Gabi Stevens Blog Post and Giveaway!

The Coolest Bit of Magic that Happened While Writing

We writers hope that our stories ring with truth for our readers, and often that means research or putting ourselves into the story. In writing Wishful Thinking, the third book in my Time of Transition series, I had a little more freedom, since I was writing about magic, but nevertheless, I had things I needed to research. I went to school in San Diego and my husband is from there, but I pored over maps and drove the streets when visiting my father in law so I could get the feel of the city for the novel. I pulled out my Latin dictionary for the spells, and my Old English textbook for other words. But one element required the most research for this book—weaving.

My heroine, Stormy, grows up in a colony of artists, so it’s not unexpected that she too becomes an artist. Her media—textile, fabrics and weaving. Stormy weaves. I don’t, but I read articles, watched videos, viewed pictures, and learned not nearly enough to weave myself. I have to admit that when I had finished my research, I really wanted a loom. Weaving is so cool, so historic, so primal. I found it very appealing.

It’s one thing to research something and then try to transfer the knowledge to the page. I did my best. In the opening chapter, Stormy weaves. I tried to convey the creativity, the effort it takes, the process.

So what was the magic? When my editor read that opening scene, her only question to me was “Do you weave? This sounds wonderful.” What a relief. I felt as if I had won a prize. Then recently, my husband read Wishful Thinking (yes, he reads all my novels and enjoys them). After he finished the scene he looked at me with a frown on his face. My heart dropped.

“I thought I knew you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do we have a secret staircase to some secret attic where you have a loom? I didn’t know you could weave.”

Wishful Thinking is dear to my heart. It finishes the story that started in The Wish List, and continued in As You Wish. It’s the series that made me believe in magic again...of all sorts. Because, of course, there’s a happy ending. Wishful Thinking is a romance, and happy endings are the best magic of all.

So what about you, readers. What bits of magic do you find in your lives? And you weavers, how did I do? (You can read the first chapter at my web site, www.GabiStevens.com)

Gabi Stevens was born in SoCal to Hungarian parents. After spending time in boarding school, college, and studying abroad, she spent seven years in the classroom trying to teach eighth graders the joys of literature. An award winning author, Gabi writes in New Mexico where she lives with her robotics engineer husband, three daughters, and two dogs. She loves to play games, has a wicked addiction to reading, avoids housework and cooking, and doesn’t travel nearly as much as she would like to. Discover the magic in Gabi’s books:

THE WISH LIST (available now); AS YOU WISH (available now); and WISHFUL THINKING (just available now!)

You can find her at www.GabiStevens.com; www.GabiStevens.wordpress.com; Facebook at Facebook.com/GabiStevensfans; or Twitter at twitter.com/GabiStevens.

Thanks Gabi for coming on the blog. I actually have done some weaving and it was fun! Love that you were able to fool everyone!

Giveaway!

Gabi is giving away 2 books to one lucky winner. The Wish List and As You Wish both which have recently been reviewed by AimeeKay. She loved them! Oh and it's INTERNATIONAL! Just fill out the rafflecopter form below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If anyone had problems entering the giveaway before, you should be able to do so now. I just had to make on option mandatory. Thanks.