Author Kathleen S. Allen – Interview and $20.00 Amazon Gift Card Contest LIVE Here!
BBB: Tell us 3 things not in your bio we don’t know about you that might make us leery of befriending you. LOL
KA: I read a book a day. Sometimes two. I don’t know if that’ll make you leery or just jealous. 
BBB: What actors would you choose to play some of your characters if your book were made into a movie or a TV show?
KA: I’d prefer unknowns rather than “stars.” Think Harry Potter and what happened to those actors. Exactly!
BBB: How do you keep track of your world building?
KA: I keep a running storyboard, post it notes, sheets of paper, glossary, whatever I need to keep it all straight!
BBB: Please tell us more about Lore of Fei and the storyline that drives it.
KA: It’s about a faerie born without wings who thinks she doesn’t belong. She’s a faerie yet she looks human. She doesn’t belong in either the faerie world or the human world and that makes it hard for her to fit in.
In a world where faeries and humans have always lived apart and to “join” is punishable by death comes Ariela. She is a mutant faerie born without wings that should have been destroyed at birth. But she was not. Legend has it there is a silver winged faerie that will be born to save Fei from the humans bent on destroying their beloved land. But there is no silver winged faerie, there is only Ariela. She is told she is destined to save her race from extinction. Only she has no clue how to do it. When she discovers her true birth, is enslaved by the humans she despises; it is then that she discovers that her true strength is within herself. This is a novel about accepting yourself, believing in yourself and finding the true meaning in your life.
BBB: Will there be other books in this world?
KA: Yes. Book Two of the Lore of Fei series is coming out, Feb. 2013 and it’s called WAR OF FEI. I plan on doing a third one and that one will be called VEIL OF FEI.
BBB: Did you do any kind of research to determine the details of your characters lives / lifestyles?
KA: Yes, I needed to learn about how a forge works (blacksmithing), how to make bows and arrows and shoot them, how dragons fly and how much weight they could hold—surprisingly not much research on this. LOL. I also read up on fiefdoms in early Britain because I wanted to model Hege on those early fiefdoms.
BBB: Are you a plotser or a panster? or a Planster (a combo of both – lol)
KA: For this book a Planster. I wrote it out first then I plotted it chapter by chapter and did a storyboard. For those that don’t know, storyboards are tools screenwriters (and artists) use to plot out each scene. They use pictures for their storyboards, I use words.
BBB: What types of creatures can readers expect in your world?
KA: Faeries, humans, dragons, dobbins (a pack animal similar to a donkey), Ino (unicorn),peisk (fish), yea (animal similar to a sheep).
BBB: What’s coming up for you in 2012 and 2013?
KA: In November during NaNoWriMo (30 days and nights of literary abandon) I am writing VEIL OF FEI, the third book in the Lore of Fei series. I wrote Lore of Fei during my NaNo experience in 2010. I wrote WAR OF FEI during this last NaNo.
In November, 2012 my second murder mystery, the Mel Thompson, P.I. series is due to be released, IF IT’S TUESDAY, IT MUST BE TROUBLE by Gypsy Shadow Publishing.
I just finished a YA Dystopian I am still editing. I am also working on a space opera/fantasy/paranormal romance I am beginning to query. I have a middle grade humourous zombie book I am querying right now. I have a YA contemporary I have out to publishers. And, I am writing another YA urban fantasy about a girl with supernatural powers.
Author Bio:
Kathleen started writing when she was eight years old and self-published her first book of poems. She has been writing ever since. She has a MA in Children’s Literature with an emphasis in creative writing for Young Adults from Eastern Michigan University. Look for her books on Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, Smashwords, Kindle/Nook. Look for her book trailers on You Tube.
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Learn more about Kathleen S. Allen below:
www.gaelicfairie.webs.com
LORE OF FEI: www.loreoffei.weebly.com
Twitter: @kathleea
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Witch-Hunter/
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Thanks for interviewing me! Any reader questions for me?
Thanks for answering questions today, this is fun!
How do you research for your books?
Shannon: I research by looking things up or reading about them. I’ve been a fan of history since I can remember so I already have a fair amount of knowledge of some things. Thanks for asking!
Hi there!! The book sounds really interesting. I’ll admit, 2 books a day makes me jealous!! I wish I could do that. Do you read real fast? So, are the dragons and unicorns in your story the “normal” type of creatures in fiction, or did you give them any special attributes?
Joani S: Yes, I read extremely fast. I began to read when I was three. By the time I was five I was reading “grown up” books. I liked to read Shakespeare and fell in love with Midsummer’s Night Dream when I was in the third grade. In fact I wanted my third grade class to put on a Shakespeare play and my teacher vetoed it. Hmmm, wonder why?
How long does it take you to write your books?
Shannon: It all depends. Some I write really fast, some not as fast. I began writing at an early age so maybe that’s why. My fastest book was AINE, it’s only 95 pages and it look me two weeks to write. LORE OF FEI I wrote during NaNoWriMo during the month of November. I had to write 50,000 words and by the time I edited a couple of months later it it was up to 85,000.
If I could have any super power it would be the power to heal all living things both physically and mentally.
What about you?
Viki S: Good Question…I’d probably like the ability to go back in time to visit the places I’ve read about in history and meet the people who lived back then. Henry VIII, Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth, King Arthur…hmmm, do you sense a theme here?
I was checking out your other books on amazon. They all look good, the ones that really caught my eye are Witch Hunter, Eigyr, and the stories from the ballads. I take it you like your mythology, do you like one over another? It looks like you enjoy celtic things.
Joani S: I love mythology! And, yes, Celtic mythology is one of my faves. My great-grandmother was from Ireland.
I also like British mythology and Greek mythology. In fact, two of my last books on Kindle are Greek mythology inspired. Today, ORPHEUS ASCENDING is free on Kindle. It’s a novella that’s a retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice Greek myth. My other Greek mythology inspired book is MOON PRINCESS based on the myth of Artemis, the Moon Goddess.
I forgot to ask, have you traveled much? (either for your stories or for fun? )What are your thoughts on audiobooks? With all the reading you do, do you like to listen to them? Would you like to see any of yours available in audio?
Joani S: I’m more of a visual learner so I prefer to read but I have listened to audio books in the car on long trips. The Harper Hall Trilogy by Anne McCaffrey is good to listen to. I also liked Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials to listen to. And, yes, I’d love for my books to be available on audio. I even recorded my own books for my mother because she had macular degeneration and couldn’t see to read. She enjoyed listening to them.
Joani S: I don’t travel much now but I have in the past.
As to who I’d like to have dinner with, that’s a hard one. I think I’ll pick Charley from First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones. She seems like a nice funny person, someone i could have a good time with.
For my super power, I’d like to be able to transport myself to any place and any time. That would be really sweet!! Maybe since I’m shooting for gold, the power would allow me to transport one other person also.
If you could have dinner with any fictional character, which one would you choose and why? Oh the choices! Dev from Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter. Tamra and Vanyel and Firesong from Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar world. Daemon from Ann Bishop’s Blood series.
Why? Dev cracks me up. And I claimed him a long time ago in Kenyon’s chat room. It was a joke among menyons. Tamra and Vanyel and Firesong. The latter two my heart broke for them.
Raonald: Good choices. I’d like to have dinner with the Harry Potter crew and the Weasleys. Oh, and Jace from City of Bones. Oh, and Matthew from Discovery of Witches…and Mellony from Harper Hall by Anne McCaffrey but only if she brings her dragons.
If you could meet any one of the characters from LORE OF FEI, who would you want to meet and why?
That question I cannot answer since I have yet to read your books..
If you could have any super power, what would it be? Why?
This changes from time to time; especially when I meet new powers. I wouldn’t mind healing, or even shape changing
Okay, is there a literary world (including your own) that you wish you were born into? If you could live in that world what would you be and or what would your role be?
Raonaid: I’d like to live in Hogwarts world before the last book. Any literary world where there are faeries and magic would do. As far as who I would read out of a book, it would have to be King Arthur, Merlin and Guinevere.
I didn’t answer your question fully. If I lived in the world of Harry Potter, I’d probably be a teacher and teach Divination or Defense Against the Dark Arts.
I would live in the world of Harry Potter. I’d want to be a teacher at Hogwarts.
Question: If you had the silver tongue ability (Inkheart) what book would you read and who/what would you read out of a book?
I would read out a dragon from Pern.
Firstly, a book or two a day! Yeah… I completely have book envy! And I love that you would use unknowns for a movie. Except for a few well-known actors that have a unique look, I think that’s the biggest problem when books go to movies. They try so hard to make well- knowns fit into the role for the sake of “star-power” instead of finding someone who fits the role. I realize that I went off on a little rant there, but as you can probably tell, it kind of bugs me when Hollywood does this.
As for the questions…
If you could have any super power, what would it be? Why?
I would love to be able to be a teleporter. To be able to transport yourself to any place. So cool! I think I’d probably do this because I’ve never really been anywhere and the chance to go anywhere would be wonderful!
If you could have dinner with any fictional character, which one would you choose and why?
Now, this one is hard!! It
So, Wow in addition to be a reading machine, you’re also a writing machine! So are there things that you can’t live without while writing? Or do you have a ritual that you have to do before settling in to begin writing?
My only ritual is coffee, coffee and more coffee. I just open my laptop and click on my latest WIP and start writing. The trick is to write every day. Even if it’s only for ten minutes. I learned that during NaNoWriMo month and I apply it to my daily writing goals.
Rae M.: I can’t live without my laptop or coffee, coffee and more coffee. (I posted this already but I don’t see it so I’m trying again).
My only ritual is coffee and my laptop.
I would love to have the power to move things!!
Yeah, move things would be fun! As long as I didn’t turn into a giant green thing, I’d be okay with that super power.
Oh, I wish I could read a book a day! Green eyed with envy! Lol
My superpower would be super strength because I have rheumatoid arthritis and it is the worst in my hands. I have trouble doing the smallest things. Super strength would allow me the ability to open a bottle of water or jar of jelly.
I would love to have dinner with Grandma the biker witch from Angie Fox’s Demon Slayer series. She has an amazing knowledge of all kinds of spells and a fantastic sense of humor. Plus, she loves to drink, dance and party the night away!
I want to thank the readers and Bitten By Books for hosting me today. It was fun answering the questions. If you want to know more about my books please check out my Facebook author page here:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Witch-Hunter/142372955812353
Or my websites here:
http://www.gaelicfairie.webs.com
http://www.kathleensallen.weebly.com
Or follow me on Twitter: @kathleea
Or follow me on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kathleea/
Or check out my Amazon Author Central Page here: amazon.com/author/kallen
Or check out my You Tube book trailers here: http://www.youtube.com/user/gaelicfaerie1?feature=mhee
OR ALL OF THE ABOVE!
What is one book everyone should read?
The Harry Potter books.
If you could be any Disney charactor, who would it be?
A pirate.
You woke up this morning and realized you had been reincarnated as a pair of shoes.
Describe yourself.
Converse tennies worn by Dr. Who
If you could have any super power, what would it be? Why?
The ability to be invisible so I could slip into a book store to read all their books free.
If you could have dinner with any fictional character, which one would you choose and why?
JD Robb’s “Eve Dallas” as I’d love to see how her mind works
If you could meet any one of the characters from LORE OF FEI, who would you want to meet and why?
Ariela sounds totally fascinating!
Thanks to all who participated!
If you could have any super power, what would it be? Why?
Perfect health and the ability to manipulate my own body! Right now my body is holding the upper hand.
Fun questions:
Superpower: to stop time, so I could either take a deep breath and make the best choice of action in any given moment, or to save someone’s life, or to figure out what’s really going on, or…just because it seems cool.
Dinner with any one fictional character? I could never choose just one. But a few that pop to mind are (already said, but I’d really love to anyway) Menolly, Robinton, Lessa and F’lar from Pern; and the entire Harry Potter gang (well, the good characters, not the scary ones). Ooh, also Jane Yellowrock in Faith Hunter’s series–I’d like to ask her questions about shifting into Beast form.
Ah, another Pern lover!!!! Have you read The Crystal Singer series? Other than the Harper Hall Trilogy, they are my favourite. I once had a reader compare Lore of Fei to a style similar to Anne McCaffrey and I was thrilled, to say the least.
Thanks for sharing! This is the first I have heard of your books. Sounds good.
I hope you get to read some of them. I have a free novella today and tomorrow on Kindle called Orpheus Ascending. It’s not YA though. On the 14th and 15th of September I’m making two of my short stories free. One is Little Red and it’s a mashup of Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella and the other is Little Boy Blue-about a teen girl who has a brother in a coma. Yeah, not uplifting at all!
I’ll do some more giveaways closer to the holidays.
If you like to read murder mysteries my second murder mystery is coming out the week of Thanksgiving and I’m doing a blog tour with giveaways the first week of December. The second Lore of Fei book, WAR OF FEI will be out in Feb. and I’ll do another blog tour with giveaways then.
I’d like to be able to move things with my mind. I saw this power on Charmed TV series, it was Prue’s power and I thought it looked very cool.
For a dinner with a fictional character I’d choose Sherlock Holmes – it would not be boring:)
Sherlock Holmes, yes!!! But only if he brings Watson with him.
What is your favorite childhood book/series?
My fave childhood book was Little Women, I wanted to be Jo! I must’ve read it a gazillion times when I was in elementary school. I was a big fan of Jane Eyre (hence the fan fiction) and Wuthering Heights (maybe my next fan fiction piece).
Have you ever written fan fiction? For what series?
Yes, I have. I have a Jane Eyre/vampires book on fanfiction.net called THORNFIELD MANOR. Check it out! I had a blast writing it.
I think fan fiction is fun to do and if I do more I’d probably do a Firefly one (I love Joss Whedon).
I’d like to meet Ariela, as she seems interesting, and I haven’t met fairies before:) Only I can’t think of why would she want to meet me:)
I would love the super power of healing.would love to make other not sick and stuff.