{"id":1191,"date":"2012-05-23T11:05:27","date_gmt":"2012-05-23T16:05:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/?p=1191"},"modified":"2022-09-18T21:58:05","modified_gmt":"2022-09-19T02:58:05","slug":"interview-with-author-l-s-fayne-excerpt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/wp\/interview-with-author-l-s-fayne-excerpt\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with, author, L. S. Fayne + excerpt"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"L.S.<\/span><\/a>Today we have crossed the digital divide to speak with, author, L. S. Fayne. She\u00a0writes charming fantasy novels full of familial love, magic and vivacious characters, that are generally split into two series:<\/span><\/p>\n

19th Century Series: The O’Byrne Daughters<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Budding Magic: Book One<\/em><\/span>
\n It’s Just Magic!: Book Two<\/em><\/span>
\n Gathering of the Raven: Book Three<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

20th Century Series: Druantia’s Children\u2028<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Christmas in the House of O’Byrne: Book One<\/em><\/span>
\n Druantia’s Braids: Book Two<\/em><\/span>
\n There Can’t Be Shadows Without Light: Book Three<\/em><\/span>
\n Book Four expected soon ______________________________________________________<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Hello, and thank you for being here. I know you were born in Norwalk, California and lived in Santa Cruz until you were ten, when your family moved to Oregon. Why don\u2019t you start by telling us a little bit more about yourself and your books?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

To say my biological family is dysfunctional is being polite. My mother was neglectful, and when she wasn\u2019t being neglectful, she was mean. My father was never there for us. He had a way of dissecting his life, and my brother and I were not very important to him. My brother and I used to fight horribly. I blame my parents for not protecting me against him. My arms were always covered in bruises.<\/span><\/p>\n

My books are written from my deepest fantasies. In them, the sisters are strong and tight. It is them against the world and they would do anything, anything to protect that bond.<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t dwell on my childhood. I was out of my father\u2019s house as soon as I was capable. I fell in love with my husband and married him at age 24. He\u2019s gentle and strong. His family is so opposite from mine that at first I didn\u2019t believe that they were for real. It is through them that I discovered the love and bonding of which I write in my books today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have a favorite among your books?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Christmas in the House of O\u2019Byrne is my favorite book. It isn\u2019t my best, because it was my first, but it was the book in which I discovered a type of freedom that I hadn\u2019t known before. In it, I could make dreams come true. It\u2019s warm, funny, and tight with family interactions.<\/span><\/p>\n

You seem to know a lot about Druids. Did you do a lot of research before writing them?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I did a lot of research dealing with Ireland\u2019s history. Although it was the Druids who brought universal learning to Europe, there doesn\u2019t seem to be a lot of writings about the Druids themselves. It is also known that they brought in metal weaponry, which their \u201cfriends\u201d then used against them. It is believed that the women were just as powerful as the men. I try to understand the time, and then let logic fill in the gaps.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2028Where do you get your ideas for your books?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I try to imagine what a magical, Druid like, family would be like in today\u2019s society if they had never been separated from their own religious and magical heritage. I wrote the modern series first, and then became so fascinated with the seven sisters who migrated to America that I started writing about them as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

As far as ideas, look out to a crowd of people. Every one of them has a story. Let the imagination loose. Also, I allow myself to daydream. Something, I had to relearn.<\/span><\/p>\n

How long does it take you to write a book?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I publish around two books a year. A lot of the work and time goes into the editing, formatting, and art processes. The first draft usually comes rather quickly, but it takes a lot more to get it from first draft to published work.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also easy to get distracted and write on other subjects. It\u2019s important to allow this to keep the ideas flowing and free. I don\u2019t get writers block. I get writers distraction.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you consider to be the hardest part?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Editing, definitely. I have to channel a different part of the brain, and put aside the fact that I wrote it. It\u2019s also hard to see the words, and not the imagery already going on in my head. I have to have help with this whole process. I\u2019m very open to copy editing. I struggle with content editing, but realize that if one person doesn\u2019t get it, neither will others. I have to rework what is wrong. To be believable, it has to follow some type of logic, even if it\u2019s \u201cmagic\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you imagine your readers, what are they like?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When I first started writing, I imagined young adults, mostly girls. It\u2019s very shocking to do a book signing. You suddenly aren\u2019t imagining the reader. They are staring right at you. It makes you, or should make you, more morally responsible. We have no control over who can read our books. I started putting an intended audience note on the copyright page. I\u2019m not real comfortable with children reading my books no matter how advanced they are in reading.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I want people to think and to feel! I want people to open towards different ideas and views. It\u2019s an opportunity. I also like to entertain. I like to make people laugh. I want to provide some escapism.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of the characters have a very distinct personality. How did you come up with them? How do you keep them straight in your head?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I love Mercedes Lackey\u2019s work. I realized it was because of her worlds. I created a world that I could relate to. I actually have a family tree for the modern series. For the seven sisters, I used astrology to create the initial personalities. Their birthdays are listed in, Druantia\u2019s Braids as a part of their mother\u2019s diary. When you understand the different styles and ages, you can imagine how they might react to situations and to each other. I also take notes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Would you consider the sister\u2019s aunt to be an evil or tragic character?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Both. Her choices were selfish and evil. She had the same opportunities as her sister. Her sister had the same evil mother, Sadie. They choose different ways of being. She was tragic because of the waste of her life. She had love, but threw it away. She could have focused on giving and receiving love. Druantia would have helped her if she had been willing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Which sister do you think you are most like and why?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Since the sisters are all a part of me that\u2019s a hard question. Vevila actually has my birthday. In these books she is young and doesn\u2019t have anything like my childhood, but I like her. She has my favorite fantasy gifts, language and singing. She is strong and independent. My favorite sister is Rhoswen. She\u2019s not to concerned about what other\u2019s think.<\/span><\/p>\n

Can you share a little of your current work with us?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This is a little piece of fun from Book Four of Druantia\u2019s Children. It will be the next to be published. I think the name is, \u201cWeb of Oaths\u201d. Names sometimes change. Remember, it\u2019s still a draft.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeri reached out for Natilie\u2019s mug. She laughed as she filled it. Natilie looked at the mug with chagrin. It was a big, pink elephant. She was also wearing big, pink elephant slippers. Jeri couldn\u2019t remember seeing them before. They looked fluffy and fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMore and more of my stuff is getting Tawnyized,\u201d Natilie sighed. \u201cThe Dumbo the Elephant movie was on this morning\u2014and poof\u2014my mug is an elephant. She transformed it and then laughed and laughed. She thought it was so funny.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCome on,\u201d Jeri smiled, \u201cadmit it. You laughed, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI did,\u201d Natilie admitted with a wry smile. \u201cIt was only afterwards that I realized she had transformed my favorite<\/em> mug. It fit my hand perfectly\u2014well\u2014it used to. I was lucky about my shoes. I hated those, but these are lovely.\u201d Natilie lifted up her fuzzy slippers. \u201cWhat is it about bad shoes anyway? They just don\u2019t wear out, and I can\u2019t seem to throw them away.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDonate them,\u201d Jeri suggested.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey aren\u2019t good enough,\u201d Natilie wrinkled her nose.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeri smiled as she watched Natilie. Natilie was strong again\u2014vibrant. She had that type of energy which made everyone feel good. People loved to be around her lively spirit and her dry humor. It was good to have her back!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s Tawny doing with the poofing<\/em>?\u201d Jeri asked her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAmber is dealing with it,\u201d Natilie sighed with relief. \u201cI\u2019m so glad she\u2019s back. She seems to have a natural understanding on how to teach a toddler how to not burn down the house. She\u2019s so calm.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAmber isn\u2019t afraid,\u201d Jeri nodded. \u201cThe last thing we want is to scare Tawny. You can\u2019t control a gift if you are afraid of it. We are lucky to have a fire bearer. It\u2019s a really rare gift. Now, we have two.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSort of,\u201d Natilie grimaced, \u201cTawny\u2019s abilities aren\u2019t quite like our gifts. Her gifts are some kind of arcane power she inherited from Faerie. The energy doesn\u2019t come from within her, so she doesn\u2019t get tired from it. It doesn\u2019t teach her control. There are no ramifications to her for abusing it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d Jeri paused, \u201cso she could change every mug in the world to pink elephants and never tire out. That\u2019s a bit scary\u2014although\u2014we could use that and set up a franchise with them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, could we?\u201d Natilie laughed looking down at her mug. \u201cThere is no doubting her sweet soul. We just have to teach her the right things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaking of which,\u201d Jeri smiled her warning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeri and Natilie paused as they watched the door slowly swing inward. Two toddlers stood in the doorway, hand-in-hand. Travis and Tawny looked in with huge eyes. Travis laughed with a gurgle upon seeing Jeri. His blue eyes sparkled. Tawny looked in with a more serious expression. Travis pulled Tawny further into the room.<\/span><\/p>\n

Travis was just a month older than Tawny, but was already leading her into mischief. Travis had his father\u2019s crisp blue eyes, and his mother\u2019s dark brown locks. He stood an inch taller than Tawny. Tawny had golden hair. The tips of her pointed ears just peeked out from her hair.\u00a0 Her eyes were an unusual shade of gold, the eyes of a tiger, with long golden lashes. Both were wearing little blue jeans and t-shirts. Travis\u2019s t-shirt was blue, Tawny\u2019s pink. They saw Natilie\u2019s mug and giggled.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFound it,\u201d Tawny pointed at the mug. \u201cNana said to change the things back. Said it was rude. How would I like it if someone did that to dolly\u2014changed her into an elephant? I wouldn\u2019t like that at all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI told you Jeri was here,\u201d Travis told Tawny. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAh, Ah,\u201d Natilie lifted her finger. \u201cTalk so Jeri can understand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Travis frowned at his sister and tried again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEri here,\u201d Travis mouthed the words slowly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Natilie smiled, \u201cJeri is here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHi rascals,\u201d Jeri greeted them with a grin. \u201cWhat are you playing?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were looking for those things to change back,\u201d Tawny told her. \u201cSorry about your car.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeri looked at her blankly. Tawny looked at her mother, and stomped her foot. Jeri had to smother a laugh.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJeri\u2019s language is harder,\u201d Tawny complained.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Natilie responded back in Elfin, \u201cbut that is the only words she knows. You know both, so it is up to you to talk to her so she understands you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeri looked at them and couldn\u2019t help the snort that slipped past her lips. Natilie heard her but didn\u2019t look up. It was just that Natilie sounded so funny when she talked like that. To Jeri\u2019s ear, it just sounded like baby talk\u2014gibberish. Jeri didn\u2019t know what she was saying, but she had Tawny\u2019s and Travis\u2019s full attention. They knew exactly what she was saying. Jeri could see it in their eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Natilie had been given the base Faerie language by a little elfin creature just before Tawny had been born. It had astounded and amused Natilie to realize that baby talk was actually a language, and that she could understand everything the babies were saying. It was challenging to teach them a language which they had no use for. They could understand the words, but had little desire to say them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCame to change cupp and hoos,\u201d Tawny pointed at the Dumbo mug and then down to Natilie\u2019s feet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Natilie nodded, but had mixed feelings about both things being transformed back. Now, she kind of wished they could stay that way, but Lidia was right, Tawny needed to stop changing things.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot the slippers though,\u201d Natilie compromised. \u201cThey are better than before. I like them this way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tawny gave her an enchanting smile. Travis giggled with delight.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeri was surprised when the mug glowed and changed back to the way it was\u2014fit and all.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVery good!\u201d Jeri chanted to Tawny. \u201cThat was amazing!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tawny gave Jeri a dimpled grin. Travis nudged her and her grin dropped. Tears filled her eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCar too bad,\u201d Tawny told her, \u201cnot do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCar?\u201d Jeri asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Natilie looked out towards the yard, and had to get a grip on the laugher which wanted to burst out. It really wasn\u2019t funny\u2014not real. Jeri\u2019s eyes narrowed as she followed Natilie\u2019s gaze. Her brand new Mercedes had been changed to a large pink elephant.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Jeri exclaimed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt does have wheels,\u201d Natilie smothered a snort.<\/span><\/p>\n

****<\/span><\/p>\n

Is there anything you would like to share with potential readers?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you so much for your gift of reading. Without you, our work is just empty pieces of paper.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you for being her today and bringing a excerpt! That was a pleasant surprise. I\u2019ve read the first two O\u2019Bryne books, which I will be reviewing on the 25th<\/sup>, and look forward to the opportunity to read the 3rd<\/sup>. If you are a fan on innocent magical adventures, I highly recommend the O’Bryne sisters series.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>More information about Mrs. Fayne can be found here:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong>http:\/\/www.fayneartists.com\/<\/span><\/a><\/span>
\n www.amazon.com\/L.S. Fayne<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Be sure to come back on May 25th to read my review of Budding Magic<\/em> and It’s Just Magic.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Budding<\/span><\/a>\"It's<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today we have crossed the digital divide to speak with, author, L. S. Fayne. She\u00a0writes charming fantasy novels full of familial love, magic and vivacious characters, that are generally split into two series: 19th Century Series: The O’Byrne Daughters Budding Magic: Book One It’s Just Magic!: Book Two Gathering of the Raven: Book Three 20th […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,10,14],"tags":[22,30,82,1850],"class_list":["post-1191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-booksbook-review","category-interview-2","category-writing","tag-author","tag-book","tag-interview","tag-l-s-fayne"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1191"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25277,"href":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1191\/revisions\/25277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}