My Books Featured at Christian Book Readers

Faith and Love was my first entry because the title sounded very Christian. The site also features the video I created for the series and asks me questions about my inspiration for the stories.

https://christianbookreaders.com/faith-and-love-by-cecelia-hopkins/#more-317677

Keep an eye open for my next entry on the site because it posts the Bible text that was the inspiration for my first Christian university book Silver Springtime. Ecclesiastes 3:1 "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven..." and explains the origin of the series.

https://christianbookreaders.com/silver-springtime-by-cecelia-hopkins-drewer/#more-317682

I am keen to connect with more Christian readers. My horror writing and my Christian writing are very different, but I like to believe I maintain an ethic throughout both aesthetics.

True story, but worth a laugh!

I usually have a small Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance policy, but recently I tried to add my writing to it.

The insurance company Rep called up and said something like, "What category do you write?"

Me: "Fiction".

Them: "What's that? Try a few other terms."

Me: "Creative".

Them: "Writers just write."

Me: "No, I teach reading & writing. If I was taking out Artists insurance through one of the relevant associations, it would cover running groups & workshops."

Them: "Writers are not artists."

Me: "Of course they are. Look, the nearest thing I can get is through the Media Association - Journalists Insurance."

Them: "No, try another term."

Me: "Editors Insurance."
Them: "$685 / year."

Me: "That is too dear, and I'm already with Vero, for my tutoring for $224!"

Character Interview

One site, "The Protagonist Speaks" has the fantastic idea of interviewing the character instead of the author. Yes, my characters do have more to say...

This interview is with Bridget Etheridge, and brings together her back story and personality. It forms a very nice bonus to the books, and highlights Bridget's role as series narrator. Click the link to see Bridget answer questions about where she grew up, who she hangs out with now, and who she loves or hates! 

The answers fill out into the early part of Bridget's childhood and arrival in Mystic Evermore, so there are things about this army brat that might surprise you. Bridget's attitudes to life and love change quite a bit throughout the series as she journeys from painful infatuation through to going steady with a compatible peer.

AUTHOR: Bridget, how would you describe yourself when you first arrived in Mystic Evermore?

BRIDGET: I was innocent, a little rebellious and eager to grab hold of love with both hands. I didn't set out to be a doormat or anything, but I will admit I had not experienced mutuality, or even had any long term friendships.

AUTHOR:  What has happened since you settled in Mystic Evermore?

BRIDGET: Oh heaps! If I dwell on one thing, I will get emotional and cry. That was a very dark period for me... But I had friends for the first time ever and they got me through.

AUTHOR: How have things changed in recent times?

BRIDGET: Well, I've got a boyfriend who is very supportive. Clever and sexy too. He wasn't the one I expected to choose at first, but a girl has to develop a few relationship smarts.

AUTHOR: Relationship smarts?

BRIDGET: Love shouldn't hurt. At least not the majority of the time. Of course a couple will have good and bad times, but on balance, it is important to choose someone who will treat you like an equal. Share the fun times and be there for the future.

AUTHOR: Amazing. How do you manage all that and survive fighting monsters as well?

BRIDGET: Well being an army brat taught me to be resourceful. That will never leave me. 

AUTHOR: What do you think your future will hold?

BRIDGET: After graduation do you mean? I dunno. A gap year perhaps. More study if I get into a good university not too far away.

To read more click:

https://theprotagonistspeaks.com/2019/05/24/bridget-etheridge-of-mystic-evermore-by-cecelia-hopkins-drewer/

Exciting upcoming Black Hare Press anthology inclusions

I am excited to have been included in the Dark Drabbles Anthologies edited by Dean Kershaw. The first Anthology will be available WORLDS. It will be on sale in June 2019 and features five flash fiction stories by me!

The second anthology will be ANGELS.

I once thought that flash fiction was too short to take seriously, but I have learned that writing a complete story in few words is very challenging. The fewer the words, the more difficult the challenge.

The third book in the series is MONSTERS and I am pleased to say I am involved with this one too!

The fourth book in the "Dark Drabbles" series is BEYOND. I have five stories in this volume as well.

WORLDS: http://readerlinks.com/l/578474
ANGELS: http://readerlinks.com/l/608214
MONSTERS: http://readerlinks.com/l/641709
BEYOND: http://readerlinks.com/l/701298
STORMING AREA 51: http://readerlinks.com/l/738095

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My All Author Interview

My All Author Interview... 

• AllAuthor interview:  

I have recently been interviewed by AllAuthor, this interview is unique in that Mady Joshi of AllAuthor takes the time and effort to check out the author's works and ask questions tailored to the books. Some of these questions are quite discerning!
   Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer absolutely loved performing in school concerts. She has published poems and articles as both ‘Hopkins’ and ‘Drewer’. She has designed her own book covers. She writes most mornings. When she is stuck in rut, she goes out. Sometimes she reads other’s books, watches TV or a movie. She uses Beta readers and she studies the market and sees what is popular. The next book in The Silver Springs University Series is in the editing phase. It is called ‘Love Always Hopes.' Read full interview...

The Zoo (Flash Fiction)

It was fun being the daughter of a zookeeper. Bianca especially loved the big cats, and would spend hours sitting outside their cage, just across the safety glass from the majestic animals. The lions seemed to like Bianca too, cuddling up to the glass and gazing at her with lazy eyes.

Perhaps it was because she was being brought up in such a rich environment, but Bianca was developmentally advanced, starting to read at the age of three. By the time she was turning five, Bianca was consuming large tomes of fiction, and even non-fiction.

One morning, Bianca was sitting reading just across the glass from the big cats when an earthquake shook the complex. The glass cracked, but Bianca spoke calmly to the felines and they lay still, adoring eyes fixed upon the child as she continued to read.

Not so with the hyenas, who escaped their cage and began to roam the zoo, looking for prey. The hyenas found the tunnels that human used to view the big cats, and came racing in, slobbering and slathering in anticipation of tasting tender little girl.

Bianca screamed in terror. Disturbed, the lead lion roared, the roar shattering the glass into a myriad of small pieces. The lion leapt through the opening and past Bianca. Bianca crept back into the lion’s cage and climbed into the safe arms of a tree. She watched the conflict with a shuddering heart.

The lion batted at one hyena with a huge paw. It rolled over, stunned. The lion shook himself and the other hyena fell to the ground with a thud. The lion roared, and the pack decided to back off, seeking easier prey elsewhere.

Bianca’s father found her clinging to a tree in the lion’s enclosure. He was grateful she was unharmed.

Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer 2018

(Monday image prompt supplied by Australian Speculative Fiction Facebook Group. This tale was submitted to the group's Facebook page and gathered comments and likes.)