Today the fabulous A.E. Howard, author of the newly released Flight of Blue, joins us in her blog tour for an interview. Flight of Blue is an outstanding fantasy book I’d recommend for anyone of any age. Anna has been kind enough to answer some questions about her debut. Don’t forget to enter her giveaway at the bottom.
Goodreads:
A cursed traffic light. A rip in the fabric of the world. A possum sorcerer injured on a quest for revenge.
Kai and Ellie embark on a journey to return the sorcerer to his home. Entangled in events that could destroy the world, Kai must choose whether to accept the role he was born to play, but isn’t sure he wants.
Sure. It’s a great book.
Oh! you meant, like, what happens in the book... um, let’s see.
“Pulled into events he doesn’t understand by a snarky possum sorcerer, Kai finds himself launched on a quest where the fate of the world might just depend on what he chooses.”
You had me at "possum sorcerer". How did you come up with such a magical and hilarious creature?
The possum part was a bit prosaic in that I felt bad for the possums that are frequently killed by cars in the semi-rural spot I live. Reginald was just Reginald. He was grouchy and snarky, and the more I worked with him the fuller his character became. A critique partner of mine suggested “Ho!” as an exclamation for him early in chapter three and from that little dialogue tweak, I suddenly realized things such as Reginald would never use contractions. I confess he then promptly developed a British accent in my head, even though I never specifically tried to give him one. And then he’s this powerful sorcerer, laid low by a car of a species he doesn’t really care much for, and he’s put in the position of needing help. Combine that with no sense of humor, and you get a great magical-furry-straight man. Who enjoys hanging from his tail.
Kai is like any other 12-year-old, seeking for adventure. Did you ever have a tough time giving voice to his brilliant character?
That’s a great question, Linda, and thanks for the compliment ;-) I’ll pass it along to Kai, but we’ll have to be careful, he might get a big head... I think the most challenging part was writing the voice of a boy. I’ve spent a lot of time with teens and pre-teens, so the 12-year-old part wasn’t as difficult, but I kept bouncing his voice off my husband and guy friends, saying, “Well, since I’ve never been a 12-year-old boy before...” They seemed to find that amusing for some reason. I don’t. quite. get it. Yeah.
Flight of Blue holds such a magical world for readers. What were some of your inspirations for this story?
I think the three Realms developed in my head as a sort of manifestation of the world, the way the world could work, and the forces arrayed against the world being the better version of itself, if that makes sense. I hate to say more specifics, because I like to leave interpretation up to the reader, if you know what I mean.
What can you tell us about what comes next in the Keeper of the Keys Chronicle?
Kai and his friends learn what has happened to the Guardians and set off on a new quest to rescue them. Along the way, Kai meets a new enemy, has to face a whole bunch of Name Monsters, not just one, but like, a lot of them. And he learns more about the meaning of the Prophecy of the Lucinarium and what that means for him.
The elusive Linda-saurus: Mover and shaker by day, book-ninja by night. Only native to Florida. Afraid of small children but has an affinity to the elderly. Beware of her sarcastic humor.
Thanks for sharing Linda! :D
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