Megan Derr is an outstanding writer. Having recently discovered her I've done my best to read whatever I can of hers. She has a talent that she THANKFULLY shares with all of us and I'm thrilled to have her as my Saturday Author Spotlight today.
We are going to do an interview, look at her work, and of course wrap it up with a giveaway. So, grab that coffee, tea, wine, whatever and enjoy.
Prince Allen has
trained his entire life to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious
mother, who has made their kingdom one of the wealthiest and most
influential in the empire. For the past few years he has trained to
become the new consort of the High King. The only thing no one prepared
him for was the stubborn, arrogant High King himself, who declares Allen
useless and throws him out of court.
High King Sarrica is ruling
an empire at war, and that war will grow exponentially worse if his
carefully laid plans do not come to fruition. He's overwhelmed and needs
help, as much as he hates to admit it, but it must be someone like his
late consort: a soldier, someone who understands war, who is not
unfamiliar with or afraid of the harsher elements of rule. What he
doesn't need is the delicate, pretty little politician foisted on him
right as everything goes wrong.
Publisher note: this is a
highly expanded, completely re-written version of the free short that
was previously available under the same title.
Karl leads a quiet
life—quieter than he wants, especially since getting into a fight with
one of the most powerful men in the city—but it could be worse. In a
city where super heroes and villains can level a city block in a moment,
it's a good day when nothing is destroyed, especially for the man who
sells super hero insurance.
After yet another date stands him up,
Karl heads home for another night spent reading with only his cats for
company. But a strange sound at the bus stop leads him to a shocking
discovery: Trick of the Light, a notorious villain in possession of an
impossible power, and currently the intense focus of a man hunt by the
Grand Order of Defenders.
But Karl has never had much respect for
the Order and its arrogant, cavalier super heroes. Whatever the risks,
he'd much rather spend the night helping a villain, especially since
once Trick is well enough to move Karl will probably never see him
again…
Nine gods ruled the
world, until the ultimate betrayal resulted in their destruction. Now,
the world is dying and only by restoring the Lost Gods can it be saved.
Nine
hundred years ago, the Dragons of the Three Storms, gods of chaos,
tried to destroy their land of Kundou. Only by rising up and slaying the
Dragons and stealing their power was Kundou saved. Now, that power
resides in the royal family and grants them the right to rule.
But
that power comes at a terrible price, and Prince Nankyokukai is
determined that he will be the last to pay it—even if it means
surrendering his chance with the man he has waited for his entire life.
Interview
Thank you so much, Megan, for being my spotlight today. You
are a very new to me author but the second I read The High King’s Golden Tongue
I found myself scrambling to read as much of your work as possible. I have some
questions for you so I can get to know you better and so your fans can too.
Thank you very much
for having me J And I'm still giddy you
enjoyed High King so much.
One thing that struck me as amazing the second I opened The
High Kings Golden Tongue was the map of the lands you cover in the novel. I
immediately thought of Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones with the amazing
detail and creativity. What insured the land names and what made you choose a
made up world over one we already know?
Fantasy has always
been my favorite place to play. I love starting from scratch and making up the
cultures, magic systems (though this world doesn't have those) and so on :D
Contemporary can be fun, but it's never been my thing. I've been a fantasy
junkie from day one.
The land names I just
made up. You can see where some of them were bastardized real words (Gaulden I
just took Golden and changed the o to au) but mostly I just jumble letters
together and see what I come up with :3
Where did the inspiration for THKGT come from?
It was a prompt I took
on in the MM Romance Group's Love is Always Write event a few years ago now. At
the time I could only manage a short story with the premise, but once my plate
was cleared I took it and made it the longer story it always wanted to be.
Trick of the Light is your newest release and the first book
of what looks like is going to be an awesome series. I recently read it and
loved it. Can you tell me what sorts of things we will see in this series?
Plenty of shenanigans J
Dixie's story is up next, and he is heavily involved in the systems that the
bad guys rely upon, and he's determined to fuck that system up. The third story
is about a character mentioned briefly but not introduced until the second
story: Byron, and there is much more to him than anyone has ever realized. Lots
of heroes and villains still to come, and it's all just going to get messier ;)
Are you a fan of superheroes and if so are you a DC, Marvel,
or Dark Horse fan and who’s your favorite Superhero or villain?
I'm a huge fan! Not as
big a one as my brother, who knows like PILES of stuff that blows me away, but
I followed some of them as a kid, fell out of it, and came back several years
ago when they started getting more mainstream attention and dragged me back in.
I'm equal opportunity. Batman was probably my first true love, right now I'm
loving Thor as a woman, and I'm super stoked for the Deadpool movie coming out
soon.
Who are some of your favorite authors to read?
Sasha L. Miller, A.M.
Valenza, Kirby Crow, Aleksandr Voinov, Lyn Gala, Leta Blake, Mary Holland, Lexi
Ander, Amelia Faulkner, and Katey Hawthorne. I'll try to stop at ten, I could
keep going for a while ^^
What are some the hardest parts of writing a book and what
are some of the most rewarding?
The end is always the
hardest part for me. The closer I get to the end, the slower I write. I've read
so many books that were so good right up until the end fucked it all up, and
that has instilled a paranoia in me. So the end is my struggle.
The fall out is where
I always have the most fun. That moment in the book where everything goes to
shit, everyone is angry and hurt and apart… and then I get to write it all
coming back together and that's the best moment, really and truly. All that
work, all that dithering and struggling and fearing, to finally get to the
moment at the end I was afraid of where it all comes together is the best.
If someone was to come to your home and see your writing
station, what would they see?
Something a lot like
this, though probably hella messier and with at least two cats getting in my
way
If there was a soundtrack for your life, what would it be
called?
Evil Laughter
What are you currently working on and what can we look
forward from you in 2016?
Literally today I am
working on Twilight, a sequel to Midnight that I never thought I would write,
but I cannot say no when some people ask (Sasha and Kitty in this instance).
But I am also juggling the third Anti-Heroes book, some more Dance with the
Devil short stories, the last book in the Engineered Throne trilogy, and a book
set in that same world, but on a different continent, called Hammer &
Powder.
Coming in 2016 there
is lots: The Pirate of Fathoms Deep, the sequel to High King, Shield of the
Dragon, which picks up a couple of months after Sword of the King, and The
Painted Crown which is the sequel to The Engineered Throne. There's other,
smaller stories, but those are the big ones :3
How can your fans follow you in social media: Twitter,
Facebook, Website?
@amasour
Thank you, Megan for taking the time to answer my questions.
It’s been so much fun!
It's been loads of fun, thank you again for inviting me ^__^
Giveaway
Megan Derr is being awesome and will be gifting one person ANY 3 books of hers.
Simply fill out the rafflecopter below. Winner will be contacted via email.
Contest runs until February 5th!
I want to thank Megan for being here today and I want to encourage you ALL to check out her amazing work. She's not an author you want to pass up!
Read what you review. It matters.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
