Monday, May 21, 2018

Interview with fantasy author Amanda J. McGee


Novelist Amanda J. McGee joins me today to chat about her new epic fantasy, Daughter of Madness which is Book Two of the Creation Saga.

During her book tour, Amanda will be awarding a copy of both published volumes of The Creation Saga: Mother of Creation and Daughter of Madness, (after the June 2, 2018 publishing date, US participants only) to a lucky, randomly drawn winner. 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.

Bio:
Amanda J. McGee is fantasy author living in Southwest Virginia with the love of her life and two cats. She likes baking, gardening, and flights of fancy.

Please share a little bit about your current release.
Daughter of Madness is the sequel to Mother of Creation, and continues a dark tale of a princess and her twin, a soldier and his king, an oracle, and the son of a god. It’s an epic fantasy that should appeal to fans of A Song of Ice and Fire.

What inspired you to write this book?
I’ve always loved epic fantasy. I’ve read all of the best ones by authors like Elizabeth Bear, Martha Wells, Robert Jordan, Tad Williams, and of course George R.R. Martin. My love of the genre is definitely what instigated me to write this, but I also was feeling very frustrated with life when the idea first hit me. The concept that some things were just fated or that you could try really hard and still not make it because of luck or destiny was something I was struggling with, so that feeling inspired a lot of these books.


Excerpt from
Daughter of Madness:
He remembered the moment that the curse had claimed him.

The king sat in the garden, and the moon shone down. There was a phantom caress on his skin, an ice cold hand.

Darkness bloomed in his blood.

He remembered the moment, over and over, the darkness rising, rising, swamping him.

There was terror there, but for the king it was an old terror. He had lived with the darkness now for a timeless time, and in the darkness he was sheltered. He remembered nothing. He was nothing. That was good, for the man that had been a king sensed that he had failed, that he had hurt. The world beyond the darkness was made of nothing that he wanted to see again.

But no night could last forever.

The man who had been Alexander came back to himself in blood.


What exciting story are you working on next?
There is one more book in this series still to finish, so that will probably be my next project. I also have some fun mermaid-related ideas I’m playing with, and a ghost story serial I am working on. Really I am one of those authors who runs after fun ideas regardless of genre or subgenre.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I have probably been writing my whole life. I remember as a kid just making up stories in my head about where I was and who I was, even before I had figured out how to hold a pen. As for when I might be considered a professional - I don’t know that you ever really feel like a professional writer. It always sort of seems like a trick you’re playing on yourself. But maybe I’m wrong, and there will be a day!

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?
At my day job I make maps, among other things. It’s a pretty high stress position, and sometimes there are late hours, so it can be hard to find writing time. Usually I spend at least one or two nights a week doing something writing related, and I get a long lunch so I try to squeeze in writing time there, too. But if I have deadlines I have to break out the big guns and sacrifice my weekends.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
One of the weird things I do sometimes is rearrange the order of words in a sentence. It’s not always intentional, but I’m afraid it’s leftover from when I studied and wrote poetry. Technically, the term for this is hyperbaton. It’s used to create a certain sound or impact to a particular verse or sentence.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was really small, they tell me I wanted to be an airplane pilot. I still really like planes, I think they’re fascinating. After I got to writing I think it pretty much became my goal from middle school on.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I hope that you’ll enjoy the books! You can get them both for $2.99 on Amazon right now.

Links:

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2 comments:

Goddess Fish Promotions said...

Thanks for hosting!

Amanda J. McGee said...

Thank you for having me on! It was a pleasure!