Danita Minnis

https://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2022/06/nbtm-love-potion-999-by-cs-edwards.html

Author Interview: C. S. Edwards

1. How did you choose your genre? What made you write this book?

So, one day at gymnastics, I was doing this amazing double twisting triple flip thingy, and low and behold ran smack into – after I stuck the landing, of course – the most amazing gymnast of all time, Robyn Peterman. I mean, honestly, we were well on our way to the Olympics for moms, that’s how awsometastic we are at gymnastics. Right!? Well, okay, that might not be entirely accurate…. I think all the flipping and stuff was our kids, but really what’s the difference? That was like 15-16 years ago – when I was 10ish. Since then, we’ve laughed, cried, written, and been on a ton of adventures together. Robyn has saved me a couple of times – from myself, from life, and from a few spiders. Our friendship is always a wild ride – and I love every crazy second! Last year Robyn invited me into this wack-a-doodle world of paranormal romance to create a wonderfully witchy story. To date, it’s one of the biggest honors of my writing life! Author Robyn Peterman is the mastermind behind the Magic and Mayhem Universe (all paranormal romance, all the time) that connects this story and series to so many other amazing tales. Thus, my Witch Doctors series always has a strong theme of friendship and how important friends are in the lives of each of the main characters! Because without my best friend, I might not have told these tales!

2. Writers write what they know, and must observe the world. Are you a firstborn, middle or last child, and how does this shape your view of the world?

I’m the baby of three. Yes, I was probably given a bit more latitude in my youth, the ‘rents were tired by the time I reached my teenage years. But I also worked at a younger age than my siblings. Graduated college in the shortest amount of time, and am the only published author. WINNING. Having older siblings, allows me to draw from so much more than my own experience. I’ve watched them do a lot of things first – marriage, divorce, kids, successes, failures. I’ve learned and listened. We are all so very different, yet have this weird connection. No matter where we are in the world or on life’s journey – they have an understanding and way that is quintessentially ours alone. I do bring that to my stories. Whether through family or friends, there is always someone who just ‘gets it.’ Funny, The Witch Doctors Series is based on three siblings, and each of their love stories! Just like us.

3. Where is your favorite place to write?

I’m a bit weird. I can write anywhere. Quiet, dark rooms. Loud, bright spaces. Inside. Outside. The car. I do love my back porch in the fall and spring. The sofa in our family room is a great place on most evenings. When a story is developing, or spinning in my mind, it doesn’t really matter where I am, or who is around, or what is going on. If I have my laptop, I can write. I might be rude and ignore everyone, but it’s all in the name of creativity!!

4. How do you feel about killing your darlings, and what do you do with the remains?

Oh, it’s no secret! I love a good murder! Nothing better than writing a character, whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, that you know is going to die. So, no remorse here. Without disposable characters, what’s it all for? Getting rid of the body is part of the process, and can be uneventful. But, it can also be the best part of the whole murder. Just depends on how dark and twisted the tale is.

5. You are introduced to your favorite author. Who is it, and what is that one burning question you must ask them?

Louise Penny! I think I’d be so nervous that I’d lose all thought and might not be able to formulate a sentence. But hopefully, I’d recover. Then I’d ask her simply what happens when Inspector Gamache gets too old to solve crimes? How will we survive without him? Canada will be in chaos!

6. Inquiring minds want to know…tell readers something about you that no one knows.

Hmmm… That’s a tricky question. I’m not that interesting, which is probably why I write. LOL. I’m also kind of a blabber mouth, so a lot of readers might already know all my tells. But, I’ll give it a shot. I once drove a New York City cab. Nope, I was not a licensed cab driver. Yes, I should not have been driving. It was St. Patty’s day in the 90’s, and my crew had a tradition of asking the cabbie if we could just drive a few blocks. We were idiots. The cabbie was even a bigger foul for letting us do such a thing. But it happened. I drove one city block to the next pub, once inside the establishment I secured an NYC cops hat as a souvenir, and the rest is a blur – but totally innocent.

7. You are stranded on a deserted island with only a backpack for company. What three items are in your survival pack?

A knife (a big one). Duct tape. And “Kiplinger’s Guide to basic shipbuilding.”

8. If you could have one superpower in your existence, what would it be? Healing power – to cure diseases and illness, and bring back the dead. Sounds a bit morbid, maybe. But I miss my dad. My husband misses his parents, and neither of us got to meet them. When they returned, I’d want to heal their cancers and lung diseases. I’d do the same for my mom. Then, of course, I’d spend the rest of my life healing everyone around the world!

9. Favorite snack?

My fav snack is also an ultimate guilty pleasure… a Monster Energy drink – Ultra Sunrise. Terrible, but oh so awesome! And yes, I know it’s a drink, but I can’t eat anything sweet when imbibing this luscious nectar. Seriously, I’d pass out from the rush of sugar and caffeine coursing through my body all at the same time. If I have to pick a food, I’ll say beer cheese. It’s a Kentucky thing. If you’ve never had the pleasure of dipping your favorite crunchy chip or cracker into the cold whipped, spicy, beer-laden, cheese, you are definitely missing out on one of life’s best things.

10. Indy 500 – Do you know how to get where you’re going or do you drive the speed limit?

My husband would say I’m awful with directions. And that is kind of true. I never pay attention where we are going when I’m a passenger. But if I’m the driver, and have reliable GPS, I’m a way better driver and navigator than he is by far! I’ve been known to pile up some speeding tickets in my youth… but not anymore. It’s something about crossing over into my fifties and things just aren’t as urgent. I’m actually trying to slow down time, not race through it all!

Love Potion #999

by C.S. Edwards

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Paranormal Romance

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Did you hear what happened when a witch doctor met a witchologist in a bar? Well, mayhem ensued! What else did you expect? It’s all because everyone had too many Gnome Island Iced Teas, not to mention the cloud of intoxicating glitter that put everyone under the table even if they didn’t drink a drop. But the real punch line in that fateful tale were the two potion-filled arrow-toting cupids. For one witch, after that night, stuff got real.

You see, the witch doctor was none other than the famous apothecary and alchemist, Betsy Babington. She’s a celebrity! Famous, successful, single, and… bored. Before she walked into that bar, Betsy was itching to change things up. So, she enlisted her coven of misfits and two mischievous cherubs to make a rogue love potion recipe — destined to be the next big thing in her famous potions brand. She never once thought about making Love Potion#999 for herself! Definitely not! Well, maybe she did, just a little…

For the whole truth, you’ll have to read the story. All I can really say is some magical historians have said Betsy Babington’s tangle with the trouble of Love Potion #999 was like opening Pandora’s box. Now that was a little extreme. For the folks who were there, it was more like a weekend in Vegas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:

She was tired of the same ole same ole. The truth was, Betsy Babington was tired of a lot of things in her life. She was tired of working so hard. She was tired of being famous. Some days, she was tired of being a witch doctor. But most everyday Betsy was tired of being alone. Of course, she had her coven, Ron, Lola, April and Jessica—which she loved. Charles, her ogre bodyguard, was truly like family. Her baby boy cherubs were total stinkers, but she totally adored them. But that one true special someone in her life was missing. She was 135, and single. That fact, coupled with the news of her younger sister falling for a hunky, mysterious, mystic angel, made Betsy jealous. Jealously was not an emotion she was used to having or liked. She’d never been jealous of either of her siblings. Bart and Betty Babington were awesome witch doctors, in their own right. But she had the life to be jealous of—that’s what she used to think. Lately, Betsy Babington felt green with envy at the mention of Betty and Gates, or any couple, and that icky feeling was stuck in her crawl.

A red blush crept across her face — brought on by envy and jealousy. She rubbed her cheek, desperate to temper the color before any member of her coven caught a glimpse of it. Ron, Lola, April and Jessica never noticed. They were oblivious, busy arguing about measurements.

“Not too much honey, that’s the key.” Ron measured the thick gooey liquid in a beaker.

“And just a drop of artemisia. We wouldn’t want to poison anyone.” April fussed. “It’s only for the silver color, anyway.”

Betsy strolled across the room to join her team as she gently folded the loose-leaf paper and tucked it in her lab coat pocket. “April’s right. Artemisia can be dangerous. But not the way we use it to tint the potion. Just a drop and a quarter should be all you need to make the Mirror Me potion sparkle.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

I was born in Ashland, Kentucky, the youngest of three children, and grew up in the small Eastern Kentucky town of Inez. I moved to Lexington to finish high school. Attending Transylvania University for two years, before graduating from Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia – with a degree in Economics – go figure! After a stint in New York City, I moved back home to Kentucky and have since built my life around family.

Living just outside of Cincinnati with my husband, Sean, and our five amazing kids, and a precious goldendoodle, I work hard to find time to balance family, work, and writing.

My first passion is weaving mysteries and I’m working on several new fiction projects now. This past year, I also found great joy in creating useful journals, trackers, and planners. I have big plans for publishing more of these creative notebooks in the future! As always, I cannot wait to share my next novel with you. I hope you enjoy, and welcome hearing from you!

https://csedwardsauthor.com/

https://www.facebook.com/authorcsedwards/?ref=pages_you_manage

https://www.instagram.com/authorcsedwards/

Tweets by CSEdwardsauthor

https://www.facebook.com/candaceswordedwards

C.S. Edwards

https://www.amazon.com/author/c.s.edwards

https://books2read.com/ap/nmOXwE/CS-Edwards

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a Rafflecopter giveaway