Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Interview with YA fantasy author Haley Fisher
Today’s
guest is young adult novelist Haley
Fisher to tell us a bit about Rising
Calm.
Haley is
giving away 5 copies of Rising Calm,
to lucky winners. US/Canada residents have a choice of paper or e-book.
International winners will receive an e-book. Use the rafflecopter form below
to enter for a chance to win. You can increase your chances of winning, by visiting
Haley’s other tour stops and entering there.
Bio:
Haley was born, lives, and is a student in Kansas, where
she goes to college and is majoring in English. She has worked a number of odd
jobs over the last few years including childcare, kennel staff in a veterinary
clinic, and is now employed at a local restaurant as she tries—and often only
succeeds through late nights, early mornings, and odd spots of free time—to
find the time to write. She has always loved reading, so it seemed only natural
that writing should follow. Rising Calm
and its sequels are her first novels. When she isn’t reading or writing or
working (which is rare), she spends her time with friends and family, catching
up on her favorite TV shows, on vacation—or at least wishing she was—and buying
books for her never-ending collection.
Welcome, Haley. Please tell us about
your current release.
I had a whole list of story
ideas that I started in middle school that I wanted to write someday. The
general plot for Rising Calm came
from one of those ideas, but it became so much more than that when I actually
started writing it. It was my favorite idea, this thought that the fate of an
entire world rests on the shoulders of a young girl who never asked for the job
and sees herself as ill-equipped for it.
Like all YA books, the Rising Calm series is very much a coming-of-age story. It’s about
growing up and becoming a part of something bigger than yourself, and being
brave enough to do so. But it’s also about finding your place while everyone
else is trying to tell you what needs to be done. It’s about staying true to
yourself when it seems that everyone around you wants you to be something a
little different.
What inspired you to write this book?
Everything I’ve ever read! I
don’t think there is any one thing that I can say inspired me above all else.
Being a reader is what made me want to become a writer, and the books I love,
the music I listen to, the movies I watch—all played a part in my book becoming
what it is. I knew I wanted to write something in the YA genre, because those
are the books I read most often. In middle and high school I would find myself
reading a book and when something would happen I would start thinking “What if this had happened instead…?” And a new
story would start taking shape in my head. Because of that, I’ve had an ongoing
list of things that I thought would make good books since I was in middle
school, and the idea for Rising Calm
came out of one of those ideas. It was my favorite, even though all I knew was
the most general of ideas: I want a girl from earth to be destined to save
another world.
What exciting story are you working on
next?
Well the
sequel, Gathering Clouds, is
currently in progress, though going a little slowly. The beginning is giving me
no end of trouble. Other than that, though, I have a couple works in progress.
I can’t give too much away about them, but I can say one is the beginning of a
dystopian trilogy and the other is a stand-alone book about a girl who meets
the characters in her own stories as they teach her how to live. I’m excited
about all three!
When did you first consider yourself a
writer?
I still
hardly consider myself a writer! It’s still such an odd thought, to think other
people think of me as a writer. I guess it never felt quite right using that
term until other people were reading my story. Putting it up on Goodreads was
kind of step one, but it was when people starting reading and commenting and
giving me feedback that I really felt
like a writer. It all kind of compounded from there, with me printing off the
pages for a friend to edit, finding a publishing company, etc.
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 don’t write
full-time. I would love to someday—that’s the dream—but right now I’m actually
a college student with a part-time job as well, and I volunteer work and have a social life and homework, and in
between all of that I babysit, read, watch TV, and write… I’d like to say that I whatever free time that leaves
writing, but even that probably isn’t true. I squeeze it in the gaps of my day.
Between classes, I’m editing. Before classes start, I’m scribbling scenes in my
notebook. When I’m watching a show, I’ll probably have my laptop in front of
me. Before I go to bed, I try to get full scenes fleshed out and in place.
Honestly, my writing schedule is mostly late nights and long evenings, not
planned blocks of time and word counts. I write when I’m inspired.
What would you say is your interesting
writing quirk?
I write
better when I have something to eat or drink next to me. It doesn’t necessarily
matter what it is (though cookie dough is always a nice call) as long as it’s
there. Other than that, I’m not sure I have any. I can write anywhere, with any
kind of noise or without, on my computer or in a notebook.
As a child, what did you want to be
when you grew up?
Coincidentally,
when I was little I wanted to be an author! So that worked out nicely. I’m sure
I went through the little kid stages of wanting to be a princess, and an
astronaut, and a doctor, and whatever else my child mind could come up with,
but I kept coming around to author. Like I said, I’ve always had a thing for
books!
Anything additional you want to share
with the readers?
Just a quick
thank you to everyone who picks my book up! I know that the authors people
already know and love are coming out with new books left and right, so taking
the time to read anything by an unknown author is hard. I understand and
usually agree. But I love that people are willing to give Rising Calm a chance and read something a little new!
Thanks, Haley.
Readers, don't forget about the giveaway!
Haley is giving away 5 copies of Rising Calm – US/Canada have choice of e-book or paperback, International Winners will receive an e-book.
Thank you for hosting today :-)
ReplyDeleteI am very excited to have this author visit my blog soon! I have read Rising Calm, it is a very, good book, I was drawn in from the start! Good luck with your tour:O)
ReplyDeleteAwesome interview! Enjoy the tour.
ReplyDeleteBrooke
Pit Crew
Just wanted to say Congratulations to Haley!! Great book!
ReplyDelete