New interview with fantasy author Debbie Peterson

Fantasy author Debbie Peterson is back with a new interview! Debbie is currently touring her newest novel, Court of the Hawk.

During her tour, Debbie will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card (winner’s choice) to a lucky randomly drawn person. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Debbie was here last November. You can check out that interview here.

Bio:

Debbie is an author of paranormal and fantasy romance because she has a soft spot for fairy tales, the joy of falling in love, making an impossible love possible, and happily ever after endings. She loves music, art, beautiful sunrises, sunsets, and thunder storms.

When she is not busy conjuring her latest novel, Debbie spends time with the members of her very large family within the lovely, arid deserts of southern Nevada. She also pursues her interests in family history, which she also teaches, mythology, and history.

Welcome back to Reviews and Interviews.

Thanks Lisa! I’m so happy to be here with you today!

Please tell us about your newest release.

Court of the Hawk is a paranormal/fantasy romance that takes place in a long-forgotten, hidden kingdom in Wales. Garreth ap Daffyd–the enigmatic ruler of this kingdom–is in need of someone who can decipher the ancient writing on a pictograph he found in a cave. He believes this pictograph holds the key to saving his realm and so calls for Dr. Essie DeSpencer. The journey to answer the riddle leads to danger and romance between our hero and heroine who are worlds apart.

What inspired you to write this book?

The legend of Llys Helig, a Welsh Kingdom lost to the sea in the sixth century. As I thought about that legend, I wondered, What if… and my imagination took over.

What’s the next writing project?

Beyond Oath and Honor is a book concerning a specific descendent of an ancient English king and the guardian assigned to protect her from the danger she faces.

What is your biggest challenge when writing a new book?

As petty as it might sound, my biggest challenge usually comes in finding just the right name for my characters. They have to be perfect and fit every aspect of the character. Sometimes I agonize over that particular dilemma far longer than anyone might suspect.

If your novels require research – please talk about the process. Do you do the research first and then write, while you’re writing, after the novel is complete and you need to fill in the gaps?

Once I have the concept of the book down, I begin the research. There are a lot of historical facts that I need to include in all of my books and they must be accurate unless for one reason or another, I am using creative license. Google is a handy tool and I use a lot of copy and paste in my notes. However, I also have a personal library of over well over one thousand books about history, fables, myths, magic and almost anything else you can think of. These books are consulted as well. Once I have the research complete and have a pretty good stack of notes at my fingertips, I begin writing the book. However, always, somewhere along the way, something arises and I have to stop add a little bit more knowledge to my file. For me it’s inevitable.

What’s your writing space like? Do you have a particular spot to write where the muse is more active? Please tell us about it.

Off to the right of that library I just told you about, is an office that my husband and I share. He has his desk against one wall, and mine is just opposite his. Even though we share the office, the walls are filled with things that represent some of the books I have already published and at his suggestion. I have a wall dedicated to the civil war for “Spirit of the Rebellion.” This wall includes hats worn by the Confederacy and the Union, their dress swords and some pictures of civil war battles alongside the bullets found on those sites. Then I have a wall dedicated to “Spirit of the Revolution.” On this wall we have a boxed American flag, a powder horn, a black powder pistol, a framed copy of the Declaration of Independence and a painting of George Washington entitled “Prayer at Valley Forge.” I also have a wall for “Spirit of the Knight.” The beautiful painting “Prayer for the Fallen” we used as a giveaway for that book tour is the centerpiece of that particular wall. Believe me, with all of that, the muse never sleeps.

What authors do you enjoy reading within or outside of your genre?

I’ve been reading the classics, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now. So, right now, I am thoroughly enjoying Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, Edgar Allen Poe, a bit of Shakespeare and I’m sure you get the drift. Coming a little more forward in history, I am also rereading some of my favorite books by Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart.

Thank you for coming back to Reviews and Interviews, Debbie!

Thank you so much for the invitation! It was indeed a pleasure!

a Rafflecopter giveaway