Lori’s Comments (group member since Apr 04, 2012)

Lori’s comments from the Q&A with Lori J. Schiele group.

All of the rituals and incantations are unique and created by myself. They are kept as realistic as possible.

The three main female characters are a loose compilation of myself. Alex is most like me in personality and physical appearance. Jen is the veterinary technician who works with feral cats, and has the triquetra tattoo on the back of her neck as I do. Robyn is much like the teenager I used to be, although I wore more denim and flannel than the wild outfits she chooses to wear.

The untrainable and obstinate, although loveable bulldog, Gordy, is a take-off of my friend's bulldog, Bentley.

Rune, the faithful Abyssinian familiar of the main character, Alex, is copied after my own familiar, Bamf who died just one month short of being 20 years old. She wasn't an Abyssinian, but was a beautiful black cat with occasional white hairs.

The name of the "Laurel Tree Coven" comes from my first name, Lori, which means "of the laurels".

A few bits of Trivia about "Wiccan Shadows".

If anyone has any questions, or would like other trivia questions answered, please feel free to post.

Glad I could help, Paige, or at least I hope that I did. You're always welcome to "pick at my brain space" (not sure how much you'll find in there! LOL!) I don't think romance is an issue as much as sexual situations are. And some violence I would think should be okay. If you're not certain, ask your editor, or another author, what their feelings are. After all, "Wiccan Shadows" has humor and fluffy kittens (not white ones though) in it, but it also has some things that isn't appropriate for all ages.

Again, if you're not certain, I would get the opinion of someone else - your editor or another author.

Paige - a Sag!! Never would've guessed (LOL!!) So glad you liked the "Wiccan Shadows" excerpt (found as part of this Q & A) and hope you truly enjoy the rest of the book!

Kori, welcome and "hi" to your guard cats!! (I have quite a few of my own)
I'm glad you enjoy reading, and strong female leads are most definitely a plus in many instances, I quite agree!
So glad you like the book cover. The *real* thanks goes to Trish Lazarus, the artist who created the front and back cover of "Wiccan Shadows". She did an incredible job working with the ideas, suggestions and descriptions I gave her and was more than willing to work with me when it came to adjusting certain details until everything was perfect (in my mind, anyway.)
The "guy" on the cover is nearly identical to how I envisioned him (those who have read the book know who he is!!) and Trish went *beyond* expectation! I am truly thrilled with her work and hope she will be doing my future covers as well.
Thanks for the comment, Kori, and welcome!

Kori, thank you for the great question!! Actually, no, doing a book series never intimidated me. At least not with the Wiccan Sisterhood series because I fell in love with the characters and their development and the stories they have to tell. I currently have a 3-book contract, but have plot ideas and bits of dialogue and storyline already worked out for up to books 5 or 6. (Hopefully the series will make it that far!)
There are other novels that I have written, however, that I don't believe could be made into a series. The characters had one story to tell and that was it. Anything further would have been forced.
So, I believe, the answer to your question is that it really depends upon the series. I was fortunate enough to create a series with characters that, I believe, have a lot to offer and some wonderful stories to tell.
Thanks for the question, Kori!

Paige, thanks for the question about the excerpt. I used the "Content caution" button because there are readers of all ages on this site and, although I don't believe the prologue of "Wiccan Shadows" to be particularly violent or objectionable, I felt it safer to make readers aware that it doesn't contain all roses and sunshine, if you know what I mean.
Yes, it might turn some readers away, but I would prefer to caution them *before* they read it rather than apologizing after traumatizing a younger reader who has already read it.
I hope that helps, my young Jedi. :-)

Boo, I appreciate your honesty. I don't know what age you are, but I'm glad you are able to make a mature decision about what you feel is appropriate for yourself. I still feel that "Wiccan Shadows" is okay for teenage readers, but teenagers also develop at all rates and speeds and not everything is appropriate just due to a certain age.
My 12 year old neice is harping constantly to read it, but won't be allowed until her mom (my sister) feels it's appropriate which, for my neice, will probably be after age 13, so it is different for everyone.
Always sorry to lose a potential fan, but I am glad you asked the question, Boo, and made the appropriate decision for yourself.

Paige, thanks for asking, but honestly, no, I haven't considered doing a more "mature" version. My second book is maybe a little more violent, and has a little more sex in it, but nothing I would consider over a PG-17.
I don't believe in "gratuitous" anything - sex, violence or whatever just for the sake of it. I'd rather allow my characters to do what they do and what happens happen, if that makes sense. If it wasn't in the first version, there is no second version. Just a second book, which I hope you will all read and enjoy!!

There is some violence, and a bit of sex in the book, however, I would say that it is nothing inappropriate for anyone over the age of 13. And it is certainly "tamer" than many of the things that are shown on TV these days.
Thanks for asking, Boo.

Although most professional authors treat writing as a full-time job and issue themselves a quota of pages or hours per day, I have never been able to be that disciplined. I have tried it and the writing comes out beyond awful.
Instead, I have discovered that, although it often takes longer, if I wait for my muse to strike, the words tend to flow effortlessly and require much less editing.

I would currently say my favorite authors are Laurell K. Hamilton, Rick Riordan, Kelly Armstrong, Ted Andrews, David L. Mech (wolf biologist) Lupa and Silver Ravenwolf. Others come and go, but those seem to stay in my top 10.
I'm not certain where you saw David Este mentioned, but I do know the name and have an interest in angels (not just for Christians, ya know) :-) thanks for the mention.

I actually "fell into" becoming Wiccan (although I don't believe in coincidences.) I worked at a veterinary hospital with a witch and was curious, so she lent me a book: "Power of the Witch" by Laurie Cabot (for anyone who is interested.)

I was raised a non-practicing Methodist, but, in reading the book, I discovered that almost everything that Wiccans believed in, I already believed in: the Goddess and her consort, the God, also called the Lord and Lady; polytheism; reincarnation; communing with Nature and working with spirit animals; respect for Gaia (the Earth) and Mother Nature - both often viewed as actual "living" entities, the ability to perform real magick... (I *do* have some "funny" stories about my early attempts at performing magick, and some wonderful and originally surprising success stories) And, NO, I didn't perform magick to get my book published! LOL!!

Laurie Cabot's book made me realize that the personal belief system I had since I was a child had an actual name: Wicca. And so, I started reading more and more books, learning as much as I could until I felt I was ready to dedicate myself to the Goddess and the God and the Path of the witch. It is something I have never once regretted.

As far as the things seen on TV, although views have changed some over the years, many people still fear the word "witch".
Some true facts: we don't sacrifice animals; we don't make pacts with the devil (in fact, Wiccans don't believe in the Christian devil); we don't perform blood-letting during ritual. Many do belong to covens, although some (like me) work solitary.

There are many different "traditions" within Wicca, each following the basic structure with some differences. Some examples are Gardnerian, Dianic, Alexandrian - just to name a few. Others are considered eclectic (again, like me)taking bits and pieces of different traditions.

The one hard-fast rule of Wicca is called the Wiccan Rede (which can be found quoted in its entirety in the front of "Wiccan Shadows"). The Rede basically says: "...And ye harm none, do as ye will..." Harm None - that includes animals, humans, the earth and even yourself.

Many also believe in the Rule of Three (also mentioned in the Wiccan Rede)- that what you give out, good or bad, comes back to you three-fold. It's much like Karma, except in Wicca, the Rule of Three strikes in *this* life, not in the next as some religions believe.

I hope I didn't overdo it in answering your questions. There is so much more that can be said about Wicca that hundreds of books have been written about it. I've just given you some basics.

Paige, good questions! The first book took about 3 years to write, although I was working on the second book at the same time. I currently have a 3-book contract, but have plot ideas and bits of scenes and dialogue for books 4 and 5. Time will tell if there is enough interest to actually write them.

I originally considered writing each book from the point-of-view of a different character, but when I tried it, it didn't seem to feel right, so I gave up on that idea. Interesting that you brought that up though.

Will there be a spin-off from the Wiccan Sisterhood series? It's a possibility, but, again, only time will tell...

Paige, without adding spoilers to my answer, and speaking specifically about "Wiccan Shadows", the three main female characters are all pieces of me. Alex is the most like me in personality and appearance; Jen is the vet tech with the triquetra tattoo on her neck; and Robyn is the "teenage me" (altho my wardrobe was a bit more denim and flannel).

Other stories and novels I have written may have bits of me in them, but are often pure imagination. In fact, a book I hope to get published sometime in the future has a man as the main character. It surprised me how well I was able to see and think from a man's perspective. Only time will tell(if/when it's ever published) if my readers agree.
Thanks for the great question!

Damaria, you've got it right. Sometimes you *do* end up falling in love all over again. Sometimes you'll read something awesome and think "Did I really write that? Wow!"