Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Hi Janice, and welcome to the
blog. With spooky Halloween right around the corner, now is the perfect time
for you to tell all the readers of the blog about your Voodoo Romance
Series. So, let’s begin our interrogation
interview! Pull up a chair (though not the one plugged into the
wall…………mwahhhhahhhahhhhaaahhaaa – cue thunder and lightning!)
JB: Where did your inspiration
come from for this series of spooky books?
JANICE: I believe the best inspiration for a story comes from something
that happens in real life. The ‘what if?’ factor kicks in and my writer’s
imagination takes over. You might think
it’s a bit weird and spooky, but I got the idea for the first book in this
series on a flight back from the Caribbean. I actually witnessed a spat between
two female passengers and one appearing to put a curse on the other. I’d
scribbled the opening scene for ‘How Do You Voodoo? before we’d landed!
JB: What sort of research did you have to do for
the books?
JANICE: I’m guilty of enjoying the research as much as the writing! A
central scene in the first book takes place at the Necropolis in Glasgow, a
huge Victorian city centre graveyard known locally as the City of the Dead. I
took a research trip out there on a grey autumn day last year and it was
fabulously atmospheric and really spooky!
JB: Tell us the most interesting
thing you found out about voodoo.
JANICE: I became pretty fascinated with Marie Laveau - the so called
‘Witch Queen of New Orleans’. You’ll find out a bit more about her in Voodoo
Child.
JB: Did you develop an unhealthy interest in
voodoo or a healthy respect?
JANICE: I would say both. I loved reading about the nature of the
‘loas’ or spirits associated with the voodoo belief and I probably found out
more than I needed to for the books. That said - I’m still an atheist!
JB: Have you ever been tempted to try a bit of
voodoo yourself?
JANICE: No. Definitely not. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t…!
JB: Tell us a little about the main characters in
the Voodoo Romance Series.
JANICE: The main characters are Nola and Louis. The three books in the
series cover their relationship from how they meet and fall in love, get
married, and have their first child. Just your average love story then, you
might think? No, not really, because Nola starts off thinking she’s been cursed
by voodoo and that Louis is a witch doctor. Actually, he’s a medical doctor and
he prefers to believe in science and medicine rather than spells and magic. But
as Nola gets to know his wonderful but wacky voodoo family, who are all quirky
sub-characters in the plot, she gets to realise exactly what Louis is up
against as there is magic and mayhem at every turn!
JB: Tell us about a spooky thing that happened to
you.
JANICE: At the Edinburgh Festival in August, I went on a midnight
‘ghost tour’ which included going down into Edinburgh’s vaults. The ‘Vaults’
are an underground network of dark damp and reputedly haunted tunnels under
South Bridge where in the 18th Century the poor of Edinburgh lived
and died. That was very spooky indeed. I can recommend the tour if you are in
Edinburgh this Halloween!
JB: Do you have any Halloween traditions?
JANICE: Not now that our three sons are all grown up. But when they
were young, we would all dress up and do
all the trick and treating and attend the party in the village hall afterwards,
where there would be messy black treacle scones hanging on strings and apple
dunking to be done in barrels of water. The Scots really do know how to
celebrate Halloween. It’s always been a special event in Scotland.
Special Halloween Offer!
You
can download the first humorous romance in this series How Do You Voodoo?
Absolutely
FREE until the 31st October!
About the Author: Janice Horton
lives in Scotland. Janice writes contemporary fiction with humour and heart.
Look out for her Amazon Kindle bestselling ebooks ‘Bagpipes and Bullshot’ and
‘Reaching for the Stars’ and her voodoo romance novellas. Her latest title is a
nonfiction guide ‘How To Party Online’. Janice is a regular blogger and you’ll
also find her on Facebook and Twitter. She is a member of the Romantic
Novelist's Association and Editor of the Bookshelf Reviews feature at
Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine.
Janice Horton - Contemporary fiction
with humour and heart
My Author Blog
Follow me on Twitter: @JaniceHorton
Friend me on Facebook Page
Link to my Amazon Author Page
Check out my page on Goodreads
My
LLm Bookshelf
Associate Editor at: Loveahappyending Lifestyle Mag
Thanks for featuring me and asking me such great questions about voodoo and about my series of voodoo romance novellas, JB!
Love Janice xx
Great interview, ladies! Love the photos from the Necropolis, Janice. I made it there when I was in Scotland back in August.
Never done a ghost walk/tour in Scotland but have done a couple here and they can be spooooooky!
Fab interview, ladies. I wouldn't know where to start with the research, Janice. Knowing my luck, I'd probably end up cursing myself! Love it!
My pleasure Janice! Sheryl Browne knowing how accident prone you are make sure you stay away from anything magical and mystical. You could end up turning yourself into a goat! lol
Fascinating post and really interesting post, thanks for sharing this. Def going to The City of the Dead when next north of the border ... Happy Halloween :-)
It's so much fun hearing more details about Janice's entertaining Voodoo series and the research she put into it! The incident on the plane that started it all is fascinating ... if those women only knew!
Great interview and setting the 'scene' so well - great research, Janice.I love the Voodoo series and totally love novellas. Happy Halloween tomorrow, Ladies! Green slime Jaffa Cakes available if you knock on my door ...
I love a drop of voodoo! Can't wait to read this third book!
Mandy :)
Great pictures, beautiful and ominous! Would love to visit. Enjoyed this interview, ladies and love hearing what inspired the books, Janice!!