1. What motivated you to write your book, to force you from taking an idea or experience and turning it into a book? I read a lot of nonfiction. I love history. And there were a couple of historical events and people that really stuck with me after reading about them – Caligula, Sparta and the agoge, the War of the Roses. I sort of turned those people and events over in my head and started thinking about ‘well, what if it went like this’ or ‘yeah but if we add mermaids to that.’ I think when fantasy has some basis in reality, it makes it much easier to not only construct the world and events of the story, but to make the characters feel more real and relatable.
2. What is it about and who is it for? Book One introduces us to Fynn and his family, as well as the other first-year students at the Morancy Academy of Military Arts. I think, when you get down to it, it’s about family and friendship and the bonds we make with the different people in our lives. It’s about love and grief and your own personal strength – both physical and mental. It’s about triumph and failure, whimsy and terror. And it’s all wrapped up in an adventure story that spans across a semi-enchanted, tropical archipelago inhabited by children-eating mermaids, talking spiders, skeleton labyrinths, and a jungle that rearranges itself.
3. What do you hope the reader will be left with after reading it? I hope my readers are left wanting more! There is a fairly sizable cast of characters the reader spends a lot of time with, so hopefully they’ll want to know more about them and see where their stories go and how they grow up and who they become. There are a few mysteries bandied about too, so I’m hoping the reader will want to know more about what’s going on and how everything will tie together.
4. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers? Keep going. No matter what anyone says or what you may think, if you’ve got a story to tell, you can tell it. There are a lot of hurdles to overcome – both externally and internally. You just have to keep going and forge ahead.
5. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? Fantasy seems to be surging to the forefront for younger readers and adults alike. Maybe that’s because that’s the genre I write in, so I make sure to keep up with what’s going on in the fantasy world. But it seems like it’s making a real resurgence, especially with Wheel of Time and Lord of the Rings getting their own shows. I don’t think you can discount the phenomenon of Game of Thrones as being partially responsible for the demand for fantasy. Really, I think people enjoy the escapism of it all. As a result, it seems like a lot of new fantasy stories – especially series – are popping up all over the place. It’s almost hard to keep track of all the new series coming out and all the ones still going. But hey, that’s my genre so I’m certainly not complaining!
6. What challenges did you overcome to write this book? I think my greatest challenge was self-doubt. There were a lot of days where I just didn’t feel like I was a good enough writer and storyteller or that my characters were real enough or my world was unique enough. I think a lot of artists struggle with this. It’s one of those things that really brings you down. When you don’t feel like the work you’re doing is good enough, it makes it really difficult to keep going. I find it very hard to write when I get in that headspace and, as a result, there were days or weeks when I didn’t write anything. And, to be honest, not writing made me feel even worse.
7. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? Fynneas Fog: Nine of Swords, is a fresh take on fantasy. Yes, it has a medieval style setting like many other series out there. But the tropical locations are unique and the Morancy Academy is certainly a very interesting institution to spend time delving into. Even more so, I think that Fynn is a special protagonist. He’s not the best at everything he does. He fails a lot actually. He’s not the smartest or wisest main character. He isn’t the most inquisitive or curious. He’s really, in many ways, a regular kid who ends up being thrown into situations and caught in the middle of circumstances out of his control and he just does the best he can with it all.
Author Bio: Brooklyn Quintana is a Texas-based author, artist, and content creator. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Central Florida. After realizing a graduate degree in law wasn’t for her, she left the confines of her corporate cubical and pursued her lifelong passion of storytelling. When she isn’t writing, illustrating, or filming, Brooklyn spends her time in the company of her beloved German Shepherd, Major Tom. Brooklyn is also founder of Morpheus Media, LLC, an alternative to traditional, big-five publishing houses. Fynneas Fog: Nine of Swords is her debut novel and the first in a planned series. For more information, please see: https://www.morpheusmediallc.com/
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is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2021. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he
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