Fallenwood by Leslie D. Soule #authorinterview @Goddessfish 

  
  Fallenwood – where your dreams and nightmares are only a portal away…

Fallenwood—a land where magic is the life force, dragons are sages, and wizards good and evil battle for supremacy. When 23-year-old Ash is thrust into the middle of Fallenwood’s power struggles, she is also forced to face her own inner battles. Life on Earth was hard enough on Ash, who is locked in grief for her stepfather. Now, the fate of Fallenwood rests on her shoulders. She must destroy the Great Crystal—the catalyst for all the land’s magic. As the kingdoms prepare for war, Ash must look inside to find the power to save the world, and herself.

Read an excerpt from the book:

“Now then, I’ll explain the meaning of the unicorn and the crown.” Ash continued munching on wontons as she listened.  

“In Fallenwood, there is a black unicorn—the only one of its kind. It was the horse of the Great  King Palomides Hyperion back in the Golden Age of Fallenwood. It grazes in a field called The Field of Death  that stands between two rivers. It is so named because if anyone tries to  capture the black unicorn, it will run  them through with its horn, whether the person uses magic or not. But what’s important is that the unicorn has  become a symbol of freedom and power.  

“People fight for symbols. They go to war for them. They die for them, and devote their lives to the search for  them and any number of things. The black unicorn was bred of a black warhorse stallion and a unicorn mare, and  it has a name that I will not repeat here. If any of the six kingdoms of Fallenwood were to get their hands on the  black unicorn, it would give that kingdom legitimacy over all others.   

“So even today, there are people who stand at the edges of the rivers and watch the unfortunate individuals who  have been sent by their respective kingdoms to embark on what is essentially a suicide mission. People have tried  nets, magic barriers, teaming up on the unicorn, all to no avail. Every person who has tried to catch the black  unicorn has been gored to death. The black unicorn symbolizes a power that will not be dominated.   

“We are all caught up in the struggle between the unicorn and the crown. You’ll learn all you need to know about  the philosophy of the crown when we arrive at Castle Evendown.”  

An interview with the author:

Favorite place in the world?

I love to be in the woods. I’ve always found a lot of solace, comfort, and magic there. 

Have you ever Googled yourself?

 I do Google myself from time to time, to see what shows up. Usually it’s just the blog posts I’ve done or places where my site is at. I was shocked though, when I tried Googling myself on Amazon and a movie called Killer Babe For The CIA popped up. But shocked in a good way. If people think that’s me, sweet. 😛

If you were stranded on a deserted island, who would you want for company?

Well, I’ve always been kind of a “lone wolf”, really, but let’s say I would be writing on this island. So I would need a muse. To keep things interesting, the muse would be a bit stand-offish – a blond martial artist, let’s say, rather headstrong, and I would watch and wonder at him the way you look at the stars. Perhaps not the best company, but THAT would give me something to write about. 

If you could visit any place in the world or a place created by a book, where would you visit?

I would visit the elves of Middle Earth and go to Rivendell. I’ve always been fascinated by Tolkien’s elves and by Middle Earth. 

What are your thoughts on ebooks? (i.e. love them, hate them, wave of the future)

I think ebooks are a great new thing. They’ve really opened a door for so many authors and for new genres to emerge that otherwise might not have become popular. Publishers can afford with ebooks to take risks that they might not have before. Also, ebooks are great for long trips. Would you ever in the past have been able to carry a thousand books with you? What magic is this? Well now, you can. 

Tell us about your latest book.

 Fallenwood is the journey of Ash Kensington, who runs away from her stepfather’s ash-scattering ceremony and finds her way into a fantasy world. It is there that she learns how to cope with life and its overwhelming forms and difficulties. 

Each author has his or her own inspiring journey. How did you begin writing?

 Like Ash, I felt like my world crumbled around me at the tender age of nineteen years old. Also like her, I worked through things for a few years, but still found myself in the bitter depths of despair by the age of twenty-three, working a numbing retail job as I put myself through college because I didn’t know what else to do with my life. I was alone, scared, and abandoned, and I wished back then that I had a Fallenwood to escape to. I would have run for that portal in the woods for all I was worth. Like Freud writes, every fantasy is a form of wish fulfillment. 

What is on your writing playlist for this book? There is a song by Aerosmith called “Beyond Beautiful” and in the beginning, before the lyrics start, it’s like I can just see Ash running through the woods to that background music. 

Are you working on anything new?

Yes. I am currently working on my first-ever sci fi novel, called Hybrid Space. It’s about a group of human-animal hybrids who escape from the ship of an evil Empire. 

Tell us in one sentence why we should read your book.

 Fallenwood is the journey of a young woman who decided to never give up, no matter what. 

About the author:

My name is Leslie Soule (pronounced “soul” like that part of you that is innate). I am an author who loves to try new genres and Sacramento, California is my hometown. I have an M.A. in English from National University and am a member of the English Chapter of the Sac State Almuni Association, and the Sacramento branch of the California Writers Club (as of June 2014).

Amazon Buy Link:  http://amzn.to/1bxVL9l

Website: http://www.lesliesoule.com

Leslie will be awarding $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Follow the tour here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2015/01/nbtm-tour-fallenwood-by-leslie-d-soule.html
a Rafflecopter giveaway