Author Bio And Interview With A. A. Warne
A. A. Warne is a multi-talented artist. First she was a painter, later she decided to study pottery, but what truly expanded her universe, was writing. Now, after graduating from the Western Sydney University in arts, she is a full-time author. Amanda writes speculative fiction, strange, dark and twisted stories. She published her recent book this month, 'The Reluctant Wizard', but she will have another release soon, in December 1, 'The Magic In Fire', an antology.
If you want to know more about A. A. Warne and her works:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/a-a-warne
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19055682.A_A_Warne
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DDH4T1J
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-reluctant-wizard-aa-warne/1137374622
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AAWarne
The interview
1. You had a new book release this month, and soon, in December, you will have another one. Usually how long it takes for you to write a novel?
The time it takes to write each book depends on how much research is involved. If it's heavy in research then it takes me longer to write so I can get all the elements working correctly. For The Reluctant Wizard, it's not too heavy on research but rather the result of many years of clicking ideas together. It is set in a made up world where Eli, the main character, dictated to me what everything was like. Concealed Power on the other hand is set in Phoenix, Arizona and all buildings are set on places I saw driving through Google Maps. Then Heavy Dirty Soul was by far my most researched book because each chapter was set in a different culture as well as a different time period. So that has been my longest book to write and now I'm finding the process much quicker.
2. Mysteries and stories with a magic school were always popular, to be honest, also one of my soft spots too. Did you have any inspiration for your book, 'The Reluctant Wizard', or any myth, legend, which you used for it?
I read and research widely, so wide that there isn't even a point of interest. Whatever grabs my attention, and I jump into Alice's rabbit hole and find myself in the strangest of places. I love ancient texts, old stories, religious and cultural references, and although I read everything I can get my hands on, I haven't necessarily drawn on one particular thing for The Reluctant Wizard. Instead I questioned certain elements about our own society. Primarily, if everyone had magic - what would our society be like? In my opinion, I think everything would be emphasised, the good and the bad, and I wanted to see what that would be like from a child's perspective growing up and told war is normal. War should never be normalized and it takes a compassionate and empathetic child to challenge those norms.
3. I have read, that you are not just an author, but an artist, a painter too. Do you like creating illustrations to your stories?
I haven't painted or drawn anything for my own stories. It's something that I might do in the future but right now my head is swarming full of different characters all competing for my attention. I'm working with some amazing and talented artists and we workshop ideas to get the final product. Generally when I'm writing, I have the concept in mind and I plant a seed into the artist's mind and they sprout that seed into works that amaze me. For The Reluctant Wizard, I always saw a wizard child sitting on a dark throne looking board and not wanting to be there. Borjo Nekro created a throne that was so intriguing and amazing that even those elements made it back into the book.
4. There is any genre, or topic, where you always wanted to try to create a story? If yes, why that genre, or topic?
I wrote a story called Portals which was featured in The Beginnings Anthology. I would love to expand that into an on-going series but it scares me. I'm worried I wont do it justice. Portals is about a universal rule that once a planet reaches maximum population, portals show up and equally distribute people across the universe. The thing about this story is that it's massive and so far I've only managed to capture it in a couple of thousand words. It is a story that I have been brainstorming for years, just to nervous to finish it.
5. You write speculative fiction. Do you have any favourite book in the genre, which you would recommend?
I love fantasy in all shapes especially when it breaks the limits or pushes the genre into new territory. I'm loving Australian Authors Ross Kingston's The Elemental Chronicles and Marie Gin's The Last Regret. I can't wait for book two of Beth Hodgson's Fragments of Light - epic is all proportions.
6. Writer's block usually comes in the worst possible time. When did you have your most annoying writer's block? How did you fight it?
Writer's block is a serious thing and I suffered from it a few years ago when I allowed too many voices and opinions in. I'm my own person and I'm hyperactive. I can think of three things at once, including three different stories at once. So when I'm finishing a book, I'm thinking of other books and planning what I'm having for dinner. This very concept overloads people's perception and they persuaded me to calm my brain down and work on one book at a time. This was like drinking poison. I stopped completely. I couldn't write, read or even research because I couldn't think properly. Now I stop listening to "advice." I'm my own person and I know how I work at my best. So that's what I concentrate on doing now - being my best creative person and that means working on several books at once.
7. You have three children and you are a full time writer. Do you have any favourite time to write?
I prefer to write towards the afternoon. I'm not a morning person and take a solid jug of coffee to wake up. The kids float in and out during the afternoon and they drive me to get more words down before I'm thrown off the computer and they take over. So I'm conscious of the time, my word count, and upcoming deadlines.
8. Did you have any project, scene or character, which was especially difficult to write? Why?
Great question. Funny you should mention difficulty, it's not that I find writing difficult, it's more that I get intimidated by my own ideas. They're nothing short of epic and I get overwhelmed that I'm not going to write it properly or do the story justice. So I tend to spend my time convincing myself that I can do this. When I get the manuscript back from the editor and it has lots of positive notes, it helps me throw away the impostor syndrome and inspired me to get on with the next book, only to face the overwhelming story again.
9. Dark re-tellings of classic fairy tales seem to be quite popular nowadays. What do you think about such stories?
I love fairytales in their traditional forms. I can't tell you how many versions of the Grimm's I own. The originals can be quite dark in themselves and find it ironic that after the sugar-coated lessons children have received in the last fifty years, that they are going back to darker versions. It's also surprising that a lot of people are unaware of the lessons that were behind traditional fairy tales but that always makes it interesting to see if they've been weaved into the new ones. I would love to see more children versions of Ancient Greek and Egyptian stories written for children.
10. If you could live anywhere, as anything, in what fictional, or real universe would you live, as what? Why?
This might sound crazy but I would love to live as a nomad. Packing only what I can carry and having no particular direction in mind, I would set off and explore everything this world has to offer. The heat of Asia, the snow of Europe, those tracks that leads into the mountains, the deserts that house lost civilizations. This world is a fascinating place and even though I tend to live inside of my imagination, I want to see more of it.
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