This week's spotlight falls on Dan Wright, author of
Amanda Moonstone: The Missing Prince.
Amanda Moonstone: The Missing Prince is a fantasy suitable for kids and adults.
Blurb: Threatened with
eviction, Amanda Moonstone stumbles across a lost Prince, of which
there is a reward for his safe return. But what Amanda doesn’t know
is that this “reward” is actually a wicked plan created by the
tyrannical King Kimera, who will stop at nothing to keep his claim on
the Royal Throne intact. Even murdering the Prince.
However, finding the
Prince may just be the key to undoing the one mistake that has
haunted her for over a year. Because being a sorceress comes with a
terrible price...
From the shadows, a
mysterious man in black watches every step Amanda takes. But what is
his purpose? And what part does the insidious Blood gem (her most
guarded of gems) have to play in Amanda's future?
Extract: Chapter 1
Ashfeld
Town
Amanda
crushed up ingredients in her bowl, grinding and then mixing them
into a thick paste. The mixture was one part each of roseflower and
cromiweed, two parts bone dust, and a dash of salt. When she was
done, she double-checked the recipe.
“Okay,” Amanda mumbled to herself, “now we have to
mix it with fresh water and then stir it with some red draught
potion—boiled.”
She checked the red draught—it had already begun to
bubble. She pointed a finger at the glass bottle and the flames
increased ever so slightly in response. When she was sure the flame
didn’t require her attention, she mixed the paste with a vial of
water and stirred it until it was thick and syrupy, creating a honey
colour. She then pointed towards the red mixture. The glass container
hovered in the air, lifted by Amanda’s will alone.
She checked the scroll again. “Add
two litres worth of boiling red draught to the mix. Measurements must
be exact to get the desired effect.
“Well, here goes nothing.”
The red draught hovered over the vial of syrup. She
could barely contain her excitement. If she got the mixture right,
this would be a bestseller. She had been desperate to get a hold of
the ingredients, and they had not come cheap. It would all be worth
it when the potion was complete.
This is the one, she thought.
This is the one that’s going to solve all my
problems.
The end of the bottle tipped towards the awaiting syrup,
a line of red liquid gradually trickling its way to the end of the
bottle.
What would happen? Would there be an explosion—a burst
of light? Mixing different potions often had different effects. She
held her breath.
A thump at her front door broke her concentration. The
red mixture dropped from the air and crashed to the floor, spilling
its contents everywhere. Amanda could only stare as her months of
preparation had come to naught.
“Rats!”
The thumping on her door continued. Grumbling, Amanda
stormed over to see who dared disturbed her work. She put on her best
pout and flung the door open.
“Yes?”
When she saw who it was, she instantly regretted her
tone.
“Oh…er…hello, Miss Berger.”
Miss Berger was a rotund woman with hair the colour of
mouldy parchment. Her face seemed to be permanently etched with
disagreement, as if it were impossible for her to smile. She glared
at Amanda with fists on her wide hips.
“Er, lovely day we’re having,” Amanda said, trying
to make polite conversation.
“You know what day it is, Moonstone?” Berger crowed.
“Er…the last day of the month?”
“It’s the first of the month.” Berger held out a
hand. “Pay up.”
Rent. Oh, bother.
“Ah,” Amanda stuttered. “Yes…you see, there has
been a little bit of a drought in sales recently and…well, you
know, making potions is expensive.” She laughed nervously, but
Berger’s frowning eyebrows and curled lip gave Amanda the
impression that she didn’t see the humour in that statement. “I
need ingredients and…well, they aren’t cheap.”
“You don’t have it, do you?”
“Give me just one more month and I swear
I’ll have it.”
“That’s what you said last
month, and the month
before that—and the month before that! In fact, you’ve said
little else for the last five
months! My patience is wearing thin with you, Moonstone.”
“I know—I know…I’m sorry, but I promise you, I’m
working on a new potion and it’s going to be a bestseller!”
Berger gazed into her house towards the potion table.
She spotted the broken glass on the floor, and then glanced back to
Amanda.
“Er…production problems.”
“What have I told you?” Berger snapped. “You’ll
ruin the woodwork! That,” she stabbed a pudgy finger towards the
mess, “is going on your bill!”
“Really? Oh, come on…”
“I’ve been very kind to you—kinder than I should
have been after what you did. I know you had problems, but my
patience is wearing thin. One month without paying rent is bad
enough, two is unacceptable—but five? Accommodation here isn’t
free. You either pay rent or you’re out.”
Amanda was trapped. She tilted her head and narrowed her
eyes. “You know…you shouldn’t mess with a sorceress. Not when
she could use her magic to…burn you alive.”
Berger glared back, folding her arms, which was a bit of
an effort given the layers of fat padding her midsection.
“That was a bad joke,” Amanda apologised sheepishly.
“But please…can’t you just give me a little extension? I have
some really good stock to sell this time, I promise! Just a little
extension is all I ask for.”
Berger’s glare did not disappear. Amanda had used the
same plea before. This time, Berger didn’t seem convinced. “You
have until the end of the week,” she allowed.
“Well, you see, I was kind of hoping for another
couple of months or so…”
“End of the week—production
problems or not,” Berger stated sternly. “No rent, no home. Take
it or leave it.”
Berger walked away, a slight waddle in her step.
“Right,” Amanda said after her. “End of the week.
No problem.” She closed the door lightly, sighing.
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Bio: Dan lives Canterbury, Kent, UK. He picked up a love of Fantasy stories after reading The Lord of the Rings, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and numerous Roald Dahl novels. He is best known for his Draconica series, a Fantasy/Manga series that has been praised for its Anime style action, humour and illustrations. He has also had a short comic strip called Queller, which was published in an anthology for the comic Lighting Strike Presents . . . and has also been a judge for a book competition at his local school. Dan also runs various websites dedicated to the world of Draconica, a blog and he occasionally reviews books. His other hobby is playing guitar in a band called Rage of Silence. He likes all kinds of music—but he mainly listens to rock and metal, rap, some pop music and also film and video game scores. He also loves Disney and Pixar movies—often finding himself singing along to the tunes, or crying manly tears! He is also a slave to his cat, who takes up a lot of his time when he isn’t at work or writing!
Interview:
I love books with fantasy and
magic. What were some of the books you read growing up that led you
to write in this genre?
Fantasy has always been
my first love of reading and storytelling. I grew up reading Roald
Dahl novels (The BFG and The Witches were my favourite,
despite how creepy they were), but my dad also used to read me C.S.
Lewis novels as well. Later in life I became interested in medieval,
Greek and Egyptian mythology (great inspiration for Fantasy). And of
course, I can’t talk about Fantasy without mentioning Lord of
the Rings – I know it’s a bit clichéd for Fantasy writers
mentioning that, but I really love that series. Later influences
include Manga, Comics and Disney films.
Basically my novels are
a mix of many different elements of various stories I read growing
up.
Tell us about your publishing
experience and what you have learned about the writing business now
that you have one published?
I have been both self
published and published through through an indie press – although
as of early June I ended my contract with them and decided to publish
Amanda Moonstone myself. I think the most important lesson I
learned from this is that I’m better off self publishing XD.
Don’t be me wrong –
my publisher showed a lot of support and took on Amanda Moonstone,
and the editing/proofreading side of it was incredible. However, the
reason I tried to find a publisher was that I wanted to focus mainly
on the writing and leave the promotion side of things to them.
However, I found myself having to do most (if not ALL) the work my
end, so what it basically boiled down to was that I was doing most of
the work for such a small royalty share. Plus, I have to say I wasn’t
entirely happy with certain aspects of the whole process and I’m
not really sure they actually “believed” in it the way they told
me. Maybe I misread that though. In the end, being with the publisher
wasn’t really doing much to my advantage. Thankfully they were
understanding and I was able to end my contract with them without any
fuss.
If I’ve learned
anything from this experience it’s this. If you decide to look for
a publisher and find one, ask yourself “what can they do that I
can’t?” If they can give you a big push and do most of the work
for you, great. But if they basically tell you that you’ll need to
do most of the promotion/advertising – well then you probably are
wasting your time. That being said, if you can get a great publisher
that supports you, go for it! Do what’s best for you!
What are you currently working
on? Is there a sequel in the works?
As well as this series,
I have a Manga inspired Fantasy series called The Draconica Series
– of which I’ll be writing the final part of that saga very soon.
And yes I have a sequel in the works for this novel. In fact I have
about four books in the series planned, plus some short stories and
other ideas in mind. I often have about 100 ideas at once – putting
them to paper is a different story altogether.
When I tell people I'm a writer of
fantasy, they always ask me what my "real" job is.
Have you had some similar experiences and do you also wish you could
write full time and give up the "real" job?
I think every
author at some point has had this. But honestly, it doesn’t bother
me. As long as people don’t ask me if my book is like 50 Shades
of Grey (because for some people that’s the ONLY novel to have
ever existed apparently) then I’m ok.
As it happens, I have a
job that I enjoy doing, plus I have a band that I enjoy playing with.
If I could write full time that would be great, but at the moment I’m
happy where I am. I also have kinda come to the realisation that I
will never be a bestselling author – and I say that as a realist
and not a pessimist – but as long as I enjoy what I’m doing then
that’s great.
For those that are reading this,
what can you tell them about your book that might convince them to
give it a try?
If you guys love Elsa
from Frozen then you’ll love the character of Amanda. She’s
a sassy sorceress with plenty of great magic, but also a tragic
backstory that many can relate to. Her journey is one of redemption
and she learns the true meaning of happiness by the end. You’ll
also have stunning artwork throughout that perfectly captures the
whimsical nature of this world and its characters. It’s a fun,
magical read for readers of all ages.
