Hellllloooooo everyone! Today I have a special post! An interview with the wonderful author of Spirit Women, Zara Quinten, and a fun giveaway! Let's get started.
A Bit About The Book:
Title: SPIRIT WOMAN
Author: Zara Quentin
Pub. Date: January 30, 2018
Publisher: Zara Quentin
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Find it: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Goodreads
A missing dragon. A friend in mortal danger. A young woman’s quest to save them both…
A missing dragon. A friend in mortal danger. A young woman’s quest to save them both…
Jade Gariq is wanted for treason. After narrowly escaping death at the hands of her uncle, she’s hiding
in the Premyan jungle. Separated from her mother and brothers, at least she’s safe and
alive—for now. But when a friend falls suddenly ill, and her fate is linked to the mysterious
disappearance of a Dragon-God, Jade cannot hide any longer.
Sent beyond the Portal, Jade is not the only one searching for the Dragon-God.
She faces invisible cities, a criminal underworld, and an old enemy disguised as a friend.
To make matters worse, she’s a wanted criminal with a reward out for her capture.
It will take all of Jade’s determination to pursue her quest.
Can she evade her enemies and find the Dragon-God before death claims her friend
About Zara:
Zara Quentin is the author of Airwoman, the first book in the Airwoman series. She was raised in Adelaide, Australia, with one younger sister. Zara grew up with a strong sense of adventure, which she inherited from her parents, who took her and her sister on trips to the United States, Europe, and Asia.She also inherited a love of reading from her mother. Throughout her childhood she explored fictional places through books, and in particular, through fantasy novels. She’d turn the black and white text on the page into the colourful worlds of her imagination.
After graduating from high school, Zara studied at the University of Adelaide and has lived in France, London, and Auckland, New Zealand. She is always determined to fit in as much travel as possible, spending time in Europe, the United States, southern Africa, Morocco, Peru, the Pacific and south-east Asia.
Zara now resides in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and three children. She is currently working on the next instalment in the Airwoman series.
Find Zara:
The Interview Part!
Let's welcome the wonderful Zara Quentin!
- First so we can get to know you what are some of your main hobbies other than writing?
I love going to the beach (we have a beautiful local beach), reading and drinking coffee
(preferably together), hanging out with my husband and kids, and binging TV shows on Netflix.
(preferably together), hanging out with my husband and kids, and binging TV shows on Netflix.
- Binging Netflix is definitely one of the best things. How did you get the inspiration for Spirit Women?
In general, I get lots of inspiration from travel, especially for the world-building aspects of my books, and
this comes out in the Airwoman series, as continued in Spirit Woman (the second book in the series).
Looking specifically at Spirit Woman, I had an idea of how I wanted the series to end when I was writing
Airwoman, so when I sat down to think about what I wanted the second story to be, I set myself to thinking
about how Jade (the main character) would be feeling after the conclusion of the first book, and what the
antagonist and some of the other important characters would be doing or wanting to do, then I considered
how these different aspects might play out. I did a lot of brainstorming about what might happen and how
the characters might react until I settled on the plot for the story.
this comes out in the Airwoman series, as continued in Spirit Woman (the second book in the series).
Looking specifically at Spirit Woman, I had an idea of how I wanted the series to end when I was writing
Airwoman, so when I sat down to think about what I wanted the second story to be, I set myself to thinking
about how Jade (the main character) would be feeling after the conclusion of the first book, and what the
antagonist and some of the other important characters would be doing or wanting to do, then I considered
how these different aspects might play out. I did a lot of brainstorming about what might happen and how
the characters might react until I settled on the plot for the story.
- Cool! What does your average day look like?
I have three young kids so my average day involves less writing than I would like. Most of my day is taken
up with looking after kids, school drop-offs and pick-ups, entertaining a toddler, cooking and persuading the
kids to eat, and trying to fit in a little exercise. I don’t usually get time to write until after I’ve put the kids to
bed. Then, I try to do an hour or two of writing before I collapse into bed myself! This goes some way to
explaining why I am not the most productive of writers…
up with looking after kids, school drop-offs and pick-ups, entertaining a toddler, cooking and persuading the
kids to eat, and trying to fit in a little exercise. I don’t usually get time to write until after I’ve put the kids to
bed. Then, I try to do an hour or two of writing before I collapse into bed myself! This goes some way to
explaining why I am not the most productive of writers…
- What advice would you give your younger self if you could?
Practice, practice, practice. When I was younger, I thought creativity and story-telling was some sort of
innate gift that I didn’t have. As I’ve grown older and braver (and given myself permission to make
mistakes), I’ve come to learn that talent is a combination of both gift and practice. I wish I’d spent more
time when I was younger practicing my writing and learning about the craft of storytelling.
innate gift that I didn’t have. As I’ve grown older and braver (and given myself permission to make
mistakes), I’ve come to learn that talent is a combination of both gift and practice. I wish I’d spent more
time when I was younger practicing my writing and learning about the craft of storytelling.
- Yessss same! What’s your favorite thing about writing?
First and foremost, it’s an outlet for my imagination—it’s an excuse for dreaming with my eyes open!
I also love the challenge of writing stories—coming up with ideas that make me want to take to the
keyboard, developing the ideas into a story that will keep readers turning the pages, improving that story
until it is the best I can make it. Writing a novel is a big project and impossible to get right the first time
around. The challenge of taking an idea, then molding it into a story, remolding it until it stands up by itself,
then polishing the finished product until it sparkles—that’s what I love about it.
I also love the challenge of writing stories—coming up with ideas that make me want to take to the
keyboard, developing the ideas into a story that will keep readers turning the pages, improving that story
until it is the best I can make it. Writing a novel is a big project and impossible to get right the first time
around. The challenge of taking an idea, then molding it into a story, remolding it until it stands up by itself,
then polishing the finished product until it sparkles—that’s what I love about it.
- That's so beautiful and I so agree! If you could have coffee and sit down with one author who would it be?
I think I’d like to sit down with Leigh Bardugo, who is my current favorite author. I loved her duology
(Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom) and I’d love to chat with her about where she gets her ideas and how
she develops them into the awesome stories that she tells.
(Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom) and I’d love to chat with her about where she gets her ideas and how
she develops them into the awesome stories that she tells.
- I love her books so much!! What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
The best writing advice is to learn the craft of story-telling. While we instinctively know what a good story
is when we see it, it’s not so easy to reproduce that effect when we’re telling our own stories. It is important
to pull apart stories that you love, work out what it is that makes them so good, then apply that to your own
work.
is when we see it, it’s not so easy to reproduce that effect when we’re telling our own stories. It is important
to pull apart stories that you love, work out what it is that makes them so good, then apply that to your own
work.
- How long did it take for Spirit Women to go from an idea to an actual book and could you tell a bit about the process?
It probably took me about 15 months from sitting down to develop my ideas for the second book of the
Airwoman series before I hit publish. Since Spirit Woman is the second book in the Airwoman series,
I had a starting point and I had an idea of what I wanted the third book to be, but Spirit Woman was a much
vaguer story in my mind. It took me awhile to get to the point where I felt the story wouldn’t fall into
‘second book syndrome’ (where the second book in the series is just setting up the third/ final installment
in the series), which I really didn’t want for this book. So I spent several months brainstorming, planning,
and took the time to get some feedback from a story coach about the story outline, before I started drafting.
Then I took a couple of months on the first draft, rested the manuscript for awhile, went through a
self-editing process which took another couple of months, then sent it off to my editor for a couple of rounds
of edits, then proofreading, before I felt I had the story ready to publish.
Airwoman series before I hit publish. Since Spirit Woman is the second book in the Airwoman series,
I had a starting point and I had an idea of what I wanted the third book to be, but Spirit Woman was a much
vaguer story in my mind. It took me awhile to get to the point where I felt the story wouldn’t fall into
‘second book syndrome’ (where the second book in the series is just setting up the third/ final installment
in the series), which I really didn’t want for this book. So I spent several months brainstorming, planning,
and took the time to get some feedback from a story coach about the story outline, before I started drafting.
Then I took a couple of months on the first draft, rested the manuscript for awhile, went through a
self-editing process which took another couple of months, then sent it off to my editor for a couple of rounds
of edits, then proofreading, before I felt I had the story ready to publish.
- What are the easiest and hardest parts of the writing process for you?
I’m not sure that any part of the process is particularly ‘easy’ (which is one of the things I enjoy about
writing—it’s a constant challenge), but one of the most enjoyable parts is the first draft. Once I’m into the
flow of drafting, I get to put myself into the main character’s shoes and imagine myself moving through the
story just as she does. I find that part of the writing to be very creative and very rewarding. One of the
hardest parts of the writing process is making a start. I find it difficult to take the first leap into drafting the
first draft. I tend to procrastinate at the point when I’ve done enough planning to dive into the writing,
but there’s a level of fear that I’m not going to be able to pull it off, which stops me from taking the first
step. Once I’ve taken that step, then the process gets really enjoyable, (and I know this) but taking that first
step is hard!
writing—it’s a constant challenge), but one of the most enjoyable parts is the first draft. Once I’m into the
flow of drafting, I get to put myself into the main character’s shoes and imagine myself moving through the
story just as she does. I find that part of the writing to be very creative and very rewarding. One of the
hardest parts of the writing process is making a start. I find it difficult to take the first leap into drafting the
first draft. I tend to procrastinate at the point when I’ve done enough planning to dive into the writing,
but there’s a level of fear that I’m not going to be able to pull it off, which stops me from taking the first
step. Once I’ve taken that step, then the process gets really enjoyable, (and I know this) but taking that first
step is hard!
Check out the other stops in the tour:
Annnnnnddddd noooooowwwwww what everyooonnnne hasss beeeennnn waaaaitttttinnnggg forrrrr
The Giveaway!
You can enter for your chance to win one out of two 25$ book vouchers for your favorite ebook retailers!! Pretty coolio if I do say so myself. :) You can either enter here!
I hope y'all liked that! It is currently spring break for me so I'm planning on filming a travel diary of the place I'm going, catching up on everyone's blogs, and writing some more posts! If you aren't following me on both Bloglovin' and Instagram I would love if you could!
Should I do more posts like this? What kind of posts do you want to see from me in the future? What's your favorite book? Do you have any book suggestions?
Should I do more posts like this? What kind of posts do you want to see from me in the future? What's your favorite book? Do you have any book suggestions?
Thanks for having me Nabila! Any other questions? I’m happy to answer them in the comments x
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