I don’t do a lot of guest posting on here, but from time to time I do have interest in promoting work that’s interesting to me. S.D. Grimm is the author of the forthcoming YA fantasy novel, Scarlet Moon, from Gilead Publishing. I’ve gotten to know her in the past through the writing community and in particular author Nadine Brandes, who also has a new YA fantasy, A Time To Rise, out now. Ms. Grimm early on gave me the privilege of reading a few of her chapters back in the day when she was submitting her novel, and I was very impressed with her work, and happy to see that it’s coming to market!
You can find out more about her here:
Facebook, Twitter, Website, Pintrest
And once more, Scarlet Moon on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Scarlet-Moon-Children-Blood-Book/dp/1683700503/
Scarlet Moon is coming out tomorrow, October 21st, marking her debut novel. So I figured it’d be interesting to sit down and ask her a few questions about the book and herself! Enjoy.
What is Scarlet Moon about?
Told from multiple point of view characters, Scarlet Moon is a young adult fantasy about Jayden, a seventeen-year-old, dagger-wielding, storm-detecting orphan who can save the race of people known as the Feravolk from a sorceress queen bent on annihilating them. Maybe they should have thought of that before they killed Jayden’s family.
What message would you like the readers to take away from the book?
What do you hope readers will take away from Scarlet Moon? Persevere. And real love always protects, no matter the cost.
Where did you draw your inspiration from in writing this?
I love animals. The novel I wrote prior to this one (which sits in a proverbial dark, secret drawer) was about animals. All the characters were animals. And one day I decided to get serious about publishing. Then I decided I was going to write about people. I still wanted animals to be a big part of the story so I chose to write about a race of people who can commune with nature. These people basically get certain talents or abilities from animals—and they reciprocate, giving animals certain abilities too. Then I researched some really cool animals, including mythological ones, and the story world really grew from there.
Why do you write speculative fiction?
Magic. I love the endless creative possibilities of fantasy and sci-fi. Something about this genre sparks to life the kid inside me that makes me want to share the wonder I experience in believing and hoping and knowing the impossible is somehow possible. I like to encourage others to embrace that inner child and believe it too.
Magic. That’s important. I know everyone, self-included, would demand to know which Hogwarts House you’d be sorted into?
Gryffindor!
How did the book come about from a publishing perspective?
Well, I started writing this novel titled Scarlet Moon—actually it wasn’t titled that until much later—after writing as a hobby for years. I wrote the story until I had 330k words. It was pretty epic. And then I let a few people read it: adult men. They told me in no uncertain terms that it was written for a young adult audience. Huh. So I started researching what it takes to get published. I learned I had a long way to go. And I’m still learning, but after refining, learning, honing my craft, learning how to query, entering and winning contests, finally starting to get good rejections, getting short pieces published, attending conferences, hiring and editor, and a lot of networking, I finally arrived in the right place at the right time. And I was offered a contract for Scarlet Moon from more than one publisher. And I was offered representation on a different novel—yet to be published—by two different agents. I feel like the journey is actually just starting.
Scarlet Moon seems like seasons would be an important motif to it, what’s your favorite season?
Autumn! I love the colors, that I can wear jea ns, that the weather is awesome, and I adore bonfires, pumpkins, and leather jackets!
What’s something we wouldn’t know about you just by looking?
Well, I do like Brazilain jiu jitsu, kickboxing, fencing, and shooting. Archery is next.
Defintiely wouldn’t have expected that! What a cool, interesting hobby. That’s all for now. If this sounds interesting to you as it did me, check out S.D. Grimm’s Scarlet Moon, out tomorrow on Amazon!
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