Who is Diandra Archer?
Surprise! We are!That’s right, you’ve discovered our secret.We are Richard Fenton & Andrea Waltz and we are a married writing team based in Orlando Florida.For years we have written and published non-fiction, business books. We have also written a few screenplays together. Onyx Webb is our first fictional book series.We decided to go with the pen name Diandra Archer because it is a combination of both of our names. (This will come into play later on in the series if you don’t know it yet!)So, you may be wondering…Why would non-fiction business authors turn to fiction? While growing our speaking business, our side-hobby was writing screenplays. We’ve written several, even had an agent and spent some time in Hollywood.But we love creating stories. That’s why all of our business books are fables – most even have a little supernatural twist! So one day, a couple years ago, walking around Lake Eola in Orlando, we started brainstorming what we’d like to write next together. We have spent hundreds if not thousands of hours talking about and crafting our characters and their stories. Thus, Onyx Webb and the series was born. It is by far the most arduous undertaking we’ve ever attempted and we look forward to sharing Onyx with the world.Why such a massive project?
We knew we had a few stories we wanted to tell. Specifically the story of Koda Mulvaney started us off. Then we developed the character of Onyx. Then when we started thinking about the concept of a web we really began to develop all kinds of ways our characters were connected through time, place and relationship. Once that happened, it was impossible to separate characters and try to write just one story. We also noticed series’ were popular on Amazon so we figured even though it would take a while, we could release as a fairly long-running series of books.What do you mean by the series being like ‘a supernatural soap opera?’
We’re visual writers having written screenplays for many years (none have been made as of yet!) So this almost became like writing a t.v. series except in book form. We see it in our minds as a series. We even refer to our chapters (when writing) as scenes. To us they are scenes as if you were watching Downton Abbey or Days of Our Lives. It’s like a soap opera with the idea you follow many different people and relationships. Readers get a little piece of each person’s story and then we move onto the next person’s story. And like a soap opera, we pick back up with the character again. Of course it’s supernatural because a few of our characters are ghosts! However, we are strictly into the ghost world and so readers will not be seeing vampires, werewolves, fairies or other creatures.How do you work together?
We brainstorm about the characters and their stories. We use post it notes to figure out the timelines and major story lines. Then we take long walks discussing various ways we could actually write it out. To start Onyx Webb, we did that for well over a year. Finally when actual writing happens, Richard begins. Andrea gets the first draft to add and rework each episode and it’s usually quite a bit. We repeat that process three to four more times before sending to a couple of trusted readers for final feedback and changes and then later to the final copy-editor. Often we will write all the story lines (what we call ‘tracks’) and then it is not until the very end that we put them all together. We have a very easy relationship and agree on most everything in terms of what needs to happen in the books although ultimately whoever believes in something the strongest usually wins. But it helps that we are both in love with what we are creating.
Onyx Webb: Book Oneby Diandra ArcherGenre: Paranormal Suspense
Who can she trust? What is the truth?
Every decision has consequences.
What you thought you knew about ghosts is wrong. Sometimes they can walk among the living. In Onyx Webb, the silk of time weaved between lives is generations apart.Follow a billionaire playboy who’s hit rock bottom in 2010, a girl off to prom in 1979, and Onyx Webb in 1906 on her sixth birthday.It’s 1906, and the World’s Fair is in St. Louis. Onyx has a list of things she wants to see, and the World’s Fair Ferris wheel is at the top. But someone else has a list, too. The woman with the gray hair wants to find another little girl to take home. And like the last child, she’ll start at the Ferris wheel.But someone else has a list, too. The woman with the gray hair wants to find another little girl to take home. And like the last child, she’ll start at the Ferris wheel.You’ll love this superbly crafted paranormal thriller, because everyone likes twist, turns, and surprises. Onyx Webb will hook you from page one.Goodreads * Amazon
Orlando, FloridaJanuary 25, 2010
It had been two days since the Restoring Savannah banquet, and the girl in the mirror was all Koda could talk about. “Think what you want, Dane, but I saw her,” Koda said for the third time, getting up from the leather sofa in the center of the penthouse apartment in the 55 West building and starting to pace.
“You gotta get a grip, man,” Dane said. “Mika is still fuming about your speech, and I don’t want to be around when word gets back to your dad.”
“I saw her, Dane.”
“How many vodkas did you have?” Dane asked. “Five? Ten?”
“I… saw… her,” Koda said again.
“Okay, okay. You saw a girl in a mirror,” Dane said. “But I don’t get why you’re so freaked out?” “We’re best friends, right, Dane?” Koda asked.
“You gotta ask?” Dane was tempted to mention the fact that Koda had punched him in the face when they were at the bar at the Mansion on Forsyth Park, but didn’t.
“And in the four years you’ve known me, have I ever lied to you?” Koda asked. “About anything?”
Dane shook his head. Like most people, Koda Mulvaney had a variety of character flaws, but being a liar was not among them.
“Then listen to what I’m saying, okay?” Koda said. “I’m not telling you I saw a girl’s reflection in a mirror—I’m telling you I saw a girl in a mirror. She was in… the… glass.”
Dane went silent and took in what he’d just been told. “Okay, what color was her hair?
“Gray.”
“So it was an old woman,” Dane said.
“No,” Koda said, shaking his head. “She was young, like late teens or early twenties maybe.”
“With gray hair?”
“Not just her hair,” Koda said. “Her face, her clothes, everything. It was all gray.”
“A gray girl in a gray place with gray clothing,” Dane repeated, trying to make sense of it. “What was she wearing?” “I’m not sure,” Koda said. “Wait.” Koda closed his eyes, tried to summon a mental image in his mind. “A dress. No, not a dress, more like a fancy gown, like someone would wear to a wedding.”
“Weren’t there a couple of weddings…?”
“Don’t go there,” Koda said.
“Okay, okay,” Dane said. “Did she say anything?”
Koda shook his head from side to side.
“Was she pretty?” Dane asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Koda said. “She was stunning, mesmerizing. But there was something about her, Dane…”
“What?”
“It’s hard to explain, to put into words,” Koda said, closing his eyes again, trying to form a picture of the girl in his mind. “It was her eyes. There was something in her eyes—a combination of sadness and innocence and confusion—like she was…”
“Lost?” Dane asked.
“No, not lost,” Koda said. “Like she was dead.”
Onyx Webb: Book Two
The story continues. The entanglements grow. Who will survive?
Onyx is in danger. Her husband’s affair has him in a tight spot. And someone wants her dead. Will he kill his wife to save his skin? Koda is obsessed. Who is the girl in the mirror? He’s losing it, but his friend Dane has an idea. Will a psychic in Florida help them with answers? Or will it be a mistake?Koda is obsessed. Who is the girl in the mirror? He’s losing it, but his friend Dane has an idea. Will a psychic in Florida help them with answers? Or will it be a mistake?Declan Mulvaney and his best friend Tommy struggle to survive at the Open Arms Orphanage. A single act of defiance has them both in trouble. It won’t be easy to avoid the Nun’s wrath.You’ll love the next installment of this fantastic series because the twist and turns keep coming.Goodreads * Amazon
Onyx Webb: Book Three
Onyx’s new life isn’t what she expected. Will Koda recover from the tragedy? Decaln is succeeding but at a terrible cost.
Every decision has consequences.
The surprises continue in this third installment of the Onyx Webb series and you won’t believe how twisted the plot has become. It will grab you because of the surprises, but you’ll be hooked because of the unknown.You’re in deep now. Keep going forward.It’s the only way out.Goodreads * Amazon
Richard Fenton & Andrea Waltz are best known as the authors of Go for No! (which hit #1 on Amazon’s Sales & Selling list and has remained in the Top 10 for the last five years.) They are also professional speakers who speak internationally to audiences on how to overcome fear of failure and rejection.Although all of their business books are fables, the Onyx Webb series is their first serious dive into fiction.But Richard and Andrea have been in love with creating stories together since they met almost twenty years ago and even spent some time in Hollywood writing screenplays, being represented by the producer of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Pinterest * Goodreads
Follow the tour HEREfor exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
