Thank
you! Call
to War
will be the third and final in the series. It’s on schedule for
release in Summer 2017. I’ve just got the first round of edits back
from my editor, so it’s moving along nicely!
What
do you think makes a great story?
Realistic,
complex characters. Especially in Fantasy. I hate the vapid good or
evil ‘just because the author says so’ characters. No one is
perfectly good or totally evil in real life, and characters shouldn’t
be portrayed that way either. In The
Dragonath Chronicles,
Mionee is a perfect example of the characters I love and that make
great stories. I’ve had many people tell me they didn’t know if
they should love her or hate her. And to me, that’s the best
compliment.
What
inspired you when writing The
Lost Heir?
When
I write, I’m inspired by just about everything around me. But for
The
Lost Heir
in particular, it was a combination of my interest in there being
other worlds similar to ours within our galaxy and my weird,
overactive imagination.
What
are your ambitions for your writing career? Full time? Part time?
Luckily,
I’m able to write full time, which is wonderful. My rather lofty
ambitions are to be the next George R. R. Martin, Terry Brooks, or
Robert Jordan. I don’t know if that will ever happen, but I’d
love to have my name included up there with the greats.
When
did you decide to become a writer?
There
wasn’t a moment when I actually sat down and decided that I wanted
to do this for a living. Rather, it happened quite by accident. I had
started The
Lost Heir
just as something to do for fun. My mom had gotten me into reading,
and I wanted to write it just for her to read. But I’m a huge
procrastinator and am notorious for starting projects and never
finishing them. So, nine years went by, and the book still wasn’t
finished. Then, my mom died in April of 2011, and I thought, ‘sit
your ass down in that chair and finish it for her.’ So I did. Once
it was finished, I thought it couldn’t hurt to try to get it
published, and things just spiraled from there.
When
writing The
Lost Heir
did anything stand out as particularly challenging?
Honestly,
there wasn’t anything that was particularly challenging other than
getting myself to finish it! But once I was focused, the words just
came to me, and the characters led me through the story.
How
did you come up with the story of The
Lost Heir?
I’ve
always been interested in the possibility of other planets similar to
Earth. I wondered what it would be like to suddenly find myself in
another world, and the basic idea for The
Lost Heir
was born. Being a lifelong Fantasy lover, that was the natural genre,
but I wanted to do something different than most high fantasy stories
and decided to have Earth as part of the story. Darrak, the young man
from Earth who’s the main character, is taken to Dragonath and
finds himself torn between the two worlds. The tension increases in
Awakening
and Call
to War
as he not only struggles with saving both planets but isn’t sure
where he truly belongs. Where is home?
What
do you like to do when not writing?
I
was an avid ballet dancer until I herniated a disc about a year ago,
but I just had surgery to fix it, so I hope to get back to ballet
soon! Ditto with running! ;) I also fill my time playing Lord
of the Rings Online,
reading, and gardening.
Or
find me on: