Monday, September 22, 2014

PART ONE ~ Interview with J. M. Kay author of Under the Shadow: Children of the First Star, Volume I



 

Release Date: October 1, 2014
Part One
·         Hello J. M. can you tell us what your book is about?
“Under the Shadow” is a story of self-discovery. Two thirteen-year-old boys, Jason Swann and Daniel Elliot, are forced into friendship as they are accidentally abducted by the Archivist, a robotic being created by an ancient alien race known as the Shantar Anar for the purpose of studying the universe. But of course, things that seem like coincidence reek of deeper mystery as the boys and the Archivist find themselves lost in an adventure on a foreign world, Ranis Anjiran.  What they discover there only further dismantles the myths surrounding their accidental abduction and their connection to the Shantar Anar.
 
While the boys are in far off worlds, their respective families in the small town of Ashton, in the American Midwest, desperately seek to find them, thinking the worst. Their search uncovers a hidden history with ties to the events surrounding Jason and Daniel’s journey.
 
·         What authors inspire or influence your work?
My biggest influences as far as fantasy and science fiction are concerned are Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, creators of my favorite fantasy series “The Death Gate Cycle” and Robert Heinlein and Orson Scott Card for Science Fiction.  The literature nut is me is influenced by James Clavell and Alexander Dumas simply because “Shogun” and “The Count of Monte Cristo” – unabridged are the two best books I have ever read.  I would be remiss if I didn’t include T.S. Eliot as the emotional qualities of his poems and the feelings they evoke are special.
·         Favorite snack when writing.
I do enjoy a good snack, but I find I have very little appetite for food when I’m writing, however a good cup of coffee is always appreciated.
·         Do you have a Muse?
I don’t have a muse but I have found that when I feel stuck or blocked, I like to take a long walk and let my mind wander down the strangest paths it feels like taking.  I’ve had pretty good success breaking a frustrating writing block just doing that.
·         Once a character is fully developed do you set them free or do they still dance around your mind?
They are constantly dancing in my mind.  Partially because they are all in some ways facets of my own self, but also because I imagine things I want them to do or say in the next volumes in the series, A Moment in the Glass, and What the Thunder Said.
·         Where can readers find you and your book(s) online? 
·         http://www.jmkaywriting.com
·         www.BooksEndependent.com

 
 



 

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