Peggy Chambers is visiting today to share about her latest release, Witches’ Cliff, the next book in the Deerbourne Inn series by The Wild Rose Press.
Welcome, Peggy!
What do you write?
I write adult suspense novels, YA fantasy and Pulp Fiction. Someday I’ll decide what my genre is, but for now, I love to write different things.
What drew you to writing?
Like most writers, I’ve loved literature my whole life. When I was getting to the end of my career, I wondered what I would like to do with my spare time when I retired. I tried photography but it was not my calling. I started writing and joined a local writing club and then a state-wide club. After that I never looked back. I love to make up stories.
What was your inspiration for Witches’ Cliff?
When The Wild Rose Press came up with the Deerbourne Inn series we were to write our stories around a holiday. I chose Halloween because I thought most writers would choose Christmas. With Halloween, I could add a little fantasy to my writing. I found Halloween mixed well with the setting.
Do you find inspiration in your own life for your writing?
I love to travel, and I want to write about the places I visit. I love the water and it normally shows up in my manuscripts.
Tell us about Witches’ Cliff:
Find Witches’ Cliff now on Amazon and with other online retailers.
Penny Winters flees to her birthplace in Vermont to consider the marriage proposal she left behind in Salem. Complicating her already difficult decision, she is smitten when she encounters handyman Liam on the porch of the quaint Deerbourne Inn. A modern-day wiccan, Penny intends to contact her distant great-grandmother, who died on the cliffs when Willow Springs held witch trials. Penny needs advice, and the best time to connect to her ancestors is on Halloween. But she is not the only witch in Willow Springs, and they both have their eye on the same man. And who is the old woman who keeps appearing, telling her to go home? Penny comes to the cliff to seek Grandma's advice. But Halloween is an important holiday for a witch, and she is not alone on the cliffs that night. Penny will have to battle not only for Liam's attention, but for her life.
Tell us about your experience with the publishing process.
I’ve tried the traditional route of agent/publisher but failed. I am a hybrid author with two self-published YA titles and three adult suspense novels published by The Wild Rose Press plus the one novella, Witches’ Cliff. I am published by one independent press, Airship 27, who publishes my pulp fiction. I currently have one novel with them and another on their desk awaiting publication.
Any new projects on the horizon?
I have written two Sandhill Island novels for The Wild Rose Press and there is another on the way. I also wrote my first Keystone Lake novel published by The Wild Rose Press and I am currently working on the second.
Words of advice for fellow writers in the trenches:
Don’t quit (everyone says that) and give yourself plenty of me-time to write. The world tells you what to do all the time. Don’t let it tell you not to write. It opens up the soul.
What was the hardest/most unusual/interesting part of the story to write/research?
I looked up the Salem Witch Trials and it was frightening just how far people will go because of fear.
Peggy Chambers calls Enid, Oklahoma home. She has been writing for several years and is an award winning, published author, always working on another. There aren’t enough hours in the day. Blooming Justice is her sixth book. She has two children, five grandchildren and lives with her husband and dog. She adores travel and the great outdoors, even if it is just taking the dog for a walk and once ate wart hog pizza for lunch when she followed her husband across deepest, darkest Africa. She even climbed the pyramids at Chichen Itza.
She attended Phillips University, the University of Central Oklahoma and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. She is a member of the Enid Writers’ Club and Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc. There is always another story weaving itself around in her brain trying to come out.
You can find her on her website where she writes a weekly blog, like her on Facebook, connect with her on Twitter, or on Instagram at champeggy.
SPEED ROUND:
Oxford comma, yes or no? yes
Ice cream (favorite flavor)? chocolate
Coffee or tea or wine? All of them
What does your desk look like? A mess
What is your writing vice or must-haves (e.g. for me it's post-its, red pen, and coffee)? A few hours of quiet, I write directly into the laptop and seldom print out my work.
What are some of your go-to methods for writing? Getting involved with a critique group is a must.
Where is your favorite place you've visited (or wish to visit)? I love the ocean
What do you like to do when not writing? Garden and travel
Beach, lake, or mountains? beach
If you could meet one famous person, living or dead, who would it be? Stephen King
You’re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why? Caribbean Blue – I love the water
What comes first, character or plot (or other)? Character
You find a $100 bill in your purse/bag, what would you spend it on? clothes
Favorite childhood book? Nancy Drew mysteries
Favorite book of all time? To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee or Islands in the Stream, Ernest Hemmingway
You’re on a desert island, besides essentials, what do you bring? Classic novels