Author Rapid Fire Questions

WWWB’s managing editor Barbara and I started chatting about an interview for Books by Women just as my family and I were heading off on a weekend camping trip. She was happy to let me come up with the format, so I decided to use the opportunity for some fun around the campfire!

Name: Michelle Kenney

Latest Book: Book of Fire Trilogy (Book of Fire, City of Dust & Storm of Ash) published by HarperCollins HQStories & HQDigital

1: What’s the ‘elevator pitch’ of your series?

Life outside the domes is not possible. At least that’s what Insiders believe. Twins Talia and Eli shouldn’t exist. They’re Outsiders. Their home is a secret. Their lives are a secret. Arafel is a secret, until an unexpected forest raid threatens everything…
A dystopian fantasy with a medieval heart, Book of Fire asks Insider or Outsider, Science or Nature – and most importantly, what are you prepared to sacrifice for your family?

2: Tell us something about yourself that we likely don’t know? The more obscure the better.

I once played a German Maid in a film adaptation of a Rosamund Pilcher novel. I had one line of German (‘Ja/Yes’) and had to wrestle two huge plastic lobsters into a huge cooking pot. It was possibly the peak of my acting career 😉

3: Do you write in silence, or with music?

I write without music most of the time as I find another rhythm can fight the rhythm of my writing. This isn’t a hard and fast rule though, and I’ve listened to a variety of bands and music at various points of writing the Book of Fire series including Muse, Cold Play & Seth Lakeman.
I need to give a huge shout out to the incredibly talented Kendra Dantes (@kendradantesmusic on instagram) who wrote an original song inspired by Book of Fire after reading. Check out ‘I miss the sun’ on youtube or via my amazon author page:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=57&v=C7XKYmgFNWM&feature=emb_logo

4: Are you a plotter or pantser?

I’m a complete mix, though I do like drawing 10,000 word ‘mind maps’ when things aren’t flowing and my characters feel a little lost

5: Have your characters ever ‘gone off script’ – hijacked your story and taken it in a direction you didn’t expect?

Yes – and this is reassuring sometimes, the feeling your story has taken on a beat of its own and is owning the plot. Characters should drive the plot and part of the magic of writing is knowing you are only ever partly in control.

6: If you could spend time with any character from any of your books, who would it be and what would you do?

Unus the Cyclops or Lake the Draco-chimera. I’d sit and chat with Unus in the hope some of his worldly wisdom would rub off. I’d also love to fly to the edge of the horizon with Lake – as she is the mother of all mythical creatures this is entirely possible.

7: Which of your characters can you say you would least get along with in real life?

Rajid – his unpredictability makes him dangerous & unreliable

8: Do you read your reviews?

I read those reviews I’m sent or come across, but I don’t go looking for them, and I try to limit my Goodreads use to updating my own profile & lists etc

9: What has been the toughest criticism you have been given since becoming a published author?

When are you going to write a grown-up book?

10: What is the best compliment you have received?

Book of Fire is similar to both The Hunger Games & Divergent, but at the same time it’s its own masterpiece!
This was a recent amazon review 🙂

11: Do you have a day job when you are not writing? If so, what do you do?

I’m Mum to a very active 10 and 8yo plus I contract as a freelance PR

12: Can you name three authors who have inspired your writing?

So many to choose from. Madeline Miller, Cassandra Clare, Laini Taylor

13: What was your favourite book as a child?

The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (among many many others)

14: What scene in your latest book was the hardest scene to write, without giving away too many spoilers?

A certain big plot moment when Talia, Aelia & August make it across the mined dirt land on bareback Aurochs (badass unicorns) to the outside forest. A much-loved character had a final moment and I may have even shed a tear

15: Do you have any other writing friends? If so, can you name a few and have any of them given you a piece of advice you have considered invaluable on your publishing journey?

I’ve met many brilliant writing friends along the course of my journey, not least of all the scribblers – my writing group from the 2015 Curtis Brown writing YA novels course – and without whom I’d have been lost throughout the publication of the Book of Fire series.

Also, a special shout-out to Katharine & Elizabeth Corr – Authors of The Witch’s Kiss Trilogy & A Throne of Swans & A Crown of Talons 2020/2021 & Catherine Johnson – Author of so many wonderful books including Freedom. Catherine was my tutor on the Curtis Brown creative writing course and taught me that éverything matters’ when writing.

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Michelle is a firm believer in magic, and that ancient doorways to other worlds can still be found if we look hard enough. She is also a hopeless scribbleaholic and, when left to her own devices, likes nothing better than to dream up new fantasy worlds in the back of a dog-eared notebook. Doctors say they’re unlikely to find a cure any time soon.

In between scribbling, Michelle love reading, running, attempting to play bluegrass and beach treasure-hunting with her two daughters (dreamers-in-training).

Find out more about Michelle on her website https://michellekenney.co.uk/books

STORM OF ASH

The brand new novel from Michelle Kenney, author of the Book of Fire and City of Dust!
As Talia treks back through the treacherous North Mountains, she knows only three things:

Pantheon has stolen nearly everyone she loves;
Her blood is the only control over the Voynich’s oldest secret;
And Cassius won’t stop hunting Arafel until every last outsider is destroyed.

Will Talia finally face her legacy and defeat Cassius before it is too late?

BUY HERE

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