Love Paranormal Romance? Meet Neely Powell
It’s the time of year when faeries and witches come to mind. Meet fellow Rose author Neely Powell. She writes paranormal romances you will love.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Neely Powell is Leigh Neely and Jan Powell. The first time we met, we discovered our husbands had been good friends in high school. That instant connection was the beginning of a great friendship and our shared interest in writing romance novels. We both went on to individual professional success. We talked about writing fiction together for a long time with a few failed attempts. We finally found our groove when we decided to focus on witches, shifters, fae, and other supernatural creatures.
We’ve written four paranormal novels and endured a lot of life along the way. Just as we started our fourth book, Jan’s husband passed away suddenly—after a wonderful weekend spent with Leigh and her husband. The grieving process took a toll on our writing, and it felt as if we’d never finish the third book of our Witches of New Mourne trilogy. Then Leigh’s husband was killed in a car accident. The pain literally knocked the legs out from under our creativity.
However, last year, in the midst of the pandemic, we found our rhythm again and finished HEALING MAGIC, available now from The Wild Rose Press. The heroine from this book has lost her first love, and perhaps our own grief helped us bring her to a new place in her life. Bringing this story arc to a close was cathartic in many ways, and the creative bond we’ve felt for so long is now humming along.
What interesting jobs have you had? How have those jobs affected your writing?
When we met, we were both working at a rock ‘n roll radio station. Leigh was a DJ, and Jan wrote and produced commercials. Leigh loved making public appearances and once won a contest for eating McRib sandwiches and was kissed by Tom Jones in his dressing room after a show while her husband took photos. Jan just loved the rock music and crazy young DJs. When Jan left for another job, Leigh went to work in the creative department writing ad copy. They both feel that writing for the ear gave them an edge on writing crisp, clean dialogue.
Can you tell us about any other upcoming books, series, or writing plans?
Having completed the first three-story arc in the Witches of New Mourne series, we’re working on a new book. This one features our first dragon that lives on Old Baldy, one of the North Georgia mountains near the fictional town of New Mourne. We’re very excited because our setting has moved to the Buckhead area near Atlanta. We both enjoy an urban setting and the busyness of life in the city. We plan to release this book in 2022.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
One of our characters is a faerie named Willow. She’s a mercurial and ancient creature who can appear to be your friend one moment, then show her sharp, pointed teeth the next. She loves to aggravate the coven and throw her power around. Willow is delicious to write, so bad, so cunning and wicked. And she’s not even the main villain in the books!
Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?
After we had written the first book of The Witches of New Mourne series, we submitted it to a major romance publisher. They responded with an enthusiastic yes! On our first conference call, the editor compared the story to Practical Magic. It was heady stuff. We were picked to launch a new line of paranormal romance with three other authors. Imagine our devastation when the plans for the launch were scaled back, and the whole project was scrapped. After getting our rights back, we sold to a smaller publisher, and they folded!!
Lesser women might have folded their tent. We didn’t. Finally, our story found a home with The Wild Rose Press and our wonderful editor Callie Lynn Wolfe. It’s been quite a journey.
Healing Magic
The Witches of New Mourne Book Three
Neely Powell
An empathic witch. A magical warrior. Joined by love, they battle a demon and an evil spirit.
Eva Grace Connelly is a witch and a beloved healer. Rodric McGuire, paranormal expert and descendent of faerie warriors, adores the flame-haired beauty. But their future is on hold as a family curse threatens her life.
Centuries ago, the Witches of New Mourne struck a dark bargain with the Woman in White. In exchange for peace, the malevolent spirit takes a Connelly witch from each generation.
Eva Grace is convinced she can heal the ghost’s troubled spirit and end the reign of terror. But violence and family heartbreak challenge that resolve. As Samhain approaches, the Woman and her vile demon have control.
Is sacrifice the only road to peace? Can Eva Grace and Rodric uncover the secrets and lies at the heart of the curse?
Available from AMAZON | B&N
Learn More about Neely Powell
Leigh Neely and Jan Hamilton Powell are the writing team of Neely Powell. They met working at a rock ‘n roll radio station, discovered they’d both rather be writing fiction, and have been close friends ever since. Their path to cowriting paranormal romance took some detours.
Leigh’s resume chronicles a diverse career as a disk jockey, newspaper reporter, advertising copywriter, magazine writer and editor. Jan wrote 24 romance novels as Celeste Hamilton for Silhouette and Avon Books and then built a career in corporate communications and public relations.
Neely Powell became a successful team when they turned their attention to shifters, werewolves, witches, ghosts, fae and all things supernatural.
Their first novel was TRUE NATURE from The Wild Rose Press, followed by AWAKENING MAGIC and HAUNTING MAGIC. The Witches of New Mourne trilogy will conclude in October 2021 with HEALING MAGIC. Their rules for maintaining a partnership are simple: be honest, be kind, and bring Diet Coke and chocolate.
Your cover is breathtaking and your story sounds intriguing. What a blessing that you two found each other and developed such a wonderful working team. Here’s to moving on to another successful series, once the last one releases in this series.
Thanks. We love that cover. It truly reflects the heart and determination of our heroine. We also love the magic folks. We believe our close friendship enriches our stories.
I am so impressed with your ability to write together so seamlessly! Brava!! Best of luck with book!
Thanks so much! We’ve been friends so long and so happy writing together, it’s a treat. We just want to get the books out and enjoy ourselves while doing it.
So nice getting to know you better. Good luck with your book!
Thank you for reaching out!