Blood of the White Witch Book Tour: Interview with Author Lacey Weatherford + Giveaway!

I am so excited to be a part of the Blood of the White Witch Blog Tour! I had never read any of the books in this series before, but they are so much fun! And Lacey, the wonderful authoress, is such a fun lady. While I was reading her books, we had a crazy Twitter conversation that made me laugh and want to interview her even more. So I am thrilled to have her as a guest here, where she has answered a few of my questions and is giving away e-copies of her book to every commenter. Be warned, once you read one of her books you have to read them all. :)

How did the Witches and Warlocks series come into existence?

It was a total fluke actually.  I’d just finished writing my first book ever, with the intent of getting it bound for my bookshelf so I could say, “Hey, I did that!”  It took me 14 years to finish that book and I didn’t have any plans to write anymore.  I was sitting in my room laughing at my daughter who had just dyed her hair from a very light blond back to her natural brunette color, but the color had gone on black.  We laughed and her boyfriend teased her that everyone was going to think she was a witch.  For some reason that comment stuck in my head and the story about a high school age girl with black hair becoming a witch began to form. 

I resisted at first.  I was happy I’d finished my previous book and it had taken so long I didn’t want to write another.  But after about a week I couldn’t ignore the voices anymore.  They wanted their story told.  Six weeks later the first book was finished.  Seven days later I finish book two.  Three weeks later I finished book three.  And the ball just kept rolling on from that point.

What parts of the story were your favorites to write?

Well, I’m an incurable romantic, and I love kissing, so anything that had kissing with Portia and Vance was always a favorite with me.  I also enjoyed stepping outside of myself and getting into the heads of the villains.  That delicious evilness is so fun to play around with.

(Note from the blogger: There were some pretty awesome kissing scenes. :)

Was Vance Mangum inspired by a real person?

Yes!!  When I very first thought of the character for this story I had an image of this hot guy I’d seen on television pop into my head, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember where I’d seen him.  I finally tracked him down and discovered his name was Matt Lanter. (9O21O, Vampires Suck, Liar’s All)  I ordered all of his movies and what television shows I could get on DVD or the internet and watched them all while I developed the character in my head.  From the way he swaggered as he walked, to the cocking of his eyebrow, were all incorporated into the character.  Matt has the books and he’s been a wonderful support too.  I received a lot of my initial contacts I made in the book world after he retweeted the release of my first book.  He’s awesome! 

******** Spoiler Alert!********

Is there any way on earth your parents would have let you marry at sixteen?

LOL!  Maybe...if I was pregnant! No, not even then because my dad would have shot the guy! Ha! I would’ve happily gotten married at sixteen though.  I was ready to get on with life!

I’m definitely not advocating teenage marriage, but that being said, many people in my family were married very young because we were lucky enough to find that special someone early in life.  We’ve had some who married at seventeen, and I was eighteen married when I married my handsome, swoony, nineteen year old husband.  I’m happy to say all those marriages have been wildly happy and successful!  I think age is irrelevant most of the time.  It depends on the maturity of the individual.  Some thirty year olds aren’t ready for marriage because of the wild and crazy lifestyles they live.  Some young people have good heads on their shoulders and a clear vision of their futures.  It’s all subjective. (Once again...not saying a fourteen year old should be allowed to marry because they’re mature!  Don’t shoot me!)

(While I read this book, I just had to go ask my mom if she would have let me marry at 16, or even now, and she started grilling me on my potential husband's stats. I described Vance and she said absolutely not, LOL.)

******** End of Spoiler ********

Are there any authors or books that have influenced your writing?

Every time I read something by L. M. Montgomery I feel like writing something.  Her Anne of Green Gables series is one of my favorites and her description are akin to chocolate being served to you by angels on a ray of sunshine—complete word perfection that melts in your mouth and brings joy to the heart.  What a gifted writer! I love her work!

(I love Anne of Green Gables! That series is wonderful.)

Do you plan on continuing to write after finishing this series? If so, what will you be working on next?

Yes.  I have the rough draft of my next release done already.  It’s a fairytale/fantasy called Castle in the Clouds.  I also have about six other stories in the works right now, from YA to Adult, contemporary to paranormal.  There are a lot of ideas buzzing around in my head!

(Now you have me all excited! I can't wait!)

Is there any music that you like to listen to while writing? Or songs that come to mind when you think about certain characters?

I have a massive playlist for the series.  It definitely helps me to get into the mood for some of my really big scenes.  Some of the most influential songs have been:

Apologize, by One Republic (Book 1- The Trouble with Spells)

Pictures of You, by The Last Goodnight (Book 1- The Trouble with Spells)

Fall For You, Secondhand Serenade (Book 2- The Demon Kiss)

If Today Was Your Last Day, by Nickelback (Book 3- Blood of the White Witch)

Running Up That Hill, by Placebo (Book 3- Blood of the White Witch)

Whataya Want From Me, by Adam Lambert (Book 4- The Dark Rising)

Bad Romance, by Lady Gaga (Book 4- The Dark Rising)

I Can’t Stay Away, by the Veronicas and Naturally, by Selena Gomez puts me in Portia’s head.

Give Me a Sign, Anthem of the Angels, Into the Nothing, I Will Not Bow, Blow Me Away, Had Enough, and Lights Out, by Breaking Benjamin are songs that instantly connect me to Vance voice.  My playlist for book 5, Possession of Souls, is exclusively Breaking Benjamin, since Vance has been who I’m most connected with in that story.

(I listened to these songs while working on this post and they are great! Running Up That Hill and Fall For You are now stuck in my head. :P My brother is a huge Breaking Benjamin fan.)

If you held the same powers as Portia or Vance, what would you do with them?

I have no idea.  I always joke around that I would use them to clean my house!  I really would too!  I’d hope I would use them for good and the betterment of society.  I know many people in my family are very sick with things like cancer or other debilitating diseases.  I would use that ability to heal them before I did anything else.

Thanks so much for hosting me!! I really appreciate it and I enjoyed your questions! :D

Thank you for visiting! I had a wonderful time reading your books and interviewing you, I can hardly wait to read what you write next!

Lacey Weatherford has always had a love of books. She wanted to become a writer after reading her first Nancy Drew novel at the age of eight. Lacey resides in the White Mountains of Arizona , where she lives with her wonderful husband, six beautiful children, one son-in-law, and their energetic schnauzer, Sophie. When she's not out supporting one of her kids at their sporting/music events, she spends her time writing, reading, blogging, and reviewing books.

You can contact Lacey by following her on her social medias:

Twitter

Facebook Fan Page at Of Witches and Warlocks- Paranormal Book Series

Author Site

Series Site

I was scheduled to give away one e-copy of Blood of the White Witch, but Lacey has generously decided to give a copy to every commenter! Just leave your e-mail address and something nice for Lacey about her books or the interview. :)

You can go here to read my review.

There will be lots of fun posts and giveaways during this tour, so go check them out! The next post will be at Readergirls tomorrow on Aug. 17th.

                                 Lieder Madchen