In 2019, we made it our goal is to work with as many debut authors as possible and to spread the word about their debut novels. It was such a success last year that we decided to continue the fun for years to come! Follow us this year as we pick the minds of the 2021 debuts and chat with them about their writing process and what it's like to be a new author. Also stay tuned for news of giveaways, Twitter chats, and more!
At the end of 2020, we Tweeted about wanting to discover more debut authors and their books. We ended up finding Emily Victoria and her novel THIS GOLDEN FLAME, and we have been interested in it ever since! We are so excited to have Emily on the blog today to answer some of our questions!
Emily Victoria is a Canadian prairie girl who writes young adult science fiction and fantasy. When not word-smithing, she likes walking her over-excitable dog, drinking far too much tea, and crocheting things she no longer has the space to store.
The Book Bratz: First of all, congratulations! How does it feel to be a debut author?
Emily: Thank you! It feels so amazing to be a debut author. It’s something I’ve dreamed of for a long time, and I’ve already had so many great experiences, like connecting with my debut class, running giveaways, and getting to see character art. It’s been really wonderful.
The Book Bratz: In your opinion, what's the best part of the writing process? What's the hardest?
Emily: The hardest part of writing for me is first draft writing. I tend to struggle with that stage, which is one reason why I really enjoy doing NaNoWriMo, where I can just focus on getting that first draft done. I do love editing, though. I love taking the awkwardness that is a first draft and really making it shine, while getting to explore deeper into the world and the characters.
The Book Bratz: Where did you get the idea for THIS GOLDEN FLAME?
Emily: THIS GOLDEN FLAME really started with my two main characters. My agent asked me about ideas for my next work, and Karis and Alix were the first to come to me. Karis, who was trapped on this island, when all she wanted was to find her brother and get her family back. And Alix who wasn’t human but who had all of these buried secrets about his past, secrets that he didn’t even remember.
The Book Bratz: Who was your favorite character to write? Who was the most difficult?
Emily: Both Karis and Alix had their own challenges as well their own joys to write. They are very different characters, with Karis being stubborn and impulsive, and Alix being quiet and thoughtful (and a complete cinnamon roll). I think they meshed together well, though, and I loved writing the dynamic between the two of them, especially as that dynamic grew and changed over the course of the novel. I will say, though, that overall I think Alix was harder to write. I didn’t realize how much I relied on bodily descriptions (for example, a character gasping or their heart thudding), until I had to write a character where I didn’t have those options. So that was a fun challenge to work around.
The Book Bratz: There's a lot of intricate detail in this book's summary! How did you keep track of everything while drafting and revising?
Emily: I definitely needed a story binder (and even then, there were many mistakes that I had to revise away during edits). My story binder was fairly comprehensive, with names and descriptions, dates and places, basically anything I thought that I might need to refer back to.
The Book Bratz: What do you hope that readers will take away from THIS GOLDEN FLAME?
Emily: My book is really about finding hope, discovering who you are, and finding your purpose. So I hope that readers realize just how strong we all are together, and that we can create the change we want to see.
The Book Bratz: Do you plan on returning to the world of THIS GOLDEN FLAME in the future, or do you have any other projects in mind? Can you tell us anything about them?
Emily: THIS GOLDEN FLAME is a standalone, though I did write a short story for my preorder giveaway, which was a lot of fun, especially since I wrote it from the POV of a side character. For my next work, I can’t say too much yet, but it will be another young adult fantasy and I can’t wait to share it with everyone!
Title: This Golden Flame
Author: Emily Victoria
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Publication Date: February 2nd, 2021
Summary: Orphaned and forced to serve her country’s ruling group of scribes, Karis wants nothing more than to find her brother, long ago shipped away. But family bonds don’t matter to the Scriptorium, whose sole focus is unlocking the magic of an ancient automaton army. In her search for her brother, Karis does the seemingly impossible—she awakens a hidden automaton. Intelligent, with a conscience of his own, Alix has no idea why he was made. Or why his father—their nation’s greatest traitor—once tried to destroy the automatons. Suddenly, the Scriptorium isn’t just trying to control Karis; it’s hunting her. Together with Alix, Karis must find her brother…and the secret that’s held her country in its power for centuries.
Thank you so much to Emily for stopping by and answering our questions! We are super excited about THIS GOLDEN FLAME and can't wait for it to be out in the world on February 2nd!
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