Book Review: Voodoo Child by Janice Horton & author interview

What it’s about:

In ‘Voodoo Child’, ex-celebrity UK fashion model Nola and her handsome Haitian husband Louis are expecting their first baby. But as one precious life begins another is about to end. Louis’s beloved old Uncle Sid is dying and has declared his last wish is to see Louis and Nola’s new baby baptised on St John’s Eve – the most important event in the voodoo calendar. The Voodoo isn’t over for Nola or for Louis!

Review:

It was nice to brush the dust off of Nola, Louis and their incredibly weird yet fascinating Voodoo family and bring them into the forefront of my mind again. I was delighted when I got the email from Janice saying she’d finished Voodoo Child and would like me to review it so I welcomed Nola back with open arms! Voodoo Child is the third and final instalment on the How Do You Voodoo? trilogy. In Voodoo Child, Nola and Louis, our lovely couple who met in book No. 1 are expecting a baby. But that’s not all their expecting… Due to the heritage of Louis’s family, they have to take place in a Voodoo baptism ritual in order to fulfil Louis’s uncle’s dying wish. Voodoo Child is the final conclusion of Nola’s weird and wonderful journey of finding true love, making up for lost time with family members and a whole lot of voodoo magic…

In all honesty, I’m running out of things to say about the Voodoo series as they’re all very consistent and follow on from each other perfectly. You know what you’re getting and it works with these books and although you know what to expect, Janice still manages to shock you with even more crazy voodoo magic. I like that our main character, Nola, started off the victim to voodoo magic (in book one, she had a spell cast on her which caused her beauty to fade and teeth to fall out) but since meeting Louis and finding out about his family’s heritage, she has come to learn more about it and be accepting of their beliefs rather than dismissing it as rubbish. I like that she’s accepting and willing to try it however I can tell that deep down she’s still a bit wary and I think the quote, “Nola smiled, pretending that possession was just the same as a friend popping in” sums that up quite well!

As with the previous two books in this series, I finished it extremely quickly. At around 80 pages long, they’re perfect for commuting, long journeys or just  a quick read if you’re not in the mood for something hard going. I love that these books all include the same characters, stick to the story and don’t go off on pointless and unnecessary sub-plots. I would like to thank Janice for providing me with all 3 books of the trilogy to review, I truly enjoyed every one of them and I look forward to reading more of Janice’s work in the future!

I give Janice 4 cupcakes for Voodoo Child

Interview:

Hi Janice, can you tell us a bit of what Voodoo Child is about?

In Voodoo Child, Nola and Louis are expecting their first baby. This was such fun to write because when a new baby is born it usually brings families together. With Louis’s side of the family heavily involved in voodoo, I expected this to evoke all sorts of story ideas! But as voodoo belief is very much about life and death this allows for a darker side to the story too. So as the new baby is born, we hear that Louis’s old uncle Sid is dying. In voodoo culture, a dying person’s last wish is very important and we know this from the first book, How Do You Voodoo? when Louis has the responsibility of carrying out his mother’s last wish. So in Voodoo Child, we come full circle as Louis is entrusted to fulfil his uncle’s last wish, which is to see their baby baptised in the bayou on St John’s Eve – the most important date in the voodoo calendar!

How does it feel to come to the end of the Voodoo trilogy? What will you miss most about it?

I feel proud of what I have achieved with this series. I originally set out to write a novella between full length novels, not a linked series, but one led naturally on to another. Each is a 20,000 word complete story, so I found them no less challenging to write than a full length novel. I’ve become rather attached to Louis’s crazy voodoo family, so if I miss the voodoo too much, I might have to write a few more stories about them – but you’d have to get to the end of Voodoo Child to see which direction that would take us in!

Do you personally believe in any kind of voodoo, spirits or magic in general?

Actually, no. I’m with Louis on this one. I believe in science and medicine and not spells and magic.

Do you have another book on the cards and are you able to tell us anything about it?

My work in progress is a full length novel. I’ve not very far into it yet and I don’t plot or plan, so I can’t really tell you much because I don’t know what happens yet. What I can tell you is that I have a great topical theme and two very interesting main characters that, despite their differences, fall madly in love and end up together in the end.

When finishing a book (or a trilogy in this case) what do you do to treat yourself for all your hard work?

A nicely chilled bottle of champagne!

Do you have a strict writing routine?

For the past year, writing has been my full time job as opposed to a part time one. I do try to be strict with myself because I want to be known as a professional. I have post it notes all over my desktop with deadline dates I must adhere to. Some are for Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine features and others are book deadlines that I’ve agreed with my editor. I’m at my desk at 9am and in the first hour or so I deal with my emails and social media postings. It’s not all about promoting myself however as I love to support other writers. Then, before I settle down to a good few hours of creative writing, I go off into the countryside for a run. I run a to clear my head, plus I find that sitting at a desk and computer all day is a sure fire way for me to pile on the pounds as well as getting sore muscles and stiff joints, so I try to run between three to five miles a day.

In our last interview you said you had been invited to speak at The Festival of Romance about your writing and books. When is this event taking place? Are you excited or nervous? And what do you hope to gain from the experience?

I’m very excited and nervous in equal measures! I’m flying down from Glasgow to attend the Festival of Romance and I’ll be there for the entire weekend. I’m most excited about meeting everyone involved, those people I already know and those lovely peeps I know online but have yet to meet in person. I’m also thrilled to be taking part in the festival as an author and I’ll be reading from one of my books at the Coffee and Cake Event on Saturday 9^th November. I suspect the highlight of the weekend will be cheering on all the Loveahappyending Lifestyle nominees at the Festival Gala Dinner on the Saturday night!

If your Voodoo trilogy was made into a movie, who would be your dream cast for the main characters?

Nola would have to be played by a Scottish actress who was both beautiful and funny, so Freya Mavor, blonde actress and model and star of ‘Sunshine on Leith’ would be perfect casting. Louis, dark and handsome with a megawatt smile, could easily be played by gorgeous Stargate Atlantis and Conan the Barbarian actor Jason Momoa, who has had worn dreadlocks in his hair of various lengths throughout his film career.

Finally, if you could cast one spell what would it be and why?

It would be a movie spell! I’d love to see one of my books made into a movie – what author wouldn’t?!

From TODAY and the five days up to Halloween you can download eBook One ‘How Do You Voodoo?’ absolutely FREE! Click HERE!

About Janice Horton

Janice Horton writes fiction with humour and heart. Look out for her Amazon Kindle bestselling eBooks ‘Bagpipes & Bullshot’ and ‘Reaching for the Stars’ and her magically romantic Voodoo Romance novellas ‘How Do You Voodoo? and ‘Voodoo Wedding’. Her latest title is a nonfiction guide ‘How To Party Online’. Janice is a regular blogger and you’ll also find her partying on Facebook and Twitter. She is a Featured Author and Associate Editor at Loveahappyending.com.

Link to Janice’s books and Amazon Author Page

Featured Author & Associate Editor at: Loveahappyending.com

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Find her on Twitter: @JaniceHorton