WRITER SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW - A.K. Fotinos-Hoyer

A.K. Fotinos-Hoyer

It's been too long since a writer has been brave enough to step into the   spotlight. I'm so excited to have A.K. Fotino-Hoyer with us today!!!

Let's hear a round of applause!!!

Hi A.K.!!!! Welcome!!!

And thanks for your patience. I intended to post her interview Tuesday, but started and new job and things got cra-a-zy, blahbityblah!!
Anyway, I'm so glad to have her here today all the way from Berlin, Germany.

A.K. writes YA fantasy as well as YA contemporary. Today she's here to tell us a bit about her urban fantasy,  DAUGHTER OF THE MOON.

What manuscript do you have out on submission now? (genre, title, word count)

DAUGHTER OF THE MOON is a young adult urban fantasy complete at 55,000 words.

Nice title!! Sets the tone and genre nicely.

Give us the three to four sentence pitch.

Seventeen-year-old Selina Kane discovers she is the last living Necromancer. But she doesn’t have time to learn how to use her powers before the love of her life, Blake, is taken by the undead. There is one spell, one that would save Blake’s soul, but she’d have to kill him to use it, and worse, transform him into a ferryman for the Underworld. There may be other ways to save him though, if she's willing to make dark alliances with the undead.

Ooh, sounds like a dark and twisty tale. Love it!! Want a more detailed blurb? Click here.

Would you care to share the opening line or paragraph?

SELINA DRIFTED on the waves of Mrs. Riley’s voice as she described the assignment; a letter to the future. The classroom faded and for a brief moment Selina was falling through heavy gray fog. She emerged within a ring of trees, landing softly on the sandy shore of a lake.

A warm breeze wove strands of mist into her hair and around her legs. Selina looked up, but a wall of gray masked her view of the place she’d fallen from. And then something great and winged sliced through the twilight. It flew with the grace of a bird, though it was far too large to actually be one. The creature stretched out sharp talons and flapped green leather wings as it landed on the sand not too far from where she stood. A plume of fire erupted from its mouth, burning through the wet air.

WOW, what an opening!! Beautifully written, A.K.!! I can hear the water lapping and see the mist. Love this phrase: "burning through the wet air."

What is your least and most favorite word? Use each in a sentence, writing in the voice of one of your characters from any of your manuscripts.

Coalesce is a favorite word of mine and here’s a sentence:

Wisps of light rose from the body and coalesced into a silver ribbon which could only be one thing; Sara’s soul.

My least favorite word has got to be “noob”. I wasn’t sure if it was an official word or not, but I did check and sadly, “noob” has made it into the dictionary. None of the characters from any of my manuscripts would ever use this word, but here’s what might happen if Selina from DAUGHTER OF THE MOON were to meet someone who did:

“So you’re the last living Necromancer? And you’re a total noob?” Dillon asked.

Selina gave him enough time to fully appreciate her glare before whispering a few words in the language of the Underworld. The magic was harmless, but it would make him think twice before calling her a noob again.

Noob, LOL, yeah. Snarf. I could actually have fun with that word - with the right MG character. Hmmm.

What are you working on while you wait?

I’m nearly half way through the first draft of the sequel to DAUGHTER OF THE MOON.

Good for you!!! Best of luck!!

What book have you read in the past six mo that’s inspired you and why? 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern has been an inspiration to me not only because of how much I enjoyed the novel as a reader, but also because the story behind the novel spoke to me as a writer. The Night Circus started as a NaNoWriMo project which wasn’t really going anywhere (according to the author) until Erin Morgenstern decided to move the whole story to the circus. Recognizing that a story isn’t working, and being open to “moving it the circus”, is an act of bravery I admire.

WOW!! That is brave. I hadn't heard that - interesting.

If you’re a teen, were at one time, or still are but someone swapped your body with a wrinkled version of yourself—who would your (hypothetical) literary-character crush be?

Right now, I’m thinking Four from Veronica Roth’s DIVERGENT. He’s tough and edgy, but there’s more to him than meets the eye. And if you can get him to share his secrets, you’ll be part of something special.

YES!!!

Any random fun-facts you’d like to share about yourself?

I was born in California, lived in Boston, MA for eight years, and now live in Berlin, Germany with my husband and one crazy cat.

I have a blog! I’d love it if you’d follow me J Check it out here.  

And if you’re on Scribophile or Absolute Write, say hello (my username is A. K. Fotinos-Hoyer) – I have a passion for critiquing and enjoy exchanging experiences with fellow writers on the road to publication.

I learn so much from critiquing. It's crazy how much easier it is to "see" things when it's not your own wip.

Lucky you, living overseas with castles and misty mountains only a train ride away. Thanks again for the interview. It's been so great to "meet" you and learn about your finished ms DAUGHTER OF THE MOON. Best of luck and do keep us posted!!

If you would like to be spotlighted, please contact me asap, (PaulaKayMac@comcast.net). I'm always looking for interviews and love to meet new people that like to talk writing.