KJ will be awarding an eCopy of Wind to 3 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour, and choice of 5 digital books from the Impulse line to a randomly drawn host.
Wind – Drachengott Book 1
by KJ Taylor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Fantasy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. What or
who inspired you to start writing?
Like every
other author I know, I grew up reading constantly – heck, I remember one of my
childhood bullies smacking me on the head with a book and calling me “bookworm”
as if loving books was somehow abnormal (the bastard). I started writing little
poems and stories around that age, and got some attention for it, which was
nice. I met a lot of authors while I was in primary school, at talks and other
events, and I remember being completely starry-eyed. The people who had made
the books I loved, and they were real! Other little girls idolised Leo DiCaprio
– I idolised Gillian Rubenstein. It’s for this reason that, despite not being a
children’s author per se., I love doing talks at schools and encouraging kids
to read and write. I want to pass on that inspiration as it was passed on to
me. And it worked – I know of at least one kid who decided to become an author
after meeting me – he’s now 17 and still writing.
When I got
to highschool I wandered away from writing for a while, though I went on
reading (I adored the Redwall
series). When I was about 14 I started trying to write full-on novels, and
became completely obsessed with it. I wrote every day. I wrote on the bus, I
wrote at school, I wrote in bed at night – hell, I’m pretty sure I remember
writing while brushing my teeth! I filled an entire shelf with exercise books
crammed with my horrible handwriting, before my parents caught on and bought me
a laptop (I still use a laptop to write to this day, though not the same one of
course!).
Three years
later, I signed my first contract. Now I think back, it kind of boggles my
mind…
2. What elements are necessary components for this genre?
I’m not a
big fan of genre labelling, honestly; in my opinion it mostly exists to help
publicists and librarians! With that said, I don’t believe that fantasy has any
necessary elements as such. There is no rule that says it has to be set in
pseudo-medieval Europe, or have dragons, magic, etc. That’s the thing I love
about fantasy – it can be pretty much whatever you want it to be. Up to a
point, of course – if a spaceship showed up it would become Science Fiction.
I’m still not sure whether The
Dragonriders of Pern series counts as Fantasy or Science Fiction, actually,
since it has dragonriders but is set on an alien planet in the future. I wonder
where they put that one in the library?
3. How did you come up with your idea for your novel?
The Drachengott began partly as a combination of
two ideas I’d played with in the past – the first being a story where the
mysterious seer is the protagonist instead of the sword-swinging hero (the book
ultimately didn’t go in that direction, but that’s how it began), and the
second being the idea of a dragon the size of a mountaintop.
I hadn’t
written a “dragon” story before, and I wanted to do a different take on them by
writing them as essentially slaves – powerful, but with no choice other than to
be used as tools in someone else’s conflict.
5. What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?
I’m famous
for writing fast. Like, really fast. My record to date is four days to write an
entire novel from beginning to end. That’s 100,000 words or thereabouts in
approximately 28 hours. Pure insanity! I may have collapsed afterward; I don’t
really remember much… I apparently had a conversation with my father, and
afterward had no memory of it. That can’t be a good sign.
6. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?
I have
another series currently on the go, called The
Cymrian Saga. The first six books are already out, and a companion volume
called Tales of Cymria has just been
released. But there are a lot more books to come, which I’ll begin putting out
beginning in 2016.
Other than
that my agents are currently looking at a new trilogy set in a different
universe, along with a YA urban fantasy series and one children’s book. While
they’re doing that I’m busy working on a couple of other projects – I’m
notoriously impossible for anyone to keep up with, which is why I have such a
huge backlog of manuscripts.
7. If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why?
Gosh, that’s a tough one. I’d probably choose to be one of the dragons, despite the drawbacks that would entail, because dude – dragon!
8. Can you
give us a sneak peak into this book?
This is one of my favourite scenes from the series – or a part of it! It’s from book three, Fire. Enjoy!
This is one of my favourite scenes from the series – or a part of it! It’s from book three, Fire. Enjoy!
The Drachengott was watching them, head still lowered. He
made no move to attack any of them, but his eyes were open and glaring.
‘GO,’ his voice
rumbled suddenly. ‘ALL OF YOU. GO NOW.
THE TIME IS NOT RIGHT.’
Rutger steadied himself, the Magic Taker still pointed at
him, and shouted back, his voice pitifully weak by comparison. ‘We’ve come to
fight you in the name of the free people of Wendland! So your followers will
never slaughter another village of defenceless Gottlosen!’
‘We fight you so that mankind may use magic for their own
benefit, free from unnatural rules and cruel punishment!’ Elynor shouted.
‘We fight for the
freedom of the dragons!’ Spurling roared from above.
The words came to Nils in a moment, and he shouted them for
all he was worth. ‘We fight so there will be no more lies!’
A terrible rumbling sound came from the mountain, mixed with
a cracking and a grinding like breaking stone.
It took Nils a little while to realise that the Drachengott
was laughing.
10. When
did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged
you to take this big step?
Well this
isn’t my first novel – that would be The
Land of Bad Fantasy, published back in 2006. I was only 17 and had
submitted a couple of things to publishers because I desperately wanted to be
an author. After being rejected I made the surprisingly mature decision to
leave off trying to get published and write some other things until I was good
enough to make it. I wrote LoBF as a
bit of fun; just a silly comedy poking fun at fantasy tropes. I read it aloud
to some friends on a camping trip, thinking they’d get a laugh out of it, and
to my surprise they loved it and asked if I’d thought of trying to publish it.
I was honestly surprised because I hadn’t so much as thought of it, but decided
to give it a shot, and to my surprise, Omnibus bought it! I didn’t even have an
agent at the time. (I didn’t tell the publisher I was a teenager, because I
didn’t think they would take me seriously if they knew. They were pretty
surprised when they found out).
11. What is
the best and worst advice you ever received? (regarding writing or publishing)
When I was a kid just starting out, I met my hero Jackie French. She sat me down and told me some home truths, which I remember to this day: Don’t expect to hit your peak until ten years from now (gosh, I just realised it’s nearly been that long by now!), and don’t pigeonhole yourself – try other things. Years later Kylie Chan gave me some other, equally valuable advice – or rather a warning! She said we authors should stick together, because your career can end at any moment. One failed book and the publishers are done with you. That scared me, but I still needed to know it.
When I was a kid just starting out, I met my hero Jackie French. She sat me down and told me some home truths, which I remember to this day: Don’t expect to hit your peak until ten years from now (gosh, I just realised it’s nearly been that long by now!), and don’t pigeonhole yourself – try other things. Years later Kylie Chan gave me some other, equally valuable advice – or rather a warning! She said we authors should stick together, because your career can end at any moment. One failed book and the publishers are done with you. That scared me, but I still needed to know it.
The worst
advice I ever got was that if you want to get published then you should pick a
publisher and write a book you think they would want. I was 16 when an agent
told me that, and the whole experience left me in tears – it ran so completely
counter to what I believed writing was all about, and was so painfully cynical
(the agent turned out to be a ripoff artist anyway, so hah).
12. Do you
outline your books or just start writing?
Some people believe you absolutely have to write a detailed outline before you get started (Lian Hearn is apparently one author who does this, at great length). That’s completely wrong. Yes, some people do it. It works for them. I’m one of those people it doesn’t work for. I tried my hand at it when I was younger, but I never stuck to the outline, so I quickly decided it was a waste of time.
Some people believe you absolutely have to write a detailed outline before you get started (Lian Hearn is apparently one author who does this, at great length). That’s completely wrong. Yes, some people do it. It works for them. I’m one of those people it doesn’t work for. I tried my hand at it when I was younger, but I never stuck to the outline, so I quickly decided it was a waste of time.
That
doesn’t mean I don’t plan, though. Like a lot of other authors – Terry
Pratchett, for example – I plan in my head. I start out with the early parts of
the story mentally laid out, as well as some of the things that are going to
happen after that. I usually have some idea of what the ending will be, but not
always (when given a deadline to finish the final Drachengott book, I realised I had no idea how it was going to end
and panicked!)
13. How do
you maintain your creativity?
I’m not a big believer in “writer’s block”. Sometimes I’ll get bored with a book, or stuck on how to write the next bit, and when that happens, or when I’m between projects, I go off and do something else. A long walk or a bicycle ride out into the countryside generally does the trick, or a trip to the movies. I love movies, and music, and both help to inspire me. So does exercising – I love to walk.
I’m not a big believer in “writer’s block”. Sometimes I’ll get bored with a book, or stuck on how to write the next bit, and when that happens, or when I’m between projects, I go off and do something else. A long walk or a bicycle ride out into the countryside generally does the trick, or a trip to the movies. I love movies, and music, and both help to inspire me. So does exercising – I love to walk.
14. Who is
your favorite character in the book. Can you tell us why?
I have a few favourites – I’m quite fond of Karmain, the protagonist of book four. I like her carefree attitude and her innocent belief that everyone can get along if they only try. And I like Elynor, protagonist of book two, for her cynicism and cunning.
I have a few favourites – I’m quite fond of Karmain, the protagonist of book four. I like her carefree attitude and her innocent belief that everyone can get along if they only try. And I like Elynor, protagonist of book two, for her cynicism and cunning.
I like Syn
the dragon a lot, too. I expected her to be a fairly cold, ruthless sort of
character, but she surprised me by turning out to be a real sweetheart with a
good sense of humour. The sense of humour definitely took me by surprise.
In the end,
though, my favourite character is probably Rutger. It was interesting to see
how he changed over the course of the series, from the village laughing-stock
to a supposedly mighty warrior (in fact he isn’t a great warrior at all;
without the Magic Taker he’s average at best). He winds up with the heavy
burden of being seen as a hero when he knows full-well he’s done some truly
unheroic things, and he has to deal with the fact that his own family is now
afraid of him. The poor guy.
15. Are your
plotting bunnies angels or demons?
Neither; they’re just ideas which I consider and then either use or reject. I do sometimes feel a wicked temptation to do something I know would piss readers off, though, hahah. But I generally ignore it because I’m just nice that way.
Neither; they’re just ideas which I consider and then either use or reject. I do sometimes feel a wicked temptation to do something I know would piss readers off, though, hahah. But I generally ignore it because I’m just nice that way.
16.
Anything else you might want to add?
The Drachengott
will not end the way you expect it to. Trust me. Even I wasn’t completely
certain how it was going to end at first. But when it did, I knew I’d got it
right. And when Syn the dragon finally comes clean about what she’s done… that
was a moment that deserved all the buildup. I was particularly excited about
writing that scene, and when I finally got to write it I loved it. Drama is so
much fun!
BLURB:
Wendland is
a land of dragons, and of magic. The mysterious Drachengott grants magic to his
worshippers - but is he truly a god? Rutger von Gothendorf is only a simple
furrier, but he has become his village's local eccentric, thanks to his
obsession with the murder of his brother by the Drachengott's servants. He
holds onto the vague hope that he will one day have the chance to fight back
against them - until one day a mysterious and beautiful woman named Swanhild
comes into his life. Rutger is instantly smitten - but Swanhild knows more than
she says, and a web of lies and deceit threatens to sour the love beginning to
grow between them.
And all the while, the Drachengott
waits ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
The
wind whistled through the darkness, shaking the branches all about and putting
a chill into the air. It carried a scent with it, straight to Rutger’s nose. He
took it in and immediately tensed.
‘Did
you smell that, Horst?’ he hissed, snatching his older brother by the arm.
Horst
shook him off. ‘Not now, Rut — we’re in enough trouble without worrying about
funny smells.’
‘But
it smells like rotting meat!’ Rutger insisted. He paused, ignoring Horst’s
impatient look, and breathed in deeply. The smell hit him again — worse, this
time. He retched slightly. ‘Can’t you smell it?’
Horst,
big and muscular, turned his head in the gloom and sniffed. A moment later, he
grimaced. ‘You’re right: something’s dead out there. Come on, let’s move on
before we find out what.’
He
strode off, Rutger hurrying after him. ‘You don’t think it’s spiders, do you?’
‘Could
be,’ Horst said shortly. ‘Keep your eyes open.’
Rutger
swallowed and put a hand on the hilt of the long dagger looped through his
belt. He had never seen a giant spider before, and he wanted to keep it that
way. Silently, he wished he had never asked to come out here into the forest
with Horst. But it had all seemed so harmless — just a quick stroll through the
forest to check Horst’s mink traps. But then they hadn’t been able to find the
last trap, and now they were lost.
I
really am the unlucky seventh son, he thought glumly.
If
Horst was as worried as his brother, he didn’t show it. He walked slightly
ahead, dead mink swinging from his belt. A big old woodaxe hung on his back,
brought along for protection. Night was falling now, and the sooner they got
out of here the better.
The
forest all around was dense and looked threatening, its spiky pine needles
sighing in the relentless wind. Night always seemed to come early here. But at
least the putrid smell had gone away.
‘How
close do you think we are now?’ Rutger asked in a low voice.
Horst
shook his head. ‘Not sure — I think there’s a clearing up ahead, though.’
Rutger
came to his brother’s side, and the two of them climbed a small rise into the
clearing. The instant Rutger left the shelter of the trees, it hit him again:
the hideous stench of rotting meat slamming into his nose, so powerfully that
his eyes watered. Beside him, Horst had stopped. Rutger heard him swear softly.
He looked up, intending to tell his brother that they should go — and then he
saw it.
Ahead,
in the clearing, a faint light began to glow. It shone on the dark, lumpy
shapes which hung from the trees at the far side. Some could have been animal
corpses, but the rest . . .
Horst
wrenched the axe down off his back. ‘Get behind me, Rut,’ he said sharply. ‘Get
out of here. Now.’
‘What—?’
Rutger started to say — but too late.
As
the light brightened, two of the hanging shapes dropped to the ground and
stepped forward. They wore rough leather tunics with hoods which covered their
heads, but on each of their chests was a pair of red gemstones, set into an
amulet. They glowed faintly in the light, making a halo over each of the two
men, like a pair of glowering eyes.
‘Jüngen!’
Rutger heard himself say.
One
of the pair pointed accusingly at them. ‘How dare you enter this sacred grove?’
Horst
started to back away, axe raised.
The
two Jüngen joined hands, and the light around them intensified as their linked
hands rose. An instant later, a great flash blinded Rutger. He cried out as he
fell back, but his voice was drowned out by a screeching roar from above.
A
pitch-black dragon was hovering over the Jüngen’s heads, its eyes glowing red.
Light crackled over its wings, and it roared again.
The
Jüngen let go of each other, and the second of the two spoke to the dragon. His
words were a short, cold command.
‘Kill
them.’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
K.J.Taylor was born in
Australia in 1986 and plans to stay alive for as long as possible. She went to
Radford College and achieved a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications at the
University of Canberra, where she is currently studying for a Master’s Degree
in Information Studies.
She published her first
work, The Land of Bad Fantasy through Scholastic when she was just 18, and went
on to publish The Dark Griffin in Australia and New Zealand five years later.
The Griffin’s Flight and The Griffin’s War followed in the same year, and were
released in America and Canada in 2011. At the moment, she is working on the
third set of books in the series, while publishing the second.
K.J.Taylor’s real first name
is Katie, but not many people know what the J stands for. She collects movie
soundtracks and keeps pet rats, and isn’t quite as angst-ridden as her books
might suggest.
http://kjtaylor.com/
Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Drachengott-Wind-K-J-Taylor-ebook/dp/B00RKU7QP0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1441057188&sr=1-1&keywords=wind+k.j.+taylor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
KJ will be awarding an eCopy of Wind to 3 randomly
drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour, and choice of 5 digital books
from the Impulse line to a randomly drawn host.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f1300
