An Interview with Michelle Sawyer

I love interviews. Don't you too? It's fun to read their answers. You get to learn more about an author and his/her book. You might even get some advice from them. So here is Michelle Sawyer, author of Quest of the Demon! (Read my review here)

In the beginning, Darci ends up in a different world that’s very unlike our own. Could you tell us more about this place?

The Land of Nahaba is full of people that are similar to ours, but with so much more; animals, danger, magic… It’s where I put all my characters.  At first it was just a place where I’d put all my characters from my drawings but then as I started writing, it grew into an entire world that at times, I’d escape to, having adventures of the imagination.  With technology similar to our middle-ages there are all sorts of creatures, people and cultures. 

Was any of your characters based on any people you know in real life?

Taslessian was actually based on one of my best friends Simon who I’ve known since I was five.  I tried to capture the lanky, sleepy teenager at first but then he ended up developing into his own person once he received his master’s staff.  When I first started writing the story, I was Darci.  It wasn’t until the second draft that I realised I had written something real and decided to change it.

Did Quest of the Demon go the way you had originally planned?

Not at all.  At first it was just going to be another short story.  I was writing a lot at 14.  Part one in this story was where I thought it was going to end.  Grisham would send Darci home and that would be it… but for some reason, the adventure continued, growing into the 120k novel it is today.

Describe your book in only ten words.

Real girl, new world fantasy adventure with an unexpected end.

What are you working on now?

All at once, book 3 and 5 – I also just submitted book two to my publisher.  Tallen – Quest of the Demon Aftermath 1 is due out in December this year.  Book 3 is called Elflings and I’m in the process of going through another draft while book 5… I’m hand writing the first draft when I have a spare moment… that’s when I’m not working full time in the Real Estate Industry (what can I say, I haven’t won tats lotto yet nor I have I sold a million copies of my first novel… only Nine hundred and ninety nine thousand and something left to go)

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

It’s a sad fact that not everyone will like what you write, you can’t please everyone so don’t stress about writing what you think others will like.  Write for enjoyment or you might end up like so many others – giving up on their dream.  It took me 14 years to get out there and there are many others that took even longer! Never give up.

Just for Fun Questions

Why does the Easter bunny carry eggs?

Because the chicken was too busy crossing the road.

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

 So it sits nicely on my passenger car seat?  More likely because it’s much easier to fold the box and have it close?  Round would be too complicated.

Do you have a pet?

I have a 3 year old Labrador called Roy and a 7 year old blue tongue lizard called Sir Slivinius.  (Sliv for short).  Roy can’t quite play dead – you shoot him, he rolls over, legs in the air but his tail keeps wagging and Sliv – well his favorite food is a toss-up between pineapple or snails.

Favourite drink?

Lemon Lime and Bitters.  I had one just tonight with one of the first lemons from my very own lemon tree.

Favourite book?

That is really too hard to answer.  There are so many!  I’d have to go with the Lioness series from Tomara Pearce.

Favourite author?

Tomara Pearce, Isobelle Carmondy, David Eddings, Raymond E Feist, Maggie Furry…

Favourite…anything?

Favourite sport would be basketball.

And that's it for today! You can enter this code in Smashwords to get 75% off her book! Doo iittt~

ZF82E