Hello, Rachael! It’s such a pleasure to have you here. :)
Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book? When did it
come out and where can we get it?
Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire is a sinister
tale of love, obsession and reincarnation. The book is part of a speculative
fiction series with a time-travel twist offering just a taste of historical
romance.
The Temple of Indra series centers around Sophia
Marcil, a young librarian who inherits a sapphire from her Great Grandmother
and is bestowed with the gift of time travel only to discover it’s a curse and
she is now the object of a madman’s obsession. In Curse of the Purple Delhi
Sapphire, Sophia’s returned from the harrowing yet wondrous journey into her
past life—that of Princess Sapphira of Monaco with the regret that she was
unable to protect her past self. She’s keeping a low profile, living in a
cottage outside of Dublin but she knows the man obsessed with her cursed gem is
also out there somewhere. And really it’s only a matter of time before she
realizes just how close—when Cullen proposes with the very sapphire that’s
cursed her. As soon as it touches her skin, she feels herself being wrenched
back in time.
Wow! It sounds exciting!
So, tell us...is there anything that prompted Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire? Something that inspired you?
The idea for my Temple of Indra Series came about in
2006. I had read the amazingly talented
Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander—I was pregnant and in love with life itself.
Obsessed with time travel—books and movies—but I’d run out of stories to
consume. On a lark, I decided to write
my own and I set out to write a time travel romance, one that I would want to
read. The book included many of the tropes of time travel romance, which are so
fun, hidden passageways and magical gemstones but the more I wrote, the more I
found a darker, edgier side to the story—A madman willing to hunt the object of
his obsession through time itself. The
story became more about reincarnation than time travel.
That's great! I haven't read Diana Gabaldon's book series yet, but I did watch the TV show, Outlander. So love!
Where were we? Oh, yes. Let's try a new question.
When did you know you wanted to write? Or has it always been a pastime of
yours?
I wrote a lot of stories in creative writing class
when I was a kid, a lot of poetry to release the angst as a pre-teen and I even
had my own column in the local town paper as a sixteen year old, but I never
thought of it as a career. I focused most of my creative energy on drawing, painting
and acting when I wasn’t reading, of course. I was the lead in a local play as a
young adult and I set my focus to making it as an actress. Of course, I did
always say I was going to write an exciting biography after I retired from
Hollywood. Boy, has that ship sailed. When auditions brought out a side of stage
fright that I’d never experienced, I decided acting wasn’t for me and went to
school for advertising, which led me to a career in technology, marketing and
media sales. Something I did not find emotionally fulfilling, but that I made a
decent living at. I still read fiction every day, and when I got pregnant with
my son, I decided to put my maternity leave to good use. I was taking a
University history course but outside of that, I had a lot of free time so I
wrote my first novel, The Temple of
Indra’s Jewel. The strange thing is, I never did anything with it—I didn’t
know any other writers and so I had no idea how to get published. I went back
to my career in marketing and sales, and it wasn’t until I attended the Ontario
Writers Conference several years later on a lark that I met and connected with
other writers, and moved forward with publishing.
Sounds like fate to me! ;)
Do you
have any favorite authors?
There are so many writers and books that have stuck
with me. When I was a kid, I cut my teeth on The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis, anything and everything by V.C Andrews and Roald
Dahl’s The Witches. As I got older, I found bibliographies fascinating: Ann
Frank, Martin Luther King. I would obsess over historical moments in time and
topics. Eventually I moved into spirituality and I began to overdose on
clinical studies and reports of people returning to life after death. These
days, I mostly curl up with cozy mysteries, paranormal romances, action and
adventure. You can find authors like Diana Gabaldon, Rhys Bowen, Kristin
Cashore, Carol J. Perry, James Rollins and James Patterson on my shelf.
Do you write in a specific place? Time of day?
My life is completely structured especially since I have
kids and compete in fitness shows. We live in a Second Empire Victorian Home,
built in the late 1800s and you can find me in my study every Tuesday and
Wednesday from 9-3 while my son is in school and my daughter visits her grandma,
surrounded by dark wood paneling and old books. Something about this space
reminds me of that Victorian steampunk film, The League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen. I truly am an atmospheric person. Architecture, decor and everything
old, these are the keys to my creative spark. My husband promises to build
floor to ceiling library shelves complete with a rolling rack. But even just as
it is, this room is too beautiful and too inspirational not to write in. When I
need a change of pace, I occasionally move into the Parlour with its 12 foot
ceiling and intricate crown moldings but the best and my absolute favorite area
has to be the third floor which formerly held the servant’s quarters. This space with its aged wood and arched
dormers is something out of Flowers in the Attic. I can’t wait to finish it off
one day and move my desk up there.
How wonderful! What a truly inspirational writer space!
So, are there any words you'd like to impart to fellow writers? Any advice?
So, are there any words you'd like to impart to fellow writers? Any advice?
Writing is as an investment. Just like no one
becomes an athlete overnight, no one becomes a bestselling author overnight. It
takes practice and determination. I’m not rolling in cash YET, but I see
everything I’m doing as an investment in a long term career. The same way a
doctor goes to school and does rotations for most of his/her young life, I
write for peanuts because it’s improving my skill level, it’s flexing my brain
muscle and I’m growing a fan base. Everyone wants to be mainstream, but the odds
of getting there right off the bat are fluky at best. Rejection is inevitably a
large part of the process, so you have to be doing it for you. Also join a
writer’s group or organization. It can be a lonely climb at times, and
creating a community can make all the difference when drowning in rejection
letters! It’s also nice to have people to pop champagne with when the good news
rolls in. I’m part of the B7 writers group as well as the WCDR, and I’m now
part of the Solstice Publishing family and I wouldn’t be here and/or sane without
them.
I know exactly what you mean. Oh, and did you have one more thing to add? I just remembered.
Me too! Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire is FREE on Amazon Kindle this week. It started Monday and ends June 19th, tomorrow. So, get your free Kindle copy while you have a chance!
Awesome! We'll be sure to do that!
Thank you for stopping by, Rachael! :)
Readers, here is the blurb for Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire.
Librarian Sophia Marcil loves reading, especially books about ancient curses and reincarnation. But she never imagined the legend of the Purple Delhi Sapphire was true until she inherited it and was wrenched back in time. Now having suffered deadly consequences, she knows and fears the sapphire’s irresistible charm, but before she can warn her boyfriend, he proposes with a ring made from the very jewel. No sooner is it on her finger, then she once again finds herself in the body of another, wandering the hallway of an old Victorian mansion circa 1920. Unfortunately, her nemesis has reincarnated too. Doomed to repeat past mistakes, Sophia struggles to prevent the deaths of those she loves, returning to her present-day life, with a deep understanding that her killer is not far behind.
Here is an excerpt from the novel.
Cullen turned to me. “Ye sure ye’re all right, luv?”
“I’m perfect,” I said, finally beginning to relax. I’d made
up my mind. I was going to tell him tonight, come hell or high water.
“Brilliant.” He kissed my forehead, his lips soft and warm
on my skin. “I’ll miss ye next week. Ye gonna keep busy?” He fiddled nervously
with his jacket pocket. It wasn’t like Cullen to fiddle; I gave his hand a
squeeze. He was traveling to London tomorrow on business. He would only be gone
four days, but he was never home long before he had to jet off again.
“I thought maybe I’d go to that fundraiser—see if one of
your cousins wanted to tag along—and of course the bridal shower is the next
day.” Maybe that was why he was so jittery. He knew I didn’t like being without
him, and he’d mentioned once or twice the guilt he felt over leaving.
Someone clinked their fork off a glass and the musical
tinkling made me look up.
“O’Kelley Clan, can I get yer attention up here for a
moment?” Da called.
A champagne bottle opened with a satisfying pop.
“If ye haven’t noticed already, there’s a bit of the bubbly
being passed about, so set aside the whiskey and grab one.”
The table quieted and we took our seats.
“I’d like to propose a toast to the lovely lass sitting at
Cullen’s side.” Da raised his glass, and all eyes turned to me.
“Here here,” Cullen said. “To my Sophia.”
My glass clinked against his. “What’s going on?” I
whispered.
He’d switched out my glass as the tray went by and now gave
me his best I-have-no-idea look, extending an arm around my shoulders and
pulling me in tight.
“T’was a year ago today she fell into our lives from Sainte
Marguerite Island—or perhaps it was the sky, ’cause surely that one there’s an
angel.”
“Quit stealin’ his lines, John,” Lucille chided smartly
before he could go on.
The room roared with laughter.
“Aw sure look it. I did, didn’t I? Sorry, Son. Well then
here’s another stolen line while I’m at it: to women’s kisses, and to whiskey,
amber clear. Not as sweet as a woman’s kiss, but a darn sight more sincere!
Anyway, Cullen, don’t run away now.”
“Yea, thanks, Da!”
The laughter faded as Cullen pushed his chair back and
stood, pulling me gently to stand with him.
“Not sure how to follow that up, but how about: to
passionate people, beautiful futures, and lovely lasses who fall from the
heavens,” he said, knocking glasses with me. Clinks echoed all around, and I
smiled as he set his flute down.
Then he lowered to one knee.
He grinned up at me—so charming and gorgeous. His green
eyes, as always, were mesmerizing. They had flecks of gold in them that clung
to the edges and danced in the center, like they were on fire. My heart beat so
loudly in my ears that it almost drowned out the “awws” and “oohs.”
“Ye’re already mine, lass, in every way possible and I am
yers, but I want the world to know,” he said, taking my free hand. Someone took
the glass of champagne from the other one, as I was shaking so badly. The black
velvet box squeaked open, and his aunts gasped in unison, as if on cue.
“Will ye make me the happiest man in Ireland, Aevil, and
join our O’Kelley Clan?” He kissed my fingers as I stared down at him.
The marble-sized rock in the box swirled, and doubled in
front of my eyes. Deep purple amethyst with a thin frame of diamonds, set in
pink gold and accentuated with a slender shank and crescent details.
I looked past the ring, into his eyes, and found him still
staring directly at me. He’d removed the ring from the box and was holding it
out, ready to place it on my finger.
He cleared his throat. “It was my
great-great-great-grandmother’s and I thought ye might appreciate it, since ye
were so intrigued with her portrait.”
I nodded, trying to smile through the confusion, but my head
swam with random bursts of chatter, the fiddle, and all the thoughts flooding
me at once, mostly that Cullen had just proposed to me with the missing Purple
Delhi Sapphire ring. A bead of sweat ran down the side of my cheek as the ring
touched the tip of my finger.
Cullen’s face began to distort. A shimmery haze had fallen
over the room as if the desert were closing in. The vibration from the ring
traveled up my arm, and the room began to shift and blur at the edges. Another
room, a darker room, was coming into focus. I could still hear Cullen’s aunt
ordering someone to get me a glass of water.
There was something I should remember. Water. Rochus
said water was necessary to ease the pain of time travel. Maybe this was what
it felt like without. I tried to blink away the heat, tried to stop myself from
going, but I couldn’t. The edges of the room were burning away fast now, like a
Polaroid scorched by flames. I could hear the trickling of the fountain in the
corner. I ran for it, or at least I intended to, but it was too late.
Ooh! Riveting!
Don't forget to pick up your FREE limited time copy of this great book!
Universal Purchase Link: http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00SNAF018
Author Bio
Rachel Stapleton lives in a
Second Empire Victorian with her husband and two children in Ontario, Canada
and enjoys writing in the comforts of aged wood and arched dormers. She is the
author of The Temple of Indra’s Jewel, Curse
of the Purple Delhi Sapphire and is currently working on the third and most
likely final book in the Temple of Indra
series.
Author Links:
Website: www.RachaelStapleton.com
Blog: http://RachaelStapleton.blogspot.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Rachael-Stapleton/137831156290570
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaquelleJaxson
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