Hello all. I’m Bianca D’Arc, writer of paranormal romance for Brava. Zombies, vamps, weres, aliens and dragons – I’ve written them all – but I was thrilled with the fresh new voice I found when asked to be a mentor for the Writing with the Stars contest.

I’ve been honored and privileged to work with an amazing up and coming author. My mentee writes in my favorite genre of paranormal, so I knew we were going to enjoy working with each other from the moment I heard about her book, MOONLIGHT. Lisa Kessler is a name to remember and someone I’ve really enjoyed getting to know through the process of this contest and I hope you will too. So, without further ado, please welcome Lisa Kessler, author of MOONLIGHT…

Hello everyone!

Thank you for welcoming me to the Brava site and letting me hijack… *ahem* I mean be a guest on your blog.

It’s almost surreal to be here with so many other fabulous novelists, chasing after a dream to have my book published. Some mornings I almost feel like I need to pinch myself to be sure I’m not dreaming.

Or back with the palm reader in New Orleans.

I started writing daily in 1998 as an escape. My spouse at the time wasn’t supportive of my writing “habit” so I was often up until the wee hours of the morning writing. At the time, the thought of writing a novel or being published never crossed my mind. It was my outlet. I made up characters and places and escaped with them on adventures.

Before I realized it, I had filled up my entire One Gigabyte hard drive with text files! (At the time, one gigabyte was huge… This was the 90’s! LOL)

Anyway, in October of 2000, I took my family to New Orleans. Wow! Talk about a writer’s city! There were stories everywhere I looked.

On our last night there, I decided I wanted to visit a palm reader, just for fun. The kids went back to the hotel with their Dad and I pocketed my wedding ring just so I could see how “real” she was.

She took me into her candlelit room and started inspecting my palm. First she pointed out that I had two children, an older girl and younger boy. That got my attention. Then she told me I would have two great loves in my life. That puzzled me, but before I could say anything, she went on to describe my lifeline, career, etc.
It was the walk to the door that changed my life forever.

As I reached for the door, she smiled at me and said, “I have to ask. Are you a writer?”

“I write every night. Just for fun though.”

“Keep writing.” I swear her eyes sparkled. “You’re going to be a famous writer one day.”

I walked back to the hotel in a daze, but when I woke up the next day I suddenly had an idea for a book! I jotted notes for the entire storyline for my first book on cocktail napkins at the airport. A few months later, I finished my first novel. A few months after that I started getting my short stories accepted into magazines and anthologies.

But that wasn’t all.

My marriage ended up falling apart, and I met another writer in an online critique group. We became long distance friends and eventually we got married. Not only can I write anytime, but he’s also my first reader and helps me with all my editing.

And now I’m a finalist in the Writing with the Stars contest!

I still carry the note card the palm reader wrote out for me that night in New Orleans. It’s tucked away in my wallet as a reminder to keep working and never give up.
It’s been a long, bumpy and winding road to get here, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

Thanks so much to Bianca D’Arc for being an amazing mentor!!! And a special thanks to HelenKay Dimon who challenged me to write Moonlight last year.

After so many years writing alone in the dark, it’s been heaven to find such a supportive family of writers!

So what was your “Ah-ha” moment that led to writing your first book?