Date Published: April 13, 2021
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Orion City has been on lockdown for ten years. Courtney Spencer, a disillusioned barista doomed to live a “normal” life in a quarantined fishbowl, is certain she’ll never see over the Wall again. Until one rainy evening, Courtney unintentionally befriends W, an eccentric customer who leaves a switchblade in the tip jar. The unexpected acquaintance soon opens the door to a frightening string of questions that flips everything she knows upside down. Stumbling into a world of secrets, lies, and disturbing truths, Courtney grapples with a burning temptation to look again at the Wall. Surrounded by citizens trained to ignore its looming shadow, Courtney no longer can. Intrigued and terrified to expand her world, Courtney finds herself toeing a knife’s edge between the law and justice, learning quickly that the two are not always compatible. She wants to cling to her morals. She also wants to stay alive. But most of all, she wants to see a certain customer again, despite everything in her whispering W is dangerous. In a gritty urban clash of hope and fear, passion and survival, The Walls of Orion explores the edges of light, dark, and the gray in between.
What is
the hardest part of writing your books?
The hardest part of writing my books is when the characters take the
outline and run away with it. Lol, I’m not even joking. I usually start a story
with a vague idea in my head of where it’s going, and once the characters
sketch themselves into something lifelike, and I know them pretty well, I
pencil out a rough outline of the rest of the story. But I always have to use a
pencil. In my most recent novel (not Walls), the villain decided
he didn’t want to be the villain, and the hero decided they wanted to fall in
love with a secondary character who wasn’t the love interest. It’s been
pretty fun.
It’s also hard when the words just don’t come. Some days, if I’m going
through something tough or my emotions are bogging me down, I just have to take
a break and set my computer aside for a few days, take care of myself, and come
back to the story when I’m ready to write again.
What
songs are most played on your Ipod?
My character playlists. I make playlists for each of my stories and
characters, and it’s really funny to see my Top Played songs on Spotify at the
end of every year, because a lot of those songs aren’t me at all, but Courtney
or W or Avery or Melanie or Nyal… all the characters with the most songs on any
given playlist. I listen to a lot of alternative rock, punk, folk, and random
stuff in between. Funny enough, I got really into jazz while writing The
Walls of Orion, because W reminds me so much of a 1920’s gangster.
Do you
have critique partners or beta readers?
I send my novel to my mom, sister, and friends for critiques, before I
send them off to my editor :) I love hearing feedback, and they’re very
constructive with me if they need to fix something, and are just all-around
super motivation-boosters, since I adore hearing their reactions and unedited
thoughts about my characters and plot twists.
What book
are you reading now?
I’m reading a lot of books at the same time, actually. I can never sit
down and read just one. Currently, the ones I’m really enjoying are In the
Flesh by Michael Gabriele, and I love rereading Supernova by Marissa
Meyer (she’s one of my favorite authors).
How did
you start your writing career?
I’ve been writing since I could hold a pen. I taught myself to type
fast in seventh grade when I wrote my first full-length novel, a fantasy
fiction that is honestly kind of cringe-worthy but still holds a special place
in my heart. My dad printed it out on a book press at his work place, and seeing
my own words come to life on a printed, bound page just sparked something
inside of me. I’m forever grateful to him for doing that for me. My mom is a
hobby writer, and she inspired me to start writing and mentored me in the craft
since I was very young. It was my dream to become as talented of a writer as
she is. She’s my biggest cheerleader.
Tell us
about your next release.
My next release is the concluding sequel to The Walls of Orion, titled
City of Loons, and is coming out in July! I’m so stoked to hear what
people think of the ending. In the meantime, I’ve been working on my next
release, a young adult fantasy saga called Shadow Walkers. This one’s
got all my favorite elements: an antihero, a badass female protagonist, a found
family, a sizzling enemies-to-lovers arc, and a shattering and rebuilding of
the main character’s worldview. With higher fantasy than Walls, a wider
cast of characters, and complex, deeply layer world-building, this one might
just be my favorite story I’ve worked on yet.
About the Author
Armed with a bachelor’s degree in Intercultural Studies, her favorite stories to write usually involve a clash of worldviews, an unflinching reevaluation of one’s own internal compass, and an embrace of the compelling unease that arises when vastly different worlds collide.
When not recklessly exploring inner-city alleyways during midnight thunderstorms in the States, she can be found exploring rainforests without enough bug spray somewhere along the equator.
Contact Links
Facebook: T.D. Fox
Twitter: @TDFoxAuthor
Instagram: @TDFoxAuthor
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