#CMCon23 Featured Author Spotlight: Deborah Blake
I have another Featured Author Spotlight for the Coastal Magic Convention in Daytona Beach, FL (February 23-26, 2023). If you want to get away from cold weather and snow in February next year, I highly recommend heading to this book convention. It’s at one of my favorite beaches that I visited as a kid when I grew up in the Orlando, FL, area. (Now, I live forty minutes from Pensacola Beach, FL)
Today, I’m featuring the fabulous author, Deborah Blake, who will attend the Coastal Magic Convention next year. She’s the author of the following PNR/UF series: Baba Yaga series, The Broken Rider series, and the Veiled Magic series. She’s also the author of a Mystery Series: A Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery series.
Check out the Interview below with Deborah Blake, where you get to read about five fun facts about her, and learn more about her latest release, Claws for Suspicion, released in May 2022, her all-time favorite movie, and other questions I got to ask her. =)
Q&A With Deborah Blake
Check out Deborah Blake’s Website and Blog. Make sure you follow her Social Media Accounts: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter. Check out her Etsy shop too.
FranJessca: Tell us five fun facts about yourself that some readers may not know.
Deborah: I have 5 cats. I live in an old farmhouse in rural upstate NY with a huge garden. I am a practicing Witch, and have written over a dozen books on the subject for Llewellyn Worldwide. I have my own tarot deck. I am also a professional jewelry maker.
FranJessca: What is your schedule like when you’re writing a book?
Deborah: I try and write every day. I have a goal of at least 1,000 words a day. Sometimes I reach it, sometimes I don’t. The nonfiction tends to go more slowly than the fiction, but there are less revisions later on (thank goodness!).
FranJessca: What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?
Deborah: Usually the characters. Most of my books start with a protagonist and then I figure out what happens to them and why.
FranJessca: What inspired you to write the Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery Series?
Deborah: I did some volunteer work at a local independent pet rescue before Covid, the one where I got three of my current five cats. I was amazed by how much work it took to take care of all the animals, and how little money they had to do it. One day I thought, “What these people need is for someone to win the lottery and give them the money.” So when I started to write a cozy series, that’s what I had my protagonist, Kari, do!
FranJessca: In your latest release, Claws for Suspicion, what was your favorite scene to write in the book? (without giving away any spoilers)
Deborah: Probably when Kari’s ex shows back up. I had a lot of fun with the snarky interchange.
FranJessca: If you could meet your character, Kari Stuart, in real life, what would you want to say to her?
Deborah: That’s an adorable kitten you have there!
FranJessca: If the Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery Series were made into a tv/movie, which actress would you want to play, Kari Stuart?
Deborah: Gal Gadot. Just because I adore her.
FranJessca: How do you celebrate when you finish writing a book/series?
Deborah: Usually champagne with my cats, something fancy for dinner, and then I start working on the next book.
FranJessca: Are there any books or authors that inspired you to become a writer?
Deborah: So many. Tamora Pierce, Jennifer Crusie, Donna Andrews…the list goes on forever.
FranJessca: What is up next for Deborah Blake?
Deborah: I’m working on a couple of nonfiction books and a new oracle deck for Llewellyn. Still trying to figure out what is up next with the fiction. It could be anything!
FranJessca: What’s your favorite tv show/movie(s) of all time?
Deborah: My favorite movie is The Princess Bride (I can’t even count how many times I’ve watched it)
Check out her Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery Series. The most recent book in the series Claws for Suspicion released May 3, 2022.
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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Thanks for having me!