Wednesday's Writer - Suzanne de Montigny

Today I’m interviewing the lovely Suzanne de Montigny, author of The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy, the Kindle Pick of the week and one of the top sellers at Muse It Up Publishing.

Suzanne, tell us about your story. 

The quickest way to find out what it’s about is to watch the book trailer below or click on this link:  http://youtu.be/St9OsyK974o

I heard that you were a teacher for over 20 years. How did you ever make the switch from teacher to writer?

It was quite honestly a natural progression. I taught elementary music. One day, after giving a test, we had five minutes to spare. I didn’t want to start anything new so I decided to tell them a story about a creature that devoured humans and animals in a tiny village in BC. They loved it. After that, I had to tell a story at the end of every class, each day. Then kids I didn’t teach began asking me for stories on the playground. Of course, I obliged. 

My husband and I decided I should take a few years off to take care of my young family. It was during this time I began writing about my childhood fascination – unicorns.

What inspired you to write your first novel and did you always know your genre would be YA/fantasy?

I wrote my first novella when I was in grade six. It was a class assignment. It was supposed to be a short story but I got carried away. It was full of mistakes, but when you got to the end, you felt quite sad for the main characters. Somehow I knew this was special and carried it around to every place I ever lived. And that’s how it resurfaced again. As far as writing fantasy goes, the kids in my classes decided that for me.

Does your genre reflect what you like to read yourself? 

Absolutely! I teach values in my novels. I want kids to grow from reading my stories. I get tired of reading kid stories where they’re abused, the mother’s an alcoholic, etc. I want kids to get lost in my stories and yet feel safe too.

Has any part of yourself crept into the heroines of any of your novels? 

Oh, yes! In a novel I’m working on now, A Town Bewitched, the heroine is based on me at that age. The troubles she goes through are the troubles I went through, changed of course and exaggerated.

What is the most desirable characteristic you've bestowed on the hero of your latest novel? 

Courage. Always courage. They overcome fear to do what’s right. And they’re always very loyal.

Do you think you'll always write in the same genre and style or do you have desires to experiment and if so, in what way? 

Who knows. I write by the seat of my pants. Whatever needs to come out, comes out. I have so many ideas for stories kicking about and all screaming to be told. And yes, I do have grown-up stories too. Who knows what the future will bring.

I know you give half of your proceeds to the Third World Eye Care Society. How did that come about?

I’ve always had bad eyesight. I was the little girl with the patch over one eye. But that didn’t hinder me. When I hit my forties, I developed cataracts and had them removed. But a year ago, a mysterious ailment claimed part of my vision in my right eye. My vision deteriorated to the point where I could only read the newspaper with a magnifying glass. I was immediately sent to every specialist imaginable and given excellent care and I’m pleased to report that a year later I can read the paper again. My vision’s not completely restored, but hey, I can read again.

At the height of this fright, I made the decision to give partial proceeds to the Third World Eye Care Society, a group of eye specialists who travel to underdeveloped nations bringing thousands of pairs of glasses and performing surgery for free. I was glad I did when I saw the video of a young lady who had been legally blind all her life for want of a pair of glasses. TWECS gave that to her. You can watch her seeing for the first time on this link.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151125187091883

Where can we buy a copy of The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy?

You can buy it at Muse It Up Publishing. 

Or at Amazon.

Or at Kobo.

Manic Scribbler's A-Z Challenge - B is for Bard

B is for Bard

As in the bard.  

Now old William Shakespeare knew a thing or two about love, and all other aspects of the human condition, didn't he?  As a teacher, I was frequently asked by complaining students how the plays and poems of someone writing nearly 400 years ago could possibly be relevant today.  Here's (more or less) what I would tell them.  The themes of Shakespeare's plays have made them endure throughout the centuries. His tragedies deal with issues vitally relevant to us today; for example: the complexities of love and friendship in every form, whether between men and women, parents and children, siblings, colleagues or friends. He delved deeply into human emotions and how these manifested in a multitude of profound and complex ways, such as jealousy and deception, possessiveness, pride, anger, foolishness and many, many more. In all his plays he explored important issues such as loyalty, duty, honour, marriage, trust, honesty and societal expectations as well as what happens to

the human psyche when these are threatened or undermined.  Nuff said?

The title of my first romantic suspense was stolen from Shakespeare - I hope he wouldn't mind.  In Loving Hate is about just that, love and hatred and the fine line separating both.  The phrase (an oxymoron) came from Romeo and Juliet who, despite their youth, experienced profound and very real love. 

Capturing the intense pleasure and pain of love and portraying it to the reader differently each time is no easy feat when you are not Shakespeare but we can only keep on trying in the hope that practice will make us better, if not perfect.  Here is the moment when Lyssa and Alex from In Loving Hate stop fighting their desires and follow their hearts:

He reached beyond her to tug at the stiff, old sash and, as it yielded, his face brushed against her hair and she felt the warmth of his breath on her ear.  She turned, as if hypnotised, feeling the heat of his body through the thin, silk robe he now wore.  She looked into his eyes and felt herself drowning in them.  Their lips met but barely made contact, lingering for a moment on that tantalising brink of uncertainty, until a little gasp of exquisite pain escaped from hers, to be captured by his, and the union completed.  She wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her.

As his warmth enveloped her, the passion so long quiescent within her rose and engulfed her until she began to tremble with the bewildering mixture of quivering fear and intense desire.  Her heart quickened and throbbed as powerful emotions pulsated throughout her body, swamping and crushing her like savage winter waves, bruising and wounding her with their intensity.

He held her closely, but with such sweet tenderness that her heart cried out in agony and anguish until it seemed to burst from its tortured confinement, erupting with a volcanic intensity that made her sob with longing.  She clung to him tightly with a powerful sense of belonging—no longer as a separate entity, but as a part of that vital essence within him which needed her as much as she needed him.

His response so matched and harmonised with her emotions that they seemed to drift together onto a completely separate plane, where words were redundant and all that mattered was that sense of perfect unity, that sense that only one force stood there, consoling itself in its own sweet embrace.

Released at Last - In Loving Hate by Lynette Sofras

It's been a long, slow journey and I'm more relieved than pleased that my romantic suspense, In Loving Hate, has finally (and very quietly) emerged from its year-long wraps to sit pristinely on Amazon's shelves, vying, with all the other new releases, for some loving attention.  Now, I suppose the real work begins of getting it noticed, which will most certainly be down to me and not the publisher.

I'm not complaining.  Since the publication of my first novel almost a year ago, I've learned that the onus for marketing falls squarely on the authors' shoulders.  Following the release of my first novel, I've also published two other contemporary romances so the fairy dust has fallen from my eyes and I have a much clearer idea of the hard work involved.  But that's next week's task.  Today I'm celebrating my latest release and talking a little bit about it.

In Loving Hate

After the devastation of her failed marriage, Lyssa returns  from Greece to her family home in London to pick up the pieces of her shattered life, only to learn that her mother, a once-celebrated actress, is now debt-ridden and has sold the luxury apartment in the top of their home to Alex Andrakis - a Greek shipping magnate.

Now why would a Greek multi-millionaire want a flat in a private house, no matter how prestigious the address, when he could afford to buy half the street?  Ostensibly, it's an altruistic act, to help out Lyssa's mother who is an old friend and former flame of his father's.  However, Lyssa soon discovers that with Andrakis, nothing is ever straightforward and the apartment is merely a pawn in a much bigger game.  A game that takes a dangerous twist when Lyssa's childhood friend and prolific businesswoman, Nell Winters, begins to take an interest and does some digging of her own.

It seems in the international business world nothing and no one is what it appears and Lyssa finds herself caught in the crossfire with her emotions pulled in different directions as she tries to unravel the mysterious wheelings and dealings of all concerned.

In Loving Hate is now available from Amazon, the Coffee Time Romance and Muse ItUp Publications book-stores (both offering 20% off) and will hopefully hit other leading retailers in the next few weeks.

Lynette Sofras: My Next Big Thing

I was thrilled to be tagged last week by the supremely talented Paula Martin to answer 10 questions about my next release which will be published next month.  To read about Paula's Next Big Thing, which sounds very exciting, you can visit Paula's blog - and I recommend you do!

Here is what I certainly hope will be MY next BIG thing:

What is the working title of your book?

Actually, I just referred to it as the Greek Story.  The name In Loving Hate (which is one of those oxymorons in Romeo and Juliet) didn't come until after I'd finished writing it. Anyone who has followed my posts will know how much I agonise and obsess over titles!  I'm struggling right now with with a title for my WIP...I feel a headache coming on just thinking about it.  Help!

Where did the idea come from for the book?

This was a snip of a dream I had about a young woman in a London street glancing up at a top window of her elegant family home in central London, because she sensed someone was watching her. She herself felt something of an outsider, having spent several years away from home and when she went to investigate who the stranger was, she received quite a considerable shock.  When I woke up, the whole story started sliding into place. 

What genre does your book fall under?

It's my first (but hopefully not my last) foray into romantic suspense.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Emilia Fox as Lyssa

Eduardo Verastegui as Alex

This is always so hard for me - but what fun!  When I started poking around on Google for ideas, I really started enjoying myself.  Lyssa needs to be beautiful enough to "pierce hearts" but with that aura of vulnerability to her.  I think actress Emilia Fox would certainly be able to do her justice!  Now I've never seen the work of the next three actors but they leapt off the screen at me and I just had to share them.  Alex Andrakis looks like this rather gorgeous guy, Eduardo Verastegui (though the equally gorgeous John Barrowman would probably do quite as well, if he could master the accent!)  But I also found two other important characters.  Nell looks like Selma Blair while Mark definitely looks something like Josh Hartnett.  I'll have to watch these actors in action.  Oh, but right from the start, when this story first popped into my head, I modelled Lyssa's mother, Dame Constance Culver on our own wonderful actress, Dame Maggie Smith, currently starring in Downton Abbey - but believe me, I had her earmarked long before that!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts! Is Alex offering Lyssa his heart, or trying to ensnare hers for more sinister reasons?  (Sorry,  I know that's two sentences but it's the publisher's tagline).

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? 

MuseItUp Publications is the publisher.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?  

This is hard because I actually wrote this story a long time ago when I was living in Greece but then forgot about it.  I totally revamped it recently, which didn't take very long at all - perhaps two or three months.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 

Impossible to say.  Rather like Paula, I just don't compare books in that way.  Someone else would have to answer this.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

There's no doubt that some of the inspiration came from actual experience.  I wanted to write a story set in both Athens and London and with Greek and British characters showing the good and bad sides of both.  

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I hope the glamorous and rather dangerous world of the extremely rich and powerful will intrigue readers.  These are people who know what they want and go out to get it at any cost.  And that the strong friendship between Lyssa and Nell and also between Lyssa and widower Alex's young son, will hold their interest throughout.  Lyssa finds herself plunged into an intrigue between bitter business rivals, Nell and Alex, which is so complex and tortuous that she almost begins to doubt her own sanity.  

Selma Blair as Nell

Josh Hartnett as Mark

Dame Maggie Smith as Dame Constance

Next Wednesday (October 10th) the writers tagged to tell you about their Next Big Thing are:
Mary L. Ball, Tara Fox Hall, Deborah Court, Kim Jackson and Gloria Harchar.  I hope you'll visit them all - I know I shall and I know they'll all be worth it..

That First Kiss - In Loving Hate

If you have read my previous posts on this subject, you'll know that I've been working through each of my novels discussing the scene of the first kiss.  Today I've reached my forthcoming release In Loving Hate, which I can hardly wait to share, but must remain patient until its release - scheduled for 9 November.  As yet, I don't even have a cover for this (hence I'm resorting to a cute kitty image to brighten up the page) so it still feels a little unreal to me.

Here is the blurb:

How far will the rich and powerful go in order to achieve their goals? That is the question Lyssa must decide when she finds herself caught between two formidable adversaries: powerful business tycoon and shipping magnate, Alex Andrakis and close childhood friend, ‘Dynamic’ Nell Winters, brewery heiress and prolific businesswoman.

Photo credit: Giorgos~ (moving to Google+) via photopin cc

Following the failure of her marriage in Greece, Lyssa returns to her family home in London, to discover that her mother, a once-celebrated actress, is now facing crippling debts.  When Lyssa begins to investigate these, she becomes embroiled in the intricate business dealings of Nell and her arch-rival Alex.  Irresistibly drawn towards widower Alex and his unhappy young son, Lyssa begins to uncover some unexpected and disturbing facts.

photo credit: UGArdener via photopin cc

The more involved she becomes, the more shocking are the discoveries she makes.  The conflicts culminate in a frightening battle for survival as Lyssa finds herself the prime target between the possessive Nell and obsessive Alex.   With her loyalties deeply divided, can Lyssa make the right choice for everyone concerned?


The first kiss scene of the story is unusual as things are not quite what they seem.  Lyssa has lured Alex into a trap for her own ends and throws herself at him in a very public embrace.  Alex's reaction, and her own, are not at all what she expects.

He caught her tightly in a fierce embrace, gazing into her eyes for a moment.  A moan of urgent need escaped his lips before they sought and found hers and he kissed her hungrily and with an intensity that left her weak with shock, unable to pull away.  But as she recovered her senses, thoughts of pulling away seemed to slip out of her mind.  His tongue gently parted her lips and found hers, performing a little mating dance that caused a thrilling current to spread throughout her body, charging every nerve ending until each one seemed to tingle with anticipation and long for more.  What am I doing?  No answer.  For a moment she felt absolutely powerless to do anything but respond to the passion of the instant which he, not she, dominated. Time stopped and the world around her stood still, dissolving into nothingness as she succumbed to the intense pleasure surging through her body, which left her faint with desire for more.

When she finally did pull away, he continued to hold her closely, cupping her face in his hands and showering both it and her hair with greedy little kisses as if he couldn’t get enough of her to satisfy his voracious hunger.  His eyes were like bottomless pools of pure desire and she knew her own must mirror them.  She looked at him in astonishment, trying to regain her composure but with extreme difficulty.  What just happened?  The question hammered at her brain but received no answer.

Finally she found her breath, though her voice came out as little more than a weak whisper.  “Oh dear, this isn’t quite…” She took a deep breath and eased herself smoothly away from his embrace, her planned speech having fled her mind.  “I’m terribly sorry Alex, but I’ve just remembered something very important.  Do you mind if we cancel lunch?”