About the Book
Alex is a young boy interested in his experiments, his dog, family, and little else. He lives a life of seclusion until the day his dog leads him on a wild goose chase through the forest and he comes across Beatrice, a crazy girl with leaves in her hair and the fierce belief that she is a king.
After many attempts of trying to avoid Beatrice, Alex realizes he's stuck with her. As the years continue and a true friendship grows, he finds that perhaps she isn’t so bad, even if she constantly bests him in their duels. But life isn’t so simple, as the real world—a world of bullies and death and temptation—invades their make-believe, will it be too much for Beatrice? Will Alex make it to her in time?
After many attempts of trying to avoid Beatrice, Alex realizes he's stuck with her. As the years continue and a true friendship grows, he finds that perhaps she isn’t so bad, even if she constantly bests him in their duels. But life isn’t so simple, as the real world—a world of bullies and death and temptation—invades their make-believe, will it be too much for Beatrice? Will Alex make it to her in time?
Hmm, it’s all equally difficult and exciting, but probably editing. More specifically, when you’ve read through your story literally 7 times in just a couple weeks and you can’t edit properly because you can hardly stay awake. The break you get while others are editing your book is a godsend.
What helps me is that I like to keep a trinket for every book I write. I own the Diptych Sundial I mention in King Beatrice, so every time I feel like I’m losing connection or am simply exhausted, I like to fiddle with that to keep me close to the story.
When and where do you do your writing?
I work a full-time job where my hours fluctuate through all times of the day, so I write whenever I get time. I usually try to spend at least 5 hours writing when I have days off.
I like to write anywhere! I’m in a coffee shop right now, but I have a nice office in my house where I turn on Christmas lights at night and light candles. When I was writing King Beatrice, though, my entire first draft was in a journal, so I spent a lot of time in parks and by the river.
What have you learned about promoting your books?
I’ve learned that marketing, promotions, and branding are incredibly difficult. It takes a lot of effort and research and you must work every day to get yourself off the ground. Getting in touch with so many more people and seeing the fruits of your labor paying off, especially with book signings, is definitely worth all the long hours!
What are you most proud of as a writer?
I think I’m most proud of two things. The first being that after working my whole life for this, I’ve finally reached a huge dream of mine and published a book! The other is that when I sat down with one of my peer editors, he told me that this story would help someone. He said someone is going to read King Beatrice and it’s going to change them for the better. That was one of the most rewarding moments I have ever experienced.
If you could have dinner with any writer, living or dead, who would it be and what would you talk about?
God, that’s a hard one! There are so many incredibly talented writers! I’d probably want to have dinner with Maya Angelou and just be inspired by every word she says. I was in the third grade when my mom gave me one of her books and Still I Rise has affected me perhaps more than anything else I will ever read. Thank you, Maya.
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