"I am ready to meet my maker. Whether my maker is prepared to meet me is another matter."
-Winston Churchill

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Chatting with S.W. Develin - A Tale of Witchwood Park Tour




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.






















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