Worthy Fantasy is pleased to welcome Amanda Bradburn, author of The Keepers of Elenath to the blog today! Please enjoy the interview between Nathan Petrie and Ms. Bradburn! And check out her book!
Nathan: When did you start writing?
Amanda Bradburn: I began writing when I was about seven. It actually wasn't my idea, believe it or not! I was a hardcore reader, even at that age. One of my good friends convinced me and another girl to help her write a mystery story. She still has the manuscript, but from what I remember, it was quite laughable. Even after that summer, I never quit writing. I loved it! (And obviously still do!) I continued to write mystery up until I was about ten years old, when my Nana bought The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie for my family. I was hooked! Immediately, I began to write fantasy.
Nathan: That’s funny, because that’s almost exactly how I got into writing! But this isn’t about me so…Why did you choose to write fantasy?
Amanda Bradburn: I fell in love with fantasy, and with creating people, worlds, languages, and creatures. It just fit really well. That's not to say that I might not try something else someday. (I would really like to write another mystery, and I also have in mind a couple historical fiction that I'd like to try).
Nathan Petrie: It’s always great to be well-rounded. In reading and writing! Your first book, The Keepers of Elenath, how did it come to be published?
Nathan Petrie: It’s always great to be well-rounded. In reading and writing! Your first book, The Keepers of Elenath, how did it come to be published?
Amanda Bradburn: I began The Keepers of Elenath when was about fifteen. I had been thinking about a story line for about a year, and I finally got around to putting it on paper. For a little over a year and a half, I wrote. I would see kids my age who were movie stars and popular musicians and I would think to myself, "Their dreams are coming true. Why can't mine?" and I prayed about it for all that time. I knew that the Lord would help me get my book published if that was what He wanted for me. During that time, I did a lot of online research and came up with nothing. None of the reputable publishing houses I could find wanted unknowns, and there was no possible way that I could get an agent, or even go to a Writer's Convention.
Finally, one wintry day near Christmas 2007 my cousin and I were looking online for more Christian publishing houses, and lo and behold, I found one that took unknowns! After consulting with my parents, I asked the publisher for more information. When I looked at what it would take to get published, my heart fell and I knew that I couldn't afford it. Somehow, I had it in my mind that I could somehow pay from my royalties. :) But the Lord again provided, and it was not long before I was sending a PDF of my book to Tate Publishing Company. A long, trying six months followed, and I had given up hope of them publishing my book until in June, 2008, when they contacted me and told me I was to become a published author.
Nathan: That’s so cool! So, have you written anything else?
Nathan: That’s so cool! So, have you written anything else?
Amanda Bradburn: Most of my energies have been applied to fantasy, but in my past, I have written a few mysteries, one animal-adventure type, and lots and lots of poetry.
Nathan: Coolness! Obviously you’ve read a lot. What writing has inspired you? Any fantasies?
Amanda Bradburn: There are, as you know, lots of fantasy books out there. Tolkien and Lewis are both wonderful. Bryan Davis is phenomenal. I actually have to keep reading fantasy to help me write it. If I read something not written by a Christian author, I keep my white-out handy. :)
Nathan: I hear you on the whiteout. Though it’s nice to get other views sometimes. Keeps me on my toes ;) Do you have any other stories in the works?
Amanda Bradburn: The Keepers of Elenath is actually destined to be a seven book series, so yes! Most definitely! I am working on book two, The Phantom Assassin, and book three, The Ancient of Morwick. I am super excited about both of them. Everything is falling into place wonderfully and I am thrilled that the Lord is going to let me continue on with my dream.
I have ideas mapped out for sixteen more books (5 more in this series, two trilogies, a two-book series I'm presently co-authoring, and the two historical fiction)-- I think that I'll be busy for quite some time. :)
Nathan: Busy is good. Especially for us readers ;) As for the aspiring authors in our audience, what advice would you give?
Amanda Bradburn: You're going to love this job! If you love people, you will get many chances to speak and help them. If you love solitude, you will get your solitude. (But we writers are never really alone, are we?) Remember, though, this is not going to always be fun and easy. Sometimes the words you use and the characters you create will be wonderful, happy beings that tell you exactly what is going to happen next and all you do is record it. However, there will be times when writing is the hardest thing you'll ever do. The words may not come, the characters may turn their backs on you, and suddenly, everything is an uphill battle. Even if you do get published, people will read your book and by harsh and critical. But let me tell you, it is the most wonderful and rewarding and exciting thing you will ever do. When you write, you enter a world of your own, and you will join the most brilliant minds in history. Remember, authors have been key figures in stopping horrendous tragedies and maladies from coming into our homelands. (Remember Thomas Payne? Benjamin Franklin? Harriet Beecher Stowe?) Never give up, no matter how hard it gets, and remember that we are nothing without God.
Nathan: Amen sister! Is there anything else you'd like to say?
Nathan: Amen sister! Is there anything else you'd like to say?
Amanda Bradburn: I love helping people. I love getting to know aspiring authors and authors and just talking book stuff. I love meeting people-- so, come and find me on Facebook! Go to my website: www.thekeepersofelenath.
Dare to enter Elenath. I will be your guide.
Amanda Bradburn
Romans 1:16
Author of The Keepers of Elenath
(Because my God comes before my book.)
If you’d like more information on Amanda Bradburn and her book please see her website (www.thekeepersofelenath.
If you would like to order her book you can find it at the Tate Publishing website (embed link http://www.tatepublishing.com/
Also, watch the book trailer!
This is very encouraging to little aspiring author me. :) If God wants me to be published, he will see me through the uphill battles.
ReplyDeleteI can't watch the trailer at the moment, but I am eager to!
-whisper