Welcome to the Visiting Authors corner. Tell me — how did you do your research for this new book?

Hi Jean! Thanks for having me here today. I’m excited to talk about my latest release Rock House Grill. One of the questions often asked is what kind of research goes into the writing of a book. I was an EMT for over 12 years, both volunteer and professional. (Hmm? Do I get to double the experience?) But it’s been a long time. I brushed up via the internet in place where I knew things changed. I owned a restaurant and a coffee shop at one time so that part wasn’t hard. So, I had this, right? Oh, no.

During the editing process where you attempt to go deep and bring emotion your work, we had an incident at home. My husband slipped on ice and fell down a flight of concrete steps one morning. He tore his quadricep muscle off of his knee cap. As it were, I had been working on Aden House’s character. Aden is in a car accident and seriously damages his legs. Instant research. Surgery, physical therapy, and the emotional stress of a major injury became real life for us.

I’m happy to report DH is back on his feet. He walks with a limp and that will be permanent, but he’s doing well.

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Tell us about what you write.

I’m a multi-genre author. I started out writing fantasy. I still can’t wait to get back to that magical world but right now Contemporary is speaking to me. I read everything so why not write it? Varity is the spice of life, right. So is the length of my stories. Novels like Rock House Grill are moderate length, but I have an epic fantasy that is a work in progress and that sucker tops 120,000 words in it’s draft. Recently I’ve also contracted with Wild Rose Press for a short story to be part of a summer anthology One Scoop or Two.

When did your writing journey begin?

I’m a late bloomer in the writing field. I’d dabbled here and there but until I was laid off from a long-term position, there wasn’t time or opportunity. Now here I am a few years later a published author.

Do you find inspiration in your own life for your writing?

I’m a love of music and a foodie. With my background as a First Responder as well as owning a small restaurant and coffee shop it was a natural step. National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo was upon me and the need to pump out 50K in thirty days prompted the first Impact Book. But I think all of my writing as well as my characters, even in fantasy have a bit of me and my life embedded in them.

Tell us about your experience with the publishing process.

My goal is to be hybrid. I’ve self-published and now am also a contracted author with Wild Rose Press. Unfortunately, in my first independent I had no idea what I was doing. I’ve had to pull the book and re-edit with what I know today. It’s a tough lesson. The story Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar received many excellent reviews but also critiques of writing craft.

Any new projects on the horizon?

I have so many things in my writer’s pantry that I’m eager to pull off the shelf. Jazz House is the second Impact book and is moving along nicely. Also my readers are anxious for Kisa, Shield-Mates of Dar. But my heart is really longing for Kingdom at a Crossroad which is planned to be a trilogy. I’m going to talk about that in the next question about advice.

Words of advice for fellow writers in the trenches:

It is much easier to finish a book that is written well from the start. Going back and fixing everything I didn’t know then is a monumental task. Everything from world building, to deep point of view to my greatest enemy—the comma–are daunting. I’m not saying it needs to be perfect on the first draft by any stretch of the imagination. I’m not a college grad and I finished school though an alternative education program. So, what I am saying is learn a bit by joining writing groups. Listen to critiques of others. Understand that your editor is most likely correct. And trust me, ALL manuscripts need to be professionally edited. Scrip, save, do what it takes to afford an impartial editor to go through your work.

What was the most interesting part of the story to write/research?

Art mimics life. You’ve heard that, right? Well during the editing process my husband fell and severely injured his leg. The main character in Rock House Grill, Aden House, also had major leg damage. My dearly beloved wasn’t injured as severely as Aden, but let me tell you some of the recovery was on the same painful path. We had a real-life research project.

An Excerpt…

“Easy, you’re going to be okay.” A soft voice eased through the chaos around him. The owner of the voice grabbed his arms and held them in a firm but gentle grip. “I’m right here with you. You are not alone.”

“Can hardly m-move.” His voice slurred. “C-can’t see anything.” “You’ve been in an accident. I’m an EMT with the ambulance squad,” the velvety voice calmly explained. “You can’t see well because we’re under a tarp. Hold still, okay?”

“‘K.” A small light flickered at the edge of his vision. It shone into a bag next to him. Penlight.

“You’re restrained to a board. It’s to keep your head from moving and causing more injury.” She continued to talk to him. The voice reached down somewhere inside him, calming and peaceful, so he focused on it. A glow from spotlights on the outside lit whatever covered them. The shadow gave the woman the appearance of a halo—like an angel.

About D.V. Stone:

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Hi, my name is D. V. Stone. Rock House Grill, a contemporary romance, is available for purchase on April 6th by Wild Rose Press. I host Welcome to the Campfire, a weekly blog. I am also a multi-genre author of two independently published books. Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar is a fantasy romance. Agent Sam Carter and the Mystery at Branch Lake is a mid-grade paranormal. Here’s a little more about me.

Born in Brooklyn, D.V. Stone has moved around a bit and even lived for a time on a dairy farm in Minnesota before moving back east. Throughout her wandering, she always considered herself a Jersey Girl. She met and married the love of her life, Pete—a lifelong Jersey Man, and moved this time to Sussex County.  They live with Hali, a mixed breed from the local shelter and their cat Baby.

D. V.’s career path varied from working with the disabled to become a volunteer EMT, which in turn led to working in hospital emergency rooms and then in a women's state prison. After a few years, she took a break from medicine and became the owner of Heavenly Brew, a specialty coffee shop in Sparta NJ, and a small restaurant in Lafayette. Life handed some setbacks, and she ended up back in the medical field, but this time in a veterinary emergency hospital.

During the poor economy, she was laid–off from a long-time position she cared about. Devastated, D.V. wondered what to do with her life. Finding comfort in her love of reading, she realized it was now time to follow her dream of writing. It's been a long road but worth every minute of it. Now a published author, she also works in a people medical office again.

“Thank you for taking the time to read about me. Each time you open the pages to one of my books, I hope you'll be swept away by the story and find encouragement in your own life, never to give up on hope.”

D.V. Stone