Today we welcome back author Elizabeth Davies to Whispering Stories Blog to catch up on what she has been doing since our interview with her back in October 2015 on The Writing Life of: Elizabeth Davies. This post contains affiliate links.

Elizabeth Davies is a paranormal author, whose books have a romantic flavour with more than a hint of suspense.

Welcome back to Whispering Stories Blog, lovely to be featuring you again. We last met you back in October 2015 when we spoke to you about your writing life and your latest book at the time ‘The Medium Path’. Since that date I believe you have written and published another five books.

Wow! Has it really been that long? Golly. Okay, I’ve added 2 further books to the “Grace” series, and three books in a new trilogy. I’ve also just completed the first in a brand new series – so I’ve been keeping myself busy!

Yes, I think it has. Writing, like any skill, develops and evolves over time and how much you hone it. I think I’ve become slightly darker, slightly more sparing with the words I use. Hopefully, it’s for the better…

Not really. I don’t write to market – I write what interests me or speaks to me at the time. Some readers love my characters, others don’t; but that’s literature for you. Not everyone likes the same thing. Although, if the majority of readers were to tell me they hated a character I was hoping they’d empathise with, then I’d seriously have to revisit that book and make some changes.

Harder, I think. When I started out I was far less critical of myself than I am now. I know there is always room for improvement, although knowing when to stop chasing it is good, too.

More. On publication day, it still feels like sending a child to school on their first day and hoping the teacher doesn’t tell them off, or they don’t get bullied. And I get so excited about starting a brand new manuscript with the story unfolding in front of me.

Oh, any of the Caitlyn books. The early medieval period was a time of lingering magic and new ways of looking at the world. I love the idea that witchcraft and sorcery were regarded as very real. I’m not sure I’d like to be without the comforts of modern-day living though!

Concerning your latest book:

“I am a cat. But I am no ordinary cat. I am a witch’s familiar. I am also a woman, with a woman’s heart and a woman’s frailty.”

Nearly two hundred years have passed since Caitlyn was trapped by supernatural forces and black magic, and she has known many mistresses. This time, the witch she is enthralled to is Joan, wife of Llewelyn, Prince of Wales.

At first, this mistress appears no different to any of the others Caitlyn has served – until Llewelyn captures William de Braose, and Joan falls in love, risking everything, including Caitlyn, to fulfil her desire.

Caitlyn, meanwhile, has her own cross to bear in the form of the gallant and reckless Hugh of Pembroke…

About 6 months altogether, on and off. I actually wrote it two years before I published it. Another Kind of Magic is the third in a trilogy but when I wrote it, it was intended to be a stand alone. A friend pointed out that there was so much story prior to this, it would be a shame not to tell it.

I got the idea when I was doing research on something else entirely. The mother of Princess Joan of Wales was a commoner. The fact that she’d caught the eye of King John of England, and had a child by him intrigued me. What was it about this woman…? I came to the entirely natural conclusion that Clemence had caught him with witchcraft. This in turn, conjured the idea of witch’s familiars, and the rest, they say is history – or rather, my distorted version of it!

Very little was edited out, actually, but I can’t really remember, so it couldn’t have been a great deal.

I prefer to self-publish, so yes, I’m still doing that. I’ve got a wonderful critical friend (Bud Jillett) who doesn’t hold back any punches. He tears my manuscript to pieces, while at the same time telling me I’ve got a great story. Go, Bud! Then there follows the usual rounds of proofreading until eventually I have to let my baby loose into the big, wide world.

The very first book I held in my hands was such a thrill. It still is. I hope I never lose that feeling…

A brand-new series – back to vampires. But not the evolution-type vampires in the Resurrection series. These vampires are the old-fashioned, evil, supernatural beings. My inspiration came from Lord Byron (the romantic poet) and a book written by his physician, John Polidori, called, The Vampyre. The first book, The Colour of Death, is finished and will be out in September.

Hi Tina, I’m not sure I do… I do prefer to write in the mornings, and I do produce more words when I know I’ll have to get ready for work in a couple of hours – I find the time constraint helps me focus. If I’ve got all day in which to write, I’ll fritter the time away and get to the evening before realising I’ve achieved very little!

Hello Ellwyn – in work usually! I have a day job, too, which limits the amount of time I cans spend writing. I do love hiking, though, and make sure I have one day on the weekend when I’m out and about in the fresh air. The Brecon Beacons in South Wales are the nearest mountains to me, and I really enjoy traipsing all over them.

When I was younger I tried to systematically work my way around the adult section of the relatively small library in my home town, starting with A. There was one book I couldn’t bring myself to borrow, though, because the title really put me off. It was called “Sheep”.

I used to read a lot of Joyce Stranger books, because of her love of animals, James Herriot, for the same reason and because of the humour, and the Just William books had me in stitches. As you can see, I had quite eclectic tastes, and I still read anything and everything as long as it grabs my attention.

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