Meet Sarah Wynde, Magical Weddings and Tassemara. ~ Susan B. James

Welcome author Sarah Wynde I adore her blend of romance, paranormal and science fiction. Sarah has a new Tassamara story in MagicalWeddings

AND she's giving away a boxed set of The Tassemara Books. Details at the end of this post.

Thank you so much for having me, Sue! I’m excited to be here and to get the chance to talk about Magical Weddings. The book is an anthology of short stories—fifteen of them total, fourteen new releases written specifically for the book—and it was a fun and very unexpected project for me.

How did you wind up participating in an anthology?

Author Aileen Harkwood was the coordinator of the anthology. I have no idea how she found all the authors who wound up writing stories but in my case, I got an email out of the blue asking if I wanted to write a light paranormal featuring a wedding. My initial reaction was “no way” because I’ve got two books and a novella that I’m working on and I’ve been struggling to make progress. I knew I didn’t have time to write anything else! But that “wedding” part caught my eye and within just a couple of minutes, the idea of writing about Akira and Zane’s wedding had captured me.

For those who don’t know my stories, Akira and Zane are the hero and heroine of my first book, A Gift of Ghosts (available free at all the usual places). Akira’s sort of an anxious type and Zane’s… well, not… and their wedding would be taking place when she’s several months pregnant. I always suspected that it might be an interesting event. And the more I thought about writing about it, the more my attention locked onto the idea. Pretty soon, I’d shoved my WIP aside and was pinning maternity weddingdresses on Pinterest.
Personally I favor Grecian Maternity Or Silk Sophia. Can't wait to find out which one you chose.

What has it been like to be involved in a group project?

What a learning experience! It’s been fascinating to work with fourteen other people on all the aspects of publishing a book, from keyword selection to promotional ideas, events and giveaways. I find the whole social media stuff ridiculously difficult—writing a 140 character tweet can take me twenty minutes sometimes and navigating Facebook makes me want to pull my hair out—so it’s been interesting to see how other people handle it. I don’t know that I’ve gotten any better at it, unfortunately, but I’m getting to admire other people’s competence up close. It’s probably good for me! And it’s been really amazing to see how many different ways we’ve interpreted the idea of a magical wedding. Our stories are so different. We’ve got witches and time travel, historical and present-day, small towns and big cities. The magic ranges from metaphorical, as in the story that opens the anthology, best-selling author Leigh Michael’s Her Wedding Wager to absolutely real, as in Aileen Harkwood’sThe Last Wedding at Drayhome with the others being everywhere in-between.

What’s been the best part? Worst part? The best part is easy—it’s been such fun to bounce ideas around with other people and we’ve really done some great stuff with giveaways and creative marketing. Aileen made wedding invitations that we could send out to our mailing lists and Eve Devon created some beautiful beaded bookmarks that we’re giving away at our Facebook release day party (happening today, June 16th, at https://www.facebook.com/events/866080153462480). The worst… well, trying to keep up on Facebook! Some of our threads wound up with dozens of comments in them and I was never sure what I’d read and what I hadn’t. But overall, it’s been a great experience. I’m definitely glad I decided to give it a try.

I have the same problems with twitter and Facebook. I am much fonder of writing than promoting.

Got a recipe you want to share?

Oh, absolutely! Background first—in The Wedding Guests, my heroine, Meredith, is tempted to skip the reception, but goes in part because she loves an appetizer the caterer makes. She calls it the “gorgeous” one. It’s a gougere, a French cheese puff made of choux pastry, light and airy with the tang of Gruyere and a hint of nutmeg. Yum, just the thought makes me hungry. A good recipe: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/alain-ducasses-gougeres I checked out the link and the recipe sounds wonderful. I have to make this! Have to buy a pastry bag.

When can we expect the next Tassamara book?

Alas, I’ll be breaking an earlier promise that it would be ready by July. September, maybe? I’m working on it now, but it’s been going slowly. It’s called A Gift of Grace, and features Grace Latimer, the youngest member of the Latimer family. I’m starting to discover, now that I’ve written four books, that my process seems to involve writing and re-writing and re-writing the first five chapters over and over again before I can finally break free of them and move on. It’s a terrible process. Everyone says that you should write a first draft and then go back to revise and I’m quite sure that’s much more efficient. But I can’t seem to do it that way. I think I need to really get to know all of my characters before I can find their true story. Even with The Wedding Guests, which is just a short story, I spent more than a month on the first scene—in fact, more than a month on the first 2000 words! If I had to give advice to other writers, it would be to not ever do that. But unfortunately, I’m like Alice in Alice in Wonderland—giving myself good advice, not following it! I've been listening to the CD of 2008 RWA National Conference and I went to see the new documentary, Love Between the Covers. One thing I learned: Everyone's processs is horrible.
Thank you so much for being here, Sarah.
Magical Weddings comes out today. I pre-ordered, so it will already be on my Kindle. How could I resist? Blurbs and Buy links are below.

MAGICAL WEDDINGS: 15 Enchanting Romances Whether real or only in the hearts of the bride and groom, the magic of weddings is undeniable. And irresistible! As these 15 enchanting happily-ever-afters by bestselling and award-winning authors prove. From sweet to spicy, the romances bundled into this set, 14 of them new releases, cross time and unite hearts, cast spells of laughter, battle wedding jitters and fight back tears, while weaving love’s hopeful magic throughout 1400 pages. Her Wedding Wager by Leigh Michaels, National bestselling and Award-winning author of over 100 novels. Celia's doomed to an arranged marriage—unless she can win the most important bet of her life! The Last Wedding at Drayhome (Breens Mist Witches) by Aileen Harkwood. Never underestimate the power of a witch and warlock in love who have nothing left to lose. The Dress by Eve Devon. Two couples, 400 years apart. From a masquerade ball in Venice 1615 to a wedding in England 2015, can a dress laced with magic weave its spell through the fabric of time? Second Chance Bride by Raine English, USA Today bestselling and Award-winning author. She thinks she's marrying the man of her dreams, until a telepathic rescue dog leads her to someone else... Will this bride-to-be say "I do" to the wrong man? Two Hearts Surrendered by Tamara Ferguson, Bestselling and Award-winning author. Will two warring hearts be strong enough to survive the ultimate battle? Something Borrowed, Something Blue by Lynda Haviland. She has a wedding to crash—until love gets in the way! Heart of the Secret (Witches of Lane County) by Jody A. Kessler, Bestselling and Award-winning author. A 500 year-old curse, a witch who will do anything to marry her one true love, and the heart of a secret that will either divide them or bring them together…forever. The Jealous Love of a Scoundrel by Jane Lark, National bestselling author. How do you fight a calling that comes from your soul? A Wedding Across the Winds of Time by Bess McBride, National bestselling author. Darius and Molly found each other Across the Winds of Time. Now, it's time for their wedding! Kiss This by L.L. Muir, National bestselling and Award-winning author. You never expect the florist to catch the bouquet… Caution is a Virtue by Jennifer Gilby Roberts. How much is too much to risk for love? Loving Lindy by Jan Romes. In order to become the bank's new Vice President, Gunther Justin has to be "settled." With Lindy McPherson posing as his fiancé everything is set to go off without a hitch—until real feelings get in the way. With this Kiss by Heather Thurmeier. Does a simple kiss have enough magic to reunite lovers? Real Magic by Elsa Winckler. She's the bridesmaid, he's a best man. Will the magical evening stay just that or will it turn out to be real after all? The Wedding Guests (A Tassamara Short Story) by Sarah Wynde. When unexpected guests attend Akira and Zane's wedding, lives will change forever. But for better or for worse?