Category: Interviews
My Interview with Amanda Hocking
Amanda Hocking is the best-selling author of the Trylle trilogy, the Watersong series and now the Trylle spin-off the Kanin Chronicles. She’s one of the most famous examples of self-published authors making it to the big time after selling over a million ebook copies of her books. Read on for our discussion of the difficulties of writing a spin-off series, why her trolls are losing their powers over the generations and possible future character deaths in her latest series.
1. What made you decide to do another series in the Trylle world?
Because Wendy was a newcomer who didn’t know much about the society, the Trylle series had such a narrow focus. There is so much more to the world of the trolls that I was only able to touch on in the Trylle series, and I wanted to be explore it deeper. I also got a lot readers asking me, “What’s it like to be a tracker?” So with this series, I wanted to show the troll world as on a larger scale, and to see the world through the eyes of a tracker.
My Interview with Sherry Ficklin
Sherry Ficklin is the author of eight books, the most recent of which is Queen of Someday, a novel loosely based on the life of one of history’s best well known women, Catherine the Great. In this interview we discuss future Russian novels, Catherine’s transformation from naive teenager to powerful ruler and why history teachers hate her.
My Interview with David Litwack
David Litwack is the author of (amongst other books) Along the Watchtower, a story of a wounded soldier’s long journey to recovery. He alternates between a fantasy prince Frederick struggling to save his kingdom and Freddie the soldier relearning how to walk. It’s a touching tale so I was very glad to do an interview with him in conjunction with the blog tour by Masquerade Tours. Read for our discussion about research, future projects and writing about PTSD.
What was the inspiration behind Along the Watchtower?
I’ve always been fascinated by how our view of reality is subjective, how each of us brings our own experiences and biases into play. But when we’re ripped from our normal lives and placed in extreme circumstances, our reality becomes fragmented. Such is the case with hospitals and war.
A couple of years ago, I became engrossed in the online game, World of Warcraft, thanks to my son. I’m on the east coast and he’s on the west, so we’d meet every Wednesday evening in the virtual world of Azeroth, where our avatars would go on quests together. I was struck by how immersed I became in the mood of the game as we wandered through castles and crypts, solving riddles and vanquishing demons. For a short period of time, I could totally buy into the alternate reality.
The gaming experience has a dream-like quality to it. And I began to wonder: how would this experience affect the dreams of someone whose reality has been fragmented by the trauma of war? These concepts—war, hospitals, and the fantasy world of online gaming—came together in Along the Watchtower.
My Interview with Louise Turner
Louise Turner is the debut author of Fire & Sword, a thrilling historical novel set in 15th century Scotland that chronicles the life of John Sempill. Read on to see our discussion of why she suddenly decided to write a novel, how she kept track of her enormous cast of characters and her future plans.
1. Of all the times you could have set your novel, why Scotland in 15th century?
I’ve lived in the west of Scotland all my life, so when I first decided to start writing historical fiction, it seemed natural to look around me for inspiration. I suppose it was a sense of place that compelled me to write ‘Fire & Sword’; in particular, it was a fascination with two local historic monuments. The first of these was the Collegiate Church of Castle Semple near Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire, which was built at the behest of John, 1st Lord Sempill (plain ‘John Sempill of Ellestoun’ in ‘Fire and Sword’). The second was Duchal Castle, where a siege takes place towards the end of the book. Even though Duchal played a crucial role in events that had repercussions across Scotland, most people travel past it every day without even knowing that it’s there. Continue reading
My Interview with John Heldt (3)
John Heldt is the author of the now-finished Northwest Passage series (The Mine, The Journey, The Show, The Fire and The Mirror). This five-book series was his writing debut and they all focus on time travel and romance during some very exciting times in American history. Read on to see our discussion about men writing from women’s points of view, saying goodbye to a series and what he would do differently now that’s he’s finished the series.
1. You’ve lived and breathed the Northwest Passage series for years. What’s it like to say goodbye to the series?
Like other authors who have parted with a series, I have mixed emotions. I’m excited about starting a new series but sad to see this one go. I grew attached to the characters and their stories and believe I could have done more with them. One of the things I enjoyed most about writing The Show and The Mirror, in particular, is that I was able to build on a previous book. I look forward to doing more of the same in future series.
2. Of all of the times you could have set The Mirror, why did you specifically choose 1964?
I chose 1964 because it offered opportunities that other years did not. Like 1941 in The Mine, it was a transitional year that was firmly rooted in two distinctly different decades.
Though music, fashion, and cars from the late fifties were everywhere, so were signs of coming change – particularly social change. With a presidential election, the Gulf of Tonkin incident, the Civil Rights Act, the Mississippi Burning tragedy, and the Beatles’ first North American tour, the year was also historically significant.
3. In the series you decided never to go into the nitty-gritty scientific explanation for time travel. Why?
Writing novels involves making choices, setting priorities, and acknowledging limits.
I decided at the start I would treat time travel as fantasy, rather than science fiction, because I wanted to put the focus on people and not machines. The thing I liked best about the Back to the Future series was not the DeLorean or the flux capacitor but rather how Marty McFly interacted with his ancestors. I wanted readers to see themselves not as scientists who volunteered for a highly technical time-travel mission but rather ordinary people who involuntarily traveled back in time by stepping into the wrong gold mine or restroom or haunted house.
4. Three out of five of the books you wrote have predominantly female viewpoints.
As a male writer, was it challenging for you to write from a female POV? What was
challenging about it?
For the most part, it wasn’t challenging at all. I grew up with sisters and female friends. I have a wife and two daughters, including one who is the same age as the twins in The Mirror. I’ve known strong, articulate, and resourceful women my whole life. Writing about such women in the Northwest Passage series was relatively easy. That said, I made a point of enlisting the help of several women in preparing each of the novels. Their assistance in making sure I got things right was invaluable.
5. Can you give us a hint about any future writing projects you’re taking on?
I have already started work on the next project, a five-book series of time-travel novels that will be structured much like the Northwest Passage series. My protagonists will interact with their ancestors in the not-so-distant past of twentieth-century America. The difference is that the protagonists in the new series will pass through a common time portal and travel beyond the Pacific Northwest.
6. Looking back on the series, was there anything you would have done differently either writing-wise or marketing-wise?
Yes. I would have written The Mine, The Show, and The Mirror as a trilogy and written
The Journey and The Fire as a separate series. I would have also paid more attention to point of view and description issues in the early books and perhaps made better use of advertising options in the first year. For the most part, however, I would have done things exactly the same. It’s been fun.