Now available from Entangled is the urban fantasy Children Of The Veil, book two in The Aisling Chronicles by author Colleen Halverson.
The author has taken a few minutes out
of her busy schedule for a Q&A about her newest novel.
When did you become interested in storytelling?
I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t storytelling. I was like Sarah from Labyrinth, always dressing up and running around the woods, making up stories. I would often tell stories to myself before falling asleep. My Dad ran several Army bands, so I had to sit through tons of concerts growing up. I know that sounds very romantic, but for a seven-year-old child, it was oftentimes dreadfully boring and just hellacious, with my mom hissing at me to be quiet, sit still, etc. I learned that if I used the music as a soundtrack to the story in my mind, the concerts went a lot faster.
What was your first book/story published?
THROUGH THE VEIL, the first book in The Aisling Chronicles was my first real story and my first real attempt at fiction. I do have some terrible sonnets floating around the internet, though, and once I won an award for a poem I wrote in college. Oh! And I did publish a dissertation once called Fragmented Histories: 1798 and the Irish National Tale. It’s a real page-turner.
What inspired you to write CHILDREN OF THE VEIL?
CHILDREN OF THE VEIL is the second book in The Aisling Chronicles, and I feel like my characters truly inspired this book. I had started THROUGH THE VEIL with no intention of writing a series, with no real intentions at all but to see if I could actually write a novel. At the end of the book, I just had to know what happened next. I had some clues, but I was desperate to know where the journey would take my characters. I think I took a week off and then dove right in, letting Elizabeth and Finn drag me along on their incredible adventures.
What character in CHILDREN OF THE VEIL is the most/least like you, and in what ways?
I think, obviously, Elizabeth is very much an extension of the hopes and fears I had in my twenties. She suffers from a lot of things, but in large part she grapples a lot in this book with imposter syndrome and leadership. I think least like me would be her love interest, Finn. Finn can be rigid in his morals, almost to a fault. He tends to see the world in black and white and given his experiences as a former Irish revolutionary, finds rebellion and uprisings problematic. He likes law and order, and well, we have talks about that quite often.
What is your favorite part in CHILDREN OF THE VEIL?
I have so many favorite parts, but I think the part I love the best is when Elizabeth and Finn go to the Faerie court in London. It’s a raucous, wild place and through a series of unfortunate events, Finn has to fight this horrible cyclops for Elizabeth’s honor. I’m not usually one for the damsels in distress, ahhhhh!!! But it sure is cool to see Finn do his thing, which is fight and be a total warrior badass. I’ve probably read that scene a hundred times, and my shoulders still tense up each time.
What was the hardest part to write?
I won’t spoil it, but there is a scene where Elizabeth and Finn have a very intense emotional moment. Writing those kinds of scenes where both characters expose their deepest inner-workings and vulnerabilities can be so challenging. It always has the potential to swing to the side of maudlin melodrama, and it can be so difficult to keep that pathos feeling real and authentic. I think like a lot of people, we are trained to keep those feelings bottled up inside, so as a writer, I have to dig deep to find those hidden places.
What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?
I would love to be Beyoncé. She’s a goddess.
Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?
I do read reviews of my books. It’s important for me to understand how readers are receiving my work, but it honestly doesn’t change much for me. One of the things I’ve found is that there will be readers who hate what you’re doing, but they’ll be readers who really, really love what you’re doing. I think these readers want my most authentic self and they put a lot of trust in me to deliver that special *thing* only I can deliver. A writer could make herself mad trying to please everyone. But for me, the first person I have to please is myself. I work very hard to write books that I believe in and can be proud of, even with their faults. I don’t know if everyone will love CHILDREN OF THE VEIL, but I put everything I had into writing that book and it was an incredible artistic journey for me.
What well-known writers do you admire most?
JK Rowling, absolutely. Whenever I feel stuck or don’t know what to do next in my books, I sit down and ask myself, “What would JK Rowling do?”
Do you have any other books/stories in the works?
I do! I have a new book coming out January 9th called THE CAPTAIN’S REBEL. This is an erotic historical romance that takes place during the Napoleonic Wars. It features a feisty Irish heroine who, in order to take back her ancestral lands, dresses up as a cabin boy and joins the Royal Navy. She meets a stern and demanding sea Captain, and well, that’s where the erotica part comes in.😊
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About the Author: As a child, Colleen Halverson used to play in the woods imagining worlds and telling stories to herself. Growing up on military bases, she found solace in her local library and later decided to make a living sharing the wonders of literature to poor, unsuspecting college freshmen. After backpacking through Ireland and singing in a traditional Irish music band, she earned a PhD in English with a specialization in Irish literature. When she’s not making up stories or teaching, she can be found hiking the rolling hills of the Driftless area of Wisconsin with her husband and two children. CHILDREN OF THE VEIL is the follow up to her debut urban fantasy novel, THROUGH THE VEIL.Learn more about the author at www.colleenhalverson.com.
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