#jo danilo

Mrs Holloway’s Annual Parade of the Brightest and Best

“The brightest and best of you,” says Mrs Holloway, clapping her hands with palms flat and fingers pointing upwards, so that each clap is a prayer of thanks. And so begins the Annual Parade. The rest of us, who don’t fit into the category, watch the usual suspects leave their seats and walk towards the stage. Mrs Holloway’s clapping is an unspoken command that we should clap too, and the names…

As it’s Groundhog Day, here’s the story behind ’11:42′ – not because of the cute little woodchuck that predicts the arrival of Spring every Feb 2nd in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. But because of the awesome time-loop film that Bill Murray was in, which famously made the term ‘Groundhog Day’ synonymous with recurring situations.

My third book, ’11:42′ is more of a ‘Groundhog Night’ with a…

A Failed Experiment and (Almost) Another Cat

So, I’ve been experimenting because there was an expanse of shiny whiteness on my office wall with scribbles on it like ‘Get milk’, ‘Weed the garden (again)’ and ‘***Don’t rescue another cat; you have enough now***’.

But it would be so much better if it said things like:

Chapter 5 – Whenever he smells apples, he is overcome with a murderous rage.

OR, Chapter 12– Astonishing mid-plot…

11:42 p.m. The Editor's Review and the Ending. My new book, a time-travel romance, is off to a cracking start with a note from my lovely editor, Malcolm...

In which my new book, a time-travel romance, is off to a cracking start with a note from my lovely editor, Malcolm:

“It has been a delight. You took me on a captivating and mysterious journey woven with hope, despair, betrayal and enduring love. Clever thing.”

Now to work my way through the edits and add the epilogue I haven’t quite got round to yet. Happy ending or sad ending? It all hangs on…

Getting Praised for Daydreaming: When somebody totally gets what you were trying to say, understands how your world works, and bonds with characters you gave birth to, it's like a little bit of sparkly magic.

Though, like a lot of writers, I write mostly because I love telling myself stories and getting immersed in worlds of my own creation (otherwise known as ‘daydreaming’), a bonus of making the stories available to others is the feedback.

When somebody totally gets what you were trying to say, understands how your world works, and bonds with characters you gave birth to, it’s like a little bit of…

11:42 - One Boy, One Girl, One Road, One Long Night, One Long Nightmare. A terrifying YA Paranormal Romance by Jo Danilo, due out in Autumn, 2018

Here’s the prologue from my new book, a scary YA Paranormal Romance – Groundhog Day… but on a dark street… with a murderer.

NOW

She sits beside me on the sofa, close but not quite touching. Her hand rests, clenched, on her knee, inches from my own. I daren’t reach for it because I know she’ll flinch. The lights from the TV illuminate her face and flash like fireworks in the darkness of her eyes,…

The old fairy stories are not known for their strong female roles. Off the top of my head, there seem to be four main types of women who constantly appear...

The old fairy stories are not known for their strong female roles. Off the top of my head, there seem to be four main types of women who constantly appear:

The young, beautiful damsel who is good at heart, but doesn’t seem to have a mind of her own and often makes foolish mistakes…. usually because she is lovesick.

The middle-aged wife who can’t stop nagging, and essentially exists to make her…

“You have two paths, Catalina. The first will give you the smallest taste of something that you can never have, but something so divine that the very memory is enough to drive you mad for the rest of your life. Or you can leave now."

Within a few moments, the kitchen hands had a fire lit. Free and unburdened by work, there seemed to be a magic about them tonight on the Eve of May. Sparks seemed to fly from their hands as if they were witches.

The kitchen girls produced food as if from nowhere. Their hands were empty and then suddenly full. Of things like a whole clove-studded ham, freshly baked loaves, mincemeat pies and…