Shirley Damsgaard

What can I say, 2009 was a very challenging year!! It began with the release of THE WITCH’S GRAVE and ended with back surgery!! I had a big problem staying current on everything as everyone can see by my lack of posts on this blog! But it’s now a new year and it’s off to a great start…the surgery was a success and next week, on the 26th, THE SEVENTH WITCH hits the bookstores!

THE SEVENTH WITCH was a lot of fun for me to write. From the beginning of the series, I knew that someday I’d want to take the “girls” back to Abby’s birthplace. The chance to do research for this book came a couple of years ago when I was invited to attend The Women’s Expo in Kingsport, TN., and thanks to the organizers, Sharon Robinson and Lydia Wiley, I not only had a great time, but had the chance to meet women who actually practice folk magick. And their input was invaluable during the writing of this book!

Now about THE SEVENTH WITCH…Ophelia, Abby, and Tink return to Abby’s birthplace for the infamous Great-Aunt Mary’s 100th birthday celebration and Great-Aunt Mary is just as prickly and difficult as Ophelia remembers! (Also Aunt Dot, one of the series’ most popular characters, makes another appearance.) Ophelia is expecting a quiet family vacation, but it doesn’t take long for the trip to turn sinister. And Abby is the target! It’s going to take everything Ophelia has learned to get them out of this one!

This story line is a little darker than past Ophelia and Abby’s, but I hope the readers will enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!!

As far as my upcoming schedule…starting on the 24th, I’ll be visiting Amberkatze’s Book Blog. Once again, I had a great time answering Amber’s questions and I’ll be dropping by during the week to respond to any readers’ questions. In May, I’ll be attending The Festival of Mystery sponsored by Mystery Lovers Bookshop. As the year progresses, I’ll be adding more events and I’ll be sure to get them posted here.

Well, that brings you all up to date as to what’s happening now, but what about the future? As many of you know, THE SEVENTH WITCH was the last Ophelia and Abby contract. Will there be more? To be honest, I hope so!!! But for now, I’m working on a stand alone for Avon. My goal as a writer has always been to try and grow as an author, and Avon has given me the opportunity to do so with this next book. I can’t say too much about it now…we want to give THE SEVENTH WITCH a proper launch…but I can tell you this…“new concept; new name”! In a couple of months, I’ll post more about it.

And last but certainly not least, I want to thank you all once again for your support!! AND apologize for my sporadic posting. Hopefully, I can do better in 2010!

That’s it for now—everyone take care!

Best,

Shirley  

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve sent out a message! Sorry about that! My life, both professionally and personally, has been going through a lot of changes. I now have an “empty nest”…just me and my dog now…which has been an adjustment! And then professionally, I finished THE SEVENTH WITCH, on my, at this time, final “Ophelia and Abby” contract. Will there be more at a later date?? It’s really hard for me to say. I can tell you that my editor didn’t want me to put a final point on this last book…she said in the future, we might want to do more. So I guess the way I’m looking at it…I’m taking a little hiatus for now and hope to visit the “girls” again in the future.

So what have I been doing??? Well, after finishing THE SEVENTH WITCH, I began work on a stand alone, DIE STANDING, and spent the summer writing the first five chapters and a proposal. I’m now pleased to announce that last week the proposal was accepted. I don’t have any details yet…we’re in negotiations…but I promise, once everything is finalized, I’ll let you know what the plans are. I’ll also let you know when the cover (I haven’t been given the final go-ahead) and an excerpt of THE SEVENTH WITCH is posted. Btw—I’ve seen the plans for the cover, and it’s really awesome!! One of the best we’ve had!

And I want everyone to know that even though I’ve been remiss in sending out messages, I do post every Thursday on our “Something Wicked” blog with Angie Fox, Ann Aquirre, Casey Daniels, and Lori Devoti. We have a lot of fun over there so check us out!

And last but certainly not least…Diane over at “The Book Resort” is sponsoring an “Ophelia and Abby” week as part of her “Countdown to Halloween” celebration. I had a blast doing an interview with Diane, so stop by, take a peek at the interview, and enter to win a free book!!

That’s it for now—take care and Happy Halloween to everyone!!

Best,

Shirley