By D.V. Stone (Guest Blogger)
Hi, Lisabet. Thank you for inviting me to your blog. My name is Donna, and I write under D.V. Stone. Not for any particular reason except that is how I sign my name. I write in different genres depending on my mood, inspiration, and deadline. Books have always been a significant part of my life. I’ve always enjoyed slipping away to another world from Little Golden Books through children’s classics like Heidi, Black Beauty, and Misty of Chincoteague. As a high school student in Minnesota, I passed a bookshop every day on my way from school to work. I’d pop in and grab a paperback where I found romance books. Often my mom would get up in the morning and ask why I was up so early. I didn’t tell her I never went to bed. It’s incredible when you grab a reader who says, “I read that in one sitting.”
Ideas and inspiration are everywhere. A picture, piece of art, or maybe a song lyric. I’m working on a story now that took a scene for a movie. I paused the picture on the television and stared at it. One of the characters was a stiff. Didn’t show emotion at all though you knew he cared deeply. The other was outgoing and wasn’t afraid to let it out. The extrovert ran to the introvert and yanked him into a big ole bear hug. At first, Mr. Introvert froze and stiffened. Seconds later, he relaxed into his friend. Mr. Introvert became one of the main characters in a multiple-book, work-in-progress fantasy.
I read it all and write the same: fantasy, romance, mystery. The common denominator is hope and love (whether romantic, family, or friend). A buddy once gave me a key chain that says Live the Life You Love. Since retiring from full-time employment last year, I have been a full-time author. This is the life I love, and several people have said, “I stayed up all night to finish your book.” (D.V. does an air punch.)
Over the years, authors and genres have made me laugh and cry. Sometimes they scared me to death or pushed me to the edge of my seat. In that same spirit, I hope to touch others with those emotions. Sit and laugh, cry, scream, or quietly contemplate. To take an adventure and visit new places. Make new friends and conquer some enemies.
A friend once asked if I needed to be at my desk to create. The answer was a resounding no for me. For instance, one of the songs in a work in progress titled Kingdom at a Crossroad was written while I worked the lumber desk at a previous job. Love of what you do knows no bounds. For instance, my husband, Pete, and I purchased an RV. One of the requirements for the purchase was a place for me to work. Taking my passion for writing on the road with me.
If you’re traveling the highways of the USA or stopping by a campground, look for me. Let’s sit and chat around the fire, discussing our passion, books. And speaking of books, I have a new one out on December 1st. Kisa is my second book in the Shield-Mates series and has all the love mentioned above. Family, friends, and romance. I hope you take a peek. And if you’re interested enough, I told Lisabet that I would like to gift an eBook of Felice, the first Shield-Mate via Amazon, chosen from commenters to a US resident. (Sorry, Amazon is a bit fussy with that.) Tell me about a book you stayed up all night to read. Or one that changed your life.
In a war between humans and shifters, sparks, and fur fly…Until scales appear.
Princess Kisa, the middle daughter in the shifter nation of Dar, is often overlooked and underestimated. Always the devoted caregiver of family and country, she’s come to terms with her future as a Shield-Mate in a political marriage. Many, including Kisa, are surprised when her father names her as heir to his throne.
Kalman, once a privileged son of the former protectorate Sorota, is an outcast and a man without a future. The people of Ruinae consider him a weak, self-indulgent man. Only his trusted servant knows the heart of the soldier beneath the veneer.
Forces are gathering against the two countries, and now dragons, long banished to the outland, have returned. Kisa and Kalman are charged by King Dar to find out how entrenched the dragons are with the enemy. Since a long-ago meeting, Kalman never forgot the spitfire Lynx-shifter. He’s no longer the boy she’d met, but a man. One determined to have her despite their differences. But Kisa can’t fall in love with the enemy. Can she? Would her people accept not only the son of Sorota but one whom her family also seeks retribution?
ASIN : B0BHFBLYLJ
Publication date : December 1, 2022
https://www.amazon.com/Kisa-Shield-Mates-Dar-D-V-Stone-ebook/dp/B0BHFBLYLJ
https://www.bookbub.com/books/kisa-shield-mates-of-dar-by-d-v-stone
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61160281-kisa-shield-mates-of-dar
Excerpt
“How may I serve you, Father?” Kisa glanced around. “It’s been long years since I’ve been in here.”
This was his personal lair. Darkly masculine with shelves filled with books. Maps lined the walls and a side table with a miniature replica of the kingdom and surrounding areas. It was where he could find peace from all the demands of running the empire. Though no respite from the ghosts who haunted him.
Amaya’s portrait stared down at him with accusation I left my daughters in your care. You’ve disappointed me, Shield-Mate.
“We have much to discuss.” He turned from the portrait, his chest tight with pain as he walked behind his writing table and lifted the stack of papers he’d collected. “These are all Shield-Mate offers for you.”
She stared first at them and then him. Barely a whisper squeezed out, “So many?”
“Is it love and Shield-Mate you want?” He asked with a penetrating look. “What is your greatest desire, daughter?”
Kisa’s mouth opened and closed as she stared at him. He had never asked her about her dreams. Shouldn’t a father know his child? “Well, what is it?”
“What do you mean?” She tugged at her earlobe as she’d done since she was a babe.
“If I throw this pile of papers into the fire —” he grasped the stack into his large hand and pointed to the hearth with them, “—will it disappoint you? Or give you relief?”
She blinked at him. “I don’t know what you are asking me.”
“It’s simple––disappointment?” He shook the papers. “Or relief.”
Kisa whispered, “Relief.”
Dar threw the communiqués into the fire, where they flamed and sparked. Neither spoke while the letters—some paper, some parchment—curled at the edges, turning brown, then black, then nothing but ash.
When the last cinders drifted away, his daughter sobbed, and he thought he would too. “Someone must rule when I’m gone.”
“What?” Her voice cracked. “I always thought you intended to bind Lansdowne and Dar into one kingdom, and Orsolo and her Shield-Mate would co-rule.”
“Orsolo is shrewd and intelligent but frivolous. Before her Shield-Mating, I informed your older sister that she would not be Queen here.” Dar folded his arms across his chest. “Before you ask, she was relieved.”
“I know as children of the Darrian royal house, there is no guarantee to ascend the throne.” Kisa hugged her arms around her waist. “Who did you decide it would be?”
Dar went to the matching high-backed chairs near his desk and, with a groan, sank into the cushions. “Come, sit. This will be a lengthy conversation.”
About the Author
D. V. Stone is an award-winning, multi-genre, traditionally and independently published author. She writes books people want to read. Whether romance or fantasy, contemporary or mid-grade, her stories are about the importance of friends and family. About overcoming obstacles while often with humor.
Around the Fire is a popular weekly blog where she introduces both established and new authors giving an insider’s look into their lives and books as well as tidbits about her own life.
Now retired, she is a full-time author and incorporates her life experiences into her books.
A former Emergency Medical Technician, she volunteered in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. At the same time, she worked as a professional EMT in a women’s state prison. She was the proprietor of a coffee shop, and a small restaurant/ice cream stand in the years that followed. The years following were as a manager in an animal emergency hospital, while her last position was in a human medical office.
When not behind the wheel of 2Hoots—a 41-foot long 13.2 feet high 5th Wheel camper, she rambles around town in Northern New Jersey in a white Camaro. She also loves travel and history.
D.V. is a wife to an amazing husband, mother to one son, and not your average grandma to three beautiful grands. A woman of faith, she believes and trusts in God.
“My greatest pleasures are spending time outside with friends and family, cooking over the open fire, sipping a glass of wine, and reading.”
Hali, her rescue dog, always reminds her to let readers know, “Woof, woof.” Which is loosely translated as support your local animal rescue.”
You can learn more about D. V. by following her on social media.
Link Tree For one-stop connections
https://www.dvstoneauthor.com/
https://www.instagram.com/d.v.stone/
https://twitter.com/donnavstone
https://www.facebook.com/dv.stone.1
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16344100.D_V_Stone
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/d-v-stone
https://www.amazon.com/D.-V.-Stone/e/B01N154Y9U
https://www.tiktok.com/@dvstoneauthor
https://mailchi.mp/3b289d8d7569/d-v-stones-peek-further-and-campfire-crew
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoWqGJB3WxpUCV2OUE2VN_w
Books by D. V. Stone
Independent Releases
Shield-Mates of Dar Series
Felice
Book one of the Shield-Mates fantasy romance with magic, mayhem, and family devotion.
Kisa
Book two of the Shield-Mates A Fantasy Romance Series where a war between humans and shifters. Sparks and fur fly…Until scales appear.
Mid-Grade
Agent Sam Carter Series
The Mystery at Branch Lake https://a.co/bb0HlkS
The Mystery at High Pointe Tower https://a.co/bb0HlkS
By The Wild Rose Press
Impact Series
Rock House Grill
One man’s choices. One woman’s Impact
https://books2read.com/u/49No0k
Jazz House
One woman’s choices. One man’s Impact
https://books2read.com/JazzHouse
Lake Unami Stories
Rainbow Sprinkles
After the storm come the rainbows.
https://books2read.com/u/38QEoa
Sophia’s Magic Beans
A single mom in a small town where sometimes fairytales do come true.
Contributing Author
Australia Burns
Don't forget to leave a comment if you'd like a free copy of Felice!
2 comments:
Hello, Donna! It's a pleasure to welcome you to Beyond Romance.
intriguing
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
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