I am very excited today to be kicking off the blog tour for Rage of the Dragon King by J. Keller Ford with an interview with the author herself!
I wrote a review of this
book already and really enjoyed it. Special thanks to the publisher Month 9 Books for providing me the review copy, and to
Chapter By Chapter Blog Tours & Promotions for giving me the opportunity to participate in another blog tour. Be sure to check out
the other stops on the tour for more reviews, guest posts & more!
Rage of The Dragaon King
Publisher: Month 9 Books
Release Date: October 24, 2017
David and Charlotte paid their dues. They traveled to
another realm, battled the Dragon King, recovered the all important magic key
to the mage tunnels, and found the heir to the throne of Hirth, as promised.
Now it's time to go home. There’s just one problem: the powerful crystals
needed to activate the tunnels have been stolen…and David’s parents have
mysteriously disappeared along with them. Guess who’s not going home to
Havendale anytime soon.
Eric Hamden, squire extraordinaire, survived the poisonous knick
of a shadowmorth’s blade, rescued the king of Hirth from the bowels of the
dragon's lair, and confronted a heartbreaking betrayal that nearly got him
killed. Still reeling from the news, Eric sets his sights on a daring rescue
only to wind up in a prison of his own with David and Charlotte at his side.
But rescues come in strange ways, and before they know it, the three end up in
David's hometown of Havendale...and Eric gets a quick schooling in Modern Life
101. He'd rather fight a dragon.
With secrets, lies and betrayals meeting them at every turn,
David, Charlotte and Eric soon discover that Havendale isn't the sanctuary
they'd hoped for. Even their best-laid plans can't prepare them for the danger
that stalks them. This time, no amount of magic or prayers can save them. War
has been declared, and in the final battle, someone must make the ultimate
sacrifice. Let the battle begin.
INTERVIEW
Thanks
so much for taking the time to talk about the second book in your Chronicles of
Fallhollow series with me today!
One of the things that I love about this series is your world building. I love
the Fallhollow setting. What inspired you in how you created this world?
Hi, Deanna. Thank you for having me!!
I wish I could give you
some fairy tale answer but in reality, this world kind of formed on its own as
I wrote. I knew I wanted forests and open fields, mountains, etc., but the rest
evolved as the characters came to life. In the first book, I put myself in the
shoes of Twiller, the little meadow gnome, and I tried to think, if I were a
gnome, what kind of magic place would I want to live in? Of course my travels
as kid to many castles all over Germany provided a ‘child’s memory’ of their
settings. I’m sure the castles and manors and gardens appeared larger than they
really are. I tried to bring in that larger than life feeling to my
settings. Take a normal setting and make
it magical. The imagination is incredible if you let your mind loose.
Will we ever find out
about David's parents? Do they play a bigger role than we know yet?
Yes, it is a spoiler I’ll let you in on, but
you won’t find out until the 3rd and final book. And yes, they’ll play a much bigger part than
you can even imagine.
Are you a plotter or do you write as it comes to you?
I guess you could say I’m a little of both,
though I do tend to lean more towards pantser.
I have a plot in my mind about where I want the story to go, but I let
the characters lead the way. They surprise even me sometimes.
What inspired you to write this epic fantasy series?
This story has been brewing in my mind in some
fashion since I was about 6 or 7 years old. It started out with Tinkerbell king
of fairies and dogs you could ride to something that resembled middle grade to
what it is today. My dad, who was in the Army was a huge influence for Trog. I grew up an Army brat and visited castles
all over Germany, so what better setting for fairies and such than castles. As
I grew up and got older and saw the things that happened in the world, I knew I
had to turn the tale into something meaningful with my dad as that knight in
shining armor. I hear a lot of people love Trog, so in a way, they love my dad.
I think that’s pretty cool.
Do you have a favorite quote or scene
from this book? Any particular reason why?
I have lots of favorite scenes but I think my
two favorite are when we see Charlotte stand up for herself and then the
drive-thru scene with Eric.
I like Charlotte’s scene because she’s tired
of being treated like a fragile object that needs protection. She wants to be
seen as something more, something valuable. She wants to be seen as a woman,
not a child and she wants David to admit to how he feels about her. It’s not
too much to ask, but he falls into the stereotypical male role: she’s a girl
and I have to protect her. It’s endearing but at the same time, very frustrating
for a teen girl trying to assert her independence.
The drive-thru scene was just plain fun to
write. Here is this medieval squire so completely out of his element and he’s
trying to maneuver his way through our
world and some things just don’t make sense – like talking boxes in
drive-thru’s and brain-freeze.
The covers for your books are AMAZING! Are you involved in the process at
all? If you could change anything about them, what would it be?
In the beginning with book one, I was able to
tell the publisher what I was kind of looking for with my cover. I wanted
something that screamed fantasy but I wanted classic elegance. I was overjoyed when I got to see the first
book cover. It was better than anything
I could have hoped for.
Rage of the Dragon King needed to stay within
the same sort of branding. The publisher and I went back and forth with a few
ideas and decided on this one. I think it is amazing and I am completely
thrilled.
So, I have to ask, there is going to be another book, right?? Do you have any
other projects going on that you are allowed to talk about yet?
Book 3, the final book in the trilogy, was just
submitted to my publisher. I don’t have any dates yet when we’re looking at
that one being published, but I’m hoping sometime in the spring of next year.
It may be longer than that. Trust me, the whole world will know when I
know. J
I do have another project I’m working on and
I’m not at liberty to discuss it at this time. Let’s just say it has a dragon,
a gorgeous fae prince, a fae hunter and the girl who loves them both.
Thanks again for stopping by and talking about Rage of The Dragon King. I hope
this sequel is really successful, and wish you the best of luck!
Thank you so much, Deanna. It’s been a pleasure to be here.
I would like to suggest to anyone who is interested in reading RAGE OF THE
DRAGON KING, please read IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON KING first, or you might
be a little confused about what’s going on in this book. To all of you, thank
you so much for your interest and support. I couldn’t do any of this without
you, the fans.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. (Jenny) Keller Ford is a scribbler of speculative fiction and YA tales.
As an Army brat, she traveled the world and wandered the halls of some of
Germany’s most extraordinary castles in hopes of finding snarky dragons,
chivalrous knights, and wondrous magic to permeate her imagination. What she
found remains etched in her topsy-turvy mind and oozes out in sweeping tales of
courage, sacrifice, honor and everlasting love.
When not torturing her keyboard or trying to silence the voices in her head,
Jenny spends time collecting seashells, bowling, screaming on roller coasters
and traveling. She is a mom to four magnificent and noble offspring and
currently lives in paradise on the west coast of Florida with a menagerie of
royal pets, and her own quirky knight who was brave enough to marry her.
Published works include The Passing of Millie Hudson, a paranormal short
story that can be found in READING GLASSES. IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON KING is
her debut novel and the first installment in the Chronicles of Fallhollow
Trilogy. Book 2 in the series is slated for Fall 2016.
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Happy Reads Everyone!
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