Cheryel Hutton, Guest Blogger :: Who is Cheryel Hutton?

I’ll bet you’re wondering, “Who the heck is Cheryel Hutton?”

Well, I’m writer who lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee with my husband and two dachshunds. I have two adult daughters, both of whom have dabbled with writing. I have been selling short fiction and nonfiction for a while, and I sold my first novel just about a year ago.

Both my novel and the novella I sold soon thereafter are paranormal romances. Which leads to an obvious question: Why do I write paranormal romance?

It’s all Vincent Price’s fault. Or my mom’s. Or maybe both.

Allow me to explain. My mother happened to like old Vincent Price movies, but she didn’t think they were appropriate for children—like me, for instance. I remember being about nine, and supposedly asleep on the couch. I had told her I was very sleepy, and didn’t care about the movie. She watched The Fall of the House of Usher without realizing she was bringing another fan into the world.

To this day I love old, black and white horror (and science fiction) movies. Actually, I’m crazy about the explained. UFO’s, ghosts, psychic phenomena, strange creatures, I love them all. Not to mention having a major curiosity. I’ve read fiction and non-fiction about the strange and the unexplained. As soon as I discovered my public library had books on the unexplained, I was checking them out. Of course, the Internet is a treasure chest full of interesting information—and I do so love to play with all the treasure!

The other part of the puzzle, of course, is the romance. For me, the most interesting relationship in the world is that between two people/beings as they fall in love. Stick that romance in a world with the paranormal, and it seems just that much more interesting. Maybe that’s why my contemporary romances always seemed to be missing something.

The very first paranormal romance I wrote (set in a haunted house, of course), was Shadows of Evil. And that was the first book I sold. Samhain Publishing offered me a contract at the end of last year, and Shadows came out in electronic format back in May. The paperback version will be out March 31 of next year.

Here’s the official info:

Buy link: http://www.mybookstoreandmore.com/product_info.php?products_id=982

Read an excerpt: http://samhainpublishing.com/excerpt/shadows-of-evil

Kia must learn to trust—before the evil in her house destroys them all.

For Kia Wolfe, moving to an isolated mountaintop is an act of independence from her demanding family and ex-fiancé. She’s literally dreamed about the regal old house for years, and for the first time in her life she feels at home. She’s here to stay, even though the house’s history of violent deaths is enough to scare off most people.

Garrett McKnight, owner of the contracting firm Kia has hired to renovate her house, is wary of the new resident. Emotionally bruised and battered by a self-centered ex-wife, he can’t get around the fact that there’s something about Kia that both attracts him and sets him on edge. And when Kia dabbles in a bit of Wicca, accidentally unleashing a hidden evil, it’s tempting to walk away and leave her to her to her fate.

But he can’t. Not when four people have died in that house.

The second paranormal romance I wrote, Keepers of Legend. Keepers, A miniature Faery Rose, will come out in e-book format on February 11, 2009.

Here’s the blurb:

The last thing Jessica Knight expected to discover on a hike through the Smoky Mountains was a dragon. Of course, biologist that she is, Jessica refuses to believe what’s right in front of her eyes. A few hours later, she’s confronted with yet another shock, a man she never thought she’d see again, but who she’s loved for sixteen years.

Being a local, Colonel Drew McGregor is the obvious choice for the army to send on a quest for the strange animal reported to look much like a dragon. Not only does he find the creature, he is reunited with the love of his life.

Torn apart sixteen years ago by tragedy and guilt, neither Jessica nor Drew dreamed the other might still care. Before the two of them can consider the possibility of a second chance, they have a lot of talking to do. Unfortunately, discussion has to take a backseat to a young dragon, a survivalist group determined to kill him, a group who have vowed to protect him, and a military that isn’t sure what to do with him.

Right now I’m working on sequels to both books, and there are lots of odd characters and ideas roaming around in my head. I’m hoping to have some news to share in the very near future. Until then, I’m writing blog (like this one), and meeting readers at events like ConNooga (Feb. 20-22, 2009), FantiSciCon (March 20-22, 2009), and Lori Foster’s annual reader/author get together (June 5-7 2009)

I know I don’t like to spend money on authors I don’t know. So, to make it a little easier, I’ll be putting a free short story on my website within the next couple of days, and I hope to put more fun things there soon. Stop by www.cheryelhutton.com or, if you can’t spell my name, www.dragon-quill.com will get you the same place. I’ll put on a pot of coffee!

Tagged as: Cheryel Hutton, Keepers of Legend, paranormal author, samhain, Shadows of Evil