no plug on the floor but has to be turned on by the pull-chain) came full on. Hello, Dad!
SC: That's wonderful that you have been able to connect. What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?
DR: My second and third in my Cozy mystery series is in the works – both simultaneously it seems!
A Valentine to Die and Organic Murder. Books two and three in the Belly Witch Cozy Mystery Series.
SC: Thanks for chatting with us again today, Diane. Let's take a look at Midnight Pages now!
WRITING PROMPT From Midnight Pages:
Close your eyes. What do you hear, smell, taste? What do you sense at an energetic or intuitive level? Spend some real time. Find at least twenty-five things. When it gets hard to add to the list is when it gets interesting…”
Excerpt:
VIGILANTIA
Vigilantia: lying awake, sleepless, vigilance. The silence and stillness of midnight might feel suffocating, dense, and thick—heavy with foreboding. It might have you lying in bed, heart pounding, afraid of the dark.
Under the cloak of night, your hearing is heightened. Sounds startle you awake as you drowse. Your mind can ramp up: haunting memories, recriminations, regrets, and stuck thoughts keep you from your rest. Some “insights come up as well and sensations: the surge of adrenaline, pricklings on your neck. You might feel the weight of the dark bearing down on you or you notice movement in the shadows. Maybe you have the sense you’re being watched. Something lurks in the dark that’s imperceptible during the day. You might feel like you are not alone, and that subtle presence over your shoulder seems familiar. You wonder if it’s been there before, maybe even always. During the day, with music blaring and people talking, you just don’t perceive it. Ask what message all this has in store for you. Don’t reject what you hear. Don’t dismiss. Allow.
Night belongs to the spirits. –Proverb
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