Interview with A Wrighton - Author of The Dragonics & Runics

Today I’m welcoming A.Wrighton to my blog. She has been imagining flights of wild fancy since before she could figure out how to tie her shoes. Her love of writing, creating, and imagination has led her through a life full of flights of fancy and amazing adventures. Following her creativity's calling, she earned honours in a BA in English as well as honors in a MFA in Creative Writing.

A. Wrighton writes sci-fi/fantasy (her passion), historical fiction, character-driven fiction, romance, and suspense. She also writes feature screenplays, TV spec scripts, and the occasional short film. Residing somewhere in the beautiful Ventura County, she still claims and loves her native city of Los Angeles. She lives with her amazing family and two dogs and often finds herself writing in little neighborhood joints - a cup of coffee or tea at her side.

Thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us what genre you consider your book(s)?

My main genre is fantasy/sci-fi if you’re looking at the overall spectrum of all of my books. If we’re just talking the Dragonics & Runics Series – it’s a bit more complicated. I’ve never been one to colour inside the lines and that shows in my writing. Most of my work is actually a hodgepodge of genres – whatever it takes to best tell my story – so pinning down just one specific genre is hard. Yes, that can work against me but I have always put story ahead of all else. It’s why I write. The Dragonics & Runics Series novels are a mix of political fantasy, steampunk, high fantasy, adventure, and romance (who doesn’t love a good romantic intrigue, eh?)

Honestly, I think some of the genre lines are a bit artificial. Growing up, I always considered a good fantasy would naturally include adventure and romance. In fact, fantasy, to me, was always the playground where you got to play with elements of other genres.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

           

Jane Austen & Ernest Hemingway are tied. Jane has taught me to really get behind characters, make them as real as possible and to be brutally honest with my reader when I portray the characters in all facets, especially emotional ones. Hemingway taught me to put up or shut up and that the art of word-smithing – picking the right words concisely – is an amazing skill to have. I’m still learning, but I love when people can get a feel for Austen and Hemingway in my work. It definitely makes me smile and go – good, it’s working then.

My bad, I’ve not read either, which I know tends to be frowned on. Oops.

What are your current projects?

           

I have the rest of the novels in the Dragonics & Runics Series in various levels of completion as well as a Sci-Fi novel that is in development. I’m toying with turning another concept into a graphic novel with a few illustrator friends and I am a part of the creative team and lead writer on a soon-to-be-released web series called Things Left Unsaid. I also have a feature film screenplay that I am going to start putting out there soon.

Heavens, you’re one busy bee! Do you write an outline before every book or project you write?

           

In one fashion or another, yes. I write in segments – usually out of order – in clips or scenes. To help organize and streamline the plot, I have a general outline that I adhere to for ordering and flow. Is it rigid? Absolutely not. Does it look the same from before I started writing to when I’m in editing mode? Not even close. But I do outline in a combination of timelines and old-fashioned “OG” fluorescent note cards.

I don’t believe an outline should resemble the finished product, either. A good writer is flexible enough to follow new ideas as they arise, but I also find an outline helpful for continuity and ordering.

Can you tell us about your upcoming book?

           

Part II of the Dragonics & Runics Series (the title will be announced on my Facebook in April) picks up where Defiance: Dragonics & Runics Part I left off – you’re back with the Resistance struggling to put together the pieces of the Prophecy before the Council destroys you and everything you’ve worked towards. You’re going to see a lot of the same characters as in Defiance but get introduced to a few more – and learn quite a bit more about some characters who, in Defiance, might not have caught your full attention. Lots of surprises and, unfortunately, a bit more in-depth look into the struggle between the Rogue Dragonics and the Council. Bottom line – nothing is for certain – things and people can and will change, so you best be careful!

What was your favourite chapter (or part) to write and why?

           

Anything with the Dragons. I love, love, love, love dragons. I always have. Even back when I was an awkward little thing taking painting classes in 6^th grade, I painted dragons. My love of those mythical beasts shows in every Dragon I write – they are all unique with as different personalities as their human counterparts. Later in the series, I have even more fun with the Dragons… at the expense of the humans.

Ooh, a woman after my own heart. Remind me to tell you about my dragon coffee table one day, the centrepiece of my collection!

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author?

Toughest criticism was probably that I focus too much on developing my characters that it gets lost on the reader. It’s not necessarily a bad criticism but it helped bring into focus that I need to always remember to bring balance to character development and other aspects of writing. I was so grateful for the reminder at the time that I went back and re-evaluated my creative process. This was all during my MFA program and it made me such a better writer for it. Every writer needs to take those hard-to-swallow comments and squeeze the good out of them. The professor that had said it – an award-winning writer – came back at the end of my program and complimented me on my adjustments. I ended up taking the highest award in the program and a direct award from that professor. The head banging on the wall was worth it then. Even the stomach-wrenching choking moment I had for – oh, a few months.

I think it’s safe to say not all the character development (or worldbuilding, which is character development of another kind) that a writer does will show up in the book. Some of it we do so we can know our character better, or to draw upon if needed, but what we need to remember is just because we made it up doesn’t mean it has a place in the finished book.

What has been the best compliment?

My best compliment is that people can see where I take them. They can see my characters, their surroundings. They can hear their voices, smell the surroundings and taste the food. That they can really imagine themselves in the story. That’s a huge compliment because that’s how I want my reader to be when they read my work – I want them immersed in the story’s world so the plot and characters mean that much more to them.

Ah cinematic description! I remember getting that compliment from an editor. I even remember the scene she referred to. The compliments are so much nicer than the criticisms, but unfortunately we need the constructive feedback so we can improve.

Do you have a day job as well?

           

Don’t we all? I’m a mom and I work full time at a lovely company in the entertainment industry. It keeps me running and busy 80% of my day, and I fit writing in whenever and wherever I can. One day, hopefully, I’ll reach that level where writing can be my day job, but until then I’ll keep my nose to the grindstone (so to speak).

Oh yes, we’re all in that boat! For a bit of fun, if you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?

Wolf. Hands down. And not a werewolf… I would hate the whole changing under the moon thing. There’s just something majestic and beautiful about the wolf – especially their loyalty and sense of duty.

You surprise me. I would have said dragon! What would I find in your refrigerator right now?

           

Blueberries, strawberries (I live in Ventura County, you can’t blame me!), yogurt, cilantro, chicken, mango, leftovers, homemade pizza, some of my pasta sauce, cheese, and pickles. Oh, and some turkey and egg whites. I also think there’s some mystery leftover in the back, but we’re going to ignore that for the moment…

Mmm, strawberries. I’m jealous. The season is about over here in Australia. If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?

           

Elizabeth Bennet. I’m a Darcy fan. I want to see him walk out of the fountain all wet and stuff. Am I right, ladies? That… and I’d also like to stick it to Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Mr. Collins.

You’ve lost me... I only have a vague notion that he's from

Pride and Prejudice. Please don't shoot me - I suspect there are many who would totally agree. Thank you for sharing your time with us today.

If you would like to know more about A. Wrighton, you can find her at:

www.awrighton.com

www.facebook.com/awrighton

www.twitter.com/a_wrighton

www.pinterest.com/awrighton

www.goodreads.com/awrighton

You can find A. Wrighton’s books at:

Dragonics & Runics Series Website: www.defythecouncil.com

Defiance Book Trailer: http://bit.ly/dandrvideo

Defiance on Amazon: http://bit.ly/dr1amazon

Defiance on Kindle: http://bit.ly/dr1ebook (other ebook formats coming in June!)

Things Left Unsaid – a web series: www.facebook.com/thingleftunsaid

Humour In Epic Fantasy: A Look at Game of Thrones

With Season 3 of Game of Thrones just begun, I took advantage of my maternity leave to sit down and watch the whole of Season 2 over the last few days. As I did, I had cause to ask myself a question.

Why am I watching this?

Let’s face it, Game of Thrones is marvellously well done, but the story is downright depressing. I’ve read the books as well as watched the TV series, and I remember being desperately angry when I discovered I had to wait for Dance of Dragons. I bought it as soon as it was released, and 18 months later I’ve not read it.

Why not?

I remember almost nothing of the books, except that everyone dies. It’s as bad as a Shakespeare tragedy. Most of the characters are rotten, and there’s slim pickings when it comes to admirable characters. Every time you actually do decide whose side you should be on, that person gets the sword. I’m reduced to rooting for Tyrion Lannister who, despite being a Lannister, appears to be one of the nicer characters. He’s been hard done by as a child, unloved by his family, not to mention unvalued for the skills he actually does have, and appears to have a decent stab at being a good Hand of the King. He’s not perfect, he’s definitely self-interested, and he plays politics for the sake of it, but he has the basic decency to be revolted by the notion of killing babies.

And on top of that, he’s funny.

In fact, without the humour injected by Tyrion, I wonder would I watch the series? Without him, there is precious little uplifting about the story. A throne under contention. Good men, like Ned Stark, dying. Monsters like Joffrey in command. Babes torn from their mothers’ arms and murdered. Rape, and pillage, and greed, and dead men walking south from the Wall, and there’s no one I can point to who can save the day. No hero.

Epic fantasy does tend to run to grim, with worlds under threat, and lives in the balance. Most aren’t as grim as Game of Thrones. More usually the hopes of everyone, including the reader, are pinned on the likes of Rand al’Thor or Richard Rahl. With heroes to light the way, to give hope, there’s something to keep us reading past all the horror and fear. In fact, it’s the assurance that someone will save the day that entices many readers of fantasy; an assurance not present in the real world.

Even then, I sometimes find myself taking a break from the doom and gloom of a world under threat to read another genre, or to lose myself in the light-hearted comic relief of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld.

Humour can be important in epic fantasy. A moment of levity can be used to highlight the horrors or to offer the reader relief from them. It’s not a necessary element of every fantasy, and Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth has been successful without much in the way of humour, but it can be a useful part of the fantasy writer’s toolkit to avoid depressing the reader to the point where they don’t see the point in reading on.

When writing a story as depressing as Game of Thrones, I’d argue it may be downright critical.

Do you watch Game of Thrones? Do you like Tyrion? How many of the other characters did you like – and how many of them are now dead?

How important do you think the humour is in Game of Thrones?

Arya Stark - one of the few other likeable characters

Review of 'The Accidental Sorcerer' by K.E. Mills

Welcome to Ottosland, a country with a vague British flavour, in a world that more or less resembles ours, except that alongside the telephone sits the crystal ball. This is a world of both magic and technology.

Gerald Dunwoody is a Third Grade wizard, graduate of a mere correspondence course in wizardry, and reduced to the level of inspector for a government department. When the blame for the destruction of Ottosland’s most prestigious staff factory falls on Gerald, he finds himself virtually unemployable.

At the enthusiastic insistence of his genius friend, Monk Markham, Gerald takes a job as advisor to the King of New Ottosland. Monk reasons that Gerald needs to get away from the debacle that is the destruction of Stuttley’s, and when he returns, not only will the uproar have died down, but Gerald will have ‘advisor to a king’ on his resume.

Reg, Gerald’s apparently sentient bird, is less enthusiastic. Potential employers need to be vetted, she says. Royalty can be dangerous. And what does a king want with a Third Grade wizard?

Against Reg’s objections, Gerald takes the job and they travel to New Ottosland, where they are greeted by Princess Melissande, the Prime Minister of New Ottosland. It quickly becomes clear things are not at all what they seem. The Privy Council has been sacked. Melissande, under-staffed and over-worked, is trying to do the work of the Council, the Prime Minister, and negotiate with a delegation from neighbouring Kallarap about tariffs the king refuses to pay. The kingdom is verging on bankruptcy.

And King Lional himself demands that Gerald impress him, or be sent on his way.

Sweating under pressure, Gerald somehow manages to turn Lional’s cat into a lion. A level 12 transmogrification spell? Impossible! Such a feat is beyond the skills of a mere Third Grade wizard. But what if Gerald isn’t a Third Grade Wizard anymore? What if the events at Stuttley’s have… changed him?

Completing the royal ensemble is Prince Rupert, more interested in his butterfly house than the running of a nearly bankrupt kingdom or royal politics. He is quite obviously mad, and yet Gerald has the sinking feeling that Rupert might be the saner of the two brothers when Lional announces that Gerald will be his secret weapon in the negotiations against Kallarap.

Adding a sinister feel to proceedings, it soon comes to light that Gerald’s five predecessors in the position of advisor to King Lional, all First Grade wizards, have not been seen since they supposedly left New Ottosland…

Why is Lional determined to provoke war against his neighbours? What happened to the missing wizards? And what does he want with Gerald?

The book is engaging and fast-paced, as well as humorous, though perhaps written more in a young adult style. If that bothers you, give the book a miss, but I found the story compelling and well-written. Though hardly the most competent wizard, Gerald draws you in with his personality, his well-meaning dedication, and his genuine attempts to make the best of a bad situation. When things turn really pear-shaped, he is really tested, and the decisions he makes will shape the man he will become.

A mostly fun, light-hearted read interspersed with darker moments, the book is a solid, well-written effort and definitely worth your time. 

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