Sunday, February 8, 2015

Interview and Spotlight with talented author, Rachael Stapleton


Rachael Stapleton’s novel, Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire, crosses genres and time periods to deliver a sinister tale of love, obsession and reincarnation. The book is speculative fiction with a time-travel twist offering just a taste of historical romance. Despite this being the second novel in the series, many of the reviews available on Amazon, Goodreads as well as the authors own website congratulate Rachael on writing the book in such a way that it is able to stand alone.

Thank you for joining us Rachael. Can you tell us about your latest novel, Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire?

The book opens with my protagonist Sophia, at a dinner party with her boyfriend amid his family. She’s sipping champagne, fighting waves of guilt and trying to find a way to divulge her secret. The book takes a fast hard turn when her boyfriend proposes, sending her reeling once again into the past and lodging the first real question in the readers mind. How did Cullen come to get the cursed sapphire that was handed down through Sophia’s own family?


Now this is the second book in the series. Can you tell us how the series came to be?

It was 2006 and I had read the amazingly talented Diana Gabbaldon’s Outlander—I was pregnant and in love with life itself. Obsessed with time travel—books and movies—but I’d run out of stories to consume. On a lark, I decided to write my own and I set out to write a time travel romance, one that I would want to read. The book included many of the tropes of time travel romance, which are so fun, hidden passageways and magical gemstones but the more I wrote, the more I found a darker edgier side to the story—A madman willing to hunt the object of his obsession through time itself. The story became more about reincarnation then time travel.

I’ve seen a couple reviews mention that you did an amazing job navigating the alternate time period—as well as you’re your protagonist’s identity in a way that felt perfectly organic. When in time does it take place?

The first book takes place in the French Riviera, Canada as well as 19th century Monaco—a palace in the midst of political upheaval. The second book is set mostly in present day Ireland with brief jaunts to London and Canada during the roaring 20’s.

Now you’re currently working on the third installment in the Temple of Indra Series, you mentioned you were toying with the idea of taking a trip to Europe this summer. Where would you most like to go?

Definitely Ireland—I spent a lot of time there (in my mind only) while writing Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire. It would be nice to get some first-hand experience. Speaking of which, Romania would be the most beneficial as a significant portion of the third book takes place on a train headed there. Truthfully though, my heart is most drawn to The Black Forest in Germany. Some of you may recall the second half of Book One was set in Baden-Wurttemberg, a place famous for its cuckoo clocks and supernatural wooded mountain range. I have no plans at this time to include it in the third book, but I still feel the place—that looks as if it has been dragged directly from a fairy tale—beckoning me. Now my imagination is going wild. Brothers Grimm or Hansel & Gretal, anyone?

I saw that you were doing some celebrating last week. Can you tell us why?
Gladly—I would shout it from the rooftops if I could. In addition to Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire releasing—I lasted on the all-powerful Amazon Bestsellers list for about a week. It was thrilling. I ranked in the Time travel Romance category with both my paperback and my Kindle. I reached #8 on Kindle and #25 in paperback. It was surreal feeling to be on the same list as some of my favourite authors like Diana Gabaldon and Susanna Kearsley. #Amazon #Bestseller #Timetravelromance

Do you have anything else new coming out?
I do. I have a short story—a prequel to how Sophia and Cullen met called DINNER IN THE DARK that was just published in the Solstice Publishing Valentine’s Day Anthology. There’s a delicious recipe for Dill Pickle soup in it.

What’s up next for you?
Well if you head over to the Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock Blog today you will find a review as well as a rafflecopter contest.  Tomorrow I’ll be featured on the Mommabears Book Blog. The tour runs until the 23rd. All stops are listed and linked on the media page of my website www.rachaelstapleton.com .




Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire
Temple of Indra Series
Book Two
Rachael Stapleton





Genre: Mystery, Adventure, Romance

Publisher: Solstice Publishing
Date of Publication: February 3rd, 2015
Print Length: 215 pages
Word Count: 66, 400
Cover Artist: Rebecca Boyd

Book Description:

As a librarian, Sophia Marcil loved reading, especially books about ancient curses and reincarnation, but she never imagined the legend of the Purple Delhi Sapphire was true until she inherited it and was transported back to a past life where she was murdered. Now she knows that not only is reincarnation real, but so is the devil’s magic locked inside the precious gem. Just as she’s about to tell her boyfriend Cullen about it, he proposes with an engagement ring made from a piece of the very sapphire that’s cursed her. Reeling from the shock and surrounded by his family, she allows him to place it on her ring finger. As soon as it touches her skin, she feels herself being wrenched back in time.

Before she knows it, she’s wandering the hallway of an old Victorian house in the body of her great aunt. Unfortunately, her nemesis has also reincarnated in 1920—as one of her family members. Sophia struggles to locate the Purple Delhi Sapphire in time to prevent the deaths of those she loves, but she fails and returns to her present-day life, to the precise moment she left, with a deep understanding that her killer’s soul is also tied to the sapphire and every life she has, he is resurrected as someone close to her.

Her stalker ex-boyfriend Nick seems like a prime candidate this time but she’s convinced she’s a step ahead of him, thanks to a tip from a medium, she knows that if she uses the magic of the stone correctly she can trap Nick’s soul in the sapphire and save herself. But when Nick is murdered, she finds evidence that has her questioning everything she thought she knew.

Is Cullen husband material or is history doomed to repeat itself?


 

About the Author:

Rachel Stapleton spent her youth cultivating a vivid imagination inside the book lined walls of an old Victorian library where she consumed everything from mystery to biography, creating magical worlds, hidden elevators, and secret spiral staircases. At sixteen, she penned a column for the local newspaper and in 2006, wrote her first book featuring an adventurous librarian.

She lives in a Second Empire Victorian with her husband and two children in Ontario and enjoys writing in the comforts of aged wood and arched dormers. She is the author of The Temple of Indra’s Jewel and is currently working on a third book in the Temple of Indra series.

Visit her website and follow her on social media. Sign up to receive email updates:

Tour giveaway

10 E-Copies of The Temple of Indra’s Jewel. (The first book in the series.)

Buy Links:
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