The Sunday Spotlight ~ Talking with Debra J. Edwards
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Welcome to another installment
of
The Sunday Spotlight
I
hope you've been enjoying a nice and relaxing weekend. Mine is
progressing nicely with perhaps a little editing stint on the horizon,
as I really need to get 'Crimson Fire' Book II in The Seraphoenix Saga
ready for publication. Fingers crossed it won't be too long now!
Yesterday my
guest author, Debra J. Edwards was here sharing her latest novel - see
below - and today she's back sharing writing, life and a little of
everything else.
Talking with Debra J. Edwards
on
The Sunday Spotlight
Welcome Debra and thanks for joining us today.
Firstly
can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am a former primary school teacher, mostly
teacher pupils of 10-11 years. I
finished teaching last year so that I could spend more time on my writing,
although I do spend more time promoting books at the moment. I have been
writing for about 10 years now and love everything about it – apart from
editing! I live near London in the UK and although I have travelled
extensively, I really wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
Have you
published any other novels, if so can you share the details?
I have three children’s fantasy novels published
for the 8-12 year range although I have sold a lot to teenagers and adults. In
fact, my oldest reader for these books is in her sixties! They are stories about
a group of stroppy teenage tooth fairies and how they try to say their world.
Here’s the blurb for the first book:
Aggie Lichen faces the same
dilemmas as any other thirteen year old; what to wear, how to keep out of
trouble at school. But while other thirteen year olds are doing their homework
or settling down to watch T.V., Aggie flits from house to house in search of
prize pilps. That’s where Aggie is a little different. You see, Aggie Lichen is
a pilp collector – a tooth fairy!
One nightsgritch – a tooth collecting evening – Aggie is attacked by a bright, mysterious light. Is it just a low flying glow worm or a bad tempered giant bluebottle? Or, as Aggie and her gang suspect, is it something more sinister?
Unknown to them, Aggie and her gang have just thirty days to solve the mystery and save their kind but time is not on their side … neither are the Sprites or the Grublins …
One nightsgritch – a tooth collecting evening – Aggie is attacked by a bright, mysterious light. Is it just a low flying glow worm or a bad tempered giant bluebottle? Or, as Aggie and her gang suspect, is it something more sinister?
Unknown to them, Aggie and her gang have just thirty days to solve the mystery and save their kind but time is not on their side … neither are the Sprites or the Grublins …
Are you
working on anything new right now?
I am writing another YA book now. It’s kind of a
cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Hunger Games. My working title
is, Buffy the Dragon Slayer’! In the
book, it falls to a teenage girl, Rae, to save the world from dragons. Here’s a
snippet!
‘I am
George, the original George as in George and the Dragon?’ said George, taking a
Peter Pan stance. ‘And this is my trusted friend, Ascalon.’ He pulled a small
wand like stick from his pocket. ‘…the dragon slaying lance.’
Rae stared hard at George then transferred her fierce look to the stick/lance he was holding. Then she burst out laughing. ‘Oh, please! George and the Dragon?’ She fell back against the tree. ‘Are you for real?’
George shook the stick several times. ‘It does that sometimes. It gets stuck. I think it’s all the crap it’s collected over the last few hundred years.’
‘Oh my god. You’re still talking, George,’ said Rae. ‘And it’s still just a stick. Look!’
Rae stared hard at George then transferred her fierce look to the stick/lance he was holding. Then she burst out laughing. ‘Oh, please! George and the Dragon?’ She fell back against the tree. ‘Are you for real?’
George shook the stick several times. ‘It does that sometimes. It gets stuck. I think it’s all the crap it’s collected over the last few hundred years.’
‘Oh my god. You’re still talking, George,’ said Rae. ‘And it’s still just a stick. Look!’
What is
your all-time favourite novel?
Can I have more than one? Lord of the Rings and the
Hobbit are up there on the list. Brilliantly written and a fantasy world
created like nothing else I have read. I
am also a great fan of Herbie Brennan, author of the Faerie Wars series.
Seriously, if you haven’t read these you should. They are YA fantasy and the
writing is amazing. After reading these I contacted Herbie to see if he would
read my books and he did! He provided some fabulous quotes for me to use on the
covers! I also love the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett. They are hilarious
and you really grow to love the characters who pop up at different times in different
novels.
Can you tell
us who your favourite indie author is?
Although now traditionally published, I got hooked
onto Amanda Hocking’s books when she was self-publishing. I loved the Trylle
series of books and they were something fresh to read in this genre. I have yet
to try some of her others. I also was able to meet Amanda when she visited her
publisher’s offices in the UK last year. There was just a small group of us who
shared pizza together and were able to put questions to her informally. She’s a
lovely person and so deserving of her success.
What are
you reading at the moment & would you recommend it to us?
I have just finished reading Poison Heart by S B
Hart, another YA book. I would definitely recommend it. It’s very different
from what I’ve read before, no fantasy or paranormal. It’s about a girl who
wants to take over another girls’ life. A really good read – must get the
review done for it! And just started Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse. I
love Percy Jackson books and so far this one, number 3, is just great! Loved
the first film too. That’s what drew me into wanting to read the rest of the
books.
Do you
have a favourite quote, if so what is it?
"I ATE'NT DEAD" This is by Granny Weatherwax, a witch in
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books. When
she goes off ‘borrowing’ she overlays the minds of other creatures, leaving her
body in a death-like trance, so to avoid any misunderstandings, she wears a
placard with this quote around her neck.
How many
novels/books do you typically read in a month?
I can read very quickly and it makes my husband mad
as he’s so slow at reading! Time allowing, I can probably read 4-6 books a
month. It doesn’t sound much, but that’s because other things like writing have
to be done and I spend an awful lot of time on promotion.
What is
your favourite genre to read at the moment?
I’m not good at trying other
genres so I mostly stick to children’s and YA paranormal. Books like the Septimus Heap series and
Charlie Bone series are children’s books I have loved. In YA, I am enjoying the
House of Night series and have just read through all the Iron Fey books by
Julie Kagawa.
Apart from
writing, do you have any other hobbies that you’d like to share with us?
I love travelling and so far have been to nearly 50
different countries! I’m such a travel geek that I have a world map in my study
with pins placed in where I’ve been. It’s great to see the sights and
experience different cultures. I am not a beach person, so for me it’s being
able to do all the touristy things then find my own way round villages, towns
and cities. One of the most exciting times was visiting China and using
overnight sleeper trains to get to Beijing, Xian and back to Shanghai. I also
like to cruise! I get a lot of writing done that way too as they have quiet
areas and libraries where I can work. India is next on the long list, but may
have to do a few short journeys to complete Europe first.
Are you a
morning person or a night owl?
Oh, I’m most definitely not a morning person! When
I taught, my colleagues knew not to speak to me until mid morning, after I’d
had a coffee or two. I would mostly just grunt at anyone who spoke to me before
that as sentences were hard to form at that time of day! Now, I get up when I
please so no more grunting!
Who would
be your dream cast if your novel was made into a movie?
I’d kind of hoped Jay Baruchel would play Marvin,
but I’m not sure he’d be cast in the role of a 17 year old anymore! I loved him
as ‘Dave’ in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice with Nicholas cage. For Stella, possibly
Helena Bonham-Carter, again cast as a 17 year old???
It’s not a dark secret, but… I’m terrified of the
dentist! And I mean, knees knocking, tears in the eyes kind of terror! Which is
ironic as the books I’ve written previously are about tooth fairies. I just
remember lots of visits when I was little and the mask they used to give gas
when taking teeth out. It makes me shudder just to write about it! I look after
my teeth carefully now so that I don’t have to make a visit and so far have
survived not having to go to the dentist for quite a while…
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Book Buy links:
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/325225
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Give-Away:
Debra has very kindly offered my readers the chance to get a FREE copy of YA Novel Marvin's Curse.
For your chance to get your hands on one of the 5 e-books available, in either mobi or PDF format.
All you have to do is answer a quick question:
Which of the following would you pick and why?
In the Grave yard on Halloween?
or
In the Forest on a Full Moon?
Leave your answer in the comment form below, the winners will be notified by the author.
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Join me again tomorrow as I'm back with a Book Blog Tour.
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