Sunday 11 March 2012

Sue Perkins interviews Reva from Reva's Quest

My guest today is New Zealand author 

Sue Perkins. Accompanying Sue is Reva, the main character in her Young Adult Fantasy novel,

                                     Reva's Quest.

From what I understand, Sue, Reva is a lonely girl.

Yes, her father's job moves them from place to place meaning she frequently changes schools and consequently has no friends. At every school she attends friendships have been in place for years and there is no room for a new girl to join in. Reva withdraws to her imagination and begins to write about the magical world of Fey.


Cover Designer: Mike Zambrano

 Reva seems quite shy with me, and can you blame her after her ordeal.  I'll get you to draw her out, Sue.

Sue: Reva., Wendy would like you to tell us about your quest. Could you do that?

Reva: It was funny really. I'd been writing a fantasy book about the land of Fey. Then one night Fey came to life.

Sue: How do you mean "came to life"?

Reva: We hadn't had time to tidy up the garden since we moved in and I'd found a garden gnome half buried in the bottom of the garden. That night the gnome knocked on my window and told me to come with him.

Sue: A garden gnome spoke to you? That's weird. Did you? Go with him I mean.

Reva: Of course I did. Who wouldn't when it provided a bit of excitement in my boring life. His name was Gareth and he took me through the scummy pond where he usually fished. When we came out the other side we were in Fey.

Sue: What happened then?

Reva: We visited the elves and the Narun, she's a sort of queen, told me evil had come to Fey. She thought it was my fault. I didn't believe her of course, but I did agree to help try and solve the problem.

Sue: So you and Gareth began the quest.

Reva: Not just us two. Jared and Maura the elves and Kai the griffin came with us. They were supposed to be our quest companions to protect us from the creatures of Fey who had been affected by the evil. Oh by the way they called the evil Malice.

Sue: How did the trip go?

Reva: I never knew what was good and what was bad. Malice had turned good things round and we couldn't trust anything. The real Fey also had lots of animals my story didn't have, and my book had wizards and witches which the real Fey doesn't have. I did meet a dragon, a unicorn and a knight in shining armor.

Sue: Do you mean a real knight?

Reva: Of course I do. He wore this really shiny armor, so bright I couldn't see him properly at first.

Sue: So did you succeed? Did you rid the world of evil?

Reva: Wouldn't you like to know? I think you'd enjoy it better if you buy the book and read it. There's a buy link somewhere below. Why don't you read the excerpt and see if it's your type of book.

Sue: Thanks Reva, I will. Thank you also for answering my questions.

Reva: You're welcome.

Excerpt
“I've brought her.” Gareth spoke loud enough for her to hear him.
Movement in the shadows of the hut at the rear of the platform caught Reva’s attention. The figure who emerged walked with a slow halting step. The elderly head had a hint of red hair amongst the grey which topped the dry and wrinkled skin of the face. A crown of leaves sat on the sparse hair, and the wearer seemed to find it difficult to keep her head up. A full length gown of a flimsy light green material covered the skinny, aged body. The female murmured something to the gnome, and he turned and beckoned Reva to join them.
“This human is the cause of all your troubles, Narun.” Gareth turned to Reva. “This is Piora, Narun of the forest elves. The Narun is the elf leader.”
She nodded her head in acknowledgement of the introduction, but then her companion’s first words sank in. “Hey, wait a minute. I've never been here before. How can I have caused any trouble?”
“I believe you are writing a book,” Piora said, and Reva looked up with surprise when a young voice came out of the shrunken lips. “When did you begin?”
“Pardon?” Amazed with the discrepancy between voice and body, the Narun's words passed over her.
“The Narun asked when you started writing your book?” The gnome shook his head.
“I started writing it when we moved, about three months ago.”
Piora nodded slowly and remained silent for a few moments. Reva looked at Gareth, but he refused to meet her eyes. What thoughts were going through the Narun’s mind? Piora raised her head, faded yellow eyes staring directly at Reva.
“The land of Fey has existed for some time,” Piora stated. “We have good years and bad years. Most creatures in this magic land live in peace with one another, with a few exceptions. Until recently, my people experienced little trouble, but about three years ago, this changed. Evil entered the elven life. Friends argued and fought each other. Constant bickering prevented any work from being done. As Narun, I took steps to stop the wickedness before it destroyed my people.”
“Excuse me,” Reva interrupted. “But I don’t see how you can say it’s my fault.”
“The evil started at the time you began to write your book.” Piora’s sad eyes looked at her.
“No. You said three years ago. I only started writing my story three months ago.”
“You don’t get it do you?” The gnome spoke for the first time since he’d introduced Piora. “A month in your world is a year in Fey.” #

 Sue, thank you for visiting my place today. I’m so glad you were able to bring Reva too.  Lovely to meet you Reva. My word you were in a difficult predicament, weren’t you? So, I guess you couldn’t just stop writing your book so that the trouble could go away? Silly question. Of course you couldn't. Most writers have to keep going no matter what. Well, I certainly hope you were able to write you and your new friends out of trouble.

Sue would like to give away an ebook of  "Reva's Quest" to a commenter picked randomly.
Reva's Quest is available from  MuseItUp Bookstore  and  Amazon Kindle
Learn more about this talented author - these talented authors, Reva and Sue - 
 at  Sue's Webpage  and  Sue's Blogspot

16 comments:

Nancy Bell said...

Hi Sue, Hi Wendy! Great interview, it's nice to see Reva getting out and about. :~)This is a wonderful story with lots of adventure.

Nancy

writermama said...

I love character interviews.Reva did a great job :) Sounds like her quest would make for an amazing read!

Sue Perkins said...

Thank you ladies and thank you to Wendy for inviting me. Reva enjoyed herself even though she didn't really want to come along. You'll have to read to the end of the book to find out why. I loved writing this book and Mike did a brilliant, if unusual, job on the cover.

Laurel Hawkes said...

How fun! I'm sharing the link with a couple teens I know.

Unknown said...

Very fun interview and great excerpt! What a delightful post Wendy & Sue. Simply adorable.

Wendy said...

It's a joy to have Sue and Reva here.

Nancy, I notice you are the editor of Reva's Quest. I'm sure you'll agree this will be a wonderful book to win especially if you are a teen reader.

Hello Writermama, from your profile pic, I'm guessing your little darling will have to wait a few years to read Reva's story :)

Hi Laura, lovely to meet you. Who knows one of those teens might be a winner of this intriguing adventure.

Karen, I agree, the excerpt held my attention. I feel I know Reva, now.

Rosalie Skinner said...

Reva's Quest sounds intriguing. Imagine, as an author, how it would feel to know your words can translate to actions in another world. Quite a mind numbing idea. Great idea, terrific excerpt. Thanks Reva for sharing your troubles. I hope to read of your successes very soon. Good luck on your quest. Sue and Wendy.. thanks for bringing to light Reva's plight. Great post.

gail roughton branan said...

Hey Sue! Hey Wendy! Waving from Georgia!

Unknown said...

Hi Sue,

Sounds like a magical, adventurous read. Also sounds like plain fun.

A nice gift for Easter coming up for all those young ones.

Thanks for an entertaining post.

Cellophane Queen said...

I enjoyed Reva's Quest and recommend it. Obviously, I already have a copy, so I'll just good luck to everybody to win the free copy.

Edith Parzefall said...

I'll sure be more wary of garden gnomes in the future! :-) Reva's Quest sounds like a great story.

Edith

Unknown said...

Loved the interview with Sue and Reva. What an interesting story concept.

Wendy said...

Lovely to see you here, Rosalie. I agree, Reva's book will have a big impact on the fairy world. How clever of Sue to bring it all together.

Hey Gail, waving back from the Southern Hemisphere!

Lorrie, how true. Reva's Quest would make a great gift at Easter.

Marva, I'm sure Sue will think your recommendation is like gold. You are such a wonderful MG author yourself.

Hi Edith, your little Furnace might quite enjoy a visit with Reva's garden gnomes ;)

Lovely of you to drop by Susan. It's amazing the different story concepts that come from a writers imagination.

Sue Perkins said...

Thank you all so much for visiting and leaving such wonderful comments. Your comment make me feel so humble and pleased that you all liked Reva's interview. She astonished at the response. Thank you once again.

Pat McDermott said...

Just a delightful interview, and I agree, that cover is gorgeous. Good luck to you on your quest, Reva! And to you and your writing, Sue.

Sue Perkins said...

Thank you all for visiting Wendy's blog and Reva's interview. I'm pleased to announce that Laurel Hawkes is the winner of a copy of "Reva's Quest". Congratulations Laurel.