Book Hippo

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

An Interview

One of my fellow Muse authors, Suzanne de Montigny, is releasing her first e-book, The Shadow Of The Unicorn: The Legacy on November 30th, 2012. I did an interview with her and have decided to publish now because as of today her story is available at 20% off on pre-order at the Muse Bookstore. 

I hope you an all get to know Suzanne, she's a wonderful gal, full of magic. I hope you enjoy this interview and if you like unicorns, you may want to get the deal.




Can you explain the term 'middle grade' for readers and how you got interested in writing in that genre.
Middle grade is literature aimed at children in the intermediate years of school. Normally, they’re nine to twelve years old, although many older kids enjoying reading this level too. I was an elementary classroom music teacher for over twenty years and discovered over the course of the years, that I was a pretty good storyteller. As a matter of fact, that’s how I got the kids to behave. If they were good, they’d get a story I’d make up on the spot at the end of class. After a while, even teachers started asking me where they could get a copy of my tales. Of course, I didn’t have any – until now.

What is your main character's name and what did you most like about her/him?
Azaria is a unicorn colt who puts duty above all else. He swallows his fear when the asteroid strikes the earth to reassure his friend, Gaelan. Then, later on, when the other yearlings rebel, he stays true to the herd, despite their mockery of him. He’s also got a great sense of humour.

Do you have any interest in writing in other genres?
Yes, I have written a Young Adult Paranormal novel entitled A Town Bewitched about a fourteen-year-old child prodigy in classical violin who struggles to fit in the small town of Hope, British Columbia. When a mysterious fiddler bewitches the town, only the girl knows who is really vandalising the village, leaving dead and gutted birds as tokens.

Have you ever published traditionally and what do you like about e-publishing?
The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy is my first novel. I love traditional books, but the industry is swiftly moving toward e-books this century. Plus I recently developed a visual impairment that makes traditional books very difficult to read without a magnifying glass. E-books solve all that for me. Speaking of which, I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Because of this, I’ve decided that one half of all my proceeds will be donated to the Third World Eye Care Society, a group of opthomologists who travel to third world countries distributing thousands of pairs of glasses and performing eye surgery for free.

What is your writing time like? Quiet? Chaotic?
I get up at five AM and write until seven, when my boys get up. Then I start writing again at around 10:30, after doing exercise or running errands. At 2:30, I pick up the boys. The minute they’re home, it’s all about them.

What are you working on now?
I’m doing a rewrite of my second unicorn book. There are three altogether. And just to let you in on a secret, there will be yet another natural disaster. But I won’t tell what!


Links
I haven’t got an Amazon link yet.

Suzanne

2 comments:

  1. Wonderful interview ladies. Congratulations on your story, Suzanne. It sounds wonderful. I also worked for an elementary school for 21 years as the principal's secretary.

    Just being there was a wealth of ideas for MG/tween stories.

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  2. Very true, Penny! All you have to do is look around and there are stories waiting to be told.

    Suzanne

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