The author is a history graduate student. Writing under a pen name, Margaret is also published in other Academic venues. She started coming up with stories when she was around 13. Over time, she realized it was a way to communicate herself to the world. Of all the genres, fantasy appealed the most to her love of adventure. It was her best way for me to tell the stories I wanted to.
Can u give us a brief summary of your book?
Twenty years ago, Verdania fell under the rulership of dark power and lost its dual thrones. Prince Ewan Inathius seeks out his human counter-part, Princess Constance Neethe, to ask for her help in saving their world. She reluctantly agrees to join him, hoping her dark secret, a powerful drug addiction never comes to light.
What inspired you to write your book?
Oh boy, so many things! But I wanted to tell a story about hope, how no matter how far you fall, there’s always a way to come back. For my characters, I researched what the names mean. Sometimes, I used names from different languages. For instance, one of the magical creatures is named Vevila, which is Irish for harmony. It’s meant to be ironic because it’s a creature that’s in constant pain from being a mix of different animals. A lot of the other place’s names are anagrams of my friends and family members. I’m from the US but I pull a lot of information from different cultures.
Going back to the book, do you have a particular chapter that you had trouble writing?
Honestly, chapter one! Once I knew where I wanted the story to go, but I agonized over the beginning because I wanted to draw the reader in without moving too fast. It went through more rewrites than anything.
Was it your favorite chapter?
No, it wasn’t. Chapter 27 is my favorite. Two characters who have disliked each other the entire book finally have a heated confrontation. It was rather easy to write!
After this book, what are your plans?
Well, it’s the first in a trilogy so I have two more to finish. I’m currently doing deep edits of the second book and I am almost finished with the first draft of the third.
Any plans in touching another genre after this trilogy?
I’ve considered going into sci-fi. Perhaps writing a coming of age book taking place on a college campus, though I like to stick with one project at a time.
Any advice for aspiring young writers?
Don’t stop pushing yourself, even if that means completely reworking something. Don’t be afraid of rejection. Not everyone is going to love your stuff, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t amazing!
Be part of Margaret’s fantasy world and grab her book on Amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1734685565?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860