Much of Madness (The Conexus Chronicles Book 1)

by S. E. Summa

Seraphina Pearce doesn’t know what’s more frustrating: her magic’s affinity for death, her best friend’s transformation into an albino Sin Eater, or that simply touching a guy she loves means someone’s headed to the morgue.

After a sin-eating job goes awry, she casts a risky spell and butts heads with a handsome stranger in order to win an infamous grimoire.

Marceau L’Argent is the last person she should confide in because the occult cat burglar has a mysterious past, and he’s made it no secret he also wants the grimoire. He recognizes her dark magic and offers his unique help as a rare curse breaker. If all that weren’t enough, Marceau causes butterflies in her stomach—a feeling she’d long thought dead.

Seraphina was only trying to break her curse—not piss off Death himself.

MUCH OF MADNESS is a Southern Gothic Horror story about loyalty, sacrifice, and maintaining hope no matter the odds.

Links:

Much of Madness Buy Link: http://amzn.to/20xvRGv

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28174418-much-of-madness

About S.E. Summa

S. E. Summa lives in Tennessee with her husband and a menagerie of spoiled pets. After her daughter left the nest, she rediscovered her love for writing. Growing up in Nashville, she always felt the city’s unique culture and landmarks would be the perfect setting for monsters to play.

A PRO member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), Shantele serves as the Volunteer and Membership Coordinator for her local chapter, the Music City Romance Writers (MCRW). She graduated magna cum laude with a BBA from Belmont University.

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/sesumma

Website: http://sesumma.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sesumma

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SESumma

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/SESumma

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sesumma

Interview With S. E. Summa:

1. Can you tell us a little about your books?

Much of Madness is a Paranomal/Southern Gothic Horror story with creepy supernaturals, humor, and romance. Not the usual vamps & shifters, my book has a Sin Eater, Curseweavers, Spellcasters, and a spunky Djinn. Here’s the blurb:

After a sin-eating job goes awry, she casts a risky spell and butts heads with a handsome stranger in order to win an infamous grimoire.

Marceau L’Argent is the last person she should confide in because the occult cat burglar has a mysterious past, and he’s made it no secret he also wants the grimoire. He recognizes her dark magic and offers his unique help as a rare curse breaker. If all that weren’t enough, Marceau causes butterflies in her stomach—a feeling she’d long thought dead.

Seraphina was only trying to break her curse—not piss off Death himself.

I also have stories in 4 of the Debut Collective Anthologies due to publish this week!

2. When did you know you wanted to write a book?

I learned to read at the age of 3 and wrote stories and operas non-stop as a child. Life happened and I abandoned writing for many years. The sudden loss of a loved one sparked a deep-rooted drive to reconnect with writing and live a fuller life. I attended a book festival thinking I’d try book blogging, but left so inspired I won NaNoWriMo the next month and haven’t stopped writing since.

3. I love your cover, who designed it?

Thank you! I had very specific elements, a color palette, and a tone in mind for the cover. I hit the absolute jackpot when I found Jenny at Seedlings Design Studio. She was able to take what I wanted and add her talent creating a gorgeous cover.

4. Do you work with an outline, or just write?

Much of Madness was written without an outline. It took many, many revisions because of that and I learned the value of outlining. I am now a self-proclaimed Plotter McPlottypants and use a combination of post-it notes and Excel spreadsheets to create complex, colorful plot boards. I know the who, where, & why of every chapter before I sit down to write the story. I get to know the characters as the story moves forward and they react to the plot around them.

5. Do you have a favorite spot to write?

My office is my sanctuary and most creative space. It’s filled with skulls, books, and even has a huge dragon kite hanging from the ceiling. I’ve also had really productive days meeting with friends for writing sprints.

6. Do you have a favorite food or drink you must have nearby when writing?

This is going to sound so boring! Ice water. When I’m writing I don’t like a lot of distraction so I prefer water over flavored beverages. Strong black coffee is also helpful when I’m pushing for a deadline. What can I say? I’m a purist. Haha!

7. Do you listen to music while you write?

Absolutely! I make playlists of songs that reflect my story and main characters’ emotions. I listen to those when I’m daydreaming or doing non-writing activities. When I’m writing, however, no lyrics are allowed because they’re distracting, so I listen to soundtracks. For particularly creepy scenes, horror soundtracks like Sinister and The Conjuring do the trick.

8. What’s your favorite summertime activity?

Camping! My Mister & I go every couple weeks from Spring through Fall. We always stay on water and take our kayaks along.

9. What are you working on next?

Whew, a LOT! I have stories in 4 anthologies due to publish this week. I’m revising a YA Horror story, and drafting the sequel to Much of Madness.

Last June, I started a group hoping to find a few like-minded writers committed to being brave and publishing in the next year. I had no clue the Debut Collective would grow to almost 80 members and will release an all-volunteer project of FIVE anthologies in June 2016!

With over 40 authors, the anthologies have 15 stories each & the themes are: Acts of Bravery, Hostile Takeover/Insurgent, Secret Identity, The Underdog and even Love Against All Odds.

It has been such a massive undertaking with a full team of volunteer editors, cover designers, layout and formatters and even bloggers! All profits will be donated to Author Carlyle Labuschagne’s charity to build a library in South Africa.

To stay up-to-date on the Debut Collective Anthologies, give our page a like at: https://www.facebook.com/DebutCollective