Hi everyone! Today I have a Q&A post with Author Amalie Howard, discussing her new book Alpha Goddess, and other books she's written! Check it out below :)
You released your first book “Bloodspell” in 2011, which led to an
impressive five book publishing deals. How the heck do you have time to write
so much, and what does it feel like to have your work recognized in such a
great way?
I am so incredibly grateful that my wonderful editors
saw something they loved in my books and wanted to publish them. All three of my
upcoming novels—WATERFELL, THE ALMOST GIRL, and ALPHA GODDESS—each brings
something different and unique to the table, so I’m really excited that readers
will get to sample such a diverse range of what I have to offer as an author.
As far as writing so much, I’m very lucky that I’m
a fast writer, so once I get an idea in my head, I just go. I plot a basic
outline of my expectations, and then I let the story take me on its journey. And
as I always say to my teen creative writing classes, writing is like homework.
You have to make time for it and be
diligent about doing it.
What will fans of “Bloodspell” like best about your upcoming titles?
Fans of BLOODSPELL will enjoy meeting some very
special new characters and being introduced to completely different worlds—figuratively
and literally, especially in THE ALMOST GIRL. In WATERFELL, I was particularly
excited to share my love of the ocean (I grew up on an island) and surfing! I
also wanted to explore the myth of the sea monster and shift it from something
terrifying into something beautiful … enter the mysterious world of the
Aquarathi!
I’ve always been fascinated by quantum mechanics
(even though I was hopeless at physics in high school) and the possibility of
alternate universes. In THE ALMOST GIRL, I was able to explore that and more in
this book, like the whole concept of nature versus nurture and whether we
evolve differently based on harsher environments. I think this book will take
readers on an interesting journey.
In ALPHA GODDESS, I wanted to explore some of the
stories I’d been told as a child. I also wanted to share some of my experience
with readers. My father comes from a long line of Hindu priests, so these myths
were a large part of my childhood. The Ramayana
is a particularly beautiful love story, and while my novel is a work of
fiction, I really enjoyed crafting my version from such an inspiring mythology.
Your next release, “Waterfell,” departs from the world of vampires and
witches but stays in the realm of fantasy and science fiction. What do you like
about those genres?
Clearly, I love escaping reality. Fantasy and
science fiction have always been my true loves. Don’t get me wrong, I love a
great contemporary novel as much as anyone, but getting lost in a an epic fantasy
world or meeting characters from other planets who have superhuman powers is
icing on the cake for me. I like being able to push the boundaries of reality,
to create mind-boggling ‘what if’ scenarios … for example, with WATERFELL, what
if sea monsters really did exist? And what if they were a species from another
planet hiding on ours? And what if they could shift into human form? With
science fiction and fantasy, the possibilities are endless.
Like all of your books so far, “The Almost Girl” features a strong,
independent female character as the protagonist. What do you hope readers learn
from her?
I’m a
huge fan of strong female protagonists (that said, I do have a novel with a
strong male protagonist so I’m not gender-biased). I do like strong
protagonists on the whole, but I also do think there has to be character growth
that is transparent and meaningful to the reader. No one’s going to relate to a
character who stays the same. With Riven from THE ALMOST GIRL, I love that she
has to dig deep down to embrace her emotions. A soldier first, she’s so hard on
the outside but still vulnerable on the inside—I really connected with her
struggle to just let go of all her rules and be a girl. We build so many walls
to keep from being hurt that we don’t allow ourselves to connect with others. I
love that she was brave enough to trust her heart. In the end, I’m hopeful that
readers will empathize with Riven and learn, as she does, that humans are born
to feel, and that being open to life and love doesn’t make you weaker … it
makes you stronger.
“Alpha Goddess” is your take on an Indian mythological tale. Where did
you first hear about it?
Although ALPHA
GODDESS is a work of fiction, a lot of my inspiration for the characters and
the world-building in this novel is based on Hindu mythology. My father is a
second generation Brahmin (priest class in traditional Hindu society), so
Indian mythology was an integral part of my childhood and religious education.
Fascinated by stories and legends of various Hindu gods who incarnated as
avatars to avert human tragedy, I wanted to write an epic story that
encompassed some of the Hindu mythology elements I enjoyed as a child, like the
Ramayana, the story of Rama and Sita.
Of course, ALPHA GODDESS is my own invented take on another reincarnated
version of these characters, and does not actually exist in Indian scriptures.
You are quite the world traveler. How do you incorporate the cultures
you come across into your writing?
I love meeting new people and exploring different
cultures. I really believe that traveling the world has helped me to craft my
characters, especially the ones that aren’t human (whom I have to invent). How
do they evolve? How are they different from regular people? How are they the
same? I enjoy using elements and facets from all the different cultures I’ve interacted
with over the years to develop compelling scenarios and create robust characters
in my writing.
I also like to include some of my favorite cities
in my novels, for example, Paris and New York in BLOODSPELL, San Diego,
California in WATERFELL, and Fort Collins, Colorado in THE ALMOST GIRL.
Although a writer can research anything online, writing about a place I’ve actually
been to helps me to picture scenes and places more vividly. It allows me to
create more authentic descriptions, so that my readers can feel like they are
there, too.
We can only imagine you’re working on something new. Can you give us any
sneak peek into the mind of Amalie Howard and what’s to come?
I’m working on several different projects. I’ve just
finished writing OCEANBORN, which is the sequel to WATERFELL, and I’ve also
just completed a near-future, technological YA thriller/romance, which has a
male protagonist that I’m very excited about. That one is now in the capable
hands of my agent. In addition to that, I have outlined a companion novel to
ALPHA GODDESS, and I am about to start writing the sequel to THE ALMOST GIRL.
Lastly, I’m fleshing out a joint project with another YA writer that’s super
secret and under wraps for now. So yes, I’m busy, but I’m embracing it all
(with a lot of gratitude).
In Serjana
Caelum’s world, gods exist. So do goddesses. Sera knows this because she is one
of them. A secret long concealed by her parents, Sera is Lakshmi reborn, the
human avatar of an immortal Indian goddess rumored to control all the planes of
existence — Illysia (the Light Realm), Earth (the Mortal Realm), and Xibalba
(the Dark Realm). Marked by the sigils of both heaven and hell, Sera’s avatar
is meant to bring balance to the mortal world, but all she creates is chaos. A
chaos that Azrath, the Asura Lord of Death, hopes to use to unleash hell on
earth.
Torn between reconciling her past and present,
Sera must figure out how to stop Azrath before the Mortal Realm is destroyed.
But trust doesn’t come easy in a world fissured by lies and betrayal. Her best
friend Kyle is hiding his own dark secrets, and her mysterious new neighbor,
Devendra, seems to know a lot more than he’s telling. Struggling between her
opposing halves and her attraction to the boys tied to each of them, Sera must
become the goddess she was meant to be, or risk failing, which means
sacrificing the world she was born to protect.
Retellings of classic fairy tales and Greek
myths are becoming staples in the young adult and adult fiction genres, and now
Amalie Howard, author of the popular “Bloodspell,”
brings the myth of Rama and Sita’s love story to an exciting new level.
Howard’s stunningly fresh voice and imaginative characters promise to make “Alpha Goddess” an exciting addition to the young
adult fiction world. Aimed at readers ages 13 to 17, both girls and boys will
relate to Sera’s and Kyle’s realistic teen persona and dilemmas while learning
more about a famous Hindu myth.
Some links for all of you guys to check out!!
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