Tena StetlerAuthor of Paranormal Romance/Suspense & Cozy Mysteries With Magic Spark!

Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cauldron. Take your choice of a bat wing Chocolate Chip or Pumpkin, or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Jane and her Circle of Dreams, Book one of Quytel Series! Pssst… Don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter at the end of this post.

What inspired you to write?

I love reading paranormal romance, exploring the mysterious and other worldly. At some point, I started to think – Hey, I could write this. I had to muster enough courage to sit down and try, and when I did I realized it was a lot harder than I’d imagined. Even with the myriad of challenges it takes to put pen to paper, once I started writing, I thrived on the creative energy. I’m constantly amazed by the wandering of my mind as it leads me to the next part of the story and the complexity of the characters who emerge in the process. I see the story, and writing itself, as a continuous inspiration.

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?

Not at first. I was too embarrassed. I wrote the first two books in the Quytel Series by waking up at 5am to write for two hours before I left for work. I then promptly filed both manuscripts away in a box in my closet. A writer friend of mine had to convince me that I should at least let someone else read them. I did finally share an early draft of Circle of Dreams with her and select members of my family, without any of the sex scenes mind you. I cleverly replaced them with *INSERT STEAMY SEX SCENE HERE*. Now it is out there for the world, and my family to read-gulp. But so far, so good! For more on this, see my guest blog post today on Fang-tastic Books: http://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com

Where do your story ideas come from?

This is such a good question and I have no idea. The creative recesses of the mind, if I were to guess. What I do know is that in order for my story and characters to come into focus, I need down time when I’m not thinking or worrying about anything else, which is increasingly difficult as life gets busy. When I was writing the first two books in the series, I had a commute to my day job which included a bus, metro, and a walk.  That twenty-minute walk was like gold. I could let my mind relax, wander, and I frequently stopped to jot down the next twist and turn in the story.

What secret do you use to blast through writer’s block?

Writer’s block is scary. I find it creeps up on me slowly until I suddenly realize I’m not writing. I’m not sure how that happens, but once it does, I have to force myself back into a routine. I thrive with a routine. That means carving out time, and writing every day, even if it stinks… until it doesn’t.

I think we can all relate to that!