Welcome tour our stop on THE VANISHING THRONE for author Elizabeth May.
The Falconer #2
Author: Elizabeth May
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: June 21st 2016
Review Source: Chronicle Books
Everything she loved is gone.
Trapped. Aileana Kameron, the Falconer, disappeared through the fae portal she was trying to close forever. Now she wakes in an alien world of mirrors, magic, and deception—a prisoner of the evil fae Lonnrach, who has a desperate and deadly plan for his new captive.
Tortured. Time after agonizing time Lonnrach steals Aileana’s memories, searching for knowledge to save his world. Just when she’s about to lose all hope, Aileana is rescued by an unexpected ally and returns home, only to confront a terrifying truth. The city of Edinburgh is now an unrecognizable wasteland. And Aileana knows the devastation is all her fault.
Transformed. The few human survivors are living in an underground colony, in an uneasy truce with a remnant of the fae. It is a fragile alliance, but an even greater danger awaits: the human and fae worlds may disappear forever. Only Aileana can save both worlds, but in order to do so she must awaken her latent Falconer powers. And the price of doing so might be her life…
Interview
Elizabeth May is the author of the The Falconer Trilogy (The Falconer, The Vanishing Throne). Her work has been published in ten countries, and was an Indie Next Pick, an Amazon Book of the Month, a Green Mountain Book Award nominee, and a Scholastic Reading Club pick.
She grew up outside of Los Angeles, where she spent most of her early years dragging books from the library to dinner tables, restaurants, classrooms, and family vacations. Eventually, she tried telling her own stories, writing about people in places she had never been to, but longed to see.
With writing came her love for travelling. Elizabeth went to the rugged landscapes of New Zealand, the coral reefs of Australia, the plains of Canada, thirty-nine US states, and briefly stopped in Vermont to earn her BA at Marlboro College. One day she landed in the United Kingdom, fell in love with Scotland, and decided that was where she belonged.
Inspired by the mysterious, dark, winding alleyways of Edinburgh and the fairy legends of Scotland, Elizabeth wrote her debut novel, The Falconer. One summer, she finished editing the book, held her breath, and sent it out into the world. The Falconer was published two years later.
After earning her PhD at the University of St. Andrews, Elizabeth committed to writing full time. When she isn’t trekking around the Scottish Highlands and hiking mountains and taking photos, she’s imagining stories about complicated girls and writing them down. Elizabeth lives in Edinburgh with her husband.
One lucky reader, will have the chance to win The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May.
This giveaway is hosted by Chronicle Books and is open to US only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
http://www.mundiemoms.com
Just to get the ball rolling, who is Elizabeth May and what is she all about?
Elizabeth May is a silly girl who swears probably a bit too much, doesn’t write as often as she should, and enjoys adventures, climbing to the top of high things, mischief, desserts, and apparently speaking about herself in the third person. If she were a book, it would be titled GIRL WITH NOTEBOOK AND CAMERA WHO ENJOYS COOKIES FAR TOO MUCH. It would be a snickerdoodle scented book.
The world building in The Falconer is incredible. Can you tell me a little bit about how the idea behind it came about?
Thank you! A lot of the worldbuilding and storybuilding was inspired directly from bits of faery lore. Like in Greek mythology, there are a lot of lone heroes in Celtic faery stories, who either save loved ones or who trick the fae. There are god-like warriors and defenders of humanity, so they’re rife with ideas for fantasy novels. I drew largely from a story called “Fairy Boy of Leith” for The Falconer, which is about a drummer boy taken by fae who live beneath the city of Edinburgh. The Vanishing Throne and The Fallen Kingdom (book 3), draw from other stories like Tam Lin, and especially mythologies surrounding the triple warrior goddesses, Morrígan, Badb, and Macha.
Who was the easiest and hardest character to write?
Aithinne and Kiaran are my easiest and hardest characters to write, respectively. Aithinne is Kiaran’s sister and she’s introduced in The Vanishing Throne. She’s a very forthcoming character who owns her emotions in a way the others don’t; this contributes to a few of her non-sequiturs because she doesn’t really have a filter between her thoughts and her mouth.
Kiaran is more difficult. As his creator, I’m obviously privy to the thoughts and feelings he doesn’t share with the other characters. For me, I have to strike a balance between what is consistent for him to express and my desire for him to be more forthcoming. Sometimes these are at odds. I’ll write him saying exactly what he’s feeling, and I have to remember that Kiaran actually wouldn’t say it out loud. I have to change the line to something more restrained.
Authors always say that they hear voices in their heads. Which character speaks the loudest?
Shockingly, Kiaran is the character who speaks up the most for me. You’d think he’d be more silent, but what he doesn’t say in dialogue, he makes up for by constantly thinking and never shutting the hell up in my head. Every scene I write between him and Aileana is about 25% her thoughts, and 75% his. And since I’m not writing from his perspective, I spend a lot of time thinking, “God, shut up, Kiaran.”
Was there a scene that didn't make it into the book that you wish had?
The Vanishing Throne has a few flashback scenes with some big reveals. There were ones involving Sorcha and Kiaran that didn’t make it in, but I incorporated into The Fallen Kingdom. In some ways, it’s difficult writing solely from Aileana’s perspective because the fae characters have thousands of years of backstory that I either have to cleverly find some way to put in, or set aside entirely. Which, it must be said, has had me rethink writing another series in the first person.
Two down, one more to go. Are you nervous about ending your series? What are your feelings about the end being near?
Book 3 is already in edit stages, and I won’t lie: it’s the hardest book I’ve ever written. This being my first series, and the first opportunity I’ve had to write sequels, it’s difficult to make sure all the loose threads are tied up. My biggest concern was ending the series in a way that is satisfactory, and that makes the cliffhangers in books 1 and 2 feel worth enduring. I am a firm believer that a series should not end in an ellipsis. The final book is final, and I just hope readers love the ending and feel the journey was worth it.
She grew up outside of Los Angeles, where she spent most of her early years dragging books from the library to dinner tables, restaurants, classrooms, and family vacations. Eventually, she tried telling her own stories, writing about people in places she had never been to, but longed to see.
With writing came her love for travelling. Elizabeth went to the rugged landscapes of New Zealand, the coral reefs of Australia, the plains of Canada, thirty-nine US states, and briefly stopped in Vermont to earn her BA at Marlboro College. One day she landed in the United Kingdom, fell in love with Scotland, and decided that was where she belonged.
Inspired by the mysterious, dark, winding alleyways of Edinburgh and the fairy legends of Scotland, Elizabeth wrote her debut novel, The Falconer. One summer, she finished editing the book, held her breath, and sent it out into the world. The Falconer was published two years later.
After earning her PhD at the University of St. Andrews, Elizabeth committed to writing full time. When she isn’t trekking around the Scottish Highlands and hiking mountains and taking photos, she’s imagining stories about complicated girls and writing them down. Elizabeth lives in Edinburgh with her husband.
One lucky reader, will have the chance to win The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May.
This giveaway is hosted by Chronicle Books and is open to US only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Mundie Momshttp://www.mundiemoms.com
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