Today, I have Wild Rose Press author, Tricia Schneider on my blog and a link to the 25 Days of Christmas countdown for The Wild Rose Press where you can enter to win some great prizes just in time for the new year.  Please visit The Wild Rose Press blog  today where I just happen to have a blog post and emotional video posted.  In the mean time don’t forget to click the Amazon link below for a FREE copy of Tricia’s new release, The Witch’s Thief.  Yes, I said FREE! But just until tomorrow. So hurry and get your copy. And help me welcome Tricia.

Hi Lilly,

I’m a pantster, meaning I write by the seat of my pants. Some authors are plotters. They plot and outline their novel before they begin writing. Most of the times, I know where I’m going in my head but I rarely write it down unless I’m afraid I might forget it. Like a small detail or turning point of the story. Personally, I think being a plotter is the wisest decision and I envy those writers who can do it. It makes sense to have a guideline or map so you know where you’re going when writing your novel.

But, for me, it just doesn’t work. I learn about my characters and their destinations along with the reader. I feel like a reader when I’m writing the story. What’s going to happen next? If I’m excited about that question, then I hope my reader is, too. But then comes my trouble…sometimes even I don’t know what happens next!

It’s almost as if the characters stop ‘speaking’ to me. They sort of just stand around looking at me with accusing glares and yell, “Well, aren’t you the author? You tell us what to do!”

When times like that occur, I need to step back and think about the story in a different way. Most times I’ll brainstorm. I imagine at least three different paths or possibilities scenarios for my characters. Then I’ll choose the one that seems the most unlikely or unexpected. Usually, that’s enough to keep me going.

That’s how I wrote my newest release, The Witch’s Thief. There were two spots in this story when I wondered what was going to happen next. I had to think about it for a week before the characters began to ‘speak’ to me again. It’s my way of working through a tough spot.

The Witch’s Thief is being offered FREE on Kindle from December 17-21. Hurry over and grab your copy!

Here’s a blurb and excerpt for The Witch’s Thief:

To save her sister’s life, Julia Grey seeks a spell hidden somewhere within Merriweather Manor. Her position as a lady’s companion affords her the freedom to search the house. But time is running out. The necromancer she’s bargained with is growing impatient. And an unexpected appearance of a man from her past makes matters worse in an already complicated situation.

Basil Merriweather returns to England after ten years abroad to discover his childhood sweetheart living in his home. But, he’s no longer the carefree man of his youth and she’s hiding something–deadly secrets Basil vows to uncover even as he hides a dark secret of his own.

While neither Basil nor Julia will trust in the other, their hearts speak a truer language.  In a grand attempt to save Julia’s sister and Basil’s life, the two must finally confess sinister truths. Will their admissions help or hinder any future they may have together? Or will the necromancer destroy all in a vile attempt at revenge.

Excerpt:

“What are you doing?”

He ignored her frantic questioning. Instead, he blocked out the sound of her voice and raised his arms into the air at his sides, his fingers splayed out as he extended his senses to scan the area. His power eased out, like extensions of his fingertips, stretching into the corners of the room, seeking, searching for the source of the magic he sensed.

It was here…somewhere.

He had sensed it earlier on his arrival, but being that his aunt and siblings practiced magic on a regular basis he’d never given it a second thought.

This room, however, stank with it. He smelled the odor, something strangely like sulfur…

“A spell has been cast in this room,” he muttered. A strange spell. Odd. A spell he’d never sensed before, something new. It felt off is some way he couldn’t explain. Who would be working new magic of this kind in his home? And, in this room in particular. Aunt Petunia worked her spells in the privacy of her rooms upstairs, or sometimes in the gardens, but never in this room. And his siblings each, practiced in their own private settings, places where they could concentrate without the threat of being disturbed. A fairly difficult task with the number of people normally in residence at Merriweather Manor.

He took a step closer to the center of the room where he sensed a surge of power. He shivered as coldness seeped into his skin. It wrapped around his arm, sinking into his flesh, right down to the bone. This was not right.

The magic in his house was always full of warmth and gentleness. Goodness and love. This magic chilled him to the bone. His heart skipped a beat. There was fear, terror, pain. This spell was full of darkness.

About the author:

Tricia Schneider is a paranormal and gothic romance author. She worked as an Assistant Manager at a bookstore for several years. Now she writes full-time while raising her 3 young children in the coal region of Pennsylvania. For more information about her books visit:

Website: http://www.triciaschneider.com

Blog: http://www.shadowsofromance.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authortriciaschneider

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/triciaschneider

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/triciaschneider

To buy her books:

The Wild Rose Press:

http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=191&products_id=5437

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Witchs-Thief-Tricia-Schneider-ebook/dp/B00G8HXMJK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1386035934&sr=1-1&keywords=the+witch%27s+thief