Claire: I was just thinking I couldn’t remember what prompted us to first meet, but I see Jesikah was the mastermind there :) After I met Jesikah I read her first book Legacy and fell in love with the intricacy of the world and characters she created. We shared a table at two conventions on June and spent a lot of time together talking story and trends. We joked about the idea for this story, not even intending to write anything together. But by the next day it had stayed on both our minds and we were like: we HAVE to write this book. It has all come together very serendipitously!
Jennifer from Snohomish wants to know: how you would spend your dream literary world day. You get to have it set in any literary world, and meet three literary characters from any books. Where would you go and who would you meet?
Jesikah: I want to spend a day in Cabeswater with Blue, Gansey, and Ronan from Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle. We would hunt the Blue Mountain’s magical forest in Virginia for the remains of a Welsh king, researching together, laughing, and getting into all sorts of adventures. Plus, I want to pet Chainsaw, Ronin’s baby raven.
Claire: OMG can I steal Jes’s? Love that series. Ok well, I think I’d head over to Hogwarts to get a magic lesson from Hermione, Gandalf, and Aslan. Then afterwards we’d head down to Hogsmead to drink some butterbeers.
Chani from Seattle, WA, USA wants to know: dogs or cats?
Jesikah: Oh! That is so tough. I have to say both. I truly adore both. But, here’s a fun fact: From age five through nineteen, I had an English Springer Spaniel named Guinevere. Her first doggie boyfriend’s name happened to be Arthur. She had the most beautiful puppies. I still miss her *sniff*
Claire: Dogz for life! I have two: a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Guinness and a Brittany Spaniel named Jameson. Plus I’m allergic to cats (sniff) so me and cats have always had to stay at arm’s length.
Bob Schaal from Yuma AZ wants to know: What's your favorite word that you use in your writing?
Jesikah: Ha! Hmmm . . . Well, I’m not sure what my favorite word is, but I do tend to lean toward old-timey words. I would probably say the word “susurration.”
Claire: Ohmygosh that’s so hard! My other new series is about magic sweets and I’ve really been enjoying using candy and food metaphors. Using caramel or caramelize to describe something like a sunset is pretty fun (and yummy).
Nicole from Monroe, WA, USA wants know: If you could live in any tree, which tree would you live in? How would you live in it?
Jesikah: An oak tree that looks like it came straight out of a fable. I would build a house mid-story that circles the trunk. One day, my husband and I plan to stay at the famous Tree Houses near Issaquah, WA. It’s a dream of mine . . . Okay, I just read Claire’s answer. Put our answers together you get Willow Oak, a character from my series, The Biodome Chronicles. This was not planned people, lol. I answered the questions first, haha!
Claire: I love Willow trees, they are so graceful. So maybe I’d have a little cabin amongst the boughs of a willow.
Tammie Lou from Wyoming wants to know: What is your favorite location for writing?
Jesikah: The forest *heart eyes* But, since I need battery power, I would say any location near a window and a coffee pot.
Claire: I like writing anywhere that is not my office at home (which is where I do most my writing). It feels like a novelty to go write at a coffee shop or at the park or at a library!
Chani from Seattle, WA, USA wants to know: how you do background research for the background and settings for books. Do you read up on historical papers/interview experts?
Jesikah: Oh man . . . I am a worldbuilding nut. Research is my thang. I like to interview people in the real-world regions I’m setting my stories and then I read, read, read. I also create a team of experts for me to lean on for questions and for review. I’ve been fortunate enough to always find individuals who are willing to read scenes and/or my work-in progress for accuracy.
Claire: Google. I leave the hardcore researching to Jes! I have read a book to do research for my past books, but for the most part I do my research online.
Erik from Mt. Vernon , WA, USA wants to know: If you were a beverage, what would you be... and why? And don’t just tell us what you love, tell us what we can consume (without teeth) that would perfectly encapsulate your very essence. The liquid core of your being! Your rehydrating quintessence!
Jesikah: I am an Irish Coffee, sweet creamy personality with a bitter inner-cynic, the billowing hot steam my love of gray skies and foggy days, with a touch of dizzying long-winded intellect that only my Irish roots could spin into story form or lament. Or it’s the whiskey. Probably the whiskey and Bailey’s.
Claire: Wow, this is tough. I guess I would be a berry smoothie with spinach and a touch of lemon. Overall it’s sweet and pleasant and something a lot of people would enjoy, but there’s some substance and serious nutritional value there to reflect my love of learning and my serious side, plus a squeeze of lemon to represent my stubborn streak :)
Nicole from Monroe, WA, USA wants know: what's your favorite cupcake, and how do you eat it??
Jesikah: My favorite is any kind Claire doesn’t give me. She writes about poisoned cupcakes!!! *side-eyes Claire* But, if she offered me a chai spice cupcake with cream cheese frosting, I might give in and risk death. Who am I kidding? My last words would be, “Omg, this is SO good.” And when eating, I just dive in. There is no decorum when eating a cupcake, probably because I’m a mom. If I don’t eat it fast, my kids will want a bite!
Claire: Yes the non-poisoned kinds are good :) Cupcake Royale in Seattle has a lavender cupcake that I really adore. I try to maximize the bites that have both frosting and cake in them, but I have to end on a piece with frosting, so if I take a break from the frosting to eat the bottom part in the middle, I will!
Claire Luana grew up reading everything she could get her hands on and writing every chance she could. Eventually, adulthood won out, and she turned her writing talents to more scholarly pursuits, going to work as a commercial litigation attorney.
While continuing to practice law, Claire decided to return to her roots and try her hand once again at creative writing. She has written and published the Moonburner Cycle and the forthcoming Confectioner Chronicles, a trilogy about magical food. She is currently working on the Knights of Caerleon trilogy, an Arthurian Legend fantasy romance series, which she is co-writing with Jesikah Sundin. She lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband and two dogs. In her (little) remaining spare time, she loves to hike, travel, binge-watch CW shows, and of course, fall into a good book.
Connect with Claire online at:
Website & Blog
Facebook
MoonTree Readers
(Facebook Reader Fan Group)
Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon
Instagram
Check out these other reads by Claire Luana
THE MOONBURNER CYCLE
Moonburner, Book One
Sunburner, Book Two
Starburner, Book Three
Burning Fate, Prequel
THE CONFECTIONER CHRONICLES
The Confectioner’s Guild, Book One
The Confectioner’s Coup, Book Two
The Confectioner’s Truth, Book Three
The Confectioner’s Exile, Prequel
THE FAERIE RACE
The Sorcery Trial, Book One
The Elemental Race, Book Two
The Doomsday Trial, Book Three
STANDALONES
Orion’s Kiss
Jesikah Sundin is a multi-award winning Ecopunk SciFi and Forest Fantasy writer mom of three nerdlets and devoted wife to a gamer geek. In addition to her family, she shares her home in Monroe, Washington with a red-footed tortoise and a collection of seatbelt purses. She is addicted to coffee, laughing, and Dr. Martens shoes ... Oh! And the forest is her happy place.
Connect with Jesikah Sundin online at:
Website & Blog
&nb
sp; Newsletter
(MoonTree Books)
MoonTree Readers
(Facebook Reader Fan Group)
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon
Instagram
Pinterest
BookBub
Check out these other reads by Jesikah Sundin
THE BIODOME CHRONICLES
LEGACY - book 1
ELEMENTS - book 2
TRANSITIONS Novella Collection - book 3
GAMEMASTER - book 4
THE EALDSPELL CYCLE
ÆROREH- book 1
(Currently in a Sleepy Beauty
Anthology Kingdom of Thorns & Dreams)
Gwenevere's Knights- The Complete Knights of Caerleon Trilogy Page 63