Author Delaney Rhodes, Celtic Steel and Vampire Dental Series

Delaney Rhodes
Paranormal and Historical Romance Author

     Of Irish and English descent, Romance Author Delaney Rhodes is a native Texan from birth. She is a Graduate with double Majors from The University of Houston, in Law and Writing. She has two teenage daughters, and is married to an entrepreneurial Husband. Three of her favorite people, are her three rescued Russian Blue cats; Sebastian, Sasha, and Sissy. The family would not be complete without “13″, an adopted Bearded Dragon.
      Together they live life at a fast pace, enjoying each other and striving to help the world become a better place. Besides her writing and family – Ms. Rhodes is active in many charitable organizations that benefit animals and children, both through volunteering and fundraising.
    Ms. Rhodes’ writing was prompted and inspired by many hours of research and study into her Irish and Celtic family lineage and heritage. Many of the stories you will find in the chapters of her writings were birthed while striving to connect with those that had walked these paths and lived before her.

Naughty Reader’s: Readers, thank you for joining us as we chat with the gorgeous Delaney Rhodes! Delaney, welcome to our Boudoir! Tell us a bit about yourself .

Delaney: I’m technologically challenged. My husband laughs, because without him, I’d never be able to operate the television. Someone still needs to explain to me why every TV we have in the house needs four controllers.

And – I hate, I mean – really abhor - reality television. Where have all the writers gone? There is no creativity in poking cameras in people’s faces and calling it art. I just don’t get it.

Naughty Reader’s: What made you want to become a writer?

Delaney: It sort ‘a happened by accident'. I am a vivid dreamer and one day I decided to start keeping a dream journal. It spiraled out of control from there…lol.

Naughty Reader’s: Do you write under a pen name?

Delaney: Yes, Delaney Rhodes is a pen name. I have teenage daughters and they would be mortified if their friends knew I wrote romance novels.

Naughty Reader’s: Pen names also work well for those who want to maintain more privacy and I don't think readers mind at all. What types of hero or heroine do you like best?

Delaney: Everyone loves a hero, but I appreciate when characters are also presented as real people, or individuals with flaws or some sort of challenge they need to overcome.  Encouragement is in short supply now-a-days, and if we can find it, even in unusual places, it can be miraculous for our psyche.

Naughty Reader’s:  A great way for readers to know more about what we do is for them to see us as we work. Tell us about a typical day in your life as a writer.

Delaney: It all starts with me waking up and wrangling my three cats and senior Chihuahua. My daughter calls them the ‘insane cat posse’. Getting a ninth grader off to school is the next order of business, as is helping my husband get his day started. After I finish some accounting tasks for my husband’s business, I surf the internet for a while. I will answer emails, check in with Facebook to see what’s happening with me and then I usually read whatever’s on my Kindle that week. After reading for a while, my creativity opens up and I am ready to jot down some thoughts. If I’m lucky, they’re coherent and turn into a narrative for a book.

Naughty Reader’s: Please share a bit about your new release without giving away any spoilers.

Delaney:  It’s due out in a few weeks and it’s called, Vampire Dental, Veneers.  It’s the first in a series of short novellas set in modern day, Houston, Texas, my hometown. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and all net proceeds from the sale of this title will go to a fund set up for my Aunt Ruby who is currently fighting the fight.

Naughty Reader’s: Do your books have a common theme or are they all different?

Delaney: My series, Celtic Steel, follows a theme and is a paranormal historical romance series set in 15th century Celtic Ireland, which centers around three clans and their adventures.  I think I have some messages in this series that the reader can appreciate. Love, forgiveness, redemption and the knowledge that things aren’t always as they appear at first would definitely be themes of my writing. 

Naughty Reader’s:  (Tonya) I do love a great historical romance that takes me back in time. *happy sigh* How long does it take you to write and then edit a story?

Delaney: Good question. It really depends on the work. I tend to let the story flow through me for as long as it’s coming, and then spend more time perfecting it and editing. If I look at the chapters in my books as a “story”, then not, too, long. I usually finished two to four chapters in a week or two.

Naughty Reader’s:  That's a great pace to maintain! Do you have to be alone to write?

Delaney: Definitely. I can’t have interruptions or the creativity stops. Of course, that doesn’t apply to my cats, they are always with me. Whispering in my ear – I think – but I have no proof…lol.

Naughty Reader’s: How do you go about naming characters?

Delaney: In my Celtic Steel series, I’ve tried to remain as true to ancient Celtic or Irish names as possible, doing research to name my characters. In my new series, Vampire Dental, I’ve used names of people I know, either friends, or people in my family.

Naughty Reader’s: Is it easier to write about the characters if you find pictures of them before you write or do you write then find character pictures?

Delaney: I’ve never tried to match up my characters with pictures of random people I find. I’ve seen that happen by author’s I’ve read, and then totally lost my story ‘mojo’ reading their book, or it has completely changed my opinion of the character. I think as writers, our job is to create a vision for our readers, and then let them build around it.

Naughty Reader’s: How do you pick locations for your stories?

Delaney: My Celtic Steel Series happened as a result of my research into my family heritage and the fact that my great grandfather was from County Mayo in Ireland. My Vampire Dental series is based in the great city of Houston, Texas – my hometown.

Naughty Reader’s: What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you il the future?

Delaney: I’m working on my Vampire Dental series, which is a fore into the YA, paranormal and vampire genre. Most importantly, the first book in the series is being launched during Breast Cancer Awareness month and all net proceeds are going to a fund to help my Aunt Ruby who is currently battling breast cancer. It should release in a couple weeks.

Naughty Reader’s: Delaney, good luck on the release and may the sales help with the fund! Readers, we hope you're taking notes here and book marking sites! Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

Delaney: My site links are:

 My Web site 

Blog

Twitter @Delaney_Rhodes

Facebook Fan page 

Goodreads

Celtic Storms, Book 1 in the Celtic Steel Series - Amazon

Celtic, Book 2 in the Celtic Steel Series - Amazon

Celtic Skies, Book 3 in the Celtic Steel Series - Amazon

****Giveaway****

To one lucky winner, an eBook of Delaney's latest, Celtic Skies, 
as well as signed paperbacks of my first two books in the series.

Please leave your entry in the RaffleCopter Contest below!

Thanks and good luck!

Excerpt: Celtic Skies

Shiant Islands, Scotland

April, 1458

     She was beautiful when she was angry, and she was more than beautiful today. Aisling McTavish had broken every single piece of fine pottery and glassware her nimble hands could grasp. As it stood, the finery hutch was bare, as was the large oak dining table. The walls were nearly blank as well, and all of the servants had escaped a safe distance away, hiding behind the brocade curtains which veiled the dining area from the kitchens.

     Not one given to dramatics, Flynn simply sat down on the bench, hands in hair, elbows on knees—and sighed. “Aisling, I know this is no’ what ye wished for, me luv…” he started.

     “Oh, ye don’t!” she screeched. “Ye don’t get to pretend ye dinna’ know this was a’ coming, Flynn Montgomery!” Long blond hair whipped through the air and slapped him in the face. She turned to exit the room, but stopped abruptly. Flynn heard the tell-tale sound of Aisling’s leather slippers scooting backwards into the dining hall, and he looked up just in time to catch his father’s pale green eyes.

     Farrell Montgomery held even less patience for female theatrics than his son. Farrell was indeed a giant of a man, and he was typically short on patience. Brawny and gruff, he had an attractive charming quality that vanished the second he opened his tightly pinched mouth.

     “Why Farrell, ’tis so nice to see ye on such a bonny day as this,” started Aisling toward her future father-in-law.

     “Aisling, what is all this fuss about? What has happened to my dear wife’s, God rest her soul, play-pretty plates and pottery?” he growled as he surveyed the chaos in the dining hall. Clutching Aisling about her shoulders, he lifted her off the ground nearly two feet, and she hung limply like a rag doll before him, all blond hair and blue eyes.

     “Da!” shouted Flynn. “Da— ye must put her down, this instance.” Grabbing Aisling by the hand, Flynn led her to a nearby stool and reprimanded her with his eyes before turning to his father.

     “Da, I was jest explainin’ the situation to Aisling, and she is no’ taking the news verra well,” said Flynn, resting his hands on his hips as he looked up to his father. Nearly four inches more than six feet tall, there weren’t many people that Flynn Montgomery had to look up to. Except for Farrell, who had a good two inches on his eldest and only son.

     “Aye, what o’ the situation?” asked Farrell.

l     “I’ll tell ye!” shouted Aisling standing up in feigned courage, sticking her nose in the air. “When Flynn and I were handfasted last Bealtaine, ’twas with the understandin’ that we would reside here, on the island, after our wedding.”

     “And what o’ it?” growled Farrell.

     “Well, yer son here has been tellin’ me that we are to move to Ireland, and I am no’ goin’!”

$nbsp;    “Is that so?” asked Farrell nonchalantly.

     “Why, aye ’tis,” she responded calmly.

     “I see,” he replied grabbing a flask from his belt and taking a long swig of sour Scottish whiskey. “And pray tell how do ye intend to repay the bride price we have given yer family?”

     Aisling’s face grew red and she broke out in a cold sweat. “What do ye mean a bride price? There was nay bride price given for me!” she screamed.

     “Aye, there was,” interrupted Flynn. “A considerable one at that,” he said as he shook his head.

     “As I see it,” Farrell broke in, “ye would owe us a great deal o’ coin should the marriage fall through. T’would be most unfortunate, indeed.”

     Aisling balled her hands into fists and clenched her teeth. “I was bought like a common whore?” she shouted towards Flynn.

     “More like a common horse,” Farrell replied between chuckles. “Aisling me dear, we paid a fair bride price for ye, and ye ken that me son, Flynn, is more than suited for ye. He is, after all, a nobleman’s son,” he smirked.

     “A noblemon, me lily white arse,” she retorted. 

     “Ye see,” said Farrell pointing to his son. “The MacTavish’s were more than well compensated for their troubles. They’ve only dealt with this little minx for goin' on—what now—how ole’ are ye, Aisling?” he paused. “Oh that’s right, goin' on nigh to twenty-two summers I ’spose now. Some might say yer a spinster dear. Much too ole’ for Flynn, with him being nearly thirty summers, but we couldna’ talk him out outa’ it; although his mathair and I sure tried.”

     Aisling flung the last tray from the dining table, and it struck Farrell solidly in the chest—leaving a heap of dried fruit and bread in its wake. Positioning himself between his betrothed and his father, Flynn grasped them both by the shoulders and grew oddly quiet.

     “Aisling, ye accepted me proposal o’ marriage, this business about the business o’ marriage contracts does no’ matter; its no’ between us—’tis between our families. I am leavin’ on the Sarysin on the morrow. I’ve a commission to fulfill. I am to be the new chieftan o’ the O’Malley clan forces. It’s an honorable and prestigious position—I should think ye would be happy to be a lady about the manor.”

Aisling’s eyes grew wide, and the anticipation of wealth and status washed across her face. She never was good at holding her ideas, Flynn thought to himself. Farrell snorted and Aisling blushed.

He continued, “I’m leavin’ at first light. ’Twill be nigh on a fortnight a’fore I reach me cousin’s clan, as we are stoppin’ at two ports with merchandise. I’ll give ye two fortnights to join me there. Da can get ye on a galley goin’ that way without any stops. If ye don’t arrive in two fortnights, the marriage is off. Do ye ken what I’m sayin’?” he asked her.

She nodded as tears welled in her eyes.

     “Da, if she doesna’ make it to the galley in timeto’morra, ye can speak with her family about either  makin’ arrangements to get her there, or gettin’ yer money back for the bride price. At any rate, I’ll expect word to arrive by the time I get there.”

     “I want more,” the elder Montgomery grumbled.

     “Ye want more than the bride price?” Aisling asked. “For what—yer troubles in dealing with the likes o’ me?” she asked, shrugging her shoulders and highlighting her barely five-foot frame.

     “I want more—to repay the fancy trinkets and dinin’ wares ye broke that belonged to me Ellen,” he replied, pain washing over his face.

     “I’ll replace those, Da,” Flynn said as he loosened his grip on the two.

     Turning to Aisling, Farrell commanded, “I expect ye to clean this mess up, and ye’ll spend the afternoon washin’ in the kitchens.”

     “And, ye’ll do it too,” Flynn added, looking down at his fiancé, the love of his life, the woman he feared he would never see again.

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