Indie Christian Books Blog Tour // Interview with Jaye L. Knight

Alright everyone, I have some rather extremely exciting news!!

Who here likes books?

*glances at hypothetical raised hands*

Who here likes package deals, free shipping, discounted, $0.99, and even free books?

*glances at hypothetical bloggers shouting and hollering and waving both hands*

Well, good news awaits you!  In honor of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, a number of independent Christian authors have banded together to offer a huge selection of discounted books between Nov. 24th and 30th.  All genres, sizes, formats, you name it!

On November 24th, the Indie Christian Books website (http://www.indiechristianbooks.com/) will go live.  Every single book listed will be on sale in one or more ways.  Find discounted paperbacks, dozens of books offered with free shipping, $0.99 ebooks, package deals, and more.  Even if you have a budget of $0, new reading material awaits you.  When you purchase a paperback book through http://www.indiechristianbooks.com/ you'll be eligible to enter an exclusive giveaway, including free books and an Amazon gift card!

You can also meet the authors by visiting the Author Database on the website.  Want to get to know the authors better and have the chance to win some fun prizes?  Join the week long FaceBook party, which will feature over 39 authors over 7 days.  Seriously.  You know you want to at least stop by and check out what's going on.  If you just want to follow via blogs, check out the list of all the bloggers and supporters doing interviews, reviews, and announcements!

 

AND, as a part of this book sale, I have interviewed author Jaye L. Knight, about the first book in the Ilyon Chronicles, Resistance!  As some of y'all might know, I have recently started reading her series, and, to tell the truth, I am hooked.  So it was a great honor to get to ask her a few questions.  It was a struggle not to just ramble about the book and the characters and the plot and the storyworld...

Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that, even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

What was the first spark of an idea that started you down the path of writing Resistance?  Was it a character, a plot, etc?  Or did you just start writing with no real clue as to what the story would become?

Resistance began with the spark of an idea for Jace.  I was reading DragonQuest by Donita K. Paul, and at a scene where I discovered that my favorite character in the series was a half-blood, it set my creative gears turning.  Everything grew from there.

Which character arc came first in the plotting - Jace or Kyrin?

Jace.  After all, being the character that started everything, he was the one I focused on at the beginning of planning the series.

When you first started writing, did you know this story would turn into the series that it is now?

At first, I thought it would be a trilogy. I knew right away it would be longer than just one book.  Then it grew to seven books (yikes), until I ended up combining books 2 and 3 and it settled at six books. (Of course, I wasn’t planning on two extra novellas that popped up along the way as well.)

When reading Resistance, I loved the little bit with Jace and Niton!  Have you had any experience with horses prior to writing them?  And is Niton a Friesian?  (Friesians are one of my favorite breeds, so I was just curious and had to ask!)

Yes, I did have quite a bit of experience with horses. I took two years of riding lessons in my late teens and then owned two different horses over the years. My youngest brother currently has a horse as well. And yes, Niton is a Friesian, or at least the fantasy equivalent. They have been my favorite breed for many years.

 Reading Resistance was a refreshing change from stories with magic and sorcery!  What made you decide to write the story with no magic?  Was it hard (did you sometimes wish you could add something like magic into the world)?  Or did it just feel right to have it as it is?

I didn’t consciously decide to write with no magic, that’s just how I’ve always written fantasy. I love history, so I write fantasy with a historical feel, and don’t ever feel like it needs magic. If I were to ever include “magic” it would be more like characters with certain gifts like X-Men. I guess I just like writing “realistic” fantasy.

Dare I ask who is your favorite character?  Does it depend on who you're writing at the moment, or does one character (or a few) ultimately stand out as a favorite?

Jace. Jace will always be my favorite Ilyon character. Choosing a second favorite would be much more difficult. That does depend on who I’m writing at the moment. Different ones I particularly enjoy writing are Kaden, Daniel, Talas, Trask, and Aaron. Incidentally, those are the ones I’d consider my “sassy” characters. I guess that’s why they are so much fun to write.

What brought you to the decision to indie publish?

Because it seemed easier and much more plausible than traditional publishing, especially since I was only 18 at the time. And, being young, I guess I was impatient to see my books in print.

Have you ever regretted it, or felt like people hesitate to read your book because it's not been published in the traditional way?

I don’t regret it at all. I love indie publishing. In the beginning, indie publishing definitely had a stigma, and I did feel like people might hesitate to read my books because of it, but I don’t feel like that anymore. Indie publishing has become so popular now that I think the stigma has almost disappeared.

What words of encouragement would you give to anyone considering indie publishing their novel?

If you have a good, well-edited book and a professional looking cover, there is no reason you can’t have success in indie publishing. There are so many more avenues and resources available now than when I started. The possibilities are endless.

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So there you have it, everyone!  And seriously, go and get her series.  This book sale is the perfect time to do it, and you have no excuse.  Go.  Now.  You won't regret it.

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BUT WAIT THERES MORE

Remember what I said about the giveaway?  If you purchase a paperback book through http://www.indiechristianbooks.com/ you are eligible for the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Alright.  I'm done.  I promise.

Oh, wait...I'm not...looky here....

*Just a quick note on the Ebooks Only page.  All books are listed as "Sold Out."  This only refers to paperback copies of these titles.  Please click onto the product pages to find descriptions and links to discounted or free ebooks.

**Acknowledgements:  Thanks to Leah E. Good and Kendra E. Ardnek for their work organizing this sale, and Hannah Mills for her fantastic design work on the website graphics.  Hannah can be contacted at hmills(at)omorecollege(dot)edu for more information about her design services.