Mundie Moms

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Author Interview with Morgan Rhodes, Author of the Falling Kingdom Series



Hello & welcome to today's author spotlight. I am so thrilled to have Morgan Rhodes on the blog today! I love her Falling Kingdom series. You've not yet read it, you are missing out. Morgan's newest release, Gathering Darkness was released earlier this month, and she's taking some time out of her crazy schedule to discuss her new release with me. 


HI Morgan! Thank you for stopping by. I am so thrilled to have you on Mundie Moms. Congratulations on the release of Gathering Darkness, book three in your epic THE FALLING KINGDOM series. When it comes to writing a series, do you find it easier or more challenging to write each book? 

Thank you so much! Very happy to be here today!! 

Writing a series is how my brain works. Writing stand-alones is much harder. All that initial brainstorming you do, the character set up, and world building would need to be done again and again for a single book. For series, you do it once, then continue to finesse and grow it. And you can work with longer character arcs in a series. Every book is a challenge to write, but I prefer writing a series.

I like how each of the characters have grown and evolved with each book in the series. My feelings towards some of the characters whom I may not at first have liked as much, have surprisingly changed the more I've gotten to know them. Which of your characters has surprised you the most in terms of how much they've changed since your first draft of book one through now?


Quite honestly, I’m the most pleased by Cleo’s growth. It’s one thing to plan to have a character go from a self-involved rich girl to someone who fights for vengeance and for the chance to rule a country properly. The strength she has beneath the “golden” exterior continuously surprises me and, even though I know she’s fictional, I’m so proud of her! ;)

Please excuse my fangirl comment, but I seriously LOVE your series. You have some pretty amazing characters you've introduced me to, you've created an awesome world I wish I could crawl through my book and visit, and you've got the perfect blend of magic,  intrigue, romance, and danger. Which element of your series has been the most fun for you to create? Is there an element that has been hard to create?


Thank you! I enjoy playing in the world of Mytica and getting my characters in and out of trouble. In my previous life (or perhaps under another pen name) I was a multi-published author of paranormal romance, so gotta say that I enjoy building the romantic possibilities in the series – the more angsty the better. The most challenging, but still fun, is worldbuilding the mythology. I have a tendency to make things more complicated than they need to be especially since the mythology of FK has grown substantially with each book, but I prefer to think of it as complex and multi-faceted! ;)

Which of your characters would your teenage self have been friends with? 

I think me and “early” Lucia would have been friends. Even though she’s a princess, she loves books, seemed like someone who’d participate in lots of school activities, and would be a good and loyal friend. However, “later” Lucia, after she’s discovered her magic, I’m not quite so sure about. Oh, and I’d also love to be friends with Nic. He’s just so easy-going and funny.

As a reader, what is one of your all-time favorite fantasy reads?

My mind always goes to Harry Potter when it comes to favorite books. But an early fantasy novel that inspired my own fantasy writing would be Stephen King’s Eyes of the Dragon, and also his Gunslinger series.

If you could choose any one of your favorite fictional characters and write them into your series, who would you pick and why?

I’d like to send Dimitri Belikov to Mytica. I think he could be a bit help to Jonas in taking down King Gaius and look good doing it.

Inquiring minds are eager to know, do you have any upcoming signings or book related events we can put on our calendars?

Two events that are currently confirmed are the NoVaTeen Book Festival in Arlington, VA on March 7th and YALLWest in Santa Monica, CA on April 11th. I should also have a couple more dates in March to announce soon. Can’t wait to get out there and meet some of my awesome readers!

Thank you Morgan!
 If you haven't already, I highly recommend picking up Gathering Darkness. You can check out my review for Gathering Darkness, as well as Falling Kingdoms and Rebel Spring. This series would make the perfect Christmas / holiday gift. It's one of my all time favorite YA series.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Morgan Rhodes is the New York Times bestselling author of the FALLING KINGDOMS series. As a child, she always wanted to be a princess—the king that knows how to wield a sharp sword to help save both kingdoms and princes from fire-breathing dragons and dark wizards. Instead, she became a writer, which is just as good and much less dangerous. Along with writing, Morgan enjoys photography, travel, and reality TV, and is an extremely picky yet voracious reader of all kinds of books.

Follow Morgan Rhodes on TumblrTwitter, and Instagram

ABOUT GATHERING DARKNESS



Published by: Razorbill
To Be Released on: December 9th, 2014
Pre-Order from: Find your favorite book retailer HERE
Add it to Goodreads

ABOUT GATHERING DARKNESS 

The seeds of revolution have been sown…but in Mytica the lust for power reigns supreme.

THE REBELS forge ahead. Princess Cleo slays with sweetness—and a secret that might control Lucia’s magic—as she and vengeful Jonas lead the hunt for the all-powerful Kindred. THE KRAESHIANS join the fray. Ashur and Amara, the royal siblings from the vast kingdom across the Silver Sea, prove to be just as ruthless as they are charming as they manipulate their way to victory. THE WATCHERS follow Melenia out of the Sanctuary. They ally, in the flesh, with King Gaius, who vows to use Lucia’s powers to unveil the Kindred.

And which side will Prince Magnus choose, now that everyone he’s been betrayed by everyone he’s ever loved?


LEARN MORE

Find the Falling Kingdoms series on Facebook
#FallingKingdomsSeries

1 comment:

  1. I have heard such great things about this series. I cannot wait to start it. It's my series goal for January this year! What a great interview!

    ReplyDelete

Labels