Acquired Book By:Originally my path crossed with Ms Quintana whilst I participated on the blog tour (via Cedar Fort Publishing & Media) for her debut novel “Eruption” wherein I found a compelling and tightly written technothriller with a heap of heart and suspense! After the blog tour, the author and I kept in touch as I was most curious about a potential sequel and I had hoped to feature her on my blog with an interview. Fast forward, Ms Quintana has since established her own publishing company (Pink Umbrella Books) and invited me to join the excitement of her duology sequel “Reclamation”. Quite overjoyed to learn what became of Jace Vega, I instantly agreed!
I received a complimentary copy of “Reclamation” direct from the publisher Pink Umbrella Books in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I loved reading ERUPTION:
Quintana breathes life into her novel within the first few pages of Eruption grounding the reader askance Jace as she goes about her routine to envelope herself inside her run; blocking out the world and the absence of memory from her dreams. It is an internal check-balance of seeing Jace from the moment she awakens to how she likes to stablise her life with routine. This is a girl who is adamant about routine and having a ‘neat and tidy approach to living’ wherein she would not grow surprised by any event, incident, or moment arriving up out of the blue! Not that that is characteristic of life but you can gather a sense of her character’s intentions through the anguish she feels on the death of her Mum. There is only a slight reference to this, but Quintana is a writer who can give depth to a few words; evoking a strong reaction out of her reader and characters alike.
Jace is at the apex of suspending her world between her current reality and the reality of how the future is intersecting with her present. The curious bit for me is how her present self is having trouble processing the future, as she’s approaching it from a rational point of view vindictive of someone who accepts plausible science fiction stories but hasn’t taken her belief to the point where she can fathom how ‘real’ science fiction scenarios can bleed into your own reality.
Eruption proves that you can formulate a new bridge between where techno-thrillers can merge quite beautifully with a time travel narrative arc, and this is a credit to Quintana whose given us a debut novel that entices you to seek out the continuing chapters inside this duology! Quintana included ‘just enough’ current events and tidbits of our modern 21st Century to encourage a balance of ‘when’ and ‘where’ the story takes place whilst providing a backdrop that we can instantly relate too as we read her debut. It was quasi-political without being a complete politico novel!
Sequel to Eruption, A Technothriller Exploring the Power of Foreknowledge and the Dangers of Technology Dependence.
When Jace Vega wakes up three years after the eruption of Mount Hood, her life is in turmoil. The future seems to match the images on the tablet, but Corey is missing, and nothing about her relationship with Damien feels right.
As Victor Trent continues to amass power, using information terrorism to make the world dependent on Omnibus technology and his private military force, Omnibus Global Security, Jace knows she doesn’t have much time if she’s going to stop him.
Jace’s reawakening begins a race to the place where it all began: the Point of Origin. If she can only remember where it is.
Converse on Twitter via:#EruptionDuology, #ReclamationBook
About Adrienne Quintana
Adrienne Quintana is the second of nine children born to professional oil artist, John Horejs, and his wife and business partner, Elaine. She spent her early years playing on the banks of the Snake River in southern Idaho while her father built a geodesic dome house. When the family wasn’t traveling around the country to art shows, Adrienne spent many happy hours reading in her unfinished, tent-like bedroom. Love of reading soon blossomed into a desire to write. If the family’s antiquated computer could be resurrected, a collection of short stories involving local characters and their epic battles with fire-breathing dragons would be sure to entertain.
After completing high school via correspondence, Adrienne studied Music Education at Mesa Community College. She took an 18 month break to serve a church mission in Montreal, Canada, where she gained invaluable life experiences and a few pounds from the local delicacies. After the completion of her mission and a month abroad in Europe, Adrienne moved to Utah with the intention of continuing her education at Brigham Young University, but these plans were short-lived when she met her husband-to-be while working at an investment company. Soon after their marriage, the Quintanas packed up and moved to Minnesota, where Adrienne worked while her husband earned a Law degree.
After four children and a move to Arizona, Adrienne completed her Bachelors of Science and Communication at the University of Phoenix. In the throes of housekeeping, potty-training, and carpooling, Adrienne discovered that she could find time to accomplish her goals—often in the quiet hours after the children were in bed. Since her graduation in 2012, those quiet moments have been used to fulfill a life-long dream of becoming a writer.
I posted my review of ERUPTION on the 31st of January, 2015 and this September, 2016 I re-read the story in order to better re-align myself inside the mind of Jace Vega!
Memory is both elusive and ironic – I remember the feeling of urgency when I first read ERUPTION. The irony is that I feel like I’ve lived a lifetime since I read this story – yet it was only one year and nine months ago! I’d equae that to how I felt picking up The Clan Chronicles after nine months! There are moments where we place our memories on pause – especially those attached to stories, to the lives of characters we connect too – and then, someone encourages us to resume where we had left off.
I felt like Jace – I knew I had read these opening sentences where we find her jogging ahead of her work hours in the morning but it wasn’t until she reached for the discarded tablet that the pieces of her story started to ‘re-align’. Similar as said to the Clan – memories you etch into your heart, leave imprinted data and blessedly we can return to where we were originally. Yet, sometimes I like to humour my curiosity and re-read the familiar yet not altogether remember the passages before resuming a series or in this case a duology (two stories anchoured and aligned together). Jace in ERUPTION felt intense waves of deja vu where she would automatically feel as if she were re-living sequences of her everyday life and/or that portion of her life was bleeding into the future or the future was blending into her present, depending on how you perceived her story as it unfolded. Read More
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
I’m focusing on Jackie Gamber’s the Leland Dragon series as I was given the amazing opportunity to discover the beauty within Gamber’s YA Fantasy series last Autumn; whereupon I received Redheart in exchange for an honest review ‘off-tour’. From the very first moment I broached the covers of this novel of #dragonfiction, I *knew!* I had stumbled across a writer who breathed her heart and spirit into her literary exploits. This was a special story for me to read, as I always wanted to read about dragons in fiction, inasmuch as I was a bonefide reader of Science Fiction & Fantasy since I was quite young until my reading wanderings took an abrupt stop in my late teens.
Author Biography: Jackie Gamber
As an award winning author, Jackie writes stories ranging from ultra-short to novel-length, varieties of which have appeared in anthologies such as Tales of Fantasy and Dragons Composed, as well as numerous periodical publications, including Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, The Binnacle, Mindflights Magazine, Necrotic Tissue, and Shroud. She is the author of the fantasy novels Redheart, Sela, Reclamation and writing an alternate history time travel novel. She blogs professionally for English Tea Store.com, where she reviews classic science fiction and fantasy novels and pairs them with the ideal tea-sipping companion.
Jackie is a member of the professional organizations Science Fiction Writers of America and Horror Writers Association. She was named honorable mention in L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Award, and received a 2008 Darrell Award for best short story by a Mid-South author. She is the winner of the 2009 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award for Imaginative Fiction for her story The Freak Museum, a post-apocalyptic tale that looks closely at perceptions and outward appearances and how they affect the way we see ourselves. Jackie Gamber was co-founder and Executive Editor of Meadowhawk Press, a speculative fiction publisher based in Memphis. One of their novels, Terminal Mind by David Walton, won the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award in 2009. Jackie also edited the award winning benefit anthology, Touched By Wonder. She has been a guest lecturer at Memphis Options High Schools, and is a speaker at writers’ conferences from Michigan to Florida. Jackie is also the visionary behind the MidSouthCon Writers’ Conference, helping writers connect since 2008.
Wordsmiths are my favourites next to research enthusiasts:
Ms. Gamber has a way of weaving the opening bits of this tale in such a way that your hungry for each new sentence that alights in your mind! She has a way of showing the interactions between a freaked out of her skull human and a disgruntled and reclusive dragon as though this were an ordinary tale, set in an ordinary time, and one that would easily be taken as ‘written’ and ‘true’. Her ease of giving the reader the chance to soak into her narrative is brilliant when you consider this is an epic fantasy, with a world created fully unknown to the reader who picks up the book!
Next to (writers who are) research enthusiasts, my next favourite writer is the wordsmith! The one who uses a palette of words to paint the portraits of what evolves into the stories that light up our imaginations with such a vigorous intensity! They use words in a fashion that infuses emotion, heart, and observation in a way that is both poetic and brilliantly unique. And, being emotional beings (dragons), I would wager could lead to disappointments, misunderstandings, and grievously difficult emotional keels! She eclipses the depth of their personality with deft skill! Soulful! Dragons to me, have always come across as being ‘soulful’, filt to the brim with an ageless wisdom and a mission to seek out understanding in things that they do not always understand at first.
Discovering a touring company (Tomorrow Comes Media) whilst browsing the book blogosphere last September and seeing this curiously purple & black logo winking at me in the sidebar of one of my click through visits changed my life as I couldn’t sign-up to be a Tour Hostess fast enough! My first blog tour to host for TCM (I always smile at the initials because I am always thinking of Turner Classic Movies when I use it!) was for “The Boxcar Baby” by J.L. Mulvihill where I tackled a Dystopian Steampunked world for the first time. My review for The Boxcar Baby posted on 29th of September whereas Redheart followed on 30th of October, making it my fourth novel from Seventh Star Press and my fourth Indie Science Fiction or Fantasy author to be read of all-time. As even though I always grativated towards Indie Press & Publishers as much as I did Self-Published authors — there was never an easy route to seek them out on a regular basis. By becoming a book blogger not only was I discovering how wide of a net the Indies encompass nowadays but I was able to cross paths with more writers like me who think outside the box of the traditional paradigm of the world of publishing. Being in a position to ‘host!’ the author and their stories was both an honour and an absolute incredible blessing!
Redheart had such a strong effect on me, as the world within where Kallon Redheart lives is such an intricately created world with layered dimensions at every turn. The fact that I *devoured!* this novel rather than slowly soaked into its heart, is an understatement!
I was so new to hosting for TCM when I posted my review for Redheart I didn’t have the official author’s biography for Gamber nor did I realise I could have posted the Book Synopsis! I was still in the opening months of understanding how I wanted to blog and share my reading adventures as much as defining myself as a Blog Book Tour Hostess. I’ve kept my archives as true to my posts as they were posted originally with only updating font, size of typography, and/or updating badges or post dividers. I wanted an honest recollection of my journey and of the materials I had at my disposal when I was blogging about the books as I met them. I still remain true to how I started, however, in that I am always seeking permission to use Press Kit Materials on behalf of novels & their authors. To me it is not only a courtesy but a rule of thumb as a book blogger.
I truly need to re-read and re-visit the entire trilogy of which I reflected recently and even included my ‘dream setting’ in which to do it:
@SGZimmer@frellathon I didn’t get to re-read the series in full either; but I have this dream of a blizzard, a hearth & a cuppa tea for it!
I am involved in a world-wide globally connected blogosphere challenge where each blogger who signs into the participant linky is quite literally confirming their express desire to blog straight [except on Sundays!] for *26 Days!* whilst writing *26!* most intriguing & thought-producing alphabet essays! Or, to be comically inspiring, randomly cheeky, and otherwise delightfully entertaining! The bloggers who have signed into the challenge are from all walks of blogosphere life: book bloggers united alongside lifestyle gurus; writers of all literary styles nudged up against travelogues; the gambit runs the full course of each and every theme, topic, subject, and genre you could possibly light your heart with joy to broach in a blog! And, the curious bit to the journey is where your posts lead you as much as where other blogger’s posts inspire you! It’s this fantastic community to celebrate the spirit within the blogosphere as much as the spirit of connection amongst the bloggers who might not have crossed paths with each other otherwise. After all, the road map for blogs is as wide and large as the actual world outside the nethersphere of websites, pixels, and memes! Walk with us whilst we discover a bit about ourselves, our blog, & each other!
I am blogger #552 out of 2279!
D R A G O N F I C T I O N has been a part of my life ever since I first saw Pete’s Dragon, as it combined two of my favourite loves: fantasy & musicals! The interaction of the cast and of course, the dragon is what endeared me to dragons throughout my childhood! And, yet it wasn’t until I was in my late teens to where I started to seek out D R A G O N F I C T I O N with a passion for finding works of literature which bespoke of the dragons I had hoped to encounter! There is such a cross-sect of literary works featuring dragons that its hard to pick amongst them to bring forward the ones that I am hoping will become the dragons who fill my heart with joy!
Dragons to me, always felt to encompass human-like characteristics that gave you the impression that if any species could live in an accord with us, it would be the dragons! They are generally emotionally driven, feel things deeply with their hearts, and they have keen observation and hearing skills that make them in a position to have empathy and tolerance. I always had the sense inside me that a dragon is as curious in nature as humans, and oft-times could get themselves into a bit of trouble untoward that regard!
I am not necessarily against dragons who have less empathy and humanity inside them such as the more brutish types found in the Harry Potter series, but I do happen to lean more towards the dragons of the Leland Dragons series by Jackie Gamber! I had the honour of reading the complete series whilst hosting either a book review or blog tour with Tomorrow
Artwork Credit: Mathew Perry
Comes Media on behalf of the Seventh Star Press trilogy! The dragons inside Gamber’s series has a penchant for heart and soul, a dedication to community, and a willingness to seek peace over violent warfare. The stories soaked straight into my heart and overflowed me the kind of happiness a reader hopes to stumble across whilst finding both a new author to pursue reading as much as finding a new niche in literature which excites her! It was my honour and pleasure to blog about each installment as they alighted into my hands, and I was thrilled to peaches to be a part of the blog tour for the final novel Reclamation as it contained such a powerful and spiritual ending of epic scale!
My heart still flutters back to the very beginning, when I first became invested into the lives of Kallon and Riza, as it was the singular moment I had realised that there is truly a niche inside dragon fiction which has captured my heart! I was struck by the breadth of the world-building as much as the genuine dialogue of how dragons live, work, and interact with not only their kind but with the humans who live on the fringes of their societies. Not everything was always roses, mind you, but it was a bit like gathering an insider’s glimpse into a world you never expected to have such an intimate portrait of! As I walked further into their realm, I started to see the similarities and the differences between their culture and the humans they were always afeared to become close too.
Prior to reading this lovely series, I was one of the ones who went to see How to Train Your Dragon with the high hopes of nestling into a new dragon film which harked back to my love of Pete’s Dragon! Who wouldn’t love seeing how the Vikings would interact with the misunderstood and oft-times persecuted dragons!? I longed for this particular film to spark a sequel, and I am bursting with excitement for Summer 2014 when it become a release on the silver screen! Sometimes your dreams come true in ways that your not always expecting, and for me, finding ways to have D R A G O N F I C T I O N a focal point in my life has been this book blogger’s life’s ambition! Through book blogging, I am getting the proper chance to exchange conversations with a wider audience of readers, and therein lies the joy! I am meeting fellow fantasy lovers who not only read dragon stories, but are forthcoming about which authors they appreciate and which authors they are hoping to dig into next! Prior to being involved with my own book blog, I found the waters of how to traverse this exciting branch of literature beyond daunting as those readers I would come across at libraries or bookshoppes were not as straight forward on which narratives spoke to them the most! I am thinking this might have something to do with the fact most of those in-person readers were blokes, and I oft noticed there was a discrepancy between their views and my own. As if perhaps a girl couldn’t hold her salt in the fantasy realms. Sad, yes. True, most definitely! Online I notice the divide doesn’t exist. If you dig fantasy, you rock to the fantasy lovers! Gender doesn’t even enter into the conversation, and that is something to celebrate! Of course, this might not be true ‘everywhere’ but I can only relate what my personal experiences have been and hence how my experiences might differ from others. I do hope in the future to be in an area where there is a wider net of readers and ones who are not as prejudicial towards each other as readers are here.
Next to (writers who are) research enthusiasts, my next favourite writer is the wordsmith! The one who uses a palette of words to paint the portraits of what evolves into the stories that light up our imaginations with such a vigorous intensity! They use words in a fashion that infuses emotion, heart, and observation in a way that is both poetic and brilliantly unique. And, being emotional beings (dragons), I would wager could lead to disappointments, misunderstandings, and grievously difficult emotional keels! She eclipses the depth of their personality with deft skill! Soulful! Dragons to me, have always come across as being ‘soulful’, filt to the brim with an ageless wisdom and a mission to seek out understanding in things that they do not always understand at first.
In March, whilst visiting Fantasy Cafe [one of my favourite fantasy-based book bloggers!] I started to have a bookish discussion about ‘D R A G O N F I C T I O N‘:
@JLovesAStory I haven’t yet read any of the dragon books you were thinking about, but I loved Robin Hobb’s related 3 trilogies.
I had not realised that I had written down Robin Hobb as a perspective D R A G O N F I C T I O N author whilst curating a short list underneath my review of Redheart, which proves that sometimes time and memory are not as they ought to be! I was most esteemed of this conversation because it proved to me that I am on the right path as far as the writers I am seeking out and the novels of which interest me the most! When she had mentioned the series by Marie Brennan I was enraptured as soon as I pulled up information about the book series! I mean, who wouldn’t want to soak into a world based on a ‘dragon naturalist’ perspective!? I have always been properly hinged to the natural world, and this felt to me as though a piece of my own world was crossing into my fictional wanderings! The sketches and illustrations which are featured in the novel’s cover-art is beyond impressive!
Likewise, I’ve been attending the #genrechat sessions on Twitter, whereupon a heap of topics are discussed but mostly we’re appreciators of science fiction & fantasy, and thereby this conversation was a lead-in:
@JLovesAStory Some authors you might want to check out include Robin Hobb, Rachel Hartman, James Stevens, and A.D. Trosper.
On my own, I have stumbled across a few authors who speak to me as being writers I could sink my teeth into their fantastical worlds where dragons roam and my heart can alight inside a well-built world. Enchanted Forest Chronicles byPatricia C. Wrede is one of the series I latched onto due to the following reasons and I happily stumbled across an interview of Wrede’s whilst typing this post!
The Temeraire series byNaomi Novik is another series I came across as I tried to unearth series that were a bit set aside from the norm. I wanted to try to find dragons I would appreciate reading but also have an undercurrent heart of a story which would resonate with me as a deep appreciator of historical fiction. In fantasy, I love the writers who build these well-lit worlds where you can nearly fill your eyes with their entirety by the time you conclude each individual story. Your mind and heart fill with such a warm glow of visiting that you immediately want to duck back inside and see what has happened since you last had been there.
Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik : Book Trailer viaNaomi Novik
There are a few book bloggers I try to regularly read who have the same affinity for fantasy as I do:
Fantasy Cafe – I enjoy how she goes beyond the basics of the books she reads and her fondness for chatting about the books she enjoys!
Bookish Whimsy – She actually first inspired me to seek out Finnikin of the Rock & Classics Re-Told! Always inspiring on my visits!
On Starships and Dragonwings– Hostess of the Friday link exchange for Science Fiction & Fantasy reviews, discussions, & giveaways!
Once Upon A Time – One of the book bloggers who most inspired me whilst I was creating Jorie Loves A Story!
Each of these book bloggers brings something new and different to the table. In the way they shape their reviews to the way they are willing to engage with readers and book bloggers alike! I have always appreciated their kindnesses and once I get back into visiting blogs on a more regularly basis, I am hoping to leave comments regularly and continue to seek out the books they are introducing me too! They have a wealth of information that I do encourage you to seek out yourself!
Being that I am posting my “Letter D” a full day after it was meant to be featured, I had the pleasure of dropping by:
I was attempting not to reveal my pure joy in seeing that Amrita posted about ‘dragons’ on her Letter D day!! I was elated beyond what I can express seeing that we share such a wicked sweet affinity for the lovely creatures! And, to think that we each are seeking out the same ‘humanness’ in D R A G O N F I C T I O N is quite stellar indeed!
A short listing of books & authors of D R A G O N F I C T I O NI have uncovered:
Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle, Book 1) by Christopher Paolini (*earmarked to read for TBR Challenge)
A Natural History of Dragons (Memoirs of Lady Trent, Book 1) by Marie Brennan
The Dragon Keeeper (The Rain Wilds, Book 1) by Robin Hobb after reading Farseer, Liveship Traders, and Tawny Man series!
His Majesty’s Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1) by Naomi Novik
the World of Pern by Anne McCaffrey (I am still trying to sort out where to ‘begin’)
Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
The authors Mr. Hallowell recommended Rachel Hartman, James Stevens, and A.D. Trosper (the last two of whom I need to research!)
I will not know for sure which new stories of D R A G O N F I C T I O N will take my breath away, but I do know this, the mere fact that there are new dragons to meet and new characters outside of dragonkind to embrace, I am going to be a happy dragon girl for a very, very long time yet to come! In the meantime, I was inspired to create my own contribution to spreading the joy of reading this sub-genre of fantasy by giving those of us on Twitter a hashtag to use for conversations &/or book suggestions: #dragonfiction! Start using it today! Rock on, dear hearts! Rock on!
Thank you for joining me on DAY 4 | A to Z Challenge!
I am a girl named Jorie who loves a story!
I am a bookish library girl on a quest for literary enlightenment!
I am predominately self-taught and library educated!
I am Mademoiselle Jorie!
Thank you for joining me on this journey!
This marks my fourth post for the:
And, might I ask a Question I previously broached on Jorie Loves A Story on Day 4?
IF your a reader of dragon lore and fiction, which books and series stand out in your mind as the next ‘best’ read for me to engage in!? I’ll compile a list, and when I go to sit down with more books of this nature, I will pull your suggestions together and see how many I can read! I do have copies of “Eragon” & “Brisinger” on my self as much as I am curious about: the Temeraire series byNaomi Novik, the Rain Wild Chronicles byRobin Hobb, Pern byAnne MacCaffrey, and the Enchanted Forest Chronicles byPatricia C. Wrede, of which I have stumbled across thus far! IF you’ve read any of these, which were your favourites!? And, what warmed you to the story of Leland Province, as I reviewed the trilogy!? Have you read and enjoyed any of the other authors or books I have mentioned!?
{SOURCES: A to Z Challenge Participant & Letter D Badge provided by the A to Z Challenge site for bloggers to use on their individual posts & blogs to help promote the challenge to others. Trilogy book covers for the Leland Dragon series provided by Tomorrow Comes Media and used with permission. The book trailers Crucible of Gold & Seraphina as well as the author interview by Open Road Media Videos had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portal to this post, and I thank them for the opportunity to share more about this novel & film. Tweets were able to be embedded by codes via Twitter.}
Acquired Book By: I was simply overjoyed with happiness when I first learnt “Reclamation” was going to release and have its own blog tour! I wasn’t a book blogger when “Redheart” and “Sela” made their rounds through the bookish blogosphere, but I was thankful I could become introduced to “Redheart” and this lovely dragon series all the same in Autumn 2013! I was selected to be a tour stop through Tomorrow Comes Media. I received a complimentary copy of this book direct from the publisher Seventh Star Press, in exchange for an honest review.I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Anxious to Read the Exciting Conclusion:
After emerging from the ending of Sela, where all of Dragonkind was on the verge of war, my heart was warm from the realisation that Sela had the ability to transcend the harbinations of ill-thoughts towards both dragons and humans simply by being true to herself. She was of both species and she could live in harmony inside her skin knowing of her heritage. The journey she took was just as important as the revelation revealed inside of Jastin Artmitage, and its their combined path towards freedom from primal fear and desolation that endeavoured to believe the concluding arm of this trilogy of dragon fiction would leave me ruminative and pensive for quite a long while yet to come! My mind is always flickering with afterthoughts from reading the Leland Dragon series, mostly as the characters who are entrenched in the drama encourage your mind to ponder the greater picture of what is happening to them. The whole of the arc rather than merely seeing the individual struggles.
My heart still flutters back to the very beginning, when I first became invested into the lives of Kallon and Riza, as it was the singular moment I had realised that there is truly a niche inside dragon fiction which has captured my heart! I was struck by the breadth of the world-building as much as the genuine dialogue of how dragons live, work, and interact with not only their kind but with the humans who live on the fringes of their societies. Not everything was always roses, mind you, but it was a bit like gathering an insider’s glimpse into a world you never expected to have such an intimate portrait of! As I walked further into their realm, I started to see the similarities and the differences between their culture and the humans they were always afeared to become close too.
And, even though I had resolved this is a trilogy without the hope of a story to be revealed down the road inside this world I’ve hinged my heart too, its with trepidation that I picked up Reclamation! Worried I was not yet ready to let go!
Life gives us trials that we do not even realise we can overcome, much less face until they are presented. Is this why you entitled it “Reclamation”? You reclaimed your gift as your characters reclaimed their home? observation from Jackie Gamber’s Reclamation tour interview by Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story
About the Author | Jackie Gamber
As an award winning author, Jackie writes stories ranging from ultra-short to novel-length, varieties of which have appeared in anthologies such as Tales of Fantasy and Dragons Composed, as well as numerous periodical publications, including Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, The Binnacle, Mindflights Magazine, Necrotic Tissue, and Shroud. She is the author of the fantasy novel Redheart and Sela, and writing an alternate history time travel novel. She blogs professionally for English Tea Store.com, where she reviews classic science fiction and fantasy novels and pairs them with the ideal tea-sipping companion.
Jackie is a member of the professional organizations Science Fiction Writers of America and Horror Writers Association. She was named honorable mention in L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Award, and received a 2008 Darrell Award for best short story by a Mid-South author. She is the winner of the 2009 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award for Imaginative Fiction for her story The Freak Museum, a post-apocalyptic tale that looks closely at perceptions and outward appearances and how they affect the way we see ourselves. Jackie Gamber was co-founder and Executive Editor of Meadowhawk Press, a speculative fiction publisher based in Memphis. One of their novels, Terminal Mind by David Walton, won the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award in 2009. Jackie also edited the award winning benefit anthology, Touched By Wonder. She has been a guest lecturer at Memphis Options High Schools, and is a speaker at writers’ conferences from Michigan to Florida. Jackie is also the visionary behind the MidSouthCon Writers’ Conference, helping writers connect since 2008.
Book Synopsis:
The exciting conclusion of the Leland Dragon Series!
Leland Province remains in danger. The sinister Fordon Blackclaw has returned from the shadows to strike at the heart of neighboring Esra, killing its Venur and making clear his intentions to retake what was once his: Mount Gore, seat of the Leland Dragon Council.
All around, the land grows weaker and weaker. Leland, once thought saved by Kallon Redheart, is without purpose, and within its borders, Murk Forest, a place of mystery and danger, has driven its inhabitants to seek aid. Esra is in flames, and the Rage Desert grows. Dragon and human alike struggle to find their way, and the wizard Orman can sense that there may be more at stake than the affairs of dragons.
Hope remains, yet it is not without obstacles. In Esra, Sela, the daughter of Kallon and Riza, found the well, a source of life, and made herself whole again. But her homecoming is not what she had imagined.
Old wounds buried deep must reopen if life is to continue. Dragons, humans, wizards, and shape shifters are all at risk as the peace between dragon and human has finally been broken.
War is here.
The stakes?
Perhaps the whole world.
On the footsteps of war:
Leesa & Jastin attempting escape into Murk Forest Artwork Credit: Matthew Perry
As I mentioned in my review of Sela, Gamber has this keen sensibility of bringing the reader full circle through her Leland Dragon series, to where each ending of one installment of the trilogy is a transition into the next! I was not disappointed whilst picking up Reclamation in finding only a few days had passed since the exit of the characters fleeing Riddess Castle! War is bursting onto the page, lit aflame by the re-surging presence of Fordan Blackclaw the villainous dragon of Redheart whose strength to overturn order in exchange for pure chaos is in part due to his comrade in arms Fane Whitetail! Of whom I have rarely mentioned because his motivations are even more vile than his leader; of whom he’d prefer to overtake if given the chance! A mutiny within an insurrection to ensure his own desires for Esra Province and Dragonkind is playing out through the war which has been brought on by ill choices of those who were too blind to see what was encroaching into their lives by those who only acted to deceive!
Keenly written into the opening chapters is the apathy of disinterest amongst the Dragon Counsel to even consider taking action at the first murmurings of war. I appreciated this angle because I think for a lot of wars which erupt out of the shadows of peace, there are those who will always feel indifferent towards change. Towards standing up for what is right no matter the cost of the discourse to follow verse turning the other cheek and hoping for their problems to dematerialise as easily as they were formed.
The theory of time’s fragile fabric knitted together with the internal clockwork of their known world’s pulsebeat was refreshing as it insinuates that all action has its consequences on a higher plane. A bit how in our own realm of living within the sphere of Earth is jolted and disintegrated by industrialism and shifting powers. There is an internal balance to how a living sphere of a world can function and thrive. The more outside influences which disrupt the habitat and makeup of that sphere’s natural origins, the more precarious the situation can grow! We are meant to be caretakers and caregivers of the land bestowed to us, rather than the bullied force of brutality and harshness the land and environs flinch and shirk away from once our presence is known.
My Review of Reclamation:
Jastin Armitage & Kallon Redheart Artwork Credit: Matthew Perry
Reclamation by definition is the act of reclaiming what was once considered lost yet in its origins of Latin, it’s an exclamation of force against what has been done against you. The two main provinces in the Leland Dragons series are Esra & Leland, yet there is another lesser known area called Murk Forest, which is as elusive to the reader as the Rage Desert; as previously revealed in Sela. As I started to entrench myself into the action of the heated scenes of flight for both Jastin & Leesa, my mind wondered how far the Redheart clan and those who stood with them would have to go to find resolution and peace?!
Fane Whitetail meets his match in Ela Greenscale, who is a defector from Leland Province to aide Blackclaw’s pursuit of ill-willed control over the provinces. In Ela, Whitetail’s equal on levels he never considered, he starts to see that he is not alone in wanting to pursue a path few would understand and the majority would balk against. Whitetail’s true nature and how he identifies his perception of self is explored whilst giving the reader more pause about his principles. Sela is caught in-between the past and the present whilst resolving the future she hopes everyone will be courageous enough to embrace. Her key role is truly the unlocking of the New Age of a new Kind of existence. I tip-toed around this revelation in my review of Sela, as I wanted the element of surprise to be a kiss of joy to the reader. However, without disclosing how Sela is uniquely different from her Kind, I can say, the strength she has within her I believe truly surprises herself at times. She’s a quiet girl with extraordinary gifts who doesn’t always believe in herself the way in which she should. Her heart guides her but at times, it’s the mistrust of her instincts which lead her on a path towards embracing self-confidence.
Drell on the other hand is starting to pull the pieces of his ancestry together whilst embracing the fact his future truly lies in where he finds himself the most at home. He was raised in the Rage Desert yet bourne of Leland ancestry, where he has only just become familiar of. His only connection to Blackclaw is by appearance and blood relation, as where his father’s heart is blackened, Drell’s is empathic.
The morale fiber of dragon culture and the dignity of the humans who live near them is underscored by the inability to see each other as equals rather than as nemesis’s. Each species has always attempted to live without the other interfering into their lives but the true measure of their growth is if they can transcend their fears and walk into an era of contractual peace. Working together rather than against each other, with full acceptance and support.
I loved the exploration of Murkens within Murk Forest, because Gamber has such a gentle hand in giving you reason to draw a breath of pause whilst drinking in the more fantastical elements of her narrative! The Murkens by definition are shapeshifters, but it’s how they are presented that delighted me the most! They are as akin to the natural world as the dragons, living in a quandary of a balance that even they do not fully understand. There is always a hidden depth to the story, which I appreciate more than I may even let on! My mind is always rampant to explore the wholeness of the trilogy whilst caught up in one of the installments!
Gamber forces you to look internally and introspectively as you read her stories, especially in regards to prejudicial inclinations which can do the most harm if they are not seen for what they are. Jastin Armitage’s character goes through the most catalytic changes over the score of the saga. He is the classic hero whose soul was entrapped by rage and prejudice without the foundation of understanding what prompted his innermost hatred. She explores the depth of his character’s ability to emerge out of the darkness and back into a path towards the Light. For me, this is one of the quintessential elements she stitched into the fabric of the Leland Dragons series. To not only present war but to take the harder road as a writer to endeavour to uncover what provoked it from all sides, angles, and hearts. War doesn’t begin on the battlefield afterall, nor does war end in battle.
Peace is always obtainable through forgiveness and love, but it’s how we get to the bridge of acceptance that truly tests the measure of what we can evolve to embrace.
An appreciator of ‘dragon fiction’:
Ever since I was a young child who couldn’t rent a copy of “Pete’s Dragon” enough times to satisfy her need to visit the world in which a kind-hearted dragon resided, I am a girl who always appreciated the connection between humans and dragons. There is a unique bond that sparks inside us when we are innocent and young, towards the animals and creatures who are just out of focus from our view such as dragons, unicorns, fairies, and wood nymphs. The enchanted realms which are coaxed out of our imaginative hearts and the spirit of the unknown being just outside grasp of our reach is what endears us the most to fantasy and the literature which alights their stories into our memories. I always wanted to seek out dragon fiction stories, but part of me was always on the fence knowing if I would find the kind of dragon I could warm up too, like I had whilst watching “Pete’s Dragon”. Redheart & the Leland Dragons series proved that this was not only plausible but possible!
I started an open discussion on my review of “Redheart”, seeking to inspire an on-going conversation about dragons and the literary worlds in which writers have left them behind for us to seek out and find. One day I hope the discussion can get started, but until then, I am seeking dragons as a solo project. I’m looking specifically for writers like Gamber who infuse their narratives with more than mere warfare and darkness, but the transitional arc of true growth, understanding, and enlightenment to where whether you are dragon bourne or humantiscially tethered, you can find a story which ignites the magic and the passion for dragons!
I am an appreciator of dragon fiction who cannot wait to get her hands on the next novel and author who betwitches her fever for devouring more stories! Join with me on Twitter using the hashtag I accidentally created which is featured below! Let us converse, discuss, and discover together!
Join the celebration as you amble through the tour!
Cross-listed on: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Fridays via On Starships & Dragonwings
{SOURCES: Cover art of “Reclamation” by Matthew Perry, book synopsis, author photograph of Ms. Gamber, author biography, and the tour host badge were all provided by Tomorrow Comes Media and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs.}
As an award winning author, Jackie writes stories ranging from ultra-short to novel-length, varieties of which have appeared in anthologies such as Tales of Fantasy and Dragons Composed, as well as numerous periodical publications, including Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, The Binnacle, Mindflights Magazine, Necrotic Tissue, and Shroud. She is the author of the fantasy novel Redheart and Sela, and writing an alternate history time travel novel. She blogs professionally for English Tea Store.com, where she reviews classic science fiction and fantasy novels and pairs them with the ideal tea-sipping companion.
Jackie is a member of the professional organizations Science Fiction Writers of America and Horror Writers Association. She was named honorable mention in L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Award, and received a 2008 Darrell Award for best short story by a Mid-South author. She is the winner of the 2009 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award for Imaginative Fiction for her story The Freak Museum, a post-apocalyptic tale that looks closely at perceptions and outward appearances and how they affect the way we see ourselves. Jackie Gamber was co-founder and Executive Editor of Meadowhawk Press, a speculative fiction publisher based in Memphis. One of their novels, Terminal Mind by David Walton, won the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award in 2009. Jackie also edited the award winning benefit anthology, Touched By Wonder. She has been a guest lecturer at Memphis Options High Schools, and is a speaker at writers’ conferences from Michigan to Florida. Jackie is also the visionary behind the MidSouthCon Writers’ Conference, helping writers connect since 2008.
By which the interview commenced,
between Jorie and Ms. Gamber!
I am thankful to announce that I had the pleasure of welcoming back one of my favourite Seventh Star Press authors to my blog! From the moment I first soaked into the world of the Leland Dragons, I felt a connection to the author whose intuitive wordsmith abilities to jettison a reader into a fantastical realm to the brink of living there for a niche of time is the type of adventure we all strive to arrive into whilst choosing which book to read next! It was such an unexpected delight and encounter, to where I am oft finding myself curious and a bit anxious to read more dragon fiction! Will I warm up to other dragons? Only time will tell! For now, let us step back and observe what was exchanged between a reader and the author who left her enchanted:
Did you originally plan to have the Leland Dragon series confined to a trilogy or were you planning to expand the stories set within the world of Leland Dragons evolve outside of this first introduction?
Gamber responds: When I first began the imaginations that led to “Redheart”, I wasn’t thinking of it as a series, just the story of Kallon. It became clear, somewhere in the development, though, there was more story here than one book, or one character, could tell. It evolved into a three-book tale, and I’ve thought of it that way ever since.
As a reader, I am always genuinely curious about a writer’s process, yet as a fellow writer I do have a bit of an edge as far as having insight into this, yet we each have our own methods at arriving at our story’s conclusion. This is why I am thankful to be in a position now as a book blogger to interview authors I have the pleasure of discovering! As hearing about how the story evolves and is initially created adds to the dimensional joy for me having read their tales!
For readers, like myself, who have grown attached to the series have any hope of seeing this world re-surface down the road?
Gamber responds: I’m a firm believer in storytelling for the story’s sake, and knowing when that has been satisfied. As an example, I admire British television for grasping when to bring a series to a close once the story’s been told. American television will drag on and on to feed the entertainment engine even once the story has been long “finished” and lost its original luster. Same goes for movies and novels. I have written a couple of short stories from Leland, though, as an ancestral background sort of experiment, and that was fun.
Yes, I do concur with you on this to a certain point, except to say as far as the Britons are concerned I was most grieved in recent years by their inability to carry-on with “House of Elliott”, “Rosemary & Thyme”, and “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” where they clearly did not understand the full impact these serials had on their dedicated audience! On the flipside, I also concur on how a show can become a stalemate as I lost all interest in ER during Season 8 or 9 (whichever one they brutally killed off Kellie Martin’s character); yet my heart left when Ross & Hathaway made their exit in Season 5! I think the difference between serials on tv and in literature, is a reader will always struggle a bit more to let go. We get such an attachment whilst reading the character’s story that we always hope in some way we can continue to re-visit a new aspect of their lives. The same is true for tv serials, but oft times the writing lacks whereas an author has more continuity and control. In this thread of thought, are you going to release the short stories from Leland in the form of an anthology collection!?
You’ve managed to introduce us to such interesting characters throughout the journey leading into ‘Reclamation’. I was curious how did you originally draw life into Kallon, Riza, Sela, Jastin Armitage, and Orman Thistleby?
Gamber responds: My hope in creating any character is to imbue them with the same attributes as actual persons. We all have fears, hopes, emotional triggers, memories. To me, the best kinds of characters have all these things, too. One of the questions I’ve asked of students when I’ve instructed writing is: “All stories have characters, but do your characters have their own story?” A character should act from its own motivation, not just because a writer needs a certain plot point to happen. That’s the goal, anyway, to make a character real. For me.
The more I turn over in my mind the motivation I had for naming my blog, the more layers I reveal about myself. Which is to say, I have oft spoken about this very nature of writing, insofar as to clarify for those who find how writers write to be a paradoxical mystery: writers record the histories of the character who has not yet found the voice to carry forward their life’s story. I always felt as I sit down to compose thoughts on different portions of my own manuscripts, that I am one part historian and one part creator. The key is finding the balance between being a story-teller and a vessel of inspiration. I think blending these two is the key. Which goes directly to what your saying,… if fictional characters do not have the etchings of real-life counterparts fused into their beings the audience will not draw out an empathic eye towards them.
What made you decide to write fantasy for a Young Adult audience vs. an Adult one? Were there advantages to taking this course over the other? Do you find all ages enjoying the series or one over the other?
Gamber responds: When I first began writing “Redheart”, I didn’t know I was writing YA! To me, I was just writing a good story. I still see a fine line, even in other genres, what makes a story YA vs. adult-oriented. I have come to grasp that Kallon Redheart has daddy/identity issues, as well as Sela, and that is a heady blend often explored in YA fiction, as well as other themes that worked their way into the story. I wouldn’t call writing for YA an advantage, necessarily. There is already a stigma that genre writing isn’t “real” literature, and even to genre writers, there’s a stigma that YA writing isn’t “real” writing! J.K. Rowling and Suzanne Collins (among others) have busted the myth wide open to show publishers and the entertainment industry that a good story defies demographics. I love that. Personally, I have had lots of grown-ups tell me they enjoy my books, and even some that have said they got them for a son or daughter, and ended up reading them, too. Doesn’t get any better than that!
Your very first sentence brought back a memory I had whilst participating in Nanowrimo, as to where I was being questioned about the marketing and branding of my stories. To me, those are the details that are attached after the breath of life is infused into the story rather than the opposite way around! At the very same time, I sometimes get a notion of an idea of which direction I’m heading into but to actually say I can classify my novels towards this arena or that arena as far as where they will fall on a bookshoppe’s shelf is a bit of the cart before the horse! I thought perhaps this was a quirk of mine rather than the rule! On the level of stigmas, I’m a champion of believing that there are none! Across the board really, as there are so many societal labels & stigmas floating around in our lives, that I truly work against acknowledging them! The masses will always lament their point of view to the contrary but to me, if a reader picks up a book, makes a connection with the content inside, and walks away feeling uplifted, emotionally moved, or otherwise felt the time spent soaking in the narrative was worthwhile, than who dares to say that book is not literature!? Literature of itself is a classification of stories writ by ink and bound into form!
What do you think is a key ingredient to engage an audience into a fantasy series?
Gamber responds: I guess I have to come back to the characters. Engaging a reader into any story relies on the characters; as long as a reader believes enough in a character, the world around them can be full of dragons, or fairies, or boogeymen. This can be a tough sell for readers who’ve told me, “I don’t really like fantasy.” I think what those readers are actually saying is something like, “I don’t like reading about things I don’t personally believe in.” I don’t believe in, say, ghosts, but I sure love spooky books and movies. Because I don’t need to accept ghosts are real in order to believe in a character who, in his world, does see them. But I need to believe in that character.
To extend into your theory of ghosts & spooks, one of the best forays of this exploration for me in television is “Ghost Whisperer” which re-defines ghosts in fiction form! As much as to say “Touched by an Angel” re-defined the perception of angels walking on earth. Both of these series dealt with their subjects with finesse which bespoke of the writers conjoined ability to suspend reality and allow us to enter into a glimpse of a world which exists beyond our visual veil. In literature, I oft find the same to be true whilst reading science fiction and fantasy, because a writer who can etch out a world that is wholly vivid and real for a reader to drink in without hesitation or questioning of its existence is the writer who charms the reader into seeing their reality. Having said that, I do agree that the strength of the believability in all formats lies squarely on the shoulders of the lead characters!
Why do you believe we’re always intrigued by dragons? Especially the kind of dragons featured in the Leland Dragon series?
Gamber responds: I think dragons are part of that mysterious, reptilian-brain cell memory phenomenon that cross-cultural myths share. They belong to that “what if?” category of the unexplained, which fascinates us. The Leland Dragon series is the embodiment of my own imagined version of dragons; less the feral, destructive beast, and more the older, wiser sort of magic bearers of their world.
Yes, I think you’ve clued into why I have such a disagreement with standard stories of dragons! I am always seeking the heart and soul of the dragon rather than the monstrous feral versions which seek only to terrify you! A bit like how despite my passion for “Jurassic Park” on the level of the science behind the phenom of bringing dinosaurs back to life; those that stepped out of history were altogether too real and not meant for a humanised world. Whilst embarking on reading fiction that involves dragons, I’d much prefer to see the kindness of their hearts and the genuine history of their race and origins. I suppose in some ways, what we seek in literature goes directly back to our world-view.
How did you become the visionary leader of the MidSouthCon Writer’s Conference? And, how does the Conference engage writers into its community?
Gamber responds: I had been involved with MidSouthCon as a science fiction convention for a number of years. Along those lines, I had begun to wonder why there was no writers’ conference in Memphis, and saw the convention (with its heavy literary bent) as an untapped resource to fill that void. We already had amazing science fiction and fantasy authors and editors attending, why not include other industry professionals, and develop a how-to writing track, as well? A sort of writers’ conference embedded right into an event already taking place? That was the seed that has since exponentially garnered attendees and the writing community beyond Memphis.
I think this was a sheer stroke of genius on your behalf, to take an established event and enhance it by broaching an entire new layer to its existence! Writers like to gather together to share antidotes and experiences, as much as network with like-minded souls who understand their writing lives. I can see how key this would be to include at a convention which celebrates science fiction (and fantasy) as its a section of genre writing that tends to be misunderstand as much as its celebrated! The benefit of having an additional support system in place for writers under this branch must be quite exhilarating for those who attend!
In your biography, I didn’t see the inclusion of your educational background. Did you prefer to be self-educated and motivated through life-long learning opportunities vs. conventional options?
Gamber responds: To put it bluntly, I wasn’t given an option for higher learning as a high school graduate. It was the military, or the streets; my dad started the military recruitment process without me even knowing it. When I left the Air Force in my mid-twenties, I was married and starting a family, so college or university has never figured its way into my life. But I like the way you put it: self-educated and motivated. I have certainly been that. One of the gems I hope I have instilled in my own children is the self-propelled pursuit of knowledge. I practically lived in the library as a child; that was my only real resource. I have continued that trek into adulthood, reading and learning, and working hard to make my own opportunities.
I was leaving behind the essence of myself in this question when I referenced: self-educated and motivated! I, too, took a different path from the norm wherein I opted out of college for a non-conventional life of finding my own route to knowledge. I did this in different ways, but its what you said about reading; books are the gateways to knowledge on inter-changeable levels. Reading is the one key component of learning as it is available to everyone, everywhere. With books our horizons are not only broached into the stratosphere but they are without limits!
At the release of ‘Reclamation’, do you have any upcoming releases you can reveal at this time which are being worked on? Are you considering exploring the mystery genre as you once disclosed in an interview?
Gamber responds: I don’t have any official releases to announce just now, but definitely in discussion concerning my historical/time travel novel, all buttoned up. And it’s funny you should ask, Jorie, because I have suddenly found myself back at the mystery genre gate, peering over. I’m watching true crime documentaries and eying my stacks of unread mystery novels. I wonder if you’re onto something?
If I am onto something, I’d be thrilled to peaches if you were to explore the mystery genre! There are so many avenues the genre can yield for you to pursue, I am giddy simply thinking of all the wicked sweet possibilities! On the level of a historical time travel novel, I must confess, its a new addiction of mine and I will keep my eyes glued awaiting word on its release!
How did you feel when you learnt you were a finalist for the 2014 Darrell Awards!? Considering that Book 2 in the Leland Dragon series was the entry?
Gamber responds: It’s always an honor, and frankly, a bit of surprise, to be named in consideration for an award. It’s a validation to that seemingly congenital condition of “You like me! You really like me!” But I do try to keep a perspective; lots of super talented authors, painters, architects, construction workers, parents, teachers, etc. drive themselves toward excellence for the sake of it, without ever coming near a titled award for it.
I think you hit the nail on the head here, as even Harry Potter learnt that the best way to obtain something is not to go after it directly! (i.e. “The Sorcerer’s Stone” could not be sought but given.) Even so, I still believe in celebrating milestones and recognitions because it validates the person we are at the time in which the award is presented. Each of us knows our own truth and that is all that is necessary.
If a reader who is picking up your series for the first time becomes interested in reading more dragon fiction, do you recommend any of your contemporaries as a next read for them?
Gamber responds: I’m not sure I’ve had the opportunity to offer a next read suggestion for dragon fiction; lots of my readers are familiar with dragon fantasy, and, in my interactions, anyway, seem to have come to my novels in their search for a next read. But I do love hearing from readers who say they enjoy my books, even though they don’t usually read fantasy, too. Often, it’s as if a light goes on behind their eyes, and they want to try more. I relish sharing books I’ve enjoyed with other readers, so I recommend like crazy whenever I get the chance.
I must confess, this question was self-motivated! I attempted to broach an open discussion at the footer of my review for “Redheart” on this very topic, but hadn’t yet fetched a proper response. Therefore, I felt as I had the honour of interviewing you a second time, I’d ask the source! Cannot blame a girl for trying!
At the heart of the first book in the series ‘Redheart’, I made this observation: Friendship is akin to love, and love is akin to friendship, thus so is faith akin to trust without sight. As you were penning ‘Redheart’ was this the core of the story’s purpose as you wrote it, or did it evolve as you saw where the characters were leading you?
Gamber responds: You’re such an intuitive reader, Jorie, I just love that about you. In writing “Redheart”, as in all my stories, really, I don’t consciously insert themes at the outset. I focus on the characters and their revealing as the story progresses and sometimes I gobsmack my own self with the disclosure of the day’s work. Some of it feels raw and risky, at the time, but I don’t fully see the impact until afterward, when all is said and done. And often, not until time passes and I have distance from the work to be objective. It’s a weird and wonderful process that is the core of why I write.
Thank you for this observation, Ms. Gamber! You gave me a bit to chew on whilst looking over my reviews, as I think it stems from always sorting out the sociological side of stories. I am always most keen to sort out a character’s motivations and what causes them to act or react in the methods in which they do. I never officially studied sociology, but I think it always plays a part; moreso if your Mum shared stories of her own experiences studying the field. Ah, yes, you’re hinting at the ‘osmosis germination’ of how a writer places hidden meanings into their writings without a conscience knowledge of their existence until one completes the story. On re-reading the whole of the work, the fuller picture emerges into view.
Of the three in the series, which was the most difficult to write? And, why?
Gamber responds: I think each book as I’m writing it is the hardest one yet! But “Reclamation” was by far the most struggle. It evolved in ways I wasn’t expecting, and there were times I wondered if I had lost touch completely from these characters I first began to conceive over ten years ago. Also, it was a time of personal stress that brought on dry spells and self-doubt, and, let me tell you, I began to wonder if I was even meant to write at all. Reaching the end of “Reclamation” has meant more than just ending one book, it has been an entire era of my life. Saying, “I really did it” doesn’t begin to cover it.
On finishing a decade’s breath of work as an author, I can only imagine and feel the redemption you had! I, too, have gone through my own wrestlements with my writing life as I am not sure if I spelt it out under “My Bookish Life” or not, as part of my story is still evolving as much as to say I am holding back pieces of my path to reveal as my blog grows through time. To the brink of when I participated in Nanowrimo 2008, it was a full ten years since I had picked up my pen due to a stress-induced writer’s block. I am a think-writer, which is both a blessing and a curse, if you compare the fact that your characters and stories never leave you completely, they are always there with you, waiting for their story to be writ down, but whilst your blocked words simply do not flow. I, too, questioned if being a writer was the path I was still on and if I could reclaim it. Life gives us trials that we do not even realise we can overcome, much less face until they are presented. Is this why you entitled it “Reclamation”? You reclaimed your gift as your characters reclaimed their home?
Which character have you felt the closest to during the journey?
Gamber responds: Different characters have waxed and waned emotionally for me in the series, depending on where the story was at the time, and what part of me I was writing from. I think once I got hold of Sela, though, I felt as though I was plugged into something way beyond what I had been expecting.
Isn’t that the truth!? Another insight into this experience as a writer was given to me during Nanowrimo 2008, as I walked in thinking I’d write a fluffy light-hearted story but emerged with the depth of a multi-generational saga set against the tide of 400 years of history! Who would have even considered that possibility?! Characters sometimes alight in us which draw out the writer in ways we are not expecting to journey.
If this does conclude the Leland Dragon series, do you envision you’ll explore a new series full of dragons?
Gamber responds: If I do venture into dragon storytelling again, it will likely be from a completely different emotional place; which will change my perspective, inevitably. I’m open-minded to see where my journey takes me next. I ventured out to be a writer, but not necessarily a dragon-writer, and by my nature, I resist pigeonholing. In fact, I get a sort of thrill from defying expectations, if you know what I mean! I’m just as curious as anyone to see what I’m going to do next.
Ah, yes ‘defying gravity’ is my favourite song out of “Wicked” (the Broadway musical) which lends itself to understanding your journey towards developing your next niche in literature! To which, I can only say, “Rock on!” with the full of my heart!
{ About the Author }
Jackie Gamber is the award-winning author of many short stories, screenplays, and novels, including “Redheart”, “Sela”, and “Reclamation”, Books one through three of the Leland Dragon Series. For more information about Jackie and her mosaic mind, visit http://www.jackiegamber.com
And meet Jackie elsewhere on the world-wide web at:
I want to thank Ms. Gamber for sharing her soul and bookish heart with us today, whilst revealing pieces of her life that we might not have known about previously. It takes a lot of courage to be bold and confident in our own skins, as well as sharing the bits of our journey that were blighted with strife and adversity. I always celebrate and champion writers who leave behind traces of where their paths led them, as much as how they emerged out on the other side better for the experience. None of us knows where our lives will take us or lead us, but as writers we get to grapple with all of our emotional angst as well as our bounty of joys in the ambient realm of writing. We all find ways to pour bits of our heart into the ink that spilts out our words and our stories. Let us all celebrate the writers who re-define the stories that endear us and gives us a museful pause for the time spent inside their worlds! It was a pure honour and joy to host this lovely author for the second time and to celebrate the ending of one series at the jolting start of another! Please leave a note for the author if you have anything you’d like to say or ask!
I want to thank Ms. Gamber for sharing her soul and bookish heart with us today, whilst revealing pieces of her life that we might not have known about previously. It takes a lot of courage to be bold and confident in our own skins, as well as sharing the bits of our journey that were blighted with strife and adversity. I always celebrate and champion writers who leave behind traces of where their paths led them, as much as how they emerged out on the other side better for the experience. None of us knows where our lives will take us or lead us, but as writers we get to grapple with all of our emotional angst as well as our bounty of joys in the ambient realm of writing. We all find ways to pour bits of our heart into the ink that spilts out our words and our stories. Let us all celebrate the writers who re-define the stories that endear us and gives us a museful pause for the time spent inside their worlds! It was a pure honour and joy to host this lovely author for the second time and to celebrate the ending of one series at the jolting start of another! Please leave a note for the author if you have anything you’d like to say or ask!
Join the celebration as you amble through the tour!
Be sure to catch all three installments of this showcase on JLAS:
Jorie reviews “Reclamation” on 3 March
& Ms. Gamber shared a character post from Reclamation!
Similar to blog tours, when I feature a showcase for an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog.
{SOURCES: Cover art of “triptych of Leland Dragon series” by Matthew Perry, author photograph of Ms. Gamber, author biography, and the tour host badge were all provided by Tomorrow Comes Media and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.Author Interview badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Jorie submitted Interview Questions as part of the tour and received the responses by Ms. Gamber through Stephen Zimmer; for which she is grateful!}