Join award winning, USA Today and Bestselling authors for a journey into the enchanted realm of the Fae with this collection of brand new holiday stories spanning from humorous Regency and tender Historical to quirky Contemporary and gritty Urban Tales of faerie magic, human redemption, and the power of love.
Title: A VERY FAERIE CHRISTMAS
Authors: Meara Platt, Avril Borthiry, Jack Heckel, Ruth Vincent, Michele Lang, Bishop O’Connell
Genre: Holiday, Short Story & Anthologies, Romance
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 6, 2017
Meara Platt - A Mistletoe Kiss: When Lady Imogen Fairchild wishes for a faerie godmother, her
Avril Borthiry - Matthew's Hope: Set in England's rural north at the turn of the 20th century, Matthew's journey from boy to man is plagued with challenges. Yet throughout, he never forgets the little girl who saved his life, the girl no one else could see. Was she real? Or had he imagined her? As Britain and Europe descend into 'the war to end all wars', Matthew must face his greatest challenge of all. It is at his lowest point, his darkest time, that the girl he has never forgotten returns. Her name is Hope. Is she real? Because she is exactly what Matthew needs.
Jack Heckel - The Holly And The Ivy: By most measures, Malcolm has a great life, but nothing seems right, not even his perfect girlfriend. After leaving a party, he encounters the faerie Phaedra, but can her magic help him find true love in time for Christmas? And if so, is he willing to pay the price? A story inspired by the Christmas carol of the same name.
Ruth Vincent - Above Thy Deep And Dreamless Sleep: When the Fairy Queen tries to guilt-trip her changeling daughter, Mab, into returning to fairyland by transforming Mab's loved ones into mannequins in the New York City Christmas store window displays, Mab must outwit the Fairy Queen's tricks to save her friends and learn what it truly means to go home for the holidays.
Michele Lang - The Laws Of Magic: When a wicked army of Night Fae invades the small coastal town of New Castle, Connecticut, Ayna Cassidy, human chaos machine, must somehow overcome her painfully tangled past and stop them from ravaging her home. With the help of a magical lawyer, Rowan Royall, Ayna seeks both true love and salvation - but first she must unlock the secret magic hidden deep in her heart.
Bishop O'Connell - The Greatest Gift Of All: Wraith is a spell slinger, able to manipulate reality itself, but she's been on the streets since losing her parents and her life has never been easy. Through all the darkness, she's always tried to help the other children living at the fringes of society; the dejected, the ignored, and the forgotten. Now, the Fae court needs her help in finding a solstice child. If Wraith succeeds, the child will become a beacon of hope. If she fails, the child will become a monster, inspiring anger and rage. Wraith has faced all manner of terrors, both mundane and supernatural, and has never backed down from a fight. Can she save this solstice child and bring hope to the hopeless when she's never had much of that even for herself?
This Interview was with Author Meara Platt
Read between the Lines and Readers are dying to know more about your holiday themed novel. Is your novel a standalone or part of a series, if in a series can it be read as a standalone. Can you give us some details?
My story in this holiday themed set contains characters from my paranormal Regency series called the Dark Gardens Series, but this novella is a standalone and also much lighter and more humorous than the full length Dark Gardens books (Garden of Shadows, Garden of Light, Garden of Dragons, and Garden of Destiny). It is much more in the humorous and heartwarming vein of my traditional Regency series, the Farthingale Series. In my holiday story, A Mistletoe Kiss, my heroine, Imogen, wishes for a faerie godmother to help her through her London debut Season. However, her wish goes awry and the faerie assigned to help her is a big, hunky warrior Fae by the name of Beogrin who is more familiar with a battlefield than a London ballroom. He thinks he had been assigned to heal Imogen’s broken heart, but there is a surprise in store for Beogrin. This story is about the power of love and Christmas miracles.
Where do you draw your inspirations from?
I draw my inspiration from everywhere and anywhere. It can come from a commonplace discussion while standing in a supermarket line or from something magical and completely out of the ordinary. If it is romantic or special in another way, it will stick in my mind and I will try to write something special from that kernel of an idea. For example, a writer friend of mine approached me to be part of a military charity set where we would contribute all the proceeds of that set to the Walter Reed Army Hospital to help our wounded warriors. The story I wrote was loosely based on a touching event I’d heard from a WWII survivor. So in A Match Made In Duty (originally written and published as a part of the once limited edition The Hearts of Courage Box Set), I had my wounded and battle-scarred hero, James Brayden, the Earl of Exmoor, promise to marry Sophie, the sister of one of his fallen brothers in arms as a dying wish from her brother. That promise led to the romance between James and Sophie. He thinks he’s just honoring a promise, but it opens him to finding the perfect soul mate and love of his life.
Who are your favorite authors?
I have so many – I’m a voracious reader and I love all genres. I love mysteries and recently discovered a charming series by Pamela Burford called the Jane Delaney Mystery Series. I love Kathryn Le Veque’s medieval warriors. I love Christi Caldwell’s Regencies. I grew up on Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Ursula K. Le Guin (love her dragons), Judith McNaught. A great book is a great book no matter the genre.
Was there any particular book which gave you the writing bug?
The writing bug came to me after I’d read about five books in a row that I thought were terrible. When my husband could no longer stand my whining, he finally said “why don’t you try your hand at writing one”. I finally did, but that first book was a total stinker and will not see the light of day EVER. It didn’t change my opinion of those five bad books, but it did give me a great appreciation for the authors who managed to write one great book after another. I greatly admire their talent and know how hard they work to provide an engaging story for their readers. After years of workshops and continuously writing, I finally think I understand my voice and what I need to provide my readers who generously take the time to read my books.
Speaking of potentially “embarrassing” subjects, what’s the strangest thing you had to research for your writings?
Ha! Lots of odd things from baboon colonies in Africa to lemur populations in Madagascar and poisonous spiders of a particular area to undergarments of a particular historical period. But most embarrassing is when I go on Bigstock or Shutterstock to look for hunky men to use as the hero for a particular book cover or teaser graphic for promotions. I feel like a pervy old lady!
Research aside, what’s the hardest part of being an author?
I think the hardest part of being an author is maintaining the discipline to keep writing. It is often very hard to do when your phone is always ringing or your family wants your time, or they are just around to disrupt your concentration. It’s a fact of life and you have to deal with it. I wake up very early to get some quiet writing time before the minions rise and want my attention.
How would you describe your writing style?
I like to think that I write humorously and with a lot of warmth. When I write a story, my goal is to make my reader smile, perhaps laugh out loud, and always end up feeling good when they’ve finished. I put a lot of love into my stories and I always want to give my heroine that feeling of enchantment when she meets the heroic man who will claim her heart. Romance is that moment of enchantment and I want my readers to feel that same giddy happiness as my heroine does when the man of her dreams comes along. My heroes are always alpha males – arrogant, a little full of themselves, but they’ll love and respect my heroines and be willing to fight to the death to protect them, even though my heroines are strong and can usually protect themselves.
Any “fun facts” about the book?
For years, my friends and I have been talking about doing a project together. Michele Lang, Ruth Vincent and I have been friends for several years. We finally brought in some other authors we respect who write Fae stories – Avril Borthiry, Jack Heckel, and Bishop O’Connell – and A Very Faerie Christmas came about. I think what surprised me the most is how happy we all were to be a part of this project and how beautifully these stories show our different writing styles. I hope the happiness we felt in working together shows in these stories even though I write humorous Regency, Avril writes heartwarming WWI, Jack and Ruth and Michele write urban fantasy, and Bishop writes grittier dystopian fantasy.
Have you had any odd fan encounters?
No, I’ve been very fortunate to meet wonderful, caring readers. I know that if some of them lived closer, they would be among my friends. Sharing a love of historical romance brings us together and we simply have a good time. I’m usually surprised by how thoughtful they are – especially at a busy conference if I’m feeling a little overwhelmed with all I have to do. I never lack for generous offers of help.
Is there anything you’re currently working on now?
Yes! Let’s leap back to this pervy old lady who looks for photos of hunky men! My current project is a wonderful joint project with eleven other popular Regency/historical romance writers called the Wicked Earls’ Club. We each wrote a story about one of the wicked earls in the club. Mine is Earl of Westcliff available on preorder now and his story releases on January 16, 2018. OMG, finding the right cover model was so much fun, and I think the guy is so gorgeous. I hope everyone loves my wicked earl and doesn’t mind seeing him in his shirtless glory! He is wearing pants (fans self and breathes sigh of relief) but I could not bring myself to have my cover artist stick more clothes on him. He is a wicked earl, after all.
Meara Platt is a USA Today bestselling author and an award winning, Amazon UK All-star. Her favorite place in all the world is England’s Lake District, which may not come as a surprise since many of her stories are set in that idyllic landscape, including her Romance Writers of America Golden Heart award winning story released as Book 3 in her paranormal romance Dark Gardens series. If you’d like to learn more about the ancient Fae prophecy that is about to unfold in the Dark Gardens series, as well as Meara’s lighthearted, international bestselling Regency romances in the Farthingale Series, please visit Meara’s website at www.mearaplatt.com.
Twitter @MearaPlatt
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I would love to hear your thoughts. :) HAPPY READING !!!!