Interview with Natalie Wright at Indie Author Land

My recent interview with the folks at Indie Author Land has been posted. Come here what I'm up to :-D

Inspiration at 35,000 Feet!

Much of my first novel, Emily’s House, takes place in Ireland. I’d been inspired to write a story partially set in the Emerald Isle, but I’d never been there! As I finished the first draft, I knew that I had to go to Ireland before I could finish my revisions.

But there was a problem. I didn’t have the money to make the trip. But that problem was solved when I won a trip to Ireland in a radio contest – true story! (Read this post for more on that story.) Less than a month after I’d prayed for the opportunity, my plane touched down in Dublin.

It was magical to traipse around the Irish countryside, roughly following the path that my characters tread in Emily’s House. I smiled so much my face hurt!

That's my head, peaking from behind an Irish Megalithic stone

Before I left for Ireland, I’d envisioned Emily’s House as a single novel, not a series. Written for a late tween to early teen audience, Emily’s House is a classic hero quest. Emily learns of her ancient magical heritage; journeys solo and learns secret knowledge from a wise mentor; receives magical objects; and then defeats the bad guy and saves the day. A grand adventure for Emily and her pals. One big story. The end.

But on my way back from Ireland, cruising at 35,000 above the Earth, something happened. Maybe it was the lower-than-normal oxygen level. Or perhaps the white noise hum of the engines created stillness and focus. Whatever the reason, my mind was open and my imagination flowed.

And there, 35,000 feet in the air, three titles popped into my head: Emily’s House, Emily’s Trial, and Emily’s Heart.

On that flight, Emily told me that she had more than one story to tell. In Emily’s House, Emily was faced with obstacles, to be sure. But I hadn’t challenged her as much as I could. I wanted to see what would happen if I pushed her to the edge of the cliff. All I needed was a juicy catalyst of a challenge.

By the time I touched down back in the U.S., the theme of book 2 was clear to me: Fear.

What if Emily’s worst fears began to come true? What if her friends’ nightmares became real?

My initial premise was born on that flight in September, 2010. And by the time I touched down back in the U.S., I had a brief outline of Book 2, Emily’s Trial.

Last November (2011), I gave myself a challenge and participated in NaNoWriMo (Nat’l Novel Writing Month). The goal: To write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

 My family ate out of boxes and bags for much of the month, but I achieved my goal. By December 1, I had the first draft of Emily’s Trial written! It was an incredible challenge to push myself to write that much each and every day. The truth is, usually I’m a sporadic writer. I may write for eight hours one day, then not write at all for a few weeks.

But I soon found that total immersion in the story for thirty days straight was a blessing. I ate, breathed, slept and dreamt Emily’s world and characters for a whole month. And as I lived with them, they spoke to me more clearly than they ever had. The characters took the story to places I hadn’t imagined. And I ended up with an ending that required me to go back and rewrite the beginning!

It was wonderful fun for me, as a writer, to explore the theme of fear with these characters. Poor Emily – I pushed her so hard! But the reward is a character-driven action story that tests long-held friendships and loyalties.

I had so much fun writing Emily’s Trial! I hope you have fun reading it J

Emily's Trial, Book 2 of the Akasha Chronicles

I may be crazy, but I’ll be doing the NaNoWriMo challenge again this November, and banging out a first draft of Book 3, Emily’s Heart.

So think of me this November, foregoing decent food, sleep, fresh air and Facebook as I write the last chapter of Emily’s amazing journey. Will Emily rise to the challenge left her at the end of Book 2? And will love flourish in Emily’s Heart?

I’ll see you in December ;-)

Happy reading!

Dream Cast for Emily's Trial

Emily's Trial, Book 2 of the Akasha Chronicles

Some writers “cast” their characters before they pen the first word of their story.  I didn’t search for actors or models to serve as references for my characters before I wrote Emily’s House, Book 1 of the Akasha Chronicles. But when I set out to write Book 2, Emily’s Trial, I decided to give casting my characters a shot.

It was a lot of fun to search out real-world faces to match the characters I’d created in my mind. There aren’t any exact matches of course. But I’ve come pretty close here.

Allow me to introduce you to the cast of Emily’s Trial:

Actress Rachel Hurd-Wood 

Emily Adams – played by Rachel Hurd-Wood. Emily is the main character, reluctant hero, ordinary girl with a painful past turned modern Celtic Priestess. Emily’s signature long, red hair and piercing green eyes make her a somewhat hard character to cast. Emily is beautiful but in a natural way. She doesn’t wear much makeup and tends to let her hair go au naturel. But when I came across this picture of Rachel Hurd-Wood, it was like looking at a picture of the snapshot of Emily I’ve had in my head for about five years now!

But hold on, when we cast the model to pose as Emily for the cover of Emily’s Trial, I think we found a girl that may be even more of a dead ringer for Emily than Rachel. Here’s Ashley playing Emily Adams for the cover of Emily’s Trial.

Armed with her magical dagger and wearing the golden torc, forged long ago by faerie hands, Emily is ready to take on the forces of darkness in Emily’s Trial. But will desire tempt her to use the powerful magic entrusted to her in a forbidden way? And what will happen to her and her friends if she succumbs to the forces of temptation?

Acrtess Allisyn Ashley Arm

Fanny Katz – played by Allisyn Ashley Arm. Fanny is the wisecracking, loyal friend to Emily. The two have known each other since pre-school. Fanny has always had Emily’s back. But in Emily’s Trial, the friendship is tested. Will their bond survive the ordeal of Emily’s Trial?

Fanny’s strong, athletic and although physically small, can kick the ass of just about anybody. When I’m writing, Fanny’s voice comes out with a potty mouth! So to keep the Akasha Chronicles series YA appropriate, I’ve had to tone down her language ;-) It has been a fun challenge to try to find other ways to say her trash-mouth phrases that won’t scald the ears of parents and librarians!

I saw this picture of Allisyn and couldn’t believe the resemblance to the Fanny in my mind! Just add curly hair and you’ve got Fanny.

Actor Ian Somerhalder

Owen Breen – played by Ian Somerhalder. How hot does a guy have to be to get Emily to put her friendships – the most valuable thing to her – at risk? How about Ian Somerhalder hot?

Those smoldering eyes, the full lips, the dark hair. Ian is slightly older than Owen, and Owen has dark, chocolate-brown eyes. But the swagger is all Owen. I think Ian Somerhalder could persuade me to do anything he wanted me to. Hell, I don’t think it would take much persuading!

Actor Sterling Beaumon
Photo Getty Images

Jake Stevens – Played by Sterling Beaumon. If you’ve read book 1, Emily’s House, then you know that Jake and Emily have been best friends since they were little kids. Jake is super-smart and as loyal as they come. What he lacks in courage, he makes up for with his calm, level-headed reason. When the shit hits the fan, and you find yourself in a big mess, Jake is the go-to guy to come up with a plan to get you out (a good thing, because Emily has a way of getting herself into lots of messes!).

Jake is what you might call a “late bloomer”. In Emily’s Trial, he’s now 16 but still waiting to “fill out” a bit. When I came across a picture of Sterling Beaumon, I thought he was perfect to play Jake. Just add glasses and you’ve got Jake Stevens.

Astute readers of book 1 may have guessed it, but in Emily’s Trial, it’s confirmed – Jake has been crushing on Emily - big time! But the oblivious Miss Adams hasn’t put it together. When they’re thrust into danger, will Emily start to crush on him too? And if she does, is it too late for them?

Sterling sure is aging well! Perhaps a look at Jake in the last installment of the Akasha Chronicles, Emily’s Heart, coming 2013.

Sterling Beaumon

What’s a story without some conflict – antagonists? Emily’s got plenty of antagonists in Emily’s Trial. Her old nemesis Greta Hoffman makes an appearance in Emily’s Trial.

AnnaSophia Robb, Photo by Jonathan Ressler

In Emily’s House, we learned that Greta was the kind of girl that, as a child, could melt the hearts of adults with her blonde curls and large, blue eyes. Greta still uses her physical beauty and charm to get what she wants.

There are plenty of blonde-haired, blue-eyes beauties in Hollywood. But whoever plays Greta has to have something other than good looks. After all, Greta has to hold her own against Emily Adams – no wimpy, lithe runway walker will do!

Greta Hoffman – Played by AnnaSophia Robb. When I saw this picture of AnnaSophia, I thought this is Greta! I can picture her as a popular, a cheerleader, and a teacher’s favorite. But this picture also captures that side of Greta that no one knows – the secret side. There’s more to her than meets the eye. What role will she play in Emily’s Trial? And I promise you, there’s more of her to come in Book 3, Emily’s Heart.

One last character to get you in the spirit of it all. A nasty creature – sometimes I wonder where my brain comes up with this stuff! Should I be worried?!

In Emily’s Trial, Emily and crew meet perhaps the ugliest beast they’ve ever seen. What would happen if you took this . . .

"What? My mother thinks I'm beautiful!" 

And mixed it with this . . .

The mixture would turn out to look a lot like Dorcha, a strange creature that roams the Umbra Perdita.

There are other characters to meet in the pages of Emily’s Trial, but I have to leave you some surprises.

Happy reading J

October Blog Tour & Giveaway!

It has been a while since Emily went on tour ;-) So in preparation for the worldwide release of Emily's Trial, Book 2 of the Akasha Chronicles, I decided to send Emily back out to tour the net. Heather, the lovely owner of NR Book Tours set up a tour this week for Emily. Hop around the blogosphere with Emily this week and read reviews, posts and make sure you enter the Giveaway. I'm giving away not only signed copies of the books, but a handmade armlet created especially for me by Lady Steel, in honor of Emily's golden torc. You know you want one! Gotta play to win ;-)

Hippity-hop yourself over to these blogs:

10/8/12 - Happy Tails and Tales Blog

10/9/12 - Kaidans Seduction

10/10/12 - Tana Rae Reads

10/11/12 - Sittin Under an Oak Tree

10/12/12 - Crazy For Books

10/15/12 RELEASE DAY PARTY!! Go to all of the above blogs on Release Day + these two additional lovely blogs

A Bibliophile's Thoughts On Books

Black Hippie Chicks Take on Books & World

a Rafflecopter giveaway

COVER REVEAL! Emily's Trial

Print Cover for Emily's Trial, Book 2 of the Akasha Chronicles by Natalie Wright
Cover Design by Cheryl Perez, Cover Art by Phatpuppy Art
Cover Photography by Teresa Yeh, Cover Model Ashley Phillips

It has felt like a long wait! But as they say, good things come to those who wait. Here it is - cover reveal for Emily's Trial!

One step closer to final product. Some last editing, then uploading for readers!!

I'm looking forward to getting this one into your hands. The feel of this book is different, I think, from the first one. In Emily's Trial, though the book is still squarely in the fantasy genre, it focuses more on the characters and their relationships. Yes, there are action scenes - plenty of dagger wielding and sword fighting. You'll meet a nasty new adversary named Ciardha. He makes Dughall look like a choir boy. And I build on the mythology that I began in Emily's House (Book 1).

But relationships are the focus of Emily's Trial, and Emily's relationships are tested here.

Stay tuned and check back often for updates about release as well as giveaways, blog tour stops and other fun stuff. And if you haven't read Emily's House yet, now is a great time to read it so you're caught up on Emily's world before you read Emily's Trial. I've just uploaded a newly revised edition of Emily's House AND gave it a price reduction to 99 cents AND have put it in the Kindle lending library for Amazon Prime members. Click this link to go to the page with all of the buy links so you can purchase from the retailer of your choice.

Emily's House, Book 1 of the Akasha Chronicles
Cover Design by Cheryl Perez, Cover Art by Phatpuppy Art

And as always, thank you dear readers for your support - and for reading! I have the best fans in the world and you are the ones that keep me energized and writing.

Cheers!

Summer Teen Reading Party with Amy Durham

The Summer Teen Reading Party continues! Have you snagged any fun books yet? If you've read any of the books featured, leave me a comment on my blog here and let me know what you thought.

Please welcome my Writer Chat Wednesday guest Amy Durham, author of Once Again, a book that sounds very intriguing to me! Check it out:

NATALIE WRIGHT (NW): Do you have any news to share about your work?

AMY DURHAM (AD): My first novel, “Once Again”, a Young Adult Paranormal, is currently available in both eBook and print format. It’s the story of Layla Bradford and Lucas Ellis, two teenagers who discover they are the reincarnations of a young married couple from the mid-1800s who suffered a horrible tragedy. The madman who hurt them was never brought to justice, and no one ever knew the truth about what happened. Layla and Lucas must solve the mystery of their past life in order to keep the tragedy from happening again.

NW: What genre do you write in?

AD: I write Young Adult Fiction. Most of what I’ve written and what I’m working on falls into the “YA Paranormal Romance” category, but I also have plans for a non-paranormal YA Romance. I love YA for it’s cross-over appeal. And I love that it give young readers hope and encouragement, while at the same time taking young-at-hearts (like me!) back to the exuberance and excitement of youth!

NW: What works in progress do you have?

AD: I’m currently working on the sequel to “Once Again”, which is titled “Once and for All”. It follows two of the secondary characters from “Once Again”, as they encounter their own reincarnation mystery, as well as an ancient curse that has never been broken. I’m also working on “Dusk”, book one in “The Messenger” series. Messengers are a bit like angels, but not exactly! Readers will just have to wait and find out!

NW: Which character from your books do you like most / are most like?

AD: There’s a LOT of me in Layla Bradford, the heroine in “Once Again”. She’s a typical middle-of-the-road student in her school, not popular but not the bottom of the social ladder either. She’s comfortable in her own skin, but still a little insecure when it comes to others’ opinions of her. Her journey in “Once Again” isn’t just about falling in love with Lucas or figuring out the mystery of their past life, but also of discovering exactly who she is, and learning that who she is is absolutely, positively good enough!

NW: Who is your favorite author and why?

AD: I have several favorite authors. First and foremost, JoAnn Ross, whose book “Fair Haven” was the book that finally said to me, “THIS is what you should be doing!” She’s a wonderful example of how to create vivid settings and write with a sense of community and family. She’s also a gracious and giving writer and a super person all the way around. On the YA side of things, I really like Rachel Vincent and her “Soul Screamer” series. Talk about teenage angst!

NW: How long have you been a writer?

Author, Amy Durham

AD: I’ve wanted to be a writer since the 6^th grade. It started out as poems and silly stories. In the 8^th grade I began to take it more seriously, and from that point on, I always wrote. But I didn’t pursue it seriously…more as a hobby. I kept thinking “Someday, I’ll write a book.”  In 2003, just before my second child was born, I decided that if I kept saying “someday”, I would never do it. If I was going to write a book, I was going to start NOW. I spent a lot of time learning from other writers and practicing the craft of writing fiction. This year, I felt like I was “ready”, and my first novel, “Once Again” was published.

NW: Do you have a “day job”? And if you do, what do you do when you’re not writing?

AD: In my day job, I’m a middle school music teacher. I also have three sons. So, I stay busy! When I’m not teaching, parenting, or writing I LOVE to cook!  It’s a very big creative outlet for me. I also love to read (no surprise there), and when time and finances allow, I like to travel.

NW: Who is your favorite fictional character and why? 

AD: My favorite fictional character is Jude Murray from Nora Roberts’ “Jewels of the Sun”.  I read this book when I was pregnant with my second child, just before I made the decision to pursue writing in earnest. I identified greatly with Jude, who was a teacher (a college professor) who longed for something “more”, and then found herself when she began writing.

NW: What is your favorite movie – the one you can watch over and over again?

AD: “When Harry Met Sally”, followed closely by “Notting Hill”.

NW: What do you hope readers will take with them from your writing?

AD: I hope young readers come away from my story feeling like they were able to escape into their imaginations for a while. I also hope they are encouraged and feel hopefully that the struggles of adolescence won’t last forever and that they will survive! I hope young-at-heart readers are able to remember the beauty and the heartache of first love, the disappointments of youth, and the joy that followed when they survived into adulthood!

You can find Amy online at the following places:

Email: amybdurham@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorAmyDurham

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Amy_Durham

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/Amy_Durham

You can purchase “Once Again” at the following retailers:

Amazon -  http://www.amazon.com/Once-Again-Sky-Cove-ebook/dp/B0071NTTV0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327669156&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble -  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/once-again-amy-durham/1108428186?ean=2940014029940&itm=1&usri=once+again+amy+durham

iBooks - http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/once-again/id501768486?mt=11

Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/126513