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Pick Six Author Interview with Celeste Barclay

Pick Six Author Interviews are occasional features on A Slice of Orange. We send a bunch of questions to the author who then picks just six of the questions to answer. This month we are featuring a Pick Six Author Interview with Celeste Barclay.

Celeste Barclay, a nom de plume, lives near the Southern California coast with her husband and sons. Growing up in the Midwest, Celeste enjoyed spending as much time in and on the water as she could. Now she lives near the beach. She’s an avid swimmer, a hopeful future surfer, and a former rower. When she’s not writing, she’s working or being a mom. Her newest book, FREYA Viking Glory Book Two released June 3rd.

You can find more information about Celeste on her website or by following her on social media:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

1. How did it feel when your first book got published?

It was utterly surreal. I remember uploading it onto KDP and thinking, “okay, now I need to figure out what I’m doing.” I had a story to tell, and I did. It wasn’t until after I wrote and published it that I realized I needed to figure out how to market it and all that goes with it.

2. Did you celebrate your first book? If so how?

I celebrated by staring at my screen for a good long while in disbelief that it was done and really for sale! I hadn’t told a soul what I was doing (fear of failure and rejection is mighty powerful), so I celebrated when my author proof arrived. I took a pic and sent it to my best friend captioned, “So I did a thing.” I believe at least one glass of wine was involved too.

3. Do you start with a plot idea, a character or a theme?

All of the above. For years, stories have pranced, or is it scampered, through my mind as I’m trying to fall asleep. Usually, it’s a scene somewhere in the story, not always the beginning, and that begins to give me an idea for characters and plot. From there theme and trope materialize. If my mind comes back to it for more than one night, I know I have a story to tell.

4. What kind of writer are you? A page a day or a burst writer?

I would like to be a daily writer, but I’m not writing full time (yet), so it’s usually weekend warrior bursts or nighttime writing. I’ve churned out as much as 20,000 words in one day, but average between 5,000 and 10,000 on a good weekend day.

5. What does a perfect vacation look like?

One where no one is asking anything of me! I prefer the beach even though I live near one. The Caribbean and Mediterranean are my favorites, but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at Bali or Tahiti. I admit I’m still a sun worshiper, so time spent in the water is what I look forward to, or time in a lounge chair reading.

6. Do you keep a diary?

This one makes me laugh. Why would I keep a diary? All my innermost thoughts are shared with my readers through my stories! I write to escape reality as much as I write to offer others an escape, so stories have flashes of my fantasies or memories which are things many people fill their diaries with. Mine just happen to get published for the masses.

We hope you enjoyed this Pick Six Author Interview with Celeste Barclay.

Books by Celeste Barclay

THEIR HIGHLAND BEGINNING

HIS HIGHLAND SURPRISE

HIS HIGHLAND PLEDGE

HIS HIGHLAND PRIZE

HIS HIGHLAND LASS

HIS BONNIE HIGHLAND TEMPTATION

FREYA Viking Glory Book Two

LEIF Viking Glory Book One

2 0 Read more

Spotlight on Celeste Barclay

June 2, 2019 by A Slice of Orange in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as Celeste Barclay, Historical Romance. Viking Romance, new release, series

Her newest book, FREYA Viking Glory Book Two will release June 3rd.

Viking Glory is a steamy historical series that will transport you back to the world of the ancient Norse with brave heroes and even stronger heroines. The series follows the lives and loves of five friends. Brother and sister, Leif and Freya, along with their cousin, Bjorn, and their friends Strian and Tyra sail the seas and conquer hearts. This is a four book series where each book can be read as a standalone but is best read as part of the series.

Books by Celeste Barclay

THEIR HIGHLAND BEGINNING

HIS HIGHLAND SURPRISE

HIS HIGHLAND PLEDGE

HIS HIGHLAND PRIZE

HIS HIGHLAND LASS

HIS BONNIE HIGHLAND TEMPTATION

FREYA Viking Glory Book Two

LEIF Viking Glory Book One

0 0 Read more

Spotlight on Jenna Barwin

May 29, 2019 by A Slice of Orange in category Spotlight tagged as A Hill Vampire Series, Jenna Barwin, new book, new release, Spotlight, Vampires

Spotlight on Jenna Barwin

Jenna Barwin writes the Hill Vampire novels, which blend mystery, wine, and romantic spice into a heady (and steamy) combination.

When not writing, she enjoys underwater photography, and is known to occasionally attend a Victorian dance in full regalia right down to pantaloons and a hoop skirt.

She has a new novel out today, Dark Wine at Dusk, the third book in her Hill Vampire series.

For more information on Jenna, please see her social media links:

Website

Facebook Page

Amazon Author Page

You can also read our Pick Six Author Interview with Jenna.

Dark Wine at Dusk

A seductive spy. An alpha vampire. A hidden threat…

When a rogue vampire group attacks again, Dr. Cerissa Patel’s happily ever after with the man of her dreams must take a back seat to her mission.

Her lover, vampire Henry Bautista, is quick to pick up the gauntlet. He’ll do anything to help his beautiful spy capture the conspirators who are determined to enslave mortals.

But as Henry’s secret past rears its ugly head, it not only threatens their mission, but risks their love—and their very lives.

If you like the worlds of Deborah Harkness, Charlaine Harris, or Jeaniene Frost, then you will love this third installment in the Hill Vampire series.

Get it now!

NOTE: This is book three in the Hill Vampire series. It will enhance the reader’s experience to read the first two books, starting with Dark Wine at Midnight, before reading this one.

The Hill Vampire Series

DARK WINE AT CHRISTMAS

DARK WINE AT DAWN

DARK WINE AT HALLOWEEN

DARK WINE AT THE GRAVE

DARK WINE AT DISASTER

DARK WINE AT THE CIRCUS

DARK WINE AT DEATH

DARK WINE AT DUSK

DARK WINE AT SUNRISE

DARK WINE AT MIDNIGHT

6 0 Read more

March Featured Author Alina K. Field

March 21, 2019 by A Slice of Orange in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Alina K. Field, Regency Romances, Sons of the Spy Lord

Award winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but her true passion is the much happier world of romance fiction. Though her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California and hasn’t looked back. She shares a midcentury home with her husband, her spunky, blonde, rescued terrier, and the blue-eyed cat who conned his way in for dinner one day and decided the food was too good to leave.

She is the author of several Regency romances, including the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner, Rosalyn’s Ring. She is hard at work on her next series of Regency romances, but loves to hear from readers!

Visit her at:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Pinterest
Instagram
Bookbub
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