Author of The Avalonia Chronicles
I’m honored to be on serenastone for an interview. Read the excerpt below and check out the full interview on serenastone.
This or That?
TV or Movies? TV
Hot or Cold? Hot
Black or White? White
Night owl or early bird? Night owl
Print or E-book? E-book
Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla
Regular or Diet? Regular
Coke or Pepsi? Coke
Horror or Romance? Romance
I’m honored to be on Cabin Goddess for a guest post, Aurora’s Cinnamon Swirls – Breakfast at Silverthorne Castle. Read the excerpt below and check out the full post on Cabin Goddess.
This is the recipe that the castle cook uses to make Aurora’s favorite breakfast dish. She loves to eat cinnamon swirls with fresh homemade strawberry butter.
(Cinnamon swirl recipe by Jamie Oliver) – Serves 20
Full Post on Cabin Goddess.
I’m honored to be on The Angels Pearl for an interview. Read the excerpt below and check out the full interview on The Angels Pearl.
1. What inspired you to write The Last of the Firedrakes?
I started thinking about this story nearly ten years ago. Building the world of Avalonia, whenever I got time. The actual world creation started with a tapestry in my grandmother’s house. One day I stood before it and wondered, what if I could step into the tapestry, where would I end up? And so the world of Avalonia sprang into existence.
From then on, the person who stepped into the tapestry was a young 16-year-old girl who didn’t know who she really was, her name was Aurora, and this is her story.
JK. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, C.S. Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles, Roald Dahl’s Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Diana Wynne Jones’ magical worlds, Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland books, Ursula le Guinn’s Earthsea Quartet and J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan are some of the books that have in some way contributed towards my love for magical adventures and fantasy worlds and inspired me to write fantasy for young people. These books, including many others, inspired me to write a story that would combine the best of all I had learned, and so The Last of the Firedrakes started to take shape.
2. In the writing process, who was your favorite character and why?
I would have to say Rafe. He is the quintessential hero, the knight in shining armor, but mysterious and dangerous with secrets of his own. I think the hardest part of writing his character is to show how he feels through Aurora’s eyes. We can’t see into his head and I wanted the readers to discern his emotions just like Aurora has to.
I’m honored to be on Reading with AngelaRenea for an interview. Read the excerpt below and check out the full interview on Reading with AngelaRenea.
A warm welcome to the lovely Farah! Let’s start with some inspiration, Who or what inspired you to become an author?
I have always enjoyed great literature, and the range of authors that have inspired and influenced me throughout the years is quite vast. From Homer, Shakespeare, and Milton to Jane Austen and Enid Blyton, I’ve enjoyed them all. But in the past few years I’ve been fascinated with the prospect of creating fantasy worlds and exploring them with the characters I have created. Books like The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, The Earthsea Quartet, The Magic Faraway Tree series and Harry Potter with their wonderful worlds and fascinating stories really influenced the way I looked at storytelling.
Which authors would you say have influenced you most and how?
Enid Blyton, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K Rowling. All their books have a magical wonder to them, and at the same time the worlds are so beautifully crafted that you feel like you want to live there. Creating the world of Avalonia was how I started writing this book, I wanted to create a world that readers would love to live in. The characters and plot grew from there.
How long do you generally let a story idea ‘marinate’ in your brain before you start the book?
A while, it needs some time to change and grow. So I write down notes first, and then start writing.
I’m honored to be on Kori Miller Writes for a guest post, How to Write Fantasy Like a Pro. Read the excerpt below and check out the full post on Kori Miller Writes.
Tips on World-Building by Farah Oomerbhoy
Fantasy is not a creation of the modern world. In fact the roots of fantasy go back thousands of years to an age of myths and legends, when wandering storytellers sat by a fire and recounted fantastic tales of wondrous worlds, populated by gods, heroes and monsters. Starting from the ancient epic of Gilgamesh and the tales of King Arthur to the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan; fantasy is the longest surviving genre in the world of stories.
One of the most important aspects of writing fantasy is the creation of your world. It could be a vast land with many kingdoms like The Lord of the Rings or a world that is hidden and exists within our very own, like the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Enid Blyton wrote about worlds at the top of the Faraway tree, magical lands that could only be reached by climbing a ladder into the clouds. And C.S. Lewis’ Narnia is a childhood classic.
In order to write a fantasy novel, it is important to first have a complete idea of what your world is going to be like. There are five basic steps that can be used to build a believable and consistent world. Although your fantasy world is a creation of the mind, and can be anything that you desire it to be, there are certain rules that we must follow to make sure your world makes sense. Otherwise when you start writing your book, inconsistencies in the details of your world can lead to greater problems later on.
1. First we look at the type and setting of your world. You have to decide what kind of world you want your characters to live in. Is it a pseudo-medieval sort of world, a dystopia, or an alternate history? It could also be a modern fantasy set in our world and in the present time.
The most popular fantasy setting is usually a pseudo-medieval world, where there is a lack of technology. Riding horses, fighting with swords and encountering magic has an adventurous appeal that readers enjoy.
Medieval settings should be properly researched. But it is not necessary for the society to be based on a European medieval society. It could be Norse, Celtic, Asian or even Indian, what matters is it is well constructed and suspends belief.
Full Post on Kori Miller Writes.