A
Tale of Witchwood Park
Witchwood
Park
Book
1
S.W.
Develin
Genre:
Young reader/Fantasy
ISBN:
978-0-9886294-1-7
ASIN:
B00J44ZO54
Number
of pages: 61
Word
Count: 15465
Cover
Artist: Damonza
Book
Description:
“I
am older than you can comprehend. I am eight.” – Emily
Spellmaker.
Emily
Spellmaker is missing. She didn’t return to Witchwood Park
Elementary this year and Kendra, the shy little girl she befriended,
is heartbroken. Kendra waits alone on the park bench after school
each day until the Tuesday a troll walks out of the woods. He chooses
Kendra, Jimmy (the school bully), and Daniel (an outcast) to come on
a magical journey where they must overcome an evil queen and her Army
of the Faceless to free an enslaved land. In the process they learn
who they really are and what friendship means, while getting closer
to solving the mystery of Emily Spellmaker.
Available
at Amazon
Bewitching
Book Tours
Interview
Questions for Immortality & Beyond
Welcome
to IAB. I'm so glad you could stop in today to chat. May I offer you
a beverage?
I’m
going with the Witches Brew, based on the presence of the word
“brew.”
Now
that we are settled in, let's get to know you better.
BK:
Looking out the nearest window, describe the scene you see.
Lots
of green grass. Lots and lots of overgrown green grass.
BK:
Tell us about your office. Is it a mess like mine, or is everything
in its place?
I
can destroy a room in a matter of hours. Put me in the same place
consistently, and it’s like a bomb went off. Strewn paper
everywhere. But somehow I can still find the pages I need, and
quickly. Except when I can’t.
BK:
What is a must-have, such as coffee or a favorite pen, that you need
to write?
Coffee
in the AM, sometimes beer in the PM.
BK:
Do you like to write in silence, or do you need music or background
noise?
When
I’m really focused I don’t need any background. But I usually
don't get to the point until I’ve been writing a while with plenty
background noise to keep my company. Mostly talk radio and
audiobooks.
BK:
Tell us a bit about your hero/heroine, and their development.
For
the Witchwood
Park
books, the heroine and primary character is Kendra. Right away I knew
I wanted a diverse, inclusive set of characters. I always saw Kendra
as African-American, but was unsure whether my writing was up to the
task, as I’m a forty-something white male. But that’s the beauty
of writing. When you start to get close to a character, and you start
to recognize the character, the character will start to tell you
things about herself in return…The secret to Kendra is she is a
good person in her heart, who has strength and courage inside her.
But it was always going to take the right situations to bring them
out.
BK:
As a writer myself, I'm always curious how other writers get through
stumble blocks. When you find a story not flowing, or a character
trying to fight you, how do you correct it?
Well,
I either force it for a bit, knowing full well that I am writing junk
that is going to have to be re-written, or I step away for a bit
(days or weeks, assuming I’m not under deadline…) and work on
something else. Then, when I can clearly see the way out, I will be
somewhere that I can’t jot the words down….
BK:
Using the letters of your first name as an acronym, describe your
book...
I
suppose A
Tale of Witchwood Park
could be described as Super Extra Awesome ….okay, I have drawn a
big, fat blank for the “N.” Wait – try this: Super Extra
Awesomely Noteworthy. That is, if you like it.
BK:
Using the letters from the word, Summer, how would friends and family
describe you?
They
wouldn’t get the chance. My nine-year-old daughter Brigid would
hijack the exercise and switch the season to “Fall” so she could
call me fat.
BK:
What is the craziest thing you've ever written about, whether it got
published or not?
Miniature
Space Nazis stealing the planet Jupiter. The story was called “The
Jupiter Anschluss.” It was set on July 4th
and involved traditional M.I.B. Then the movie Independence
Day
came out, and I thought I had to ditch the July 4 thing. Then the
movie M.I.B
came out and I shelved the entire story. Nobody was going to believe
mine wasn’t somehow derivative…
BK:
Tell us one thing you've done in life, that readers would be most
surprised to know.
I
used to squat 465 lbs. I tried 500 lbs. once and almost paralyzed
myself when I popped a vertebrae in my neck.
BK:
What can we expect from you in the future?
Four
more Witchwood Park books, beginning with A
Knight of Witchwood Park
releasing at the end of this June. After that, whatever I feel like.
If there’s a demand, there could always be a second Witchwood Park
series. If not, no worries. I have plenty of stuff in the queue,
including a novelization of my stage play Dinner,
Sex and a Movie.
This
or That...
Coke
or Pepsi?
Either.
I don’t discriminate, so long as it isn’t diet.
Night
Owl or Early Bird?
During
law school, Night Owl. Since graduating, I can start watching TV in
bed at 8. When the kids let me, that is.
Fantasy
or Mystery?
Fantasy.
Pen/Paper
or Computer?
Computer.
I love paper, but I’m too wasteful and disorganized with it.
Pizza
or Burger?
Pizza.
Rock
or Country?
Rock.
Maiden, Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult. And some Stones for good measure.
Chocolate
or Vanilla?
Chocolate.
Beach
or Mountains?
Both.
It’s what I miss about summers in Andover, Massachusetts. 45
minutes east you are on the Boston North Shore. Straight north, you
are in the White Mountains.
Thank
you so much for having us as one of your stops today. It has been
great getting to know more about you and your book, and hope you will
come back when the next release is out (*hinthint*)
Wishing
you much success!
BK
Walker
About
the Author:
S.W.
Develin lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania with his wife, Julie, and
their three children: Brigid, Jack and Garrett. He has a dog named
Pink, a cat named Floyd, and a small kitten disguised as a cow.
