Awesome Romance Author Sorchia DuBois
My awesome romance author this week is fellow Wild Rose, Sorchia DuBois! Sorchia is a Missouri girl who writes paranormal romance. In her interview, Sorchia shares about living in the country, why she writes, and how Tarot cards help her plot. Sorchia DuBois has just released a new paranormal featuring a globe trotting fortune teller, Zoraida Grey and the Family Stones.
So Sorchia…
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I live in southern Missouri waaaaay back in the woods. It’s a beautiful spot, but quite a distance from civilization. The nearest shopping center of any size is 100 miles away though smaller ones exist closer—30 miles or so. I’m actually considering moving out of the area. Looking for a nice place to go, but haven’t landed on a new location yet. Suggestions appreciated.
I taught English at local high schools, community colleges, and online for many years, but writing is what I really wanted to do when I grew up. About 5 years ago, I decided it was do or die time and I haven’t questioned that decision. This is one reason I’m thinking of moving—the writing community around here is sparse and it’s a long way to book signings and conventions.
I have a couple of grown kids who come home occasionally to eat and to do laundry. Eight cats and a husband live in my house, also.
Where do you get your ideas?
Sometimes a phrase or situation will trigger an idea for a character or a plot. Once I have a smidgeon of an idea, I drag out a deck of tarot cards and my character charts and start building characters. I think good characters are the most important thing—the plot will unfold as I get to know these characters. What do they want? What is in their way? How do they try to overcome obstacles? What
are their habits—good and bad? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Those questions and more get me started. I draw a card to help me find answers for each one. I read tarot as a hobby—though I don’t pretend to be an expert. Often I give away tarot readings in contests or just do them for fun at FaceBook parties.
Can you tell us about any other upcoming books, series, or writing plans?
I’m working on the second book in my Zoraida Grey series. Book 1, Zoraida Grey and the Family Stones, was released on October 28 and I hope to have Books 2 and 3 out by the end of 2017. The series is about a small-town fortune teller who goes on a quest to recover a stolen crystal for her ailing Granny. The quest takes her to haunted Castle Logan in Scotland where she learns more than she wants to know about her family history. Book 2—Zoraida Grey and the Voodoo Queen—takes Zoraida to the Caribbean and the Yucatan Jungle as she gathers help and Book 3—Zoraida Grey and the Pictish Runes—finds her back in Scotland bent on revenge. After that, I think I will do something in the mystery line—always with a dab of paranormal, a skoosh of romance, and a helping of anything Scottish.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
Zoraida Grey and the Family Stones just hit the shelves last week and I’m working on the next two books in the series. In my new release, Zoraida goes to Scotland to steal a crystal from a haunted castle. I really enjoyed researching and writing about the castle and the ghosts therein. I didn’t want to use a real castle, so Castle Logan in the book is a fictional place. I built it using bits and pieces of real castles and magical things I made up. It is my perfect castle with an enchanted ballroom floor, a mysterious tower, an oubliette, portraits of ancestors, crystal doorknobs that contain the souls of Logan enemies…just everything I would want if I was building a castle for real. The spooky bits were particularly fun. I like to add humor whenever I can, even in tense situations. Zoraida and her friend—both of them small town girls far from home—react to the strange place in unexpected ways. I enjoyed writing about their friendship and how they work together in extreme circumstances.
Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
My first book, Just Like Gravity, is about reincarnation and Karma. It follows the protagonist, Anna, through three lifetimes. In the book, Anna has no idea she is reliving a pattern that has ended in tragedy at least twice before. She’s come to Scotland to hike the Great Glen Way with her daughter and to try to find the source of her nightmares. What she finds is a surly Scotsman and an ancient tower that chills her to the bone. I love the idea of following a character through several lifetimes and I would like to explore that idea more. I fell in love with the main characters in Just Like Gravity, too, and had a hard time letting them go. The book is a romance and I enjoyed watching the new relationship develop between Anna and a man who had been her lover in past lives.
Zoraida Grey and the Family Stones
Book 1 in the Zoraida Grey series.
by Sorchia DuBois
Granny’s dying, but Zoraida can save her with a magic crystal of smoky quartz. Too bad the crystal is in Scotland––in a haunted castle––guarded by mind-reading, psychopathic sorcerers.
Getting inside Castle Logan is easy. Getting out––not so much. Before she can snatch the stone, Zoraida stumbles into a family feud, uncovers a wicked ancient curse, and finds herself ensorcelled by not one but two handsome Scottish witches. Up to their necks in family intrigue and smack-dab in the middle of a simmering clan war, Zoraida and her best friend Zhu discover Granny hasn’t told them everything.
Not by a long shot.
Buy Links
Find Sorchia DuBois
Blog/Website: www.SorchiaDubois.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SorchiaDubois
Pinterest:www.pinterest.com/SorchiaDubois/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SorchiaD
Great to learn a little more about your writing process. I know very little about Tarot reading, and am fascinated about how you use Tarot cards to develop your characters. Good luck with your WIP’s, and hope you achieve your 2017 goals. Best, Anni. xx
Thanks so much for hosting me, Zara!
It’s been great to learn more about you. Thanks for being my guest.
Great interview! Very interesting how you use Tarot to develop characters.