Today on the blog we have another fantastic interview! Make sure to click the banner above to check out the rest of the tour.

 

A father murdered by magic. A daughter’s cosmic quest for clues could make her the next
victim…

Jade Gariq dreams of a new calling. While she wishes she could join the elite force that protects
her home world from interdimensional threats, she’s stuck working for the family business. But
everything changes when her father is found dead with traces of magic on him… magic that
should only belong to the mythical Dragon-Gods…

To uncover the mystery behind her father’s murder, Jade must follow the clues to an uncharted
world. Beyond the portal, treacherous jungles, surprising betrayals, and a killer bent on tying up
loose ends stand in her way of the truth. It’ll take every ounce of Jade’s cunning to solve her
father’s death, but can she avoid his fate?

Airwoman is a high-flying YA fantasy novel set in a stunning new Dragonverse. If you like
fascinating worlds, memorable characters, and a dash of romance, then you’ll love Zara
Quentin’s action-packed adventure.

Buy Airwoman today to let your imagination take flight!

For a free preview of Airwoman, find it at: http://www.zaraquentin.com/

About Zara:
Zara Quentin is the author of Airwoman, the first book in the Airwoman series. She was raised
in Adelaide, Australia, with one younger sister. Zara grew up with a strong sense of adventure,
which she inherited from her parents, who took her and her sister on trips to the United States,
Europe, and Asia.

She also inherited a love of reading from her mother. Throughout her childhood she explored
fictional places through books, and in particular, through fantasy novels. She’d turn the black
and white text on the page into the colourful worlds of her imagination.

After graduating from high school, Zara studied at the University of Adelaide and has lived in
France, London, and Auckland, New Zealand. She is always determined to fit in as much travel
as possible, spending time in Europe, the United States, southern Africa, Morocco, Peru, the
Pacific and south-east Asia.

Zara now resides in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and three children. She is currently
working on the next instalment in the Airwoman series.
Find Zara:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

Now onto the interview!

Was there a particular book/series/author that inspired you to start writing?

I don’t think there were any books that particularly inspired me to start writing, so much as books that
inspired me to read more. For me, that was the key. The books that I read growing up and, in particular,
the first YA books that I remember choosing for myself (and loving) inspired me as a reader.

I picked up Obernewtyn, by Isobelle Carmody, when I was 11 or 12 years old after the recommendation
of a friend. I loved it and read that series over and over as she released new books—Carmody didn’t
finish that series for another two decades, but I was with her until the end. Other books that I devoured
as a child/ young teenager were the Belgariad series by David Eddings, the Alanna novels by Tamora
Pierce, the Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffery.

For me, reading and writing go hand-in- hand. My love of reading—especially in the YA fantasy
genre—inspired me to write. I want to be able to give other young people the same love of reading that
I developed by reading engrossing and entertaining fiction.

Was there a specific moment that inspired Airwoman?
When I was living in Auckland, New Zealand, we lived at the top of a hill, in a house that looked out over
the Orakei Basin. Our bedroom had huge windows that covered one entire wall and opened out on the
view. One night, when my third child was only about six weeks old and my husband was away, there was
a huge storm in the middle of the night. The wind was howling, rain lashing the windows and flashes of
lightening lit up the sky. I had obviously not latched one of the windows properly, because a gust of
wind caught it and the window banged open, letting in the storm. The sound woke me up and I sat
straight upright in bed to see the window open and the curtains billowing in the wind.

At that moment, I had a vision of a woman sitting on my windowsill. She was crouched, peering out into
the rain, her wings folded at her back and her tail dropped over the windowsill to hang into the room. I
had a distinct feeling that she was fleeing something—hiding from something, or someone—though I
had no idea what.

This vision of the winged woman on my windowsill became Jade Gariq, the main character of Airwoman.

Do you draw inspiration from pop culture (TV shows, Video Games, Movies, etc.), and if so, which
ones?
I take inspiration from lots of different things—travel, art, books, everyday experiences, conversations
with other people. I am certainly also influenced by TV shows and movies (though probably not video
games as I don’t really play them and never have). Movies and TV shows that are done really well and
have interesting premises, I find particularly inspiring.

For world-building inspiration, I think Avatar, Mad Max, Fury Road, Last Kingdom, and Game of Thrones
would top the list. There are certainly more, but these had really inspiring settings for their stories.

For interesting premises for a movie or TV show, I think Outlander, Misfits, The Curious Case of
Benjamin Button, Gravity, 12 Monkeys (the movie), Terra Nova,. There are probably lots more, but all of
these had an interesting idea at the center of the story, which has a tendancy to make a mind like mine
think!

If you could live anywhere (any time, era, and place), where would it be?
In Machu Picchu, in the time before discovery and colonization by Europeans. I would love to know what
the ruins there now where used for. Other than that, probably pre-colonisation in the Americas,
Australia or New Zealand as I’m really interested in indigenous cultures, before they were so heavily
impacted (and almost destroyed) by the introduction of European/ Western culture.

If you had 24 hours to do ANYTHING you wanted, what would you?
Travel with Dr Who in the Tardis across the time-space continuum and visit an alien civilization—I think
that would be cool!

You’re trapped on an island, but are allowed to bring one person, one food item, and one object.
What are your choices?

This is a hard one… My practical brain says:
One person = Bear Grylls (because he’d be most likely to find food, shelter and generally keep me alive,
my survival skills being somewhere between zilch and basic!)
One food item = water (again, survival)
One object = sunscreen (who wants to survive being trapped on an island, only to get skin cancer once
you’re rescued? Not me.)

However, my non-practical, romantic brain says:
One person = my husband, Mr Q. What can I say?
One food item = chocolate or coffee… it would be hard to choose between them.
One object = my notebook (since my laptop would run out of batteries too quickly, and being stuck on
an island is bound to give me plenty of creative time, right?!)

What was the most difficult part of writing Airwoman?
The most difficult part of writing Airwoman was showing the draft to other people for them to read. I
had literally never, ever done that before. For years, Mr Q would sit next to me while I write, and ask if it
he could read what I’d written and my answer was always “No—not ready. Maybe one day.”

When I decided to get serious about writing this story, and hired a writing coach to help me through the
process, part of the deal was that she would read what I was writing chapter-by- chapter as I went along.
The first time I sent her anything, it was so scary. As was waiting for her feedback.

Obviously, once the drafting and revision was done, I also showed it to a developmental editor and beta
readers. Every time I let other people read it, it got a little bit easier. Finally, towards the end of the
process, I let Mr Q have a look

Schedule:
Week One:
10/30/2017- Mythical Books- Interview
10/30/2017- Blushing Bibliophile- Review

10/31/2017- Rabid Readers Book Blog- Excerpt
10/31/2017- To Be Read- Review

11/1/2017- BookHounds YA- Guest Post
11/1/2017- jrsbookreviews- Review

11/2/2017- Maddie.TV- Interview
11/2/2017- My Creatively Random Life- Review

11/3/2017- Books,Dreams,Life- Excerpt

Week Two:
11/6/2017- The Hermit Librarian- Guest Post
11/6/2017- J Heart Loves Books- Review

11/7/2017- YA and Wine- Interview
11/7/2017- Lori's Little House of Reviews- Review

11/8/2017- Hooked To Books- Excerpt
11/8/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Interview

11/9/2017- Spilling Words- Excerpt

11/10/2017- Daily Waffle- Interview
11/10/2017- Perspective of a Writer- Review

 

Giveaway Details:
2 winners will receive a $25 Gift Card to the book retailer of their choice from Amazon, B&N, or
TBD, International. http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba2661/?