Jennifer Ellision, author of Threats of Sky and Sea, has been so gracious and kind enough to agree to be featured on the blog for a short Q & A. Below are some of the questions I asked HIM/HER based on my reading experience of the book and what I was curious to know. Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below!
Jennifer Ellision: Like I mentioned before, I wrote and read a lot of fanfiction and I think that it was a great way to build and flex my writing muscles. Fanfiction is a way of writing for the pure enjoyment of telling a story with characters that you and others already love and I learned a lot through that community.
Thank you for the interview!
Q: What motivated you to write your debut novel?
Jennifer Ellision: I’ve always wanted
to write. In high school, I was a literary magazine editor, creative writing
student, and avid fanfiction writer. In college, I majored in creative writing.
And shortly after I graduated college, I had a scene jump into my head that I
couldn’t resist. It didn’t make it to the final draft, but it was the starting
point for the entire Threats of Sky and
Sea series.
Jennifer Ellision: Like I mentioned before, I wrote and read a lot of fanfiction and I think that it was a great way to build and flex my writing muscles. Fanfiction is a way of writing for the pure enjoyment of telling a story with characters that you and others already love and I learned a lot through that community.
Q: What authors do you model yourself after?
Jennifer Ellision: I wouldn’t say I
model myself after any authors in particular, because I believe finding your
own voice is important for writers. ^_^ But, there are certainly plenty of
authors whose work I admire (and fangirl over), like Laini Taylor, Marissa
Meyer, Maggie Stiefvater, Tamora Pierce, Sarah J. Maas, and Rae Carson.
Q: Why Threats? What was your intention behind this
story?
Jennifer Ellision: I grew up reading
the fantasy works of Tamora Pierce and my love for the genre has only grown. I
wanted to tell a story that would give a reader the sort of enjoyment I felt
when reading Pierce’s work.
Q: What lessons did you hope for the reader to learn from Bree,
regarding life and responsibility?
Jennifer Ellision: To be frank, I
didn’t necessarily write with any lessons in mind, but I suppose that what a
reader could take away from Threats is
that… life is based on change. You have to roll with the punches. And even if
you wish that things could go back to the way they used to be, sometimes you
have to step up and meet the new challenges as they come.
Q: What can we expect from you next?
Jennifer Ellision: The final book
in the Threats of Sky and Sea series, Fall
of Thrones and Thorns! The book is still a work in progress, but you can
expect it later this year.