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Author Interview: N.M. Mac Athur

Author of The Price of Prophecy is here to tell us a little more about herself and her inspiration. Click here to find out more about the novel and where you can buy it.

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How long have you had the idea for?

I’ve been wanting to do something with fairy tales for a pretty long time now—I’d say about four or five years if I had to guess. This specific idea I stared thinking about three years ago.

What inspired you to write it?

I love fantasy and folk tales, I always have. The classics really inspired me: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, The Snow Queen, etc. I was interested in twisting those fairy tales and giving those classic characters more depth, but I really didn’t know how to do it. Then I read Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. He combined fantasy with reality in a way that I really enjoyed and twisted the Greek myths in a way that was both fresh and familiar. That got me going. I finished reading the whole series and began to write Destined almost immediately after.

What is your favourite part of the book (without spoilers!)?

That’s got to be the climax (around chapter 30 and beyond). It was so much fun to write, and I definitely poured the most emotion into that part of the book. Even the people who’ve read the book tell me that the “30” chapters were the most gripping.

Who is your favourite character?

My favourite favourite characters come later on in the series, but for this book, I think my favourite character (besides Destan) is Wilhelm Grimm. He’s comic relief and breaks up a lot of the seriousness in the story. He’s a blast to write for because he’s got a very vivid imagination, like me.

As it stands, how many books do you think will be in the series?

There will be six books in the series. I’ve finished the rough drafts for 2-5 and I’m working on the sixth and final book right now.

And what about the rest of the series? Any hints to where Destan is heading?

I won’t go into too much detail, but I will tell you that Destan won’t be restricted to Grimm and Andersen’s fairy tales. He’ll be subjected to myths, legends, and even of few stories from classic literature. He’s not going to be restricted to Germany either. Destan definitely has some traveling in his future.

I think half the fun of this series is all the historical and fictional characters that Destan meets during his adventures—some of them are pretty difficult to figure out at first glance, so you’ve really got to play close attention to the little details.

The book is centred around fairytales – which is your favourite?
The Snow Queen. Definitely The Snow Queen. That’s been my favourite fairy tale since I was a little girl and it will always have a special place in my heart.

When did you start writing / first knew you wanted to be an author?

I’ve been writing since primary school—I even won an award for writing a play when I was about ten or so. I had always liked to do creative things, but the idea of being an author didn’t really appeal to me until I was about eighteen. That’s when I really began to write.

What is your favourite book?

That’s a really difficult question. I’ve read lots of books that I’ve come to adore (Peter Pan, The Book of Lost Things, Treasure Island), but I have to say that my hands-down favourite is 20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne—I’m a sucker for the classics.

Do you have any other passions in life?

I only have two passions: reading and writing. That is what I spend my days doing and I love it—I couldn’t imagine doing anything more fulfilling. As I have told many of my friends and family, reading and writing are my “great loves”.

What are you future writing plans? Are there any other series or one off books you have planned?

Right now, I have one more series planned out—it will be a sci-fi/adventure series, and my homage to superheroes. I also plan on writing a Prince of Prophecy spin-off book about one of the characters you’ll meet in the second novel, The Prince of Prophecy Vol. II: Cursed. I think that book will be a series of short stories as opposed to a full blown novel. I have a few ideas written down for future books and series, but I haven’t delved too deeply into those yet—I’ve got enough on my plate as it is.

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Support this self-published book today! It really is a fantastic read, one that will remind you of your childhood whilst putting a fresh new spin on traditional tales.

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