Judith Sterling Author of The Stone Awakened
Happy holidays to all! Give a big welcome to Judith Sterling, author of The Stone Awakened, just released and The Cauldron Stirred. Book one and two of Guardians of Erin series. Have a seat and grab an insulated mug. I’ve got hot chocolate, hot cider and coffee. Choose your pot, they’re labeled. Pick your choice of a Snicker-doodle, Chocolate Chip or Peanut butter cookie from the plate. Yep, I baked them myself. Lets find out a little about Judith and see what Stone Awakened and The Cauldron Stirred are all about. Thanks for joining us! Psst… for the first five persons to leave a comment, you’ll win a digital copy of The Cauldron Stirred, first book in Guardians of Erin Series.
Judith, what inspired this particular story? The whole Guardians of Erin series—which will have four books in total—was inspired by my deep love for Ireland and paranormal experiences during my travels there.
What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Watching classic Christmas movies with my family. Because The Stone Awakened takes place around Christmastime, I had to include in the story some of my favorite Irish Christmas traditions, like wearing “ugly Christmas jumpers” and reading James Joyce’s The Dead.
What does Christmas mean to you? Quality time with loved ones and magical memories from childhood.
Do you keep the Christmas spirit all year? If we’re talking about love, compassion, and a belief in magic and miracles, then yes!
How long have you been writing? My mom says I wrote my first story at age 3, and by 5th grade, I was writing chapter stories.
What’s your favorite part of being an author? Knowing my stories make people happy.
Tell us a little about writing this story. Was it fun or difficult? Do your characters always act as you expect? Are you a plotter, or fly (write) by the seat of your pants? So much fun! I’m a plotter and really have to be. I plan out whole series before writing the individual books and need to place my clues to the mysteries just right! Still, my characters surprise me, sometimes through action and often through dialogue.
SPEED ROUND
Favorite Christmas movie: Christmas in Connecticut
Favorite Christmas book: A Christmas Carol
Favorite color: periwinkle
Stilettos or flipflops or elf shoes: elf shoes
Coffee or tea or hot chocolate: hot chocolate
Ebook or audiobook or paperback: paperback
Pencil or pen or candy cane: pen
Favorite Christmas Carole or song: White Christmas
All-time favorite Christmas present: Nancy Drew books
Favorite dessert: chocolate mousse
Christmas Candy or Cake: cake
Favorite thing to do to relax during the holidays: watch movies
Champagne or gin or eggnog: eggnog
Paranormal or Historical: Both! I can’t choose!
Wonder Woman or Top Model or Tinkerbell: Wonder Woman
Favorite Christmas or holiday TV show: A Charlie Brown Christmas
Hot or cold: cold
POV: third person
I’d die if I don’t have: a functioning toilet
How about a couple questions for the Hero (Aengus):
What event in your past has left the most indelible impression on you? The night I first met the woman I’ve loved for more than a millennium.
What do you consider most important in life? Keeping loved ones safe from harm.
Not so fast Ashling, I have a couple questions for you too. You are the Heroine right? Yes…
What is most important to you in life? Giving something positive to the world.
What is your biggest fear? That the lure of darkness will eclipse my natural affinity for the light.
Click on cover to read more or purchase.
Judith tell us a little about The Cauldron Stirred (Guardians of Erin, Book One):
Ashling Donoghue never dreamed moving to Ireland would rock her perception of reality and plunge her into a mystery that brings legend to life.
At seventeen, she’s never had a boyfriend, but she feels an immediate connection to Aengus Breasal, the son of the wealthy Irishman who’s invited her family to stay at his Killarney estate. For the first time in her life, a guy she likes seems attracted to her.
But Aengus is secretive, with good reason. He and his family are the Tuatha Dé Danann, ageless, mythical guardians adept at shifting between this reality and the magical dimension known as the Otherworld. Evil forces from that world threaten the Breasals, the Donoghues, and all of Ireland. Ashling must open her heart, face her fears, and embrace a destiny greater than she could ever have imagined.
How about for The Stone Awakened (Guardians of Erin, Book Two):
Since moving to Ireland, Ashling Donoghue has tackled one challenge after another. Now the mystery of her parents’ disappearance seems unsolvable. Are they dead or only missing? No one—not even the godlike Breasals—has a clue. Hope and fear war inside her, but she’s determined to find answers and stay strong for her siblings. Even as she hones newfound powers, her banshee-in-training sister Deirdre needs her support.
Ashling could use a little help herself. She’s struggling to navigate her first romance, and while Aengus Breasal stirs her body, mind, and soul, his nemesis Lorcan does too. Both men harbor secrets about her past life as Caer. One has ties to Aoife, the scheming wind demon whose influence is on the rise.
As the Stone of Destiny awakens, so does the conflict within.
Can we have a sneak peek between the pages of The Stone Awakened?
Thunder shook the night as the Dullahan’s black stallion reared beneath him on the sweeping lawn below. The horseman thrust his severed head toward the sky and called out the names of those he hunted.
“Dylan Donoghue! Maeve Donoghue!”
Powerless to stop him, I watched from the bedroom window. The glass panes infused my palms with the chill of death itself. Out of sight, my parents screamed, then fell silent. The sound of laughter followed.
Exultant. Spiteful. Malignant.
Aoife! The wind demon whose foul plot shattered my family with a single blow.
Hate and despair welled inside me. “No!”
“Ashling, wake up!” My sister shook me awake.
She switched on the lamp between our beds, and I scanned the room. The same sash windows as in the dream. The same luxurious décor in shades of periwinkle, white, and gray. Even my slippers beside the bed were the same. But the night was quiet, and there was no immediate danger.
Deirdre tucked her long, blonde hair behind her ears and gave me a knowing look. “Another nightmare about the Dullahan?”
Nodding, I wiped the sweat from my brow. “And Aoife.”
“Sounds almost as bad as my dream the night he took Mom and Dad.”
“We don’t know he took them.”
“We don’t know he didn’t.”
“They’re not dead!” Dread clutched my heart, and I pushed out a long breath to calm myself. “They can’t be.”
Buy Links: Amazon Barnes and Noble The Wild Rose Press
About the Author:
Judith Sterling’s love of history and passion for the paranormal infuse everything she writes. Flight of the Raven, Soul of the Wolf, and Shadow of the Swan are part of her medieval romance series, The Novels of Ravenwood. The Cauldron Stirred and The Stone Awakened are part of her young adult paranormal series, Guardians of Erin. Written under Judith Marshall, her nonfiction books—My Conversations with Angels and Past Lives, Present Stories—have been translated into multiple languages. She has an MA in linguistics and a BA in history, with a minor in British Studies. Born in that sauna called Florida, she craved cooler climes, and once the travel bug bit, she lived in England, Scotland, Sweden, Wisconsin, Virginia, and on the island of Nantucket. She currently lives in Salem, Massachusetts with her husband and their identical twin sons.
You can find Judith on her Social Media:
Website – https://judithmarshallauthor.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/judithsterlingfiction/
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16291161.Judith_Sterling
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01MT3KB7L
The Wild Rose Press – https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/2212_judith-sterling
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with The Stone Awakened and The Cauldron Stirred!
Visits: 358
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Judith Sterling, Paranormal Romance, The Cauldron Stirred, The Stone Awakened, Witches by Tena Stetler with 18 comments.
Interview with Judith Marshall Author of The Cauldron Stirred
Give a warm welcome to Judith Marshall, author of The Cauldron Stirred just released on July 21, 2017!
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, or there’s fresh lemonade on the counter. Choose a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Judith and The Cauldron Stirred.
Judith, tell us inspired this particular story? A deep love for Ireland, my travels there, and paranormal events in my own life.
What defines you as an author? As a person? Are they one in the same? As an author: passion, empathy, and a magical view of the world. As a person: those same qualities, but also an eye toward adventure and a desire to understand, love, and heal people I encounter.
What secret do you use to blast through writer’s block? I step away for a bit, then return and poise my hands over the keyboard, signaling my muse that I’m ready to go!
Who is your favorite character of all of the books you’ve written and Why? Maybe Sir Robert le Donjon, the hero in Shadow of the Swan (The Novels of Ravenwood, Book 3) which I just turned in to my editor. He has wit, patience, and a generous heart.
What inspired you to write? An instinctive urge that’s always been with me.
How long have you been writing? Since I was three years old. By age nine, I was writing chapter stories and elaborate scripts for my dolls to act out. Of course, I played all the parts!
Did you tell friends and family that you were writing a book? Or did it take a while to come out and tell friends and family you were a writer? Friends and family have always known my passion for writing.
What do you want your readers to take away from your books? Interconnection. A sense of the mystical. Warm memories of a beautiful world.
Where do you find your story ideas? If they come to you in the middle of the night, do you get up and write them all down? It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how and why inspiration strikes, but I always use old-fashioned pen and paper for brainstorming and outlines. If I sit in front of blank paper with my pen poised above it, images and ideas just start to flow. Sometimes they’re connected to my own experience; other times, not. And yes, I have jumped out of bed to jot down ideas!
Do you find it easier to write from a male or female point of view? Why? If I had to choose, I’d say female, because I am one! But I also empathize with my male characters.
Why do you write what you write? Contemporary, paranormal, suspense, etc. I write what I love: the paranormal, history, romance, and mystery. I enjoy weaving stories, and sometimes, writing a scene can be cathartic.
If writing is your first passion, what is your second? The paranormal.
What do you like to do when you are not writing? Hang out with my family, visit historic sites, watch classic movies and favorite TV shows, walk through the woods, read, travel, cook, bake, and EAT!
Alright, one last question, and it’s my favorite. You’ve got a time machine, a cloak of invisibility, and one hour. Where would you go, and what eavesdropping would you do? Ooh! There are so many events I’d witness if given the chance. The building of Stonehenge. The moment when Antony met Cleopatra. The coronation of Elizabeth I of England. The filming of Hitchcock’s Rebecca, The Birds, and Rear Window. And of course, I wouldn’t mind spying on the set of the TV series, Supernatural!
Okay, wow, you’d make good use of the cloak. LOL Tell us a little about The Cauldron Stirred.
Ashling Donoghue never dreamed moving to Ireland would rock her perception of reality and plunge her into a mystery that brings legend to life.
At seventeen, she’s never had a boyfriend, but she feels an immediate connection to Aengus Breasal, the son of the wealthy Irishman who’s invited her family to stay at his Killarney estate. For the first time in her life, a guy she likes seems attracted to her.
But Aengus is secretive, with good reason. He and his family are the Tuatha Dé Danann, ageless, mythical guardians adept at shifting between this reality and the magical dimension known as the Otherworld. Evil forces from that world threaten the Breasals, the Donoghues, and all of Ireland. Ashling must open her heart, face her fears, and embrace a destiny greater than she could ever have imagined.
How about a peek between the pages of The Cauldron Stirred?
The night air was deliciously cool. Moonlight and darkness held equal sway over the backyard thanks to the shifting clouds. I dashed across the lawn and halted in the exact spot where Aengus had stood. Panting, I looked around, willing some kind of clue to materialize.
The ruins in front of me darkened as large, heavy clouds swallowed the moon whole. The wind tugged at my long, loose hair and pajamas. Tiny raindrops spattered on my nose and cheeks. I turned my palms to the sky, and cold rain pelted them.
“Great.” Intending to return to the house, I swiveled around.
I gasped. My right hand flew to my chest. “Aengus?!”
The man himself stood an arm’s length in front of me. “Why are you here?”
“You scared the crap out of me!”
“Whisht!”
“What?”
“Shush!”
Pop!
The strident sound came from the ruins. I whirled around and stared at the dark keep.
Aengus grabbed me from behind. He pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. I reveled in the feel of his taut body, of his warm flesh against mine.
Suddenly, everything changed. The rain stopped. The wind died. The entire landscape was bathed in the soft hue of twilight. Breasal Castle looked brand spanking new, just as it had during the bizarre dream in which I brought Aengus to the cottage. But this time, I knew I was awake.
Dumbfounded, I gawked at the medieval magnificence before me. I had no idea what had happened and no desire to pull away from his embrace.
His lips brushed my right ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “This way.”
His right arm released me, and his left slid down to my waist. Maintaining body contact the entire time, he steered me toward the stand of oaks on our right.
Once sheltered by the trees, he turned us around so we faced the castle.
“Are we hiding?” I whispered.
“We are.”
“Why? And what just happened?”
“I can’t say.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Both.”
Until that moment, I’d forgotten I wore pajamas. Now I was acutely aware of it. Satin was pleasing to the touch, but something told me my attire had nothing to do with his grip on me.
I looked up at him. “Not that I mind, but why are you holding me so close?”
His hand tightened on my waist. “It’s necessary.”
“I don’t suppose you can explain that, either.”
With his gaze locked on the castle, he shook his head. He pressed his right forefinger against his mouth in a silencing gesture. Then he pointed up at the keep.
High on the battlements, the black-haired woman from my dream—and from Branna’s painting—paced back and forth. Her hair whipped about her pale face and slender frame.
She paused beside a gap in the crenelated wall and glared down at the fairy mound. Her colorless lips curled into a sneer. Then her human form morphed into a dark shadow, which fragmented into what seemed a million black particles. They swarmed into the air and shot across the twilit sky, disappearing into the distance.
I took a deep breath. “So she’s real.”
He nodded. “She’s real, to be sure. Come.” With his arm still hooked around me, he led me out of the woods and toward the fairy mound.
You can purchase The Cauldron Stirred at: Amazon
About the Author:
Judith Sterling’s love of history and passion for the paranormal infuse everything she writes. Flight of the Raven and Soul of the Wolf are part of her medieval romance series, The Novels of Ravenwood. The Cauldron Stirred is the first book in her young adult paranormal series, Guardians of Erin. Written under Judith Marshall, her nonfiction books—My Conversations with Angels and Past Lives, Present Stories—have been translated into multiple languages. She has an MA in linguistics and a BA in history, with a minor in British Studies. Born in that sauna called Florida, she craved cooler climes, and once the travel bug bit, she lived in England, Scotland, Sweden, Wisconsin, Virginia, and on the island of Nantucket. She currently lives in Salem, Massachusetts with her husband and their identical twin sons.
Learn more about Judith:
Website – https://judithmarshallauthor.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/judithsterlingfiction/
It was wonderful having you with us today Judith. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with The Cauldron Stirred!
Visits: 73
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Interview, Judith Marshall, Paranormal, Romance, Teen, The Cauldron Stirred, Young Adult by Tena Stetler with 20 comments.
