Keep reading for a chance to win an autographed copy of The Line by J.D. Horn!
EJ: When did you begin writing?
JD: I began writing as a teenager. On a real live typewriter, even. I always wanted to write, but I got derailed in college when I studied Comparative World Literature. My studies involved dissecting masterpieces, but never covered the creative process. The comparisons I made between the finished works of the greats and my own inchoate and immature efforts discouraged me. It took me several years to get past this. I wrote my first novel—as yet unpublished, although I still have hopes for it—when I was finally able to take joy again in storytelling. “The Line” will be my first published work and the first book of the Witching Savannah series. The Witching Savannah series continues in “The Source” and “The Void.”
EJ: What brought you to the paranormal genre?
JD: I have always loved all things paranormal. I cut my teeth while watching “Dark Shadows”—imagine the thrill I got when Kathryn Leigh Scott agreed to review “The Line.” Frankly, though, it was my own real life paranormal experiences that cemented my interest in the supernatural. I had a Southern Gothic childhood, and when I reach inside to my creative space, the world of spirits and elementals has so far proven the most fertile ground.
EJ: If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?
JD: We, as author and reader, share a supernatural talent. Together we build worlds. I don’t mean that in some trite and condescending way. I really do believe that reality is pliant. When you as a reader joins forces with an author, I suspect this union forms and nurtures a type of bubble universe that on some level truly does exist. Am I nuts? Maybe a little. I am currently writing the third book in the “Witching Savannah” series. In this third book, one of the characters will take up writing, and will begin writing about me.
EJ: Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.
JD: Because it is about deeply-flawed people who want to live better lives than they have been living. Because in spite of the magic, the Taylors, Witching Savannah’s central family, face very human problems. Because even though it is the first of a series, the story leaves off at a satisfying place. Because Savannah itself is a central character, not just a throwaway location. Because even though it is one sweet young woman who acts as our window on the Witching Savannah world, the story encompasses a full cast of living, breathing, well-rounded characters.
EJ: If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?
JD: Goodness! Emma Stone or Debra Ann Woll. Both are capable of portraying the mix of toughness, spunk and fragility that Mercy Taylor embodies. The second lady of the Witching Savannah series would be Mercy’s Aunt Ellen. From Ellen’s inception, I saw her as Kelley Menighan Hensley. Kelley can chew up the scenery when she sets her mind to it, and I think she would be perfect to portray the beautiful train wreck Ellen. Colton Haynes would be perfect as Jackson. He’s great at playing the really hot guy you just want to punch. Probably Sean McGowan as Peter, the good guy who makes a really bad choice, due to Sean’s boy-next-door appeal.
The Line (Witching Savannah #1) by J.D. Horn
Savannah is considered a Southern treasure, a city of beauty with a rich, colorful past. Some might even call it magical…
To the uninitiated, Savannah shows only her bright face and genteel manner. Those who know her well, though, can see beyond her colonial trappings and small-city charm to a world where witchcraft is respected, Hoodoo is feared, and spirits linger. Mercy Taylor is all too familiar with the supernatural side of Savannah, being a member of the most powerful family of witches in the South.
Despite being powerless herself, of course.
Having grown up without magic of her own, in the shadow of her talented and charismatic twin sister, Mercy has always thought herself content. But when a series of mishaps—culminating in the death of the Taylor matriarch—leaves a vacuum in the mystical underpinnings of Savannah, she finds herself thrust into a mystery that could shake her family apart…and unleash a darkness the line of Taylor witches has been keeping at bay for generations.
In The Line, the first book of the Witching Savannah series, J.D. Horn weaves magic, romance, and betrayal into a captivating Southern Gothic fantasy with a contemporary flare.
Release Date: February 1, 2014
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Thank you J.D. for joining us here at From the Shadows! To learn more about J.D. Horn and his books, please visit his website.
***The Line Giveaway***
Okay, now for the giveaway! We are giving away one autographed copy of The Line, the first novel in the Witching Savannah series, by J.D. Horn.
To enter, please leave a comment on this blog post and include your email address so that we may contact you if you win. This giveaway is open to US mailing addresses only. Giveaway ends January 6th midnight EST.
