To celebrate the re-release of The Key of Amatahns by Elisabeth Wheatley, Inkspelled Faery is hosting ten days of visiting your favorite authors as they talk about their very first novels, topped off by an all-day Facebook party with fun, games, and giveaways. Check out the full line up of authors and don’t forget to join the Facebook party on the 25th!
In a land where those with magic are esteemed and revered, Janir guards a secret that would send her to the headsman’s block at a word. As one of the reviled Argetallams, she has the power to destroy enchantments and steal others’ magic—an ability that has caused bloodshed for generations.
Raised as the illegitimate daughter of an influential lord, she was determined to turn her back on her heritage, but when her power manifests, leaving a nobleman dead, she has no choice but to flee her adoptive home. In exile with the help of a fearless young enchanter and an elf sworn to protect her, she finds herself entangled in a quest to hide an ancient artifact from the kingdom’s enemies.
But they are not the only ones after the relic and soon their paths cross with a rival from Janir’s distant childhood. With no hope of help or rescue, the fate of nations will depend on a fifteen year old girl and her mastery of powers she doesn’t understand.
To start us off, can you sum up your first novel in a tweet, 140 characters or less?
The heir to a legacy she hates is forced to flee her adoptive home and fight monsters, brothers, and other horrible things to save the world
What are you most proud of in this title?
Um…I think I’m going to have to go with Lucan, the brother I mentioned up there. I’m very proud of how much more developed he is now versus the original version, but that’s reediting for you.
Do you think your writing has changed since your debut? In what way?
My writing has changed A LOT since I first wrote this book. I’m much longer-winded for one and have been churning out epics lately, but more importantly, I would say I’ve definitely gotten better. At least my stories have a sense of logic from the beginning, not like the Helenistic drama that was in the very first drafts of this one.
If you could give one piece of advice to yourself when you were writing your first book, what would it be?
Get it done already, girl. Really, I think I learned a lot of things just through writing this book and others that I couldn’t have learned any other way. It took me years to write this because I didn’t take it seriously at the time, but that’s not the case now! I feel like I could have learned much faster if I had been serious from the beginning, but who knows?
What was the first thing you did after finishing that very first draft?
I hid it on my computer whilst dreaming of the day it would be adapted into a multi-film franchise.
Actually, that’s not far from the truth. I was scared my dad wouldn’t approve of my literary endeavors, so I sat on this story forever until my mom finally persuaded me to show it to him. (I was 15 at the time, so what he thought was still a freaking big deal.) He asked around for advice and as a result a family friend introduced me to indie publishing. There was no coming back after that and here I am!
If you thought this was fun, drop by the Facebook party going down on the 25th for more interviews with your favorite Fantasy authors as well as games and goodies galore!
