Today we are interviewing Sherry Ficklin, author of Foresight and Second Sight, a YA fantasy series. Sherry is giving away two sets of her books, so leave us a comment with your email address to be entered into the giveaway.
How did you come up with the storyline for Foresight and Second Sight?
I’ve always loved mythology, Greek especially. I’m an avid reader and I was getting kind of tired of seeing all these sort of weak female heroes in books, particularly in Young Adult books. I knew I wanted to sort of create this great modern heroes quest with a strong female lead. I re-read some of my favorite classic Greek myths, pulling from here and there, and slowly knitted the story line together. But the heart of the story didn’t pull together for me for several weeks. Then I had my first dream about Grace and Chris. I saw them in my head for the first time and when I woke up, it was like wow. From then on, it all sort of just fell into place.
Tell us a little about Grace.
Grace is a very normal teenage girl. She begins the story at her high school graduation, just before her 18th birthday. She’s sort of walking that fine line between being a teenager and being a woman. She’s young enough to be very headstrong and impulsive, but she has a very definite idea of what’s right and wrong. She makes a lot of mistakes throughout the first book especially, but she’s got this philosophy of, ‘okay. I made that mistake. I won’t make it again, but now this is how I’m going to make things right’. She doesn’t have any real inclination to follow the ‘rules’, but she does manage to accept the responsibility for her actions. She’s a great balance of mature and immature in that way. Everything else aside, the story is her journey from the girl she was to the woman she wants to be.
How does Grace find out that she is the daughter of Pandora?
She’s attacked at her graduation by a Demi-goddess. Grace’s ‘aunt’/protector Phoenix, the woman who raised her, has to spill the beans. Phoenix has tried to respect Pandora’s wish that Grace grow up like a normal human. But when that normal life is no longer possible, Phoenix (and a few others) risk their lives to get Grace to safety.
Does they Fae warrior, Chris, become Grace’s love interest?
He does. It’s fate. One of those moments when you meet someone, and there’s this instant comfort, that feeling like you’ve known them forever. Only in their case, it’s true. Chris has been looking out for Grace for a very long time. But when they finally connect, it’s like being struck by lightning.
You have Gods, Demi-Gods and Fae in your book. Are there any other mythical beings?
There’s a few. Vrukalakos, for one. They are vampire-like creatures who work for Lilith. There are also Demi-fey. They are mentioned a few times.
When did you get interested in Greek mythology?
The first time I read the Odyssey. I fell in love with the epicness of it all.
Which God/Goddess is your favorite?
In the books my favorite is Eros/Cupid. I had a lot of fun with him and his personality. From real mythology my favorite is Athena. Smart, brave, and all around kick ass.
If you had to choose an actor/actress to play your main characters and villain, who would they be?
That’s a tough one. When the first book came out a friend of mine fake-cast the book. It was pretty funny. For Grace I see someone like Spencer Locke. You can see my whole fake cast here:
Which other paranormal/fantasy YA authors do you admire?
I love James Dashner, Jeff Scott Savage, Lisa Mangum, and Rick Riordan on the YA side of things. For adult paranormal I like Judith Graves, Laurell Hamilton, and Kelly Armstrong. Oh, and my all time favorite, Jennifer Rardin, RIP.
Will there be a third book in you’re The God’s of Fate series?
Yes, Hindsight will finish out the trilogy next year. I’m really excited about it. It was hard to end the book, but I always knew where and when the story would finish. Only the how was a mystery to me.
Are you working on any new projects?
Yes, I just finished my first paranormal horror novel Palmetto Moon: Born of Blood. It’s about Sophie D’Angelo, a woman who’s been thrust to the helm of her family’s paranormal detective agency. It’s funny, and sexy, and scary all rolled into one. Someone asked me once how I would describe Sophie and my answer was, “She gets stuffed in car trunks a lot.”
Where can readers purchase your books?
The Gods of Fate books are available at all online distributers as paperbacks and e-books. The easiest places to pick them up are Barnes&Noble.com and Amazon.com.
Where can readers connect with you online?
They can reach me through my website www.sherryficklin.com and they can also sign up for my monthly newsletter and fan club at the website.
Can you share an excerpt of your book?
You can read an excerpt of Second Sight, Book 2 of the Gods of Fate series here:
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We'd like to thank Sherry for stopping in and chatting with us about her books. Be sure to listen in to our Blog Talk Radio show Wednesday at 3:30pm PST when we interview her live. Our channel link is here.
That wraps things up for us, today. Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win one of the two sets of eBooks! Thanks for stopping by.
Mythology can be such a great source of inspiration! Grace's story sounds very interesting.
ReplyDeletelordreblik(at)gmail(dot)com
This sounds interesting....I like books that weave in a little mythology!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMythology has always been very interesting. Glad to see this in your book.
ReplyDeletejohn@johnpoindexter.com
I love Greek and Roman myth, and this sounds like a fantastic read! And I love that your friend worked up a dreamcast for you.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with Foresight!!!