From
Time to Time: Author
Interview with Rachael Stapleton Featuring Her Latest Mystery Romance
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?
Book
Trailer: http://youtu.be/VCeG9eA09Fg
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:
U.S
Kindle (Publisher Website)
http://solsticepublishing.com/curse-of-the-purple-delhi-s…/…
http://solsticepublishing.com/curse-of-the-purple-delhi-s…/…
Canada:
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