Today I have author Victoria Connelly over for a guestpost.
Welcome to Mur-y-Castell!
I’ve always loved the blend of romance and magic in fiction and I eagerly gobble up films like The Ghost and Mrs Muir, Just Like Heaven and Truly Madly Deeply. So it probably wasn’t surprising that I started to write my own version of the magical rom com, and my first attempt turned into a novel called Flights of Angels.
Flights of Angels is a story about a young widow called Claudie who isn’t able to cope with the loss of her husband and turns to MGM musicals to help her through the tough times. Her friends are deeply worried about her as she spends more and more time in the Technicolour worlds of Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. But then something strange happens. Claudie starts seeing tiny people on her desk at work. Tiny people who tell her that they’re her guardian angels...
After finishing my novel, I got an agent to take me on. She loved Flights of Angels but she couldn’t get a UK publisher to take a chance on it. But then something unusual happened and I suddenly found that my book was in the middle of a bidding war – in Germany - where it was later published and then made into a film.
Two more books followed – Unmasking Elena Montella about a woman who is given a magical Venetian mask which helps her choose which of her three (yes – three!) fiancĂ©s is the right one for her. And Three Graces about a young woman who marries a duke and goes to live in his ancestral home only to find it’s haunted by a rather opinionated eighteenth-century ghost.
Now, these books are all available on Kindle in a collection called It’s Magic so, if you’d like to read about naughty guardian angels, beautiful Venetian masks that have to power to render their wearer invisible or a ghost that simply refuses to go away, pop it on your summer reading list.
I absolutely adored writing these books. There’s something very special about magic and fantasy – the imagination can take you in all sorts of directions and you don’t have the pull of reality to hold you back. For a writer, that’s very liberating and I hope it’s exciting for readers too and that they enjoy reading It’s Magic as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Twitter: @VictoriaDarcy
---------
Thank you Victoria :)
And she will be stopping by today so if you have any questions just ask :)
---------
Thank you Victoria :)
And she will be stopping by today so if you have any questions just ask :)
Thanks Victoria, I love angels - and I'm sure my daughter has a 'guardian' one who looks after her.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree about magic and fantasy breaking the bounds of expected.
ReplyDeleteBrandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog
So, did your agent managed to sell it in the UK? Ordering online from other countries can be very expensive see...
ReplyDeleteCherry - I'm afraid not. She didn't ever sell it in the UK - only to Germany so it's now available on Kindle etc. Hope you can find a copy that isn't too expensive.
ReplyDeleteCarol - I love angels too - Clarence in 'It's a Wonderful Life' is a gem!
wow these sounds good and i loved reading about the author's publishing journey. I hope them become available for Nook etc soon.
ReplyDeleteHi Kimbacaffeinate - you should be able to get 'Flights of Angels' and 'Unmasking Elena Montella' on Nook : )
ReplyDeleteOh these do sound like a lot of fun. Love the sound of that opinionated ghost. LOL
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finding unexpected success! MGM musicals have helped me through many a tough time, so I can certainly understand how Claudie used them to cope! I love stories about magic.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by today Victoria :)
ReplyDeleteA bidding war and a movie in Germany, that is so cool
It is lovely when an author simply adores his or her work! Thanks for a great post, Victoria!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, everyone and to Blodeuedd for hosting!
ReplyDeleteMissie - I absolutely LOVE MGM musicals and I have a big crush on Gene Kelly (who makes an appearance in 'Flights of Angels'!) If I'm feeling down, I just watch Gene Kelly for ten minutes and my smile is restored : )
It was fun having you over :)
DeleteThat is amazing! And to go in Germany, and a movie! Wow! Congrats. :D And thank you for the great post.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! These books sound like my kind of stories.
ReplyDeleteOooh- magical Venetian masks - I love the sound of that!
ReplyDeleteThis sure sounds exacly like my kind of books! I'll put them on the wishlist. Any chance they will be available in print?
ReplyDeleteNaughty guardian angels you say? *runs to Kindle*
ReplyDeleteThese sound like they might just be perfect reads for the weekend!
Nice guest post and the books sound good. I like romance and magic too.
ReplyDeleteAurian - they're only available in print in German, I'm afraid, hence us putting them up as ebooks in English. Maybe we'll do a print on demand one day. Thanks so much for your interest.
ReplyDeleteSo thrilled you're all interested in those naughty guardian angels and magical masks - they were such fun to write!
Thanks everyone for stopping by :)
ReplyDeleteLoved this post, especially because I loved her books!!
ReplyDelete