Interview with sci-fantasy novelist Indie Gantz

Novelist Indie Gantz joins me today to chat a little bit about her new sci-fantasy, Kindred.

During her virtual book tour, Indie will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card 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:

Indie Gantz grew up in Northern Virginia and received her Psychology degree at George Mason University. Despite her passion and curiosity for the human mind, Indie left her chosen field of study to finally give voice to the many imagined minds she has created.

Indie lives with her family in North Carolina. She spends her days drinking tea and clacking keys.

Welcome, Indie. Please share a little bit about your current release.

Kindred is the second book in the Akasha series, a genre-bending Sci-Fantasy epic that follows twins Charlie and Tirigan as they enter a new world and try to reunite their family. Starting with Passage, the first book in the series, the twins encounter powerful foes, struggle with their own relationship, and eventually start to realize that family can be the one you make, not necessarily the one you were born into.

What inspired you to write this book?

This series was inspired by the need for more diversity in genre fiction, which also promotes healthy relationships, complex family dynamics, and realistic self-exploration. Also, blending fantasy with science-fiction is a lot of fun and opens the world up to endless possibilities.


Excerpt from Kindred:

“Sorry for taking over your room,” I tell him, walking until the hallway ends in a slatted wooden door. I push it open as Oleander sighs dramatically behind me.

“Yes. I am incredibly put out. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

Even though Oleander laughs, a jolt of guilt runs through me. He must see my regret in the sudden tension of my shoulders, because the Gyan’s laugh immediately disappears.

“I’m kidding, of course.” He places a hand on my shoulder, essentially swallowing it whole and forcing me to look up at him. “I’m thrilled to give you my room, Charlie. Over the moon about it. Really! Are you in the market for a new limb, by chance? Because I’ve got a couple with your name on them.”

“My name? Really?” I tease, challenge in my eyes despite the kindness in his.

“Don’t believe me?” Oleander’s brow’s raises comically. “Have a look, yourself.”

The tall Gyan raises his arms out as much as he can in the small hallway, exposing his forearms. There, written in long, flourishing strokes, is my name.

“How?” The question escapes before I can think better of it. Oleander searches my baffled expression for what feels like several minutes. I haven’t a clue what he finds there, but whatever it is makes him smile ruefully.

 “You really don’t know what you’re capable of. Do you?”

 “I… I guess not. No,” I respond quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Charlie.” Oleander shakes his head. “You are who you are.”

What exciting story are you working on next?
I am releasing the first character companion piece that corresponds with the series. Captive will focus on Finn, a minor character in the story thus far, and will be about the length of a short novella. These character companion pieces are meant to give the reader brief insight into another perspective, and enrich the world I’m creating. Captive will be released this fall.

Salvage, the third book in the series, will be released some time next year.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I considered myself a writer the moment my sparkly gel pen wrote down it’s first angsty line of poetry. I considered myself a professional writer as soon as I started publishing my books. We’re writers if we say we are!

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’d say I write part-time, as I have a young family and spend a lot of my time managing my household. When I’m not playing head of house, I read a lot, listen and play music, and learn new languages.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I tend to write all the dialogue first in a scene, or maybe even a couple scenes, without any dialogue tags or background information. To me, dialogue is the most important part of developing characters, and I want it to feel natural. I spend a lot of time fleshing out the dialogue before anything else in a scene!

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a doctor. Unfortunately, I wasn’t raised in a feminist household, and I got it in my head that I couldn’t make it as a doctor and be happy as a mother in the future. I so resent this line of thinking now, and part of my series will be devoted to empowering women to be the writers of their own story.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I’m very excited to share this series with the world. It’s planned to be about 8-10 books, with 5-7 companion piece novellas. It’s a sweeping epic with complex characters and interesting dynamics. It’s got aliens and magic & love and loss. I so hope you’ll consider reading it!

Links:

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