Today's guest author on Interviews with Dante is Vanessa Kings. Enjoy learning a bit about this wonderful author.
Please tell us a little about yourself.
I was born on March 14th of 1985, in Rosario, Argentina. At the age of 10 I wrote my first fairy tale, I found writing comforting and distracting. After that day, I continued writing every time I felt the need of leaving realty behind.
Tell us about your latest book.
Chronicles of the Nocturnal Forest, is my first and latest published book. When I was about 12 years old I started putting some of my stories together and connecting them to create a novel. When I decided to really write my book, I translated them to English and added Melanie, who wasn't a character of the stories but it is the glue to connect them all.
The main inspiration I had was the books and movies of my childhood and the need to bring that kind of stories back. As I say on my blog and twitter, my main purpose is to bring the fantasy back, the old fashioned fairy-tale kind of fantasy.
What do you have coming out in the future?
I have two series that I am writing simultaneously. My main series is “Stories of the fairy of my dreams”, the first book, “Chronicles of the Nocturnal Forest”, was published on December, and it is the first of three. It takes place on a magical island called The Kingdom of Astebeth. The second book of the series, “The diary of Amanda”, is expected to be published on October of this year.
My secondary series, “The Dream Fairy’s Bed Time Stories”, is a collection of ten short stories, based on secondary characters of The Kingdom of Astebeth that didn’t have their own stories on the main three books. The first book, “The Princess of the Enchanted Forest”, is available on paperback now, and the e-book will be released on February 28th. The second short story will be published on May.
I am also planning to write a book called “Spells of the Dream Fairy” or something like that, I haven’t decided the name yet, it would be an anthology of poems.
What genre do you enjoy writing the most and why?
I write fantasy stories, mostly involving fairies, goblins, princesses, dragons and knights. I always say that I am trying to bring the old-fashioned fairy tale kind of books, that’s what I loved to read when I was a kid.
What I enjoy most about writing is leaving the real world for a little while; when I write I submerge into my fantasy world and everything else disappear for a moment. It is almost like reading, but writing gives the opportunity to live your own adventure and create your own characters.
From where do you draw your inspiration?
When I was a child I used to read a lot of fantasy stories, and always dreamt of experiencing one myself, just as my books' characters did. When I wrote my first fairy tale at the age of 10, I felt like living the story I was writing, it was even better than reading. So, I continued writing, just to live all this stories that were inside of my mind.
What inspires me most is to know that there are still countless stories that I need to tell, I have to keep writing to make them real. I honestly don't know where they come from, some are inspired by books or movies of my childhood, but some are completely new.
Do you ever base your characters on real people in your life?
No. All my characters are fictional and created on my mind from scratch.
What authors inspire your writing?
My favorite book of all times is "Alice in Wonderland", by Lewis Carrol. I read it about 30 times and never get bored of it. I always loved the lack of logic on the story, the crazy characters and their clever conversations.
A book that marked me forever, was "The never ending story", by Michael Ende. I always dreamt of being pulled into one of my books and be the hero of the story, I read it countless times with the hope of hearing the voice of the Childlike Empress calling for my help. It never happened, but it was the main influence to my writing.
What kind of books do you like to read?
I read mostly Fantasy and Romance but I like other genres like Sci-Fi and Mystery too.
I was born on March 14th of 1985, in Rosario, Argentina. At the age of 10 I wrote my first fairy tale, I found writing comforting and distracting. After that day, I continued writing every time I felt the need of leaving realty behind.
Tell us about your latest book.
Chronicles of the Nocturnal Forest, is my first and latest published book. When I was about 12 years old I started putting some of my stories together and connecting them to create a novel. When I decided to really write my book, I translated them to English and added Melanie, who wasn't a character of the stories but it is the glue to connect them all.
The main inspiration I had was the books and movies of my childhood and the need to bring that kind of stories back. As I say on my blog and twitter, my main purpose is to bring the fantasy back, the old fashioned fairy-tale kind of fantasy.
What do you have coming out in the future?
I have two series that I am writing simultaneously. My main series is “Stories of the fairy of my dreams”, the first book, “Chronicles of the Nocturnal Forest”, was published on December, and it is the first of three. It takes place on a magical island called The Kingdom of Astebeth. The second book of the series, “The diary of Amanda”, is expected to be published on October of this year.
My secondary series, “The Dream Fairy’s Bed Time Stories”, is a collection of ten short stories, based on secondary characters of The Kingdom of Astebeth that didn’t have their own stories on the main three books. The first book, “The Princess of the Enchanted Forest”, is available on paperback now, and the e-book will be released on February 28th. The second short story will be published on May.
I am also planning to write a book called “Spells of the Dream Fairy” or something like that, I haven’t decided the name yet, it would be an anthology of poems.
What genre do you enjoy writing the most and why?
I write fantasy stories, mostly involving fairies, goblins, princesses, dragons and knights. I always say that I am trying to bring the old-fashioned fairy tale kind of books, that’s what I loved to read when I was a kid.
What I enjoy most about writing is leaving the real world for a little while; when I write I submerge into my fantasy world and everything else disappear for a moment. It is almost like reading, but writing gives the opportunity to live your own adventure and create your own characters.
From where do you draw your inspiration?
When I was a child I used to read a lot of fantasy stories, and always dreamt of experiencing one myself, just as my books' characters did. When I wrote my first fairy tale at the age of 10, I felt like living the story I was writing, it was even better than reading. So, I continued writing, just to live all this stories that were inside of my mind.
What inspires me most is to know that there are still countless stories that I need to tell, I have to keep writing to make them real. I honestly don't know where they come from, some are inspired by books or movies of my childhood, but some are completely new.
Do you ever base your characters on real people in your life?
No. All my characters are fictional and created on my mind from scratch.
What authors inspire your writing?
My favorite book of all times is "Alice in Wonderland", by Lewis Carrol. I read it about 30 times and never get bored of it. I always loved the lack of logic on the story, the crazy characters and their clever conversations.
A book that marked me forever, was "The never ending story", by Michael Ende. I always dreamt of being pulled into one of my books and be the hero of the story, I read it countless times with the hope of hearing the voice of the Childlike Empress calling for my help. It never happened, but it was the main influence to my writing.
What kind of books do you like to read?
I read mostly Fantasy and Romance but I like other genres like Sci-Fi and Mystery too.
Sixteen-year-old, Melanie, is living an ordinary, boring life when one night she is transported in her dreams to the Kingdom of Astebeth. Night after night, the fairy of her dreams will tell her the stories of the inhabitants of the Kingdom, its town, and the magical Nocturnal Forest nearby. A forest full of magical creatures where the impossible can happen. When Melanie starts dreaming about the Kingdom of Astebeth, at first she thinks it's just another recurring dream from the fantasy books she is used to reading, but as she goes deeper and deeper into the stories of the inhabitants of the Kingdom, she starts suspecting that she may be more than than just a witness of this magical story. Follow her on her incredible journeys that will take her to magical places and beyond Earth itself to discover the magical secret of the Nocturnal Forest in the first part of The Fairy of my Dreams trilogy.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I like to spend time with my son, read, watch tv and play video games (mmorpgs).
Is your book a stand alone or a series?
“Chronicles of the Nocturnal Forest” is the first book of a series of three. The second book’s title is “The diary of Amanda” and the third “Return to Astebeth”
What celebrity would you chose to play the main character(s) in the movie rendition of your book?
Main Characters:
Melanie: Jo Masterson
Shaylee (The fairy of my dreams): Scarlett Johansson
Sarah: Anne Hathaway
Thomas: Douglas Booth
Arthur: Taylor Lautner
Gabriel: Beau Mirchoff
Nasha: Hellen Mirren
Young Lucy: Emma Stone
Old Lucy: Susan Sarandon
Anylith: Alexis Bledel
Enola: Margaret Cho
Cirrus: Kenneth Choi
Child Julia: Mia Hays
Young Julia: Carey Mulligan
Anne: Dianna Agron
Edward: Nicholas Hoult
Patrick: Ben Barnes
Have you joined any writer’s groups?
Yes, I am a part of various Goodreads and Facebook writers/authors group. The one I like more is “Authors” from facebook.
Which of your characters is your favorite and why?
The main character of “Chronicles of the Nocturnal Forest” is Melanie. She is sixteen and has a boring, regular life. She goes to school, doesn’t have any friends, is a victim of bullying and doesn’t have the best relationship with her parents. She often gets in trouble for drawing during class, and it’s very close of being expelled or transferred to a different school, which, along with her low grades, won’t help with her college applications. The only things that help her to get through all that are her books and her dreams. She loves to read fantasy stories and often dreams that she is a part of them. One night, on her dream, she sees herself sitting next to a fairy. The fairy starts telling her the story of Sarah and Thomas, two young inhabitants of Astebeth. Melanie starts dreaming of this magical Island almost every night, always hearing the stories that the fairy tells her.
I like Melanie because she is strong. She has to deal with a lot of bad things, but she doesn’t lose her innocence and her dreams. She stands for what she believes, she knows what she wants and she will do anything to accomplish it. She is sweet and kind, but she won’t let anyone stand on her way and stop her. During the first book of the series she goes from a disoriented teenager to a very mature college freshman, her journey and adventures in Astebeth were a big part of her life and helped her during the hard path of becoming a woman.
Do you have a careful plan when plotting your stories or do you just go with the flow?
I have a 17 months old son, I am a stay at home mom, without a nanny or a maid or any family close to me to help, so I don’t have the chance to make myself a writing routine, I just use whatever free time I can find, and I stay awake at night if its needed. Sometimes I dream or have ideas coming to my mind and I can’t sleep until I write them down, so when I am working on a book, I have a lot of sleepless nights. I am very grateful for always having coffee in my house.
I do plan the plot, I make a list of all the scenes I want to include and then I just write them down, when I finish I add details from the beginning and then start to fix and format the file.
With many publishing routes available today, which felt the most reliable to you when it came to the many choices?
I wanted my story to be out and ready to be read now. Right now. I didn’t want to spend months or even years trying to find a publisher, having companies tell me that it wasn’t good enough for they to publish it. I love my book, I love my characters and my story, and I know there will be people that will love it too. So I decided to self-publish, to have my book out there for anyone that wants to read it as soon as it was finished. Maybe in the future I decide to find a publisher, but for now I am happy with the self-publishing process, I love to be the one that takes all the important decisions as cover, illustrations and if I keep the edition as the editor sent it or I want to go back to something I feel it fits better.
I like to spend time with my son, read, watch tv and play video games (mmorpgs).
Is your book a stand alone or a series?
“Chronicles of the Nocturnal Forest” is the first book of a series of three. The second book’s title is “The diary of Amanda” and the third “Return to Astebeth”
What celebrity would you chose to play the main character(s) in the movie rendition of your book?
Main Characters:
Melanie: Jo Masterson
Shaylee (The fairy of my dreams): Scarlett Johansson
Sarah: Anne Hathaway
Thomas: Douglas Booth
Arthur: Taylor Lautner
Gabriel: Beau Mirchoff
Nasha: Hellen Mirren
Young Lucy: Emma Stone
Old Lucy: Susan Sarandon
Anylith: Alexis Bledel
Enola: Margaret Cho
Cirrus: Kenneth Choi
Child Julia: Mia Hays
Young Julia: Carey Mulligan
Anne: Dianna Agron
Edward: Nicholas Hoult
Patrick: Ben Barnes
Have you joined any writer’s groups?
Yes, I am a part of various Goodreads and Facebook writers/authors group. The one I like more is “Authors” from facebook.
Which of your characters is your favorite and why?
The main character of “Chronicles of the Nocturnal Forest” is Melanie. She is sixteen and has a boring, regular life. She goes to school, doesn’t have any friends, is a victim of bullying and doesn’t have the best relationship with her parents. She often gets in trouble for drawing during class, and it’s very close of being expelled or transferred to a different school, which, along with her low grades, won’t help with her college applications. The only things that help her to get through all that are her books and her dreams. She loves to read fantasy stories and often dreams that she is a part of them. One night, on her dream, she sees herself sitting next to a fairy. The fairy starts telling her the story of Sarah and Thomas, two young inhabitants of Astebeth. Melanie starts dreaming of this magical Island almost every night, always hearing the stories that the fairy tells her.
I like Melanie because she is strong. She has to deal with a lot of bad things, but she doesn’t lose her innocence and her dreams. She stands for what she believes, she knows what she wants and she will do anything to accomplish it. She is sweet and kind, but she won’t let anyone stand on her way and stop her. During the first book of the series she goes from a disoriented teenager to a very mature college freshman, her journey and adventures in Astebeth were a big part of her life and helped her during the hard path of becoming a woman.
Do you have a careful plan when plotting your stories or do you just go with the flow?
I have a 17 months old son, I am a stay at home mom, without a nanny or a maid or any family close to me to help, so I don’t have the chance to make myself a writing routine, I just use whatever free time I can find, and I stay awake at night if its needed. Sometimes I dream or have ideas coming to my mind and I can’t sleep until I write them down, so when I am working on a book, I have a lot of sleepless nights. I am very grateful for always having coffee in my house.
I do plan the plot, I make a list of all the scenes I want to include and then I just write them down, when I finish I add details from the beginning and then start to fix and format the file.
With many publishing routes available today, which felt the most reliable to you when it came to the many choices?
I wanted my story to be out and ready to be read now. Right now. I didn’t want to spend months or even years trying to find a publisher, having companies tell me that it wasn’t good enough for they to publish it. I love my book, I love my characters and my story, and I know there will be people that will love it too. So I decided to self-publish, to have my book out there for anyone that wants to read it as soon as it was finished. Maybe in the future I decide to find a publisher, but for now I am happy with the self-publishing process, I love to be the one that takes all the important decisions as cover, illustrations and if I keep the edition as the editor sent it or I want to go back to something I feel it fits better.
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