Interview with Mary Waibel

Princess Kaylee has never had to fight for anything. Her entire life has been arranged, even her marriage. But when Prince Devlin falls under an enchantment, she finds she is willing to do anything to save him, even if it means fighting a dragon.
Devlin's own sister, Princess Arabella, is behind the deadly plot. She wants the throne and will use any means necessary to gain it. Her perfect plan unravels, leaving Devlin caught in a magical sleep that is slowly spreading through the kingdom of Breniera. All Arabella needs to finish her spell and claim the crown is a drop of Kaylee's blood, but obtaining the single drop is proving more difficult than expected.
To save her betrothed, Kaylee embarks on a quest to find an ancient sword and gather a drop of dragon's blood, while trying to stay out of Arabella's traps. But Arabella's traps aren't the only danger. Time is everything. For once the last inhabitant of the kingdom falls asleep, the spell will be sealed, and not even true love's kiss will break it.

First, a big welcome and thank you to Mary for stopping by! Tell us Mary, where did the idea for Quest of the Hart come from? 

My husband's best friend, and our neighbor, knew I was playing with a story and he said, “You should write a story where the girly-girl princess saves the prince.” And from that suggestion, Quest of the Hart was born.

How did you first envision Kaylee? 

I tried to think of what a girly-girl, pampered princess might look like, and came up with the dainty, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Kaylee.

I'm going to hazard a guess that this pampered princess finds herself in some not so comfortable places. Was there a scene you particularly enjoyed writing?



The first scene that popped into my mind was a mud fight between Princess Kaylee and Sabrina that didn't make it past the early drafts. I had a lot of fun with that, but ultimately decided it needed to go, as it didn't really work in the story line. Outside of that, I had fun playing up her wearing a gown that was getting dirtier and more bedraggled as time went on, forcing her to change into trousers- something she had never worn before. Sabrina made it quite clear that she wasn't going to act as maid for Kaylee, leaving her to figure out how to dress on her own.

It can be hard cutting scenes we like but sometimes they just don't work. I also know it can be hard to decide about where and how to publish. What made you decide to go with Muse It Up publishing?

I researched several small publishers, and was fortunate to be given an offer from MuseItUp. In the time I've been there, I've worked with two wonderful editors (content and line) and an incredible cover artist who could see my work better than I could. Lea Schizas has been incredible to work with. The time and effort she pours in for the authors at Muse is amazing-she really has their interests at heart.

What has been the hardest part of the process? The easiest?

For me, the hardest part is waiting. Waiting to hear about submissions, waiting for revisions, waiting to see how your revisions were received. Lots of waiting. I've learned to always have a project there to work on to keep me distracted from the waiting. The easiest part has been coming up with new ideas to explore. So far, my muse has been very active.

That is a very good thing! I'm always happy when my muse is active, lol. Tell us what you are working on now?  

Currently I am working on a Paranormal Romance with sorceresses, wizards, and fae, and a third book set in the Princess of Valendria realm.

Sounds like you're very busy! Now for some easy questions...What do you love best about where you live?

How close I am to things. I always say our house is the center of the wheel, and the places we go often are almost the same distance away.

There is something to be said for convenience! But it's also nice to get away, I think. If you could live anywhere else for a year where would it be and why?

I'd want to travel around from place to place. There is so much of the world I'd like to see, that I wouldn't want to stay put in one place.

I can understand that. Traveling is something I like to do, too. Reading is another and as a writer one thing we must do is read A LOT. What are the last three books you read?

Mindi Winters The Hunter's Series (books 1-3), Opal by Jennifer Armentrout, and H.M. Ward's Demon Kissed (OK, it's more than three, but I read a lot when I read.)

Last question, where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

I see myself writing and spending time with my family and friends. It would be great to be able to write full time, but I'll probably still be working at my day job.

Mary, thank you so much for coming by and can I just say, I love the cover of Quest of the Hart; it's so pretty! Congratulations - and to my readers, just click on the pic to buy, or you can put your name in to win a copy via the rafflecopter below :) 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway