Interview and Giveaway with Anna L Walls, author of King By Right of Blood and Might

Last month, I had the pleasure of reading Anna L Walls' debut novel King By Right of Blood and Might. You can read my review here. She graciously agreed to let me interview her and giveaway a signed copy of her book to one lucky commenter. I'm honored to have her as my first author interview/giveaway.



Thanks for joining us, Anna. First tell us a little about yourself.

I grew up in eastern Colorado. I went to collage in Minnesota but I didn’t get a degree. Instead, I joined the army where I met my fisherman husband shortly before Uncle Sam shipped us to Alaska. Six years later, we moved to one of the hottest fishing spots in the state and have stayed here ever since.

When did you first start writing and did you always want to be an author?

There were occasions when I’d pick up a notebook and write out some story. In junior high school, there was the hilarious creation my best friend and I created one giggly night; it was lost or thrown away soon after. A couple years after I was married, I worked in a laundry mat; during breaks and lunch, I wrote another story. It was lost during one of our many moves out here. I’ve since tried to recreate it and it is one of my other completed stories listed on Facebook. The next time I picked up a notebook was about 10 years ago. That was the beginning of King by Right. One day my son brought me an old lap top computer and I decided to see if I remembered how to type. That was the turning point. I’ve been writing ever since. However, growing up, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine myself as an author. I had every intention of acquiring the family ranch and raising horses. On the business end, I was going to somehow turn the place into a riding school for city kids. Talk about a left turn.

What is the most challenging aspect of writing? Most rewarding?

The most challenging and the most rewarding aspect is painting the picture of my story with words. That’s the way I try to do it - paint it like a picture or a movie as I see it in my head. I find it wonderfully fun and of course, I have to remember all the little details. Sometimes I need a detail to be in place later in the story, then I have to go back through what I’ve already written and weave in another thread. So much fun.

Where did you get the idea for King by Right of Blood and Might?

Unlike most of my other stories, I started King by Right by creating a character. I like the times of kings and princes so I decided to write about a prince. Then he had to have a problem to solve and some history. It was a lot of fun figuring it all out.

How much research did you do for your book and how much ended up in the finished product?

At the time I was writing King by Right, I had very little access to research materials. I had the encyclopedia set I got for when the kids were doing home schooling, and later, when I got my computer, I had its Encarta encyclopedia. Mostly I used it to figure out distances so I could judge how long it would take to cover the distance between one point and the next. My computer also had a paint program and I spent days drawing maps and pictures. Unfortunately, when it came time to publish, I had to pick which pictures showed up best in shades of gray.

How do you keep track of your world building?

My world building is in my head like a movie; it becomes a familiar place. Since I love maps, it helps to have one but not all my books have a map.

How long, on average, does it take to write a book?

I suppose it takes about a year to write a book; some longer, some shorter. You have to figure that my year is punctuated by my summer job, but even then, I read through what I’ve written just to make sure it still paints the same picture. King by Right took 2 years, I think. However, I was also learning the delightful offerings of my computer too. The grammar checker was very informative.

Which character in this book most resembles you?

I suppose Princess Kandice most resembles me. However, I place myself in each of my characters’ heads. It’s how I keep them all different; how I make sure they all have a different attitude and personality. Just call me schizophrenic.

If Prince Harris had a theme song what would it be?

Now this is a question that’s clear out in left field. A theme song. I listened through my whole music list and finally settled on ‘Don’t Give Up’ by Peter Gabriel. There’s also ‘I Still Believe’ by Crow. I don’t know; maybe if you could mush them together with something from Beethoven, it might work. Ha, what do I know about music.

Your story has several paranormal elements. If you had one of their abilities which one would you choose?

I like the Shapeshifters. I would so like to turn into a wolf or a big bird for a while.

Given your story covers the world as we know it ending and a distant future world, if you lived in this story, which time would you want to live in? At some time in history, at the apocalyptic time of transition or the distant future?

I can see myself living in any of those times but if I had to choose, I would choose the days of the far future in this book. I like things simple.

I know you self-published. Why did you choose that route and what has been the best and worst aspects of that process for you?

When I started that process, I didn’t have internet so proposals were dependant upon snail mail. Since I can’t get to the post office for easily half of every year, it translated into a very long and frustrating process. By coincidence, AuthorHouse was in the phonebook so I gave them a call. It was so easy - send a disk and a check and the whole thing would be started. We also elected to spend that winter with my son in Fairbanks so that I could use emails to communicate and look at proofs. I also got to squeeze my grandson every time I could catch him. The worst aspect was that I really didn’t know what I was doing and trusted the company to be as diligent with my work as I was. There are things I will do very differently next time, though I may self-publish again.

I've checked out your Notes on Facebook, so I know you have written many other stories and yet to be published novels, when can we expect your next book?

I told myself that I would publish again as soon as my first book made enough money for me to afford to. However, I’m querying agents as well as asking for reviews. This ball will get rolling one of these days - hopefully soon.

Have you always lived in Alaska? Does your environment help or hinder your writing/creativity?

I grew up as a rancher’s daughter in eastern Colorado and have lived in Alaska nearly 30 years now. I’ve lived out here in the wilderness for the last 20 years almost exactly. In fact, the very first winter we spent out here was the last time Mount Redoubt popped its top. I truly believe that, had we stayed in the city, wherever, I would have written far less if anything. I likely would have been working everyday instead. Since I have the winters to myself, I can write to my heart’s content and you’ve seen the results of only 10 years’ writing.

What is your favorite thing about Alaska? Least favorite?

My favorite thing about Alaska is of course the winters for more reasons than the solitude. The winters out here are picture postcard beautiful. The least favorite thing about living here is having to drive to work in an open boat in the rain or when the wind is blowing. Such weather makes for a rather unpleasant trip. Thankfully, said trip is only 20 minutes or so.

Who are your favorite authors?

My favorite authors are Tolkein, Heinlein, McCaffrey and Scott Card among many others. I generally don’t pay attention to who does the writing; if it sounds interesting, I’ll read it.

What three authors/writers would you have a slumber party with and what would you do?

I’ve never had a slumber party in my life so I wouldn’t have a clue as to what to do for one, but as far as who to have over, I suppose I’d pick any three of those listed above. I think we’d drive my husband out of the house with all the talking about all the different books we’ve either written or read. Even my son would get in on that conversation though he’s not a writer. He reads the same things I do.

You can influence any one thing in the entire history, the present or the future of the world (what has occurred, how something works, etc.). What would you choose to change and why?

Since I have a love of horses and swords, I think I’d like to forestall the invention of the automobile and the gun, not that I’m against guns. The bears and moose are very big out here. I find cars and trucks to be noisy and smelly and wars were very different when the soldier had to look their opponent in the eyes as he died on their sword.

If you could spend the day with one person (someone in history, a favorite author, a public figure, a character in a book, etc.), who would you choose and why?

I suppose I would like to spend some time with the ranger in Lord of the Rings, Aragorn. ‘Course that could also be translated to the actor who played him in the movie. I find Aragorn’s simple, noble competency encouraging - there’s hope that such a seed is in the people of today somewhere down in there, else it wouldn’t leak out in such stories.

Finally, I know you already have a sequel for King by Right of Blood and Might in the works, what's up next for the characters?

The sequel is more like book 2 of a collection of 3. There is no physical connection between book 1 and book 2 other than the world and time in which the events take place. Book 1 takes place on the east coast. Book 2 takes place through the mid-west. And book 3 will take place on the west coast.

Anna will be sending an autographed copy of her book to one lucky winner. For a chance to win, all you have to do is post a comment, become a follower or subscibe to this blog and leave an email with your comment. The contest is open thru Sept. 30th at 11:59pm EST. I will pick a winner at random.

Now it's your turn to leave comments or questions for Anna.