Hi lovelies!
Today we have the amazing Sharon Bayliss with us to answer questions
about herself, writing, and her new release, Destruction, the exciting first book in the December People series (dark fantasy)!
David
Vandergraff wants to be a good man. He goes to church every Sunday, keeps his
lawn trim and green, and loves his wife and kids more than anything.
Unfortunately, being a dark wizard isn't a choice.
Eleven years ago, David's secret second family went missing. When his two lost children are finally found, he learns they suffered years of unthinkable abuse. Ready to make things right, David brings the kids home even though it could mean losing the wife he can’t imagine living without.
Keeping his life together becomes harder when the new children claim to be dark wizards. David believes they use this fantasy to cope with their trauma. Until, David's wife admits a secret of her own—she is a dark wizard too, as is David, and all of their children.
Eleven years ago, David's secret second family went missing. When his two lost children are finally found, he learns they suffered years of unthinkable abuse. Ready to make things right, David brings the kids home even though it could mean losing the wife he can’t imagine living without.
Keeping his life together becomes harder when the new children claim to be dark wizards. David believes they use this fantasy to cope with their trauma. Until, David's wife admits a secret of her own—she is a dark wizard too, as is David, and all of their children.
Now, David must parent two hurting children from a
dark world he doesn’t understand and keep his family from falling apart. All
while dealing with the realization that everyone he loves, including himself,
may be evil.
- Please tell us about yourself in fifty words or less.
I'm a social worker, an author, a wife, and a mom. I'm a winter witch,
tending towards spring, which means I'm dark and serious, but free-spirited and
fun-loving at the same time. I've lived in Austin, Texas all my life, and I
love drinking margaritas on patios and wearing flip-flops.
- What can readers expect
from Destruction?
It's a dark wizard family drama. You can expect to see magic interwoven
with real-world problems.
- What is the most nerve
wracking part of a new release for you?
That's actually a hard question. There seems to be just a general
ambient anxiety around a new release. Obviously I fear failure—bad reviews,
poor sales, etc., but really it's just an unspecified freak-out.
- What's been the single most
empowering piece of advice you've gotten when it comes to writing?
JFW. It means "just f---ing write." I actually stole it from
my husband's running group, Rogue Running. Their slogan is JFR (run), but I
liked the idea. Anytime you have doubts or excuses, just say JFW.
- What's been your most
challenging writing moment to date?
I remember a time a while back when I was querying The Charge. I had gone through multiple drafts and many, many
queries. I felt like the story was high quality, but I was still getting
nowhere. I didn't have an iphone at the time (which might be a good thing) and
I remember feeling anxious anytime I was away from the computer as I waited for
query replies. I don't know if I felt like giving up, but I definitely felt
discouraged.
- What's the worst thing
you've ever written? The best?
I think Destruction is the
best thing I've ever written. Although, book 2 in the series might actually be
better. I've written a lot of crap. My worst is probably a book of poetry I
wrote in a spiral in high school.
- What draws you to fantasy
as a reader? As a writer?
I live in the real world. I spend all my time here. If I have control of
the world, why wouldn’t I add magic?!
8. What does a perfect day entail for you?
My husband. A margarita. A good book. Being outside. Some combination of
those things. J
9. In high school you were most likely to ….
Be way too cool to read young adult novels.
10. You're stuck on an island... what 3 books would you kill to have
with you?
Would it be totally narcissistic to take Destruction and The Charge?
;) How about the 6th and 7th novels in the Harry Potter
series and The Bible.
11. Do you share any traits or characteristics with your protagonist?
Hmm…other than being a dark wizard, you mean? ;) My protagonist and I
are pretty different, but I poured a lot of my love for my family into him. He
loves his wife and kids more than anything, and so do I.
12. Where else can we find you?
@SharonBayliss
As a child, Sharon enjoyed playing in mud, collecting frogs, and
was so certain that there was a ghost in her closet that her mother admits that
she half-expected to really find one there. She began writing her first novel
at the age of fifteen (handwritten in a spiral marked ‘private’).
A proud Austinite, Sharon never saw much sense in moving
anywhere else and got her degree in social work from the University of Texas at
Austin. As an author and social worker, she has devoted her life to making the
lives of real people better and the lives of fictional people much, much worse.
When she’s not writing, she enjoys living happily-ever-after
with her husband and two young sons. She can be found eating Tex-Mex on patios,
wearing flip-flops, and still playing in the mud (which she now calls
gardening).
Destruction is available at Amazon. You can also grab an autographed copy exclusively from The Book Spot.
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