As one of the #CMCon18 featured bloggers, I get to chat with a few of the talented authors who will be hitting the beach for Coastal Magic 2018 in Daytona Beach, February 22 – 25th.  Since we are in the first quarter of a new year, I thought we’d talk about beginnings and first times.

Joining me for Coffee and a Chat at the Beach is  CMC Featured Author Deborah Blake.

Deborah Blake is the author of the Baba Yaga series from Berkley (Wickedly Dangerous, Wickedly Wonderful, Wickedly Powerful), the Broken Rider series, and the Veiled Magic series from Berkley. She has also published ten books on modern witchcraft with Llewellyn Worldwide.

When not writing, Deborah runs The Artisans’ Guild, a cooperative shop she founded with a friend in 1999, and also works as a jewelry maker, tarot reader, and energy healer. She lives in a 130-year-old farmhouse in rural upstate New York with multiple cats who supervise all her activities, both magical and mundane.

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☕ Coffee and a chat with Deborah Blake

Tamye: What inspired you to become a writer? Did you always want to be a writer or did you come to it later in life?

Deborah: I’ve been writing most of my life. I think I wrote my first novel in 6th grade. In math class 🙂

Tamye: What was the inspiration for your first book, if different from question #1?

Deborah: A dream, actually!

Tamye: How many times have you attended Coastal Magic? Please tell us about your first time, and what you are looking forward to this time.

Deborah: This will be my 3rd time. So many of my author friends said how much they loved it, I had to try it out. And I loved it too! Everyone is so friendly, it is fun and relaxed, and BEACH. Plus I get to hang with a lot of great people. Did I mention the beach?

Tamye: When and what was the first craft you seriously pursued?

Deborah: I have been a professional jewelry maker for about 30 years. I do way less now that I write (no more shows) but I do sell the things I make at the shop I run and occasionally online.

Tamye: Here are a few examples of the wonderful jewelry Deborah makes.

I’m new to Deborah’s writing.  The first book I read of hers was “Dangerously Charming, book one in her Broken Riders trilogy. Then I devoured the next in the series, “Dangerously Divine. Now I’m eagerly awaiting the third and last book in this exciting trilogy, Dangerously Fierce

From the author of the Baba Yaga novels, a brand new series set in the same “addicting”* world, filled with wild magic, enchanting damsels, and the irresistibly daring men who serve the Baba Yagas…

The Riders are three immortal brothers who protect the mythical Baba Yagas. But their time serving the witches has ended—and their new destinies are just beginning…

Dangerously Charming (Broken Riders Book 1)

Ever since a near-fatal mistake stripped Mikhail Day and his brothers of their calling to be Riders, Day has hidden from his shame and his new, mortal life in a remote cabin in the Adirondack mountains. But when a desperate young woman appears on his doorstep, he cannot resist helping her—and cannot deny how strongly he’s drawn to her…

For generations, women in Jenna Quinlan’s family have been cursed to give up their first born child to the vengeful fairy Zilya. When Jenna finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, she is determined to break her family’s curse and keep her baby, even if it means teaming up with a mysterious and charismatic man with demons of his own…

To unravel the curse, Jenna and Day will have to travel deep into the Otherworld. But the biggest challenge of the journey might not be solving an ancient puzzle but learning to heal their own broken hearts…

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Never say never, or you might just be lucky enough to have the universe take up the challenge.

I was completely captivated by Mikail Day and Jenna Quinlan and the people of the Otherworld. Faeries, Baba Yagas, Dragon-Dogs, Bagpipe playing lizards, chameleons, trolls, and so many more. Wonderful world building combined with an enchanted and well-thought out storyline kept me turning the pages, eager to see what would happen next, and who would rescue whom.

I loved this story, and am thrilled that the next one was recently released so I can dive right into Gregori Sun’s story. I recommend this book to anyone who loves romantic fantasy with an HEA.

Dangerously Divine (Broken Riders Book 2)

The author of the “wonderful” (Tamora Pierce) Baba Yaga novels and Dangerously Charming is back with a magically mesmerizing new tale about the dashing and daring Broken Riders…

The Riders: Three immortal brothers who kept the Baba Yagas safe, now stripped of their summons to protect. But fate is not finished with them—and their new callings are even more powerful…

Though his physical wounds have healed, Gregori Sun, the eldest of the Riders, remains in spiritual turmoil. His search for his mother, the one person able to heal his soul and save his life, is failing—until he crosses paths with a beautiful and fascinating librarian who might be the key to his salvation…

Ciera Evans’s bookish ways are just a guise. The product of a difficult past, she has dedicated her life to saving lost teens—by any means necessary. She works alone, but when a dark, brooding stranger proposes they team up to solve both their problems, she is tempted—in more ways than one…

After Ciera and Sun’s plans are derailed by dangerous enemies, they find themselves entangled in an ungodly affair—one that will force them to either find new strength together or be forever haunted by their pasts alone.

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This book has it all; An Asian looking dude with a Russian accent, who’s lost his inner cool. He leaves Otherworld to rejoin the land of the Humans to become a Buddhist monk at a monastery in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He’s also searching for his mom, who was a powerful Mongolian shamaness, and who might or might not be alive. So, of course, he goes to the library to conduct research where he meets librarian, Ciera Evans.

Ciera might look like the stereotypical librarian by day, but that is only one aspect of her nature. She trades her uptight bun, and understated clothing, for jeans, a hoodie, a braid and volunteer work at a local soup kitchen. Boy, is she in for a surprise when the luscious looking Gregori Sun show up for his first night as their volunteer.

Both have secrets, both have no time for the opposite sex. Monk, remember? But the universe and others have their own agenda, and things quickly heat up.

This is a slightly twisted story that I loved to pieces. Keira and Sun are just friends (so they keep saying), helping one another while lusting after, and falling in love with each other. Not that either will admit it. Just to keep things jumping, we have teenage runaways, a Baba Yaga or two and their companion dragons (luckily disguised as earthly pets), a god, a goddess, a couple of villains, and lots of monks. That’s when things cool down, way down.

Lots of action, twist, turns, hilarity, and an intriguing cast of characters that are so real, and fantastical, that I can’t get enough of them. Thankfully there are more books in this wonderful world of which the author has done a fantastic job of creating.

The only thing which kept me from giving the book a higher rating was the fact that Keira suddenly knew things towards the end, that she couldn’t have known. Oops! But thankfully, it wasn’t enough of a distraction to prevent me from enjoying the story and eagerly awaiting the next.

I will be reading lots more books by this author.

Dangerously Fierce (Broken Riders Book 3)

The Riders: Three legendary brothers who kept the Baba Yagas safe. The Riders’ immortality was stripped away, along with their mission. But they are still much more than Human, and their story is far from over…

His brothers may have found new paths to follow, but Alexei Knight isn’t even looking. If he can’t have the life he was meant to lead, there is no second choice. So he is bent on drinking and brawling his way across the country until he winds up on Cape Cod in a bar called The Hook and Anchor, where he finds challenges he was never expecting, a feisty red-haired bartender, and maybe a lot more than that…

Bethany McKenna left behind an almost-completed law degree to return home and care for her cranky disabled father and run his bar for him. If that wasn’t enough, she also agreed to foster a very pregnant Great Dane. She has enough to deal with without adding in a giant bearded brawler, no matter how appealing he is. Yet somehow he ends up living in the guesthouse, taking care of her father, and sneaking his way into her heart…

Alexei and Bethany both think the lives they wanted have come to an end, but after dealing with a mysterious sea monster, pirates, dragons, and some adorable puppies, they might just discover that love is the greatest adventure of all…

$10 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

Comment to be entered

Examples
Tell us about one of your firsts. (Book, Craft, Convention, etc)
Do you have a favorite convention memory?
Have you read any of Deborah’s books?
Which of the Rider books intrigued you the most?
Or anything that pertains to the blog post.

Winner will be contacted by email.
Open until the last day of Coastal Magic
February 25th.

Don’t miss your chance to meet Deborah Blake and 50 plus fabulous urban fantasy, paranormal, and romance authors at Coastal Magic this week! This super casual book-lover weekend happens on Daytona Beach, and gives everyone the chance to hang out with fellow readers and amazing storytellers.

REGISTRATION is still open for single day tickets. If you haven’t been to Coastal Magic yet, you’re missing out on a lot of fun. Be sure to keep up with all things Coastal Magic, by following it via your own personal social media drug of choice: Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest | RSVP at the Facebook Event.