Farworld Blog Tour

I had the opportunity to participate in a blog tour, and it has been soo fun. I was sent an advanced reader copy of a novel, I get to do a review, and then this humerus author has done a question and answer on the Gondola in Banff.

The novel is a fantasy (which is not really my genre of books) and I was a little nervous going in, but loved the book. I was soo excited to see what adventure the characters would face next. I found myself coming up with situations and then being shocked at what they actually faced.

A fabulous novel, and great read. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

As part of this tour I also get to give away a free advanced readers copy. To win the FREE BOOK you need to leave a comment on this post (with an e-mail address) so that I can contact you to arrange the delivery of the book) I will go to randomizer to pick the winner on Monday.

Wow, when you told me we were going to be doing this interview in a gondola, I brought my deck shoes, my red and white striped shirt, my funny little hat, and I’ve been practicing Italian songs all morning. But here we are soaring over beautiful, tree covered mountains, in lovely Banff, Alberta, Canada. Makes me feel like I’m home in Utah. Except your mountains have a lot more trees than most of what I see out my backdoor. But what I am supposed to do with this oar? Guess, I’ll just throw it overboard.

“Oops. Sorry about that, ma’am! I’m sure your dog will be better in no time.”

Guess we better move on to the questions, huh?

Why did you choose to write Fantasy?

Well it was either that or ChickLit, and the market is down on ChickLit right now. So I thought, what the heck, why not try fantasy? Okay, just kidding. Don’t throw me out of the gondola. The truth is just about as strange. I didn’t choose fantasy. It chose me. I’d already published a thriller and a mystery series regionally. I was convinced I couldn’t write fantasy. But one night this crazy story wouldn’t leave my head. The whole reason I started writing Farworld (at 2:00 am in the morning no less) was to prove I couldn’t do it and go back to sleep. I guess sometimes you need to trust your subconscious. It apparently knew more than I did.

Do any of the Characters in your book take on somewhat of a personal nature?

Oh, yeah. Absolutely! People ask how a writer creates believable characters when I obviously have no experience with being a boy in a wheelchair or a thirteen year-old girl. It’s because I do believe in them completely. It sounds crazy, but I could tell you what kind of music Marcus likes or what pizza Kyja would hate. I’d love to see Farworld made into a movie. But that wouldn’t make the story any more real to me than it is inside my head.

So I have to ask you. What’s with the extra F in Banff? Is it like it would have pronounced any differently if there was only one F? Seems a little pretentious to me. Or is it just another one of those Canadian things we American’s are clueless about like ketchup chips?

What inspired your love of writing?

Okay, I’m going to reveal a secret here that may very well get me kicked out of the “Real Writer” club. I don’t love writing. At least not all the time. I love having written, and I love telling an exciting story. I even love the process of coming up with the story in my head. But the part of getting the story from my head onto paper is like a rollercoaster romance. Sometimes the words come out so fast, I don’t even worry about spelling. I figure I can clean it up later. I just want to capture the story that’d racing out of my head. Other times it’s like trying to dig a jeep out the mud with a hand trowel. It just feels like you have to pull so hard to capture what’s inside you. So yeah, I love to tell stories. But the actual writing part . . .

Hey look at the cute little bird over there. It’s flying right toward us. It’s getting bigger . . . and bigger. Holy cow, I think that’s an eagle. It’s still coming straight toward us. Quick duck! Whew that was close. I wonder what it wanted. I dropped my . . . hey, you, eagle! Come back with my ketchup chips! Grrrr.

Is Far World the first in a series?

If it’s not, I’ve got a really strange sense of humor, huh? Yes. It is the first of a five book series.

Any secrets about future books?

Ohhhh. GOOD question! How about if I just tell you the things that I love to see in a series, and you can make your own inferences. I love to get to the later books in a series and realize that the author had a plan all along that was clearly put in place from the first book. I love to go, “Now wait. Did it really say that in book one?” Then I go back and check, and sure enough it did. I also love to see characters return that I thought I’d seen the last of. I love to build up to scenes where you lay down the book, raise your fist in the air, and shout, “Yes!” because the scene is one you’ve been waiting for the whole book. I hate gratuitous deaths or scenes where I feel the author is playing me.

Hey stop rocking the gondola. Not that I’m scared of heights or anything!

Do you find it hard to balance life when in the thick of writing a novel?

I really do. Those little cars slide off the board, the spinner doesn’t work right, and your Career cards slide all over the place. Wait, you don’t mean the game? Yeah, I have a problem balancing real life too. But I think that’s a part of doing anything you love, there just aren’t enough hours. That being said, I’m hoping that within the next 12-24 months I can make this writing thing a fulltime gig.

Any advise for aspiring authors?

Of course there’s all the usual stuff—read all you can, write, write, and write, learn your craft, and grow a thick skin. But I guess my best piece of advice is to enjoy the whole process. There are enough hard things in life. Don’t make writing one of them. I like to watch how little kids draw. They don’t worry if the chimney is crooked on their house, or if their dogs look like humpbacked cows. They just do their thing, then hold it up and say, “Look what I did!” We have to approach writing the same way. Let it flow. Give yourself the freedom to experiment instead of thinking every time you put pen to paper something miraculous has to flow out.

Well it looks like we’re at the end of our ride. Now we just have to figure out how to get back down. Somersault contest anyone? Thanks for the interview and the ride. They were both a lot of fun