First, a bit about her book:
Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch.
Snow Like Ashes #1.
To be published: Fall 2014
by: Balzer + Bray.
Goodreads Blurb:
Meira, a fierce chakram-wielding warrior from the Kingdom of Winter, must struggle to free her people from the tyranny of an opposing kingdom while also protecting her own destiny.
Now that's not much to go on, but thankfully Sara's here today to answer some questions, because after that tiny but intriguing blurb, I had plenty!
Jess: Welcome, Sara! To start us off, describe
Meira in 5 words or less.
Sara: Snarky
chakram-wielding soldier from Winter.
J: Hello, new best friend. I like the sound of this girl! What
drew you to fantasy from a writing perspective?
S: I
love the freedom that fantasy gives in being able to make up my own
rules. When I write contemporary, historical, or any genre set in
this world, my OCD-ness kicks in and I research myself to death
because I feel like I have to get everything EXACTLY right, like I'm
working within someone else's set world-rules. With fantasy, I can
make up all my own pieces, and it feels much freer!
J: Say
I wake up in the middle of the Kingdom of Winter. What do I
experience when I first awaken?
S: COLD.
Which seems like a "Duh" thing to say, but the Kingdom of
Winter is frigid. All of the people from this kingdom have evolved to
be able to handle extreme cold, to the point where Meira mentions a
few times in SLA hating heat and longing for just a little chill, but
any non-Winterian would find Winter quite miserable. I'm talking
Antarctic, below zero, snow-caked-to-your-eyelashes cold.
J: Just the thought makes me shiver. Although I guess these darned Canadian winters are good preparation! Which
of the characters from SNOW LIKE ASHES (besides Meira) are you most
excited for readers to meet?
S: Well,
there are sexy boys in SLA -- the future king of Winter, Mather, and
the prince-heir of Cordell (a kingdom that may or may not be an ally
of Winter's…*dramatic music*), Theron. They'll be fun to introduce
for sure, because who doesn't love hot guys? But I think the
character that I'm MOST excited for, after Meira, has to be Sir,
Winter's general. He's the leader of the ragtag group of Winterian
refugees who escaped Spring's takeover, and he became
semi-responsible for raising the two orphans in the group -- Mather
and, of course, Meira. Meira has very much a love-hate relationship
with Sir, and their banter is at once amusing and heartbreaking. I
adore their dynamics, and can't wait for people to see them together!
J: So many characters to look forward to meeting! I'm definitely excited and you're right, hot boys are an excellent draw! What
has been your favourite part of writing the book?
S: Finishing
it! Haha, no, seriously. I went through some grueling edits, so when
my editor finally released it to the next stage, I wept.
J: Can
you share a favourite quote from SLA?
S: The
one line I continually quote from SLA is "Someday we will be
more than words in the dark." It's an inscription Meira reads in
a cave later in the book, and it speaks to so much of what the book
is about as well as my whole publishing process. This story has been
with me for more than twelve years now, and there were times when
that line was a battle cry of my own.
J: I love that! Powerful, and as relevant outside the book as in. That's fantastic. I've
noticed you've been very active on Pinterest. What role has that
visual aspect played for you while writing?
S: Oh,
Pinterest, what a fickle mistress it is! I don't know how I ever
world-built before Pinterest -- it plays a HUGE role in developing
kingdoms, cultures, locations, characters, everything! I'm an
extremely visual person, so SEEING all these puzzle pieces of my
creations is like an instant muse-boost when I'm feeling uninspired.
I'll probably end up putting Pinterest in the acknowledgement section
of SLA, I use it so much!
J: As a fellow visual person, I totally agree. I've loved being able to see the images as you go! Can
you share a secret about SLA?
S: Oooo,
love this question! Hmm…okay, I've got one: the only text part of
SNOW LIKE ASHES that survived through twelve years of drafts, edits,
rewrites, etc, is the very first description you see of Mather. It
was word-for-word taken from the first draft of SLA back when I was
twelve. The rest of the book has been rewritten dozens of times, the
characters changed, the plot rearranged, even some of the kingdoms
reanalyzed -- but that one-paragraph description of Mather has
endured, and I have no idea why.
J: That's a great secret! I love that there's something from your original story after all this time. Must be very cool for you to read that and see your original view of Mather right there. Thank you, Sara, for answering all my questions!
Everyone, make sure you keep an eye out for more info about Snow Like Ashes... hopefully we'll be seeing a cover soon!
About the author:
Sara Raasch has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then — her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. Her debut YA fantasy, SNOW LIKE ASHES, the first in a trilogy, comes out Fall 2014 from Balzer + Bray. It does not feature her hand-drawn pictures.Find Sara:
Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Blog / Pinterest / YAValentines
1) Is it just me or are there a lot of winter/cold-themed novels in 2014? Brrr.
ReplyDelete2) What's a chakram?
3) SLA started when the author was twelve?! Aww!
4) On my TBR right this very second.
It does kind of seem that way, doesn't it? I can deal with cold in books though, it's the cold outside my window that I don't enjoy so much!
ReplyDeleteA chakram seems to be some kind of sharp throwing disk that looks like it could take someone's head off in one slice. Indian origins, apparently. I'm excited!
Adorable, right? I love that this is clearly a labour of love and long work. Totally on my list!