The Wednesday Interview

Witch Ball is the latest release – out now – for brilliant author Kathleen Coddington. Okay sure, I know all the politically correct stuff about not judging a book by its great cover but Witch Ball is excellent so the people who made up this rule were wrong once again. Go figure. The talented Kathleen was kind enough to wander by the Amarinda blog to give us the scoop on Witch Ball.

The Interview...

1. If your book was made into a movie who would play the hero and heroine?

Wow, now there’s a question I never thought about. Cool idea though. Guess I’d go with Johnny Depp for my hero, Nathaniel. Johnny’s sexy and talented. I mean is there any role the man can’t play? And did I mention sexy? For my heroine, Miranda, I think I’d go with Natalie Portman. I think she’s lovely and also talented and I think she could embody Miranda’s fierce, unwavering faith in the power of true love.

2. Do you think your heroine is like you and if so why?

In some deep psychological way, probably most of the characters an author creates engender some aspect of their own personalities. I don’t think about that when I develop my characters. I simply try to develop people with interesting stories to tell. Like Miranda, I do believe that courage, love, honesty—all the virtues count for something in the universe.

3. The rock/pop/film star you idolized in as a teenager wants you to run away with him? What do you do?

Well, in my not so wild youth (which was longer ago than I either like to admit or to think about) I often had fantasies about doing just that. Now, while I’d be deeply flattered, I’d have to regretfully turn down the invitation. After 38 years of marriage, the only man I’m interested in is my husband.

4. What is the most unforgettable thing about your book that makes people glad they picked it up to read?

Witch Ball is an unabashed modern fairy tale about the power of true love being able to conquer all.

5. What words do you have a habit of using a lot of when you write? Is it a problem when it comes to editing?

Maybe, perhaps and just seemed to crop up a lot. I’m aware of my habit so I try to use them sparingly now. What I’m more likely to do when I’m writing is to find a word I like and then use it over and over without realizing it. Take bleak for instance. I’ll use it once and then suddenly it pops up everywhere—bleak expression, bleak weather, bleak garden, bleak sky, etc. Fortunately, I have a tremendous critique group who catches me when I start getting carried away.

6. Is what you look for in a man what you write in the hero?

In most cases, I’d have to say yes. My heroes are all hunky guys with great eyes. I really love eyes. It’s always one of the first things I notice in a man along with a great smile. On a deeper level, all my heroes are genuinely decent human beings. They can make mistakes, get angry and even kill someone if it’s necessary, but at their core, their actions are basically honorable. Oh, and although I never consciously thought about it while writing, they all love animals. I never realized until recently how many horses, dogs and cats turn up in my books. Of course that couldn’t have a thing to do with the fact that my husband and I have a houseful of pets, could it?

7. How do readers find out more about Kathleen Coddington?

Readers can visit my website at www.kathleencoddington.com or go to my Myspace page at www.myspace.com/kathleen_coddington. Until now, I haven’t done any chats, but one of my New Year’s resolutions is to get involved with the CP and EC chat rooms, especially on list mom days. I’ve also been fortunate to have fellow authors invite me to do interviews on their blog pages. And, of course emails from readers are always welcome.

Witch Ball - the blurb…

Their love was eternal. Until forbidden magic threatened to tear them apart forever.

When Nathaniel Swann and his daughter move to the small town of Lady’s Cove, Maine, the last thing he expects is the beautiful woman who appears in his kitchen after he accidentally breaks the witch ball, a housewarming gift from his neighbor. A hardheaded scientist, he refuses to believe the woman’s fantastic tale of magical spells, eternal love and reincarnation. What the mind forgets, the body often remembers. How else to explain the powerful attraction between them that even he can’t deny?

Released after being imprisoned for 300 years in the witch ball, Miranda Hawthorne is reunited with the man she is destined to be with throughout time. Her joy is short lived when she discovers that Nathaniel no longer remembers her or their love. How can she convince him to help her to break the witch ball’s lingering spell before the bond between them is severed for all eternity?

And in the house next door the priestess responsible for the witch ball’s spell plots to prevent them from discovering the secret that will set Miranda completely free.

The Excerpt…

Coated with a thin layer of dust, the smooth gray glass looked dull in the sunlight streaming in his kitchen window. Nathaniel wiped away some dust and lifted the sphere closer, more perplexed than ever as to why Caitlin had selected this particular ball. Maybe washing it would make it sparkle like the other glass balls.
He squeezed a large dollop of liquid dish soap onto the ball and spread it around. As he started to transfer the ball to his left hand so he could turn on the faucet, his fingers lost their hold on the ball’s slick surface. He tightened his grip but the ball shot from his grasp. He made a desperate grab for it but the ball shot through his fingers.
“Shit,” he muttered, watching helplessly as the sphere arced upward before it began to descend toward the edge of the kitchen counter. At the moment of impact, there was a loud crack followed by an intense flash of white light. Instinctively, he threw his hands up to protect his eyes from the blinding light and the flying glass shards. He heard the jagged sound of broken glass as a rain of fragments struck the sink and floor.
He opened his eyes cautiously and felt them widen at the sight of a woman standing a few feet away, staring about the kitchen in confusion. Despite his shock he couldn’t help noticing she was beautiful with a cloud of dark hair falling to the waist of her old-fashioned blue dress. Beautiful or not she was a stranger.
“Who the hell are you,” he demanded. “And what the hell are you doing in my kitchen?”
The woman in Nathaniel’s kitchen jumped at the sound of his voice. Eyes, soft and gray as spring rain met his. “Nathaniel?” she whispered. Her dazed expression was replaced by one of joy. “Nathaniel!” She ran the short distance separating them and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh beloved, I knew you would find me.” Pulling his head down, she pressed her lips to his.
Too amazed to react, Nathaniel stood frozen. This stranger not only knew his name but she was also kissing him as if they were old lovers. A distant part of his mind told him he should push her away, demand an explanation for her mad behavior. But her mouth, soft and sweet as new wine, awakened something in him that overpowered common sense.
A surge of desire, like nothing he’d ever experienced, raced through his veins. In all his years of marriage to Claire, he’d never felt the burning hunger he felt at this moment. Every nerve ending in his body was on fire. A fire only this woman could quench.
His arms went around her, one hand burying itself deep in the silken waves of her hair. Her lips parted under the demanding pressure of his mouth and she pressed closer to him as if trying to melt into him. He placed his other hand on her rounded buttocks and held her tightly against him. She moaned softly in the back of her throat and slid one leg up his thigh, the folds of her long dress rustling against his jeans.
He felt himself growing hard. Mingled with his nearly overwhelming desire, he felt a fierce tenderness for this woman well up inside him. There was something hauntingly familiar about her. All his life he’d felt as if some part of himself was missing. Even marriage to Claire hadn’t taken away that nagging sense of loss. Something about the woman in his arms touched him in the deepest part of his soul, filling that empty space as if she had always belonged there.
This is insane. The thought came with such icy clarity it drove everything else out of his mind. He thrust the woman in his arms away and stepped back. “Are you out of your mind?” he demanded, fighting to get his ragged breathing under control. “Breaking into my house and….” He motioned violently not quite able to put into words what had just occurred between them.
The woman moved toward him, her hand outstretched. “Nathaniel, do you not remember me?”
He put his hand out to stop her. “Remember you? I’ve never seen you before in my life.”
The woman’s soft gray eyes filled with pleading. “Nathaniel, it is I, Miranda.”
“I don’t know anyone named Miranda,” he snapped. “What kind of trick is this? How do you know my name?”
Her hand fell to her side and her brow furrowed. “How could I not know the name of the man I am to marry?”
“Marry!” Nathaniel almost choked on the word. His gaze swept over her taking in her long black hair and the slender, feminine curves of her body that not even the old-fashioned cut of the ankle length dress she wore could disguise. “I have a good memory, lady,” and if I’d ever met anyone remotely like you, let alone asked them to marry me, I’d remember it.”

**Click on the cover and buy the book**

5 Reasons to buy –

- Witch Ball is an unabashed modern fairy tale about the power of true love being able to conquer all – this line says it all.

- Magic and science meet

- Simmering, wild romance

- The whole imprisoned for 300 years thing is intriguing

- And, as always you deserve to relax with an excellent book – so buy it. I won’t tell anyone.

Anny has the blog saga on www.annycook.blogspot.com and as expected its gone all pear shaped. Speaking of pears, Kelly is poaching them in brandy and feeding them to cats on www.kkirch.blogspot.com.

www.freewebs.com/amarindajones/
Go ahead: Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your best self for?