RACHAEL STAPLETON

With the contract signed I'm ready to move into the exciting world of cover art and I'm having way too much fun. Look at all these great images. It's clear to me that I need some help from my dearly devoted friends, fans and family. Which image would you like to see selected for the cover of Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire ? Keep in mind this is still part of the The Temple of Indra Series, but it has more of a mystery/thriller vibe to it as opposed to the adventure . As a librarian, Sophia Marcil loves reading, especially books about ancient curses and reincarnation, but she never imagined the legend of the Purple Delhi Sapphire was true until she inherited it and was transported back to a past life where she was murdered. Now she knows that not only is reincarnation real, but so is the devil’s magic locked inside the precious gem. Just as she’s about to tell her boyfriend Cullen about it, he proposes with an engagement ring made from a piece of the very sapphire ...

As I sit at my desk watching the steam roll off my coffee, I take in the dark wood paneling, old books and brick fireplace that make up my study. Something about this space reminds me of that Victorian steampunk film, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. You know the one, set in the late 19th century featuring an assortment of fictional literary characters appropriate to the period. Maybe I love it because it's filled with Victorian Era superheroes or maybe because it draws on the works of some of the greats: Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, and Mark Twain—just to name a few—or maybe I just really love it because of the kick-ass library. I truly am an atmospheric person. Architecture, decor and everything old, these are the keys to my creative spark. My husband promises to build floor to ceiling library shelves complete with a rolling rack. But even just as it is, this room is too beautiful and too inspirational not to ...

I love to read because it allows me to go places I never dreamed of...experience people and cultures I otherwise might not. Sometimes I'm a treasure hunting archaeologist for a day. Other times I'm a murder solving heiress who can speak to ghosts. Reading allows me to do the unexpected and it's forever teaching me about the past and connecting me with the wisdom of the ages. Right now I'm reading a popular series about witches. What's on your bedside table?

Prologue #1 - Condensed Once upon a time, in the Kingdom of Wurtemburg, there lived a princess named Sapphira Alexandrie de Monaco who was gifted a seemingly ordinary purple sapphire that was capable of wondrous magic, but at a terrible cost—a curse. The jewel had once belonged to Indra, the god of war and thunder, but was stolen from his temple in India. It was rumoured to hold the devils dark and seductive magic, and it captivated a greedy political advisor who coveted the throne, condemning him to reincarnate endlessly on Earth. As a result, the princess was cursed, tied to this man who would stalk her in every life and do anything to possess her stone’s magic, including murder. Prologue #2 - Longer Once upon a time, along the banks of the River Ganges, there existed a sacred temple that housed an extraordinary purple sapphire, a stone rumored to hold a wondrous magic, but at a terrible cost—a curse. The magic accused of being a trick of the devil was a double edge sword used to t...

Have you heard of online pitch parties? Many take place on Twitter. If you haven't then you may need to crawl out from under your pile of manuscripts. That is if you want to get your novel in front of actual agents and editors. There was definitely no shortage of great pitches flying through the Twittersphere yesterday thanks to Dan Koboldt who hosted the #SFFpit contest for works of fantasy and science fiction. For those of you living under your desk. You "pitch" your book in 140 characters... and you thought writing a book was tough--wait til you try and whittle it down to just the hook. Lurking behind the scenes are agents and editors. If an editor or agent likes your pitch, they will favourite it with the little yellow star button. Based on their instructions, you send a query with a partial/full/synopsis, whatever they want. Here are a few of the different styles of successful pitches that not only won me the invitation to query but eventually led to re...

Since time travel seems to be a common thread in my writing, I thought it would be a fun to have an intelligent conversation about it. Just kidding. I'm no expert. Of course philosophers, physicists, and people all smarter than me have put forth a number of viewpoints; from the idea that history cannot be changed to the notion that it would create a paradox thus by destroying the universe. These are all very deep concepts that as a highly professional writer I researched—and by researched I mean Googled, read and considered for all of 10 seconds before my brain cried out in piercing agony. This left me to create a time-travel story based on my own warped imagination. And of course in my opinion to do time travel right, you need some version of the age old time machine. Doc Brown had the DeLorean. Diana Gabbaldon had the stones. And Sophia? She has the Purple Delhi Sapphire. Voila! No explanation necessary.  This is the mysterious stone here. Changing the look of it was a must...

Are you a dreamer? I am. According to psychologists, everyone dreams—sometimes five times a night and more than half of us dream about work once a week. I dream constantly and in fact I get some of my best characters and plot twists in my slumber so I love dreaming about my work. I recently visited a Psychic Medium in the Durham Region for research purposes and found out that one of my spirit guides is a character from my last book: Rochus—the 19th century alchemist who I thought I had dreamed up. Apparently he helps me with my writing and decided to give himself a cameo—I thought that was pretty neat. She told me spirit guides are always with you and will most likely reach out to contact you in your dreams. All you have to do is ask! In fact, chances are you’ve already had some contact with your guides in your dream life and just haven’t recognized it. Think about it. Have you ever had a “stranger” who felt familiar to you visit you in your dreams? If you’re interested—t...