Lyra Selene

AUTHOR

Month: June 2013

Q&A with Author Kourtney Heintz

by | Jun 24, 2013 | , ,

Today, I’m interviewing author Kourtney Heintz about her new book The Six Train to Wisconsin, out now in print and e-book. Hope you enjoy this insight into another writer’s process and decisions, and make sure to leave a comment at the end to be entered to win Kourtney’s exciting new novel!

The lovely author in the flesh!

The lovely author in the flesh!

Q: First off, tell us about you! Who is Kourtney Heintz?

I’m a former Wall Street girl, who took advantage of the economic downturn to try a new career as an author. I’m a firm believer in living the life you want and doing whatever it takes to make your dreams a reality. Even moving into your parent’s living room.

Q: When did you first start writing, and what inspired you to continue?

I’ve been writing since I was a kid. Fan fiction mostly. My own takes on the Wizard of Oz series. It wasn’t until 2006 that I decided to seriously write my own novel. It was the end of the Harry Potter series that brought it all about. I was so sad to part ways with Hermione and Harry and I realized if I wrote my own books I could stay with the characters as long as I wanted.

Q: Your debut novel, The Six Train to Wisconsin, has just come out in print and ebook. Tell us about the book!

The Six Train to Wisconsin is a work of speculative fiction. It focuses on a married couple, Oliver and Kai. When Kai’s telepathy spirals out of control, her husband Oliver brings her to the quiet Wisconsin hometown he abandoned a decade ago, where he must confront the secrets of his past to save their future.

Q: Where did the idea for the novel come from? Did anything in particular inspire you?

I was recovering from disk replacement surgery and thinking about how bad off I had been. How much care I needed. And the people who had to care for me. I wanted to tell that story. Both sides of it–the caregiver and the care-needer. The husband and his telepathic wife were born in that moment.

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Review: Kill Me Softly, by Sarah Cross

by | Jun 15, 2013 | ,

Kill Me Softly, by Sarah Cross

Kill Me Softly, by Sarah Cross

Mirabelle’s past is shrouded in mystery, from the cause of her parents’ mysterious deaths to her guardians’ evasive half-truths about her birthplace, Beau Rivage. But as Mira’s sixteenth birthday approaches, she hatches a desperate plan to run away to Beau Rivage and discover the truth for herself. But Beau Rivage is more than Mira bargained for: a disturbing town where nothing is what it seems and every resident harbors dark, impossible secrets.

There’s casino manager Felix, whose alluring blue eyes and suave demeanor instantly draw Mira in, but why does Felix’s rude brother Blue seem so insistent that Mira stay far away from his family? Why is pale, dark-haired Viv so obsessed with apples and glass coffins? Why are birds and woodland animals strangely attracted to handsome, chivalrous Freddie? Is it possible that in Beau Rivage, fairy tales come true in the most twisted, grotesque way possible? And if Mira was born here, does that mean she is cursed to live out her own Grimm tale? Will she find a way to outwit fate before she loses her heart, or worse, her life?

I picked this book up at the library on a whim. To be honest, the cover gave me pause: the graphics seemed vaguely Twilight-esque, but I didn’t have anything else to read so I decided to give it a whirl. And let me tell you, I’m thrilled that I didn’t judge this book by its cover.

I surprised myself by loving this novel. From the first chapter, I was hooked. I actually stayed up half the night finishing the book, and I don’t regret it. (Not that I ever regret sleep lost over a good book, mind you). Kill Me Softly is a dark, clever, sexy story; a twisted fairy tale that embraces the grotesque aspects of Grimm tales and then goes deeper and darker. Cross asks her readers, What if fairy tale characters aren’t guaranteed their happy endings? Because in Beau Rivage, true love doesn’t always win and the only thing more dangerous than an evil fairy’s curse is trying to outrun your destiny.

Cross does a great job of creating a coherent mythology solidly rooted in both traditionally macabre Grimm folklore and modern Americana. In a genre already flooded by twisted fairy tales like ABC’s ‘Once Upon a Time,’ NBC’s ‘Grimm,’ and Alex Flinn’s Beastly, Kill Me Softly is fresh, original and compelling. Cross manages to make her world be both deadly and whimsical, sinister and hopeful; a place where a curse might end in true love and a blessing might spell tragedy. Either way, fate is inexorable.

The fairy tale characters in the novel are brilliantly irreverent. Each character balks the traditional assumptions of their archetype while remaining true to the overall ethos of the fairy tale. For instance, the character destined to play out the Snow White narrative jokes that she’s tempted to choke herself on an apple “just to get things rolling.” Freddie–“Prince Charming”– is kind and generous to the point of intolerability–the “princess” he is destined to wake from an enchanted slumber with true love’s kiss can’t stand being around him for longer than 5 minutes.

For anyone who enjoys a twisted fairytale with a healthy dose of snappy dialogue, steamy makeouts, and complicated characters, this book is a must-read. Mira’s quest for answers about her past sends her into a beautiful but deadly world of lies, intrigue, and maybe–just maybe–true love.

The Importance of Reading

by | Jun 13, 2013 | ,

“We don’t need a list of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don’ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever.”               — Philip Pullman

Marilyn Monroe, pretty and smart.

Marilyn Monroe, pretty and smart.

I was that kid. The kid who read all the time. The kid who brought a book with her wherever she went. The kid who had to be told to stop reading so much and go outside and play with my friends. I could be found reading under the table at family dinners. Reading on the way to school, reading during lunch, and reading on the way home. Reading under the sheets after my mom had told me–repeatedly–to turn the light off, I could finish the damn book tomorrow. Later, I was the girl who read all her summer reading in the first two weeks of summer break, and then spent the rest of summer at the library. I was the girl who threw silent hissy fits whenever she was assigned a book she didn’t like; not because it was a pain to read but because there was nothing–NOTHING–she hated more than disliking a book.

Long before the thought of being a writer ever crossed my mind, I was a reader.

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Look Away, Dixie Land

by | Jun 10, 2013 | , ,

‘Tell about the South . . . What do they do there? How do they live there? Why do they?’     –William Faulkner, ‘Absalom, Absalom!’

Southern Live Oak.

Southern Live Oak.

Last week I wrote about how much my family moved around when I was a kid. But despite that, most of my formative childhood years were spent in Florida. And not the Florida you see in movies or TV; no white sand beaches here, and few palm trees to speak of. This is North Central Florida, where the humidity rarely drops below 90% and the live oaks stretch their great branches down to skim the ground. Sandwiched between the prairie and the swamp, my Florida is the land of sharp palmetto fronds, bayonet plants, and cypress knees. Of armadillos and gopher tortoises and red-headed buzzards. My Florida is the South, plain and simple.

I grew up in this Florida. I remember spending summer days knee deep in Hogtown Creek, hunting for sharks’ teeth and fossils, relics of Florida’s prehistoric past. I’ll never forget the sweet taste of fresh blueberries picked from the bush, still hot from the blazing Southern sun. Dancing in an afternoon downpour, building tiny dams out of pinecones and not caring that I was soaked to the bone. Diving into the aquamarine depths of a natural spring, the water as clear as glass and as cold as ice. Buying watermelons not from the supermarket, but from sunburned farmers on the side of the road selling them out of the back of battered and muddy pick-up trucks. Tubing down the Itchetucknee and kayaking on the Suwannee. Avoiding the cold, prehistoric gaze of six-foot alligators sunning themselves on the banks of Lake Alice.

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Review: Shadowfell, by Juliet Marillier

by | Jun 8, 2013 |

Shadowfell, by Juliet Marillier

Shadowfell, by Juliet Marillier

The magical land of Alban has fallen under the tyrannical rule of King Keldec, and Alban’s once generous and kind populace have become fearful and downtrodden. Once a year, the King’s Enforcers ride out on a Cull, killing everyone who dares speak out against Keldec while Enthrallers use mind-scraping techniques to turn anyone with useful magical gifts into pawns of the tyrant.

Sixteen-year-old Neryn is graced–or cursed–with the canny gift of Sight; she can see the Good Folk even when they seek to hide themselves from mortal eyes. But because of her gift she has been forced to lead a life of danger and worry, constantly moving from one place to the next with her father in order to escape the long arm of the King’s Enforcers. And when her drunken father gambles her away to a stranger for a handful of silver, she fears that everything is lost. But the stranger reveals himself to be a mysterious warrior by the name of Flint who has no intention of harming Neryn. Now Neryn must make a choice: will she take her newfound freedom and find a place to hide out from King Keldec’s Enforcers permanently, or will she try to make her way to Shadowfell, a secret stronghold spoken of only in whispers? Can she trust Flint, or does he seek to betray her? And can she accept the terrifying destiny waiting for her at the end of her journey?

I have never read any of Juliet Marillier’s novels before, but I’m glad I picked this one out at the library. Shadowfell was an enjoyable read for me; it reminded me of the fantasy novels I loved so much as a young girl, with a magical kingdom and a mysterious warrior on horseback and a courageous heroine whose mettle must be tested before she can find her destiny. Alban is beautifully drawn, evocative of a modern Britain while simultaneously conjuring forth an more ancient time of Celtic myth, when magical creatures lived alongside humans graced with mystic powers and abilities.

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Whistle While You Work

by | Jun 6, 2013 | ,

Andrew Bird, man of many melodies.

Andrew Bird, man of many melodies.

A friend recently posted a fascinating article called “Untamed Melody,” written by musician and songwriter Andrew Bird about his writing process. In case you’re too lazy to read the article (really, though, read it!–it’s good!), I’ll sum it up for you: from an early age Mr. Bird has lived his life with melodies. Melodies with his cereal, on the way to school, while brushing his teeth. At any given time he has several melodies filed away in his brain, which he then takes out and tinkers with until he feels they are ready. He then marries words to melody by verbalizing nonsense until “something true” slips into the babble. He teases words from his subconscious mind to “settle into the grooves of the melody.”

I really enjoyed reading this article. It is always a pleasure for me to sneak a peak into another artist’s creative process; the insight I gain by examining someone else’s process often helps me to define my own process more precisely. There were many things about Andrew Bird’s process that resonated with me as a writer, the main difference being that where he goes through life with melodies in various stages of creation, I go through life with stories.

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The Wild Rover

by | Jun 3, 2013 | ,

Dear me, I apologize for my short but unexplained absence. As I mentioned in my last post, spouse and I were moving away from London permanently, so last week was a bit overwhelming what with packing and cleaning and goodbye-ing, and I’m afraid I let my blogging go. Sorry! Not that things are quite settled yet–June promises to be relatively hectic in its own right, with visits to family and weddings and other excitement.

What a ragtag bunch of gypsies we are! Photo taken by my mom in Ireland.

What a ragtag bunch of gypsies we are!
Photo taken by my mom in Ireland.

And all this packing and cleaning and goodbye-ing has had me thinking a lot about moving. This certainly is not the first time I’ve moved in my life. Not by a long shot. My father is a sailor and my mother is a piano teacher, and both parents’ careers proved to be relatively mobile throughout my life. I was born in Florida, but when I was two we moved to Colorado for a few years, then back to Florida, then to Ireland for a year, then to North Carolina before finally winding up back in Florida again. Some stays were longer than others, but every few years my family would pack all our belongings in our station wagon or a UHaul, and move somewhere different.

As a kid I hated moving. I hated having to throw out half of my toys and books and clothes every few years. I hated having to say goodbye to my friends. I hated having to start at a brand new school and navigate a whole new social minefield as an outsider. I hated when distance and time transformed my old best friends into some people I used to know. Moving was always emotionally overwhelming, and I dreaded the inevitable day when my parents would once more announce, “We’re moving!”

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