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Author Interview: Angelique Anderson
Welcome everyone. Today we have Angelique Anderson, a fun-loving, bubbly, excited author of fantasy and science fiction who's come in from California to visit with us. Angelique. Will you get us started with a little about yourself, and what started you on your writer's journey?
- Sure... I actually have been writing since I was kid.. I used it as a coping method when I was going through times of duress.
Actually some of my first works were gothic poetry. Lol
After years of chasing music, theatre ... and etc.. I finally decided to pursue the one calling that had been with me since I was young.
Do you feel that exploring the other artistic outlets has helped you with your writing?
- Without a doubt.
Those outlets helped me to learn how to physically express myself... while writing helped me to channel that into a different form.
Being comfortable with one most definitely helped with the other.
I think it takes a lot, no matter what write or how much we adore writing, it still takes being comfortable with ourselves to a certain extent to express ourselves through stories, through words.
I'll bet. What about your writing style - has that benefited from working in other artistic media as well?
- Definitely has benefited a lot. Essentially music, acting... they all tell stories through one form or another...
Learning to tell those stories in a way that connects with what ever audience is listening or watching is how we get better at our craft.
True. That and being authentic. Since you made mention of being comfortable with yourself, and using writing as a coping technique when you were going through rough times, I'm going to go ahead and ask: How much of you (or your own experiences) do you include in your books?
- I don't know if I can put a percentage on it, but I would say at least 50% of what I write is emotions I have felt, things I have experienced in one way, shape or form, or people I have come in contact with. We constantly recycle what comes into our life... watching others helps us learn how to interact... reading what others write helps us to better hone our own skills... and experiencing life helps us to write better, more authentic characters.
Wowsers, that's packs quite a punch! I've read your Eden's Serum, and I don't want to think which parts you've encountered, or dealt with personally. With that much raw emotion, do you ever work with a mentor or other support-type individual to work through the tougher scenes?
- Lol.... I wish I could say I had. Obviously Eden's Serum scenes are going to be allegorical... but in Little Lost Girl: The complete series... I write about my life growing up in foster care, being unwanted by my own parents, getting moved around from Family to Family... and I do it through the eyes of a little girl named Star. I have to be honest, I cried while writing most of that book... and there were moments I had to step away, I couldn't sleep, couldn't breathe... it was too much. I had an editor.. but no mentor to help me process the array of emotions that stemmed from childhood abuse and sexual Trauma. It was incredibly cathartic and I finished it stronger and with more healing than I had ever had. I guess that's true about everything I write good or bad... there is always tears, but there is always healing.
::Chuckles:: Having an outlet that lets you work through your emotions is always nice. I chuckle, because I do that for bad days, or folks who get under my skin. Have you ever done that in your own work?
- Ooooohhhh yes....... I hate to admit it but I have a whole book about a friendship that went wrong. I took it off kindle, but even though it's a fantasy paranormal... the whole book was basically about an abusive narcissistic friend I used to have.
Uh, oh. Remind me not to get on your bad side. I wouldn't want to wind up in something like your Serum books. Speaking of books that are out... what are you working on now? Anything interesting?
- Well, I just finished editing and published Eden two about a month ago. Next to release is my first ever steampunk fantasy, The Dragon Lady. It releases May 1rst... and I am sooooo excited about it! I adore steampunk and implementing all the little things that make up that genre was just bliss. Gears, corsets, cogs, fantasy, science fiction... even a little history. My beta readers have said it's some of my best work... I can only hope they are right and I have done the genre justice.
Ooo! Mind sharing a teaser, or are you saving all the teasers for "The Day"?
- Not not all!
Let me just pull up a little slice for you.
::Grins and gets the fork ready.:: Something tells me I'm going to want to devour this one.
Chapter One
The dim glow from a lone gaslight revealed one flea-bitten rat scampering down the main street of Dobbinsturn Parish, his bewhiskered nose sniffing for crumbs. The rodent’s ears perked forward at a strange new sound, then he raised his head to sniff an interesting aroma wafting to him on the breeze.
Given any common sense at all, the furry little beast would have kept running, but it was his fate that landed him in the knife-sharp claws of the most glorious white dragon a rat may ever hope to see. If rats hoped for such things, that is.
The radiant white dragon spent the night soaring over the boroughs of London, his iridescent scales glowing under the gentlest cast of moonlight. The putrid stench of black death invaded his nostrils as he swooped down and grabbed the wriggling rat in his claws, tossing it into his mouth without chewing and swallowing the gamey little thing whole.
One final act of goodwill. The white dragon wasn’t sure of his end, but he felt it closing in on his sickly body. He doubted he would even have the strength to fly after this eve.
As if on cue, the surrounding atmosphere changed, he felt the presence of his dark counterpart like a fog that descended upon his beloved London. He sucked in a deep breath through his large scaly nostrils, wishing to savor this moment for all of eternity. There was no doubt he would miss the sights and smells of Earth.
His black enemy swooped down upon him, its massive horns and prismatic scales invisible to human eyes against the backdrop of night.
The black dragon pulled up short of him, its glistening scales in stark contrast with his white ones, giving a small hint at just how opposite they were. As if he was able to hear the gods speak of the end himself, his heart palpitated nervously. Once, long ago, he would have been strong enough to fight this foe, but that time had long since passed. Age and illness robbed him of the strength he once possessed.
As if in a dream, he watched the enemy dragon as it swooped to the street, attacking a staggering drunk whose only mistake was showing himself in the lamplight. He wanted to fight it. It was his job to do so, but he knew the beast would kill him before he was able to stop him, so he watched helplessly as the black monster gathered a mouthful of the man, its massive jaws closing over his body and mashing the drunk’s upper torso to juicy bits.
“Don’t do this!” The pearl white dragon called out, a tear squeezing from one wrinkled eye as he watched the blood of the man drip over the chin of his evil opposite. His dark counterpart only chuckled to himself before he dropped what was left of the stranger’s body to the ground, making a squelching sound as it hit the cobblestones. The sight of it would make anyone squeamish, including the pure-hearted dragon, unable to stop the senseless slaughter.
The angry black beast flew towards him, eyes flashing crimson with hatred.
“Why must you take an innocent life?” The white dragon tried to reason, but his enemy merely opened his jaws wide, spewing a blast of fire in his direction. Too sick and too old to dodge the flames, he didn’t even try to avoid the inevitable impact but instead allowed the fire to engulf him from horn to tail. His glorious body plummeted to the ground, hitting the road with crushing force, extinguishing most of the flames with the impact.
As the victor his enemy chuckled to himself and flew out of sight, a small pocket watch device hanging on a chain around the white dragon’s neck flipped open. A tiny, magical, bronze dragon with cloaking ability crawled out and dusted himself off. He scanned the area, worried that wakeful eyes may have heard the one-sided battle and been drawn to investigate. Seeing that the large white dragon was on fire, he blew a gust of wind from his tiny lips strong enough to create a small hurricane.
Once the fire was extinguished, the little bronze beast set about trying to heal his injured friend, but it was too late. The heartbeat grew weaker until it ceased altogether. As his friend breathed his last, a soft glow of blue essence rose from the body, like a tiny dancing flame, and shot through the night toward its human host. Meanwhile, the lifeless dragon body had disappeared altogether.
The tiny bronze dragon grew larger and flew after the blue light until it entered a small dwelling in a rundown neighborhood. The tiny dancing flame came to rest on an aging man, who lay still as stone on a bed. When the flame entered the man’s body, his chest heaved with a deep breath, but it was his final one. The tiny dragon sat on the edge of the bed, his scaly clawed hand resting on the wrinkled human one. His deep emerald eyes were wet with tears.
Goodbye, dear friend, you have served the gods well.
He then returned to his place inside the pocket watch device and willed the device to be magically transported back to its hiding place until it was time to be revealed once more.
“Father, are you alright?” Wylie Petford had grown used to hearing her father call for her in the early morning, the absence of his voice sent her heart reeling. No, no! Please, not yet!
Wylie rushed to his room, fear taking precedence over rational thought. The past few weeks were hard on him as he clung tenuously to life. Heaven only knew how long the herbal treatments would continue working if they were working at all. She felt his forehead, which was damp with sweat and used a rag to dab it dry.
Nicholas Petford did not stir beneath her touch, and she assumed for the moment that he was sleeping peacefully until she realized there was something unnatural about his stillness.
“Father… Father are you well?” Panic setting in, she began fervently pressing his chest. The rise and fall that should be occurring naturally as he breathed in and out was absent.
“Father, please, wake up!” She slapped his face lightly, several times in rapid succession, willing that he would wake and get cross with her for doing such a thing. When there was no response, and even his cheek felt cold to her touch, she realized that her worst fears had been realized.
She gently stroked his whiskered cheek, her heart screaming silently at his cold, still form. Any minute now he would awaken, and ask for fresh biscuits and jam as he did every morning, but she knew there was no use fighting it.
He had been sick for such a long time, and Dr. Antony Flack’s medicine was more effective than promised. It had kept her father alive for much longer than most patients. She would have to thank him personally for the miracle provided through his tinctures.
A million thoughts assaulted Wylie’s mind as she cried. There was no doubt about the difficulty of the past few months. The continuous need for medications for her father and loss of wages had taken their toll. Though it was no doubt better than the alternative which was now a reality. She would have to find the strength to ask her employer to take time away from work to lay her father to rest.
Her employer, very gracious until now, would surely understand that even the poor grieve their dead.
She did not expect kindness, but she indeed hoped for it. She lay on the cold stone floor, her face buried in her arms as the tears fell until she finally drifted off to sleep.
As one life left Earth and ascended into heaven, another being was rising into the night sky in glorious form. Its wingspan as long as three men laid from head to toe. It opened its magnificent jaws, and an inferno of fire and sulfurous smells blazed forth like a volcano giving birth. Though it was the dead of night, the dark shadow that now took to the skies was not unseen by the local pet population. Afar off, the lowing of cattle could be heard as they milled about frantically, afraid for their lives.
Hours before…
Near the border of upper Dobbinsturn and Kinnemore, a newly purchased and renovated tavern was alive with raucous laughter and cheers from its new inhabitants and patrons. In a rather unusual move, the tavern had been named after its financier, Lord Jameston Ukridge, rather than its owner. Ukridge Tavern was an establishment that the owner, Dorian Gilligan, hoped would be passed down for generations.
The elaborate interior boasted of its owner’s airship travels, with strong stone beams and rustic archways reminiscent of the stone chapels in France and Germany. A former first mate and a man with excellent taste, Dorian made sure the Ukridge tavern represented the life he once lived.
Between the elegant stone archways, the walls held a vast array of art and design; glorious pieces collected during Dorian’s airship travels around the world with his friend and captain, Daggert Kingsley. The floor had been expertly laid with the richest of mahogany wood, and the glasses that slid across the freshly polished wood counter were full to the brim of the best homemade ale the patrons from Dobbinsturn and Kinnemore had ever tasted.
Definitely going to want to read this one. Who did your cover? It's lovely.
- Which cover are you referring to?
I've had a few, lol
Any, or all. Are they done by the same artist?
They're all lovely, by the way.
- I have had a total of four different artists for this cover.
My last cover was lovely, bronze and elegant, but I wanted something unique.
Wow, that's quite a handful. Any you want to give a special shout out to?
- I think my artist captured it. Yes, a huge, huge thank you to Joaquin Nunez.. who is such a gifted artist. He really brought my MC Wylie Petford, to life.
And of course a thank you to Johannus Steger, for the promo work, and finishing touches.
I agree - all the steampunk elements, and a bit of mystery about what's gong on. That'd be a hard toss up for me to decide between - those are both lovely covers.
One last question for you. If someone wanted to keep up with all the projects you have going - where can they find you?
- All over the place!!! LOL.
Just kidding, let me grab my best links for you!
::Chuckles:: Thanks. Not sure "all over" would work for a link.
- ha ha ha ha!! Darn!
I know. It'd make it so much easier, wouldn't it?
- [You can find me on] Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Personal Website, Blog, Author central on Amazon
OK, that was an extra question. Going to add one more. Any last words before we wrapup?
- No, I am just super thankful for the opportunity to share my heart and passion with anyone willing to listen. So thank you so very much for having me! You are simply wonderful!!!!
Very welcome. Thank you so much for stopping by.
- It was my pleasure!
I warned you, everyone that Angelique was a bubbly vivacious person, right? If you want to get to know her better, click on any (some, or all) of her links above. She'll be more than happy to say "hi". And, if you follow, there's a good chance you'll even get to meet her in person, since she's started going out to conventions.
Don't forget to come visit again soon. Next time, we'll be talking with Quincy - one of the characters from Angelique's Dragon Lady. (Available for preorder until May 1, 2017. After that it'll be available for immediate purchase.)
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