Interview with MG fantasy author Angela Myron

Today is a book tour stop for the middle grade fantasy novel, Ennara and the Fallen Druid by Angela Myron.

As a bonus, each week of the tour, Angela will be awarding a wall calendar print from http://www.cafepress.com/ennaraswag to a randomly drawn commentor. She's also going to award a t-shirt from http://www.cafepress.com/ennaraswag to one randomly drawn commenter during the overall tour (US ONLY). 
(Items can be exchanged for other equal or lesser value items from Ennara Swag on Cafepress.).

To be entered for a chance to win, use the forms below. And to increase your chances, visit other tour stops and enter there.

Welcome, Angela. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Like many writers, I have a full life in which I juggle many duties and joys. I love to cook, garden, and play with my twins. As a mother to toddlers, I write whenever I am not helping them navigate their day--which typically means in the early mornings and early afternoons when they sleep, and sometimes when Grandma comes to visit.

I was twenty-two when writing became a passion of mine. I've been doing it in one form or another ever since. But it took me a very long time to follow my heart's desire to tell stories.

For years, I simply journaled. I delved into writing articles for newsletters and grant proposals. I settled into technical writing, often finding myself a one-person writing, editing, design, app development, and publication team. I learned the basics of journalism, and finally, when on maternity leave with my twins, I turned to writing fiction.

I am grateful for every reader I have. Writing can be a solitary pursuit, but it can also be a dialog, a meeting of the minds. I invite you to connect with me:

Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads | Website 

Join my street team! Email me at myronangela@gmail.com to subscribe to my newsletters.

Please tell us about your current release.

Here’s my elevator pitch:

When a mysterious curse threatens to transform everyone into shadowy demons, a magical eleven year-old girl must travel to a sunken city ruin—fighting pirates, monsters, and an undead sorcerer along the way—to find a weapon that can save her world.

What inspired you to write this book?

So many themes in this book are things I’ve always wanted to write about. But what started Ennara’s world was the desire to write a story set far, far in humanity’s future. We spend most of our time absorbed in current events, not considering in our plans the generations that will live here thousands of years from now. When we do think of the future, it seems to be in terms of decades, not thousands or tens of thousands of years. We’re certainly capable of that kind of foresight, so why don’t we use it?

Excerpt:

“Is it true she is….” Gevin blushed. “I mean, you are… magic?”

           

Ennara fumbled the wand as she turned it in her fingers. She scooped it off the floor. Her stomach knotted and her cheeks burned. “Oh, um, I guess.”

She nervously twirled the wand again, this time accidentally tapping the case of trinkets. A lavender light shimmered across the panes, and behind them the objects began to twitch.

“Eeep!” Ennara jumped as the severed hand crawled toward her and tapped on the glass. A long finger uncurled and poked the case open. The appendage leapt from the shelf to the chest, then the floor, and scurried to the door.

Smoos crouched on the lower bunk, wiggled her haunches, and pounced on the hand. She shook it back and forth in the air. It grabbed the cat’s snout and flicked her hard on the nose. She dropped the hand and snorted, rubbing her muzzle with her paw. The hand scampered away and hid behind the girl’s legs.

“You seem to have a penchant for necromancy, young lady.” Tork flicked his curvy black wand at the case. “Merta perape.”

The hand and other charms returned to their lifeless state.

“Ne … necromancy?” The word felt foreign in her mouth. She glanced at Kithe and Gevin. Both boys were fixed on her. Gevin’s mouth hung open.

“Yes. Bringing back the deceased. Creating walking dead. Giving life to the lifeless.”

“But I didn’t say a spell!”

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m writing two stories! Book two of the Ennara series, Ennara and the Writ of Shadows, picks up with Ennara and her friends in their second year of school at the Druidic Academy in Icelan.

In addition, I’m writing a paranormal mystery under my pseudonym Chase Theroux about a young woman who is a werewolf. When she’s forced to solve who killed her friend and an unrelated cold case from thirty years ago, she discovers she’d bitten off more than she can chew, including the monster that cursed her.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I’ve been writing for, gosh, eighteen years, daily, passionately. But it was only when I was hired as a technical writer eleven years ago that I stopped thinking “I want to be a writer” and started thinking “I am a writer.”

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I write part-time. My guess is that I am able to write about half the amount of time that someone who, if they showed up at their desk and wrote for eight hours a day, writes. I’m doubtful that even “fulltime” writers are able to dedicate full days to writing. There’s so much marketing work needed as a writer, more so for indie authors but even for traditionally published authors. But it would be nice if I could prove myself wrong about this one day, and have days in which I truly write fulltime.

The other half of my time is spent with my twoddlers (twin toddlers).

My schedule for writing is pretty rigid: whenever the twins are asleep, I can write. I wake at 5 a.m. to get an hour in before they wake (if I’m lucky). They nap midday, and I can usually get a couple more hours in then. Grandma comes to visit once a week so I can go to my critique group. When I get behind in my writing, I skip the critiques and use babysitting time to write.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I “shop” for monsters and interesting allies in Dungeons & Dragons manuals. I’ve used World of Warcraft as inspiration for fight scenes and dungeons. And I’ve even created allies for my main character based on who I’d want in my party if the story were a role-playing game. I owe a lot to Gary Gygax!

(I never use exactly what is published in these games, but use them as a jumping off point.)

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I regularly switched from wanting to be an astronaut to wanting to be a doctor in Africa. Being a doctor in Africa usually came up on Sundays while driving home from church with my mom and dad. Being an astronaut filled the rest of the days of the week. That is, until a well-intentioned adult told me that I’d never be accepted in any space program because I had asthma (which I grew out of as an adult). I went on to study biology with the intention of going to med school, and fell in love with writing on the way. I’ve been writing ever since.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

People talk about the importance of doing what you love, but not many people have that kind of freedom. Bills need to be paid, you need to keep a roof over your head and food on the table. More important than doing what you love is finding a way to love what you do. To be at peace with your life as it is right now. To feel content. Sure, you can have goals and dreams, those are important too. But just stopping, taking a deep breath, and loving your life in all of its imperfection is crucial to being a happy person.

Buy links:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Smashwords

Thanks, Angela. Love the term "twoddlers". Have fun writing and touring!

Readers, don't forget about the giveaways! Use these Rafflecopter forms:

Ennara t-shirt giveaway

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Week 1 calendar giveaway (June 24-28)

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