BBB: What is the strangest thing you ever did to research something for a story?
LF: Talking to folks at the VFW to get information (location, descriptions, etc) on abandoned mines in the Colorado mountains.
TB: Not so much strange, as fun – overnight trips to the mountains and driving through some amazing Colorado towns to get ideas of terrain, distance, etc.
BBB: What character was the toughest for you to get onto the page, and why? How did you finally crack it?
LF: Alyssa. She is a secondary character in the book and one of our heroine’s best friends. Since she is timid, we had to break her out of her shell. The timid part was the hardest to write, as both my sister and I are strong women who come from a long line of strong women.
TB: Lisa started the characters, but I think the hardest one for me was Stevie. She is based on my sister in a lot of ways, and it is kinda weird to get into your own sister’s head. I cracked it by getting to know my sister better through working with her on the books.
BBB: Have you ever had second thoughts or regrets after killing off a main character?
LF: Not so much second thoughts, but it pains us to kill characters we have come to know and love. In Fable we killed off a character who was not around very long, but in Fated, we ended up killing off two main characters.
TB: I’ve got to ditto that one. And, Lisa has plans to kill off more people we care about…
BBB: How do you keep track of your world building?
LF: We created an outline and a graph of the world and the characters, but it does evolve continuously as we write.
TB: Wow, good question. Initially, my sister kept most of this in her head. When I would argue a point with her, she would go back in what we’d written and show me that she was right. As time went on, I think we developed the outlines more for me than for her. But, hey, I’m not complaining!
BBB: Please tell us more about Fable and the storyline that drives it.
LF: The one thing that drives the story, aside from my connection to Stevie – we’re both adopted – is my love for the planet and the wildlife and how we are destroying and driving both to extinction.
TB: Ditto on what my sis said. I personally love the darker characters, such as Torren. I think his internal struggles – which show up more in the compendium novel, Fated, Book 1 of The Djenrye Chronicles – fascinate me and help drive the conflicts in the stories.
BBB: How many more books will there be in this series?
LF: Well… we are planning on three more on each series, which would be a total of 4 books in The Lorn Prophecy Series, and 4 in the compendium series, The Djenrye Chronicles.
TB: I laughed at this one. When I first started writing with my sister, she figured her story would take at least three books (this is the main series I’m talking about – The Lorn Prophecy). After we began re-writing the first book, it quickly became apparent that three was not going to be enough. In order to shorten what had become a ponderously large first book, we broke out Carlynn’s story (Stevie birth mother in Djenrye) and made it into a compendium novel. That was so much fun, we decided to carry the idea of compendium novels into a whole new series of books. So, when Lisa says 4 each, I say… let’s wait and see. tee hee hee.
LF: AND, my sister is talking about a series about Detective Wood that would be a crime-drama/paranormal genre. It never ends.
TB: Nope, I’m thinking we could do something with the FBI agents as well… or not, might be too close to X-Files to give us any creds.
BBB: What sets Fable apart from other books in the same genre?
LF: Most epic fantasies are centered on other worlds, usually with elves, dwarves, kings, queens, dragons, etc. I decided to bring in the genie myth for something a bit different. I don’t use the typical words from this world, such as: King, Queen, General, Captain, etc. I stick to descriptions of roles rather than titles, such as Guardian, Supreme Leader, Warrior, Rebel, etc.
TB: Ditto Lisa, again. What I find different and interesting about her ideas is that we have worked hard to make them plausible. In other words, you can just fly through the air without wings, or have our humanoid characters do the impossible. There is reasoning and research behind the ‘gifts’ that they have. Sure, we have a few fantastical creatures, but nothing is taken for granted. If you were to see, say a faerie, for the first time, you wouldn’t go “oh, how nice. Let’s carry on a normal conversation over a cup of tea.” No. You would be floored and react accordingly. As my sister always says when we bring in the fantastical, “Sure, it’s cool, but DOES IT RING TRUE?” That’s what separates Fable.
LF: There is more to the story than meets the eye, which the reader will find out as each book is written. But, you’ll have to read the books to be in the know.
BBB: What is it like writing as part of a team as opposed to by yourself? Does it present any type of challenges in regards to the flow of writing, book promotion, royalties or logistics in general? Do you plan on doing more books together in the future?
LF: Its so much better as a team. Writing is a lonely occupation. Having somebody to write with and share ideas with creates more excitement and energy. I have book brain 24/7 and plenty of drive to get it all down on paper. As concerns challenges, there are few other than the fact we are sisters and fight sometimes. More books, as we said before, Oh Yeah!
TB: Interesting question for me. I wrote a great deal up through high school, but don’t have the book brain my sister does. When I do write by myself (again, thank my sis for that), I tend to be a bit darker – serial killers, and all that. Writing with my sis is exhilarating, because she has the initial ideas, then the two of us massage the work until it is something extraordinary that I don’t think either of us would have fully come up with ourselves. Lisa has said that together we make the perfect writer, building on each other strengths and shoring up each others weaknesses. Mine, as you may have noticed, it verbosity.
BBB: What types of creatures/characters can readers expect in your world?
LF: The Djen – a humanoid creature much like us (the Hundye) but with greater physical and mental capabilities; the Andrones – a race of elves that spun off from the smaller and more timid of Wood Elves; The Wood Elves – a secretive, solitary group who don’t want to get involved in anything but Wood Elf business; the Faugns – half humanoid, half animals who can morph fully into animal form; the Jajing – a kind of nasty version of Faugns, that are stuck in the form of upright beasts; the Magi – these are Djen that possess an affinity toward earth magic (Sorcerers are the dark version of Magi); The Guardians – The first born of the original Guardians is the only one(s) who can control the Ortehlae (the Orbs), which keep the balance of both worlds/dimensions in check; the Faeries – yup, ours are the traditional small size; and the Behm – an ancient race directly connected to the earth, powerful, but solitary and are not introduced until Lore, Book 2 of The Lorn Prophecy. And, of course, The Gods, to whose wishes, whims and direction the World of Djenrye follows.
TB: Whew – I think she covered all of them. The only other folks are us lowly Hundye, who aid Stevie on this side (Terra-hun) of the dimension: Detectives Drake and Wood, Stevie’s friends Alyssa and Jack, Stevie’s mom Jan, and others that will be introduced in Lore and later books.
BBB: Did you do any kind of research to determine the details of your characters lives / lifestyles?
LF: Not really, other than the cops. Most are based on people we have known.
TB: I used to work with police officers at Westminster PD and have based some of the periphery characters on them. Anyone who knows us and our family can pick out several similarities between certain folks and our characters.
BBB: Are you a plotser or a pantser? or a Planster (a combo of both)
LF: Started out a pantser, but as the story evolved and the number of books grew, I became a planster. For the main series, I’ve grown into a plotser, and for the side/compendium novels, I’m a planster.
TB: I’m a poser – I just follow my sister’s lead.
BBB: What’s the best thing that anyone said to you when you were in a writing low spot?
LF: Take writing classes. I ended up hiring a writing coach – best thing I ever did.
TB: Just get the story on paper… wait, that’s what I said to my sister. She tells me – let’s take a break and get more coffee. Excellent advice by the way.
BBB: Do you set a daily word count goal, time limit goal, or just go with the flow?
LF: Go with the flow. My career is writing and it is my day job. If I worked outside the home, then I would. In fact, I recommend this to the students of my bi-monthly beginning writer’s class.
TB: Again, follow my sister’s lead. ALL of the writing I have done since jumping on the Lorn Prophecy train has been beside my sister.
BBB: What’s coming up for you for the rest of 2014?
LF: Right now I am working on Lore with my sister, and writing the drafts for the next two novels in the series. I hope to finish the drafts and Lore by the end of the year.
TB: Lisa totally forgot to mention that she is also working on the draft for the second compendium novel, as well! Me, just working on Lore with my sis and writing on the side to hone my craft.
BBB: What was the BEST book you read in 2013?
LF: There are two: I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis, and Alon Shalev’sWycaan Master series. Still trying to wait patiently for book 6 in the Game of Thrones series, (Dance of Fire and ice) by George R. R. Martin. I wish he’d hurry up already!!
TB: My normal reading habit leans more towards horror – Doctor Sleep by Stephen King; and non-fiction: Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD. I know – way out of the park from Fantasy/Sci-Fi.
10 Quick Things About Lisa
Favorite Food? Pot roast
Favorite Color? black
Favorite Movie or TV Show of all Time? Predator, (movie) and Game of Thrones series
Favorite Drink? Starbucks Zebra mocha
Favorite Book? Sooo many…Probably Harry Potter series
Favorite Season? Fall
Favorite Online Hangout? (think FB, Twitter, Goodreads) FB, I guess lol
Favorite Animal? Wolf
Favorite Band or Musician? Heart
Mode of Travel? (Trains, Planes or Automobiles) Vehicle
Favorite Vacation Destination? Buena Vista – Cottonwood Inn
10 Quick Things About Toni
Favorite Food? Lamb
Favorite Color? Purple
Favorite Movie or TV Show of all Time? Pitch Black / Game of Thrones
Favorite Drink? Scotch
Favorite Book? The Stand
Favorite Season? Fall
Favorite Online Hangout? (think FB, Twitter, Goodreads) Please, hang out online? Kidding – FB
Favorite Animal? Otter
Favorite Band or Musician? Husband (Ironwood Rain – now defunct, so sad)
Mode of Travel? (Trains, Planes or Automobiles) Motorcycle
Favorite Vacation Destination? Anywhere I can get to on my motorcycle
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About Lisa Fender and Toni Burns
Author Bio:
Born Anneliese Smith (Lisa Fender) and Anastasia Smith (Toni Burns), both later adopted under the Wright name. Lisa and Toni Burns, between them, they have two husbands, four children, two grandchildren and three dogs. Although a writer from a young age, Lisa did not bring her passion to light until she decided in 2008 to stop procrastinating and start writing. Her sister, Toni, preferred speaking to writing, but found herself reeled into the story of Stevie, her friends and the amazing possibilities of a parallel world. The sisters share a love of reading, fantasy/science fiction, family, and writing.Connect with Lisa and Toni| Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Books by Lisa Fender and Toni BurnsCONTEST INFO: Open to readers worldwide
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