Young Adult Fantasy / Mythology
Date Published:
06-08-2021
Immortal Trickster, Luke, is starting a fresh life in a new-to-him
seventeen-year-old body. With yet another lifespan stretched out in front
of him, he’s questioning what purpose his endless compulsion to play
tricks serves.
Agnar, a Thor look-alike claiming to be his adoptive brother from the
planet Asperian, appears to declare Luke has been away from home too long.
One problem. Luke doesn’t remember Agnar or living on another planet.
With more questions than answers, Luke cautiously agrees to accompany his
“brother” back to Asperian, but the travel portal rejects him, leaving him
behind to continue his mundane life of trickery. When interplanetary
soldiers show up intent on killing him, he’s forced into hiding and his
list of unanswered questions grows.
Will Luke remain trapped on Earth forever, pulling meaningless pranks? Or
will he finally figure out his true purpose?
Interview
What is the hardest part of writing
your books?
There are so many hard parts. The
sloggy middle, editing, deciding what idea to write next. But I’d say the
hardest part is finding time. Like many authors, I work full time and it’s hard
to carve out the time or drum up the discipline to sit down and get it done.
Luckily, once I sit down and get started, I’m always swept away into my
fictional world, so I never have to force myself to stay in the chair!
What songs are most played on your
Ipod?
When I’m writing? Mozart. I can’t listen
to words with lyrics, because I’ll sing along without realizing it and that
totally derails my creative flow. I love the lushness of Mozart, the varying
pace of the music, the drama, and the lift. His music just resonates directly in
my heart.
Do you have critique partners or beta
readers?
I have critique partners, Katie and
Mary. We’ve been working together for years. They help me flesh out characters,
reword awkward sentences. Recently, I sent out a 911 and got a call from Mary, who
talked me off of the writing ledge. I literally wouldn’t still be doing this
without their moral support and deep understanding of the ups and downs. The
three of us met when we had books at the same publisher, which established a
strong commonality from the get-go. Their input to my stories is as invaluable
as their friendship.
What book are you reading now?
I just finished listening to The
Marvelous Mirza Girls by Sheba Karim. I really enjoyed it. I love when books
give me a peek into other cultures (real or imagined cultures à I’m looking at you Girl of Fire and
Thorns!) It was nice to discover Delhi, India along with the main character.
How did you start your writing career?
As is common with writers, I’ve always
written. I never considered pursuing it as a career until my third child started
Kindergarten. For the first time in years, I was left at home with only one child,
and it felt like I had all the time in the world. My oldest and I had just
binge-read the first four books in the Harry Potter series, but the fifth wouldn’t
be released for months. I missed Hogwarts and thought, “Wait, I can create my
own fantasy world.” Making up an entirely new world is really empowering.
Almost as empowering as having and raising four kids. Anyway, after I completed
that first novel, I realized I couldn’t just let it sit around and do nothing,
so I decided to look into publication. It wasn’t my first book to be published,
but it was the book that started my career, and it was the book that found my
critique partners!
Tell us about your next release.
My next release will be the second
book in my Trickstering series. I’m having so much fun writing this one. Speaking
of making up worlds, I have two worlds to flesh out in this book. First Luke
goes home to Asperian – where he grew up with his adopted family – and then he
goes to the world of Rime – where he was born. I’m dedicating a lot of time to
writing this summer, so if things play out right, I should be able to release
for the holidays. But at this point that is still a moving target.
About the Author
Award winning Kai Strand, author of the action packed Super Villain
Academy series, is often found exploring hiking trails and snapping
pictures of waterfalls in her Oregon hometown. Mother of four, Kai uses
her life experiences to connect with young readers. With middle grade
works such as Save the Lemmings, The Weaver Tale series, and The Concord
Chronicles series, and emotional YA adventures like Finding Thor, I Am Me,
and Worth the Effort, Kai has written compelling stories that tweens,
teens, and their parents love.
Kai has given numerous presentations in classrooms, to writer groups, and
at workshops about her work and the writing process. She loves interacting
with teens and gaining their insight on their latest reads as well as what
they would like to see in future stories.
To find out more about Kai, please visit Kaistrand.com.
Contact Links
Facebook
Twitter: @KaiStrand
Blog
Goodreads
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Instagram
Purchase Links
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