Interview with Chelsea Fine about The Archers of Avalon Series
Chelsea Fine was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about The Archers of Avalon Series.
I hope you enjoy this interview and Chelsea's wonderful answers.
Thank you, Chelsea!
1 – What inspired you to write The Archers of Avalon
series?
My sister
and I had a conversation a few years ago about tragic love triangles—especially
those that involve two brothers—and I was like, “Hey! Maybe I’ll write a story
about two brothers who, despite their best efforts, end up loving the same
girl. Would that be a good story?” My sister laughed at me, took a bite of ice
cream (because we always eat ice cream together), and said, “Only if the
brothers are hot.” I smiled, took a bite of my own ice cream, and said, “Of
course.” A year later, I published Anew
(book 1) in my AoA series.
2 – The series deals with resurrection and
immortality. Have those themes always interested you?
No. Is that
the wrong answer? Haha. *sigh* I know it sounds lame, but I had never really
read about resurrection or immortality prior to writing my Archers of Avalon series. When I was originally developing the
concept for Anew, I planned to set
the entire story in the 1500s. (You know, make a renaissance-period love triangle
between two brothers who happened to be expert archers.) But my sister
encouraged me to write a modern-day tale (because that’s what she likes) and I
was torn. What to do, what to do.
My
solution? Make my protagonist die and keep coming back to life. At first, I
wasn’t sure I would enjoy writing a story that was both historical and modern,
but now…NOW I absolutely love it! I get to write things like, “The castle was foreign and cold, and she
was already weary of playing countess.” But I also get to write things
like, “O-M-G.” Haha. It’s awesome.
3- Can you tell us something we might not know about
the series or the characters?
I wrote
both Anew and Awry while listening to Florence+The Machine (my muse). Is that not
interesting? Hmmm….
Oh! Also,
every character in my series was originally written with a different
name—except Tristan. Tristan’s name was always set in stone. But Scarlet was
originally Clare. Nate was originally Tybalt. And Gabriel…well, I wrote most of
Anew referring to Gabriel as “Brother
2”. Seriously. Haha. I’m lame.
4 – Who would you say is the hardest character, from
the series, to write about? Why?
It used to
be Gabriel. I used to really struggle with writing from his perspective and
making him three dimensional and purposeful. But now he’s one of my favorite
characters to write.
Nowadays, I
find it difficult to write Raven. I really, really, want to make her crazy—like
truly insane. But at the same time, I want to keep her relative and personable.
*sigh* Such a dilemma. Whatever will I
do? *smiles and winks*
5 – This is totally an unfair question but are you
Team Gabriel or Team Tristan? (I’m definitely Team Tristan. :D)
Haha. I
know I should be unbiased here but.... (I’m totally Team Tristan). Isn’t that
terrible? Haha. I’m in love with my own character. Seriously. When I write from
Tristan’s perspective, I don’t even have to think. My fingers just fly across
the keyboard. I know him, I understand him, I LOVE him. Sorry, Gabriel. L
6 – I really do like Scarlet and think she’s a great
main character. In your opinion what makes a great book heroine?
Strength!
My goodness. I cringe when heroine are clumsy or emotional. I like a main
character that embraces their weaknesses, believes in who they are, and manages
to walk from one point to another without falling over. J
7 – When will the next book in the series be
published? Can you let us know something about it? J
The third
book in my Archers of Avalon series (Avow)
comes out this December! J Here’s a short list of what you can expect from Avow:
- Scarlet kicks some serious tale. *hollaaaa!*
- Tristan and Scarlet spend lots of one-on-one time together. *wags eyebrows*.
- Heather goes a little crazy. *wicked laugh*
- Nate keeps a big secret. *dun-dun-dunn*
- There are a lot of flashbacks involving the brothers. *awkward face*
- And they all find the fountain of youth. Maybe. *evil smile*
8 – Is there something else you would like your
readers to know about you and the Archers of Avalon series?
I love my
readers! Seriously, guys. I freakin’ LOVE hearing from readers and emailing
them and tweeting them and….
*shifts
eyes around and closes mouth* Do I sound crazy here? Haha. I swear I’m not.
Okay, fine. I am. Whatever. I still LOVE my readers!! So…yeah. Don’t be shy!
Thank you!
