Julia Hughes, Author THE GRIFFIN CRYER |
British author Julia Hughes joins us to discuss her just-released fantasy THE GRIFFIN CRYER -- a story about a griffin and his rider accidentally called to our world by a teenage girl. Julia has also written a series of stories about the Celtic Cousins -- two Welsh cousins living in London who frequently encounter Detective Crombie of the Metropolitan Police in their adventures.
Originally from London, Julia has a muse called Tinker, a healthy respect for all animals--even the creepy crawly ones, likes Peter Pan (the boy who refuses to grow up!), and selects her favorite novel of today - Diana Norman's "The Morning Gift.”
Q: Why do you write fantasy?
Julia Hughes: This is my
first foray into writing fantasy; although in my opinion all fiction involves
some form of fantasy! I've always been captivated by the idea of parallel universes,
and the idea that maybe in one of those parallel universes, the twin of our
world exists. In THE GRIFFIN CRYER on "Ella-Earth" evolution has
taken a different path, and mythological creatures exist.
Q: How do you make your fantasy world believable? Characters?
Back-story? How important is suspense?
Julia Hughes: Nearly all
of the action in THE GRIFFIN CRYER takes place in our world: the griffin and
his rider are accidentally summoned into this universe by an ordinary teenage
girl. Frankie's reaction to the sudden appearance of a griffin is probably the
same as mine would be: she screams and runs away. The Rider is from another
dimension – so he is an alien – but he is very human. Having worked hard to
become a griffin rider, he has a little too much pride in himself. He is scared
– he needs to find his griffin and get back home – but he's not going to show
his fear – especially not to a schoolgirl.
For me, that's the key to making
any work of fiction believable – to populate any world, fantasy or modern day
New York, with flesh and blood characters. There's a little back story dropped
in here and there; for example, the Rider isn't of noble birth, and therefore
shouldn't be riding griffins – we learn that Frankie's brother has been in a
coma for almost three years, and also that visitors between our two worlds were
once common. But I try to keep any back story to a minimum, and place the story
in the here and now.
Suspense in any story is
everything; without the reader wanting to find out what happens next, even if
it's to find out if Cinderella does get her prince, pages probably wouldn't get
turned!
Q: What makes compelling characters? What do you do to make us
care about your characters?
Julia Hughes: As a
reader, I need to empathize with a character, before caring. The people you'll
meet in my stories are down to earth, ordinary everyday folk, dealing with
extra-ordinary life changing events. For example: Detective Crombie's on a
diet, and thinks his biggest problem is deciding what to have for lunch.
Moments later, he's on the trail of a missing elephant, and then comes
face to face with an alligator. Who stole the elephant? How did an alligator
end up in the bathroom of a London apartment? And why are the mandarins of
Whitehall protecting one of London's biggest villains?
Q: Do your characters push you around and make you write what they
want? Or are you in control?
Julia Hughes: I get to
know my characters before I begin writing; I also know the challenges they're
going to face, and I know how they're going to react to those challenges.
Hopefully characters will grow during the story – they'll man up, and do what
has to be done – but I never allow them to step completely out of character.
Now and then one of them will surprise me; I never imagined Wren would fall so
hopelessly in love with Carrie in "A Ripple in Time."
Q: What makes a hero/heroine? On the flip side, what makes a
villain?
Julia Hughes: In my
opinion, the biggest hero in literature is lawyer Atticus Finch. In "To
Kill A Mockingbird" he endured the wrath of friends and neighbours to
do the right thing. Maybe that's the answer – a hero or heroine is someone
prepared to do the right thing, against all odds. Conversely, villains are
prepared to sell their own grandmothers if it means getting their own way. I
always find charming well-mannered villains the scariest – I'm thinking in
particular of Hannibal Lecter in "Silence of the Lambs."
Q: Who are your target readers? What are they looking for? One of
your reviewers said “It is not often I
would say that a book appeals to everybody but I would make an exception in his
case.” Do you agree?
Julia Hughes: I hope to target
readers who aren't afraid to use their imagination, who are looking for pure
escapism, yet with the story grounded in reality. I'd like for my readers to
think "Yes, that's pretty wild, but it could happen!"
When a
reader enjoys my stories so much, that they actually take time to write a
review to tell others, I'm thrilled to pieces. Yes, I do agree, with those very
kind words! I'd like to think of my stories being enjoyed by the whole world.
But in truth, not everyone's going to agree – and that's fine too. Luckily
Amazon allow sampling before buying, and I'd urge everyone to make their own
minds up, not just about my books, but other books; there's a lot of
undiscovered talent out there – surprise yourself and try something different
and new!
Q: If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?
Julia Hughes: If I
couldn't write, I guess I'd be crazy. I'd be walking around muttering to myself
and anyone else who cared to listen.
Q: Tell us something about yourself,
e.g., do you like to read? Eat? Go to plays? What’s your favorite holiday,
book, author, character, play, movie, celebrity? What do you do when
you’re not writing? Do you have a muse? Do you like dogs or cats? What's your
favorite charity?
Julia Hughes: My favorite charity is the RNLI –
now those men and women are real heroes in my eyes – putting out to sea to risk
their lives rescuing strangers. Funded entirely by charitable donations, the
lifeboat crews and lifeguards of the Royal
National Lifeboat Institution have saved at
least 140,000 lives at sea since 1824.
The muse is
called Tinker, and she always gives good advice.
I have a
healthy respect for all animals, even the creepy crawly ones – and I'm very
grateful that some wonderful horses, dogs and cats have deigned to share my
journey.
I'm absolutely head over heels in love with Rafael Nadal, the tennis
player from Majorca, which incidentally is one of my favorite holiday
destinations.
My favorite
play is "Peter Pan" – it's got everything – including
of course, the boy who refuses to grow up.
Choosing a
favorite book, or author is incredibly difficult. I'm going to plump for Diana
Norman's "The Morning Gift.” The main character Matilda is a well
born Frenchwoman, and contemptuous of anyone below her own perceived status –
especially the English. Matilda is aghast when her husband, an Englishman,
gives her an island for her "morning gift.” She regards this English
custom of a husband rewarding his wife for a pleasurable wedding night as
crude. Then the nastiest civil war in English history breaks out, and Matilda is
forced to revise her whole outlook on life. However,
ask me again tomorrow about my favorite book, and I might give a completely
different answer!
More About Julia Hughes by Julia Hughes
I'm originally from London, a little place
called Notting Hill, born when the world was the street where you lived. To
give you an idea, only three people down our road actually owned a telephone
and bath night was a weekly event. Until you've had a strip down wash at the
kitchen sink, you don't know you're living!
Like Scout, I can't recall not being able to
read, and the world of Narnia quickly became a favorite. In the closing pages
of 'The Last Battle' C S Lewis tells his young audience "you cannot begin
to imagine the adventures they had." (Or words to that effect). I took
this as a personal challenge. While I could never hope to emulate Lewis's work,
I've had fun trying.
That's really how I think of myself, a reader
who enjoys writing the sort of books I'd want to read. Now with Amazon's help,
I'm sharing those stories - something I never imagined in my wildest dreams and
it's the best feeling in the world.
Synopsis (Talon Publishing)
Frankie
Shaunessy's friends are out of this world!
It's an easy mistake to make - instead of whistling and calling
for her dog, fifteen year old Frankie accidentally summons a griffin and his
rider from another world. The Rider is tall, blond and extremely rude. On the
other hand, Balkind is the sweetest, most lovable griffin Frankie's
ever met, and Frankie is determined to help The Rider and his griffin find a
way back to their own world.
Dealing with parallel universes, disgruntled warriors,
and hungry griffins is the simple part of Frankie's life. At school, Frankie
learns friends can become enemies, teachers aren't always right, and the boy of
your dreams can be all too human.
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Purchase Links
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Amazon UK
Excerpt
Last
night, while calling her dog, Frankie accidentally summonsed a griffin and its
rider from another dimension. Dog and griffin flee from each other. This is
Frankie's second encounter with the Rider, he has retrieved her missing dog,
and wants something in return ….
A
man sat outlined against the brow of Six Acre Meadow, a large black dog by his
side. Frankie stumbled towards them, clutching at the stitch in her side. By
the time she reached the top of the hill and stood over him, all the furious
insults she'd rehearsed on the nightmare jog here were useless. Instead she
glared down at him, struggling to catch her breath. Bally's tail thumped, but
he made no attempt to cease worrying at the mammoth bone he held down with one
paw.
Finally
Frankie managed: 'That's my dog.'
Calmly
unscrewing the lid from a bottle of water, the stranger took a couple of swigs,
then offered it to Frankie. After a moment's hesitation, she swiped the bottle
from him, tipped her head back, and chugged down.
'Where's
my griffin?' the man asked.
Frankie
clutched the now empty bottle, longing to chuck it at his head and snatch up
Bally and run. But somehow she doubted his temper had improved any since last
night.
'Please
– I don't know your name – but please – let me have my dog back. Please – it'll
break my mum's heart.'
'Get
me back my griffin and you can have your dog.'
'I'll
call the police.'
He
shrugged, looking completely unconcerned. 'Call for my griffin, and you can
have your dog back.'
Frankie
gave a sigh of surrender, and tossed the empty bottle neatly into his opened
rucksack.
'If
I call your …griffin – and it doesn't come, will that satisfy you?'
He
nodded. 'If you call with all your heart, and Balkind doesn't answer, you may
have your dog back.'
Call with all your heart. Frankie knew without asking what this
meant. Inflating her lungs, and placing her hands either side of her mouth, she
summoned up a cry from the heart.
'Balkind!'
The
sound flooded the meadow. Frankie sucked in air and called again.
'Baalll-kind.' She could feel two pairs of eyes on her, watching intently,
Bally's ears were pricked. Before calling for the third time, Frankie took a
couple of steps away from her audience, and focussed on projecting her cry
across the village, across the lakes, across the country if needs be.
'Baaaalllll-kiiiiinnnnnd!'
Frankie
glanced behind her. The blond head nodded approval.
'That'll
do.'
Of course it would: Any griffin within a
hundred miles would have heard that.
Links
Website: Julia Hughes
Twitter: @Tinksaid
Other Works by Julia Hughes
The Celtic Cousins Series
Rhyllann and Wren are two Welsh cousins, living in London. Rhyllann's a typical teenager with a passion for girls and flying aeroplanes. His life would be perfect if it wasn't for Wren, aka, The Prince of Geeks.
In A RAUCOUS TIME Wren insists he knows where the lost treasure of King John, buried for almost 1,000 years, can be found. Can the cousins find the treasure before the quasi-religious gang known as the "Brotherhood", or worse still, Detective Crombie of the Metropolitan Police, finds them?
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In A RIPPLE IN TIME Wren's dreams collide with those of a young woman sailing to America exactly one hundred years ago, and so averts RMS Titanic from sinking, and history is rewritten. To save his own life, and prevent the world from descending into chaos, Wren must travel back in time to ensure the Titanic meets her fate.
Purchase Links
In AN EXPLOSIVE TIME, Detective Crombie is hunting a missing elephant. He isn't too surprised when the trail leads to the door of the Celtic Cousins, whom he's convinced are intent on making a career out of being the bane of his life. Then an alligator turns up, hotly pursued by one of London's biggest villains, and Crombie finds himself in need of a miracle to save his daughter's life. Will the Celtic Cousins finally repay Crombie's faith in them?
Purchase Links
THE BRIDLE PATH
"What does any
thirty something single woman wish for most?" THE BRIDLE PATH is a short sweet fairy tale romance for us grown ups, set in the county
of Cornwall. Two years after being orphaned in a horrific car crash,
twelve year old Sebby remains silent and zombie-like. His aunt and
guardian Matilda hopes that a new home in the tranquillity of the
Cornish countryside will help restore his health.
Purchase Links
Hello Joyce, and thank you so much for making me so welcome! I really enjoyed answering your interview questions, and hope your readers enjoy the excerpt from "The Griffin Cryer".
ReplyDeleteJulia
Oh wow. You have me smiling in delight at these, and your answers are great, and your excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sheila, you're too kind - Joyce has made me very welcome, and it's a pleasure to be here and meet some of her lovely visitors.
ReplyDeleteJulia
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