Author Interview – Nastasia Peters

Can you share a little of your current work with us? There are several things I am working on when it comes to writing. Regius, of course, which is on its way to being published – formatting hell and all that jazz. Seers that is going through revision, which is another kind of hell really and I think the fact that it’s the last book in the series is pressuring me a bit! To distract myself from Seers trying to eat me whole, I have some ideas for a new story. If things go well, I will be turning it into a free webcomic. The idea of mixing my writing and illustration together seems like a lot of fun! Like the Zinc Trilogy, it would be fantasy and adventure themed, with a hint of romance. Since the story would unfold at a much slower process than writing a novel would allow, I may even tackle another story whilst I work on this webcomic idea.

How did you come up with the title? Figuring out the titles for the Zinc Trilogy was I think one of the easier things I had to make a decision on. I dabbled with some short sentences at first such as ‘Bloody Secrets’ and hoping to keep the word ‘Bloody’ present in each installment – but then I wasn’t sure bloody as a word could represent it well as the book isn’t so much about being bloody as it is about blood and bloodlines. I whiplashed away from that and realized that the titles for my type of people in the stories itself were pretty to pronounce and hear; Altors, Regius and Seers, so I ended up just going with that!

Can you tell us about your main character? There are 2 main characters in Altors, Solenum and Calycanthus. Solenum is a very strong little lady, fearless to a fault, kind of a tomboy and although skinny as a stick, she’s always hungry and eats like a bear. She’s is also a bit damaged having witnessed some heavy things and doesn’t always know how to cope or get through them. She doesn’t like to box things up though, rather blurt them out instantly. Her need for adventure surprises herself and I think that saying, ‘curiosity killed the cat’, is a saying she unfortunately doesn’t know about or else she might be more careful. Her love for her best friend, Calycanthus, is the strongest thing she knows and she refuses to give up on it.

About Calycanthus. He’s not so much shy as he is very much to himself. He likes to think a lot, too much for his own good if you ask me. He’ll open up to those he feels closest too, such as Solenum or Delph, a childhood friend. Cali (short for Calycanthus) is one of those that are without judgment and haven’t got a mean bone in their body. That doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t hurt a fly, but he would only do so if he believed there was no other way. Where Solenum’s curiosity is more adventure focused and physical boundaries, Calycanthus is a book eater and if it were a consumable liquid, he would drink knowledge.

Who designed the cover? I did, I’m an illustrator when I’m not writing or working. It was tough. I had to be the illustrator and the client at the same time. I was able to go “I’m working for this really annoying client at the moment.” … “It’s me, I’m the annoying client.”

Who is your publisher? Myself, technically, but – Smashwords for the Ebook and Createspace for the Print Copy! I’m very happy with both.

Why did you choose to write this particular book? It was a short story at first, well, not that short. One of my longest short stories ever and I was really proud of the result. I also knew that my writing wasn’t advanced enough to tackle anything quite as serious as novel writing. I wanted to get more experience in and to be honest, the idea of turning that short story into a proper trilogy novel hadn’t crossed my mind. It was a fleeting thought one wintery afternoon while I happened to be talking to my very good friend (who is Zinc’s editor today) whilst we were working on a collaborative story together. I’d had planned things out in my head a bit, mused them at her and she then told me to just do it. So I did.

How do you promote this book? Guest posts, twitter shares, facebook shout outs. Forum hunting, review hunting, reader hunting. I seek out interviews, do mutual promotion with many other lovely authors, put up banners or ads on websites. I try to remain regularly active on social media, but make sure I don’t update so much so, that my posts become annoying.

Will you write others in this same genre? Most likely!

How important do you think villains are in a story? Very! They are what make your heroes, heroes.

Do you have any advice for writers? It’s totally okay to screw up. It’s also completely natural to panic when you do. It’s like falling down. You get back up. Although I do see the appeal in just lying on the floor and staying there for a bit. But eventually, yeah, you get back up and unscrew things.

Following the murder of their legal guardian, two best friends suffer the thing they fear most, separation. Solenum and Calycanthus must each take daring paths to find their way back to one another, and as they do so, they will uncover the secrets their land has been hiding beneath a carefully constructed facade for centuries.

An underground war is taking place, kept hidden from the public eye by those called the Altors and Regius. Although unaware at first of what their involvement brings to the people of Zinc, Calycanthus close proximity to the Altors allows him to uncover parts of the truth, creating an important turning point that may just be the kick the Altors need to beat the Regius. But it is Solenum who will find the possible key that can lead to a peaceful future.

Is Galax an exception to the rule that says all Regius are cruel? Will Solenum be able to show him that he may just be the example everyone needs in order to end the hidden turmoil? Meanwhile, can Calycanthus figure out the intentions of the mysterious man named Datura?

New friendships are made and love is found as the two best friends work hard on finding their way back to one another throughout a world they’d always lived in, but was a mystery up until now.

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Genre – Fantasy / Young Adult

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Nastasia Peters on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://zincuniverse.com/