"The Sorceress and the Squid" Blog Tour

Hey everyone! Welcome to- yup, you got it!- The Sorceress and the Squid blog tour! :D The moment we've all been waiting for has finally come. My friend, Emily Mundell, has published her first book. How cool is that?! :D Super cool, I know. ;)

Now let's get this party started!

 

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About the Book

In the magical land of Perth, divisions between the Old Kingdom and the New have waged for centuries. The humans have long harbored a mistrust of the spell-casting Fae and vice versa. In the midst of this conflict, Estrella the Sorceress lays waste to the Training Academy for Human Warriors, making an enemy in the soldier, Jalen. During their standoff, Jalen is turned into a squid and Estrella, unable to restore him to his original form, takes pity on him and travels west across the Sea to bring him to the Wizard in hope he can be saved. But is there more to the unrest in Perth than meets the eye?

Amazon // CreateSpace // Goodreads

About the Author

Emily Mundell is a 19 year old author, artist, horsewoman and lover of the wonders of the wide world. She hails from the Great White North of Canada and has spent her life growing up in the heart of rural Alberta in a close-knit farming community - though she has often entertained fantasies of inhabiting the Shire.

Writing is her true passion - though horses and art take a close second. With fantasy as her primary genre, Emily has been writing stories since the tender age of eight when she finished her first "book". She is currently working to complete her Creative Writing Certificate through the University of Calgary. An avid bookworm, true country-mouse, and unconventional tree-climber, Emily can usually be found on a horse, working on one of her half-dozen projects, chasing a loose cow, or being swept off her feet by the man she calls her own personal "hobbit".

Blog // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Goodreads

The author sounds pretty cool, doesn't she? I thought you'd agree, so I have Emily here, all ready for an interview. :)

So Emily, my first question for you is, how did you discover your love for writing?

That is a tricky question. I'm not entirely sure? I've always loved stories and loved reading since I could read (and before that loved being read to), so that was certainly part of it. I wrote my first "book" when I was eight about myself, my friends and our horses so I guess I discovered this passion somewhere before then? I only wanted to write about horses back then, and I didn't spend nearly as much time on it, but I did to it so I guess that's something.

Wow you've been writing for a long time then. :) What inspired you to write The Sorceress and the Squid?

There is a long weird answer to this question! The inspiration for this story came from a late night Facebook conversation between myself and Jonathan (my then-not-yet-boyfriend-now-fiance). We were deep into the subject of his secret identity as a ninja squid who trained an academy of ninja squidlings to take over the world and yadayada. Now, clearly this isn't quite what I wrote down for my book, but the seed of the story was born from this conversation. Later, after I had become his girlfriend, it was decided that I was the sorceress who had turned him into a squid and later the next year I started writing this book. The rest is history.

Haha, what an interesting way to be inspired! :D So why did you choose to self-publish?

Good question. For most of my life I was not into the self-publishing scene at all. I had some preconceived notions about it - mainly that it was unprofessional. However, as I researched and was forced to study it for a class in college, I realized that there were actually some solid things about it, and that you could totally self-publish in a very professional manner. It just depends on who you are. Once I had that revelation, I also thought that even though I still wanted to be picked up by a publishing house one day, self-publishing my first book would help me create a platform from which to be recognized by a publishing house. These days that's basically a prerequisite for getting published anyways. So I decided to follow this through with my first novel and so far it's been a really rewarding experience. I would absolutely do it again (being traditionally published is even losing its appeal except for the wider audience reach possibilities).

Oh cool! Yeah, I used to feel the same way about self-publishing, but then I started "meeting" indie authors. :) What is your favorite part, and your least favorite part, of the whole writing and publishing process?

I'm a very organized person, so I've enjoyed the marketing aspect of publishing a fair bit so far (except for all the socialization it involves). I also do enjoy writing the first draft most of the time - even if I end up ripping out my hair once in awhile. Holding my book in my hands was a great feeling as well. Some dislikes would be editing, mainly rereading the same things so much, and trying to figure out websites and their little things and being totally uncertain about what I'm doing at times. There were definitely some frustrating moments, but the rewards outshone them.

I totally agree with you. I feel the same way about all of that. Except the publishing parts since I'm not published yet. :P So what is your favorite genre to write in?

Definitely fantasy, hands down. I have been working on my own fantasy epic for eight years, almost nine and I love it. Of course The Sorceress and the Squid is also fantasy and I have a couple of other story ideas that are fantasy as well. My favorite writers are JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis and they are my biggest inspirations/mentors. CS Lewis is quoted saying, "If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world." I love this quote because I think it really reflects the heart of a good fantasy story, but also - mostly importantly - reflects the Kingdom of God and the Heaven He has created for us to belong to. I think that's just so cool.

I also enjoy writing sci-fi, contemporary, and dystopian fiction - just not as much. ;)

That is really cool! C.S Lewis is one of my favorite writers too, and I love that quote. I find him to be very quotable. :) What do you do when you're not writing?

So. Many. Things. XD I'm a farmkid so I am often out feeding cows, driving tractors, moving cows, getting back a loose cow, etc. I love horses to death and spend a lot of time riding. Whether it be at home, at my barn over jumps, at my summer camp working with camp horses or working horses for friends. I can usually be located in a saddle. I'm an artist as well and I love to draw and paint (though time for that is minimal these days), and I also enjoy photography. I like being outdoors. I live in Alberta, Canada near the Rocky Mountains and love going out there for a hike with friends/family. I like to climb trees. I like to hang out with my homeschool friends and my camp friends when I can. I love being with Jonathan as much as possible. I do a lot of stuff - too much stuff!

No kidding! You must not get much sleep. My last question is, do you have any advice to give aspiring indie authors?

Advice! I am so not good at advice! :P I think the main thing is to realize that even though it's called "self-publishing" you don't have to do it completely, totally by yourself. It's okay to ask for help, to hire people to help, to ask questions of those who have gone through the process. It's a daunting task to just write a book, nevermind trying to publish it. Don't be scared to ask questions! Also, realizing that it's an awful lot of work and you really have to make your project a priority in order for it to come to fruition. And if it takes a long time, don't sweat it! My entire writing and publishing process was nearly two years, it's okay to move slowly. Be brave!

Ah, that's great advice! :D Well, that's it! Thank you so much Emily for being with us today. :)

Thank you so much for having me, Karyssa! I really enjoyed your questions! :D

And that's a wrap, people! Here are the links again, where you can check out the book for yourself. Go buy it! You know you want to. :)

Amazon

CreateSpace

Goodreads

Thanks for stopping by! See you next week! :)