Shipwrecked on a legendary island, how can a witch rescue her boyfriend if she can’t even phone home?
by Marva Dasef
MuseItUp Buy Page: http://tinyurl.com/6wswbsf
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006UTL54A/
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdfNTVeMS1s
Kat is a nervous wreck waiting for her boyfriend's first visit to her Arctic island home. He doesn't show up, so she's sure he’s given her the brushoff.
When she learns he’s disappeared, she sets out on a mission to find him. Things go wrong from the start. Kat is thrown overboard during a violent storm, while her brother and his girlfriend are captured by a mutant island tribe. The mutants hold the girlfriend hostage, demanding the teens recover the only thing that can make the mutants human again–the magical Midnight Oil.
Mustering every bit of her Wiccan magic, Kat rises to the challenge. She invokes her magical skills, learns to fly an ultralight, meets a legendary sea serpent, rescues her boyfriend, and helps a friendly air spirit win the battle against her spiteful sibling. On top of it all, she’s able to recover the Midnight Oil and help the hapless mutants in the nick of time.
(Q) Thanks for stopping by my blog! Let’s start with the basics: where are you from? Is there any place online you’d like to direct us to learn more about you?
My website at http://marvadasef.com and my blog at http://mgddasef.blogspot.com are good places to start. Probably my blog is more dynamic since I try to post every couple of days.
(Q) I always love hearing about how the idea for a particular book came about. Please fill us in on how you got the idea for Midnight Oil.
(Q) I always love hearing about how the idea for a particular book came about. Please fill us in on how you got the idea for Midnight Oil.
Midnight Oil is the second book of a series, the Witches of Galdorheim. When I wrote the first book, Bad Spelling, I didn’t set out to write any series, but Midnight Oil came to me as a good follow on to Kat’s adventures. Besides, my crit partners beat on me until I promised to write more about Kat and Rune.
In Bad Spelling, I wanted to answer a couple of questions: what are Kat’s roots and why was she so bad at magic? In researching aspects of magic, witchcraft, and fantasy, the idea of a shaman cursing her answered the questions. All I had to do is make up a story that made sense of the answer. Thus, Kat’s father became a Siberian hunter who accidentally found the witches’ island. This gave Kat’s mother the opportunity to fall in love and have a child with him. Kat’s background is Sami (a tribe of nomadic people similar to Aleuts in North America). The Samis were close enough geographically to be in the picture and they practice shamanism. I found lots of interesting info on the shaman cultures. In order for Kat to have a younger half-brother, then Kat’s father had to go. I decided that being frozen in a state halfway between life and death left open many possibilities.
Once Kat locates the evil shaman causing so much havoc, she returns to her island home. The Samis and witches become “family” by Kat’s connection. Her grandfather wants to bring his frozen son home to Siberia. So, Kat’s adventures continue in Midnight Oil when she discovers her boyfriend has disappeared. It’s all about family, but a family you won’t find living down the street from you.
(Q) Which authors have most influenced your own writing?
Mark Twain, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven. I read more science fiction than fantasy before I decided to write fantasy for young adults. I’d read plenty of it already, so picking up the genre was quite natural. I’ll have to give credit to J.K. Rowling as well. She put YA fantasy on everybody’s bookshelf.
(Q) What do you do for fun other than writing?
Read and take an occasional trip to Las Vegas. We’re pretty boring people. I became so used to working, I can’t shake the habit. I just write fiction instead of technical documentation. I have ten or so books in ebook and print.
(Q) If you could describe your ideal writing spot, where would it be? What music would you listen to (if at all)? What treats would you have on hand?
I have my ideal spot now. My desk faces out a large picture window so I can watch the squirrels and feral cats roam. Maybe one downside is that I’d like to have my second computer closer. Research is often a multi-computer task. I’ll eat breakfast and lunch at my desk, but don’t keep any treats at hand. I don’t listen to music while writing except when I’m putting together a book trailer.
(Q) Plotter or pantser? Both? Neither?
(Q) Plotter or pantser? Both? Neither?
Both. I outline the whole book with lots of notes pointing to my research areas and with a simple narration of what’s happening when. Then, I write and deviate from the outline as much as I want. Sometimes that’s a lot of deviation.
(Q) What kinds of marketing do you think are the most successful in terms of getting your name/book out there? (Curious minds are taking notes!)
(Q) What kinds of marketing do you think are the most successful in terms of getting your name/book out there? (Curious minds are taking notes!)
Please send me ideas, but it has to be free or exceedingly cheap. I’m not one to put together goody bags or swag. I think that requires a more artistic bent. I essentially use the internet social sites as much as I feel comfortable with. I’m not an aggressive marketer.
(Q) If you'd like to add anything, please do so.
I will be giving copies of Midnight Oil to randomly selected commenters on all the blog sites I visit with this tour. So, be sure to leave contact info in the Comments section. If a winner prefers, I can send just about any of my books in e-format as an alternative.
(Q) How about an excerpt to tantalize the readers?
(Q) How about an excerpt to tantalize the readers?
Instead of an excerpt, I’d like to offer the cover blurb for Bad Spelling since it’s the first book in the series.
A klutzy witch, a shaman's curse, a quest to save her family. Can Kat find her magic in time?
MuseItUp Buy Link: http://tinyurl.com/DasefBadSpelling
If you’re a witch living on a remote arctic island, and the entire island runs on magic, lacking magical skills is not just an inconvenience, it can be a matter of life and death–or, at least, a darn good reason to run away from home.
Katrina’s spells don’t just fizzle; they backfire with spectacular results, oftentimes involving green goo. A failure as a witch, Kat decides to run away and find her dead father’s non-magical family. But before she can, she stumbles onto why her magic is out of whack: a curse from a Siberian shaman.
The young witch, accompanied by her half-vampire brother, must travel to the Hall of the Mountain King and the farthest reaches of Siberia to regain her magic, dodging attacks by the shaman along the way.
Thanks so much Marva!! Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win!
