Friday, September 2, 2016

MAGIC, NEW MEXICO: A Kindle World in the Making byS.E. Smith

Life and the human brain are two very incredible things. They can also be pretty impressive with they come together and everything clicks. This happened to me while on my way to RomCon in Denver, Colorado a couple of years ago. We were traveling through the beautiful and unusual state of New Mexico when I had a ‘vision’ for a story. I was sitting in the passenger seat taking photos of the deep ravine cut into the dark red soil when I thought what would it be like to be able to fly through the winding canyons cut into the desert by flash floods? The image of two little boys soon appeared, followed by that of an unusual town called Magic, New Mexico. In that moment, a new and wonderful world was created.

My current anthology, Touch of Frost: Magic, New Mexico Book 1 was written to benefit an animal shelter. My love for animals is well-known, as is my tender heart. I decided to combine my love for SFR (Science Fiction Romance) and the Paranormal. That combination created the world of Magic, New Mexico. The story is about a fierce alien Star Ranger named Frost who is searching for an escaped convict and a very talented and powerful witch named Lacey who runs an animal shelter.

Lacey is familiar with the unusual, but has no idea that aliens exist! Frost has seen a lot of unusual things in his line of duty, but nothing prepares him for his time in Magic, where ghosts of the past help round up the bad guys, the Fates are keeping track of things, and Lacey’s Aunt Topper is causing all kinds of mischief – not to mention a set of twin warlock/vampire/werewolf ten year old boys who have a penchant for popping up when you least expect it.

This world was so powerful, so unusual, that I couldn’t keep it to myself. I was approached by Amazon’s Kindle World and asked if I would like to create one. I knew immediately that Magic, New Mexico was the perfect Kindle World. It opened the door for all kinds of authors to write anything their heart desired, after all, anything can happen in Magic! 

If you haven’t had a chance, check out Touch of Frost: Magic, New Mexico Book 1, Taking on Tory: Magic, New Mexico Book 2 (FREE at all major distributors), and nine more exciting tales from NYT/USAT, Best selling, and Award Winning authors in Amazon’s Magic, New Mexico Kindle World!

Excerpt from Touch of Frost: Magic, New Mexico Book 1:
Lacey gingerly set Alfred back down on the end table next to the couch. She made sure she kept one eye on the huge creature standing in front of her. She wondered which one of the kids created the spell this time. She bet it was one of Tory’s boys. The twins were always experimenting when her older cousin wasn’t looking. This looked like one of Joseph’s pet lizards.
Whatever they were trying to do, she needed to undo before Tory and Simon found out, otherwise the boys would be grounded for another week. With a wave of her hand, Lacey quietly muttered an enlightening spell to see if she could unwind what was done. She frowned when nothing happened. Biting her lips, she tried another spell.
“What are those two up to now?” She growled under her breath when nothing happened again. “Not even those two are strong enough to prevent a ‘Show me now’ spell from revealing which one they used.”
She stepped back when the nearly seven foot tall reptilian creature snarled again. Her natural protection immediately leaped out and shocked the thing. While it had the head of Joseph’s pet gecko, it did not have its body or temperament. It was almost like it was trying to say something to her and there was an awareness in its eyes that Larry the Lizard had never had before.
“Okay, I guess I’m going to have to do this the hard way,” Lacey muttered in frustration. “You have been a very, very bad lizard. You scared poor Ginger and me, crashed through my door, and broke the table Uncle Lyle made me for my wedding present. If Simon, not to mention Tory sees you, the boys will be grounded for life!”
The creature snarled menacingly at her again. Lacey rolled her eyes. The kids had gone to see the new Godzilla movie the weekend before. That was probably what gave them the big idea this time. At eight, the twins were getting more creative. With a flick of her finger, she snapped the huge lizard’s mouth shut so she could think of the best way to turn him back.
“Hush for a minute, please,” Lacey sighed. “I’m trying to figure out what they have done and your growling and snapping is not helping.” Lacey snapped her fingers and turned back with a large grin. “I know! Reverse the spell that has been done to change the shape to the original one.”
Lacey held her breath as the simple, but powerful spell slipped from her lips. Sometimes, simple was better. There was always a catch with the more complicated spells and the boys surely had to use a whopping one to get Larry this big!
A dark scowl crossed her face when nothing happened again. In aggravation, she glared down at Alfred who was swimming around in circles in his plain, clear bowl. With a click, fresh gravel, plants and a miniature castle appeared in the bowl.
“Well, it isn’t my magic,” she grumbled in frustration, looking back at the large green, leathery back of the lizard as he turned and walked into her kitchen. “Hey, where are you going?” Scrambling over the broken bits of coffee table, Lacey hurried after him.

S.E. SMITH
S.E. Smith is a New York Times, USA TODAY, International, and Award-Winning Bestselling author of science fiction, romance, fantasy, paranormal, and contemporary works for adults, young adults, and children. She enjoys writing a wide variety of genres that pull her readers into worlds that take them away.




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4 comments:

Sarah Raplee said...

Welcome to Romancing the Genres, S.E.! It's amazing where writers' inspirations come from! I love the way you blended SciFi and Paranormal Romance to create Magic, New Mexico. The excerpt from Touch of Frost had me laughing out loud! Little boys with magic powers would give new meaning to the word 'mischief.'

Thank you for Guesting with us!

Diana McCollum said...

Hi, S.E.! Love the excerpt from your book. Magic, New Mexico sounds like a great place to live/visit through your books. I've found that ideas for books can come from the strangest places.

Sarah Raplee said...

How does an author obtain permission to write in your Kindle world? Is it by invitation only? Or can an author sumit a proposal, and if so, where to?

Judith Ashley said...

I'm a bit late to visit with you, S.E. Thank you for guesting with us on Romancing The Genres. I've been in New Mexico and had a couple of visions myself but nothing like what you experienced. And, I'm glad you did. Magic, New Mexico is fascinating. Your excerpt is a fun read. I can only be thankful my great granddaughter isn't able to cast spells! At 16 months, who knows what she'd do.