Writer Q&A – Audience asked questions. Feel free to ask more!
Is this a Young Adult (YA) book?
It sometimes gets classified as such, but as I like to say, it is really YYA. It's meant for middle grade and into the teens, but probably not challenging enough for the average YA reader. These books are made to be light and easy books to read, more fun and less academic.
A lot of time is spent talking about the Dark Beast and his back story. Why not spend more on the protagonists?
Since this is a series, I have time to define them with each book. I need to educate the people about the Dark Beast fast so that they know him well by the end of the book.
Although, I don’t go absent on the three leads. I talk about the Dark Beast through stories. However, I let the audience get to know the trio through their interactions with others and themselves.
How do you balance books with violence with keeping them kid friendly?
Luckily, I’m not shooting for extremely young audiences. Most of my readers should have seen an action movie already. I do have more than a little fighting, as it is about newly appointed knights going up against whatever is out there.
I try not to be too graphic or just have random violence for violence sake. Each battle should tell a story in itself, hopefully making a point. If not, I can just delete those pages.
How many books do you intend to write?
Right now, I don’t see an end. I have a very large over-arching story that can last a long time. Plus, each of my 3 characters has their own path to go down, complete with the unexpected. At this point, I’m committed to writing these characters as long as my audience allows me.