Every evil imaginable but hope as well: An interview with YA urban fantasy writer Nancy Richardson Fischer

Today I'm talking with Nancy Richardson Fischer about her YA urban fantasy, Pandora's Key.

Nancy has had an extensive freelance writing career in which she's written everything from sports biographies to a Star Wars Junior Jedi Knight Trilogy for LucasFilm, making Pandora's Key not her first foray into the world of YA writing.

Nancy is also giving away an eBook copy of her book. If you're interested, just leave a comment and a contact e-mail address. I'll pick a winner at random in two weeks.

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1) Tell us about your book.

Pandora's Key is a YA urban fantasy that revolves around a young girl's realization that she's the descendant of Pandora, the first woman created by the Greek Gods,and that she's both a pawn in the Gods' revenge against Pandora, and a deadly game of acquisition by men and women who will stop at nothing to acquirePandora's original box. Here's a bit more about the story:

When everything you believed about yourself is a lie, how do you unlock the truth…

Evangeline Theopolis has nightmares about the violent deaths of women she has never met. Her single mother, Olivia, suffers delusions she can’t hide. And Malledy, a brilliant young man, may have a disease that will leave him paralyzed and insane. Their lives are about to collide.

On Evangeline’s 16th birthday her mother gives her a necklace with an antique keycharm—a family heirloom, though no one knows what the key unlocks. Everything changes. Her mom is hospitalized. Her godmother attempts murder. An ancient Order tries to kill Evangeline, and a lethal sect to kidnap her.

Nothing makes sense—especially Evangeline’s own face, which has morphed from geeky to eerily stunning; the ancient key that feels strangely alive against her skin;and the magical abilities she begins to possess. Evangeline must use her wits andsupernatural powers to fight her deadly adversaries and discover her true identity. But can she accept who she really is and save the world?

2) What inspired this book?


I love Greek mythology and, in particular, the myth of Pandora. Add to that my love of fantasy, magical realism, and the young adult genre (which is insanely creative)and I knew I wanted to attempt a YA urban fantasy of my own. From there, I let my imagination take over, started to tell myself stories, until I was finally ready to start writing. I began with a screenplay version of Pandora's Key - to figure out all the elements of the story - and then set my sights on writing the novel.

3) YA Urban Fantasy is popular right now. What sets your book apart from others?

First, I'm thrilled that YA urban fantasy is so popular! In a world of reality TV, which I find pretty darn depressing, it's encouraging that both young adults and adults want to read fantasy and are willing to let their imaginations soar.

What sets Pandora's Key apart from other fantasies is that it's very much a story of magical realism - meaning that it's deeply grounded in reality with magical elements so it feels... believable. In addition, I rewrote the myth of Pandora and brought the story to the present so that the myth and characters are accessible to readers.

All that aside, Pandora's Key is a non-stop, action packed ride with empathetic, layered characters and a twisted plot that is intricate and full of big surprises BUT can be figured out by careful readers (because I hate reading books with big reveals that are impossible to figure out)!

4) Tell us about your lead.

Evangeline is... average, at least at the start of Pandora's Key. She's a pretty typical sixteen-year-old girl. She's waiting to fall in love; she's hoping she doesn't get taller or her feet bigger; she thinks her mouth is too wide and her eyes too bulbous; and she doesn't quite fit into her own skin. Plus she wishes she was as smart and pretty as her popular best friend. And then everything changes for Evangeline when she's given an antique key by her mother and her entire world falls apart.

A lot of teenagers would crumble and look to friends and adults to help them make sense of their world, and that's where Evangeline differs. She realizes that if she doesn't play the hero in her own life's story she will lose everyone she loves. So, despite that fact that she's terrified, she rises to the challenge and discovers that she's tougher and more fierce than she ever imagined.

5) The original Pandora legend has been interpreted many ways, some rather chilling: an explanation for evil, an excuse for misogyny, et cetera. Did any particular interpretation of the original myth influence you when you thought of this novel?

The myth of Pandora as an excuse for misogyny probably influenced me most. The first woman getting the rap for releasing all the evils in the world? Come on! Totally unfair, right? But I have to say, from that starting point I tried not to read too many more interpretations of the myth because I knew I was going to turn it on its headand I wanted my own interpretation of what happened when Pandora was sent down to earth with a golden box (or urn) fashioned by the Gods and housing the Furies to be original. Hopefully I gave the myth a breath of fresh air and effectively brought it to the present day and gave new fans of Greek mythology a desire to learn more about the Greek myths that have influenced so many books and movies.

6) Your book recently won an award. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Pandora's Key won the 2012 IndieReader Discovery Award for YA Fiction. I was really happy to win, of course (and it was incredibly cool that the winners were announced at this year's Book Expo of America), but also very grateful to be acknowledged. Indie authors live in a world where they must take a leap of faith that their book is indeed good enough to publish, and then wait to see if anyone out in the real world agrees. The silence can feel deafening at times - and I count so much on readers, reviewers and bloggers to keep me going - so to be acknowledged by IndieReader felt... wonderful.

7) This is a trilogy. Can you give us a bit of insight into the sequels?

Sure! Book Two, The Key to Tartarus, has already been written and edited and will be published this Fall. You can read an excerpt on my website: http://www.nancyrichardsonfischer.com (click COMING SOON).

The Key to Tartarus is much darker than Pandora's Key, which feels appropriate since the first book ended on a heavy but hopeful note. In a world where anything can happen; where there are forces bent on possessing the key and box... happily ever after isn't a given. In Book Two Evangeline is forced to discover the depth of her powers, descend into the Underworld, and rescue the people she loves from the inescapable prison that is Tartarus. Along the way, she must battle both her own personal demons and shocking obstacles that threaten her friends, her future, andher sanity.

Book Three is in the works, but Evangeline's world is constantly changing and until you know whether she survives Book Two, I don't want to provide any spoilers!!

*J.A., I just want to add a BIG thank you for hosting Pandora's Key and taking the time to interview me. And thanks to all the readers who have written to let me know how much they love Evangeline and Pandora's Key. Your support means the worldand all of you are the reason I keep telling stories:-)

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Thanks, Nancy.

If you'd like to read more from Nancy, please check her webpage out:  http://www.nancyrichardsonfischer.com.

Remember to leave a comment with an e-mail address for your chance to win a copy of Pandora's Key.

Pandora's Key is available for purchase at Amazon in electronic and physical formats.

What's more dangerous than a horse? An interview with Cindy McDonald

Today I'm talking with Cindy McDonald about her book Hot Coco, a romantic drama and part of her family drama series, Unbridled series.

Cindy McDonald was born and raised in the Pittsburgh, Pa area. For 26 years she was a professional choreographer,she taught ballet, jazz, and tap. During that time she choregraphed many musicals and an opera for the Pittsburgh Savoyards. Most recently she has retired to write her novels. She resides with her husband on their Thoroughbred farm know as Fly By Night Stables near Pittsburgh.

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1) Please tell us about your book.
Let’s face it, everyone knows a beautiful woman who can’t walk through a room without tripping over the coffee table, or turning every situation into a total debacle. Trainers at Keystone Downs have been dumping Coco Beardmore and she’s landed in Mike West’s lap. The problem is that Coco is a complete klutz! Her driving skills are a real bang—into Mike’s horse trailer, and right through the barn wall! What’s more are her Thoroughbreds: one flips while being saddled, one sits down like a dog in the starting gate, and then there’s the one that’s an escape artist. It’s enough to drive a normally calm and collected Mike West to the very edge.

But Mike’s not the only one having problems with women. His father Eric has taken on more than he can chew, and he’s about to get spit out by two women: One that he’s in love with and one that thinks he’s in love with her.

Things have never been hotter around Westwood Thoroughbred Farm—and someone’s about to get burned!

2) Tell us about the inspiration for this book.

Blondes—everyone loves to think of gorgeous blondes as klutzy, air-headed, and basically stupid. I wanted to take a character and introduce her as one thing, and then morph her into another. I think I did a very good job with Coco. I started her out as a stereotypical blonde bimbo and turned her into something else—no, I’m not going to tell you what, but just know that everyone is touched and changed in this story—read between the lines, watch the subtext, it is there for you—if you pay attention.

I also left behind bread crumbs of my former life as a dancer/choreographer in this book—you will see them—I couldn’t help myself!

3) Tell us about your female lead, Coco, and your male lead, Mike.

Let me tell you what, I had a blast writing Coco’s character! It was fun getting her into hot situations and watching my characters stand back in total shock at what havoc that one woman could cause. But the great thing about Coco was how forgivable she was. She is beautiful and yet she is a kind person—who just can’t get out of her own way. But stay tuned—Coco has a surprise for you!

Mike West is the main character in all the Unbridled books. His heart is damaged by is ex-wife, Ava. She was unfaithful when they were married, and try as he might he just can’t let go of the feelings that he has for her, but Coco is a very chaotic distraction from his heartache—or should I say flammable distraction? ;}

4)  Are your leads partially based on anyone you’ve known?

Cindy: With arched brows and lowered voices, people ask me this question often. One person was very concerned that I had them in mind when I wrote the character, Ava West. She is gorgeous, she is manipulative, and she is a real witch. I felt bad that this individual thought that I felt that way about them, and I assured them that Ava was a figment of my imagination—nothing more. All of my characters are fictitious. They are part of my Unbridled stories, and that’s all.

5) What’s the funniest thing you ever saw during your time dealing with horses?

We have a Quarter Horse at our farm named Cody. Along with Thoroughbred racing, my daughter and I show Quarter Horses. Anyway, the first time we took Cody to a horse show we had him tied to the trailer while my daughter was getting dressed, and I was busy with something or other. When my daughter emerged from the trailer, there was Cody, hiding with his head under the hay bag that we had hung on the trailer for him to munch on. I couldn’t help but laugh and I quickly informed him, “Cody, you weigh fifteen-hundred pounds! Hiding just isn’t an option!”

Cody is quite the character, and I’ve featured him in the next book of my series, Dangerous Deception. As a matter of fact, I feature horses that have run for our stables in all my books—in Hot Coco a horse named Charlatan is featured—he was one of our favorite racehorses here at Fly-By-Night Stables.

6) What’s something that most people misunderstand with horse training and racing?

Horses can be dangerous. They can hurt you. As I pointed out in the above question, they weigh in excess of fifteen-hundred pounds. Fifteen-hundred pounds of disrespect can get a lot of bones broken and permanent damage to anyone if they don’t know how to properly handle these animals, especially a racehorse. Make no mistake, they are trained athletes, and they can be very high strung and moody creatures.

7) Can you tell us a bit more about the books in the Unbridled Series?

Cindy: The first book, Deadly.Com was released September 1st, 2011. But before you read it you’d better make a note: never agitate a madman. Successful Thoroughbred trainer Mike West just made that mistake, and he’s gonna pay—more than he ever realized. But it’s all in the family; his sister, Kate, has been the object of the madman’s desire on the social network site “My Town”. Her constant rejections have infuriated him. People who seem to be in his way start turning up dead, and he’s got Kate and Mike next on his list!

A November release is planned for Dangerous Deception, the third book in the series. When the West’s ask aging jockey, Vic Deveaux, to take an easier position at the farm, he becomes enraged. He teams up with two greedy stable hands in a plot to kidnap Shane, only Vic finds himself between the rock and the hard place when he soon discovers that his partners have murder on their minds!

My books are always available to reviewers. If you would like to read and review Deadly.Com or Hot Coco, please contact me: cindys.mcdonald@gmail.com

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Thanks, Cindy.

You can read more from Cindy at http://www.cindymcwriter.com.

Hot Coco can be purchased at Amazon and a book trailer can be viewed here.

Mr. Beard's Regency Tour Day 19: Steal a book, seven-years' hard labor overseas: Transportation as punishment in the 17th-19th centuries

This is part of my continuing series on Regency England and Georgian England. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please check out my archive here.

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As England gained colonial holdings, the country also gained a new option for punishment: transportation to an overseas colony.

Over at the English Historical Fiction Authors Blog, I discuss this form of punishment that many considered "merciful" compared to others at the time.

Spartacus: Warrior, Slave, Hero-An interview with historical fiction author Ben Kane

Today I'm interviewing historical fiction author Ben Kane. Mr. Kane has carved out a niche for himself as a master of action-oriented ancient Rome-related novels such as The Silver Eagle, The Forgotten Legion, The Road To Rome, and Hannibal: Enemy of Rome.

I interviewed him about his latest novel, Spartacus: The Gladiator.   I reviewed the novel yesterday here on Unnecessary Musings.

Please note that there is a giveaway for a copy of Spartacus: The Gladiator (paperback or eBook). Please see the details after the interview.

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1) Tell us about your book.

It’s a re-telling of Spartacus’ story. I have stuck to the facts that we know about them, and tried to make the book as gritty and realistic as possible. That means it’s brutal, visceral and dramatic.

2) Spartacus is a man who has received a lot attention throughout the centuries. He's been presented many different ways. Why did you choose to revisit the life of this man? What sort of new facets did you hope to explore?
I chose to tell his story because in my opinion, it’s one of the greatest tales of ancient history. I hoped to bring to Spartacus’ life the passion with which he filled his followers; the hopes he gave them, and to bring to life the drama of the incredible battles that he and his men faced.

3) Tell us a little about your research process.

Fortunately, I had already written a trilogy set just 20 years after Spartacus’ rebellion, so the months of research that had gone into that were invaluable. I had to refresh myself with that knowledge, and read a number of texts about Spartacus. I was also lucky enough to visit Italy, where I travelled to many of the places that Spartacus spent time, including the amphitheater in Capua, Mount Vesuvius and the toe of the Italian boot.

4) Ancient times were pretty rough and made for rough men. In particular, you've presented a rather honest view of the brutalities associated with the army of Spartacus. These fellows didn't always concern themselves with the rights of prisoners, male or female. Many people who have retold the life of Spartacus and the Third Servile War have "cleaned it up" a bit to make it more palatable for modern audiences and present a more easily morally digestible narrative. Did you decide to go the other route just for historical accuracy or for some other reasons?

I did it for historical accuracy. Why pretend that things were ‘nice’ and ‘civilized’ when they clearly weren’t? In my opinion, that is sugar coating history.

5) Historical fiction is always a balance of accuracy and creative license. Are there particular areas you decided to tip the balance more in one way or another?

Since only 4,000 words (that’s ten pages of a novel) survive about Spartacus, I made sure to include virtually every single detail that we know about him into my book. Throughout the rest of the book, I tried to ensure that my facts about the first century BC in general were accurate.

6) What is it about this man who keeps calling out to authors and film makers throughout the decades?

Spartacus’ story is one of the most appealing of all hero tales. A brave man who was wronged and imprisoned, who escaped to freedom, raised an army of slaves and fought against his oppressors. Though he had many victories, he eventually came to grief. What’s not to love about that?

7) Though there was the new show, the Kubrick film based on the Fast novel has a dominant place in many people's picture of Spartacus. Indeed, many scenes and lines from the film have imprinted themselves into the cultural consciousness to the point where they've even been parodied in soda commercials. Was it difficult to escape the shadow of Kubrick and Fast?
That’s a hard one! Yes, probably it was. However, to my advantage, I have the fact that I grew up in a house with no TV, and I only saw the Kubrick film once when I was a boy. I very deliberately avoided watching it in the run up to and during the time I wrote my books. Ditto with the Starz miniseries. In that way, I hope to have created a Spartacus who can stand proudly on his own.

8) You've written a number of novels set in the ancient Roman period. What got you interested in Roman history?

I think it was probably The Eagle of the Ninth, that seminal YA novel by Rosemary Sutcliff that got me interested in Rome first. Although I love history of all periods, Rome has fascinated me since.

9) You have another Spartacus-related novel coming out next year. After that, do you intend to stick with Roman history, or are you going to explore some other historical periods?

I plan to stick with Rome for at least 4 more novels, but then I intend to branch out into the Hundred Years War, between England and France.

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Thanks, Ben.

To find out more about Ben and his books visit: www.benkane.net
You can also find him on Twitter: @benkaneauthor and Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/#!/benkanebooks

For those interested in winning a copy of Spartacus: The Gladiator simply leave a comment with a contact e-mail and your preferred format (physical or what type of eBook). I will select a winner at random on July 6th. Please note due to supply-side restrictions this giveaway is only open to US and Canadian entrants.

Blood, vengeance, and freedom: A review of Spartacus: The Gladiator

Tomorrow I’ll have an interview with Mr. Kane and will have information for a giveaway of this title.

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Ben Kane returns to comfortable territory, ancient Rome, in his latest novel Spartacus: The Gladiator. Given the relative paucity of historical documentation on the ancient gladiator-turned revolutionary, there is considerable room for an author to present his own unique take on the man. Mr. Kane accomplishes that well, with a presentation of Spartacus that rings true to the few historical details we have about him while, at the same time, being distinct from the famous Kubrick/Fast/Douglas version or the  version defined for a new generation by the recent cable television series.

While the broad shape of the plot follows unsurprising historical territory by taking Spartacus from slave gladiator to leader of an insurgent army, Mr. Kane does a fine job of fleshing out many incidents and battles to create an exciting, if often violent, story of blood and vengeance. This is the first part of the series and covers the initial portion of what is now known to us as the Third Servile War.

The book’s primary strength is its battle scenes. Action is executed and described with crisp, yet tense, economy, reflecting well the chaos of battle. The author’s fine eye for historical detail helps enhance the battle scenes. There are a few deviations from known history, but the author explains those in later notes following the story.

Although the emphasis is on action, the author uses balanced historical detail well to help enhance the background of several of the characters and even provide some plausible explanations for some of the shocking and early successes of Spartacus against the Romans. Those familiar with the period will definitely respect the effort. There are even a few sly nods to historical controversies that keen-eyed readers will likely appreciate.

Those less familiar with ancient Roman history should not be overwhelmed either, as the historical information is integrated well and not just dumped on the reader. A few unusual historical details were also used to help create a few new characters that aren’t typically seen in Spartacus retellings. These new additions added some interesting perspectives to the story.

Characterization is generally good for Spartacus and a few characters close to him, but some of the other secondary characters come off a bit flat at times.  The action-focused nature of the narrative somewhat minimizes this issue, though.

The attention to accuracy could be disturbing for some readers. The slave force of Spartacus takes the old “rape and plunder” idea seriously, even if their leader himself is presented as being above the worst of it. This is realistic for the period and, as pointed out by one of the characters, the “disciplined” Roman army certainly wasn’t above this kind of behavior (even ignoring their penchant for slavery), but it does create a more morally nuanced tale than “righteous slave army of freedom versus the dastardly Romans” and results in several scenes that reflect the often indiscriminate brutality of ancient war.

Though some nods are made toward Roman politics and there are a few scenes that do a fine job of delightfully painting why Marcus Licinius Crassus was such a foul man even by the standards of ancient Rome, the focus is still firmly on Spartacus and his allies. While enhancing the intimacy of their particular gladiator/slave struggle, it does potentially rob the narrative of a bit more epic scope.

Overall, Spartacus: the Gladiator was a solid action-packed retelling of the opening moves of an ancient, bloody struggle of slaves for both freedom and vengeance against the powerful Roman Republic.

Disclaimer: An ARC of this novel was provided to me for free by the publisher. My opinions of the book are my own.