#GuestPost from Denise D Young #Author of Tangled Roots @ddyoungbooks #Paranormal #Romance @rararesources

I’m delighted to welcome Denise D Young, with a guest post for my stop on the blog tour organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.

Before I hand you over to Denise, here’s what Tangled Roots is all about…

A beautiful witch lost in time. A brooding farm boy with magic in his blood and a chip on his shoulder. Dark secrets and shadowy magic. Paranormal romance with a time slip awaits in the first book of this new series.

Cassie Gearhart casts a spell in the forest in the summer of 1974. The next thing she knows, she wakes up to find the world irrevocably changed.

It’s 2019, for one thing. For another, all of her coven members have vanished, leaving behind only one man who holds the key to their secrets.

Nick Felson has sworn off magic, until a confused Cassie knocks on his door in the middle of the night, somehow missing forty-five years’ worth of time. But Nick knows falling for the captivating witch means letting magic back into his life—and that’s one line he swore he’d never cross.

Can Cassie unravel the mystery that transported her decades into the future? And can Nick resist the powerful magic and heart-pounding passion that swirl in the air whenever he and Cassie are together?

The Tangled Magic Series is intended for readers 18-plus who enjoy fast-paced reads, wild and witchy magic, swoon-worthy kisses, and small-town charm. The series is best read in order.

Denise’s guest post is on the subject of crafting story and series playlists…

For a long time, I resisted the idea of making playlists. I always reasoned that I wrote better amid a backdrop of silence. Still, I loved seeing the playlists other writers created or hearing about the songs or albums they listened to as they worked.

When I started really intensely focusing on my Tangled Magic Series (Tangled Roots, book one, is available now), I realized that a playlist could help give me some consistency as I moved from one book to the next in the series.

I was already well into work on Tangled Roots, so I knew a lot about the series—the tone, the setting, the world, the characters, the themes. Set in a small town in the Virginia mountains, the Tangled Magic Series follows the Willow Creek Coven as they seek to stop sinister magic from overtaking their own magic. Whereas their magic works in tandem with the seasons and the earth itself, the magic they battle seeks to destroy the natural beauty of Willow Creek, Virginia.

These are paranormal romance stories, so there’s love, of course. And one of the characters, Evan, plays the guitar at the Thirsty Fiddler, a local music hotspot. Music, especially folk music, infuses the lives of the characters.

And, of course, in Tangled Roots, one of the main characters, Cassie, travels through time via an enchanted oak tree, from 1974 to present day. Naturally, a few 1970s jams snuck onto the playlist.

All of these elements came together as I crafted the Tangled Magic playlist. A dash of magical music, more than a few love songs, some classic 1970s tunes, and a whole lot of folk.

And, for me as a writer, that blend of songs works. Those songs instantly transport me to Willow Creek, and I’m ready to write and connect with my characters and their magic. The series playlist is full of music that inspires me, that calls to mind the sorts of worlds and stories my characters inhabit, that invokes a particular sort of magic I’m weaving as I write.

In short, a practice that I resisted, fearing distraction, has turned out to be a vital part of my writer’s toolkit, as essential as a comfy chair, my laptop, and a cup of tea or coffee while I write.

Thanks so much for a super post, Denise

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About the Author

Equal parts bookworm, flower child, and eclectic witch, Denise D. Young writes fantasy and paranormal romance featuring witches, magic, faeries, and the occasional shifter.

Whatever the flavor of the magic, it’s always served with a brisk cup of tea–and the promise of romance varying from sweet to sensual.

She lives with her husband and their animals in the mountains of Virginia, where small towns and tall trees inspire her stories. She reads tarot cards, collects crystals, gazes at stars, and believes magic is the answer (no matter what the question was).

If you’ve ever hoped to find a book of spells in a dusty attic, if you suspect every misty forest contains a hidden portal to another realm, or if you don’t mind a little darkness before your happily-ever-after, her books might be just the thing you’ve been waiting for.