The Magic of Epiphanies

Happy Friday to each and everyone of you. Today I'm thrilled to welcome the fabulous Candice Gilmer to Fox Tales. So take it away, Candice!

Thanks Sutton for having me here on your blog. It’s always fun to take over another author’s blog. I always feel so He-Man—I HAVE THE POWER! Muhahaha! (Child of the 80’s came out for a second, sorry! It happens.)

I find, both as a writer, and as a person in general, the things that occur to me far after the fact that surprise me. When I first met my husband, we were going through the VHS tapes (yeah it was that long ago) I owned, sorting them by genre, and my hubby glances at me and says “You must be a big Arnold Schwarzenegger fan.”

“Why?” I ask him, because I certainly didn’t consider myself one.

“You have seven of his movies.”

I blink, staring at the array of films on the floor. He wasn’t kidding. I had Terminator 1 and 2, Twins, Junior, Jingle All The Way, True Lies, Eraser, and Total Recall. I have this weird moment, realizing that, yes, I must be a fan, because here I was, with almost a dozen of his movies. “Holy cow, I guess I am.” As we continue, I realize I was also a James Cameron fan, due to having every one of his films except Rambo.

This happens to me a lot. Sometimes I have to have something laid out in front of me before I realize the truth in the matter.

In this same vein of realization, I figured out not that long ago, when I was going over a list of future writing projects as well as current WIP’s, that, OMG…

I write speculative fiction.

I am totally a speculative fiction writer. Granted, romantic speculative fiction, but speculative, nonetheless. I have to have my HEA, of course. And I’ve always been about the relationship between the hero and the heroine, which does make me a romance writer, but almost every book I’ve ever done has been or had some level of paranormal, magic, or other kind of twist to make it not just straight contemporary romance. I always wanted to write, and I’ve always loved romance. I didn’t realize all that romance that I love always seemed to have some element of the speculative in it. Time travel, magic, paranormal, I love it all.

Even my latest release, Rescuing Rapunzel, has its little squeeze of magic, with the witch Gothel and Rapunzel’s healing hair.

Here’s a short excerpt with Rapunzel and Gothel:

Mother Gothel’s fingernails scratched my skin but I kept my face still, not showing any sign of pain. “I thought…for a moment, I thought I saw someone outside.”

Mother spun, heading back to the window. “Where?”

I gestured to the wall, unable to lie. Mother always knew and punishment was swift if I tried such a thing.

“I see no one.” She turned back to me. “Are you certain?” Her tone suggested that I was mistaken, that I had merely imagined a person.

Maybe I had.

“I thought… Maybe…”

“You thought you saw someone, or you did?” She snagged part of my hair, jerking it. “Be certain.” Her fists tangled around one of the braids.

“I surely imagined it.” I winced. “Forgive me, Mother.”

For good measure, she jerked on the braid again, and I bit my lip to keep from crying out in pain. “Outsiders are dangerous, Rapunzel. You must be very careful.” She glanced out the window again. “Perhaps it is time, after all,” she murmured. She took a few steps away from me, hands clenched as she whispered to herself, before facing me again and pulling a small dagger from the folds of her dress.

I stepped back, though I knew it did no good.

Mother grabbed a plait of hair off the floor and, as she paced the room, let it slide through her fingers. “There are many who would wish you harm, Rapunzel. It is time, I believe, to be sure you are ready.” She found the very end of the braid, held it as though about to wield a paintbrush. The dagger glistened in the light from the window.

“Yes, Mother.” I gritted my teeth against what was coming.

The dagger was sharp, but it did not lessen the pain of Mother slicing off the bottom of my braid, though today she only took a hand’s width of hair.

Tears stung my eyes as the hair was severed but I forced myself to remain still.

Mother held the chunk of hair in her palm, examining the strands as she did every time. Then she turned her attention to me. “You must learn to defend yourself against intruders, my dear.” She dropped the rest of the hair. The braids landed with a thud on the floor.

My body sagged. It was over.

BUY IT HERE

Blurb:

The Charming Nobles Book 1

Getting Rapunzel out the tower is only half the problem...

Rapunzel longs to live in the world she sees through her window, but more than her tower keeps her trapped. Her mother has taught her obedience without question and filled her with fear. She knows she will never reach the ground. Then Lord Nicolas von Hohburg scales her wall, breaks into her life, and changes everything.

Nick has resigned himself to a life of duty when Rapunzel’s song calls him to her tower. Soon she has his heart wrapped in her lengthy tresses and he can think of nothing else. But his responsibilities and sense of duty threaten to come between them...

Warning: A scheming witch, a damsel in distress and a Charming Noble who just might save the day.

Doesn't this sound like a great book? I love the premise, Candice. Let's find out a little bit more about you, shall we?

Bio:

Candice Gilmer leads a dangerous double life as a mommy and a writer. In between diaper changes and boo-boo healing, she writes stories usually to the tune of children’s television shows.

Growing up in the Midwest, Candice stays close to her family, especially the ones with basements when the tornadoes come around. She also works as a hairdresser, which she’s done for over fifteen years, and brings her laptop to work so she can write between clients.

When she’s not writing, styling hair and taking care of her family, she gets together with her girlfriends for gossip and coffee while her husband hunts ghosts with Wichita Paranormal Research Society. All in all, she stays very busy, but really, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Well, maybe a little less children’s television.

Thank you very much for being here with us today, Candice. If you'd like to stalk, er, follow Candice and find out more about her other books, some of which I've read and highly recommend, check out the links below:

Website: http://candicegilmer.com

Blog: http://candicegilmer.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Candice-Gilmer/96543284794

Twitter: http://twitter.com/candicegilmer

In about two weeks I'll be posting my review of Rescuing Rapunzel, so be sure to stop by. In the meantime, we wish you awesome success with your book!