Hurricane Recovery--Day 6&7 Danielle DeVor

I really intended to get this blog up much earlier, but today has been one of those days.

I'd like to introduce you to Danielle DeVor, an enormously talented young lady who has a new book coming out from Crescent Moon Press. The novel is called Sorrow's Point. (Good title--I'd like to read it, especially since I am a horror aficionado.)

She has this to say about Sorrow's Point: From her blog:

With my love of horror, the supernatural, and fantasy, I set out to write a different book. So far, this is the only book I’ve written that is not YA, and besides writing sequels to it, I’m not sure if I’ll write another book for adults. We shall see where the muse takes me.

I set out to actually write a horror novel. My eventual goal is to write a book that scares the crap out of me, but so far, I haven’t achieved it yet. So, when I started Sorrow’s Point, I wanted something that would be really scary, but lead up to the scare, kind of like Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot. Instead, I ended up with a book that has a lot of magic, some scary parts, and a protagonist, Jimmy Holiday, who amuses me so much.

How could you not like a defrocked priest with a heart of gold?

Nope. Not telling you why he’s defrocked. That gives away from the book, but I will say the reason he is defrocked is more from bureaucracy than anything else.

As the book progresses, Jimmy discovers that he is not who he thought he was, and he changes, in my opinion, for the better.

Danielle is another Hurricane Sandy survivor. She has this to say about her experience:

I live in a valley in between the mountains in West Virginia. Usually, the snow breaks up over the mountains, and we don't get hit with much, but Sandy had to be difficult. Unlike the counties to the east and west of us, we ended up with eight inches of snow. Those other counties? They had three feet! Luckily, we aren't like the tons of other people who are still without power, we only lost ours for about twelve hours. I am extremely thankful that the power company was able to restore power so quickly to us. But, even if they hadn't, we have a gas stove and could have heated one floor that way. So, all in all, my storm experience wasn't too bad at all.

My Blog Link: http://www.danielledevor.wordpress.com

Biography

I didn’t pop out of the womb as a writer, but I always had stories bouncing around in my brain. Usually, these stories were fodder from daytime talk shows mixed with whatever supernatural element struck my fancy that particular day.

I love vampires, horror films, music, ballet, and animals.  I play the harp- which isn’t too common these days.

Feel free to contact me at sammyig(at)rocketmail.com

Upcoming book schedule is:

Tail of the Devil- Eirelander Publishing- Release Date: TBA

Sorrow’s Point- Crescent Moon Press- Release Date: 2013

Interview:

  How long does it take you to write a novel?

Oh it depends. Sorrow’s Point started out as my Nano project last year, but I’d had the idea before then. But, after killing myself to get those 50,000 words, I took a break of several months before I could work on it again. I would say, from start to completion, roughly five months for this one. I’ve had another book take six years to write, and one to take three months. So, I guess my average is one book a year.

What do you think makes a good story?

Something that really pulls you in. If you find that you wince when something bad happens to the characters, then the writer has done their job.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I crochet. A lot. Usually, I do images in yarn. You can find examples on the Crochet Art page on my blog. I also read, watch a lot of movies, and when my hands let me, I play the harp.

Do you have a day job as well?

No, I don’t.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I get up around seven every morning, and after everything calms down in the house, that’s when I try to squeeze in some writing before the household craziness begins again. I write at the kitchen table, so sometimes, getting quiet time to write is interesting.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

When I started writing, I started as a poet. Then, in college, I moved to writing drama. All of this means that I am used to writing things in a very short concise manner. This doesn’t work too well for prose, so after I write what others would call the first draft, I have to go back and add setting and descriptions of everything. So, I don’t consider myself having a real first draft until everything has been added to it.


What does your family think of your writing?

They are mostly excited to have a writer in the family. They are used to my weird imagination, so if they decide to read one of my drafts, then they usually aren’t surprised with what I’ve come up with.

What books have influenced you the most?

Anne Rice’s Vampire Cronicles, Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot and The Shining, Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, and recently Guillermo De Toro and Chuck Hogan’s The Strain

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

I would love to be mentored by Stephen King, but then, millions of other writers would too.

What book are you reading now?

Victims by Jonathan Kellerman

Do you work with an outline, or just write?

Oh, I’m a total pantser. I once tried to write by outline, and it clicked the short side of my brain, so my first draft of this one book ended up being only 15,000 words. Not cool. So, I am a total and complete pantser.

Thank you, Danielle, for being with us today. For those of you visiting, please leave a note and say hello. We welcome comments.

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UPDATE

Steph Murray is one of Crescent Moon Press' co-founders. But that's not her only job. She is also committeewoman for Middletown, New Jersey. Without power and expecting a Nor'easter  next week, she is hitting the streets in her area with information about where to find food, power, and warmth.

Address to send donations to her area:

Middletown Disaster Relief Fund
c/o Mayors Office
1 Kings Hwy
Middletown NJ 07748

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