Hi Everyone,
Recently I have
had the pleasure of reading Alison Deluca’s superb book, “Night Watchman
Express”, the first of four in her “Crown Phoenix” series. I was
delighted by the book, which kept me up reading each night much later than I
wanted to be—my barometer for a good read. Many of you are probably readers of Alison’s
charming blog “Fresh Pot of Tea” but perhaps you have not yet had the chance to
indulge in one of her steampunk fantasy novels.
I thought to share the wealth of a good read and asked Alison if she might
do an interview… and she graciously agreed!
Oh—and If
you would like to read the “Crown Phoenix” series yourself, there is a giveaway (courtesy of Ms. DeLuca herself) at
the end of the interview!
And so,
without further ado…
An interview with author
and steampunk maven ALISON DELUCA
*What inspired you to write the Crown
Phoenix series and when did this whole journey start for you?
I think that
inspiration is part coincidence and part mystery. I was playing around with an
adventure story about four kids – two boys and two girls – who would encounter villains and new countries as well as desperate danger.
While I was at my desk,
plotting out the story, I put on a CD by Angelique Kidjo, a wonderful singer
from Benin. Her songs
made me think about Mana, my lovely governess who is so elegant and
intelligent.
As I wrote
about Miriam – my scrappy, filthy orphan – and her meeting with Mana, out of
the blue I got an idea for the Crown Phoenix, a quantum computer that could
bend time and space – but one that would exist in Edwardian times.
From there,
the adventure simply took off.
Is there really a Crown Phoenix machine?
Of course
there is! I have one in an old trunk up in my attic. Once I’ve finished raising
my daughter, I plan on activating the device and visiting Lampala. Who wants to
come along for the ride?
Ummm.
Me? Please? (interviewer raised
hand here…)
When did you realize you were writing
a four book series and not just one book?
I set out to
write a three book series at first. In fact, Night Watchman comprises the first
two volumes, and the story is completed in Devil’s Kitchen. However, there was
much more to add; in particular, I wanted to discover what became of Neil’s
family, and I also had to find out how Miriam and Simon’s relationship turned
out! After a long hiatus, I returned to the series and wrote The Lamplighter’s
Special and now The South Sea Bubble. They are books three and four and the end
of the series.
Did you choose steampunk to represent your
book’s genre post publication or did you set out to write a steampunk series?
I always
loved the very first steampunk authors: Doyle, Wells and Verne. I think I was
influenced by their books on some level. After I wrote my books and went back
to them, I realized I had written some steamy stuff. And by steamy, I mean that
my world is powered by steam engines!
My books
don’t include airships or clockwork men, but I think that those things don’t
have to be a given in steampunk.
The first book is entitled “Night Watchman
Express”. I think that title captures the essences of the steampunk vibe very well,
but I was curious as to what moved you to name the book after the story’s mysterious
train, when it plays a rather minor (albeit pivotal) role in the story. Do you see it as the vehicle for the
following books?
Great
question! Another inspiration for the book was a poster I gave my sister of a
train called “The Scotsman” that showed an old engine surrounded by billows of
smoke. For some reason I saw it as a very eerie image and devised my own Night
Train that would run at midnight for nefarious purposes.
I fell in
love with the name of the train and added it to Crown Phoenix. But of course,
the book is really centered on Miriam, Simon, Neil, Riki, and my own gorgeous
Mana.
I found your characters so vivid and
memorable. From the main characters like
defiant Miriam, Simon and Neil and of course the enigmatic Mana, to scrubby Riki
and her family, and then there’s fabulous Odjo the cook, (does he do catering
on the side?) and even that uppity snoop Mandayala. Did you have a favorite character you especially
enjoyed creating? Was there a character
that was challenging for you to write?
Thanks!
Creating characters is my favorite part of writing, and of all of them I really
had the most fun with Barbara. She’s so beautiful and really evil at the same
time – plus a bit of a cougar as well.
But I love
the others too: Riki was a delight, and Simon was a blast as well. I thought he
would be one-dimensional at first, but he really grew on me, with his loyalty
and stubbornness.
And then
there’s my Miriam, filled with anger just on the verge of growing up into a
young lady. Mana saves her from becoming feral, and in the end it is her own
anger that saves her.
The beautiful island paradise of Lampala
sounds simply marvelous. The food, the
customs, their way of dress, the architecture, is all just so sumptuous! (I’m still craving fried plantain and honey-rolls
with nuts!) Did you use any linguistic
models for the Lampalan language or did you just come up with it on the fly? Oh—and
what does “Ipa” mean?
Aha! Ipa
means ‘Hey!’ or “Oy!’ And now you know that the language was based on Kidjo’s
songs and her Benin language. I spent a long time devising Lampalan – thanks so
much for noticing it!
And for
anyone who hasn’t heard Kidjo’s music, do yourself a favor a give it a listen.
It’s like an African version of ABBA, with lyrics that evolve into deepening
layers of meaning. I got to see her in concert once, and I’ll never forget her
energy and sincere love for her music and the audience.
How did you come up with the
setting(s) of mainland vs. islands? It
works well for the story. I always enjoy
having a map in the beginning of a book too.
Was that your idea?
FISTBUMP –
I’m a huge map slut. I always loved opening a book and seeing a map of the
setting, whether it exists on the globe in reality or not. Narnia and Middle
Earth – I’m all about those maps.
I am lucky
enough to work and write with Dr. Ross Kitson, an incredibly wonderful author
and cartographer. I send him my very basic sketches, and he draws the lovely
maps and floor plans for my books. (And I simply must plug his Infinity Bridge
book for anyone who loves steampunk and urban fantasy – it’s amazing.)
As for the
island setting – that’s one of those things that was a bit of a mystery.
Somehow the island of Lampala evolved as I wrote, and I created the language
and economy for it.
Lampala is
based on the real-life island of Madeira. It has lots of wooded areas, of
course, that grow my magical Bolemor trees. As well, it was very important that
my island population was NOT colonial in nature but rather a thriving,
independent people who had their own art, architecture, and (as you pointed
out!) culinary skills.
Can you tell us a bit about your
publishing journey? Was this series your
first foray into being published? Did
you initially market your book(s) as a series or as a single book? Did you/do you have an agent?
The Crown
Phoenix series has always been an Indie venture. I’ve met amazing people along
the way, and I’ve learned some very important lessons – how to guard oneself
from the wolves who are all too ready to pounce, alas, as well as how to
produce a polished, mature work for my readers. And, yes, Crown Phoenix started
as a single book. Once it went to print, we saw that it was far too long to be
one single volume. Although I do fantasize of one hardcover omnibus edition….
Perhaps in the future!
Can you tell us a bit about Myrddin
Publishing?
Yes! Myrddin
is a writers’ collective. We self-publish under the Myrddin name and meet every
day on Facebook. Our authors are international and very talented. We include
Ross Kitson, whom I mentioned, as well as Carlie Cullen, Connie Jasperson, Ceri
Clark, Shaun Allan, Kathleen Barker, Gary Hoover… and many other lovely people.
It’s a fun group, and I’m very lucky to have found such an amazing support
system.
What’s going on in your writing world
at the moment?
I just
finished The South Sea Bubble, the fourth book in the series. It’s going
through edits and beta readers at the moment, and I hope to publish in April or
May.
What’s next for you?
I have a new
book started. It’s a completely different world from the Crown Phoenix books, with
new characters and plots… and of course I have a few other books inside that
crowded turret room I call a brain, just waiting to be born.
You can find me here:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlisonDeLuca
Thanks so much for having me on the blog. This was a blast!
And thank you Alison!
How fun for me to read a book and then get to pump the author with
questions! I’ve enjoyed learning all
these juicy tidbits about “Night Watchman Express” and the “Crown Phoenix” series.
(I’ve always been a foot-note-kinda-gal.)
I look forward to savoring the other two books, and just let me know
when we leave for Lamapala…
a Rafflecopter giveaway
in an amusing, entertaining way and will have you guffawing out loud and
finding grammatical errors everywhere you look.
