When their god needed a protector, she chose yes.
When
prophecies stack up to threaten an arrogant deity, Chariss must choose between
the dragon that courts her and the ostracized kings of the Southlands for help.
Evil stalks her at every turn and madness creeps over the goddess who guides her.
Can an orphan-turned-Protector resist the dark side of her heritage? Or will
she sacrifice all to keep her god-charge safe in Choices Meant for Kings?
Good
morning, Nigel. Thank you for joining us today. Let’s start with you telling us
a bit about Choices Meant for Kings. It is the
second book in the epic fantasy story of Amanda Chariss, whom I intend to marry—if
I can keep all these ridiculous gods and governors from convincing her
otherwise. She and her wizard guardian sought shelter at the Taiman estate,
which is mine now that the treasonous, conniving Godric Taiman is dead, but I
think we recognize she’s the one sheltering all of us.
All of us. From the army parked
on the front lawn to the children hiding in my family’s school, Amanda’s taken
on the responsibility of saving us all. Prophecy shows she’s to protect the
highest active god of our world. I don’t think I’m at liberty to reveal how He’s
related to each of us. She’s accepted that charge. Protecting Rohne distracts
her from the danger of the mad sorcerer who’s been chasing her the past sixteen
winters and we all lose track of her when she goes to the kings of the
Southlands seeking alliances.
To be honest with you, it’s
infuriating to me. We have a prophecy in motion that could be resolved if we
could just find my brother. Everything’s a mess and people are missing. I need
her back at the estate with me.
What
made you choose farming for a profession? That takes a little explaining. Godric Taiman, who I hesitate to admit
was my father, forbid me to learn how to use the geasa, which is a power the
gods breathe into select mortals and semi-mortals. Growing up, I didn’t care
one way or the other about the geasa.
I worked in the estate’s fields and
stables to stay away from Godric and to stay out of the way of the teachers at
our estate’s school. As it turns out, growing up in a school for the geasa’n
exposes you to lessons whether you’re trying to learn them or not, so I picked
up some guidance.
Overall, though, I learned how to tend
our livestock, how to rotate our crops to get abundant food for our family and
students. I managed the estate while Godric went off on his hunting parties to
ingratiate himself with the governors of the continent, seeking power and prestige
we didn’t need. Farming is a good, honest, useful way to earn a living and keep
your family alive. If all else fails around us, we’ll have our farm.
Knowing
what you know now, if you had it to do over again, would you stick with being a
farmer or do something different? I
would definitely learn all the skills for farming and animal husbandry, but I’d
have gone behind Godric’s back and learned all I could about the geasa as well.
I mastered swordsmanship thanks to a couple teachers who were willing to teach
me without Godric’s hearing of it.
But learning the art of healing,
weaving threads to create a spell to protect someone, building spells you can keep
“at the ready” in your mind, and general use of the geasa to defend and protect
others has been a slow and arduous process since Amanda arrived. It’s
imperative that I learn more and learn faster so I can be of better use in this
war. It's imperative.
What
is your biggest fear? One of my
biggest fears has already come to pass and I’m losing my mind rectifying it. Like
I said, everything’s a mess.
Who
is your favorite fictional character and why? We don’t have a lot of fictional characters in Onweald
society. Our stories, songs and even our plays are based on real people from
the past who have done great things. Or at least things that teach a good
lesson. I believe the story of Mellada, the queen in the west who died with her
ladies in waiting while her men fought a dragon, is only partially based in
reality. Mellada might be my favorite fictional character, even though she’s
not entirely fictional.
What
is the best piece of advice you ever received? My beautiful mother, Kora Rothahn, told me to be
honest with Amanda. She told me to bare my soul and tell Amanda who I am and
how I feel about her. As always, my mother was right.
Which writer or
character[s], from either books or movies, or both, have had a major impact on
your writing? When I answered this
question during Henry Bakerson’s interview for the Choices Meant for Gods
story, I mentioned some of the authors—like Charlotte Bronte—who have influenced
my writing. I’d be remiss if I didn’t share what a huge impact music and music
theory has on my writing. A couple reviewers have pointed out I sometimes have
a lyrical or sing-song style to my writing in this Choices series and I
consider that high praise. I love to use parallel structures, repetitive words,
and even flat-out rhymes in a paragraph to give the narrative a lilt or a cadence
as you read it. Make it flow.
I’ve played around with poetry over the years and managed
to win a “best collection” trophy I can display for motivation with my first
poetry chapbook released in 2020. That sense of iambic pentameter and sensing
where stresses should hit pleases me—sometimes. Other times, I throw all the
rules out the window.
Music
inspires me while I’m writing. I have playlists for novels and a playlist for
the world of Onweald. Many of my characters have theme songs. If I need to type
out a scene with Henry in a hurry, you can bet I’ll play Sting’s St.
Augustine in Hell and the instrumental I Miss You Kate as I get
started. I used to play the violin and the flute, so music is another language
I’ve forgotten how to read correctly on the page, but still appreciate and incorporate
in my writing.
Tell us a bit about your
publisher. How did you hear about them; what influenced you to submit to them;
how is the submission process; what is the turn-around time from date of query
to date of release? I’d like to mention
that I landed contracts with both publishers of the Choices series
because of writers’ conferences.
I
met Bob Gelinas of ArcheBooks Publishing and pitched Choices Meant for Gods
to him at the Naples Press Club annual event. I met Stephen Zimmer at a convention
in Ohio—and we were panelists at Archon in St. Louis around that time, too. If
I hadn’t attended those conferences, I wouldn’t have made those connections. I
wouldn’t have had the opportunity to share Chariss’s story with these professionals
in the indie publishing world.
No
matter a writer’s position along the publishing track, it’s important to attend
these kinds of events not only for the continuing education and ideas you glean
there, but also for the networking and friendships you build there. When I met
Stephen in 2009, I had no plans to re-shop my trilogy in the future and had no
idea he would open an indie press for additional authors. We were just two
authors trading books to assist one another with reviews and mentions out there
in the world. But that author friendship remained.
You
never know when a convention or conference will give you the opportunity to
pitch your dream novel to an agent, an editor, a publisher, a reviewer who’s
connected to a popular podcast, and so on.
I
guess what I’m trying to say with this answer is the “submission process” is varied.
It’s smart to make sure you’re taking advantage of all the opportunities to get
involved with all the levels. And to stay involved. Because you never know when
you might have to start over.
www.SandyLenderInk.com.
https://twitter.com/SandyLender
https://www.pinterest.com/SandyLender
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoJu4DdGhh7OFofRYl8R1Zg
(@SandySaysRead)
To purchase Choices
Meant for Kings, go to:
Amazon/print: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C91NC6BL/
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C939LTKF
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/choices-meant-for-kings-sandy-lender/1017962774?ean=2940160838700
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/choices-meant-for-kings
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6450601462
