Today I'm pleased to present James John Loftus, who has asked me to host him on the Writing Process Blog Tour:

1) What am I working on?
I am working on a sequel to my debut novel, ‘Celtic Blood’. Celtic Blood is set in early 13th century Scotland and traces the rise of clan MacAedh. The MacAedhs in time became known to us today, as clan MacKay. MacKay is a fairly common Scottish surname with a very illustrious history which few people know anything about.

Bar for an accident of history the MacKays could of ruled Scotland instead of the Margaretson’s. The Margaretsons became the Stuarts, who became … wait for it … Windsors - yes, those Windsors, the English Royal family. An accident of history made one family prestigious another forgotten but back in the day.

My new novel again delves into that heroic age, also a time when the land was wild and a mass of greenery, of forest, and wildlife. I find great spiritual fulfillment in the untamed wilderness, far from the madding crowd, where the Green Man has his kingdom. Both novels have supernatural content dealing with witchcraft. Scotland is the perfect place to depict the dark, the dark of men’s minds, away from the light the demons glare out with red-glowing eyes ready to devour the unwary. Seek not the light and the darkness will find thee, and it does so in my medieval Scottish world.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
It differs, in that it is written by me, like all writers I have my personal writing style and through my life experiences I bring a unique perspective. I am a knowledgeable historian adnd I bring a wealth of historical fact to my writing.

3) Why do I write what I do?
I write many kinds of stories. I also write screenplays and have screenplay writing credit for ‘Underdog’s Tale’, which was a million miles away from ‘Celtic Blood’ Underdog’s Tale is a Ocker (Aussie trailer-park types) comedy, with heart, a love story, where a lovable loser invents a persona to impress a girl and is found out then seeks to redeem himself in her eyes, and all others, remakes himself into a very modern very successful man. No it isn’t autobiographical.

By the way, doing a film was a hoot. The distributer of my film also distributed Adam Sandler’s movies so for a while I moved in exclusive circles and thought I was someone, that lasted about a week.

4) How does your writing process work?
At the moment I am chipping away at my sequel which is pretty casual doing a bit here and there on my days off. My day job is a hospital orderely, which I enjoy no brain work involved so I have energy to engage with the page when I get home.

Celtic Blood is available from Amazon.

Celtic Blood trailer:

Don't miss next week's Writing Process Blog Tour stop!

C.J. Wright: C J Wright has had a fascination with all sorts of horror fiction since childhood, and it has been the driving force of his desire to write. He has published 5 novels so far, with more on the way.

For this weekend's sneak peek, a look into Sarya's Song. Here, Sarya first sees the chained man:

She awoke with a start and found herself – somewhere else. She was still kneeling on a stone floor, but it wasn’t as cold as the floor of the Shrine. The air on her bare arms and feet also felt warmer. Looking around, she realized that she was in a small room about the size of a dormitory room – or a prison cell. The room was dimly lit, and shadows veiled the walls and corners. The cramps in her legs and the sting on her back where the lash had broken her skin seemed very distant.

A sense of presence, of someone waiting and watching, brought her to full alertness. She didn’t feel afraid, though. Instead, a desire filled her to know who was there and what they wanted. Her mind and body strained in eager anticipation as she waited…

“Sarya dyr-Rusac,” a deep, quiet voice said from a dark corner of the room.

Sarya caught her breath at the sound of the voice. It resonated deep within her heart and soul, in places that she had shut away long ago, and stirred feelings that she had tried for years to pretend she didn’t have.

She looked in the direction the voice had come from. The shadows in the corner lifted to reveal a man sitting on the floor. He had long black hair, a pale face that was achingly beautiful yet entirely masculine in its lines, and a lean, firmly muscled body. A complex pattern of curving black lines cascaded over his right shoulder and right breast, and Sarya felt a sudden wild urge to trace her fingers along those lines, to feel the skin of his chest beneath her fingertips.

The light in his corner brightened a bit to reveal the color of his eyes, deep sapphire blue. He appeared to be tall, but his wrists and ankles were bound with short chains attached to an iron ring on the floor, which prevented him from standing up. He met Sarya’s eyes with a gaze that reached as deeply into her as his voice had. He looked at her as though he saw her standing naked before him, with all her thoughts and secrets and yearnings revealed, and desired her.

Sarya's Song, coming April 10, 2014! For release news and information about the special low introductory price, sign up for my email alerts!

For more Sneak Peeks, visit the Sneak Peek Sunday blog. #SPeekSunday on Twitter and Facebook.

I'm working hard on the final edits to Sarya's Song, but want to take just a moment to shout-out to all the nice folks who are supporting me this week while I'm the featured author at the Paranormal, Fantasy, Dystopia, and Romance Writers and Reviewers group on Goodreads. Go check them out; maybe you'll find your new favorite author or book!

Aoife Sheridan
Steve Downes
Antoinette J. Houston 
Lisa Marie Gabriel 
C.J. Wright 
J.J. DiBenedetto 
Lynn Thompson 
Brandy Isaacs 
Neely Powell 
A.S. Johnson 
Jamie Eubanks 
D.A. Rhine 
Catherine L. Vickers 
Heather Heffner 
Shannon Pemrick 
H.M. Jones 
Lenore Sagaskie 
Lyn C. Johanson 
Baine Kelly 
Sharon Stevenson 
Billy Wong 
Denna Holm 
Alyson Dunlop

Also, one of my favorite book extras - here's the playlist for Sarya's Song. Kind of a variety here, pop to country-ish (as close as I ever get) to symphonic metal. "Another Heart Calls" ("I'll never ask for anyone but you") and "The Golden State" ("You are the hole in my head, I am the pain in your neck, You are the lump in my throat, I am the aching in your heart") are especially good for Sarya and Adan's rather... complicated relationship. "The Story" would be from Sarya's point of view, and this sounds a little like how I imagine her voice. "Sunshine" is how Adan sees her hair, and how he feels when she leaves. "Sleepwalker's Dream" and "Angels" are for Sarya's dreams about the chained man. "Crash and Burn" is Adan's point of view, to Sarya, and "All I Need" is Sarya in the aftermath of everything that happens. Enjoy!

Sarya's Song playlist on Spotify