Thank you for inviting me. It’s an honor to be here. My name is D. V. Stone, and I am a multiple-genre writer. Like many of today authors, I juggle also being a wife, mother, grandmother, and full-time medical receptionist. It’s exciting, exhausting and I wouldn’t change anything, except I’m looking forward to retirement.

Always an avid reader, my mother will tell you, from the time I was a toddler, dolls and other toys never interested me. I’m sure many will recall The Little Golden Books. They were my first. Children’s classics soon followed. Heidi and Black Beauty were two of my favorites. Who can remember dreaming about Misty of Chincoteague? Horse books were, and still are, a favorite and often important in my fantasy books.

The first book I ever wrote is a High Fantasy/Romance and its still a work in progress. Other books have beat Aimhirghin to the finish line. Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar and Agent Sam Carter and the Mystery at Branch Lake are independently published. A third novel, Rock House Grill, is under contract with The Wild Rose Press. Rock House is contemporary romance and will be published in their sweet line. It still has several months in development.

 Today I’d love to talk about the experience of how I came to write Aimhirghin, Kingdom at a Crossroad. Where my inspiration came from, and the long road it’s been on.

Inspiration

Through what was a difficult time of unemployment about seven years ago, I found a silver lining. Finally, there was time to write. But what? After floundering around stopping and starting with vague ideas, the thought of taking a break sounded good. Some of my go-to movies are the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Frustrated, I plugged in the movie. Then it happened during The Two Towers. The Aha moment, when you know. The scene was in Helm’s Deep. One of the elves, Haldir, freezes when Aragorn gives him a hug. The look on his face inspired Kieran, Prince of Ath Dara. The wonderful question arose—What if?

Desperation

From conception to bookshelf is usually a long and often frustrating journey for authors. Aimhirghin has been a work in progress for seven years. I confess, though I love the characters and story, the manuscript is overblown and poorly written. I knew nothing about the craft when starting.   Learning how to write books is as important as the concept. Command of grammar and punctuation often eludes. I can’t tell you how many times I think I have it right, and a critique or edit comes back.

Perseverance

Here I am seven years later. Aimhirghin still has a folder on my desktop. The size of the work is intimidating, the writing amateurish, but one day, she will be in my complete folder. Certainly, I’ve moved on to work on other projects since, but deep down she’s my first baby, and in my retirement, it’s going to happen.

SPEED ROUND TIME!

Coffee or tea or wine?

Yes, to all three, but you forgot Hot Chocolate.

What does your desk look like?

My wonderful husband built my library several years ago. This is where I spend most of my writing time. But if the weather is nice, I will move out on to the deck. 

What do you like to do when not writing?

I mentioned retirement. This is how we're going to do it. We chose this 5th Wheel because it has what’s called a bunkhouse in the rear. Not only can we have guests, but it will also be my office on the road. Her name is 2Hoots. We’ve already been to Florida, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. We have several more trips planned this summer.

This leads to my favorite activity while camping or glamping as some call it. One of my goals is to master open fire cooking. Worst failure was burned pizza. Best so far—I’m famous for my ribs.

You’re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why? 

I want to be this color in all its variations. This is a fungus I found while walking in the woods and so many variations of yellow, orange, and brown. 

And one last thing before I go just because she’s so pretty. Meet Hali. She rescued us in January and has a message.

“Woof.” Translates adopt, foster, donate to your local shelters and rescues.

FIND HER BOOKS: Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar AND Agent Sam Carter Mystery

D.V. Stone lives in Northern NJ. She has two books published independently through Amazon. Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar is a fantasy romance. Agent Sam Carter and the Mystery at Branch Lake is a mid-grade paranormal. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and New Jersey Romance Writers.

Using her past experience as an Emergency Medical Technician and owner of a small restaurant she combined the two and during National Novel Writing Month developed the Rock House Grill. Rock House will be the first book in the Impact Series and published by Wild Rose Press. 

With her husband Peter, dog Hali, and cat Baby, new adventures are before them traveling in their RV. Taking her passion for writing on the road, she knows ideas and inspiration are everywhere.

Maybe you too have the wanderlust and will meet her on the road.