Check out this author spotlight for C. A. Deegan!
You can find all his links furthest down the page, and donāt forget to check out his books!
1. Hi! Welcome to my humble blog of all things bookish! I would like for us to start by getting to know you. Give us a short bio, please!
I live in the East Midlands, right in the centre of the UK, and when Iām not writing or working, Iām with the family or walking the dog in the local woodlands seeking those ever-elusive Fae.Ā Or sitting, pint in hand with the good friends I grew up with. Some of them are hidden in the books themselves; quite a few characters are based on the people I know and love.Ā The Cracklock Saga is my first series, and I have huge plans for it.Ā The shadowy Tobias is begging for his tale to be told, and this will be forthcoming.Ā Plus, I want to know more about Fermerillion, Dorcas and the rest of the good guys ā where did they come from?Ā And what really happened between Elsie and Malchiah all those years ago?Ā I think I know, but they all have a habit of surprising me when Iām scribbling.Ā More than you will ever know.
2. To get to know you just a little bit better, Iād like to ask you some this or that questions. Answer 5 of these and explain why you chose this or that, or maybe an entirely different alternative!
Winter, spring, summer or autumn?
Autumn, definitely.Ā Those crisp mornings, kicking up the leaves as the mist hangs low on the fieldsā¦Whatās not to like?!
Cat or dog?
That is a killer question, as I have both, and love them dearly.Ā My cat, Syd (named by my daughter; her first word!) is an old girl now at 14.Ā My dog, Benji, is awesome; my constant companion.Ā Nope; sorry, canāt choose!
Tea or coffee?
Iām a Brit, so Iām supposed to say teaā¦but I love coffee!Ā Canāt do without my morning jolt to get the synapses buzzing!
Plotter or pantser?
I would love to be a plotter, I really would.Ā I do plot.Ā And then it all goes crazy when Iām writing, and I become a total pantser.Ā I get my best ideas when Iām out walking the dog and then have to jot them down quickly.
Standalone or series?
Series.Ā Stephen Kingās āDark Towerā is one of my favourites.Ā And as I am writing a series, canāt really say otherwise, can I?!
3. When you look for books to read, what trope or type of story will always catch your attention?
This is an awesome but tricky question!Ā I like horror; itās what I was weaned on (Sai King, Koontz and James Herbert).Ā But recently Iāve got to like crime stories; detective ones.Ā And I love Zompoc ā zombie apocalypse.Ā Some of my good friends are authors in that category.Ā And I like fantasy. Andā¦oh, Iām going on now.Ā Really, Iāll read just about anything; Iām a bit of a nerd.
4. What do you write? Tell us about your current projects and the latest happenings!
I write what I suppose is SFF, and it sits in a spot astride YA and Adult.Ā āThe Cracklock Sagaā series of books came about from reading some pretty awful fairy books to my daughter over the years ā sheās in her teens now and has now (with more than a little relief, I have to say!) left those behind.Ā But I always wondered what would happen if someone didnāt like fairies, what they would do about it, and could anybody stop them? This idea grew, and the Cracklocks were born.Ā I liked the idea of people who hated the Fae and everything they stood for.Ā And who knew just how wicked those people were? I certainly didnāt until Anastasia and Agatha got their claws into me!
I have two books released at the moment, and the third is also almost ready to go (my designer and I are just finishing up the cover for that one; planned release Quarter 1 next year). I am currently writing Book 4 which should be finished by the end of November 2021. Then the polishing, editing and betaāing will start whilst I jump straight onto Book 5 of the series. That one is all plotted and waiting for me to complete the pantser approach on Book 4 so I can tweak the plotline before I start.
5. What is your most recent release? Give us a short presentation, cover, and a link for where to buy it!
I have two that are recently released:
Book 1:Ā Fae or Foe?Ā
This released mid-September 2021
Book 2:Ā The Lost and the Departed.Ā Ā
This released Halloween Weekend.
The series follows the Cracklocks; a family who can see Faeries. This strand covers Jack; a boy who was glamoured at 4 years of age to hide him from the evil members of the family who want him for their own sinister ends. At 15, he has no idea or memory of what he is; he has no interest or knowledge of Faeries. In Book 1 he gets a rude awakening, following an accident that breaks the glamour on him, and plunges him into a world he knows nothing about. Book 2 picks up directly from the end of Book 1 and continues the mayhem.
6. What real-life inspiration do you draw from, and what are your primary fictional sources of inspiration (books, authors, films, music, etc.)? Name a few!
What a question!Ā Well, real-life, I guess Iāve already covered.Ā Those damn fairy books!Ā They were all the same, even though there were hundreds of them.Ā Same storyline over and over again.Ā Thatās what got me started with the Cracklocks.Ā Fictional sourcesā¦well,Ā I have an eclectic list of likes.Ā Iāve got more folklore and Fae books now than I know what to do with; those are my reference sources.Ā I also took a look through some of the authors I would like to be like one day.Ā Anthony Horowitz, Rick Riordan and the author of a certain boy wizard.Ā They are the masters at what they do.
7. What is your writing routine? If you have one, give us the run-down!
I write most evenings, from about 7pm thru 8.30 once I finish work for the day –Ā I have a business to run, and writing has always been my hobby until my wife said I should really publish some of my stuff! Saturday and Sunday mornings I also write from about 0730 until about 10 am ā my dog is most insistent on a 0630 walk every day.Ā Nice to have the mornings to myself before the kids get up!Ā Finally, whenever I can sneak off (e.g when those awful reality TV shows are on!) I try and get a few paragraphs done.Ā I have my own study, so itās all quite easy.
8. If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice as you started out on the path to becoming an author, what would it be?
Donāt worry so much!Ā I have met a lot of great authors on my writing journey (which started in May 2019) and every single last one of them always has doubts about their scribbles. Everyone thinks their work is ‘trash’. Everyone.Ā But don’t stop.Ā Fix the bits you don’t like, and have another look.Ā You’ll think ‘Yeah, this is alright.’Ā Youāll get there.
9. Last but not least: where can we find you? Drop those links!
Thereās a few!
Email: thecracklocksaga@outlook.com – always happy to answer questions!
Website: https://www.thecracklocksaga.com [check this out for all things Cracklock!]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCracklockSaga
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecracklocksaga/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CracklockSaga
Amazon:
Book 1: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09G9RNMMS
Book 2: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KNDM9YZ
Goodreads:
Book 1: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59024875-fae-or-foe
