I was thrilled when I was asked to be a part of Lara Morgan’s Blog Tour for her latest book Equinox, the second book in The Rosie Black Chronicles.

Lara took the time to answer the following questions for us:

What was your favourite book as a young child? – I was obsessed with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe series and read them all too many times to count.

What was your favourite book as a teenager? – The Outsiders by SE Hinton. I’ve still got the copy on my shelf.

What is your all time favourite book? – Such an impossible question to answer this one, but one of my very favourites books is The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula Le Guin. It’s actually a series of books but my copy has them all in one so I think I can count them!

Is there a book that you can read over and over again? – See above. I also have a weakness for M. M. Kaye’s Death in the Andamans. It may be old fashioned now, but I love it because it’s set on a tropical island and it has romance as well as a mystery. Perfect for rainy afternoons with chocolate.

Are there any books that have helped to shape you as an author? – Lord of the Rings, Earthsea, Wuthering Heights, Wild Seed by Octavia Butler. They have all been books that have had a great impact on me at different times in my life for a variety of reasons.

What would Rosie’s favourite book be? – I think Rosie would love To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, because she has such a strong sense of justice and she’d really relate to the independence of the character Scout.

What would Pip’s favourite book be? – Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, because I think he would find a lot to admire in Huck – and probably some similarities!

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Don’t forget to head over to The Rosie Black Chronicles website where you can download a chapter sample from Equinox and also read about book one “Genesis”

You can also find The Rosie Black Chronicles on Facebook!

And don’t forget to catch Lara on Day 3 of her Blog Tour tomorrow at The Tales Compendium and Rhiannon Hart’s website!

Win a copy of Lara Morgan’s Equinox!

I have one copy of Equinox to give away to one lucky winner!

To enter the competition simply fill out the form below.

The competition ends at 9pm (Sydney time) on 30th November 2011 .
The winner will be chosen with the help of a random number generator.
Entry is open to Australian residents only!

Alyxandra Harvey very generously offered to answer a few questions about herself and her new book Haunting Violet for us. If you haven’t read the book you can go here to read my review. Let’s get started:

Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m a Capricorn. A goat with a fish tail, I mean really, did I ever have a chance to be normal?
I love walking, books, caramel lattes, chai tea. And I could eat my weight in hummus.

Could you tell us a little about Haunting Violet for our readers who have not yet read it?
1872, London
Violet Willoughby doesn’t believe in ghosts, especially since her mother has worked as a fraudulent medium for a decade. Violet has taken part in enough of her mother’s tricks to feel more than a little jaded about anything supernatural. The ghosts, however, believe in Violet and she’s been seeing them everywhere. One ghost in particular needs Violet to use her emerging gift to solve her murder …and prevent the ghost’s twin sister from suffering the same fate.

Which character did you enjoy writing the most?
Violet because I knew her best, and Elizabeth because she’s so fun.

When you are creating your characters, do you base them on people you know or are they completely made up?
My characters tend to stroll onto the stage with a pretty good idea of who they are. It’s usually a matter of getting to know them better and then getting out of their way!

If you could be any of your characters from Haunting Violet, who would it be and why?
I’m not sure I’d ever want to be one of my characters…I can be pretty mean to them. ;) Although, I’d like to be Violet for a day, not for the ghostly attacks but because I have a sneaking suspicion that Colin is a really good kisser!

Are we going to see a sequel to Haunting Violet?
I admit I wrote one a few years back, right after I finished the first draft of Haunting Violet. I wanted to know what happened next! As to whether or not it ever gets published that’s to do with sales and schedules and how loudly the readers want it…

(We want it!! We want it!! We want it!! *stamps feet, claps hands and screams at the top of lungs* :)

Ok now we move on to The Fictional Fantasy Five!

What book are you currently reading?
MockingJay by Suzanne Collins. I started the series last week because i thought I might be the only person left on the planet who hadn’t read them yet. Loving them!

Who is one of your favourite Authors?
I couldn’t pick just one! Jane Austen, Patricia McKillip, Holly Black, Terri Windling, Eloisa James, Lisa Kleypas…

What is your all time favourite book?
The Wood Wife by Terri Windling. There were rumours of a sequel and I have spent ten long years searching for it.

What is your all time favourite movie?
Again, I couldn’t pick just one… on the list Robin of Sherwood (technically tv), Labyrinth, Pride and Prejudice, The Mummy, Lost in Austen, Harry Potters…

Where is your favourite place to write?

I love the idea of writing in a cafe but laptops are temperamental with me and I can never get comfortable. I do write by hand when I can, drinking yummy lattes and pretending I’m somewhere in Europe.
I have a writing studio on our farm which I adore. I have windows full of pretty views of fields and trees, books, a kettle, an art table and a gas oven for heat that looks like an old-fashioned woodstove. Also, a wall of cute boys…um, Muses. ;)

(Thanks for the photo Alyxandra, I was hoping to see more of the *cough* cute boys *cough* Muses :) )

Thank you so much for allowing us to get to know you, I wish you every success with this series and everything in your future.

Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m a writer and artist. I have a Ph.D in English Literature, and I’ve worked as a freelance writer, mystery shopper, university tutor, and dog groomer – among other assorted jobs! I’ve also written comedy for theatre, cabaret and radio.
I’ve always been fascinated by the supernatural, and in the past few years I’ve become addicted to classic supernatural fiction (H P Lovecraft, M R James, etc). Writing a novel had been a lifelong ambition of mine, and I decided that I wanted to try writing something in the tradition of the kind of stories I love; supernatural, historical – a story of psychological horror with plenty of twists and turns.

Could you tell us a little about Haunted Heart?

Haunted Heart is a Gothic tale of intrigue, seduction, and a new kind of supernatural predator…
It’s set in 1838 and follows Eloise, a young woman in a quiet English village, as she falls in love with a handsome and aristocratic newcomer, Dolour White. But their romantic courtship quickly descends into something more dark and sinister; mind-games, witchcraft, strange erotic dreams, and a dangerous obsession.
Suddenly Eloise finds herself alone, and transformed in a way she can’t understand. She sets sail for colonial Sydney, in search of both her lover, Dolour, and the truth about herself; what she has become and the dark appetites that now compel her. Along the way, Eloise discovers that a mysterious man is now hunting them both, intent on their destruction. Sydney provides the setting for a dramatic climax…

Which character did you enjoy writing the most?

I guess it would have to be Eloise/Dammora. She undergoes such a transformation, from the shy young girl she is at the beginning, to the very naughty girl she is by the end – that was a lot of fun to write! She really goes through a lot, and I tried to add depth and psychological dimensions to her that would keep the reader on her side, even when she is doing very bad things. Ultimately, she does what she must to survive, and I like that she is strong, determined and powerful. She has freedoms and powers we can’t have – but she is all too aware of the terrible price she has paid for them.

When you are creating your characters, do you base them on people you know or are they completely made up?

Some are purely products of my imagination while others are inspired by real people, to varying degrees. The character of Arthur Grayton, for example, was partly inspired by a most beautiful painting that I have long admired. It’s the portrait of novelist Georges Rodenbach, painted by Lucien Levy-Dhurmer (1895). Rodenbach’s haunted, melancholy eyes, and his dreamy, ethereal appearance encapsulated what I wanted Grayton to be, and I often looked at that painting while I was writing Haunted Heart.( You can find it here: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=15905&size=large)

The way you ended Haunted Heart made it feel like there was going to be a sequel, is this the case?

Yes indeed! It’s funny, when I first started writing Haunted Heart I was worried I wouldn’t be able to write a whole novel. But I soon realised that what I had in mind for the characters was actually more than would fit into one novel – much more! The sequel is written, and I still have a great deal more that I want to do with these characters. They continue to fascinate me, and I often think about them. I hope that readers are intrigued by them too.

I liked that Eloise’s journey lead her to Australia. Did you begin the book with the idea that Australia was going to be featured?

Yes, I am quite interested in colonial Australia, and I really liked the idea of transposing the sort of British Gothic genre that we’re all familiar with onto an early Australian setting. This is something I’m planning to pursue further in another novel.
I think colonial Australia represents certain worrying things to the characters in that time period – the absence of “civilisation” as they know it, wilderness, criminality, and a kind of dissolving of the rigid social order that they come from – it’s like an untamed, disturbing underbelly of their own society. For me, that sort of setting, and that suggestion of chaos, worked well as the central characters move further and further away from the familiar, into danger and the unknown, and the world of the supernatural.

Ok now we move on to The Fictional Fantasy Five! (These are questions I ask all our favourite authors :))

What book are you currently reading?

“History of the Australian Gold Rushes” edited by Nancy Keesing. (This is research for a new novel I’m developing.)

Who is one of your favourite Authors?

H P Lovecraft. No-one else evokes the kind of psychological horror that he does. His works create a cohesive, dark and thrilling world that I always long to return to.

What is your all time favourite book?

It’s so tough to pick one! Maybe Iain Banks’ “The Wasp Factory,” because of the impact it had on me when I first read it, at about fifteen. It would eventually lead me to write my doctoral thesis, inspired by its themes and its relationship to a whole genre of dystopian novels set on islands.

What is your all time favourite movie?

Now I really can’t pick just one!
Favourite comedy: The Producers. Favourite drama: Velvet Goldmine. Favourite horror: The Wicker Man

Where is your favourite place to write?

I have a little studio where I do my art and my writing. It’s nice and quiet.

A huge thank you to Tania for taking the time to answer my questions! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series :)

A few weeks back I read and wrote a review of Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini, you can read the review here! Since then I have been lucky enough to be able to ask Josephine a few questions. Here are my questions and her answers:

Firstly Josephine, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Well, I grew up in a tiny town in Massachusetts called Ashland. I’m the youngest of eight kids—seven girls and one boy. Which means I basically grew up in a convent, or a sorority, depending on which sister you ask.

I got a great scholarship to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and studied Shakespeare and Sophocles and the like, immersing myself in tragedy. Funny enough, it was actually less drama than I was used to at home. Wailing women and doom-laden destinies? Another day at the office– or in my life, another day in the bathroom, watching my sisters do their hair and make-up as they talked about their latest personal catastrophe. I understood Greek tragedy from day one.

So, yeah, I went to art school and studied classical theatre, which basically means I had given up all hope of ever being anything but a bartender—and I was a bartender for quite a while. Then I took some very good advice from my husband and wrote a book.

Wonder of wonders, but my book got published.

I’m a writer now and not a bartender, but don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten how to make a Cosmo or a Long Island Ice Tea. As my sister’s would say, you never know how the “art thing” will shake out, so don’t get crazy. Bartending is solid work, after all.

I wouldn’t dream of talking back to my sisters.

Could you tell us a little about Starcrossed?

STARCROSSED is a modern day retelling of the Iliad set in high school.

What inspired you to write this story?

I saw a copy of the Iliad right next to Romeo and Juliet on my bookshelf and I wondered why no one had ever tried to merge the two stories and set it in modern times.

Basically I asked myself why no one had ever tried to take two of the best-known lovers in the world and put them into our times? Helen of Troy, Paris and the Trojan War—this is some BIG romance– on top of that there’s tons of action, supernatural powers to keep things interesting, and plenty of intrigue. It seemed to me like this story was waiting for someone to write it, and I happened to be the one to stumble over it first.

I heard that the 2nd book in the series is estimated to be released in 2012, is there anything you can tell us about it?

DREAMLESS is darker than STARCROSSED. It is the “trials” part of the classic Hero Journey, and Helen (our hero) really goes through the wringer in this book. She has to cross the Underworld to complete her task, so it’s not all love and roses. There’s a lot more action and danger in this book. But she does meet a boy named Orion down there to help her, and I hope readers get as excited about him as I am!

I have a soft spot for Hector, and would love to hear more of his story, is he going to be in book 2?

Hector is a big part of both DREAMLESS and Book 3. He is a major character in Homer’s Iliad, and I do not ignore that in my books. All of Homer’s characters are in my story (even if I haven’t introduced them or you don’t recognize them yet) and Hector is one of the most important characters of all.

Plus, I just love writing him—especially when he’s being a big jerk. There is something so fun about being a woman, writing a guy that you’d really love to punch in the face. It’s empowering, I guess.

When you are creating your characters, do you base them on people you know or are they completely made up?

Half and half. I start with people I know, but then I do a lot of work on them. I think it’s always best to start with what you know in order to root your writing in truth, but then you have to allow that character to have his or her own voice. That takes a lot of work, lengthy character bios, and mostly just a lot of time thinking about how to make a character function inside a plot while still maintaining a unique and totally real quality.

If Starcrossed were to be made into a movie, who would you like to see play Helen and Lucas?

I get asked this all the time, and I genuinely have no answer! It’s too strange for me to think about these characters existing outside my head. I have such clear images of them I can’t imagine anyone else being them but them.

Now it’s time to answer the Fictional Fantasy Five? These are questions that I ask all our visiting authors :)

What book are you currently reading?

I just finished THE SCORCH TRIALS by James Dashner last night. I’m dying for the third book to come out so I can read it immediately– I have to know what happens!

Who is one of your favourite Authors?

I have a bunch of favorites. I know, lame answer, right? But think about it. Say you work in an office with a ton of people, and the boss asks you to stand on a desk and announce to everyone who your favorite co-worker is. Bad idea.

What is your all time favourite book?

I don’t have one. I promise you I am not being difficult, but the truth is there have been different books that touched me at different times in my life and no one book that been my favorite from childhood to now. People change, they grow into and out of books.

But one play has always been my favorite (at least so far) Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand.

What is your all time favourite movie?

I don’t have an all time favorite.

Now I’m starting to feel bad because I’m giving you bupkis. Okay, here are a few of my favorite movies. The Empire Strikes Back, Blade Runner, Alien, The Two Towers, The Princess Bride, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Matrix, Terms of Endearment, Steel Magnolias, Stand By Me, The Terminator (the original one).

I’m leaving out a ton. See, this is why I hate doing “favorites” lists. Now I’m going to spend the rest of the day thinking about every good movie I’ve ever seen and wondering if it should have made that list.

Where is your favourite place to write?

I like to write at my kitchen table. (Below is a photo of Josephine’s table :) )

A huge thank you to Josephine for taking the time to answer my questions! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series :)

You may remember about six weeks ago I read and reviewed an amazing book by debut author MJ Hearle called Winter’s Shadow (you can read my review here), well in just a few short days Winter’s Shadow is going to be released and I am very exciting to be able to share it with you all!

I recommend Winter’s Shadow to anyone who loves paranormal young adult romance novels. If you love Twilight, you are going to love Winter’s Shadow! It is now among my favourite books and so I was very excited when MJ very kindly took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few of my questions to share with you:

Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Well, I was born and raised in the small coastal town of Port Macquarie, which is just below the Queensland border. I went to University in Newcastle where I managed to graduate with a BA majoring in Film and Psychology. Afterwards, I floundered for a bit trying to find a way to make a living without selling my soul. I failed at this and spent the next ten years working for ad agencies as a graphic designer while trying to break into the film industry. On the eve of my thirtieth birthday, I had brief moment of panic about where my life was heading. I didn’t want to be a graphic designer and it didn’t appear that I was going to be a filmmaker. This mini breakdown forced me to realise that what I cared about was telling stories – this is why I was initially drawn to film – and that the most pure way to do this was through the written word. You might call it an epiphany – I didn’t need to make films. I could write a book. Since school, I’d been writing pretty consistently – screenplays, short stories etc. – so it wasn’t something that was unfamiliar to me, however, I’d never attempted anything as ambitious as a novel. Figuring, I didn’t have anything to lose I fired up the old laptop and just set to it. Three months and 100,00 words later (not to mention several new grey hairs) I had a manuscript which I dutifully sent off to a couple of agents. One of the agents signed me up and the rest, as they say, is history. Winter’s Shadow will be in bookstores next Tuesday (June 2nd) and I couldn’t be more excited.

Now could you tell us a little about Winter’s Shadow?

Winter’s Shadow is the first instalment of a spellbinding (it will literally bind your spells!) new Paranormal series. Here’s the blurb, which will hopefully wet some of your readers appetites:

Blake Duchamp…
He’s all that Winter Adams can think of. Ever since their fateful meeting at Pilgrim’s Lament. Ever since he looked at her with those emerald eyes. Ever since he saved her life.

But Blake isn’t all that he seems. There is a strangeness about him, something dark and otherworldly. Something dangerous. In his attic is a secret he would kill to defend, but Winter seems to have a special ability to make him forget his duty. And he is her only protection against the gathering darkness.

The only problem is, to protect Winter, Blake must risk exposing her to an even greater danger. Himself.

What’s great about the blurb is it doesn’t give too much away. One of the chief pleasures of Winter’s Shadow is uncovering the mystery at the same time as the heroine. I will say this though, Winter’s Shadow contains no vampires, werewolves, fairies, angels, demons, gods or any of the other creatures currently cluttering up the YA bookshelves. It is with no small amount of pride that I can let you know I’ve created a brand new mythology and a new monster for readers to fall in love with.

I heard that you are currently working on the second book, do you have a set number of books in mind for the series?

At this stage I have three books in mind. The second Winter’s Light (or perhaps Winter’s Key? I haven’t decided yet), will hit bookstores next year and the third, tentatively called Winter’s End, will hopefully arrive 2013. Each book will expand the supernatural element I introduced in the first novel and will take the story in exciting and (hopefully) unexpected directions.

I’ve heard some Authors have been inspired by an event, a song, a dream etc. What was your inspiration for Winter’s Shadow?

Somewhat appropriately a cemetery was the inspiration behind Winter’s Shadow. I started jogging a few years ago when I noticed my metabolism wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping up with my love of pizza and chocolate. It was either give up the junk food or start exercising, so I began to jog. One day, my route took me through Waverly Cemetery which overlooks Sydney’s Bronte beach. It was just on sunset and I thought I was alone in the cemetery when I noticed a teenage girl taking photographs of the tombstones. As I passed by she took a photograph of me and thus gave the inspiration for the story. I began thinking what would happen if when that girl had her photograph developed there was a hint of something strange in the picture. Something supernatural. Not a ghost or a vampire or a werewolf but something infinitely more terrible and mysterious.

When you are creating your characters, do you base them on people you know or are they completely fictional?

More or less fictional, though if I find a character feels a little two-dimensional on the page I might steal a character trait from someone I know to add a little shading.

For my readers that haven’t yet guessed you are not a 17 year old girl, so how were you able to write Winter’s character so convincingly?

Ultimately, I just drew on my own experience as a teenager. Apart from the plumbing, I don’t think there’s a huge difference between a slightly shy, imaginative teenage boy and a slightly shy, imaginative teenage girl. The devil’s in the details though, so I did have to turn to my mother, sister, aunt and girlfriend for help at certain stages in the writing. For example, at one point I had Winter going to bed with rollers in her hair, her face slathered in a beauty mask. I thought this is something all girls do until it was kindly pointed out to me by my mum that I might have been getting modern teenage girls confused with housewives from the 1950’s. (Rachel here – this literally made me LOL and I very nearly spat Coke Zero on my laptop! Thanks MJ :) )

If Winter’s Shadow were to be made into a movie, who would you like to see play Winter and Blake?

I’d like to play both roles. I could do Winter in a red wig. (Rachel again – you’d look great in a red wig MJ :) )

Seriously, though I think Sophie Turner who stars as Sansa Stark in HBO’s Game of Thrones could do a good job as Winter, though she might be a little bit too beautiful. It’s tricky because Winter isn’t supposed to be stunning but most Hollywood actresses are nothing less than draw dropping. Ultimately, I’d probably go for an unknown actress, with an emphasis on talent over looks. As for Blake, I wish I could go back in time and cast a young Jeremy Sisto because he would be perfect.

Ok now we move on to The Fictional Fantasy Five!

What book are you currently reading?

Justin Cronin, The Passage. Wonderfully written, an epic in every sense of the world. (Seriously, I can barely lift it, the book’s so big. Reading The Passage is better than a workout at the gym – they should use that quote on the cover!)

Who is one of your favourite Authors?

Stephen King is the man that got me interested in reading and writing. Without him, I wouldn’t be where I am.

What is your all time favourite book?

These questions are so unfair! How can I possibly pick one? Usually my favourite book is the last one I can remember reading. Here’s a scattershot of some of my favourite novels – Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, Salem’s Lot by Stephen King, The Thief of Always by Clive Barker, Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie (sorry for cheating)

What is your all time favourite movie?

The Wizard of Oz. I must have watched it a thousand times when I was a kid. I think no other film straddles the line between fear and wonder as effectively .

Where is your favourite place to write?

I don’t have a favourite place unfortunately. I have the only space available to me which is at a small desk squashed at the foot of my bed. I’ve read interviews with successful authors who talk about writing in a separate cottage they’ve had built in their garden. That sounds pretty good to me. One day I would like a small garden cottage to write in. Until then, I’m stuck here:

Thanks MJ for allowing us to get to know you a little better, I wish you every success with your debut novel and will be trying to wait patiently for the next book in the series.

If you want to find out more about MJ and his writing head over to his blog mjhearle.com and “like” Winter’s Shadow’s Facebook page!

Winter’s Shadow is the Book of the Month over at Aussie Twilight Mums so feel free to come over and join in the discussion :) MJ will also be joining the ATMs for an online Q & A at the end of June, so keep your eye out for more information about that in the coming weeks :)

I was recently given the opportunity to ask Sue Bursztynski, the Author of Wolfborn a few questions!

Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m a teacher-librarian, living in Melbourne. I run the library of a western suburbs secondary school and teach Year 8 and a special literacy subject called SunLit, which is spread across all year levels. I run a lunchtime book club and, because my book clubbers also write, I alternate that with a writing club. One of them won a prize last year in the Melbourne Writers’ Festival schools competition and I am so very proud of her! Another of them interviewed Juliet Marillier on my blog, The Great Raven, and it’s getting steady, frequent hits after several weeks. I believe in raising the next generation of readers and writers.

Could you tell us a little about Wolfborn?

Wolfborn is a werewolf novel set in a mediaeval society loosely based on our own mediaeval Europe. The hero, Etienne, goes to live with a knight called Geraint, to do his training. Geraint is a good lord, a good peacekeeper for his king, but he’s a born werewolf and when you sneak out regularly to change into a wolf, someone is not going to like it – in this case, Geraint’s wife. Most of the story is about Etienne and his friends trying to save Geraint from being a wolf for the rest of his life.

It’s inspired by a medieval romance by a poet called Marie de France. The word “romance” by the way, had a different meaning in the Middle Ages from what we think of as a romance now. It might be just an adventure story. That said, there was usually some love stuff going on in Marie’s stories, although in Lai Le Bisclavret, on which this novel was based, the werewolf knight’s wife keeps him in wolf shape with the help of another man who wants her – and that’s not a romance you’d think sweet!

Wolfborn is set in medieval times, have these times always been fascinating to you?

It’s set in a medieval society, but the universe is not ours – it has three moons! But yes, I have always been fascinated by the Middle Ages. I was a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism for some time, wearing armour at tournaments and medieval costume at feasts, singing, embroidering and dancing. The scene in Chapter 2 where Etienne has such a painful time practising swordplay is based on my own experience.

I even have my own personal device (coat of arms), which is still up on the Australian (Lochac) SCA web site, under the name of Gwenddydd Rhosyn o Gymru Newydd, if anyone is curious, designed for me by an artist friend, Rob Jan. It was two unicorn heads, a bar and a crescent moon. I do know the heraldic way to describe it, but go take a look – the heraldic description is there.

I also learned Renaissance dance from Helga Hill, an expert on early music and dance, who runs classes and does performances in Melbourne. I have lots of CDs of early music, which I play when I write.

I did a lot of research for Wolfborn, and it must have worked because everyone assumes it really is set in the Middle Ages, but in the end, it’s my own universe and I’ve played around with some things.

When you are creating your characters, do you base them on people you know or are they completely made up?

None of my characters is based on anyone I know, although the two teenage boys, Etienne and his friend Armand, are a mixture of a lot of young men I’ve known at school over the years. I come to know my characters as I write, to the extent that by the time I’m doing the editing process, I can say, “No, this character wouldn’t do that! He’s just not that type of person.” I’m pretty accommodating about my editing, when asked to re-write, but when an editor has a character say something he wouldn’t, use words probably not in his vocab, I can say so, because I know the character so well by then.

Ok now for The Fictional Fantasy Five!

What book are you currently reading?

I’m a reader of multiple books. I’ve just finished the Hunger Games trilogy, which I read in three days. What’s sitting on the table beside me as I write this is a very entertaining history of the Vikings. The author says some outrageous things. Apparently, they weren’t the hot navigators they are supposed to have been, they just kept losing their way and crashing into new countries by accident!

I love “history of” books, whether it’s the history of chocolate or the history of tourism. Just the other week I read a history of the Roman games which I simply MUST use some time in a novel.

Who is one of your favourite Authors?

Kerry Greenwood and Terry Pratchett are writers whose books I’ll read over and over. There’s always something new to discover in them. I still laugh at Pratchett’s Discworld books, no matter how many times I’ve read them, and Kerry Greenwood’s vibrant descriptions of Melbourne, both present-day and 1928, are enough to overcome the fact that I know whodunnit.

What is your all time favourite book?

Probably Lord of the Rings, which I absorb as comfort reading every now and then when I’m tired and stressed and feel the need for a story that’s beautifully written and has characters I care about.

What is your all time favourite movie?

If I must choose one, probably the original The Day The Earth Stood Still, NOT the remake. I love to watch it late at night after a hard day. Hey, can I slip in one more? Forbidden Planet!

Where is your favourite place to write?

I have a full-time day job, so I write where I can, when I can.

I do have a wonderful study full of books, but when I have a day to write – weekends and term holidays – I often leave the house to work, because I have a tendency to make excuses to leave the computer – get a coffee, look something up, go down to the letterbox, and so on. When I was commissioned to write my last book, Crime Time: Australians behaving badly, I was on long-service leave, so I spent quite a lot of my time with my laptop at the local café, which has free wifi , ordering coffee, muffins, lunch,… The staff at the café were fascinated and cheered me on. I presented the owner with a copy of the finished book. Sometimes I write on the beach, when the weather is good, but the beach can also be distracting.

The original draft of Wolfborn was written in longhand, on public transport on the way to work. The next several drafts were written in my study, where I had my first computer, a desktop Macintosh. These days I have only a laptop and I transferred all my files to it when I got that. My last draft, when the book had been accepted for publication, was written in the living-room, playing early music (and getting up to dance a galliard now and then) or the movie Ladyhawke, which has a man cursed to turn into a wolf every night while his beloved turns into a hawk by day. It put me right in the mood for the editing process! :)

Sue In Her Local Cafe

Thank you Sue for taking the time to drop by and answer my questions :)

You can find out more about Sue and her writing on her blog here!

You can get a paperback copy as well as an ePub version of Wolfborn from The Book Depository!

Today we are very lucky to have Lara Morgan, author of The Rosie Black Chronicles: Genesis joining us here on the blog for an e-interview!

FF – Thank you Lara for taking the time out of your busy day to answer a few questions for my readers and I.


Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Lara – I’m a first generation Australian – my mother is Bermudian, my father Croatian – I grew up in the hills outside of Perth and went to the University of WA. I was what you’d call a bookish child, being the kind who read by torchlight under the covers when I was supposed to be asleep. I’ve been writing most of my life but didn’t start getting serious about it until my late 20s (I’m now 39, gulp!) after an extended stay overseas. I’ve always loved to travel and have spent some time with a back pack surgically attached, but after I came back from seven months living out of said back pack, I got up one morning and thought I’d write a book. That was in 1997 and I had my first book published in 2008, so it took a while but I managed to fill some of the time between with more travels.

FF – Now could you tell us a little about Genesis the first book in The Rosie Black Chronicles?

Lara – Genesis is set five hundred years in the future in a world that has basically been broken by cataclysmic climate change. Earth’s coastal cities have been drowned by rising sea levels, a new disease called the MalX is taking hold and the planet is run by a global government and satellite authorities called The Senate. People are separated into the rich- the Centrals, the poor – the Bankers, and the homeless – the Ferals. Rosie Black is sixteen and she is a Banker. Her mum is dead and Rosie and her dad are barely surviving. To help make ends meet Rosie sometimes forages for things to sell in the forbidden ruins of the old city, but one day she finds something that she shouldn’t have. It’s a box and inside it are several items a powerful corporation called Helios will kill to get. With her family threatened Rosie is on the run to discover the truth behind the secret Helios is trying to protect. On the way she’s forced into an alliance with a charismatic feral boy called Pip and a man he calls boss, but is either who they seem, and can she trust them enough to save her family?

FF - Have you got a set number of books in mind for the series?

Lara – At the moment this is a three book series, but I’m not discounting the possibility of more.

FF – Can you tell us a little bit about the next book in the series ‘Equinox’ and when we should see it on our shelves?

Lara – Without giving too much away that will spoil Genesis, in Equinox Rosie will be starting her first year at the Orbitcorp Academy, training to become a space ship pilot. Pip will be around but there will be a new friend for Rosie and the complication of another boy – perhaps. And Helios will again rear its head. A secret base has been discovered in the far north in the lands of the Gondwana Nation and Rosie will be caught up in finding out what they are doing up there. Things are not as cut and dry as they seem though and she is going to have to make a choice which will affect her for the rest of her life.

FF – When you are creating your characters, do you base them on people you know or are they completely made up?

Lara – I like to look at personality traits in people to help me create characters, and sometimes it is from people I know but other times it may just be that certain situations create certain traits in people. Mostly though my characters come from the world they inhabit in the book, the experiences they go through, and the kernel of the idea of who they are that starts at the very beginning of the creation of the story. I always have a base idea for who the character is right at the start, they usually just sort of arrive in my mind as I am thinking of the story and I discover more of who they are as I write the first draft.

FF – If The Rosie Black Chronicles were to be made into a movie, who would you like to see play Rosie and Pip?

Lara – I find the image I have in my mind of both of them is so specific I struggle to think of an actor that would fit, but I’ll try. Maybe Caitlin Stasey, who plays Ellie in Tomorrow When the War Began, for Rosie. Pip is much harder as he has such a defined look, if I knew of an actor who was a younger version of Jason Momoa (about to play the revamped Conan) it would be him, or a less pretty, rougher version of Taylor Lautner or one of the other werewolf boys. I think some of the readers will probably be able to answer that question better and I’d be really interested to hear what they said!

FF – Ok now that the tough questions are over with, let’s have some fun, could you please answer The Fictional Fantasy Five?


What book are you currently reading? 

Lara – Dies The Fire by SM Stirling and The Word for World is Forest by Ursula Le Guin

FF – Who is one of your favourite Authors? 

Lara – Ursula Le Guin

FF – What is your all time favourite book? 

Lara – Oh that’s too hard!! The Earthsea

FF – What is your all time favourite movie? 

Lara – Also very hard. When Harry Met Sally though is in the top five. And Star Wars (geek alert)

FF – Where is your favourite place to write (if you could include a photo of your work space that would be wonderful ) 

Lara – Wish I could send a pic but I’m not there at the moment.
My favourite spot is on the deck of my little house where I can see the sea – but I don’t get much done because the view is so distracting! My most productive spot is at my desk with headphones on and some quite music with books and papers strewn about. And I must have a cup of tea.

FF – Thank you so much for allowing us to get to know you, I wish you every success and will be trying to wait patiently for your next book. 

To find out more about Lara’s book you can read my review  here!

You can also find out more about The Rosie Black Chronicles here and check out Lara’s personal website here!

Q & A with

Cassandra Clare

The Infernal Devices Book 1:

Clockwork Angel

The Mortal Instruments

1 Why did you choose to go back in time to place Victorian London as the setting for your new series?

I’ve always been fascinated with the Victorian period. I intentionally set it toward the late middle Victorian period, a time of huge industrial expansion — a time when technology and industry were almost outrunning the ability of society to keep up with them. A time when London was choking under a haze of smog and dirt and factory smoke, because it parallels the sudden leap forward the Shadowhunters have made with their Accords, and the clash between tradition and modernity that they are experiencing.

2 What research did you do for the Victorian setting?

For six months I read only books written during, or written about, the Victorian period. I did a lot of reading of first-hand sources: journals kept at the time period, the travel accounts of tourists visiting England from America (since Tessa is American, in London for the first time) and newspapers of the period. I also employed a research assistant — Lisa Gold — to track down hard to find photographs of locations in the time period, and went to London several times myself to map out routes and select locations.

3 Who’s your favourite character in Clockwork Angel?

For me picking a favourite character is like picking a favourite child – I can’t do it! I loved writing Will, because Will is the kind of character I love reading about: he seems like he’s one thing, but he’s really something else entirely. Jem I love because he has such a good heart, and Tessa was a lot of fun to write because she’s so spirited and determined. And I always enjoy writing Magnus Bane so was happy he returned in this novel.

4 Describe Tessa’s characterisation for us. Do you think Clary fans will embrace their new ‘heroine’?

So far the reaction has been very positive. Clary and Tessa share a strong, determined spirit but both are products of their time. Clary’s far more willing to initially physically fight back against supernatural attackers, while Tessa has to wrestle with the idea that it’s not in a woman’s “nature” to be violent or even to comprehend violence. Tessa is more soft-spoken than Clary because at the time it was absolutely drilled into women’s heads that they needed to be polite, sweet, reserved, and gentle in their speech — but they were allowed to be witty, so while she isn’t as blunt or sarcastic as Clary, I like to think she verbally holds her own against the boys. On the other hand, Tessa, unlike Clary, is an enormous bookworm who lives out all her fantasies in books, which I think is something that book-lovers find easy to connect to.

5 Will Magnus Bane (a favourite warlock from the MI series) be playing a larger role in the new series?

Yes, in the sense that we’re going to see a lot of Magnus and we’re going to see some of the forces that shaped him and made him what he is in The Mortal Instruments. He starts off the series in the middle of a love affair going pretty badly, and has a distrust and dislike of Shadowhunters. Once he’s entangled in the lives of Will, Tessa and Jem he starts to see them differently and the echoes of his relationships with them resound down to his life in the present day.

6 Can we look forward to the intrigue and drama of another thrilling love triangle?

In many ways I think of this as the first real love triangle I’ve gotten to write. I think in The Mortal Instruments it was always very clear who Clary was in love with; she just couldn’t be with him. In Infernal Devices Tessa’s feelings are much more complicated. There are things she loves about Will, and things she loves about Jem. To complicate matters further, the boys are best friends, and incapable of wanting to hurt each other. They’re not so much fighting over Tessa as scrambling to get out of each other’s way, to be the noble one who steps aside. But since both are hiding secrets — and since of course the final choice is Tessa’s — there’s no way someone’s heart isn’t going to get broken.

7 Will is an intriguing character – does he bear any relation to Jace? (from The Mortal Instruments)

They’re blood relatives. Will is Jace’s ancestor. So they do have a lot in common — they use arrogance and humour to deflect seriousness and minimise emotional pain. They don’t look at all alike (aside from both being handsome!) and Will is carrying around a secret that is just nothing like Jace has ever experienced. It actually makes him very different from Jace, but we don’t find out the full extent of his secret until Book Two.

8 Where did you get the idea for tattoos to have magical powers?

In a tattoo shop! I was with a friend of mine who worked in a tattoo shop in the East Village in NY. I was looking through the flash book — that’s the book of art that a tattoo artist has designed — and hers were based on ancient runes. That’s when I got this idea about skin runes that offered protection against demons and how neat that would be.

9 There’s a lot of dialogue about the Accords – they seem to take on more significance in this series than in The Mortal Instruments?

That’s because in The Mortal Instruments the Accords have been around for a hundred years, while in the ID books they’re new. The Accords are a fact of life for the Shadowhunters in MI, but in ID they’ve changed everything — the new generation is embracing them, but the older generation of Shadowhunters hates them. In fact, the older generation of Downworlders doesn’t like them all that much. You can draw a parallel with any sort of progressive civil rights movement — it usually takes people a while to catch up and do the right thing.

10 What do you think makes your books so compelling for adolescent (and older!) readers?

I think right now we’re seeing a real boom in fantasy and a lot of rich and compelling storytelling coming out of that. I think that fantasy has that special opportunity to be universally compelling because it’s so allegorical — people of any age can draw parallels with their own lives, because fantasy tends to touch on broad and accessible themes and concepts — coming of age, the choice between doing what’s right and what’s easy, deciding what kind of person you want to be, the connections of love and family. Teenagers can relate to the characters because they are like them, and adults can relate to the characters because who can forget what it was like to be a teenager? Who can forget their first love, first big life-changing decision, first realisation that they’re becoming an adult? These things are meaningful for everyone.

11 In The Mortal Instruments Clary was a Shadowhunter, yet in Clockwork Angel Tessa is half human, half demon – does this mean the new Infernal Devices series will focus more on the world of the Downworlders?

I think we get to hear more from the Downworlders about their perspective on Shadowhunters — we get to see the Shadowhunters from outside instead of inside and get a kind of glimpse of how scary they are! Also they treat Tessa very differently than they treated Clary, who was one of their own. Tessa has to struggle with feeling like she doesn’t belong in the world of humans, doesn’t belong in the world of Shadowhunters, yet has no idea what she’d do in the world of Downworlders either, since she was brought up believing she was human.

12 ‘Shapeshifting’ – quite a cool ability! If you could change into anyone you wanted to, who would you change into and why?

I deliberately didn’t give Tessa the power of changing into animals or inanimate objects — it has to be another human being — because I didn’t want her to have a power so strong it gave her easy outs from tough situations. Because if it were up to me, I’d totally pick animal shapeshifting — I’ve always wanted to fly so I’d kick it as a bird for a while. 

13 You are writing more of The Mortal Instruments series. (yay!) Is there potential for The Infernal Devices to extend beyond three books, or will Tessa, Will and Jem’s journeys end there?

No one will believe me now, but I entirely intend for the books to end at Book Three — I’m already planning the epilogue where we find out what happens to everyone! I figure once you’ve written an epilogue, you can’t ever go back.

14 You used to write for pop culture magazines – how was that?

Really exhausting actually — we had these very weird hours because most of the day was just sitting
around waiting for tips, news or gossip to come in from the West Coast which was three hours behind us.
By the time we had stories to be written it would be 6pm and then they’d often have to be shipped out
that night. It wasn’t unusual to have a workday that went from noon to 3.00 in the morning.

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