The Last Namsara Blog Tour: Q&A With Kristen Ciccarelli!

I am so very excited to be taking part in the blog tour for the wonderful The Last Namsara! I adored this book and I was so excited when I got the chance to pick Kristen Ciccarelli's brain for more information about her book! If you haven't read The Last Namsara, I really can't recommend it enough! There be dragons in it! Dragons!!!

But first, here is my interview with the lovely Kristen Ciccarelli! 

Hi Kristen!  Thank you so much for answering all my fangirly questions!  It’s a real pleasure to have you here today!

Thank you for asking them! It’s a pleasure. :)

For those who haven’t read The Last Namsara, can you tell us a little about your wonderful book?   

The Last Namsara is about a dragon slayer who must hunt down the deadliest dragon of all and bring her father its head, or she’ll be forced into a political marriage!

The Last Namsara has the most amazing setting - I adore your world building!  Especially the fact that, in this world, certain stories are dangerous and can get you killed.  Where did the idea for the world and story come from?

Thank you so much! I essentially stole the story from my own life. I’ve spent a lot of my life being ashamed of the things I love most: creativity, imagination, and storytelling. So when I started writing The Last Namsara, I wanted to explore a world where these things actually were shameful. So I made them dangerous things that get people hurt. That way I could write a protagonist who was a) good at wielding these stories and b) ashamed of herself as a result—like I was. That was how it started. And then I built the world around that character and concept.

Ok, so anyone who knows me is aware of my dragon obsession (it’s alarming, honestly).  Where did you get the inspiration for the dragons in your story?!  

I was completely dragon-obsessed growing up. So obsessed, in fact, that my art teacher actually banned me from drawing them for all of high school (I kept sneaking them into my projects). I first fell in love with Smaug, then Draco (from Dragonheart—I can still recite the old code off by heart, lol) and Toothless. So in lots of ways, my dragons were influenced by the dragons I grew up loving. Where my dragons differ, though, is in the fact that they’re lured by stories. They covet stories the way traditional dragons covet treasure.

The Last Namsara has a cast of amazingly badass girls!  Are they inspired by yourself, anyone you know or a kick-arse girl of YA? 

All of the above, but most especially: I wanted to write the kinds of girls I needed growing up. I will never forget the day I read the chapter in LotR when Eowyn defeats the Witch King. Eowyn gets hardly any page time in that series, and yet there she was, a girl doing what no one else could do. Vanquishing a monster. It felt like Tolkien was throwing me a bone, you know? I clung to that bone. I clung to all the girls wielding weapons and going up against monsters and tyrants (Eowyn, Sabriel, Lyra—to name just a few). These girls were my mirrors. They showed me what I was capable of.

I know it’s like making you choose between your babies, but do you have a favourite character in The Last Namsara?  

Definitely Asha. She’s so strong and fierce and ambitious, yet so wounded and vulnerable. I feel a bit protective of her. Torwin is a close second, though. :)

You are an amazing writer - do you have a favourite thing about being an author?  

You are very kind! And this is a really good question. I think my favourite thing about being an author is hearing from readers—especially young adult readers. It’s amazing to me knowing there are people out there (sometimes on the other side of the world!) reading my story and getting what they need from it.

What advice would you give to all the aspiring fantasy writers out there?

Don’t be afraid of failure. (All the best things come out of failure.) And definitely don’t let it stop you. If you write because you love it, if you truly deeply believe in your stories, if you stay hungry & improve your craft, then you’ll make it. It might take a while, but you’ll get there.

While we’re on the topic of authors and writing, what has been your top read of 2017 so far?  The Last Namsara is one of my favourites! 

Oh gosh. This is such a tough question! Most of my favourite reads this year are actually books coming out in 2018, so it doesn’t feel fair to list them here. I think my top read of 2017 is FIRE BLOOD by Elly Blake. If you like Kristin Cashore’s books, chances are high that you’ll like this book too.

A suitably fantastical penultimate question: If you could have any mythical creature as a pet, which would you have?  And, to the surprise of no one, I would have a dragon.

Definitely a dragon! I mean, it could a) protect me, b) fly me places, and c) keep me warm by making fires. ;)

Finally... what can we expect from book two of the trilogy?  Any chance we could get a little spoiler?

Book two, The Caged Queen, picks up right where The Last Namsara leaves off, only its told from Roa’s point of view. You get more of Asha and the dragons, but you also get to learn who the mysterious Roa is, why she makes a certain deal with Asha’s brother in book one, and what the consequences of that deal are.

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Ah, I can't wait for The Caged Queen! Thank you so much for letting me pick your brain, Kristen! And everyone, go read The Last Namsara! I know I've already said this, but it bears repeating: There are dragons!
Everyone, definitely check out Kristen's website, follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and add The Last Namsara to your Goodreads TBR ASAP list! 

Oh, and check out the awesome The Last Namsara official book trailer too!  God, I love this book!

Happy Reading Everyone!

Shadow Study Blog Tour: A Q&A With Maria V. Snyder

I adore Maria V. Snyder: she is one of my favourite authors ever. I freaking loved the original Study trilogy and was over the moon when I found out about Shadow Study! I was even more excited when I was asked to take part in the Shadow Study Blog Tour! Yay! So here is a Q&A with the amazing, lovely Maria V. Snyder! Enjoy! :D

Me: Shadow Study is the first in a new trilogy starring Yelena Zaltana.  What will this new series be about - and will it be as action-packed as the original trilogy?

Maria V. Snyder:  The new series will be about Yelena and Valek and will have chapters from both their POVs.  They are both dealing with various problems and issues.  Yelena is shot with a poisoned bolt and her magic is blocked so she’s searching for a cure while trying to keep ahead of her enemies who have learned she’s vulnerable. Valek is dealing with a young hot shot assassin who is trying to take his job as Security Chief.  His interactions with the assassin cause him to remember when he was a young hot shot so there are many details about Valek’s past in the first book.  The second and third books continue with both stories.  And of course there will be LOTS of action – I can’t write a book without it!

Me: What made you revisit Yelena and Valek? Did you originally plan to revisit the series? And what made you decide to have Shadow Study narrated by Yelena, Valek and Janco?

MVS: My readers are the reason I revisited Yelena and Valek.  They’ve been clamouring for more stories since Fire Study was published back in 2008 and I finally had an idea that I thought would be good enough for a novel.  I decided to switch between three characters because I really wanted to explore Valek’s past and that’s hard to do from Yelena’s POV.  Plus I was in Yelena’s head for 3 books and I wanted a change and a challenge.  I put in Janco’s because he’s such a blast to write, I couldn’t resist.

Me: Now, from your Study series, I of course love Yelena, Valek, Janco and Leif, but I think my favourite has to be Kiki!  Do you have a favourite character from this series?

MVS: I’d have to say Janco.  I just like his humour and cockiness and rants against sand.  I think with all the action and problems and bad things going on, Janco adds a bit of humour and a bit of a break for readers.

Me: You've created many worlds – magical and dystopian – which would you most like to live in and why?

MVS:  I’d live in Ixia.  I attended 12 years of Catholic school and never once minded wearing a uniform – it just made my mornings easier J.  I’d also like to think I’d be one of the Commander’s advisers or one of Valek’s spies and that sounds like fun.

Me: In the Study and Glass series, which clan do you think you'd most like to be a part of?

MVS: The Zaltanas.  I climbed trees when I was younger and just loved being up in the branches where no one could see me.  The thought of living in a huge treehouse….heaven!

Me: If you could have any magical power, what would you like to have and why?

MVS:  I’d want to be a healer like Avry.  I’ve so many friends and family members who suffer with various ailments and pain that I just want to be able to touch them and make them instantly better!

Me: What drew you to the fantasy genre and how do you come up with all of your amazing ideas?

MVS: I like reading fantasy and science fiction so writing in those genres was a natural thing to do.  I enjoy being able to go beyond the everyday world and incorporate magic or to take science to the next level in my stories.  I get ideas from everywhere – life is a sea of stories and I’ll spark on the strangest things—like a comment from my kids, or an article in a magazine, or when I’m travelling, or from a random conversation with a stranger on a train.  I dreamt the idea for Inside Out – yep in one night, I dreamt the entire story—characters, antagonists, world, and even the twists at the end.  I wish I could remember what I ate for dinner that night as that hasn’t happened again!

Me: How much research do you do for your books - I heard you're pretty hands on!?

MVS: I do quite a bit as I’m a stickler for accuracy.  If I’m going to have a horse in my book, then I’m going to learn everything I can about horses, including riding them.  Yes, I try to do as much hands on as possible.  I think that’s the best way to translate the experience to the reader and again, it’s great for accuracy.  I don’t want my readers to email me that I got something wrong about blowing glass or anything else.  Although the beauty with fantasy is I can create things in my world, but even then I must stay consistent.  The poisons in Poison Study are all created because I couldn’t find real poisons to do what I wanted them to do – my kids are still not talking to me for experimenting on them ;).

Me: What book are you most looking forward to in 2015?

MVS: Gail Carriger’s Prudence.  I loved her Parasol Protectorate series and this is the next generation.

Me: Finally, what advice would you give all aspiring fantasy authors out there?

MVS: Read a lot of books in the genre you’re writing and write a lot (every day if possible).  Also persistence is key!  Keep working on your story even when you think it’s terrible and has gone in the wrong direction.  So many people start writing, but then don’t finish.  If you wish to be published by a traditional publisher, then persistence will help you find one.  You need to keep sending out your story until you run out of places to send it!  That’s what I did with Poison Study and 57 rejections later, I found a publisher.

Quick Fire Round!

Pen and paper or computer?  Computer

Fantasy or science fiction?  Both

Reading or writing?  Reading (writing is hard!)

Scientific genius or Master Magician?  Master Magician

Favourite book of all time?  The Gate to Women’s Country, by Sheri S. Tepper

MVS: Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog. If your readers would like more info about me and my books, I have the first chapter of all my books on my website as well as a number of free short stories (including ones with Yelena and Valek) they can read.  Here’s the link: http://www.mariavsnyder.com.  My Facebook page is where I’m the most active with updates and news.  Here’s the link: http://www.facebook.com/mvsfans.

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Thank YOU, Maria! It's been lovely having you! Everyone, go grab yourself a copy of Shadow Study RIGHT NOW! It is AMAZING!  Grab it on Amazon, mark it To Read on Goodreads, just read it!  

And check out my co-host for the blog tour today, Becca from Lost In Thought.  Oh, and yesterday there  were two more stops to check out: Jess Hearts Books and Midnight Reads!  Enjoy!

Happy Reading Everyone!

Month of Guests 2013: Julie Kagawa

It's the final day of my Month of Guests!  I've had so much fun putting this event together and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have!  But we're going out with a bang, people!  With an interview with the lovely Julie Kagawa, author of the Iron Fey, Blood of Eden and Call of the Forgotten series!  Enjoy! :D

And Month of Guests will be back next year!!  Don't worry, I'm already scheming and planning to make it EVEN BETTER... ;)

Oh, and there are still two giveaways going on, so check them out: here and here! :D

When did you really realize that you want to be a book writer?

It was sometime in high school, I believe.  The plan wasn't always to become a writer; I was originally going to be a veterinarian.  But then I discovered that to do be a vet, you had to know a great deal of MATH and science and biology and MATH.  And since numbers and I hate each other, I decided that maybe I'd give this writer thing a try.

Describe the moment when you first got the idea of writing The Iron Fey in your mind.

The exact moment was actually in a bookstore.  I remember browsing through the YA section, and suddenly having an idea for a story about a girl who was a faery.  In the very beginning, Meghan started out as a full faery, but as the idea and the story progressed, she became the half-blood faery she is today.

How does it feel to have your books translated in multiple languages around the world?

Pretty surreal.  I have a special bookshelf in my office for the foreign editions of the books, and every time I see it I have to smile.  It’s awe-inspiring to know that your books are being read around the world in France or Germany or Japan.  And words cannot express my love for the Japanese covers.  Manga-style Ash!

You always mention your husband in the acknowledgments page. How does he help you in the writing process?

He is honestly my biggest help when I am working on a book.  I can always go to him with a problem when I'm stuck, and we'll talk it through until I get un-stuck.  Plus, he reads through the whole completed manuscript before it goes off to my editor and catches most of my grammar mistakes, though he has threatened to rip the semicolon key off my keyboard so I can't use it anymore.  I guess I like my semicolons.  :D

Tell us some funny moment with some fan.

I was at a friend's wedding, and began talking to a random stranger about YA books, which we both loved.  She started talking about this YA book about a girl who was half-faery and who went into Faeryland to rescue her brother, and I said "You mean The Iron King?"  She said: "Yes, have you read it?"  "No," I told her, "I wrote it."  Hilarity ensued immediately after.

What is the most fun moment you’ve had while writing a book?

I think the book I'm working on right now has been the most fun to write.  Sadly, I can't share the details yet, but I'm extraordinarily excited about the whole thing and can't wait to actually share the news sometime this month.

                

Some message for your fans?

I am just incredibly grateful for all the support and enthusiasm my fans have given me over the years.  I know I wouldn't be where I am today without my readers, and I hope I will always remember that.  So, thank you, everyone, for being awesome.

What’s next for Julie Kagawa?

Well, the next book of the Blood of Eden series, The Eternity Cure, just came out in May, and then the second book of the Call of the Forgotten series, Traitor Son, will be released sometime in the Fall.  Of course, I do have this secret new series I'm working on that’s going to be made into a movie by Universal Pictures, but I'm not allowed to share that until later.  Hopefully I'll get to tell everyone soon!  :) 

My Mental Rambling: And revealed it has been...  If you haven't heard, check out the news: here!! :D  It's so exciting!! :D

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Thank you so much, Julie!!!  I am sooo excited about your new series!!! :D :D

Hope you all enjoyed the interview! And don't forget to follow Julie's Site and Blog, follow her on Twitter and Facebook, and check out her books on Goodreads!  Oh, and here's her Blood of Eden official site and The Iron Fey official site!  :D

And if you missed any MonthOfGuests fun, check it ou on Twitter using #MonthOfGuests2013 or see a list of all the posts: here! :D

And if you have any ideas for next year, I'm always here for advice!! :D

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Julie Kagawa, the New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn’t getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel.

When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her Math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time, but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a real job.

To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dogtrainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full time.

Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, two obnoxious cats, one Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and the latest addition, a hyper-active Papillon.

Month of Guests 2013: Alyxandra Harvey

The lovely Alyxandra Harvey is here today - and today is a special day because Amazon is making the entire Drake Chronicles Kindle Daily Deal today!!  Go check it out - ASAP!! :D

Oh, but read the interview first.  ;)

Q&A With Alyxandra Harvey

So your Drake Chronicles just ended this year (my heart breaks a little more even as I write that!).  What's next for you?

I have a new series coming out in January called the Lovegrove Legacy, about three cousins in 1814 London who discover they are witches.

I also have an Enovella called The Longest Night, set in the Drake Chronicles world out in December…I admit I missed the Drakes and wasn’t ready to completely say goodbye!

My Mental Rambling: Yay!!!  More Drakes!!!  *happy dance all over the place*  And witches + Alyxandra Harvey = ecstatic blogger!!

I'm probably a bit biased (your Drake Chronicles was one of the first books I was sent to review) but I must say: your vampire mythology is one of the coolest I've come across.  How did you come up with it all?!

Thank you! The recent vampire book craze was at its peak when I started writing the Drake Chronicles…but I’ve always loved vampire stories so I wanted to tell my story anyway.

My favourite part of vampires is the fact that they can live for hundreds of years…they could have lived in a medieval castle, met Jane Austen or Mary Frankenstein, or watched Stonehenge being built. It’s that love of history that informs my own vampire mythos.

And because I love fairy tales and young adult fiction, I threw in some Snow White and a sweet sixteen that’s anything but sweet!

You write so many absolutely amazing kickbutt lead girls.  Do you have a favourite and are any like you?

Thank you! I don’t have favourite, but I admit Lucy is one of the easiest characters to write. She just pours onto the page.

Now this question is utterly evil on my part: Do you have a favourite male character?  This is such an evil question - sorry! - but I really want to know!!

I have lots of favourites! Mr. Darcy, always. As for my own characters, I have soft spots for some (Nicholas, Colin from Haunting Violet, Eldric from Stolen Away), but no crushes. It’s kinda like crushing on your imaginary friend and it feels weird. ;)

My Mental Rambling: Nicholas is my favourite - and I have a big crush on him... *le sigh*

You write lots of brilliant fantasy books - but is fantasy your favourite genre to read?

Thank you again :)    I adore reading fantasy novels. My favourite genres are paranormal YA, historical fiction, and fantasy.  I also love poetry and history non-fiction.

One of my favourite things about your Drake books is the split POVs.  Is it tricky to get all those utterly unique voices?  Is it harder to write boys than it is girls?  And is there one perspective you liked writing from most and one who was more difficult?

Logan was my first POV in a teen guy’s head…and I found that more difficult than writing a four hundred year old villain like Montmartre. I made some of my guy friends read Logan to make sure I wasn’t totally off!

Ok, fun questions time!  You've written about vampires, faeries and psychics, but if you could be any mythical being yourself, what would you be?

I rather like werewolves…but the actual wolves not the gooey monsters of horror movies.  I’d like to be a time traveler too...preferably with the Tenth Doctor!

The Drake series is based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: do any of the Drake boys resemble any of the dwarves and is this fairy tale your favourite?  Are you planning any more awesome fairy tale twists?

I adore fairy tales so they are always in the back of my head. I wrote a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood a couple of years back that I hope will find its merry way to the bookstores. And my poetry collection Briar Rose, is all fairy tale retellings.  I’m not sure that I have a favourite, but I do tend to write about Snow White, Little Red ad Rapunzel a lot!

And those Drake brothers! I never assigned them particular dwarves a la Disney…but I’d love to hear what the readers think.  Snarky, Anti-Social, Gothic…. we could start a new dwarf collective!

My Mental Rambling: Ooh, that could be fun!!  Note to self: sad fanpic coming up of Drake brothers as dwarves... ;)

And finally: If the Book Fairy could arrange a tea party with any fictional characters of your choice, who would you pick and why?

I love fictional tea party time! I’d like to nibble a scone with Mr. Darcy, and drink tea with Elizabeth Bennet. She’s just so witty and cheerful. And now that the new Sleepy Hollow is making Ichabod Crane so much more interesting, he’s welcome to the tea party too!

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Thank yuos o much for this interview, Alyx!!  It's been great having you!! I'm super excited about all your upcoming books!! :D

Hope you all enjoyed the interview! And don't forget to follow Alyx's Site, follow her on Twitter and Facebook, and check out her books on Goodreads! :D

And keep up to date with MonthOfGuests on Twitter using #MonthOfGuests2013! And stop by tomorrow for a brilliant post by the amazing Katie Dale!!

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Alyxandra Harvey lives in a stone Victorian house in Ontario, Canada with a few resident ghosts who are allowed to stay as long as they keep company manners. She loves medieval dresses, used to be able to recite all of The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson, and has been accused, more than once, of being born in the wrong century. She believes this to be mostly true except for the fact that she really likes running water, women’s rights, and ice cream.

Among her favourite books are ‘The Wood Wife’ by Terri Windling, ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte, and of course, ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen. Elizabeth Bennet is her hero because she’s smart and sassy, and Mr. Darcy is, well, yum.

Aside from the ghosts, she also lives with husband and their dogs. She likes cinnamon lattes, tattoos and books.

Month of Guests 2013: Sarwat Chadda: Ash Mistry and the World of Darkness Blog Tour - And Giveaway!!

I'm super excited to have the brilliant Sarwat Chadda here today - with a giveaway too!! :D UK and Ireland residents enter for a chance to win a complete set of the Ash Mistry books!! :D 

Enjoy the interview!! :D

Hi Sarwat!  Thank you so much for being here!

A pleasure, Megan, thanks for the invite.

Ok, so I am officially totally biased, being one of your number one fans (I won't say number one definitive, because Laura from Sister Spooky might kill me...), but you are brilliant.  I am currently loving your newest series, Ash Mistry, the third book of which has just come out.  Can you quickly describe what the series is all about?

I love mythology and superheroes and exotic settings and Ash Mistry is a combination of all three.

Ash is your typical 13 year old geek who gets the chance to become the sort of superhero he’s always read about in his comics.

I don’t want to give too much away but he discovers he’s the Eternal Warrior, destined to be reborn again and again throughout history to face evil. He’s battled demons, tyrants and bad guys since the dawn of time.

Now, in Ash Mistry and the Savage Fortress, he discovers the demon king, Ravana, is back and its down to Ash to stop him.

Fortunately he gets some help in the of the black goddess, Kali. She’s got six arms, armed to the teeth, has a necklace of skulls and drinks blood. She’s the goddess of death and destruction and has chosen Ash to be her living weapon, the Kali-aastra.

It’s a series about a boy becoming the ultimate BAD-ASS and discovering it’s not as great as he thought it would be. Saving the world is a dirty job and Ash really doesn’t want to do it.

We had a brilliant conversation about ethnic diversity in books - and more specifically on covers.  How important do you think it is to bring more diversity into children's fiction - like Ash Mistry, who's Indian - and how much do you think stereotypes influence books written about 'ethnic’ minorities (sorry: sociology term)?

My issue is that when you have an ethnic lead, it’s always an ‘issue’s book and tied up with the experience of being that ethnicity. It’s about the, say, ‘Asian/Arab/African/Eskimo experience. The Ash Mistry series is about the ‘monster-fighting’ experience.

In truth all cultures have monsters in common. And they all have heroes born to fight them. I love fantasy but, ironically, fantasy has become more and more mundane as all we get is dwarves and elves and castles and knights and long-bearded wizard types.

What some may view as ethnic I view as a fresh perspective. But the hero’s journey is universal.

Ok, the Ash series is awesome - so so awesome!  Pleeaase tell me there's a new one in the works!  I know I'm behind, but I'm loving it so much that I just need to know that there will be another one!!

Ash had a very clear three book arc. I’m incredibly chuffed I was able to explore it to the full. But it has led to interesting opportunities. I’m working on a brand new comic project which will be using Indian settings and myths and history to bring a new superhero team into the world. Stay tuned for that...

Saying that I’m not quite done with Ash yet. I’ve got a new book in the pipeline but would be more than happy to revisit Ash in a year or two.

Sorry about fangirling, Sarwat...  Until you've forgotten that incident, don't look down: there's a bit more...  Anyway: Your original series, the amazing amazing Billi SanGreal series, has a main character who's a girl.  You are, to state the obvious, not a girl.  Was it difficult to write as Billi and what were your influences?

Nope, not hard at all. A character is defined by far more than their gender and to focus on that as a central issue is to deny them a lot more scope. The risk of viewing a character as merely their gender risks all the clichés creeping in. The BIGGEST being romance. I never, ever wrote a YA paranormal romance and hope the first line in Devil’s Kiss made that clear. Billi’s journey is not about finding a boyfriend! I think that took a lot of readers by surprise as it came out during the Twilight peak and was packaged as a YA paranormal romance.

Gender was an issue in how Billi is treated by the world around her. She was brought up in a very male environment, and that brings its own dynamics.

That said I have plenty of women in my life to inspire and guide me including (but not limited to) wife, daughters, agents and editors. They made sure Billi worked.

I've been wondering for a while and just thought I'd ask: I know you're a huge Buffy fan.  Is anything of Billi's character based on the legendary Slayer?

Oh God, that was a bizarre situation. I completely missed the Buffy TV series the first time round, having only ever watched the somewhat disappointing movie. I had written an early draft of Devil’s Kiss when my sisters told me about the tv series and I watched it. BLOWN AWAY!

Billi’s world isn’t the same as Buffy’s. Buffy has the Scooby Gang and is supported and is clearly the lead. Even the others know she’s the hero in their story.

Billi’s just another soldier for the Knights Templar. Her father is the boss and their victories are at far higher cost. They are quite clearly mortal. The body count was an issue with the Billi series and I wanted to dwell on the impact such deaths have. Billi’s world is bloody dark!

Don't say I didn't warn you: PLEASE tell me there's going to be a third Billi book?!?!  And what will it be about?!  You've already driven me insane with those first few chapters, so PLEASE put my mind at ease...  Of course, if you need a proof reader or somethin' let me know.  I'm happy to help.  ;)

Sadly the series got cancelled. The usual poor sales problem. Maybe I should have put some romance in it after all...

How much research goes into all your books?  I mean, the details in the Ash series about India are absolutely stunning.  Well, all the details are - the heritage, the... I could go on, but we'll just go with everything.  And all the Templar, religious, etc details in the Billi series are just as brilliant.  Exactly how much time has to go into all of these awesome details?!  

A lot. I mean A LOT. With Billi I read up on Templar history, mythology, studied the Old Testemant and even Judaism to get the details right. Dark Goddess meant going to Russia to get the Moscow scenes spot on.

Ash Mistry was a trip to India and Pakistan and Tibet and Hong Kong and Nepal. The Savage Fortress is based on a maharajah’s palace in Varanasi I visited and the Lalgur is a building overlooking the ghats. I even attended a funeral. I’ve travelled a lot around the Far East and that travelling probably inspired the Ash series in the first place. That’s probably why the first Ash book took almost two years to write.

If it’s worth doing its worth doing right. Especially for children’s books.

One of the things I love most about your writing is that you never hold back.  Ever.  You write the most amazing fight scenes that are fast paced, gory and dangerous.  You don't shy away from killing people we love off (though I have some serious issues because of that, man.  Like serious serious scars).  Even in Ash, a MG series, you don't hold back.  Do you think some people try to bubble-wrap fights in fiction and why did you decide not to?  And do you think the informal 'rules' should be different for children than for young adults?

Firstly I don’t believe in the division between YA and MG. It’s arbitrary and basically more about marketing than quality or subject matter. The Indian mythology in Ash is pretty complex as it’s unfamiliar to The Western reader and the definitions of good and evil don’t match what we believe in the west. But not to include that would have done the reader is disservice and delivered an inauthentic book. I don’t believe in writing down to the reader. Its far better to push them, challenge them with what’s thrown out of the story. Even if its disturbing. Hence the death of main characters. And that when I kill them, they don’t come back. It should be upsetting and leave scars.

I want to write the best book I can. I never second guess the reader and don’t really tailor it to suit anything but my passions. Life’s too short to be worrying about what other people want, or worse, should have.

You have got  to be one of the funniest people I know.  But in Billi especially there isn't that much laugh-your-head-off humour.  I mean, there's a dark humour, but nothing like your own funniness (is that a word)?  There's more in Ash, though.  Is the difference in humour a reflection of how Billi was born into the life of a Templar and Ash just kinda... stumbled across it?  Or is it more due to the target-audience differences?

Billi and Ash come from two different worlds, as you point out. Billi’s is grim so the humour reflects that. It’s very black. That said the joke about Arthur needing shovels still makes

Ash is a geek, so his humour will have that sort of references within it. Hence all the stuff about superheroes and Star Trek and Doctor Who. That’s his world.

It’s not to do with the target audience because I don’t know who that is.

My personal humour is about me. And if you want to know the truth, I only have three amusing anecdotes.

All of your books are fantasy-paranormal-action-adventure types.  Something I love about them?  No one falls for one of the Unholy.  Let's face it: no one in their right mind would love Dracula!  Do you think that there's a difference between female and male writers: like do some female writers romanticise the paranormals more than men?  For example, Twilight versus Billi SanGreal?

YA has become very female-orientated, both as writers and audience. Twilight’s success has slewed the style of stories being published to being more romance-based. That’s just the market which I don’t have issue with.

My issues about the romance is the questions it raises about expectations and gender balance. I’ve said it before (and so have others much cleverer than me), but Twilight did the cause of feminism no good at all.

I’d recommend readers to go to Angela Carter’s books, especially the ‘Burning Your Boats’ collection of stories which include A Company of Wolves. Then pick up ‘Women who Run with Wolves’ by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Billi has been inspired by those heroines.

Ok, onto fun questions now!  If you could have any superpower ever, what would you choose?

Flight. It’s a classic. Flight and really, REALLY fast.

One of your books needs to be made into a film.  It's criminal that they aren't...  Anyways, if they were, who would you cast as the lead characters in both series?

Well, given how slow these things are either daughter would play Billi as she was based on them! James Purefoy for Arthur.

The guy who played Pi, Suraj Sharma, in Life of Pi would make a cool Ash. Benedict Cumberbatch as Lord Savage.

If you could have a dinner party with any two 'real' people (dead or alive), two fictional characters and two mythical/paranormal beings, who would you choose and why?

Wow. Off the top of my head Genghis Khan and Caligula for real just because they would be the most insane guests imaginable!

Fictional probably Lestat and Conan the Barbarian.

Mythic lets go for Helen of Troy and Aphrodite for obvious reasons.

Last question: I believe you are obsessed with a certain actor, yes?  Can you tell us who that is and whether or not they would beat Billi in a fight?

Yes, you mean Christian Bale, right? Ah, my love for Christian is a deep and pure and beautiful thing. It all started when I saw him in American Psycho. The showers scene at the beginning but that’s another story.

WRT him and a Billi smackdown do remember he is actually an actor while Billi is a highly trained killer. I’ll leave you to decide the result based on those two facts...

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Yay, thank you so much for letting me interview you, Sarwat! It was so much fun!! :D
Hope you all enjoyed the interview!! And don't forget to follow Sarwat's Site, follow him on Twitter and check out his books on Goodreads! :DAnd keep up to date with MonthOfGuests on Twitter using #MonthOfGuests2013! And stop by tomorrow for an awesome Top Ten post by the brilliant Philip Reeve and Sarah McEntyre!!

Now, UK and Ireland dwellers:

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 You'll win a complete set of the Ash Mistry series!! The giveaway is open only to people in UK and Ireland (sorry!) and will close 14th October 2013!

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Sarwat Chadda has lived and travelled throughout the world, from China to Guatemala. He’s been lost in Mongolia, abandoned at a volcano in Nicaragua and hidden up a tree from a rhino in Nepal. Not to mention being detained by Homeland Security in the US and chased around Tibet by the Chinese police. Maybe he just has that sort of face.Anyway, now he’s trying to settle in one place and stay out of trouble. Hence his new career as a writer. It’s safe, indoors and avoids any form of physical danger.Throughout his travels, Sarwat has soaked up the myths, legends and cultures of far away places. Now, with the Ash Mistry series, he aims to bring these unfamiliar tales of ten-headed demons and blue-skinned heroes back home and put them beside the exploits of Achilles and Thor. His heroes are Prince Rama and the demon-slaying Kali. Isn’t it about time you met them too?