How I see writing

How I see writing

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Jennivie's bookshelf: read

Burning Bridges
Set Adrift
Awakenings
Ripples in the Dirac Sea
Love Life & Circumstance
The Field of Someone Else's Dreams
Far & Away
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
Hamlet
Manga Classics: Les Miserables
The Pigeon Needs a Bath!
A Brief Respite
A Better Man
Drawing with Your Artist's Brain: Learn to Draw What You See -- Not What You Think You See
Ruby the Red Fairy
Alice in Wonderland
Always
Sketching
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Fast-Talking Dolphin


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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Interview with DS Kenn and a look at Set Adrift

Today I have the honor of featuring DS Kenn and her debut novel, Set Adrift!







Review
Imagine a world where the town vet just might be an animal too, the man who lives in the lighthouse much older than he seems, and the bartender at your favorite bar is definitely more than meets the eye. Set Adrift is a fantastic introduction to what is sure to be an equally fantastic series that I can not wait to get immersed in. In this book you will meet and fall in love with several troubled and quite sexy paranormal characters, while learning about the world DS Kenn has created- a world where otherworlders (paranormal types) live right alongside the humans of the Immortal Isles.


From the Amazon listing:
Terric Blythe is a hybrid demon and wolf shifter. He has passed most of his life in anonymous cities. moving among people without touching anyone's life or letting anyone get too close. His demon nature makes him question whether he has a soul. The list of those who matter to him is short, but when he cares, he does completely. He has allowed himself to love the one person who truly knows him.

Jordyn Kinsley is achingly beautiful, a vampire haunted by her past. Choices and chance brought her into a world filled with evil that ended in tragedy and loss. It was when she was at her lowest point that she encountered Terric. He became what she needed to survive, instinct telling him when to push her and when to be gentle. Over the years, they went from merely fulfilling a purpose for each other to sharing a life.

Their time in New York was quiet; unremarkable in it's routine and based on the strict consistency Jordyn had needed in the beginning. As she recovered, however, she clung to the familiar. The city's anonymity made it easy for Jordyn to isolate herself and merely exist, and Terric knew that was holding her back. After careful consideration, he found their new home in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The tip of Cape Cod, where paranormal beings move among the locals, is filled with well-guarded secrets.

Terric helps her heal and discover her strength, and she lets him know that he may be a demon, but he has the heart of a wolf. As Jordyn continues to grow, the question is not if she will be able to stand on her own, but when. Will the wolf go back to living in solitude, or will he follow her lead and explore what life has to offer?

Set Adrift tells the story of love and loss, of deeply abiding friendship, and of sacrifice. The Immortal Isle series will rip your heart out and have you falling in love with the inhabitants of this small coastal town.

This is book one in the series, and it's M/F throughout most of it, but there are M/M overtones and there is a brief M/M scene (not explicit). 

It's basically two people who are damaged and learning who they are, where they belong and what they should be doing. They love each other, and have for years. But there is more out there than being content, and they are realizing that, sometimes, you need to be uncomfortable for awhile, in order to find happiness.


All this angst!





Which I love and then to top it off there is this brewing:




Book two! Book two! Book two! I'll be first in line!

About the Author:

DS Kenn lives in sunny South Florida, between city and swamp. When she isn't spending time with family or working, she can be found taking care of a multitude of rescue animals and writing.
Set Adrift is her first published work, but she has written for several years. She ran a successful writing group on Facebook, which is where she developed the characters you will grow to love or love to hate.



I sat down with DS Kenn for a short interview

1.
JW- How did you start writing and why do you write?

DS- I loved writing in high school and undergrad, but as I progressed to grad school and into my career, creative writing became something I used to enjoy but no longer thought much about. I didn't have time. Until I was laid up after knee surgery and bored with the TV, and beyond sick of Farmtown. I started searching random names on Facebook, and was shocked to see some of my favorite book characters names pop up. I had accidently discovered the world of role play and fanfiction. It didn't take long for me to become hooked. I was in several different groups over a period of about a year, and then I opened my own. My first rule was that all characters had to be original, and couldn't be based on any known series. I created a world for people to bring their characters to, and by doing so, they enriched my little universe and my writing experience. I met some amazing writers and had the chance to develop some characters that I truly love. I write because I can't imagine not doing it now. I have all these characters in my head, their stories waiting to be told.

2.
JW- What is the hardest part of writing for you?

DS- The hardest part for me is to find the time. Well, finding the time and making that time coincide with discipline to sit there and focus. I have ADD, which creates many challenges. I also tend to underestimate how long something will take. And yes, I often get distracted by the shiny stuff.

3.
JW- Who or what do you admire?

DS- I admire anyone who is creative, in any form. People who can make something out of nothing astound me. I am in awe of someone who is confident in what they have created. I love to do photo editing. I am not professional by any means, and I never am satisfied. I am always torn between the multitude of different end results, unable to tell which one is "better." And so I usually end up posting more than one version, or asking ten different people which they think is the best. The person I admire most, however, is my daughter. She is bold, and snarky, and original. She is truly her own person, and as a bonus, she is talented and artistic.

4.
JW- What do you hate?

DS- Hate? I know I should say I don't hate anything, but we all do. I hate rude people. I despise bullies and braggarts. Mostly, I detest liars, manipulators. There is nothing worse than that, in my opinion. I don't understand the need to fool people, cause pain and humiliation. They destroy not just a person's trust in them, but in everyone else. Everyone ends up paying the price for a liar's sin.

5.
JW- Music or no music?
DS- I do listen to music when I write. My playlists are pretty eclectic and if the song doesn't match the mood of the scene, I skip until I find one that does. If the scene is intense, however, all music is turned off. It's not worth losing focus to change a song that messes with the mood of the writing. Oh, shameless plug. Music? There's an app for that  

6.
JW- If you could BE anyone for a day, who would you be and why?
DS- If I could, I would go back and be my younger self for the day. Either on a day when I was at a crossroads and invariably made a poor decision, or on a day when I was being way harder on myself than necessary. I wouldn't want to go back and avoid every mistake I've ever made, because it brought me where I am today, but there are times I should have been a better friend to myself or perhaps should have gotten out of my own way a little bit.

7.
JW- Where would you like to travel?
DS- I've recently realized that I hate flying. At one time, I wanted to go to Ireland, but I can't really see me on a plane for that long now. Maybe someday. Traveling is not that enjoyable for me, I have a lot of animals at home and it's a worry when I am away.

8.
JW- Favorite super-hero or villain and why?
DS- No real favorites on the superheros or villains. I think that my favorite kind of person is both the hero and the villain.

9.
JW- Favorite book character and why?
DS- There are far too many favorite characters to list, and since many of them are my book boyfriends and girlfriends, I can't risk forgetting anyone.

10.
 JW- Hobbies?
DS- My hobbies include photography, and photo editing. I enjoy drawing and painting but am not very good at it. If I do it often, I can do an okay job. I love reading, of course. I love to do photo edits to put with quotes, either famous ones or my own. I wouldn't say it's a hobby, but I am passionate about animals and being an animal advocate. I have a fledgling rescue, I pretty much keep all the special needs ones and spend whatever time or money I can helping other rescues.

BONUS: 
JW- And finally, any question you would like to ask me or the readers?

DS- A question for your readers....
What draws you to a new author or series, what catches your eye the most or would be most likely to entice you to try a new and unknown writer?

Let us know in the comments

Thanks for coming by!

Where to find DS Kenn online:






4 comments:

  1. Well first off let me say that the interview was inspired and I really enjoyed learning more about you! I have your book! Signed and so precious and I can't wait til I can find the time to properly dive into it! I depend a lot on my like minded friends opinions and synopsis to decide if I want to give a new author a try. I also sometimes fall for the super hot cover! But I have found a ton of new authors through limited time freebies and ended up buying up their backlists! So for me it is mostly circumstance that brings me to a new author. Thank you for doing the interview and sharing yourself with us today!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for dropping in and telling us what you think. You're going to love that book!

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  2. Sue Allen MilkovichOctober 3, 2014 at 2:23 AM

    I love your interviews because you ask the questions that I would ask myself. Keep up the good work. I loved the book and I love the author to the extreme because I followed the characters on facebook. I can't wait for the second installment.

    ReplyDelete