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Paranormal Week Day 6: Spotlight on Shelly Crane and the Significance Series

Paranormal Week In Review:

Day 6 of Paranormal Week spotlights the Significance series by Shelly Crane. This is another set of books I randomly came across on Amazon, before I was fully entrenched in the book community and I loved them immediately. I was instantly absorbed by the mystery of the world Shelly created, by the romance and the heartfelt moments, and by the relentless curiosity of what would happen next. It was simply an enjoyable series to read!

About The Series

This is the synopsis of book 1, Significance.

Maggie is a seventeen year old girl who’s had a bad year. She was smart and on track, but then her mom left, her dad is depressed, she’s graduating – barely – and her boyfriend of almost three years dumped her for a college football scholarship. Lately she thinks life is all about hanging on by a thread and is gripping tight with everything she has.

Then she saves the life of Caleb and instantly knows there’s something about him that’s intriguing. But things change when they touch, sparks ignite. Literally.

They imprint with each other and she sees their future life together flash before her eyes. She learns that not only is she his soul mate, and can feel his heartbeat in her chest, but there is a whole other world of people with gifts and abilities that she never knew existed. She herself is experiencing supernatural changes unlike anything she’s ever felt before and she needs the touch of his skin to survive.

Now, not only has her dad come out of his depression to be a father again, and a pain as well, but Caleb’s enemies know he’s imprinted and are after Maggie to stop them both from gaining their abilities and take her from him.

Can Caleb save her or will they be forced to live without each other after just finding one another?

Why I Love These Books

I loved the idea that a chance encounter led you to your soul mate, your destiny… that a single touch, a single moment in time, could change your entire world. These well-written books had a good balance of supernatural interest, likable characters, action and romance. The story never felt forced and it flowed nicely, getting better with each book. I loved Caleb and Maggie together, although their road to happiness was certainly bumpy and challenging, their love is almost effortless. It’s an exciting series to read.

Reading Order

Significance
Accordance
Defiance
Reverence (novella)
Independence

Here’s some bonus stuff on the series:

Interview with Shelly Crane

Contemporary Romances have been quite popular for
a while now and have been very successful for many authors.
It’s also been said that perhaps the time for paranormal has passed. What are your thoughts on this and why do you enjoy
writing about the supernatural?

Never! 🙂 Yes, contemporary is definitely popular right now. There’s always a trend and right now, that’s it. Paranormal was a trend once. The tides change all the time and the same things don’t stay popular. Whether vampires and werewolves will be popular again, I can’t say, but I do believe it will swing back around to some form of supernatural. Whether it be dystopian or apocalyptic or something else. I have enjoyed the contemporary. My contemp books were a nice break from the paranormal, which takes so much more world building and work than my contemps do. I have several paranormal books coming up and I’m excited to get to them.

Tell us about the Significance series!

It’s all about first love, real love, family love, soul mates, and the people who come into our lives, good or bad, that all serve a purpose. I dislike love triangles, so I don’t write them. It’s about finding the person you love and keeping that love through the things that life throws at us. Maggie is dealing with graduating and having no plans because she feels like her life is just stalled from break-ups and parents leaving. One night, she saves Caleb from being hit by a truck. They bond with one touch, soul mates, and he and his family show her what a family is supposed to be like. They love and protect her from those who don’t want to see Caleb’s family thrive in their power.

The Significance series is being made into a TV series!
What can you share with us about this project?!

Well, it was originally optioned for film and they began casting and getting things underway, but after a meeting with the production company, the producers and director discussed that because the books are big and so much goes on in the series, not to mention that I recently announced there will be another Significance book next year, they decided it would be better as a TV series so that so much didn’t have to be cut out for the movie. I was ecstatic about that option because the first book especially is so long and a lot had to be cut out. So I’m thrilled. This was a recent development so they are still in works to get all that straightened out. As for the cast members for the movie and release\show dates, all that will be announced as soon as we can. Things have to be concrete in stone before we they announce them, so I’m waiting along with you guys. More information to come soon! 🙂

You mentioned another Significance series book that is yet to come.
Eeeeeeppp!!! Can you tell us about it?!

Undeniably Chosen will be out Fall 2014. I’m so excited to dig back into the Virtuoso world! To find out whose POV it will be and to read the first two chapters, find it in the back of Wide Spaces, out now! Here’s some more info.

When writing a paranormal story, you have to develop the foundational elements for that supernatural world and keep them consistent with each book. How difficult is this process for you? How do you approach that part of the writing process?

Honestly, I don’t plot. The way I get ready for a sequel is to do a re-read of all the books in the series before it, and then jump right in.

I think release timing can be especially important (and tricky) in paranormal reads as these types of books typically have pretty involved plot lines with clues and specifics a reader must recall when reading the next book in the series. What is your philosophy on release timing? Do you recommend people re-read the previous books before jumping into the next book in the series?

That’s what I do, so I always recommend a re-read before you start the next book. I usually (almost always) start the next book where the previous one left off. I don’t like to spend so much time reminding people of things that happened in the last book to bring them up to speed. That’s one of my least favorite things when I read a book and I wind up skimming it because I know what’s going to happen and I want to get to the story! So I don’t do that because I don’t want people to feel like they want to skim mine.

What’s coming up next for you? You’ve got Wide Open, book 3 in your YA Romance series, Wide Awake, coming in December, correct?

Yep. Wide Open releases in Dec and the book before that, Wide Spaces – a novella, releases Oct 22nd. The third Devoured book, Altered, releases Feb\Mar.

What are some of your favorite paranormal books?

The Star-crossed series by Rachel Higginson is amazing, the Premonition series by Amy Bartol, Insight series by Jamie Magee, Vampire Academy series by Rachelle Mead, Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, Need by Carrie Jones, Switched by Amanda Hocking, and Prince of Wolves by Quinn Loftis.

Thank you so much Shelly!

About Shelly Crane

Shelly is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author from a small town in Georgia and loves everything about the south. She is wife to a fantastical husband and stay at home mom to two boisterous and mischievous boys who keep her on her toes. They currently reside in scorching North Florida. She loves to spend time with her family, binge on candy corn, go out to eat at new restaurants, buy paperbacks at little bookstores, sight-see in the new areas they travel to, listen to music everywhere and also LOVES to read.
Her own books happen by accident and she revels in the writing and imagination process. She doesn’t go anywhere without her notepad for fear of an idea creeping up and not being able to write it down immediately, even in the middle of the night, when her best ideas are born.