Metamorphosis
This story happened, as all my stories do, with finding just the right name and colors for my characters. Once I have that settled my characters come alive, start talking, and I write down what they say. I don’t know how to explain it. I’m just amazingly grateful.
Butterfly Waltz, which I originally called Flower Girl, came to me when I was a teenager in the Sixties. I’d already met the Fairweather brothers, Des, Jerry, and Tucker, who arrived one day when I was looking at a pattern of green, blue, and yellow. Sounds nutty, I know, but there’s actually a name for seeing letters as colors: synethesia. People with this condition often have blended senses, which is a great thing for a writer. I’d written Jerry’s story and Tucker’s. Now it was time to find out what would happen to Des. I knew he was a pianist, and I knew he would find the love of his life. He told me the rest.
For years, I continued to modify and improve the story, but I continued to get rejections from publishers and agents. Then I had the good fortune to attend the Writers Retreat Workshop held by the late Gary Provost and his wife, Gail. The first day in the first session of the workshop, I realized what was wrong with the story and why it had never sold. My point of view was all over the place. As a child of TV, I was writing everyone’s dialog and viewpoint as if watching an episode of my favorite show.
Once I settled on just two main characters and let them tell the story in alternating scenes, Butterfly Waltz began to grow and change into something that had a much better chance of being published.
Fast forward forty-seven years. I’d finally found success with my mystery novels, but I really wanted Butterfly Waltz to find a home, and I kept trying every fantasy publisher I could find. Searching the internet, I discovered Silver Leaf Books, and after a lengthy review process, the book was accepted.
At last, in 2015, Butterfly Waltz emerges from a very old cocoon!
Jane Tesh is a retired media specialist and pianist for the Andy Griffith Playhouse in Mt. Airy, NC, the real Mayberry. She is the author of the Madeline Maclin Series, A Case of Imagination, A Hard Bargain, A Little Learning, and A Bad Reputation, featuring former beauty queen, Madeline “Mac” Maclin and her con man husband, Jerry Fairweather. Stolen Hearts is the first in the Grace Street Mystery Series, featuring PI David Randall, his psychic friend, Camden, Randall’s love interest, Kary Ingram, and Cam’s career-driven girlfriend, Ellin Belton, as well as an ever-changing assortment of Cam’s tenants. Mixed Signals is the second in the series, followed by Now You See It and Just You Wait. Jane’s mysteries are all published by Poisoned Pen Press, located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Butterfly Waltz is her first published fantasy novel from Silver Leaf Books. All of Jane’s books are on the light side with humor and romance.
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Visit Jane’s website at www.janetesh.com and her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/GraceStreetMysterySeries. You can also find her on Goodreads, Amazon’s Author Central www.amazon.com/author/janetesh, and www.twitter.com/janetesh.
Her blog is www.janetesh.wordpress.com
ABOUT THE BOOK
When he helps his friend Jake Brenner, a tabloid writer on the hunt for a big supernatural story, Des Fairweather is swept up in a world of mystery and intrigue. Despite his skepticism of the validity of the stories Jake is seeking, Des reluctantly accompanies Jake on his latest adventure—all with the promise that Jake can help Des secure an audition with the city symphony, a break Des desperately needs.
When Jake’s search takes the two out to the country to investigate an unusual phenomenon at the Snowden estate, Des encounters a startlingly beautiful young woman who claims to be magical. That young woman is Kalida, a mysterious creature who has escaped from the people of the Caverns and renounced their evil ways. But when Kalida is discovered, her people will stop at no end to get her to return to their world. Will Des be able to cast aside his fears in order to save Kalida….before it’s too late?
A mesmerizing tale that blends music, mystery and magic, Butterfly Waltz charms with its enchanting storyline and compelling characters. Resplendent with adventure, intrigue, and the allure of the supernatural, Butterfly Waltz is delightful.
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The Story Behind the Book 