Author Interview: Louise Ann Knight

Today's author interview is with debut fantasy author, Louise Ann Knight:

Louise lives in England and loves to read, garden and wander wild places. She writes fantasy, modern and children’s fiction. She is a freelance administration and event volunteer in her local community. After working in business administration, she trained as a meditation teacher. She is currently writing the next novel and producing a children's book for release.

'Sky Drum' is available from Amazon

"Peace. Chaos. Potential. Cosmos. It will take them all to restore the sky drum. Journeys and friendships collide, in this elemental tale of old promises and new hope. Sky Drum is the first in the series about two planets, two suns and the people that unite them."

You can find out more from Louise's website

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1. What was the initial inspiration for your current book/series?

A thunderstorm several years ago reminded me of recurring childhood dreams. I’ve always been fascinated in nature and the cosmos. I began thinking about people interacting and working with them directly. Nature provided the inspiration and the dreams a landscape. I began writing characters that connected them.

2. What aspect of your genre is the most, a) satisfying and b) annoying?

I love creating names – for people, places and things. I enjoy writing about a race of people that have lived through differences and similarities in history (global equality being a difference, plant medicine being a similarity). Continuity is annoying though necessary. Sky Drum required a lot of threads to weave a story through multiple characters and across two worlds. Now that is done, going forward is simpler.

3. Which of your characters is your personal favourite and why?

I enjoy writing all the characters, in different ways. Though the protagonists on each world are my favourites, because they go through the most change in the story. Ora is seeking a lost part of herself. She is willing to dismantle what she believes and thinks, to challenge all she knows. So that she can remember ways of being, that can help others. Illik gives himself in service to a purpose he cannot fully comprehend. He is prepared to be the person that is needed, even though he doubts himself. His trust in the land that shaped him and his love for others, gives him courage in the face of the unknown. And I think everyone can identify with those things, at one time or another.

4. Do you love or loathe research? Do you plan it or look it up as you write?

I love research! I do some initially and inspiration is bound to come from the non-fiction reading I enjoy. Some research takes place as I write. For the fantasy series, as one example, I looked at the food and housing of tribes around the world and throughout history. I then created flora and fauna within the landscape that would enable people on the otherworld to create homes, depending on what climate the settles were based in.

5. If you were to write in another genre, which would it be and why?

I like modern fiction because it is so broad and children’s fiction, because I love to nurture imagination.

6. Describe your ideal writing paradise.

The seasons encourage me to experience writing in different ways. I love writing at a wooden table or in a chair, near a large window. A view of nature. Hills, meadows, beach or barrow. The light, the air, the wind through trees. Or sat on a log or blanket, in amongst it all. Candlelight on dark evenings, a blanket. I write onto a computer though first I draft on paper. I love the tactile experience of ink flowing onto a page. I re-use paper so there's a stack of leftover notebooks people passed me and sheets of printed paper. A jar of pens and pencils. Pukka teas or Lavazza coffee on the hob. Bliss!

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