I'm thrilled to have author Rebecca Barnhouse on the blog today to talk about her upcoming MG release, Peaceweaver. Here's a little bit about her book
Published by: Random House Kids
To Be Released on: March 27th, 2012
Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
In this stand-alone companion book to The Coming of the Dragon, 16-year-old Hild has to decide what’s most important to her, honor or happiness. Those who have read Dragon will meet new characters and see some familiar faces from a new perspective. Readers new to Hild’s world will meet a girl who knows how to wield a sword, but whose job is to weave peace between two warring kingdoms.
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What three words would you use to describe your upcoming release Peaceweaver?
Three words: Girl meets monsters.
Hild doesn’t show up until the very end of The Coming of the Dragon, yet she plays a vital role. I wanted to spend more time with her, to get a better understanding of who she is, why she would act in the way she does, and how she felt about what was happening to her. It seemed like I’d be doing her a disservice to not tell her story.
What is something that you've come to admire about your young heroine?
Even when it means going against authority and custom, Hild acts according to her conscience. Her naïveté causes her to misjudge situations and people at times, but I admire her willingness to try to change things instead of accepting situations she believes are wrong. She’s also a heck of a lot braver than I could ever be!
As a young reader did you have a fictional character you looked up? If so, who was it and why did you admire them?
I very much wanted to be Menolly from Dragonsong and Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey. While I thought it would be fun to be such a talented musician (not that I was willing to practice), to live in Harper Hall, and to have nine fire lizards of my very own, it’s Menolly’s resourcefulness that I really admired. When things got unbearable at home, she set out on her own, living beside the ocean and providing for all her own needs, proving to herself and the world that she wasn’t as useless as some thought she was.
What were some of your favorite books to read during your childhood?
Books have always been such a vital part of my life that it’s hard to limit my answer, but I’ll try. In elementary school, the Little House books were my absolute favorites. Then, in junior high school, I discovered science fiction (especially Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and Arthur C. Clarke) and fantasy (Patricia McKillip, Anne McCaffrey, and Katherine Kurtz were some of the writers I loved). And of course, there were The Lord of the Rings and Ursula K. Leguin’s Earthsea books, which continue to resonate deeply for me.
If you could give young aspiring authors one piece of advice, what would that be?
Unplug for awhile every day and focus on the world around you—the way people look and walk and speak, the colors and textures in the sky and trees and clothes, all the sensory experiences that surround you. And then experiment with describing some of them in words.
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Thank you for visiting with us today Rebecca!! Please be sure to visit Rebecca on her website to find out more about her upcoming releases.
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